It is a long trudge to the December decision for the Ontario liberals. You can well appreciate the decision of Adil Shamji MPP to step aside from the contest for the leadership. Likability is not the measure Ontario liberals are applying to the current leadership contest. Winning is what is
Continue readingAuthor: Peter Lowry
Babel-on-the-Bay : Cuts With a Dull Knife.
The generals are upset. We hear that the government wants to cut a billion dollars from the military budget. Which means we are reneging again on our promise to our NATO allies that we will spend two per cent of our national gross domestic product on preparing for war—or, at
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Waiting for Mr. Trudeau.
It appears that conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has a careful plan. He never bothers to fry small fish. It was very evident in the past week that he was not going to waste his resources on House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota. Mr. Rota had made a mistake. It seems
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Common Sense Conservatives?
A piece of junk mail came to my home the other day. It was probably the worst mailing from a political party, I have ever seen. There must be Ontario residents in their twenties today who would not remember the Mike Harris conservatives and their common-sense revolution of 1995. The
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Leave the Old Feuds Behind.
When Stalin of Russia murdered more than five million Ukrainians by starvation in the 1930s, did the world rush to their aid? Didn’t Finland fight the Winter War alone against Russia in the winter of 1939-40? Most of the Canadian population were not even here for those events. Nor does
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Who Are We Hurting?
Listening and reading the advice of so many, we find we are in the hands of imperfect problem solvers. We complain to our politicians and yet we find them on the next kneeler, wringing their hands in frustration. We lay the blame on industries and all they want is to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Before the Fall.
Last Friday (September 22) there was a large picture above the fold of the front page of the Toronto Star. It was captioned: ‘It was a mistake’. It was a picture of a steely-eyed, stony-faced Ontario premier Doug Ford. This was not a picture of a contrite and apologetic premier.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Reforming Voting II.
The following item was missed by a large number of our readers who access BabelontheBay.com through Progressive Bloggers. It is a subject on which I would really appreciate some comments. Please have at it. It seems that too often we are looking at voting methods instead of examining the entire
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Looney Tunes Is Alberta.
Is it ever thus? Premier Danielle Smith is off on her tangent to save Alberta from the rapacious government in Ottawa. It must be that they cannot teach Canadian history or mathematics in that province. It is also very important in mathematics that you count the oranges as oranges and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Criticizing Bonnie Crombie.
Having missed the liberal leadership debate at the old Ryerson campus last week, it seemed, according to the news articles, I did not miss much. The mayor of Mississauga is handling her four opponents as an older woman would handle adolescent boys. They have foolishly declared her the one to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : To Live in Interesting Times.
Returning home from a visit to Toronto this past week was like returning to a peaceful oasis. Not that Barrie does not have more than its share of construction going on with homes as well as the rebuilding of the Highway 400 bridges through the city. Yet Toronto felt like
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Reforming Voting.
It seems that too often we are looking at voting methods instead of examining the entire electoral process. There is much more involved in Canadian politics that the voter should be concerned about. We could go a long way to improving our democracy. Start with our candidates for political office.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Requiem for Truth.
When politicians fail to tell the truth, when the Internet is littered with individual versions of truth, and print media is failing to survive, where do you look for truth? And where do you turn when your daily routine for most of your life that has started with a cup
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Come Blow Your Horn.
You have to admit, Little Boy Blue got a lot of attention from the media with his speech to the conservative convention recently. It was neither modesty nor myopia, nor missing his glasses that caused his eyes to appear to be squinting. It was the placement of the teleprompter screens.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Liberals Cannot Count.
It looks as though the Ontario liberals have almost doubled their membership. And they are busy arguing about it. I would be more impressed and might even care if people had paid something for those memberships. The possibly 80,000 members in Ontario is a bit higher than the 74,000 members
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : No Ties That Bind.
We note that the majority of Canadians have realized that there is no reason for Canada to continue to have a monarch. Charley definitely does not cut it. His wife is an embarrassment. His kids by Princess Diana have their own quarrels. Yet they have entitlements to which Canadians cannot
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Ford’s Smoke Screen.
Somebody must have told premier Doug Ford that he could use MPP Paul Calandra as a smoke screen to cover up what he is letting happen in the Greenbelt. By making Calandra minister of municipal affairs and housing, he has the perfect cover for what is happening. He can thank
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Bad Night in Thunder Bay.
The Ontario liberals are not that inept. It was like an out-of-town try-out of a major play. The first debate in the current liberal leadership contest was allowed to have gaffs and try-out jitters. You just have to hope that not many saw it. But when you have trouble with
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : The Promise of Canada.
Did Justin Trudeau break the promise of Canada to followers of Pierre Poilievre? No. It is not true. For the promise of Canada is opportunity for all. That’s it. It is the chance for any Canadian to be prime minister, or maybe just achieve a little more than their parents
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay : Poilievre’s Petulant Promises.
When Pierre Poilievre—the guy I think of as Little Boy Blue—gave his speech last week to conservatives in Quebec City, he was not speaking to a broad swath of Canada’s intelligentsia. In fact, you really had to remember this was an audience of conservative party faithful and donors. These people
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