Calvin Coolidge ascended to the presidency precisely a century ago last month. In stark contrast to most American leaders today, the 30th president preferred to speak, spend, and rule less. Photo credit: Library of Congress   Exactly 100 years ago last month, Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president of the United States, took office after the […]

Modern-day Democrats, such as Governor Michelle Grisham of New Mexico (pictured), have little interest in following the Constitution unless they can use it as a cudgel to prove Donald Trump and all Republicans who voted for him are insurrectionists, fascists, or authoritarians. Photo credit: AFP/Saul Loeb via Getty Images   In two recent events, a […]

When the current president is told his services are no longer necessary, it’ll most likely be Barack Obama who taps Biden on the shoulder. The die has been cast, only the timing remains in question. Photo credit: Getty Images via New York Post   In a recent column in The Niagara Independent, fellow writer Chris […]

And a quick look ahead to the next round later this month. Photo credit: AP/Morry Gash   With the first Republican debate in the can, most are turning their attention to the next contest slated for September 27 at the Reagan Library in Simi, California. Before prospects for the second debate are considered, an analysis […]

Thanks to Trudeau’s carbon tax, if you heat your home with furnace oil, propane, or natural gas, you will be paying a lot more just to stay warm this winter. Photo credit: Getty Images/iStock   As Ontarians continue to struggle with soaring living costs, taxpayers better brace themselves for the bruising impact of the Trudeau […]

The benefits of a classical education. Photo credit: Capstone Classical Academy   As students return to school, the growing number of issues in public education mount. In Canada and the United States, students, parents, and teachers face challenges that previous generations never anticipated. The introduction of technology, the ideological battles, and the changing nature of […]

The former All-American competitive swimmer at the University of Kentucky (pictured right) has become a spokesperson for what she terms the fight against the movement ‘to erase women and destroy women’s sports.’ She first garnered attention in 2022 when she spoke out against having to compete with trans swimmer Lia Thomas (left). Photo credit: Icon […]

Based on the limited financial information the city has released, Toronto taxpayers are facing a raw deal. City bureaucrats estimate taxpayers will be on the hook for $290 million to bring five World Cup games to Toronto in 2026. Pictured is former mayor John Tory. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov   Toronto is out […]

‘After eight years of Justin Trudeau, everything is broken – even back-to-school shopping.’ Photo credit: Pexels/Oleksandr P   As summer ends and kids start getting their school supplies ready, parents across the country have their own reasons for singing the back-to-school blues this year.  The inflation crisis caused by Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, […]

Most Canadians don’t realize that it is the municipal level of government that has been most active in embedding the foundation for the “woke” agenda we are seeing influencing government policies and corporate initiatives around the world. Pictured: Big City Mayors Caucus meets in Toronto, May 25, 2023. Photo credit: Twitter/FCM   Local politics typically […]

  Many have wanted to regulate pornography, but determining a legal method seemed elusive. Being a sex addiction therapist gave Schlegel (pictured, left) added insight into the problem and a chance to have thought about ways to address its relentless march into the minds of young men. Photo credit: Facebook/Louisiana House of Representatives   Laurie […]

Photo credit: AP/Andrew Harnik   No one has superseded Donald Trump’s impact and influence on American politics since he came down the famous escalator in 2015 to announce his improbable presidential run. Following his 2016 campaign, upset win, presidency, impeachments, leadership during COVID, campaign of 2020, claims of election fraud, January 6 activities, subsequent role […]

Win or lose next year, the former president could well return for another kick at the can as an octogenarian in 2028. Photo credit: Reuters/Al Drago   A former pastor of mine would often say, “I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet,” just before he would make a prediction. I will […]

From overtly spiteful opponents to his ongoing legal problems, there are several reasons Donald Trump may choose to sit out the first Republican presidential debate later this month. Photo credit: AP/Julio Cortez   Less than two weeks before the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on August 23, also the site of the party’s 2024 […]

The mainstream media’s reluctance to cover the President Biden corruption story reveals how committed it is to the proposition that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to democracy and the nation. Photo credit: AFB/Saul Loeb   In mid-July, while credible IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler testified of corrupt Biden family practices, including those […]

Carpenter working on Tennessee’s Douglas Dam, June 1942. Photo credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group   A man does what he must–in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures–and that is the basis of human morality. These thoughts, attributed to Winston Churchill, echo today in the halls of a civilization […]

Both the Republican Party and the dominate media appear willing to play with fire and see to it that Donald Trump wins the 2024 nomination. Photo credit: AP/Evan Vucci   As the 2024 presidential campaign shifts into a new gear, those in the Republican Party appear determined once again to nominate Donald Trump as their […]

Separated by a half century of history, the unfolding Biden Family scandal and Watergate may look different, but as the revelations mount, the prospect of former president Joe Biden lonely, walking a Delaware beach next summer as a private citizen – a la Richard Nixon in San Clemente – becomes increasingly plausible. Pictured is Joe […]

If the Australian state of Victoria can withdraw from being the sole host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Toronto can pull out from hosting less than 10 per cent of the 2026 World Cup games. Pictured is an artist rendering of a FIFA-ready expanded BMO Field. Photo credit: BMO Field   It’s time for the […]

Pictured are former President Barack Obama and Senator Tim Scott (right), who is currently running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Photo credit: Getty Images/Spencer Platt and Getty Images/Allison Joyce   A recent dust-up in the media between former President Barack Obama and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, running for the 2024 Republican presidential […]

Passed in 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act restricts the activities and powers of labour unions in the United States. Photo credit: LA Times/Mel Melcon   In a recent essay for National Review, Dominic Pino examines conservatives’ opposition to unions since the union movement gained legislative heft in the 1930s. As Pino suggests, the negative consequences of […]

There’s plenty the newly elected mayor can do, from pulling the plug on the city’s costly privilege of hosting a handful of FIFA World Cup games in 2026 to opening up the tendering process. Photo credit: Twitter/Olivia Chow   Olivia Chow won Toronto’s mayoral by-election promising to spend hundreds of millions of dollars the city […]

The decision ends several decades of what many in America consider to be race-based discrimination in the college admissions process. Photo credit: AP/Jose Luis Magana   Last week’s Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, ended affirmative action as public policy in the United States. The […]

Continetti (pictured) is a journalist, author, and resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s currently a contributing editor at the National Review, having formerly helped found The Washington Free Beacon. His articles and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. Photo credit: Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation   I […]

Both history and our current reality suggest this likely won’t end well. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Chris Young   Well, this is going to be interesting. Not especially good, but definitely interesting, as a test of a far-left Mayor of Toronto in Olivia Chow. Chow is being thrust into the largest city in Canada which […]

