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 […]
Expected rise in mail-in voting to alter GOTV dynamics, federal parties need to adjust strategies for the next election, say political players
If the next federal election is held before the COVID-19 pandemic is over, millions of people are expected to use mail-in ballots, according to Elections Canada, and political players are advising candidates and political parties to make adjustments in their Get Out the Vote strategies. The use of postal ballots has significantly altered GOTV operations, […]
The 1995 Quebec referendum: recalling a ‘near-death’ experience
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—This has been quite a year for anniversaries in Quebec: the 50th since the October Crisis, the 40th of the 1980 Quebec referendum and, this week, the 25th of the “near-death” referendum of 1995. They are an opportunity to feel old, to reminisce, and for some analysts, to offer a different take on history. […]
The N-word is hate speech, not free speech
CALGARY—The aroma of burning crosses dotting the landscape of this “multicultural” nation sure smells like the anti-Black racism most “leaders” are purported to stand against. The proliferation of N-word usage, primarily among educators in publicly funded institutions is becoming a crisis of mental and emotional abuse that manifests itself in structural violence. Coined in the […]
