I spy with my little eye, someone running for leadership In her Star column today, Chantal Hebert supposes that the Quebec Nation resolution might resurface as a divisive issue during the Liberal Leadership race, as it did in 2006. While I don’t think there’s any appetite to revisit that specific
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Calgary Grit: “Complete and Utter Asshole”
Don't let this act of chilvalry fool you, Tom Lukaszuk is a major league a-hole I really want trash Jason Kenney or make this out to be a sign of a worsening relationship between the federal Conservatives and the Alberta PCs. But Jason Kenney is far from the first politician
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: With new NDP shadow cabinet, Mulcair plots Harper’s 2015 defeat
Last week’s 24-hour House of Commons vote on Stephen Harper‘s draconian budget Bill C-38, the “Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act”, ended in a dramatic fashion. The New Democratic Party (NDP), the Official Opposition, concluded the vote with a spontaneous: Deux mille quinze! Deux mille quinze! Deux mille quinze! chant. That’s French
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Trudeau’s Poll Position
Many Canadians polled have heard of this man It’s no secret that Liberals love power above all else, so it’s hard for any Liberal to stay immune to Trudeaumania when you see headlines like “Justin Trudeau could lead Liberals to first place, new poll shows” or “Trudeau could be Grits’
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Budget Bill C-38: Canadian MPs, Citizens, Tweet Their Frustrations
For an incredible 24 hours, Canadian opposition MPs held up the passage of Stephen Harper and the Conservative government’s draconian budget Bill C-38. They forced votes on more than 800 proposed amendments to the 425-page behemoth. In the end the Conservatives torpedoed every opposition amendment, to score a dubious, dictatorship-style
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Harper v. Canada: Stephen Harper Addresses Right Wing U.S. Think Tank
Understanding the Canadian prime minister’s war against our democratic institutions, freedoms and legitimate dissent Editor’s Note: In June 1997, Stephen Harper addressed a Montreal meeting of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a right-wing U.S. think tank. His speech unequivocally foreshadowed his ongoing war against Canadian democracy. Harper described Canada
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Bob Builds His Liberal Party Legacy
As in 2008 (above), Rae has stepped aside for the good of the party As I hoped would be the case, Bob Rae has taken a pass at the Liberal leadership race. Despite Rae’s solemn pledge not to run for the permanent leader position, this news comes as a bit
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Rae’s Play
Rae has milked the interim leader title for all its worth In perhaps the least surprising news story of the year, Bob Rae appears set to announce his candidacy for Liberal leadership for the third time in the last six years. Say what you will about the man (and I’m
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Vic Toews To Use Magnotta Murder Case To Revive Internet Surveillance Bill C-30
In dictatorial regimes, tyrants rule by manipulating prevailing public emotions. They use the smallest emotional opportunity to create draconian laws that take away the people’s rights and freedoms. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has certainly learned a thing or two from this modus operandi. He wants to use Luka Rocco
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Budget Bill C-38: A Conservative Insurgency Against Harper?
Earlier this week, the NDP and other Federal opposition parties released the findings of their Canada-wide public consultations on Stephen Harper’s Budget Implementation Act, Bill C-38. Yesterday, the parties submitted 1,300 amendments to the behemoth omnibus bill. Now a new opposition front, straight out of Harper’s Conservative world, is gathering
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Liberal Leadership Update: Trudeaumania?
The Liberal Party’s National Executive is set to meet next Wednesday to set the party’s leadership race rules. Shortly thereafter, Bob Rae will announce his intentions and, from there, the dominos will fall. With BBQ season soon upon us, it won’t take long to figure out who’s running, even if the formal declarations take a
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Take a Seat
Independent MP Bruce Hyer has put forward a motion to improve House of Commons decorum: Independent MP calls for ‘random’ Commons seating plan NDP-turned-Independent MP Bruce Hyer told the CBC’s Julie Van Dusen Thursday he’s introducing a private member’s motion calling for random seating in the House of Commons. The
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Calgary Centre By-Election
As David Wilks reminded us last week, Conservative backbenchers are “not going to make a difference”. So it’s not at all surprising that Lee Richardson has turned his back on Ottawa to take a job as Alison Redford’s principal secretary. This gives Stephen Harper six months to call a by-election
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Mulcair Takes on the West
What started out as musings on the health of Ontario’s manufacturing sector has quickly escalated into a full fledged war of words between Tom Mulcair and the western Premiers. It’s an important shift in the dialogue, because going to war with the West is a lot different than going to
Continue readingCalgary Grit: How a Bill Becomes a Law
“At the end of the day, in my opinion, they’ve made up their mind and this is how we’re going to vote. One person is not going to make a difference, one MP is not going to make a difference.” In some respects, I feel bad for David Wilks. The
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Rematch in Etobicoke Centre
Despite all the close votes over the years, this is a first: Election result in Toronto riding thrown out by judge Conservative MP Ted Opitz’s 2011 federal election win last year in Etobicoke Centre was declared null and void today in a challenge by former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj. Opitz
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Third Way
The latest Ipsos poll paints a rather dreary picture of Liberal fortunes, with what was once the natural governing party languishing more than 15 points behind both the NDP and the Conservatives. Of course, the NDP are in their post-leadership honeymoon, the Liberals don’t have a permanent leader, and a
Continue readingCalgary Grit: An update on all the people MAYBE running for Liberal leadership
The expectation is that rules for the Liberal leadership race will come down in June, setting the stage for a summer of getting to know the men and women wanting to lead Canada’s third party. But while we won’t know the rules of the race for another month or two,
Continue readingCalgary Grit: The Race for Third
Back in February I asked readers of this blog who they thought would run for Liberal leader, and who they’d consider voting for. Admittedly, this is as far from a scientific poll as you’ll ever get, and I won’t pretend that the 500+ voters in this straw poll are all
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Happy Anniversary!
One year ago today, Stephen Harper turned an “unwanted election” into his first majority government, Jack Layton and the NDP soared to never before seen heights, and Liberals spent the evening curled up in a fetal position sobbing in the corner. On political anniversaries, it’s tempting to give each party
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