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Jim Creskey

Trying to keep fear out of a fearful topic

  • Some 24 parliamentarians, including federal Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Feb. 25 urging Joly to
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 3, 2025
Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima, far left, and Nagasaki, left, in Japan, Aug. 6, 1945, and Aug. 9, 1945. Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Trying to keep fear out of a fearful topic

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 3, 2025
  • Some 24 parliamentarians, including federal Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Feb. 25 urging Joly to

Trying to keep fear out of a fearful topic

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 3, 2025
  • Some 24 parliamentarians, including federal Housing Minister Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly on Feb. 25 urging Joly to
Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima, far left, and Nagasaki, left, in Japan, Aug. 6, 1945, and Aug. 9, 1945. Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Who’s standing up to the danger of World War III?

  • For the peacemakers’ work to bear fruit, Canada’s political leadership will have to find the courage necessary to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 4, 2024
So far, the only parliamentarians known to support Canada signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons are NDP MPs Heather McPherson, left, and Don Davies; Green Leader Elizabeth May; and non-affiliated Senator Marilou McPhedran, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Who’s standing up to the danger of World War III?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 4, 2024
  • For the peacemakers’ work to bear fruit, Canada’s political leadership will have to find the courage necessary to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition

Who’s standing up to the danger of World War III?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 4, 2024
  • For the peacemakers’ work to bear fruit, Canada’s political leadership will have to find the courage necessary to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition
So far, the only parliamentarians known to support Canada signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons are NDP MPs Heather McPherson, left, and Don Davies; Green Leader Elizabeth May; and non-affiliated Senator Marilou McPhedran, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photographs by Andrew Meade

Few Canadians understood how this country’s refugee system worked better than Peter Showler

  • Peter Showler, who died on Oct. 30 at the age of 79, was the real deal. A former Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 15, 2023
Peter Showler (Feb. 17, 1944-Oct. 30, 2023) was, among many other things, a refugee advocate with the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, former chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board, and a dear friend, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Kristen Shane

Few Canadians understood how this country’s refugee system worked better than Peter Showler

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 15, 2023
  • Peter Showler, who died on Oct. 30 at the age of 79, was the real deal. A former Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Few Canadians understood how this country’s refugee system worked better than Peter Showler

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 15, 2023
  • Peter Showler, who died on Oct. 30 at the age of 79, was the real deal. A former Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Peter Showler (Feb. 17, 1944-Oct. 30, 2023) was, among many other things, a refugee advocate with the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, former chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board, and a dear friend, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Kristen Shane

What shape does hope take in a world we can see is rushing to destroy itself?

  • Hope is rooted in our spirit. It is not a tangible thing we can put on the table to bargain over. Hope is a
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 16, 2023
Keep Hope Alive: Essays for a War-Free World by Doug Roche, published 2023. Cover design by Khalid Yaqub

What shape does hope take in a world we can see is rushing to destroy itself?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 16, 2023
  • Hope is rooted in our spirit. It is not a tangible thing we can put on the table to bargain over. Hope is a

What shape does hope take in a world we can see is rushing to destroy itself?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 16, 2023
  • Hope is rooted in our spirit. It is not a tangible thing we can put on the table to bargain over. Hope is a
Keep Hope Alive: Essays for a War-Free World by Doug Roche, published 2023. Cover design by Khalid Yaqub

The other 9/11

  • Canada had much to learn from the tragedy that took place in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973. Entire government policies and wide public acceptance
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | September 11, 2023
The full force of opinion and propaganda that came directly from sources such as Henry Kissinger, right, and the U.S. White House made Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s, second left, 1973 coup appear necessary, writes Jim Creskey. Photograph courtesy of the Chilean Ministry of Exterior Relations archives

The other 9/11

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | September 11, 2023
  • Canada had much to learn from the tragedy that took place in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973. Entire government policies and wide public acceptance

The other 9/11

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | September 11, 2023
  • Canada had much to learn from the tragedy that took place in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973. Entire government policies and wide public acceptance
The full force of opinion and propaganda that came directly from sources such as Henry Kissinger, right, and the U.S. White House made Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s, second left, 1973 coup appear necessary, writes Jim Creskey. Photograph courtesy of the Chilean Ministry of Exterior Relations archives

The false protection of wishful thinking

  • While the film Oppenheimer might remind us we are courting global suicide, the National Film Board's The Strangest Dream is a profound warning.
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 9, 2023
Now, 78 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is the slim possibility that the popularity of the film Oppenheimer may be awakening some small degree of public awareness of what we have set in motion, writes Jim Creskey. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The false protection of wishful thinking

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 9, 2023
  • While the film Oppenheimer might remind us we are courting global suicide, the National Film Board's The Strangest Dream is a profound warning.

