2023-06-05 12:57
Michael Harris doesn't pull his punches. What the opposition parties are doing to David Johnston, he writes, is a "ghastly shitshow:"The slimy assault on the reputation and character of Davi… Read More
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"There is no greatness where simplicity, goodness and truth
are absent."
Leo Tolstoy
2023-06-02 12:50
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is desperately trying to weaponize his state's public education system. But a rebellion is brewing. The rebellion is coming from teachers. Greg Sargent and Paul… Read More
2023-05-31 12:29
Jagmeet Singh has introduced a resolution to remove David Johnston from his role as special rapporteur. Michael Harris writes:So David Johnston is a hack cashing in on a jammy per diem, the… Read More
2023-05-28 12:48
Judy Rebick writes that things are shifting to the right in Canada. In Alberta, it's beginning to look like Danielle Smith will squeak through with a victory this week:No less of a conservat… Read More
2023-05-27 13:01
At Joe Biden's inauguration, a young black poet, Amanda Gorman, read her poem "The Hill We Climb." Recently, the poem was removed from a school library on the objection of one parent. Greg S… Read More
2023-05-25 12:40
Bonnie Crombie -- the mayor of Mississauga -- wants to lead the Liberal Party of Ontario. Martin Regg Cohn writes:Crombie made big news last week as the mighty mayor who engineered Mississau… Read More
2023-05-23 12:41
What's going on in the United States is truly puzzling. Michael Enright writes:In February, 2013, in one of his first public utterances as U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry told a group of… Read More
2023-05-22 13:13
They're having a fight these days in Washington about paying the nation's bills. It's not about new bills. It's about paying the bills that have already been put on the national credit card… Read More
2023-05-19 12:37
Readers of this space know that I have no patience for Pierre Poilievre. I took a break recently, thinking that I had obsessed too much about the man, and that I needed to regain some perspe… Read More
2023-05-18 13:06
In the United States, there is a movement -- and it's gaining momentum -- to make students ignorant. Exhibit A is the state of Florida. Jennifer Rubin writes:Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who e… Read More
2023-05-16 13:26
Americans think that the economy is terrible. That's strange -- because the data suggests things are pretty good. Paul Krugman writes:Since December 2021 the U.S. economy has added almost si… Read More
2023-05-15 12:59
Lying is not new to politics. But, these days, it has become a vaunted art form. Consider Donald Trump's recent town hall. Michael Harris writes:Like a mob boss sticking to his story under i… Read More
2023-05-12 21:24
At the end of World War II, the movers and shakers established a new economic order. They called it "The Washington Consensus." Glen Pearson writes:The economic agreement of recent decades i… Read More
2023-05-11 14:40
Donald Trump appeared on CNN last night. Frank Bruni writes that, if people are worried about Joe Biden's mental acuity, they should consider Donald Trump's mental health:Given all the atten… Read More
2023-05-04 12:37
Danielle Smith's past keeps coming back to hurt her. Luke LeBrun writes:A newly resurfaced video shows Alberta UCP leader Danielle Smith endorsed the Ottawa convoy occupation and Coutts bord… Read More
2023-05-02 12:42
Gordon Lightfoot became an international celebrity. But, to me, he was quintessentially Canadian. Back in 1965, as a university freshman, I attended a concert he gave as part of our Winter C… Read More
2023-05-01 13:28
I've written a lot about Pierre Poilievre lately. That's because he's clearly not prime ministerial material. But, more than that, he carries the disease which threatens to take down the rep… Read More
2023-04-30 13:01
Cracks are showing in the Conservative Party of Canada. Stephanie Levitz and Rob Benzie report that:A hint of a triumphal smirk crept across Justin Trudeau’s face as he launched a part… Read More
2023-04-29 14:02
Some of us admire people for being "tough guys" -- who see life as a series of hard, stark choices. When it comes to economics, Paul Krugman argues, that admiration can be misplaced:Some eco… Read More
2023-04-28 14:55
