I’ll start this one by stating that this is definitely coming from my subjective experience. And for once, that actually counts for something. I’m a woman who is involved in politics. I’m a young woman who is involved in politics. And I’m a minority. As many may have learned I’m
Continue readingTag: Canadian Politics
Dented Blue Mercedes: New airport screening regs raise questions for trans Canadians
Marathon runner Jennifer McCreath has pointed out a recent regulatory change that the Harper Conservatives have made to the Aeronautics Act (i.e. passed by ministerial fiat, rather than shepherded through Parliamentary process) that potentially affects many trans (and cis) Canadians and could even ban some from air travel: Sec 5.2(1)
Continue readingwmtc: dear mr harper: stop the threats and intimidation. we will speak out against the enbridge pipeline.
I’ve been holding on to this email from Leadnow.ca, hoping to write a scathing post… but this is too important to wait until I have time. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ll re-run the email in its entirety. No one who has been following Canadian politics for the last
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Harper needs to come clean on his Old Age Security ‘reforms’
Parliament resumes very shortly as of this writing. It is to be hoped that Stephen Harper will deem Parliament important enough to reveal the details on his very public musings in Davos Switzerland last week about Old Age Security needing to be “reformed” – an announcement that couldn’t wait for
Continue readingCanada’s #enemygate open for questionable business
the regina mom‘s amassed a number of links about the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline and, though other bloggers have moved on to the HarperCon’s potential attack on Old Age Security (OAS) [See Alison@Creekside], trm‘s staying on this issue a bit longer. Now, let’s see where those links take us. First,
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Halifax NDP Federal Leader Debate January 29th Analysis
The following is various reactions and analysis of the Halifax NDP Federal Leader debate on January 27th. Previous NDP debate commentary: Dec 4th Ottawa Debate | January 18th Toronto Debate part 1 | January 18th Toronto Debate part 2 (Issues and Themes). The third English language debate largely followed the themes and
Continue reading350 or bust: PMO Issues Alert: “Foreign Radicals Threaten Further Delays”
Last night, Prime Minister Harper’s office sent off this “alert” to the media folks on its mailing list (via Kady O’Malley at the CBC). When I first read it, I thought it was political satire out of the pages of Rick Mercer or the gang over at This Hour Has
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: LGBT clubs in Ontario Catholic schools get neutered
After a protracted battle over the issue of whether so called ‘gay-straight clubs’ must be allowed in Catholic schools, many LGBT allies thought a legitimate victory had been attained when Queen’s Park ruled that such groups must be tolerated. Delaying far past the required deadline, an associated Catholic think-tank has
Continue readingwmtc: "we don’t care about facts", crime edition
If only the Harper GovernmentTM weren’t determined to waste our tax dollars on prison-building and useless mandatory sentencing, while telling us we can’t afford to maintain decent spending levels for universal health insurance. If only they cared about facts. New poll results show the public is abandoning a stubborn belief
Continue reading350 or bust: Dear Mr. Oliver: I Am Not a Member of a “Radical” Group
Today’s guest blogger is Jason Hildebrand. A so-called “radical” Canadian opposed to the Northern Gateway Pipeline, Jason is employed in the IT field, is married with two young children, and is an active member of his church. Jason has allowed me to share his recent letter to Natural Resources Minister
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: It’s time to step on a Caterpillar, Premier Mcguinty
I was reading a column that Martin Reg-Cohn wrote yesterday on the continuing saga in London where as those who’ve followed it know, Caterpillar has locked out it’s workers in a draconian effort to get them to slah their wages by half – this as the CEO earns a million
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Would a female NDP leader be an advantage?
When Barack Obama became President, there was an enormous outpouring of emotion at the historic fact of electing the first black President. Had Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary instead, America would most likely have had its first female President which would have been similarly venerated. Regardless of who the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: 5 Questions: Imran Ahmad, V.P. Francophone LPC
I first had the pleasure of meeting Imran at a Edward Blake Society event in Toronto a few weeks before the convention. I was really impressed and after perusing his website, I decided to vote for him. His speech at the 2012 LPC Biennial Convention was one of the best
Continue reading350 or bust: Affadavit: PM Harper’s Office Labels Environmental Charity “Enemy of Canada”
Andrew Frank is a Canadian citizen, and the former Senior Communications Manager with ForestEthics Canada. He is also an instructor in the Environmental Protection Technology program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, in Surrey, British Columbia. Mr Frank released this letter addressed to Canadians yesterday: A Whistleblower’s Open Letter to the Citizens of
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Chris Drew: People, Plenary, and Places: 2012 LPC Biennial Convention
(Chris and Joseph: excited to be at Biennial!) The 2012 Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) Biennial meeting was the fifth Biennial meeting I’ve attended as Liberal delegate from Toronto Centre. As with previous Biennial meetings, it was a great experience and offered some unique moments as these meetings always do.
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Harper to First Nations: Bother my MP’s, not me, with your issues.
I’ve not seen another article come out yet on the meeting that Harper had with the First Nation’s Chiefs other then this one, but from the First Nations perspective, their concerns appear to have been taken rather lightly by the PM, to say the least: First Nations leaders will be
Continue reading350 or bust: Why I Am Putting All My Eggs In The Citizens Climate Lobby Basket
Citizens Climate Lobby is a well-organized grassroots organization made up of Canadians and Americans who want a sustainable future for their children, and are willing to work on creating the political will for a sustainable climate. In the process, they are empowered to claim their own political power in a
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: ‘Canada is becoming a jingoistic petro-state’
Who made that declaration a couple of days ago in the US? The Nation? Daily Kos? Some other left-wing publication? Nope. Slate did – and Slate isn’t exactly known for its left-wing tendencies. A rather unflattering portrait of it’s northern neighbour: It’s well known that America’s dependence on foreign oil
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Thank you Alexander Mackenzie!
Today is the 138th anniversary of the Canada’s 3rd federal election and the election of Canada’s first Liberal Prime Minister, Alexander Mackenzie. PM Mackenzie’s short tenure as PM have us secret ballot, the Royal Military College of Canada, the Office of the Auditor Genera and he advised the creation of the Supreme
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