As eco-fascism takes hold, Canada’s leaders have yet to prove they’re up to the fight
OTTAWA—Many have been ringing the alarm about the terrifying connections between climate change, economic anxiety, and white nationalism movements and ideology. Eco-fascism, as it is otherwise known, is no longer a theory that resides in the depths of seedy internet forums. It is a fatal threat that must be challenged in the open. The El […]
Indigenous leaders flag climate change, language, justice issues as priorities heading into election
Some Indigenous leaders say climate change is one of the most important issues, if not the top issue, in the upcoming 2019 federal election. Status concerns, language rights, restorative justice, changing the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples, and other top public policy issues were also flagged as key election issues for the Indigenous […]
Scheer’s abandoned pledge to quickly balance budget if elected a ‘confirmation’ Liberal plan is working, says Grit MP Easter
The Conservative leader recently pulled back on his 2017 promise to balance the federal budget in two years if elected, and the Liberal chair of the House Finance Committee says that’s a sign Andrew Scheer thinks the government’s current approach is working. A July 30 Globe and Mail editorial points out that “in May, Andrew Scheer […]
Inexperience of British trade team created ‘frustration’ during early talks for a potential Canada-U.K. pact, experts say
Before Canada-U.K. preliminary trade talks cooled, the inexperience of the British negotiation team complicated the discussions, observers say. “They have never done this before,” said Eric Miller, a former senior policy adviser to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and current head of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group. The United Kingdom has not negotiated a […]
Parties competing over values, not substance, in foreign policy platforms
In the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau campaigned on a foreign policy vision that differed radically from that of Stephen Harper, arguing that a decade of Conservative rule meant that Canada had drifted away from upholding the values that underpinned its actions as a global actor. However, in power, the differences between the two are […]
Feds offer ‘lip-service’ on committee roadmap to improve Arctic sovereignty, Tory MP says
The government’s “pablum” and “anodyne” answer to a committee’s call for action in the Arctic doesn’t reflect the urgent need to protect Canadian sovereignty, say a Liberal and Conservative MP. Conservative MP Erin O’Toole (Durham, Ont.), his party’s foreign affairs critic, said the government only offered “lip-service” in response to the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s […]
Damage control: China pulls out all the stops in an effort to denounce international claims of human rights abuse
XINJIANG, CHINA—In early July, a group of 22 countries, including Canada, Japan, the U.K., France, and Australia, signed a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council calling upon China to “refrain from the arbitrary detentions and restrictions on freedom of movement of Uighurs, and other Muslim and minority communities in Xinjiang.” Although it is […]
Cenotaph rededication a reminder of an unjustified sacrifice
OTTAWA—On Saturday, Aug. 17, the Department of National Defence will host a dedication ceremony for what has come to be known as the Kandahar cenotaph. The original structure had been a personal peer tribute erected by Canadian soldiers still serving at the Kandahar Airfield to commemorate their comrades who were killed in Afghanistan. By the […]
Open mouth, insert sock: foreign actors have no need for trumped-up Trump framing
OTTAWA—For years now we have been told by various Western intelligence agencies that Russia is using social media platforms to interfere in foreign elections and referendums. We are to believe that it was the Russians who manipulated the Brits into voting for Brexit, infused the American populace with the bigotry which led to Trump’s election […]
Judicial independence ‘not an issue Canadians should be concerned about’ in election, says Liberal MP
The Supreme Court’s chief justice and the federal justice minister recently signed an accord “recognizing and reinforcing” the top court’s independence, a move Conservative justice critic Lisa Raitt says is “ironic,” given reports earlier this year that the government “clearly sought to interfere with a Crown prosecutor’s independence.” Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti […]