If you want to know what the next federal election will look like, take a look at Question Period in the House of Commons. Susan Delacourt writes:The Conservative leader acknowledged his lac… Read More
2023-04-27 13:04
Danielle Smith has received Stephen Harper's imprimatur -- backhanded though it may be. Michael Harris writes:First it was Jason Kenney, then Pierre Poilievre, and now Danielle Smith.Former… Read More
2023-04-26 13:04
Pierre Poilievre has taken on journalism. History suggests that's not a wise strategy. Robin Sears writes:The first conservative to destroy his party through a hatred of journalists was, of… Read More
2023-04-25 13:07
A couple of days I wrote that Tucker Carlson planned to air a program in which he advocated the invasion of Canada by the United States. Carlson's last program was on Friday. So we will not… Read More
2023-04-24 13:07
Pierre Poilievre is fluently bilingual and has a French last name. But that doesn't mean he impresses Quebecers. Chantal Hebert writes:More than six months after his election as Conservative… Read More
2023-04-23 16:35
On April 14th, we got some accounting on climate change. Aaron Wherry reports:The annual account of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions was released on April 14, just as most of Ottawa was fix… Read More
2023-04-22 13:24
Fascism has come to the United States. It wears Donald Trump's face. Robert Kagan writes:The entire Trump phenomenon has nothing to do with policy or ideology. It has nothing to do with the… Read More
2023-04-21 13:07
Trucker Carlson is a white weasel who is in the business of peddling hate. Stephen Maher writes:Canadians should expect a restless night on May 1, because that’s when Fox News supersta… Read More
2023-04-20 13:00
Paul Krugman argues that suspicion of plutocratic power is an American tradition:People on the right often insist that expressing any concern about highly concentrated wealth is “un-Am… Read More
2023-04-19 13:03
Canadians are worried about the economy. Glen Pearson writes that Canadians have reason to be:We’re right to fret, especially after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its g… Read More
2023-04-18 13:17
From the beginning of his tenure, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has gone to war with the media. He took his cue from his predecessor, Andrew Scheer. Max Fawcett writes:Former Conserva… Read More
2023-04-17 13:09
When Trump flags showed up as part of the Truckers' Convoy in Ottawa, it was clear that the American Disease had drifted across our border. Michael Harris writes that Donald Trump has become… Read More
2023-04-16 13:43
Affordable housing is a problem right across the country. In Toronto, one of the candidates for mayor has suggested a solution. Edward Keenan writes:When mayoral candidate Josh Matlow unveil… Read More
2023-04-15 13:21
The United States is ruled by a crumbling gerontocracy. Maureen Dowd writes:Carl Hulse and Annie Karni wrote in The New York Times about Washington’s actual gerontocracy and the challe… Read More
2023-04-14 13:11
Lawrence Martin thinks that it's time for Justin Trudeau to plan his exit:It’s getting near crunch time. If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to leave an opportunity for a successor to… Read More
2023-04-13 12:57
Elon Musk and Pierre Poilievre have labelled the CBC the enemy. Bruce Arthur writes:In a reasonable world, the CBC makes for an odd enemy. You can argue about how it is run, sure: ask the op… Read More
2023-04-12 13:08
In the United States, Justin Pearson has become a national figure. He writes in this morning's New York Times:Last week, the people of Tennessee and the nation witnessed an assault against d… Read More
2023-04-11 13:08
Once again, the debate over gun violence is roiling in the United States. The latest example has consumed the state legislature in Tennessee. Gary Wills writes:We are the disgrace of nations… Read More
2023-04-10 13:03
Donald Trump has been indicted. But, Michael Harris writes, one indictment isn't enough to stop him:Simply because Donald Trump never submits to any authority or set of rules that get in the… Read More
2023-04-07 12:26
On this Good Friday, some are comparing Donald Trump to Jesus Christ. Pontius Pilate -- a man who believed that cruelty was the point -- is a better analog. I'll be back on Monday.Image: The… Read More
2023-04-06 13:21
