Facebook is no longer fun and games
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—The internet flummoxes me. As I have written before, when I was in journalism school in 2000, we speculated on the influence of the internet on conventional media. We know now that it has had a devastating impact on newspaper advertising and resulted in the deaths of many publications. We also speculated on what it […]
Scaled-down Remembrance Day Ceremony to mark 75th anniversary of end of Second World War
In a typical year, thousands of Canadians gather near the National War Monument to mark Remembrance Day. But 2020 isn’t a typical year. While the Royal Canadian Legion will still hold a ceremony, it will do so with a maximum of 100 people present, as spectators are being discouraged from attending. There will be no […]
Feds sign vaccine deals with Novavax and Johnson and Johnson
Canada could begin receiving some COVID-19 vaccine doses early next year, thanks in part to its “aggressive” negotiations to get the country to the “front of the line,” says Procurement Minister Anita Anand. Speaking to reporters Monday, Ms. Anand (Oakville, Ont.) said the government has signed two more deals with Johnson and Johnson and Novavax, […]
Caremongering started at home, but it shouldn’t end here
It has been moving to experience and witness the generosity of Canadians over the last six months. It was not uncommon to hear stories in the midst of fears around food scarcity and grocery store paranoia, of neighbours delivering baskets of hard-to-find supplies and food. During COVID-19, Canadians across the country have rallied to support […]
Canada’s economy is stalled, and old-fashioned corporate handouts won’t help us
TORONTO—“This is a crisis like no other and will have a recovery like no other,” warns Gita Gopinatch, the head of research at the International Monetary Fund. The loss of output worldwide this year will run to about US$12-trillion, with the global economy declining 4.9 per cent in the worst downturn since the Great Depression, […]
Grey Cup: will iconic symbol of Canadian culture be shuttered for good?
The dust has settled on a number of issues as we wait for Prime Minister Trudeau’s Sept. 23 Speech from the Throne. House Committees aren’t meeting as a result of prorogation, and opposition parties are working their way through piles of documents related to the WE Charity controversy. The Conservative Party of Canada has selected […]
What it’s like to work in long-term care during the pandemic
The worst day of a COVID-19 outbreak in long-term care is the first day. There are tears. How did it get in? How did we fail? How do we tell the families? When does the media show up? There is shame, tremendous shame. Shame that we put on ourselves and that the outside world puts […]
The CFL is part of the Canadian landscape; it should have received support
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—In June of 1987, I was working the early-morning shift at CBC Montreal. There was a report the Montreal Alouettes football team had ceased operations. I waited until 6 a.m. and called the former owner of the team, Sam Berger, who had spent millions keeping it in Montreal until he sold in 1981. He […]
Lobbyists eye ‘high stakes’ throne speech as opportunity for client interests in Liberal reset
The throne speech is a “high stakes” government relations opportunity for businesses and groups to get their interests on the agenda, say public affairs pros, as the Liberals offer what many are calling a reset and the first explicit outline of a pandemic recovery plan. How an organization or business positions itself and tells its […]
So you’ve won the Conservative Party leadership race—now what?
OTTAWA—Erin O’Toole, the determined underdog, is now the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. He soundly defeated the originally heavily favoured Peter MacKay on the third ballot. O’Toole was successful by developing a plan that focused on him becoming the top second- or third-choice candidate of the field. His team seemed to realize, before […]
