Peter Henderson

  • Ambrose has ‘no interest’ in bid for permanent leadership

    Postmedia columnist Michael Den Tandt wrote last week that Ambrose had the best shot of any of the potential leaders in taking on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, suggesting his youthful vigor would be a challenge for other candidates to overcome. As interim Tory leader, Ambrose is prevented from running for the permanent spot by the party’s own rules.

  • Backlash over Wynne’s $6K a person fundraiser shows need for reform: experts

    Experts say the windows of change are blowing against Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s high-priced fundraising dinners as the public demands more transparency and a new federal government has pledged an era of openness. Postmedia columnist Andrew Coyne was the latest to criticize Wynne for her fundraising efforts, taking aim at a $6,000-per-head reception on Thursday at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel that is co-sponsored by lobbying firm Sussex Strategy Group. Wynne had defended her fundraising as part of her job as party leader, saying raising money is part of the democratic process and that supporters are not buying access.

  • New role for public service brings new challenges: experts

    Experts say the federal public service will take on a new role in the new Justin Trudeau government, and the transition may not be smooth after nearly a decade under the thumb of former prime minister Stephen Harper. The new regime has already made its presence felt, bringing in a wave of new deputy ministers and senior officials and engineering a transition at the top job in the public service from Janice Charette to her deputy, Michael Wernick. Wernick, the new Clerk of the Privy Council, is taking the job on a temporary basis and is tasked with developing a new process to find a permanent replacement.

  • Costly lawsuits may have deterred CRA action on KPMG tax havens: experts

    Experts say the possibility of lengthy court fights at the taxpayers’ expense may have motivated a reported deal between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and a group of rich Canadians who allegedly used creative accounting to avoid paying millions in taxes using offshore shell companies. Lisa Philipps, a professor and expert on tax law at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, said the key difference in these types of cases is between tax evasion, which is fraud, and tax avoidance, which is legal. “Tax avoidance, basically arranging your affairs to minimize your taxes, is part of Canada’s tax laws,” she said.

  • Trudeau on Trump: ‘Cape Breton is lovely’

    No matter how many times you ask him, Justin Trudeau won’t tell you what he thinks of Donald Trump. In a town hall meeting on Monday afternoon with Huffington Post, the prime minister fielded several questions about how he viewed the flaxen-haired front-runner for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination. Trudeau refused to be drawn in, saying his job as prime minister is to work with whomever is elected in November.

  • Ending Friday sessions of Parliament not right way to improve work/life balance: experts

    Dropping the Friday session of the House of Commons from the calendar is one of a series of changes under consideration by a parliamentary committee looking to make serving as an MP a more family-friendly job. Members of Parliament are currently expected to spend around half the year in Ottawa, and those with family commute back to their home riding on weekends and during the summer and Christmas recesses. Jane Hilderman, executive director of the political participation non-profit Samara Canada, said the job of an MP can put a strain on a family, particularly those with young children.

  • Canadian Parliament poised to reject Israel boycott movement

    Parliamentarians are on the verge of voting to reject the movement to boycott Israel that has caused controversy in Canada and around the world. A vote on the matter is scheduled for Monday in the House of Commons, and the ruling Liberals said they would support a Conservative MP’s motion to reject the so-called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for a boycott of Israel based on its treatment of Palestinians.

  • Ghomeshi’s bail relaxed before trial: report

    Ghomeshi was compelled to live with his mother and turn over his passport after being charged in January 2015 with several counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking in connection with allegations from three women dating back more than a decade. According to the website Canadaland, the conditions of Ghomeshi’s bail were changed twice, once to allow him to move back into his own house and a second time to allow him to travel outside of the country. Toronto-based criminal lawyer Yoni Rahamim, who has no connection to the Ghomeshi case, said the bail variations were very ordinary despite the high-profile nature of the case and the seriousness of the allegations.