Several commentators have suggested that Alvin Bragg's case against Donald Trump is weak. Jennifer Rubin isn't so sure. She writes:Any pundits who speculated ahead that the case was weak, mi… Read More
2023-04-05 13:04
When the Truckers Convoy arrived in Ottawa, the Conservative Party of Canada hopped on its bandwagon. Michael Harris writes:The Conservative party lurched to the populist right in the… Read More
2023-04-04 13:07
Paul Krugman has been crunching some numbers. And he's made a grisly discovery. He writes:America’s dismal Covid performance was part of a larger story. I don’t know how many Ame… Read More
2023-04-02 20:21
Some people believe that the Manhattan D.A.'s case against Donald Trump is small potatoes. Michelle Goldberg disagrees:It is a mistake to treat this indictment — which, according to Th… Read More
2023-04-01 13:33
Erin O'Toole has resigned from Parliament and from the Conservative Party -- proof that the party is still Stephen Harper's party. Harper has been offering advice to the Conservatives. Susan… Read More
2023-03-31 13:08
Yesterday, a grand jury in Manhattan indicted Donald Trump. Trump called the indictment "unthinkable." Apparently not. Jennifer Rubin writes:Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg made hist… Read More
2023-03-30 13:06
Susan Delacourt writes that buried in the Trudeau government's budget is something called "the right to repair." What does that mean?It is intended to give Canadians another alternative when… Read More
2023-03-29 12:52
Marjorie Taylor Greene claims that Canada is helping Mexicans invade the United States. Alex Panetta reports:Here's an attention-grabbing charge: the idea that Canada might be assisting an i… Read More
2023-03-28 12:46
Today is budget day. Lots of people have tried to capture Chrystia Freeland's ear. But the young don't have any representation in the budget process. Max Fawcett writes:They are, after all… Read More
2023-03-27 13:03
The United States is not the only democracy where the rule of law is under attack. Michael Harris writes:In Israel, the government is run by a prime minister under indictment for bribery, fr… Read More
2023-03-26 13:34
Yesterday, we got a preview of what Donald Trump will be talking about for the next year. The New York Times reports that:Former President Donald J. Trump spent much of his first major polit… Read More
2023-03-25 13:18
Joe Biden's visit to Ottawa gave Justin Trudeau a boost -- precisely when he needed one. Susan Delacourt writes:The entire Biden visit, awash in cross-border warmth, doesn’t rescue the… Read More
2023-03-24 12:55
In Ottawa, politicians are working themselves into a lather over China. It's the kind of thing that's been going on in the United States for almost a decade. Glen Pearson writes:There are th… Read More
2023-03-23 12:58
Joe Biden will arrive in Ottawa this afternoon. He and Justin Trudeau will have a lot to talk about during his short visit. Linda McQuaig hopes that Biden will offer Justin some good advice… Read More
2023-03-22 13:03
Things are not going well for Canada's oil advocates. Max Fawcett writes:Timing, as they say, is everything. And the timing right now for opponents of the federal government’s much-mal… Read More
2023-03-21 13:01
There are lots of Canadians who have a viscerally negative reaction to the name Trudeau -- father and son. Susan Delacourt writes:Justin Trudeau has now said it twice — there are Canad… Read More
2023-03-20 12:56
Michael Harris writes that populism is destroying our politics:Opposition politics has always been the process of casting the appropriate lights and shadows over the other guy’s record… Read More
2023-03-19 13:19
Donald Trump is doing it again. He's summoning the mob. The Washington Post reports:Former president Donald Trump called for protests Saturday in response to what he claimed would be his imm… Read More
2023-03-18 13:48
I referred to a column by Paul Kershaw a while back. His subject was the financial burden we baby boomers are leaving on the young. He returns to that topic in today's Globe and Mail:Boomers… Read More
2023-03-17 13:10
Republicans have been threatening to default on the national debt. Developments this week underscore how insane that idea is. Catherine Rempel writes:Recent financial-market turmoil —… Read More
2023-03-16 13:27
David Johnston has been appointed special rapporteur to look into the question of whether or not China interfered in our elections. Susan Delacourt writes:His task now is to look at all that… Read More
