Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Walkom puts the Cons’ anti-environmental hysteria in perspective by noting how our cabinet ministers are going out of their way to sound like the most fringy of lunatic Tea Partiers: America’s Exxon Mobil, Britain’s BP, France’s Total E&P, China’s SinoCanada Petroleum Corp.
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Accidental Deliberations: Spin of convenience
Following up on one rebuttal to the Cons’ shilling for the tar sands on the Gateway pipeline, let’s point out one other area where the Cons’ attacks apply far more strongly to their own side than to the voices they’re looking to silence. Here’s Joe Oliver’s criticism of the First
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Stephen Maher and Barbara Yaffe have learned to be duly skeptical of the Cons’ motives when it comes to Senate patronage. But John Ibbitson still has a ways to go – as he’s apparently still buying Con spin about new provinces holding
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Dr. Dawg views the latest attacks on workers by employers in Canada as a new front in all-out class warfare. And the New York Times notes that some of the main policies being pushed by the anti-worker side serve absolutely no purpose other
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The Edmonton Journal makes it clear that the Cons’ efforts to stymie any global climate change agreement aren’t without some serious controversy even in the party’s Alberta core: The year 2011 had better not go down in history as one in which Canada
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 1, 2011
Yes, a couple of the Cons’ more odious bills have already made their way into law. But let’s at least resume a look back at the arguments they so flippantly ignored in pushing through their first set of legislation – with the November 1 debate on the gun registry offering
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Evening Links
This and that for your evening reading. – pogge points out yet another Con slush fund, as public money earmarked for green infrastructure was instead diverted to oil, gas and forestry companies. – Meanwhile, the Cons’ attempt to paint a proliferation of oil pipelines as a matter of national unity
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 – Policy Roundup
As the NDP’s leadership race moves into the limelight, the candidates are starting to unveil some of their policy priorities. As I’ve mentioned it’s an open question as to how much members will want to change from a set of ideas that’s worked rather well for a few election cycles
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 31, 2011
Monday, October 31 saw a study in contrasts as two matters were debated in the House of Commons: a private member’s bill which understandably saw broad agreement, and an opposition motion which should have but was instead met with a painful level of denial from the Cons. The Big IssueThat
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 26, 2011
Wednesday, October 26 saw a rare opportunity for the opposition parties to set the agenda. And as a result, the big issue was one which the Cons prefer to discuss as little as possible – even if it’s far more relevant to more Canadians than most of the Harper government’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Compare and contrast
One Western premier has some perspective on what a provincial leader can expect to accomplish on the global stage: She regretted, but didn’t condemn, the Obama administration’s decision to delay approval of the mega-project until after 2013. And she displayed refreshing humility about her own power to change minds in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 25, 2011
Tuesday, October 25 saw another day of discussion about the Canadian Wheat Board. But this time, the topic of debate was set on the opposition’s terms, as the proceedings focused on Niki Ashton’s motion calling to allow grain producers to vote for them…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 6, 2011
On a personal note, October 6 saw the first question period that I’ll be able to blog about after seeing in person – as well as the first time I’ve heard of question period leading with an event I’ve attended. But the more important development was the…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- Frances Russell comments on how the Cons’ war mentality is leading them to shut down any inconvenient opposition using unprecedented procedural tricks:Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majo…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
This and that for your weekend reading.- Armine Yalnizyan points out what a “Buffett tax” could do for Canada:Put Larry and his 99 fellow CEOs together, and they could put almost a 10% down payment on a national program to bring dental care to school k…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- Susan Delacourt points out some analysis from Greg Lyle which looks to confirm my general take on the real balance of popular opinion between the Cons and the opposition:It’s important to understand that the …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your day.- David Olive reassures us that we’re not in a depression, but points out plenty of other reasons for concern with Canada’s economy:Jim Flaherty, the federal finance minister, tried to slap down Peggy Nash, the NDP fina…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- Munir Sheikh writes (PDF) about good data and intelligent government. I’ll add the subtitle, “and other perceived threats to the Harper Conservatives”.- Aside from the occasional expose on working cond…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Dan Gardner makes the case (with which I wholeheartedly agree) as to the importance of making thoughtful decisions at the best of times:If there is one lesson we must learn from 9/11 and the decade that followe…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on what the Keystone XL pipeline debate started by Peter Lougheed means for Saskatchewan in managing its own natural resources.
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