The proposed COVID Commission should be charged with finding substantive answers to 16 questions
While the following series is fictional, the principle objective is non-fictional – to explore the likelihood that sooner or later, Canadians will demand a full-scale investigation into the management of the COVID crisis by our federal government. At the commencement of the 2022 fall session of parliament, one of the first acts of the new…
Playing little brother to the Liberals is not necessarily a winning strategy
In March, the federal Liberal and New Democratic parties agreed to a deal that would keep Justin Trudeau as prime minister until 2025. In return for policies that would increase spending on dental and pharmaceutical care and continue to strangle the oil industry, the NDP promised not to support any non-confidence motions against the Liberals…
He wants to broaden the party’s base – not narrow it
The Conservative Party of Canada has formally approved six candidates for its Sept. 10 leadership vote: Scott Aitchison, Roman Baber, Patrick Brown, Jean Charest, Leslyn Lewis and Pierre Poilievre. The clear frontrunner is Poilievre – by a country mile in most polls. The 42-year-old longtime member of Parliament and former cabinet minister has captured the…
Instead of embracing its liberating capabilities, the government is opting for woke conformity
Who should police the internet? The big tech platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, etc. – or is this a role for government? Our right to free expression on the internet is being challenged by both the tech platforms and governments that want to control not only activities that are already illegal, but any news…
Conventional wisdom holds he may win the leadership but not a general election
Pierre Poilievre is making waves. Virtually all of the buzz in the federal Conservative leadership race revolves around him. He’s pulling in crowds, generating headlines and tossing out ideas that intrigue some and unnerve others. Excitement isn’t a word normally associated with Canadian conservatism. But, for better or worse, Poilievre stirs it up. And some…
High inflation distorts the application of the capital gains taxes that many of us pay
By Valentin Petkantchin and Olivier Rancourt Montreal Economic Institute The 5.7 per cent year-on-year inflation Canada registered in February has not been seen since the early 1990s. Expansionary monetary policies and the economic sanctions accompanying the Russia-Ukraine war suggest that significant inflation is here for a while. High inflation not only erodes our purchasing power,…
Canadian citizenship is under attack. Over the past 20 years, the public’s commitment to Canada appears to be waning. With billions of dollars in emergency pandemic assistance and promises of almost free childcare, a targeted dental program, new investments in housing and health care, and a stream of almost “free” social programs, one would think…
When it comes to wealth taxes, Trudeau needs to draw a line in the sand
Now that the years-long Liberal-NDP courtship has turned official, Canadians should brace themselves for an unwelcome raft of higher taxes and unsustainable spending. With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inking a deal with the NDP to keep him in power until 2025, Canada’s finances are headed from bad to worse. To help justify overspending, the Trudeau…
On the occasion of his 2012 departure from Quebec provincial politics, I wrote a column asking: Is it au revoir Jean Charest? Although Charest was relatively young (54) and had spent most of his adult life in politics, it was hard to see a future for him. Now he’s back. And he’s running for the…
The Conservative leadership hopeful is attempting to rewrite history
Jean Charest joined the federal Conservative leadership race on Mar. 10. His campaign team immediately began to tout his experience as a former Progressive Conservative leader and cabinet minister, and former Quebec Liberal premier. That’s a predictable strategy. What’s also predictable is that Charest and his team initiated the long, arduous process of attempting to…
Caving on a wealth tax to appease the NDP would be a huge mistake
As the federal budget approaches, taxpayers are holding on to their wallets a little tighter. Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared less than two years ago that “the last thing Canadians need is to see a rise in taxes,” the government will likely have to win the support of the NDP to get a…
The price at the gas pumps has hit a record-breaking $1.82 per litre in Vancouver. That’s the most expensive gasoline in North America. While some readers in Winnipeg and Calgary might chuckle at the karma coming back to bite a city whose mayor personally blocked the building of pipelines, it’s important to remember that bad…
Politicians and government decision makers are financially divorced from the Canadians they’re supposed to represent. And it shows. From higher taxes to revolving lockdowns, government decisions during the pandemic have been full of pain. But that pain hasn’t been felt by those pulling the levers. Quite the opposite. While millions of their constituents struggled, members…
You can disagree with the opinions but you must always show respect to the person who presents them
As a Canadian, I was deeply saddened by a recent exchange in the House of Commons between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of the Opposition. Trudeau said, “Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas. They can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag.” In fact, interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen…
Here’s a free tip for all Conservative Party leadership candidates: don’t break your promise to fight carbon taxes. Former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole lied to taxpayers about the carbon tax. And he paid the price. The next leader of the Official Opposition needs to hold Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accountable for rising tax bills.…
Why are we paying for something the private sector was more than happy to pay for in the past?
