Political opportunism one reason for Conservative rejection of carbon pricing
TORONTO—My late great, friend Fraser Mustard, founder of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, would often ask, “why is there such a gap between what we know and what we do?” The British economist, Diane Coyle, asked the same question in a different way in her 2011 book on “how to run the economy as […]
The decline of political persuasion
OAKVILLE, ONT.—I recently received a summons to show up at a courtroom for possible jury duty. And naturally, like any other red-blooded, civic-minded citizen, my initial reaction to the summons was, “How do I get out of this?” But then as I thought about it more, I realized that, as someone who has spent much […]
Singh’s commitment to due process in sexual misconduct investigations on point
OTTAWA—Just as the weather was turning warmer and MPs could see the light at the end of the tunnel, the Hill was buzzing over the investigation into the alleged misconduct of NDP MP Erin Weir, parts of which were leaked. To compound matters, a military veteran from Saskatchewan, Weir’s home province, also emerged to claim […]
Conservatives say if Harper’s public engagements start to damage the brand, he’ll ‘back off’
Stephen Harper, who said back in February that he could still “easily” be leader of the Conservative Party but decided not to in order to secure the party’s future fortunes, has been generating a number of national and international headlines recently, but Conservatives say if it starts to hurt the pary, the former prime minister […]
In the political fight of her life: who’s who on Wynne’s campaign team
The Ontario Liberals, led by Premier Kathleen Wynne, are in the political battle of their lives to win a fifth consecutive term in government on June 7 and have recruited some top talent to help out, including a number of former aides to former prime minister Paul Martin and former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty. “It’s […]
Canada needs a reconstructed Conservative Party
CHELSEA, QUE.—This country needs a reconstructed Conservative Party—one that embodies the prudent policy and personal rectitude of a Peter Loughheed, Bill Davis, Joe Clark, or Robert Stanfield, not the extremism, vitriol, and defiant ignorance on offer from today’s right. Red Tories, blue Conservatives, and centre-right intellectuals still exist in demoralized and diminishing rumps within present-day […]
Are we on the cusp of a dark decade for progressives and a golden age for conservatives?
OTTAWA—This could be the beginning of the return to a dark decade for progressives across Canada. Suddenly, it looks like the conservative, and even neo-conservative and populist arguments are winning out. At the end of the 2015 federal election, prime minister Stephen Harper held two rallies with the Ford brothers in the Greater Toronto Area, […]
Bizarre juxtaposition of death and celebration was no accident in Israel and Gaza strip
OTTAWA—Thank you Donald Trump. A Middle East powder keg erupted last week with a split-screen shot that said it all. The juxtaposition was so glaring that the Economist cover story had this to say: “In a surreal split-screen moment, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was exulting over the opening of America’s embassy in Jerusalem, calling […]
Freeland’s office says ‘any discussions’ with Iran will be solely centred on Maryam Mombeini
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office says the minister won’t be talking to Iran about improving Canadian-Iranian relations until dual citizen Maryam Mombeini is allowed to the leave Iran. Relations with Iran are top-of-mind following U.S. President Donald Trump’s May 8 decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this month, and Liberal […]
A transparency failure conference, Facebook hijinks and dished-out government ‘info’
OTTAWA—There is no doubt that public mistrust has been heightened by a growing list of government-managed exclusions of ministerial and other records. So it was intriguing to find out that one brainstorming policy idea, found in belatedly received Treasury Board records, was to hold a ‘Failure Conference’ as a way of getting Ottawa to open […]
