A chick does not spring new-born from the egg knowing which worms are the tastiest. Life can be a game of trial and error and nowhere is it more treacherous than in the game of politics. Politicos, the hangers-on of the political scene have much to learn but are a
Continue readingTag: Trudeau
The Disaffected Lib: Canada Warming at Twice Global Rate
The federal government is scheduled to release a report tomorrow that concludes our Great White North is warming at twice the global rate. Don’t worry, we’ve got a carbon tax to fix that. Entitled Canada’s Changing Climate Report (CCCR), the study was commissioned by the Environment and Climate Change Department,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Okay, Liberals – The "All You Can Eat Buffet" is Open
It’s not that often Liberals get to say nice things about The Tyee but there’s a lot of good stuff in it, sometimes even for Grits. A very popular entree at the moment is a 2015 Tyee article, “Harper, Serial Abuser of Power: the Evidence Compiled.” The article lists a handsome
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Scheer’ Foolishness.
It is to be hoped that someone in the Scheer family is keeping a scrapbook of the positive commentaries on Chuckles’ prospects in the federal election in October? It is a shame to get the poor guy’s hopes up. The scrapbook will help prove to his grandchildren that he really
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trudeau trashes his flight of fancy.
It was nine years ago that I met Justin Trudeau. Working through liberal party friends in Ottawa, I had invited him to a party fund-raising dinner in Barrie. While we raised enough to get the party out of debt in Barrie, the conversation I had at the time with Justin
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The pundit’s putsch.
It is fun to forecast chaos in these frightful times but we have to compete with some very convincing pundits of the news media. Just the other day Chantal Hébert of the CBC and Toronto Star tells us that Jody Wilson-Raybould MP and Jane Philpott MP are planning a putsch
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Once Again, Ottawa Fails the Coast
British Columbia’s salt water fishery is controlled out of Ottawa by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That’s the same bunch that bungled the east coast fishery leading to the severe collapse of the once bountiful cod stocks. Now DFO is screwing up the west coast, starting with our herring
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Ford Forestalls Hillier’s Hussars.
It might not be up to the standards of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade but somebody should have warned Ontario premier Doug Ford before he got into a squabble with the caucus bad boy of the Ontario Tories. Oh well, Ford is due for a drubbing anyway.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Something for everyone; Nothing for all.
There is supposed to be a little something for everybody and it turns out there is nothing overly impressive for anybody. It is a strange feeling going over this federal budget. Nothing is particularly surprising. Nothing impresses. What is with these Liberals? They are a big tent of neoliberals, right-wing
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The perils of punditry.
Despite putting the idea aside a number of times, I have made the effort to stay away from comparing Pierre Trudeau in 1972 to Justin Trudeau in 2019. I was sitting in the boardroom of the principal advertising agency for the liberal party that evening in 1972 when Pierre announced
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 storms on the Yellow Brick Road.
As we battle our way to the Land of OZ and the looming federal election, what we are hearing across the land is becoming more and more concerning. When normally respectful and erudite people vent with expletives, they are angry. When the prime minister of our country calls a public
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: No Butts about it!
With the Trudeau government, even a recently-resigned principal secretary to the prime minister sticks to the talking points. Gerald Butts appeared before the Commons justice committee yesterday and tried valiantly to salvage what he could of the reputation of the liberal government. He danced a fine line between trashing the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Silence of the Liberals.
It is a time of quiet. Yet the storm is gathering. It is a time of assessment, we have little confidence of the future. The feeling of disappointment is real. We bought the early confidence. We reveled in those sunny ways. We cheered: the king is dead; Long live the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: It’s A Bad Day for Trudeau
Trudeau has faced 3 crucial resignations in the past weeks. First Minister Jody Wilson-Raybold resigned from his Cabinet. Then his right hand man Gerald Butts. Now Minister Philpott has suddenly resigned because she can’t in good conscience defend his government as a loyal member of Cabinet.
Continue readingThe Political Road Map: Adult Assembly Required: Justin Trudeau & SNC – Lavalin
If anyone can take anything from the past few weeks regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the resignation of Jody Wilson-Raybould, it should be that sometimes even though you try something different, you get the same old turnout. That smile you give when the boss wants you to skirt the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Trudeau takes on the Truth-Teller.
The streaming video from CBC News in Ottawa on Wednesday afternoon was a time of truth. There was absolutely no reason to disbelieve former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould. She was obviously under intense pressure in that job to take the well-traveled political road and save Quebec’s SNC-Lavalin from criminal prosecution.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: An unscientific method.
On Global’s West Block public affairs show on Sunday, two of the Toronto Star’s remuda of political pundits voiced their opinions on the Monday by-election in Vancouver’s Burnaby South. They both picked new democrat leader Jagmeet Singh. If you were only going to guess at the outcome, that was a
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Who quits for no reason?
Being principal secretary to the prime minister is no flunky appointment. It is a position of high trust and higher pay. I have known various people in the role, both liberal and conservative, over the years. From the time that Marc LaLonde kidded some of us insiders that all he
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Potholes on the Yellow Brick Road.
It’s the time of year in Canada. The roller-coaster of ice and snow, melting and freezing, leaves even a yellow brick road a minefield of broken and missing bricks. Dorothy and Toto and their three friends have to watch where they step. With the Cowardly Lion (Justin Trudeau) more familiar
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