The false protection of wishful thinking

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 9, 2023
  • While the film Oppenheimer might remind us we are courting global suicide, the National Film Board's The Strangest Dream is a profound warning.
Now, 78 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there is the slim possibility that the popularity of the film Oppenheimer may be awakening some small degree of public awareness of what we have set in motion, writes Jim Creskey. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A history lesson we have yet to learn: the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of nuclear war in 2022

  • OTTAWA—Four men are seated in a room, three of them share a couch, one sits in a rocking chair. They are all attempting to
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 20, 2022
The Kennedy White House Executive Committee during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Millions of lives would depend on the president’s decision. Photograph courtesy of the White House, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

A history lesson we have yet to learn: the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of nuclear war in 2022

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 20, 2022
  • OTTAWA—Four men are seated in a room, three of them share a couch, one sits in a rocking chair. They are all attempting to

A history lesson we have yet to learn: the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the threat of nuclear war in 2022

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 20, 2022
  • OTTAWA—Four men are seated in a room, three of them share a couch, one sits in a rocking chair. They are all attempting to
The Kennedy White House Executive Committee during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Millions of lives would depend on the president’s decision. Photograph courtesy of the White House, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Lessons from Cobalt for Ontario’s Ring of Fire

  • The Westminster Parliament boasts more than a few noteworthy prime ministers who were writers worth reading. Prime ministers Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli stand
FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2022
Charlie Angus' eighth book, the very readable Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower, belongs in the category of Canadian history that isn't taught in school but should be, writes Jim Creskey. Image courtesy of House of Anansi Press and The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Lessons from Cobalt for Ontario’s Ring of Fire

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2022
  • The Westminster Parliament boasts more than a few noteworthy prime ministers who were writers worth reading. Prime ministers Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli stand

Lessons from Cobalt for Ontario’s Ring of Fire

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2022
  • The Westminster Parliament boasts more than a few noteworthy prime ministers who were writers worth reading. Prime ministers Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli stand
Charlie Angus' eighth book, the very readable Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower, belongs in the category of Canadian history that isn't taught in school but should be, writes Jim Creskey. Image courtesy of House of Anansi Press and The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

A Grade 3 teacher and the children of Chelsea spark promising movement to bring down Bill 21

  • CHELSEA, QUE.— Standing in an ice-covered parking lot outside the office of Gatineau’s CAQ MNA, Robert Bussière, and listening to several protest speeches in French
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 22, 2021
Dozens gathered in Chelsea, Que., outside the office of Gatineau’s CAQ MNA, Robert Bussière, to protest Quebec's secularism law after a teacher was removed from her position for wearing a hijab. The Hill Times photograph

A Grade 3 teacher and the children of Chelsea spark promising movement to bring down Bill 21

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 22, 2021
  • CHELSEA, QUE.— Standing in an ice-covered parking lot outside the office of Gatineau’s CAQ MNA, Robert Bussière, and listening to several protest speeches in French

A Grade 3 teacher and the children of Chelsea spark promising movement to bring down Bill 21

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 22, 2021
  • CHELSEA, QUE.— Standing in an ice-covered parking lot outside the office of Gatineau’s CAQ MNA, Robert Bussière, and listening to several protest speeches in French
Dozens gathered in Chelsea, Que., outside the office of Gatineau’s CAQ MNA, Robert Bussière, to protest Quebec's secularism law after a teacher was removed from her position for wearing a hijab. The Hill Times photograph

Two kinds of security: the PM’s and the world’s

  • OTTAWA—A cold wind blows across Parliament Hill as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks on the north side of Wellington Street from the West Block
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 2, 2021
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured on Dec. 1, talking to reporters before the Liberal national caucus meeting in the West Block. The prime minister spoke with António Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, on Nov. 30. They spoke, said the PMO, about Ethiopia, COVID, climate change, pollution, and sustainable development, but it did not say if Guterres spoke with the PM about nuclear weapons. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Two kinds of security: the PM’s and the world’s

