How to save the Canadian media industry from mass extinction
TORONTO—If current trends continue, Canada’s news media will not survive the COVID-19 recession. Even during the boom years of 2009-2019, nearly 300 Canadian outlets shut down and 16,000 journalists were laid off. But the good times, if you can call them that, are over. In the last two weeks, nearly 500 more journalists have been […]
Wage subsidies ‘critical,’ a ‘lifeline’ for businesses to survive pandemic, says Chamber of Commerce president
The federal government’s increased wage subsidy announcement was “critical” if small- and medium-sized businesses are going to come out alive on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, say business leaders. “It’s a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of small- and medium-sized businesses that employ millions of Canadians,” said Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of […]
Safety nets were chopped and now we’re screwed trying to respond to the ‘equal opportunity virus’
OTTAWA—The entire Western world was feelin’ itself until the novel coronavirus hit. Now, we’ve been humbled like Justin Trudeau on his blackface apology tour. Every time I type the name of this pandemic, all I can hear is Cardi B’s coronavirus rant on Instagram that has been chopped and screwed into a remix that’s blazing […]
Budget 2020, election promises in question amid COVID-19 global pandemic crisis, say McKay, Delacourt
The COVID-19 crisis will derail the government’s legislative agenda for the 43rd Parliament, says veteran Liberal MP John McKay, and may spike the government’s 2020 budget entirely, says Liberal-connected lobbyist John Delacourt. After narrowly winning a second mandate last fall, the Liberal government’s medium- and long-term plans for the 43rd Parliament have been put in […]
COVID-19 relief aid for affected workers to come week of April 6, says Morneau
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says those who lack the financial resources and support to weather the pandemic and have been temporarily laid off can expect to receive the first flow of aid in a little over a week’s time. Speaking at press conference on the Hill, Mr. Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) said those who qualify […]
No more Hill parties, after coronavirus pandemic forces Parliament Hill to shut down
As COVID-19 cases continue to exponentially grow in Canada and around the world, possibly the only thing spreading faster is cabin fever. Ottawans are shut in because everything has shut down. Seemingly half the city has taken up running in an effort to stave off insanity. Thanks to these keen folk, Sparks Street has actually […]
Federal budget should invest in conservation, writes Robin Walsh
With the federal government about to present its budget for the year ahead, one item that I would like to see in it is a commitment to increased protection of nature. According to Nature Canada, half of all monitored species in Canada have declined since 1970, many by more than 80 per cent. Habitat loss, […]
Inuit women and children fleeing violence must have access to safe spaces within their communities
Inuit women experience the highest rates of physical violence and sexual violence in this country. In fact, they are 14 times more likely to be the victims of violence as compared to other women in Canada. A recent report from Statistics Canada reveals that in 2018, the rate of domestic homicide across the three territories […]
Canada being the best place to invest is a narrative only the Liberals believe
Despite all the evidence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his government, and those around them really believe their policies have made Canada the best place to invest. For example, on Feb. 27 the government’s new Invest in Canada agency, headed by—wait for it—Ian McKay, former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada, put its spin […]
Federal spending reaches $304.6-billion, up 12 per cent since pre-reform main estimates
Federal spending is up 11.8 per cent in this year’s main estimates compared to the last similar financial cycle three years ago, a trend that’s in line with the Liberal approach to deficit spending laid out in the party’s first election win in 2015. The $304.6-billion requested as part of the 2020-21 plan marks a […]