Whether at the municipal or federal level, during good times or bad, it seems a candidate’s personality (and last name) continues to drive votes like nothing else. Photo credit: Twitter/Olivia Chow   In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and impending recession, is there still a chance for a cult of personality to sweep an […]

Toronto has what’s called a closed tendering approach to awarding contracts for some of the city’s most expensive construction projects. That means that only certain construction companies affiliated with a handful of unions can bid to take on those jobs. Photo credit: Archinect   Canada’s largest city has been overpaying on construction projects to the […]

The 20th century’s most celebrated diplomat provides guidance on mitigating the threat of the next world war. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Peter Foley   On May 27, Henry Kissinger turned 100 years old. Kissinger walks through history with Richard Nixon, not because of Watergate, but because Kissinger served as Nixon’s chief foreign policy advisor and Secretary of […]

In a field of over 100 contenders, Olivia Chow (pictured) is the current front-runner, with Mark Saunders, Ana Bailao, Anthony Furey, and Josh Matlow jostling for second and third position. Photo credit: Twitter/Olivia Chow   There’s just a week left before we see who will succeed John Tory following his shocking departure from the Toronto […]

Kennedy (pictured) doesn’t have to win to play spoiler for Biden, he just has to make things interesting enough. That said, as history has shown, winning is certainly not out of the question. Photo credit: AP/Virginia Mayo   For years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy a yellowing newspaper report from what I believe […]

Outside of the four leading candidates to be President of the United States come January 2025 – Biden, Trump, Harris, and DeSantis – there’s a pair of potential nominees on either side of the aisle who could return American politics back to the centre where 80 per cent of the electorate resides. On the Republican […]

Outside of the four leading candidates to be President of the United States come January 2025 – Biden, Trump, Harris, and DeSantis – there’s a pair of potential nominees on either side of the aisle who could return American politics back to the centre where 80 per cent of the electorate resides. The first of […]

Outside of the odds-on favourites to occupy the Oval Office come January 20, 2025, there are a number of potential and declared candidates on both sides of the aisle who present an interesting – albeit, unlikely – case for next President of the United States. Photo credit: Getty Images/Scott Eisen   American presidential elections rival […]

Photo credit: Getty Images/Tasos Katopodis   Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has once again become the subject of accusations from the Left. This time, Justice Thomas, a constant target of the progressive side of the aisle, is being accused of possible ethical lapses in his personal friendships.  What has been motivating this new effort on […]

Outside of age and clear cognitive decline, there are a number of factors that make the incumbent’s claim to the Democratic title more tenuous than he, his supporters, and the mainstream media would lead you to believe. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Victoria Blue   With Joe Biden’s intentions made known on April 25, the choices before the […]

As explained in a previous article, according to writer Alana Newhouse the primary divide in American politics today is, more than anything, about how people tend to address societal problems. One side wants to maintain the institutional status-quo, while making incremental improvements. The other wants to tear everything down and rebuild. The below analyzes how […]

School boards argue uniformed officers ‘traumatizing’ to racialized, immigrant students. Photo credit: The Globe and Mail/Glenn Lowson   What is it with school boards these days? First, we had the bizarre episode of the Halton District School Board who couldn’t figure out what professional dress was for teachers after one insisted on wearing overwhelmingly large […]

What it is, what it isn’t, and if and how America can move forward. Photo credit: The Washington Post/Jabin Botsford   Inside the Trump orbit, those who react to Donald Trump in an unpleasant manner are said to have Trump Derangement Syndrome, or TDS. The Trumplicans believe this diagnosis to describe anyone who suffers from […]

Not all book bans are created equal. There’s a difference between keeping sexually explicit material out of the hands of elementary school children and banishing classic novels from the classroom which, depending on one’s perspective, may contain uncomfortable themes or inclusions upon complete removal from their historical and cultural context. Photo credit: AP/Rick Bowmer   […]

There are three hard lessons to be learned from Fox’s recent defamation suit and $787.5 million payout to Dominion Voting Systems. Photo credit: AP/Yuki Iwamura   Just before Fox News personalities had to testify in court, a settlement between the company and Dominion Voting Systems (DVS) came to light. In the agreement, Fox paid DVS […]

Photo credit: Dave Redekop   Sitting in my small den, a converted bedroom, stands a bookshelf that my wife and I had built about 20 years ago to house my ever-increasing collection of books. On the shelves rest the story of my life retold as I observe the tales that I have read over the […]

Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario that charges a land transfer tax. Mayoral candidate Anthony Furey (pictured, right) wants to change that by phasing out the additional tax in the years ahead. Photo credit: Twitter/Anthony Furey   Here’s a novel idea: if you want to bring the price of housing down, try taxing less. […]

According to Newhouse (pictured), the primary ideological divide in American politics today is less about or between left versus right, or liberal versus conservative. It’s more about how people on either side prefer to address societal problems. One side wants to maintain the institutional status-quo while making incremental improvements. The other wants to tear the […]

In 1974, newly-elected President Gerald Ford put what was ultimately best for the nation above is his own personal and political interests when he pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes related to the Watergate scandal. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library    About a month after Richard Nixon left office in […]

Manchin, often the target of criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party, has started to tire of balancing the interests of his state, which depends on the fossil fuel industry, and those of a party becoming more entrenched in its Green Energy commitments. Anyone dismissing the possibility of a run down the middle […]

One of the most fundamental duties of government is to keep its citizens safe. Photo credit: CBC/Mark Bochsler   As one gets older, it’s not unusual to fear that society is “going to hell in a hand basket”, to use an old expression. Reading about the rapid increase in “unprovoked random attacks” on our country’s […]

In recently criticizing Governor Ron DeSantis with a particularly silly, objectively untrue line of attack, the former president, it can be argued, has begun to exhibit the same kind of quality-decline as Happy Days did with the Fonz’s infamous water-skiing feat. Photo credit: Miller-Milkis Productions   The long-running television sitcom Happy Days gave us many […]

Despite (and perhaps partially thanks to) the former president’s arrest and arraignment earlier this week in New York, he’s the current front-runner in the race to be the Republican Party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election. If successful in his bid to reappear on the ballot, Trump won’t be alone – he’ll of course have […]

The popular governor from Florida on the media, elementary school education (indoctrination), woke corporations, and crime. Photo credit: AP/Ron Johnson   In a previous article, I debriefed an interview Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida completed with conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro. There were three initial areas of discussion I examined: DeSantis’ early years, his […]

Talk show host veterans Stephen Colbert (pictured left) and Bill Maher (right), both very much of the political left, serve as a kind of microcosm for the Democratic Party of today. Colbert represents the ultra-progressive wing, having fully embraced the woke doctrine. While Maher embodies the classical liberal of yesteryear, making time for common sense […]

