Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk looks like an auditor. She also thinks as an auditor. She is one of those people who always cover themselves by saying that they do things according to standard industry practices. The only problem she has is that there are not many jurisdictions comparable to
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Babel-on-the-Bay: Chuckles brings home a report card.
Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer has spent the better part of a year in Ottawa as leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. A report card is due. Will we like the report on that purportedly placid Prairie politician? Will he reprise the docile and easy-going speaker of the house role he played
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “The Long Goodbye.”
Not to give it the suspense of mystery writer Raymond Chandler’s character Philip Marlowe, but Patrick Brown has taken far too long to say goodbye. It has been two months since he called a hasty news conference at Queen’s Park. Within the day, he was gone from being party leader
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Fraser Institute starts with conclusions.
As any experienced writer can tell you, the toughest challenge is to write a report to a predetermined conclusion. This is also why knowledgeable readers are often skeptical of Fraser Institute reports. It seems as though the institute only pays for reports that favour its right-wing stance. There was therefore
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Different directions for divided liberals.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau needs to check the direction in which his mob is headed. It is very hard to get out front to lead them when you are headed in opposite directions. Seeing the directions and concerns of the Liberal Party of Canada at the Halifax gathering last weekend,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Devolving Deception.
When responsibilities are passed to a lower level (devolved), it helps to have a glossary of terms available so that the lesser levels will get their words right. It seems that Toronto Star writer David Olive has stuck carefully to this glossary in his story on the weekend touting the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Horwath has been heard from.
News from the front lines of the pre-election election campaign in Ontario: The New Democratic Party does exist. As irrelevant as the NDP might be in this pre-election period, it was nice to see what might be the entire membership of the party forming a human wall for their leader.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Stapling, spindling and folding Ford.
Millennials might not be as familiar with the admonition we used to read on our household bills. Before the Internet, our bills were often delivered to us as data processing punch cards. We dutifully mailed these cards back to the supplier, along with our cheques. It was considered a no-no
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The price of success for Netflix.
As Netflix keeps adding to millions of subscribers, so do the costs to customers. There is no free lunch and what started as the poor man’s alternative to network programming has become a ravenous giant in the network TV class. And giants are noticed. How long will it be before
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A Commonwealth at bargain price.
Our prime minister Justin Trudeau has been in London this past week, pressing the flesh with the long-running Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth, as we usually call it is the fallout of the old British Commonwealth and is made up of former colonies and protectorates of times past when Great
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ford’s flock is fleeting.
In analyzing a political situation, you have to weigh many factors. According to the public pollsters, the upcoming Ontario voting seems to be decided. I hate to poop on the pollsters’ parade but you should always check some very pertinent points before buying into the B.S. The questions start with
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A Confrontation of Confederation.
Even on a government VIP Airbus, a flight from Lima, Peru to Ottawa is over 11 hours. I did that type of flight more than once and they were always an awful experience. I was able to reset my watch and I knew what time it was. My problem was
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Please come back Patrick Brown.
We will have to take back some of those nasty names we have called Barrie’s Patrick Brown. Sure, he is a sleazebag but he is hardly as ignorant or as frightening as Doug Ford. If we could just have our choice of sleazebag, I guess we would prefer the one
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A Truth Squad for Doug Ford?
Here is a million-dollar idea for the Ontario liberals. It came to me as I read the news that the party was going to waste a million dollars on television advertisements to tell Ontario voters that Doug Ford tells lies. I suppose I should charge them, but it was not
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The end of the gas plant affair.
The Ontario gas plant affair has ended badly. There are no good guys in the story. It was a sorry tale of misinformation and harangue. It was public participation gone rotten. It was political perfidy. It cost us all. And David Livingston is the fall guy. He was premier McGuinty’s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Standing with BC’s John Horgan.
It is a memory from many years ago that sticks with you. It is this time of year. After being awakened by the sweeps rowers training on the harbour, you walk to downtown Vancouver from the Bayshore Inn, along streets lined with cherry blossoms in full bloom. You drink in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Waiting for Mr. Trump.
Is this the day Mr. Trump sends the world to war? We wait. We wonder. It might not be a good day to plan next year’s vacation. The man has his finger on the button. He makes jokes about it. Who else knows when he is just kidding? He exchanges
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The environmental crimes of Justin Trudeau.
Our prime minister might not appreciate the charges but he needs to understand what is involved. Whether he likes it or not, he needs to be reminded of the five basic environmental crimes of the proposed Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Number one: While the stock shots of bitumen
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Has anybody seen Jagmeet?
This is becoming ridiculous. The New Democratic Party of Canada has to have some leadership. Without leadership, it is going to become the forgotten party and the efforts of many fine people over the last 80 years will be wasted. The party can hardly continue as present with no leadership,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Failed Philanthropy.
It was intriguing going through David Callahan’s book The Givers: Wealth, power, and philanthropy in a new gilded age. There has rarely been that much understanding of the failures of North American society. As president of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada back in the 1970s, I could never have
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