  • Potential Porter sale a good deal with few buyers

    Toronto-based carrier Porter Airlines is reportedly seeking a buyer, but aviation expert Karl Moore says Canada’s foreign ownership rules for carriers mean selling won’t be easy. Porter Aviation Holdings Inc., which owns the 10-year-old regional airline, is searching for a way to cash out, the Globe and Mail reports. Moore said Porter, which flies out of Toronto’s downtown Billy Bishop island airport, is an attractive asset because of its strong reputation, its convenient location and its business model.

  • End of heckling unlikely despite Speaker’s promise, experts say

    Lori Lukinuk, an expert on rules of order and proceedings in both the public and private sector, said Canada’s Parliament is much more unruly than the corporate boards or public gatherings she’s seen.

  • UN head’s visit another opportunity for Trudeau to rebrand Canada’s reputation

    Experts say Canada’s new government has a chance to continue rebranding the country’s international reputation when UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visits the nation’s capital next week. The head of the United Nations is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 11, to discuss topics including climate change and Canada’s role in the humanitarian and military responses to the crisis in Syria. Trudeau has made significant efforts to distance his approach to foreign policy from that of his predecessor, promising to recommit the country to multilateralism and peacekeeping while pledging to re-examine Canada’s contribution to the fight against the Islamic State.

  • Saudi arms deal raises foreign policy challenge for Trudeau

    [Then prime minister Stephen Harper walks past a Light Armoured Vehicles 6.0 during a photo opportunity at General Dynamics Land Systems in London, Ont., May 2, 2014. REUTERS/Aaron Harris]

  • Porter Airlines ‘assessing’ after expansion plan nixed

    Porter Airlines would not elaborate on the airline’s future strategy at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport now that its expansion plan is dead. Last week, PortsToronto said it would not complete the final reports for the three studies requested by Toronto City Council in 2014 after the federal government recently said it would not amend the tripartite agreement it has with PortsToronto and the City of Toronto that prohibits commercial jets at Billy Bishop airport.

  • Ecole Polytechnique shooting survivor Nathalie Provost speaks

    On Dec. 6, 1989, 23-year-old Nathalie Provost was shot four times by Marc Lepine after he entered her classroom at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique with guns drawn and separated the men from the women. Lepine, armed with a hunting rifle and a semi-automatic carbine, ranted about the evils of feminism.

  • Trudeau's handshake scrutinized by international media

    The UK Daily Mail psychoanalyzed Justin Trudeau's handshake during his visit to see the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron.

  • Canadian Forces ready for Syrian refugees

    The military has yet to be formally asked to provide housing assistance, but it is nevertheless preparing to provide interim lodging for refugees at bases in Ontario and Quebec.

  • Communism memorial opponent welcomes Liberal rethink

    The original design called for a large, stepped concrete monument adorned with scenes of crimes committed by communist governments and would have been the second largest memorial in Ottawa.

  • A host of reasons why unions want CBC head and board gone

    CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix has had a rocky eight years at the helm of Canada’s public broadcaster, and the union that represents most of his employees is now calling for him to step down. The Canadian Media Guild, which represents the employees of CBC’s English services as well as its French services outside Quebec and New Brunswick, says Lacroix and his board of directors have lost their legitimacy and the confidence of the staff. Lacroix, a Montreal lawyer with no previous media experience, was appointed in 2007 by Stephen Harper and has long fended off accusations that he was looking to gut the CBC because of his close ties to the Conservative Party.

  • TV subscribers cutting chord at accelerating rate, report says

    Chris Wakelin says Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos should be the employee of the year at Rogers Communications Inc. Wakelin said the recent success of the Blue Jays, who are vying with the New York Yankees for a division title, is the only thing keeping him a cable TV subscriber. “If the Blue Jays weren’t doing as well as they were and I didn’t want to watch them every night, I’d probably cut the cord,” he said.

  • Physicians group the latest to divest fossil fuel investments

    Last week, the Canadian Medical Association voted to withdraw its investment in fossil fuel-related companies, the latest in a series of divestments by organizations and investors looking to put their money in companies that are ecologically and socially responsible. Dr. Howard, a board member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said that doctors are beginning to understand that climate change is a public health issue, not just an environmental issue.