Talk of ‘Nazi’ monuments is fake news meant to distract
“No denying Canada’s monuments to Nazi collaborators,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 1, p. 9). This opinion piece claimed there are monuments to “Nazis” in this country. As so-called evidence, Scott Taylor referred to a tweet from the Russian Embassy in Ottawa as well as an Oct. 25 National Post story, which relied on the same propaganda. In […]
All politics is local: Ottawa bubble scandals not making a splash amid Newfoundland ferry furor
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—Yes, yes, you have read and heard about it many times before, but truly all politics is local. After spending the last week at home in Newfoundland and Labrador guest-hosting one of our province’s most-popular radio talk shows, VOCM’s Open Line, that maxim about local issues has been proven true again. National headlines […]
Trump isn’t the only norm-blaster
One of the more dangerous phenomena associated with the presidency of Donald Trump in the United States is that the bellicose president is revising political and social norms with every tweet, decree, and viral outburst. No previous president, or G7 leader for that matter (with the disclaimer that Googling my way back into Silvio Berlusconi’s […]
Don’t relegate religion to secondary tier of protection, say faith groups
Earlier this year, the justice minister introduced Bill C-51 to clean up the Criminal Code. Included in the bill was a clause that removes section 176, the special criminal-law protections for religious worship services. This move has caused great concern among a broad swath of religious leaders across the country. An open letter was delivered to the justice minister […]
Response to New York, Las Vegas attacks shows faulty logic
OTTAWA—In the wake of the Halloween day terror attack in New York City, we had the immediate media overreaction the minute it was gleaned that the alleged perpetrator, Sayfullo Saipov, was inspired by Daesh (the militant group also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Islamic State). United States President Donald Trump was at his twittering best […]
What’s missing in Ottawa’s ethics regime: ethics
OTTAWA—For a journalist working in Ottawa, trying to cover issues of ethics was always a frustrating, time-wasting affair. The people appointed to the largely thankless job of overseeing the conduct of federal MPs and cabinet ministers always seemed to inhabit an infinitely mannered, sedate world where time stood still and the aim above all appeared […]
Political correctness run amok in GG ‘scandal’
Without having to prorogue a single Parliament, Julie Payette, the country’s newly installed governor general, is already making her mark on Canadian political discourse. In the week since she made the keynote address at the Canadian Science Policy Convention on Nov. 1, Ms. Payette has been the subject of numerous editorials, think pieces, and columns, […]
Roots of Venezuela’s crisis run deeper than Chávez, Maduro
The Canadian government, the Lima Group to which it belongs, and Venezuela’s opposition have questioned the official results of Venezuela’s gubernatorial elections of Oct. 15 and variously criticized its government for serious human rights violations, massive corruption, and the mismanagement of the country’s economy. Whatever the faults of Venezuela’s government, and it certainly has its […]
NAFTA turmoil an opportunity for Canada to strike on agriculture
As North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations appear to teeter on the brink of failure, now—counter intuitively—is the best time for Canada to make new demands at the bargaining table. Specifically, it is an opportunity for the seemingly ignored agricultural sector. There are two reasons for this. The first is something that has gone […]
Referendum politics in Canada, Spain: no rules in a knife fight
OTTAWA—The fallout from the Oct. 1 referendum in Catalonia—the Spanish government’s decision to jail members of the Catalan cabinet and seek the arrest of leader Carles Puigdemont—is a vivid reminder that politics can be a blood sport, and that it does not have to be. As Canadians, we watch the turmoil in Spain and convince […]
