Whatever It Takes
You would think that Stephen Harper’s recent troubles might spur a little self examination. Not so. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Instead of rethinking, the Prime Minister has doubled down on his…
Owen Gray
Hypocrisy Squared
There was something a little hollow about Stephen Harper’s praise for Nelson Mandela. Murray Dobbin writes: In 1989 Harper was a member of the Northern Foundation (NF) about the same…
Mad And Stupid
Ken Dryden writes, in this morning’s Globe and Mail, that Stephen Harper is the prime minister of Canada and Rob Ford is the mayor of Toronto because people are mad…
Eminent Victorians
It was a remarkable gaffe — as defined by Michael Kinsley. Last Friday, James Moore gave us a brief statement of what he really believes, unvarnished by spin. When asked…
Birnam Wood Is Moving
The year end interview with CTV’s Bob Fife is off. That’s because there’s nothing Stephen Harper wants to talk about. It’s been that kind of year. It’s been the kind…
In A Dark Place
The Harper Party has changed its name three times. First it was the Reform Party. Then it was the Canadian Alliance. And, finally, it called itself the Conservative Party. The…
The Same People
As finance ministers meet today, Jim Flaherty argues that our fragile economy can’t afford enhancing the Canada Pension Plan. It’s the latest version of an old argument — the very…
They Call That Accountability
Last week, the Harper government announced that it was going to tighten the rules on the transportation of petroleum by rail. But, for this government, the proclamation of the rules…
From Newpeak To Nospeak
We learned in the Throne Speech that the Harper government was consumer friendly. But this week — when Canadians learned that they would be paying more for less service from…
Mr. Harper And The Pope
Conservatives are not happy with Pope Francis. He has attacked their rosetta stone. And he’s pulling no punches: “The danger in today’s world,” he says, “pervaded as it is by…
Cruel And Unusual Punishment
Jim Flaherty vows that the budget will be balanced by the next election. But at what cost? Daniel Tencer, of The Huffington Post, writes: Job creation in Canada this year…
Where’s Justin?
There’s been a lot of talk about Michael Chong’s Reform Act. But, curiously, neither Justin Trudeau nor Tom Mulcair is doing any talking. Lawrence Martin wrote yesterday that: For a…
Not A Banner Year
This has not been a good year for Stephen Harper. It began with Harper unleashing the Deloitte audit dogs on Chief Theresa Spence. And it ended with his attempt to…
Samller and Smaller
There has been lots of speculation recently that Stephen Harper might be ready to walk off into a snowstorm. But his appointment last week of Dimitri Soudas as the executive…
Paying The Piper
On Thursday, Andrew Mitrovica summarized what we know about Rob Ford: We now know this about Ford. He is a habitual liar. He is said to have uttered racist and…
For The Birds
The irony is of epic proportions. The Jewish National Fund plans to put Stephen Harper’s name on a bird sanctuary. It shall be called The Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley…
Nelson Mandela
For Nelson Mandela, greatness was not the province of a few. For him, every man and woman who walked the earth had the potential to be great. “We ask ourselves,”…
Floating On Hot Air
The Warrior-in-Chief has been cowed. Tom Walkom notes that Stephen Harper’s bellicose rhetoric has cooled: The prime minister’s references to Afghanistan now are usually brief and elliptical, as they were…
By The People
It’s an indication of just how far we have strayed, that Michael Chong’s bill merely seeks to put centuries old parliamentary conventions in writing. Not surprisingly, Andrew Coyne writes, there…
Mankind Is The Business Of Foreign Affairs
Trade Minister Ed Fast announced last week that, under the Harper government, the Foreign Affairs Department would focus on “economic diplomacy.” Michael Harris writes that Preston Manning understood Stephen Harper’s…