Tag Archives: Canada

A Matter of Perception

“I can go back to my constituency and tell people, first of all, I’m white, I’m of Dutch descent…Obviously I am not working for China.”  She doesn’t get it. Which is probably part of the problem. Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld told a House of Commons committee that she is safe from people thinking she has […]

Dealing With The Issue

The prime minister was outraged and has ordered officials to get to the bottom of this. News reports, based on leaked security documents, allege the government of the People’s Republic of China actively interfered in recent Canadian elections, with the aim of defeating Conservative Party candidates and electing Liberals. The prime minister finds this very […]

Where’s Katie?

For eleven hours Tuesday the Liberals pretended she didn’t exist. At least not for the purpose of answering questions on what she knew and when she knew it. The government is desperately filibustering a House of Commons committee that wants the Prime Minister’s chief of staff to answer questions about foreign interference in Canada’s electoral […]

The No Surprises Report

The Rouleau Commission says that Canada’s federal government was right to impose the Emergencies Act to end the Freedom Convoy a year ago. To many this will come as a surprise, but I had expected it. I don’t feel the government was actually faced with a situation where the security of the nation was threatened […]

The Big Day

We’ll find out at noon EST. But a year later, does anyone care whether the government was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act in face of the Freedom Convoy? Justice Paul Rouleau held a series of hearings in the fall of 2022, as required by law, as to whether conditions warranted the mass suspension of […]

Thinking About Death

I’m not feeling my own mortality at the moment, but still, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about dying. Especially how we die. Canada’s Parliament at the moment is considering a Bill to delay the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAID) to the mentally ill. That was supposed to happen in […]

An Ocean of Ice – I

Ottawa’s tourism people are probably cursing the weather these days. We’re halfway through Winterlude, the annual winter carnival, and the Rideau Canal skateway, around which many of the activities take place, has yet to open for the season. And with temperatures above freezing in the forecast for every day next week, it is unlikely to […]

Memories of 2022

More from the Freedom Convoy, first posted last February. I took a detour from my usual route Wednesday and walked through a couple of blocks of the ongoing truckers protest in downtown Ottawa, Freedom Convoy 2022. I figured it might be my last chance to observe first-hand. Police were suggesting that they might actually start […]

Insurrection – Canadian Style

The weekend in 2022 the truck rolled into downtown Ottawa. The Freedom Convoy would occupy the city core for three weeks, causing considerable disruption and a collective official shrug. There are anniversary demonstrations this weekend, but there will be no trucks parked in the Parliamentary precinct – the authorities have learned from last year’s protest. […]

A Take of Two Stores

They may be the world’s biggest retailer, but Walmart doesn’t appear to know much about Canada. Or at least about Canadian weather. My snow shovel broke. Not surprising after 20 Canadian winters.  It is still usable, just a chunk missing from the blade, which broke off when I hit ice. Still, with at least two […]