Donald Trump. Justin Trudeau. Pierre Karl Peladeau. Kevin O’Leary. Four men with not a single thing in common, except an interest in politics and the factor that made that interest practical for them: their media celebrity. U.S. Republican presidential candidate-in-waiting Trump had already made himself a household name before he created Celebrity Apprentice, and...
READ MOREThe Liberals’ citizenship bill is good politics. Is it justice?
“A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” said Justin Trudeau on September 28, 2015. “And you devalue the citizenship of every Canadian in this place and in this country when you break down and make it conditional for anybody.” The occasion was the Munk Debate on Foreign Policy, the penultimate leaders’ exchange of...
READ MOREAlmost $20 billion in the red — and it isn’t even March
Like a giant snowball rolling downhill, the federal deficit just gets bigger and bigger. On Monday, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that the government will run $18.4 billion in the red before factoring in stimulus spending. With at least $10 billion of that pledged during the election, Canadians could be looking now at a whopping...
READ MORECanadians should call this pension plan scheme what it is — a shell game, not a savings plan
How much money do Canadians need for retirement? According to a new study by the Broadbent Institute, they need more than they have now. “We’re looking at a situation in our country — 10 years down the line, 15 years down the line — where millions of Canadians have very little disposable income and...
READ MORECanada’s all about human rights in the Middle East, unless you want to buy our military vehicles
If you thought the federal government’s newly revealed mission against the Islamic State (ISIL) was incoherent, you won’t like its policy on selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia. During the election campaign, the Liberals promised that, if elected, they would have Canada sign the Arms Trade Treaty, an international agreement achieved in 2014, which...
READ MORENo planes, no gains – except for Trudeau
Today, Canadians finally learned what Ottawa’s plans are for the fight against ISIS. The list of commitments is long and expensive. Canada will spend $1.6 billion over three years on security, humanitarian assistance, and governance. Our Armed Forces will continue to maintain one CC-150 Polaris aerial refuelling aircraft and two CP-140 Aurora aerial surveillance aircraft in the field....
READ MORELike it or not, Mr. Trudeau, the pipeline ball is in your court
Brother, can you spare $250 million? How about $700 million? As the bad news keeps piling up in the Alberta economy, the cries for help get louder. The province’s unemployment rate hit 7 per cent in December 2015, up 2.2 points in just one year. Over 54,000 Albertans lost their jobs during that period, a...
READ MOREPrime Minister Oprah wants to listen to the people
Never go on TV angry. Or at least, if you are, don’t let it show. I learned that lesson Sunday night, when I made my usual appearance on CBC’s The National, this time to discuss Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s conversation with 10 Canadians. “Not nice to see you so mad!” the polite viewers wrote....
READ MOREBoy scouts or profiteers? Canada and the arms trade
How much should human rights affect trade — specifically, trade in military equipment? The question arose again this week over news that Montreal-based aerospace company CAE has cut a deal to sell flight simulators to the Kuwaiti air force. According to a Globe and Mail report, a Canadian delegation — which included the vice-president of...
READ MOREWhy is the U.S. Presidential race having a senior moment?
Whatever happened to generational change? When Barack Obama triumphed in the 2008 election, his victory was hailed not only as a milestone for Black Americans, but for young Americans as well. He was a fit forty-six, with a young family, who appealed to a new generation of voters – and actually got them out...
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