How to turn a good idea into a big mess
It’s tax season. Suppose the Canada Revenue Agency owed you $2,000 but instead of giving you the money, it offered you 20 gift certificates that it chose without consulting you: $50 for chicken, $80 for books, $100 in bus tickets, and so on. Don’t need chicken? Too bad! The gift certificates are not transferable. That’s […]
Clean fuel standard will lead to a tug-of-war between economy and environment
In 2015, a fresh government came into office with the mindset that the environment and the economy go hand-in-hand—that one cannot thrive without the other. Just as Parliament entered its final stretch ahead of the 2019 federal election, the government’s federal carbon price came into effect as its preferred mechanism to reduce emissions. Existing provincial […]
That other election to watch: Newfoundland and Labrador
OTTAWA—This week the time has come for me to write on something other than the SNC-Lavalin Liberal mess. I just can’t muster the energy to swim any longer in that turd soup. So what is the best thing to do when you are feeling worn down by federal politics? Look east. Canada’s Far East: Newfoundland […]
The Kenney campaign con and the new meaning of narrative
The word “narrative” as a political term of art is by no means new. The concept has been around since long before the days when Hollywood production values migrated to the White House with Ronald Reagan. From “the boy from Baie-Comeau” defining Brian Mulroney’s rise from son of an electrician in a Quebec mill town, […]
‘Underdog’ NDP in Outremont faces ‘hard battle’ to keep ex-leader’s seat: NDP analysts
The Quebec riding of Outremont is the Liberals’ to lose, with the NDP a “long shot” to keep former leader Tom Mulcair’s seat in the upcoming byelection, say NDP analysts, who call candidate Julia Sánchez a “star,” but still the clear underdog. From what he’s heard on the ground, former NDP national director Karl Bélanger […]
Criminal charges raises spectre of SNC-Lavalin takeover, but feds’ $180-billion infrastructure plan can find other builders, experts say
If SNC-Lavalin is found guilty of corruption and fraud charges, it could mean a closing nail in the coffin for the Quebec-based company’s chances of preventing a takeover—something that could infuriate many in the province and provoke a government intervention, experts say. A competitive marketplace for federal construction contracts means the company’s potential exclusion from […]
Mark Eyking becomes fourth Nova Scotia Liberal MP not to seek re-election
After 18 years in Ottawa, well-liked Liberal MP Mark Eyking says he won’t run again and will return home to the Bluenoser province. The six-term federal lawmaker announced on Feb. 14 in a Facebook post that he was leaving public life. “I’ve come to the stage in my life that’s telling me I have had a […]
How regions become innovation hubs
With an eye toward the upcoming 2019 federal election, public sector officials are looking for new approaches to improve the economic vitality of their economies, the livelihood of their citizens and, not coincidentally, their electoral prospects. Public sector efforts in Canada and the United States include: federal investments in field crop research and innovation, the […]
‘What we have is a policy opening,’ Greens working to break through to Quebec, British Columbia voters who want a ‘climate leader’
The Liberal government has “utterly failed” to respond to the threat of climate change, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, and the lone Green MP is hopeful that voters in Quebec and British Columbia will respond by giving her some company in the House of Commons in the fall. “In Quebec, with all the pipeline […]
Six-term Liberal MP Cuzner ‘disappointed’ he was left out of cabinet, not 100 per cent sure if he will seek re-election
PARLIAMENT HILL—After 19 years in federal politics, a veteran Liberal MP from Nova Scotia—who won his riding with the highest percentage of votes in his province, in 2015—is not 100 per cent sure if he will seek re-election in October. “Well, you know, I’m 99 per cent sure,” said Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner in an […]
