Trudeau’s new 36-member cabinet
Here’s the new cabinet; the portfolio followed by the minister: Intergovernmental affairs – Chrystia Freeland Public Services and Procurement – Anita Anand Innovation, Science and Industry – Navdeep Bains Indigenous-Crown Relations – Carolyn Bennett Agriculture and Agri-Food – Marie-Claude Bibeau Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness – Bill Blair Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth […]
The ‘lost’ opportunity of the PM’s India trip, and other observations from India’s exiting envoy
India’s high-profile High Commissioner, Vikas Swarup, had an eventful two-and-a-half years in Canada, visiting every province and territory and giving more than 150 talks, during a term that spanned elections in both countries, a scandal-plagued prime ministerial visit, and heightened tensions in the disputed territory of Kashmir. An “opportunity was lost” with Prime Minister Justin […]
Nelly Shin becomes Canada’s first-ever Korean-born MP after ‘nail-biter’ race
A victory by just 153 votes and a weeks-later election recount made for an interesting entrance to Parliament for Canada’s first-ever Member of Parliament of Korean heritage, Conservative rookie Nelly Shin. The pianist, composer, former schoolteacher, and missionary hasn’t taken the usual path into politics, and a couple of years ago, representing the now-former NDP-held […]
Anchorman: Evan Solomon named new host of CTV’s Power Play
Evan Solomon will be replacing retiring Don Martin as host of CTV’s Power Play. Since 2016, Mr. Solomon has been the host of the network’s Sunday political affairs show, Question Period, which he will continue. “Very excited and grateful to be stepping into the big shoes of my friend, the great [Don Martin],” Mr. Solomon […]
Raitt’s loss sparks questions about future of women in the Conservative Party, says political expert
Lisa Raitt’s defeat on Oct. 21 raises larger questions about where women fit within the Conservative Party, says one political expert, but Conservative MPs say the groundwork that was laid in the last election, where the party fielded a record 106 female candidates, won’t be easily undone. “Clearly, Lisa is a huge loss for the […]
Long road to UNDRIP’s full implementation needs to end, soon
After two decades of negotiation, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by a majority of the UN’s General Assembly in September 2007. At the time, four countries voted against adoption, with Canada among them. Three years later, Canada endorsed the declaration, but with a qualification, citing continued concern over […]
Liberals’ proposed fix to defence procurement is a ‘gamble,’ say Conservatives
The Liberals’ proposed new defence procurement agency, laid out in the party’s 2019 election campaign platform, is a “gamble” say Tory MPs, but a Liberal MP says anything is better than the status quo. “The danger in doing what the Liberals are suggesting here is potentially interfering and interrupting some of the current procurements that […]
Winding down of the carbon century will be a test for all Canadians
OTTAWA—It’s hard to make history go backwards. One need only review the United Kingdom’s experience in trying to untangle itself from nearly 50 years in the European Union. Swayed by visions of Britain’s past glories, xenophobia, and insecurity about being left behind in a changing world, a narrow majority of voters came down in favour […]
Racism is rearing its ugly head, and we have to call it out
OTTAWA—I was on a plane flying from Montreal to Ottawa a few weeks ago. I was sitting at the back of the plane when a young Black man came down the aisle to sit down. The flight attendant, a white man in his 50s, immediately told him not to sit in his intended seat, as […]
Because it’s 2019, let’s stop using feminism as a not-truly-equal cabinet crutch
OTTAWA—Gender parity, once on-trend in 2015, is now merely a passing thought just four years later. Cabinet announcements will be made today and not since in the days immediately following the election in October has gender parity in cabinet been discussed. What’s that we hear? Oh, crickets. In 2015, the nascent Trudeau government formed a […]
