Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s attack on Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin is an attack on Canadians and Canadian democracy. It’s unacceptable. by: Obert Madondo | May 4, 2014 Prime Minister Stephen Harper is so desperate for political capital he’s willing to publicly smear the Supreme Court of Canada and its Chief Justice, Beverley
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Things Are Good: Environmental Sustainability and Good Governance go Hand in Hand
The Worldwatch Institute has just released their 40th anniversary edition of the State of the World, and this time it’s titled Governing for Sustainability. In it, this year the institute looks at how governments are reacting to people demanding environmental action in defiance of powerful and monied corporate interests pushing
Continue readingThe Misanthropic Bird: Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out
It seems every other election year, there are murmurs of Quebec’s egomaniacal need to separate from the rest of Canada. And this new election is bringing this idea whole heartedly to the table. Under the ‘new leadership’ of Karl Peladeau, the Parti Quebecois’ platform has taken a hard turn from
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Ontario’s neoliberalism: Coercive, Intense
Do you ever wonder why policing budgets rise in Ontario when the crime rate falls? At Illuminated By Street Lamps, I argue Ontario has been, and remains, among the jurisdictions at the forefront of a business-friendly neoliberal agenda in Canada, despite rising structural unemployment, major challenges in the core manufacturing sector
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Ontario’s neoliberalism: Coercive, Intense
Do you ever wonder why policing budgets rise in Ontario when the crime rate falls? At Illuminated By Street Lamps, I argue Ontario has been, and remains, among the jurisdictions at the forefront of a business-friendly neoliberal agenda in Canada, despite rising structural unemployment, major challenges in the core manufacturing sector
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Vote PQ To End Separatism
All federalists should want the Parti Quebecois to win Quebec’s election this Monday. Why? Because support for separation is so low that holding a referendum would end the issue for a generation, if not for good. If the PQ loses however, which is looking likely, separatism will continue to simmer
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Vote PQ To End Separatism
All federalists should want the Parti Quebecois to win Quebec’s election this Monday. Why? Because support for separation is so low that holding a referendum would end the issue for a generation, if not for good.If the PQ loses however, which is lookin…
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: Vote PQ To End Separatism
All federalists should want the Parti Quebecois to win Quebec’s election this Monday. Why? Because support for separation is so low that holding a referendum would end the issue for a generation, if not for good. If the PQ loses however, which is looking likely, separatism will continue to simmer
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper’s abuse of Challenger jets, government resources unacceptable
by: Obert Madondo | April 2, 2014 The Conservatives’ abuse of the Challenger jets and other government resources might end soon if the New Democrats are successful with their latest motion. On Tuesday, the NDP tabled an opposition day motion in the House of Commons that would limit the use of the jests
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Toronto’s G20 Summit As A State of Exception
At Illuminated By Streets Lamps, I have posted a paper I have written on the security apparatus put in place for the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit. I argue that the Province of Ontario employed a coercive, secretive state of exception in order to facilitate the flow of international capital during the Toronto
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Toronto’s G20 Summit As A State of Exception
At Illuminated By Streets Lamps, I have posted a paper I have written on the security apparatus put in place for the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit. I argue that the Province of Ontario employed a coercive, secretive state of exception in order to facilitate the flow of international capital during the Toronto
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Scandalous Senate and PMO appointments say Harper is unqualified to criticise Trudeau’s f-bomb
by: Obert Madondo | March 31, 2014 Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau dropped the f-bomb when he addressed the crowd at the Fight for the Cure charity boxing match in Gatineau, Quebec, over the weekend. “I’m going tell you, there is no experience like stepping into this ring and measuring yourself,” Trudeau said. “Your
Continue readingThe Misanthropic Bird: Mad As Hell
I got up this morning to a fog rolling into the city. It’s not from rain, or from temperature change or any other natural reason for a hazy day. It’s because I live in Beijing, and the pollution levels are on the rise today. Jumping a few dozen points between
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Orwellian Fair Elections Act proof Harper Government is no normal government
by: Obert Madondo The Harper Conservatives’ Orwellian Fair Elections Act or Bill C-23 has been universally condemned. In a previous post, I argued that the bill is part of Harper’s desperate attempt to steal the 2015 federal election by disenfranchising non-Conservative voters and marginalized groups. In his latest installment, National Post columnist Andrew
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Political Eh-conomy Radio: Questioning legacies: Flaherty and the PQ
This week’s podcast takes on government economic policy. First, Armine Yalnizyan looks back at the tenure of Jim Flaherty as federal Finance Minister; the interview is based on an article she recently published in the Globe and Mail. Armine is a senoir economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She is also a
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Locating Canada’s State Multiculturalism As A Racist Doctrine
I, like many Canadians, am a product of Canada’s state multiculturalism. My family was permitted to enter and remain in Canada, achieve legal, civil, social and economic rights and ultimately, through a gradual whitening of the Italian people in Canada, privilege. I recognize this, take it seriously and frankly, wish
Continue readingJoe Fantauzzi: Locating Canada’s State Multiculturalism As A Racist Doctrine
I, like many Canadians, am a product of Canada’s state multiculturalism. My family was permitted to enter and remain in Canada, achieve legal, civil, social and economic rights and ultimately, through a gradual whitening of the Italian people in Canada, privilege. I recognize this, take it seriously and frankly, wish
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: In Open Letter, 19 Professors Denounce Harper’s Fair Elections Act
by: Various We, the undersigned, international scholars and political scientists, are concerned that Canada’s international reputation as one of the world’s guardians of democracy and human rights is threatened by passage of the proposed Fair Elections Act. We believe that this Act would prove [to] be deeply damaging for electoral
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Published elsewhere: Ontario is no California when it comes to debt
The Toronto Star just published an article I wrote in response to claims made by the Fraser Institute and the Toronto Sun that Ontario has a runaway debt problem worse than California’s. The short version: I call BS. The slightly longer version: California has constraints, such as limits on the
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: From Canada’s Five Female Premiers To Three
At the start of this year Canada had five female Premiers, but now because of a few old white men the country only has three. Alberta’s Alison Redford joins Newfoundland’s Kathy Dunderdale on the list of female Premiers forced out not because voters rejected them, but because their respective caucuses
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