Rep. Ralph Norman, among House's most conservative, set to enter South Carolina governor's race
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, speaks to reporters following his White House meeting as Republicans work to push President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts across the finish line even as conservative and moderate GOP holdouts slow that effort, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: pubinfo.section: cms.site.custom.site_domain : thestar.com sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false firstAuthor.avatar :
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National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
Article content The province of Ontario already mandates three buildings on a residential lot, the bureaucrats told Drew, so what's the big deal about adding four? His rebuttal: 'Then what's the big deal about adding five? I mean, where does it stop? And when do you get to say enough's enough; that we have processes in place that allow us to look at sewer capacity, that allow us to deal with parking, that allow us to deal with garbage control? Article content 'We hope to work with the federal government — who wants to truly be a partner in helping build more housing — without jamming down our throats something residents don't want,' pleads the veteran mayor. Article content To that end, after Carney took power, the mayor sent a letter — as yet, unanswered — to the government, asking for a re-evaluation of this rigid approach to the housing accelerator fund. Article content Drew has previously worked with Gregor Robertson, former mayor of Vancouver and now Carney's point man on housing and infrastructure. He's optimistic Robertson will bring practical insights about the correlation between affordable housing and density to the federal table. I noted that if increased density brought affordability, Vancouver would be cheap by now. Article content 'I think the benefit of having a fresh government,' Drew offers, 'is they can come in and say, 'Listen, we looked at the program … while we appreciate the intention the past government was trying to employ here, we think there's a better way of working with municipalities, allowing them the flexibility to determine how to accomplish the goal. We'll set the goals and then we'll hold them to account.'' Article content Drew's suggestion echoes what I heard Pierre Poilievre say in the last election campaign. But, we agree, there's nothing wrong with the Liberals stealing good ideas from the Conservatives. Article content While the housing accelerator initiative is the focus of Windsor council's attention, Drew's not happy these blanket zoning mandates are being applied to other programs — including federal public transit and housing infrastructure funding available to municipalities. Article content 'And it gets even better,' Drew continues, his tone increasingly agitated. 'Guess who doesn't have to do this? The entire province of Quebec. They have an exemption. They carved out a different pathway … four units as of right was not a requirement in the province of Quebec.' Indeed, Premier Francois Legault trumpeted his $900-million deal with Ottawa as being 'free of conditions.' Article content The economy of Windsor has taken a sharp downturn in the past 18 months. Before Donald Trump's re-election, the Conference Board of Canada predicted Windsor would be the fastest-growing city by GDP of the 24 big cities they studied. 'We had the battery factory well under construction,' Drew reports, 'and we've got the Gordie Howe bridge that is winding up construction and should open officially the first week of December this year. Article content 'But the reality is, there's a lot of fear here,' he shares. 'Our unemployment rate was almost 11 per cent and people are in rainy day mode. People are pinching their pennies … The housing market is very slow and everyone's just in a wait-and-see mode.' Article content Property developers are on standby, he says, waiting to see if the Carney Liberals will cut development charges by 50 per cent at the municipal level (as promised during the election campaign), and whether the feds will offer low-interest loans for multi-storey residential units. Article content
National Post
8 hours ago
- National Post
Michael Taube: No, Globe and Mail, Mark Carney isn't the second coming of Brian Mulroney
Mark Carney has been prime minister of Canada since March. He's been called many things by many people in this short time period. It never came to mind that he would be described as a 'progressive conservative' along the lines of Brian Mulroney. Article content This, in a nutshell, is the nonsense that the Globe and Mail's editorial board is currently peddling. Article content Article content 'That Mr. Carney was going to drag the Liberal Party back to the centre after years of an NDP-lite government under Mr. Trudeau was to be expected,' a June 28 Globe editorial noted. 'But more than mannerisms have changed. Since April, the Prime Minister has cut personal income taxes, boosted defence spending dramatically, pledged to cut the cost of the federal bureaucracy, tightened immigration rules, eliminated federal barriers to internal trade, created a framework for breaking the stasis on big national projects and signaled that he will dismiss underperforming top bureaucrats,' they wrote. Article content Article content The Globe's editorial board suggested 'that's an agenda that Brian Mulroney could have endorsed.' Article content Article content This analysis likely raised a few eyebrows, and not just in the Mulroney household. Alas, the editorial writers then flipped their collective wig with this bizarre assessment. 