The latest case of police racism is yet another travesty of justice
MONTREAL—Montreal is a great place to live. Unless you are a person of colour. Mamadi Fara Camara, a 31-year-old PhD student and instructor from Guinea, found this out on the evening of Jan. 28. He had been stopped by Montreal police for using a cellphone while driving, an offence he says he did not commit. […]
Rick Hillier’s double duty doesn’t pass the smell test
OTTAWA—From the outset, I wish to state that I have the utmost respect and admiration for retired General Rick Hillier. He is a natural leader; a charismatic public speaker and he earned the loyalty of those troops which he commanded. Hillier parlayed those attributes into a stellar military career, which culminated with him serving as […]
‘Dumbest thing I’ve seen’: Miller slams wealthy couple who flew to Yukon to skip vaccine queue
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller condemned the decision of a wealthy Vancouver couple who chartered a plane to Beaver Creek, Yukon, in January to get the Moderna vaccine, saying it left him “disgusted.” Mr. Miller (Ville-Marie-Le Sud-Ouest-Île-des-Sœurs, Que.), who spoke to reporters in a press conference Wednesday morning, said it was “idiotic” of them to […]
Carr’s cabinet post praised by Prairie stakeholders, but experts and MP wary of road ahead
After recovering from a blood cancer diagnosis that forced him out of cabinet after the 2019 election, Jim Carr is back in the new post as the special representative to the Prairies. The title is old—Mr. Carr has held it since the election—but the spot in cabinet is new. Prior to re-joining cabinet, Mr. Carr was […]
Consequential election on the Rock worth watching
OTTAWA—Canada is now in the midst of its fourth pandemic election. Following the lead of New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador voters will head to the polls on Saturday, Feb. 13. Newly minted Liberal Premier Dr. Andrew Furey, son of Senate Speaker George Furey, was required by provincial law to call an […]
Bill 101 applying federally? Time for some constitutional common sense
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—I miss Eugene Forsey. The late, great former senator was a source of incredible insight into the Constitution. And he was always accessible: as a political assistant or journalist, if I had a question on constitutional law, I would phone him up and he would settle things with a succinct answer. He was a […]
Climate and shifting markets define energy challenges for Canada
The state of energy policy in Canada, as it relates to fossil fuels, is defined by two major issues: the stalling out, with the possible exception of Quebec, of meaningful progress on climate change; and distress in the Alberta oil and gas sector, a product of weak demand and low commodity prices—trends that pre-dated the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
Anglo Quebecers are not a threat to French, we shouldn’t be treated as such
MONTREAL, QUE.—Sometimes things in life don’t happen as quickly as they should. An article in La Presse in September 2017 focused on my plans to move back to Quebec in 2018. Two years later, I have taken the step, moving to my ancestral home in Kamouraska and taking a pied à terre in Montreal. There […]
In Quebec, a wilful blindness to racism against Indigenous people
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—The death of Joyce Echaquan on Sept. 28 in the Joliette, Que., hospital, northeast of Montreal, drew national headlines for the way she died: Facebook Live streaming nursing staff as they hurled racist insults at her in a hospital bed. When the 37-year-old Atikamekw woman received morphine for stomach pains, she complained to the […]
Infrastructure gaps for Inuit are critical
OTTAWA—Did you know that infrastructure gaps for Inuit are critical? As a southerner, I have been honoured to travel to Nunavut numerous times to support Inuit capacity and leadership development. Just like every other southerner, I was wide-eyed and awestruck the first time. The Arctic has that effect on all newcomers. I also experienced an […]
