Tim Harper wrote his last column yesterday. In it, he reviewed the state of Canada’s three major parties — which have all held conventions in the last four months:The three gatherings have provided a real-time barometer on the state of politics…
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Northern Reflections: Pretty Thin, But . . .
As prime minister, Stephen Harper didn’t accomplish much. Andrew Coyne writes that Mr. Harper’s legacy is pretty thin:Any honest examination of Harper’s nine-odd years in office would find a government that wandered all over the intellectual map, bo…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will The Conservatives Move Left?
Not very likely, says David Orchard, who was betrayed by Peter Mackay, when Orchard threw his support behind Mackay’s bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party. Mackay threw in his lot with Stephen Harper. And Progressive Conservatis…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The End Of Globalization?
This year’s American presidential campaign has given citizens around the world much to trouble their dreams. But, Murray Dobbins writes, behind the ugliness something good may be emerging — the end of corporate globalization:Increasingly grim inequali…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Climate Change Did Harper In
If there was one policy which doomed the Harperites in the last election, it was their steadfast refusal to do anything about climate change. Chantal Hebert writes:Last October, a mismanaged election campaign only compounded the decade-long mismanagem…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Just What The World Needs
Bob Fife reports, in the Globe and Mail, that Stephen Harper will resign his seat before Parliament resumes in September:“He is not going to be there when the House returns in September,” one close associate said. “He has had some good conversat…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Is The TPP Dead?
Michael Geist thinks it might be. He writes:First, the TPP may not have sufficient support to take effect, since under the terms of agreement both Japan and the United States must be among the ratifying countries. Implementation has been dela…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Kagan On Trump
Robert Kagan has been a consistent neo-conservative voice for the last twenty-five years. From his desk at the Brookings Institution, he has advocated for a tougher, more militaristic American foreign policy. Successive Republican administrations have …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will He Pay?
Some people are convinced that Justin Trudeau will pay a price for his less than sunny behaviour in the House last week. Tom Walkom isn’t so sure. Canadians, he writes, like to have “chippy” prime ministers:Trudeau broke all the rules Wednesday when he…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Trump-Clinton Syndrome
Alan Freeman writes that, when he was the Globe and Mail correspondent in Washington, nobody paid attention to Canada. Suddenly, he writes, that has all changed:Over the past week, major U.S. news outlets like The New York Times, CNN and The Washington…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Words, Words, Words
Young Mr.Trudeau is starting to get under my skin. It isn’t the Kabuki Theatre the other day in the House that bothers me. It’s the announcement that the Liberals plan to contest the class action lawsuit which veterans brought against the Harper govern…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Entertainment And Politics
So you think Canada would never elect a Donald Trump? Think again. Debra Van Brenk writes:Conservative voters would be more more likely to choose outspoken TV personality Kevin O’Leary as their party leader among a field of seven declared and potenti…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Bitumen’s Days Are Over
These are hard days for Fort McMurray. But, Andrew Nikiforuk writes, there is another fire burning — a slow burning one — that will eventually bring the place to its knees. And Murray Edwards, the head of Canadian Natural Resources, has seen the futu…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Do The Right Thing, Justin
Back in the 1960’s, an estimated 100,000 Americans fled to Canada, rather than being drafted into the armed forces of the United States. Former CBC broadcaster Andy Barrie was one of them. He writes:In Vietnam, it’s called the American War. Not, min…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Still Indispensable
Paul Godfrey appeared before the Heritage Committee last week to ask the government for a hand. It was more than a little ironic that the publisher who would prefer to get government out of our lives was coming to it cap in hand. But, Tom Walkom writes…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It Takes More Than Rhyme To Make Poetry
There are some ghostly similarities, Michael Winship writes, between the American election of 1968 and this year’s election. 1968 was the year that Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. It was the year there were riots in the streets…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Ball Is In Trudeau’s Court
Justin Trudeau has done an admirable job of tending to his image, Murray Dobbin writes. But his real test as prime minister will be how he deals with the Isle of Man Tax Dodgers:By now most people are familiar with the KPMG tax “sham” uncovered by CBC …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: They’re Perseverating
Just before Mike Duffy’s acquital, the leader of the Conservative caucus in the Senate, Leo Housakas, released the following statement:“In the event Senator Duffy is acquitted on all counts, he will immediately be reinstated to the Senat…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Who Should They Serve?
Your local post office used to be a bank — until 1968. That’s when Canada Post got out of the banking business. But, Linda McQuaig writes, there are good reasons for restoring banking services to Canada Post’s mandate:As they’ve turned their attenti…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Pressure Is Building
Tim Harper writes that Justin Trudeau will soon be under pressure to approve a pipeline — whether he wants to or not:When the economic cost of this tragedy is tallied, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is going to be under renewed pressur…
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