Progressive Bloggers // Blogues progressistes

Prosecuting freedom of speech If pricking an elitist balloon is all it takes to face the punishment of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, then the Sun News Network is in trouble. But then so is our constitutionally-guaranteed right to freedom of speech, the right to vigourous debate, divergent opinion as well as the right to choose channels. This is in anticipation of a decision by the CBSC on the matter of complaints — lots and lots of complaints — about an interview of a dancer named Margie Gillis by Sun TV’s Krista Erickson. You may have already heard something about it but if not, and you’re that curious, you can see Part 1 and Part 2 at YouTube. The good people at the Sun network are obviously shaking in their boots at the severe punishment they expect to receive….

Quebec NDP MPs stay silent on their political past The Star emailed every Quebec MP in the NDP caucus — excluding Interim Leader Nycole Turmel — a short questionnaire last week soliciting their opinions on the political future of the province and whether they had changed over time. They were also asked if they had ever held a membership in another political party at the provincial or federal level, how they voted in the Quebec referendums, whether they ever cast a ballot for the Bloc Québécois and whether they considered themselves federalists, sovereigntists or believed another term would best describe their beliefs. … One week later, not a single NDP MP from Quebec had agreed to participate. If this exercise was all about "sparking a greater discussion" as the article claims, why not prepare a questionnaire that could be sent to all 308 MPs? If the focus was to be on the opinions of those from Quebec, why not send it to Quebec MPs from all the parties? Why limit it to the NDP caucus unless the hoped for discussion was about the failure of Dippers to respond or to pass a purity test?…