After the throne speech, the leaders of the opposition parties get to have their say in the legislature. Just as the throne speech sets the government’s agenda, so too can the replies set the agenda for the opposition parties. They could be committed to biting at the government’s heels and
Continue readingTag: Democratic Deficit
CuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 16 days to protect Canada’s democracy by stopping the clock
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 16 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election in
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Is this the smoking gun?
Deep Throat says: Stop the clock! Hat tip to Saskboy for this bit of sleuthing (along with his many commentators and twitters): If the Conservative lie that only Guelph is the focus of the Robocalls (RoboCon) investigation, and Pierre Poutine worked only for some rouge op in Guelph, who in
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Did Americans try to rig the May 2011 election in Canada?
With Elections Canada flooded with 31,000 complaints from Canadians, and with 25% of the 308 ridings (a total of 77 ridings) now associated with possible voter suppression tactics during the May 2011 election, a new issue has arisen which should concern Canadians. THE TWO ISSUES Was there an organized, deliberate
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 17 days to protect Canada’s democracy
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 17 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts under the Canada Elections Act to upset the results of the May 2 election
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Ten Things You can do to protect Canada’s democracy
Elections Canada has finally thought fit to let the public know the extent of Canadians’ concern about voter suppression actions during the May 2011 federal election. It says it has received a staggering 31,000 complaints from upset Canadians about possible election fraud! Now is the time for all Canadians to
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Roboscam: Bob Rae has 18 days to protect our democracy
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 18 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Bob Rae has 19 days to protect our democracy
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 19 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings
Continue readingCuriosityCat: An American’s view of Canada’s voter suppression
He knows all about dirty tricks, and he is surprised: |In a more recent example, Cummins recalls the 2000 presidential primary in South Carolina, where George W. Bush strategist Karl Rove’s operatives made phone calls to Republicans claiming that Bush rival John McCain had fathered an illegitimate black
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocall: Is Elections Canada failing Canadians?
Disquiet is being voiced in several circles about the apparent tardy response of Elections Canada in investigating the voter suppression attempts that appear to have taken place in dozens of ridings in the May 2011 election. Take this response, for example: But the elections agency said the use
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocalls: Council of Canadians takes step to protect Canada’s democracy
Welcome news earlier today: at least one significant group is stepping forward to protect our democratic rights by offering to assist ordinary Canadians who might have been mislead by the widespread voter suppression in the May 2011 election to take legal steps to achieve redress: The Council of Canadians
Continue readingCuriosityCat: A Peek at what the Tories know about you from The Sixth Estate
Very interesting look at the contents of CIMS, the Tory equivalent of the Liberalist. Scroll through the powerpoint presentation – the link is in the 9th paragraph: The Conservative Party’s system is widely reported to be the largest. Every time you write a Conservative MP, every time you
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocalls: Its time for the NDP & LPC to fight Guelph in court
John Ibbitson of the Globe & Mail has a good article setting out the facts and the law that applies to the voter suppression efforts in several ridings. He concludes that time favours Harper’s Tories because the legal route is a long one. His conclusion simply reinforces the fact that
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocalls: Deepthroat says "Follow the money"
And it seems that, just like Watergate, Canada’s dirty tricks scoundrels will be unveiled by following the money: Details of the phone account are contained in a series of sworn statements by Elections Canada investigator Al Mathews to support requests for court orders to produce records as part of the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Bob Rae has 20 days to protect our democracy
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go (around 20 days as of today) before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Bob Rae has 21 days to act to protect our democratic rights
The clock is ticking and there are less than three weeks to go before voters lose their right to appeal to the courts to upset the results of the May 2 election in at least 27 ridings. And Bob Rae, having identified 27 ridings where the Liberal Party has reason
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Robocalls: Let’s fund The Dirty Seven counter attack
Once more our democratic traditions and rights are under attack by people who would deprive Canadians of the rights that men and women have died to protect. Let us not take this meekly. Let us fight to defend our country, our Parliament, and the rights of our Canadian citizens to
Continue readingCuriosityCat: What NDP members should learn from the recent Quebec plunge
The bottom is falling out of the support for the NDP in Quebec, as recent polls have shown: The NDP nosedive in Quebec shows no signs of slowing down. With a steep drop in support among francophones, the New Democrats are now only one or two points ahead of their
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The half-bold, half-timid Liberal Party Convention
There are three primary lessons from this Convention. First, the Liberal Party of Canada is well on the way to a renewal that will stun Stephen Harper (who believes he has hammered in the final nail on its coffin with the elimination of direct public political party funding), and disconcert
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