Truth is always the first casualty of war. But, on the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Richard Gwyn writes that truth died before that war started: In Bush’s version of the maxim, it wasn’t the fact every war once begun makes lying inevitable: each side always blames the
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: No Progressive
The Harperites — not surprisingly — accused Thomas Mulcair of traitorous behaviour when, during his recent Washinton gambit, he did not give his full throated support to the Keystone XL pipeline. He was, they said, damaging Canada’s international reputation. But four of Canada’s former prime ministers have recently suggested that
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Escalating War on Labour
We hear that Ontario’s ongoing dispute with teachers is about extra curricular activities and the deficit. It’s about neither. Tom Walkom writes in the Toronto Star: At its heart, this fight is about work. It is about the implicit deal struck between governments, employers and employees more than 50 years
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Disposable Citizen
Several years ago, the American educator Henry Giroux moved to Canada to take the Global Television Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. From there he has continued to write about the land of his birth. His criticisms have been clear-eyed and stark. Writing
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Aboriginal Anger
Stephen Harper must feel he has dodged a bullet. Theresa Spence has left the island; and all appears calm along the banks of the Ottawa River. Now, as he did with the premiers on healthcare, Harper is dictating terms to Canada’s First Nations. Michael Harris writes: Senior Idle No More
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Life In The Land Of The Muzzled
When Hugo Chavez died last week, Stephen Harper said, “At this key juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.” Mr. Harper likes to lecture the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Conservative Snake Oil
For thirty years, neo-conservatives have been selling a myth. From Ronald Reagan, through George W. Bush to Stephen Harper, they have pitched the idea that they know how to manage government finances. Berating the “tax and spend” heresy of a previous generation, they have claimed that they will lead their
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Getting Tired And Tiresome
Lawrence Martin wrote in yesterday’s Globe and Mail that those who predicted Justin Trudeau would be this decade’s Kim Campbell may yet live to eat crow: When the poll numbers first came out last fall showing that Liberals led by Mr. Trudeau would beat all comers, no one took the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Co-operatism Vs Corporatism
Paul Adams writes that it will probably take another election defeat before the Liberals and the NDP decide there is good reason for them to work together. Each party has its champion of cooperation: Like Nathan Cullen in the NDP race last year, [Joyce] Murray has presented a credible progressive
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Manning’s True Colours
After attending the 1993 Reform Party Convention, the late Dalton Camp wrote: “The speechifying gives off acrid whiffs of xenophobia, homophobia, and paranoia—like an exhaust—in which it seems clear both orator and audience have been seized by some private terror: immigrants, lesbians, people out of work or from out of
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Imprisoning The Disadvantaged
Howard Sapers, the ombudsman for Corrections Canada, released a report yesterday on the aboriginal population in this nation’s prisons. His findings should disturb all Canadians, native and non-native. The lead editorial in today’s Toronto Star repeats some of Sapers’ findings: Sapers points out that the 3,400 First Nations, Metis and
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: EI Backlash
Stephen Harper does not play well with others. Chantal Hebert writes: Under Harper, the First Ministers no longer gather and the unsolicited input of the premiers usually falls on deaf ears. The adoption without compensation to the provinces of a potentially costly law-and-order agenda; the imposition of a new funding
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Real Economists
Jim Flaherty dances to Stephen Harper’s tune. Flaherty, after all, is merely a lawyer. Harper likes to remind everyone that he possesses a master’s degree from the University of Calgary. And, during the last election, he promised Canadians that his government would balance the budget by 2015. A real economist
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Too Old Or Too Rigid?
The Pope’s retirement led Gautam Makunda to write that it’s dangerous to allow the old too close to power: Power itself has profound, and usually toxic, effects on those who have it. CEOs are so pampered that comparing them to babies is surprisingly illuminating. What is true for a CEO
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Feed The Hungry
The United Nations Right To Food Envoy, Olivier De Shutter, has taken the Harper government to task for its cavalier treatment of the hungry: The United Nations right-to-food envoy says the Harper government’s controversial decisions to scrap the long-form census and negotiate a free trade deal with Europe will make
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Nation Of Men, Not Laws
Last Wednesday, Stephen Harper made a Sherman statement about those he has appointed to the Senate: “All senators conform to the residency requirements. That is the basis on which they are appointed to the Senate and those requirements have been clear for 150 years,” That’s a bit puzzling. As Tom
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Not Very Bright
The Harperites will troll for votes wherever they can find them. That includes immigrant communities. But, at their core, they fear “the other” — those who don’t see the world as they do. That attitude is most evident in their attitude toward refugees and their access to health care. Carol
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Second Coming
The word on the street is that the Harper government has informed Washington that, if it doesn’t approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, there will be a catastrophic rupture in Canadian-American relations — “the biggest deep freeze in Canada-U.S. relations ever.” Now, there’s a threat which must have caused panic in
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: If Only They Could Ditch The Charter
Frances Russell is puzzled about why we need an Office of Religious Freedom: One question: why not just celebrate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? It’s right there at the top of the charter’s Fundamental Freedoms section: “freedom of consicence and religion.” Were the Conservatives unaware? Had they read it?
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Sleeping Through Disaster
Jeffrey Simpson has an interesting column in this morning’s Globe and Mail. The Conservatives equate majority government with majority support. But, Simpson writes, despite their attempts to change the Canadian character, the Harperites are still a distinct minority: Reading the latest Focus Canada survey from the Environics Institute, however, illustrates
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