Jul 31 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have put to bed Thursday the notion there was political interference in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar contract to a charity with ties to his family, but he opened up a series of questions about the running of his office and the political lifespan of his current finance minister. “I […]
Jul 16 2020 — HuffPost Canada — Border restrictions on non-essential travel between Canada and the United States were officially extended until Aug. 21 this week amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But a spokesperson for U.S. president Donald Trump’s campaign says he can’t imagine why Americans would want to come to Canada anyway.
Jul 7 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — The Canadian government is not warning against downloads of the popular Chinese app TikTok, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair’s office confirmed Tuesday, though the United States is telling its citizens using the platform means they’re handing their private data over to the Chinese Communist Party. “The role of Public Safety is to ensure that our […]
Jul 4 2020 — Sajmun Sachdev — HuffPost Canada — When I first heard Jagmeet Singh was removed from the House of Commons, I tried to ignore it. He had called Bloc Quebecois MP Alain Therrien a “racist” for not supporting a motion addressing systemic racism in the RCMP, and refused to apologize for using unparliamentary language. Singh hadn’t invoked a banned word, mind you. […]
Jun 24 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — When the Liberals introduced no-fee, expedited pardons for simple cannabis possession, the federal government estimated up to 250,000 people could be eligible. Updated Parole Board of Canada (PBC) numbers show 436 pardon applications have been received as of April 3.
Jun 24 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Ten candidates vying to replace Elizabeth May as leader of the federal Greens squared off in two rounds of debates Tuesday, exposing a range of perspectives on the party’s political positioning, the case for cap and trade over a carbon tax model, even a call to abolish — not just defund — the police. Moderated […]
Jun 19 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday he was made aware of sexual harassment allegations involving one of his former MPs but would not say why, despite pledging zero tolerance for misconduct, he allowed Marwan Tabbara to run again for the Liberals in 2019. According to an exclusive CBC News story, Tabbara was green-lit by the […]
Jun 12 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is “appalled” a for-profit long-term care company has committed to pay $10.7 million in dividends to shareholders so far this year, while it spent only $300,000 of its own money on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Extendicare is a Markham, Ont.-based company that owns 69 long-term care and retirement homes […]
May 15 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — The Conservative party just missed a golden opportunity to broaden its tent. Today marks the last day leadership candidates can sell party memberships. These members will select the next leader of the party — sometime late this summer. Why cut off membership on May 15 when the ballots won’t be counted until Aug. 21?
May 11 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — More Canadians should be tested for COVID-19, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday, though he wouldn’t say whether anyone who wants to be tested should be. As the provinces and territories begin to ease restrictions, Trudeau called testing an “essential” part of the road towards reopening the economy. “We need to do more testing right […]
May 8 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Conservative MPs may be asked to decide Friday if they believe controversial leadership candidate Derek Sloan should continue to sit in their caucus. HuffPost Canada has learned Tory MPs who want him ousted gathered the required 25 signatures earlier this week, although the item is not on the formal agenda. By Friday afternoon, some MPs […]
May 1 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Peter MacKay’s Conservative leadership campaign is walking back describing a transgender rights bill as a “bathroom” bill in an email to supporters, a term that one NDP MP says perpetuates “derogatory stereotypes” about the trans community. MacKay sent a message to supporters Thursday attacking leadership campaign rival Erin O’Toole, widely seen as his top competition […]
May 1 2020 — Althia Raj — HuffPost Canada — Conservative leadership candidate Derek Sloan is digging in on his attacks on Canada’s chief public health officer, now saying he believes Dr. Theresa Tam should be fired for having “very likely cost Canadian lives.” The freshman MP from Hastings—Lennox and Addington in Ontario attracted national attention last week when he questioned Tam’s loyalty to Canada, […]
Apr 30 2020 — Zi-Ann Lum — HuffPost Canada — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sidestepped questions Wednesday on whether companies with offshore bank accounts will be eligible for emergency COVID-19 aid after previously telling MPs they won’t be. Trudeau was pressed by MPs during the House of Commons’ special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic after he said Tuesday that the government will help those who […]
Apr 28 2020 — Ryan Maloney — HuffPost Canada — Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer now says Tory MP Derek Sloan was wrong to question the “loyalty” of Canada’s top doctor, but won’t say if the backbencher will face any repercussions for doing so. At a press conference in Ottawa Monday, the Tory leader was again pressed about Sloan’s remarks about Dr. Theresa Tam, which other […]