The NDP have the spectacular good fortune of never having to worry about actually implementing any of the policies they announce. Good thing too. Jack Layton’s latest policy brain fart is a cap on credit card interest rates at something like 5 percen…
Continue readingAuthor: Aaron Ginsberg
All Politics Is Local: Dead on the Order Paper
A list of bills that die when the writ is dropped follows. A remarkable number of these bills are becoming like Kenny on South Park, dead repeatedly:C4 – Tougher sentencing on violent young offendersC8 – Canada- Jordan Free Trade Agreement – I think t…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: A Most Necessary Election
There are people in this country who believe that the election about to be called is unnecessary. That this election is about political posturing and not about the best interest of the Canadian people. They are wrong. The Harper government has proven…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Ford’s Pipe Dream and Toronto’s Transit Needs
Or I guess I should say tunnel dream. For those of you who are uninitiated in the Toronto’s transit woes. Here’s the deal. The old mayor of Toronto, NDPer David Miller, wanted to build a whole bunch of above ground light rail train lines all around …
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Bev Oda’s Saramago Moment
The late Jose Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel winning author, wrote a book called The History of the Siege of Lisbon. The book centers around the decision of a proofreader to edit the book and history by inserting a tiny little “not” at a crucial turni…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Is Bill C-12 About To Die of Old Age?
While the house is still on vacation, it is not, for once, prorogued. That means there are still bills waiting for them when they get back. One of those bills is Bill C-12 which the Tories are calling the Democratic Representation Act. This is the …
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Strange Weekend News
Quick run down of things catching my eye this weekend:Revolution in an Arab North African country… this could be really good or well, awfulOn a lighter note, archaeologists appear to have found Noah’s stash. No I don’t think this is actually a bibli…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Walks Like A Duck, Talks Like A Duck, Statistically: Chicken
I turned on The Agenda on TVO last night and saw U of T prof David Hulchanski talking about his much publicized report on what he perceives as a growing income disparity in Toronto. It reminded me personally of why I never pursued post-graduate work a…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: 10 Events to Watch in 2011
Not sure what 2011 holds in store for political geeks? Here’s a quick rundown:10. Prairie Punch-ups: Manitoba and Saskatchewan will both go to the polls this fall. Premier Brad Wall will face the voters in November trying to win re-election for the …
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: 11 Policies For Canada in 2011
People keep saying that Canadian politics are stale and boring. Michael Ignatieff needs some ideas just to get people talking. So, here’s a quick list of 11 things that likely won’t get done in 2011 but should be done:Raise the GST to 6%. This one i…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Europe’s Growing Deficit
For once, I’m not talking about the fiscal mess Europe finds itself in. No, the biggest deficit in Europe these days is a democratic one. What am I talking about? Well, it starts with the EU, but that really isn’t new. It is a growing concern as th…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: White Man’s Burden Protocol Should Die
The Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. It has accomplished very little and deserves to die. The problem with the Kyoto Protocol is pretty straightforward: it blames the West for climate change, or more accurately the European world for climate change. Con…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Potash Deal Hits the Wall
“No matter who controls the company, however, the damage to Canada’s reputation as a place to do business is done. Now that the Conservatives have joined the protectionist bandwagon, investors have lost their chief ally in Ottawa. Other countries …
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: The Fighter Jet Farce
There’s a lot of squawk from the right about the virtue of paying billions of dollars to have fighter jets constructed somewhere else. The argument seems to be a) Chretien scrapping the helicopter deal cost us some money, therefore don’t scrap the jet…
Continue readingAll Politics Is Local: Mayor Ford… Ugh
Quick thoughts from a quick election night:I’m putting the over/under on strike days during Rob Ford’s four years as mayor at 150 daysToronto’s political scene is going to have a giant hole without George Smitherman aroundJack Layton, leader of a feder…
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