Despite the widely-condemned mass executions recently perpetrated by Saudi Arabia, the Trudeau government is going ahead with its $15 billion arms sale with the Middle East kingdom.Foreign Affairs Minster Stéphane Dion released a statement this week d…
Continue readingTag: justin trudeau government
Politics and its Discontents: A Brief Programming Note
Although the right-wing would heartily disagree, as amply pointed out by Montreal Simon today, my sense is that the waters perpetually roiled by the Harper government and their spawn have finally settled down. While there will undoubtedly be countless …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Taking The time To Get It Right
Rather than plunging headlong into the legalization of marijuana, it sounds like the Trudeau government is taking the time to ensure that the legislation achieves its stated goals: keeping it out of the hands of young people, diminishing the black mark…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On Prudent Spending
Now that the former fiscal masters of the universe, a.k.a. the Harper government, has left us with a structural deficit that will mean $3 billion to $5 billion in each of the next five years, the usual ideologues are suggesting that Justin Trudeau needs to reign in his deficit-spending plan.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On Keeping Perspective
With the cacophony of voices calling for Canada to continue to “Bomb, Baby, Bomb.” and Canadian miscreants retaliating against Muslims by setting fires to mosques, it is crucial for voices of reason to be heard above the din of destructive rhetoric and behaviour that is emerging in the wake of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Redefining Government
Those of us who followed closely the dark years of the Harper regime are well-aware of its ethos: government is an impediment and an intrusive force, foisting itself upon people who would be far better off left alone. The tax-cut policies of the regime, along with the creation of TFSAs,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Joy And Pride Continue
Although there will undoubtedly be some serious disappointments in the months and years ahead, the joy and the pride that Canadians feel over the election of the Trudeau government is very strong indeed. Treat yourself on this fine Sunday morning by checking out the full array of letters from Star
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Special Day
Today is one of those days where all things seem possible, a day suffused with an optimism that many likely haven’t felt for a long time, given the dark times endured under the previous regime. I spent the morning watching the swearing-in of the Trudeau government, and from start to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Undoing The Damage
During this ‘interregnum’ period, I have felt less inclined to write my blog; with the incoming government yet to make its mark, and the outgoing one something I prefer to think about as little as possible, I don’t have as much to say as usual. Nonetheless, things are undoubtely happening
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The New Trudeau Cabinet
While the eyes of many Canadians will be on the television screen Wednesday to witness Justin Trudeau’s swearing in as our new Prime Minister, equally riveting will be the introduction of his cabinet the same day. Given the wide-range of talent his party saw elected, both new and veteran MP’s
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Virtues Of Civility
Probably one of the most obviously distressing aspects of the last ten years has been the precipitous drop in political civility, earmarked by fractious and factious exchanges in the House of Commons. No longer a chamber for informed debate, under the Harper reign it became a vehicle by which the
Continue reading