It is part of the job. Leaders of all political parties get lots of advice—most of it ignored. Maybe the Toronto Star is not aware of this phenomenon. That must be why they run advice columns for different leaders every Sunday opposite the editorials. One of these, that ran last
Continue readingTag: Federal Politics
Babel-on-the-Bay: Blame stupidity and short-sightedness.
We used to have some control in Canada about who bought and sold our industry. If you are smart enough to realize that you might be desperate for a vaccine to cure a new coronavirus some day. You would have kept Connaught Laboratories in Toronto working on vaccines and other
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Parsing Pierre Poilievre.
Pierre Poilievre, conservative member of parliament for Carleton electoral district in the Ottawa area of Ontario, has described himself as a political junkie. He was born and educated in Alberta, worked for politicians such as Jason Kenney and Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. He came east to find a riding
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Back to the Bully Pulpit.
It might have been a term coined by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt but our prime minister Justin Trudeau did the bully pulpit one better. It was living in Rideau Cottage while the official residence at 21 Sussex was under repair. Trudeau did a cuckoo clock single out the front door
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: See no; Hear no; Speak no solutions.
The three wise monkeys are alive and well and hiding from reality in Ottawa. At a time when a recent Environics poll shows that 64 per cent of Canadians support a guaranteed annual income program is a time for action. It is not a time to procrastinate, to put off
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Searching for the real Canada.
There is a Canada out there somewhere that we want to build on. It is a Canada led by those who can really lead. It is a Canada created willingly by our collective inspiration. It is a Canada built on equality and freedoms. It is a country that inspires. It
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Turkey or turmoil for Christmas.
Do you ever get a feeling that something is off and you are not entirely sure what it is? It has been bothering me for a while. There is a feeling coming out of Ottawa that does not bode well. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is salivating for an election. Federal
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: O’Toole’s Big Tent Dreams.
Federal conservative leader Erin O’Toole is making his intentions clear and prime minister Justin Trudeau can ignore the intent and lose everything. O’Toole is attempting to mix the Harper base, the Jason Kenney ethnic strategy, the liberal union strategy and the frustrations of Donald Trump’s base. There is no question
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The NDP want voting reform.
In a letter to Justin Trudeau last week, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal new democrats, laid out his plan for the minority government. It seems to be the best time to try to manipulate the liberals into changing the way Canadians vote. All the liberals have to do is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The perplexed pollsters.
How would you feel if the three times out of 20 you are wrong in your forecasts, and it all happened in the same election? That was the pollsters’ dilemma with last week’s election in the United States. They were just flat out wrong. But you have got to have
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A note to a busy Joe Biden.
It was an impressive speech the other night from Delaware. It was the right tone to take with the Trump supporters. You offered them the olive branch and left it to them to accept. It was a class act. No doubt, you have a lengthy ‘to-do’ list already but many
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: To listen and to learn in Ottawa.
Yesterday it was noted how quiet the Ottawa scene has been while history is made in America. But we ignore Ottawa at our peril. You have to listen to buzz in the quiet. There is the testiness of the conservative caucus—planning for the partisan attacks to come. There is the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The ground game has gone south?
In my years in politics, I have taught thousands of people how the political ground game is played. It is basic to politics throughout North America. It takes lots of experience and determination to learn. You have to win some and lose some. This comes to mind because the wife’s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Good Government.
While Americans remain mired in arguing the seriousness of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, Canadians are basking in the benevolence of government largess to help fight it. Seeing finance minister Chrystia Freeland reassure Canadians the other day was a dose of covid-19 medicine that we all need to understand. Even
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Foregone Conclusions.
A reader asked me recently why I was paying so little attention to the two by-elections in Toronto Centre and York Centre in Toronto. Knowing the two ridings like the back of your hand does not make them more interesting. It just makes the process more boring. But if you
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Don’t blame Singh.
If there was ever a guy on the wrong side of the parliamentary ledger, it is Jagmeet Singh of the new democrats. While the rest of the opposition thought they were driving more nails into liberal coffins, this week, there was Jagmeet and the NDP caucus keeping their word and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Looking for the “kinder, gentler Tories”?
It seemed like such an interesting idea. Erin O’Toole, the new conservative leader, was going to impress the voters with his reason and patience in handling the liberal minority government. He was going to offer a new, more cooperative form of opposition in Ottawa. It looked like he was going
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “I double dare you.”
The kids are bruising for a fight but unsure of the outcome. The Ottawa liberals are tantalizing the conservatives with the prospect of an election. The only problem is that it could all be for nothing. If nobody can win, what is the point? And that is the real problem.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The unindicted Bill Blair.
It took them a long time to start to redress the wrong and they still have not got it right. Here it is ten years down the road and the only people we are confident are being compensated to date are the lawyers. The G20 summit in Toronto in 2010
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Justin Trudeau did it wrong.
Thinking back to that lame throne speech that took so long and said so little, it is now clear that prime minister Justin Trudeau was wrong. He promised us a look toward the future and all he really gave us was more Covid-19. Instead of a positive look towards tomorrow,
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