In the news today: Former NDP MP warns: tough times ahead in parliament for the party

By Canadian Press on May 8, 2025.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

NDP faces ‘Parliament from hell,’ says ex-MP

The NDP will return to the House of Commons without official party status at the end of May. The last time this happened was after the 1993 election — a time one former New Democrat MP remembers as “the Parliament from hell.”

Svend Robinson represented Burnaby, B.C., in the House of Commons from 1979 to 2004. He said the party’s devastating losses in 1993 led to a very challenging time in Parliament.

“I remember jumping up and down trying to get recognized by the Speaker from the very back corner of the House. We would get a few questions every week. That was it,” Robinson said.

“Committees, we had no status on committees whatsoever. So it was the same thing there. You could show up at a committee hearing, and if the chair decided to recognize you, you might get a question or two.”

In the last Parliament, the NDP enjoyed the right to ask questions daily in question period and held a seat on each House of Commons committee.

Alberta separation would be unpredictable: experts

As separatist discontent bubbles up anew in Alberta, experts say a vote to sever ties with Canada would pitch the country into unexplored territory on everything from money to First Nations and national parks.

“You’re in terra incognita. You’re off the map when we get to that stage of the proceedings,” said law professor Eric Adams.

“A lot of things are going to be broken on the way out the door.”

The discontent elbowed its way back into the headlines last week, with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals winning another mandate followed by Premier Danielle Smith’s government introducing a bill that would sharply lower the bar for citizens seeking to trigger provincewide referendums.

The bill would change citizen-initiated referendum rules to require a petition signed by 10 per cent of the eligible voters in a previous general election — down from 20 per cent of total registered voters. Applicants would also get 120 days, rather than 90, to collect the required 177,000 signatures.

Canada looks to Europe as world marks end of WW2

After the Second World War came to a close, Canada pulled itself away from Great Britain and planted itself firmly within a North American political and economic compact that generated prosperity for much of the western world for decades.

But as the world marks 80 years since the end of the war in Europe, an increasingly unstable geopolitical climate — and an administration in Washington bent on fighting a trade war with much of the world — has Canada looking back to the continent as a way to preserve peace and prosperity.

“Without a doubt, we certainly have to be much more aware of the possibility of a larger-scale conflict than we’ve seen in many, many years,” said David O’Keefe, a history professor at Marianopolis College near Montreal who studies the Second World War.

Hockey players’ lawyers cross-examine complainant

Defence lawyers are expected to continue cross-examining the complainant today in the sexual assault trial of five hockey players.

The woman, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, agreed under cross-examination Wednesday that she took on a “porn star persona” as a coping mechanism while in a hotel room with the men in June 2018.

The complainant said that was the role the men were putting her into and she believed she wouldn’t be able to leave unless she did what they wanted.

Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Family seeks recognition of pilot honoured in U.K.

There is a street named after him in a British town.

A plaque at the local hospital tells the story of how the 29-year-old pilot saved many lives while sacrificing his own during the Second World War.

There are even talks of building a statue of Darlington’s “Gallant Airman” to honour his life and death.

But William Stuart McMullen, a Canadian pilot officer from Ontario, is little known in his own country.

The Scarborough native hasn’t received widespread recognition for the act of bravery that claimed his life, which did not occur on a combat mission but during a training exercise as he steered his plummeting plane away from a densely populated town.

East Coast Music Awards gala to feature big acts

The annual East Coast Music Awards has returned to Newfoundland, where the gala awards ceremony and several performances will be presented tonight in St. John’s.

Leading this year’s nominations is Enfield, N.S., rapper Classified with eight nods.

Among the East Coast talent expected on stage tonight will be Classified, Jah’Mila, Kellie Loder and The Ennis Sisters.

The awards show and five-day conference, which started Wednesday, has faced turmoil since last fall when some association members complained about a lack of transparency and representation.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025

The Canadian Press

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