Wednesday, November 16 saw plenty of direct clash between the Cons and the NDP on an issue that’s been in the news again today. And lest there be any doubt, while the Cons have raised their level of inflammatory rhetoric, they’ve been less than convincing when it comes to anything
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Accidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 4, 2011
Friday, November 4 saw another day of spirited question period debate on the economy. But for once, the main theme was total cooperation – even if much of the day was spent lamenting its absence. The Big Issue The main bill up for debate was the Cons’ legislation dealing with
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 3, 2011
Thursday, November 3 saw another day devoted largely to the Cons’ seat reallocation bill and associated motion to shut down debate. But perhaps more important was a stark set of contrasts on the economy which the Cons now seem to be trying to undo. The Big Issue Peter Julian and
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: 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 24, 2011
Monday, October 24 saw another day dedicated largely to discussion on the Canadian Wheat Board – with the Cons simultaneously declaring that there’s nothing to debate and failing to respond to the concerns pointed out repeatedly by the opposition, whil…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 21, 2011
Friday, October 21 saw another day of debate focused largely on the Cons’ anti-consumer copyright legislation.The Big IssueOnce again, copyright was the largest issue, with Tyrone Benskin summing up what’s wrong with the Cons’ bill in its current form:…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 20, 2011
The main topic of debate on Thursday, October 20 was the Canadian Wheat Board – with extensive discussion in Parliament of both the Cons’ steps to shut down debate, and the substance of what should happen with the Wheat Board.The Big IssueThe passage o…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 17, 2011
Monday, October 17 saw the Cons cut off debate on second reading of their budget bill. Not surprisingly, the day thus focused in large part on the economy – including some noteworthy pushback against the brand the Cons have spent hundreds of millions o…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 4, 2011
Tuesday, October 4 was an opposition day, featuring a motion from Bob Rae on a national suicide strategy that provoked somewhat more agreement than usual. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty worth debating.The Big IssueWhile all parties naturally…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 3, 2011
Monday, October 3 saw another day dedicated largely to debate of the Cons’ anti-refugee bill. The Big IssueAs might be expected after several days of debate, the Cons’ single set of poorly-reasoned talking points was beginning to get stale. And Kevin L…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 30, 2011
The Harper Conservatives’ choice to talk about everything but the economy continued on September 30, with the day’s debate taken up by the Cons’ anti-refugee bill as well as a first look at the latest incarnation of Senate reform. The Big IssueLet’s gi…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 29, 2011
As Parliament heads into a week off, let’s get caught up on what happened in the last couple of weeks before its break – starting with a day that focused on the NDP’s choice of opposition day motions.The Big IssueWhile the Cons have spent nearly all of…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 26, 2011
Monday’s session in the House of Commons was dominated by the debate over another military extension in Libya. The Big IssueOnce again, the Cons were able to win a vote for perpetual military action with the support of the Libs and Bloc. But it wasn’t …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 23, 2011
Friday’s session in the House of Commons saw a few themes discussed which figure to be hot topics of discussion for the next little while – with the continued focus on the Cons’ anti-refugee bill partially giving way to economic and foreign-policy issu…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 22, 2011
Thursday was another fairly short day of debate in the House of Commons due to the visit by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. But that doesn’t mean there was any lack of perfectly telling content as MPs continued to debate the Cons’ omnibus crime bill.T…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 21, 2011
Despite a typically short sitting day on Wednesday, we nonetheless saw an important preview of how one of the most contentious issues on the Canadian political scene will be dealt with over the next few years.The Big IssueThe main point of discussion w…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 20, 2011
Once again, most of yesterday’s session in the House of Commons was spent on what’s becoming dubbed the refugee punishment bill. And while there was no sign of any willingness on the part of the Cons to listen to the opposition’s concerns, there’s plen…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: September 19, 2011
With the start of the fall session of Parliament I’ll plan to resume taking a daily look at what happens in the House of Commons – with a particular focus on the stories that don’t necessarily make the headlines written about question period.What You D…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: June 22, 2011
The second-last day of debates in this spring’s session dealt mostly with Bruce Hyer’s motion on small business. But lest anybody think there would be agreement on the details of an issue where every party supported the motion itself (resulting in a ra…
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