Three things the federal government can do to improve the Registered Disability Savings Plan
Many of us in the disability community were pleasantly surprised when the Liberal Party promised to create a National Disabilities Act that would safeguard disability rights, reduce systemic barriers, and establish a foundation of opportunity for those affected by disability. Canada is an outlier among developed nations for not having one—the U.S. has had theirs […]
Does Justin Trudeau really want fair elections?
POWELL RIVER, B.C.—Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s election pledge (and subsequent confirmation) that Canada will not have another election under first-past-the-post (FPTP) rules has morphed into a growing controversy. Trudeau’s evident attraction to one option for electoral reform—the so-called preferential ballot (or instant runoff voting—IRV)—and his stated opposition to proportional representation has some analysts and commentators […]
More Liberal chiefs of staff named, but handful of ministers still without
Some Cabinet ministers still haven’t hired a chief of staff yet, more than two months after being sworn into Cabinet. In many offices, some hiring decisions remain stuck in the approval pipeline, as ministerial exempt staffers are subject to more security clearances and rigorous background checks, given their potential access to Cabinet documents and matters […]
Liberal MP Holland consulting caucus on politically explosive electoral reform issue
Liberal MP Mark Holland, who is also parliamentary secretary to Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, is reaching out to all Liberal MPs to get their feedback on what sort of electoral system they would like to see to replace the first-past-the-post system that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed to scrap before the 2019 federal […]
Canadian CF-18s ramp up air strikes against ISIS
Canadian fighter bombers ramped up air strikes against ISIS fighting positions and other targets near the ISIS-held Iraqi city of Mosul last week, with more attacks on any single day since last June. Although as of Tuesday this week no Canadian air strikes had been reported since Jan. 3, CF-18s conducted at least three air […]
The year’s somewhat-less-obvious political winners and losers in Canadian politics
TORONTO—Typing up lists of the year’s political winners and losers is usually a pretty straightforward proposition: simply declare the winners of elections are godlike geniuses, and dismiss the losers as complete dummies; per that hoary old political axiom, victory has a thousand fathers, and defeat is an orphan. And, true to form, plenty of pundits and […]
Yes, it really was 2015
What a year it has been for women in politics in Canada. The developments have been dramatic in some cases, lacklustre or downright disturbing in others. While generally there’s been progress, the devil is in the details. Here’s a summary of the good, bad and ugly from 2015. Back in June, when the leader of the fledgling […]
Trudeau to make new policy announcements almost every week
In an attempt to arrest the rapidly bleeding political support to the NDP and to help Liberal candidates with substantive policies to prepare for the Oct. 19 federal election, Justin Trudeau will make policy announcements or give a major speech on a policy issue once every week, on average, between now and voting day, Liberal […]
With majority out of reach, Liberals would benefit from electoral reform
The Liberals may be the party to benefit most from their proposal to revamp the electoral system while the Tories would suffer, political analysts said. In the Liberal Party’s most serious commitment yet to electoral reform, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said last week that the party, if it wins government, would assign a special Parliamentary […]
Byrne, McGrath, Telford three of most powerful women in Canada
When federal votes are counted in 2015, our next prime minister will be a man. But pull back the curtain. For the first time in history, the three major federal campaigns in this country are being run by women and this might be the biggest leap forward in gender politics in recent memory. We have […]
