TORONTO – It seems like only yesterday (January 1997) when Quebec’s Premier, Lucien Bouchard, a founding member of the Bloc Quebecois (also former Cabinet Minister in Brian Mulroney’s government) touched off a storm of intense debate about our National character when he mused that “Canada is not a real country”, therefore threats of impending disunity and other political consequences of discussing Quebec sovereignty were just so much scare-mongering (my words).
TORONTO – Thirty days ago, an amnesty on the harmonized sales tax in Canada was implemented to last until February 15th, 2025. What does this mean. It means no taxes on select food and beverages, select children’s clothing and select literature. Confusing? Perhaps.
TORONTO – A “strong, national response” is needed to Donald Trump’s threats that will materialize in a few days, when the president-elect enters the Oval Office of the White House: 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods arriving in the United States. In an attempt to find that “strong, national response”, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (who is on his way to resign, when the Liberal Party will have its new leader) met with Canadian premiers in Ottawa today to seek a common strategy. “None of us wants to see tariffs erode a successful partnership between Canada and the United States” Trudeau wrote on Twitter X, before the meeting. “But we will be ready with a strong, national response if we need one”. →
TORONTO – TIFF Cinematheque is currently running a retrospective of Marco Bellocchio’s decades long film career. The event kicked off this past Friday, and will be running until Jan 29th at TIFF Lightbox. The 14-film retrospective launched with the screening of Bellocchio’s political drama Buongiorno, Notte (2003). Special guest and celebrated actor Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Marco‘s son, was in attendance for a prologue and post-show Q&As. Prior to the screening Pier Giorgio sat with Corriere Canadese to discuss Italy’s past, present and future in the industry.
TORONTO – Tariffs “promised” by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Canadian products could result in the loss of 500,000 jobs in Ontario, creating the need to invest billions of dollars, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said today during a press conference in Toronto to discuss his “Fortress Am-Can” plan. →
TORONTO – Half of Canadians are “flotagin” $200 away from being unable to cover their monthly bills and debt payments, according to MNP Ltd.’s latest quarterly consumer debt report. And a third of Canadians say they are already insolvent. →
TORONTO – As if on cue, “strategists” at Justin Trudeau’s [Liberal] Party leaked a story to the Toronto Sun outlining a concerted effort by the former and current chiefs of staff in the PMO (Gerry Butts and Katie Telford) to “strongarm” caucus members into joining the ‘Mark Carney Machine’. They recruited a vice-President of Rogers Communications, former Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, a prince in all but name of the activist World Sikh Organization to aid in the persuasion.
TORONTO – ” “I’m going to defund CBC. Yes, I am going to do it. Very quick” …Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who according to all polls will be Canada’s next prime minister, has returned to talk about the mega-public funding to the CBC, confirming, in an exclusive interview with the Toronto Sun a couple of weeks ago, that as soon as he is elected he will take away $1 billion a year from the television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.
TORONTO – Irrespective of perceived merit in holding one political view or another, the structure, the integrity of political Parties, their membership and their Leadership often speaks to the values held by the country writ large.
TORONTO – While almost a third of the world’s population celebrated Christmas last week, a seemingly equal amount of cinephiles, historophiles and antiquarians were sent into a frenzy over Christopher Nolan’s new film announcement – The Odyssey. According to Universal’s statement on X, the British filmmaker’s next project “Is a mythic-action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026”.
TORONTO – The most “powerful” passport in the world is Singapore’s, the only one that allows entry into 195 countries (out of a total of 227) without any prior Visa; Italy, which until last year shared this record with Singapore and Japan, France, Germany and Spain, falls to third place “losing” two countries (from 194 last year to 192 this year). But things are worse for Canada which, with 188 “Visa-free” countries, remains seventh, a position where it has fallen for some years after being, in 2014 (one year before the beginning of the Trudeau-era), in second place. →
TORONTO – “Terrorism in Canada is on the rise” and “the terrorist threat in Canada has rarely been higher”, according to a report released today by the firm “Insight Threat Intelligence” (ITI) chaired by Jessica Davis, a former analyst at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Global Affairs Canada. →
TORONTO – I do not engage in the habit of heaping scorn on people who no longer are part of our lives, no matter how strong the temptation might be for some. Two issues regarding “the announcement to vacate the leadership of the Party and the Government nonetheless attract some legitimate reflection.
OTTAWA – What will change after Justin Trudeau’s step back? Nothing, according to Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, at least as long as the Liberals govern, because “every Liberal MP in power today and every potential Liberal leadership contender fighting for the top job helped Justin Trudeau break the country over the last 9 years”. →