Say your backyard needs a new fence and your neighbour offers to pay for it. Chances are you would take that deal. That’s what we’ve done historically with federal leaders’ debates. Large media organizations would cover the costs and haggle with the parties about how the debates should be organized. Since 2018 though, the federal government…
The iffy position of the Conservatives was one of my takeaways from last year’s federal election. Not only had they lost ground electorally, but there was also “an ominous speck on the horizon.” Specifically, the first signs of base alienation were evident. With a five per cent vote share – twice that of the Greens…
Conservatives must ensure that core values remain permanent components of their ideology
Erin O’Toole was elected Conservative Party leader on Aug. 24, 2020. Less than 18 months later, it’s over. After a disappointing showing in last September’s federal election, the relationship between O’Toole and his Conservative caucus had become strained. Some wanted him to resign immediately. Others, like Sen. Denise Batters, preferred to hold a referendum on…
The failed experiment of going to the mushy middle of the Canadian political spectrum is over
As the Conservative member of Parliament for Edmonton Griesbach, I was one of Erin O’Toole’s biggest fans and truly believed he had what it would take to be prime minister. I was also one of only a handful of Conservative MPs who supported him both times he sought the leadership of the Conservative Party of…
It changed my view of Canadians and perhaps of human nature itself
So, we enter another year under a cloud. Omicron is on a rampage. Airlines are cancelling flights. Putin is playing brinksmanship with Biden. Colorado is experiencing wildfires in the winter. House prices are on speed. And Canada’s national debt is at historic levels. There’s a lot to be stressed out about. It’s a bad year…
He's right to criticize Trudeau for borrowing too much money. But he has a credibility problem
Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole wants to blast Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over inflation. And the prime minister is certainly vulnerable as rising prices at the gas pump and grocery store illustrate the risks of runaway government spending. But using O’Toole’s policies to fight inflation would be like using gas to put out a fire.…
Canada ranks dead last in timely care, with the longest waitlists
The coronavirus hit Canada in March 2020. By the time that first wave had subsided in the summer, hundreds of thousands of scheduled surgeries had been postponed. But before that huge backlog could be reduced, a second and then a third wave of the virus struck, increasing the backlog by thousands more. Adding to the…
Our ratio of net debt to GDP is almost as high as it was in 1995 when Canada was really in a fiscal crisis
The Liberals made some big spending promises during last month’s election campaign, amounting to $78 billion in new spending over the next five years. These promises come on top of the existing baseline, which was already no model of austerity. The federal budget was bloated before the pandemic, and even after excluding some necessary public…
Is it too much to ask for honesty from the Prime Minister?
George Orwell would likely have caught his breath at news of a prime minister caught in a flagrant fib on a day dedicated to capital T Truth. Orwell, of course, spent his journalistic career ferreting out and castigating the incessant political lying of the mid-20th century. His magisterial essay Politics and the English Language includes…
And once you’ve lost your credibility it’s very hard to grow it back
In politics, nothing is more important than credibility. Politicians can deliver stirring speeches and launch searing attack ads, but if they don’t tell the truth, nobody believes any of it. And, one way or another, voters will hold them accountable. After our “election about nothing,” Erin O’Toole has a serious credibility problem. Take his flip-flop…
Lesson No. 1: Don't crumble in the face of focus-group gurus
The Conservative Party’s defeat in the recent federal election offers important lessons for Ontario Premier Doug Ford. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole chose to abandon core principles to try to win an election. Long-standing stances on carbon taxes, balanced budgets and broad-based tax relief crumbled in the face of focus-group gurus. Politicians have been trying to…
Recognizing the political power of Canadian cities has become a core element of national politics
The parsing of the federal election results is underway, as Canadians seek insights into leadership, party fortunes, regional concerns, and the priorities of special interest groups. This process often exposes major currents in Canada’s political culture and provides the country with a glimpse into what lies ahead. In my view, a major focus should be…
His adoring fans attribute to him qualities he doesn't actually have
With the dust settling from Sept. 20’s federal election, here are three takeaways: Justin Trudeau isn’t – and never was – a political giant When Justin Trudeau thwarted Stephen Harper’s 2015 effort for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term, he looked like a political rock star. He had charisma to burn, adoring fans, media enthusiasm and…
A show of force would strengthen our hand in our fight for fairness with Ottawa
Tired of yelling at the TV every time you hear about how much of our money is sent out east? Well, you’re in luck. The provincial government wants you to have your say on Canada’s equalization program during the province-wide municipal elections on Oct. 18th, 2021. Premier Jason Kenney is right to embrace some direct…
What Vuong did was morally, ethically and politically wrong. But to be expelled for a procedural matter would be quite stunning
You may be familiar with the phrase’ game it out.’ It’s a way to examine ideas, scenarios, concepts and strategies to figure out what could happen – and what the end result could be. In politics and the media, we game out everything from written pieces to communications strategies. For fun, let’s game out a…
While the following series is fictional, the principle objective is non-fictional – to explore the likelihood that sooner or later, Canadians will demand a full-scale investigation into the management of the COVID crisis by our federal government. At the commencement of the 2022 fall session of parliament, one of the first acts of the new…
