Just when Tom Mulcair was starting to measure the curtains in Harper’s home so that he could replace them when he became Prime Minister; when the polls showed a surge of votes for the NDP after the dramatic events in the recent Alberta election; and when pundits have started writing
Continue readingTag: Political Courage
CuriosityCat: Election 2015: Why Canadians will have a new government
Yes, Prime Minister … Yesterday’s EKOS poll results released by Frank Graves have plenty of food for thought. The poll results are worth detailed study by anyone trying to get a fix on what will happen in the coming election. One thing right now, based on this poll snapshot, is
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ranked ballots in 2018: Democracy is coming to Canada!
Politician with Courage And not a moment too soon! The Liberal Party government of the province of Ontario deserves the congratulations of every Canadian for their bold step in dragging democracy into the 21st century with this step: The provincial government will change the Municipal Elections Act to allow cities
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Why I want Elizabeth Warren as the next US President
Senator Elizabeth Warren: The Voice of the Left It’s time for a progressive, highly educated, intelligent, tough as nails, committed liberal to inhabit the White House one President Obama moves on to other things. And the article in Politicosums up why I think Warren would make a great president for
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ukraine: Minsk deal includes de facto federation
Three powerful leaders and one powerless one gathered around a table in Minsk, negotiating a ceasefire agreement for war-torn Ukraine. The negotiations took a surprising turn when the four leaders met alone, without their advisors – it is not yet clear who suggested this, but my bet would be Putin.
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Michael Den Tandt is wrong: Mulcair knows what a mess of pottage is
Den Tandt: Muclair cannot count So, what will our next federal government look like? Today is the last day of the year 2014, and most commentators have hidden their heads in the sand rather than venture a public guess. Michael Den Tandt is one of the braver ones. In an
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Mulcair leads the way to a more democratic Canada
Mulcair: The man who would bring democracy to Canada Thomas Mulcair, that very capable MP who is leader of the NDP, has publicly committed himself to remedy our democratic deficit, as this post indicates. Mulcair is to be commended for two things. First, for signing the Fair Vote Canada declaration
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Pipelines and Ottawa’s dropping of the ball: Gordon Gibson nails it
Gordon Gibson: The Nailer If you are a politician, or work with any political party –federal or provincial or municipal – you should definitely read the succinct, well-written and politically significant articleby Gordon Gibson in the Globe & Mail, entitled Enough with pipelines. Refine it. Gibson summarizes, in one short
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Kudos to Premier Wynne for remedying our democratic deficits
Political Reformer Premier Wynne While many premiers, MPs, politicians and commentators wring their hands about the low voting counts in elections, and the feeling of impotence of many citizens, Premier Wynne of Ontario has decided to stop whining and do something about it. With one bold step, Wynne will provide
Continue readingCuriosityCat: USA: Elizabeth Warren takes the fight to Wall Street
The Real USA The highly intelligent, courageous and scrappy new senator is not stopping in her fight for the middle class. She is pounding the streets, raising money for long-shot Democrat candidates, and focusing on the rigged stock market that favours the wealthy and has a lock on many elected
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Congratulations to Susan Delacourt
Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt neatly sums up the state of play in Canadian politics in her article in the Toronto Star: In that same vein, we have been told repeatedly that Canadians want people in power who are “good managers” of the economy, but what about being a good manager
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Visionary Concept of Wildrose Party’s Danielle Smith: A National Energy Corridor
Danielle Smith: Visionary Canada’s wealth depends largely on our ability to export goods and services that others want to buy from us. And one of our major exports is energy – whether it be electricity or oil and gas. Our ability to export large quantities of energy is under threat
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ukraine needs help to overcome the Iron Law of Oligarchy
Daron Acemoglu’s articleon the Ukraine in today’s Globe & Mail is a must read for all who are concerned about the mammoth task facing Ukraine right now. Unlike so many writers who skate across the thin ice of ignorance in their commentary on what is really happening in that blighted
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Canada: A Simple Election Law (“SEL”)
At the Montreal convention, the Liberal Party overwhelmingly agreed to Priority Resolution 31, Restoring Trust in Canada’s Democracy. An important part of that resolution is this: AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT immediately after the next election, an all-Party process be instituted, involving expert assistance and citizen participation, to report
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Liberal Party Convention: The Most Important Policy Resolution
In my view, the single most important policy resolution at this week’s convention in Montreal is the prioritized number 31, which should significantly reduce our democratic deficits. That resolutionreads: 31. Priority Resolution: Restoring Trust in Canada’s Democracy* BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Liberal Party pursue political reforms which promote: Open,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ontario Byelections: The change that really counts
It seems that the leaders of all three poltical parties in the province of Ontario sense that voters want change. Premier Wynne, leading a minority Liberal government, was rejected by voters in the two byelections, but says change is wanted: Real Change Wynne? After writing off the byelections as “skirmishes”
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Brian Rice: The right person for President of the Liberal Party of Canada
Brian Rice – Political reformer par excellence For many reasons, I believe that Liberals should elect Brian Rice as the next President of the Liberal Party. He is a mover and shaker, a man of ideas, an adept politician in his own right, and a very hard worker. One very
Continue readingCuriosityCat: The Battle for the Soul of Canada’s NDP
Tony Blair wrested control of the British Labour Party away from the hardliners who had successfully run that party into the ditch in election after election, by concentrating on a small core of voters, and offering policies that were outmoded, anti-capitalistic and unappetizing to most British voters. Thomas Mulcair faces
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Canada, want a good Deputy Prime Minister? Look for the man with the hardball in his office
Two of these men could be PM in the next 18 months Thomas Mulcair says he and his NDP have learned from the disasterous provincial NDP election: “It’s not enough to look at the electorate and say, ‘vote for me, I m good.’ You have to say, ‘vote for me,
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Deperately seeking Toronto’s Nenshi
Purple reign Is it time for Canada’s largest city to have its very own purple rain? The Editorial Board of the Globe & Mail seem to think so. They frame the issue this way: Toronto needs to be rethought from its suburbs inward, not from its centre outwards. And its
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