Pierre Trudeau famously quipped that Joe Clark wanted to be “headwaiter to the provinces.” Susan Delacourt writes that his son will be no headwaiter: In the years since Trudeau the elder left the scene, his successors have adopted a number of other approaches to the provinces, from the deferential to
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: It Can’t Happen Here?
Canadians like to think that Donald Trump could never happen here. But he’s been here and left — for the moment. His name was Rob Ford. And he had lots of editorial support. David Beers writes: As Donald Trump burst into an orange fireball melting down the Republican Party, one
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Now For The Hard Part
Justin Trudeau’s decision to put a price on carbon — over the objections of some of the provinces and territories — is a signal that the hard part has begun. Robin Sears writes: Justin Trudeau’s decision to devote a large chunk of his accumulated political capital imposing a clear, mandatory
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Russian-American Relations
The War in Syria has severely damaged relations between Russia and The United States. Tony Burman writes: Not since the darkest days of the Cold War, we are being told, are the dangers of a catastrophic conflict between Russia and the West so genuine. Last Sunday on Russian television, Dmitry
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Look In The Mirror
Donald Trump gets more reprehensible with each passing day. But he did not rise to where he is on his own initiative. Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post that there have been may people behind the ascension of Trump. And he has been a long time coming: The Trump
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Another One Of History’s Ironies
There are those who believe that engaging in “what might have been” speculation is wasted energy. But Linda McQuaig does precisely that in today’s Toronto Star. Doug Peters — the former chief economist for the TD Bank and former Liberal cabinet minister — died last week. Peters grew up in
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Last Person Standing
Yesterday, Tony Clement dropped out of the Conservative leadership race and Chris Alexander dropped in. The Conservative ranks are teeming with ambition. But ambition is expensive. Brent Rathgeber writes: Running for the leadership of a Canadian political party is no modest undertaking. Including the registration fee and a subsequent charge
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Not A Comforting Thought
While Donald Trump huffs, puffs and sniffles — and while the Republican Party tears itself apart — there will be those who take solace in The Donald’s Demise. However, Michael Den Tandt writes, Trump’s defeat will not put Trumpism to rest: Trumpism is bigger than the man. For evidence, juxtapose
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: In War, Soldiers and Sailors Get Killed
When Justin Trudeau brought Canada’s CF-18’s back from Iraq, Canadians might have thought that our armed forces personnel were out of harms way. But, Tom Walkom writes: On Thursday, a senior general acknowledged that, over the last few months, Canadian special forces operating in northern Iraq have become increasingly involved
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Once Again, Look At The Facts
It was an ugly night. The kind of night that — after it’s over — leaves you with the feeling that you’ve got to hit the shower. This morning, The New York Times published a page which fact checked statements from the debate. Not everything that Hillary Clinton said —
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Forest And The Trees
When it comes to taxing carbon, the Conservatives are into self-flagellation. Foremost among them is Brad Wall. Stephen Maher writes: Like the previous federal Conservative government, Wall seems to represent the view held by some fossil fuel companies — that climate change likely isn’t caused by carbon emissions, but even
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s About Sharing The Wealth
On October 1st, the minimum wage went up in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Prince Edward Island. It was Alberta’s increase that caused a lot of howling. Alan Freeman writes: Following through on an election promise, the NDP government there is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by late
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The New Cold War
We are engaged in a new Cold War. Tom Walkom writes: In the West, the old Cold War was portrayed as a battle between Communist dictatorship and capitalist freedom. Given that Russia has now embraced capitalism, those categories are no longer quite so neat. As a result, the new Cold
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Beware Third Choices
Hillary Clinton is a flawed candidate. All presidential candidates are. I have argued in this space that, given who Donald Trump is, voting for a third party candidate is highly dangerous. I have pointed to the history of Wiemar Germany as a cautionary tale. Gerry Caplan points to recent American
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Never Been Easy
Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Northwest Territories walked out of the room when Justin Trudeau announced a couple of days ago that he was putting a price on carbon. Chantal Hebert writes that the tax is no cash grab. What Trudeau is doing is filling a vacuum: For this
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Could We Have Been Had?
Tom Walkom gives the Trudeau government some credit for reversing the direction of the previous government: The new Liberal government negotiated a deal with the provinces to expand the Canada Pension Plan, something the Harper Conservatives were dead-set against. It also replaced Harper’s universal baby bonus with one targeted to
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Hogtied By Their Own Hypocrisy
The Conservatives started a fire when they accused Gerald Butts and Katie Telford of sticking taxpayers with exorbitant costs for moving from Toronto to Ottawa. Now they’re caught in their own backdraft. Michael Harris writes: The Conservative Opposition had fun with the PMO expense scandal until the issue bit them
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Voice Of The Downtrodden
Someone recently sent the New York Times a brown envelope which contained photocopies of three pages of Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns. Not much, given Trump’s voluminous tax records. But 1995 was a disastrous year for Trump. He declared a $916 million loss for that year. The Times reports: The
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Could They Have Been Wrong?
The smart folks who sold us on Neoliberalism are having second thoughts. Murray Dobbin writes: If recent mainstream economic reports are to be taken seriously, some of the big brains managing global capitalism these days are starting to lose faith in their neoliberal ideology. Some come close to sounding like
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Xenophobia And Political Ambition
Bob Hepburn warns that those of us who think that Kellie Leitch is on the political fringe, whipping up wing nuts, should think again. Xenophobia is gaining political traction all around the world. After his recent visit to Britain, Hepburn reports that: In Oxford and Portsmouth, well-educated middle-income people,
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