How much airport security is too much?
OTTAWA—Is there any less desirable way to travel these days than by air? Long lineups everywhere, intrusive searches, the delicate dance of holding up your pants while shuffling (since you have to remove your belt before you pass through the scanner), trying to figure out what 100 ml of liquid is, etc., etc., etc. The […]
‘Emergency’ House Citizenship and Immigration Committee meeting was a waste of time
The House Citizenship and Immigration Committee agreed on July 16 to meet to study the issue of the irregular crossing of migrants into Canada from the U.S. It was a rare summer meeting held on July 24. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Border Security Minister Bill Blair, and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen were all called to testify along with […]
Bill Blair is a solid cabinet choice
OTTAWA—Apparently serving as Toronto’s chief of police is a good training ground for federal politics and ultimately the federal cabinet. In last 10 years, two former chiefs have gone from locking up the bad guys to making the laws that mete out the punishment. First it was Julian Fantino who served in Stephen Harper’s Conservative […]
Blair’s focus will be guns, drugs, organized crime, more than migration, suggests Parl. Sec. Vaughan
Though his new cabinet post gives him responsibility for irregular migration, the job of newly appointed cabinet minister Bill Blair will be about so much more, including “guns, drugs, and organized crime,” says Adam Vaughan, the parliamentary secretary for housing and urban affairs. “Where I see this [post] going is not around border security vis-a-vis […]
Amid strained relations with U.S., Ontario, Trudeau debuts bigger cabinet with fresh faces, new posts
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled on Wednesday a larger cabinet, shuffling familiar faces to new posts and creating fresh portfolios, in a bid to emphasize his government’s push to diversify international trade in the face of Washington’s protectionist policies and to brace his party for the 2019 election. In a morning ceremony inside Rideau Hall’s […]
Gun rights groups targeting Senators, MP offices with summer firearms bill campaigns
Gun rights groups and the Conservative Party will continue to put pressure on Liberal MPs and the government over gun safety Bill C-71 this summer, using online campaigns and volunteers to try to “flood” MP offices with calls and emails. The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights will also be trying to lobby Senators on the […]
‘Tough on crime’ tactics won’t address spike in shootings, says downtown Toronto Grit MP
Toronto has been dominating headlines for the spate of shootings that have rocked the city in recent months, but Liberal MP Adam Vaughan says these incidents are not “unique” to it. “It’s clear that, quite frankly, mandatory minimums and 10 years of being tough on crime have not solved the problems we’re dealing with,” said […]
St. Kitts and Nevis foreign minister pushes for visa waiver in Ottawa visit
Nearly four years after losing visa-free access to Canada, the government of a two-island Eastern Caribbean state is engaging in a full-court press to convince the Liberals the travel restrictions are an unnecessary burden for its citizens. Last week, St. Kitts and Nevis Foreign Minister Mark Brantley travelled to Canada to meet with a host […]
The U.K. and Canada: polar opposites when it comes to the terrorist threat
OTTAWA—All it takes is a cursory glance at the news on any given day to conclude—erroneously, as I hope to show—that Islamist extremist terrorism is a daily event that threatens us all. We read of bombings in Afghanistan, beheadings in Libya, vehicular attacks in Barcelona, and shootings in Kashmir and the fear factor rises exponentially. […]
Government must rebuild trust with Canadian Muslims on national security
OTTAWA—Once bitten, twice shy. That’s the sense within Canadian Muslim communities when it comes to the Liberal government’s proposed overhaul of national security law under Bill C-59. The legislation was back before the House last week after examination by the Public Safety and National Security Committee. Let’s not forget where this first started. Under the […]
