The trial is set to begin in Sudbury, Ontario on September 7. We would ignore the trial and its political implications if it did not involve the present Premier of Ontario. Mind you Kathleen Wynne will spend most of the trial on the sidelines. She is not charged with a
Continue readingAuthor: Peter Lowry
Babel-on-the-Bay: When Anger Transends.
The anger is in the air in the United States of America. It is frightening. It pits neighbour against neighbour and family against family. It seems to have something to do with a statue and yet has nothing to do with the statue. It reminds me in some ways of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Barrie’s Bad Boy Brown.
There is no reason to worry. The next provincial election is not scheduled until June 7 next year. By then, we should expect that far more Ontario voters are going to realize what a screw-up Brown would be as premier. It is not that he is dishonest, devious and dumb,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Better Living with Bitumen.
Reading an apologist for Alberta’s tar sands exploiters the other day, we learned that the little town of Hardisty, Alberta is the hub of a North American maze of pipelines. This town of 550 people can store up to 25 million barrels of diluted bitumen before sending it east, south
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Can a prince quit being a prince?
Wearing a bowler hat and a trench coat, the Windsor’s Prince Philip walked off into the sunset recently. You would suppose that scene should be followed by the words “Cut” and “Print” but is that how it happens? He might be 96 and well past his prime but is that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trump’s Presidential Pique.
It is not amusing. How long does the world have to put up with the childish back-and-forth of President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Neither of these men is competent enough to be allowed to play with firecrackers let alone weapons of mass destruction. It could be
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Mike Pence demurs.
There is nothing a politician loves more than a boost from the media—especially a newspaper that normally disses him. Vice President Mike Spence considers it a win if the New York Times just mentions his name. For the newspaper to suggest that he might be a Republican candidate for the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Jagmeet’s ‘means test.’
It is a trap that more and more New Democratic Party spokespeople are falling into. By denying universality of programs, they think they are attracting voters from the right. They are not. They are setting themselves up for failure with their traditional supporters. It is a losing proposition. And when
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Diminishing Democracy.
Around the world, from Venezuela to Poland, from Turkey to America, we are watching the destruction of democracy. Those who believe in democracy are routinely arrested, beaten, detained or killed on the streets of once-safe cities. It is a challenge everywhere. There is no safe haven. And Canada is no
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The grassroots of ignorance.
Recently we complained about Opposition Leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer inciting bigotry over the restitution paid to Canadian citizen Omar Khadr. Now we have the less bright of Chuckles’ backbenchers repeating the lies and half truths in ‘penny-dreadful’ mailings to their constituents. We who live in the electoral district of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: She could use her married name.
The question was: What would help Brian Mulroney’s daughter win a seat in the Legislature in the next Ontario provincial election? The obvious answer is to use a different name. It might be a quarter century since Canadian voters turfed Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives (then led by Kim Campbell) and left
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It takes four to replace Mansbridge?
The other day, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that it will take four people to replace long-time news anchor Peter Mansbridge. The question is whether the four are equal to the task? The reality today is that the CBC is doing a far better job with its news website than
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Trump Technique.
The media were all atwitter the other day when they got some leaked transcripts from the White House of conversations President Trump had with other countries’ leaders. They got them and did not understand them. They did not seem to understand the technical term for the technique he was using;
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Money matters maybe.
Never judge a political race by money raised. Whether it is an internal party race for a nomination or a leadership or party fundraising prior to an election, you have to remember that money does not vote. Case in point, the fundraising by each of the four candidates for the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Murray dumps Wynne.
“Don’t let the door handle hit you in the ass on the way out, Glen!” The good news is that Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray is leaving the Wynne cabinet in Ontario. The bad news is that his new job is as executive director of Alberta’s namby-pamby Pembina Institute. It
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Cabal.
Writers search every day for the right words to describe the calamity in the American White House. You can hardly call it an administration. Though there is a school of thought that it might be referred to as a maladministration. It struck me that Mr. Trump might be attempting a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It’s the wrong argument on minimum wage.
Arguing about how many in Ontario work for a minimum wage is silly. Governments always seem to be trailing the curve on this problem. It is the people who are falling behind who need to get ahead of the poverty line. Can you imagine a serious writer suggesting that a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Our poster-boy PM is the answer?
Despite the wild ravings of Rolling Stone Magazine, our Prime Minister has to whip Canada into shape before taking on the added burden of the American presidency. Donald Trump’s job is safe, for now. In corporate terms, Justin Trudeau might be able to pull off a reverse takeover, (That is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Chuckles’ challenges Canadian compassion.
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer will not let it go. He is raising troops among the bigoted to fight against the compensation to Omar Khadr. He must intend to keep scratching at that wound until the pus from it corrupts or repulses all responsible Canadians. What sickens us the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Jagmeet Singh: Not just a pretty face.
The New Democratic Party’s federal leadership race is getting a little more heated. With less than two months to go, the race has taken on some disturbing aspects of the last Conservative leadership in Ontario. It is turning into Jagmeet Singh’s race to win if he is using the same
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