So let me get this straight: Paul Martin goes to Newfoundland to do a radio show, and gets, not praise, but an earful from the people to whom he has just handed $2 billion of other people’s money. Meanwhile, the guy who extracted that cash by hauling down the Canadian flag goes to Toronto, and […] More »

I’m sure you are all wondering how negotiations between Ottawa and Quebec City are going over the parental leave file. Last time we looked at the file, Ottawa was offering $375 million, and Quebec was demanding $750 million. Has either side moderated its position? You have to dig into Le Devoir to find that — […] More »

Last week on This blog, we looked at how Quebecers had risen up against their government’s decision to allow jewish private schools the right to opt-out of a public programme, with full compensation. I suggested that in this case, the people of Quebec were denying to the jewish community a right that Quebecers themselves had […] More »

Making the unique political promise of “No more lies, evasion, [and/or] spin,” potentially insane former talk-show host Robert Kilroy-Silk launched Britain’s newest political party today. Wait a second, is it April 1st? No, must be for real. For a good laugh, see the Guardian article here. Unconfirmed rumours suggest the party name “Veritas” was originally […] More »

Offshore deal prompts Saskatchewan to seek similar pact Emboldened by the success of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia wrestling their offshore oil revenues from the federal government, Saskatchewan is pressing Ottawa for a similar deal for its energy resources. Instant Update: Paul Wells beat me to it. More »

Just taking a moment today to note two things this blog might be tempted to ignore: 1) A very real and triumphant story of democracy in action in Iraq. There’s no hiding from it just because we don’t like the path we all had to take to get there. I wouldn’t go to vote if […] More »

Can Paul Martin be stopped? In a comment two posts down, the insightful John_D finds my arch-Trudeauvianism (Trudeaupianism?) delightfully amusing. I’d be more amused — and delighted — if I weren’t one of about five Trudeauvians left in the country. One such fellow-traveler is Allan Gregg, who has the cover story in the new issue […] More »

I finally tracked down a copy of “Bonjour Expo”, by the Montreal-based musician Nathanial Hebert, aka Quebec Connection. It’s a really cool CD of music that the 26-year-old Hebert thinks would have made a good soundtrack to Expo ’67. Or, as his website puts it, it is “a classy, teutonic-disco themed album, chronicling the golden […] More »

In the lead editorial on Saturday, the Globe and Mail asked, “where does a free vote end and government accountability begin?” The editorial argued that The Headwaiter should make the vote on the upcoming gay marriage legislation a “free vote” for Liberal backbenchers, but that all members of Cabinet should vote with the government and […] More »

Thank you to all the friends of This Magazine — current and former staff, board, contributors, volunteers and readers — who came out to the Rivoli on Thursday night to help push the boat out in my honour. I left the room (at 3 am) feeling like I was on cloud nine. You are an […] More »

The number of columnists who have accepted cash from the Bush administration to promote the President’s agenda is now up to two. The latest? Syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher, who accepted a $21,500 contract to research and write items promoting marriage (presumably the traditional kind). She later wrote about the Bush initiative in her column. Gallagher […] More »