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Murray Dobbin

Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 4, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pictured recently walking down the stairway from his Centre Block office into the House Chamber. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 4, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 4, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pictured recently walking down the stairway from his Centre Block office into the House Chamber. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 20, 2017
The world is now at the mercy of a coalition of three of the most dangerous autocrats on the planet: Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s new absolute ruler Mohammad bin Salman a name that will become increasingly familiar as the months go by. Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 20, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 20, 2017
The world is now at the mercy of a coalition of three of the most dangerous autocrats on the planet: Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s new absolute ruler Mohammad bin Salman a name that will become increasingly familiar as the months go by. Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 6, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pictured on the Hill recently. The next time you feel confident that at least at the United Nations, the global public interest, is being defended remember that our 'sunny ways' government sees big oil as a partner in, well, curbing big oil. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 6, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 6, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pictured on the Hill recently. The next time you feel confident that at least at the United Nations, the global public interest, is being defended remember that our 'sunny ways' government sees big oil as a partner in, well, curbing big oil. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 23, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured in this file photo in Ottawa outside the National Press Theatre. Mr. Trudeau has to realize he can’t deliver sunny days and win the next election without first weathering a political storm, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 23, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 23, 2017
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured in this file photo in Ottawa outside the National Press Theatre. Mr. Trudeau has to realize he can’t deliver sunny days and win the next election without first weathering a political storm, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 25, 2017
Liberal MP Wayne Easter, right, pictured in this file photograph with Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, is head of the House Finance Committee. The Hill Times file photograph
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 25, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 25, 2017
Liberal MP Wayne Easter, right, pictured in this file photograph with Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner, is head of the House Finance Committee. The Hill Times file photograph
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 11, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 11, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 11, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 10, 2017
Do the mayors of Canada—especially those of the large cities where the first challenges are likely to arise—have any idea of the implications of CETA? If they do they seem inexplicably quiescent. The Trudeau government could have nixed the procurement chapter but chose not to. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 10, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 10, 2017
Do the mayors of Canada—especially those of the large cities where the first challenges are likely to arise—have any idea of the implications of CETA? If they do they seem inexplicably quiescent. The Trudeau government could have nixed the procurement chapter but chose not to. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 12, 2017
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured in file photos on the Hill. The Hill Times photographs by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 12, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 12, 2017
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured in file photos on the Hill. The Hill Times photographs by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 29, 2017
As the mainstream pundits are putting it, the NDP leadership race just got more interesting with the declaration by Jagmeet Singh, an Ontario NDP MPP, is in the race. He has real charisma and would break the white-only leadership barrier for the first time. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 29, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 29, 2017
As the mainstream pundits are putting it, the NDP leadership race just got more interesting with the declaration by Jagmeet Singh, an Ontario NDP MPP, is in the race. He has real charisma and would break the white-only leadership barrier for the first time. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 1, 2017
Like biting on a sore tooth it seems like we cannot curb our fascination with U.S. President Donald Trump (just writing those words seem surreal). The child-man president never disappoints in his buffoonish behaviour and exquisite inarticulateness—as in a recent AP interview, writes Murray Dobbin. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 1, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 1, 2017
Like biting on a sore tooth it seems like we cannot curb our fascination with U.S. President Donald Trump (just writing those words seem surreal). The child-man president never disappoints in his buffoonish behaviour and exquisite inarticulateness—as in a recent AP interview, writes Murray Dobbin. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 24, 2017
Murray Dobbin writes the Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is 'totally blinded' by her bias against Russia. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 24, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 24, 2017
Murray Dobbin writes the Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is 'totally blinded' by her bias against Russia. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 3, 2017
Finance Minister Bill Morneau, left, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk a lot about the middle class, but their latest budget doesn't help young people struggling to get into or not fall out of the ranks of the middle class, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 3, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 3, 2017
Finance Minister Bill Morneau, left, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk a lot about the middle class, but their latest budget doesn't help young people struggling to get into or not fall out of the ranks of the middle class, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 20, 2017
The prize for recklessness would be awarded for what Christy Clark's Liberals have done to B.C. Hydro, including, most recently, the decision to proceed at record pace with the Site ‘C’ dam project, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 20, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 20, 2017
The prize for recklessness would be awarded for what Christy Clark's Liberals have done to B.C. Hydro, including, most recently, the decision to proceed at record pace with the Site ‘C’ dam project, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 6, 2017
When it comes to Canada’s policy towards Israel the Trudeau government, aping its predecessor, is several country miles from reflecting Canadian values, argues columnist Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 6, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 6, 2017
When it comes to Canada’s policy towards Israel the Trudeau government, aping its predecessor, is several country miles from reflecting Canadian values, argues columnist Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 20, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 20, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 20, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 9, 2017
The dominant form of politics in fact reduces most people to passive consumers of politics just as they are consumers of goods. As consumers of politics rather than intentional citizens we simultaneously abdicate responsibility and end up indulging in the culture of complaint. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 9, 2017
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 9, 2017
The dominant form of politics in fact reduces most people to passive consumers of politics just as they are consumers of goods. As consumers of politics rather than intentional citizens we simultaneously abdicate responsibility and end up indulging in the culture of complaint. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 19, 2016
