Feds’ lack of certainty being noted in international space community
According to the Canada Space Agency’s 2016 report entitled, “State of the Canadian Space Sector, Covering the Results from Our 2016 Survey,” the space industry contributed $2.3-billion to Canada’s GDP and supports just shy of 22,000 jobs in the country. However, Canada’s space sector is overseen by antiquated regulations and an equally out-of-step law called […]
Liberals call Ford’s ‘interlaying’ with federal Conservatives ‘unprecedented,’ but say they’re not worried
The extent of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s public posturing against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and declaration that he wants to see Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer as Canada’s prime minister in 2019 is unprecedented and the rationale behind the strategy is unclear, say Liberal MPs, but Conservatives says Kathleen Wynne used the same strategy as premier […]
Trudeau’s extra-parliamentary opposition
CHELSEA, QUE.—It can change in a heartbeat, but the Trudeau government has been on the upswing lately—applauded for its delicate handling of Donald Trump, for a relatively stable economy and for last week’s artful fiscal update, which offered targeted help to businesses to offset recent Trump tax cuts for their U.S. competitors. You can tell […]
Ontario PCs taking notes from House of Cards, problematic practice of politicising the naming of legislation
TORONTO—In the latest season of house of cards there is a scene in which the vice president is sitting with members of his staff deliberating what they should name their newest act. Should we call it the “Comprehensive Safety Act, or the Comprehensive Chemical Safety Act?” Then the secretary of state pipes up and says […]
The incredible shrinking country
OTTAWA—Think back through the years and see if you can remember a more petty, vengeful act by a political leader than Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to raise the number of seats needed for a party to reach official status at Queen’s Park. The Progressive Conservatives are hiking the required seat total in the Ontario legislature required […]
To save a buck, Ford triggers waves of indignation
Make no mistake. By putting Ontario’s francophone minority on his fiscal hit list this week, Premier Doug Ford has placed his federal ally Andrew Scheer in harm’s way. In Thursday’s fiscal update, Ontario’s Tory government put plans for a long-promised French-language university on the chopping block, in the process reversing Ford’s campaign commitment to the […]
Demand for action on climate change shatters Scheer’s hopes in Quebec
MONTREAL—Tens of thousands of Quebecers took to the streets on Nov. 10 to call for more decisive action on climate change. In Montreal alone, 50,000 took part in the demonstration. In the short space of a week, more than 150,000 signed a pledge that commits them to reduce their carbon footprints but also demands more […]
Bernier still looking for a vein to tap into
As he travels west in search of support for his breakaway conservative party, Maxime Bernier has taken to introducing himself as “the Albertan from Quebec.” Albertans will have to decide from themselves whether a leader who reflects their values would, among other things, have Canada turn its back on the global fight against climate change […]
Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador: neighbours that need to talk
OTTAWA—This month’s majority decision of the Supreme Court to reject Newfoundland and Labrador’s request to reopen the 1969 Churchill Falls power contract was not a surprise to anyone who has followed the case. With one exception (Newfoundland Justice Malcolm Rowe), the judges ruled there was no basis on which to reconsider the contract, which locked […]
In apologizing for turning away Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, Canada puts anti-Semites in a corner
This past weekend marked the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass. It was the night when Germany’s prevailing anti-Semitism exploded in unprecedented violence across the land. Synagogues were destroyed and burned down, Jewish people were attacked on the street and in their homes, and Germany was firmly ensconced in a movement—an […]
