In an ill-conceived television commercial introduced Friday, Ontario’s Premier Wynne accuses her political detractors of playing politics. The commercial makes it look as though she is striding after a moving camera, trying to keep up with the teleprompter. It is an overall badly written and badly produced effort. It is
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Wrong again, Justin Trudeau.
Even in Julius Caesar’s day, the Rubicon was a very shallow river. Caesar’s legion waded across. Justin Trudeau dives in and ends up looking silly. When writing about the metaphorical Rubicon that young Trudeau faced in Toronto’s Trinity-Spadina riding, we were talking about his relationship with the Liberal Party. Instead
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Conservatives confuse justice and retribution.
You can see the desperation of the Conservative government in the bills it is trying to pass while still in office. You can see it in the names of their bills. The name of the bill has little to do with the content. It is intended to confuse—to give one
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Justin Trudeau is at his Rubicon.
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River with a single legion, he and his soldiers became outlaws under Roman law of the time. It was the Roman mob that saved him from arrest on his arrival in Rome. He was still their hero. In that sense Justin Trudeau is still
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: You should take up gambling Sousa.
Occasionally this commentator gives advice to Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa. It is because we actually like him. He is a nice guy. He is kind of like a slow relative whom you always want to help along. He tries your patience but you keep making the effort. It is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The boredom of bitumen.
The wife does not want to read another commentary on tar sands bitumen. She thinks that some people who worry about bitumen should get a life. You have to admit that it does give one pause when writing yet another commentary on bitumen, its producers, its pipeline devotees and its
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Goddamn the CPR; God save the CBC.
One of our favourite Canadian journalists, Allan Fotheringham, wrote years ago about a Saskatchewan farmer who had everything go wrong who ends up blaming all his problems on the CPR. That is understandable. The Canadian Pacific Railroad has been a major factor in the economy of our west since Confederation.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: You get what you pay for Charles.
The Ontario Liberals have called in another blue ribbon panel to tell them how to make more money from provincial assets such as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), Ontario Power Generation and other crown corporations. The panel will be chaired by Ed Clark, president of TD Bank and
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Shoring up the declining empire.
If you are destined to become a saviour of the British royalty, you start young. It was eight-month old Prince George who flew in to wow the colonials in New Zealand the other day. Somehow his mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, carried him down the steps of the aircraft without
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Reading the entrails of the Quebec election.
When you kill the beast, rip out its guts and use them to foretell the future, all you really need to do next is have a long, cleansing shower. And that shower is what all the pundits need after Monday’s provincial election in Quebec. The election was a watershed. It
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: More musing on TO’s mayoralty marathon.
Obviously the Olivia Chow campaign team must know something we do not. It is hard to believe that John Tory’s mayoralty campaign is that far ahead? It is the only excuse we can think of for the unrestrained and vicious anti-Tory campaign from Chow at this time. Until now we
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Thomas Mulcair has been found lacking.
In a recent commentary about women and politics, we left out Catherine Pinhas, New Democratic Leader Thomas Mulcair’s wife for the past 47 years. The reason she was not mentioned is that she is not political. She takes him away from the political world and is not your typical mistress
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Point made Wynne, move on Hudak.
The late Keith Davey explained it that the point of the Truth Squad that got a great deal of media coverage in the 1963 election campaign was not to correct the meanderings of the creative mind of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. The point was to show that there was a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The pheromones of political power.
You can listen to the man but study the wife. Too many people think of politics as a man’s game but the real answers are from their women. Laureen Harper tells you more about Prime Minister Harper than he will tell you. Sophie Grégoire tells you a lot about her
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Reports from the Toronto mayoralty marathon.
A visitor to Toronto could only suppose that the election for mayor is to be held next week. The air is charged with the accusations, slurs, gutter language and snide reporting as though it were the final weeks of the campaign. And that is just in the social media. But
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The perseverance of Pierre Poilievre.
In a caucus of drones, Prime Minister Stephen Harper must have searched hard for one with the traits and training of a pit bull. He found that he had just the one in the person of Member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre. Harper made him a Minister of State less than
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: But can we get President’s Choice Scotch?
Can you not just admire these Ontario politicians? They are so brave and forward looking that they are going to try some liquor kiosks in a few of the bigger grocery stores. These are the super stores that have dry cleaners, wine kiosks, mini-banks, children’s wear and women’s dresses, pharmacies,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Pot prices plummet.
Who said that nobody benefits from the Conservative’s mismanagement of the country? Look at what they have done with growing marijuana. By trying to regulate the growing of everyone’s favourite toke, the Tories have driven the street price for a nickel bag down to as low as $2 per gram.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Does Harper have to show you how Justin?
No Justin, you do not have to listen to some cranky left-wing liberal from the boonies of Ontario. When we first met four years ago, you were as easy to read as an open book. You had a direction and you were on your way. And we wish you well.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Morning Line: Quebec Election 2014.
Every election should have a morning line. As the polls are already open for advance voting in Quebec, this is a bit late but the situation in Quebec is still fluid. While the polls are showing the Quebec Liberal Party in the lead it is only marginal. As happens in
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