OPINION
The dark sides of conservatism
Conservatives should be willing to look at their own intellectual history, the good and especially the bad.
UNDRIP offers a number of rights-based solutions that are necessary to end the ongoing violence being inflicted upon Indigenous families, communities, nations and individuals.
By incorporating carbon storage and climate change adaptation into protected areas, we can accelerate the conservation of our lands and waters, and reduce climate uncertainty for our children.
Two and a half weeks after the 2019 election and we can’t stop talking about these white men, the threat of #Wexit, and equalization.
The Senate route is the only way to have cabinet representation from these two provinces; people who will have a high-profile, public role in the decision-making process.
The Century Initiative says that nothing less than 100 million people—an extra 63 million people—is essential if Canada is to avoid becoming an aging and poorer society.
Given the minority government, the next election could happen any time, so our election law needs to be strengthened as soon as possible to ensure our next election is more fair, honest and democratic.
The government should listen to and learn from people who depend on social assistance about what they need. Until we change the system to work with people rather than against them, we won’t break the cycle of poverty.Hill Times Columnists
Canada, it’s time to implement the TRC and UNDRIP, in intent and in policy, action and law. Drop all the resistance to building relationships with Indigenous peoples. Talk to Indigenous communities like partners, not like fiduciary pawns in some colonial game.
The truth is that the highly publicized U.S. assassinations of Osama bin Laden and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have done nothing to eliminate the threat of Islamic Jihadists.
Andrew Scheer has more than a communications problem. He has a substance problem and so does his party. The April reckoning in Toronto will bring it to a head.
The Alberta premier’s belligerent and distorted attacks on 'Ottawa,' and his deafness to the climate change concerns that influenced the outcome of the recent election, is winning him no friends in the rest of the country. And Alberta is going to need friends as it manages the inevitable transition to a post-carbon economy.
The fact is that groups that hold extremist views and—potentially—violent extremist ones such as the Soldiers of Odin, the Proud Boys, and the IIIpercenters also tend to gravitate towards causes such as those espoused by Wexit.
Opinion
The threats to the recent federal election were homegrown, so who will save us from ourselves?
The real challenge presented by the Oct. 21 election result will be for Parliament to produce progress from division.
With promises for an early mandate tax cut and pipeline push, it seems we were foolish to simply assume the Liberals would govern as progressives with the support of NDP, Greens, and Bloc.
Thanks to the climate-action-denier crowd, the country is actually in danger of moving in the wrong direction. But voters on Oct. 21 may have at least opened the way for some kind of progress.
It is highly unlikely that Andrew Scheer will be leading the Conservatives in the next election, but the party would be wrong to think that changing leaders is a simple solution to achieve victory in the next election.
This election surfaced tensions that come from economic angst, racism aimed at immigrants and refugees, and a rise in populism.
Canada can achieve its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target, but not if it allows further major growth of its oil sands production. 
There's an opportunity to develop, with a new government, the new 'Golden Age' of 21st century public service. Editorial
Hill Times Columnists
Social media has become a key way to connect with voters, with Instagram in particular as the main platform to engage with younger people whose votes may be up for grabs.
The fall of the Berlin Wall did not lead automatically to the benign reunification of Germany. It created the opportunity for positive change, but making it happen took clear thinking and hard political work.
The NDP ended up finishing in fourth place behind the Bloc Québécois. And in an odd sort of ironic way, the low expectations for Jagmeet Singh actually might have saved his job as NDP leader.
The current Conservative leadership, for the good of the organization, needs to let truth be spoken. This exercise need not go on forever, as that will over time only benefit their political opponents, but it must happen.
The Senate hierarchy has been hiding serious allegations of sexual harassment of Senate staffers behind casuistical interpretations of parliamentary privilege. The arcane rules of the Senate’s secretive internal economy committee have so far smothered full disclosure of the known facts.
Opinion
While the frustration of Western Canada over delays in building the Trans-Mountain pipeline is understandable, this is not the result of some hidden federal agenda.
The election ushered in what is certain to be a period of uncertainty and discord unseen in Canada for years.
For most of the campaign, Trudeau and Scheer were painful to watch and listen to. Talking points targeting different segments of voters. Political marketing is killing originality and neutering person
Given Canada’s track record of late, it’s probably for the best there weren’t any concrete foreign affairs ideas during the campaign.
There was plenty of failure to go around, as 42 days ago, there were certain presumptions. This was by far the most confusing and disillusioning election of them all.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, I trust that the Canadian delegation will commit more aid to respond to this rapidly growing humanitarian crisis.
In 2019, 37 per cent of Canadians strongly agree that it is time for a change in government. In 2015, this number was 57 per cent.
Whoever forms the government will have to get to work immediately on the fall fiscal update, which sets the stage for next year’s budget. But this is only the first step.
Hill Times Columnists
We have to get back to a much more rigorous approach to innovation policy. There is so much we want to do as a country. But if we don’t succeed in building a new economy to deliver the jobs and wealth, we will fall sort of meeting our goals and expectations.
The current minority, the first since 2011, is taking place against a backdrop of extreme partisanship, personal animosity, and the fuming public anger that feeds off social media.
Whatever the outcome of this Parliament, those in power should be reminded the national interest, not their political survival, should be their priority.
Whether the political parties like it or not, hug-it-out is the new screw you and agendas will only advance through cooperative efforts.