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 2, 2021
  • OTTAWA—A cold wind blows across Parliament Hill as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks on the north side of Wellington Street from the West Block

Two kinds of security: the PM’s and the world’s

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 2, 2021
  • OTTAWA—A cold wind blows across Parliament Hill as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks on the north side of Wellington Street from the West Block
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured on Dec. 1, talking to reporters before the Liberal national caucus meeting in the West Block. The prime minister spoke with António Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, on Nov. 30. They spoke, said the PMO, about Ethiopia, COVID, climate change, pollution, and sustainable development, but it did not say if Guterres spoke with the PM about nuclear weapons. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Keeping the bailiff from repossessing your car: the case for a basic income

  • A basic income for all Canadians, an unconditional, guaranteed income floor below which no one’s income can fall, is an idea that has been
FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 9, 2021
The basic income amounts delivered in the Ontario pilot clearly are not a silver-bullet solution, but as in other test programs, the results were clear. Instead of having to hock their possessions to stave off eviction or pay an overdue utility bill, families were investing in their children, writes Jim Creskey. Unsplash photograph by Alexander Dummer

Keeping the bailiff from repossessing your car: the case for a basic income

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 9, 2021
  • A basic income for all Canadians, an unconditional, guaranteed income floor below which no one’s income can fall, is an idea that has been

Keeping the bailiff from repossessing your car: the case for a basic income

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | June 9, 2021
  • A basic income for all Canadians, an unconditional, guaranteed income floor below which no one’s income can fall, is an idea that has been
The basic income amounts delivered in the Ontario pilot clearly are not a silver-bullet solution, but as in other test programs, the results were clear. Instead of having to hock their possessions to stave off eviction or pay an overdue utility bill, families were investing in their children, writes Jim Creskey. Unsplash photograph by Alexander Dummer

In new book, Roche offers recovery for a wounded world in the new Biden era

  • The Biden era has begun. Are we ready to make the most of it? Just when it’s needed, Recover: Peace Prospects in the Biden Era, comes
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 19, 2020
Doug Roche, 91, one of Canada's leading advocates for peace, just self-published another book, Recover: Peace Prospects in the Biden Era, which offers hope 'in the urgent agenda for human security.' The Hill Times photograph by Samantha Wright Allen

In new book, Roche offers recovery for a wounded world in the new Biden era

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 19, 2020
  • The Biden era has begun. Are we ready to make the most of it? Just when it’s needed, Recover: Peace Prospects in the Biden Era, comes

In new book, Roche offers recovery for a wounded world in the new Biden era

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 19, 2020
  • The Biden era has begun. Are we ready to make the most of it? Just when it’s needed, Recover: Peace Prospects in the Biden Era, comes
Doug Roche, 91, one of Canada's leading advocates for peace, just self-published another book, Recover: Peace Prospects in the Biden Era, which offers hope 'in the urgent agenda for human security.' The Hill Times photograph by Samantha Wright Allen

There couldn’t be a better time than now to cancel the Safe Third Country Agreement

  • It’s not often that a major court decision about a highly politicized topic turns out to be a gift to both the Liberals and
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 29, 2020
The July 22 Federal Court ruling, should the government choose not to fight it, does away with the sketchy and dangerous way of dealing with asylum seekers who are coming from the United States and sent back and detained, writes Jim Creskey. Flickr photograph by Chris Connelly

There couldn’t be a better time than now to cancel the Safe Third Country Agreement

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 29, 2020
  • It’s not often that a major court decision about a highly politicized topic turns out to be a gift to both the Liberals and

There couldn’t be a better time than now to cancel the Safe Third Country Agreement

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 29, 2020
  • It’s not often that a major court decision about a highly politicized topic turns out to be a gift to both the Liberals and
The July 22 Federal Court ruling, should the government choose not to fight it, does away with the sketchy and dangerous way of dealing with asylum seekers who are coming from the United States and sent back and detained, writes Jim Creskey. Flickr photograph by Chris Connelly

