Revamped legislation and regulatory reinvigoration on the docket for telecom and broadcasting in fall sitting
PARLIAMENT HILL—Everything old is new again when it comes to telecom and media issues percolating in Ottawa this fall, from reviews and renegotiations of old legislation and trade agreements, to court battles litigating long-simmering personnel disputes and CRTC decisions. Despite a dizzying array of issues to keep sight of, expect many eyes to find focus […]
NAFTA is dead; long live NAFTA
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Trump administration’s first summer was atypical for Washington, D.C. Whenever we thought the White House might be on track, another political meteor suddenly appeared and knocked everything off balance. The object was not from outer space but from the very heart of the presidency. This was the pattern the president set on his […]
Election 2019 campaign unofficially underway, expect ‘sharpened eyes’ on Liberals this fall, say opposition MPs
The mid-point of the Liberal government’s four-year mandate arrives this fall, and the 2019 election campaign is already unofficially underway. With their new leaders, the Conservatives and the NDP are promising a heightened level of government scrutiny in the fall sitting of Parliament starting this week. “The day of spin and celebrity shots, selfies of […]
Trudeau vs. Singh? NDP frontrunner’s ‘dynamism’ makes him party’s best hope in 2019, say supporters
By the numbers, Jagmeet Singh is the front-runner in the current federal NDP leadership race. The 38-year-old Ontario MPP, who recently served as deputy leader of the provincial New Democrats, has reportedly signed up more new members (47,000), received more endorsements from former and current NDP federal and provincial politicians (27), and raised more money […]
The girls (and boys) are back in town
OTTAWA—On the heels of a cool, wet summer break, things are about to heat up inside the political precinct and, as entertaining as that may be, it will also set the path to Canada’s 43rd general election and, by extension, the makeup of the 43rd Parliament. There will be plenty of legislative protein in the […]
Dinner is ready, but the guest list isn’t finalized
GATINEAU, QUE.—At the mid-point of his mandate, Justin Trudeau must be a happy prime minister. He retains a comfortable edge in the polls, he has survived many mostly self-inflicted errors, and, there are no obvious giant killers on the parliamentary horizon. And he keeps winning hearts (if not votes) one selfie at a time. But […]
Bains overpromises on superclusters
TORONTO—One of the best examples of the Trudeau government’s practice of overpromising is the superclusters project of Industry, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains. With $950-million to be spread out over five years and to be matched by industry, the plan is to fund about half a dozen so-called superclusters which, in the space […]
After Clinton’s defeat, now more than ever women need to seek and serve in electoral politics for democracy’s sake
OTTAWA—We always wondered when she would emerge. Bruised and battered from an American election campaign like none other in the country’s history, Hillary Clinton took a well-deserved, and much needed break from the limelight. Except for a couple of brief appearances, she has said little and shared even less. And, really, who could fault her? […]
Payette has the right stuff to be the next GG, say fellow astronauts
Robert Thirsk first met Julie Payette 25 years ago. Dr. Thirsk, a physician who holds master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration and served as backup payload specialist to now-Transport Minister Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.) on a 1984 space-shuttle mission, was about to welcome Ms. Payette into the exclusive astronauts’ club that he and […]
Economic self-determination through lending: empowering Indigenous peoples, implementing UNDRIP
In the 1980s, the federal government and Indigenous leaders were on the right track. Prior to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and even prior to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, it was known that the Indigenous economy needed attention. This resulted in the creation […]
