Ontario wants to retaliate against states with Buy American provisions

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 25/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Retaliation against U.S. “protectionist measures” has already begun by the Ontario government.

   Premier Kathleen Wynne said her Liberal government will target states that adopt Buy American provisions with regulations that reduce procurement opportunities proportional to the restrictions imposed.

   International Trade Minister Michael Chan said the policy outlined in a bill will “ensure that Ontario businesses and workers have access to other markets and are treated fairly when operating within those markets.”

   The aim is to create a “level playing field” for Ontario and the U.S. but opposition politicians say it could be a risky move.

   Such issues should be dealt with by the Canadian government, not the provinces, as it “might cause some bigger problems for the nation,” said socialist New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath.

   “When jobs and opportunities for Ontario workers are threatened, my government will always respond,” Wynne said.

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Ontario Conservative's turmoil continues; Patrick Brown seeks to regain leadership

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 18/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   The Ontario Conservative party’s disarray continues after former leader Patrick Brown seeks to win his job back and clear his name of sexual misconduct allegations.

   Brown, 39 and single, has entered the race to select a new leader on March 10 even as interim leader Vic Fedeli expelled him from the party.

   He left his job on Jan. 25 after CTV News reported that two young unnamed Barrie, Ontario women accused him of inappropriate behavior from years ago.

   Staunchly denying the allegations and after some of the report’s facts have been challenged for accuracy, Brown said he is suing the network.

   “You lied – you defamed me,” an embattled Brown said after several witnesses have also contested the allegations by the women who have not taken their complaints to the police, as Brown has urged them to do.

   Others in the leadership race are ​Tanya Granic Allen, Christine Elliott, Doug Ford and Caroline Mulroney ahead of the June 7 provincial election.

   Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is looking into “troubling allegations” of sexual assault complaints against a former unidentified Liberal cabinet minister from 12 years ago.

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Oh, say can you see the new gender neutral words in O Canada?

   Canada column for Sunday, Feb. 4/18

   THE CANADIAN REPORT

   (c) By Jim Fox

   “O Canada,” the country’s national anthem, is going to be reworked to make it more gender neutral.

   For the sake of political correctness, the Senate has approved a bill to change the second line of the anthem from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command.”

   The change fulfills the dying wish of Liberal politician Mauril Belanger who had sought the change for years.

   It gained more urgency when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and it was passed by the Commons two months before his death.

   Also in a case of correctness, Halifax councillors decided to immediately remove a statue of Edward Cornwallis from a downtown park.

   This followed protests to end the reverence of colonial figures as part of reconciliation with the country’s native people.

   After a 12-4 vote, the bronze figure of Halifax’s contentious military founder was placed in storage until a decision is made on its fate.

   Cornwallis is viewed by some as a brave leader while others say he was the commander of a bloody and barbaric extermination campaign against Mi’kmaq inhabitants.

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