She might be a bit smaller in stature but foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland is head-over-heels ahead of a conservative predecessor John Baird. Baird was something of an embarrassment throughout his tenure during the Harper era. And if Freeland knew enough to stay away from Twitter, we could give her
Continue readingAuthor: Peter Lowry
Babel-on-the-Bay: A summer of silly slogans.
It has to be this hot summer. It is either that or we have some of the stupidest politicians in the world right here in tropical Ontario. Premier Ford and a few of his political cronies took a road trip—with news media in tow—back down the Highway of Heroes to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The vengeance of the vegans.
The Toronto subway system is a special place to me. It was many years ago that my first job in advertising was selling advertising space in the subway. I loved it. It was not that I was a great salesperson but I was creative. I would dream up ads for
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Can Singh sing a new song in Burnaby?
It is now confirmed that new democratic party leader Jagmeet Singh will try for a seat in the House of Commons this fall. The facts are that the guy has not drawn a salary for over a year now. He has gotten married and he might need a couple new
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trump trumpets truth?
Every time you see president Trump at one of his campaign rallies, the people around him are all too busy with their cell phones to pay any attention to him. It makes you wonder what the point is of these rallies. Oh sure, it feeds his ego and serves to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: What a web we Weaver!
We have struggled with this for a couple months. What the heck is BC green party leader John Weaver’s problem with the liquified natural gas (LNG) proposal for British Columbia? It not only sounds like a good deal but BC premier John Horgan is right to be moving it along,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Folks find Ford far from frugal.
We are told that Ontario premier Doug Ford is going to sue prime minister Justin Trudeau. And he is going to use our money to do it. I hardly see how that is going to please Ontario residents. Other than our money going to enrich a bunch of lawyers, what
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “All politics is local.”
The adage about all politics being local is usually credited to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O’Neill many years ago. All he was saying was that if you do not know what your voters have stuck in their craw, there is little you can do for them. You always
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Toronto’s urgent need for unity.
It is a daunting prospect. No matter who is elected to what position in Toronto in the October municipal election, the Ford conservatives will be in their face for the next four years. And the only way to face it is with a united front. And to do that, you
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ford’s Valkyrie are in flight.
Cue the Wagnerian music. Ford’s Valkyrie are choosing who lives and dies in Ontario. While Ford makes war on his old colleagues in Toronto city hall, his cabinet Valkyrie are slashing and burning liberal attempts at humanity. Both Christine Elliott as health minister and Lisa MacLeod as social services minister
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Dougie doesn’t do distress.
At the end of April this year, a truck was driven down Yonge Street in north Toronto on a quest to murder. The driver succeeded in killing 10 people and injuring 14. Mayor John Tory was there on the scene soonest, Premier Kathleen Wynne came. NDP leader Andrea Horwath came.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trump rides the Tiger.
When you choose to ride the tiger, there is no option but to stay aboard. This situation with Donald Trump is increasingly serious. It was emphasized and underlined the other day when the publisher of the New York Times warned the American president that he was endangering lives with his
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Patrick Brown legacy lives on.
It is like a bad smell that does not go away. There was some relief in Barrie during the period when Patrick Brown was living the high life in Toronto as leader of the Ontario conservatives. It was the complaints by two young, unidentified Barrie ladies that caused him to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ford-style mathematics and The Kingfish.
Even health minister Christine Elliott is going along with the mathematics used by the new Ontario premier. Once you accept that two and two add up to zero, you are one of the true believers. The only problem is that when we are so obviously in need of improving mental
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Ford Follies fumble forward.
To be truthful, I had a hard time controlling my laughter reading the revelations on premier Doug Ford’s plans for Toronto and the municipal elections in Ontario. I am now convinced that Dougie is dumber than former Ontario premier Mike Harris. It was Harris who amalgamated Metro Toronto and left
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Horgan pays the price.
British Columbia premier John Horgan is paying his debts. He wanted to be premier and it cost him an accord with the BC Green party, headed by MLA John Weaver. One of the conditions is to again offer BC voters an opportunity to vote on changing how they elect their
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Doug is doubling down.
Is it fun yet watching our new Ontario premier doubling down with our money? Doug Ford has given the back of his hand to all the efforts in the recent years to protect our environment. He wants to take us back to what was the middle ages of sex education.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Patching the health care problems.
With former Ontario health minister Eric Hoskins helping the federal government and Doug Ford tearing into the make-do solutions in Ontario, we might be in more trouble in adding pharmacare to health care than we thought possible. We already know that Doug Ford’s argument for a patchwork solution is unworkable
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Shoring up Alberta’s Energy Exploiters.
For a while there, we were under the impression that the prime minister was the only one allowed to speak for Alberta’s tar sands. It was all on behalf of the almighty buck. Maybe he thought finance minister Bill Morneau would contribute but that guy is weak when trying to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trump’s Divide and Conquest.
It has been worrisome lately that Justin Trudeau was heading off on a track that would take him too far from the liberalism we shared with his father. It is therefore important to note that he has done something with which a liberal can easily concur. The younger Trudeau has
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