Stephen S. Poloz, the governor of the Bank of Canada. Murray Dobbin argues that 'the Bank of Canada can accomplish one of only two possible results: nothing—by keeping rates below 1 per cent—or disaster, by raising rates and popping the housing bubble.' The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 19, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | December 19, 2016
Stephen S. Poloz, the governor of the Bank of Canada. Murray Dobbin argues that 'the Bank of Canada can accomplish one of only two possible results: nothing—by keeping rates below 1 per cent—or disaster, by raising rates and popping the housing bubble.' The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 28, 2016
When it comes to trade and investment deals the facts mean nothing. Chrystia Freeland simply refuses to answer questions and calls the deal 'the gold standard' of trade agreements, full stop, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 28, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 28, 2016
When it comes to trade and investment deals the facts mean nothing. Chrystia Freeland simply refuses to answer questions and calls the deal 'the gold standard' of trade agreements, full stop, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 21, 2016
Millions of those who voted for Trump, like many of those who voted for Brexit, dealt a clumsy and crude—and largely unconscious—blow against an ideology and an era that had crushed them economically and socially and took them for granted politically. In this reality there is a great irony: a U.S. democracy widely seen to be in its death throes was used to reject the very people responsible for incrementally killing it. photograph courtesy of CNN screen capture
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 21, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 21, 2016
Millions of those who voted for Trump, like many of those who voted for Brexit, dealt a clumsy and crude—and largely unconscious—blow against an ideology and an era that had crushed them economically and socially and took them for granted politically. In this reality there is a great irony: a U.S. democracy widely seen to be in its death throes was used to reject the very people responsible for incrementally killing it. photograph courtesy of CNN screen capture
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 7, 2016
B.C. Premier Christy Clark seen in this file photo during a trip to Ottawa. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 7, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | November 7, 2016
B.C. Premier Christy Clark seen in this file photo during a trip to Ottawa. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 3, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pictured Sept. 22, 2016, on the Hill. Canada and China are launching exploratory talks on a free-trade agreement. But the Liberal preoccupation with trade deals looks increasingly ill-considered, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 3, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | October 3, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pictured Sept. 22, 2016, on the Hill. Canada and China are launching exploratory talks on a free-trade agreement. But the Liberal preoccupation with trade deals looks increasingly ill-considered, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 19, 2016
International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured at the Three Amigos Summit in Ottawa on June 29, 2016. There is a glaring disconnect in the world between economic growth trade and investment agreements, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times Photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 19, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | September 19, 2016
International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, pictured at the Three Amigos Summit in Ottawa on June 29, 2016. There is a glaring disconnect in the world between economic growth trade and investment agreements, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times Photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 18, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and U.S. President Barack Obama, pictured June 29 in Ottawa at the North American Leaders Summit. Canadians are being portrayed by our media as good little globalizers, supportive of these agreements in contrast with the badly behaved Brexiters and Trump and Sanders supporters, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 18, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | July 18, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, and U.S. President Barack Obama, pictured June 29 in Ottawa at the North American Leaders Summit. Canadians are being portrayed by our media as good little globalizers, supportive of these agreements in contrast with the badly behaved Brexiters and Trump and Sanders supporters, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 27, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 22 in Ottawa, faces an exceptionally difficult choice between now and the NATO summit on July 8-9. But if he makes the courageous one, and sides with those calling for more dialogue and diplomacy he will in the long run be on the side of the angels. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 27, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 27, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured June 22 in Ottawa, faces an exceptionally difficult choice between now and the NATO summit on July 8-9. But if he makes the courageous one, and sides with those calling for more dialogue and diplomacy he will in the long run be on the side of the angels. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 15, 2016
Murray Dobbin suggests the West is giving Benjamin Netanyahu’s government carte blanche. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 15, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | June 15, 2016
Murray Dobbin suggests the West is giving Benjamin Netanyahu’s government carte blanche. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 30, 2016
The increasing grim inequality has revealed the broken promise and American workers are pissed. That is in large part what drives the mind-boggling Trump phenomenon in the U.S. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 30, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 30, 2016
The increasing grim inequality has revealed the broken promise and American workers are pissed. That is in large part what drives the mind-boggling Trump phenomenon in the U.S. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 2, 2016
There seems to be little, if any, movement on Justin Trudeau’s commitment to re-engage with Iran. In short, so far, Trudeau’s Middle East policy looks disturbingly like Stephen Harper’s, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 2, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | May 2, 2016
There seems to be little, if any, movement on Justin Trudeau’s commitment to re-engage with Iran. In short, so far, Trudeau’s Middle East policy looks disturbingly like Stephen Harper’s, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 18, 2016
In the aftermath of Tom Mulcair’s crushing repudiation at the NDP’s convention the party enters a period of self-reflection and reinvention that it has never experienced before, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 18, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | April 18, 2016
In the aftermath of Tom Mulcair’s crushing repudiation at the NDP’s convention the party enters a period of self-reflection and reinvention that it has never experienced before, writes Murray Dobbin. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 21, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 21, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | March 21, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 8, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 8, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | February 8, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 25, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 25, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 25, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 11, 2016
Is the fix in, is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s, and more importantly the Liberal brain trust’s, sudden love affair with electoral reform just a plan to stay in power permanently? Trudeau, as you would expect, denied any such nefarious motivation. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 11, 2016
Opinion | BY MURRAY DOBBIN | January 11, 2016
Is the fix in, is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s, and more importantly the Liberal brain trust’s, sudden love affair with electoral reform just a plan to stay in power permanently? Trudeau, as you would expect, denied any such nefarious motivation. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright