Power and powerlessness: the McCain model
Among the themes emerging from this improbable political moment, in which the world is being not so much led as misled by an extraordinarily destructive American president, is abuse of power. It has been an obvious, hourly trope emanating from the White House as egregious, previously unimaginable offences are being committed against stability, sanity, taste, […]
‘This was his plan all along,’ Conservative politicos slam Bernier for leaving party
Current and former Conservatives were none too pleased last week with MP Maxime Bernier‘s decision to leave the Conservative Party—and excoriate it in a press conference on his way out—and many took to Twitter to hit back at the one-time party leadership favourite. Conservative MP Todd Doherty said in a series of Tweets that Mr. […]
‘Old stock’ politics is past its expiry date
OTTAWA—Maxime Bernier’s surprise resignation last week will not put an end to a raucous Tory debate on identity politics. Instead of buying peace in advance of the writ, the Conservative announcement of a Canada-wide immigration tour will serve to magnify internal differences of viewpoint. As for Bernier’s plan to start a new party, his reach […]
Ignore white nationalists at your own peril, Mr. Scheer
TORONTO—The short, stout woman bobs through the crowd like a hungry dog, jockeying for position at a dish of meat. She screams and yells, waving a plump finger in the air. Every so often, she looks back behind her, in the direction of the cameraman recording her every move. The cameraman encourages her to […]
Trimble’s ‘Ms. Prime Minister’ digs deep into media bias towards female PMs
There are many reasons why people enter, delay or avoid political life. Conservatives Rona Ambrose and Laureen Harper recently talked about the creation of the She Leads Foundation, a mentoring organization that strives to get more conservative women involved in politics. What they had to say is relevant to everyone who cares about a healthy, […]
Tory delegates vote against anti-abortion resolution, endorse limiting citizenship, as policy convention wraps
HALIFAX—Conservative Party delegates railed against being known as “Liberal lite” Saturday, voting to pass a series of policy resolutions aimed at shoring up their base while trying to dodge some social pitfalls that would make it easier for opponents to place targets on their backs in 2019. Delegates attending the party’s national convention in Halifax […]
Supply management proposal gets the short shrift as Tories prepare policy package
Conservative Party members wrestled Friday with how they’ll be perceived by the general voting public in 2019 as they began the process of whittling down a swath of policy resolutions that will help inform the party’s next election platform. When delegates reconvene on Saturday afternoon to talk policy, they’ll be staring down a list of […]
Public service hiring stats useful to show imbalances
Re: “#DMsSoWhite: so few visible-minority senior public servants, feds won’t release stats,” (The Hill Times, Aug. 15, p. 1). Perhaps the focus on the lack of visible minorities in the senior management of the federal public service is unfortunately balanced in the lower ranks. Then-Treasury Board president Lucienne Robillard said in 2002 that “recruitment practices are based on the fundamental values […]
Bernier’s diversity rant adds to Scheer’s headaches
OTTAWA—One week before the first Conservative national convention on Andrew Scheer’s leadership watch—and the last such gathering before the next federal election—one would not normally expect Conservative MPs to be debating each other on social media about whether to draw a line on Canada’s diversity. Against the backdrop of a simmering trade war with the […]
#DMsSoWhite: so few visible-minority senior public servants, feds won’t release stats
Fewer than 10 of 84 top-level public servants identify as visible minorities: so few that the federal government won’t pinpoint exactly how many there are. That means fewer than 12 per cent of top federal managers say they are people of colour. By comparison, that’s less than the 14.5 per cent of bureaucrats as a whole who […]