The political test: addressing sly, sophisticated racism

  • Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson complained that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t join the thousands of people who marched
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 10, 2020
Anti-Black racism protesters, pictured June 5, 2020, on Parliament Hill. Taking money away from a problem is sometimes no better than throwing money at it, writes Hill Times publisher Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

The political test: addressing sly, sophisticated racism

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 10, 2020
  • Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson complained that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t join the thousands of people who marched

The political test: addressing sly, sophisticated racism

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 10, 2020
  • Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson complained that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t join the thousands of people who marched
Anti-Black racism protesters, pictured June 5, 2020, on Parliament Hill. Taking money away from a problem is sometimes no better than throwing money at it, writes Hill Times publisher Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence a tragic, heartbreaking, personal story

  • OTTAWA—A journalist who writes personally enters into dangerous territory. I’m not talking about the kind of personal writing that food and fashion and sometimes
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 16, 2019
Former journalist Catherine McKercher's Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence so elegantly blends the personal and the authoritative, and it asks readers to enter its world with their hearts and their minds, writes Jim Creskey.

Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence a tragic, heartbreaking, personal story

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 16, 2019
  • OTTAWA—A journalist who writes personally enters into dangerous territory. I’m not talking about the kind of personal writing that food and fashion and sometimes

Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence a tragic, heartbreaking, personal story

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | December 16, 2019
  • OTTAWA—A journalist who writes personally enters into dangerous territory. I’m not talking about the kind of personal writing that food and fashion and sometimes
Former journalist Catherine McKercher's Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence so elegantly blends the personal and the authoritative, and it asks readers to enter its world with their hearts and their minds, writes Jim Creskey.

Murray Thomson: from RCAF pilot to pacifist

  • OTTAWA—Several days ago, I spoke on the phone with Murray Thomson, who told me that the retirement home in Old Ottawa South where he
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 8, 2019
After training to fight in the Second World War, Murray Thomson took his responsibilities as a pacifist seriously, writes Jim Cresky. The Hill Times archive photograph

Murray Thomson: from RCAF pilot to pacifist

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 8, 2019
  • OTTAWA—Several days ago, I spoke on the phone with Murray Thomson, who told me that the retirement home in Old Ottawa South where he

Murray Thomson: from RCAF pilot to pacifist

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 8, 2019
  • OTTAWA—Several days ago, I spoke on the phone with Murray Thomson, who told me that the retirement home in Old Ottawa South where he
After training to fight in the Second World War, Murray Thomson took his responsibilities as a pacifist seriously, writes Jim Cresky. The Hill Times archive photograph

Important questions for a Canada that’s ‘better than we know and worse than we think’

  • We have to admit that we are not very good at asking questions in this town. When we ask a question “with respect” we
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 4, 2019
There is no political agenda here; no partisan program but there is, says Mary Jo Leddy, a starting point. 'This would mean, for starters, saying at least this: We are not here just to make a living. We are not here just to go shopping. We are not here just to look out for ourselves—and our own barbeques. We are meant for more than this.'

Important questions for a Canada that’s ‘better than we know and worse than we think’

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 4, 2019
  • We have to admit that we are not very good at asking questions in this town. When we ask a question “with respect” we

Important questions for a Canada that’s ‘better than we know and worse than we think’

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 4, 2019
  • We have to admit that we are not very good at asking questions in this town. When we ask a question “with respect” we
There is no political agenda here; no partisan program but there is, says Mary Jo Leddy, a starting point. 'This would mean, for starters, saying at least this: We are not here just to make a living. We are not here just to go shopping. We are not here just to look out for ourselves—and our own barbeques. We are meant for more than this.'

A saint for dark times

  • It seems like it was in a different universe, but it was only three years ago that Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress.
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 31, 2018
Dorothy Day’s youngest granddaughter, Kate Hennessy, author of Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty, will be in Ottawa Nov. 6. Photograph courtesy of Scribners

A saint for dark times

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 31, 2018
  • It seems like it was in a different universe, but it was only three years ago that Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress.

