Author: Peter Lowry

We’re not talking Kansas here, Toto. It’s true, blue Alberta that is today’s Land of Oz. And its yellow brick road meanders through the tar sands that can destroy our planet. And the wicked witch of the west is the premier who denies global warming. She can even deny the

There seem to be no barriers that money cannot erase. Yesterday, we were talking about the frustrations with change and the situation of Canadians being unable to change their constitution. What we should not be doing is constantly bribing provincial bodies with federal funds. A case in point is reasonably

The other day, I mentioned that Oliver Mowat, Ontario’s premier for much of our country’s formative years back at the end of the 19th Century, fought with prime minister John A. Macdonald over provincial rights. At the time, he was right. In today’s world, he would be very wrong. What

When I was working for a computer company back in the 1970s, our manufacturing manager came into my office one day with an idea. He had looked ahead at our manufacturing situation and all he could find was bad news. The markets were changing. Desk top computers were popping up

This is not to complain about John Fraser’s performance as interim Ontario liberal leader at Queen’s Park. John has been doing his usual good job without much resources. It is just that the sooner we can have a new leader in place at Queen’s Park the better. We have to

You are never sure who is in with Ontario premier Doug Ford. Here he is breaking up the confusion over who does what for whom in Peel Region. He is making Brampton and Mississauga free-standing cities. He has even appointed an expensive group of overseers to make it all happen

Federal conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has had one objective in his life since leaving the University of Calgary. He wants to be prime minister of Canada. He seemed to be on his way to his objective last fall when he won the leadership of the conservatives. Only now are conservatives

Not being a fan of the new Toronto mayor, all I can do is commiserate with my Toronto friends. The truth is that Olivia Chow has taken on a task well beyond her capabilities. She was never a good councillor when she was on city council. She was waste of

The conservatives at Queen’s Park must have spent a busy day last Friday presenting all their close friends who happen to be lawyers with King’s Counsel (KC) designation. They got so enthusiastic for it they even made the mistake of giving the designation to Caroline Mulroney who has never taken

The wife and I just got back from a busy long weekend in Toronto. It has been a tradition for many years to spend an afternoon at Woodbine Race Track. And we did it up strong because there was also a new casino to check out. That was the only

Just some thinking today about where our parliament might be heading. In a polarized situation such as the Canadian parliament, it would not take the transfer of many seats to upset the liberals and transfer the largest number of seats—but not a majority—to the conservatives. That thought leads us to

There seems to be some confusion around what kind of voting prime minister Justin Trudeau might be promoting these days. All I have ever heard him promote was ranked ballots. Which just goes to prove that he is no student of voting systems. What former conservative leader Erin O’Toole was

There must be more serious financial problems than we thought at the Toronto Star. We could have switched to electronic distribution several years ago, but instead maintained a very expensive subscription. I have always admired the Bitove family that is currently at the helm of Torstar. And I was delighted

Canadians live in a wonderful country. And it sure isn’t broke. Neither its financial wellbeing, nor its physical condition, nor its governing structure are broken. Only a foolish demagogue would be out on the barbeque circuit this summer telling Canadians that their country is broke. Canada always rates high with

This is a follow-up on the disastrous mayoralty byelection in Toronto the other day. And it was a disaster. It was never the 102 candidates to be mayor, though that part was amusing. It just goes to prove that in a true democracy, anyone can run for elected office. It

If about a third of the registered voters go to vote and just more than a third of them vote for the winning candidate, what credibility does that person have in office? Follow the figures and you find that the winning candidate was elected by about fifteen per cent of

When life deals you lemons, you are sometimes awash in lemonade. Even with the legislature shuttered for the summer, premier Ford hangs heavy over Ontario. He is that slow, overweight kid from down the street, who is always it in an imaginary game of hide and seek. And, you can’t

Canadians climb mountains seeking leadership. We have seen the problems at all levels. In our communities, in our provinces and across our country, we feel the same frustrations. But resolutions are few. The byelection in Toronto is our most recent failure. The joker running Queen’s Park is a constant reminder

The other day writer Althia Raj wrote an opinion piece in the Toronto Star about a possible cabinet shuffle by Justin Trudeau. I was pleased to see the research that she had done on the subject but it she did not seem to go far enough. I think the shuffle

What a wonderful idea. We hear that Meta is getting out of the news business. It has something to do with the passing of a bill in Canada that says people who use other people’s news should pay for it. I approve of that. I would object to it if