Politicians and religion: a bad mix

Just about the most honest thing you can say about the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is that its members seem to like some parts of Christianity — they just don’t know very much about what it is meant to be.

Letters, April 17

Voters can understand the populist intent of saving people a few dollars on their gasoline purchases, but not everyone needs help and subsidizing the use of fossil fuels ignores the long-term costs of burning them.

Threat hits close to home with fear, helplessness and, finally, relief

It’s 4:20 p.m. last Friday and I’ve just filed my column when my phone rings.

It’s my colleague, Stephanie, in Ottawa. Odd, she usually texts.

“Have you talked to Sarah?” she asked.

I hadn’t.

Letters, April 16

Prime Minister Mark Carney may want Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to stay on as Opposition leader but not for the reasons that the predictably smug Liberal crowd think.

Poilievre, aggrieved Tory critics could benefit from taking a political science course

If you’re going to accuse a government of subverting democracy, it helps to understand how that democracy works.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and other critics are claiming the Liberals’ new majority (gained this week following three byelections) is the result of “dirty backroom deals” — as though something improper or illegitimate has taken place.

It’s a compelling bit of political theatre. But it’s also wrong.

The core of the argument — that Canadians “didn’t vote for a majority government” in 2025 — is deeply flawed and reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of Canada’s parliamentary system.

Letters, April 15

It’s troubling that the experience of “Emma” in obtaining and enforcing a protection order is presented as though it’s an anomaly. The long known reality is that it’s difficult to obtain a protection order and it’s challenging to be taken seriously when making complaints that the order has been breached.

Pierre Poilievre’s latest bad day

As expected, the Tories went zero for three in Monday’s federal byelections, meaning that the federal Liberals, through a combination of byelection wins and floor-crossings, have managed to turn their minority government into a clear majority.