Jun 6 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — A recent episode of the excellent podcast The Rest is History explored the world of freemasonry, debating whether the masons are “a secret cabal of devil worshippers that run the world” or a “fraternity of like-minded individuals who enjoy eccentric rituals.” As with most conspiracy theories, the truth tends towards the banal. However, the appearance […]
Jun 6 2023 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — With all the issues swirling about Ottawa these days, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. What could crater the Liberals’ approval numbers? What could topple the government? What could be the ballot question? Clearly, no one has figured that out. The latest Leger poll has the Liberal Party at 32 per cent, […]
Jun 4 2023 — Bryan Passifiume — National Post — Current Liberal House Leader Mark Holland has spent nearly his entire career in politics except for one four-year gap after losing a close race in the 2011 federal election. That loss was so crushing he attempted to take his own life. “I volunteered and lived in my community my entire life,” Holland told the National […]
Jun 1 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has said he won’t end his party’s deal with the Liberals and potentially trigger an election, until confidence in the electoral process is restored. Don’t hold your breath. A new Léger poll for the National Post suggests Singh’s hope is analogous to the old trope that the beatings will continue until […]
Jun 1 2023 — Christopher Nardi — National Post — Barely one in four Canadians have faith in former governor general David Johnston’s credibility and impartiality as special rapporteur on foreign interference, a new poll by Léger for National Post shows, while nearly half are unimpressed with the Liberal government’s general handling of the foreign interference issue.
May 31 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — Isaiah Robinson embodies the enterprising spirit found in many Indigenous communities among a younger generation fed up with being stereotyped as welfare recipients. He is an elected councillor of the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation from Klemtu, in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest on British Columbia’s coast, 500 kilometres north of Vancouver, and head […]
May 29 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — Late May in Ottawa is marked by swarms of mosquitoes and angry MPs. Thankfully, by July both irritants will have abated. Things get a bit nutty when the mercury rises in the House of Commons. At one point on Monday, the leader of the Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, appeared to forget who he was meant to […]
May 29 2023 — Tom Blackwell — National Post — A former Ontario cabinet minister who has been the focus of intelligence leaks related to Chinese interference in Canada is suing CSIS, saying the spy agency publicly humiliated him because of a “stereotypical typecasting of immigrants born in China as being somehow untrustworthy.”
May 27 2023 — Christopher Nardi — National Post — The federal government gave nearly $160,000 to another Quebec non-profit the RCMP believes may be hosting a secret Chinese “police station,” the second organization to receive funding experts fear may have been used to advance Beijing’s agenda in Canada.
May 27 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — In early 2015, just four months after the shootings on Parliament Hill, Stephen Harper’s government introduced anti-terror legislation that then NDP Opposition leader Tom Mulcair felt was too sweeping and too vague. In the face of strong public pressure, Mulcair stuck to his guns — in the parliamentary sense — and opposed the bill.
May 26 2023 — Catherine Lévesque — National Post — The NDP supported Liberal attempts to pressure Conservative and Bloc MPs to get the security clearance needed to read Johnston’s secret intel. NDP MPs teamed up with Liberals Thursday to block Conservative attempts to accelerate the timetable for David Johnston to appear before a House committee, after the “independent special rapporteur” on foreign election interference […]
May 24 2023 — Bryan Passifiume — National Post — The lawyer used by David Johnston to assist in his review whether to hold a public inquiry addressing the Liberal government’s response to Chinese interference allegation is being accused of having a conflict due to her history of donating to the federal Liberal party.
May 24 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — In response to the G7 leaders’ communique, issued after last weekend’s meeting in Hiroshima, China sent out a riposte that said “gone are the days when a handful of Western countries can just willfully meddle in other countries’ internal affairs.” China, of course, would never engage in the tactics of imperialist running dogs. When Canada […]
May 24 2023 — Sabrina Maddeaux — National Post — “Democracy is built on trust,” reads the first line of special rapporteur David Johnston’s report on foreign interference. He’s right about that, which is why it’s a travesty that, 55 pages and one rambling news conference later, Johnston failed to take the one action that could begin to restore public trust in Canada’s system. Johnston, […]
May 23 2023 — John Ivison — National Post — David Johnston’s first report on foreign interference states at the outset that democracy is built on trust. It is truly unfortunate that his rejection of a full public inquiry is likely to further erode faith that is already wavering. The special rapporteur appointed by Justin Trudeau in March to look into interference in Canadian elections […]