The battle over Brexit isn’t the equivalent of the Second World War, but the outcome is shaping up to be a disaster on its own terms
For sheer drama – or maybe that should be melodrama – Brexit’s unfolding twists and turns are hard to beat. If you’d scripted a fictional narrative along these lines, you’d be liable to criticism for one flight of fancy too many. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s last-minute decision to postpone a parliamentary vote on her…
The onetime British PM’s apparent affable, avuncular nature masked a lethal ruthlessness
Harold Macmillan, the onetime British prime minister, popped into mind a few days ago. Watching the problems in extricating the United Kingdom from the European Union reminded me that a humiliating failure to secure entry to that same entity’s predecessor was one of the things that drove Macmillan from office. Macmillan (1894-1986) was prime minister…
Charles de Gaulle's view of the English should help inform the conversation about whether the U.K. belongs in Europe
Watching the fraught state of Brexit negotiations brought Charles de Gaulle to mind. On Jan. 14, 1963, de Gaulle – in his capacity as president of France – publicly blocked Britain’s entry into what was then known as the common market. “England,” he said, “is an island, sea-going, bound up by its trade, its markets,…
The debate about severing the royal connection will begin immediately after Queen Elizabeth’s passing. It may take a while but the break seems inevitable
The recent royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be the last one that’s watched with so much interest by so many Canadians. Recent polls reveal that most of us aren’t enthusiastic about the prospect of King Charles III as our head of state. Much-loved Queen Elizabeth II is in her 90s. Upon…
Prince Charles hardly seems a fitting successor to the crown. But the monarchy has faced worse over the centuries and still serves us well
The recent marriage of Prince Harry to an American divorcée and the declining vigour of our sovereign majesty Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God Queen of this Realm and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, has led some to wonder whether our ancient monarchy (in business…
It’s difficult to detach the World Cup from patriotism, even among the most disenfranchised of citizens
The penetrating question of the 2018 World Cup of soccer is: Why do the large, powerful nations have short national anthems while the smaller countries have ones that go on forever? God Save the Queen (England) is over faster than you can say Bobby Charlton. But songs of Iceland and Peru seem more like six-part…
A new survey says people are looking at journalism with new respect in these troubled times
It’s true. The 2018 survey by Cision of 1,355 journalists from across six countries discovered that perceived trust in professional journalists improved by 20 per cent this year. Cision is a global provider of media software. Yes, sadly, journalists felt underappreciated by 91 per cent of the general public up until last year. And fake…
Providing tax relief, eliminating red tape and building entrepreneurial skills will help business startups
By Steven Globerman and Jason Clemens The Fraser Institute Entrepreneurship is widely acknowledged as the basis for innovation, technological advancement and economic progress – and subsequently, a driving force for improved living standards. Yet there’s little discussion, let alone action, in the United Kingdom to stem the adverse effects of demographic change on entrepreneurship, specifically…
We should stop demonizing private clinics – and the patients who need them – and recognize that they're part of the solution
Last month, on the heels of a new threat from the British Columbia government to fine doctors who accept private payment for treatment already covered by the government-run health-care system, a trial – initiated more than seven years ago by a private Vancouver clinic led by Dr. Brian Day – resumed. Day, a former head…
Export sales drove the development of the industry, a feature as true today as it was three centuries ago
Part 6 of our series The Business of Cognac From the very beginning, the cognac industry was dominated by cognac houses that acted as intermediaries between the producers of eau de vie and their overseas markets. Many of the first cognac houses were founded by English and Irish entrepreneurs: Jean Martell was from Jersey, while…