Friday, January 10, 2025

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Friday, January 10, 2025 | Latest Paper

Northerners think feds are ‘out of touch’ with the North, data suggests

Northerners say the federal government is “out of touch” with the North, does not meet their needs, and does not fairly represent them, according to a convenience sample study conducted by the Angus Reid Forum.   The data, while anecdotal in nature, offers a glimpse into the frustrations and issues facing those living in Canada’s territories, […]

Regardless of Kenney’s fate, 2023 will be a decisive election for Alberta

After her 2019 election defeat, many Albertans wrote NDP Leader Rachel Notley off for good. Her 2015 victory was a fluke, they said. Alberta is as true blue as they come, they cried. Had conservative forces not been split, she’d never have gotten into office. And nor would she again: not after Jason Kenney triumphantly […]

Indigenous languages on federal ballots could help boost turnout, PROC hears

Directly or indirectly, including Indigenous languages on federal ballots could help to boost Indigenous voter turnout, argue witnesses appearing as part of the House Affairs Committee’s ongoing study into the prospect. But some suggest resources would be better allocated elsewhere.  “Having the Inuit language on ballots would help in increasing the voter turnout,” Nunavut Languages […]

Ford gambling on Ontarians’ health in pre-election dice roll

OTTAWA—Whatever you can say about Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s handling of the pandemic, it clearly didn’t have anything to do with equal treatment of his province’s population. It emerged last year that private schools had been huge beneficiaries when the Ford government began handing out rapid tests (paid for by federal taxpayers) as Ontarians struggled with […]

Feds’ impending Bay du Nord decision one to watch

OTTAWA—Bay du Nord? If you don’t know what Bay du Nord is now, you will almost certainly know by next week when the federal government is supposed to give this offshore oil project a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Rejection or approval will come with a lot of noise. It will be the first […]

Adding Indigenous languages to ballots a step toward reconciliation: Chief Electoral Officer

Enabling the use of Indigenous languages in the federal electoral process is “at the core of reconciliation,” says Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault, but doing so would require sorting out details around which languages to incorporate, where, and how, and would likely mean amending the Canada Elections Act.  “The presence of Indigenous languages at the […]

Jason Kenney fights to keep dancing to the tune he composed

OTTAWA—Many, many years ago, when I was a young political staffer, I had to travel to Alberta to get then-Progressive Conservative premier Don Getty to sign an important document. Worn down from travel and not fully alert, I did not notice that I had uncapped the pen that would be used to sign the material […]

Mixed reviews for Liberal solution to protect Quebec seats

The Trudeau government recently tabled its solution to stop Quebec from losing a seat in this year’s riding redistribution process, but the proposal, which would set a new minimum seat count for provinces, is getting mixed reviews from opposition MPs.   “This is a good step in the right direction,” said NDP MP Daniel Blaikie […]

What’s up with gas? Explaining the global and local politics behind the price at the pump

In the wake of rising oil and gas prices, Conservative politicians have been urging the government to decrease its dependence on oil imports and ramp up Canadian production, but Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the opposition is “playing politics.”   Gas prices have been climbing steadily for months now, but in the last two weeks, Canadians […]