Compare Canada 150 to Expo 67 to see how far we’ve come
MONTREAL—In the city that I’ve called home for the past 20 years, one would have been hard-pressed to find signs last week that Saturday was a special Canada Day. A bicycle ride across town on the eve of the country’s 150th anniversary elicited no Maple Leaf flag, except at various hotels and official venues. Quebec […]
Deep freeze sets in Quebec’s sovereignty issue
There was time not so long ago when the very notion of a federal government funding some June 24 festivities in Quebec would have raised eyebrows on both sides of the federalist-sovereigntist divide. Ottawa has long contributed to the financing of St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations in the rest of Canada, but it had abstained from associating itself […]
Quebec’s sovereignty issue is in deep freeze
MONTREAL—There was a time not so long ago when the very notion of a federal government funding some June 24 festivities in Quebec would have raised eyebrows on both sides of the federalist-sovereigntist divide. Ottawa has long contributed to the financing of St-Jean-Baptiste celebrations in the rest of Canada, but it had abstained from associating […]
Reducing pollution makes economic sense
A ground-breaking report of the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development recommends 87 changes that would significantly strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). CEPA plays an important role in the daily lives of Canadians, covering a broad range of environmental issues, including the regulation of pollution and toxic chemicals […]
Hydro One court case another blow to Wynne’s trustworthiness
TORONTO—A lawsuit challenging the privatization of Hydro One is winding its way slowly through the courts. It may not succeed. Judges are hard to predict. But politically, it hits Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government where it hurts—its trustworthiness. Filed last fall by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the lawsuit alleges that the government […]
Political consequences of interim measures: B.C. election, Kinder-Morgan Pipeline and federal environmental assessment reform
TORONTO—One of the defining features of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s approach to environmental matters was the dramatic streamlining of the federal environmental review and approval processes for energy and other resource projects through his 2012 budget implementation legislation, Bill C-38. The rewriting of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and the other changes contained in […]
B.C. election: little immediate impact, but plenty of future political risk for federal Liberals, say pollsters
B.C. Liberal MPs are pushing back on claims that the province’s election is a blow to their local support, while pollsters suggest little immediate impact but plenty of future political risk for federal Liberals with a new provincial NDP-Green Party alliance. And while NDP MPs have pointed to the provincial election results as proof of […]
Canada must move fast to preserve Last Ice Area
This World Oceans Day, June 8, brings into focus Canada’s often-overlooked third ocean, the one that borders our country at the top of the world. The Arctic Ocean, along with much of the North itself, has been undergoing rapid change due to the warming of the planet. Ice-dependent species are watching their habitat disappear with […]
Equalization, official languages policies need review
Many Canadian citizens find it difficult or impossible to understand the special status relationship Quebec has with Canada. Canadians are questioning the reasons, the benefits, and cost of some government policies and how they could make the relationship between Canada and Quebec beneficial for both citizens of Canada and Quebec. An elected government, must be […]
With sovereignty on the backburner, how relevant is the Parti Québécois?
MONTREAL—With sovereignty on the backburner in Quebec for the foreseeable future, is there life for the Parti Québécois as a defining political force? Or is the party that nearly secured a majority pro-secession vote in 1995 running on empty now that it has put off plans for a referendum until at least 2022? Both questions […]
