Everybody’s shuffling: Singh shakes up his House leadership and party critics
When NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh takes his front-row seat in the House on Monday, March 18, for the first-time since he was elected in the Burnaby-South, B.C., byelection last month, he will be sitting next to his new NDP House leader Peter Julian, who he shuffled into the post on March 14. Mr. Julian previously […]
One Grit, one Tory add their names to growing list of MPs sitting out next election
Liberal MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes and Conservative MP David Anderson announced they will not seek re-election. Ms. Caesar-Chavannes became the sixth sitting member of the Liberal caucus to not put their name forward for the next federal election. She is a first-term MP representing the riding of Whitby, Ont., where she defeated Conservative incumbent Pat Perkins […]
Important questions for a Canada that’s ‘better than we know and worse than we think’
We have to admit that we are not very good at asking questions in this town. When we ask a question “with respect” we mean just the opposite. Opposition MPs craft questions meant to embarrass. Journalists plumb—not too subtly—for the gotcha moment. Tweeters and reader commenters use their questions to point out how clever they […]
Privacy, productivity and the perils of the digital economy
OTTAWA—The cover does an admirable job of summarizing the premise of Team Human, a new “manifesto” from digital theorist Douglas Rushkoff: “Our technologies, markets, and cultural institutions–once forces for human connection and expression–now isolate and repress us. It’s time to remake society together, not as individual players but as the team we actually are: Team […]
New books on cannabis legalization and Ontario in the age of neoliberalism hit bookshelves soon
Following the legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17, Canada began a “national experiment,” a New York Times headline declared. That experiment is the focus of a new book about the the ramifications of legalization. High Time: The Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada includes essays exploring the politics of legalization, as well as […]
Truck rally comes to Ottawa, bringing complaints on pipelines, immigration
After a nearly five-day trek across Canada, which began in Red Deer, Alta., a convoy of semi-trucks and pickups made its way to Parliament Hill to protest the Trudeau government’s performance on the energy and climate files on Feb. 19. The protesters aired their grievances with delays in pipeline construction to transport Alberta oil to […]
Mark Eyking becomes fourth Nova Scotia Liberal MP not to seek re-election
After 18 years in Ottawa, well-liked Liberal MP Mark Eyking says he won’t run again and will return home to the Bluenoser province. The six-term federal lawmaker announced on Feb. 14 in a Facebook post that he was leaving public life. “I’ve come to the stage in my life that’s telling me I have had a […]
New book for early-career civil servants meant to demystify how government works
Not sure what the bureaucracy’s hierarchy is? Never heard of a policy cycle? Not sure what you need to emphasize in your public-sector job application? Memorial University political science professor Alex Marland has a book for you. Teaming up with University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley, the two are trying to make sense […]
New book, Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice, explores minutiae of ‘all too familiar’ Boushie-Stanley case
The criminal trial into the death of Colten Boushie that “galvanized national attention” last year laid bare systemic issues of Indigenous injustice in the Canadian justice system and should not be forgotten, says University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach, author of a new, deep-dive book on the controversial case, Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald […]
On the House is informative and enduring
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—It has become a truism of Canadian politics that too much power is concentrated in a prime minister. There are many reasons for friendly dictatorships and many counterarguments that the whole thing is just a myth. The corollary is that private members who round out the backbenches are powerless. One underappreciated reason for […]
