“Democracy is going every four years to elect a government…without worrying about your mandate being overturned,” said Mr. Ford. No Mr Premier that’s Fordocracy or if you prefer Dougocracy our Canadian democracy is much more than electing a new government every few years, it is a living reflection of the
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The Maple Monarchists - Blog: The People’s Party and the Monarchy
Maxime Bernier On September 14th former ConservativeParty leadership hopeful Maxime Bernierannounced the founding of a new party. This ‘People’s Party‘ still has not fullydefined its party policy. Mr. Bernier doesn’tgive me much to go on either. As somemight recall I surveyed all of theConservative Party leadership candidates awhile back. Bernier’s response
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Democracy’s Fragility
To be sure, the elevation of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario to government redounds to everyone’s shame. Led by a buffoonish thug, Doug Ford, it is a party that seems intent on debasing not only its proud history, but also all citizens of the province, whether they voted for
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: What Albertans Can Learn From Barack Obama
To paraphrase that old E.F. Hutton commercial, when Barack Obama talks, people listen. Last week Obama spoke at the University of Illinois. He broke with the tradition of ex-presidents stepping away from the podium to give the new guy a chance to get on with his agenda because these are
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Joesph Stiglitz writes that history has proven wrong the theory that the weak recovery from the 2008 economic crash was the result of “secular stagnation” rather than a woefully insufficient public policy response. And Sam Pizzigati points out how the U.S. public is
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Another Ford Short Circuit.
Ontario’s government has launched an online portal for parents to report teachers who they believe aren’t following the current curriculum. Teachers who use the previous Liberal government’s sex education curriculum from 2015 will be investigated by the Ontario College of Teachers, Premier Doug Ford’s office said Wednesday. “We will not
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy Versus Populism
“One of the oldest rubs against democracy is that ordinary people aren’t up to the job. And the friends of populism aren’t helping the cause. They’re lining up to throw democracy under the bus in the name of, well, more democracy. The result will surely be less, not more.” So
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Ford and Trump and Moe Peas In a Rotten Pod
That movie about the incapable political leadership from the future is actually already here, it won’t take 500 more years. Ontario has their Harper-style Fake News now too https://twitter.com/OntarioNew…/status/1026965194243751936 Some of it is due to this bad man. A host of the Ford videos, Lyndsey Vanstone, presents as a news
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy Under Ford (#2)
I struggled with finding a suitable title for this article which it seems may well be the start of a series of observations regarding the high-handedness of the new Ontario authoritarian regime so just went with the previous headline part2! Is it oppression, repression, authoritarian, bullying, despotism, simply high-handedness, all
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy Under Ford?
This blog was started back in 2009 to highlight what I and my then blogging partner viewed as the declining respect for democracy by the then recently elected federal leader , one Stephen Harper. I now find myself appalled to see a similar mind set being displayed by the freshly
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Doug Ford’s Plan To Fix Government – Kill Democracy
Doug Ford stood in front of cameras today, and used language I thought I would never see in Canada. Ford suggested that less democratic representation is needed to fix regional and municipal governments and save tax payers money. The problem with politicians – Ford stated – was that the more
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: I’m Tired……
I’m tired of the impossible promises that Doug Fraud keeps spouting, many issued before his newly elected MPs (blindly Con supporters?) had a chance to have any say in the matter. No one could accuse Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government of being unambitious in the agenda set out in its
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: New Report on the State of our Democracy.
The Samara Centre for Democracy interviewed 54 former MPs from the last Parliament about their experience in Ottawa and found many of them questioning the very purpose of being an MP in an era when political power is concentrated in the hands of party leaders. The Samara Centre is a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Monbiot Trashes NAFTA
Guardian enviro-scribe, George Monbiot, hates NAFTA. He thinks it a scam perpetrated without the consent of the peoples of Canada, America and Mexico by their political bosses. Monbiot especially detests the ISDS or Investor-State Dispute Settlement clause. He also defends Donald Trump’s demand for a 5-year “sunset clause.” In seeking
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance
I’ve just reviewed Professor Carey Doberstein’s book on homelessness governance (UBC Press). The book looks at the way decisions are made pertaining to funding for homelessness programs in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto during the 1995-2015 period. Points raised in my review include the following: -Homelessness trends look quite different across
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Tough Choices……
In my final post before Rob Fraud becomes his self appointed gods gift to all of Ontario ……. or will those of us who see through his blather actually gather behind the only other viable choice, one union loving but less corporate embracing NDP candidate? In my own riding
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Voting A B C
I’m voting ABC ….. Any But Conservative ! Whilst I have nothing against our local conservative MPP and actually liked our previous MPP of the same persuasion, one Bill Murdoch now retired after putting the local needs ahead of provincial politics for many years, the new ‘leader’ is something else.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: For All Those Who Consume Their News Online (And Free)
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Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Weeding the Garden
“You have to tend to this garden of democracy, otherwise things can fall apart fairly quickly. And we’ve seen societies where that happens,” Former president Barack Obama And we have now seen how quickly that can happen by simply looking to the south of us, no one should think that
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Stark choices…..
In a blog dedicated to commentary on Canadian Democracy how can I avoid discussing the upcoming Ontario Provincial election and when doing so how can I avoid being highly partisan in my comments given the increasingly divisive commentary coming from some, if not all, participants? I am not sure that
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