Well, perhaps it isn’t a coming out per-se, since it’s questionable as to whether they were ever “in.” But RoadKill Radio commentators Kari Simpson and Ron Gray have more or less made their position known on Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill during an interview with Christian Heritage Party leader Jim Hnatiuk, who
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Dented Blue Mercedes: C-279 Passes Third Reading (Hansard)
C-279 passed Third Reading, on a vote of 149 – 137. Aaron Wherry gives the early breakdown: “Randall Garrison’s bill was supported by the New Democrats, the majority of Liberals (Judy Sgro and John McKay abstained), the Bloc Quebecois, Bruce Hyer, Elizabeth May and, by my unofficial count, 17 Conservative
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: C-279: To amend or not to amend?
… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we still don’t know what Bill C-279 is going to be when it’s voted on at Third Reading. The bill, which proposes to add trans people to human rights legislation, had an hour of debate at report stage. Randall Garrison requested that amendments be added to the bill,
Continue readingLeDaro: Now What (and Especially WHO) Will Vic Toews Watch?
With all the bad news coming out of Canadian politics – dysfunctional Parliament, an arrogant, indifferent, and hard-rightwing prime minister – great to have some good news. The people spoke out, and won. On internet surveillance, Toews brought forward draconian, Big Brother style proposals with Bill C-30. Now Conservatives have
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Aagh, Harper Conservatives Nuked Democratic NDP Motion On Role Of PBO
By Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb. 14, 2013: Showing their burgeoning disdain for accountability, transparency, financial oversight and the independence of federal watchdogs, the Harper Conservatives earlier this week nuked a progressive NDP motion on the role of the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). The motion, tabled by the Official Opposition’s Finance critic, Peggy
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s new refugee system unfair to refugees
by Canadian Council for Refugees AND Amnesty International Canada: On the eve of the introduction of important changes to Canada’s refugee determination system, the Canadian Council for Refugees and Amnesty International expressed fear that the system will fail some refugees, violate their rights in Canada, and send them back to persecution.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Liberals: Minister of Defence Must Resign Over F-35 Fight Jet
by Liberal Party of Canada Liberal Leader Bob Rae made the following statement today on the Conservative government’s reported cancellation of the F-35 contract: “The termination of this multi-billion dollar contract has fully exposed the Harper Conservatives’ fiscal incompetence and complete mishandling of the F-35 procurement process. They have spent
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Canada’s First Nations leaders confront Harper Gvt on Parliament Hill
Once again, the dictatorship-style tactics of the Harper Conservatives were on display on Parliament Hill yesterday as the government refused to listen to the leaders of Canada’s First Nations. Then, as you can see from the photo, security personnel physically barred the leaders from entering the floor of the House of
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: MP’s trans predator fearmongering escalates.
On Friday, Sun News commentator Brian Lilley interviewed Rob Anders, the Member of Parliament who has drawn condemnation for conflating transsexual and transgender people with sexual predators in a petition he has been circulating on his website, and to at least one church in his riding. In “Children’s bathroom bill
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: The Mask of Gender
Normally, I’m not one to promote something if I’m in it. That kind of thing is horribly self-aggrandizing. So I’ll apologize right off for doing that here. But given the recent focus on trans issues due to the comments made by Rob Anders, I thought it would be a good
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Rob Anders, the transsexual bogeyman, and the weird phenomenon of MPs petitioning their constituents.
Rob Anders is on a mission. Hot on the heels of having to halfway apologize for alleging that NDP leader Thomas Mulcair drove former NDP leader Jack Layton to his grave, Anders is now sending at least one church (possibly more) a letter asking them to petition MPs to oppose
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Bad News: Two Polls Give Harper Conservatives Edge Over News Democrats
As the Canadian Parliament returns for what promises to be another acrimonious session, two opinion polls show that the Harper Conservatives hold a slight lead over Thomas Mulcair’s New Democrats. The Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll pegs Conservative support at 34 per cent, the New Democrats at 27, the Liberals at 24
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: New Democrats And Conservatives Tied at 34% each: Poll
The poll by Toronto-based Forum Research Inc is bad news for Tom Mulcair and the NDP. Real bad news for Canadian democracy. According to the National Post: With these voting intentions, an election today would see the Tories take 140 seats for a minority in Parliament while the NDP would grab 114 seats. Just last
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: The Northern Gateway Liability Trap
A major part of Harper’s perfidy lies in the way the Northern Gateway is structured with liability cut-outs to let the major players escape liability. IslandTides.com has an eye-opening feature on how coastal B.C. is being hung out to dry. In another column, retired CBC journo Patrick Brown outlines the
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Harper Ditches the Snitches
Why has Stevie Boy Harper gutted fisheries and marine protection services and staff, leaving the British Columbia coast seriously unprotected, just as he’s pushing through the greatest environmental threat our coast has ever seen? Firing monitoring and research staff, entire departments, at Fisheries and Oceans. Relocating the west coast oil
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Every Man for Himself – Canadians Losing Faith in Government
We have lost confidence in government, provincial and federal, to tackle pressing issues. It seems we have finally realized the people who are at the driver’s seat are asleep at the wheel and content to remain that way. “… a new Institute for Research on Public Policy-Nanos Research survey suggests a lack
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Three Simple Numbers Behind Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math
They are the “numbers that add up to global catastrophe – and that make clear who the real enemy is,” according to Rolling Stone magazine. They bring a frightening reality at a time when, here in Canada, the Conservative Government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is doing everything to suppress
Continue readingCANADIAN PROGRESSIVE WORLD: Liberal Party Petition: No More Omnibus Bills, Harper
The just-concluded Parliamentary session witnessed “serious abuses of power by the Harper Conservatives” through the use of two omnibus bills “that are radically changing Canada”: crime Bill C-10 and Budget Bill C-38. Please Go HERE to sign and share the Liberal Party of Canada’s petition against this abuse of power by
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans rights bill supporters being targeted. Also, a flag for you.
On Wednesday June 6th, Parliament voted to send Private Member’s Bill C-279: An Act to Amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code (gender identity and gender expression) to committee for review as part of its trek toward passage. I had expressed concerns at that time about some possible
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Conservative Mind Equated With ‘Low-Effort’ Thinking’
Following up from an earlier report establishing a relationship between low intelligence and racism, prejudice and conservatism, The Huffington Post reports on a new study equating conservative politics with ‘low-effort’ thinking. For those of us who have been following closely the antics of the Harper Conservatives and their supporters, there
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