Some political pundits seemed surprised the other day that conservative leader Erin O’Toole was trying to build bridges to unions. Not all union members vote for new democratic party politicians. If there has been any drift over the years, it has been to both conservatives and liberals. It is all
Continue readingTag: Federal Politics
Babel-on-the-Bay: ‘That was then; this is now.’
Is it not amazing how a few more nickels in your tin cup can change your attitude? Did you listen to how the Shaw executive on Monday changed his tune about the importance of Freedom Mobile? One wonders just who he thought he was kidding? No doubt he used to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Pick your battles.
If you want to win, in war or in politics, you pick the battles you can win. Losers fight any battle that comes along. It is the problem facing the major opposition parties in the coming election. It is a special problem for conservative leader Erin O’Toole. He is between
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Liberalism Betrayed.
You hear it too often. It is the jerk who tells you that they are socially a liberal and financially a conservative. Does that mean that you want to do the right thing but you do not want to pay for it? Is this like the idiocy of the conservative
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The knocking on Trudeau’s door.
Like the late-night tapping on his door, as written by Edgar Allan Poe, Justin Trudeau dares not fail to answer this summons. It is at the heart and soul of liberalism in Canada. It must be answered with fairness and justice. It is in the face of the rape and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Do we really understand China?
They are known to most Canadians as ‘the Two Michaels.’ They have been in prison in China since before the pandemic. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, were arrested in China just days after the RCMP arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, in Vancouver
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The upcoming battle for the GTA.
Some pundits are under the impression that the key battle in the coming federal election is in the greater Toronto area (GTA). They might be able to give logical support for their assumptions but I would not suggest that it is all a done deal. Some things have changed and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Kenney sugar coats dishonesty.
We get lots of promotional stuff in our Internet in-boxes. It usually only takes a second to click on the little garbage-can icon. But the other day, with my finger hovering, I took a minute to think about one of them. This promotion was by the Canadian Energy Centre—better known
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: In the leadership wilderness.
Canada’s major political parties have a leadership problem. We have to face facts folks: Trudeau of the not-a-party liberals is a hypocrite; O’Toole of the mainly western conservatives cannot get his party to back him; and Singh of the new democrats is taking his party nowhere. None of these three
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Not your father’s Tories.
This has probably been said before but it bears repeating. I used to know conservatives that I liked. Not that I would ever vote conservative but these were actually likeable people. I lived next door to a member of the provincial conservative cabinet. He was a good neighbour. I always
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Thieves, Scoundrels and other Telecoms.
Canadians will have every right to be angry at the neo-liberalism of Justin Trudeau and the failure of regulatory agencies such as the Canadian Radio, Telecommunications and Television Commission (CRTC). The planned takeover of Shaw Communications by fellow telecom Rogers has to be stopped. Without more, not less, competition by
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Write Big or Go Home.
If you expect a federal budget in the April timeframe, you might be guessing right. There are still arguments against it but the scenario is an April budget and a May call for the election that will be held in June. Finance minister Freeland has a serious task to deliver
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The drag of the monarchy.
Along with most Canadians, I try to ignore the monarchy. It is ersatz, immaterial and irrelevant to our lives. The only problem is that the monarchy is locked into a constitutional structure that defies change. It was planned to be almost impossible to change. The small-minded Fathers of Confederation were
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Let’s not give up hope on humanity.
If there is no hope for humanity, what do we do? Hold hands and jump from the nearest cliff? There is no question that the scientists are scared. They are not as worried about the creatures of the land, sea and air as they are about the fate of mankind.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: In the twilight of the Firm.
It played for shock. It was Oprah Winfrey practically salivating at the opportunity to condemn the Brit royals for racism. She was trying to get the one-time duchess Meghan to say it. It was the lowest point in that overly long and trite interview with Meghan and Harry last Sunday.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Can I change my mind?
Recently I have been thinking October for the election that Trudeau wants. That could be wrong. The problem is that I was basing my thinking on the end of the pandemic. I realize that there will be a time when people want to go out and make love in the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “Ottawa, we have a problem.”
The other day, we got a good laugh from a Susan Delacourt column in the Toronto Star. She was comparing former federal liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to conservative leader Erin O’Toole. I could never imagine two guys so different. I first met Michael when he was in his early 20s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Being ‘Just Erin’ won’t cut it.
It seems that conservative leader Erin O’Toole is not just an unknown to Canadian taxpayers. His own caucus in Ottawa is just as much in the dark as are the voters. The conservative MPs are puzzled as to where he intends to lead their party. Some of the more reliable
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Lion Baulks on the Yellow Brick Road.
On the road to the coming federal election, none of the other parties should count on Jagmeet Singh’s new democrats to support their call. Singh, the lion from Brampton, Ontario, has said he will back the liberal government until the pandemic has been beaten. And that might take a while.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Biden is ahead of Trudeau on climate.
Hey Joe, what did you think of the hypocrisy you got from Trudeau during your virtual summit on Tuesday? One of the first items of business when you became U.S. president was ending that Keystone XL pipeline that was designed to take Canadian bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to
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