Here, on how CETA and especially the TPP are serving as ever more glaring examples of the Cons’ willingness to give away everything Canadians value as part of ideologically-driven trade negotiations for no real economic gain. For further reading…– Scott Sinclair and Michael Geist have recently commented on the TPP
Continue readingTag: columns
Accidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on why we shouldn’t limit the range of possible contenders in the Saskatchewan NDP’s leadership race – and the number of supporters an outside candidate might need to reach in order to find a place on a final ballot. Demographics from the column are found here (as to Saskatchewan’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on what we should learn from the recent spate of Alberta oil spills. For further reading…– Stephen Hume finds that Alberta’s pipelines have spilled roughly 28 million litres of oil in thousands of leaks and ruptures just since 2006, and puts the results in perspective: (C)onsider the campaign by
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, expanding on this post as to the importance of a functioning federal system as a means of counterbalancing regional declines – and the forces working to limit anything of the sort in Canada. For further reading…– Frances Russell also laments the Harper firewall model based on the need for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the importance of public libraries – and why the powers that be may be entirely happy to tear them down through a contrived war against their workers. For more on the RPL’s current contract dispute, see Check Us Out.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how we know better in our personal lives than to think money is everything – and how we should expect public policy to follow the same principle. For further reading, see my earlier posts on the subject. And the best-developed Canadian means of measuring is the Canadian Index
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the Cons’ imposition of an economic policy which benefits a few at the expense of people who get no say in the matter is just the latest (if worst) example of their becoming everything they once claimed to loathe. For more on the economic argument (which in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party wants to turn back the clock on workers’ rights which have rightly gone unquestioned for near a century. For further reading…– The actual labour consultation paper can be found here. And I’ll encourage readers to make a submission in advance of the July
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the latest attempt by the City of Regina to lump a stadium into several other unrelated plans in an attempt to win higher-level funding – and the need for citizens to instead assess it on its own merits. And for some of the history of past efforts (at
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, following up on Sarah Schmidt’s report showing that an outright majority of tested food products are inaccurately labeled by noting that nutrition information is just one of many areas where we’re being told to take the corporate sector’s word as to what’s good for us. For further reading:– Joanna
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how we should look to all levels of government to find ways to work through jurisdictional barriers – rather than accepting them as an excuse for regressive policies. (And lest there be any doubt, I don’t write the titles.)
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the distinction between healthy optimism and dangerous boosterism – and how both the Harper and Wall governments are dragging Saskatchewan toward the latter.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Slightly Aged Column Day
Here, on how the latest round of cuts at multiple levels of government has been conspicuously designed to avoid having the wealthiest pitch in to improve public balance sheets. And while the column discusses earlier polling, the Broadbent Institute provides the best confirmation yet that the selective pain has nothing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the philosophical underpinnings of the Wall government’s choice to demolish Saskatchewan’s film industry – and the dangers for the province if we accept them. For further reading…– Bruce Johnstone and Murray Mandryk have already criticized the attack on the film industry as ill-advised purely as a matter of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, featuring my musings on how political parties should be able to function without the top-down direction of a permanent leader – and the example the federal NDP has set on that front. (And as you may have noticed, it’s running a couple of days later than usual due to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the Wall government’s spin on an essential services appeal seems to be largely ignoring some of the most important conclusions reached by Justice Ball in his decision. For those interested in seeing exactly what Justice Ball concluded about Wall’s overreach, see generally paragraphs 174-222 of the decision.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Robocon may damage the Harper Cons’ reputation for years to come – so long as the opposition parties seek out better ways to reach voters in the meantime. For further reading…– Again, the focus on the “least informed, least engaged voters” comes from Susan Delacourt.– Annick Papillon
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the opportunities and limitations associated with the City of Regina’s new open data portal. For further reading, see David Eaves generally, but particularly his analysis of data licensing (where the City looks to have met rather well).
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the open questions as to whether Nathan Cullen’s plan for pre-electoral cooperation would serve any useful purpose. For further reading expanding on the points in the column:– I’ve previously posted on some of the practical considerations involved in Cullen’s proposal, while also questioning whether we should write off
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, featuring an overview of the NDP’s leadership race from a Saskatchewan perspective. For further reading:– The per capita membership numbers cited in the column are from Alice. And of course her general coverage of the leadership campaign is well worth a look.– For those who haven’t seen it yet,
Continue reading