One of our favourite bloggers insists that you should not bet the rent money on the Leap Manifesto. While agreeing that no gambler should ever bet the rent money, we will take that bet. Despite the naysayer being one of the best read and erudite of left of centre Canadian bloggers, he might lack our […]
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Rainy days on those Sunny Ways.
You hate to tell this to our optimistic Prime Minister but occasionally it rains. We were thinking of that when we noted that in the past week, few people really appreciated the government’s feeble, last-minute attempt to manage assisted dying and the Senate was having trouble making the PM’s silly Senate solution functional. The combination […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It looks good on the NDP.
It is the way an Aussie friend says, “It looks good on them.” It is not said in a mean way but it implies that they deserve their quandary. And the current condition of the New Democrats is not only well deserved but about time. There are no more political virgins for them to sacrifice. […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Annoyed Ontario Liberals and Wynne’s Autism Echo Chamber:
This blog will be dedicated moving forward to following the conversations and policy discussions about Ontario’s new autism policy. The discussions going on right now are a national ethical and moral issue and those across Canada should be kept up to date as much as possible. On Tuesday there was a very emotional rally at our provincial legislature […]
Babel-on-the-Bay: The Knives are out for Notley.
After the shoot-out at the Edmonton Corral last weekend, one of the participants was left bleeding in the dust. After the NDP delegates left town, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is in critical condition and the wolves of the province’s right and further right wing parties are baying for her corpse. But that seems so unfair! […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The NDP Gunfight at the Edmonton Corral.
Who knew? Premier Rachel Notley in her Annie Oakley role had no choice but play to the home town crowd. Now former New Democrat Leader Tom Mulcair probably wished he was anywhere else. But the gunfight at the Edmonton Corral was a three-way fight and you had to be careful not to turn your back […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Baby Bonus is not a Basic-Income guarantee.
You wonder where Canada’s Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos is at when he tells the news media that the Canada Child Benefit can be considered a step toward a guaranteed annual income plan. The new Liberal baby bonus program is just a political bribe that panders to a serious societal need. But programs such as the […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Don’t forget Canada’s Minister of Pot.
Canada is certainly a slow-moving country. It takes six years to get the right just to have your day in court. How long it will take to actually get a class-action case to court is another matter. The only thing is that as time marches on, we should never forget the role played in the […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Liberal Party is not a movement.
The difference between a political party and a political movement is that a political party has a past, some structure and a future. A political movement follows the person with the best batteries in their megaphone. And it is too bad Justin Trudeau does not understand the difference. Our Liberal prime minister has once again […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: There is more than one way to pay your dues.
There was an event years ago when the Liberal Party president and this writer were taking a rest after helping set up chairs for a large party meeting. And yes, it was part of our jobs. Because authority in the party comes with responsibility. You do whatever needs to be done. Justin Trudeau needs to […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: So gas up. They lie, cheat and steal anyway.
You would think that Canadians would be tired of it. Every time you buy gas at your local gas station you are being ripped off. And yet the other day one of Canada’s major refinery executives compounded the abuse we are taking. Mark Sherman, chief operating officer for Irving Oil told Global News that the […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Is Justin Trudeau’s senate legitimate?
When a leading Liberal thinker such as Pierre Trudeau’s former Principal Secretary Thomas Axworthy challenges us on how to make the new independent(?) Senate of Canada legitimate, workable and effective, we need to pay attention. The only problem is that in a think piece for the Toronto Star on March 26, Tom writes that Justin […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Party conventions are always about money.
The first thing learned about political conventions is that it always has to be at a profit. The second is that if there is nothing contentious, create something. You always have to fill the hall. And filling the hall does not seem to be a problem for any of the three political party conventions planned […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Impatient for democratic reform?
The federal Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef must have the easiest job in Ottawa. Sure, she is new to the job and has lots to learn but so far, she has had it easy. Even her announcement of the Senate of Canada appointment process was made easy. She made it last December along with […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Don’t bet your pay cheque on this budget
To be honest, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, you did nothing wrong. Listening to your preamble on the budget the other day, you said that hope is possible. You talked about the years after the Second World War when the middle class emerged in Canada. We were strong. We were confident. And yet in the 1970s […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: But this is not about oil!
Companies exploiting the Athabasca and Cold Lake oil sands and the pipeline public relations people must be proud of themselves. They have gullible business media writers, television script writers and others in the news business talking about oil. They have all found it easier to talk about oil rather than to explain bitumen. Just last […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A guaranteed income for Canadian elites?
That was a firm step backward in time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday. He gave jobs to people who had no need for another job. He gave the title of senator to people who had no need for further titles. He made a mockery of much needed reform. This is elitism at its worst. […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Wandering in the wilderness with the NDP.
Leader Thomas Mulcair is hardly the only New Democrat with something to prove at the party’s Edmonton Convention April 9 to 10. Sure, he needs to justify his leadership but the real question is where Canada’s New Democratic Party is headed? It is obviously not the direction that Mulcair chose for the last federal election. […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Time for a guaranteed income for Canadians.
It is surprising how often the suggestion for a guaranteed annual income system for Canada comes up. While scoffed at by the political right wing, they need to realize how much money it would save. Liberals and left of centre parties have long been advocates of this major change. An annual guarantee would eliminate the […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Choosing a new leader for Canada’s Tories.
The date has been set: May 27, 2017. That is when the Conservative Party of Canada chooses a replacement for former leader Stephen Harper and Acting Leader Rona Ambrose. Looking for an abbreviation to use on the calendar, we call it ConCon. We have no idea where ConCon will be held or what form it […]
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