All-party caucuses ought to be more transparent
Did you know the British Parliament has an All-Party Parliamentary Pigeon Racing Group? Yeah, that’s a thing. Well, at least in Britain. A quick scroll down the group’s online profile tells you its purpose is to “raise and promote understanding and support of pigeon racing in the U.K. and Ireland,” its chair is Conservative MP […]
NATO film rewrites history to demonize Russians
OTTAWA—There is a controversial new video out on NATO’s official YouTube channel entitled Forest Brothers. The gist of the eight-minute film is to lionize the brave Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian fighters who took to the woods to resist the Soviet Union’s occupation of the Baltic States at the end of the Second World War. These desperate […]
Quebec separatism isn’t dead
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—My neighbour here flies his Quebec fleur-de-lis flag proudly. There is a fresh blue flag on his immaculate, six-metre flag post every summer. Down the road at the Kamouraska cemetery, the member of the legislature from 1936 to 1952, René Chaloult is buried. There is a monument in front of the church praising his […]
Taiwan deserves Canada’s support
The 72nd United Nations General Assembly began on Sept. 12 at the UN headquarters in New York. Regrettably, Taiwan—a peaceful, democratic nation of 23 million—the world’s 18th largest trading and 11th freest economy, is absent once again. This year’s General Assembly theme is: Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All […]
Expanding role of micro, small, and medium enterprises provide opportunities for sustainable development
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is home to 40 per cent of the world’s population, 50 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of global GDP. Over the last quarter century, APEC has shaped and transformed the global economy and supported half a billion people in their rise out of poverty. Few Canadians know […]
House Transport Committee digs into Bill C-49
Before Parliament resumes next week, the House Transport Committee will return to Ottawa early to study Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, which includes provisions for rail service and safety. The main provision on rail safety is one that will require railway companies to install inward-facing Locomotive Voice and Video Recorders (LVVR) in Canada. This […]
Canada’s aging cyber-security strategy needs update
The time for Canada to renew its cyber-security policy is long overdue. But despite the completion of Public Safety Canada’s months-long public consultation process on cyber-security in January, the government is still yet to act. Over the course of this summer, two of the most devastating cyber-attacks in a decade have taken place: the WannaCry […]
Trudeau fails Canada’s military and allies
Maintaining and enhancing Canada’s national security and defence posture is aided by our relative geographic isolation and our involvement in the world’s strongest defence partnership with our only physical next-door neighbour. Nonetheless, Canada has continually identified threats to our territorial and continental security and ensured our military forces are properly resourced, equipped, and trained to keep Canadians and […]
Canada’s DFI should lead on gender equality
OTTAWA—In the job description for the managing director of Canada’s new Development Finance Institution (DFI), recently posted by Export Development Canada (EDC), it is considered an asset for the candidate to have: “Experience in implementing initiatives or programs with a gender equality and/or women empowerment component.” But that is the one and only time gender […]
Why we will never ‘eradicate’ terrorism
OTTAWA—Scientists have made great progress in eradicating diseases that once maimed or killed millions of people. Think of smallpox. Or polio, which a few years ago was on the verge of disappearance though state instability and war allowed it to cling to life. The reason why these scourges were defeated (apparently there is a difference […]
