Trudeau puts partisan politics ahead of national security
Vice-Admiral Mark Norman served our country for 38 years with distinction, but Justin Trudeau couldn’t even give him even 30 minutes to tell his story. What is clear is that the Liberals have no interest in finding the truth and are only intent on helping the prime minister cover up his government’s inappropriate political interference […]
Canada’s emerging freedom of navigation conundrum
Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) are regularly conducted by the United States Navy globally, challenging ‘excessive maritime claims’ of coastal states which they accuse of illegally constraining Freedom of Navigation (FON) for commercial and/or military vessels. Those conducted in the South China Sea have growing strategic salience, given concerns China is attempting to carve away […]
Sajjan touts female recruitment numbers, says Norman’s reinstatement in Vance’s hands
The federal government has prioritized recruiting women, Indigenous people, and visible minorities into the Canadian Armed Forces. Though the percentage of those groups into the Armed Forces is ticking up slowly, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says progress has been made, citing an eight per cent increase last year in female recruitment. The federal government’s efforts […]
Defence update: Arctic offshore and patrol vessels and the Nanisivik Naval Facility
The first major naval vessels built in Canada since the mid-1990s are now beginning to emerge from the Halifax Shipyards. The Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels (AOPV), announced by prime minister Stephen Harper in 2007, are versatile ice-strengthened patrol ships that will be used for a variety of missions including coastal surveillance, SAR, drug interdiction, […]
Lobbyists seek clarity after watchdog warns political statements risk contravening code
New guidance for lobbyists around expressing their personal political views has some questioning whether it encroaches on their rights to free expression, and calling for clarity from the sector watchdog that put forward the advice. Others say the new warning is good for public trust and a healthy exercise for lobbyists to consider. On April […]
All eyes on Red Chamber, as Senators push back on key government bills
A Senate committee tasked with studying the government’s new rules around solitary confinement doesn’t have enough time to properly do its job, says a vocal critic of Bill C-83 in the Upper Chamber. But Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has warned a legislative vacuum will be created if the bill isn’t passed by the time […]
Last chance for the war lover? U.S.’s Bolton sets stage for Iran conflict
OTTAWA—The international community has rightly reacted with alarm to the United States’ effort to force Iran into a corner in ways that greatly raise the risk of the two countries stumbling into a war. Behind this development was John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. A veteran of Republican foreign affairs regimes going back […]
House may need to sit in summer to pass new NAFTA deal, says Trade Committee chair
With U.S. tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum now lifted, MPs say the door is open for Washington to make the first move to ratify the renegotiated North American trade pact. And while the ratification process in Canada could be complicated by Parliament’s scheduled summer break next month, the House Trade Committee chair says the […]
Senate on a spending ‘slippery slope,’ says Sen. Marshall, as Senators review office-expense rules
Controversy over a Senator’s use of her office budget to conduct a public opinion poll is the latest irritant for members of the Upper Chamber who say the way Senators spend is treading uncomfortably familiar ground, as Senators prepare to take a deeper dive into the rules that govern their expenses. On May 16, members […]
Untying food aid in Canada: policy matters
When Cyclone Idai devastated crops in Mozambique and neighbouring countries in March, humanitarian agencies rushed in to supply food to the cyclone victims, sourcing that food from farming areas close to the disaster. That practice—local sourcing for food aid—is a relatively new development in the humanitarian field. Before 2008, Canada’s food aid was almost all […]
