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 […]
Rejecting the courts, Ford dismisses any limits to his power—and that’s scary
OTTAWA—Ontarians got a taste on Sept. 10 of what they are in for under Premier Doug Ford’s version of populist government. In a performance fully worthy of U.S. President Donald Trump, Ford indulged himself in a bombastic outpouring of misinformation, personal attacks, fear-mongering, and conceptions of unchecked power. He specifically rejected the role of the […]
Every time Ford busts out the bazooka to get his way, he’s playing with fire
OTTAWA—Premier Doug Ford’s new Ontario government sure knows how to pick a fight. Question is: does it always have to be a racket? Hours after an Ontario court overturned the Ford government’s legislation to shrink the size of Toronto city council, the premier hauled out the bazooka—announcing he would invoke the notwithstanding clause to reset […]
The cursed state of Canadian politics
OAKVILLE—When people say, “may you live in interesting times,” it’s supposed to be a curse, since “interesting” equates to turbulent, i.e. “World War II sure was interesting.” If that’s the case then I guess Canada is mightily cursed right now, since interesting politics is busting out all over the place. To see what I mean, […]
Cuts to Toronto city council point to ‘paternalistic’ city-province relationship, says Edmonton mayor
The mayor of one of Canada’s biggest cities says Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision to slash the size of Toronto’s city council shows an imbalanced relationship between provincial and municipal governments, but he isn’t worried that his city is next on the chopping block. “It’s a Toronto-specific issue. But what is coming as a surprise […]
Scheer tries out his Ford-Trump routine
OTTAWA—If you’re tired of the mendacious, anger-spewing modus operandi that now passes for political discourse in the United States, you may want to find something to do outside Canada next year. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, who is so uninspiring that rival Maxime Bernier finally quit the party over what he said was moral and intellectual […]
