If you read any poll this year, read this one
My friends at Abacus have come up with the most fascinating survey – and the most important one – of this election year. It will make you smile, and it…
February 2015
Your Daily Digital Digest for Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Your news links for today: read more
Responsibility for Housing
On Monday I gave a guest presentation to Craig Jones‘ graduate seminar class in Carleton University’s School of Social Work. My presentation sought to answer two questions: 1. Why should…
Ontario Education Minister Liz Sandals
Honourable Liz SandalsMinister of EducationOntario Ministry of Education This is a paraphrase summary, not direct quotes (though often quoted words are used). Sorry about spelling mistakes. Not an official transcript,…
The Sins Of The Fathers
For Neo-Liberals, a deficit is more than a negative number. It is a moral failure — a sin. That conviction drives Stephen Harper’s economic policy. And that conviction, Scott Clark…
The winning ways of Wynne’s Whigs?
This should warm you up on a cold February day. There is a provincial by-election tomorrow in Sudbury, Ontario. There is a lot of money on the table over that…
We Are in the Anthropocene Epoch
Human civilization has undoubtedly changed the surface of the planet on a massive scale. There will be evidence of our civilization’s impact for millions of years to come. This may…
The Illusion Of Choice
I know that I am but one of millions who long for the day the Harper regime is electorally deposed. That day cannot come soon enough. Yet, along with countless…
Vaccinations, No Thank You.
Talk about vaccinations will spike given the recent ‘out break’ of a whopping 4 cases of measles in Toronto. What are we afraid of and why are we being bullied…
Being Walkom, being dumb
Quote: “…the Liberals and NDP are running scared. They are so worried about Harper outmanoeuvring them in the public opinion polls that they are giving his fatally-flawed bill a pass.…
Sudbury speculative sweepstakes
Place your bets! Comments are open! NDP ahead by three points! Liberals ahead by four points! We don’t have a clue who is ahead, but we’re going to use up…
The Absurd and Obscene Canonization of John Baird
I honestly thought that I would never have to write another word about the Con clown John Baird. And it was such a great feeling.I thought I had said all…
The Dysfunctional House of Assembly #nlpoli
Politics in Newfoundland and Labrador (2015) – Part 3 In the third instalment in the series, SRBP looks at the way the House of Assembly operates. _____________________________________________ Liberal finance critic…
Justices of the Peace – damned if you do and damned if you don’t
Justices of the Peace are sometimes criticized in the media for agreeing to terms of release that seem too slack – see for example http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/21/christie-blatchford-man-who-shot-and-killed-rcmp-officer-breezed-out-of-one-of-the-sloppiest-bail-hearings-imaginable . The problem is Justices…
Joint submissions entitled to careful consideration and not to be rejected unless unfit or unreasonable
R v Gibson, 2015 ABCA 4: The sentencing judge remained unconvinced, being of the view that Gibson’s driving was far more dangerous and blameworthy than that in the case law…
The Clean Energy Light at the End of the Tunnel
High carbon energy’s days are numbered. A report from IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency, predicts a 40% drop in the cost of renewable energy over the next few years.…
Malcolm X Was Right About America
Photo from Public Domain NEW YORK—Malcolm X, unlike Martin Luther King Jr., did not believe America had a conscience. For him there was no great tension between the lofty ideals…
John Baird was tossed overboard by Harper’s dictatorship-style PMO
Stephen Harper’s dictatorship-style PMO forced John Baird to resign as Canada’s foreign affairs minister and chicken out of the 2015 federal election. The post John Baird was tossed overboard by…