2023-03-15 13:50
The oil industry is its own worst enemy. Max Fawcett writes:For as long as I’ve lived in Alberta and covered the oil and gas industry — more than a decade now — I’ve… Read More
2023-03-14 13:12
Republicans are hell-bent on investigating Hunter Biden's laptop. Jennifer Rubin writes:Right-wing House Republicans have left little doubt that they want to spend the bulk of their time and… Read More
2023-03-13 13:13
Democracy has been under persistent attack around the world. The man who began the trend -- Donald Trump -- is still leading the attack. Michael Harris writes:Trump . . . cozied up to… Read More
2023-03-12 14:48
Jagmeet Singh is not happy with Justin Trudeau. Althia Rag writes:NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had tough words for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week.“It seems like the prime mi… Read More
2023-03-11 14:02
Ignorance is a curse. Willful ignorance is a fatal disease. Kevin McCarthy has succumbed to the disease. Dana Milbank writes:Not since the Know-Nothing Party disappeared in the 1850s has a p… Read More
2023-03-10 14:04
For the last two decades, we have watched American politics get dark and ugly. The ill wind that emanates from there has blown across our border. Susan Delacourt writes:The fight between Jus… Read More
2023-03-09 14:03
There are a lot of us aging baby boomers around. Unfortunately, the young are being left to pick up our tab. Paul Kershaw points to the recent healthcare deal between Ottawa and the province… Read More
2023-03-08 13:44
Justin Trudeau is looking for someone willing to do a very tough job. Susan Delacourt writes:A new job has opened up. Wanted: someone who can restore people’s faith in democracy agains… Read More
2023-03-06 13:45
A lot of ink has been spilled recently on the subject of potential Chinese interference in Canadian elections. Michael Harris writes:A lot of people are in a lather over alleged Chinese inte… Read More
2023-03-05 14:09
Glen W. Turner was an American con man. Helaine Olen writes in The Washington Post:Turner, the son of a sharecropper, told people they could all be rich and successful like him — if, t… Read More
2023-03-04 14:28
If you want to know how things work in Ontario, consider this piece from The Toronto Star:Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives have quietly held the largest political fundrais… Read More
2023-03-03 14:29
Paul Krugman believes that Joe Biden's climate plan is a big deal -- for two reasons:The first reason to believe that Biden’s policy may be a big deal is that it comes at a crucial tec… Read More
2023-03-01 13:59
The premiers didn't like Justin Trudeau's offer on health-care. But they accepted it. Michael Harris writes:The chair of the premiers’ council, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, note… Read More
2023-02-28 14:08
Judy Rebick wonders what has happened to democracy in Ontario:Last June we had an election where a Conservative government won a decisive majority of seats with 41 per cent of the popular vo… Read More
2023-02-27 13:49
It's now clear that the three big names at Fox News are liars. But, of the three, Tucker Carlson's story is actually kind of sad. Michael Harris writes:Back in his CNN days, he was a r… Read More
2023-02-26 14:39
At his rally last week, Vladimir Putin entered the culture war. E.J. Dionne writes:Vladimir Putin is sounding like someone who wants to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.&ldqu&hell…Read More
2023-02-25 14:24
Pierre Poilievre thought he had marked out a path to victory. Max Fawcett writes:From the moment he announced his bid for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada last February, Pierre… Read More
2023-02-24 13:58
Some people admire Vladimir Putin for what they believe is his manliness. Such was the case a year ago. Paul Krugman writes:Putin was their idea of what a powerful man should look like, and… Read More
2023-02-23 13:56
Pierre Poilievre's war on the media tells us who and what he is. Robin Sears writes:A universal tool of demagogues is to demonize and threaten journalists. It’s an effective tactic, es… Read More
2023-02-22 13:53
The were lots of problems behind the occupation of Ottawa a year ago. But the biggest problem, Les Whittington writes, was Doug Ford:Ontario Premier Doug Ford was missing in action when the… Read More
