As my ever decreasing small cadre of regular readers will know I no longer write here on a regular basis having become so disillusioned with world wide ‘democracy’ that I have little positive to say. Here in Canada it has not yet reached the depth of disillusionment that appears to
Continue readingTag: leadership
Babel-on-the-Bay: Big tents are hard to move.
If only we had a nickel for every time someone told us that Canada’s conservative and liberal parties are ‘big tent’ parties. Big tent parties are, as the name implies, large enough to accommodate many different views, as opposed to smaller, narrow interest parties. You can think of the big
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “Enter Laughing.”
So, you want to be an actor? And Canada is the theatre. Nova Scotian Peter MacKay, once more wants to be conservative leader. It reminds us of the semi-autobiographical novel by American humourist Carl Reiner. He turned the book into a successful movie in 1967 and launched his career in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ontario offers the bland and the pit bull.
We are still a while from knowing the slate of candidates for the federal conservative party leadership, but there are two Ontario MPs lining up their teams. They are Erin O’Toole from Durham and Pierre Poilievre from Carleton. I think of them as the bland and the pit bull. Erin
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Kenney warns “Canada oil, gas sector has no future.”
The Canadian Press quoted Alberta premier Jason Kenney recently on his pessimism about federal approval of the proposed Frontier mine in Northern Alberta. The proposed open-pit mine, north of Fort McMurray, would be Canada’s largest and could produce 260,000 barrels of bitumen per day for processing into synthetic oil. It
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Lest we forget, Charest.
It is likely to be a frosty Friday when Canada’s conservatives turn to former Quebec premier Jean Charest. They are just not that desperate, yet. It will be a while before the full field of candidates emerges for the race to replace Chuckles Scheer. Canada’s conservatives want a winner to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Let’s get this show on the road?
As an Ontario liberal (a paid-up member), I am aware that there is a contest afoot to select a new Ontario party leader. And I hear that only those paid up by December 2, 2019 will be eligible to be elected to go to that easily corrupted delegated-convention in Toronto
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Minority Coalition Parliaments
As one of the ‘leaders’ trying to become our next prime minister shows his true colours by spouting lies and false information I urge those of you who have yet to vote to be very careful what you wish for, or more correctly who you vote for. I will not
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Left, Right and In-Between.
Labelling people is always a mistake. Even in psychiatry, people show tendencies down different pathologies. You hesitate to label them. In politics people are often confused by the parties in an election making promises outside their usual right or left-wing stance. During an election is no time to be doctrinaire.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When voters can care less.
When we talk about the Ontario voters who now regret their urge to vote for the Ford conservatives last year, we are hardly talking about all. Many of these same people are proud to tell you that they will vote for Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer’s conservatives this fall. The entire conservative
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: How Justin Trudeau can win.
There is a summer of barbeque season to go before Canadians get into the cut and thrust of a federal election. And it is certainly to soon to say who might win. It is even to soon to consider the odds for a morning line. What we can do is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A year late and a candidate short.
Welcome to the fray, Jeremy Broadhurst. As the just appointed campaign chair for the liberals this year, you have your work cut out for you. I would not say the job is impossible but Easter is over and I am sure God restricts us to only one resurrection per year.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: If Harper is a bully, what is Trudeau?
The last two prime ministers tell us much about this country of Canada. In June 2015, I wrote a comment on PM Stephen Harper, accusing him of being a bully. It seemed to be his way of making up for his deficiencies as a human. A reader reminded me of
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: When Saying Nothing Is Worse Than Saying The Wrong Thing
I have often wondered what is worse, failing while leading or failing to lead. In many ways it describes our current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the man who wants to be Prime Minister, Andrew Scheer. I don’t fault Justin Trudeau when he makes mistakes while leading – saying the
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Much ado about nothing?
Does anyone believe that most, if not all, large national and international companys seeking to do business with overseas entities such as Saudi Arabia do not provide ‘incentives’ to the principals involved? Does anyone believe that without such ‘incentives’ said companys would not receive the contracts but would be passed
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: A Green Revolution?
In a recent interview on CTV Question Period Elizabeth May, the Green Party federal leadersaid that they had been getting an increased interest,and donations, in the party. Hardly a surprise as the choices otherwise are becoming increasingly hard to endorse, the Cons are IMHO so far off the wall both
Continue readingScripturient: Musings on leadership
What makes a good leader? Or a bad one, for that matter? That’s a long-standing debate that reaches back into history.* Of late I’ve been reading about and pondering the characteristics of leadership. Some people are promoted, elected or appointed to positions of authority. This makes them leaders by definition
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Who is running Ontario?
Dean French was Mr. Ford’s campaign chair. The day after the PCs won power in June, Mr. Ford named him his chief of staff. Since then, he has emerged as something even that job title can’t fully capture: an omnipresent force seen by some of the new government’s members as
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Enough said…
In a longish op-ed published in iPolitics Michael Harris says the next election is Trudeau’s to loose, I cannot help but agree for the other choices are bleak. “By insisting on making war on the carbon tax his call to political arms, Scheer couldn’t say more clearly that he is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The sinking ship Singh.
Taking a positive stance when your chief of staff quits, can be delaying the inevitable. It happened to federal new democrat leader Jagmeet Singh the other day and all he could do was gain a little time. The truth was that the federal NDP needed to keep his chief-of-staff and
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