Poet Shai Ben-Shalom writes: "On the way downtown a busy road alongside a golf course – I saw people swinging their clubs at that early morning hour; could not tell if these were freeloaders..." READ MORE
Review: The Man In A Panama Hat
Years ago as a documentary producer I learned true insight into public figures is rare and exceptional when the subject is still living. Only death loosens tongues and unlocks secret diary entries. But documenting our times is not all-or-nothing. We cannot wait decades to ask, who was Justin Trudeau? Justin Trudeau On The Ropes by columnist Paul Wells is the first of many expected profiles. Wells calls it an essay and not an obituary. “Every time he’s in trouble he thinks, I’ve been in trouble before and they were wrong to count me out,” he writes. “In June he’ll have had this job longer than Louis St. Laurent,” writes Wells. “Nobody can take that away from him. What are his qualities? I’ve spent less time talking to him than I had spent with Harper before he became prime minister, but politics in Canada is a village. Paths cross. I’ve seen him up close.” READ MORE
No Collusion Here: Macklem
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem yesterday denied any collusion with cabinet in contemplating pre-election interest rate relief. MPs questioned Macklem over remarks he and the Prime Minister made separately Wednesday afternoon regarding a rate cut: "Elections are elections." READ MORE
7,739 Gazans Apply For Visas
A total 179 Gazans have received Canadian visas to date, figures show. Nearly 8,000 have applied, said the Department of Immigration: "This is Canada’s effort to get people out." READ MORE
Climate Emissions Up Again
National greenhouse gas emissions are up again despite Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s repeated claims of reductions, new data showed yesterday. Only two provinces, both opposed to the carbon tax, reported lower emissions year over year: "We knew emissions were going to bounce back." READ MORE
Ban’s Deferred After Election
The Commons human resources committee yesterday by a 10 to 1 vote rejected a Bloc Québécois proposal to speed a ban on replacement workers. A cabinet bill if passed will not take effect until after the next election: "24 months from now it would finally come into force." READ MORE
Dozens Still Boil Tap Water
Dozens of First Nations communities still boil drinking water despite a $4.4 billion federal program to upgrade utilities, says the Department of Indigenous Services. Cabinet had promised to eliminate all long term tap water advisories three years ago: "This needed to be fixed yesterday." READ MORE
Guest Commentary
My father Stanley’s diary is among my most precious keepsakes. He wrote it secretly as a slave labourer in a Japanese POW camp near Kanchanaburi in Thailand, home of the actual bridge over the River Kwai. Dad never spoke of his experience but kept surreptitious notes. It was only after his passing in 1981 that I got to know my father better by reading his diary, and visiting the Thai jungle where he’d been tortured, and speaking to men who knew him. I think my father rationalized his experience. I lionized him as a survivor, a man who endured unthinkable suffering. Later in my life, when I faced difficulties, I’d pause and remind myself the challenges were small compared to what Stanley faced.
