Even sometimes my home town of Vancouver gets it wrong. Reading Chad Skelton’s blog (which I frequently regularly and recommend to my fellow Vancouverites) I was reminded of the great work he did creating an interactive visualization of the city’s parking tickets as part of a series around parking in Vancouver. Indeed, it is worth […]
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On the Quebec question: (4) Devolution
So far, I’ve argued that there are good reasons to favour Quebec’s right to determine, on its own, whether to separate from Canada. One option that has come up under various names — “sovereignty association” or “asymmetrical federalism” — is the poss…
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (2) Self-determination
Yesterday, I suggested that objections to the definition of a “clear majority” in favour of separation as 50%+1 were insincere, and really masked forms of other objections. The first I want to talk about is the claim that there is something wrong with …
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (1) Clarity
(After this, I may just go ahead and write that Israel thing I’ve had kicking around in my head for a few years. While I’m stepping on landmines, I might as well step on them all in one go.)As newswatchers will know, there’s been a lot of chatter about…
Continue readingOn election 41.
It really is amazing how difficult it is to drag oneself back into longer writing after a significant time away.Anyway, I just want to run with an idea regarding the recent Canadian federal election that’s not being well-discussed (or discussed at all,…
Continue readingArt Threat: Liberate Tate urges dialogue over public/private arts funding
Last Wednesday, April 20, the activist group known as Liberate Tate staged another protest performance at Tate Britain. Set on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 workers and spilled 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf o Mexico over 87 days last year, the group poured an oil-like substance over […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Nope! The Harper Government’s failure to support the arts has got our goat
Victoria, BC, artist Bob Preston is taking this election seriously. Like many people, he sees this as an opportunity to get rid of Stephen Harper before he does “more damage to this country.” Inspired by iconic poster image of Obama created by street artist Shepard Fairey, Preston has made an image that is at once […]
Continue readingParliamANT Hill: This Election Comes Down to a Choice (Cartoon of the Day)
Inspired by this story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/brian-topp/this-election-comes-down-to-a-choice/article1997456/
Continue readingArt Threat: $25 million in arts funding still missing – Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity remain on hold
The Conservative government’s 2009 pledge to deliver $25 million in prize money for the arts remains an empty promise. Responding to widespread backlash after making $45 million in cuts to arts and culture funding, the Harper government announced the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity — $25 million to be doled out annually to […]
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Rant For Canada
Are You Voting For Canada
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Democracy Election
While thousands worldwide sacrifice their lives for the right to free elections Canadians complain about having one.That is not to say there are no reasons for some Canadians not to want an election. Certainly if you support the Reformatories you have …
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Egypt and the Press: Stories and Stories
Coverage of the uprising in Egypt in its second week has become characterised by a number of types of reports, most of which paint colorful pictures, but do little to inform on the situation. There are the political discussions as to the West’s reaction, and how the uprising will unbalance
Continue readingGun safety and registry!
What with all the hoo-ha over the gun registry recently, I wanted to put my two cents in. I got in a Facebook argument with someone I don’t even know, and I was a little nervous that I might be wrong. I mean, I’m not used to being wrong — I’m pre…
Continue readingOn things that aren’t like the long gun registry.
[My original thoughts on the long gun registry, dated in November 2009, are here. I have seen nothing in the past few months that changes my mind one iota.]The Press ReleaseThere was a press release making the rounds yesterday, allegedly released by th…
Continue readingOn Rob Ford.
IntroductionI’m not worried about Rob Ford becoming mayor of Toronto. And you shouldn’t be either. Given what he’s presented right now as part of his platform, over at his website, the man seems to be well on his way to becoming another Mel Lastman. Em…
Continue readingOn cooperatives and housing.
I’ll get back to my electoral series eventually, I swear. But I had this weird idea today and I wanted to spell it out. It’s not an argument; more just thinking out loud. (Well, so to speak. “Speak”.)We don’t have enough housing going to the people who…
Continue readingOn the new feudalism.
I was going to blog something about the CMA’s recent report on Canadian healthcare. But there’s really not much there that anyone could reasonably disagree with. More access to prescription drugs, more access to long-term care for those who need it…
Continue readingOn secrecy and Wikileaks.
IntroductionSo, as everyone and their brother’s roommate knows, Wikileaks managed to get their hands on another chunk of material that the powers-that-be would rather the rest of us never saw. This time, of course, it was a collection of documents rela…
Continue readingOn proportional representation (2): the case against
IntroductionLast week, I argued for the claim that proportional representation (PR) is preferable to single-member plurality (SMP) as a system of electing representatives to a democratic assembly. The central reason for this conclusion was that PR is t…
Continue readingElection time approaches!
I used to enjoy reading about politics. In high school, when I was just developing a conciousness about politics, I used to find the littlest, most menial government tasks absolutely fascinating, and I would exuberantly encourage my peers to read about…
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