Jan 28 2022 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — This new year isn’t all that old yet, but it’s rife with talk all over about how to defend democracy; whether that’s globally or at home. Here is a current-affairs quiz that helps explain a significant news conference held this week by Justin Trudeau and some of his most senior ministers. Question: What is the […]
Jan 27 2022 — Toronto Star — A trucker convoy winding its way on Thursday through the GTA has accessed $1 million of the funds it has raised through a viral online fundraiser that was previously frozen by the platform GoFundMe. The fund, initially set up by Alberta woman Tamara Lich, and raised $30,000 on its first live day, Jan. 15, with […]
Jan 26 2022 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — The Liberal government is expected to extend Canada’s support to Ukraine by re-committing to the military training mission in Ukraine, but sources say a final decision has not yet been made, even as Ottawa orders family members of Canadian embassy personnel in that country to leave. “The safety and security of Canadians, our personnel and […]
Jan 25 2022 — Robert Benzie — Toronto Star — No Progressive Conservative majority, no more Premier Doug Ford. With an election 18 weeks away, that was the message from Ontario’s three opposition party leaders at a Ryerson University Democracy Forum event Tuesday moderated by the Star’s Martin Regg Cohn. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, and Green Leader Mike Schreiner emphasized […]
Jan 25 2022 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — As things now stand, the so-called “freedom convoy” will not be treated to any high-level greeting party when it rolls into Canada’s capital this weekend. The rolling protest by truckers opposed to vaccine mandates may be picking up steam as it makes its way to Ottawa, but so far its disruptive potential lies mainly in […]
Jan 24 2022 — Althia Raj — Toronto Star — Watching Erin O’Toole obfuscate with reporters Monday — on whether he supports a truck convoy protesting vaccination rules — laid bare the Conservative leader’s principal challenge. He desperately wants to avoid his predecessor’s mistakes but in doing so keeps making his own errors. O’Toole was asked eight times, whether he stands with the so-called “freedom […]
Jan 24 2022 — Robert Benzie — Toronto Star — Steven Del Duca is putting the old band back together in hopes of striking a chord with Ontario voters on June 2. The Liberal leader has assembled a campaign team brimming with veterans from the Grits’ successful 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2014 elections won by former premiers Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. In a weekend […]
Jan 23 2022 — Jaime Watt — Toronto Star — After a long period at the top of the polls, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is staring down the barrel. Furor is intensifying around revelations that he and his staff not just broke, but repeatedly flaunted, his own government’s COVID restrictions — the very restrictions he imposed on the rest of the country. Now the […]
Jan 23 2022 — Robin V. Sears — Toronto Star — I suspect being a senior immigration official is only marginally less boring than being a night watchman, and that might sour their view of the world. Nonetheless, on three continents over several decades it has been my experience that those who control the visa stamps are all conditioned to find a way to say “No,” […]
Jan 22 2022 — Althia Raj — Toronto Star — Nobody likes to admit they are wrong. But when your job is to serve the public, inform them about the safety of drugs and vaccines and ever-changing pandemic rules, it should not have to be said that transparency and honesty are critical to ensuring your message is clear and that it’s trusted.
Jan 22 2022 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — Let’s talk first about the old dog that has so far failed to bark. When the reassignment late last year of a Quebec elementary school teacher for wearing a hijab prompted various non-Quebec mayors to support the fight against the province’s Bill 21 with taxpayers’ dollars, many believed the initiative would backfire. In the face […]
Jan 22 2022 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — The more that politicians reach into their bags of communications tricks to “reinforce the message,” as they say, the less they seem like real people. Justin Trudeau made it through an entire news conference on Friday without saying his government had Canadians’ backs. This is progress. In an analysis of his latest numbers this week, […]
Jan 21 2022 — Tonda MacCharles — Toronto Star — As international talks to quell Russia-Ukraine tensions ended Friday with no clear shift away from looming conflict, Ukraine made clear it wants the Canadian government to do more, including send weapons and more military personnel, even as it accepted a $120-million loan offered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau told reporters he is looking at […]
Jan 20 2022 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Inflation is now at a 30-year high, but that’s only the beginning of our problems with rising prices. It’s not just that the price of apples and oranges is up well over six per cent and the cost of a fridge is almost 14 per cent higher than a year ago. It’s that prices across […]
Jan 19 2022 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — What do you get when a banker, an oil executive, a miner and a big-agriculture player walk into a virtual conference together? A big ask for federal government activism — and that’s no joke. The event in question was pure business establishment — David McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada; Susannah Pierce, president of […]