Countries left to ‘absolute uncertainty’ without WTO appeals body, says senior Chilean trade official
As a World Trade Organization’s appellant panel on dispute settlements loses its power, the Chilean vice-minister of trade was in Ottawa to champion a fix to the global trading organization. The WTO’s appellant body is down to a single judge, after the terms of two judges concluded on Dec. 10. Now, the seven-seat panel cannot […]
Canada must act to help get everyone out of hot water
Venice is under water, while Filipinos flee the latest super-typhoon. The nightly news replaces images of an Amazon in flames, with those of Sydney shrouded in smoke from wildfires. Less visible, but no less alarming, the oceans are warming and changing in ways that we are only beginning to recognize. In a landmark report earlier […]
Sajjan, Champagne charged with expanding Canada’s UN commitment, but will there be more troops on the ground?
As Canada once again ramps up its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, mandate letters for Canada’s foreign affairs and defence ministers outline an expansion of support for UN peacekeeping operations. But questions loom as to whether that will translate to more boots on the ground. “There’s very little they need […]
Confronting anxious workers and a divided country, Morneau rolls out update meant to reassure Canadians
OTTAWA—Nearly two months after the Liberals’ re-election, Finance Minister Bill Morneau used his first major public foray to try to break through the fog of gloom and division haunting the country. While acknowledging the risks Canada faces in a global trading environment turning inwards for the first time in 70 years, Morneau sought to reassure […]
Iraq presence is weakening Canada’s moral high ground
OTTAWA—The Western media reports of late have been quick to condemn authoritarian regimes for their excessive use of force against civilian protestors. For more than six months now, Hong Kong riot police have battled the pro-democracy mobs of this former British colony. The pro-democracy protestors have expressed their anger at encroaching control over Hong Kong […]
A roadmap for the government to act against gender-based violence
To its credit, the Trudeau government, 2.0 edition, has responded to the call I and other advocates have been making for a national action plan to combat gender-based violence. The Throne Speech was understandably short on details. Needless to say, the action plan should be truly comprehensive in its scope, embrace best practices, and be […]
Feds violating AG directive in fight over First Nations’ child welfare ruling, say Indigenous law experts
The Liberal government has been breaking its own rules for litigating with Indigenous peoples, say experts in Indigenous law, as it has sought to dodge a ruling to compensate Indigenous children wrongly removed from their families. The government has been fighting a ruling by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal that said it must compensate Indigenous […]
Don’t dismiss the dire need for digital government
TORONTO—In recent years, I’ve noticed that every time a cabinet has been struck with a dedicated portfolio for digital government, the reaction of many outside government has been groans, eye rolls, or utter indifference. The Liberal government’s decision to reappoint Joyce Murray as a standalone digital government minister was greeted by many with a similar […]
We shouldn’t just be insuring buildings, we need to insure our wetlands
In 2018, severe weather events cost Canada $1.9-billion in insured damage, according to the Catastrophe Indices and Quantification. Most people think that the greatest risks of weather events is to buildings and infrastructure. It’s not. The greatest risk is to our natural resources, and yet who is protecting these? Take the case of wetlands. The […]
Veterans’ benefits lead in supplementary spending ask of nearly $5-billion
The federal government’s budgetary spending is up 7.3 per cent so far this fiscal year over last, as laid out in the recently released first supplementary estimates of 2019-20. The supplementary estimates (A) for this fiscal year were tabled by new Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos (Quebec, Que.) on Dec. 5. These estimates, the first […]
