Could a carbon tax have political legs?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:44:58 +0000

Back in May, I wrote about how a carbon tax won popular support in British Columbia:

TORONTO — Americans who couldn’t care less that British Columbia had an election last week are in good company — most Canadians living outside the west coast province feel the same way.

Meet Michael Ignatieff

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:41:41 +0000

In May, Canada's Liberal Party leader got no shortage of attention:

TORONTO — When it comes to getting noticed in the United States, Canada’s main political rivals are somewhat of a mismatch.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party, recently needed the help of two former presidential press secretaries — Ari Fleischer, who spoke for George W. Bush, and Mike McCurry, who did the same for Bill Clinton.

Unnecessary security on the US-Canada border?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:35:53 +0000

My last column in April was on the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary causing a ruckus up north:

TORONTO — Desidero Fortunato is a Canadian citizen who regularly visits his second home in Blaine, Wash., crossing the border by car two or three times a week.

Last month, a U.S. border guard — who apparently had no cause for suspicion — ordered him to shut off his engine and get out of the car.

Canada latches on to mandatory minimums

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:31:41 +0000

A few months ago, I wrote a colum on how Canadian politicians moved to impose minimum sentences, even as the U.S. government was rethinking them:

TORONTO — It surprised no one recently when Prime Minister Stephen Harper traveled to Vancouver to demonstrate yet again that he is “tough on crime.”

The last westerner in Guantanamo

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:27:27 +0000

Back in April, I wrote about how Canada's government refused to call for the release of a young Canadian held at the U.S. prison, Guantanamo:

TORONTO — On the morning of July 27, 2002, American Special Forces soldiers were pinned down by an outnumbered handful of suspected Al Qaeda fighters in a compound south of Kabul. Two F-18 warplanes proceeded to drop 500-pound bombs.

The Tamil Tigers of Toronto

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:22:21 +0000

At the end of March, I wrote about the how the Tamil Togers burst onto the political scene in Toronto, which is home to the largest diaspora of Tamils in the world:

TORONTO — Canadians are not flag wavers. If someone is draped in the red maple leaf, chances are he or she is a victorious Olympian or a dead soldier. Anyone else suggests a level of nationalism that makes many Canadians uncomfortable.

A hundred days later, in Canada

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:03:43 +0000

Swine flu spreading in Canada — 13 cases have so far been confirmed — bumped U.S. President Barack Obama’s 100 day-report card off the front pages.

Still, the commentary was largely positive.

Most noted that despite enormous challenges, particularly with the economy, Obama has managed to convince Americans the U.S. is back on the right track.

Canada's Harper joins chorus for US to lift Cuban embargo

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:03:52 +0000

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called on the United States to end its trade embargo against Cuba.

Speaking at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago — a gathering received with a big yawn in Canada — Harper suggested the decades-old embargo has had the unintended effect of propping up the Communist state.

“If one wants to break down a state-socialist economic nationalist model with walls, I don't think a trade embargo's the way to do that. So we would obviously urge a different course of action,” Harper said.

Billy Bob Thornton's complex relationship with Canada

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:55:49 +0000

Actor and musician Billy Bob Thornton has hightailed it out of Canada. Some would say he was run out of the country, but Thornton insists it isn’t so.

What’s clear is that Thornton and his band the Boxmasters dropped their two remaining shows as the opening act for Willie Nelson after being booed in Toronto for comparing Canadian audiences to “mashed potatoes with no gravy.”

Gorgeous George

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:49:40 +0000

I recently wrote about George Galloway being barred from entering Canada, and about one Canadian's travails:

TORONTO — By now, many around the world have heard that provocative British politician George Galloway has been banned from entering Canada.

Practically no one, by comparison, has heard of Abousfian Abdelrazik. Yet most of those who have would argue that Abdelrazik's case is far more outrageous.

Battle for the Arctic

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:38:25 +0000

I recently wrote about countries scrambling for control of the Arctic. Here's the beginning of my column:

TORONTO — For Canadians, the Arctic has long been a place of imagination. It’s where Inuit shamans fly and explorers disappear without a trace. Vast and forbidding, it has helped imprint in the national psyche an almost debilitating sense of isolation.

Canada's war dead

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:08:45 +0000

I recently wrote about the debate in Canada over the country's commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan. Here's the beginning of my column:

TORONTO — Canada does not try to hide its war dead. They’re honored in a now too familiar ritual, from the “ramp” ceremony with flag-draped coffins at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan to a solemn procession along a stretch of road near Toronto renamed the Highway of Heroes.

In advance of visit to Canada, Obama heaps praise on northern neighbor

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:53:15 +0000

TORONTO — On the eve of his trip to Canada, President Barack Obama has turned on the charm.

He heaped praise on Canada during a 10-minute interview Tuesday night with the CBC network, lauding America’s northern neighbor for its natural beauty, its handling of the economy and its multiculturalism.

He stressed that the United States should look to Canada for examples of how to run a healthy financial sector.

For Obama: Tips on visiting Canada

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:19:59 +0000

I recently wrote about Obama's upcoming visit to Canada:

TORONTO – Sometimes, the depth of a friendship can be gauged with a silly question.

The Canadian polling firm Angus Reid tried to do exactly that with recent surveys on both sides of the 49th parallel. It asked Canadians and Americans which citizens in the world would be most willing to rescue them from a deserted island. Canadians picked Americans as their number one choice. Americans chose Canadians.

Some Canadians are feeling snubbed as news of Obama's visit emerges

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:35:40 +0000

TORONTO – When President Barack Obama decided that Canada would be the site of his first foreign visit, there was great joy in this cold land.

With our economy and politics a mess, and winter winds slashing about like razor blades, Canadians greeted the news of the Feb. 19 visit with glowing hearts, to borrow a image from our national anthem.

Some immediately began preparations to travel from far and wide to descend on Ottawa for a glimpse of the embodiment of hope, history and celebrity.

Canada debates its tradition of hockey violence

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:19:54 +0000

I recently wrote about hockey violence. Here's the beginning of my column:

Canadians have an almost irritating reputation for being tolerant and polite. But in hockey, their dark side spills out.

Calls to curb violence in Canada’s national sport are almost as old as the game itself. But there’s new urgency to the debate: Statistics indicate a 24 percent increase in fighting in the National Hockey League this season, and two punch-ups in its feeder leagues have had terrifying results.

Do you know where your oil comes from?

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:28:42 +0000

I recently wrote about Canada's tar sands. Here's the beginning of my column:

When President Barack Obama vowed this week to reverse U.S. dependence on “foreign oil,” did he also mean Canada’s? It’s a question Americans might want to consider.

What narwhals can teach us about the climate change tipping point.

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:27:11 +0000

Here's the beginning of my column about narwhals, and what they can teach us about the climate change tipping point:

In these heady days of hope and audacity, the fate of some 600 narwhals in Canada’s Arctic has the makings of a cautionary tale.

These unicorns of the northern seas, creatures of legend and imagination, regularly feed around Baffin Island in Canada’s high north. In late September they migrate to open waters to escape the encroaching ice.

Meet Harper

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:25:24 +0000

Here's the beginning of my column about Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

On Jan. 27, the conservative government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will present its first budget since winning reelection last October. For a country seeking relief from recession, it can’t come soon enough.

For Which It Stands: Canada

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:23:02 +0000

I recently wrote about what it's like to be the United States' neighbor to the north. Here's the beginning: