Kelsey Johnson

They’re back. With one fell swoop, MPs descended on Parliament Hill Monday morning with energy and gusto, their smiles as crisp as the chilly Ottawa fall air that greeted them. Fall has officially arrived. There is much anticipation about what might come about during this new fall sitting. For political journalists, the return of Parliament […] Read more

If you’ve read any Conservative attacks lately, you may have noticed the Harper gang has a new favourite word: elite. Over the course of the past year, that five-letter word — defined by the Miriam Webster dictionary as “the best of a class” — has become a go-to. In fact, elite and its cousin, elitism, […] Read more

Call it a talking point that’s gone horribly, horribly wrong. Or perhaps it is simply a clash of ideologies, with politics trumping humanity. Whatever the reason, it’s likely prime minister Stephen Harper is wishing he’d broached a question about the most recent murder of an aboriginal girl in Winnipeg with a bit more sensitivity. Asked […] Read more

After years of trade squabbles and hours spent arguing in front of World Trade Organization tribunals, it looks as if the COOL tide might be starting to shift in the U.S. Emphasis on “might,” because as Canadians well know our neighbours to the south have a mind of their own, making decisions that are not […] Read more

The sanctions came in one fell swoop. Prime minister Dmitri Medvedev announced Aug. 7 that the Russian border was closed, effective immediately, to any imports of beef, pork, fish, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables from Canada, the European Union, the United States, Australia and Norway. The retaliatory sanctions, imposed following a presidential decree Aug. […] Read more

I distinctly remember the first time I was introduced to milk in bags. I was either 11 or 12. We were visiting family friends in Toronto. It was around suppertime and everyone was bringing the last few dishes to the table. As we all gathered to take our seats, my brother asked “where’s the milk?” […] Read more

If the recent reaction is any indication, the latest government efforts to overhaul Canadian gun laws this fall is likely to spark yet another testy and emotional debate on gun ownership in this country. In a July 23 announcement, public safety minister Steven Blaney told reporters the Conservative government plans to introduce new legislation that […] Read more

For years he’s been known as the prime minister who’s made a record number of appointments to the Senate: 56 since 2006. In recent weeks, though, prime minister Stephen Harper has been chastised by politicians and political scribes alike for his refusal to fill the ballooning number of vacancies in Parliament’s upper chamber. Eleven of […] Read more

The term “science-based approach” has become a catch phrase used frequently by folks in agriculture and farm policy. It has become ubiquitous at news conferences and in press releases. And despite its neutral appearance, the slogan has come to be used in situations where the stakeholder or official (agriculture ministers included) wants to counter another’s […] Read more

It’s been a longstanding concern of Canada’s farming community: Many Canadians appear to have only vague notions of where their food comes from. New polling data collected for the federal government confirms what farmers have known for years: for most Canadians, farming is a foreign concept. The data shows most consumers still imagine the picturesque, […] Read more