Government and Democracy

Published Wednesday July 27, 2016 in the Huffington Post

Stephen Harper emerged recently from his self-imposed obscurity to say goodbye. I say good riddance.

The former prime minister who once boasted, “You won't recognize Canada when I'm through with it,” lost the federal election last October and stepped down as leader of the Conservative Party, but remained a Member of Parliament.

Published in the Huffington Post Wednesday July 20, 2016

As Canada’s provincial premiers arrive in Whitehorse for their annual meeting, they will be joined by many groups interested in what happens at the meeting, from doctors to business people to academics to labour.

This article was published on Wednesday June 29, 2016 in the Huffington Post.

I have made no secret of my respect for our new Prime Minister, especially after the disdain I held for his predecessor.

That’s why it can be tough at times to watch – as good Canadian jobs are lost to Mexico, a place of horrible human rights abuses – while Justin Trudeau publicly talks about being such good friends with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Published in the Huffington Post July 7, 2016.

There has been a thaw of sorts lately in Ottawa and other corridors of power, as far as labour’s relations with government go – and that’s a good thing for working people across this country.

After a decade of being frozen out by the Harper Conservatives, what we are seeing now is a rebalancing of the voices heard by our members of parliament – including those who sit in cabinet.

Published in the Huffington Post June 22, 2016

 (and I would argue moral) ambiguity about the place of unions in Canada.

Conservative governments who can't rewrite the constitution to take that right away will use underhanded tactics to rob Canadians of their rights at work.

For the latest example of conservative politicians working hard to undermine constitutional rights, just look to Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister.