Sep 29 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — The clock is ticking for the Trudeau Liberals to table a national pharmacare bill before the end of this year, but the NDP’s health critic says the last draft bill did not meet his party’s red lines. Don Davies says the NDP has been negotiating with the Liberal government on legislation that would enshrine into […]
Sep 24 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Canada’s housing advocate says she is concerned at a lack of strings attached to new federal measures aimed at tackling the housing crisis — a situation she says could make rental units cheaper to build but not necessarily more affordable for renters. Marie-Josée Houle says the Trudeau government’s proposal to remove the GST from new […]
Sep 21 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Canada’s health minister says Conservative politicians are trying to be “agents of chaos and fear” by stoking confusion about new rules for selling and advertising natural health products — changes Health Canada says are long overdue. Mark Holland says the regulatory changes are important to fill much-needed gaps in safety and oversight over natural health […]
Sep 17 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — With Liberal fortunes looking increasingly grim, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have to show he is fully focused on tackling Canadians’ affordability and housing concerns as Parliament resumes this week, pollsters say. It will be far from smooth sailing for Trudeau and his Liberals when they return to the House of Commons as Canadians continue […]
Sep 13 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Polarized pandemic politics have led to a vacuum of up-to-date information about COVID-19, even as viral activity is on the rise in Canada, some experts say, warning this radio silence about the coronavirus could be eroding trust in public health.
Sep 7 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Amid growing debate about the impact of international students on Canada’s housing crunch, questions are also being raised about dramatic increases in temporary foreign workers being approved by Ottawa — and how this could be exacerbating tensions within Canada’s stretched housing market. Last year, Canada approved more than 196,000 temporary foreign worker (TFW) positions to […]
Aug 31 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Canada’s minister of environment is blasting Atlantic Canadian energy regulators for approving “unfair” gas price hikes last month — decisions he says were made without adequate justification in response to Ottawa’s clean fuel regulations. Steven Guilbeault says gas price increases of eight cents per litre in New Brunswick and about four cents per litre in […]
Aug 21 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Amid a summer marked by wildfires, floods and concurrent crises in housing and affordability, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet will gather for their first meetings since the mid-July shuffle to map out a strategy to tackle the country’s pressing issues. The challenges are not insignificant, with soaring costs for goods and services, a […]
Aug 16 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Proposed guidelines published by Health Canada that suggest doctors and nurse practitioners are required to bring up — unsolicited — the potential for assisted death to patients who might qualify for euthanasia are raising alarm among some physicians and bioethicists. These experts say Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) laws and practices are already among […]
Aug 9 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — A recent spate of violent and harassing incidents against politicians in different parts of the country is raising questions about the role that elected officials themselves are playing in heightening polarization of political discourse in Canada. Late last week, police in Prince Edward Island charged a 62-year-old man with assault after an altercation at a […]
Aug 3 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — In virtually every speech and press conference over the last week, Trudeau has taken aim at the Conservative leader, frequently bringing up Poilievre by name, even on issues that have not directly involved the Opposition leader. A trend of stepped-up rhetoric against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, often unsolicited, by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in recent […]
Jul 19 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Last fall, it was revealed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s YouTube channel had a hidden tag embedded in his videos that represented a misogynistic phrase. Last week, a photo circulated of Poilievre smiling broadly with his arm around a man wearing a neon green shirt emblazoned with a “straight pride” anti-LGBTQ2S+ message. Conservative Premier of Alberta […]
Jun 29 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — Indigenous tourism operators from across Canada are expressing deep frustration over significant and unexplained delays in the rollout of a promised $24.8-million federal fund to help them recover from the devastating effects of pandemic travel bans and lockdowns. The money, announced in Budget 2022, was a two-year funding commitment that was supposed to begin flowing […]
Jun 15 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — As Canadians continue to pay soaring prices for food, the federal government should consider imposing a windfall tax on large grocery chains if a Competition Bureau review of the industry finds evidence of price gouging, a committee of MPs says. The Commons agriculture committee tabled a report Tuesday with a list of recommended actions for […]
May 29 2023 — Teresa Wright — iPolitics — The Mission Cultural Fund program, which operated under Global Affairs Canada, aimed to support ‘cultural diplomacy’ activities to help advance Canada’s foreign policy priorities. Ottawa has quietly shuttered an arts and culture funding program that has drawn controversy for financing some provocative initiatives and was flagged by a federal evaluation over transparency concerns. The Mission […]