Talk about draining the swamp, not
OTTAWA—The swamp runneth over. By all accounts, an Alabama senatorial candidate facing multiple harassment allegations, is successfully staring down opponents, even within his own party. Judge Roy Moore is casting the fight as one of hometown supporters versus the Washington elite, including Senator majority leader Mitch McConnell, who has asked him to step aside. In […]
Ethical issues dogging Morneau could become a major credibility problem for Liberals by 2019 election, say some Grits
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should take proactive action to deal with the ethical issues involving Finance Minister Bill Morneau and his chief fundraiser Stephen Bronfman because it could slowly erode the Grits’ political capital and goodwill with voters and become a major credibility problem in the 2019 election, say some Liberals. “It’s going to be […]
Swing ridings with high visible minority populations will tilt 2019 federal election, says politicos
Some 41 “swing” ridings with visible minority populations of 50 per cent or more, including five constituencies in the Greater Toronto Area that have 80 per cent or more visible minorities, will be key battlegrounds for all major parties in the 2019 election, say politicos. “These ridings will elect the next government,” said rookie Conservative […]
Conservatives really, really don’t like Justin Trudeau, eh?
TORONTO—Conservatives don’t like Justin Trudeau. They really, really don’t like him. This writer is a regular on Evan Solomon’s CFRA radio show with Alise Mills and Karl Bélanger. My friends Alise and Karl are articulate and thoughtful advocates (unlike me), and they are prepared to criticize their own political party when it is warranted (like […]
Cannabis Act, finance minister’s ethics controversy to be front-and-centre for last sitting stretch of 2017
The House is back for the final four-week legislative stretch of the year and while the government is looking to make progress on its Cannabis Act, Bill C-45, opposition House leaders say they will continue to hammer away at Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the daily 45-minute drama Question Period. “We have a prime minister […]
Trump’s march to folly
TORONTO—How do we deal with a country led by a lying, narcissistic egomaniac and bully whose ego needs are insatiable? I am not talking about some tin pot dictator in a distant country. I am talking about our American neighbour, and its president, Donald Trump. Under his administration, the U.S. has now become the most […]
Is Canada willing to take the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence protection as seriously as the Americans?
Ask any advocate: it’s hard to get people whipped up about Great Lakes and St. Lawrence protection unless rivers burn before their eyes, as the Cayuhoga River did back in 1969. Yet, when the Trump administration threatened to eliminate all funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative earlier this year, something remarkable happened. The region’s […]
Liberals, Conservatives finalize candidates for upcoming byelections
The Liberals and Conservatives are lining up their candidates for a series of federal byelections next month. The two parties have determined who will carry their respective banners in all four ridings up for grabs on Dec. 11, with the Tories tasking a former cabinet minister with keeping a Vancouver-area seat blue in what’s expected […]
Canada’s impending unity crisis
OAKVILLE, ONT.—It’s been a relatively long time since Canada’s suffered through a gut-wrenching unity crisis. So yeah, we’re due for one. In fact, the resentment currently simmering in Western Canada—more specifically in Alberta—suggests we’re heading for a period of seriously ramped up regional tension. And make no mistake, resentment is growing in the West. As former interim […]
We should do away with tax credits for charitable, political contributions
Re: “Could modernizing charity legislation be Trudeau’s greatest stand for Canadian democracy,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 1, online, by Roger Gibbins). This column raises some interesting arguments for “modernizing” charity legislation none of which are compelling reasons to fund agencies that are tantamount to a shadow government and a job already filled by the democratically […]
