According to Susan Delacourt of the Toronto Star, Justin Trudeau was invoking the ghosts of liberal past at the weekend policy conference. While I rarely disagree with Ms. Delacourt, those were not spirits to whom Justin was appealing. He needs the living, breathing liberals of past years to come back
Continue readingTag: NDP
Accidental Deliberations: On unconventional circumstances
Like 2,000+ other members across the country, I’ve been participating in the NDP’s convention over the course of the weekend. And with one day in the books, I’ll take note of a few of the differences between this and traditional in-person conventions – as well as the effects they’ve had
Continue readingThe Maple Monarchists - Blog: All three policy proposals concerning the monarchy that were submitted to the NDP policy convention
The NDP is having a policy convention this weekend (so are the Liberals in what must have been a scheduling snafu). The NDP membership has once again put forward policies concerning the Canadian Monarchy to be debated. The following is a summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Good And no,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: O’Toole sings of solidarity.
Some political pundits seemed surprised the other day that conservative leader Erin O’Toole was trying to build bridges to unions. Not all union members vote for new democratic party politicians. If there has been any drift over the years, it has been to both conservatives and liberals. It is all
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Pick your battles.
If you want to win, in war or in politics, you pick the battles you can win. Losers fight any battle that comes along. It is the problem facing the major opposition parties in the coming election. It is a special problem for conservative leader Erin O’Toole. He is between
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The upcoming battle for the GTA.
Some pundits are under the impression that the key battle in the coming federal election is in the greater Toronto area (GTA). They might be able to give logical support for their assumptions but I would not suggest that it is all a done deal. Some things have changed and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Guyton, Patrick Langetieg, Daniel Reck, Max Risch and Gabriel Zucman examine (PDF) the massive amounts of money which people at the very top of the income distribution hide from revenue authorities. And Nancy Cook reports on Joe Biden’s plan to at least somewhat
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On plausible alternatives
One of the perennial frustrations in following federal politics is the tendency of media coverage to default toward a Lib-Con duopoly. That pattern typically manifests itself when polling data and other circumstances create an obvious opening for an alternative, and is particularly striking when one of those parties is still
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Bruce Arthur discusses how Doug Ford could prevent a third wave of COVID-19 in Ontario, but is choosing not to. John Michael McGrath writes that we need to stay vigilant in doing everything we can to limit the spread of the coronavirus even
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Do we give Del Duca a chance?
Having never met Ontario liberal leader Steven Del Duca, I have not had much on which to base an opinion. All I know is that he never impressed me much in Kathleen Wynne’s cabinet. As transportation minister, he stuck his foot in it when he appeared to be pushing Metrolinx
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Evening Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Christo Aivalis rightly points out that the NDP needs to be a party of labour and fight to ensure workers’ needs are central to Canada’s political discussion, rather than amplifying the rhetoric of the exploitative corporate lobby even when it’s in the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When is Day One of this plan?
It is sad to admit that I am not overly enthusiastic about the Ontario NDP’s environmental plans for 2035. Most people tend to be skeptical of plans for when they are in their 90s. Those of us who realize we are getting older every day, tend to be more interested
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Premier Responds, And Skips Work
A month ago I wrote the Premier, again asking him to resign due to his extreme incompetence. His response was to ignore that request and provide more examples of the same. Surprised to hear back from the Premier, but of course he included a lie about the public health measures
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Karl Leffme interviews Jake Lytle about the movement to unionize marijuana-related work in Chicago. And Jay Greene and Eli Rosernberg report on an all-too-rare expression of support for unionization by Joe Biden in the wake of Amazon’s attempt to bully and bribe workers
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Andrea Horwath has an easy job.
Other than being insulted occasionally by Ontario’s premier-in-training, the new democrat’s Andrea Horwath seems to enjoy her continuing role as leader of the opposition at Queen’s Park. The biggest complaint we have heard about her recently is that they never answer the phones in her riding office in Hamilton. You
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Damaged Democracy.
It is catching on. This writer is delighted that more and more Canadians are starting to question our commitment to democracy. Many point to the United States and say, ‘Boy, isn’t that democracy a mess. The bad news is that our mess is no better than theirs. It is just
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta business proposes more taxes
We don’t generally think of proposals for more taxes coming from the business community but that’s exactly what happened in Alberta this week. The Business Council of Alberta has issued a report, Towards a Fiscally Sustainable Alberta, saying that the province not only needs a harmonized sales tax but it
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Bill Blaikie discusses how our growing inequality and precarity is the direct result of harmful policy choices: By 1985 we were five years into the neo-liberal era brought on by the election of Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Ronald Reagan in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Did you know the campaign was on?
Jagmeet Singh has been heard from. He did not exactly come down from the mountain with tablets of stone. The new democratic party leader has decided that the low-hanging fruit of for-profit, long-term care homes was as good an issue as his party needs in the looming federal election. It
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Jim Stanford reminds us that a focus on protecting health is the best strategy to ensure a functioning economy. And Gary Mason writes about the increasing fatigue Canadians have with the feckless responses of all levels of government – aside from the Atlantic
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