Morneau’s handling of tax reform will be a make or break issue for government
OTTAWA—Summer caucuses are always hot. And when you combine heated politics with a sunny West Coast location, the temperature often rises. After more than two months away from the Ottawa cocoon, Members of Parliament are eager to repeat the views they have heard in their ridings. Sad to say, most people don’t make appointments with […]
Feds need to sell closing of tax loopholes better
The Liberal government claims to be making another move toward creating a level playing field between the wealthy and everyone else. This time it involves closing loopholes that allow professionals to lighten their tax load by registering themselves as corporations. On the surface, the plan seems consistent with the Liberals’ general motto of helping the […]
How to be positively aggressive
OAKVILLE, ONT.—As Sun Tzu, the famed Chinese military philosopher, once declared, “Invincibility lies in the defence, the possibility of victory in the attack.” Yes, okay, quoting Sun Tzu in a column on political strategy is hackneyed, but this particular quote really nails the idea I want to get across, namely that politicians should always be […]
Liberals are making a big mistake on this tax reform stuff
TORONTO—Dear Messrs. Trudeau and Morneau: So, small businesses. Almost 12 years ago, I started one. It was quite a thing. Before that, I’d been special assistant to Jean Chrétien on the Hill. I’d been a partner at a Bay Street law firm. I’d been a vice-president at a Vancouver ad agency. I’d been a reporter […]
Trump’s NAFTA hatred may help Canada
TORONTO—In a strange way, Donald Trump’s disdain for the North American Free Trade Agreement may do Canada a favour. He may end up forcing this country to reduce its dependence on the United States. We know that the U.S. president doesn’t like NAFTA. It is one of the few consistent positions he holds. He routinely […]
Small business tax reform a test of Trudeau’s nerve
GATINEAU, QUE.—Justin Trudeau’s proposal to eliminate loopholes in the small business tax is a modest step in the direction of tax fairness and Finance Minister Bill Morneau is, in many ways, an ideal spear-carrier for reform. These may not be popular claims in medical clinics, upscale salons and most editorial boardrooms, but that doesn’t mean […]
Collaborative approach required for National Defence
The return of the House of Commons brings opportunities to discuss the future of Canada’s defence and the continued implementation of our defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged. I want to use this as an opportunity to thank all Parliamentarians from the House and the Senate for their work on defence and security issues. Working collaboratively, […]
Our new Middle East policy? Get out
POWELL RIVER, B.C.—For those (mostly Christians) attracted to the idea that the ‘war on terror’ is a clash of civilizations (a poisonous notion guaranteed to foment decades of unrestrained violence), a caution: you might want to consider ignoring the old testament injunction an ‘eye for an eye.’ For if there is a moral equivalent to […]
Trudeau’s ‘feminist’ government should remove sexual discrimination from Indian Act
CURVE LAKE, ONT.—Members of the Kawartha Truth and Reconciliation Support Group (KTRSG) are disappointed with federal Minister of Status of Women Maryam Monsef’s voting position on Bill S-3, an Act to Amend the Indian Act. As many people know, the Senate moved forward a version of Bill S-3, which removed all the sex discrimination in […]
Harper’s hands-off approach to Quebec
Did Stephen Harper’s approach to Quebec accelerate the decline of the sovereignty movement, or was the former prime minister just the accidental beneficiary of a collective desire on the part of Quebecers to move on from the deadlock over the province’s political future? In a text published in the magazine L’actualité on the occasion of […]
