Distressing to think of Doug Ford as Ontario’s premier, says reader
Re: “The horror of free child care and other political crimes,” (The Hill Times, April 2, p. 11). The headline of Susan Riley’s article subtly emphasizes her ironic attitude toward people who consider massive social-program funding insane. Ms. Riley makes her point of view clear in asking: “Where will Kathleen Wynne’s manic spending leave the […]
Facebook makes it easy to run illegal and ‘Astroturf’ ads, say Canadian digital political strategists
Anonymous and illegal political ad campaigns are probably already running in Canada, thanks in part to Facebook and other online advertising platforms that make it easy to skirt laws around political advertising, say political digital marketing specialists. “If you want to influence around the rules, it’s pretty straightforward to do so,” said Stephen Carter, a […]
Canada Revenue Agency should clarify political activities by registered charities, says Yukon reader
Re: “Time to plug loopholes that make it ‘almost an invitation’ for foreign money to influence elections, Liberals, opposition agree (The Hill Times, March 21). I am in favour of the Senate Bill S-239, Eliminating Foreign Funding in Elections Act, sponsored by Conservative Sen. Linda Frum and first introduced in the Senate on May 30, […]
Latest omnibus bills put to death another Liberal campaign promise
After a few early flirtations, the Liberal government decided last week to get serious with omnibus legislation. We would be wise to keep an eye on the high-priced jewellers in Ottawa’s downtown from now on. The Liberals promised to stay away from the use of omnibus bills—lengthy pieces of legislation that wrap legal changes on […]
‘It’s like a dam broke,’ Liberals’ priorities aren’t jiving with public’s priorities, support bleeds: pollsters
The Trudeau government’s priorities aren’t jiving with the public’s priorities, causing the Liberals to lose support in Ontario, home to more than one-third of all 338 seats, as well as the Prairie provinces, say pollsters. “It’s a misalignment of government’s priorities and the public’s priorities,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, in […]
Tories dismiss new format, but will still take part in leaders’ debates
Despite the scathing Conservative objection to a recent House committee recommendation for an independent commissioner to organize leaders’ debates, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer will still participate in debates during the federal election. The Liberals say a commissioner will be named ahead of the 2019 contest to organize, at minimum, one debate in English and one […]
Liberals are running out of time to get to priorities ‘in due course’
The problem with an ambitious agenda is that someone is always going to be left disappointed, and the Liberals are setting themselves up to leave a lot of disgruntled voters in their wake come 2019. Despite the pomp and circumstance with which they were introduced, there are government bills that have not progressed any further […]
As Bill C-33 gathers dust, opposition MPs want to know why ‘critical’ election law changes haven’t moved since first reading
The Liberals’ promised changes to Canada’s elections laws have been gathering dust since November 2016 when Bill C-33 was first introduced, but with the next election in October 2019, opposition MPs want to know why the government hasn’t moved on the “unloved” bill. “There’s a lot here [in Bill C-33] that’s critical to a healthy, functioning […]
Time to plug loopholes that make it ‘almost an invitation’ for foreign money to influence elections, Liberals, opposition agree
The Liberal government says it plans to introduce new rules to limit foreign influence and money in federal elections—action opposition Parliamentarians and political observers say is needed now before it turns into a real problem. The government wants to ensure “our democratic institutions are protected and defended from cyber threats and foreign interference. That includes […]
Drop in polls ‘a wake-up call’ for Trudeau’s Liberals who need to ‘work on their game,’ say leading pollsters
The recent drop in public opinion polls should be a “wake-up call” for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s governing Liberals who need to keep their eye on the ball and communicate what they’re doing to improve the lives of Canadians, say leading pollsters. “It’s a wake-up call for the Liberals, they need to work on their game,” […]
