National Newswatch

Poilievre makes question period his personal theatre

May 7 2023 — Geoffrey Stevens — Every year, tens of thousands of visitors come to Ottawa, and for many the highlight is the daily question period in the House of Commons — a 45-minute demonstration of democracy in action, or so they are led to anticipate. They are misled. There was a time when question period could be instructive and even […]

Can David Johnston save Justin Trudeau from himself?

Mar 19 2023 — Geoffrey Stevens — No one in their right mind would have volunteered for the job of the “special rapporteur” to chart a path through the tangled web of accusations, leaked intelligence reports, public controversy and political partisanship that surrounds allegations that agents of the Chinese state interfered in the two most recent federal elections. Only a rare individual, […]

CBC at a crossroads once again

Jan 8 2023 — Geoffrey Stevens — Pierre Poilievre says one of his first acts when (not if) he becomes prime minister will be to shut down the CBC. There’s nothing surprising about his commitment. Fear and loathing of the public broadcaster has been baked into the identity of the federal Conservatives. To them, the CBC — its management, producers, reporters, program […]

Duhaime & Poilievre: Quebec’s new conservative dynamic duo

Sep 21 2022 — Eric Blais — What do Montreal’s Anglophones have in common with Quebec City’s Francophones? More than you might think. Anglo Quebecers are hybrids. Their attitudes are often closer to those of Francophone Quebeckers than those of Anglophones in the ROC. This can also hold true of their political persuasion. There are growing signs many will vote for the […]

Kitchener man pleads guilty to threatening Trudeau

Aug 4 2022 — — A Kitchener man has pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a raucous campaign stop in Cambridge last year. The man, in his early 30s, pleaded guilty in Kitchener court on Thursday and will be sentenced on Oct. 20. Waterloo Regional Police previously said they began an investigation into alleged threats made toward […]

Pierre Poilievre’s pixie dust and snake oil

Jun 19 2022 — Geoffrey Stevens — Rt. Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Prime Minister of Canada. Dear Prime Minister Poilievre, This may be presumptuous, but I want to be among the first to congratulate you on becoming the 24th prime minister of Canada. As your website, pierre4pm.ca, made clear from the get-go, you did not run just for the leadership of the Conservative […]

What’s Doug Ford got to hide in his mandate letters?

Apr 5 2022 — John Milloy — Premier Doug Ford doesn’t want you to see his ministerial mandate letters. In fact, he is so determined that you never see them that he is taking his case to the Supreme Court of Canada — all on the taxpayer’s dime. With so many other things to worry about — high gas prices, rising COVID-19 […]

How the Ethics Bowl could help restore civil debate in Canada

Mar 12 2021 — John Milloy — Remember high school debating? Teams of bright students trying to make the strongest argument while tearing apart their opponent’s case. I have fond memories of being on a debating team. Not only was it great fun, but one of the girls I once debated against ended up becoming my wife (strangely, we each remember our […]

Prime minister’s ‘sunny ways’ have dark linings

Oct 30 2020 — Jenn Jefferys — Has anyone else noticed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems tired lately? Like, really tired? A global pandemic, a climate crisis, BIPOC resistance, Donald Trump’s possible re-election — all this is enough to stress anyone out. Add on the ongoing WE scandal and violent racial and economic tensions rising in Nova Scotia and you’ve got […]

What’s truly toxic is the way we’ve treated our Governor General

Sep 21 2020 — Jenn Jefferys — For ambitious feminists living in this country, the challenges facing our head of state in recent weeks have been difficult to watch. Julie Payette has faced several waves of criticism since she was first invested as Canada’s 29th Governor General in October 2017. Initially it was just from news media. But more recently — and […]

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