Our prisons are full of men
As viewers start binge-watching the new season of Orange in the New Black, they might be forgiven for missing one of the most startling facts about prison life. In federal prisons in both Canada and the United States, 93 per cent of people behind bars are men. What the Netflix show does do well is […]
From policing to politics, government’s pot point man says public service is paramount
PARLIAMENT HILL—Bill Blair is still getting used to this whole politics thing. “I confess I’m probably not as politically oriented—and I mean big-P politically oriented—as many of my colleagues,” the Liberal MP for Scarborough Southwest, Ont., said in an interview last week from his office in the Wellington Building in downtown Ottawa. Mr. Blair is, […]
London attackers do not represent Islam
Absolutely disgusting. As an Ahmadi Muslim, I am extremely saddened and angered by the news of the attacks in London, U.K. It is ironic that these extremists have conducted such violence during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting when Muslims across the globe immerse themselves in self-discipline and social welfare. In fact, Islam rests […]
How or whether to reintegrate convicted terrorists
No Canadian is unfamiliar with the name Karla Homolka. She was the wife, and partner in crime, of Paul Bernardo, currently serving a life sentence for the brutal sex slayings of two young women in southern Ontario in the early 1990s. Homolka only got a lesser punishment because of a controversial side deal with the […]
To counter Islamist thugs, listen to Lord Bentinck
Islamic thugs have carried out another dastardly attack on innocent people in Manchester. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility as a part of its war against the West. They have been also slaughtering fellow Muslims who don’t share their violent interpretation of Islam. To defeat Islamist thugs, we can learn from Lord […]
Why intelligence sharing is at risk thanks to the Trump administration
OTTAWA—Donald Trump promised during his presidential campaign that, if elected to the highest office in the land, he would do things differently. No more Washington business as usual, he said. This was welcomed by many who are convinced that the capital, and by extension the government, had fallen into paralysis and inefficiency. What better man than a […]
Preparing Canada’s military for 21st century goes beyond battlefield
The job of defending Canada must evolve to respond to the changing nature of conflict in the 21st century. Since April 2016, the federal government has been conducting consultations aimed at renewing Canada’s defence policy. As deputy chair of the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence, I had the opportunity to hear from experts […]
Trudeau’s naive approach on defence on full display
As global leaders gathered in Brussels at the NATO heads of state meeting to compare notes on how each will contribute to the alliance’s collective security, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed up empty-handed. His Liberal government continuously promised the release of their defence policy review by the end of 2016. As we approach the midway […]
How terrorists justify targeting children
Terrorist acts are often heinous in nature. People targeted at a club in Orlando (or Istanbul) dancing the night away. Passengers on a city bus in Tel Aviv. Young political activists on an island in Norway. When we are happily doing whatever it is that we like and we are felled by indiscriminate terror and […]
RCMP: More reports for the archives
OTTAWA—It’s spring, and the hardiest of perennials in the Canadian policy garden is in full flower. The RCMP and the never-ending wailing about how to fix its “culture of dysfunction” and “insularity,” in the words of two recent reports, is already standing tall among the many other perennials in the government’s garden of things needing […]
