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Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Israel and Jordan last month in which he reinforced Canada’s already strong support for the Jewish state got a mixed reaction in major Israeli and Canadian media. Bernie Farber, former CEO of the now-defunct Canadian Jewish Congress, wrote that Harper’s “giant hug of the […]
The tragic seniors residence fire in idyllic L’Isle Verte that claimed the lives of 32 seniors was an avoidable tragedy. All of Quebec’s elderly—not just those with reduced mobility and autonomy—deserve protection and care in their declining years. The men and women who perished deserved better, and what is shocking […]
Poverty can be a cruel and painful condition, especially when the have-nots are bombarded by the buy! buy! buy! messages of our Black Friday/Cyber Monday consumer society. Try to imagine raising a family as a minimum-wage worker and paying for rent, food, clothing, medication and school supplies on $406 a […]
The problem is Prime Minister Stephen Harper: his vision, his control, his actions. As the drama of how to punish three avaricious senators is being finalized, it is increasingly obvious that the issue of what to do with the Senate and its rules, or lack thereof, is secondary. Since it […]
As these lines were being written, formal proceedings began against Gilles Vaillancourt, the ex-mayor and so-called King of Laval, who faces 12 charges, including conspiracy, fraud, influence peddling, breach of trust and gangsterism. As the highest-profile municipal official to be indicted so far, the case against Vaillancourt and 36 others […]
Montrealers are shaking their heads about the priorities of this Parti Québécois government, as expressed in its obsession about defining and imposing a so-called Charter of Quebec Values. As these lines are being written, details of the charter are not yet known, but the essentials are clear: the Pauline Marois […]
When the Office Québécoise de la langue française was proposed 35 years ago, it was the object of both delight and scorn. For the PQ government of René Lévesque, it was necessary to stop the erosion of French in Quebec. For many anglos, it was a direct assault on the […]
The decision by world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking to pull out of a major Israeli conference gives a boost to that murky, one-sided campaign known as BDS: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. For those who support guarantees for a safe and secure Israel alongside a Palestinian state as part of […]
Premier Pauline Marois has been naming a lot of Parti Québécois favourites to important government jobs lately, and when they are competent, these appointments are considered acceptable patronage. It’s part of the game. But she made a serious error in choosing media magnate Pierre Karl Péladeau as the new chairman […]
Consumers love cheap clothes and shoes, but who is really paying the price for these bargains? The answer was revealed brutally to the world last month in the horror of the latest in a series of factory disasters in Bangladesh. Nearly 500 workers were crushed to death when a building […]
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