Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

Last year, some may remember some major breaking stories in The Globe and Mail and the Manitoulin Expositor about contract negotiation and other serious issues surrounding the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program (FNIPP). Essentially, three First Nations police services, the UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service, Treaty Three Police Service and the Anishinabek Police Service, had stopped receiving funding because of ...

Marit Stiles, Leader of the Official Opposition NDP, says Ford’s 2024 Provincial Budget is a missed opportunity for much-needed change. “If you’re looking for change, Ford’s budget is not for you,” said Stiles. “People are looking for better health care and homes they can afford. Instead, they got an uninspired statement from a government that is out of touch and ...

On Friday, Canada’s NDP called on the Liberals to deliver a National School Lunch program in the upcoming federal budget on April 16th. Right now, food bank usage across the country is at its highest level since 1989 and more than one million children are living in poverty. In Sault Ste. Marie, a food bank is reportedly running out of food due to high ...

Vendredi, le NPD du Canada a exhorté les libéraux à mettre en place un programme national d’alimentation scolaire dans le cadre du prochain budget fédéral, le 16 avril. En ce moment, la fréquentation des banques alimentaires à travers le pays est à son plus haut niveau depuis 1989 et plus d’un million d’enfants vivent dans la pauvreté. À Sault Ste. Marie, on rapporte ...

The Finance Minister has signaled that the next Federal budget will be released on April 16th. She has indicated that the topline focus of the budget will primarily be on affordability issues, which should come as little surprise to anyone, but as always, the devil will be in the details. Amid the current affordability crisis, it is clear that far ...

Official Opposition NDP critic for Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Terence Kernaghan (London North Centre), and Labour critic Jamie West (Sudbury) are calling out the Ford Conservatives’ lack of action to address the significant surge of people relying on Employment Insurance (EI) in Ontario. The number of Ontarians on EI skyrocketed by 34,000 in 2023, a 32% increase and ...

Earlier this week, Auditor General Karen Hogan released her long-awaited report on the costs associated with the development of the much-derided ArriveCan app. The report is a scathing indictment of the government’s procurement process during the early Covid-19 pandemic, and their reliance on expensive consultants that don’t give Canadians value for the money spent. The purpose of the ArriveCan app, ...

Last week, Manulife, Canada’s largest insurance company, made headlines across the country by telling customers that coverage for 260 specialty prescription drugs would only be filled at Loblaw-owned pharmacies, chiefly Shoppers Drug Mart. It was a move that was roundly and swiftly condemned by independent pharmacies, health care groups, unions, and consumers across Canada. That condemnation forced Manulife to quickly ...

MPP Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls), Official Opposition critic for Long-Term Care (LTC) released the following statement in response to Ford’s Conservatives facing a lawsuit for negligence in LTC during the COVID-19 pandemic: “Conservative failures in Long Term Care led to thousands of preventable deaths during the pandemic. The Conservatives knew that our friends, parents, and grandparents in LTC were vulnerable, ...

Mardi, le député néo-démocrate Charlie Angus (Timmins-Baie James) a discuté de son projet de loi visant à mettre fin à la publicité et à la promotion trompeuses des combustibles fossiles au Canada. Cette initiative fait suite à la publication de documents révélant que les grandes sociétés pétrolières connaissaient la nocivité de leurs produits depuis 1954, mais qu’elles ont tout de ...

On Tuesday, NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) discussed his private member’s bill to stop the misleading advertising and promotion of fossil fuels in Canada. The move comes after documents revealed that Big Oil knew the harm to their products as far back at 1954 but still spent billions of dollars in advertising campaigns to mislead the public and cover ...

If there’s one thing in politics that is sacrosanct, it’s the right to vote. Voting is the most fundamental expression of what a person wants out of their local representative, as well as the direction they want the country to move towards. However, for some, the limited number of ways we can express our opinions through our vote can lead ...

Official Opposition NDP housing critic Jessica Bell (University – Rosedale) released the following statement in response to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA’s) update on Ontario’s progress meeting the recommendations made by the Housing Affordability Task Force: “The Conservatives have had six years to fix the housing crisis, and they’ve failed. It has never been more expensive to rent or ...

The announcement to refurbish four reactors at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is being heralded as a colossal failure in governance by groups concerned about the large volume of highly radioactive wastes that will be generated. Rebuilding the four aging reactors to allow an additional 30 years of operation will cost the province’s ratepayers many billion dollars – the Minister ...

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s refusal to meet with northern First Nation communities is sending a very clear message. He has made multiple trips to the Timmins region but has refused to take the time to visit the northern communities or meet with leadership like the representatives of the Mushkegowuk Cree. MP Charlie Angus says that Poilievre’s disregard for the importance ...