Today in Pointless Ideas from Nathan Cullen
Putting the monarchy to a vote appears to be Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen’s most recent suggestion. This comes off the heels of his last headline capturing moment with…
November 2011
Seeking alternatives to Quebec hydropoly – A review of Seeking the Current
As important as environmental documentaries are, it’s difficult not to tire of watching the ‘go green or risk oblivion’ narrative play out again and again. So when I read the…
The Value of Endorsements
Leadership races are notoriously hard to handicap, due to the absence of credible polling data. Asking Canadians who they want as the next NDP leader is pointless, since only 3…
Goodbye ‘Movember’! Hello ‘ABSTA-VEMBER’ in 2012!
I am so glad to see ‘Movember’ come to an end. Yes, raising awareness and funds in the fight against prostate cancer is a great cause and I’m glad they…
QP: Third-party management
Every now and again, exchanges happen in the House of Commons that remind you about the value of debate and holding the government to account in a forum like Question…
Two minutes of politics, November 30 by Brigitte Pellerin
Sun News reporter says FRIENDS’ “Stop the CBC Smackdown” campaign is remarkably uncouth and vulgar.
And today’s Anders Breivik Award goes to…
…British conservative broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson. His response to the one-day walkout by public employees in the UK? “I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families.”…
What Can You Say?
CTV News: Feds to put Attawapiskat Under Third-Party ManagementCBC News: Attawapiskat Ordered into 3rd-Party ControlCBC News: Managers Axed at Sasktel So, there’s a few things that we need to talk…
Advocates not reporters
Canada kept detection of salmon virus secret, Craig Welch, Seattle Times environment reporter, Nov. 30/11 “A decade before this fall’s salmon-virus scare, a Canadian government researcher said she found a…
Canada, You Were Once Considered A Leader On Global Issues Like Human Rights & Environmental Protection
From Postmedia News: Archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu is challenging the Canadian government’s support for the oil and gas industry, while urging it to start leading the world in…
Political second-class citizens
The new Conservative protection racket: Live in a Liberal or NDP riding? Want an Employment Centre? How about tax-paid security for shuls and mosques in your area? As Tony Gazebo…
Liberal Party of Canada Values – A Comparison
Liberals will meet in Ottawa in January to debate the values underpinning the Party. So far, there are two documents which Liberal attendees can review to decide this question: the…
Conservative judges
…a whole new meaning. The Conservatives, as we all know, have deep pockets—deep enough, perhaps, to hold a judge or two? Can’t be true. A retiring federal judge says so.
And with December…
…Comes Xmas and Xmas fanatics… You know ‘em. They started putting up lights in October and have been counting down to the 25th through Facebook updates since Labour Day! Gag.…
If There Is A Heaven….
. ….This is most definitely it. (tribute for the late, greatest of great, Mic Christopher at the ‘Hey Day’ Festival a couple of nights ago in Ireland) .
Self-induced intoxication and criminal responsibility
R. v. Bouchard-Lebrun, 2011 SCC 58 was released today. A summary and quotation follows. B brutally assaulted two individuals while he was in a psychotic condition caused by drugs he…
Harper undermines Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
I loved this week’s Hill Times Spin Doctors question. The Greens have been outspoken on how Harper has undermined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty through a nuclear trade deal with India.…
G20 brings about Canada’s ‘largest’ spying operation ever; this before the online spying bills are even passed
Canada, you’ve just lived through what the RCMP calls the “largest domestic intelligence operation in Canadian history”. Wow… How does it feel? Last week Canadians learned that the government initiated…
Cost consequences must be made clear to client
Z & Assoc v. Aslan, 2011 ONCA 756 is an assessment case reminding us that clients must be made aware of potential cost consequences and the failure to so remind can…
A Year after the Fire: Things Are the Same But Different.
As I write this, it is 1:31 p.m., a year exactlyl after the moment when the first call went in on the fire which put us out of our house…