Gee-Gees women’s rugby a reconciliation leader in Ottawa
OTTAWA—Gather around for a good news story. It’s about the University of Ottawa’s women’s rugby team, the Gee-Gees. The team has spent some serious time considering its path to push reconciliation, and the truth is that it has a great opportunity. After speaking with Indigenous peoples in the community, the team decided to do something […]
Major obstacles between Poilievre and taking up residence in the Prime Minister’s Office
HALIFAX—As everyone knows, former prime minister Stephen Harper is the head of the International Democratic Union, an outfit dedicated to the election of right-wing governments around the world. It appears he has inherited a growth industry. Sweden’s hard-right just bested more moderate right-wing parties in the country’s elections, garnering 20.6 per cent of the vote. […]
Liberals need to ‘get off their asses’ and take Poilievre seriously before it’s too late, say some Grits
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s growing support in public opinion polls is making some Liberals nervous, saying it should be a “wake-up call” to the party, while other Liberals say it’s a normal bump for any new leader. “The Liberals need to get off their asses,” said one former senior Liberal who spoke to The Hill […]
Widespread labour shortages a growing economic, political, and moral tinderbox
CHELSEA, QUE.—There is another storm brewing in Canada this season and it isn’t a hurricane. It is a broad and disruptive labour shortage that is creating havoc everywhere, in our everyday lives, and laying bare some troubling undercurrents. The crisis gets only passing notice in the media and on Parliament Hill—although it did surface briefly […]
After Hurricane Fiona, Atlantic Canadians help each other out
OTTAWA—Not too many people are foolish enough to fly into a hurricane. Most people focus their efforts on trying to get away from them. But last week, I joined the ranks of the storm watchers, those slightly twisted meteorologic amateurs who like to fly into the eye of the storm. In my case, the trip […]
Canada’s jobs gap puts skills training, education atop growth agenda
TORONTO—We knew employers were having a tough time finding workers. But it was still a shock to learn that in the second quarter of this year there were nearly one million job vacancies in Canada, more than double the 452,000 job vacancies a few years earlier, in 2015 for example. This jobs gap means the […]
‘Iconic’ Bill Blaikie: ‘a giant of a man’ among the ‘most distinguished social democrats of our age,’ says Ed Broadbent
By his stature, both physically and reputation, Bill Blaikie was a larger-than-life figure on Parliament Hill. NDP MP Brian Masse (Windsor West, Ont.) got a glimpse of the former when he met the veteran New Democrat Member of Parliament at the Windsor International Airport back in the spring of 2002. Masse, a Windsor city councillor at the time, […]
The artistry of fundraising
OAKVILLE, ONT.—The worst enemy for any fundraiser is the trash can. After all, anyone who receives a fundraising letter in the mail is always tempted to throw it out, likely after reading only the first few sentences. Certainly, I know I’m always tempted to callously toss fundraising pitches into the recycle bin. This is why […]
Director-level changes in Emergency Preparedness Minister Blair’s office
Emergency Preparedness Minister and Privy Council President Bill Blair, who’s been busy with the federal response to Hurricane Fiona, has seen a number of director-level staff changes in his office recently, with new hands at the till of his communications, policy, and operations shops. Christina Rettig—who’s been director of policy and a senior adviser to Blair […]
Global North’s whitelash brings fascism back in fashion
Neoliberalism has destroyed our communities, and the marriage of the Christian right and the far-right offers that to people.
