Open season on reporters must be confronted for democracy’s sake
OTTAWA—Any foreign correspondent from a country like Canada or the United States will, from time to time, find himself or herself in a dangerous situation. Danger can flare from many directions: a checkpoint in disputed territory, rogue troops invading a hotel looking for someone to abuse, drug gangs, military thugs, civil strife, riots, thieves, cities […]
Liberals spent more than $16,000 on Snapchat filters since coming to power
The Liberal government spent more than $16,000 on developing and placing Snapchat filters in both Canada and the United States to promote the federal government during special events, since its cabinet was sworn in on Nov. 4, 2015. Seven federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations reported developing specialized filters for Snapchat—a popular social media platform that allows […]
Now in Defence minister’s office, former reporter Cudmore in ‘awkward situation’ as RCMP investigates cabinet leak, his story
James Cudmore finds himself in a “unique position” and “awkward situation” as a staffer in the office of the Defence minister but, as a former journalist, haven broken a story, shortly before his job changed, that’s prompted the government to call in the RCMP to investigate how the story got out. While those from the […]
O’Toole flies into the Danger Zone
Erin O’Toole has got a Top Gun type of thing happening lately with his social media campaign to become Conservative leader. On April 28, he posted a picture on both his Twitter and Facebook feeds of his head on a body of someone wearing air-force gear, standing in front of a fighter jet, with a […]
Parsing a brand-centric approach to power
We lack a focused study of how political communications work in Ottawa. We need a theory for why they create a contagion of pulling everything toward “the centre”—a term with so many different and sinister connotations that in this book it refers to a transcendental concept, usually encapsulating the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Privy […]
Sajjan doesn’t need to be fired—the hit to his reputation is enough
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan shouldn’t have inflated his military record. He’s feeling the heat now for wrongly saying he was an “architect” of the Operation Medusa campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2006—as he should. Mr. Sajjan, a former lieutenant colonel, said during a visit to India last month that he was an “architect” […]
Spicer obliterating unwritten rules of press chief protocol
Of all the inexplicable phenomena associated with the presidency of Donald Trump, the most outrageous in terms of shocks to the political culture is the screwball performance of White House press secretary and Melissa McCarthy-immortalizer Sean Spicer. Spicer’s operatic behavioural departures from all historical precedent related to previous White House press secretaries have been well-documented […]
United Airlines, an excuse that doesn’t fly
TORONTO—The video of the United Airlines passenger violently evicted from a plane has brought to our attention a couple of things: the power of modern technology and the problem of overbooking. There is nothing new about either, just like high speeds and the possibility of a car accident. But when reality hits you with a […]
Pakistani icon for female education to address House this week
Malala Yousafzai, who captured the world’s respect by fighting for the rights of girls to be educated, getting shot, and then continuing the fight, will address a joint session of Parliament in the House of Commons on Wednesday, April 12. At 19, she will become the youngest person ever to address Canadian Parliament. Ms. Yousafzai […]
The future of polling lies in social media
Social media isn’t just a broadcast technology, it’s also a polling technology; one that is far superior to any other on the planet today, including the telephone. So why does the Canadian government continue to use telephone polling to find out what the citizenry is thinking? Why haven’t public servants progressed to new tools for polling, […]
