I have said that simply calling for PR (Proportional Voting) is not sufficient but that we must understand the various systems that are generally promoted as ‘proportional’, and the alternatives. I wrote about the various systems some 3 years ago and will simply re-post part of that article with some
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THE CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE: Public Education: School to Prison Pipeline (VIDEO)
To end the violence in Baltimore there must be radical reform of public education and the criminal justice system – a panel moderated by radio talk show host Marc Steiner The post Public Education: School to Prison Pipeline (VIDEO) appeared first on THE CANADIAN PROGRESSIVE.
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Ontario Election = Identification & Vouching
With all the publicity around the Federal ‘Fair’ Elections Act and the issue of vouching it is important to know that for the Ontario Provincial Election VOUCHING IS NOT PERMITTED. You must have proper identification in order to vote, if you are not on the voters list, do not receive
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Silence of the Labs
Silence of the Labs is the title given to the Fifth Estate presentation coming up on CBC this Friday which anyone concerned with the future of Canadian scientific research, indeed the very future of Canada, should make a point of watching. Whilst I do not know what their investigative reporting
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Voting for a New Voting System.
Of late there seems to be an increased interest in bringing forward a new way of electing our ‘representatives’ in the House of Commons no doubt brought on by the possibility of the Harper regime winning another majority with a minority vote in 2015. Given their expertise in spinning the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Got trouble with ‘overbearing urban planners’? The Manning Centre wants to help!
A civic election all-candidates’ meeting in Calgary. “Why don’t we pass the time with a game of solitaire?” Actual Manning Centre supported candidates may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Manning Centre namesake Preston Manning; Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi; Calgary developer Cal Wenzel (CTV photo). If on Oct. 21 the
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Anti-Intellectualism in America
Browsing my news feed I found this piece and decided it was scary enough to share with everyone. I think I’d like to read Papantonio’s book and see what she has to say. Here is a radio dealing with her premise and some related information from Raw Story. “In
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Health Services trimmers toss out a couple of market-fundy myths to save cash
Alberta Health Services Board Chair Stephen Lockwood demonstrates how to trim a provincial health care budget. Actual AHS board members may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Lockwood in his official AHS portrait. Two pernicious and slightly dissonant myths that cloud discussion of public health care are
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy ‘Satisfaction’ dropped 20%
Its been a while since I gave Samara the democracy measurement folks a plug but a recent visit to their web site encouraged me to have another look around and you should too. Their most recent report titled‘Who’s the Boss?’ once again reinforces what many of us firmly believe in
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Noam Chomsky Reflects on Contemporary Education
Despite the fact that it was fraught with a marking load I would not wish on anyone, my career as an English teacher offered many satisfactions, not the least of which was the opportunity to explore issues that are increasingly considered off-limits in the classroom: contemporary politics, the use and
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Oh Canada!
Many years ago I stood proudly with other newcomers to Canada and became a Canadian Citizen, of late I have not been so proud to be Canadian. The Canada that I became part of was, I thought, an open and accepting and diverse country governed as a parliamentary democracy and
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Democracy, the Charter and Ontario Teachers
Here in Ontario there is currently a ‘dispute’ between the teachers and the government as to what the teachers unions want and what the taxpayers can afford, the government has passed legislation freezing wage levels for the next couple of years of t…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Globe and Mail on higher education in Canada
The Globe and Mail has just launched an in-depth feature on higher education in Canada, an installment of their Our Time to Lead series. For a couple of weeks, you can expect to see increased coverage of the issues facing our post-secondary education system in print but especially online. The
Continue readingDemocracy Under Fire: Maintaining Trust and Engagement in Canadian Elections
Extracts from a Speech of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada at the the Economic Club of Canada on September 25, 2012 (my bold) According to any international democracy index you look at, Canada’s democracy is consistently ranked among the top 10 in the world. On standard indicators of democratic
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: When Parents Get The Upper Hand in Education
Yesterday I wrote a post about the Hamilton parent suing the school board for its refusal to notify him when a range of topics objectionable to his beliefs was being covered in the classrooom. His intention was to withdraw his children each time topics such as marriage, environmentalism, evolution, gay
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Price of Plualism
There is a price for the privilege of living in a pluralistic society, and that cost, which the majority of people willing pay, is tolerance for the views and beliefs of others. Tolerance, while not requiring the embrace and adoption of the values held by others, does entail respecting those
Continue readingImpolitical: On academic freedom
Jim Balsillie has an op-ed in the Globe today in the wake of the rejection by York University of a major investment by him of about $30 million that was to be matched by the province: “Academic freedom at York University? More like academic myopia.” Here’s what he says was
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