The problem with identity politics
TORONTO—Just about everyone these days seems to have an opinion on identity politics, and it is almost universally negative. People on the right denigrate our shift to a politically correct culture where certain ways of talking and thinking are criticized as unacceptable and intolerant. They resent the so-called social justice warriors who self-righteously condemn their […]
New Public Service Commission president should take ‘bolder’ approach to bilingualism
The following is an open letter to Patrick Borbey, who became president of the Public Service Commission of Canada in May: It is with great interest that I read your profile in the July 17, 2017 edition of The Hill Times. Having someone with your experience, expertise, and enthusiasm at the helm of the Public […]
Opportunities missed in rural Canada without adequate investments
When you travel throughout Canada there is a certain expectation of safety. At our airports, you expect innovative navigational aids to be used for safe landings and you expect the runway to be paved and well lit. When travelling by land, you anticipate our roads, especially the Trans-Canada Highway, to be safe and well maintained. […]
How Seamus O’Regan can do the right thing
OTTAWA—Removing Minister Kent Hehr from Veterans Affairs Canada was the right thing to do. The new minister, Seamus O’Regan, must do better. Just six days prior, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commemorated the calamitous losses Canadians suffered on the beaches of Dieppe 75 years ago. In the midst of a downpour, the prime minister folded his […]
Scheer’s shadow cabinet strikes reasonable balance
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer made some shrewd moves in picking his shadow cabinet last week—both in terms of the MPs he included and didn’t. Given how close Maxime Bernier was to becoming party leader in this year’s race, Mr. Scheer owed it to the party membership to give Mr. Bernier a prominent role in caucus. […]
Macdonald not unique, many past leaders flawed by today’s standards
I don’t want to justify Sir John A. Macdonald’s treatment of the Aboriginal peoples, but who in history, by today’s standards, has “clean hands?” For example, the Christian churches, for centuries, imposed unspeakable atrocities on so-called heretics (people who dared to disagree with church teachings)—burning at the stake, being cooked alive in metal containers, and […]
Competiveness complaints about carbon pricing must be backed by evidence
TORONTO—This summer, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce sounded a warning bell with regard to climate-change-related policy activity, citing concerns about competitiveness with firms south of the border. It’s not the first trade association to raise a red flag about Canada’s carbon-pricing measures, but the July letter to Prime Minister Trudeau is indicative of a growing […]
NAFTA’s benefits have not extended to softwood lumber
TORONTO—Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland insists that “NAFTA has been an extraordinary success story.” That’s a debatable claim, given Canada’s loss of market share in the U.S. since NAFTA came into effect, and the widespread closure by U.S. companies of manufacturing plants in Canada as operations were consolidated into U.S. or Mexican facilities. Moreover, given […]
Shift to low-carbon buildings requires all governments to step up
Eight months ago, Canada’s first ministers set the stage for bold action in the building sector. They committed in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change to pursue some of the lowest-cost, most rapidly achievable ways to reduce carbon emissions. On the heels of the Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference in St. Andrews, […]
Beef farmers care about their animals’ welfare
Re: “Animals transported for slaughter deserve better” (The Hill Times, Aug. 21, p. 13). Riana Topan should know that Canadian beef farmers and their families share the same goal of ensuring the best health and welfare outcomes for animals as other Canadians do. The commitment to animal care includes managing animal health through veterinarian-farmer relationships; […]
