Monday, October 3 saw another day dedicated largely to debate of the Cons’ anti-refugee bill. The Big IssueAs might be expected after several days of debate, the Cons’ single set of poorly-reasoned talking points was beginning to get stale. And Kevin L…
Continue readingTag: Cons
Accidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week.- Trish Hennessy is on board for an Occupy Canada movement:To my friends adopting a wait-and-see approach, I say: The least they can expect from progressives who have been criticizing the system (some since Woodstock) …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- Frances Russell comments on how the Cons’ war mentality is leading them to shut down any inconvenient opposition using unprecedented procedural tricks:Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majo…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On concealed agendas
Just because the Cons have no credibility in decrying popular protest as a means of political change doesn’t mean they won’t do their best to undermine activism now that they have full control over the levers of power. And they’re going out of their wa…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- No, it’s no huge surprise that the Cons are planning to launch systematic attacks against labour as the next step after making it clear they’ll treat any strike or lockout as both illegitimate and entirely the f…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On royal demolition
Yesterday I posted about one way in which the Cons’ threat to go over the head of Canada’s governing institutions in order to hold onto power looks to have plenty of repercussions in the years to come. But let’s note another massive gap between the Con…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Murray Dobbin comments on the role that the Occupy protest movement can play in countering corporate power that’s faced far too little opposition for far too long:Why now? Perhaps it is the international dime…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: History repeating
In 2008, it was then-cabinet minister Gary Lunn who wound up embroiled in at least a minor scandal over coordinated third-party expenses.And in 2011, there’s once again some sign of shenanigans afoot. In particular, a cluster of third parties based in …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leading by example
David Atkins points out how the Tea Party (however contrived and astroturfed) may have contributed to the rise of the burgeoning Occupy Wall Street movement by legitimizing protest as a means of political change. And it’s worth highlighting that Canada…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.- Both Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page and Interim Auditor General John Wiersema are rightly ripping the Cons for their complete unwillingness to be honest about how they’re wasting public money. But then, the …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the small-c conservative wave that was projected as a possible consequence of a majority federal government has instead given way to a tide of voters rejecting the Harper Cons’ mindset. For further reading, Susan Delacourt and I both consi…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On labelling
Aaron Wherry has noted that one Stephen Harper answer that struck me as shocking has in fact become a regular Con economic talking point. And it’s worth noting both how inaccurate the line about an “expansionary” fiscal policy actually is, and the harm…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Trish Hennessy points out that there’s a debt crisis facing many Canadians that will only be exacerbated by public-sector slashing:1.57 TrillionCanadians’ household debt in the second quarter of 2011, reach…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 28, 2011
Wednesday’s Day in Review comes a day later than usual. But I’ll plan to stick to the new schedule for future editions, as the anchors which nicely point to interventions from the current day seem to have a habit of disappearing later. The Big IssueOnc…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week.- Dan Gardner rightly points out that the Cons’ continued efforts to trash our parliamentary institutions now that they have a majority shouldn’t come as any surprise – even if they still demand plenty of outrage:Got t…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Ostentation nation
Remember the dark days gone by when “gold-plated” political perks were only a metaphor? Because John Baird is apparently putting that long national nightmare behind us.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Brian Topp highlights the fact that any shared sacrifice to address the Cons’ carefully-fabricated federal deficit needs to include those who have the most to spare:Instead of increasing revenues by cutting hig…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 27, 2011
Tuesday in Parliament saw another day taken up largely with discussion of the Cons’ omnibus dumb-on-crime bill. But the tables were turned on them repeatedly, as several efforts by the NDP to reach unanimous agreement on the parts of the bill which are…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your afternoon reading.- Ladies and gentlemen, your fully accountable Treasury Board president:Clement, the MP for Parry Sound-Muskoka and a former Ontario cabinet minister in the Mike Harris years, emerged from Conservative caucus…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Deep thought
I’m sure it’s utterly preposterous to even suggest that it’s theoretically possible that the Harper Cons might want to torch public money just for the sake of torching public money.
Continue reading