2023-02-21 13:51
You might hope that the federal infusion of money into our health care system would solve its problems. Martin Regg Cohn writes:Throwing more money at the system is a proven way to prop up p… Read More
2023-02-20 13:58
Patience with the American legal system is wearing thin. So far, Michael Harris writes, Donald Trump has held himself above the law:One of his tactics has simply been to lie his brains out… Read More
2023-02-19 14:50
Dominion Voting Systems -- whose roots are in Toronto -- is suing Fox News. The discovery process has revealed the deep rot at Fox. Erik Wemple writes:News organizations rarely look good whe… Read More
2023-02-18 14:32
Justice Paul Rouleau delivered his report yesterday. Susan Delacourt writes:“Freedom” became a highly charged political word in Canada one year ago, shouted from trucks blockadin… Read More
2023-02-17 14:16
The Republicans have organized a full-throated attack on higher education. Paul Krugman writes:Not that long ago most Americans in both parties believed that colleges had a positive effect o… Read More
2023-02-15 14:14
Robin Sears writes that John Tory is a relic of a bygone era:Toronto’s expected-to-retire mayor is, by contemporary political standards, a relic. Mostly that’s a good thing. Prom… Read More
2023-02-14 14:04
The premiers have accepted Ottawa's offer on health-care. They said it wasn't enough -- and it isn't -- but they took the money. Michael Harris writes:If Canada’s premiers are fe… Read More
2023-02-13 13:39
Pierre Poilievre is playing his victim card. He claims that the head of the CBC is picking on him. Michael Harris writes:Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is now slagging the president of… Read More
2023-02-12 14:19
They met and Justin offered the premiers more money. Chantal Hebert offers her take on the situation:A boost in health-care spending was always expected to be one of the main items of Financ… Read More
2023-02-11 14:23
It caught us all by surprise. The Toronto Star's Edward Keenan writes:Well, holy mackerel. Did anyone see this coming?But this is a shock. Mayor John “Bland Works” Tory, who has… Read More
2023-02-10 13:58
Michael Den Tandt writes in the Globe and Mail that democracy is in trouble:Simply put, democracy is losing. The reason: Western governments, led by the United States, have not come to… Read More
2023-02-09 14:02
Joe Biden gave quite a performance a couple of nights ago. Eugene Robinson writes:Biden came prepared for catcalls from far-right members of the new House majority. I wondered at times wheth… Read More
2023-02-08 13:59
Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith shook hands yesterday. You could see the pain on Smith's face. Graham Thomson writes:If a picture is worth a thousand words, Tuesday’s video of Daniel… Read More
2023-02-07 13:45
Pressure is building on Joe Biden not to run for a second term. Michelle Goldberg writes:When President Biden gives his State of the Union address [tonight], he will have a lot to boast abou… Read More
2023-02-06 13:50
In professional sports, in politics, and in life in general, it's wise to know when to go. Michael Harris writes that some Canadian politicians knew when to leave the stage. Many others didn… Read More
2023-02-05 14:27
Justin Trudeau returns to Parliament this week having backtracked on a couple of issues. Althia Raj writes:For the Liberals, the return of Parliament this week was marked by a series of reve… Read More
2023-02-04 14:20
Recently, Tucker Carlson suggested that the United States should "liberate" Canada. Max Fawcett writes:Carlson may have been joking about the idea of "liberating" Canada, but he’s prob… Read More
2023-02-03 13:56
The Republicans plan to hold the Biden Administration hostage over the national debt. They tried this once before -- in 2011. This time around, Paul Krugman writes, things are differen… Read More
2023-02-02 13:52
Canadians have known economic pain for quite a while now. Glen Pearson writes:Canadians continue to feel that the ongoing impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are having detrimental eff… Read More
2023-02-01 13:55
Andrew Nikiforuk writes that we now face an army of COVID viruses:What began as an airborne pandemic driven by a single virus has become a viral cloud roiling around the globe thanks to publ… Read More
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