“I am sure that very few of us consciously contemplated, when we decided to run for public office, that we would find ourselves playing a decisive role in the resolution of a question as awesome as that of life and death. Yet, here we are, with all our individual limitations,
Continue readingAuthor: Joseph Uranowski
The Equivocator: “Pennies 4 Katimavik” Launches Today!
Pennies 4 Katimavik (a campaign spearheaded by Bismah Haq) is officially launching today in Ottawa at 2:30pm (click here for the facebook event.) When I heard about this campaign I was very excited. Axing the program was one of the Harper government’s most maliciously-arbitrary decisions in the 2012 budget. I
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Crash Course History: Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars
Filed under: Video
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Alberta Votes 2012: The lesser of two evils, is still evil.
I came across this condescending and narrow-minded video campaign a few days ago. Albertans vote on Monday so I thought I would commented on it before the polls open in the province of the Great Horned Owl. I have cited Pundit’s Guide’s article Why the Conservatives Love the “Strategic” Voting
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 2 examples of awesomeness from the Alberta Liberal Party
I have listened to this song too many times. It is catchy, makes a lot of good points and contains a few delicious puns. Also from the Alberta Liberals: Tory Or Wildrose? This quiz outlines how regressive the Wild Rose Alliance & Alberta PCs really are. It is simple, well
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Vigilantes and Mercenaries: The Harper Government and the Abdication of Responsibility
With the revelation that Minister Peter MacKay failed to ask many of the obvious/necessary questions when working on the F-35 procurement, the subject of basic ministerial/government responsibility has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late. When I listen to/discuss politics with my friends who are more libertarian-leaning conservatives,
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 5 Questions: Parker Mackay
I first met Parker shortly after the 2011 federal election (specifically on May 17th when we attended the “Liberal Renewal Dinner” in Toronto hosted by the Edward Blake Society.) Parker and I had a great conversation about our Liberalism and we made plans to start-up a Whitby-Oshawa Young Liberals (which
Continue readingThe Equivocator: John Cleese on Creativity
(Via Boing Boing.) Filed under: Politics Tagged: creativity, humour, John Cleese
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Why the Barrie Young Liberals Are Walking to Fight MS
Late last year, one of the parents of a Barrie Young Liberal developed multiple sclerosis. After suffering from two seizures, doctors performed extensive testing on her brain to discover the cause. She was diagnosed with MS. Multiple sclerosis is a frightening and degenerating disease. It impairs the ability of the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: A conversation between Micah Goldberg & Joseph Uranowski on: Progressive Cooperation
Micah Goldberg is one of my favourite people (he has guest blogged for me on a number of occasions.) One of our first conversations together was an argument about some electoral reform proposals I had put forward when I was Education & Government Commissioner on the University of St. Michael’s
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Micah Goldberg: Pennywise Mr. Harper
The end of the penny has caused many important cuts in Steven Harper’s first majority budget to have been buried. CBC funding was cut to the amount of $115 million dollars, $56 million was cut from the Canadian Food Inspections Agency, the Katimavik program was scrapped altogether, the list goes
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 5 Questions: Jonathan Scott
I became a fan of Jonathan Scott’s writing during the Liberal convention at the beginning of the year (he wrote for Ipolitics.ca.) He is currently studying at the University of Toronto (my alma mater) and I had the privilege of meeting him in person during a Queer Liberals event prior
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Thomas Mulcair’s flip-flop on cannabis is disappointing but not surprising
On January 25th, 2012, a survey was released on EndProhibition.ca (a pro-NDP anti-prohibition website) where Thomas Mulcair’s campaign stated that he was in favour of decriminalizing cannabis and was very much in favour of medical marijuana. On March 18th, 2012 Mulcair was doing a t.v. interview with Tom Clark (see
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Banning floor-crossing is silly.
Last November, Mathieu Ravignat (NDP-Pontiac) and Peter Stoffer (NDP-Sackville-Eastern Shore) introduced a Private Member’s Bill that would prevent MPs from switching parties (crossing the floor as it is called in our parliamentary tradition.) Some had speculated that since the NDP share many of their policy positions with the Bloc Québécois that
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Rob Anders should resign from the Veterans Affairs Committee
Who is Rob Anders? He was elected MP for the riding of Calgary-West in 1997. Before the 2011 election he was known as the MP who spoke the fewest words in the House of Commons and for being the only member of parliament to vote against making Nelson Mandela a
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Why Nobody Believes the Conservative Talking Points on the RoboCon Scandal.
Mere days ago the Conservative Party finally admitted their guilt in the “In & Out” election fraud scandal (remember that the Conservative Party headquarters was raided by the RCMP.) Months ago, the Conservative Party admitted that they paid to make phone calls in Mount Royal (saying Irwin Cotler was going
Continue readingThe Equivocator: The NDP Leadership Foreign Policy Awards – 2012
The evening of the Academy Awards a good friend and I were reviewing the foreign policy platforms of three NDP leadership candidates, Tom Mulcair, Brian Topp and Peggy Nash. Here are some awards we created for each of the three candidates’ policies: Most impressive foreign policy recommendation: Peggy Nash –
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Micah Goldberg: How bad was this week for the Conservative Government?
It was bad. It was really bad. It was the worst week the Conservatives have had since they became a Majority Government. Bill C-30, the “Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act” allows the Government and Canadian authorities to track the digital footprint of Canadian citizens without a warrant in situations
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Canadian Foreign Policy: Nuance Matters
This video (from April, 2011 before the election) was brought to my attention today. Some thoughts: We should not forget, nor should we let Canadians forget that Stephen Harper lost a seat on the United Nations Security Council, for the first time ever. With the situation in Syria and the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Grant Gordon: The Real New Progressive Politics
These videos are both fantastic for similar reasons. They both show how positive and energetic Mr. Grodon is and how he is the progressive voice that Toronto-Danforth needs in Ottawa. I had the pleasure of spending two days canvassing for Mr. Gordon. The first thing I noticed was that the
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