A saint for dark times

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 31, 2018
  • It seems like it was in a different universe, but it was only three years ago that Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress.
Dorothy Day’s youngest granddaughter, Kate Hennessy, author of Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty, will be in Ottawa Nov. 6. Photograph courtesy of Scribners

When a heart-wrenching photo made it better for children

  • OTTAWA—It’s about the children. Nothing brought this home more than the 2015 photo of the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee boy, Alan Kurdi,
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 24, 2018
Alex Paterson, right, policy and research manager with the think tank Upstream, offers visitors to Parliament Hill an apple and a message about child poverty in Canada on Oct. 17, the UN’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Citizens for Public Justice photograph by Jim McIntyre

When a heart-wrenching photo made it better for children

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 24, 2018
  • OTTAWA—It’s about the children. Nothing brought this home more than the 2015 photo of the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee boy, Alan Kurdi,

When a heart-wrenching photo made it better for children

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 24, 2018
  • OTTAWA—It’s about the children. Nothing brought this home more than the 2015 photo of the body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee boy, Alan Kurdi,
Alex Paterson, right, policy and research manager with the think tank Upstream, offers visitors to Parliament Hill an apple and a message about child poverty in Canada on Oct. 17, the UN’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Citizens for Public Justice photograph by Jim McIntyre

From The Hill Times’ Photo Archives: Hill Life & People, 30th Year in Print

  • It was July 4, 1990, and a Fourth of July party that a young Jim Watson didn’t want to miss. Mr. Watson, who was
FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | October 15, 2018
It was July 4, 1990, and a Fourth of July party that a young Jim Watson didn't want to miss. Mr. Watson, who was working as the illustrious director of communications for then House Speaker John Fraser, is pictured here shaking the hand of then-U.S. ambassador Ed Ney who was ambassador to Canada from 1989 to 1992. Ney had injured his right hand which is why he was wearing a glove. With his wife, Judy, the former CEO of New York ad firm Young and Rubicam, turned the American embassy’s Independence Day party at his official residence in Ottawa's Rockcliffe neighbourhood into the city’s most celebrated social event of the summer. Ney died in 2014 at the age of 88. Mr. Watson, who publicly boycotted the U.S. Embassy's 2018 Fourth of July party, went on to serve as an Ontario Liberal provincial cabinet minister and today is mayor of Ottawa where he just happens to be running for re-election next Monday, Oct. 22.—by Jim Creskey The Hill Times photograph by Kate Malloy

From The Hill Times’ Photo Archives: Hill Life & People, 30th Year in Print

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | October 15, 2018
  • It was July 4, 1990, and a Fourth of July party that a young Jim Watson didn’t want to miss. Mr. Watson, who was

From The Hill Times’ Photo Archives: Hill Life & People, 30th Year in Print

FeatureBY JIM CRESKEY | October 15, 2018
  • It was July 4, 1990, and a Fourth of July party that a young Jim Watson didn’t want to miss. Mr. Watson, who was
It was July 4, 1990, and a Fourth of July party that a young Jim Watson didn't want to miss. Mr. Watson, who was working as the illustrious director of communications for then House Speaker John Fraser, is pictured here shaking the hand of then-U.S. ambassador Ed Ney who was ambassador to Canada from 1989 to 1992. Ney had injured his right hand which is why he was wearing a glove. With his wife, Judy, the former CEO of New York ad firm Young and Rubicam, turned the American embassy’s Independence Day party at his official residence in Ottawa's Rockcliffe neighbourhood into the city’s most celebrated social event of the summer. Ney died in 2014 at the age of 88. Mr. Watson, who publicly boycotted the U.S. Embassy's 2018 Fourth of July party, went on to serve as an Ontario Liberal provincial cabinet minister and today is mayor of Ottawa where he just happens to be running for re-election next Monday, Oct. 22.—by Jim Creskey The Hill Times photograph by Kate Malloy

The politics of assured destruction

  • Joe Cirincione understands the problem of nuclear weapons better than most. He has worked on nuclear weapons policy in Washington, D.C., for more than 35
News | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 10, 2018
Joe Cirincione is an expert on nuclear disarmament and president of the U.S.-based Ploughshares Fund. The Hill Times photograph by Samantha Wright Allen

The politics of assured destruction

News | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 10, 2018
  • Joe Cirincione understands the problem of nuclear weapons better than most. He has worked on nuclear weapons policy in Washington, D.C., for more than 35

The politics of assured destruction

News | BY JIM CRESKEY | October 10, 2018
  • Joe Cirincione understands the problem of nuclear weapons better than most. He has worked on nuclear weapons policy in Washington, D.C., for more than 35
Joe Cirincione is an expert on nuclear disarmament and president of the U.S.-based Ploughshares Fund. The Hill Times photograph by Samantha Wright Allen

Is Trudeau about to make Peterson’s mistake?

