Most of the focus on this story has been based on the exclusion of opposition parties from global climate talks. But the bigger scandal should be who the Cons are willing to fund to attend: Canada’s delegation will include members of the governing Conservative Party, as well as business leaders
Continue readingAuthor: Greg Fingas
Accidental Deliberations: New column day
By all accounts, Brad Wall’s greatest political success came when he stood up for Saskatchewan’s interests against international capital and the federal government rather than allowing them to run roughshod. This week, I ask why he hasn’t done the same more often.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your afternoon reading. – Paul Dechene is duly scathing in comparing the City of Regina’s tax giveaways to big business (which are of course added on top of hundreds of millions in provincial tax abatements) to its utter refusal to provide any benefits to non-profit organizations: Been
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Now 2-Tier Health Care
Having linked to Allen Thompson’s column on the Cons’ immigration crackdown this morning, let’s note one of the significant changes the Cons are making for medium-term Canadian residents (emphasis added): Second – The government is introducing the new ““Parent and Grandparent Super Visa,”” which will be valid for up to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Frances Russell laments Stephen Harper’s determination to replace democracy with court rule: Pierre Trudeau started it. Stephen Harper is finishing it off. The “it” is the effective demise of parliamentary democracy and the installation of “court government” ruled by an all-powerful prime minister
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On first steps
It’s undoubtedly great news to see that the NDP is making strides in its Quebec membership numbers even before its leadership campaign has started in earnest. But it’s worth being cautious about talk of tripling the party’s membership from a base which…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Yes, there’s plenty of reason for outrage that the Cons are selling access to cabinet ministers through a high-priced club. But this isn’t the first time Con cabinet ministers have dedicated their profile to the…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25 saw another day of discussion about the Canadian Wheat Board. But this time, the topic of debate was set on the opposition’s terms, as the proceedings focused on Niki Ashton’s motion calling to allow grain producers to vote for them…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading.- Purple Library Guy nicely sums up how the financial industry has become completely detached from anything that could be considered useful in generating real economic growth:When you abstract something, i…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Leadership 2012 Links
A few updates on the NDP’s leadership campaign…First, there’s Pierre Ducasse’s take on what he’s looking for in a candidate – including various factors which might point to numerous candidates ultimately winning his support:Meanwhile, Ipsos Reid offe…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 24, 2011
Monday, October 24 saw another day dedicated largely to discussion on the Canadian Wheat Board – with the Cons simultaneously declaring that there’s nothing to debate and failing to respond to the concerns pointed out repeatedly by the opposition, whil…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On agreed facts
Most of the commentary on the Cons’ publicly-admitted law-breaking has focused on the mere guilty plea itself. (And I’ll post to Sixth Estate’s post as deserving of a look.) But the agreed statement of facts – which the Cons have equally admitted as tr…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to end your weekend.- Jeffrey Sachs muses that the Occupy movement may just be the beginning of a sea change in American politics:Both parties have joined in crippling the government in response to the demands of their wealthy ca…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Paul Wells speculates as to what comes next for the Harper Cons once their first set of legislation is rammed through a majority Parliament. But as Wells notes, we shouldn’t get sidetracked as to where those …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
While the rest of the CFL gets ready for the playoffs, the ‘Riders are facing plenty of questions at the start of a longer-than-usual offseason. And the final defeat of the season left more of those questions up in the air than should have been the cas…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 21, 2011
Friday, October 21 saw another day of debate focused largely on the Cons’ anti-consumer copyright legislation.The Big IssueOnce again, copyright was the largest issue, with Tyrone Benskin summing up what’s wrong with the Cons’ bill in its current form:…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Evening Links
This and that for your evening reading.- Erin offers up his suggestions for the Saskatchewan NDP’s renewal process:The next NDP leader will presumably be met with a barrage of negative advertising from the Sask Party. New Democrats would do well to ele…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Too close to home
Yes, the threat of a slander suit probably had something to do with Gerry Ritz’ desperate retreat after attacking the Canadian Wheat Board. But more important is the significance of Ritz’ allegation based on what his own party has done: if one consider…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Friday reading.- Alice posts the full party spending numbers from May’s election. And the story in fact looks to have been near-maximum spending by each of the four parties then in Parliament – which of course failed to produc…
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