Jan 13 2021 — Shannon Proudfoot — Maclean's — Vina Nadjibulla and other family members have been waging a seemingly impossible fight to free her husband from a Chinese prison. After two torturous years, what does Canada owe ‘the two Michaels’? Michael Kovrig walks at least 7,000 steps a day in laps of his cell, along with doing push-ups and planks and practising yoga […]
Jan 12 2021 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — “For once,” a Liberal I trust told me, “it really is about family.” Apparently Navdeep Bains makes time for a family call every night when he’s on the road—well, he used to, I mean who’s on the road any more? Over the holidays, his oldest daughter told him that if he runs again, she’ll be […]
Jan 6 2021 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — If the sacking of a capital by forces loyal to a failed autocrat was happening in any other country it’s hard to imagine Canadian officials would stay this quiet. As a mob of idiots descended on the capitol building of the country that sometimes likes to market itself as the world’s leading democracy, to sack […]
Dec 21 2020 — Maclean's — After Donald Trump had been defeated by president-elect Joe Biden, but before Trump had emotionally processed that fact, Justin Trudeau gave a press conference. The Prime Minister was asked whether he had spoken “too soon” in offering his congratulations to Biden and what he could do about Trump’s refusal to concede. He was pleased to […]
Dec 17 2020 — Michael Coren — Maclean's — My father’s family were Russian Jews. Most left for Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, but some remained. We kept in contact with part of the clan, and as a child I met my very Russian, very funny, very loud great-uncle. In between laughs and vodka he told us stories about his life, […]
Dec 16 2020 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — Maclean's — Carla Qualtrough was the cabinet minister who oversaw attempts to fix the Phoenix pay debacle that saw public servants paid wacky amounts, or not at all, for long periods of time. Qualtrough was also the procurement minister as a massive national shipbuilding program faced repeated, years-long delays. She was no stranger to portfolios with big […]
Dec 16 2020 — Nick Taylor-Vaisey — Maclean's — It can be hard to reconcile the hope offered by mass vaccinations to come with the harsh reality many parts of Canada are struggling with today. On the one hand, Ottawa has secured thousands more doses of vaccine. On the other hand, some quick math raises questions about just how many doses the feds have […]
Dec 11 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — Will wonders never cease. We have here a specific, detailed plan to achieve significant progress in reducing carbon emissions in Canada. The reaction from people who live their lives in the trenches, like this guy from Greenpeace and this excellent journalist and one-time Green Party candidate encourages me in my own: a kind of startled […]
Dec 8 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — The new DM of Finance intends to do great things. The Prime Minister intends for him to do great things. Now, will they actually happen? The reviews of Michael Sabia’s appointment as deputy minister of finance are as positive as they are comically vague. “I think he’s going to shake up the department,” Scott Clark, […]
Dec 6 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — Ottawa is set to appoint Micheal Sabia as the new deputy minister of finance. Days after the top civil servant in the federal department of Finance announced his unexpected departure, the Trudeau government is reaching outside the department to appoint a surprising and influential replacement: Michael Sabia, the former chair of Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt […]
Nov 30 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — How much is this crisis going to cost, anyway—in dollars, if not in human suffering, which will always be harder to tally? What does “building back better” entail? How will the Trudeau government redress the disproportionate burden of the 2020 economic crisis on women? Which criteria will guide its spending decisions after the crisis ends, […]
Nov 23 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — I see Pierre Poilievre has been busy again. This is often a mixed blessing. Over at the Conservative finance critic’s website there’s a petition you can sign if you want to help him STOP THE GREAT RESET. That’s because the Prime Minister said in September—here I’ll quote Justin Trudeau accurately, but using the punctuation Poilievre […]
Nov 11 2020 — Marie-Danielle Smith — Maclean's — With an economic and health crisis raging and a progressive movement growing, NDP support should be on the rise, but it’s not. It’s time for Jagmeet Singh to draw his battle lines. They have a charismatic leader with good favourability ratings, an on-trend TikTok account and no history of ethical snafus. Their headline policies have […]
Nov 7 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — After all it would not have been fitting if the presidency had come too easily to Joe Biden, because so little ever has. He was born to a wealthy family fallen on hard times. For years his family lived with his mother’s parents. In school he stuttered so badly that once even a teacher mocked […]
Nov 4 2020 — Paul Wells — Maclean's — It’s not a lot safer to write a column today than it was on Tuesday night when I chickened out of filing, but the expectation is growing that Joe Biden will eventually manage a court-proof electoral-college victory over Donald Trump. They were popping virtual champagne bubbles on virtual Wall Street, for reasons that are worth […]