Brigette DePape — who held up that Stop Harper sign during the last throne speech — has greeted this week’s throne speech with the scorn it deserves: Prime Minister Stephen Harper is spending over a billion dollars on a Spy Castle made of shiny glass windows, the most expensive Canadian government
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: Bread And Circuses
Yesterday’s throne speech offered little tidbits to various types of voters — cheaper cell phone and cable rates and the right to carry beer across provincial borders. It’s a time honoured political strategy: when the news isn’t good, invite the plebeians to a circus. The truth is, Tom Walkom writes,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: He’s Desperate
Michael Den Tandt writes that today’s throne speech is aimed directly at Justin Trudeau: It also betrays more than a whiff of desperation. For of all the issues the Conservatives could have made their own, few contain more sheer political peril than this. It is a gusher that, once tapped,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Much Is At Stake
After tomorrow’s throne speech, the opposition parties have vowed to hammer the Harper Conservatives. But will they keep the Harperites in their sights, or battle each other? Tim Harper writes that, if the present regime is to fall, either Tom Mulcair or Justin Trudeau has to begin to look prime
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Radical Christian Right
Chris Hedges writes that, if you want to understand what is presently playing out in Washington, you have to understand the Radical Christian Right. They know what they want — and what they want is frightening: There is a desire felt by tens of millions of Americans, lumped into a
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Making The Swamp Bigger
When Canada went to war in Afghanistan twelve years ago, self congratulation was in the air — and journalism did not serve the country well. Jeffrey Simpson wrote in yesterday’s Globe and Mail: The early coverage was largely ahistorical, gung-ho, a big group hug for the Canadians – a travesty
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Middle Class Is Front and Centre
Michael Den Tandt writes that the next election will be about the Canadian middle class. Justin Trudeau has made it his mantra. And now the Conservatives — as they try to take the focus off Mike Duffy and friends and talk instead about “consumers first” — will try to make
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: At The Mercy Of Vengeful Gods?
Gerald Caplan wonders, in today’s Globe and Mail, why the NDP has such a hard time establishing itself outside the prairies. Darrell Dexter’s defeat on Tuesday follows a pattern: It’s not entirely easy to explain, but there are clues. For the four provinces besides Nova Scotia that have ever elected
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Colour It Beige
Lawrence Martin doesn’t expect much from the upcoming throne speech. He predicts that it will be a pretty bland document: If the leaks are to be believed, this Throne Speech will be a bean-counter’s delight, with vote targeting evident in every paragraph. It will feature all kinds of consumer-friendly initiatives,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Reputation In Tatters
Stephen Harper is skipping the Commonwealth Conference. The man who put “royal” back in the navy and the air force doesn’t have time for the Commonwealth. There really is nothing surprising about that. International relations is not the prime minister’s strong suit. As Tom Walkom points out in today’s Toronto
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: They Know Nothing
Former Ontario premier Mike Harris appointed a high school drop out as his first Minister of Education. Stephen Harper has followed in Harris’ footsteps. The other Michael Harris — who writes for ipolitics — notes that, when it comes to science, Harper’s ministers know as much as the benighted John
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Running Scared
It’s clear now that Republicans are trying to upend the constitution by nullifying both an election and a Supreme Court ruling. Joshua Holland writes that, to understand what is behind their quest, you have to understand the Republican base — which is composed of three distinct segments: Democracy Corps –
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Sad And Sorry State Of Affairs
Susan Delacourt’s new book, Shopping For Votes: How Politicians Choose Us And We Choose Them is creating quite a stir. Delacourt’s central thesis is that Canadians no longer act as citizens — with rights and responsibilities — but as consumers, who are motivated by self interest, not the national interest.
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s About His Judgement
Stephen Maher has spent a great deal of his journalistic energy investigating the robocalls swindle. But this week — after a second person was taken to the hospital from Patrick Brazeau’s house — Maher focused on Stephen Harper’s senate appointments: The appointments of Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin were all announced
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Consumers First. Really?
John Ivison recently reported that the Harper government is going to announce a “Consumers First” agenda in the upcoming throne speech. Rick Smith writes that, if there is one person the Harper government hasn’t stood up for, it’s the consumer: Guided by the idea that Ottawa needs to get out
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Will No One Rid Me Of This Meddlesome Reporter?
The man who has prorogued Parliament three times and skipped the UN General Assembly the same number of times is offended by questions. The Canadian Press reports that, when Harper was in New York last week — thumbing his nose at the UN — a reporter for CTV crossed an
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: He’ll Huff And He’ll Puff
Lawrence Martin wondered yesterday what could have possessed Stephen Harper to tell Barack Obama that Canada would not accept a “no” on the Keystone Pipeline: One possibility is that it was just Stephen Harper – who’s rarely prepared to take no for an answer from anyone – being Stephen Harper.
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Crazies Rule The Roost
It has been clear for some time now that the Republican Party is The Stupid Party. But with today’s shut down of the federal government, the Republicans have earned the moniker, The Delusional Party. They are “rebels without a clue,” Paul Krugman writes. Unless they can defund health care, they
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Revolution And The Corporate State
Chris Hedges has no illusions about the power of the corporate state: The state, to protect itself, lies. Politicians, corporations, the public relations industry, the entertainment industry and our ridiculous television pundits speak as if we can continue to build a society based on limitless growth, profligate consumption and fossil
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The International Gasbag
Bob Rae writes that Canada now conducts its foreign policy using a megaphone. It didn’t used to be that way. And it doesn’t have to be that way now: Imagine a different approach. Imagine if we’d kept our small embassy in Tehran open, with a seasoned diplomat and a couple
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