A news story yesterday told us that an international public relations firm has won the first stage of what will be a $22 million contract to promote the output of Canada’s tar sands. Natural Resources Canada has announced that the Ottawa office of Fleishman-Hilliard has been awarded an initial contract
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Fixing The Best Laid Plans.
Reading Terry Fallis’ book, The Best Laid Plans in 2008 was a chore. Not writing the requested review was diplomacy. It seems to be an ideal book for people who like their humour about three metres wide and a centimetre deep. We can hardly advise it for people who seriously
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Looking for Mr. Mayor for Toronto.
In the 1977 Richard Brooks movie Looking for Mr. Goodbar, the character played by Diane Keaton might as well have been looking for a mayoralty candidate as for someone to share her bed. Either way, it seems to be a self-destructive quest. In looking for a mayor for the city
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Why are Lac-Mégantic murderers at large?
Is Canada some third world country where people can break the law and nobody seems to notice? Can a business knowingly break the law and kill Canadian citizens? When a train rolled free into Lac-Mégantic last year and killed some 47 residents of that picturesque Québéc town, it seems the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: What’s a true Tory to do?
A surprising number of Conservatives read this blog. And sometimes it upsets them. Talking to one of these upset people this morning, he admitted that he had run out of alternatives for the coming Ontario election. The recent blog on Premier Wynne’s worries had convinced him that he had nowhere
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Mulcair previews his 2015 campaign.
When New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair was on Tom Clark’s West Block show on Global this Sunday, the wife remarked that the Opposition leader seemed to be testing campaign lines for 2015. He was. Tom Clark even thanked Mulcair for the preview. The only problem for Mulcair is that the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Stephen Harper’s legacy is his ego.
If an historian a hundred years from now writes a book about Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister it is more likely to be on the man’s ego than any accomplishment while in office. That is too bad. Stephen Harper had it in him to do much while in office but it
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Why Horwath has Wynne’s Whigs worried.
It has not been a well kept secret. The Queen’s Park Whigs are worried. They cannot seem to understand why Ontario voters like New Democrat Andrea Horwath more than the Whig’s Wynne. And if they do not figure it out soon, the Whigs days are numbered. Ontario has now had
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Mastering the mayoral marathon.
The most daunting marathon in the New Year is the long-running campaigns for mayors and other municipal candidates in Ontario cities. Technically, your campaign cannot start before registration, which opened January 2. It ends on election day, October 27. There are those such as Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford who are
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Selling the LCBO: A primer for MPPs.
This is not ideological. It has nothing to do with right or left wing politics. Selling the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to private citizens has nothing whatsoever to do with the private versus public sector. It is a simple question of good economics and what is the best system
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Some political thoughts on 2014
You don’t need a crystal ball to guess, That 2014’s gonna be a political mess. Those city, province, federal hopefuls, Will make promises by the bucketfuls. Years of campaigns don’t reveal it all, You never know who will win or fall. Nor do we come last amongst fallible. Pollsters
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Sex education for the Harper government.
The Supreme Court gave a gift recently to the Conservative Government that will keep on giving. It is the opportunity for Stephen Harper and his friends to learn about sex. They seem to be a very repressed bunch of people and any new learning on this subject should be welcome.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Should auld acquaintances be forgot?
This is a look at political baggage Canadians are dragging into the New Year. And none is more fascinating than Nigel Wright. The former chief of staff to the prime minister has been keeping his own counsel long enough. Is there a six figure book deal in the offing? Could
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Pension poaching on federal preserves.
That is an interesting strategy. We are supposed to ignore the blunders of the last ten years. Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne is going to run for re-election as premier on a strategy of fixing federal pensions. Lord knows, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) needs fixing but this might not
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The bitterness of the bitumen battle.
Reading a story this morning about New Democrat Leader Thomas Mulcair and the upcoming battle for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in the next federal election was less than enlightening. If Tommy really believes what he said to the reporter, he is, as we used to say: Dreaming in Technicolor.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Is there hope for Ontario condo owners?
With more than a million Ontario voters living in condominiums, you would think that condo owners would get more attention from Ontario politicians. You might even think that some of those politicians who are not in power would consider that condominium owners deserve ownership rights. The problem is that these
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Glad tidings from Regg Cohn of the Star.
You just hate to be the curmudgeon who is always complaining about those damn filthy, smelly beer stores in Ontario. A complainant can feel lonely. You start to doubt yourself. You feel guilty. You begin to think that you are the only person in this God-forsaken province who knows that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: More thoughts on tidings from the Hair.
Taking a second look at that awful, overdone and trite Christmas message from the Prime Minister on Global was sad. Knowing that he was born and raised in Toronto did not allow him to use a down-east “Well look,” in every second sentence. He reminded you of the old joke
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Tidings of comfort and joy from the Hair.
The Hair was in his environment. Every lock was in line. The light touch of make-up was set to the softer lighting. It was time for the Prime Minister’s holiday greetings to his nation. It was time to tell the peons how it is going to be. This was the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Canada’ military at war with Tories.
It is one of those times when you need retired generals to lead the charge. The war, at this time is with the government that pays them. And it is all about Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s balanced budgets. Flaherty—the Grinch—is taking another two billion from the military’s $20 billion to
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