Now that the dust is settling, a PQ minority government will take over in Quebec with roughly one-third of the vote, while the Legault Coalition party will end up with far fewer seats than its roughly 27% of the votes should grant it. However, Legault’s Coalition party now holds the
Continue readingTag: Democratic Deficit
Impolitical: The first robocalls victim – again
The Ottawa Citizen published an op-ed by former Saanich-Gulf Islands Liberal candidate Briony Penn on Tuesday: “I was the first robocalls victim.” It tells the story of the 2008 federal election in that riding and the strange robocalls urging people to vote for an NDP candidate who had withdrawn from
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Premier McGuinty tries a fast one with his questionable budget
Just like Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Dalton McGuinty is cramming major changes into a bloated budget document, hoping to force the NDP into supporting his budget rather than risk another election so soon after the last one. The Premier is trying ramrod substantial changes to the way Ontario runs its
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Collins beats Kazakhstan #nlpoli
From a second rebuttal to justice minister Felix Collins, right (not exactly as illustrated) from the Center for Law and Democracy: In a speech to the House of Assembly on 14 June 2012, Collins used derogatory terms to refer to CLD, and claimed we had financial motives in publicising our
Continue readingImpolitical: C-38 Speaker’s ruling reaction
Key point on Scheer’s ruling and the ongoing discussion over C-38, the government’s monstrous omnibus bill that jams unrelated and consequential bills into the budget process: “It’s something that clearly means we’re going to have to change the way Parliament does business,” Rae said. “If we can’t succeed in doing
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Opposition Budget Tactics probably will be frustrated
Kudos to all the non-Tory MPs in the House for fighting to preserve our democratic traditions, by tabling amendments to the draconian Budget bill. The Harper government clearly does not really believe in the correct functioning of our Parliamentary committees and the House itself, as we have seen in many
Continue readingImpolitical: #BlackOutSpeakOut
Please visit BlackOutSpeakOut in support of today’s national action.
Continue readingImpolitical: A winning essay on national media coverage of the 2011 federal election
This is a brilliant piece of writing by Mark Brister: “National media coverage of the 2011 federal election was a failure.” Not sure if it’s getting much coverage but there’s a lot of good stuff there. If this is the runner-up for the 2012 Dalton Camp Award on links between
Continue readingImpolitical: Today in secret deliberations
Something to watch for today as the Conservatives keep digging their democratic deficit, the Commons public accounts committee meets to decide the future of the F-35 hearings. Not in public, mind you! Where do you think you are? The committee is scheduled to meet again Thursday behind closed doors. The
Continue readingImpolitical: Harper’s extra-Parliamentary internet surveillance committee
This news is a new low in the Harper government’s ongoing debasement of Parliament’s role in Canadian democracy: In the months leading up to the introduction Bill C-30, Canada’s telecom companies worked actively with government officials to identify key issues and to develop a secret industry-government collaborative forum on lawful
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Harper’s government is finding out that if you mess with our Parliament, you mess with Canadians
The inner core of Stephen Harper and his Reform-factioned Conservative Party revolves around an authoritarian streak a mile wide, and a distaste for our democratic institutions (Parliament, the civil service, the courts) that they seldom conceal. Having treated the House of Commons with contempt, through not answering questions, changing the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: One good reason to vote NDP in 2015
Perhaps Leonard Cohen has something to say to those Canadians who look with dismay upon our broken, undemocratic, first past the post electoral system, and wonder that a man who is not supported by more than 60% of those who voted can do the things he is now doing with
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Bonus seats: Maybe our Parliament should use this Greek innovation?
I was surprised to read this today about the Greek ruleswhich gift an extra lift to the party that wins the most seats in an elec tion: ND came first in the polls but, in common with the centre-left Pasok – the other traditional party of power –
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why Canada will have a new government in 2015
Andrew Coyne has put his journalistic finger on the Achilles Heel of the ‘Harper Government’ – its inherent untrustworthiness: Stealth PM Harper But while the public might have been inclined to look indulgently on such behaviour when the dupe was the opposition, it is less likely to be so tolerant
Continue readingCuriosityCat: My shortlist for permanent leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Speculation swirls around Bob Rae and his rumoured resignation as interim leader in order to throw his hat into the ring for permanent leader. Journalists give their views of which Liberals will be candidates. The party itself is preparing to enrol tens of thousands of Supporters, who – although not
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Bob Dylan’s Ladder of the Law and Rupert Murdoch
The bombshell findings of the UK Parliamentary Committee that heard the two Murdochs testify about their role and their innocence in the phone hacking case, gave rise to Bob Dylan being quoted: Bob Dylan The report’s findings – including the claim that Rupert Murdoch was “not a fit person” to
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Abortion: The Liberal Party should respond with a boycott
Stephen Harper promised before the election not to reopen the abortion debate if he was re-elected. Now one of his MPs is tabling a motion to reopen the debate. Harper is using the Woodward motion to slip past his pre-election promise not to reopen the debate on abortion. In doing
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Democratic deficit: Undemocratic result in Alberta penalizes Wildrose Party
Hot from the press, we have yet another example of how the archaic, undemocratic First Past The Post (FPTP) system of selecting representatives of our Parliament and Legislatures leads to results which rob some people of their votes. The results in the Alberta election demonstrate in spades just how badly
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Liberal Party and the role of Quebec in Canada: Bob Rae’s Views
With the possibility that Bob Rae will soon step down as interim leader of the LPC and so trigger the beginning of the race to select the next permanent leader some time towards the end of this year and early next year, we will find the candidates stumping for support.
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Alberta NDP should bargain for modified proportional representation
As their price for propping up either the Wildrose or PC parties. The race has tightened, with 308indicating neither the PCs nor the Wildroses gaining a majority of seats, and the NDP perhaps ending up with the swing votes the other two parties will need to enable them to govern.
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