Great moments in communications
The Privy Council Office explains that there’s been no “formal directive” to rebrand everything the “Harper Government.” “The distinction that needs to be made here is the word ‘directive’ — a...
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Go away, media. You’re jerks and I hate you.
Getty Images; Reuters; Photo Illustration by Taylor Shute Authors have devoted entire books to trying to decipher and understand Stephen Harper. But is he really that complex? I’d say his pattern of...
View ArticleOpposition moves to find Tories in contempt of Parliament
An election call could be triggered as early as next week, following the announcement by opposition parties that they will find the Harper government in contempt of Parliament and have begun efforts to...
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Getting inside Harper’s headspace
Sean Kilpatrick/CP The Cabinet committee on priorities and planning meets on Tuesdays, usually with Stephen Harper as chairman. He calls a lot of decisions on the spot. But not all. Sometimes decision...
View ArticleOttawa apparently sees the NEB as a friend of the oil industry
Canada’s nominally independent energy regulator, the National Energy Board (which is currently evaluating Enbridge’s plan to build the Northern Gateway pipeline) is an ally of the federal government,...
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How the government wants to trick us into saving more
eyewash/flickr According to how economists have long imagined us, the way we plan for retirement works somewhat like this: Phase one: straight out of school, we calculate how much money we’re going to...
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Canada’s unofficial (and unelected) opposition
Photo by Blair Gable For a particular set of policy wonks—generally identifiable by the telltale pallor and redness around the eyes that come from too many hours scouring spreadsheets—the recent news...
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Lawful Access: a creepy Valentine from Vic Toews
(Sean Kilpatrick/CP) Vic Toews wants to make one thing clear: He does not want to read my email. His office reached out to me after I wrote this post, which detailed the inability of our police to find...
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So much for Dutch disease
Larry MacDougal/CP Federal Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair says he doesn’t regret bringing up the issue of whether Canada suffers from “Dutch disease.” He might be the only one. The newspapers have...
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Scientists vs. Harper
A protestor wearing a Grim Reaper costume stands on Parliament Hill during a rally on Tuesday July 10, 2012 in Ottawa to protest the federal government's cuts to science programs. (Fred Chartrand/CP)...
View ArticleCanada failing to attract foreign students
Canada is failing to attract high-quality university students from China, India and Brazil, internal research commissioned by the Foreign Affairs Department concludes. The findings of the focus groups...
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The new Stephen Harper, safer than the old Harper
Mike Sturk/Reuters So, Stephen Harper, what would you do if a brutal Middle Eastern dictator used chemical weapons against his own people? “To be blunt about it, any military intervention in this part...
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How Canada’s incoherence on climate is killing Keystone
Etienne de Malglaive/REA/Redux There’s no shortage of blame being passed around in the wake of another delay in the U.S. regulatory approval process with respect to TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline...
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Un-muzzle the scientists? Not so fast.
Getty Images Every so often, something happens that renews calls in this country for scientists within the federal government to have more unfettered rights to speak to media. This past week, it was...
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Top court strikes down mandatory minimums for gun crimes
Chris Wattie/Reuters OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the Harper government’s law requiring mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes is unconstitutional. By a 6-3 margin, the high...
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