Terrorist attacks are theatre. And what theatre they have been presenting lately. The 9/11 spectacle of planes flying into tall buildings was the most spectacular event ever seen on television. The shooting spree by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau on Parliament Hill put Canada in the global spotlight for days, and the recent
Continue readingTag: Harper (Stephen)
Bravo to Baird and Harper on the Cuba file
The United States has finally come to its senses and is normalizing relations with Cuba. It’s taken over half a century but—to borrow the old cliché—better late than never. And to our credit, Canada played a key role. By hosting meetings of officials from the two countries, we obviated the
Continue readingMr. Harper, listen to the Commish
She’s your commissioner, Mr. Harper, appointed under your watch. She is a former mining industry executive, the kind of credentials you respect. So when she speaks, pay attention. And she recently spoke loud and clear. As federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Julie Gelfand heads her department’s Fall
Continue readingNational Post climate change deniers "paranoid"—so says their own editor
The prattling of climate change sceptics/deniers in the National Post has been ridiculed by one of its own editors. In recent comments on the CBC’s The National, Jonathan Kay repeated observations he made in a column some years ago in which he accused deniers of being “a liability to the
Continue readingHarper—not a man for our time
Vladimir Putin is a corrupt bully and I don’t like the guy. Nor do I like the mischief he’s up to in Ukraine. Nonetheless, I am not impressed by Stephen Harper’s self-righteous ranting about him. I find Harper very hard to agree with even when he’s on the right side
Continue readingNHL is worried about global warming—listen up, Mr. Harper
Surprising perhaps, but the National Hockey League now produces a sustainability report. And it’s worried about global warming. According to League Commissioner Gary Bettman, “Our sport can trace its roots to frozen freshwater ponds, to cold climates. Major environmental challenges, such as climate change and freshwater scarcity, affect opportunities for
Continue readingDon’t give up on the Senate, Mr. Harper
It wouldn’t be surprising if Prime Minister Harper was in a bit of a funk over the Supreme Court’s decision on the Senate this week. The Court unanimously rejected his government’s attempt to transform the Senate into an elected body and to set term limits, saying that such basic changes
Continue readingQuebec—another majority that isn’t
A lot of euphoria last night from Liberal supporters and those many Canadians (including not a few Quebecers) who don’t want to hear about separation for another generation at least. Not only did the Liberals win, they won big, majority big. Or at least the majority that counts which, unfortunately,
Continue readingThe "mother of all accountants" flays election bill
Sheila Fraser was once one of Stephen Harper’s favourite people. When she, in her capacity of auditor-general, exposed the Chretien government’s sponsorship scandal, sewing the seeds that would bring down the Liberals, Mr. Harper praised her handsomely as the “mother of all accountants” and in a neat turn of phrase
Continue readingMr. Harper’s pilgimage to Israel—more Canterbury Tales than trade mission
Trade missions have always been questionable vehicles for boosting the Canadian economy. Nonetheless, some can be justified by, if nothing else, the trade potential of the host country. For example, Jean Chrétien’s Team Canada mission to China in 2011. China is now our second most important trading partner and the
Continue readingThe Conservatives turn on PR
It’s not that all Conservatives are opposed to proportional representation. Senator Hugh Segal is onside and Conservative MPs Peter Braid, Stephen Woodworth and Scott Reid have presented Fair Vote Canada petitions to the House of Commons on behalf of their constituents. Even Stephen Harper complained about our electoral system in
Continue readingCanada-Australia climate axis—greatest threat to global security?
Prime Minister Harper once announced that the greatest threat to global security was terrorism. That was nonsense of course—every year, malaria kills approximately 660,000 people, mostly children, and AIDS 1,700,000 people. Terrorism is a trivial threat compared to the big killers. And the biggest of all, if we don’t act
Continue readingThe Conservatives and the Republican disease
Being an inveterate reader, I frequently encounter something that is such a nice piece of writing it demands a second or third reading and occasionally even creates a pang of envy that I didn’t write it myself— a “wish I’d said that” moment. Such was the case when I read
Continue readingHarper outshames Ford
Embarrassing our country more than Toronto Mayor Rob Ford would seem to be an impossible task. Yet our prime minister has done just that. On November 12th, the federal government issued a formal statement that included the following remark: “Canada applauds the decision by Prime Minister Abbott to introduce legislation
Continue readingAmericans support Keystone
Prime Minister Harper was talking tough about the Keystone XL pipeline this week. On a visit to New York, he told the Canadian American Business Council that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. His bravado may have been bolstered by a recent Pew Research Center survey that showed two-thirds
Continue readingHarper’s subversion of co-ops
One of the Harper government’s assaults on progress that I missed at the time, perhaps because the mass media made little of it, was its undermining of co-ops, one of my favourite institutions. Last April it terminated the federal Co-operative Development Initiative and cut funding for the Rural and Co-operatives
Continue readingHarper plays Mulcair … at our expense
If Stephen Harper is anything, he is a shrewd politician—always strategizing. He illustrated this yesterday starting off the new session of Parliament by accusing the NDP of supporting a carbon tax. Thomas Mulcair fell into the trap by immediately denying the NDP was considering any such thing. This accomplishes two
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