MPs have the tools to help young people take charge of their mental health
Compassion. Over the last five years, my efforts as a mental health advocate have taught me many things, but none more important than the value of compassion. Throughout the ups and downs of life, we all seek to ground ourselves in something: a person, a place, a sense of belonging. I believe that we can […]
Truth isn’t dead, it’s just a casualty of war
I was going to lead this column with the quote from Greek playwright Aeschylus on truth being the first casualty of war but, apparently, he never said it. He did say, “If you will take me as your teacher, you will not kick against the pricks.” So, let’s give him a wide berth for now, shall we? […]
How many have to die before U.S. wakes up to gun insanity?
OTTAWA—What can you say about a country where there’s a hierarchy of mass shootings that allows everyone to state that the incident in Las Vegas was the worst in modern American history? Or how a 64-year-old would-be mass murderer can keep 20 firearms in his hotel room for four days without anyone noticing anything unusual? […]
Canada has gotten as far away from peacekeeping as possible
OTTAWA—One of the persisting myths in Canada is that we are a nation of peacekeepers. Hell, we practically claim that former prime minister Lester B. Pearson during the Suez Crisis in 1956 invented the concept of deploying neutral troops to enforce ceasefires between belligerents. A certain nostalgia exists for those days when Canada was front […]
Liberal walkout of status of women committee bad form
On Tuesday, the House of Commons Status of Women Committee finally settled on a chair, with members accepting the nomination of Conservative MP Karen Vecchio. Ms. Vecchio’s election to the head of the committee comes after Liberal committee members staged a walkout Sept. 26 when Conservative status of women critic Rachael Harder was put forward […]
More war isn’t the answer in Afghanistan
The United States’ new strategy on Afghanistan will not help the poor people in the war-torn country. Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his strategy to win the fight against the Taliban and Daesh. This means more resources will be needed to combat the terror groups in Afghanistan, despite past failed military attempts by the […]
Stop stalling on Energy East
If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would stop stalling and blocking Energy East, Canada could have a 1.1-million-barrel-per-day pipeline to Canada’s East Coast. Canada could then export crude oil to new markets in Europe and western India from Canso, N.S. Canada could also eliminate 759,000 barrels per day of foreign oil imports and provide feedstock for […]
Jagmeet Singh’s win heralds the start of a new era of Canadian politics
With the selection of Jagmeet Singh as NDP leader, the 2019 federal leadership lineup is now complete. It will be strikingly different from that on offer only two years ago on not one but two significant scores. It will also be more representative of 21st-century Canada. For the first time, there will be someone drawn […]
Singh’s off to a good start, but whackadoodle economics will get him in trouble
OTTAWA—Not since the New Democrats’ historic showing in 2011 when for the first time they became the official opposition have Dippers across the land been so pumped. Jagmeet Singh’s historic election as NDP leader has potentially brought an end to the deep, dark funk so many in that political tribe seem to have been in […]
Andrew Scheer’s pick for committee chair rejected with good reason
In decrying his failed nomination of Conservative MP Rachel Harder as chair of the House Status of Women Committee, Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer is confusing freedom of expression with the basic qualifications required for any MP holding such a position. In the process he has revealed his disregard for the committee and women’s rights. […]
