It happened this past weekend. The Ontario government bureaucracy lost me. I was due for my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Since the first shot had no adverse effects, I was looking forward to the capping shot. While it is still a matter of four to six months to
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Some advice to Ontario politicians.
This is important. If you think of ending separate schools, do not do it to save money. First of all, you are not going to save anywhere near one and a half billion. It will probably cost more because the real need is to end all faith-based and private education
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Not your father’s Tories.
This has probably been said before but it bears repeating. I used to know conservatives that I liked. Not that I would ever vote conservative but these were actually likeable people. I lived next door to a member of the provincial conservative cabinet. He was a good neighbour. I always
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Thieves, Scoundrels and other Telecoms.
Canadians will have every right to be angry at the neo-liberalism of Justin Trudeau and the failure of regulatory agencies such as the Canadian Radio, Telecommunications and Television Commission (CRTC). The planned takeover of Shaw Communications by fellow telecom Rogers has to be stopped. Without more, not less, competition by
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Conflict of Apostles.
The other day, this commentator lauded Pope Francis for his visit to Tehran. He spoke frankly with the Iranian ayatollahs. He brought a message of peace and hope. And today, we learned of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith turning thumbs down on the approval of blessings
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Write Big or Go Home.
If you expect a federal budget in the April timeframe, you might be guessing right. There are still arguments against it but the scenario is an April budget and a May call for the election that will be held in June. Finance minister Freeland has a serious task to deliver
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The drag of the monarchy.
Along with most Canadians, I try to ignore the monarchy. It is ersatz, immaterial and irrelevant to our lives. The only problem is that the monarchy is locked into a constitutional structure that defies change. It was planned to be almost impossible to change. The small-minded Fathers of Confederation were
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Let’s not give up hope on humanity.
If there is no hope for humanity, what do we do? Hold hands and jump from the nearest cliff? There is no question that the scientists are scared. They are not as worried about the creatures of the land, sea and air as they are about the fate of mankind.
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 readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Feeling the sting of Ford.
It reminds me of the story of the dog and the scorpion. “It’s my nature,” explains the scorpion before they both drown. In Ontario, we are seeing the nature of premier Doug Ford that is taking Ontario into a corrupt past. In the same way as Donald Trump found to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: In the twilight of the Firm.
It played for shock. It was Oprah Winfrey practically salivating at the opportunity to condemn the Brit royals for racism. She was trying to get the one-time duchess Meghan to say it. It was the lowest point in that overly long and trite interview with Meghan and Harry last Sunday.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Bleeding Hearts and Women Candidates.
There seems to be nothing more tiring in politics than media people who say there have to be more women in politics. They seem to have a funny idea that women would bring less partisanship and a more collegial atmosphere to government. I think that before reporters are allowed to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Can I change my mind?
Recently I have been thinking October for the election that Trudeau wants. That could be wrong. The problem is that I was basing my thinking on the end of the pandemic. I realize that there will be a time when people want to go out and make love 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 readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “Ottawa, we have a problem.”
The other day, we got a good laugh from a Susan Delacourt column in the Toronto Star. She was comparing former federal liberal leader Michael Ignatieff to conservative leader Erin O’Toole. I could never imagine two guys so different. I first met Michael when he was in his early 20s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Uneasy sit the bums at Ford’s cabinet table.
That is a tough one. The quote from Shakespeare is something about ‘Uneasy hangs the head that wears the Crown.’ It just seems even better when you are referring to the bums that sit around the cabinet tables of scary martinets. And, of course, we are talking about their anatomical
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Welcome to the two per cent.
Checking the score cards on vaccinations the other day, I found I am in the top two per cent of Ontario residents. It is embarrassing. Ontario only has about four million more people than the State of Israel. Yet Israel can get the first shot of vaccine into the arms
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Don’t bet on it!
In a world of stupid ideas, you are going to love this one. The investors who bought Torstar, publisher of the Toronto Star, want to expand their newspaper empire into on-line Internet betting. We knew these guys were not newspaper people. Nor are they computer experts. Nor do they seem
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Dougie did it!’
Mother did not like those words. The youngest of my brothers was Douglas. Of the six kids, he was mother’s pride and joy. She hated to hear the words, ‘Dougie did it’ from everything such as a raid on the cookies to blood splatter. I think she stopped blaming the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Being ‘Just Erin’ won’t cut it.
It seems that conservative leader Erin O’Toole is not just an unknown to Canadian taxpayers. His own caucus in Ottawa is just as much in the dark as are the voters. The conservative MPs are puzzled as to where he intends to lead their party. Some of the more reliable
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