Justin Trudeau: Robin Hood for the rich
Justin Trudeau and the Liberals came to power two years ago, and every day I ask myself the same question: who are they really working for? The government’s responsibility is to work for all Canadians by implementing policies that ensure a fair distribution of wealth, and allowing everyone to benefit from public infrastructure and quality […]
Board of Internal Economy opening a historic first step, but the test will be if transparency holds
This week, the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy will hold its first-ever public meeting. It comes after the Liberals promised in the last election to open up the board to the public. “Except in rare cases requiring confidentiality, meetings of this group will be open to the public,” said their platform. The board […]
Feed the world: Canada needs to continue food assistance leadership
The world was shocked this past spring when the United Nations declared four countries—Nigeria, Yemen, South Sudan, and Somalia—either experiencing famine or at risk of experiencing famine. While overall hunger in the world is declining, down about 17 per cent over the past 10 years, extreme hunger has taken a sharp upturn. In 2015, 80 […]
Azerbaijan’s take on its territorial tussle with Armenia
Re: “Canada-Armenia ties, 25 years and beyond,” (The Hill Times, Oct. 2, online). This article contains false allegations and factual errors about the nature of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. First, the conflict is all about groundless territorial claims and the aggression of Armenia against its neighbour, Azerbaijan. Four UN Security Council resolutions adopted in 1993 leave […]
Tax reform consultation over, but we’re still listening: Morneau
Our current tax system isn’t fair to the middle class. It rewards people who are successful, more than it rewards people working hard to be successful. We didn’t design the system we inherited, but we are going to fix it. A few weeks ago, I wrapped up a consultation on tax planning using private corporations. […]
Canada’s high-tech leaders bypassing the U.S. for success in Asia
The transformative Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) represents 40 per cent of the global population and 50 per cent of world trade. Within the 21 member economies of the APEC region, micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the drivers of growth of innovation. They account for 98 per cent of all businesses. They also […]
House subcommittee hearings on mining in Latin America a public disservice
The federal Liberals came into office promising to take action on human rights abuses associated with one of Canada’s largest and most controversial areas of foreign investment abroad: mining. But a rare study on the issue in the House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights seems designed to justify the do-nothing status quo, since […]
Investing in wireless technology is the key to innovation in Canada
Necessity is the mother of invention. Given Canada’s vast territory and large land mass, our need to find ways to stay in touch has been the driver of many a Canadian innovation, from the telephone to the first transatlantic wireless signal to mobile email. Today, telecommunications is a vital thread of our social fabric, and […]
Illiteracy: Canada’s hidden shame
OTTAWA—There is a country where almost half of the adult population cannot read this column. You might presume it’s in the developing world. It’s not: it is Canada. And sadly, few Canadians acknowledge it, and fewer still are doing anything about it. Here are the numbers: about 45 per cent of adult Canadians do not […]
Roots of Myanmar Rohingya crisis lie in global economy
The mass displacement of the Rohingya population in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State has escalated into one of the biggest human rights crises in recent history. Second only to people’s suffering is the tragedy that this conflict has wrought upon Myanmar’s international democracy movement, which has been torn apart by arguments over citizenship rights and condemnations of the […]
