History from the podium
In 1864, the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland planned to meet in Charlottetown to investigate a union among the British Maritime colonies. John A Macdonald and other representatives from Upper and Lower Canada invited themselves to the meeting and arrived by steamship. They proposed a wider union which would include... Continue Reading →
Thomas D’Arcy McGee was one of the great pre-Confederation orators. This speech was delivered three years prior to conferences in Charlottetown and Quebec City, which negotiated the details of Confederation. McGee called for the creation of a new Canadian nationality. His remarks then are worth revisiting now in the wake of Donald Trump's lunatic rumblings about Canada becoming the fifty-first U.S. state.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted in 2007. Its recurring theme is that Indigenous peoples have the right to dignity and self-determination, and that no actions regarding their persons or lands should be taken without their “free, prior and informed consent.” Canada became a signatory in 2014, but the... Continue Reading →
Maclean’s magazine hosted its annual Parliamentarians of the Year Award in Ottawa early in November 2017. The magazine presented a lifetime achievement award to Monique Bégin, who served as an influential cabinet minister in Pierre Trudeau’s governments, most notably as the minister of health and welfare. After leaving politics in 1984, Bégin pursued an academic career, including... Continue Reading →
It was 150 years ago, on November 6, 1867 that the Parliament of Canada convened for the first time in a made over lumber town called Ottawa. Recently, on the anniversary of that historic day MPs celebrated with former prime ministers Joe Clark, John Turner, Brian Mulroney and Paul Martin looking down from the visitors’ gallery.... Continue Reading →
Agnes Macphail, in 1921, was the first woman elected to Canada’s House of Commons. She was a progressive and a renowned orator. These are brief excerpts from speeches Macphail made in the House of Commons regarding divorce laws.
MP Arnold Chan died of cancer in September 2017 at the age of 50. A few months earlier, he rose to speak in the House of Commons. He was to address a motion put forward by the Conservative opposition criticizing the Liberal government’s record on the economy, but he used most of his speaking time... Continue Reading →
As Hitler attacked the Jews in the 1930s many of them sought refuge in other countries, including Canada. This country turned them away. That was deeply painful to A. A. Heaps, a CCF MP from Winnipeg, who rose to criticize the government’s inaction. Heaps was one of the few Jewish Members of Parliament. "Never have... Continue Reading →
In 1917, there was a divisive debate in Canada over military compulsory conscription. It was led by Conservative cabinet minister Arthur Meighen, who had drafted the legislation. That bill became the centrepiece of the bitterly contested "khaki election" which occurred in December 1917. The Conservatives won the election but divided the country. Brilliant, opinionated, and... Continue Reading →
