This is embarrassing. The Ontario Liberal government has a cabinet minister responsible for next year’s Pan Am Games who makes the Conservative MPP from Barrie look good. The Liberal cabinet minister is the MPP for Markham-Unionville Michael Chan. English is obviously not his first language. To add the usual rudeness
Continue readingAuthor: Peter Lowry
Babel-on-the-Bay: Popularity versus notoriety in Quebec.
In a news conference the other day, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois was accompanied by her star candidate Pierre Karl Péladeau. She was quoted as saying to the news media that nobody is perfect. Those are likely to be the definitive words of the current Quebec election campaign—along with the visual
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: You can do better Justin.
Now the kids are fighting. Ontario Liberal campaign organizer David MacNaughton is rejecting potential candidates. You get the bellicose complaints of Zach Paikin in Hamilton who is obviously trying to make a name for himself (other than his father’s). And you show up in Trinity-Spadina to try to smooth the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Premier Wynne aspires to be aspirational.
We are not entirely sure whether Ontario Premier Wynne is just breathing hard or seeking to achieve new heights. She told reporters the other day that the Liberals are going to have an aspirational budget. And just because Microsoft’s Canadian spell checker does not recognize the word, the Oxford dictionary
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Fighting the good fight against the Beer Store.
Martin Regg Cohn of the Toronto Star knows how it feels. He has been on the front lines for the Toronto Star long enough that he is showing the tedium of fighting the Beer Store. It is like punching your pillow. It just surrounds your fist and nothing happens. And
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: There’s a hard-ass on the lily-pad.
It would be better to note the resignation of Prime Minister Harper but a change of guard at Finance is a small start. At least we will not have Jim Flaherty croaking from the lily pond any more. Flaherty has been on divergent paths with the big frog Stephen Harper
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Whose robocall are you?
A small change in a robocall the other day was an announcement of the name of a company responsible for the call and a toll-free number to verify the call. And even if you were able to write down the number and you called it, was it real? The truth
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Canadians exit the Khyber Pass.
To the lament of a single bagpiper, Canadians took leave of Afghanistan this past week. We have been aware of being involved since the winter of 2001 when then Defence Minister Art Eggleton admitted that there were Canadian troops fighting in Kandahar Province. For 12 years, Canadian military fought in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: But the Hair heads for the unknown in Ukraine.
There seems to be no limits to what the Hair will do to win votes next year. Like penguins shoving one of their number into the sea to see if he gets eaten, he sent Foreign Minister John Baird to Ukraine first and now he can go. Whatever he thinks
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Comments: We are told we still don’t get it.
The argument continues. People seem to think that federalists will help Quebec Premier Pauline Marois if they involve themselves in the provincial election. If these federalists are from outside Quebec, that might be right. Politicians love to take on bogeymen from some other place that cannot fight back. It is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Hair is hands-off Quebec.
The Globe and Mail reports the Hair is urging federal opposition leaders and premiers to adopt a policy of non-interference in the Quebec provincial election. As a staffer reported, the Prime Minister is obviously trying to rise above the fray and wants the federal side to speak with one voice.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When Liberal infighting is out.
Campaign co-chair for the federal Liberals in Ontario David McNaughton has made his first blunder. When somebody gives you their authority to do a job, you have to do it right. When he told Liberal Christine Innes she cannot contest the nomination in Trinity-Spadina, it made a mockery of Justin
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Rushing to claim victory—in seven months!
Torontonians now have the main contenders for the Toronto mayoralty in October. You hardly need public opinion polls to tell you who are the serious three and the lesser two. With Olivia Chow, Rob Ford and John Tory in the race and Karen Stintz and David Solnacki looking on, the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Hair holidays in South Korea.
With parliament taking spring break from Senate questions and questionable election changes, the Hair and the hairdresser are holidaying in South Korea. It is a welcome respite for the Hair and he is celebrating the occasion by signing a lopsided trade agreement with the South Koreans. It is not the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Péladeau in the steps of John Bassett?
Pierre Karl Péladeau running in Saint-Jérȏme for the Parti Québécois, brings back fond memories of John Bassett. This is the John Bassett that was famously publisher of the Toronto Telegram and the founder of CTV. And he relished having the reputation of being something of a womanizer, a sports enthusiast
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: On protecting Canada’s democracy.
The last serious attempt in Ontario at changing how people vote was brought forward by the McGuinty Liberal government in 2007. It was a foolish and ill-conceived attempt to put a foot in the door for a form of proportional voting. Ontario voters gave the idea the brush-off in the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Péladeau steps up to Quebec election.
Pierre Karl Péladeau scion of the Quebecor millions has agreed to run in Saint-Jérȏme riding for the Parti Québécois in the April election. Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has made the announcement just months after appointing Péladeau head of Hydro-Quebec. The choice of Saint-Jérȏme riding will allow the candidate to get
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The bother of bewildered blogs.
There are bloggers who care. Some will even suppress that overwhelming desire to write about themselves and write lovingly of their country. They are often concerned liberals and progressives. They worry that all political parties are travelling a road to sameness, to the right and to greed and to uncaring.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Watch the Orange Wave wave goodbye.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois has made a critical error. When she called the Quebec election, she did not realize who her enemies really are. Her separatists have not just taken on a novice provincial Liberal Leader Philippe Couilard and an inconsequential center-right Coalition Avenir Québec led by François Legault. She
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Lying low at Lottery and Gaming.
Things are quiet at Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG). Too bad! The people there are fun to write about. For a government agency that contributes almost $2 billion to government revenues each year, it works at keeping a low profile. It lets its games and casinos speak for it. Not
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