  • It’s the right time to call an early election, despite the fact that the government is barely three years into its mandate, said the
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 18, 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should heed the lesson that David Peterson learned: calling unnecessary early elections can have disastrous results, writes Hill Times publisher Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Is Trudeau about to make Peterson’s mistake?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 18, 2018
  • It’s the right time to call an early election, despite the fact that the government is barely three years into its mandate, said the

Is Trudeau about to make Peterson’s mistake?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | August 18, 2018
  • It’s the right time to call an early election, despite the fact that the government is barely three years into its mandate, said the
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should heed the lesson that David Peterson learned: calling unnecessary early elections can have disastrous results, writes Hill Times publisher Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Nothing safe about the U.S. for Central American refugees

  • The recent visit of Canadian human rights worker Karen Spring to Ottawa as she attempted to convince Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to go to bat
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2018
Karen Spring's husband, Edwin Espinal, was arrested in Honduras in January after protesting the outcome of the country's recent elections. His case should remind us how bad things really are in our own hemisphere, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Shruti Shekar

Nothing safe about the U.S. for Central American refugees

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2018
  • The recent visit of Canadian human rights worker Karen Spring to Ottawa as she attempted to convince Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to go to bat

Nothing safe about the U.S. for Central American refugees

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 13, 2018
  • The recent visit of Canadian human rights worker Karen Spring to Ottawa as she attempted to convince Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to go to bat
Karen Spring's husband, Edwin Espinal, was arrested in Honduras in January after protesting the outcome of the country's recent elections. His case should remind us how bad things really are in our own hemisphere, writes Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Shruti Shekar

Time for a church apology to be done properly

  • OTTAWA—“So few people want to identify as Christians because the rest of the world thinks we’re nuts,” Green Party leader Elizabeth May told an
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 25, 2018
The story, which has now gone international, started with the motion of NDP MP Charlie Angus to invite Pope Francis to come to Canada and meet with Indigenous people in a gesture of sorrow and apology for the church’s dominant role in the government’s residential schools. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Time for a church apology to be done properly

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 25, 2018
  • OTTAWA—“So few people want to identify as Christians because the rest of the world thinks we’re nuts,” Green Party leader Elizabeth May told an

Time for a church apology to be done properly

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 25, 2018
  • OTTAWA—“So few people want to identify as Christians because the rest of the world thinks we’re nuts,” Green Party leader Elizabeth May told an
The story, which has now gone international, started with the motion of NDP MP Charlie Angus to invite Pope Francis to come to Canada and meet with Indigenous people in a gesture of sorrow and apology for the church’s dominant role in the government’s residential schools. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Turning politics and religion right side up

  • OTTAWA—Since the late 1980s, the emergence of the religious right in the United States, as a cultural crutch for the Republican Party, has been
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 16, 2018
He had a dream: Martin Luther King Jr., pictured at the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikipedia

Turning politics and religion right side up

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 16, 2018
  • OTTAWA—Since the late 1980s, the emergence of the religious right in the United States, as a cultural crutch for the Republican Party, has been

Turning politics and religion right side up

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 16, 2018
  • OTTAWA—Since the late 1980s, the emergence of the religious right in the United States, as a cultural crutch for the Republican Party, has been
He had a dream: Martin Luther King Jr., pictured at the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikipedia

False Hawaii nuclear-attack alert came with a reminder

  • OTTAWA—The erroneous warning about an impending nuclear missile attack on Hawaii Jan. 13 came with the reminder that any nuclear early-warning system is at
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | January 17, 2018
Columnist Jim Creskey says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could follow in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Trudeau, and take more action to further nuclear disarmament. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade, Rob Mieremet/Dutch national archives photograph

False Hawaii nuclear-attack alert came with a reminder

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | January 17, 2018
  • OTTAWA—The erroneous warning about an impending nuclear missile attack on Hawaii Jan. 13 came with the reminder that any nuclear early-warning system is at

