Are there things that money shouldn’t be able to buy? In an age when the ‘wisdom of the market’ is an orthodoxy embraced by many, it is a question that the neoconservative agenda would suggest borders on heresy. Yet that is precisely the question economist Michael J. Sandel poses in
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Politics and its Discontents: Anyone Up For A Citizen’s Arrest?
That is the question Toronto lawyer Paul Cavalluzzo essentially asks, given the egregious contempt for law that the Harper government in general, and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander in particular, is showing regarding refugee health care: Our government has clearly refused to comply with an order in a case in which
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Reassuring Legislation For Xenophobes and Bigots, A.K.A. The Harper Base
I don’t know who composes the names for government bills these days, but they are blatantly selective in their intended audiences. The latest proposed piece of Harper legislation leaves little doubt that its target audience is the red meat supporters of our current regime: the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Conservatives urged to respect Federal Court’s ruling on refugee health care
A group of doctors dedicated to strengthening and improving Canada’s universal publicly-funded health care system is urging the Conservatives to drop their appeal against the Federal Court’s recent ruling on refugee health care funding. The post Conservatives urged to respect Federal Court’s ruling on refugee health care appeared first on
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Chris Alexander and the Monstrous Cruelty of the Harper Regime
As I have mentioned before, the story of Chris Alexander reminds in some ways of the Oscar Wilde story The Picture of Dorian Gray.Where the portrait of the bright, boyishly handsome diplomat, morphs into something monstrous. After he sells his soul to the devil, or in his case Stephen Harper.And sure
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Three reasons why Ottawa’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program ‘reforms’ likely mean little
There’s always been a worldwide pool of skilled and unskilled employees like these fellows for jobs in North America – immigration. Below: Employment Minister Jason Kenney and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander. Canadians are within their rights to be highly skeptical of the long list of changes to the Harper Government’s
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Thomas Walkom Misses The Mark
One of the reasons I subscribe to The Toronto Star is the quality of its columnists. Tim Harper, Martin Regg Cohn, Thomas Walkom, Heather Mallick, etc. rarely disappoint. However, no one is perfect, and today’s column by Walkom is not up to his usual critical standards. Entitled Conservatives’ downfall could
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Chris Alexander and the Con Assault on Justin Trudeau
Oh boy. I guess it's because we are winter. And this one has gone on for too long.For what else could explain the grotesque sight of the ratty Chris Alexander, scurrying out of his PMO briefing.To accuse Justin Trudeau of being a dangerous communist. Read more »
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Advice to Canadian politicians and media: Proceed with caution on your support for Ukraine’s rebels
Anti-Government Ukrainians prepare to fight police in Kiev. Below: Rioters throw gasoline bombs at police in Ukraine; Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. (Wikimedia photos.) You can bet money that when trouble is brewing abroad things are always far more complicated than local enthusiasts for one side or the other make
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Week Stephen Harper’s Cons Raped Our Democracy
Ever since he came to power he has been stealthily gnawing away at the fabric of our country.Waiting until we are asleep, or distracted, to gobble up another little bleeding chunk of what was once Canada.But what Stephen Harper has done in just the last week, is now threatening to
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Chris Alexander, Julian Fantino, and the Con Bullies
The other night I wrote about how disgusted I was to see Chris Alexander, the Con Immigration Minister, go after Deb Matthews, the Health Minister of Ontario, like a schoolyard bully.For the "crime" of standing up for the right of refugee claimants to receive health care. And I quoted this paragraph
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Angelina Chapin highlights the drastic impact a guaranteed annual income would have on Canadians currently living in poverty: To set and meet goals, you have to think long-term. When you’re poor, you can’t focus on the future (and Bill Gates wasn’t raised poor,
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Sickening Corruption of Chris Alexander
They say that everything he touches he corrupts, or drags into his monstrous world.And it must be true eh?Because just look at the sad and pathetic case of Chris Alexander.Once he had half a reputation, then it started to unravel, now he's just another callous Con. Read more »
Continue readingAlberta Diary: With free expression under assault in Alberta, where’s ‘free speech advocate’ Ezra Levant?
So-called free-speech advocate and celebrity commentator Ezra Levant. Below: Free-speech opponent Alison Redford, Canada’s answer to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, shown below her; that Voltaire guy; nearly forgotten Tory political strategist Stephen Carter. Where’s Ezra Levant now that we need him? Mr. Levant, after all, is frequently billed as Canada’s
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Ice storm 2013: Is the Canadian government like the cops – never around when you need them?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper over flooded Calgary last June. Apparently there’s no sign of him anywhere near Toronto now. Below: Then U.S. President George W. Bush over New Orleans in August 2005; Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne; the PM’s unhelpful Tweet from Calgary Sunday night. The Toronto Star reported yesterday that
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Not In My Name, Please
In a regime rife with duplicity, one of the most dishonest aspects of the Harper cabal is its endless capacity to pretend that the decisions it makes and the legislation it enacts are being done ‘for the people’. One of most recent examples of this egregious misrepresentation is the decision
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Jason Kenney and the Octopus Monster
OMG. Run for your lives. It's the octopus monster from outer space, or the Creature from the Con Lagoon. And it seems like NOTHING can stop Jason Kenney !!!!Two weeks ago I told you how he was refusing to give up his old job, and humiliating not one but TWO new Con
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Peter Buffett rightly questions the trend toward making the provision of basic necessities subordinate to a corporate mindset, rather than putting human needs first: As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth for the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Jason Kenney and the Two-Headed Monster
I always knew Jason Kenney was a man of many faces eh?Some hidden and some not.I always knew he was extremely vain and incredibly ambitious.But who knew he was so inflated with his own sense of self importance, that he would steal another Minister's portfolio? Read more »
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Bernie Farber Has Advice
Now that Jason Kenney has left his position as Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Bernie makes some suggestions to his successor, Chris Alexander: Refugees – Remove Hungary and Mexico from the Designated Safe Country list. This can be done immediately and without legislative reform. These designations impact vulnerable communities
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