Pot is coming. Pot is coming.
How come the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation gets the best media leaks? We have been informed by the People’s Network that we will be able to celebrate Canada Day 2018 with…
Federal Politics
Budgets and other eulogies.
Seeing finance minister Bill Morneau finally get to his budget last week produced a measure of disappointment and nostalgia. He brought back distant memories of the clean-cut young Anglican priest…
Lies. And Trudeau-Trump lies.
You have come to expect it in the daily reports from the American White House. You know that the man in the White House tells lies. You just do not…
Kevin O’Leary meets a real reality.
Welcome to Canadian politics, Kevin O’Leary. You have brought a few laughs to an otherwise dismal contest for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Though you would think someone…
Shell bites the bitumen bullet.
This story takes us back to the 1970s and a lengthy discussion with a board member of Royal Dutch Shell. He was a “works committee” member of the board and…
Is Trudeau fighting out of his weight class?
The reason why boxing promoters will not allow a lightweight boxer to take on a heavyweight is that the lightweight might not last two minutes. The lightweight might be fast…
What happened in Saint-Laurent?
All rebellions have to start somewhere. And it looks like Justin Trudeau miscalculated and let one start in the Quebec electoral district of Saint-Laurent. The riding had been held by…
The Morning Line: Canada’s Conservatives (2).
Now you get the possible winners from among the 14 contenders for the Tory leadership. We have checked their blood lines, their daily workouts and their past performances and all…
The Morning Line: Canada’s Conservatives (1).
You can hardly deal with 14 contenders for the Tory leadership in just one commentary. We will divide our Morning Line into two parts: The Losers and the Possibles. THE…
Where our New Democrats are headed?
Now that Canada’s New Democratic Party has some thinking and articulate players running for the national leadership, we better pay some attention. The hope is that Canadians will find out…
And we thought Harper was an autocrat?
It was Pierre Trudeau in 1970 who said “Just watch me,” and showed us the real power of the Prime Minister’s Office. Later it was Stephen Harper who showed us…
Phoning to check in
For those curious about what I’m up to these days, I chatted with Susan Delacourt about correspondence in the PMO this week. Also contains some fun stories about what happens…
Asking the right people.
The report from Ottawa is that the Liberal government wants Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) to advise politicians and Elections Canada on computer security. Just why these should be the…
Canada’s Conservative Conundrum.
It is fascinating studying the 14 aspirants in the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. It is also hard to believe. Just where would any of…
Ralph Goodale: The Great Obfuscator.
One of the secrets of individual longevity in politics in Saskatchewan is that nobody in the province can tell a Conservative from a Liberal. This came to mind last weekend…
Of politicians and sleeping dogs.
It is hard to believe that anyone would want former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to be brought out of retirement—even just to sing an Irish ballad! And for those of…
Is the political middle just one?
Nobody seems to be able to nail down this middle ground in politics. It is like the middle class that Justin Trudeau chased in the last federal election. Did Trudeau…
Watch out, the bigots are out.
The problem for the pundits today is the presence of bigots in the Conservative Party. They are not the majority. They are barely a faction. They exist. They hurt the…
More fallout from voting reform.
This subject would have been ignored if another commentary on it had not run in the Washington Post. The writer accused the Canadian prime minister of looking “both incompetent and…
Wasted hours in Washington.
Did you think President Trump was going to slice and dice our prime minister for lunch the other day? First of all, Donald Trump seemed to like Justin Trudeau. He…