Liberals to take aim at cash-for access fundraisers with new law, minister says
The Trudeau Liberals are trying to staunch ongoing questions about so-called “cash-for-access” fundraisers with promises of transparency that critics say don’t go far enough, nor address the underlying concerns about the practice. Days before Parliament is set to resume — with the opposition parties set to take aim at the prime minister over ethical questions […]
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister blasted for ‘disgusting’ and ‘racist’ comments
Indigenous activists and members of Manitoba’s NDP and Liberal parties are calling recent comments made by Premier Brian Pallister about night hunting inflammatory, disgusting and racist. In an interview with Maclean’s reporter Nancy Macdonald, Pallister is quoted as saying, “young Indigenous men — a preponderance of them are offenders, with criminal records — are going […]
Where in the world is Stephen J. Harper?
Stephen Harper, the life-after-politics version, looks to be coming out of hiding. After the former prime minister — always known for shunning the media — left the top job in October 2015, he spent several quiet months as a Conservative backbencher before leaving politics altogether. His new life in Calgary at the helm of a […]
On his his just-completed nine-city town hall tour of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got sharp and sometimes angry questions about aboriginal affairs — a sign of the growing impatience and frustration many indigenous people and their leaders have with his government. And the reviews, in some cases, have been less than kind. Saskatoon Tribal […]
Read MoreUnion officials say General Motors is cutting up to 600 jobs at its assembly plant near London, Ont. Mike Van Boekel, spokesman for Unifor Local 88, says the layoffs will take effect in July at the CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., which currently employs 2,800 Unifor workers. Unifor’s national president says the slashed jobs […]
Read MoreDonald Trump’s been president for a week, but in those seven days he’s already signed a dozen or so executive orders and memorandums that will fundamentally change relations with his nearest neighbours for years to come. With a single stroke of his pen Wednesday Trump began reshaping U.S. immigration policy, kick-starting his plans to build […]
Read MoreCritics are slamming Premier Christy Clark for holding a private fundraiser in Kelowna at $5,000 a plate. The event was held at Mission Hill Winery in West Kelowna.
Read MoreThe federal government ran a deficit of $12.7 billion over the first eight months of its 2016-17 fiscal year — compared with a $1-billion surplus during the same period a year earlier. The shortfall was due to a $14-billion surge in expenses, including a $7.1-billion increase in direct program costs to the treasury, the Finance […]
Read MoreThe National Energy Board says the new panel assigned to review TransCanada Corp.’s (TSX:TRP) Energy East Pipeline has voided all decisions made by the previous hearing panel. The board says all hearing steps and related deadlines for Energy East are no longer applicable. The previous Energy East pipeline panel stepped down amidst questions about a […]
Read MoreFeatured Ink
Trudeau’s move on cash-for-access could be trap for opposition parties
So, after weeks – months, even – of pointlessly prolonging his party’s and his own political agony, Justin Trudeau has finally let it be known, through artfully dropped hints from the usual nameless officials, that his government is finally going to stop pretending that there’s nothing unseemly about using cabinet ministers as bait for exclusive […]
Justin Trudeau the Boy Scout must settle into Donald Trump’s world
Was Jane Fonda, who achieved worldly fame in the 1980s doing aerobic step routines in phosphorescent spandex suits, at the ill-named Women’s March on Washington last Saturday? Ill-named, well, yes. It was the Some Women’s March on Washington. The idea that the parade was a grand convocation speaking with the voice of universal Womanhood staring […]
Trudeau has sensible approach to looming Trump quake — keep calm, carry on
There may come a time when the people closest to President Donald Trump succeed in reining him in. But no one familiar with the president’s Twitter feed, or his pronouncements since assuming office, would bet on that. So the question becomes, how to anticipate him? Is it even possible? There’s good news and not-so-good news, […]
Lessons from Mary Tyler Moore’s newsroom
In a week that saw the death of Mary Tyler Moore, perhaps it’s a good time for journalists to be asking: are we going to make it after all? Many of us who grew up watching The Mary Tyler MooreShow in the 1970s saw a cultural trail being blazed for women in the media workplace. […]
How a Dishonest Trump and a Dishonest Fox Are Destroying Trust in All News Media
President Trump seems always on the attack against news media. He claims they are dishonest because they wrongly assert that many of his statements are untrue — that, in fact, Trump is dishonest. The evidence opposing his claim, however, is overwhelming. When the Toronto Star assigned its reporter Daniel Dale to document Trump’s lying during […]
At Issue: Trudeau’s town hall tour
The prime minister has been taking questions, and in some cases heat, from Canadians anxious to question him. So, was it worth it?
