Tag Archives: Canada

No April Fool’s Joke

The price of gas went up at the pumps today. I’m not sure by how much, because I haven’t been out yet. News reports earlier suggested the hike would be 11 cents a litre (44 cents an American gallon). Certainly the war in Ukraine has been the cause of some of the recent hikes in […]

Voting Day

Voting in Canada next federal election will take place over three days. That’s a great idea, but it doesn’t go far enough.  The changing of the voting day from one to three days is part of the deal the governing Liberals have struck with the NDP. In exchange for pharmacy, dental care and other programs, […]

They’re Gone!

Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, Wednesday afternoon. Not a truck in sight. Not many cars either – access is being strictly controlled. To celebrate the empty street, the Prime Minister revoked his previous invocation of the Emergencies Act. Apparently the “emergency” has ended, though nothing has changed since Monday when the motion passed in the […]

Bridging The Gap

The Emergencies Act remains in place after last night’s vote in the House of Commons. Those who value civil liberties are saddened, perhaps scared. Today though, some reflective words from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a press conference Monday I was surprised to hear him go beyond his (what I feel are weak) justifications for […]

Debating Democracy

Canadian Members of Parliament were supposed to be home today, meeting with their constituents. Instead, the House of Commons is sitting (though some MPs will be attending on Zoom). We are in a national “crisis” after all. MPs spent the weekend debating whether the Liberal government was right to invoke the Emergencies Act last Monday […]

Not With A Bang

By the time you read this, the truckers’ protest in Ottawa may be over. But many questions remain. Police on Friday and Saturday pushed demonstrators away from Parliament Hill. I watched a lot of it as it was happening, as many of the demonstrators were streaming the actions live. It seemed like a typically Candian […]

Canadian Justice

You don’t expect to hear the words “secret court hearing” when it is the Canadian legal system being discussed. For those who believe in the fundamental principles of justice it is a little unnerving. Those behind the class action lawsuit against the truckers’ convoy that has parked in downtown Ottawa for more than theree weeks […]

Scenes of Protest

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 obsereve first-hand. Police were suggesting that they might actually start to take action to remove some demonstrators and trucks […]

Missing A Slam Dunk

It is not often that Canada’s Official Opposition hands the government and easy victory. They did that this week – and the government missed it. I can only presume that they are so locked into their ways that they can’t see a gift when it is given to them. The Conservative Party sponsored a motion […]

Just Watch Him!

Canada is now under martial law for the first time in more than 50 years. Except it isn’t. The government has invoked the Emergencies Act, however the Prime minister has said he is not calling in the military to deal with the truckers’ protest or suspending anyone’s civil liberties. Needless to say, this has many […]