The Conversation

Apr 23 2019 — The Conversation — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s threatened defamation suit against Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer over the SNC-Lavalin affair is just the latest in a rapidly growing list of Canadian political mud-slinging matches that have taken a litigious turn. Scheer had already employed some overheated rhetoric at earlier stages of the controversy, accusing Trudeau of exerting “frankly illegal […]

Apr 10 2019 — Nicole Goodman — The Conversation — The year’s federal budget included a slew of boutique policy promises suggesting the government is targeting specific groups of voters gearing up for the October election. Likewise, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has been capitalizing on the SNC-Lavalin drama and the release of the federal carbon tax. One recent analysis suggests that if Scheer wants to […]

Apr 10 2019 — Nicole Goodman — The Conversation — Canadians are still forced to travel to polling stations and line up to vote. Online voting would save time and money. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes Nicole Goodman, Brock University The year’s federal budget included a slew of boutique policy promises suggesting the government is targeting specific groups of voters gearing up for the October election. […]

Apr 3 2019 — Kathryn Harrison — The Conversation — The federal carbon tax is now in effect in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. The tax increases the cost of fossil fuels in order to reduce consumption, thus lowering Canada’s carbon emissions. Many Canadians are confused about the carbon tax and how it will affect them. Here are some answers to common questions about […]

Mar 30 2019 — The Conversation — Climate change might be the most urgent issue of our day, both politically and in terms of life on Earth. There is mounting awareness that the global climate is a matter for public action. For 11,500 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations hovered around 280 ppm (the preindustrial “normal”), with an average surface temperature around […]

Mar 18 2019 — Sukanya Pillay — The Conversation — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government remains in hot water over SNC-Lavalin. Even anti-bribery officials from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are “concerned” and watching the situation. But the controversy has resulted in some misinterpretations of the legal mechanism at its heart: Deferred prosecution agreements, known as DPAs. Jody Wilson-Raybould is a career […]

Mar 18 2019 — Sukanya Pillay — The Conversation — Former SNC-Lavalin CEO Pierre Duhaime leaves a courtroom in Montreal in February 2019. Duhaime pleaded guilty in a bribe scandal around the construction of a $1.3-billion Montreal hospital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson Sukanya Pillay, University of Windsor Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government remains in hot water over SNC-Lavalin. Even anti-bribery officials from the Organisation for […]

Mar 12 2019 — J.P. Lewis — The Conversation — Social media has made every day a huge news day. Responses to political developments are regularly framed in apocalyptic turns. It is not only a challenge to determine whether news is real or fake; all news is immediately contextualized as the 1927 Yankees of bombshells. Social media has made every day a huge news day. […]

Mar 12 2019 — J.P. Lewis — The Conversation — Jane Philpott and Jody Wilson-Raybould are seen during a news conference in Ottawa in June 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld J.P. Lewis, University of New Brunswick Social media has made every day a huge news day. Responses to political developments are regularly framed in apocalyptic turns. It is not only a challenge to determine whether […]

Mar 12 2019 — Craig Anthony Johnson and Iftekharul Haque — The Conversation — Over the last month, the Canadian government has been embroiled in a political controversy, involving allegations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put undue pressure on Jody Wilson-Raybould, the country’s former justice minister and attorney general, to negotiate a deferred prosecution agreement with Québec engineering giant SNC-Lavalin Group.

Feb 28 2019 — Mark Winfield and Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The recent runaway CP Rail train in the Rocky Mountains near Field, B.C., highlighted ongoing gaps in Canada’s railway safety regime, more than five years after the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster that killed 47 residents of the small Québec town. The British Columbia crash resulted in the deaths of three railway workers and the derailment of […]

Feb 28 2019 — Mark Winfield and Bruce Campbell — The Conversation — The recent train derailment in B.C. was one of a rash of high-profile derailments in Canada since the beginning of 2019. While none compares in magnitude with Lac-Mégantic, they evoke disturbing parallels to that tragedy. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Mark Winfield, York University, Canada and Bruce Campbell, York University, Canada The recent runaway CP Rail […]

Feb 21 2019 — Victoria Colvin — The Conversation — The ongoing controversy regarding the prosecution of Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin raises fundamental questions about how decisions to prosecute are made and what role elected politicians should have in that process. The scandal has resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s principal secretary, Gerald Butts, amid allegations the Prime Minister’s Office pressured its […]

Feb 21 2019 — Victoria Colvin — The Conversation — Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is seen on April 20, 2018. Butts resigned amid allegations that the Prime Minister’s Office interfered to prevent a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese Victoria Colvin, University of Wollongong The ongoing controversy regarding the prosecution of Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin raises fundamental questions […]

Jan 29 2019 — Jasmin Zine — The Conversation — The Québec City mosque massacre, the worst mass murder to take place in a house of worship in Canadian history, was a shock to Canada’s multicultural utopia. A local halal grocery store owner, a professor at Université Laval, three civil servants and a pharmacy worker were brutally killed on Jan. 29, 2017. The six men, […]