I’d certainly be interested to see some evidence that Conservative MPs are doing anything more than dispensing party talking points. But while there may be some better examples available, the contents of Jason Warick’s report this morning look to me to fall far short. Let’s go point by point… –
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Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Barrie McKenna discusses the cost of public-private partnerships: Disturbing new research highlights some serious flaws in how governments tally the benefits of public-private partnerships versus conventional projects. Too little is known about how these contracts work, who benefits and who pays. This week,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted material to end your weekend. – Chrystia Freeland comments on the self-destructive nature of elite protectionism: (E)ven as the winner-take-all economy has enriched those at the very top, their tax burden has lightened. Tolerance for high executive compensation has increased, even as the legal powers of unions have been
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – No, the aftershocks of an e. coli outbreak which has unfortunately given both Canadians and export markets reason for concern about the safety of some of our major food sources aren’t about to end simply because the Cons are again pretending everything’s fine.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Murray Mandryk and Bruce Johnstone both thoroughly slam Gerry Ritz and the Cons for their food-safety negligence. But Johnstone hints at the larger issue: Ritz, for all his faults, is not the cause of this latest debacle. He’s merely a symptom of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mitchell Anderson’s final report on Norway’s highly successful management of its oil resources puts Canada’s current philosophy to the test: Seen through this lens, how is Canada doing? Abysmally…: 1. Dependency. Even with our vast oil wealth, Canada currently relies on other
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – David Olive comments on the world food crisis, making the point that what we’re lacking is some link between more-than-sufficient productive capacity and the nutritional needs of less wealthy people around the globe: (A) permanently higher price for oil spurred successful innovation to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your weekend. – Yes, the usual caveats about trying to predict future commodity prices apply. But Stephen Maher’s warning about the effect of rising fuel and food prices is still worth keeping in mind: That shift doesn’t mean that North Americans are about to take meaningful
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Jim Stanford discusses how Canadian right-wing parties are picking up on the most extreme anti-labour stances of the U.S. Republicans. But I do have to wonder whether the comparison between union dues and taxes is one that they’d particularly shy away from:
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – May 9, 2012
Wednesday, May 9 saw the first Committee of the Whole discussion of the Cons’ budget bill – with the opportunity for hours of direct questions about military spending giving rise to little more than even more tedious repetition of F-35s talking points in place of responses. The Big Issue Jack
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: May 3, 2012
Thursday, May 3 saw yet another debate over the Cons’ use of time allocation – this time respecting the omnibus budget bill which features so many radical changes that demand serious discussion. And not surprisingly, the opposition parties raised plenty of entirely valid concerns, while the Cons obfuscated and ran
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 26, 2012
Thursday, April 26 saw ample discussion of private members’ business – and if the Cons are now cracking down on such debate, the results of the day’s proceedings might give us some clues as to why. The Big Issue While it didn’t receive as much media attention as another issue
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 23, 2012
Monday, April 23 was the first day back in the House of Commons following the Easter break. And it featured some of the most lively and telling discussion we’ve seen yet on the Cons’ anti-refugee legislation as the second-reading debate reached its end. The Big Issue As part of the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Drew Anderson comments on the support the NDP is winning among groups which have historically supported the Cons: Seniors and men. Until now they formed the rock-solid base of the Conservative Party. But they’re trending towards Mulcair, and that should have Harper’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review – April 4, 2012
After the Cons refused to listen to the opposition parties’ proposed amendments, Wednesday, April 4 saw a day of debate on the main budget motion in the second-last day before a Parliamentary break. The Big Issue Nycole Turmel rightly labeled the budget as being based entirely on (gratuitous) austerity, while
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – There’s still plenty more emerging on the Robocon election fraud scandal. The reporting combinations of McGregor/Maher and Chase/Leblanc/Mills have both discussed Elections Canada’s latest court filing showing that Con campaign officials openly discussed implementing U.S.-style vote suppression efforts – including exactly the forms
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your midweek reading. – Rachel Mendleson reports on research showing that inequality is correlated to mortality rates within a particular city – with the sole exception of communities with a high proportion of immigrants. Which makes it awfully tempting to suggest that based on their combination of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Dan Garnder rightly points out how too much concentrated power and a refusal to take advice can lead to bad decisions. And sadly, our federal government serves as a classic case in point: “Most of the time, taking advice benefits your accuracy,” notes
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 17, 2011
Monday, October 17 saw the Cons cut off debate on second reading of their budget bill. Not surprisingly, the day thus focused in large part on the economy – including some noteworthy pushback against the brand the Cons have spent hundreds of millions o…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week.- Erin catches a typically-partisan response from the Cons to the prospect that a new U.S. stimulus package might contain Buy American provisions once again:What strikes me is that corporate Canada and Conservatives ar…
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