New provincial school fundraising Guideline
The Province of Ontario has recently published the new rules, regs and best practices around how School Boards should police the ways a school raises money for school purposes. For…
2012
BC Liberal closing out sale
Monday, I linked to Guardian columnist George Monbiot, a writer whose work I often find compelling. He said: “Since the 1980s, in Britain, the US and other nations, the primary…
CSIS Disappears More Public Reports
Last summer I reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had removed most of its previous annual reports from its public website. Aside from the increasing penchant for secrecy…
A false notion of the purpose and end of law
A replay from June 2010 that seemed to me worth repeating because, after almost two years, Vaughn Palmer, the Vancouver Sun’s main pundit, finally noticed the BCR scandal keeps BC…
Today’s cabinet appointments likely to disappoint Alberta’s ‘strategic’ voters
“What was I thinking?” A progressive Alberta elector contemplates what he’s wrought by voting “strategically” for the Redford Conservatives. Alberta voters may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Premier Redford.…
The Cons and the Trojan Horse
Well, let's put it this way eh? It wasn't exactly democracy's finest hour. First the Cons rolled their Trojan horse budget, packed to the rafters with non-budget stuff that will…
Who Needs Honour When You Have Fear?
I’m starting to think that The Conservative Party of Canada is trying to exhaust our outrage meters so we’ll stop complaining about real issues and just let them do whatever…
Who Needs Honour When You Have Fear?
I’m starting to think that The Conservative Party of Canada is trying to exhaust our outrage meters so we’ll stop complaining about real issues and just let them do whatever…
Gypsy representative complains of unfair Tory immigration policies
Normally, I would defend to the death many fellow immigrants and their right to claim refugee status here in Canada. There are plenty of countries in the Balkans that are…
Blog Navel Gazing
Here’s some stuff that will probably not interest you, but I make available anyway for some laughs and potential humility/humour. I saw some very interesting search terms recently finding my…
Temporary Foreign Workers and the Labour Market
Further to recent commentary regarding the Harper government’s dramatic expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TWF) program, consider this shocking factoid: Even before the expansion of the program envisioned in…
can thomas muclair’s ndp win in western canada?
Thomas Mulcair Federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair talked his way into inevitable criticism of the oil sands this past weekend. Speaking on CBC Radio’s The House, Mr. Mulcair suggested that…
4603…Crack Hos With Teeth
One of the sure signs of spring in your cold capital is when the hookers hit the street. I live in a red light area of Ottawa; don’t get alarmed,…
Radio Topics for May 8th
Already the second Tuesday of May. Adam is back for the summer and we have three interviews for the show, everything is as it should be. Now If only Ottawa…
Diversity in judicial appointments; let’s not overstate the record
A well-known lawyer was quoted in the Law Times saying: "… of the last 100 judicial appointments by the Tories, 98 per cent of them have been white men. "…
So what did I do today?
Sometimes days are just blurs. And I can’t remember what on earth I did. But then, I remember we have computers and they have ways of keeping track of everything.
Providing parts of instructions to jury is dangerous
R. v. Li, 2012 ONCA 291 deals with providing parts of jury instructions to jury. The Court holds: In R. v. Poitras (2002), 57 O.R. (3d) 538, Doherty J.A. approved the possibility…
The real generational time-bomb isn’t in pensions
There is a definite concern world-wide about whether the younger generations can shoulder existing pension fund obligations for retiring baby-boomers and then for themselves. Every other month there are articles…
Procedural rights exception to the presumption against the retrospectivity of legislation
Peel (Police) v. Ontario (Special Investigations Unit), 2012 ONCA 292 deals with the well-established presumption against the retrospective application of legislation and an exception to the presumption – the "procedural…