There are strange things done ‘neath the Canadian sunBy politicians lusting for power;The backroom boys have their techno-toysThat would make your blood go sour;The ballot boxes have seen sly foxes,But the slyest they ever did seeWas on election day, t…
Continue readingTag: elections
Occupy Ottawa: Activist Communique: Ottawa Rally Against Robo-calls Electoral Fraud
Hundreds of people, including members of parliament, rights activists and average citizens, are expected on Parliament Hill at noon tomorrow to protest the unfolding Robo-calls election scandal. Renowned activist Brigette Depape (pictured) and MPs Pat …Read More
Continue readingTerahertz: My early rankings #ndpldr
First note that the vote for the leader of the NDP is still 3 weeks away, and through the magic of the internet, there is no need to actually vote until convention day (when you can vote in real time with the convention), these rankings aren’t finalized. Each candidate has
Continue readingTerahertz: Has Martin Singh compromised a Gurdwara’s charitable status? #ndpldr
I posted this morning about Martin Singh’s interesting release about hosting polls for the NDP leadership race. I noted that it didn’t seem like it violated any of the NDP or Canada Election rules, but one further recollection I realized that the rules being broken weren’t by Martin Singh’s campaign
Continue readingTerahertz: Martin Singh sponsors Ontario #ndpldr polls
Party leadership contests are not exactly like general elections. In a typical election there is one or two days when you have to make your way to the local community centre, school, or (begrudgingly) church where officials check your identity, give you a ballot and a little cardboard cubicle to
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Ignatieff’s Liberals & Romney’s Republicans
The comparison between Canadian politics and American politics has been made more than once, the similarity of Liberal and Republican dominance in their respective countries during the last century is the most obvious. But in recent years Liberals and Republicans seem to be sharing more and more in common, Michael
Continue readingTerahertz: No clear mandate #ndpldr
The race to be the next leader of the NDP and Leader of the Official Opposition is looking like it’s going to take at least a few rounds to decide. Few candidates seem to have wide enough support to win on the first, or even second ballot. In which case,
Continue readingOccupy Ottawa: Conservatives Robocalls Scandal: What Canadians Are Saying
Thanks to the still-imploding Conservatives robocalls scandal, the end of the age of innocence in Canadian politics has begun. The scandal is being described in the kind of terms common in authoritarian countries. Only Federal …Read More
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Conservatives Robocalls Scandal: What Canadians Are Saying
Thanks to the still-imploding Conservatives robocalls scandal, the end of the age of innocence in Canadian politics has begun. The scandal is being described in the kind of terms common in authoritarian countries. Only Federal …Read More
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: 30 Day Time Limit For Robocall By-Election Applications
If by-elections are to result from the recent reports of election fraud in a growing number of ridings then a 30 day time limit might already be ticking. The Canada Elections Act (see below) clearly stipulates that any application for a by-election resulting from election fraud must be filed within
Continue readingTerahertz: The Cons found a scapegoat
It seemed pretty obvious when Harper claimed no knowledge of the Robocon scandal that someone in the Conservative party would quickly have to take the fall. Guelph staffer Michael Sona took that fall today, despite a lack of any “public evidence” that he was involved. I doubt this will be
Continue readingcmkl: Robocall voter “suppression”: who does that?
And more to the point, who orders that done? I don’t for an instant believe it starts and stops with the dude who was offered to the bus wheels this afternoon. It seems like it’s way bigger than just what Michael Sona is purported to have arranged.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Joy of Political Giving, By-Elections edition #nlpoli
Official election finance returns for two by-elections in 2010 and 2011 show an interesting pattern of political contributions. The most interesting tidbit is that the Tories had to pull out all the financial stops to ensure Vaughan Granter won Humber West. The party transferred more than $17,000 to his campaign.
Continue readingTerahertz: Cullen is still wrong #ndpldr
Leadnow.ca recently polled its email contacts to declare whether they agree/disagree with the statement “The NDP, Liberals and Greens should work together to defeat Conservative incumbents. After the election, they should cooperate to pass electoral reform.” They posted their preliminary results with nearly 8000 votes, and 95% of respondents agreed,
Continue readingTerahertz: Nathan Cullen in Vancouver #ndpldr
While I haven’t made it to a Nathan Cullen event yet, and still have my reservations about his joint-nomination proposal, I did get the audio from a recent speech he made in Vancouver when local MP Fin Donnelly endorsed him for leader of the NDP. You can hear the audio
Continue readingRandom Ranting Raving and Ratings: Northern Reflections: Would Ike Be A Republican Today?
I am inclined to agree with Northern Reflections. There is absolutely no way Eisenhower would identify himself as a Republican today. He would never have likely made it through the Primaries with his moderate views. Northern Reflections: Would Ike Be A Republican Today? submit_url =… ..
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Conservatives Don’t Hate Democracy, They Just Don’t Need It
In Canada our representatives are elected, our churches, charities, and businesses are not. Conservatives by their ideology believe that less power should be given to our democratically elected government and more power given to groups that do not answer to voters, whether they be private hospitals, unaccountable church organizations, or
Continue readingCalgaryLiberal: Liberal Convention 2012: The Need For Open Primaries
In 2011 I was on the convention floor in Calgary, Alberta, advocating for the same change that is in front of the federal Liberals today (see constitution document here [PDF]). I spoke of openness, inclusion, the need for a new force in politics, and the empowerment that an open primary
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What does it take to be president? Alexandra Mendes knows
To me, an important part of the job of President of the Party is to know what the job is and isn’t. It’s an organizational role, one that requires communications and the ability to build bridges to get the job done. What it is not is a spokesperson position. The
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Experience to get the job done – Alexandra Mendes’ proven track record
In this time of Liberal rebuilding, the Party President must work for,and be accountable to the membership. It is not enough to simply chairmeetings or to be a talking head on TV, a President must have thepassion and experience for organizational management required to takeon the heavy tasks of rebuilding
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