The sporting life and the cost of bad decisions
OTTAWA—The positive cultural value available from Canadian sport appeared to be on the upswing in 2019 when the CBC belatedly relieved us from having to put up with the backward, bigoted nonsense spewed by Don Cherry every week. After 38 years, the former Coach’s Corner co-host was fired for “offensive and discriminatory” comments on Hockey […]
Smith needs to quit
OTTAWA—A fish stinks from the head. In order to fix the Hockey Canada mess, the organization’s president needs to go. Scott Smith has been fully responsible for the day-to-day operations of Hockey Canada for the past 15 years as chief operating officer. He became president in 2016 and CEO this year. He has been at […]
Disastrous year for climate-related events on planet
TORONTO—This has been a disastrous year for climate-related events in almost every part of our planet and, as we continue to fiddle, the world literally burns. In Canada, this meant forest fires in Newfoundland; Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada; drought in some parts of Central Canada; and forest fires and drought in Western Canada. But […]
Conservatives change 2023 policy convention date to maximize momentum for Poilievre
The Conservative Party is trying to stay ahead of the curve. To generate momentum for Pierre Poilievre in advance of next year’s fall session of Parliament, the Conservative Party has decided to change the date of its biennial policy convention and will push it to Sept. 2023, say Conservative sources. The policy convention was scheduled […]
Poilievre sounds like he wants to drain the swamp, too
HALIFAX—It is just a fish story, but it has a moral. Two participants in a fishing derby in Ohio recently stuffed their catch with lead weights to increase its weight. Some $29,000 in prize money was at stake. The cheaters got caught, and the real winners, whose fish wouldn’t trigger a metal detector, got the […]
Party Central: Leclerc’s book launch draws Poilievre, Scheer, Warkentin, and more
When most Canadians see a politician delivering a speech on an issue like child care, they may never consider the team of people working behind the scenes. But Marc-André Leclerc’s new book, Confidences Politiques, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the teams that support the politicians, based on interviews with 15 current and former political staffers […]
Ancestral Algonquin remains likely ended up in bricks and mortar of Parliament Buildings: Global Centre for Pluralism report
The remains of Algonquin ancestors are likely embedded in the mortar of the original Parliament Buildings, because the sand used for the buildings came from a confirmed ancient Algonquin burial site across the Ottawa River, according to a report released by the Global Centre for Pluralism, which urges Canadians to consider this morbid fact when […]
Chrystia Freeland should be the next secretary general of NATO
OTTAWA—After 73 years, NATO is finally seeking a woman to lead the alliance. Rest assured, there is no shortage of talent across the 30-member bloc. Given the backlash from Brexit and the growing rift between Brussels and London, it seems unlikely that the allies will choose Theresa May. Despite her unapologetic denial, Angela Merkel’s legacy is tainted by her mishandling […]
Will Singh embrace populism lite?
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Thanks to the NDP, I’m unable at this point to make a fully confident prediction about what kind of communication strategies will be employed in the next federal election. The best I can do is make a forecast that has only a two-thirds confidence level. That’s to say, it’s easy for me to predict […]
Canadians believe parties and governments need to act on gender parity in politics
What do Iceland, Mexico and New Zealand have in common? On at least one fundamental measure, they’re more democratic than Canada. That’s because in recent years they’ve adapted their political systems to ensure that women’s perspectives and experiences are meaningfully reflected in government decision-making. All of them are at—or very close to—achieving gender parity in […]
