smg2_politics

Can new NDP leader Marit Stiles take down Doug Ford?

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From a small family farm on the East Coast where goats ran around the living room to a fashionable house in the Annex, incoming NDP leader Marit Stiles has lived in very different worlds. And while her Newfoundland lilt may have faded, the lessons of her bucolic youth have not. “I learned about hard work … Read more

Is there more to Ontario’s clinic plan than meets the eye?

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Will that be on your OHIP card or your credit card? Premier Doug Ford’s controversial plan to move more surgeries out of hospitals and into independent clinics to clear a pandemic backlog has fueled concerns about the “upselling” of medical services not covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan. The issue has been on the … Read more

NDP’s new leader says party must focus on labour unions

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The Ontario NDP must focus on its labor union roots to “learn and build” and take on the Tories in the next election, says the party’s new leader. Speaking at an event held in downtown Toronto to mark the change in leadership — which she won, unopposed — Marit Stiles told the crowd of about … Read more

A Canadian senator helped save Afghan women. The immigration department called police on her

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OTTAWA A Manitoba senator is defending herself against federal allegations she sent “inauthentic” documents in the summer of 2021 to help Afghan women get past Kabul airport checkpoints, revealing that the travel documents came from a top aide to Canada’s then-defense minister for that purpose . Sen. Marilou McPhedran stood in the Senate chamber Thursday … Read more

Deputy PM warns economic “uncertainty” as provinces work toward health deal

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Headed into a meeting next week seeking $28 billion more in health funding from the federal government, provinces were cautioned that high inflation and interest rates are making for “uncertainty” in a global economic slowdown. The tempering of expectations from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland came Friday after a day of talks … Read more

Ford asks landowners ‘permission’ to evaluate Highway 413 site

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A highway will run through it. Prime Minister Doug Ford’s government is notifying 467 landowners along the route of the proposed Highway 413 for “permission to enter” their property to evaluate its suitability for the freeway. In a nine-page letter obtained by the Star, the province advises them the access is needed to “identify the … Read more

Justin Trudeau government scraps controversial gun bill amendments after backlash

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OTTAWA—The Liberal government is bowing to immense public pressure and scrapping controversial amendments to an existing gun bill that would have massively expanded the list of illegal guns in Canada. Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed made the surprise announcement at a meeting of the public safety and security committee Friday morning, moving a motion to withdraw … Read more

The ugly, sneering face of Canadian politics

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Contempt of Parliament is a serious thing. Contempt by Parliament is what emerged this week as federal politicians decided that thorny controversies about Islamophobia and government contracting were best tackled by character assault. This is, as they say, why we can’t have nice things — such as reasonable, civil debate over our differences. Two prominent, … Read more

Join our party if you want our leader, Ontario Greens tell Liberals

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The grass is always greener. Scores of Green Party activists have responded to a push by 40 veteran Ontario Liberals to convince Mike Schreiner to defect to the Grits and run for their leadership. In a public letter released Thursday and addressed to the “Draft Mike” campaign, 75 Greens urge the Liberals to instead join … Read more

Canada must seize a ‘generational opportunity’: Champagne

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OTTAWA – It’s a familiar pitch with a new urgency. Next week, a pair of Canadian cabinet ministers head to Washington to meet with top Biden administration officials and US companies to talk national and economic security, and the beauty of integrating North American interests. Coming a few weeks before US President Joe Biden visits … Read more