Though yet to officially declare his run for the presidency, Ron DeSantis stands as both Trump’s and Biden’s biggest rival for the White House in 2024. Photo credit: NURPHOTO/Paul Hennessy via AP   As he prepares for his entrance into the 2024 presidential sweepstakes, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida recently sat for an interview with […]

Legendary Boston Bruin Bobby Orr, who turned 75 on Monday, revolutionized the defenceman position, and in turn forever changed the game of hockey. Photo credit: NHL   Like a comet streaking through the sky, for a few short seasons in the late 1960s to the mid-1970s, Robert Gordon Orr, Parry Sound hockey prodigy, ruled the […]

Former governor Nikki Haley (left) officially entered the Republican Party nomination race one month ago. Senator Tim Scott (right) is currently strongly considering a bid. Photo credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster and AP/John Locher    Having spent five years in South Carolina in the 1980s and still in touch with those who know a bit about the […]

Once highly respected on both sides of the aisle, the Republican Senate Minority Leader from Kentucky now finds himself the target of censure from red and blue forces alike. Photo credit: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta   No politician in Washington today stirs up more aggravation than the long-time senior senator from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell. Despite being […]

The below provide listeners with ideas you can’t say on legacy networks and offer a refreshing slant on the news, all while reporting stories that the corporate media ignores. Pictured is Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the Daily Wire and host of the Ben Shapiro Show. Photo credit: Getty Images/Jessica Pons   From time to time, […]

The Toronto Public Library recently launched a new initiative called the “Book Sanctuary”. Its aim is to protect literary works currently being challenged for not meeting the ever-changing rules of “wokeism.” Photo credit: Toronto Public Library   What do you think when you hear the word “sanctuary”? Most people associate it with refugees or illegal […]

Current VP Kamala Harris, on several occasions, has given pause to those who thought she had the gravitas for the office back in 2020. Her cackling laughter, off-topic responses, nonsequiturs to inquiries, and apparent tone deafness to basic politicking find her in deep water with senior members of the Biden team and quite unpopular with […]

On entitlement programs, Donald Trump and Joe Biden speak from the same hymnbook and intend on trying to perpetuate programs which simply do not have the funding on hand to sustain themselves. Biden needs Trump in 2024 because the latter provides nothing new the American people haven’t already seen. Ron DeSantis, on the other hand, […]

In recent years, much has been said about the decline of the family and the resultant social and economic impacts of that phenomenon. But what it often seems to come down to is how the prevailing structure of family is defined and how it has changed. Photo credit: Pexels/Arina Krasnikova   Having just experienced a […]

To help fix our fledgling system, we need better data, more family doctors, higher-performing emergency wards, and greater involvement from the private sector. Photo credit: Getty Images/Brandon Bell   Yeah! The federal and provincial governments have done a deal to increase Ottawa’s share of health funding by $46.2 billion over ten years. While that is […]

Popular leaders of their respective states, Governors Gavin Newsom (left) and Ron DeSantis (right) have both been touted as future presidential candidates and could well meet head-to-head in the coming years. However, their popularity is virtually all that unites them, as both men possess radically different visions for America and notions of how best to […]

Current Secretary of Transportation and former Democratic Party presidential nomination candidate Pete Buttigieg. Compared to that of cabinet members of yesteryear, such as the laudable George Schulz, Buttigieg’s qualifications and competence are significantly lacking – and, unfortunately, Americans are notable worse off for it. Photo credit: Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker   The trials and travails of […]

Just over five years ago, the NHL brought on former JP Morgan Chase executive Kim Davis (pictured) to head up its new diversity regime. Photo credit: NHL   Back in 2017, the NHL’s head-honchos decided that a league, possessing a long history of racial intolerance, especially towards Indigenous players and those of African descent, needed […]

The classified documents drama playing out over the past few weeks in Washington says a lot about American leadership of late, elite media, and double standards. Photo credit: AP   Three weeks ago, CBS News revealed that classified documents from when Joe Biden served as Barack Obama’s vice-president had been located at the Penn Biden […]

Justin Trudeau campaigns in Whitby, Ontario in the lead-up to Canada’s 2021 election. Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos    A federal election in 2021, a provincial election in the spring of 2022, and a municipal election in the fall of 2022. Why not round it out in 2023 with another federal election?  Voter fatigue is very real, […]

In tandem, Kevin McCarthy (left) and Hakeem Jefferies (right) take the torch from Nancy Pelosi, who was both Speaker and Leader. Photo credit: CNN and Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz   At the beginning January, Kevin McCarthy of California and Hakeem Jefferies of New York were sworn in as new Speaker of the House of Representatives in the […]

While Santos (pictured) sunk to new lows by fabricating everything from education to family matters in the lead up to this past November’s election, when looking for someone with whom to compare the representative from New York, no better example exists than the current President of the United States. Photo credit: The Washington Post/David Becker […]

President Joe Biden’s most trusted and powerful advisor, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Photo credit: Getty Images/Alex Wong   Ask any sentient person in North America and they can tell you Joe Biden is the President of the United States. They may even tell you he holds the most powerful office in the […]

Both Democrats and Republicans should look to the next generation of leaders and put forward nominees who are, at the very least, cognitively intact and capable of building consensus. This would of course disqualify both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Photo credit: AP   The political schedule in the United States heats up in 2023. […]

From the climate change issue to how best to treat drug addiction, censoring opinions and statistics based on political lines has become more commonplace in recent years. Photo credit: Britannica   High profile issues of the day have always been politicized to some extent, but this has been happening to an alarming degree in recent […]

What will next year bring in terms of the economy, Canadian politics, and international affairs? For the fourth straight year, Swift makes her predictions. Photo credit: Getty Images/Cole Burston    For the fourth year running, I am going to once again try my hand at making some predictions about what is to come in 2023 […]

Harvard University recently named Claudine Gay (pictured) as the school’s 30th president. Gay is someone who, by almost every professional measure, appears wholly unqualified to lead what many still consider to be the world’s finest institute of higher-learning. Photo credit: Harvard University/Stephanie Mitchell   A striking sense of change marks establishment academia these days. Where […]

Spot on in some areas, off base in others, but bold in their making, nonetheless. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   As promised, I will now revisit the five predictions I made in my Niagara Independent column at the end of 2021 for this past year and see how off base I was. Most […]

 For starters, while EVs don’t burn fuel, you need to charge the battery which, of course, requires energy. And where does that energy come from? More often than not, it comes from the very thing the use of EVs is supposed to be replacing. Photo credit: Pexels/dcbel   For years now we’ve been hearing about the […]

Played on Christmas Eve 1944 between two rival regiments of Marines on the island of Guadalcanal, the wartime football game – the subject of a new book by Buzz Bissinger – provides a valuable lesson in unity. Pictured are Marine Lt. David Scheiner and Cpl. Anthony Butkovich shaking hands before the game, Dec. 24, 1944. […]

The senator from Arizona formally split from the Democratic Party and registered as an Independent earlier this month. Photo credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg    In a recent article, I wrote about the radical shift that has overtaken the Democratic Party. Those who take issue with this view can now take it up with the Senior Senator […]

Then-President George W. Bush prepares his State of the Union address with chief speechwriter Michael Gerson outside the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2002. Gerson passed away last month. He was 58. Photo credit: Eric Draper/Reuters   The recent passing of former George W. Bush speechwriter, Michael Gerson, reminds us all that profiles in […]

While Canadian elections routinely and historically take place almost entirely without incident. Three main issues help explain the stark contrast. Photo credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic   Everyone in North America with the slightest interest in current events knows about the claims of a stolen vote in the 2020 American presidential election. Interestingly enough, a long history […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau getting scrummed by the media. Photo credit: The Hill Times   Journalists shouldn’t worry about losing their paycheques when they report on the government. That worry is the consequence of government funding the media, creating a dependence that can ultimately throttle criticism. The Trudeau government has poured $595 million into its media […]

As U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an address to security leaders in Halifax last month, China and Russia both “seek a world where disputes are resolved by force and where autocrats can stamp out the flame of freedom.” Pictured is Chinese president Xi Jinping. Photo credit: AP via PBS   A few weeks […]

The status quo cannot be sustained, but getting over our societal paranoia about “innovation” in health care and the bureaucratic inertia that comes with change will be challenging. Photo credit: Getty Images/Mario Tama   For a generation – or two – we lulled ourselves into the complacent belief that our health care system was “better”, […]

Mother, grandmother, and arguably the most important woman in modern American politics, last week the outgoing Speaker, age 82, announced she would not stand for another leadership post in government after leading the House Democrats for two decades. Photo credit: Los Angeles Times/Kent Nishimura    Much will be written about Nancy Pelosi over the next […]

The primary goal of governments today is to keep the lights on and economies moving. Photo credit: AP/Peter Dejong   “Fossil fuel addiction is hijacking humanity. Renewables are the exit ramp from the climate hell highway. Negotiators at COP27 have a chance to make a difference. They must make it here and now.”  So tweeted United Nations […]

The media clamoured to suggest Trump’s cabinet should invoke the 25th, so why the radio silence now from those same media ‘experts’ in regard to President Biden? It’s abundantly clear the latter’s capacity to lead is severely limited. Photo credit: AP via NBC   Section Four of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution […]

Niagara’s next head of council will be selected by members at their first meeting on Nov. 24, 2022. Photo credit: The Niagara Independent    Intimidation and retribution. Those are the watch words from politicos in 2022 operating on the extreme left and on the extreme right. If you aren’t with us, you are against us!     […]

Not least of which is that the party must, sooner than later, rid itself of the albatross around its neck that is former president Donald Trump. Photo credit: Reuters/Mike Segar   Last Tuesday evening, the Republican Party, expecting a wave of successful candidates to sweep them into power across America, instead experienced a red trickle, […]

A review of last week’s midterm picks. Pictured is Democratic senator-elect John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Photo credit: Getty/Justin Merriman   In a recent column for The Niagara Independent, I made some final projections about what I thought would happen in the hottest battleground contests of the U.S. midterm elections, which took place Tuesday night. How […]

Midterm elections south of the border take place next Tuesday, November 8. Several contests remain a dead heat heading into the home stretch, including the Georgia Senate race between Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock (left) and Republican challenger Herschel Walker (right). The outcome of the tight race in Georgia, which may well require a run-off, could […]

Ad nauseam, the media reports on Republican violations, absurdities, and inconsistencies when it comes to upholding America’s cultural and institutional norms, all the while deliberately ignoring Democratic breaches because progressives, apparently, possess better motives or mean well. Photo credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster   What has happened to the Democratic Party? In the cacophony of media coverage […]

A decade ago, the former presidential candidate was derided by some for his views on Russia and China and the threats their respective regimes posed on the west. The Idaho Statesman/Kyle Green via AP    This month is the anniversary of two critical events in the history of American foreign policy. The first, of course, […]

The underpopulation crisis, that is. Photo credit: MedPage Today   Most of us grew up being told that overpopulation posed a direct threat to the economic and environmental sustainability of the world. This argument was put forth based on naive assumptions regarding the permanency of globalism, world peace and the absence of any large global […]

Pictured are Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs (left) and Kari Lake (right). Polls designate the race as one of the closest midterm contests in the country. Photo credit: Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore   American voters are set to hit the polls for midterm elections in just a few weeks on November […]

Canada can do more to improve global energy security and help reduce world emissions by growing oil and gas than it can by shutting the industry down. Photo credit: ARC Resources Ltd.   Environmental activists are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to endorse a dangerous and misguided “fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty” ahead of the COP27 climate […]

Outside of being an arduous, potentially contentious process, such a shift would remove both an important check on influence and power and a vital part of the country’s identity.    The months and years ahead will be full of challenges for the royal family of Great Britain. One of the greatest of these objectives will […]

The famed eight-game hockey competition between Canada and the Soviet Union took place exactly half a century ago this month. Below discusses the legacy of the tournament and how it impacted the game in Canada and abroad. This is the third and final installment in a three-part series. Click to read Part I and Part […]

The current Florida governor possesses all of the presidential qualities, credentials, and capabilities Joe Biden and Donald Trump lack. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Tristan Wheelock    In the recent primary elections in Florida, the Democratic Party turned out a phenomenal 1.5 million voters to nominate Charlie Crist as their gubernatorial candidate in this fall’s election. It would […]

From his personal reputation to the relevancy of the monarchy, Her Majesty’s eldest son will have to carefully navigate a handful of immediate challenges as he assumes the throne. Photo credit: AP/Alastair Grant   The State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which took place on Monday, marked the end of the official mourning period in […]

The famed eight-game hockey competition between Canada and the Soviet Union took place exactly half a century ago this month. Below chronicles the second half of the series played on Soviet soil from Sept. 22 to 28, 1972. See here for Part I. Pictured is Paul Henderson’s series-winning goal in game eight. Photo credit: Library […]

Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II reigned for nearly a cumulative two centuries.     Britain, Canada and the entire Commonwealth are mourning the death of Her Majesty the Queen. Her passing marks the end of seven decades defined by innovation, economic prosperity and unprecedented world peace. There have been numerous exceptional monarchs […]