False Hawaii nuclear-attack alert came with a reminder

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | January 17, 2018
  • OTTAWA—The erroneous warning about an impending nuclear missile attack on Hawaii Jan. 13 came with the reminder that any nuclear early-warning system is at
Columnist Jim Creskey says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could follow in the footsteps of his father, Pierre Trudeau, and take more action to further nuclear disarmament. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade, Rob Mieremet/Dutch national archives photograph

How Trump can make American dairy farmers ‘great again’

  • Dairy farmers across the world are in crisis, in the United States, in Australia and New Zealand, and in Europe—almost everywhere except in Canada.
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 1, 2017
If he wants to protect the U.S. dairy industry, Donald Trump might want to have a look at how Canada handles this sector, writes Jim Creskey. Photograph by Gage Skidmore

How Trump can make American dairy farmers ‘great again’

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 1, 2017
  • Dairy farmers across the world are in crisis, in the United States, in Australia and New Zealand, and in Europe—almost everywhere except in Canada.

How Trump can make American dairy farmers ‘great again’

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | May 1, 2017
  • Dairy farmers across the world are in crisis, in the United States, in Australia and New Zealand, and in Europe—almost everywhere except in Canada.
If he wants to protect the U.S. dairy industry, Donald Trump might want to have a look at how Canada handles this sector, writes Jim Creskey. Photograph by Gage Skidmore
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Wrestling with war and peace at the Vimy Ridge memorial

  • Last week, I sat on a Via Rail train heading to Toronto, reading a copy of the timely and well-considered book, The Vimy Trap:
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 31, 2017
For What? by the Group of Seven’s Fred Varley, who was an eyewitness to the First World War, can be seen at the Canadian War Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Wrestling with war and peace at the Vimy Ridge memorial

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 31, 2017
  • Last week, I sat on a Via Rail train heading to Toronto, reading a copy of the timely and well-considered book, The Vimy Trap:

Wrestling with war and peace at the Vimy Ridge memorial

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 31, 2017
  • Last week, I sat on a Via Rail train heading to Toronto, reading a copy of the timely and well-considered book, The Vimy Trap:
For What? by the Group of Seven’s Fred Varley, who was an eyewitness to the First World War, can be seen at the Canadian War Museum. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Saying goodbye to Khalid Mohamed, our relentlessly hardworking circulation master

  • Khalid Mohamed came to Canada in 1989, the same year that The Hill Times began publishing. He had two advanced degrees: a master’s in
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 8, 2017
Having defected from the Iraqi Baathist regime in 1978 while he was on a student trip to Montreal, Khalid Mohamed studied in India and then settled with his family in Syria before immigrating to Canada. But the problems and the politics of the Middle East never left his mind. Photograph courtesy of the family of Khalid Mohamed

Saying goodbye to Khalid Mohamed, our relentlessly hardworking circulation master

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 8, 2017
  • Khalid Mohamed came to Canada in 1989, the same year that The Hill Times began publishing. He had two advanced degrees: a master’s in

Saying goodbye to Khalid Mohamed, our relentlessly hardworking circulation master

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | March 8, 2017
  • Khalid Mohamed came to Canada in 1989, the same year that The Hill Times began publishing. He had two advanced degrees: a master’s in
Having defected from the Iraqi Baathist regime in 1978 while he was on a student trip to Montreal, Khalid Mohamed studied in India and then settled with his family in Syria before immigrating to Canada. But the problems and the politics of the Middle East never left his mind. Photograph courtesy of the family of Khalid Mohamed

It’s time to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, and luckily it’s not hard to do

  • OTTAWA—Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States has something in common with a virus. It has remained dormant, apparently harmless, for years
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | February 24, 2017
Demonstrators in Ottawa in January protest U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

It’s time to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, and luckily it’s not hard to do

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | February 24, 2017
  • OTTAWA—Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States has something in common with a virus. It has remained dormant, apparently harmless, for years

It’s time to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, and luckily it’s not hard to do

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | February 24, 2017
  • OTTAWA—Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States has something in common with a virus. It has remained dormant, apparently harmless, for years
Demonstrators in Ottawa in January protest U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban for citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

