Liberals stake party’s future on pricing pollution, for second time in a decade
Is a carbon tax a hill Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is willing to die on? That question had been in the back of many political minds since Ontario—under its new PC government—bailed out of the federal climate change framework last spring. That resulted in a shift in the provincial balance from mostly behind Trudeau’s carbon-pricing […]
In wake of Washington Post columnist’s murder, MPs say Canada has role to play in defence of global press freedom
Journalists around the world are increasingly under threat, most notably with the murder of Saudi Arabian Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi on Oct. 2, and MPs who are former journalists say the Canadian government has a role to play in defending the freedom of the press globally. “We [MPs who are former journalists] should be […]
Chrétien’s still got it
OTTAWA—“Petit Justin!” He got a laugh every time he said it, so Jean Chrétien naturally used the line more than once. Everyone laughed. Petit Justin, standing off to the side, laughed a bit too. They weren’t onstage together very long—a few seconds, tops, for a hug and a few words—but that was the photo everyone […]
Trudeau’s new carbon tax is a can’t-lose gambit
TORONTO—Justin Trudeau effectively kicked off the 2019 federal election campaign Tuesday with a you-can’t-lose carbon tax pledge to voters in Ontario. Whether the prime minister’s so-called federal government backstop plan will sufficiently reduce climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions is another question. But at least we now know how the governing Liberals hope to frame next October’s […]
Raise the GST as part of pragmatic plan for climate action
The rejection of the Trans Mountain pipeline approval by the courts and the angry response by Alberta to withdraw from Canada’s climate plan has set in motion a high-octane drama with no happy ending in sight. Provinces see an opportunity to flex their muscles, engage in a tit-for-tat bargaining game with the federal government—a game […]
Wilson-Raybould has a new policy adviser; Champagne hires a new adviser; Kavanagh bittersweet about leaving Hill after winning Ottawa city council seat
Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould recently welcomed a new policy adviser to her office. Benjamin Prud’homme started on the job on Oct. 22. Before then, Mr. Prud’homme was practising family, constitutional, and private international law as an associate with Robinson Sheppard Shapiro in Montreal. At the same time, he was a volunteer lawyer with the […]
Trudeau, Scheer say next election campaign likely to be nastiest in Canada’s history, setting each other up to run nastiest campaign ever
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer are both publicly saying the next election campaign will be the nastiest one ever because they’re strategically setting each other up to run the nastiest ever and signalling to their party bases to be prepared for campaign war, say Conservative and Liberal MPs and pollsters. But […]
How to end Canada’s cycle of making and breaking global commitments on climate change
Since 1992, Canada has struck out on three global climate agreements, failing to live up to promises made in Rio, Kyoto, and Copenhagen to cut climate pollution. But Canada doesn’t have to keep doing this—some of our allies have already developed systems that will keep them on track to meet their climate targets, and Canada […]
MPs have much groundwork to cover to grab Canadians’ attention on social media
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has more Twitter followers than all other MPs combined. This is one of the many interesting facts uncovered from a look into the Twitter accounts of Canada’s MPs. There are currently 334 MPs, and 330, or 98.8 per cent, have a presence on the social media platform. But about a dozen, […]
Why oilpatch suits are trying to boot Bill C-69
“Suits and Boots” is a last-minute industry campaign to derail Bill C-69, environmental legislation passed by the House of Commons in June. Bill C-69 would reform the process for assessing the impacts of proposed resource projects, and modernize the discredited National Energy Board. Conservative Senators, alongside Independent Senators Group Sen. Doug Black, who represents Alberta, […]