Data assembled and assessed by the Ivy League professor (pictured) conclusively demonstrates that, contrary to union and media-fuelled popular belief, schools are not, in fact, hot spots for COVID. As Oster’s work helped show, school closures were not only unnecessary, keeping children out of the classroom, away from friends, and out of all social and […]

Urbanization and its accessory offshoots have pulled untold millions out of abject poverty and freed our society from the necessity of hunting, fishing, foraging, and personal farming to survive. But there’s still value in many of the all-but lost skills and activities we once counted on for subsistence. Photo credit: City of Toronto Archives   […]

The famed eight-game hockey competition between Canada and the Soviet Union took place exactly half a century ago this month. Below describes how the binational clash came to be and chronicles the first half of the series played on Canadian soil. Pictured Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau completes the ceremonial puck-drop ahead of game one at […]

Figures like J.S. Woodsworth, Tommy Douglas, and Jack Layton most easily and often come to mind when one considers the history of organized labour in Canada. However, with passage of the Trade Unions Act in 1872, among other efforts, Sir. John A. Macdonald laid the foundation for Canadian labour long before the modern movement’s successes […]

From moving, renaming, and expanding the significance of Victoria Day, to giving the country’s veterans the proper recognition they deserve by making Remembrance Day a full day of observance with schools and offices closed, there are several ways Canada could revise and refine its holiday calendar. Photo credit: Manulife Financial via To Do Canada   […]

It all depends on if Merrick Garland really has the goods, and more importantly how well he and his political allies can sell whatever was found in Florida, if anything, to the American people. Photo credit: Getty Images/Brandon Bell   Earlier this month the FBI used a search warrant collected in June to carry out […]

 In a dramatically changed world, resource corridors could be the catalyst to actually getting something done in Canada. Photo credit: Facebook/Trans Mountain   One of the best ideas that has gone nowhere is the creation of resource corridors for long-distance transportation infrastructure using routes where land-use and development issues are resolved in advance. Historically, the […]

Casting doubt on the American electoral system in an attempt to overturn or invalidate an unfavourable election result hardly began with the political defeat of Donald Trump in 2020. The Democrats have effectively spent the entire 21st century doubting Republican victories and leveling spurious accusations against their political opponents, starting in earnest with the 2000 […]

 The Athens and Jerusalem-born, enlightenment-dreamed and free-market-based principles that built our country have been gradually replaced by increasingly globalist, relativist and socialist policy initiatives. Since the nation is now understood more commonly through this new lens, it is no surprise that Trudeau, not Diefenbaker, is considered by the masses as the “Father of modern Canada”. […]

As the sitting president, one would expect Joe Biden to be the automatic choice for the Democratic Party. However, growing concerns around the soon-to-be octogenarian’s health and capacity put the possibility of a second term in serious jeopardy. There are several contenders waiting in the wings to jump in if need be. Perhaps the most […]

Despite the missteps and sorted histories of some churches, as well as a palpable wane in religiosity in modern day Canada, faith-based communities do a great deal of good for the mind, body, and soul of society and are worth preserving. Photo credit: Pexels/Rodnae Productions   The pilgrimage to Canada by Pope Francis was met […]

Are term limits necessary, fair, and/or effective? As discussed below, there are myriad pros and cons to limiting an individual’s time in office. Pictured is President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only American president to be elected four times. After Roosevelt’s death, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidential tenure to a maximum of two four-year […]

5 Blessed with abundant land and resources, but plagued by over-regulation, immigration issues, and the like, Canada could alleviate a great deal of suffering around the world if the powers that be would help facilitate, rather than encumber production. Photo credit: Canadian Chamber of Commerce   The world is on the brink of an existential […]

Pennsylvania’s Senate race between Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz (pictured, left) and current Lt. Governor John Fetterman is one of a handful of key midterm contests this November. Photo credit: AP/Marc Levy    Elections held in the United States later this year will determine a number of matters affecting regional, national and global politics. If Canadians […]

  The partnership would be a formal bridging of the largest economies in the Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Global threats from modern imperialist states like Russia and China, coupled with growing American isolationist sentiment, means that effective alliances of such middle-sized powers will be crucial to maintaining peace and stability […]

Photo credit: Getty Images/WPA Pool   Perhaps it’s the summer doldrums. Or maybe it is just because this writer is getting older. Whatever the reason, it seems that our country is just not working well these days.      Wherever you look, there is disfunction. Airport chaos and the total meltdown of the country’s passport and visa […]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alongside Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland. Photo credit: PMO   There’s great irony in Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland touting the government’s “fiscal restraint” on the same day taxpayers find out that the governor general and her fellow passengers racked up an $80,000-bill on in-flight catering.  “I know that my fiscal […]

 Lost in the politics and hysterics that naturally followed the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two weeks ago was what actually happened: abortion was not outlawed across the country; the matter was simply remanded back to the states. Photo credit: AP/AJ Mast   The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) […]

Janet Ecker, former senior cabinet minister under Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, contemplates the likely contents of key cabinet ministers’ mandate letters from Premier Ford – like that of newly promoted Minister of Health and Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones (pictured). Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette    The cabinet shuffle is over and Ontario Premier […]

Citizens of free nations buy, sell, labour on, and enjoy private property. Canada is no exception. It is thus a surprise to many when they learn that Canadians are not formally guaranteed private property rights in our Constitution. Though it may prove challenging, it’s high time that changes.    Private property, as a concept, is […]

If the Congressional leaders had moved with speed and determination, brought forth witnesses, and had cooperative GOP partners, the 45th president would have been impeached, convicted for his unconstitutional crimes surrounding January 6 and been ineligible to run for office again. However, as it stands, it seems likely Trump will make another attempt at the […]

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle    Sign first, then we’ll discuss the details. Nobody would trust a real estate agent or used car dealership with that approach, but that’s how the Trudeau government is trying to sell its plan to regulate the internet. The government is currently trying […]

Recent mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and just across the border in Buffalo, New York have once again brought one of the United States’ most divisive debates to the fore. The dual issue of gun violence and how best to reduce its presence has even made its way into a Canadian context, with public officials […]

The former prime minister executes a pirouette behind Her Majesty’s back during a May 1977 visit to Buckingham Palace. The move, in the words of the photographer who captured the iconic image, reflected Trudeau’s “democratic disdain for aristocratic pomp”. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Doug Ball    As Canada Day approaches, many are reflecting on our […]

At this point, it appears more likely than not. The idea is steadily gaining momentum. In the eyes of many, the positives outweigh the drawbacks. Photo credit: Pexels/Sora Shimazaki   Many democratic nations are considering adopting a four-day workweek. Canada is no exception. Multiple Ontario parties promised a four-day workweek during the recent election campaign. […]

Canada has proven itself to be a powerful force for good in the past. It’s high time that we once again live up to our potential and strive to be a global leader in the areas in which we excel.    In recent decades, Canada has failed to realize its potential in numerous key areas. […]

Costs continue to rise, while student outcomes continue to go down. It would be nice if Ontario’s major political parties would tell us how they intend to fix the problem – which is, fundamentally, about the quality not quantity of educators, as well as the curriculum and testing mechanisms employed. Photo credit: Rodnae Productions   […]

A new kind of ‘long COVID’ is settling in. This one threatens to haunt us, our kids, and our society for years to come. Photo credit: Education Week/Jaclyn Borowski   When COVID-19 first emerged as a threat to the global community, a number of restrictive measures were implemented. The situation has been serious and could […]

Photo credit: Canadian Armed Forces    The federal government will soon launch an initiative to develop a new Canadian defence policy. This is welcome news. It has been 70 years since the last update. We do not live in a 1950s world anymore.  The most recent federal budget left much to be desired. With that […]

Activist and North Korean escapee Yeonmi Park speaks onstage during the Tory Burch Foundation Embrace Ambition Summit at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, April 24, 2018. Ms. Park addressed the Canada Strong and Free Conference last week in Ottawa, retelling her harrowing story of escape, life in the “Hermit Kingdom”, and lessons about […]

The issue and its various solutions are more complex than one may think. Photo credit: Catholic News Service/ Gregory A. Shemitz   As Ontario enters election season, complicated issues will make a return appearance to public discourse. Few debates plague provincial representatives with more nightmares than public funding for religious schools. The future of Catholic […]

Including governments flooding the economy with surplus cash, there are three main reasons for the mess we find ourselves in, and two strategies that can help us find our way out.    Progressive policy, in its present form, refers to what may be defined as a movement which aims to speak on behalf of ordinary […]

Heading into the June election Doug Ford and his team have a good shot at forming government again, but they’ll have to work for it. Anything can happen in Ontario politics, and a well-run campaign is necessary to any victory. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford   Campaigns matter. Just ask former premiers Mike Harris and Bob […]

If they both have their way, we could be headed toward another showdown between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in November 2024. Partisans may like the idea of four more years of either one, but patriots can see that the United States needs a fresh start for the next administration, one free of Donald Trump […]

Striking a deal with the NDP may have seemed like a good short-term solution for the federal Liberals, but it may prove to be their undoing. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick    The recent consummation of a deal between the federal Liberals and the NDP has generated significant speculation across the country. However, many […]

Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton. McNaughton has done yeoman’s work promoting and modernizing the skilled trades since taking up his portfolio in June 2019. Photo credit: Twitter/Monte McNaughton    It used to be that parents wanted their children to grow up to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. Having one’s […]

 Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Mar. 23, 2022. The Senate formally confirmed Brown Jackson’s nomination to the US Supreme Court on Thursday. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Julia Nikhinson   Every few years, Canadians watch with great intrigue as the United States embarks on the long, divisive, and arduous process of […]

Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Doug Ives   It’s not an April Fools’ joke: politicians are raising their own salaries at the same time they’re hiking carbon taxes and alcohol taxes. “The joke is on taxpayers and it isn’t funny as our members of Parliament pocket a pay raise while emptying our wallets with higher carbon […]

Ford and feds come together on $10 a day childcare program. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford   It seemed like it would never happen. But after months of Ontario Premier Doug Ford saying a deal was coming “soon”, the province and the federal government finally signed an agreement to create “$10 a day” childcare for children […]

Premier of Ontario Doug Ford announces the removal of tolls on Highway 412 and 418, Feb. 18, 2022. Ford has revealed several cost-saving initiatives for taxpayers over the last few weeks. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford   License plate stickers in Ontario are destined for the ash heap of history, thanks to the Ford government’s commitment […]

Photo credit: Reuters/Patrick Doyle    As the federal budget approaches, taxpayers are holding on to their wallets a little tighter. Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared less than two years ago that “the last thing Canadians need is to see a rise in taxes,” the government will likely have to win the support of the NDP […]

Whether blocking a railway, burning a church, blockading a border, or choking the main arteries of our nation’s capital, destructive acts of civil disobedience must be measured with the same yardstick. Photo credit: Reuters/Carlos Osorio   Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh may have inadvertently put his finger on one of the root causes of so […]

Canada can help avoid situations where oil and gas is used as a political weapon. Photo credit: LNG Canada   Russia is invading Ukraine, empowered in part by the world’s reliance on the state for energy supply.  More than a decade of Canada being handicapped in its ability to get oil and gas to global […]

Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy (back). In March, Bethlenfalvy will present the Ford government’s last budget before the provincial election. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn   After fifteen years of governments pursuing high spending, run-away deficits, and no meaningful tax relief, it’s time for Ontario Premier Doug Ford to think […]

Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette   After two weeks of truckers’ protests/occupation/blockades across Canada, there was a palpable sense of relief last Friday when Ontario Premier Doug Ford stepped up to the microphones to declare a state of emergency and announce tough steps to try and end the mess.   Support him or criticize him […]

Photo credit: The Niagara Independent/Nicholas Tibollo   The collective blood pressure of Ontario taxpayers surged over the weekend as gas prices hit record levels across the province. In large part, hardworking taxpayers can blame the federal government for soaring costs. For the first time ever, gas prices in Ontario crossed the $1.50 per litre threshold. […]

With less than four months to go until the next provincial election, Ontario’s former minister of finance and government house leader provides an early assessment of where the parties and their respective leaders stand. Pictured left to right: Doug Ford (PC), Andrea Horwath (NDP), Steven Del Duca (Liberal). Photo credit: Postmedia/The Canadian Press   If […]

Photo credit: AAMC   Watching the continual and increasingly strident demonization of individuals who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 prompted a melancholy and sobering reflection by this author.  It brought to mind a visit, several years ago, to Yad Vashem, the museum in Israel dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews who […]

Ontario’s former minister of education under Mike Harris and minister of finance under Ernie Eves weighs in on the province’s recent decision to renew lockdown measures, as well as governments’ handling of the pandemic more generally. Photo credit: University of Pennsylvania   In early 2021, a clever person posted on the internet: “I want to […]

As the economic impact of weather disasters grows, the need to discuss all factors is increasingly important. Pictured is last month’s mass flooding in southern BC. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward   One of the most frequently quoted and but seldom investigated aspects of climate change is the rising costs of weather-related insurance claims. […]

Photo credit: Getty Images/Jose Luis Pelaez   In case Premier Doug Ford is one of those last-minute holiday shoppers who doesn’t like the mall, Ontario taxpayers have some stocking stuffer ideas the Ontario government needs to deliver. The best gift ideas are presents that Ford should be very familiar with, since they were in his […]

Blanket closures of restaurants and schools, for example, are not sustainable options. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Dominic Chan   As we end the year, much like we started – fighting a never-ending pandemic called COVID – Ontarians may well be wondering what next… plagues of locusts, perhaps? Just when everyone thought we could get back […]

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Nov. 4, 2021. Photo credit: Reuters/Phil Noble   Anyone who was a fan of British comedy in the last century will no doubt recall “Monty Python and the Flying Circus” which aired from 1969 to 1974, and […]

Emergency department at Etobicoke General Hospital. Photo credit: CBC/Evan Mitsui   We have all been so wrapped up in fighting COVID -19, we have not paid enough attention to a more fundamental, longer-term health care issue – the damage being done to our health care system and the health of our population. Another new report, […]

The Peace Bridge connecting Fort Erie, Ont. and Buffalo, N.Y. Photo credit: Bloomberg/Cole Burston   One of the most critical components for Canada’s economic recovery is the movement of people across international borders. The devastating impact of COVID-19 on domestic tourism has been well documented, with total 2020 industry losses recorded as the worst in […]

The incident demonstrates the St. Catharines MP (right) has taken constituents for granted. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons    Last week, MPs from across Canada returned to the House of Commons in Ottawa for the first time in five months.  With a packed legislative agenda to get through before breaking for the holidays, parliamentarians got straight […]

Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Nov. 22, 2019. Photo credit: PMO   The job of a provincial premier is to act in the best interests of his or her province, correct?  So why are critics dumping on Ontario Premier Doug Ford because his province has not yet signed a deal with the […]

Developers need stability, predictability, and consistent decision-making processes. Photo credit: Coastal GasLink   A pipeline dispute in northern British Columbia is showing how unresolved Indigenous governance issues and an absence of the rule of law is preventing the orderly development of energy resources for the benefit of Indigenous communities. A few weeks ago, certain members […]

Premier Doug Ford announces minimum wage increase alongside prominent union leaders such as Unifor president Jerry Dias (left), Nov. 2, 2021. Photo credit: National Post/Peter J. Thompson    Political junkies will closely watch the next seven months as the Doug Ford government begins its countdown to Ontario’s next election in June. The roll out got […]

Photo credit: Pexels/Rodnae Productions   It’s hard to be optimistic after the last federal election if you’re a Canadian taxpayer worried about politicians’ race towards financial insanity.  The most expensive election in Canadian history turned out to be a competition to see which politician could rack up a bigger government credit card bill. Both the […]

Trudeau’s newly appointed Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriquez. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   Rarely, in the history of Confederation, have so many, from so many points on the political spectrum, been so unified in opposition to one specific policy. Before the last election, the Trudeau government’s proposed internet regulations provoked opposition from journalists, academics, civil […]

Akershus University Hospital, Olso, Norway. Norway topped a recent list of the world’s best heath care systems in regard to access to care, care process, efficiency, equity, and affordability. Canada placed second to last on the list. Analyzing what its peers like Norway are doing right is necessary to Canada improving its own health care […]

Justin Trudeau – comfortably on stage, beneath the spotlight – gestures to supporters following his Sept. 20, 2021 election victory. Photo credit: AFP/The Economist   There is really no other way to describe Ottawa these days but as a theatre of the absurd. At centre-stage we have our dramatic PM Justin Trudeau continuously performing – […]

Premier Doug Ford with Ontario’s Lieutenant General Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Oct. 4, 2021. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford   Last week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government kicked off next June’s election campaign with the traditional government Throne Speech. The pre-writ roll-out will no doubt include an economic update in November, a provincial budget next spring followed by […]

Expansion of the project demonstrates for all to see how Indigenous communities are exercising self-determination. Pictured: Trans Mountain executive participates in a cultural ceremony with the Shxw’ōwhámél First Nation near Hope, B.C. Photo credit: Trans Mountain   Certain environmentalist organizations will say anything to stop certain pipeline projects, even at the expense of Indigenous communities seeking […]

Premier of Ontario Doug Ford makes an announcement at Clean Works Corp. in Beamsville, Aug. 4, 2020. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Tara Walton   Finally, results for the 2021 federal election are now complete. The election no one asked for has produced a result no one wanted – another minority government with the Liberals nominally […]

Photo credit: YouTube/The Globe and Mail   On September 1, 2021, Premier of Ontario Doug Ford formally announced that residents will require full vaccination and status documentation to access certain businesses effective September 22, with a full digital version coming this fall on October 22. This can’t come soon enough.  A provincial government news release […]

Photo credit: Pexels/Yan Krukov   You cannot cancel a government program that does not exist yet. This is an obvious, logical truth, based on: (1) the normal, historical understanding of how government works, and (2) the fact that time runs in only one direction. It is a truth akin to “water is wet” that did […]

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is escorted by security to his campaign bus in London, ON as protestors – many of whom were identifiable as PPC supporters – hurl insults and small stones, Sept. 6, 2021. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette    Watching the federal election play out in Ontario this week looks like watching […]

One of China’s many coal-fired power plants already in existence. The country is set to build several dozen more facilities in the near future, adding another 1.5% to its world-leading annual carbon emissions. Photo credit: Centre for Strategic and International Studies   An August 21 article in TIME stated: “China is planning to build 43 new […]

Premier Mike Harris’ head on a platter during a demonstration by teachers and parents in 1997. As Harris’ former finance and education minister Janet Ecker explains, protesting politicians with threatening behaviour is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it any less inappropriate. Photo credit: Toronto Star/Tony Bock   Has our democracy come to this? As […]

Photo credit: Unsplash    The “climate disaster” and anti-fossil fuel rhetoric has ramped up again. With the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we are told that “climate change is happening”; that this is a “code red for humanity”; that the evidence is unequivocal, and action must be taken; that “billions […]

Protesters hold a rally over motion M-103, the Liberals’ so-called ‘anti-Islamophobia motion’, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 21, 2017. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick   Free speech ensures that Canadians have the right to tell governments when they’re wrong. While this may be unpleasant for governments, it is absolutely vital in a […]

Photo credit: Pexels/RF Studio At the end of June 2021, I was privileged to be asked by the Government of Ontario to Chair the Task Force on Women and the Economy. We were asked to consult and report back with actionable recommendations to the Ontario Government by the end of the summer in three targeted […]

Bill Davis and his wife Kathleen at the 1985 Ontario PC Party leadership convention. Davis passed away peacefully at his Brampton home on August 8, 2021. Photo credit: Toronto Public Library/Toronto Star Archives A week ago, former Ontario Premier William Davis passed away quietly at his Brampton home at the age of 92. His death […]

