Oct 27 2021 — Arthur Milnes — National Newswatch — Media history was made on this date in 1998 with the launch of Conrad Black’s new newspaper, the National Post.  Mr. Black had gathered for its pages some of Canada’s top journalists and they and their columnist colleagues began to offer a more conservative perspective on many national and international issues. Though no longer owned […]

Oct 27 2021 — Don Newman — Policy Magazine — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled a cabinet he says is the right team for the moment. The time when hopefully the COVID-19 pandemic is receding, the economy is recovering and Canada is about to come “roaring back” from the health and economic crisis of the last two years. The only problem with billing the […]

Oct 27 2021 — Erica Ifill — Hill Times — Imagine being in the Liberal Party and thinking you’re absolved of white supremacy because you have a Black friend (or you adopted an Indigenous child, *cough* Chrétien). That Black friend is Greg Fergus, and like every model minority, he’s made no waves, kept his head down, and has done the work, expecting it would speak […]

Oct 26 2021 — Althia Raj — Toronto Star — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent several strong signals Tuesday with the appointment of his new cabinet. First, his policy focus. Gone are the ministers of digital government and middle-class prosperity (drawing less attention to failed benchmarks), replaced instead with ministers for mental health, housing, and tourism. Former Équiterre founder Steven Guilbeault becomes the country’s environment […]

Oct 26 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — If there’s a single word to sum up the implications of Justin Trudeau’s cabinet moves for the pandemic recovery, it’s activist. In fact, he has put some real-life activists in charge of a big chunk of that recovery — Steven Guilbeault to environment and Ahmed Hussen to the new position of housing minister.

Oct 26 2021 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — Justin Trudeau described his new cabinet Tuesday as “a team of familiar faces and new faces that are ready to put all their strengths, all their hard work toward delivering for Canadians in the coming years.” “Delivering” may be the key word here. According to a senior Liberal source, the speed and urgency with which […]

Oct 26 2021 — Shannon Proudfoot — Maclean's — A CBC producer, soggy as a sponge like everyone else in the media gaggle, took it upon himself to be the warm-up act. “GOOD MORNING PRIME MINISTER IS THIS SUNNY WAYS?” he bellowed at Justin Trudeau in a goofily exaggerated yell as the PM strode up the driveway of Rideau Hall alongside his wife, Sophie […]

Oct 26 2021 — John Ivison — National Post — It is absurd that at a time when Canada’s energy exports look set to top their all-time peak, Justin Trudeau has appointed as environment minister a man who opposes fossil fuel development in this country. How dangerous could Steven Guilbeault’s appointment be to Canada’s economic and political future? We are about to find out.

Oct 26 2021 — Tasha Kheiriddin — National Post — Who’s in, who’s out, and what does it all mean? As the new Liberal cabinet assumes its portfolios in Canada’s 44th Parliament, one thing is clear: this government is about big government. It’s also about shoring up support in places the Liberals want to win more votes next time around, such as Quebec, while strengthening […]

Oct 26 2021 — Colin Robertson — Policy Magazine — This weekend’s G20 summit in Rome is important on a number of counts: as part of the international community’s ongoing pandemic and economic recovery response; in setting the tone for the COP26 Glasgow climate summit that immediately follows it; as well as for the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial in Geneva at the end of […]

Oct 26 2021 — Don Martin — CTV News — Keeping in mind that being a Justin Trudeau cabinet minister means you’re a force-fed enabler of the Prime Minister’s agenda more than influencer of policy direction, there are good, bad and ugly moves to be observed in Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony. The over-arching theme is how this gaggle of ministers is more lapdog than usual, where […]

Oct 26 2021 — Arthur Milnes — National Newswatch — I find it hard to believe that so many years have passed since Canadians were glued to their television sets awaiting the results of the national referendum on the Charlottetown Accord.  It was October 26, 1992 and I have never forgotten the night. I had a few friends from my Ryerson Journalism class over to […]

Oct 26 2021 — Joe Oliver — Financial Post — Economically developed countries have committed to start transitioning off fossil fuels, even though that commitment is disconnected from technological and economic reality. As a result, their policies have exacerbated a global energy crisis, with severe geopolitical and domestic implications. Canada is an active participant in the self-delusion.

Oct 26 2021 — Aaron Wherry — CBC — In an interview before the publication of a new report he co-authored on how much developed nations are doing to help developing countries fight climate change, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson figured he had relatively good news to share. The early reviews were less inclined to look on the bright side. “This document is certainly not […]

Oct 26 2021 — Heather Scoffield — Toronto Star — Jonathan Wilkinson, our environment minister — at least, for now —is declaring a $100-billion win in the fight to control global warming, and we should take victories where we can in this depressing fight to preserve the world as we know it. But this isn’t quite the fist-pumping triumph that the world could use right […]