I couldn’t believe it when I heard it on the radio this morning. On the first day of the debate regarding the Reply to the Speech from the Throne, Stephen Harper doesn’t face off against Tom Mulcair — by tradition it’s the Opposition Leader that starts the debate. Nope. Harper
Continue readingTag: Canada Politics
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Here he comes, the PM in the big white sportscar …
The second session of Canada’s 41st Parliament opens today. And early word about the Speech from the Throne is that PMS (Prime Minister Steve) will make a move towards consumer rights. Funny. He was against pick-and-pay cable and satellite, before he was for it. He was for long term cell
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: My thoughts on "death with dignity"
The recent passing of Dr. Donald Low, who guided Toronto through the SARS crisis in 2003, unexpectedly sparked a revival of the difficult issue of assisted suicide when his widow, CBC alumna and medical expert Maureen Taylor, released Low’s final home video where he asked Canadians to consider what it
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Why I’ll be voting in Ontario on the minimum age
Currently, the minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25 per hour. Presuming a 40 hour week, no sick days and two weeks vacation, that works out to about $20,500 per year. Not a bad piece of change; but with the lowest marginal income tax rate of 20% and payroll taxes of
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: My take on Line 9
Over the last year, there has been a huge amount of debate over Enbridge wanting to reverse the flow of oil in a major pipeline — “Line 9” — from east to west, to west to east. The claim has been made that an already fractured pipeline could become even
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: What? Wireless companies can’t take the heat?
Over the last few weeks, the three big players in Canada’s wireless business — Bell, Telus and Rogers — have been running two separate but related series of ads which are related to the almost certain reality that America’s largest phone, cell and IPTV company, Verizon, will made bids to
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Enbridge to delay required pipeline safety fix for three more years
Enbridge “will delay required crude oil pipeline safety fix for three more years”, according to a document received by the Council of Canadians via an access to information request. The post Enbridge to delay required pipeline safety fix for three more years appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Gawker donates Rob Ford “Crackstarter” money to 4 Canadian non-profits
New York-based news and gossip website Gawker has announced that the money raised on Indiegogo to buy Toronto Mayor Rod Ford’s alleged crack cocaine video will now be donated to four Toronto-area non-profits. The post Gawker donates Rob Ford “Crackstarter” money to 4 Canadian non-profits appeared first on The Canadian
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Hungry Aboriginal kids used in nutritional experiments: AFN reacts
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) says the revelation that Canadian officials used malnourished Aboriginal populations in nutritional experiments has “sent a shockwave through First Nations in Canada and should be no less shocking to all Canadians and beyond.” The post Hungry Aboriginal kids used in nutritional experiments: AFN reacts
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: In Canada, hungry aboriginal kids, adults used as nutritional experiment subjects
In Canada, hungry aboriginal kids and adults were used as unwitting subjects of nutritional experiments by Canadian government bureaucrats during and after World War II, The Canadian Press reported Tuesday. The post In Canada, hungry aboriginal kids, adults used as nutritional experiment subjects appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Former Liberal Leader Bob Rae Joins Fair Vote Canada’s Advisory Board
by: Obert Madondo | Twitter: @Obiemad: Bob Rae. (Photo: Fair Vote Canada) Former Liberal leader Bob Rae has joined the National Advisory Board of Fair Vote Canada, a grassroots multi-partisan citizens’ campaign for voting system reform in Canada. Rae joins a cast of distinguished Canadians and progressives already serving on the board, including David
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Guest post: The Reserve Paradox (Part II)
[Guest post continued …] Aboriginal people in Canada today suffer from much higher rates of poverty, illness, dysfunction and incarceration than non-Native Canadians. Many non-Native Canadians believe that this is due to the Indian Act and the reserve system which set Aboriginals apart from other Canadians. When these non-Natives see
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Guest post: The Reserve Paradox (Part I)
Once again, I’m happy to lend over this space to my colleague Jared Milne. This time, Jared talks about the troubles that the Aboriginal community has been in for years — or in his words, “how the reserves and the Indian Act, which are seen as ways by which Native Canadians are
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: B.C. Premier Christy Clark wins Westside-Kelowna, returns to legislature
by: Obert Madondo | Twitter: @Obiemad: Premier Christy Clark. (Photo: via Facebook) Christy Clark got what she desperately needed to remain premier of British Columbia: a seat in the provincial legislature. Clark convincingly won Wednesday’s by-election in the riding of Westside-Kelowna over NDP challenger Carole Gordon. Clark was rejected by voters in her
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Ex-NHL star Georges Laraque seeks Bourassa riding for May’s Greens
by: Obert Madondo | Twitter: @Obiemad: Georges Laraque (Photo By Dave Sandford/CHC) Former NHL tough guy Georges Laraque is ready for his next great fight. If he wins, he’ll join Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in Ottawa. Laraque, once the NHL’s most feared hockey enforcer, announced Tuesday he’ll be the Green Party of
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: #MacheteSomethingYEG: Edmonton’s twitchy-eyed, machete-wielding savages strike back
by: Obert Madondo | @Obiemad: Earlier this week, National Post opinion writer Chris Selley said that if the southern Alberta floods had touched Edmonton, that city would become “a smoking hole in the ground at this point, infested with twitchy-eyed, machete-wielding savages“. A gigantic sarcasm fail that turned out to be. Edmontons took to
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Sovereignty Summer: Idle No More Launches New Website
by: Obert Madondo | @Obiemad: Idle No More protest on Parliament Hill, Ottawa. Dec 2012 (Photo: Obert Madondo) The Idle No More movement just launched a new, activism-oriented, social media-friendly website! The launch coincides with the beginning of Sovereignty Summer (#SovSummer), an education and action-based campaign focused on Indigenous Rights and in defense
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Can boomerangs swing back out, after coming towards you?
It’s a fair question, because there was another putsch in Australia today. Three years after Kevin Rudd was forced out as Prime Minister by the ruling Labour Party in favour of Julia Gillard, today Gillard herself was shoved aside when it became clear her party has no chance of winning
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Extend EI coverage for all Southern Alberta flood victims: AFL
by: Alberta Federation of Labour | Press Release: EDMONTON, June 25, 2013 – Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan has called on the federal government to extend EI coverage for all those affected by floods in Southern Alberta. Only about 22% of unemployed Albertans are eligible for EI and the waiting period is
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Raising the cap — still not a good reason to approve Northern Gateway
The Con government has announced that Canadian energy companies who cause an environmental disaster will be liable for a much larger amount. Currently, it’s just $30 million for the east and west coasts and $40 million for the Arctic. Now it will be $1 billion. That’s fine, but when one
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