'In fact, it overlaps a good deal with the actual governing record of his Progressive Conservatives. Mr. Carney is a Liberal but, in the early going, he looks to be governing much like a Red Tory — a progressive kind of conservative.' Article content We shouldn't be surprised by the Globe's over-the-top analysis of Carney's leadership. It's become the raison d'être of this once-venerable publication to carry water for this particular prime minister. Article content Nevertheless, let's be serious about our national leader. Carney is certainly a progressive, but he's no 'progressive conservative' in any way, shape or form. Article content Left-leaning progressive conservatives, or Red Tories, generally combine two ideological components: classical conservative sensibilities (espoused by High Tories like philosopher Edmund Burke and former U.K. prime minister Benjamin Disraeli) and socialist-type policies such as government intrusion and developing a social safety net. Article content Article content As Gad Horowitz, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, wrote in the May-June 1965 issue of the defunct left-wing magazine Canadian Dimension, 'socialism has more in common with Toryism than with liberalism, for liberalism is possessive individualism, while socialism and Toryism are variants of collectivism.' Article content Article content Modern conservatism has little in common with classical conservatism. The former has largely incorporated classical liberal and libertarian ideals into its main ideology, while maintaining a smattering of social conservative principles related to individuals and families. That's why modern conservatives typically champion small government, lower taxes, free markets, private enterprise, greater individual rights and freedoms and so forth. Article content Carney doesn't fit into these conservative-leaning parameters. His progressive values do fit within the context of the modern Liberal Party of Canada. While he's not exactly the same as Trudeau, I pointed out in a March 16 National Post column that they're 'remarkably similar.' How so? In my estimation, 'they're both left-wing, pro-government intervention, distrust privatization and free markets, favour wealth redistribution, champion radical environmentalist policies, support woke ideology and political correctness — and more.' That's what today's Liberals basically stand for, and Carney's personal and political record fits like a glove.
Winnipeg Free Press
19 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Man with mental health issues found naked in Minnesota Capitol, raising new security concerns
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A naked man with apparent mental health issues was found in the Minnesota State Capitol late at night, officials said Saturday, raising questions about security after the top Democrat in the state House was killed in what authorities have called a political assassination. The discovery just six weeks after the fatal shooting of Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman prompted the top House and Senate Republican leaders to demand answers about how it happened and what steps might be taken to prevent it from happening again. The man was found in the Senate chamber around 11:30 p.m. Friday, the chief House sergeant-at-arms, Lori Hodapp, said in an email to representatives. 'The individual made statements indicating a belief that he was the Governor, among other remarks, and was found disrobed,' Hodapp said. Capitol Security responded promptly, she said, and the man was taken to a St. Paul hospital for evaluation. He was deemed not to be a threat to himself or others and was released, but he returned to the Capitol grounds at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. 'An investigation is currently underway to determine how the individual gained access to the Senate Chamber and Capitol facilities after hours,' Hodapp wrote. 'We are examining all aspects of this incident to address any security concerns.' The sergeant-at-arms also said the man had an active probation-violation warrant from Wisconsin on his record, but that it did not initially allow for his transfer. It has since been updated, she added 'and appropriate measures will be taken upon next contact.' 'It's frustrating that an individual with a criminal history was able to allegedly vandalize the Capitol and unlawfully trespass in the Senate chamber without being taken into custody,' Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth, of Cold Spring, said in a statement. 'Anyone who trespasses in any building — let alone the State Capitol — should be arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law, and I look forward to learning why this did not take place in this highly disturbing incident.' GOP Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, also expressed disappointment. 'We are living in a heightened threat environment,' Johnson said in a statement. 'I expect the State Patrol and Capitol Security teams will thoroughly review what happened and give Capitol officials and staff, and the public, their assurances that this will not happen again.' The head of the State Patrol, Col. Christina Bogojevic, said there was no immediate indication that the man broke into the Capitol, which is open to the public during business hours. She said officials were reviewing security video to try to determine his exact whereabouts while he was inside. Bogojevic said the man was nonviolent when he was spotted on the Capitol grounds Saturday morning, and he was taken back to the same hospital for another evaluation. 'The safety and well-being of everyone who works at and visits the Capitol is our top priority,' Bogojevic said in a statement. 'We take this situation seriously and are committed to understanding how it occurred.' Legislative and administration leaders have begun discussions about whether security at the Capitol and for lawmakers should be tightened following the June 14 shootings that left Hortman and her husband dead, and a state senator and his wife seriously injured. Authorities say they were attacked at their homes by a man disguised as a police officer. The alleged gunman, Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, is facing federal and state murder charges and other counts. His lawyer says he plans to plead not guilty at his federal arraignment, which has been rescheduled to Aug. 7 from Sept. 12.
