Canada’s corporate ethics watchdog a ‘positive tool,’ says incoming Mexican ambassador
Canada’s newly created corporate ethics watchdog is an “innovative and very welcome new institution” for businesses and governments, says the incoming Mexican ambassador to Canada. Countries, including Mexico, could learn from Canada’s model, said Juan José Gómez Camacho, who came to Canada in mid-March and expects to get the official diplomatic nod later this month […]
First female foreign affairs DM among several women promoted in latest civil service shuffle
The prime minister has appointed the first female deputy minister of foreign affairs, and is moving a top-level female Indigenous deputy minister as part of a number of recent executive-level public service staff changes promoting women. Marta Morgan is set to move from heading Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada to being Canada’s first female deputy […]
The case for Joe Biden
In the spring of 2008, I was asked in an email whom I thought Barack Obama should pick as his running mate. I had been covering the campaign since January and it was clear that the Illinois Senator was on the verge of clinching the nomination. I responded immediately: Joe Biden. My argument at the […]
No gold stars for pulling troops from places they shouldn’t have been
OTTAWA—For those who read through to the back pages of the newspaper’s world affairs section, the conflict in Libya has been back in the news of late. For a country that has been consumed by violent anarchy since NATO-led rebels toppled the Muammar Gaddafi regime in October 2011, a renewed outbreak of hostilities hardly seems […]
Canadian businesses not seizing on CETA as much as Europeans, need a culture shift, say analysts
The European Union’s ambassador to Canada says though it’s been more than a year and a half since the two sides’ trade deal largely came into effect, EU companies have been more aggressive exploring new opportunities in Canada than Canadian companies have in Europe. While the Canadian government has touted such deals in its desire […]
French Embassy’s Ambassador for a Day program aims to shatter glass ceiling
France’s first female ambassador to Canada, Kareen Rispal, says she’s “fighting to have more women ambassadors” in the field, but saw a lack of role models available to young professionals starting their careers. To encourage participation, it’s important for those early in their careers to not simply see women in positions of power, but be […]
The North needs more infrastructure to unlock its wealth potential
Few industries come to mind that have a stronger connection and reliance on infrastructure than the mining sector. Frequently situated in remote and northern regions, mines are often located in areas without any roads, telecommunications services, or easily accessible transportation, all essential to getting goods to market. Nowhere is Canada’s infrastructure deficit more acute than […]
New NAFTA deal gets it right on digital trade
Canada has quickly become a leader in digital innovations. Our federal government has, in the last few years, launched superclusters across the country, with the goal of transforming our innovation economy. We are leading the world in the development of artificial intelligence, with research hubs in Montreal and Waterloo, among other cities. And we are […]
ESDC to ‘promote,’ ‘enforce’ labour rights in other countries, under CPTPP trade deal
The Liberal government has assigned its human resources department to begin to monitor and “enforce” labour standards in other countries, under the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Budget 2019 redirected $680,000 per year of Employment and Social Development Canada’s budget towards an effort to “promote, monitor, and enforce labour standards […]
Public works require public input, but can’t be hamstrung by it
The Oxford English Dictionary defines infrastructure as “the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.” You’d think pretty much everyone would be in favour of building the structures needed to operate our society. But before I became a Senator, I spent 30 years as a journalist, […]
