Make the vaccines public
The vaccine shortage is an example of how the private sector has failed to protect us during a crisis. Photo from Flickr. Jason Kenney is frustrated. Standing at a podium…
January 2021
Morneau Out… Again
There are times in this time of COVID that it feels like we’re being swamped by everything that’s going on. So many big things have happened with such intensity in…
Remembering Ed Finn
Ed Finn, trade unionist, editor and first leader of the NDP in Newfoundland and Labrador. Photo by Ben Welland. Shortly after I began working at the Canadian Centre for Policy…
Remembering Leo Panitch—an iconic figure of the Canadian left
Leo Panitch (1945-2020), Professor Emeritus at York University in Toronto. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. The numerous writings and comments spurred by Leo Panitch’s death have expressed shock, grief, gratitude and…
A Statement Made During the Return of Parliament
Yesterday was the first day of Parliament for 2021 and it was quite a busy day to be sure. We had the resignation of Senator Lynn Beyak, the Liberals removing…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Simon Enoch traces the COVID-19 spending that’s taken place in Saskatchewan – finding that most of the support has come from the…
Good Bye And Good Riddance
The Canadian political scene is being reconstituted. Some of its ugliest practitioners are leaving the stage. Susan Delacourt writes: It appears to be sweeps week in Canadian politics — when…
Alphabet Union Wants Alphabet to Behave
The workers behind the unionization efforts at Google are expanding to take on the whole Alphabet, the parent company of Google. They’ve formed Alpha Global to be a common voice…
Talking COVID Vaccine Deliveries & the Return of Parliament with Kristy Cameron
Yesterday I joined Kristy Cameron on CFRA’s “Ottawa Now” along with Kate Harrison & Lindsay Maskell for the “Political Heat” panel. We talked about how the delays in some COVID…
English as She is Spoke
One of the more delightful books in my personal library is a reprint of the 1883 American edition of English as She Is Spoke, described by Wikipedia as, …intended as…
My latest: Trudeau’s scapegoats
Usually, when Justin Trudeau is looking for someone to throw to the lions, he prefers women. Jane Philpott was one; she got kicked out of the Trudeau Liberal Party for…
Canadians are on to O’Toole.
Every time I look at conservative leader Erin O’Toole, he reminds me of cartoons of the bloated English capitalist. What makes me laugh though are his on-going attempts to create…
America’s Original Sin – Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy theories propelled Donald Trump to power but it’s been the stuff of American politics since the 1776 Revolution. The United States of America was founded on a conspiracy theory.…
Stop the Lucrative Cruelty in Yemen
There was an online rally with some impressive speeches about the war on Yemen today, What Yanis Varoufakis referred as a form of “lucrative cruelty.” Here’s the full video and…
The duty to end Israeli apartheid
Qalandiya checkpoint in the West Bank. Photo by Adam Nieman/Flickr. This week I tried to explain here that the continuing occupation and its transformation from a supposedly temporary situation to…
What If They’re Right, What Then?
There are few things good about becoming a senior citizen except that this is probably a good time to be nearing the station. I do not envy those who will…
More than ever, let’s imagine a possible new world
The World Social Forum believes another world is possible. Photo by judygr/Flickr. We have succeeded in translating meetings, conferences, and even celebrations to virtual. However, how can we move international…
The Dishonourable Senator from Northwestern Ontario: Buh-Bye!!!
Today is a day I thought I’d have to wait at least a few years for. Sure I had hoped that this day would come sooner than later but given…
Does Canada Need a Head of State
From Twitter Adrian Harewood @CBCAdrianH 23 Jan Why in 2021 is a Canadian Prime Minister, the leader of a #G7 nation, still reporting to a #Queen who doesn’t live in…