Want to stop populism? Try universal basic income
LONDON, U.K.—There’s a new idea that might be the solution to runaway populism. Well, it’s not that new, really—it has been kicking around in left-wing circles for a least a quarter-century—but it has suddenly gone mainstream. It’s called universal basic income (UBI), and pilot programs to see if it really works in practice are being […]
The good and bad of family dynasties in politics
OTTAWA—While elements of the American and British electorate seem repulsed by elites in politics and empowered by their rejection the Canadian environment is still different. If anything, political dynasties remain very much alive in Canada. A second Trudeau is our prime minister and another man named LeBlanc is a senior minister in his government. We […]
Census takeaways: influx and integration key
MONTREAL—The population of every province west of Ontario is growing at a faster rate than the national average. The reverse is true of the five provinces east of Ontario. In the case of Atlantic Canada, the demographic shortfall is acute. New Brunswick’s population shrank between 2011 and 2016 and the population of Nova Scotia’s increased by a mere fraction of a percentage point. The region is in the eye of a perfect storm. Its population is aging; it is losing people to more prosperous provinces; it does not […]
B.C. MPs heartbroken over opioid crisis
MPs representing ridings most heavily affected by the opioid crisis in Western Canada say seeing their communities and constituents struggle with hardship, addiction, and, increasingly, death, is heartbreaking. The Hill Times spoke to a number of MPs dealing firsthand with the crisis as it grips their communities. The conversations were emotional, at times exasperated and […]
Ottawa must completely redraft its innovation strategy
Multinational corporations tend to concentrate their strategic activities, including research and development (R&D), at or near the head office rather than in their foreign subsidiaries. Since Canada’s economy relies mostly on local branches of foreign corporations, mostly American, structural reasons explain why Canada has one of OECD’s worst records in terms of R&D intensity. In […]
Letting watchdogs be reappointed is not a good idea, for anyone
FREDERICTON, N.B.—At its highest water mark, opposition critics were not prepared to ask the federal Parliament’s ethics commissioner to recuse herself from investigating the prime minister while her future status was uncertain. But it caused one critic to muse that the situation was “awkward.” With the announcement that she will not seek another term, Conflict of […]
What an oil spill would mean to the West Coast
To my fellow Canadians, I would like to share with you what our pristine West Coast means to so many of us in British Columbia. We love our majestic and iconic orca and humpback whales. Our cherished Southern Resident Killer Whales risk extinction now with the nearly seven-fold increase in oil tanker traffic coming from […]
‘We’ve got to have Plan B’: New Brunswick MPs weather the ice storm
Waking up to a world covered in ice, New Brunswick’s MPs spent the last days of their winter break scrambling to help constituents left in the cold by a storm that knocked out power lines across the province. Without a formal role in the disaster relief effort led by the province, the MPs toured warming […]
Alberta’s carbon tax is supposed to cost more
There’s been a lot of criticism in the news lately about Alberta’s new carbon tax. Most of the criticism seems to be based on the fact that it will cost some people and businesses more money. These critics have missed the entire point. It is supposed to cost more. Without a carbon tax, pollution, and, […]
Language politics return to Canada
OTTAWA—The politics of language and the language of politics are as Canadian as hockey. Last week, the Liberals and Conservatives were both facing heat on Quebec’s hot-button language issue. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in trouble for speaking too much French, and Conservative candidate Kevin O’Leary for not speaking enough. Both were defending their […]
