You just hate to be the curmudgeon who is always complaining about those damn filthy, smelly beer stores in Ontario. A complainant can feel lonely. You start to doubt yourself. You feel guilty. You begin to think that you are the only person in this God-forsaken province who knows that
Continue readingTag: Provincial Politics
Babel-on-the-Bay: Why would Wynne want by-elections?
Obviously Premier Kathleen Wynne was not listening to the results of the last provincial by-elections in Ontario. She wants to stick her neck in a noose in two more. The lady is not a fast learner. The five by-elections in the summer left the Liberals behind and demonstrated the frustration
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Jim Flaherty: one sick leprechaun.
The federal Finance Minister was spreading nothing more than germs at the Meech Lake meeting yesterday. He was probably high on amphetamines, his nasal passages completely blocked and one step away from falling down, only wishing he was dead. He probably should not have been there. It was not a
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Canada Post writes its own obituary
Headline news this week: Canada Post moves to end home delivery. End home delivery? For me, both as a writer, a lay historian, and growing up in an era where letters were important for communication, business, family and for art, that’s just crazy. I mean really, seriously, way-more-insane-than-the-OLG crazy. But, in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Making a sham of fair elections.
The third party advertising in Ontario has already gone too far. Now the Conservatives are proving it is a sham. And it is hardly to their credit. A new group, calling themselves “Working Canadians” has emerged to counter the so called “Working Families.” Neither group is particularly subtle in letting
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Is Premier Wynne a temporary worker?
There seems to be good and bad coming out of Queen’s Park these days. It is nice to see that Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi’s proposed bill protecting temporary workers is being greeted with approval. At the same time Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli’s long term energy plan seems to be met
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Not all Liberals are liberal.
There was a bit of concern watching Wynne’s Whigs turning out to help in the federal by-election in Toronto-Centre recently. It was obvious at that stage that Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland was a clear winner. The only thing left to do was to make sure the vote turned out on
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The tenacity of troglodytes.
It is probably disrespectful to our prehistoric ancestors to think of some people arguing about how we vote as cave-dwelling troglodytes. They seem to insist on going backwards instead of forward. They look for solutions in repressive countries instead of the progressive ones. They brutalize statistics and numbers to make
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The economic answers in Ontario.
It was right there opposite the editorial in the Toronto Star today. It was the answers to all our economic questions. The bold headline read: Keys to unlocking the full force of Ontario’s economy. It was by Roger Martin, chair of the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: With this Ring of Fire, I thee wed…
It is a wedding of convenience. There seems to be little love lost between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. It is likely she only wants him for his money. She needs it to build an all-season road 500 kilometres north from Thunder Bay to the Ring
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Rob Ford, Civic Commando?
The Rob Ford mayoralty situation in Toronto is just like trying to get rid of a Condo Commando. These are tenacious troublemakers for condominium boards. They are the bane of property managers and boards because they use the Ontario Condominium Act to terrorize the condo to get their way. Whether
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: What is Wynne running from?
There is a television advertisement running these days of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne running. It should have a warning on it to tell kids not to try this at home. Maybe the Premier can close county roads for her run to be recorded. Try running like that in the city
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Any idiot can play blackjack.
Periodically Babel-on-the-Bay tries to be helpful to Ontario gamblers. It is not that the rules are all that different but in Ontario you have two strong government ministries fighting over which one really rules gambling. It can also be fun to write about something you know about. The one firm
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Does Tim Hudak really have a strategy?
There was a Toronto Star exclusive story the other day about a document that might be Ontario Conservative Leader Tim Hudak’s secret strategy for the upcoming provincial campaign. The Lord knows that Timmy needs all the help he can get. Yet if he follows the plan as described, he will
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: In wonder of Wynne’s Whigs.
There was a picture in the newspaper the other day of Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa. He was looking so smug and self satisfied as though all was great in the sphere of provincial finances. It seemed to contradict the forecasts that Ontario’s economy is struggling and we are at
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Has the NDP’s Horwath lost control?
It is one thing to argue with your party leader but it is entirely different to have a profanity-laden screaming match with her in the Ontario Legislature. That was what happened between Hamilton New Democrat Paul Miller and his fellow Hamilton MPP and party leader last Thursday. While New Democrat
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Conservatives constantly challenge change.
At the Halloween convention of the Conservative Party in Calgary, there was often more of interest behind the scenes than at the microphones. One of the most unusual pieces of Conservative literature noted was an attack on proportional representation. It made the unusual claim that “Our country was founded on
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: All the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again. That children’s nursery rhyme says a lot about the situation Toronto Mayor Rob Ford finds himself in, following the release of police reports, yesterday.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: How green are Premier Wynne’s Green Bonds?
Did you hear about Premier Kathleen Wynne doing another stand-up for the media the other day? It was to promote Green Bonds for transit in Ontario. It could be an interesting talking point if most people already know what a green bond is all about. Just in case there is
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ontario, Quebec can do it better together.
Two provinces with the resources are better than one. Two provinces with the ideas are better than one. And two provinces working together can rebuild Canada’s economy to make the country the most dynamic in the world. People have talked about this idea for many years but ignorance and caution
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