Will the populist bandwagon roll on in Canada?
OTTAWA—Populism in its various modern forms has been altering the global political picture for several decades. Its presence has grown rapidly in the last 20 years and has recently been the modus operandi of powerful office holders in about two dozen countries, according to a study by the Institute for Global Change. Once a phenomenon […]
Conservatives lead in nominated candidates, a dozen former MPs among hopefuls
Ten months out from the next federal election, the Conservatives are leading in nominated candidates, with 186 named, including current MPs and a dozen former MPs. The Liberals are close behind with more than 160—the vast majority current MPs—while the NDP has 21 of 338 confirmed candidates, though it says its process is “following its […]
Policy director Berzins joins Transport Minister Garneau’s team
Transport Minister Marc Garneau has a new director of policy and parliamentary affairs in charge in his ministerial office, with Christopher Berzins having recently moved over from International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr’s team. Mr. Berzins started on the job in Mr. Garneau’s office on Jan. 7, just two days before the minister announced new […]
The unprecedented unsubtlety of Trump’s Russia crush
It’s hard to pinpoint what Exhibit A might be in the investigation into whether the president of the United States is a Russian stooge. Would it be his baffling flattery of Vladimir Putin throughout the 2016 campaign and beyond? The multiple Mueller investigation indictments in the Venn intersection of his closest aides and multiple Russian […]
Liberal promises on Indigenous relationship ring hollow to activists, experts as protests continue
Protest actions, like the ones that spread across the country and internationally in support of the Unist’ot’en camp in northern British Columbia this month, may not sway the hearts and minds of the general electorate about the government’s record on Indigenous issues come election day, says a pollster. But according to experts and First Nations […]
Unions praise Brison, optimistic about ‘results-oriented’ Philpott heading Treasury Board
Newly minted Treasury Board President Jane Philpott will have big shoes to fill following Scott Brison’s tenure, say public service observers, but they seem confident she is up to the task. Ms. Philpott (Markham-Stouffville, Ont.) was named to the job in a cabinet shuffle Jan. 14, following Mr. Brison’s (Kings-Hants, N.S.) resignation from cabinet and […]
Why Mobina Jaffer left the Senate Liberals to sit solo
The ever-shrinking collective of Liberal-branded Senators will be smaller when the Red Chamber sits next month, following the departure from caucus of now non-affiliated Senator Mobina Jaffer. “It was a very, very painful decision to make,” Sen. Jaffer (British Columbia) told The Hill Times last week of her Dec. 19 request to Senate Speaker George Furey […]
Public service in mourning in wake of deadly Ottawa bus crash
Three public servants are dead, at least one was seriously injured, and nine Department of National Defence employees and Armed Forces members were on the Ottawa city bus that crashed Jan. 11, yet the government isn’t confirming how many federal employees overall were directly involved. The crash happened shortly before the afternoon rush hour on […]
Macedonia: What’s in a name?
The Congo Republic, population five million, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, population 88 million, manage to share their name quite amicably. Russia and Belarus (White Russia) don’t seem to mind either. Sudan and South Sudan don’t get along at all, but their quarrel was never about a mere name. Whereas Greece and Macedonia…. After […]
Ford should do the right thing, show people he cares
OTTAWA—Ontario Premier Doug Ford should do the right thing and show people he cares. He should reconsider cuts to French-language services affecting Ontario’s 600,000 francophones, including the cancellation of plans to create Ontario’s first French-language university in Toronto (a promise he renewed during his recent election campaign) and the rescinding of a $3-million grant to Ottawa’s French theatre company, “La Nouvelle Scene.” […]
