It’s about time Senate takes action on Sen. Beyak and her letters
It’s been 17 months since media outlets including The Walrus and Global News drew public attention to letters containing racism towards Indigenous people that Ontario Senator Lynn Beyak had published on her official Senate website. They included statements that Indigenous people in Canada “wait until the government gives them stuff,” and should be “grateful” for […]
Expect ‘ugly’ and ‘intense’ election campaign in the fall, fuelled by anger, say Liberal and NDP MPs
With the upcoming election campaign expected to officially start in about four months, Liberal and NDP MPs are warning that it will be ugly and disruptive and predict that racist elements or “political forces that operate and are fuelled by anger” will use disruptive tactics in the October election. “I think things are going to […]
Trudeau may not have the edge, but he is very much in the game
OTTAWA—It was a showcase of the titans, at least three of them. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh all showed up at the building trades unions from across Canada last week, a rare event when all three leaders come to the same event on the same day. At […]
Trading threats doesn’t advance trade in anything else
CHELSEA, QUE.—Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is in danger of over-playing his hand again—an abiding problem—in accusing the prime minister of displaying “weakness around the world,” of doing “absolutely nothing to stand up for Canada” and of “backing down to Donald Trump, again and again.” Only partisans in the grip of swine fever will applaud these […]
Backbench Libs, opposition MPs back motion to take power over speaking time back from leadership
A backbench Liberal MP is recruiting support for a motion to take control over speaking time and committee chairs away from the parties’ House leadership, and make a series of other changes to the Standing Orders governing how the House operates. Rookie Liberal MP Frank Baylis (Pierrefonds-Dollard, Que.) has put the House on notice that […]
Politicians should stop blame game on climate change and take real action, say environmentalists
Canada’s federal politicians have been pointing fingers at one another for failing to offer a plan that prevents global temperatures from rising to uninhabitable conditions, while the window for averting catastrophic, destabilizing climate events is closing in, say environmentalists, who argue the next election needs to be a contest of policy ideas, not a partisan […]
Time has come to revisit National Prayer Breakfast status as a religious convention sponsored by Parliament
OTTAWA—Christians only need apply. According to the Canada Prayer Breakfast website, the annual parliamentary event held last week included a 100-person youth summit. The National Christian Youth Summit (formerly known as the National Student Forum) was held in the Parliamentary Precinct. It was billed as the Canada Youth Summit but the recruitment and travel subsidy […]
Broadhurst steps up to the proverbial plate
TORONTO—Pause, for a moment, to say a prayer for Jeremy Broadhurst. A few days ago, Broadhurst was named the campaign director for the Liberal Party of Canada’s 2019 re-election effort. He was not the first choice. The first choice was Katie Telford, Trudeau’s chief of staff. The 2019 plan was for Telford to reprise her […]
Are Canadians really prepared to embrace Trumpian politics and give the Liberals an October surprise?
HALIFAX—Before anyone concludes that the “Little Potato” is about to be peeled, they should consider this question about Justin Trudeau’s possible demise: are Canadians really prepared to embrace Trumpian politics and give the Liberals an October surprise? Make no mistake about it, the federal Conservatives are banking on it, with a little help from their […]
Tentative Phoenix deal reached, but PSAC rejects feds’ offer
After two years of negotiations, the government and 16 federal public sector unions have reached a tentative deal to compensate bureaucrats for the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system. However, the government’s offer was rejected by the largest union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The Phoenix pay system was supposed to streamline pay, but instead, public […]
