To keep us out or to keep them in???
http://bit.ly/p7VQ7j
September 29, 2011
Jim Bronskill
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—The United States is looking at building fences along th…
To keep us out or to keep them in???
http://bit.ly/p7VQ7j
September 29, 2011
Jim Bronskill
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—The United States is looking at building fences along th…
Why is mainstream media ignoring the #OccupyWallStreet protests?
Continue readingDenmark is moving ahead with a tax on products that make people fat. Denmark already has the lost percentage of obese people in Europe and even they are concerned with the increasing girth of their people. This new ‘fat tax’ will hopefully keep the country’s slim people slim and inspire other countries to institute a […]
Continue readingA recent case where a homeowner killed a nighttime intruder has led many to ask about self defence in Canada.
Basically, you are allowed to use reasonable force to defend yourself or your loved ones. That reasonable force can include lethal force whe…
Continue readingWhy is the National Post publishing hateful messages from a Christianist nutcase attacking transgendered people? Decent folks are saying no to Stephen Harper advisor “Dr.” Charles McVety. They are refusing to publish his latest slobber, injected into the closing days…
Continue readingIn an earlier post, I noted that falling real wages as indicated by July and August data from the Labour Force Survey which showed increases of just 1.4% in hourly wages over the past year signalled trouble ahead: “If this trend continues, it is likely to further undermine a weak recovery, negatively impacting upon consumer […]
Continue readingTory candidate Keith Russell must be in a desperate battle to win his seat. He’s trotted out the old patronage card in a bid to boost his chances. The district better vote the right way, warns Russell or else no megaprojects for Labrador. Her…
Continue readingA young black man named Hero, who had just been released from jail after being arrested at the September 24th march, shared his experience with me, “Someone pushed a little red button and the police turned into adrenaline packed zombies. I found myself…
Continue readingThe Americans are talking about fencing off part of the Canada-US border. Their term is “selective fencing.” The US Customs & Border Protection Agency is canvassing local governments from Maine to Washington state for their input….
Continue readingI participated in the demonstration against the Alberta tar sands outside the Canadian Parliament here in Ottawa on September 26. As was widely reported, the civil disobedience component of the action resulted in over 200 arrests.
I am cross-publishin…
Continue readingI have been scanning some photos stored in shoe-boxes and managed to touch up several from a class trip to London which took place during March Break in 1976. (How fortunate I was – what a privilege – to have been able to go on such a…
Continue readingFinishing off my roundup of gay and lesbian
MPs, I caught up with NDP MP Libby Davies after Question Period yesterday.
Q: How was the rest of your summer?
A: After the funeral, I went back to the
Vancouver and worked. Then we had our caucus retre…
For my American friends and readers, we’re having a provincial election here in Ontario. Since health care is deemed a provincial responsibility (though funded extensively by the federal government), it’s naturally a hot topic of discussion. At the televised leader’s debate a couple of days ago, New Democrat leader Andrea Horwath managed to step in […]
Continue readingIn this new article, Tim Hudak claims that the NDP is a “big spending” party. Let’s look at the facts.
Both the PCs and Liberals have committed to spending almost $2 billion dollars on another wave of corporate tax cuts. But the PCs go further by comm…
Continue readingHugh Mackenzie of the CCPA has prepared a comprehensive comparison of the election platforms of the three major parties in Ontario’s election. It reveals an enormous fiscal “hole” in the Conservative platform, that will inevitably result in dramatic reductions in public spending if that party wins the October 6 election. The report, released yesterday, added […]
Continue readingRichard Dawkins talks to Thom Hartmann about his new book The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True. The first part of the interview can be viewed here (it deals primarily with genetic matters that will be familiar … Continue reading →
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Amendment to PIPEDA Gives ISPs Carte Blanche to Give out Customer Information
September 29, 2011 – As Canada waits for the Conservatives to introduce their warrantless online…
An interesting pattern began emerging during the Federal Election this past spring. At forums, debates, and all-candidates meetings across the country, Conservative Party candidates were simply not showing up. There was always some excuse, of course – although the over-use of the “prior commitment” was making some wonder if there
Continue readingAn interesting pattern began emerging during the Federal Election this past spring. At forums, debates, and all-candidates meetings across the country, Conservative Party candidates were simply not showing up.
