Trump comes to Ottawa
OTTAWA—The crowd of agitators, dissidents, right-wing extremists, and conspiracy dupes in Ottawa didn’t actually take over the Capitol (building) on the weekend as they did briefly last year in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to overthrow the 2020 election result. But the thousands who poured into Ottawa were allowed to take over Canada’s capital city. Local law […]
Astravas at helm of Emergency Preparedness Minister Blair’s new team
Now minister of emergency preparedness and president of the Queen’s Privy Council, Bill Blair has brought over his chief of staff of the last two years and counting, Zita Astravas, to run his new office. Astravas was chief of staff to Blair through his time as public safety minister, starting in December 2019. A former […]
Leadership in an age of disinformation is impossible without respectful relationships
OTTAWA—Aggressive convoys, conflicts, and wars all share a similar foundation—a decision to speak and act over others regardless of their rights and absent of our responsibilities to each other. Elder Woody Morrison would always smile in response to questions about what is truth. As an Elder, he carried with him the power of his community’s […]
It’s the tyranny of the minority
HALIFAX—So the tyranny of the minority is behind the wheel and taking dead aim at Canadian democracy. As they say about the internet, it doesn’t matter about the content of your message, it’s all about the size of the splash. As I write this on Friday, truckers who have taken it upon themselves to gum […]
Winter House sitting will be like ‘political hunger games’ between O’Toole and Trudeau, say pollsters
With both the Conservatives and Liberals running neck and neck in public opinion polls and the NDP making significant gains, this winter House session is expected to be a tough one as the two national parties try to regain their lost momentum, say pollsters. “This upcoming Parliament is going to be a political hunger games […]
Post-election heavy hitters: the top 100 most influential people to watch in federal politics in 2022
Ottawa’s back in action and this year’s political landscape of the powerful and influential will be shaped by the prolonged pandemic and a repeat minority Parliament, one Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to avoid when he called the snap election in August. But year one of this renewed Liberal mandate could bring some stability—or force compromise—with […]
It’s time to think big, bold, and act with a sense of urgency
TORONTO—As the world seeks to avert catastrophic climate change, the times call for “ferocious deployment” of clean technologies already here, but also “ferocious innovation in potentially game-changing technologies,” Eric Lander, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, urged in a challenging speech last month. So it’s time to think big and […]
Trip-wires and trap doors abound as Parliament resumes
CHELSEA, QUE.—As MPs re-assemble today—another hybrid sitting, for now—there is only one safe, if very general, prediction about the session to come: no one will be happy. The Liberals will feel affronted and misunderstood, nit-picked to distraction by their inferiors. The Conservatives will continue to scan the horizon—with night scopes, if necessary—looking for something to […]
Fraser hires a new chief of staff after Mendicino scoops up Mike Jones
There’s a new chief at the helm of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Minister Sean Fraser’s office, after Mike Jones was recently scooped up to head Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s team. As reported by Hill Climbers in November, Jones initially stayed on in the immigration office, where he’d been since December 2019, as chief of […]
No plans for O’Toole’s leadership review before August 2023, says Conservative Party president Rob Batherson
The Conservative Party has no plans to hold an early review of Erin O’Toole’s leadership even though four ridings have passed motions demanding one by this summer and more are planning to do the same in the coming weeks, says party president Rob Batherson. “We’re having a good healthy discussion,” said Batherson, in an interview […]
