Aaron Wherry

The Food Banks Canada report usefully focuses political attention on a segment of the population that badly needs it. That presents an immediate challenge for the Liberal government — but the Conservatives are also challenged to explain exactly how they’d do things differently.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s analysis of federal carbon pricing is reportedly the subject of a “fight” with the Liberal government that includes allegations of “secret data” being withheld. So it seems a profoundly important conversation has veered very far off course.

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump has led, inevitably and justifiably, to calls for reflection on the state of Canada’s political culture. But such calls for reflection predate the latest outbreak of political violence in the United States.

The epidemic of opioid addiction is a real problem. And there is a real difference of opinion between Liberals and Conservatives about how the federal government should be responding to that crisis. But there is also a lot of noise. 

There is cross-partisan agreement on at least one thing in Ottawa: last week's meeting of the House of Commons committee on the status of women was an embarrassing spectacle. The only debate is over who should feel the most embarrassed.

As another Canadian summer brings another round of natural disasters, there is a risk of the political response to these calamities becoming rote. Thoughts and prayers are offered. An official response is mounted. Support for rebuilding is promised. And then the political discussion moves on.

Singh’s video on Wednesday conspicuously​​​​​​​ resembled a campaign launch and it’s fair to say the chances of an early election have increased in the last 24 hours. But the demise of the Liberal-NDP deal does not necessarily mean this parliament is facing imminent dissolution.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, to chair a Liberal party task force on economic growth ahead of the next federal election, the party announced Monday.

Some amount of parliamentary gamesmanship is to be expected whenever and wherever MPs gather. But some days it is hard to look at the games being played and see how anyone — least of all Canadians — could be said to be winning.

The remarkable revelations and accusations of the past week — from the expulsion of six Indian diplomats on Monday to the prime minister’s challenge to the Conservatives at the foreign interference inquiry on Wednesday — underline how the world has become a more dangerous and difficult place for Canada.