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Political and Policy Analysis
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle seen in this Twitter photo from Oct. 20, 2016. St Catharines MP Chris Bittle was one of a handful of Liberal backbenchers caught feeding names into the Justice Minister’s office. The Niagara Independent, February 21, 2020 — From a Federal Government that has brought us the…
The Niagara Independent, February 14, 2020 — In the last few weeks the federal government has stepped into a lively tango with Albertans over the fate of the natural resource development project Teck Frontier. The conflicting messages coming from Liberal Cabinet members – and the Prime Minister himself – have drawn into question (again) the…
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The Niagara Independent, February 7, 2020 — Many Canadians feel the federal government should not be in the business of doling out corporate welfare cheques. From an economic standpoint, it is most often money down the drain. Yet the Trudeau Government continues to shovel taxpayers’ dollars to…
A traveller wears a mask at Pearson airport arrivals, shortly after Toronto Public Health received notification of Canada’s first presumptive confirmed case of novel coronavirus. Photo: Carlos Osorio/Reuters. The Niagara Independent, January 31, 2020 — During Parliament’s first week back to business, Canadian news media were not focused on the MPs’ theatre, but rather on the…
The International Monetary Fund recently reported that Canada’s federal government spending is now at the highest level in Canadian history. The Niagara Independent, January 24, 2020 — Delivering continuous deficit budgets is like spinning your wheels in mud; it’s inevitable that you will eventually get stuck. That common sense is beginning to creep into the…
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Photo: The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld The Niagara Independent, January 17, 2020 — Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau forewarned Canadians this week about the Liberals’ first budget of this minority Parliament. It will be a budget that will focus on the environment and climate change. It is to trumpet policies aimed at…
Leona Alleslev speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario on Sept. 17, 2018. Photo: Chris Wattie / Reuters The Niagara Independent, December 13, 2019 — There are a few key MPs whose performances in the 43rd Parliament will have a direct impact on their respective Party’s fortunes in the next election….
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will play a key role in the Liberal’s minority government. The Niagara Independent, December 6, 2019 — Parliament resumed this week, however it will not be until the last week of January, after a Christmas break, that MPs will actually get down to their substantive business in the House of…
The Niagara Independent, November 29, 2019 — As mentioned in last week’s column, National Post columnist John Ivison punted aside the list of newly appointed cabinet ministers with his insightful commentary “Who’s in Trudeau’s cabinet? It doesn’t matter, political power lies elsewhere.” Ivison observed that nothing really has changed as a result of the election because Prime Minister…
The Niagara Independent, November 22, 2019 — With all the traditional pomp and ceremony, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week announced his Cabinet to guide the minority government in the 43rd Parliament. The PM has increased the number of ministers on his front bench to three dozen. A great many of these ministers were members in…
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The Niagara Independent, November 15, 2019 — The federal parliament convenes on Dec. 5 and there is great trepidation across the country as the next act in “The Great Canadian Standoff” is about to begin. With the divisiveness of the federal election campaign still on everyone’s…
Coal exporting facilities near Vancouver, BC The Niagara Independent, November 8, 2019 — It is perhaps our country’s dirtiest secret – the export of Canadian and American coal through the Port of Vancouver. Operating in the very heartland of Canada’s green movement, what is occurring at this B.C. coast port is criminal by any environmental…
The Niagara Independent, November 1, 2019 — On election night, Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet repeated a message he had asserted throughout the campaign that he obstinately opposes the construction of any new pipeline from Western Canada. For months Blanchet has been crowing that the Bloc helped cancel the Energy East pipeline and they are the…
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Monday’s election results confirm there’s a fire of frustration burning in Western Canada. The Niagara Independent, October 25, 2019 — For politicos and pundits, inspecting and dissecting the results of a vote provides endless hours of amusement. Canada’s 43rd general election results have not disappointed – and in fact they…
The Niagara Independent, October 18, 2019 — As Canadians brace themselves for Monday’s vote results, we have learned a great deal about ourselves through this federal election campaign. Canadian politics is dirtier and more divisive than in the past; yet, the campaign has exposed (for good and bad) the warring visions of our country’s economy….
The Niagara Independent, October 11, 2019 — It remains to be seen whether the country’s economy and pocketbook issues will be the determining ballot box question this election. Judging from the little attention the mainstream media (and the Party Leaders) have paid to the country’s economy, it is unlikely voters will consider Canada’s economic future…
The Niagara Independent, October 4, 2019 — Climate change (a.k.a. global warming) is one of the key issues on the federal campaign trail — and three of the major parties are posturing to frame it as the 2019 ballot box question. For four years the Liberals have attempted to sensitize Canadians to “paying for pollution”…
The Niagara Independent, September 27, 2019 — Can any discussion about immigration and refugees take place in Canada today without the person who raises the topic being labelled a racist, bigoted, white-privileged, or anti-immigrant? There is a recent Ipsos poll revealing that one in seven Canadians consider immigration concerns as one of the key issues…
The Niagara Independent, September 20, 2019 — American publication Time Magazine first broke the story with a shocking photo of Justin Trudeau in blackface wearing a turban, with one of his hands placed across a woman’s chest. This photo was published in a 2000-01 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy, a private school in…
The Niagara Independent, September 13, 2019 — The dark clouds of the SNC-Lavalin scandal rolled in once again, the day the Prime Minister officially called the federal election. Canadians were informed by Globe & Mail headlines that the government was thwarting the efforts of the police to investigate wrong doings of the Prime Minister’s Office….