According to Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro, speaking at a news conference on another topic yesterday, Wednesday’s decision for Alberta to become the only jurisdiction on the planet to start treating COVID-19 as if it were the common cold was Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw’s idea. Facing reporters
Continue readingTag: Senate of Canada
Babel-on-the-Bay: Our artificial monarchy.
It is well past the point where Canada should be doing something to eliminate the false monarchy in this country. It is not only a sham but it is interfering with serious reform. And I say this in all seriousness in a country where a kid named ‘Archie’ happens to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trudeau hears from Harder.
Former government leader of the senate, Peter Harder had some advice for Justin Trudeau as he retired from the senate. He expressed the hope that the prime minister might consider more people with political experience be appointed to the senate. That is the point I have been making for the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Canada’s elitist senate studies itself.
An argument in Canada’s senate recently was whether an independent member could spend public money to study the public attitude about the senate. While we are not entirely clear on why, it seems that independent senator Donna Dasko spent $15,000 of public money and expected it to be paid from
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Senator Peter Harder tries harder.
Former civil servant, Peter Harder really likes his new job in the Senate of Canada. As an independent(?) appointee to this body, he is also the government representative in the senate. Whether he is really an independent seems to be something of a wink-wink-elbow-jab condition open to interpretation. And as
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Canada’s Senate: Still not Democratic.
Despite having many friends in the Senate over the years and appreciating some of their hard work, there is no justification for such an elitist and undemocratic component to the Canadian parliament. It represents millions of dollars in expense for the Canadian taxpayer over which the taxpayer has no say.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Danger signs of elitism in the Senate.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau is facing enough problems without his elitism coming back to bite his ass. We saw in the Senate last week where one of his elite appointees forgot who appointed her to the sinecure of the Senate. Supposedly independent senator Paula Simons from Alberta torpedoed the liberal
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Watering the wine of Canadian politics.
Canadians deserve better. We are promised much but so little is delivered. Prime minister Justin Trudeau promised doctor assisted suicide to relieve people the pains of protracted death and all Canadians got was some comfort for the rich. He promised voting reform but had never thought it through. He has
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Senate of Canada sleeps on.
It was surprising. A regular reader who frequently agrees with Babel-on-the-Bay has changed his mind about the undemocratic anachronism of Canada’s Senate. Now he thinks he likes the elitist appointments. He met a Senator he likes. I used to know a lot of Senators I liked. That hardly means that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Biting the hand with the handouts.
We have warned Justin Trudeau repeatedly that those so-called independent senators are going to bite him on the bum. Blame him for all those Christmas presents that Canada Post cannot deliver by Christmas this year. Every day of further delay is thousands of packages undelivered. But elitism cannot be rushed.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Free advice to Senator Paula Simons: When in doubt, don’t file an expense claim; avoid sparring with PM
I imagine most journos working nowadays for the moribund and increasingly far-right Postmedia newspaper chain daydream about making a miraculous escape from their travails – perhaps a modest Lotto 6/49 win or a generous inheritance from a beloved auntie. But you have to admit that Paula Simons, until now a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ageism and Justin Trudeau.
There was an opinion piece in the paper the other day by a favourite commentator. She was writing about the Liberal government not trusting anyone older than the prime minister. That leaves a very large number of Canadians to be disposed of on the ice floes by this uncaring government.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: There are some real royals.
It is too bad that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was too busy to meet with the King and Queen of Belgium when they were in Ottawa the other day. These are a somewhat different type of royal. They are useful. They are not just figureheads and dilettantes. The Belgian royals
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Elitism bites Trudeau’s ass.
It is hard to say what embarrasses Canadians more. Seeing pictures of Trudeau and his family dressing up Bollywood-style to the amusement of the Indian Sub-continent is bad enough. As often as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been warned though about his elitist approach, those chickens have come home to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Change Canada’s Senate: ‘There’s the rub.’
Some of our readers thought that was a got-cha. “Aha,” they exclaimed in their e-mails, “How do you think we are going to get rid of the senate?” Obviously, they have never heard of my idea of a constitutional conference. I suggested it once in a conversation with Justin Trudeau.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Forget Beyak, dump Canada’s Senate.
Why just dump Senator Lynn Beyak? You do not have to like what she says or posts on the Internet? We have all heard it before. Bigotry is hardly new. The problem is that there is not much you can do about it. She was appointed to the Senate of
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Is Trudeau’s elitism working?
It is getting to the point where even the Conservative opposition in parliament is noticing. They are starting to take verbal jabs at the prime minister’s elitist nature. It is starting small but it will grow. Canada’s poster boy prime minister can ill afford to have his elitist tendencies to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Longingly looking for liberalism.
A correspondent from British Columbia recently asked “What is a Liberal party bereft of liberalism?” He was, of course, describing the situation today where the Conservative parties are moving farther and farther to the harshest right, Liberals are the new Conservative-Light and the New Democrats are lost in a confused
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: In the Senate: “Some are more equal.”
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm we were told that some animals are more equal than others. This makes it an appropriate analogy for the institution in Canada known as the senate. The senate was created 150 years ago as a chamber of sober second thought to rein in any excesses
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Alibiing elitism 150 years later.
If there was just one institution in Canada that could be changed this year, many Canadians would choose the Senate. They are tired of the elitism shown by the prime minister and his elitist friends in choosing Canadians to serve in this anachronistic reminder of Canada’s British beginnings. The Senate
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