If anybody reading this is wondering about whether or not Canada’s tar sands oil is “ethical” or not, this presentation by photographer Garth Lenz, from TEDx Victoria this past November, will leave no doubt: * More links: Garth Lenz.com Indigenous Environmental Network: Tar Sands Campaign
Continue readingTag: Canadian Politics
Scott's DiaTribes: Getting into the spirit of things, post-Liberal convention.
I’ve seen this logo floating around on some blogs – a suggestion to upgrade the Liberal Party logo: I’ve seen it on some Blogging Tory blogs critical of the legalizing marijuana resolution that was passed, and on some Liberal blogs with people just having fun with it. Personally, I think
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Greg D’Cunha: The Monarchy: The Non-Priority Priority Resolution
Greg D’Cunha (Delegate from Whitby-Oshawa, Ontario.) On Sunday morning, delegates at the Liberal Biennial Convention voted against Priority Resolution 114 which urged that Parliament “form an all party committee to study the implementation of instituting a Canadian head of state popularly elected and sever formal ties with the British Crown.”
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Leanne Bourassa: My LPC 2012 Convention experience.
Leanne Bourassa (Former candidate for National Membership Secretary.) Where to begin? My LPC 2012 Convention experience actually began in November 2011 when I submitted my nomination forms for the National Table Officer position of National Membership Secretary. Most of the people who signed my nomination form didn’t even know about
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Biennial Convention Guest Post: The Liberal Identity: Hard work, Progressive policies & Unfettered inclusiveness.
Micah Goldberg (Delegate from Winnipeg, Manitoba.) The Liberal Convention held in Ottawa was supposedly a three-day convention aimed at rebuilding the party brand and picking up the mess from May 2nd 2011. There are many highlights over the past three days: the newly minted “supporters” category and their right to
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Liberal Convention results/wrapup thoughts
As you might expect, though I was not at the Convention in Ottawa this weekend, I did monitor how events went, and here is my take on things: Things I liked: – The election of Mike Crawley as Liberal Party President. It was a bit of a surprise win, according
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Hot or Not: Liberal Biennial Convention Edition
Hot: Lanyards: This fashion accessory is hot, hot, hot. They will literally take you places (John Ivison didn’t have the right kind of lanyard so he couldn’t get into the most exclusive Liberal break-out sessions.) Same-sex marriage: A policy first proposed by the Young Liberals, this progressive recognition that true
Continue reading350 or bust: Alberta Oil Sands Crude: Not As Conflict-Free As “Ethical Oil” Proponents Wish
* Yesterday I posted a clip from Power & Politics where EthicalOil.org’s spokesperson Kathryn Marshall happily sprayed paranoid, inflammatory rhetoric around the room about how “environmentalists” who are speaking out against the Northern Gateway Pipeline are funded by “foreign” interests while clamming up about whether or not her group gets
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Biennial Convention Guest Post: Barrie Young Liberals: Looking to the future while giving back.
The Barrie Young Liberals (BYL) formed shortly after the federal election in May, 2011. The election was a disappointing result, to be sure; perhaps, no more so than in Barrie where the Liberal candidate came third to the Conservative incumbent and a New Democratic newcomer. Notwithstanding that, however, federal Liberal
Continue readingfirst word, tree.: Pink Herrings: Ethical (Sp)Oil and Pride (in Pipelines)
“Make a hard Right-turn at the Town of Wedgepolitics and keep going Straight until you’ve reached the City of Bigotry and Political Strategy.” Directions for Harper’s recent wedge-issue of choice, driven to distract, that questions the validity of marriage licences granted to non-resident couples in Canada. This issue is too risky
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Canadian government seeks to nullify non-Canadian same-sex marriages
During the March 2011 federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had vowed not to reopen the abortion and same-sex marriage debates. That was good enough for some Canadians, who elected the neo-liberal Conservatives to their first full majority government last year. While Harper reiterated his pledge not to reopen the
Continue reading350 or bust: Canadians Ignore the Warning Lesson of Haiti’s Environmental Destruction At Our Peril
Today marks two years since the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti where more than 200,000 died and an estimated 1 million were left homeless. We are used to hearing that Haiti is a very poor country, yet rarely do we hear that at one point in its history, Haiti was the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Introducing the Liberal Queer Caucus
The Liberal Party has a lot of work to do this weekend as Liberals from across the country schlep to Ottawa for our biennial convention. This morning we are all reminded of what exactly is at stake as it appears that Stephen Harper is engaging dog-whistle politics over marriage-equality. A
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: The case is made for the Liberal Party to adopt primaries to pick leaders
As those politically inclined know, the Liberal Party is holding a convention in Ottawa this weekend, where delegates will be voting to elect different candidates to various party positions, and also to vote on several different policy resolutions. One of those is to adopt a US primary-style system to open
Continue readingeaves.ca: Oh, the hypocrisy… Oilsands, EthicalOil.org and Foreign Funding
Wow. Talk about the hypocrisy. So EthicalOil.org which has been leading the charge about how foreign money is influencing environmental groups and the regulatory process. But… apparently it refuses to disclose its donor list. The double truths get better. While they state on their website they only receive money from
Continue readingeaves.ca: Ethical Oil and the Northern Gateway Pipeline Process
This piece is cross-posted from the Toronto Star’s Op-Ed Page. This week the “ethical oil” argument adopted by the federal government took an interesting twist. While billions from China pour into Canada to develop the oilsands and fund the construction of the Northern Gateway pipeline, on Monday the government announced
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2012-01-11 01:42:00
CANADIAN POLITICS QUÉBEC: POLITICIANS LEAD CHARGE AGAINST PENSIONS IN QUÉBEC: It seems that in almost all countries there is a concerted effort to deny workers the pension benefits that they have worked and struggled for. Canada is, of course, no different, and the following open letter from the Canadian Union
Continue reading350 or bust: The Real Radicals Are Those Who Pollute Our Air and Water and Destabilize Our Climate, Mr. Oliver
Here are some excerpts from an open letter released yesterday by Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, just prior to the start of the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings in B.C. today: “Unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups that would seek to block this opportunity to diversify our trade. Their
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: It takes a radical to know a radical
Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, is apparently mad that his government’s plan to dump an oil pipeline through some of British Columbia’s pristine wilderness and have oil tankers come through to pick it up (and why should anyone be concerned about that, right? Exxon Valdez… cough) has been slowed
Continue readingMolly'sBlog: Molly’sBlog 2012-01-10 01:12:00
CANADIAN POLITICS TORONTO: NO TO BUDGET CUTS IN TORONTO: The following call out for protest against proposed budget cuts in the City of Toronto comes from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). **********************[ocap] Stop the Cuts – Final Ford Budget Showdown! Important Update on City Cuts: 1) January 17th Mobilization:
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