Recently we complained about Opposition Leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer inciting bigotry over the restitution paid to Canadian citizen Omar Khadr. Now we have the less bright of Chuckles’ backbenchers repeating the lies and half truths in ‘penny-dreadful’ mailings to their constituents. We who live in the electoral district of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte
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Babel-on-the-Bay: She could use her married name.
The question was: What would help Brian Mulroney’s daughter win a seat in the Legislature in the next Ontario provincial election? The obvious answer is to use a different name. It might be a quarter century since Canadian voters turfed Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives (then led by Kim Campbell) and left
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It takes four to replace Mansbridge?
The other day, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced that it will take four people to replace long-time news anchor Peter Mansbridge. The question is whether the four are equal to the task? The reality today is that the CBC is doing a far better job with its news website than
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Trump Technique.
The media were all atwitter the other day when they got some leaked transcripts from the White House of conversations President Trump had with other countries’ leaders. They got them and did not understand them. They did not seem to understand the technical term for the technique he was using;
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Money matters maybe.
Never judge a political race by money raised. Whether it is an internal party race for a nomination or a leadership or party fundraising prior to an election, you have to remember that money does not vote. Case in point, the fundraising by each of the four candidates for the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Murray dumps Wynne.
“Don’t let the door handle hit you in the ass on the way out, Glen!” The good news is that Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray is leaving the Wynne cabinet in Ontario. The bad news is that his new job is as executive director of Alberta’s namby-pamby Pembina Institute. It
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Cabal.
Writers search every day for the right words to describe the calamity in the American White House. You can hardly call it an administration. Though there is a school of thought that it might be referred to as a maladministration. It struck me that Mr. Trump might be attempting a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: It’s the wrong argument on minimum wage.
Arguing about how many in Ontario work for a minimum wage is silly. Governments always seem to be trailing the curve on this problem. It is the people who are falling behind who need to get ahead of the poverty line. Can you imagine a serious writer suggesting that a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Our poster-boy PM is the answer?
Despite the wild ravings of Rolling Stone Magazine, our Prime Minister has to whip Canada into shape before taking on the added burden of the American presidency. Donald Trump’s job is safe, for now. In corporate terms, Justin Trudeau might be able to pull off a reverse takeover, (That is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Chuckles’ challenges Canadian compassion.
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer will not let it go. He is raising troops among the bigoted to fight against the compensation to Omar Khadr. He must intend to keep scratching at that wound until the pus from it corrupts or repulses all responsible Canadians. What sickens us the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Jagmeet Singh: Not just a pretty face.
The New Democratic Party’s federal leadership race is getting a little more heated. With less than two months to go, the race has taken on some disturbing aspects of the last Conservative leadership in Ontario. It is turning into Jagmeet Singh’s race to win if he is using the same
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The marriage of Alberta’s Alt-right.
Can you not just visualize Stan Laurel, in the person of Brian Jean, saying to Oliver Hardy, in the person of Jason Kenney, “Well here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten us into.” The mess they are into is a new provincial party in Alberta that could earn the enmity of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Playing the racism card.
According to the Black Experiences Project, the Greater Toronto Area is rife with racism. And it all seems targeted at blacks. If you read writers such as Desmond Cole, Royson James, Shree Paradkar or follow the gyrations of Black Lives Matter (BLM), you will be told that all the white
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Missing Sean Spicer.
President Donald Trump has no sense of balance. He also has very little sense of humour. We counted on his press secretary to give us that bit of fun that made the White House scene safe for family entertainment. But Sean Spicer is gone. He has been replaced. It takes
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Brown’s battling beginnings.
It is getting so bad that even PostMedia writers are wondering when Ontario Conservative Leader Patrick Brown is going to show some maturity. They are starting to question Brown’s ability to run a political party. He is certainly not getting the nomination process right. Many want to write it off
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Running in the Green.
If the federal New Democratic Party is now Green, where does the Green Party get to go? Looking at NDP MP Niki Ashton’s pricy green plan, you really wonder about the grasp on reality of the entire party. Is this the party of Tommy Douglas that cared so much about
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Change the future; Not the past.
It seems to be the rage these days to want to tear down icons of the past. Why are we wasting so much time, rhetoric and effort in this pursuit? What can it gain us if we do not look to our future? There is a framed front page of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: What comes ‘AFTA’ NAFTA?
Back in the first round of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations, it was Prime Minister Brian Mulroney who caved in to the American negotiators. In this upcoming go-around, our Canadian negotiators have to show a great deal more backbone. We also have to have a game plan in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Gambling with losers.
You find by being observant that the people in a hurry to get to the cashier at a casino are usually the ones wanting to get more money to gamble. Why a casino would extend credit to people is a question that is hard to answer. The question was partly
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Our Prime Minister grunts.
Despite teaching public speaking, I occasionally took someone else’s course on public speaking just to make sure I was not slipping into bad speaking habits. We are all guilty of that. And teachers can be the harshest critics. You can include a former school teacher in that: The Prime Minister
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