Whilst some say that it is already gone and that we are being subject to an Oligarchy well on its way to a Dictatorship, a view that I find it hard to argue against, there is still hope. The recent push back by a small number of Conservative MP’s gives
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Democracy Under Fire: Quantity not Quality
Quantity not Quality is apparently the Harper regimes measure of ‘success’ Mr. Van Loan recently extolled the virtues of the 34-day fall session, which started late because of prorogation and was adjourned early. He said 2013 was the most productive year on record, with 40 bills receiving Royal Assent. “
Continue readingIf you’re a democrat, instruct your MP to support Chong’s Bill
An opportunity to strike a blow for parliamentary democracy has suddenly arisen and all democrats should take advantage of it. On Thursday, Michael Chong, MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, will introduce a Bill in the House that would dramatically devolve power from party leaders to MPs and constituency associations. The Bill,
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Backbenchers Grow a Backbone?
Many of us have been sounding the alarm bell for some time about the amount of power and control the Prime Minister and the PMO have over both the daily working of parliament and more particularly the amount of control exercised over MPs and senators elected or appointed under the
Continue readingParliament needs a science watchdog
Science has never been more important to the human race than it is today. We are faced with the two greatest threats in our history: catastrophic climate change combined with exhaustion of the Earth’s resources. We must rely on science to lead us out of the crises we have created
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Rules and Conventions, Lies and Punishment
I will not dwell in great length upon the ongoing soap opera that is the ‘Senate Scandal’, there is quite enough commentary out there without my adding to it. I will instead examine how and why such thing are even possible in a ‘democracy’ and I contend that it is,
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: TV or Democracy
With the next set of promises recently presented in the House after several days of targeted leaks of some of the content which highlighted ‘more choice of cable & satellite TV channels’ I wonder if Canadians are really as shallow as the Harper Regime seems to think. Can we really
Continue readingTory MPs defy government
No, the above headline most certainly does not refer to Canadian Tory MPs. In the recent vote in the British House of Commons on Prime Minister David Cameron’s motion to initiate military action against Syria, all attention was focused on the defeat of the motion. And rightly so—the vote was
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Stephen Harper Proroguing Parliament “To Avoid Accountability”
The opposition says PM Stephen Harper is proroguing Parliament to kill a tumultuous session that saw his Conservative government rocked by the Senate expense scandal. The post Stephen Harper Proroguing Parliament “To Avoid Accountability” appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Prorogued Again……..
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he intends to prorogue Parliament, which means the House of Commons will not resume in September as planned. Harper, who is currently on a week-long swing through northern Canada, says a speech from the throne will likely be delivered in October, kicking off a new
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Context, Tory MP Russ Hiebert’s shifty campaign for Bill C-377, and me
The Parliamentary trolley, on its way back from the Senate, stops in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in the Langevin Block. The dog at left was never owned by Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King, who was well known in his day as a labour expert, although it clearly does
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Environment Minister Peter Kent embraces his imminent demotion from Conservative cabinet
by: Obert Madondo | Twitter: @Obiemad: Environment Minister Peter Kent. (Photo: Environment Canada) It’s a preemptive strike of sorts. Environment Minister Peter Kent knows he’ll be a backbencher after PM Stephen Harper’s much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle. That much the Conservative MP for Thornhill, Ontario, confirmed in a message published on Facebook on Friday. “If, in
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Conservative attack on workers continues with “Private Members’ Bill”: PSAC
By: Public Service Alliance of Canada | Press Release On June 5th, Conservative MP Blaine Calkins for Wetaskiwin (Alberta) introduced Bill C-525, an Act to change the certification and revocation sections of the Canada Labour Code, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Parliamentary Employees Staff Relations Act. The purpose
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Another blow for Harper as Conservative MP quits caucus
Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber (Photo: Alberta Diary) Conservative MPs on the House of Commons’s ethics committee amended Brent Rathgeber’s private member’s bill seeking salary disclosures. He’d proposed forcing disclosures for public servants earning more than about $180,000. The committee upped the threshold to $444,000. Rathgeber, the Conservative MP for Edmonton-St. Albert,
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: NDP Leader Tom Mulcair Grills PM Harper On Senate Expenses Scandal (VIDEO)
Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper fled to South America to avoid the unraveling Senate expenses scandal. On Monday, he skipped Question Period in the House of Commons. He did show up in the House on Tuesday and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair roasted him. Prosecutor style. Short, precise questions. The
Continue readingAlberta Diary: (Prime) ministerial responsibility and all that … surely the wrong man has quit!
The home of Canada’s Parliament, held in contempt by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Reform Party, doing business under the name of the Conservative Party of Canada. Below: former chief of staff Nigel Wright, Mr. Harper and Senator Mike Duffy. Surely the wrong man has quit! Nigel Wright, Prime
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Peter Penashue: Harper’s “strong voice” rarely heard in the House
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: A new analysis by democracy advocacy group, Samara, suggests that the Conservatives’ characterization of Peter Penashue as a “strong voice” for Labrador in the House of Commons is a grotesque political exaggeration. In fact, the Conservatives insulted our collective intelligence when they warned that “if Newfoundland and Labrador want
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: NDP demands action on missing $3.1 billion in anti-terrorism funding
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Last week, the Auditor General reported that the Harper Conservatives can’t account for $3.1 billion of the $12.9 billion allocated to the Public Security and Anti-Terrorism Initiative [PSAT] for the period 2001 to 2010. The New Democrats are demanding action and accountability. Via a motion that was scheduled for
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Labrador Byelection: May says Harper violated Conflict Of Interest Act
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May suggests that PM Stephen Harper’s handling of the Panashue affair violated the Conflict of Interest Act. The Saanich-Gulf Islands MP wrote to federal Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson on May 3 and asked her to “undertake an examination, and issue a public ruling, with regard
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Harper Conservatives Nuked More Than 15,000 Public Service Jobs in 2012
By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: A report tabled in the House of Commons last Friday reveals that the Harper Conservatives nuked more than 15,000 public service jobs last year, 8,000 of them fulltime positions. Strangely, the cuts seem to be waging a war against Canadian women and the future. 7,000 of the gutted positions benefited
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