Yesterday, in Montreal, the world got a chance to see the Stephen Harper Canadians have come to know so well — a man who is, above all else, full of himself. More and more, he is adopting the American rhetoric of the City on the Hill — only that city,
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: The Insurgency Has Begun
Today, the House of Commons begins debate on 871 proposed amendments to the Harper government’s Omnibus Budget Bill. The bill is Stephen Harper’s parliamentary version of Shock and Awe. It is an attempt to overwhelm parliamentarians and send them scuttling for the exits. But, like the Bush invasion of Iraq,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Another Take On Wisconsin
Scott Walker’s victory in Wisconsin was not good for unions — in the United States, or here in Canada. And, as Canadian journalist Tony Burman writes: This was a campaign that was bought and sold like a piece of meat, the latest shameful unraveling of once-proud American democratic traditions. In
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Megalomania
In her comment on one of Susan Riley’s recent columns in The Ottawa Citizen, Cathleen Kneen writes: There is a clear pattern here, from proroguing Parliament to the omnibus “budget” bill which (among much else) guts the country’s environmental protection, the purpose of the Conservative government is to undermine and
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Matador Of the North
Michael Harris wrote this week that Stephen Harper is the Matador of the Great White North, treating the opposition — all opposition — like a benighted bull: You know the bull will soon drop to its knees, pink froth at the nostrils, eyes rolling up inside the skull, instinctively thrashing
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Marching Backwards
In terms of social and environmental policy, the Harper government has been determined, from the first day it took office, to lead Canada back to the 19th century. But now American energy consultant Jeremy Rifkin maintains that, economically, Canada is also marching backwards. In an interview two days ago with
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: An Ill Wind
There is a chill in the air this morning. When Scott Walker kept his job last night, it became more difficult for unionized workers — public and private — to keep theirs. There are two sets of numbers everyone should keep in mind. The first number is 52 % —
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Battle Has Begun
And, if we thought we had heard the last of robocalls, we were sadly mistaken. Allison Cross reported in yesterday’s National Post that the electors of Etobicoke Centre are receiving what appear to be voter identification calls from the Conservative Party: The calls, which began on Friday and continued through
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: God On His Side
Canadians have long held that Church and State are separate entities. Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney — both Catholics — were instrumental in legalizing abortion. Perhaps they felt, like many Catholics, that they were not bound by each and every papal pronouncement. Or perhaps they personally held to the tenets
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Austerity For Thee, But Not For Me
On Friday, Gerald Caplan reminded Globe and Mail readers of the deeply rooted hypocrisy at the core of the Harper government. — hypocrisy which has been on display since newly elected David Emerson crossed the floor and entered the Harper cabinet: A Postmedia News analysis reveals that 35 of the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Abstract Thinking
This week, the Harper government legislated Canadian Pacific workers back to their jobs, claiming it was “protecting the economy.” It used the same argument to justify its back to work legislation at Canada Post and Air Canada. But, Tom Walkom writes this morning, General Motors’ announcement yesterday that it will
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Slegehammer To Swat A Fly
In this morning’s Globe and Mail, four former environment ministers –Tom Siddon, David Anderson, John Fraser and Herb Dahliwal — publish a letter which they have sent to Stephen Harper. The four men — two Conservatives and two Liberals — question the wisdom of the Harper government’s new environmental legislation,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: David Wilks and Dr. Faustus
When David Wilks backed down last week — declaring that, despite his previous comments, he supported the Harper government’s Omnibus Budget Bill — Canadians got an inside look at how raw power is exercised in Stephen Harper’s Ottawa. Andrew Coyne writes: Two things are illustrated by this episode. One, that
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Recipe For Economic Disaster
When historians sit down to write about how radical the Harper government was, they will surely focus on how it treated labour. Tom Walkom writes that legislating an end to a railway strike is nothing new in Canada: Canadian governments, whether Liberal or Conservative, have never let railway strikes drag
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Contempt, Period
Tim Naumetz reported yesterday in The Hill Times, that the Conservatives plan to shut down the parliamentary investigation into the purchase of F35 fighter jets: The government is set to shut down a Commons inquiry into Auditor General Michael Ferguson’s scathing report on hidden costs and broken procurement rules in
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Wither The Peacable Kingdom?
When asked to describe his vision of the new Dominion of Canada, John A. MacDonald famously quoted Isaiah: The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Race In The Race
Frank Bruni writes in this morning’s New York Times, that race is still at the center of the American presidential contest: Although race represents a less central dynamic for Obama now than it did in 2008, it’s a factor in his political fortunes nonetheless. It poisons some of his opponents,
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Calvinist Hypocrisy
Nothing betrays the Calvinist-Social Credit roots of the present government more than this week’s Employment Insurance “reforms.” Tom Walkom writes: Behind this week’s changes to Canada’s Employment Insurance system lie bone-headed ideology and contempt. The bone-headed ideology stems from the Conservative government’s primitive, Economics 101 view of the world. The
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Tail Gunner Steve
The Conservatives have now revealed their game plan for fighting seven attempts to overturn results from last May’s election. There is a conspiracy afoot, they say. In a 750 page “brief,” they allege that the Council of Canadians, which is underwriting the challenges to last May’s results, is motivated by
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Sun King And His Chief Courtier
Michael Harris writes that the Sun King is now ensconced on the shores of the Ottawa River. There he sits — amid his munificence, surrounded by sycophants, who are eager to do his bidding. Not the least of these is Peter Kent. But, by far, the Prime Minister’s most enthusiastic
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