Reflections on democracy
There is a global war on democracy underway, and if it is not addressed, our future will be bleak. But let us start with the ground work of democracy, and…
February 2013
Bury your head in the (tar) sand
from the what-you-don’t-know-can’t-hurt-you-department: One year after plans were announced for a new system to monitor the environmental effects of the Alberta tar sands, there is still no sign of any…
Thank You George
Before I ended up becoming President of the Liberal Party of Canada in BC, I had been planning on working on George Takach‘s Liberal leadership campaign. Once I ended up…
Thomas Mulcair Wants A Stronger Parliamentary Budget Officer for Canada
The Official Opposition leader’s private members’s bill seeks to reign in the belligerent Harper Conservatives. By Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb. 25, 2013: The CBC News is reporting…
Rogers Customer Care Rep publicly states that Rogers "is a terrible cell phone company".
Today on the online forum Reddit, a Rogers Wireless Customer Care Representative publicly stated that Rogers “is a terrible cell phone company”. Canadians pay some of the highest cell phone…
5674…NDP Makes A Good Point
Listening to bits and pieces of the chatter in the House of Commons today on CFRA I picked up this from the NDP. If the Tories were as vigilant chasing…
Melting permafrost
Allie Wilkinson writing in ArsTechnica brings us some bad news: Evidence from caves in Siberia indicates that a global temperature increase of 1.5° Celsius may cause substantial thawing of a…
Chief Spence takes fight against Harper government’s Bill C-45 to UN
Chief Theresa Spence, Mushkegowuk People of Attawapiskat First Nation and the International Indian Treaty Council file urgent “Action Request” with U.N. human rights body By Obert Madondo | The Canadian…
George Takach
Smart decision. Others should follow his lead.
The Geography of the Supermarket
“What is a greater wonder is that almost 40 percent of our food supply is wasted, a significant jump from the first time the figure was measured, which stood at…
Lawyers, doctors take Harper government to court over refugee health-care cuts
By Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Feb. 25, 2013: Canadian refugee lawyers, advocacy groups, doctors and patients are banding together to file a lawsuit against the Harper government’s recent…
Contracting out costs soar 26% per year
Contracting out of medical transcription work is becoming more common in Ontario hospitals. So it is noteworthy that our sister union in BC, the Hospital Employees Union, reports today that…
Angus Reid BC Poll: 47% NDP, 31% BC Lib
Angus Reid has a new poll out for the provincial scene in British Columbia, which doesn’t show much too movement but is interesting nonetheless. Angus Reid (BC Provincial – February…
At least that’s what the unredacted part said
Harper government touts record on openess By Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press The Harper government is dismissing a report that ranks it 55th in the world for upholding freedom of…
You Don’t Get Credit For Choices Forced Upon You
And therefore Peter Kent gets no credit for announcing, for about the third time now, that Canada will follow U.S. emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles made in this country.…
The Trouble With Austerity: Economics as Ideology
A somewhat abridged version of this post first appeared in The Toronto Star here Governments here and elsewhere are increasingly preoccupied with cutting even as evidence piles up of its…
The Trouble With Austerity: Economics as Ideology
A somewhat abridged version of this post first appeared in The Toronto Star here Governments here and elsewhere are increasingly preoccupied with cutting even as evidence piles up of its…
Fiduciaries do not always act qua fiduciary
Simkeslak Investments Limited v. Kolter Yonge LP Limited, 2013 ONCA 116 holds: Not all actions taken by a person in a per se fiduciary relationship – that is, in a…
The Hard Truth About Unconventional Fossil Fuel
When it comes to unconventional fossil fuels, the majority of Canadian politicians, federal and provincial, fall into two categories – idiots or featherbedders. The Tyee has this eye-opener from geologist…