Blog Posts by Andy Radia

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAOThe Harper government has signed on the dotted line but the NDP is still fighting the battle.

The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA) is front and centre in the House of Commons, on Thursday, the NDP introduced a motion urging the government to inform China that it will not ratify the agreement in its current form.

[ Related: Canadians see a land of opportunity in China ]

Critics of the controversial agreement, signed by the government last September, say that the deal hasn't been debated in the House, that it's not reciprocal and that it would allow Chinese companies to buyout Canada's natural resource sectors.

The most controversial issue, however, seems to be a provision in the treaty that would allow Chinese companies to sue Canadian governments — in front of a third-party arbitrator — if the government does anything that threatens the company's profits.

Left-leaning organizations, such as Leadnow and the Council of Canadians, are asking the

Now, this is what you would call a 'big oops.'

A respected Liberal MLA running for re-election in British Columbia has inadvertently been directing supporters to a hard-core porn website.

According to CBC News, Linda Reid's campaign website is located at LindaReid.ca. Unfortunately, her personal Facebook page and website had listed her campaign website as www.lindareid.com — a website filled with pictures of what appears to be teenage girls partaking in graphic sexual activities.

[ Related: B.C. NDP axe Dayleen Van Ryswyk for remarks targeting aboriginals ]

At first, Reid suggested she had been hacked, but the Liberal Party later admitted that it was more likely that a campaign staffer made a simple typo. Indeed, lindareid.com, has been registered and owned by the same person since 2010.

Reid shouldn't feel too bad — as we move forward in the digital age, web domain gaffes are likely to become more commonplace in Canada's political sphere.

We've already seen a couple of them:

Former Prime Minister Kim CampbellCanada has had it's share of battles with the United Nations in recent years so it might be nice to a 'friend' on the inside.

According to Embassy News, former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Kim Campbell has confirmed that the federal government is "nominating" her to be a candidate for the position of Executive Director for the UN's Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — also known as UN Women.

Several English-language news sources in Azerbaijan published stories April 12 suggesting that Ms. Campbell was a main candidate for the job.

“It's a marvelous opportunity for anyone who wants to work for the advancement of women, but there will be many strong candidates, and it's very early in the process,” Ms. Campbell said in an emailed statement.

According to the UN Women website, the successful candidate will oversee an annual budget of US$500 million and work on international gender equality and women empowerment initiatives and monitoring.

The full Embassy

Explosion at Boston Marathon (Reuters)Tragedy has struck at the storied Boston Marathon.

At about 2:50 p.m. Monday afternoon, two separate explosions have killed at least two people and injured more than 100 near the finish line of the annual race.

[ Related: Two blasts rock Boston Marathon, at least 2 killed, 23 injured ]

There were about 2,000 Canadians registered for the race; one of those Canadians was Conservative MP Ryan Leef. He spoke to Canoe.ca.

"I didn’t hear the explosion. We heard the emergency personnel responding and they were coming from every direction. I probably had 1,000 runners around me at that point," he said.

"For some people, Boston will be the greatest accomplishment of their lives. People train for a lifetime to run Boston. It is one of the oldest marathons on record. People put a lot of hard work and effort into it. It is a celebration for Boston, it is a celebration for the community, it is a celebration for the runners and their families. And to have it absolutely stripped away like that, it

Justin Trudeau addressed the media, on Monday afternoon, after his first day in Parliament as the Liberal Party leader.

The large media throng were quick to ask him about the Tory attack ads, released just hours after he won the leadership on Sunday evening.

[ Related: Tories release first attack ads against Justin Trudeau: “He’s in way over is head” ]

The ads — which show one clip of Trudeau doing a striptease and another of him saying that "Quebecers are better than the rest of Canada because, ya know, we’re Quebecers or whatever" — are being widely criticized on social media.

The striptease was part of a fundraising gala, and the quote about Quebecers was taken way out of context.

According to CBC News, Trudeau said that using a fundraising event to criticize him shows "bad judgment." He also said that people across the country are tired of such attacks and that he'll put out a "positive vision" to counter the ads.

Trudeau's press conference came about 45 minutes after he asked his

Well, that didn't take long.

The Tories have released their first attack ads against Justin Trudeau, less that 24 hours after the Liberals elected him as their new leader.

Incidentally, the striptease, in the video, is from a 2011 "What a girl wants" fundraising gala to raise money to fight liver disease. Trudeau was on stage while guests bid to have lunch with him — he raised $1,900.

And the quote about Quebecers being better: that was sort of taken out of context. As explained by the National Post, that line comes from a 1999 interview where Trudeau was paraphrasing his father.

The YouTube ads are paid for by the Conservative Fund of Canada — the fundraising arm of the Conservative Party — and links to an associated website called justinoverhishead.ca.

The website asks for donations of $5, $10 or $15 "so more Canadians can watch" the ads.

[ Related: Y! exclusive: Tory MP says Justin Trudeau ran on his celebrity status, hasn’t demonstrated substance ]

The Liberals — like the rest of

Justin Trudeau wins Liberal leadership in convincing fashionBoom or bust?

Is Justin Trudeau going to follow in the footsteps of his father?

Or will he become a footnote in history like other promised Liberal 'saviours' such as Turner, Martin and Ignatieff?

[ Related: Can Justin Trudeau win the 2015 federal election? ]

It's probably to soon to tell, but you can bet that Team Trudeau has a plan in place to avoid the latter.

Here's what that plan might entail:

1. Get Trudeau out of the 'Ottawa bubble'

Much will be made about Trudeau's first question as leader during question period in the House of Commons on Monday.

But that's not where Trudeau will make hey. As the leader of the third party, he's not going to garner a lot of attention in Parliament.

As explained by the Globe and Mail, Trudeau's team plans to have him crisscrossing the country to engage Canadians directly, energize local riding associations and continue fundraising.

His 'celebrity status' is his strength and the Liberals need to take advantage of that.

[ Related: Sophie Greogoire:

Justin Trudeau wins Liberal leadership in convincing fashion

Liberals across the country are probably feeling good about themselves today.

Last night, in convincing fashion, the party elected Justin Trudeau as their new leader.

Moreover, they had more votes cast in their leadership race than both the Conservatives and the NDP, and they Liberals riding high in the polls.

[ Related: Now it begins: Justin Trudeau elected new leader of Liberal Party of Canada ]

But can they sustain this momentum for the next two years? Will Justin Trudeau be Canada's next prime minister in 2015?

We asked our political panel that very question. Here are their responses:

Gerry Nicholls, political analyst, former Vice President of the National Citizens Coalition:

It’s highly unlikely he’ll be Prime Minister in 2015. More likely, he will draw support away from the NDP and help Harper remain Prime Minister. But in 2020, he could be in a position to take it all.

Alex Tsakumis, political analyst, radio host:

No. He will exchange ridings with Mr. Mulcair, in Quebec and