To the protesters: it’s not about you
I’d like to say to all the protesters: the public health restrictions obviously affect you, but they are not about you. Your freedom is very important. But nobody is actually trying to take it away, or to control you. None of us likes the restrictions, but unfortunately, they are necessary for protection because of the […]
Nova Scotia MPs receive packages containing chemical irritants
Three Liberal and two Conservative Nova Scotia MPs were on the receiving end of similar suspicious envelopes containing chemicals two weeks ago, and one staffer ended up being taken to hospital as a result, prompting Nova Scotia MPs to urge people to “pay attention to what’s happening in this country.” CBC News also reported last […]
The World Health Organization needs to craft and adopt an international pandemic regulation
The United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) were born out of a watershed moment following World Word II, created to be ready institutions for the global community in times of crisis. Unfortunately, the WHO was ill-prepared to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic when it fanned out across the globe—guidance came too slow and was […]
Proposed PMPRB regulations requires focused dialogue with all players
In December the federal government formally announced it was delaying the implementation of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB)’s regulatory changes. There were two reasons stated for the delay. First, it would allow all parties—including the government and the pharmaceutical industry—to focus on the real priority, namely the ongoing fight to contain the spread […]
Invoking Emergencies Act necessary step to tackle protests amid jurisdictional ‘squabbling’ and inaction, say top security experts
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “stunning” invocation of the Emergencies Act is the right move to handle the escalating entrenchment of protesters in the nation’s capital and anti-vaccine mandate protests across the country, according to some top security and defence experts. If anything, Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) waited “too long to take control of the protests” and […]
Need for national dialogues to repair damage from pandemic, protests
As someone who has spent his entire professional life in Canada, first joining the many Canadians who fought to establish the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and then as a constitutional scholar and teacher promoting it, the use by some protesters of the Charter to claim a right to terrorize and illegally […]
‘The government is clearly being hurt by this’: Trudeau government criticized for its handling of Ottawa occupation
Justin Trudeau’s handling of the occupation of Ottawa, combined with his own caucus members’ public criticism of their government’s more recent approach on the pandemic, could be politically damaging to the prime minister and the government, say politicos. “The government’s getting a big black eye right now,” said Greg Lyle, president of Innovative Research, in […]
COVID is something we all have to learn to live with
OTTAWA—Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen may have her way after all. With Liberals breaking ranks with the government on vaccination mandates, all eyes are on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And as the days pass with no solution in sight, what was a small Canadian story has become a global phenom. Everywhere you look, from The […]
Many players behind truckers’ convoy protest, Hillier says 50 people ‘in various control rooms or war rooms in hotels around the city’
They say they seek freedom from government control over their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have been enormously disruptive in the capital for more than two weeks now as they convey that message by placing Ottawa’s downtown core under siege. But the truckers’ protest is not being led by any one leader, according […]
Amid continued instability, arts and culture reps call for more supports, help to encourage audience returns
Unable to reopen or properly plan ahead with ongoing COVID-19 turbulence, arts, culture, and sports sector experts recently stressed to MPs the need for continued government support for the industry, beyond measures already announced. “The biggest struggle is the unpredictability and not knowing how long things will run for various reasons, whether that’s another wave […]
