Quebec’s Bill 21 which bans public teachers, police officers, government lawyers and other authority figures from wearing religious symbols at work has met vigorous criticism. Its critics claim it violates religious freedom and discriminates against specific religions. Given that it seems aimed particularly at Muslim women who wear the hijab,
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Carbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Will Canada Miss the (Electric) Bus?
Electric buses are making a real—and rapidly growing—dent in emissions: as Bloomberg reported, electric buses will displace 270,000 barrels of diesel a day by the end of this year. But despite being home to four prominent electric bus manufacturers, Canada’s transit fleets have been slow to adopt this climate-change-fighting technology, lagging behind
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Will Canada Miss the (Electric) Bus?
Electric buses are making a real—and rapidly growing—dent in emissions: as Bloomberg reported, electric buses will displace 270,000 barrels of diesel a day by the end of this year. But despite being home to four prominent electric bus manufacturers, Canada’s transit fleets have been slow to adopt this climate-change-fighting technology, lagging behind
Continue readingCarbon49 – Sustainability for Canadian businesses: Will Canada Miss the (Electric) Bus?
Electric buses are making a real—and rapidly growing—dent in emissions: as Bloomberg reported, electric buses will displace 270,000 barrels of diesel a day by the end of this year. But despite being home to four prominent electric bus manufacturers, Canada’s transit fleets have been slow to adopt this climate-change-fighting technology, lagging behind
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Why Is Nathan Cullen Trying To Kill The NDP?
Oh boy, will Nathan Cullen ever learn? Yesterday I tried to warn him that his toxic Trudeau hate was making him sound like a Con, and look like a maniac.And that in Quebec, his assault on the thousands of SNC-Lavalin workers in that province, and the thousands of others all over Canada
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The real opposition in Québec
Manon Massé • Photo by Québec solidaire The fall election in Québec represents a turning point in Québec’s history, which saw five decades of alternation in government between the federalist Québec Liberal party and the sovereignist Parti Québécois. On October 1, both parties suffered historic defeats at the hands of
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Québec solidaire’s National Council meeting — A comment by a sympathetic observer
Photo by CBC Radio Canada As the party’s general secretary Gaétan Châteauneuf noted in his opening remarks, the 14th meeting of the National Committee (CN) was above all a “moment of celebration.” How could it be otherwise, given the spectacular results of last October 1? The increased vote, the three-fold
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Québec solidaire reviews the election and maps campaign on climate crisis
Photo by Jacques Boissinot/CP Québec solidaire will make climate change the party’s main political campaign issue in the coming year, both in and outside the National Assembly. The campaign will build on the major proposals in the QS economic transition plan featured in the recent Quebec general election. Meeting in
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Chuckles’ confusion of conservatives.
Federal conservative leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer knows that a bunch of whales is a ‘pod,’ and a group of geese a ‘gaggle.’ We are guessing that he has also found out that a collection of conservatives might be a ‘confusion.’ He was at a celebration with an Ontario confusion of
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Understanding Québec solidaire’s electoral breakthrough
Photo by Québec solidaire Summing up the October 1st provincial election results, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson of Québec solidaire, said it best: “the era of the two-party system is finished in Quebec.” Indeed, the political landscape has changed radically. The two parties that dominated Quebec politics for the past half-century now
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jesse McLaren and Kate Hayman discuss how better treatment of workers can reduce the strain on a province’s health care system: As front-line health-care providers we urge the premier to follow the Hippocratic principle, “first, do no harm,” and to not intervene to
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: At Last, An Ally. Merci, Quebec.
Let’s hit bully boy Justin where it hurts, in his home province of Quebec, where the government has come out swinging in support of British Columbia. The first and, to date, only province that has rallied to our side. Quebec politicians are speaking out against Ottawa’s intention to override British
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Support in Alberta is overwhelming for ending public support of elite private schools, new poll shows
PHOTOS: Private schoolboys. In Alberta, our taxpayers subsidize ’em! (Photo: Bundesarchiv.de.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, and Progress Alberta Executive Director Duncan Kinney. Now that’s interesting! According to a new poll, the idea of ending funding for elite private schools enjoys more support in
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: A look at far-right groups in Québec
Montréal, Nov. 12, 2017; Photo by André Querry. In the wake of 9/11, right-wing extremist groups all over the global North reconfigured themselves around a new common enemy: Islam. It’s not that there were fewer hate groups before 9/11 or that they were more accepting of Muslims; the change had
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Québec Solidaire Clarifies Its Support for Independence
Photo from Public Domain There were two main tasks on the agenda at the congress of the left party Québec solidaire (QS), meeting in Longueuil December 1-3. One was the adoption of the party’s platform for the next Quebec general election, to be held in October 2018. The other was
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: A New Year rich in political opportunity.
This political junkie is looking forward to 2018. Starting with the Ontario election in June, Quebec scheduled for October 1 and then the American mid-term elections in November, there will be much on which to comment. The only recommendation we can make at this stage is to ignore the pollsters.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Quebec’s latest poverty plan falls far short of the “basic income” title it’s received in some national coverage – and on how we should insist on political leadership toward the genuine article. For further reading…– CBC has reported on the new plan and the response it’s received,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Gabriel Zucman discusses how the wealthy currently avoid paying their fair share of taxes – and how to stop them by properly attributing income and ensuring registers of wealth. And Micah White is optimistic that the public response to the Paradise Papers
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Mark Karlin interviews George Monbiot about the prospect of politics based on empathy, sharing and belonging. – Andrew Jackson and Kate McInturff each offer their take on the federal fiscal update – with both lamenting the Libs’ lack of ambition. – Karl
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Quebec’s Niqab ban is a shameful sop to nativist voters
Photo by AMISOM Public Information Less than a year ago, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard responded to the murder of six men at a Quebec City mosque with rare and welcome introspection. In a powerful speech, he acknowledged the role of the province’s politicians in creating an atmosphere of suspicion and
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