Stephen Harper has always been up front about one of his political objectives — the destruction of the Liberal Party. Recent polls suggest that he hasn’t succeeded on that front. But, if Frank Graves’ latest numbers are correct, he may well have gone along way to obtaining his second objective
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: Thatcher’s Ugly Children
The longer a leader stays, the more his or her party takes on the leader’s personality. That’s certainly the case with Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. Andrew Coyne writes that, whatever good news the Conservatives may have to deliver, it gets drowned out by their in your face ugliness: How could a
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Trust Deficit
Frank Graves’ latest poll confirms the conventional wisdom: Canadians are losing trust in their democratic institutions. Trust in Canadian democracy has been on the wane for thirty years; but it has continued to decline during Stephen Harper’s time in office: So while the Harper government is by no means responsible
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Fiscal Fever
Earlier this week, Paul Krugman wrote that — in the United States at least — the fiscal fever has broken: So the good news is that this fever, unlike the fever of the Tea Party, has finally broken. True, the fiscal scolds are still out there, and still getting worshipful
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Revolt Down On The Farm
Chris Hedges has a suggestion for anyone searching for a New Year’s resolution: overthrow the speculators. His targets are the big banks, whose reach is global and who brought the economy to its knees in 2008. Now, five years later, they are bigger and their influence is greater. Hedges writes:
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Knowledge Is Their Enemy
Since they came to power, the Harperites have insisted that there are all kinds of things we can’t afford. Their latest claim is that six Department of Fisheries and Oceans libraries no longer serve a purpose. In the digital age, they argue, the libraries simply take up space. But Andrew
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Competence And Intelligence?
At this time last year, Michael den Tandt predicted that Stephen Harper would undertake a charm offensive. Perhaps he was simply hoping for the impossible. For a man who doesn’t like people, Harper has chosen a curious profession. At any rate, den Tandt is not looking for a charm offensive
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Vengence Is Theirs
As part of their tough on crime agenda, the Harperites have instituted mandatory victim fines. They claim that the fines will ensure justice is done. But, Michael Spratt writes, the fines have nothing to do with justice — and judges have refused to impose them: Given the lack of evidence
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Crippling Government
Eugene Lang writes that, if you want to know what Stephen Harper has “accomplished,” all you need do is tally up his tax cuts: Over the past eight years, most major categories of federal taxes have been cut deeply — from personal income taxes, to corporate income taxes, to the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Toxic To Civic Health
The conventional wisdom is that the price of political scandal can be measured in money and reputation. But Robin Sears — an old hand at getting out the vote — writes that the real cost of scandal is deadly: There is an even higher price. The damage that these scandals
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Our Politics And The Loss Of Community
The Tyee has dusted off a piece which Murray Dobbin wrote four years ago. It’s worth a read. Dobbin maintains that progressives have been infected by the same consumer culture that is destroying our politics and our planet: We have known for years that our consumer culture is out of
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Merry Christmas
It seems to me that Dickens had it right. We live in a bipolar world. Your life and the lives of your children depend on good fortune and the world in which you live. It is either the best of times or the worst of times: It is the age
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Whatever It Takes
You would think that Stephen Harper’s recent troubles might spur a little self examination. Not so. Jeffrey Simpson writes: Instead of rethinking, the Prime Minister has doubled down on his long-term strategy, which depends on polarizing the electorate and identifying and mobilizing the Conservative vote. He reshuffled his cabinet to
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Hypocrisy Squared
There was something a little hollow about Stephen Harper’s praise for Nelson Mandela. Murray Dobbin writes: In 1989 Harper was a member of the Northern Foundation (NF) about the same time that he became policy chief of the Reform Party. The exclusive mandate of the NF was to counter the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Mad And Stupid
Ken Dryden writes, in this morning’s Globe and Mail, that Stephen Harper is the prime minister of Canada and Rob Ford is the mayor of Toronto because people are mad as hell: People everywhere are mad. Mad at their jobs, mad at the money they don’t make. Mad at others
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Eminent Victorians
It was a remarkable gaffe — as defined by Michael Kinsley. Last Friday, James Moore gave us a brief statement of what he really believes, unvarnished by spin. When asked about the problem of child poverty, he answered, “The government says it’s my job to feed my neighbour’s child? I
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Birnam Wood Is Moving
The year end interview with CTV’s Bob Fife is off. That’s because there’s nothing Stephen Harper wants to talk about. It’s been that kind of year. It’s been the kind of year that Eric Grenier believes may well have sunk the good ship Harper: The polls have gone from bad
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: In A Dark Place
The Harper Party has changed its name three times. First it was the Reform Party. Then it was the Canadian Alliance. And, finally, it called itself the Conservative Party. The last label is entirely disingenuous. Both Rob Ford and Stephen Harper claim they are Conservatives. Those claims are as fatuous
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Same People
As finance ministers meet today, Jim Flaherty argues that our fragile economy can’t afford enhancing the Canada Pension Plan. It’s the latest version of an old argument — the very argument that got us into our mess in the first place. Paul Krugman writes that Flaherty’s world view is at
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: They Call That Accountability
Last week, the Harper government announced that it was going to tighten the rules on the transportation of petroleum by rail. But, for this government, the proclamation of the rules and the enforcement of them are mutually exclusive propositions. Cutbacks cripple enforcement. David McGuinty says: “My first concern is the
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