“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
Continue readingTag: opinion.
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
Continue readingThe 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
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Why does it take a hunger strike to gain media attention for Aboriginal issues in Canada?
Dana Wensley | Troy Media: The issue is one of of fairness As First Nation groups continue their protests against Bill C-45, what comes as a surprise to me is that it took so long to happen in Canada. In the lead up to Canada Day I noted that while other
Continue readingThe 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
Continue readingThe 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
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Conservative Senator Mike Duffy’s $33,000 allowance is daylight robbery
Senator Mike Duffy has reportedly claimed more than $33,000 in “living allowances intended to defray senators’ costs of maintaining a second home in the National Capital Region”. The trouble is: the Conservative senator and Harper appointee has been an Ottawa resident since the 1970s. He has a home in Kanata, a
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: Canada’s First Nations leaders confront Harper Gvt on Parliament Hill
Once again, the dictatorship-style tactics of the Harper Conservatives were on display on Parliament Hill yesterday as the government refused to listen to the leaders of Canada’s First Nations. Then, as you can see from the photo, security personnel physically barred the leaders from entering the floor of the House of
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: No Stevie Wonder for the Israel Defense Forces
High-impact anti-Israeli apartheid online activism by peace makers around the world forced Stevie Wonder to cancel his planned performance for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The American singer, songwriter, and activist had been scheduled to perfo…
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canada’s PBO Kevin Page Takes Harper Conservative Government To Court
Canada’s Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has had enough of the Harper government’s lack of accountability and transparency, highlighted by it’s refusal to comply with his repeated requests for information on the $5.2 billion in fiscal…
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: U.S. Election 2012: There Was a War on Women, and the Women Won
If you think the big winners of Tuesday night’s election were Barack Obama and the Democrats, you’re wrong. Journalist, opinion writer, and author of two books on progressive politics, Amanda Marcotte, argues, convincingly, that the big …
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: U.S. election 2012: Rachel Maddow unloads on delusional Republicans
Rachel Maddow is my favorite American television host, political commentator and progressive. She’s the best. In this video, she unloads on Republicans and conservatives for their delusional reaction to the re-election of Barack Obama as the pre…
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Don’t be fooled by the spin on the Canada-China FIPA treaty
by Gus Van Harten| Troy Media There is a lot of spin about the Canada-China investment treaty (or FIPA). Canadians should not be fooled into the deal. They should insist on an independent review of the government’s claims, before the treaty is …
Continue readingCanadian 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
Continue readingCanadian 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
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer to take Harper Gvt to court
Make no mistake about it: Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is on a mission to save the soul of Canadian democracy. Kevin Page is proceeding with his earlier threat to sue the Harper Government for its refusal to comply with his repeated requests for financial information relating to the 2012
Continue readingCanadian 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
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: The Nobel Peace Prize is slipping into irrelevance
by Brian Lee Crowley | Troy Media | Macdonald Laurier Institute My mother could have told you why giving the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union would produce such a predictable and deserved outpouring of derision. An aspiring writer, she took a creative writing course. One of the assignments
Continue readingCanadian 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
Continue readingCanadian 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
Continue reading