Is ‘the tall poppy syndrome’ a Canadian value?
OTTAWA—There is an apocryphal story about the night in October 1957 when Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize. When told the news by a guest, the host of an Ottawa dinner party said, “Now, who does he think he is?” This is only one example of the painful modesty of Canadians that has led […]
Wilson-Raybould doesn’t trust the prime minister and the feeling is mutual
OTTAWA—Buried in the nearly four hours of House Justice Committee testimony by Jody Wilson-Raybould was an astonishing admission. In answer to a question from Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt, Wilson-Raybould revealed that she herself had used her legal power of direction, issuing an internal directive to all Crown prosecutors, instructing them to revisit their handling […]
Canada is weak on corporate crime
The SNC-Lavalin scandal is not just about Trudeau’s alleged muscling of his former attorney general to play nice with one of Quebec’s biggest employers—it is the harmful endpoint of four decades of privatization, the crafting of laws favouring powerful interests, and the unprecedented power of multinational corporations. The story so far has been mostly about […]
Deputy director Sommer exits the Prime Minister’s Office
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has seen a number of staffing changes of late, including the high-profile exit of now-former principal secretary Gerald Butts, and as of last week, there was another senior staff departure to add to the list, Dave Sommer, deputy director of digital and creative. Mr. Sommer had been working in the […]
SNC-Lavalin scandal expected to ‘overshadow everything else’ for Grits in coming months; it’s time for a Trudeau ‘mea culpa,’ say Liberal insiders and pollsters
It will be a tough slog for the Liberals in the coming months, as the SNC-Lavalin scandal has devastated their post-partisan feminist brand and demotivated their base, say pollsters and Grit insiders. It’s not yet clear how far the scandal will resonate with the general public, but any new revelations—for example, if the government does […]
Senators feud, frustrate each other amidst delay tactics, as battle over legislative agenda escalates
Long-simmering tensions in the Senate came to a head over the past two weeks, as Conservative Senators blocked debate in the Chamber for hours over two days out of frustration with the Independent Senators Group and government representative in the Senate on several fronts. A lack of communication, and Conservative frustration that the Independent Senators […]
In the old days, we’d haul out the IBM Selectric, or The Pig, to write big speeches
OTTAWA—It was old, grey, heavy, and it lived in the basement of the Office of the Prime Minister on Wellington Street. It was used to type out speaking texts for the prime minister and the Queen. Too hard to lift, it had its own typewriter table that was rolled out when necessary. But it produced […]
SNC-Lavalin, Wilson-Raybould, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government: a timeline
The context—Jody Wilson-Raybould’s demotion from cabinet has raised questions about the motivations behind her shuffle from justice to the veterans portfolio. The Globe and Mail reporters Bob Fife, Steven Chase, and Sean Fine dig into the possible reasons behind her change in portfolio. Less than a month after the cabinet shuffle, the national newspaper publishes its […]
Trudeau has no one to blame, but himself
OTTAWA—This was the worst week of Justin Trudeau’s short prime ministership, and he has no one to blame but himself. Not that there haven’t been other bumps along the road. People laughed at ‘Justin Does New Delhi,’ cringed at his luxury holiday on the Aga Khan’s island, and shook their heads over unique coinages like […]
Wilson-Raybould rises to the occasion
TORONTO—Politics isn’t just about symbols. Politics is symbols. So, there was Jody Wilson-Raybould, finally before the House Justice Committee, on the 11th annual Pink Shirt Day. Anti-bullying day. But there were the Liberal MPs assigned to the committee, openly bullying Wilson-Raybould. Over and over, they demanded to know why she didn’t resign, after she had […]
