It is a time of quiet. Yet the storm is gathering. It is a time of assessment, we have little confidence of the future. The feeling of disappointment is real. We bought the early confidence. We reveled in those sunny ways. We cheered: the king is dead; Long live the
Continue readingTag: Liberal Party
Babel-on-the-Bay: Trudeau takes on the Truth-Teller.
The streaming video from CBC News in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon was a time of truth. There was absolutely no reason to disbelieve former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould. She was obviously under intense pressure in that job to take the well-traveled political road and save Quebec’s SNC-Lavalin from criminal prosecution.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: An unscientific method.
On Global’s West Block public affairs show on Sunday, two of the Toronto Star’s remuda of political pundits voiced their opinions on the Monday by-election in Vancouver’s Burnaby South. They both picked new democrat leader Jagmeet Singh. If you were only going to guess at the outcome, that was a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Senior civil servant says something silly.
The crazies are behind door ‘C’ and we turn them loose at our peril. And it is certainly not the role of Canada’s senior civil servant to open that door. To even suggest that somebody might be shot in this country, in this year of elections, is tantamount to an
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Who quits for no reason?
Being principal secretary to the prime minister is no flunky appointment. It is a position of high trust and higher pay. I have known various people in the role, both liberal and conservative, over the years. From the time that Marc LaLonde kidded some of us insiders that all he
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Potholes on the Yellow Brick Road.
It’s the time of year in Canada. The roller-coaster of ice and snow, melting and freezing, leaves even a yellow brick road a minefield of broken and missing bricks. Dorothy and Toto and their three friends have to watch where they step. With the Cowardly Lion (Justin Trudeau) more familiar
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Who is running this circus?
It is usually best to stay away from political situations that you do not understand. While we have gone around the the rings in this circus a few times, we still do not know much. It really is too bad that we do not have a leader who can explain.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Busted.
Oh, the shame of it. My last contribution to the Liberal Party of Canada was June 16, 2016. And the party has asked me if this is a mistake? Hopefully nobody has told Justin. He would be so disappointed with me. Luckily, I expect that only the computer knows that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A shadow from the right.
On behalf of the Right Honourable Clarence Decatur Howe, I object. There were many assumptions made about the man when he was alive and many more after his passing. My problem is with what the C.D. Howe Institute does in his name. He does not deserve the presentations of the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The meaning of Milton.
Watch out Lisa Raitt. The liberals are coming. As conservative MP for Milton electoral district, Lisa Raitt has a long, hard fight ahead of her to try to hold on to the riding this coming Fall. Milton is not only a change riding but it is a win needed to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Di Iorio does district a disservice.
Nicola Di Iorio M.P. for Saint Leonard-Saint Michel in Montreal has finally resigned his seat in the House of Commons He has been missing from parliament since last September and had been talking about resigning since April before that. By the time, a new Member takes over after the October,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Politics in anxious times.
If prime minister Justin Trudeau had his druthers, he would not want an election this year. It is simply bad timing. Canadians are anxious. It is not any one thing. The world is just not behaving as it should. Not even the weather is acting as normal. People are concerned.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: First pick a direction.
It is ridiculous that people are speculating about the possible leaders of the Ontario liberal party so soon. We do have a choice. And the old adage says, we can decide now and repent at leisure. As we have mentioned before, we first want to figure out where the party
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: John McCallum is no diplomat.
Canada’s ambassador to China never was a diplomat. He is a politician. Maybe he has always been too much of a neoliberal to my taste but he finally did what Justin Trudeau could not. He told the truth about the situation of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou of Huawei. And
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The dynamics are different.
When talking about dynamics in politics, we are talking about what will influence the political outcome. And in looking at the upcoming by-elections in three federal electoral districts on February 25, we have to deal with each district as a separate entity. Reading the tea leaves for the three by-elections
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Parsing the political petulance.
Had an opportunity the other day to measure the mood of local liberals after the humiliation of last June’s provincial election. It was the annual meeting of the provincial party for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte in central Ontario. All you had to do was mention premier Doug Ford and eyes rolled and teeth
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trump can: You can’t.
Social media are a trap just waiting for the unwary politician. While I have tested some of the major social media apps, I try to stay away from them like the plague. They are not mainstream. They are not only overrated but they are for people who need to get
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: On the road to Oz, the Lion starts strong.
Dorothy has already clicked her heels and the Cowardly Lion has been the first to put a paw on the Yellow Brick Road. It is very early in the trip and he can act brave. There is no competitor yet on the road to Canada’s federal election. Prime Minister Justin
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Jason Kenney would rather fight.
The last thing Canada needs is another provincial leader spoiling for a fight. Alberta opposition leader Jason Kenney was on Global Television’s West Block last Sunday laying out his battle plan and various lies for his anti-Trudeau, Anti-Quebec and anti-British Columbia campaign. This is, of course, provided his reconstructed conservatives
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Wynne can stay put for a while.
All commentators do it. They give advice. The quality of that advice is something for you to decide. This thought came up recently when Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star suggested that former liberal premier Kathleen Wynne “will have to go.” His reasoning is interesting but believe me, her position
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