Bloc on full offensive over Liberal challenges to Bill 96, as feds keep eye on implementation
The Bloc Québécois is accusing Liberal MPs of “encouraging the anglicization of Quebec,” in response to criticisms of Bill 96, the province’s language bill overhauling the Charter of the French Language. During Question Period on May 30, quoting previous comments made by Quebec Premier François Legault, Bloc Québécois House Leader Alain Therrien (La Prairie, Que.) […]
Kenney caught in quagmire of his own making
OTTAWA—Prior to the pandemic, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was arguably the most powerful and influential conservative leader in Canada. Andrew Scheer, when he was federal opposition leader, had Kenney campaign for him in Ontario, while at the same time staying away from Ontario Premier Doug Ford. When Erin O’Toole was seeking to replace Scheer, he […]
Lost in the COVID haze: Ford’s record in Ontario seems largely forgotten by voters
OTTAWA—Whatever is in those mandate letters, it must be really politically embarrassing or damaging. In the summer of 2018, shortly after Premier Doug Ford took office, CBC Toronto asked that the mandate letters to his 23 cabinet colleagues be made public under freedom of information. The Progressive Conservative government refused, claiming they were exempt as […]
Conservative MPs, strategists unpack the ‘undoing of Jason Kenney’ in Alberta
Conservative Alberta MPs are blaming the tough pandemic political climate for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s splintered internal support and say his announced resignation was a result of a “no-win situation” and “an unforgiving political culture” that allowed United Conservative Party divisions to grow. But Conservative strategists say Kenney’s leadership style and caucus management played a […]
Heading backwards in Ontario
OTTAWA—Call him the Highwayman. Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to have staked his party’s re-election on the perception that the province’s commuters want more, ever-bigger roads, regardless of the environmental consequences. It might have been a miscalculation, seeing that just overnight driving went from being a somewhat costly necessity to an outright luxury. But so […]
Map quest: four provinces reach key stage of electoral redistribution process
Proposed new electoral maps are out for four provinces—British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island—including some significant boundary shifts, and local MPs are readying themselves to weigh in as part of the key, upcoming public consultation process. “There’s some ridings that kind of leave you scratching your head, other ridings that historically have […]
What the hell is a ‘historic anglophone’?
MONTREAL, QUE.—In the coming weeks, the Coalition Avenir Québec government of François Legault will pass Bill 96, a law allegedly intended to improve French in Quebec, but which is really an attack on English-speaking Quebecers. On May 14, about 10,000 people (including me) marched though downtown Montreal to express our opposition to the bill. When […]
Get used to it, Monsieur Legault: English is the international language
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—April 23 came and went without much fanfare this year, as it always does. If you had forgotten, it was St. George’s Day. It is odd no one notices, the given the chauvinism for other patron saints. On St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) everyone is Irish. St. Andrew’s Day (Nov. 30) is an opportunity […]
‘Inuit culture and traditions are not for sale’: why the government should not approve Baffinland expansion
POND INLET, NUNAVUT—I’m a hunter from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. My father is also a hunter and I grew up helping him, harvesting subsistence food. The hunters in our community are providers—they share their catch by going through radio or Facebook, asking if people want country food. Called the “Jewel of the North,” our Baffin Island […]
Guy Lafleur’s death has united Quebecers in grief
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—Steve Shutt summed up his teammate Guy Lafleur in an interview with Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette: “He didn’t put himself above everybody else. He was just one of the guys.” That certainly was my impression, having followed Lafleur’s career. I had been at the Forum in the fall of 1971 when “Flower” […]
