Attitudes and willful blindness form the basis of federal government policy as expressed by our federal Minister of Natural Resources, and that it is a sign of negligent disregard for the public interest. It is unacceptable. A revealing exchange with the editorial board of La Presse confirms that if Joe Oliver has ever had a science briefing, he wasn't listening.

While always nice to get a lot of media coverage, Trudeau should be concerned that in the long run all the hype could hurt more than help him. Expectations are so high for him that I wonder if anyone could live up to them. Remember all the media hype around the previous savior of the Liberal Party, a gentleman by the name of Michael Ignatieff. It didn't help him.

Whether or not to allow more free votes in the House is an option to consider. This allows an MP more freedom to represent their constituents on key issues and gives them some freedom when moral issues such as abortion or capital punishment are raised. Why not let government MPs stand and be recognized to ask one of their own ministers a question? If Parliament is to be relevant, it must change.

There's always been a back-and-forth in Canadian politics. Every few terms, the public would tire of either the Conservative or Liberal party and vote...

Without a meddling monarch to do the punishing, modern confidence voting has become little more than a shallow exercise in partisan opportunism. And yet the archaic artifact of confidence voting remains.

It seems to me the world could use a single, unified theory of Elizabeth May. She's been part of this country's political scene for nearly a decade, after all, and yet her longevity continues to baffle. She's very much the Stonehenge of Canadian politics: pointless, yet cryptic.

When I first heard about the dismantling of the Canadian International Development Agency in the government's recent budget, I was rather dismayed. Nonetheless, upon delving into the issue further, it became clear that my initial reaction was quite misguided. International aid from Canada is not coming to an end; the budget has merely initiated the merging of CIDA with the Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim is not to slash aid, but rather to have a more synergized approach to its deliverance in developing countries. The merger of CIDA with DFAIT ensures the money our government spends internationally will be more focused, effective and better reflect and preserve the national interests of Canada.

Published for the Prince Arthur Herald On March 21, 2013 Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled Canada's 2013 budget, Economic Action Plan 2013, with a...

Despite all the problems, it's about time Quebec signed the Constitution. Quebeckers in the early '90s were tired of the constitutional discussion, and clearly expressed their opposition to it at the ballot box. Yet two decades have passed and a new generation of leaders have entered the political discussion.

Canadians know that Justin Trudeau is passionate. They know that he is eloquent and thoughtful. They know that he is likeable. That is more than Canadians have known about the last two Liberal Leaders and that is why Justin Trudeau and the Liberal party have already won. That is why the Liberal Party's best chance at success in 2015 is with Justin Trudeau as Leader.

At the University of Waterloo last week, Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth was scheduled to speak to a group of students at an event organized by the Students for Life campus club. Unfortunately, a group of students shut down Mr. Woodworth's speech by shouting him down, until he was left with no choice but to cancel the event.

The "big three" as I call them (the intolerant, the anti-intellectual and the undesirable) began to migrate to the GOP in significant numbers in 2008. These folks have remained in the party ever since, pushing it closer to their political agenda and off a political cliff. This is one American phenomenon that there should be no interest in embracing.

It was Marc Garneau who was recently saying, "we cannot wait until after the leadership race is over to find out what we signed up for." These comments were, of course, pointed squarely at Garneau's leading opponent in the Grit's leadership race, Justin Trudeau. But what do we do when our father-figure departs from his own wisdom?

Marc Garneau's decision today to withdraw from the Liberal leadership race was not unexpected. If anything, the only surprise was that Garneau stayed in the race as long as he did. Perhaps he hoped for a last-minute shift in support, or that Liberals would wake up and see what he had to offer? If that was the case he was wasting his time.

A Halifax rapper frustrated by what he sees as a lack of honesty from the federal government has called out the man at the top: Stephen Harper. In ...

British Columbia's Opposition Leader, Adrian Dix, isn't surprised the budget tabled by the B.C. Liberal government plagiarized major features of NDP policy. What genuinely astonishes Dix is the unconcealed cynicism of the B.C. Liberals.

As long as Liberals look for short-cuts, we are doomed to wander in the wilderness. Our seat count and support has not eroded in successive elections because the progressive vote is divided. I believe that the way to defeat the Conservatives and elect a truly progressive government is to rebuild the Liberal Party of Canada as the distinctive, clear and principled voice of One Canada.

The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) has put itself on an inevitable journey to self-destruction in the last two weeks. "Pastagate" started when a Montreal-Italian restaurant was told that the term pasta violated the Quebec Charter of the French Language as it was not a proper French term. The fewer, legitimate claims of language violations the OQLF receives, the more they have to pursue weak cases and go digging through restaurant menus. The OQLF must investigate the most absurd cases they receive if they want to keep getting their yearly $19 million budget and keep their 248 jobs. Creating new divisions among Quebecers is a profitable business for them.

The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), a national organization composed of campus student unions, purports to organize students on a "democratic, co-operative basis." When Guelph students wanted to hold a referendum to exit the CFS, they served the CFS with a petition asking for a referendum to be held to decertify. However, the CFS refused to schedule a referendum. Guelph's Central Student Association (CSA) took the CFS to court.

The recent scandals involving senators offer more reasons to question the Senate's continued existence. Senators currently control investigations into other senators' ethics, spending, attendance and actions overall. This is a completely ineffective system undermined by rampant conflicts of interest -- and senators are not even talking about changing it. While there are many proposals to reform the Senate, they all leave or create more problems than they solve, and all require changes to the Constitution (as Prime Minister Harper will soon learn when the Supreme Court of Canada rules on his reference case) -- so abolishing the Senate is no more difficult than any other option.

New information reveals not even the private contractors hired by Elections Canada to investigate the possible 2011 "robocalls" are neutral, non-partisan individuals. A search reveals that many members on their board of directors have donated money to the Liberals and Bloc Quebecois -- the same parties which have the most to gain in propagating any sort of "robocall" voter conspiracy myth.

It's no sin to be born into money. But it can be a burden, especially if you're a politician trying to establish a bond with middle class voters, as Liberal leadership frontrunner Justin Trudeau is -- and especially especially if you're counting on young voters. So, while Martha Hall Findlay's sucker-punch during Saturday's leadership debate was crude, it nonetheless represented a real blow the first in this contest, to Trudeau. And if Hall-Findlay's attack stung, wait till the Conservatives and NDP start to take their own jabs at Trudeau's silver spoon.

Finally the NDP is making Question Period interesting to watch. And they have the Conservatives to thank for handing them the issues and the ammunition. I am speaking about NDP attacks on the Senate and the financial questions. It is often said that governments defeat themselves and it is issues like these that accumulate over time and eventually ruin your brand.