May 16 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Canada’s Greens have never had it so good. The party now has two MPs elected under the Green banner, after Paul Manly won the Nanaimo—Ladysmith byelection earlier this month. Meanwhile, the latest Nanos Research poll suggests national support for Elizabeth May’s party has broken through 10 per cent — the highest level in 15 years […]

May 16 2019 — Don Martin — CTV Power Play — Today was the 13th question period in the House of Commons this month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has attended just three of them, only one being on a Wednesday when he dances around every opposition query. Mind you, Official Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer hasn’t exactly earned a gold star for House attendance. He’s only made […]

May 16 2019 — Chantal Hébert — Toronto Star — It is not only on the pipeline front that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a politically critical call to make in the lead-up to the upcoming federal campaign. At some point in the not-so-distant future, he will have to decide whether to become more actively involved in Quebec’s ongoing securalism debate. That time is almost […]

May 16 2019 — Percy Downe — Policy Options — The federal government talks tough on overseas tax evasion, saying it is a high priority and it will catch you if you cheat. But the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has a terrible track record of collecting from Canadians hiding their money overseas. It’s not catching, charging or convicting tax cheats the way other countries are […]

May 16 2019 — Shannon Proudfoot — Maclean's — Half of Canadian voters hold opinions that might make populism appealing to them, a new poll from Earnscliffe Strategy Group shows, and while Canadian populists lean distinctly to the right, they are not alienated outsiders but rather highly motivated politics watchers. In the report, the lobbying firm cautions that “in order to avoid unnecessary hysteria,” […]

May 16 2019 — Robyn Urback — CBC — It takes a unique combination of dumb and evil to call 911 because an alert about a missing child roused you from your sleep. I don’t know who these people are, or why they seem to be confused about the nature of emergency services, but I hope no trauma should befall them before the next […]

May 16 2019 — Andrew Coyne — National Post — It is hard to remember now, but there was a time when it was the Conservatives who wanted to make oil more expensive and the Liberals who campaigned against it. It was 40 years ago this year that the Liberals brought down Joe Clark’s minority government over a budget that would have increased the tax […]

May 15 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — So, remember the finale of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, where three of the criminal gang, guns pointed at one another, are caught in a Mexican standoff that doesn’t end well for any of them? The resulting shootout sees “Nice Guy” Eddie gun down Mr. White, who in turn shoots Eddie and his father, Joe. With […]

May 15 2019 — Susan Delacourt — Toronto Star — Doug Ford’s new wave of TV and radio ads attacking the federal carbon pricing scheme are exposing a hole in the laws covering political advertising in this country — a hole the size of a large, gas-guzzling vehicle. Provincial governments are not factored in as players in any rules governing spending on political ads at […]

May 15 2019 — Kathryn May — Policy Options — Mention “deliverology” to a public servant working on the policy frontlines, and you’ll get either a shrug or a grumble. The trendy management theory that took the federal bureaucracy by storm three years ago has struggled to live up to the initial hype. Still, the person responsible for the public management approach believes it is […]

May 15 2019 — Don Braid — Calgary Herald — Take a wary look at British Columbia; a shaky NDP government, supported by three Greens, fiercely hostile to the Trans Mountain pipeline. Now, imagine the same dynamic in Ottawa after the fall federal election. Try not to pass out. It’s by no means unthinkable that the Liberals will be reduced to a minority. To stay […]

May 15 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — Marc Garneau probably wished he were back on the space shuttle. The transport minister — the government’s point person on C-48, the oil tanker moratorium act that is currently being dismembered by uncooperative senators — was called upon to defend the bill before the Senate transport and communications committee Tuesday. The committee is made up […]

May 14 2019 — CTV Power Play — Panelists Greg Weston, Kate Harrison, Karl Belanger and Greg MacEachern weigh in on proposed emergency debate on the Norman case.

May 13 2019 — Andrew Coyne — National Post — “There is a great deal of ruin in a nation,” Adam Smith famously remarked. Donald Trump is currently putting that theory to the test. Pile on enough debt, create enough uncertainty around monetary policy, and throw up enough barriers to trade and at some point you will drive even the strongest economy into the ditch. […]

May 13 2019 — John Ivison — National Post — In laughter, there is often truth. In his speech at the Press Gallery Dinner a few weeks ago, Andrew Scheer was joking when he said that for Justin Trudeau, “SNC-Lavalin is a good dry run for the Mark Norman trial.” As we now know, there will be no trial — the breach of trust charge […]