Way to go PEI! Voters strike a blow for a better democracy; our federal government and other provinces should pay heed: A non-binding plebiscite on electoral reform in Prince Edward Island has shown voters support a switch to a form of proportional representation. Mixed member proportional representation was the most
Continue readingTag: Democratic Deficit
CuriosityCat: PEI leads the way in remedying our democratic deficit!
Way to go PEI! Voters strike a blow for a better democracy; our federal government and other provinces should pay heed: A non-binding plebiscite on electoral reform in Prince Edward Island has shown voters support a switch to a form of proportional representation. Mixed member proportional representation was the most
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Wallonia’s handling of CETA was more democratic than Canada’s
Here’s a good article explaining who is opposed to the dispute settlement mechanism in the EU-Canada free trade treaty, and why: If the answer to an expression of democratic will is to seek to subvert it, European leaders clearly are yet to learn the lessons of Brexit and the Greek
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Wallonia’s handling of CETA was more democratic than Canada’s
Here’s a good article explaining who is opposed to the dispute settlement mechanism in the EU-Canada free trade treaty, and why: If the answer to an expression of democratic will is to seek to subvert it, European leaders clearly are yet to learn the lessons of Brexit and the Greek
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: The media love the TPP, but should you?
My piece on the mainstream media’s trade deal boosterism was published at Ricochet yesterday. Canada’s media have heaped fawning praise on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the biggest free trade and investment deal in years. Rather than raising questions and red flags over a secret deal with mixed impacts, our media has been
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Liberals surge to 43% in Battleground Ontario says Nanos
Here’s the Nanos latest poll: Nanos Nightly Election Tracking Highlights (3-day tracking ending October 2) – Federal Liberals trend up for last two nights of Nanos tracking National Ballot – In the latest Nanos tracking completed Friday evening the Liberals had 34.6% support followed by the Conservatives at 30.5%, the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Liberals surge to 43% in Battleground Ontario says Nanos
Nanos Nightly Election Tracking Highlights (3-day tracking ending October 2) – Federal Liberals trend up for last two nights of Nanos tracking
- National Ballot – In the latest Nanos tracking completed Friday evening the Liberals had 34.6% support followed by the Conservatives at 30.5%, the NDP at 25.1%, and the Greens at 4.8% nationally.
- Battleground Ontario – There has been a noticeable movement in one of the key battlegrounds in favour of the Liberals over the past two evenings of tracking. Support for the Liberals in battleground Ontario stands at 43.6% while the Conservatives are at 33.8%, the NDP at 18.6% and the Greens at 4.0%.
CuriosityCat: Tom Mulcair says Not a Snowball’s Chance in Hell he will prop up a Harper minority government
The end of the Harper era Tom Mulcair has firmly rejected any chance that the NDP would support Stephen Harper’s government in any confidence votes after the October 19 election: Earlier Wednesday, Mulcair was also asked whether he would support a Conservative minority government. “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Coalition or no coalition? What will happen on October 20
Qualified support? OK Polls show the Conservatives slipping, and the NDP and LPC in a dead heat for the role of replacement government, but neither of those two parties expected to gain a majority of seats in the House (170 seats). And this has given rise to intense debate about
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Prime Minister Trudeau will lead us out of the Harper darkness
Harper’s sham democracy It is difficult to think of a more important election for Canada’s future than the coming October one. The choice is stark: more of the Harper Conservative chipping away at our democratic institutions, or, under Justin Trudeau as our PM, a refreshing change that will usher modern
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Justin Trudeau’s legacy will equal that of his father
Just when Tom Mulcair was starting to measure the curtains in Harper’s home so that he could replace them when he became Prime Minister; when the polls showed a surge of votes for the NDP after the dramatic events in the recent Alberta election; and when pundits have started writing
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ranked ballots in 2018: Democracy is coming to Canada!
Politician with Courage And not a moment too soon! The Liberal Party government of the province of Ontario deserves the congratulations of every Canadian for their bold step in dragging democracy into the 21st century with this step: The provincial government will change the Municipal Elections Act to allow cities
Continue readingCuriosityCat: UK Election: Labour leader’s nonsense about no cooperation with SNP
Sturgeon’s view of Miliband’s anti-cooperation nonsense Next week Britons go to the polls, and Labour leader Miliband has once more put his foot in his mouth with a statement that he is not interested in any post-election coalition or cooperation with the surging Scottish SNP party. Labour will be blown
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why the UK needs proportional representation
The Damsel is in distress The Telegraph has this introduction to the article on safe seats: Has your constituency already been won in the 2015 general election? Find out here. Does your vote really count? New research shows that more than half of MPs are in safe seats. Find your
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why I want Elizabeth Warren as the next US President
Senator Elizabeth Warren: The Voice of the Left It’s time for a progressive, highly educated, intelligent, tough as nails, committed liberal to inhabit the White House one President Obama moves on to other things. And the article in Politicosums up why I think Warren would make a great president for
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Mulcair leads the way to a more democratic Canada
Mulcair: The man who would bring democracy to Canada Thomas Mulcair, that very capable MP who is leader of the NDP, has publicly committed himself to remedy our democratic deficit, as this post indicates. Mulcair is to be commended for two things. First, for signing the Fair Vote Canada declaration
Continue readingCuriosityCat: 2015 election: Coalition gains favour
Which one, or two, of these men will lead Canada? The end of the Harper government is clear from this latest poll, which shows that the Harper scare tactics of the past have run their course: Liberal and NDP supporters, meanwhile, have expressed a tepid willingness to consider each other,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Kudos to Premier Wynne for remedying our democratic deficits
Political Reformer Premier Wynne While many premiers, MPs, politicians and commentators wring their hands about the low voting counts in elections, and the feeling of impotence of many citizens, Premier Wynne of Ontario has decided to stop whining and do something about it. With one bold step, Wynne will provide
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why is Justin Trudeau dancing to victory?
Heather Malleck in the Toronto Star has a few good reasons why our next Prime Minister will be named Justin Trudeau: But what makes some politicians attractive and others repellent? Trudeau is intelligent, humane and self-confident, a Québécois who is devoted to Canadian unity and has the most marvellous family:
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ontario Election: A Good Case for Proportional Representation
Premier Wynne led her Liberal Party to a majority government this week, trouncing the anti-statist (drown the government in a bathtub) frothings of the Conservative Party, and shouldering aside the NDP expectation that governmental power was theirs for the taking, like ripe fruit, without any real effort on their part
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