Premier of Alberta Jason Kenney. Kenney’s government will hold a referendum this October to ask Albertans if they want equalization payments withdrawn from the Canadian Constitution. Photo credit: Twitter/Jason Kenney  The equalization program and how it applies to each province has often been criticized that it does the opposite of its intention. Western Canadian taxpayers who pay […]

Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, June 9, 2020. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette  “What were they thinking” was the phrase that came to mind when reading news that the Ontario Government did not include the province’s independent schools when it distributed over $700 million to public schools to fund COVID prevention measures.  This […]

Minister of Education Stephen Lecce. Photo credit: The Canadian Press/Cole Burston In what universe has the subject of math become a symbol of racism and colonial oppression? Unfortunately, it looks like this one.  It all started off well. Ontario’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce recently unveiled the new math curriculum for Grade 9 students which will […]

As the number of new COVID-19 daily cases and hospitalizations decline across Ontario, small businesses are preparing for the new normal. So, what is the new normal? While many businesses are eagerly awaiting further announcements from Premier Ford that will present new opportunities heading into and after Step 3, there remain many challenges to be […]

We can’t change history. All we can do is know it, learn from it and move forward. And so it is with the tragic story of Canada’s residential schools, where hundreds if not thousands of Indigenous children died from disease, abuse, malnutrition and social isolation from their families.

An interesting nomination race is slowly unfolding for the federal Conservative Party in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan riding in Saskatchewan that may cause some discomfort for the party’s powers that be.

While Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch may be forgiven for not waiting with bated breath for the results of the recent provincial cabinet shuffle, the choice of who’s in and who’s out sends important signals about a government and its future direction. Several of Premier Doug Ford’s choices in last week’s announcement are worth highlighting.

Ontario announced the terms and conditions of its cautious three-stage post-pandemic reopening plan on May 20. Progress on vaccinations has been swift and the government – if it’s smart – will skip directly to Stage 3 as quickly as possible.

In 2013 Finance Minister Charles Sousa began reviewing the Credit Union and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994, with a goal of modernizing user owned financial institutions in Ontario – credit unions.

Imagine scrolling through your newsfeed or visiting YouTube and suddenly seeing a lot more Canadian content than you did before — content you weren’t used to seeing or even wanting to see.

Canada’s law-makers are debating a bill that could make this happen.

The Ontario economic recovery from COVID-19 has and will continue to be highly dependent upon cooperation and collaboration between business, government and our dependent communities. In countless communities, many organizations have come together to address local issues from COVID.

In 2009, Phil Fontaine, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, received Pope Benedict XVI to hear an apology for the role the Roman Catholic Church played in Canada’s residential school system.

I was glad to see that the editors of The Niagara Independent published a response to my recent article about the problems at Brock University. Obviously, I don’t concede Prof. Cornelius Christian’s claims that my article is “unfounded,” “full of baseless innuendo, half-truths, and rumours,” predicated on “spurious claims backed by speculative fancies,” and animated by “gossip-mongering.” (And all that’s just from the first paragraph!) But, as I argued in my article, I do think that people should be able to speak candidly about Brock without being subject to administrative reprisals and investigations, whatever their position. And in that spirit, I welcome this dialogue.

On May 28, Jonathan Kay penned yet another hit piece on Brock University, where I have worked as a professor since 2017. The unfounded article is full of baseless innuendo, half-truths, and rumours presented as facts. Repeating a pattern of spurious claims backed by speculative fancies, Mr. Kay’s opinion piece smacks of gossip-mongering, and targets a university which provides jobs, academic learning, and meaning to the Niagara region.

Alberta is as distinct a society as Quebec, or at least in the eyes of anyone who has ever lived in Wild Rose Country.

Yes, Quebec has its own language and a bunch of English words said with a French accent, but Albertans also speak in foreign tongues. “Git er dun”, for example, is a phrase commonly used in Alberta and one that perfectly illustrates Premier Jason Kenney’s latest press conference.

In 1970, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women reported that childcare was necessary to support working women if we were to have gender equity.

Fifty years later, advocates are still lamenting the lack of childcare for working parents, particularly women. Back then, it was to promote equality, today it is a critical infrastructure to “rebuild” the country’s COVID-ravaged economy.

In 2003 I began my training as a Public Information Officer with the British Columbia Provincial Emergency Program (PEP).

PEP – as the program is commonly known – has a group called “TEAMS”, or Temporary Emergency Assignment Management System. There is an overarching leadership in PEP and that pulls from the various business units in government to create TEAMS.

At the beginning of 2021, I made a prediction about the tumultuous year that Alberta Premier Jason Kenney would face. At that moment in time things were not going great for the United Conservative Party (UCP) premier, however, unity in the party seemed to be holding together, but it was a sign of things to come.

In my life in politics and media I have seen my fair share of “right to” movements, from the benign to the ridiculous.

In 1954, Tonight Show host Art Linkletter asked hotel mogul Conrad Hilton if he had any message he would like to share with his customers.

“Whenever you take a shower, make sure the curtain is inside the tub,” Hilton answered. The response has become synonymous for not making obvious things more difficult.

Human beings are very good at the blame game. We like a simple explanation that it’s someone else’s fault.
But when it comes to the tragedy of Ontario’s long-term care (LTC) system – where almost 4,000 seniors died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic – there is enough blame to go around.

Bill Blair has been Justin Trudeau’s hand picked Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for the first, second and now third wave of Covid-19.

Read that again and let it sink in for a minute. Now, ask yourself: in the past year, have you felt Canada has been prepared or safe?

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole recently unveiled his party’s environment platform to show that the Conservative Party has evolved on the climate change file. By embracing the policies of the Liberals, New Democrats and the Greens, O’Toole is banking on the environment not being used as a hammer against him and his party during the next election campaign.

Reaction to the Ontario government’s latest COVID-19 restrictions over the weekend was loud and emotional. It was as if Premier Doug Ford had decided to say “let ‘er rip” and lifted every rule.

It is abundantly clear following the outrage of so many on social media that Ontario Premier Doug Ford should have instituted a curfew like Quebec, which has limited after-hours movement of its residents for 100 plus days now.

One of the most enduring concepts of the Presidency of Donald J. Trump will be the idea of “fake news.”

It is a hashtag, a witty comeback in debates, a child’s argument to a parent and I am sure a retort when called out by spouses the world over. And this week when CNN’s Jake Tapper presented a story detailing Justin Trudeau’s failure to properly secure Covid-19 vaccines for Canadians, it was the prime minister’s response.