Donald Trump announced this week that, when he’s re-elected, he’ll kill Obamacare. He tried that once — and he almost succeeded. Why is Trump obsessed with Obamacare? Paul Krugman writes: Much of it, no doubt, reflects the general hostility of the modern Republican Party to any program that helps less
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Northern Reflections: We Know Who He Is
Last week, we got a good look at who Pierre Poilievre is. Michael Harris writes: After jumping to the conclusion that the tragic accident at the Rainbow Bridge on Nov. 22 was a terrorist attack—a thesis which quickly proved to be patently false—Pierre Poilievre was asked by a CP reporter
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: We Know How This Story Ends
Recent polls suggest that Pierre Poilievre will be our next prime minister. Bob Hepburn writes that’s because neither the Liberals nor the NDP have figured out how to deal with Poilievre. But it’s also because the media is giving him a free pass: The biggest reason is that the media
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Anger And Wisdom
The tide is running against Justin Trudeau. Michael Harris writes: Poll after poll has shown that a lot of Canadians are stomping their feet for the current prime minister to resign right now before the next election. There is an impetuous push to see the back end of the man
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: What Sane Person?
The Republican Party is a collection of vile and incompetent people. Leading their parade is Donald Trump. But close behind him is Marjorie Taylor Greene. Dana Milbank writes: After eight fellow Republicans thwarted her attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, one of them said Greene lacks “maturity.” Greene
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Carbon Folly
Politicians are chipping away at the carbon tax. Pierre Poilievre wants to “axe the tax” entirely. The situation upsets former environment minister Catherine McKenna. She writes: Life is full of ironies. Using pricing to change behaviour is a strategy drawn from any conservative playbook. By setting a price, a market can
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Remebrance Day 2023
In a world increasingly obsessed with Imperial Dreams, we must remember the cost of those dreams. Image: Saugeen Times
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will It Be Carney?
People are talking about Mark Carney. Max Fawcett writes: Over the last week, two things have become abundantly obvious to anyone watching Canadian politics. First, Justin Trudeau is in deep, deep trouble — deeper even than the SNC-Lavalin scandal or the revelation of his Blackface photos in 2019. And second,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Post Trudeau
Justin Trudeau is in trouble. But so are the other leaders of Canada’s three major parties. Michael Harris writes: Canadians are getting the picture: none of the major leaders can be taken at their word. Canadians know that things are not as rosy as the Liberal government claims, not as
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Another Self Inflicted Wound
The cost of living is on everyone’s mind these days. In an effort to make things a little easier, the Trudeau government decided to remove the tax on home heating oil for three years. For a government that has been trying to ween Canadians off oil, it was an extraordinarily
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Big Question
We have lived with a catastrophic myth for a long time. We have believed that we live outside nature. Derek Lynch writes: Globally, we have entered the Anthropocene, with humans the dominant force driving change in all ecosystems. Through our overwhelming influence on the atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, no ecosystem
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Best People?
The Republicans finally have a Speaker of the House — someone they all voted for, someone nobody knows anything about. The internal communications of Republicans reveal a lot about who they are. Dana Milbank writes: “Let’s get our poop in a group, people. We’ve got to figure this out,” Rep.
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Truth And War
Truth has always been the first casualty of war. The journalists who cover a war have a difficult task. Michael Harris writes: War triggers a tribal impulse to take sides, to live in a world of black and white, to kill rather than communicate, and to turn on anyone who’s
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will We Get Pharmacare?
Last week, at the NDP Convention, the delegates insisted that the Liberals deliver a pharmacare program by 2025 or their deal was off. Susan Delacourt writes: Their arrangement clearly states that a “Canada pharmacare act” must be passed by the end of 2023, and that deadline is looming ever closer
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: At Our Worst
The Israel-Hamas War is a case of humanity operating on its worst instincts. Eric Ifill writes: I am embarrassed by the leadership of this country who have polluted what it means to be a human being, and it’s up to us to push back at the one-sided nature of their
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Going Your Own Way
We live in difficult times. The Israeli-Hamas War is only the latest in a long series of crises. Susan Delacourt asks: What happens to a government that’s constantly in crisis mode? There are a couple of obvious answers, none of them great: burnout, distraction and exhaustion. Trudeau and his government,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Wisdom In That Notion
Taking her inspiration from Rene Levesque, Danielle Smith suggests that Alberta should separate from Canada. Max Fawcett writes that — for the rest of Canada — that might be a good idea: On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada will rule on the constitutionality of the Impact Assessment Act that
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Party Is A Fraud
The Republican Party can’t do anything right. Ruy Teixeira writes: What is with the Republican Party? At a moment when they seem to have so much going for them, Republicans again are working overtime to throw it all away. By the numbers, this should be their moment. President Biden is
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Times They Are A-Changin’
The new speaker in the House of Commons is a black man — Greg Fergus. He’ll have his hands full — because he’ll have to deal with Pierre Poilievre. Susan Delacourt writes: Poilievre welcomed Fergus’s election with a partisan slam against the Liberal government — standard fare for the Conservative
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Walking the Walk
Pierre Poilievre claims he’s a friend of the working man. But he doesn’t like workers when they’re on a picket line. Linda McQuaig writes: The Conservative leader fumes relentlessly about today’s “affordability” crisis, and he correctly points out that workers are struggling to pay for groceries, rent, mortgages, etc. Yet
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