The Dead Candidate’s Report, a Memoir tells the story of a celebrated journalist who decided she wanted to be a member of Canada’s Parliament only to have her candidacy canceled by her leader without notice, as she was preparing to launch her campaign. In fact, her political obituary was written
Continue readingTag: Stephane Dion
Accidental Deliberations: On history repeating
With the Libs floundering in an election campaign where they considered themselves entitled to waltz into power and the NDP making a push toward the top of the party standings, commentators haven’t been able to avoid some comparison to 2011. But that’s always come with a caveat – that Justin
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Is the Conservative Opposition a national government in waiting or a separatist bloc? Andrew Scheer must decide
Who said, “At time of global economic instability, Canada’s government must stand unequivocally for keeping the country together”? I won’t tease you. It was Stephen Harper, on Dec. 3, 2008. Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper (Photo: Prime Minister of Greece). Prime minister Harper, desperate to avoid a non-confidence vote
Continue readingAlberta Politics: N.B.’s Blaine Higgs showed the proper path to power after a close vote, but don’t expect Albertans to believe it
If the Conservatives led by Andrew Scheer should win the most seats in the House of Commons tonight but Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refuses to hand over power on the perfectly reasonable Parliamentary grounds he thinks he can command the confidence of the House, much of Alberta will go
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney pledges ‘I will never give up on Canada’ while stoking Alberta separatist sentiment
Maybe Canada needs a Clarity Act for pollsters’ questions intended to gauge the level of support for provincial secession from Canada. The Clarity Act, of course, is the federal law passed in 2000 in response to the scary 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum that came within 1 per cent of destroying
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Chrystia Freeland should not be punished for her grandfather’s sins, but for misleading Canadians about them
PHOTOS: Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland during her visit to Edmonton in the midst of the 2015 federal election. Below: Former Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Who would ever have imagined major Canadian media companies would conclude collaborating with the Nazis when they were on
Continue readingScott's DiaTribes: Stephane Dion and his Green Shift are vindicated. More Hard Work needed though.
Vindication took eight years, but it finally showed up for Stephane Dion: “The government proposes that the price on carbon pollution should start at a minimum of $10 per tonne in 2018, rising by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022.” And then the kicker. “If neither a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- James Wilt discusses a much-needed effort to map out the connections between fossil fuel corporations. And Bruce Campbell highlights how the resource sector is among the most prominent examples of regulatory …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Morally Weak, Intellectually Contemptuous
That’s how I regard the justifications for continuing with the Saudi arms deal offered by Stephane Dion and his puppet master, Justin Trudeau. I see I am not alone in that assessment: Re: Approval of Saudi arms deal was illegal, lawyer argues, April 22…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: How Will Dion Justify This?
Given the ongoing contention surrounding Canada’s decision to sell $15 billion worth of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia, one wonders what sort of dance moves Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion will engage in to explain his government’s ongoing su…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Short-term jobs and profits notwithstanding, Canada’s interests are not served by Saudi armoured vehicle sale
PHOTOS: A Canadian LAV III similar to the armoured vehicles to be sold by General Dynamics Land Systems (Canada) of London, Ont., to the Saudi National Guard. Below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion, former MI6 head Sir Ri…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Keystone XL is dead. New government means climate change back on the agenda.
Having enjoyed the last week in the sunny Berkeley, California, it felt odd to turn on the car radio to hear the local disc jockeys discussing the tarsands and the merits of a pipeline that would pump unrefined bitumen from Canada to Texas. Being one of… Continue Reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Mulcair and Trudeau show Alberta some love in the final days of Election 2015. Where’s Harper?
There is no longer any doubt that Alberta is an important battleground in this federal election campaign. While Conservatives will dominate in the provincial seat count, the Liberals and NDP believe they are in a position to win competitive races in Edmonton… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On the rule of law
It’s for the best that the Cons’ use of secret orders-in-council is drawing some further attention. But the problem goes further than the Libs’ response seems to suggest – even if it’s obvious why they’re pretending otherwise. Here’s the Libs’ complaint about secret laws: Dion likened the secret OICs to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On judicious outrage
Following up on this post, let’s take a look at the flip side of the possibility that political parties can help themselves out significantly by taking umbrage with competitors’ treatment of them – which is the success (or lack thereof) of exactly that strategy over the past decade. As I’ve
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Attack and response
Earlier this week, Andrew Coyne mused on Twitter about how parties seek to make hay out of attacks by their opponents, with particular emphasis on the Libs’ response to PC and Con attacks on their leaders in 1993 and 2004. But I’d think it’s worth noting some distinctions between then
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On complexities
Bruce Anderson writes that as some of us have long suspected, a true three-party federal race is developing which will create some new complications for the Cons and Libs alike. But it’s worth pointing out one area where the Cons are in much worse shape than they’ve ever been. Before
Continue readingAlex's Blog: The Year Taxes Made a Comeback
A slightly shorter version of this piece written with Jordan Himelfarb appeared here in The Toronto Star. It’s just possible that 2014 will be seen as the year that taxes made a comeback in Canada. Not so long ago Stéphane Dion tried to put a green “tax shift” on the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: As lacklustre PC leadership race winds down, by-elections are on the horizon
TweetWith one day left before the vote, Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Ric McIver’s campaign took to the radio airwaves, attacking frontrunner Jim Prentice for being “an insider.” It was an strange move for Mr. McIver, as the general public appears largely disinterested in the contest and the deadline to purchase
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Will Mike Duffy’s Chickens Come Home to Roost in Harper’s Backyard?
“Because my family has no money, I’ve decided to become a prostitute. That’s right, I’m going into politics. ” ― Jarod Kintz, The Merits of Marthaism, and How Being Named Susan Can Benefit You During the final days of the 2008 Canadian federal election campaign, the Liberals were starting to climb
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