Northern Reflections: The Problem of Political Courage

Chantal Hebert argues in today’s Toronto Star that the repatriation of the Constitution in 1981 unleashed a tide of populism which has paralyzed Canada’s parliamentary institutions:

In the three decades since the patriation conference, the parties and the
politicians who have espoused the new culture of populism have thrived;
those who clung to the old ways have wilted. Canada’s

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Northern Reflections: Sophocles Knew How The Story Went

Two weeks ago, I applauded as European leaders finally forced their mega banks to take a haircut. But events this week have illustrated how fragile their plan is. The union is too multifaceted to deal with the extraordinary mess the so called best and brightest have managed to create.

As Tom Walkom points out in The Toronto Star, what began as a noble experiment fell victim to arrogance:

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Northern Reflections: Science is Useful

When the Harper government encounters facts which contradict its preconceived notions, it simply ignores them. That is certainly the case with the government’s tough on crime agenda. As Jeffrey Simpson writes in this morning’s Globe and Mail, homicides in Canada are at their lowest level since 1966; and, because homicide rates are considered a "social barometer,"  those numbers should be

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Northern Reflections: Harpocrisy

Tony Clement was grilled yesterday by a parliamentary committee  reviewing spending for "border security" in his riding. But, as Lawrence Martin writes this morning, "It’s John Baird who is on the hook for G-8 money games." The trouble is that Baird sees only a picayune bureaucratic transgression:

It should be noted that the $50-million was more than just a top-up.
It was the bulk. The

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