Obama’s win: it’s time for Canada to look at our slow train multicultural dream
OTTAWA—That Barack Obama is a transformational figure is the cliché of the day, but what does it really mean? To look at him is to recognize that he is the first African American to become president of the United States of America, the most powerful person in government in the U.S. and in the world? […]
Conservatives could be on road to being next natural governing party
Much of the commentary suggests that Quebec was the reason Prime Minister Stephen Harper was denied his majority. That was because it seemed certain he would make a breakthrough. The other voters who did not embrace the Conservatives completely were urban voters in the three big cities, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, and more pointedly the […]
Dovetailing unemployed workers with skills shortages makes good politics
Are we short of workers or are we short of jobs? It depends on where you live and which sector you are looking at. It also determines whether it’s an election issue for you or not. The economy is turning out to be the unexpected wild card in this election, and that’s largely because there […]
There is more than one way to win the so-called ‘ethno-cultural’ vote
There’s much talk about the ethnic vote in the lead up to what will likely be a fall election. The Liberals seem to have it, and the other parties want in. It is a key factor that keeps the Liberals in contention for government and keeps the Conservatives from getting a majority. Multiculturalism minister Jason […]
Diversity and MPs’ summertime BBQ circuit
While Ottawa is obsessed with the fledgling debate on the carbon tax, there is another set of issues bubbling just below the surface that MPs are likely to hear about on the barbecue circuit this summer. It’s about our diversity and where we are going as a country. There’s reasonable accommodation, the human rights commissions, […]
Parliamentary apologies: the right thing to do
The Harper government is about to issue an apology regarding the Komataga Maru incident, where almost 400 Indian immigrants were not allowed to land at the port of Vancouver in 1914, and after several weeks of appalling conditions in harbour the ship was turned back. But why is an apology important today for acts carried […]
House Human Resources Committee nails it in employability study
While media coverage of Parliamentary committees makes them sound more like Roman coliseum blood baths, the House Human Resources and Social Development Committee has issued a timely and comprehensive report entitled, Employability in Canada: Preparing for the Future. Chaired by the well-respected Conservative MP Dean Allison (Niagara West-Glanbrook, Ont.), the committee has addressed the No. […]
Watching Bouchard-Taylor from Ottawa: reasonable accommodation, and how far it can go both ways
OTTAWA—On March 31 the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accommodation will be reporting. They will be trying to craft a very fine balance between all the forces at play as Quebec’s cultural protection objective in an age of globalization is both necessary and perilous. Federal parties will be watching very carefully. As the world gets smaller, […]
Time for a federal-provincial conference on racism, people
Pulling out of Durban II was the right thing to do. That’s what Cabinet ministers Maxime Bernier and Jason Kenney announced last week. United Nations conferences, for the most part, have some use. While they are all more talk fests and schmoozing affairs, they do get the world and each country to focus on an […]
Democracy not the answer to Pakistan’s troubles, right now
As democracy continues to be threatened in Pakistan, it is only to be expected that the voices from the Canadian Parliament consistently push for the early restoration of democracy and the general election planned for mid-February. But is that really the best course for a country as turbulent and chaotic as Pakistan is at this […]