Justin Trudeau must be willing to walk away from Trump’s NAFTA
Surprise. Donald Trump means what he says. Those planning to deal with the new U.S. president, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, should keep that in mind. Yesterday, the Trump carnival continued apace. Yes he is going to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, Trump tweeted. Just as he promised. And yes he is […]
Happy Liberal dreams: Sid Ryan to the left of them, O’Leary to the right
Even the darkest of clouds come with a silver lining, or so the saying goes. And just as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been battling a particularly overcast period for his young government, along comes a silvery moment to offer some hope: Sid Ryan may yet decide to run for the leadership of the New […]
How Trump Conquered the Christian Right
t’s difficult to recall now, but not so long ago Donald Trump was regarded by the Christian right as an enemy of the Almighty. And nobody knows who belongs on the Almighty’s naughty list as thoroughly as the Christian right. Trump supported abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He had been married three times, used profane […]
Why I wouldn’t vote for Kevin O’Leary—and neither should you
Last week I wrote that Conservatives should reject Kevin O’Leary as a leadership candidate, and the positive response from Canadians has been overwhelming. I expected Kevin to respond (which is fair). But how he responded is particularly important, as it reinforces that Kevin-the-candidate is no different than Kevin-the-TV-personality. In fact, his response only underlines the […]
It may be a challenge, but stay awake for the next few minutes if you can. Let’s talk electoral reformzzzz. C’mon, stay with me here. It’s more important than Justin Trudeau’s private helicopter rides to visit his billionaire buddy or the latest bizarre Kellie Leitchism. It’s a key Liberal election promise to change the way […]
Read MoreHere’s what happened to newspapers. In the early 1990s I worked at the Gazette in Montreal. In those days on a Saturday you’d pick up your Gazette, shake five sections of classified advertising and home and car ads onto the floor, and go straight to the City pages, which featured a loving summary of local […]
Read MoreIn his masterful biography of Benjamin Disraeli, former British foreign minister Douglas Hurd said that it is boredom, rather than cynicism, that most accurately explains the present disillusionment with politics. Disraeli, the 19th century British prime minister, with his glossy black curls, gold chains and fancy pantaloons, knew how to make politics exciting to people […]
Read MoreIf anything, events Thursday increased my admiration for Wildrose Leader Brian Jean. And I already thought Jean was one of the most admirable politicians I have met. On Thursday, Jean announced via a Facebook video (https://www.facebook.com/brianjeanwrp/videos/10154335634623716/) that if the rival Tories select Jason Kenney as leader in March, he will negotiate a merger with the […]
Read MoreIn the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between Brian Jean and Jason Kenney over plans to unite the political right in Alberta, Jean has just blinked. On Thursday, the Wildrose leader released an online video message saying he now supports the idea of one united party. It wouldn’t be exactly as planned by Kenney, who wants to win […]
Read MoreBrian Jean further amped up the emotions of Alberta conservatives Thursday (is that even possible?) by promising to step aside as Wildrose leader, and run for the leadership of a new united force. Jean put out a video statement that set social media alight with praise, condemnation and confusion. Some people thought this smacked of […]
Read MoreWith every new development on the electoral reform front the disconnect between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s words on the promised introduction of a new voting system and his government’s actions is more glaring. Such was again the case this week as the government reported on the public response to the online consultation it held over […]
Read MoreIn a clickbait universe, a Trump is always king. These days, the only thing melting away faster than the polar ice caps is democracy, largely because of the steady degradation of information. In the end, you are what you know. With only 9 per cent of Canadians willing to pay for news online, an informational […]
Read MoreIt was the biggest news story you didn’t hear on Nov. 27, 2016. That’s the day, six months before the Conservative Party of Canada leadership convention, when a certain window closed: the day Rona Ambrose did not resign as Conservative interim leader in order to be eligible to seek the party leadership. The reasons: she […]
Read MoreThere’s a simple way to cull the field of candidates running for the Conservative leadership. Ask yourself: Who would Stephen Harper support? The Conservative Party is still Mr. Harper’s party. He initiated the union of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties back in 2003. He has been its only permanent leader. The 100,000 or […]
Read MoreThe only people injured by this week’s insufferable war of words between the Ontario Liberal cabinet and federal Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary were devout news consumers who witnessed the excruciating performance. O’Leary has long been a fan of the sanctimonious exercise, which is less about communication than it is about theatre. For years, he’s […]
Read MoreA major study by the Public Policy Forum recommends creative policy measures to help ensure citizens have access to quality journalism. In the winter of 1989, about 10 months before the Berlin Wall fell, Poland’s weak Communist government entered into power-sharing talks with Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement. As one of two members of the Globe […]
Read MoreI suppose there was a time, long ago, when a politician could say something in one part of the country that would adversely affect another region, without word getting out. Like promising to subsidize the fisheries in the Maritimes while musing about phasing them out somewhere else. Back in the days when all politics really […]
Read MoreNothing matters more for Justin Trudeau today than managing trade ties with the U.S. And no province is more exposed than Ontario — which makes Kathleen Wynne no less accountable. Just as the prime minister will be judged, so too the premier will be held liable if that high-stakes relationship is imperilled on her watch. […]
Read MoreOne of the most exciting leadership conventions I ever covered took place more than 30 years ago, in Ottawa. The Progressive Conservative chief, Joe Clark, had put his leadership on the line, having failed to secure what he considered a satisfactory level of support from party delegates at the preceding leadership review. So there we […]
Read MoreEntertainment Plus
Veteran actor Mike Connors, star of Mannix, dead at 91
Mike Connors, who played a hard-hitting private eye on the long-running TV series Mannix, has died. He was 91. His son-in-law, Mike Condon, says the actor died Thursday afternoon at a Los Angeles hospital from recently-diagnosed leukemia. Mannix debuted on CBS in 1967 and ran for eight years. Viewers were intrigued by the smartly dressed, […]
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