Former Harper PMO comms director Andrew MacDougall pens political thriller
Former PMO communications lead Andrew MacDougall has authored a political thriller which focuses on a fictional press aide to a British prime minister who struggles to manage a crisis in the midst of a terror threat and Russian influence over the British government. Mr. MacDougall, formerly the director of communications in Stephen Harper‘s Prime Minister’s […]
Recent staff exits in Treasury Board President Murray’s office, Liberal research bureau
Treasury Board President Joyce Murray recently bade farewell to two of her political aides: Jonathan Chiu and Jonathan Robinson. Not only do they have the same first name, both have since joined Ms. Murray’s office as the Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra, B.C. With Parliament having risen, both are now working out of Ms. Murray’s […]
I’ve met the leaders of today, and tomorrow, and they’re in Afghanistan looking for support to help bring peace and stability to the nation
OTTAWA—When I was just out of high school in 2013, I had the opportunity to meet and sit down in a hotel conference room in Ottawa with Afghan leader Hanif Atmar. At the time, he had held several positions within the Afghanistan government including education minister, interior minister, and most recently national security adviser. I […]
Michelle Rempel gets hitched, Stephen Harper officiates
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel got married over the weekend with Tory leaders past and present in attendance. The May 25 affair was officiated by Ms. Rempel’s former boss, Stephen Harper. Ms. Rempel married U.S. Army veteran Jeffrey Garner at a private ceremony in the Calgary home of former Conservative MP Devinder Shory. According to her […]
Is democracy possible?
In his important new book, Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up, activist and author Dave Meslin tackles our democratic deficit and proposes meaningful solutions that would encourage more connectivity between citizens and their governments.
Meslin’s first-ever book a condemnation of and prescription for all that ails modern Canadian politics
Author and activist Dave Meslin doesn’t mince his words in describing what he sees as an ailing political system in Canada, calling it a “childish circus” and a “demoralizing farce,” plagued by toxic discourse, and populated by unrepresentative party “cartels.” His prescription, as laid out in his new book: tear it all down, and rebuild […]
Bob Joseph’s new book, Indigenous Relations, a traveller’s guide for the long road to reconciliation
Canada is at the beginning of a long road to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, but getting there requires commitment and a willingness to learn, says author Bob Joseph, who offers up a useful guide to help along the way with his new book, Indigenous Relations: Insights, Tips & Suggestions to Make Reconciliation a Reality. “It […]
There’s an app for that: Conservative MP Rempel gets an app
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel may be the first Canadian politician with their own app. The high-profile former Harper cabinet minister has cultivated a large following on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with over 126,000, 92,000, and 35,000, followers and subscribers respectively. Ms. Rempel’s office told The Hill Times that the app has yet to be finished, […]
‘We need to understand how the rules and norms of masculinity affect how boys and young men feel and behave’
When I began my research on Boys in 2015, gender progress seemed to be marching, slowly, forward. A 2014 Pew Research Center survey of American millennials, the generation just ahead of my son and his peers, found that this generation is optimistic and open to change, less attached to political and religious institutions than older […]
Wait, wait, little one: learning to connect through a story of survival
When I turned 10 on March 12, 2011, we had been living in Homs for about four months. The atmosphere was shifting in Syria. It seemed that just as we began settling into our new life, everything else around us was stirring up. News reports were filled with words like revolution, Egypt, oust, Arab Spring, […]
