Want the power to direct, regulate and shut down social media platforms
Freedom of speech has long been a cherished principle in most Western democracies. While Canadians don’t have the same passion for free speech that our American friends do, we’ve always recognized the importance of preserving and protecting this value in times of war and peace. Until recently, that is. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his…
We are in a stronger position to deal with China than many assume
In a scene from the pre-COVID world in December 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down for an interview in a crowded, bustling Italian restaurant in Montreal. Clinging on to power with a minority government, Trudeau’s Liberal Party had just survived a bruising election. But with Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou still under house arrest in…
The Trudeau government is mortgaging our future
By Franco Terrazzano and Jay Goldberg Canadian Taxpayers Federation It’s one thing to pull out the credit card to pay for new shingles to patch a leaky roof in a storm. It’s another thing to pull out that credit card to buy a new big screen before the rain even stops. That’s what Ottawa is…
When the fire gets too hot in the political kitchen, the Trudeau government always looks for an escape hatch
On Monday afternoon, Global News’s Mercedes Stephenson tweeted out the following: “Liberal motion to shut down the defence committee hearings into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces passes with BQ support.” Did you do a double-take? You weren’t alone. The controversy surrounding retired general Jonathan Vance, the former chief of the defence staff for…
A serious blow to our delusion we are better than Americans
When it comes to health care, Canadians only seem to care about one thing: Are we better than the United States? As long as we “beat” the U.S., we remain smug about our performance, although this attitude can be hard to square with the tens of thousands of Canadians who get quick access to top-level…
Trudeau’s proclivity for celebrity culture has brought shame to the institution of the Queen’s representative
Since 1541, Canada’s vice-regal representatives have been lieutenant-governors, viceroys, governors and governors general. Vincent Massey, who served from 1952 to 1959, was the first Canadian-born governor general. All his successors have been Canadians, most of them well qualified for the job. After 476 years of vice-regal leadership, along came celebrity astronaut Julie Payette in 2017.…
Two explosive military investigations mean the dark clouds of controversy won't soon fade for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government are dealing with two major controversies involving our military. Both situations went from bad to worse in 24 hours. So did the possible fate of a minister of the Crown. The first controversy involves Gen. Jonathan Vance. He served as chief of the defence staff for the…
Follow Australia's example and take a stand against China’s bullying and human rights violations
By Andrew Pickford and Jeffrey Collins Macdonald-Laurier Institute Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden joined his Japanese, Indian, and Australian counterparts at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (or Quad) summit. This informal grouping remains the most powerful collection of countries focused on confronting the security, economic, and geostrategic challenges posed by China. Canada may not have…
Priorities based more on the shortage of vaccines than ensuring vulnerable populations are inoculated
Recent guidance for vaccine distribution published by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) shows how horribly politicized Canada’s pandemic response has been. At the very point of administering the ‘jab of life,’ the government can still not play it straight and follow what’s actually the science, which is the reality of who gets sick,…
The short-term consequences of his inaction will become permanent
It’s now clear that the Trudeau government will never be known for its operating speed or its strategic thinking when it comes to crisis management and public policies. Right from the start of the pandemic, the federal government was odd-man-out when it tried to reach an agreement with China to develop a new vaccine. That…