Charles Pascal writes that there were several low points in the Ontario election campaign. However, When Horwath said in defence of her non-platform that she “walks in the footsteps of Tommy Douglas,” I felt faint with incredulity as I instantly recalled my most treasured moment when it comes to my
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: The Norwegian Model
As a truly nasty fight takes shape over the Northern Gateway, Mitchell Anderson writes that there was always another way. Call it the Norwegian Model — and it contains of three distinct lessons which Stephen Harper ignored: Lesson 1: Norway built pipelines — to Norway Back in the early 1970s,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Clearing Out The Rot
A number of shibboleths fell with the election of Kathleen Wynne. The most insidious of them was the notion that the words “tax” and “theft” are synonyms. Linda McQuaig writes: The centerpiece of this ideological orthodoxy has been an almost phobic attitude towards taxes. The vilification of taxes has profoundly
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
This was supposed to be a banner year for the Harper government. It hasn’t turned out that way. Chantal Hebert writes: Time and time again over the past parliamentary year the government has turned what could have been policy gold into lead. As often as not, a chronic incapacity to
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: He Can’t Let Go
Lawrence Martin writes that, if logic prevailed, Stephen Harper would be heading for the exit — particularly in the wake of Ontario’s recent election: You don’t have to be a reader of tea leaves to see the message. Hardly anyone is talking about it, but these and many other considerations
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Driving Him Crazy
Popular wisdom holds that Stephen Harper’s incandescent hatred of Pierre Trudeau is rooted in the National Energy Program. But, Michael Harris writes, it goes much deeper than that: Stephen Harper’s real fight is not with the Supreme Court per se, but with the 1982 Constitution that created the charter. The
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: There Is Much At Stake
Kathleen Wynne’s victory, Murray Dobbins writes, offers hope — not just to Ontario, but to the rest of Canada: While the right’s hardliners may be lighting their hair on fire, citizens on the other hand may actually get to see what governments used to be like. There is, of course,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Politics Of Resentment
Doug Saunders writes, in the Globe and Mail, that the politics of resentment is tearing modern conservatism asunder. The argument is about immigration; and it was apparent last week in Washington with the fall of Eric Cantor. There are now two distinct camps: One group: argues that immigrants tend to
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Let’s Hope They Draw The Right Lessons
Ontario — and Ontarians — are lucky. So writes Gerry Caplan: The Liberals’ luck is also Ontario’s luck. The Conservatives, and a good number of observers, believed Tim Hudak would emerge with the most seats, though not a majority. By parliamentary tradition, the Lieutenant-Governor would have been obliged to ask
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: His Cheese Is Slipping
Not long ago, Stephen Harper mused about scoring a hat trick in Ontario — a Tory at Toronto City Hall, a Tory at Queen’s Park and himself — the Big Cheese — in Ottawa. This morning, Rob Ford is in rehab; Tim Hudak has resigned; and Stephen Harper — who
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Hudak And Zycher
One of the “bright lights” behind Tim Hudak’s one million jobs plan is Benjamin Zycher. Linda McQuaig writes: His sensibilities are closer to the Old South than Ontario; he once described Michelle Obama as a product of “lifelong affirmative-action coddling,” suggesting she only got her Princeton degree “because of her
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Suppository Of All Wisdom
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott visited Ottawa on Monday. He and Stephen Harper got along famously. Abbott called Harper, “an “exemplar” and a “beacon for centre-right parties around the world”. Why? Because the prime minister is a climate change denier. Nothing will prevent Harper from developing the oil sands, just
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Preview Of Coming Attractions
As the Ontario election campaign runs down, Kathleen Wynne says that a vote for the NDP is a vote for Tim Hudak. And Andrea Horwath says that Ontarians don’t have to choose between “corrupt” and “crazy.” The dilemma facing Ontario’s progressives, Chantal Hebert writes, will raise its head again in
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Chicken Hawk
Last week, Stephen Harper bloviated about the evils of Communism and Vladimir Putin, in particular. Michael Harris writes that it was all surreal: Our 1950s prime minister has even taken us back to the political rhetoric of suburbia’s golden age. It’s like General Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers are back
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Self Interest Is Their Only Interest
The Harper government is all about politics, all the time. Policy is not about improvement. And it’s certainly not about seeking out expert advice. It’s about exploiting personal advantage. Consider the proposed prostitution legislation, Bill C-36. Michael den Tandt writes: At a stroke, the Harper government has won itself and
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Name That Will Live In Infamy
We once had to wait weeks, Andrew Coyne writes, for a new Harperian abuse of power. Now it happens daily. The latest example is the government’s proposed legislation on prostitution: It was expected the government would opt for the “Nordic model,” criminalizing the purchase of sex rather than the sale,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Living, Breathing Dinosaur
Stephen Harper has always suffered from delusions of grandeur. Linda McQuaig writes: Relatively little has been said about his grandiosity. Only months after becoming prime minister in 2006, he showed it off in an overseas speech that attracted surprisingly little attention in Canada. Outlining his plan to turn Canada into
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: His Way
Much has been written about Stephen Harper’s increasing isolation. Michael Harris writes that isolation was in plain sight when Harper chose Canada’s new privacy commissioner: The man named as Canada’s new privacy commissioner, Daniel Therrien, placed dead last in the competition for the job in the opinion of the selection
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Worst Choice
Kathleen Wynne gave a less than stellar performance in last night’s Ontario Leaders Debate. But, this morning, even John Ivison at the National Post writes: The PC leader spent the evening moving his arms around, as if he were about to break into Simon Says. He looked slightly swivel-eyed when
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Turn Of The Screw
Yesterday, Barack Obama announced that the United States is moving to restrict the emissions of its greatest polluter, the coal industry. The objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal by 30% in the next sixteen years. Stephen Harper responded by saying that Canada already restricts emissions from coal.
Continue reading