City on a hill, tarnished beyond recognition

  • President-elect Donald Trump awaits the traditional high-noon inauguration date on January 20, a divisive master of scapegoating, while a Republican Congress, former fortress of obstruction, is
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 9, 2016
Buttons emblazoned with the Republican Party's iconic elephant symbol at an election night party in Ottawa, hosted by U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

City on a hill, tarnished beyond recognition

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 9, 2016
  • President-elect Donald Trump awaits the traditional high-noon inauguration date on January 20, a divisive master of scapegoating, while a Republican Congress, former fortress of obstruction, is

City on a hill, tarnished beyond recognition

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | November 9, 2016
  • President-elect Donald Trump awaits the traditional high-noon inauguration date on January 20, a divisive master of scapegoating, while a Republican Congress, former fortress of obstruction, is
Buttons emblazoned with the Republican Party's iconic elephant symbol at an election night party in Ottawa, hosted by U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

A Tolkienesque look at the U.S. election

  • OTTAWA—Watching the Republican National Convention from Canada was like gazing at the ominous distant mountains of Mordor from a peaceful round doorway in Hobbiton.
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 27, 2016
Virginia Senator and Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine, pictured in June. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Education

A Tolkienesque look at the U.S. election

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 27, 2016
  • OTTAWA—Watching the Republican National Convention from Canada was like gazing at the ominous distant mountains of Mordor from a peaceful round doorway in Hobbiton.

A Tolkienesque look at the U.S. election

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | July 27, 2016
  • OTTAWA—Watching the Republican National Convention from Canada was like gazing at the ominous distant mountains of Mordor from a peaceful round doorway in Hobbiton.
Virginia Senator and Hillary Clinton's running mate Tim Kaine, pictured in June. Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Education

Does Obama know he’s a prisoner of ‘the logic of fear’?

  • OTTAWA—Sister Virginia walked up and down the aisles in the packed classroom. Swinging from the waist of her black woollen habit was a large
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 1, 2016
During his visit to Hiroshima on May 27, U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Shigeaki Mori, an atomic bomb survivor who was eight when the bomb exploded on Aug. 6, 1945. Photograph courtesy of the White House

Does Obama know he’s a prisoner of ‘the logic of fear’?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 1, 2016
  • OTTAWA—Sister Virginia walked up and down the aisles in the packed classroom. Swinging from the waist of her black woollen habit was a large

Does Obama know he’s a prisoner of ‘the logic of fear’?

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | June 1, 2016
  • OTTAWA—Sister Virginia walked up and down the aisles in the packed classroom. Swinging from the waist of her black woollen habit was a large
During his visit to Hiroshima on May 27, U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Shigeaki Mori, an atomic bomb survivor who was eight when the bomb exploded on Aug. 6, 1945. Photograph courtesy of the White House

A letter from the publishers

  • Here’s some background about the start of a second weekly print edition of The Hill Times. When the word got out that this would
News | BY ANNE MARIE CRESKEY, JIM CRESKEY, ROSS DICKSON | April 13, 2016
The Hill Times publishers Ross Dickson, Anne Marie Creskey, and Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

A letter from the publishers

News | BY ANNE MARIE CRESKEY, JIM CRESKEY, ROSS DICKSON | April 13, 2016
  • Here’s some background about the start of a second weekly print edition of The Hill Times. When the word got out that this would

A letter from the publishers

News | BY ANNE MARIE CRESKEY, JIM CRESKEY, ROSS DICKSON | April 13, 2016
  • Here’s some background about the start of a second weekly print edition of The Hill Times. When the word got out that this would
The Hill Times publishers Ross Dickson, Anne Marie Creskey, and Jim Creskey. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

This column is not about Donald Trump

  • This column is not about Donald Trump. It about my father, who, like Trump, was also a New York salesman. Of course there were
Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 6, 2016
Donald Trump, pictured in Mesa, Arizona last December. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

This column is not about Donald Trump

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 6, 2016
  • This column is not about Donald Trump. It about my father, who, like Trump, was also a New York salesman. Of course there were

This column is not about Donald Trump

Opinion | BY JIM CRESKEY | April 6, 2016
  • This column is not about Donald Trump. It about my father, who, like Trump, was also a New York salesman. Of course there were
Donald Trump, pictured in Mesa, Arizona last December. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore

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