There was always some excuse, of course – although the over-use of the “prior commitment” was making some wonder if there was perhaps a new species of virus called “Prior Commitment” that had everyone sick in bed. And to be sure, some candidates may well have had a legitimate reason for not being able to attend.
It was the high percentage of Conservative candidates who were finding somewhere they would rather be that began to raise eyebrows, to the point where campaign spokesman Ryan Sparrow had to step in and quash rumours that Head Office was ordering them not to attend. He even issued a statement:
We provide support for candidates to participate in candidates debates, but we don’t instruct them not to attend debates. Most candidates would prefer to meet with voters one on one though instead of debating their opponents in crowds of committed supporters of the different parties.
Fast forward five months, and the same pattern is beginning to emerge among Ontario Progressive Conservative candidates.
The trend became particularly apparent last week when ridings across the province marked Education Day by conducting education-themed debates. Word got out that the PCs were going to give the whole thing a pass, but nobody quite believed it until reports started coming in of empty chairs behind PC placecards.
There was even an eerily familiar statement from a party spokesperson:
Alan Sakach, director of communications for the Ontario PC party, said “Our candidates make their own decisions on debate attendance based on time availability and other commitments. Candidates get a tremendous number of invitations for debates, meetings and town halls, and balance those requests with the need to door knock and canvass in their riding. Obviously they can’t make it to every event — there’s just not enough time.”
In the end it was confirmed: of the 20 education debates held in Toronto, not a single Progressive Conservative candidate turned up. Outside of Toronto, attendance was also abysmal. After a half hour search I could only find one – in Whitby-Oshawa – where the PC candidate took part.
Halton was no exception. As documented by reporter Stuart Service, PC incumbent Ted Chudleigh was absent from the education debate on the 22nd. He also failed to show at the four-riding debate sponsored by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association on the 27th. So did the PC candidates from Oakville and Burlington (nobody from Wellington-Halton Hills turned up). Apparently they all had a “prior commitment”.
Chudleigh hasn’t only been avoiding education-themed debates. He also took a pass on the Halton/Oakville ‘Policy Not Polls’ debate, along with his Oakville counterpart, claiming that he did not attend “because it was taking place outside of Halton riding. I had a number of other things on my schedule that evening and I believe my attendance at those events was more important than this particular event, which was located in a different riding.”
Admittedly, yes – the venue was about two blocks into Oakville territory. It’s not like they have moat, though, and it is a pretty handy spot for a shared Oakville and Halton event. Besides which, he didn’t seem to have any trouble making it to the Oakville Chamber of Commerce debate which took place much further south of the Oakville/Halton boundary.
(Liberal candidate Indira Naidoo-Harris also did not attend the ‘Policy Not Polls’ event. As far as I am aware, it’s the only debate she has skipped.)
Tonight, the Canadian Federation of University Women is hosting a debate at Milton District High School. Mr. Chudleigh initially said that he would be unable to attend due to (you guessed it) a “prior commitment”. However, the day before the event his campaign office let it be known that he would be able to attend after all – but only after 8:30, when the debate will be half over.*
A lot of people volunteer a lot of hours organizing these events, and even though they are sometimes sparsely attended, they do get widely reported in the local media and many voters use those reports to help them make their decision. So if the Ontario Progressive Conservatives have decided as a party strategy that debates and candidates meetings are not worth their time, then they should say so publicly and save everyone the time and trouble.
But this nonsense of every single PC candidate having a “prior commitment” on Education Day, or claiming that it’s too far to travel two blocks south of the riding boundary for a debate? Sorry, but I’m calling bullshit.
Show a little respect.
*UPDATE: A few hours before the CFUW debate, Mr. Chudleigh’s office sent out a memo stating that he would arrive at 8:00 and not 8:30. In the end, he split the difference and walked in the door at 8:13 during the midway break.
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The Wall of Shame
(feel free to send me corrections or additions)
Perth-Wellington: Liberal candidate did not attend Wind Concerns Ontario sponsored debate
An interesting pattern began emerging during the Federal Election this past spring. At forums, debates, and all-candidates meetings across the country, Conservative Party candidates were simply not showing up. There was always some excuse, of course – although the over-use of the “prior commitment” was making some wonder if there
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