Make no mistake about it. Canada’s progressive and democratic forces are converging around Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his burgeoning elected dictatorship. And Harper and his merry bunch of Conservative praise-fingers are feeling the heat. At least according to the headlines in the last couple of days: Election result challenge
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CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Jason Kenney’s Tell-Tale Conservative Apology
Apparently, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has apologized for labeling Thomas Lukaszuk, the deputy premier of Alberta, “a complete and utter a-hole.” And Lukaszuk’s boss, premier Alison Redford wants us to believe that Kenney’s insult amounts to: “there are people who have personalities that do and don’t get along.” And that “there
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Nuked: Robocalls Scandal Investigation And Elections Canada
Make it two surprises in one. William Corbett, the Commissioner of Canada Elections, the man who has thus handled the ongoing investigation into the robocalls scandal, resigned today. He’s been replaced by Yves Côté, a “low-key” bureaucrat. But that’s only a partial description of the individual now assuming the behemoth responsibility of
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Google Exposes Harper Government’s Growing Internet Censorship Appetites
In a report released late Sunday, Google tells us Canada has joined the ranks of countries aggressively stepping up efforts to censor online political dissent through “censorship requests” to the giant search engine. Passport Canada authorities asked Google to block public access to “a YouTube video of a Canadian citizen
Continue readingeaves.ca: The End of the World: The State vs. the Internet
Last weekend at FooCamp, I co-hosted a session titled “The End of the World: Will the Internet Destroy the State, or Will the State Destroy the Internet?” What follows are the ideas I opened with during my intro to the session and some additional thoughts I’ve had. To avoid some
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Harper’s Canada “Making Up Terror Identities”
In Stephen Harper’s Canada, we’re all potential terror threats. Until proven otherwise. So suggests a recent study by Queens University’s Jeffrey Monaghan and Kevin Walby, published in the journal Policing and Society. Welcome to Multi Issue Extremism (MIE), Canada’s new classification of so-called domestic terror threats. We saw it coming.
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: EI Isn’t Perfect & That’s Why Reforms Are Wrong
Employment Insurance isn’t perfect, and that’s why the Conservative reforms are wrong. EI’s very purpose is to give money to people without jobs, it is a program that gives the unemployed incentive not to find work. The only reform that will ever fix that is getting rid of EI, anything
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Majority Rule by the Few
The wasteful, unelected monarchy is bad and democracy is good. Since most Canadians don’t require a more indepth argument than that, let’s use the democratic system to finally severe Canada’s ties with the monarchy. Let’s get a majority of us together, in our democracy that will require about 38% of
Continue readingToo Much Geography: Don’t Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up
There has been a modicum of public outcry over the working of bill 37, the Animal Health Act, over whether people will be restricted from speaking publicly about threats to the food supply. To hear some folks, this is merely the first step on the road to a totalitarian thought police state.
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Thank You John Baird, You Saved My Life
Michael Ignatieff hated Canada, he was repeatedly caught feeding off of beaver spinal cord fluid. The Gun Registry was moments away from assigning bar codes to the foreheads of farmers’ first born children. Though a 5% GST is okay, the 7% variety flew the second plane into the World Trade
Continue readingLeft Over: Let’s “Just Do It”
There has been a call from several mayors of municipalities here in British Columbia, Canada to legalize marijuana…the arguments for it are essentially that they are tired of fighting against a mega-tide of grow-ops and drug dealers who are far richer in resources and weapons to push back than the
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: A Genetic Justification For Liberalism
It’s little wonder that liberalism endorses science when no other ideology is more endorsed by it. Foundational liberal principles have been recently strengthened by new research, solidifying the ideology not just in abstract philosophy but empirically in human nature. The liberal belief in equality and that government has a role
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Conservatives Lied About F-35 Contract
Peter MacKay lied. In 2010 Defense Minister Peter MacKay said many times that the F-35 was selected in an open, competitive, and transparent process, this is contradicted be the Auditor General Michael Ferguson who has said there was no competition, that the costly $25 billion, and growing, contract was indeed
Continue readingeaves.ca: Using BHAG’s to Change Organziations: A Management, Open Data & Government Mashup
I’m a big believer in the ancillary benefits of a single big goal. Set a goal that has one clear objective, but as a result a bunch of other things have to change as well. So one of my favourite Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for an organization is to
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Why The Abortion Debate Is Polarized
The abortion debate will be polarized no matter what, and if the politicians like Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth don’t ensure that, the media will. On March 14 Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth talked with reporters about his private members’ motion asking for a public discussion on when life begins. Though his
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Canada Federal Budget 2012: Canadians React
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair slammed the Harper Conservatives for recklessly cutting services vital to many Canadians’ livelihoods, such as Old Age Security. Liberal Leader Bob Rae called the budget “an exercise in small-mindedness and mean spirited-ness. And ordinary Canadians weighed … Continue reading →
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Federal Budget 2012 Cuts: Statement from Katimavik
It is with extreme disappointment that we learned today that the Government has decided to end its funding commitment to Katimavik. Today’s announcement comes as a surprise, since we are entering the third year of a funding agreement whose terms … Continue reading →
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Obert Madondo’s Bill C-10 Hunger Strike: Day 11 Update
This journal entry covers days 10 and 11 (March 23 and 24) my indefinite hunger strike against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives’ draconian Safe Streets and Communities Act (Bill C-10). I think I’m approaching a crucial turning point … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: A Tale of Two NDPs
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: The Politics of Conservatives is Big Business
Within two months Canada’s ruling Conservative Party rejected government intervention in one labour dispute and leapt at the chance to intervene in another. In January a manufacturing plant owned by Electro-Motive Diesel, a private company that had received millions in government tax breaks announced it was laying off 450 employees.
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