Imagine if Martin Luther King Jr., Tommy Douglas and Tony Benn were President of the US, and Prime Ministers of Canada and Britain, respectively. The world would certainly be a far better, more just, freer, more peaceful, and safer place. But we do not. In all three of these “leading”
Continue readingTag: leadership
Accidental Deliberations: #elxn42 Campaign Closer: Conservatives
With Canada’s election day looming tomorrow, I’ll take a quick look back at the campaign from the standpoint of each of the major parties. Let’s start with the Cons – who haven’t exactly found an answer for the key problem they’ve faced from the start, but have managed to stay
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Party Platforms, some thoughts!
If the choice is between fixing the hole in the roof and remortgaging the house then the choice is obvious, particularly with the interest rates so low. Throwing a tarp over it and putting a bucket under the drips is not a long term viable solution, that for so many
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Gob-smacking!
“It was possibly the most gob-smacking election launch in modern Canadian history.” So says much respected parliamentary reporter Susanna Kelley “The shockers began almost immediately after Stephen Harper announced he’d asked the Governor General to dissolve parliament and call an election for October 19 — at 78 days, it will
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: National Televised Debate set for October.
The group of networks known as the broadcast consortium, including CBC News, has set the English-language debate for Thursday, Oct. 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. ET, and the French-language debate for Wednesday, Oct. 7, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET…… despite an ongoing boycott by the Conservative Party. In a news
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Abdicating Responsibility
Collingwood Council has, in its short time in office, abdicated much of its responsibility to the business of government and to the people of this town. Council has sloughed off the duties they were elected to shoulder with remarkable alacrity. Some of that responsibility landed on staff, who assumed control of
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: The Debate about the Debate has started!
With the Conservatives quietly considering a proposal to hold up to five regional televised debates in the upcoming federal election to contrast Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s experience with rookie Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau the debate about the debates has started. Hoping to exploit Trudeau’s shoot-from-the-lip style, some Conservative insiders believe
Continue readingMY MLA? OL’ WHAZHIZFACE?
I have a question for you, dear reader. What factor was the biggest factor that drove your voting decision in the 2012 Alberta election? Did you base your vote on a platform, a leader, a party, a local candidate or was it a combination of two or more factors? The 2011 Canadian Election Study asked … Continue reading MY MLA? OL’ WHAZHIZFACE? →
Continue readingMy MLA? Ol’ Whazhizface?
I have a question for you, dear reader. What factor was the biggest factor that drove your voting decision in the 2012 Alberta election? Did you base your vote on a platform, a leader, a party, a local candidate or was it a combination of two or more factors? The
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: An Open Letter to Tom Mulcair.
Dear Sir I am in receipt of you self congratulatory email boasting of how you have just signed the Fair Vote Canada’s Politicians’ Pledge,I congratulate you on doing so and would hope that many other MPs from all parties join you in doing so but have a number of concerns
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Vitriolic nastiness does not breed respect.
Stephen Lewis , the former Ontario NDP leader, United Nations ambassador and lifelong human rights advocate recently took aim at the “pre-paleolithic Neanderthals” in office and their role in the decline of Parliament, the suppression of dissent, the plight of First Nations, their blinkered climate-change policy and our plummeting world
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Experience and government #nlpoli
In the 1980s, local entrepreneur Craig Dobbin bought a batch of helicopter service companies across Canada and merged them with his own company – Sealand – to form Canadian Helicopters. By the time Dobbin died in 2006, CHC was one of the largest providers of helicopter support services in the
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Blind Obedience, the Tool of Tyrants
A guest post by Pamela Mac Neil “Here is how you’re going to vote and here are your talking points” On capital hill the above line is the kind of conversation, probably repeated many times, initiated by junior in the PMO’s office, to Harpers backbenchers and various cabinet MP’s. He/she
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: A Stark Contrast.
I dont often comment upon the daily actions of politicians on this blog preferring to look at the broader picture of how their actions affect out democracy but one recent report realy got my attention in its stark contrast between a potential leader and the current one. The way in
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy and Freedom in Harperland
A guest post by Pamela Mac Neil There have been Canadian Prime Ministers I have disliked and Prime Ministers whose ideas I have disagreed with. I have never however, with any of these Prime Ministers, worried about losing our democracy and consequently our freedom. That is until Stephen Harper as
Continue readingTrashy's World: Leadership – it’s vital
After watching the municipal campaigns in Ottawa unfold thus far, it is becoming increasingly obvious that the defining issue is leadership. Pro green bin or not (I pity the fools!), love Phase 2 of the LRT or scrap it, raise taxes, lower them or keep them the same, what really
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Peacekeepers ignored by Harper.
Today our Canadian military members and veterans as well as police officers come together in ceremonies across the country to honour and remember all Canadian peacekeepers who have served or are currently serving in support of peace operations around the world. Among those who will NOT be there are PM
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to g…
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to grassroots conservatives was pledging to eliminate Human Rights
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: What can the results of the last Ontario PC leadership race tell us about the current one? That Elliott could be hard to beat
Long-time readers will remember when I did some fairly in-depth coverage of the 2009 Ontario PC leadership race. I was reading over some blog posts from that era, bit of a trip down memory lane. I kind of forgot Hudak’s big selling point to grassroots conservatives was pledging to eliminate Human Rights
Continue reading