Canada made history last week, and it was a long time coming
OTTAWA—Canada made history last week, becoming only the second country in the world to sell legal cannabis. And judging by long lineups on the first day of sale, the decision was a long time coming. Marijuana distributers are predicting shortages for several months as product has been flying off the shelves in provinces with storefront […]
Diana Ross helps raise more than $780,000 at this year’s glitzy NAC Gala
The 1970s were back in a big way on Oct. 3 as the National Arts Centre held its annual gala featuring Motown Queen Diana Ross. Always known for its glitz and glamour, with a theme of sequins and satin, the gala was particularly so this year. Raising money for the National Youth and Education Trust, […]
It would have been ‘cheeky’ for Trudeau to intervene on notwithstanding clause, says reader
Re: “Trudeau should have stood up to Ford over notwithstanding clause,” (The Hill Times, letter to the editor, p. 8). Alykhan Pabani writes that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is no leader. Prime Minister Trudeau has sidestepped the Supreme Court by refusing to revise abortion legislation, which the Supreme Court struck down, and instead took it […]
Ford’s willingness to use a constitutional nuclear bomb won’t be forgotten
TORONTO—Defeat, in politics, is almost always preceded by some sort of an overreaction. You know: Paul Martin, desperate to avoid defeat in the 2006 federal election, declares that he will take away the federal government’s ability to use the notwithstanding clause. Didn’t work. He lost. The Grant Devine government in Saskatchewan used it in 1986, […]
Trudeau should have stood up to Ford over notwithstanding clause, says reader
On Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, I woke up and made my way to the Ontario Legislature, determined to express my utter disgust with Bill 31. A rare weekend sitting had been called to expedite the bill’s passage. It was tense. After physically turning his back to the opposition for the duration of the proceedings, Ontario […]
Lessons from the notwithstanding clause debate
When I was an assistant to the opposition leader in Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1980s, I would often get into lengthy discussions with my friend and co-worker, the late David Kennedy, who was a poet, journalist, and political animal. One day we were discussing poetry and I asked if he knew the work […]
PM must stand up to Ontario Premier Ford, says reader
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the leading politician in this country, but his response to Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s actions has been weak. Mr. Ford’s actions are deemed “legal;” and while he claims to be acting democratically, his actions are more befitting a dictator. I expect the prime minister to make a definitive stand on […]
Climate at the crossroads
It began and ended with two new cabinets and two new words: climate change. They were added to the title of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first minister of the environment and climate change in 2015; and taken away from the new title for Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s first minister of the environment, conservation and parks […]
The Ontario campaign that went from time for a change to throw the bums out
Any party seeking re-election after 15 years in office will face challenges, but it’s not impossible in Canadian politics. Provincial party dynasties with successive leaders are rare, but they do exist: the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, 1943-85, and the PCs in Alberta from 1971-2015. In each of those cases, the party shuffled out the old leaders […]
Ford’s resort to nuclear option ought to have us all nervous
Ontario Premier Doug Ford may have good reasons for wanting to slash Toronto city council from a proposed 47 to 25 councillors. But he’s gone about it the wrong way by trying to hastily jam through legislation, Bill 5, to enact the cut in the middle of a municipal election campaign. He’s continued down that wrong […]
