How do you do a trumpet fanfare in a headline? The Hair going to war again certainly deserves a fanfare. The poor schmuck was had. He was alternately included and ignored by the big boys and girls at the NATO meeting in Wales last week. It was Brit David Cameron,
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Publicity 101: Make each announcement different.
Ontario Infrastructure Minister Brad Duguid must have missed the class on publicity that said change the story line when you make the same announcement for the third time. He got a roasting from the media the other day who had heard it all before. He was trying to make more
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Toronto: A city seeking leadership.
The most obvious problem for those trying to put Olivia Chow into the mayor’s chair in Toronto is her inability to lead. Even if she could win, would she sit comfortably? If you analyze left-wing David Miller’s two terms as mayor between right-wing Mel Lastman and right-wing Rob Ford, it
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Are Hong Kong activists smarter than Canadians?
Pay attention politically smart Canadians. The activists in Hong Kong are showing you up. And what makes you think Canada is more democratic than Hong Kong? All the activists in Hong Kong want is open nominations. When was the last time Canadians were allowed open nominations? Here in Babel the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line for Toronto: Tory at 3 – 1.
This mayoralty contest is an uphill battle for broadcaster John Tory. His instinct was right last year when it was obvious that he saw no redemption for himself in going after the mayor’s job. The people who convinced him to run were also right. Toronto needs John Tory more than
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line for Toronto: Ford at 10 – 1.
Despite the perverse forecasts of some purported pundits, Rob Ford is hardly likely to be supported for re-election as mayor by any large number of Torontonians. You can clean him up, wash out his mouth with soap and buy him shirts that fit but a klutz is still a klutz.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Morning Line for Toronto: Chow at 6 – 1.
Olivia Chow has become something of a long shot in Toronto’s 2014 mayoralty contest. After a strong campaign launch in the spring, it has become clear to the media and the people hearing her speak that she lacks the one key ingredient Torontonians want: leadership. With a fractious, overly self-important
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The shifting sands of Quebec federal politics.
It is important to listen when the Toronto Star’s Chantal Hébert discusses what is happening politically in Quebec. You sometimes get the impression that she is so caught up with the nuances of the Quebec angst that she fails to open her mind to possible results. Take the demise of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Why would you force people to vote?
It is one of those silly ideas that surface every once in a while. Someone notices how low the turnout of voters is at elections. They get all concerned and say, “We must get more people to vote.” Why? Some even suggest that there should be fines for people who
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Understanding the morning line.
There is a caveat to Babel-on-the-Bay’s publishing a morning line on upcoming elections. While we are more accurate than pollsters, a morning line is based on a knowledgeable observer’s assessment of the upcoming race. We make absolutely no guarantee. It is only fair to point it out. Once one of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: But when does the PC contest begin?
We are missing some fun here. Sure MPP Christine Elliott is going to run for the Ontario Conservative leadership. That is not a race, it is a leisurely walk. We need some contestants. Let’s deal some excitement. Obviously Christine Elliott is a tough opponent. Why do you think Stephen Harper
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Torstar: The ugly face of today’s capitalism.
A classified advertisement in The Toronto Star caught the eye the other day. It was offering $13.50 per hour for ‘production operators’ at the newspaper and publishing company’s printing facility in Vaughan north of Toronto. It is only when you read the entire ad that you realize they are not
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Considering the alternatives to Trudeau.
Will Justin Trudeau make a great prime minister? Not likely. Is he better than the alternatives? You bet. There is something of a debate in the household these days about a forthcoming event for Mr. Trudeau in September. We might just use the $300 it would cost for two of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Hair’s annual northern holiday.
We Canadians seem to enjoy our regular getaways but the Hair beats us all. How many times is this now that the Hair and his hairdresser and his wife have headed for the Arctic during the dog days of the Ottawa summer? Sure, it guarantees full coverage by the servile
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Michael Chong, the MP from naϊveté.
No, Naϊveté is not an electoral district in Quebec. The Hon. Michael Chong is the Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Wellington-Halton Hills. What Mr. Chong has not done is endear himself to his Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper. He left Mr. Harper’s cabinet over what he likely
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Premier Wynne should not toy with Quebec.
It seemed an unfortunate heading given to a story in The Toronto Star the other day. The heading was “Wynne toys with buying more Quebec electricity.” The headline editor must have been very impressed that the two lines of the headline were balanced but the connotation was unfortunate. This is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: C.D. Howe tells Ontario how.
Clarence Decatur Howe, minister of everything important in the Mackenzie King government, was never one our favourite Liberal role models but we always gave him the credit for creating Trans-Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) and for the amazing effort he put into Canada’s war materiel production in the Second World
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Liberals playing stupid numbers game.
It makes sense that you would not waste your good ideas a year before the election but nobody wants to play the numbers game. It is just that the last thing that voters care about is how many seats you might win a year from now. And it sounds very
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Do nothing, deny everything.
One of the less endearing qualities of Conservatives is that they are never responsible for anything. To a lesser extent, Liberals often follow suit. Luckily for New Democrats, they get few opportunities to show their incompetence. The only reason the Conservatives are best at being irresponsible is that, with them,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Bala watch out, the NIMBY’s are out.
Nothing seems to arouse passions more than when somebody decides to build something in what you consider as your backyard. There are those who will sometimes carry their protests beyond what is law-abiding. NIMBY’s we have known have been known to riot. But the real problem with NIMBY’s is that
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