Many Canadians view the perfect smile as a sign of status rather than an indicator of one’s health, as the provision of dental care is based on one’s ability to pay rather than their need. In fact, six million Canadians avoid the dentist each year due to financial constraints and,
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Alberta Politics: It turns out the UCP’s dream of grabbing the Canada Pension Plan won’t be as easy as it would like you to believe
How much of the United Conservative Party’s radical project to transform Alberta into a dystopic firewalled statelet, most of the details of which were revealed by Premier Jason Kenney for the first time at Preston Manning’s Red Deer clambake on Saturday, was predicated on a Conservative victory in last month’s
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: SNC-Lavalin, Justin Trudeau and ‘banana republic’ politics
Justin Trudeau delivers a speech on February 28, 2019. Photo by Christinne Muschi/Reuters. Commenting upon the prime minister’s response to the Ethics Commissioner’s report on political interference in the so-called ‘Lavalin-Gate Affair’, former NDP Leader Tom Mulcair characterized Justin Trudeau’s actions as “banana republic behaviour.” Perhaps not the most politically
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: From Canada’s Election to Public Action: Beyond the Moral Tumor of Alberta’s Oil Sands
An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Getty Images. For months during and after Canada’s 2019 federal election campaign, corporate media have provided daily frontline news space for non-stop Alberta demands for more tar-sands export infrastructure through British Columbia, as well as discrediting
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Preston Manning, the bad penny of Canadian politics, turns up again on Alberta’s sovereignty-association commission
Preston Manning is the bad penny of Canadian politics. So no one should be surprised he’s turned up again! Much good rarely comes from Mr. Manning’s interventions in politics, which never seem to end, so don’t expect positive results from his appointment by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to what might
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Holding Pattern: The 2019 Canadian Election
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Montreal’s Palais des Congrès after winning the Canadian election for the second time, October 22, 2019. Photo by Stéphane Mahé/Reuters. In the parlance of the horse-race terminology favoured by election commentators, the 2019 Canadian Elections were a squeaker, or too close to call up until
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: The Liberals had a caucus meeting, too
It happened yesterday. You didn’t hear much about it, because all the drama had happened the day before, with the seven-hour-long Conservative mass-suicide disguised as a caucus meeting. The Liberal caucus meeting was a happier affair. For one thing, the newbies – and Trudeau has a lot of them in
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: A seven-hour caucus meeting creates seven big problems
The Conservative caucus met on Parliament Hill yesterday. Watching them from afar, it recalled a big therapy session. But without a therapist in charge. It went for seven hours, reportedly. That’s a long caucus meeting. At the end of those seven hours, seven big problems remain. They did not dump
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The ‘most pro-life Legislature in decades’ gets ready to make its first move to restrict reproductive rights
Does anyone recall when Cameron Wilson, political action director of the “Wilberforce Project,” previously known as Pro-Life Alberta, bragged that “if the UCP wins the upcoming election, then we will have the most pro-life Legislature in decades, and maybe ever”? That was only in February this year, a century or
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: “5 Questions” Interview(s) With Ontario Liberal Party Candidates: Mitzie Hunter
Mitzie Hunter is next up in answering some questions about her Ontario Liberal Party leadership run. You’ll find her relevant website and contact info below the very last answer of hers. 1) There are many candidates running to be the next Ontario Liberal Party leader. What would you say to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Now for something completely different: Podcast bloviations from Yours Truly and friends
I’m busier than that proverbial one-armed paperhanger right now, so it’s possible that production of posts on this blog is going to fall for the next couple of weeks from the daily commentary I prefer. Tonight, I thought I’d resort to an updated version of a favorite bloviators’ trick from
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Is representative democracy actually democratic?
“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.” – Mark Twain In its origin, democracy was participatory. The ancient Greeks defined democracy (dēmokratía) as “rule of the people”. A participatory democracy is one in which every eligible citizen is permitted a say and a vote on every
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Wexit’ isn’t likely, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous
“Wexit” is dangerous, but not because it’s ever likely to come to pass. The economic case for Prairie separatism is so obviously lame — because of what’s happened to the world market for fossil fuels and because people who actually live where there’s tidewater aren’t interested and never will be
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: “5 Questions” Interview(s) With Ontario Liberal Party Candidates: Kate Graham
Kate Graham is the next of the leadership candidates for the Ontario Liberal Party to submit her answers to my “5 Questions”. You can find Kate’s website here. Her answers in their entirety are below. 1) There are many candidates running to be the next Ontario Liberal Party leader. What
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Winnipeg’s media are stoking a racist frenzy with coverage of alleged liquor store thefts
The Ellice Liquor Mart in downtown Winnipeg. Photo by Austin Grabish/CBC Winnipeg’s media outlets are salivating at the chance to create a moral panic over alleged liquor store thefts. Nearly non-stop headlines regale readers with seemingly horrific stories of brutal crimes: an old man has his hand slashed while trying
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: “5 Questions” Interview(s) With Ontario Liberal Party Candidates: Alvin Tedjo
Alvin Tedjo is the 2nd of the Ontario Liberal Leadership candidates to turn in his answers to my “5 Questions” series. You can find his website here. His answers are again unedited by me and presented in their original format below. 1) There are many candidates running to be the
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: On humbled post-election Trudeau
In my ongoing quest to be New and Improved Warren™, I note, approvingly, that Justin Trudeau has kind of disappeared in recent days. No costumes, no sock modelling, no social media excess. He’s just gone quiet. Poof. It’s good. Speak when you have something to say, not when you have
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canadian Taxpayers Federation commentary on nurse salaries isn’t research so much as an echo chamber
Has anyone noticed how the propaganda produced by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation seems to be growing more inept of late? Misleading arguments and anti-union bias have long characterized many of the claims made by the Regina-based CTF, which claims to be a non-partisan “citizens’ group,” although its only legal members
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Breach of trust, not contract: Why politicians are allowed to lie
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson shakes hands with Justin Trudeau. Photo from the official photostream of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Flickr). “How can you tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.” It’s an old joke, but exactly why do politicians lie so often? The
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