Flags, Fury, and the Fading Maple Leaf on Parliament Hill

 Saturday’s Palestinian Youth Movement ‘National March on Ottawa’ held on Parliament Hill commenced with the singing of the national anthem. No, not that one. It was the Palestinian anthem sung in Arabic. As a plethora of flags waved – Palestinian, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Algeria, and the communists were

All the World’s a Political Stage: What Shakespeare Would Say to Our New Cabinet

 William Shakespeare famously wrote in Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4, a line uttered by Malcolm to his father King Duncan, referring to the recently departed Thane of Cawdor, that “Nothing in his life became him, like the leaving it”. The ill-fated Thane, in his final actions, died with dignity and

Chants of “Bring Them Home” Rang Out Across Parliament Hill

 The snow fell lightly on Parliament Hill early Monday afternoon as the crowd swelled for Canada’s Rally for the Jewish People. As always, there was a wind on the lawn but the mood was warm and belied the cold. There were families with children in strollers, students with their faces

Let us reclaim the flag from those in the Convoy that have soiled it

 Photo by Jean-Marc Carisse Nearly sixty years ago the red and white Maple Leaf was raised for the first time on Parliament Hill. Tuesday’s National Flag of Canada Day, commemorating that date in 1965 would ordinarily see a clutch of politicians and perhaps some school children gather in front of

Reflect and give thanks: memorials and sites to visit on Remembrance Day

 The Cartier Square Drill Hall adjacent to City Hall was humming with activity last Saturday morning as army cadets resplendent in their dark green uniforms and polished boots came and went with their boxes of poppies, and a children’s choir practiced their performance for a Remembrance Day service. In a

Discovery and escape: five days in a canoe on the Rideau Canal

 Above: On day three of their adventure, Dan and his friend Bill approach Opinicon Lake. (RIGHT) Opinicon Lake looking to the N.W." by Thomas Burrowes, 1840, www.archives.gov.on.ca. (BACKGROUND IMAGE) Mr. Samuel Clowes, "Map of the proposed Canal for uniting Lake Ontario with the River Ottawa by way of the Rivers Catarcquay, Gananoque and

The Government is running out of runway to ensure the survival of the aviation sector

 ABOVE: YVR in Richmond, BC sits completely empty due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (PHOTO: iSTOCK) By Greg MacDougall and Dan McCarthy Flying into Ottawa International Airport (YOW) the evening of September 11th, 2001 was an eerie experience. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, North American airspaces were being closed, and

Virus forces new role on the Bank of Canada

 — with great responsibility comes greater accountability By Greg MacDougall and Dan McCarthy While pop culture ascribes articulating the linkage between great power and responsibility to Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, the quote “They must consider that great responsibility follows inseparably from great power” actually originates in the French Revolution. The third

It’s time to shorten the Cabinet bench

 The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are scheduled to start in two weeks, and we’ll soon hear sportscasters expounding on players’ performances: plumbers – not the best players but those that will go into the corners and do the dirty work; floaters – often the most talented players but not the

Holding government to account in times of pandemic

 Op-ed I want to begin with a caveat: I'm not a big fan of Andrew Coyne's, personally or often his perspective, especially during his attack dog days in the early years of the National Post. I've met him on occasion, and found him neither friendly or welcoming. Or perhaps I