People drink beer at tables setup outside a pub in Soho, London, Monday, April 12, 2021. Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo.

Unmasking the Fun Police

There is nothing wrong with choosing to abstain from alcohol and other intoxicating drugs. But taking one’s personal view and masquerading it as scientific, at taxpayers’ expense, and in turn lobbying the federal government for policy change, is another thing.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre waves as he enters a caucus meeting in Quebec City on Sept. 7, 2023. Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press.

We may have underestimated Pierre Poilievre

When Pierre Poilievre became Conservative Party leader almost precisely twelve months ago, many commentators assumed that a considerable share of the country already had well-developed views about him and his politics.