Don’t expect Bill C-15 to be perfect, just better
I’m finding there just aren’t that many perfect solutions to problems as I’d like there to be. One example is Bill C-15, the federal government’s response to its latest promise to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. If passed, Bill C-15 would require the federal government to take all measures […]
Clear communication helps lessen heavy burden of a tragic situation
OTTAWA—Last week, a terrible tragedy unfolded as the Royal Canadian Navy first reported that a sailor had gone missing at sea. Master Sailor Duane Earle, 47, was believed to have fallen overboard from the frigate HMCS Winnipeg in the early hours of Dec. 14. At the time, HMCS Winnipeg was approximately 500 nautical miles west […]
Trudeau’s vote bank antics are hurting Canada-India relations yet again
In an unusual departure from convention and good diplomatic practice for a head of government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wittingly waded into a high-profile domestic crisis of longtime ally, India, where thousands of farmers—many of whom are Sikhs—have converged on the capital city of New Delhi for more than three weeks and regularly clashed with […]
Time for all federal parties to put partisan politics aside for now and focus solely on COVID-19
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were reduced to a minority government in the 2019 federal election. That minority status should continue until real policy differences between the major parties force them apart. When Canadians don’t give a majority mandate to one party, the simple message to all parties is that they want them to work […]
Two Liberal warhorses passed away recently
Two Liberal warhorses passed away within days of each other recently. Both served as ministers in the government of Jean Chrétien and were best known for their love of the political side of politics. Ron Irwin had politics in his blood. He loved the Liberal Party almost as much as his beloved hometown of Sault […]
Time to recognize criminality of mass environmental destruction, create a law against ecocide
The time is now to recognize the criminality of mass environmental destruction by creating a law against ecocide. This was the discussion of a high-level group of international lawyers meeting as part of the Annual Assembly of State Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague this week. Over the next six months, […]
Do politics better
HALIFAX—Just to be clear, I am far from being an exemplar of unrelenting kindness. I hope, for example, that Donald Trump steps on a particularly pointy piece of Lego on Christmas morning as he rushes towards the tree to snatch his presents, and maybe Baron’s and Melania’s too. I say that because this Marmalade Mussolini […]
Released records to Commons Health Committee to date are duds: Ken Rubin
Of the millions of pages of federal pandemic records that the Trudeau government was ordered to hand over to the Commons Health Committee, and due by Dec. 7, 2020, as I reported in The Hill Times on Dec. 16, 2020, only a handful, just over 2,900 pages or 59 documents have been provided and they […]
Renewables versus nuclear: it’s not a competition
Our goal in Canada, as set out in the IEA “Net Zero Emissions by 2050” plan is a laudable and very ambitious undertaking for the development of a safe, sustainable, clean-energy environment by 2050, but it will not be accomplished with a single technology. There is no technological panacea that in and of itself will […]
Government’s climate plan a good start, now time for action
As the raft approaches the waterfall, there is a frantic discussion on what to do: abandon ship and swim to the safety of shore, paddle back upstream to where you were, or throw out the anchor, staying where you are, and hoping for help. The recent climate action plan (“Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy”) may […]
