Way back in 2004 the Liberals, led by Paul Martin, squeaked out an election win that resulted in a minority government. In order to remain in power, they needed the support of the NDP. Jack Layton, NDP leader, had said he would make proportional representation (PR) an ”absolute condition” for
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Babel-on-the-Bay: The NDP want voting reform.
In a letter to Justin Trudeau last week, Jagmeet Singh, leader of the federal new democrats, laid out his plan for the minority government. It seems to be the best time to try to manipulate the liberals into changing the way Canadians vote. All the liberals have to do is
Continue readingNorthern Currents: It’s an American election dumpster fire: Canadians need to be vigilant too
Share this article: The American democratic experiment is stuck in gridlock. It has become clear that Joe Biden will be the next president with a lead of over 4 million votes. More importantly, Biden has passed the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win. However, Trump-style politics are still in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: To listen and to learn in Ottawa.
Yesterday it was noted how quiet the Ottawa scene has been while history is made in America. But we ignore Ottawa at our peril. You have to listen to buzz in the quiet. There is the testiness of the conservative caucus—planning for the partisan attacks to come. There is the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Derrick O’Keefe writes about the possibilities raised by the B.C. NDP’s majority election win – as well as a need for far more ambition to achieve them. – Elise von Scheel reports on new polling results showing that no matter how desperately
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On bigger pictures
There are still plenty of important results to be finalized in Saskatchewan’s election campaign, and I’ll have more to say about specific aspects of the campaign generally. But for starters following a disappointing election night, I’ll offer a comparison to another election with a similar feel to it. When a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Umair Haque warns that we may be approaching the point where the cost of fighting man-made threats to our environment exceeds the resources we have available for the task. – Andrew Jackson highlights how the people most eager to whinge about deficits
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Don’t blame Singh.
If there was ever a guy on the wrong side of the parliamentary ledger, it is Jagmeet Singh of the new democrats. While the rest of the opposition thought they were driving more nails into liberal coffins, this week, there was Jagmeet and the NDP caucus keeping their word and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Kenney channels Notley
During the NDP’s brief sojourn as government of Alberta, it pursued a policy oft-referred to as “social license.” The idea was that if the province was to get investment in tar sands and pipelines, it would have to show sound environmental stewardship. This was undoubtedly part of the reason for
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “I double dare you.”
The kids are bruising for a fight but unsure of the outcome. The Ottawa liberals are tantalizing the conservatives with the prospect of an election. The only problem is that it could all be for nothing. If nobody can win, what is the point? And that is the real problem.
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: SaskParty Replaces Candidate
After a SaskParty candidate was revealed to be an anti-science Q-cult fascist, so Moe removed him to reduce embarrassment to the party. The replacement is a home builder association CEO. “The rising cost of housing is more important than solving climate change for most canadians (sic).” Saskatchewan is a world
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Chris Bauch, Dillon Thomas Browne, Madhur Anand and Brendon Phillips write about the multiple harms caused by large class sizes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. – David Macdonald finds that nearly 2 million Canadians are better off as a result
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: UCP or NDP? Depends on your age … and gender
Some surprising results in an Angus Reid survey of Albertans this week. The UCP and the NDP are tied in voter support, each at 38 percent. This is quite a collapse for the UCP who won the election, only a year and a half ago, with 55 percent support. But
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Don Pittis discusses how the spread of modern monetary theory is challenging some stale assumptions about government budgeting. And Sarath Peiris highlights how the Saskatchewan Party’s plans for severe austerity are utterly unworkable without the federal government riding to the rescue of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On policy bubbles
While Justin Trudeau is putting any economic planning in the hands of somebody with a vested interest in privatizing profits, it’s also worth noting how his government is deliberately avoiding any of the type of consultation needed to make a minority Parliament work at a time when cooperation should be
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Kim Siever writes about the consistent choice of right-wing governments to use anti-tax rhetoric to goose corporate profits at the expense of the public. Jeff Rubin rightly questions why Canada’s tax system is set up to favour passive and inherited wealth over productive
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Steven Greenhouse writes that COVID-19 may produce a wave of unionization as workers see how little they’re valued, and how cavalierly they lives are put at risk. And Ed Yong follows up on the plight of coronavirus “long-haulers” who have faced a constantly-changing
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Justin’s ‘Turn to Bow’.
Yesterday’s show from Ottawa reminded me of a small book produced by Maclean’s magazine for the 1972 federal election: Their turn to curtsy – Your turn to bow. It told you all the magazine thought you needed to know to be a knowledgeable voter. Maybe that was the intent of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Liberals whistle past the graveyard.
While it might be foolish to buy stock in Trudeau and Company in Ottawa, you have to ask who is going to gain in an election? It is a serious question. It would be necessary for the opposition to get together and bring down the minority liberal government in late
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Edward Xie and Danyaal Raza make the case for a basic services model to ensure people’s needs are met as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic: Meeting universal basic needs for participation, health and independence is not a simple consumer choice. Rather,
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