Premiers come to town
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a boost in federal funding for health care would help provinces hit hard by the pandemic—Ontario, Quebec, particularly—brace for ‘any scenario this fall.’ Quebec Premier François Legault and his counterparts stuck to the same script, calling on the feds to contribute ‘its fair share’ in paying for the costs associated […]
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The definitive history of Canada’s role on the United Nations Security Council
Canadians no longer have to delve through old news reports and obscure academic works to understand how their country operates at the United Nations Security Council, though this reporter is not sure many have tried. A highlighter, pencil, and 190 pages of Adam Chapnick’s Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on […]
Fabulous 50: most influential figures to watch in federal politics this fall
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the political landscape. It’s raised the prospect of an election, as the Trudeau government moved to prorogue Parliament in late August, seeking to convince the public that its chief motivation was to secure a renewed mandate for a “bold” recovery agenda pitched at responding to the even greater threat of […]
Politics & the Pen goes virtual for 20th anniversary of Shaughnessy Cohen Prize
Celebration is tricky in isolation. Logistics aside, when the isolation is imposed because of a rampant virus that has killed thousands, celebrating anything might come across as crass. Life, however, does not wholly stop during a pandemic. Milestones happen and deserve to be marked with a celebration. The strictures to which daily life must now […]
‘Tinkering’ won’t fix legal system, communities need Indigenous jurisdiction, says former lawyer in new book
Indigenous people must reclaim their jurisdiction over legal matters because healing communities and equal justice are impossible outcomes in Canadian courts and prisons, concludes Harold Johnson in his latest book. In Peace and Good Order: The Case for Indigenous Justice in Canada, Mr. Johnson excoriates the legal system and the people working to sustain it, […]
Many Canadians have been ‘naïve at best and self-delusional at worst’ in dealings with China, says journalist and author Manthorpe
As Canada approaches the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with China—and as politicians in both countries continue to grapple with the fallout from the recent detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in British Columbia and the ensuing arrests of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by the Chinese government—journalist and author Jonathan Manthorpe calls it […]
Stand and deliver: Godbout does a deep dive on party discipline and the influence of government in Parliament
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—In recent years, a Université de Montreal trailblazer has been publishing sophisticated research about the history of party discipline in Canada. Jean-François Godbout compiles and analyzes complex datasets. His findings have appeared in a number of highly regarded journals to bring attention to the operations of legislatures in multiple countries, particularly the Parliament […]
Former federal NDP MPs Rankin, Cullen eye return to politics, seek to run for B.C. party
Fall election speculation appears to be a favourite Canadian pastime even in the most unprecedented of times, and British Columbia politicos got in on the fun last week, prompting two former federal political players to announce their intentions to run in the province’s next vote. Longtime NDP MP Murray Rankin, who captured the Victoria, B.C., […]
Jury reform ‘not nearly enough,’ says law professor in book meant to fill gaps after no appeal in Stanley acquittal
When Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of Colten Boushie, the major missteps made in that courtroom proved to law professor and author Kent Roach that jury reform was only one step in the “fundamental change” needed to make the legal system fair for Indigenous people in Canada. The […]
