Domestic Politics

Anyone who knows me personally is aware that I am a longtime, admittedly partisan Liberal. Since I was seven years old, I have viewed the Grits as the "good guys", the happy, centrist medium in between the centre-right Conservative Party and the left-wing New Democrats.

The nascent Liberal government has prided itself on reversing the legacy of the previous Conservative government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has done everything from promoting a gender-equal cabinet, committing to cut methane emissions by 45 per cent, personally welcoming Syrian refugees, reaffirming Canada's pursuit of a seat on the UN Security Council, and beginning the process of a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. However, the Prime Minister has been deafeningly silent about the arms deal in which Canadians manufacture military weapons and vehicles for Saudi Arabia, an authoritarian state known for numerous human rights violations. Those concerned about the deal believe there is a concern that these Canadian-made weapons could be used by the Saudi regime against their own citizens in instances of dissent.

Once an occurrence which would take place twice over the last decade, The First Ministers' meeting has become a fixture of the new governing approach taken by the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. After their second meeting on the topic of climate change, Canada's premiers and the federal government have now inked out an eight-page set of standards for a nationwide climate strategy. The question remains, though; will the premiers put their money where their mouths are?