Part 10 of our series for Canada’s federal candidates. Do you want the good news or the bad news? The problem is, the news is the same either way. Ready or not, voting starts in two weeks. Advance voting starts on October 9 and you have to be ready for
Continue readingTag: Federal Politics
Babel-on-the-Bay: If you care about Canada; you hate the Hair.
Adding an adhesive strip with just the name Harper to stop signs is defacing the traffic sign but it is a poignant plea to fellow Canadians. It also shows the extent of the anger that is part of this election campaign. It might also show the error made by Toronto
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Hair as a hawk.
It could not have been better news from Justin Trudeau. He came out flatly saying that he would stop wasting money on the development and procurement of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter for Canada. It was the kind of decisive statement that you expect from a Trudeau. What is even
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The problem is still Quebec, Justin.
It was obvious from the beginning of this extra long federal election campaign that the advantage was to Liberal Justin Trudeau. Here we are down to the last four weeks of the campaign and he is the Energizer Bunny—still fresh and eager—while Stephen Harper and Thomas Mulcair are wilting. There
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Closer to home: Barrie-Innisfil.
In checking out the two gerrymandered federal electoral districts in Barrie, we find that one riding is about as badly off as the other. Each riding is about two-thirds urban and one-third rural. Every one thinks those rural voters are all die-hard Conservatives. The surprise is that they might not
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It’s the overage that should worry you.
At one time in a varied career, we were trained in grocery store management. It culminated in being a very young district manager for a large group of stores. This is mentioned as groceries were one of the last all cash businesses and the smart manager watched the cash registers
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Well, look,’ Mr. Harper.
Just when you are hoping that politics in Canada will not sink any lower, you get an evening of politics even worse. It started innocuously with the evening news on Shaw’s Global National with Dawna Friezen. Every newscast today seems to have its own panel of experts ready to tell
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Taking lessons in pandering.
In an otherwise pleasant evening the other day, we attended a Canadian Association of Retired People (CARP) meeting to hear the local political candidates. Since Barrie has been split in half for this federal tryst, we had to listen to the candidates from two ridings. It certainly was not double
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Who is hiding under your bed?
Canada’s ‘tough on terror’ prime minister wants you to be afraid. He wants you to believe there might be a bogeyman jihadist under your bed. It is the reason for his anti-terrorism Bill C-51 that his majority government forced into law before the election. It is a bad law that
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Conservative Party Hacking Into Facebook Accounts For Likes
Has the Conservative Party of Canada hacked into your profile and “liked” their Facebook page on your behalf without your knowledge or consent? Reports are popping up including one from a reporter at the CBC that they are being “like hijacked” by the Conservative party. According to a CBC report, the hijacked likes could be […]
Continue readingMind Bending Politics: Arab Countries Need To Be Doing More On Syrian Refugees
(Arab League Flag) Like many Canadians I had a very heart felt response to the picture of the three year old who laid face down dead after trying to cross the Mediterranean for the EU escaping the Syrian civil war. What I found more disturbing was Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s cold response to the story […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Closer to home: Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte.
When first viewing the boundaries of the new federal electoral districts that now divide the City of Barrie, the reaction was ‘Why would they do anything that silly?’ It was when the Ontario Commission came to town that the term ‘Gerrymander’ came to mind. It was also after listening to
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The state of federal politics in Newfoundland and Labrador #nlpoli
There is a problem, apparently. A very big problem. In the current federal election, none of the federal party leaders have visited the province yet. On Friday, three of the four major outlets in the province all carried some version of exactly the same story. For the quibblers, the Telly
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Are they damning democracy?
It is appalling the number of Canadians who say they want voter reform without bothering to research or understand the subject. Sitting in an audience recently with apparently a high percentage of New Democrat supporters, it was surprising how eager they are to reform how we vote. The speaker made
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Who is under the bus?
The reason political campaign buses are so big is that there have to be enough people to be used as scapegoats when things go wrong. And in all campaigns, winning or losing, things will go wrong. The infamous Murphy of Murphy’s Law rides on every bus. A critical measure of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line: Liberal Party 3 – 1.
Despite the less than accurate opinion polls showing all three major parties in a statistical tie, the trends are moving in the correct directions. There is no question but that the Conservatives are barely going through the motions, the New Democrats are falling off from their peak and the Liberal
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line: New Democrats 6 – 1.
There is an old saying that if you start out with a sow’s ear, you are not likely to be able to make a silk purse of it. The current attempts to remake Canada’s New Democratic Party are somewhat similar. You can put your bets on the socialists if you
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line: Conservatives 10 – 1.
(Note: Your Morning Line is prepared for each race day to give the wagering public a starting point for their Totalisator bets on the day’s races. The Totalisator then computes the betting pool as bets are received until post-time and then computes the payouts for the win, place, show and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trudeau: The Liberal’s Energizer Bunny.
The Liberal’s Justin Trudeau is turning out to be the potential survivor of this battle for the electoral island. With a third of an overly long campaign now behind us, there is little question that Trudeau’s youth is working for him. As much as the Conservatives have derided that youth
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Mulcair: Canada’s pseudo Johnny Appleseed.
Tom Mulcair’s role for Canada’s New Democrats seems to include wearing a forced smile and offering band-aid solutions to problems. Other than his strange arithmetic about day care, he is spreading seeds of programs rather than anything that might bear fruit in the foreseeable future. To most voters he remains
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