Author: Rick Barnes

Cabinet ministers got the news Wednesday after lunch.
The good news: cuts to Ontario government services won’t be as “brutal” as in the Mike Harris era. "The bad news: restraint — and reformation — will be “unprecedented” in duration and effect.
Queen’s Park is rethinking the old ways of delivering services in virtually every sector — health, education, social services, energy, booze — to shed

It’s Christmas in November, it is if you are a Liberal MPP in Ontario. 52 of the 53 Liberal MPPs were appointed as either a Cabinet Minister or Parliamentary Assistant to a Minister.  All of these jobs bring with it an additional salary add-on.

No w…

The Harper Conservatives look to have received a get out of jail card  in a deal between itself and Elections Canada.  The Conservative Party will admit to "Administrative Imperfection".

This will conclude one major issue between the party and the agency that regulates election spending in Canada.  The Conservatives near the end of the 2006 election had spent all they could at the national level

The NDP Leadership battle is taking it’s toll on the party in the House of Commons and allowing quite a bit of air time for Bob Rae, the Interim leader of the Liberals and Rae is making the most of it.

The NDP is not backsliding however, with feisty…

You can recall Stephen Harper saying we wouldn’t recognize Canada when he got done?  It meant more than just painting the Government of Canada websites in Tory Blue.  He is slowly moving government out of the way of business.

Its happening witho…

Herberth Menendez is a 30 year old queer Mexican living with HIV, who immigrated to Canada in 2007. He left Mexico to claim refugee status in Canada because he feared for his life due to the intense discrimination and threats of physical violence he f…

You know there is hope that the United States is coming around.  I know that there are at least 155 million of you that are progressive. Its clear to me every time I visit.  Yet you have had this fling with GWB and then with the Tea Party.  I mean w…

The Vancouver Sun and other Post media papers ran a piece on November 5 called ‘Public figures urged to come ‘out’.

It’s not a bad piece except for the fact that it clearly leaves out the one party that has done ground breaking work on the matter.  T…

Oh dear, this must hurt…

The Conservatives have not liked how the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has been doing his job. They have gone so far as to limit the information they give him, yet despite attempts to kneecap him, he has been on th…

Ontario’s Minority Government looks to be getting the backing of the Hudak Conservatives.  Some of you may see that as a surprise.  I for one am not at all surprised at this. Hudak doesn’t want an election right away. McGuinty will use this first yea…

Signs of sanity returning to the US of A!

TPM Blog

Ohio voters turned back a anti-union law and the good folks of Mississippi look to be dumping personhood.

Can we all take a breather?

I can see where many Canadians are getting pissed at governments.  Two governments have effectively treated us like idiots.  The first is Stephen Harper and his Conservatives. He campaigned in a bubble zone, promised to balance the budget one year ah…

Just watch!

 H/t to the Torontoist

Most Canadians view the #occupy movement favourably according to Nanos.

The Nanos Research poll conducted for The Globe and Mail and La Presse found that 58 per cent of Canadians who are aware of the protests have a favourable or somewhat favorable …

Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer, told us Finance Minister Jim Flaherty could not meet his deficit targets.  The NDP and other opposition parties have been telling the Harper Government this for months now.  Tomorrow, Flaherty will announc…

The Harper Conservatives want to end to make it harder to get a loan to run for leader of a party.  They want to make sure the loan is for $1100 or less from an individual or is from a bank or credit union.  Sounds like a smart policy.  This way we …

The UK has gone a step closer to allowing gay men to donate blood.  I am not sure how successful it will be as Gay men can only donate blood if they have not had sex for a full year.  That seems almost as stupid as the ban itself.  People will eithe…

STOP ONLINE SPYING

DOES STEPHEN HARPER THINK ITS 1984?

How far is the Conservative government planning on going with its "Lawful
Access" online snooping bill?

Think police should have access to YOUR internet and cell phone records
without a warrant?

Come join the fight to stop this invasive legislation and protect our
privacy rights. If enough of us speak out now the government will have no

Kinsella on Sun TV

I’m no big fan of Warren Kinsella. He’s the Ken Linesman or Sean Avery of politics.

If he’s your team-mate you can put up with him, if he’s against you, look out as anything could happen, usually something dirty.  Today however …

Just how wealthy are the 400 richest families in the United States?

They could pay…

The richest 400 could pay your rent, and the rent of every single renter in the entire United States for three years.

The richest 400 could pay the mortgages o…