Tuesday, November 29 saw debate at third reading on the Cons’ omnibus crime bill. And with even some Cons starting to recognize the desperate need for amendments, the government’s obstinate refusal to allow for any real consideration of the bill stood out all the more. The Big Issue At the
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Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 28, 2011
Monday, November 28 saw the final day of debate in the House of Commons on the Cons’ legislation to trash the single-desk Canadian Wheat Board. And not surprisingly, the result was a particularly focused set of concerns about the bill – though those were waved aside yet again. The Big
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Susan Delacourt wonders whether the Cons plan to launch an attack on the environmental movement to match the schism which helped the Libs and the Bloc to divide up the Quebec political pie over sovereignty. But it’s worth keeping in mind that even
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 21, 2011
Monday, November 21 featured the final day of debate on the Harper Cons’ omnibus budget bill. The Big Issue Not surprisingly, the final day of debate on budget legislation gave rise to plenty of clash, with Peter Julian offering up the best summary of the contrasting positions: What the Conservatives
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 17, 2011
Thursday, November 17 saw a Liberal opposition day turned into a discussion about the sad state of water supplies to Canada’s First Nations. But while all parties were able to support the motion, there was plenty of room for contrast as to who was most interested in dealing with the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 2, 2011
Wednesday, November 2 saw the House of Commons debate two bills dealing with democratic reform. And the result was a remarkable gap between the values the Harper Cons presented in justifying their party’s policy orders, and the ones they actually apply in practice. The Big Issue The bill which received
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Alice offers her own take on Ian Capstick’s leadership musings by questioning why a current candidate would see more prospect of influencing the race by dropping out now rather than staying in the field: * It is worthwhile being able to win
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Kady highlights the Cons’ combination of complete incompetence in rejecting positive amendments to their dumb-on-crime bill, and dishonesty in pretending not to introduce exactly the same changes later. And if the Cons were the least bit concerned with *good* government rather than
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – No, there’s no doubt that the Harper Cons’ position on greenhouse gas emissions has been both amoral in its disregard for climate change, and ill-founded in its pretence that Alberta’s failing “intensity” targets will do anything positive. Which makes it all the more
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Monica Townson analyzes the Cons’ private-sector pension scheme and determines that it doesn’t add anything to the privileged treatment already granted to saving by those who can afford it. – pogge points out that as part of Peter MacKay’s desperation in trying
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Assorted content for your evening reading. – Alex Himelfarb finds a few positives in the Cons’ ramming their dumb-on-crime bill through the House of Commons: Thankfully many are not willing to “get over it”. How heartening, for example, to hear Leadnow.ca announce that they were simply regrouping for the next
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Greg Weston nicely chronicles Peter MacKay’s flat-out lies about how he came to take a $30,000 helicopter ride. And while Weston despairs about the likelihood that MacKay will pay any price, he does point out why we shouldn’t accept anything less: Few things
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 28, 2011
Friday, October 28 saw another day largely dedicated to debate on the gun registry, with plenty more key points by the opposition met with the Cons’ usual wall of refusal to consider anything other than total annihilation. The Big IssueThe line of the day goes to Rosane Dore Lefebvre, questioning
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26 saw a rare opportunity for the opposition parties to set the agenda. And as a result, the big issue was one which the Cons prefer to discuss as little as possible – even if it’s far more relevant to more Canadians than most of the Harper government’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your afternoon reading. – Stephen Maher exhorts the Cons to stop stifling democratic debate, featuring a strong point by NDP MP Jack Harris: When Harris was first elected to Parliament in 1987, he said, and Brian Mulroney had a majority, the government regularly adopted opposition amendments. “We
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Frances Russell laments Stephen Harper’s determination to replace democracy with court rule: Pierre Trudeau started it. Stephen Harper is finishing it off. The “it” is the effective demise of parliamentary democracy and the installation of “court government” ruled by an all-powerful prime minister
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Rick Salutin nicely describes what’s behind the “charity” model of top-end wish fulfillment that the Cons are pitching in place of actual social programs:The Old Philanthropy, aside from a few big foundations…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Dan Gardner highlights how Stephen Harper is imposing exactly the kind of costly, top-down policies on Canada’s provinces that he once railed against:This week, at least five provincial governments, starting …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Misled
Angela Hall makes the fatal mistake of presuming that right-wing spin has anything at all to do with reality:Returning to the city where he made a recent campaign promise to crack down on violent offenders, Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall expressed…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- I’d think it’s long past the time where any informed observer could cling to hope that the Harper Cons see good government as a goal worth pursuing. But Dan Gardner points out the role that Parliament …
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