The Canadian Progressive: Canada-Benin FIPA: Stephen Harper’s new scramble for Africa’s wealth

 “A FIPA is a treaty designed to protect and promote Canadian investment abroad through legally binding provisions,” – Prime Minister Stephen Harper With the new Canada-Benin Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA), Canada’s first FIPA in Sub-Saharan Africa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has strengthened Canada’s foothold on the new scramble for Africa‘s

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The Canadian Progressive: Chief Theresa Spence’s Heroism Already Eclipses Nelson Mandela’s

by Obert Madondo | Huffington Post Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/chief-theresa-spences-her_b_2408049.html Hunger-striking Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence is the reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. She is becoming the greatest moral and political leader of our time. In fact, Chief Theresa Spence’s courage and sacrifice already eclipses that of South Africa’s

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The Canadian Progressive: Is Chief Theresa Spence your 2012 newsmaker of the year? POLL

Is hunger striker Chief Theresa Spence, who entered Day 20 of her peaceful protest today, your 2012 newsmaker of the year? Is it the Idle No More movement? The Quebec student movement? Beleaguered Toronto Mayor Rob Ford? Is it Kevin Page, Canada’s fearless gallant Parliamentary Budget Officer, who showed uncommon courage recently when he took the Harper government

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The Canadian Progressive: What Chief Spence’s Hunger Strike Says About Canada

by Obert Madondo | Huffington Post Blog http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/cheif-hunger-strike-democracy_b_2298786.html “I’m willing to die for my people because the pain is too much and it’s time for the government to realize what (it’s) doing to us.” The chief of the northern Ontario First Nation reserve of Attawapiskat uttered the haunting statement as

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The Canadian Progressive: Harper’s CNOOC/Nexen deal pushes Canada closer to becoming a China-dominated petro-state

Thanks to our petro-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, Canada is on the verge of becoming a China-dominated petro-state. The Chinese government now owns a large chunk of Canada and the lucrative Alberta tar sands after the Harper Government approved Friday the $15.1 billion takeover of Nexen Inc., a Calgary-based and

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Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canada’s corporate media “boycotted” PowerShift 2012 conference

by Obert Madondo | Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/aboriginal-canada_b_2062293.html The media largely boycotted the youth-led Power Shift 2012 conference, which took place in Ottawa and Gatineau last weekend. The four-day conference brought together more than 1,000 youth from across Canada (a Google search of “Power Shift 2012″ followed by the names of major Canadian newspapers turns up

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Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: What Etobicoke Politics Have in Common With Zimbabwe

by Obert Madondo | Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/obert-madondo/etobicoke-vote_b_2008161.html On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada will rule on the Etobicoke Centre vote dispute. A landmark 1995 by-election in Harare South, Zimbabwe, suggests that, in the interests of true democracy, Canada’s highest court should uphold the decision by Justice Thomas Lederer of the Ontario

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Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canadians to Conservative MP Kelly Block: We Disagree With Racism

by Obert Madondo (@Obiemad) In Canada we hardly confront racism by political figures. As a consequence, Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s government and Conservative MPs are having a field day practicing racism and creating resentment towards minority groups dominated by persons of color. Earlier this year, Harper’s immigrant-bashing minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason

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Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Justin Trudeau Announces Liberal Party Leadership Bid

After months of speculation, it’s official! Justin Trudeau is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. And he’s already dreaming big: he wants to replace Stephen Harper as Canada’s next prime minister. Announcing his leadership bid in Montreal Tuesday, the Papineau MP delivered a speech unequivocally pointing in that direction. The

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Canadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canada’s White Supremacist Views Barred From Parliamentary Committee

Meet Madi Lussier, one of the two witnesses from the Canadian Immigration Report or CIReport.ca, barred from speaking before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration earlier this week. Lussier and her fellow witness were invited to speak before the committee. Then they traveled all the way from Toronto to Ottawa to make the

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