Broadcasting Despair
It is tempting to enjoy the downfall of the Ford Brothers — most particularly, perhaps, because their troubles are of their own making. But, Paul Saurette warns in today’s Toronto…
Owen Gray
Looking The Other Way
Over the last two days, Stephen Harper has tried every trick he knows to distance himself from Mike Duffy and Nigel Wright. But, Andrew Coyne writes, the quagmire in which…
Harper’s Perfect Storm
It’s easier to deal with returning chickens — or kids — if they don’t all come home at the same time. During the Mulroney years, Michael Den Tandt writes, scandals…
Now Is The Time
From the day he took power, Stephen Harper — like Rob Ford — has viewed the parliamentary press gallery as maggots. Edward Greenspon writes in the Toronto Star: When he…
Dr. Freud Would Be Fascinated
When historians sit down and — with the advantage of hindsight — evaluate the Harper years, they will certainly mention the Wright-Duffy Affair. They may conclude that it was the…
Selling Their Souls
The Harperites have always pushed the envelopes of campaigning and governance. The Wright-Duffy Affair has provided us yet another example of how the govern. But, last week, Mr. Justice Richard…
The Fords Hit The Fan
The day after Rob Ford publicly denied using crack cocaine, The Globe and Mail runs a story claiming that his brother Doug used to traffic in hash: Ten people who…
The Phony Conservative
For anyone who has been paying attention, it’s been evident for a long time that Stephen Harper is a phony. There has always been a chasm between what he says…
Michael Corleone In Ottawa
Stephen Harper says he knew nothing about Nigel’s Wright’s cheque to Mike Duffy. That’s probably true. But Harper’s plea of ignorance does not preclude his giving Wright instructions to make…
Their Howard Beale Moment
Yesterday Stephen Harper held a pep rally and beat it out of town. He gave no answers. He thinks it will go away. But, as Lawrence Martin wrote yesterday in…
Who They Are
Beginning with his caucus meeting today, Stephen Harper will try to wash his hands of The Duffy Matter. But, Andrew Coyne writes in The National Post, this stain will not…
Nixonian
In an attempt to put Nigel Wright’s resignation in perspective, Paul Wells returns to a passage he and John Geddes wrote two years ago: Someone who was there paraphrased Harper’s…
The Wrong Kind Of Attention
Last week, Toronto Star columnist Rick Salutin compared Joe Oliver to Willy Loman, the woefully misguided drummer in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of A Salesman. In Canada’s ongoing pipeline saga,…
A Culture Of Entitlement
Following the news that Pamela Wallin has resigned from the Conservative caucus, Andrew Coyne takes a hard look at the Mike Duffy fiasco: So Duffy’s behaviour is not the issue.…
The Henchman’s Curse
Two of Stephen Harper’s senate appointments have been shoved out of the Conservative caucus. The Senate was their reward for doing the Prime Minister’s dirty work. But one of life’s…
That Vision Thing
Tom Walkom’s analysis of the BC election is interesting. In the end, he writes, British Columbians were asked to choose between two negatives: On Tuesday, B.C. voters were left with…
Time To Ditch The Duffer
Tom Walkom writes that when it comes to residency, Senate rules are unambiguous: The constitution act is crystal clear on this. It says a senator must be at least 30…
Citizens, Not Consumers
Natalie Brender writes in The Toronto Star that, if disasters such as the factory collapse in Bangladesh are to be avoided in the future, we are going to have to…
Stiglitz On Higher Education
Joseph Stiglitz writes in this morning’s New York Times that, just as America is beginning to recover from the crisis which rocked the world financial system, another storm is about…
The Nasty Party
Andrew Coyne’s opinions tend to fall on the right side of the political spectrum. That fact, however, does not make him a fan of the Harper government. In this morning’s…