The Atlantic bubble needs to burst
OTTAWA—This year has been brutal for so many people and we still have nearly 4 months to go before 2021 is upon us. While I have never been a big fan of wishing time away, I am close to adopting it as a short-term strategy. Atlantic Canada has had a particularly brutal year. At the […]
Preserve Canada’s oceanographic and wildlife conservation research by rethinking national museums
The recent closure of the Vancouver Aquarium puts an important part of Canada’s oceanographic research at risk; we shouldn’t let it slip beneath the waves. And the same could happen to wildlife conservation at the Toronto Zoo. Adding both institutions to Canada’s national museum system could preserve their valuable and leading environmental work. For more […]
Driving right-wing extremism out of the Canadian Armed Forces
OTTAWA—Last week Army Commander, Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre presided over the annual army council meeting. Although the sessions were held in Ottawa, the majority of the attendees participated virtually due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions. Reaching out directly to 450 top- to mid-level army officers, Eyre outlined to his chain-of-command a new set of explicit directions […]
Three possible election date scenarios
There are three possible election date scenarios facing Canadians: the first coming on the heels of the Speech from the Throne, presumably on a non-confidence vote; second, a non-confidence motion put after a fall budget or economic update; and lastly, a vote of non-confidence following a spring budget. In all three scenarios Prime Minister Justin […]
Schitt’s Creek II: The Roses of Rideau Hall is the reality show the world needs
As much of the world takes up a new form of foxhole God-bargaining in which the divine intervention deliverable is ending the reality show in the White House, a new Canadian offering could take its place. Amid a cascade of apocalyptic news about the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump’s proxy, rolling, broad-daylight heist of […]
Canada needs to step up support for international tropical conservation
Canada is a global cheapskate when it comes to supporting the world’s most threatened and biologically rich tropical ecosystems—despite the risks to food, water, climate, and health when these ecosystems are destroyed. This week, our organization, the International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), published a ground-breaking report on Canadian support for tropical conservation. We […]
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming… hopefully
A new session of the 43rd Parliament begins today. It kicks off amid weeks-long speculation of an early election call, which has federal parties ramping up their fundraising efforts in preparation. The Conservatives are entering the session with a newly minted leader, Erin O’Toole, and Greens will soon elect a new party head of their […]
International COVID-19 recovery efforts will be lessened unless all nations are included
When named Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, former Ontario premier and interim Liberal Party leader Bob Rae stated that, to fight COVID-19 and recover from the pandemic, an effort must be made on Canada’s part to “rebuild a successful world order.” “The well-being of the world really depends on a rebuild and a reconstruction […]
At last, a break from the tyranny of supply-siders
OTTAWA—I may have missed it, but I don’t think we’ve heard from Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre on his new party leader Erin O’Toole’s position that a Conservative government would take 10 years to balance the government’s books. The usual Conservative obsession with deficits has been evident in Poilievre’s repeated complaints as Prime Minister Justin […]
Pandering to Quebec is unseemly, and it rarely works
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—This week’s word is “pander,” defined as “to please other people by doing or saying what you think they want you to do or say.” Canadian politicians have a rich history of pandering, notably in Quebec. In the summer of 1967 then-Conservative leader Robert Stanfield embraced an idea from his Quebec lieutenant, Marcel […]
