Blast Furnace Canada Blog 2012-05-02 20:15:00
So today, a former exec at Ornge ™ was disputing the idea that her rapid rise from an ex-lifeguard to a top executive position there had nothing to do with…
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Cowards of Oxford County
There really is no other way to describe the killers of Tori Stafford. And I use the plural because it takes at least two to engage in a conspiracy that…
To what possible end with …
… the “human life” thing? Yes, I’m pro-life. Yes, I have argued here in the past there is a need to open up a debate — not necessarily on banning…
Raymond Taavel — when will enough be enough?
Raymond Taavel, of Halifax NS may not have had the profile that Harvey Milk of San Francisco CA did more than three decades ago; but the fact Taavel was murdered…
Some (more) suggestions on income taxes
Maybe it’s me but the whole concept of “boutique” tax credits has become something of a joke. Some items such as making public transit passes tax deductible makes sense as…
Who’ll clean up Hamilton Airport now?
Just when we thought that it couldn’t get much worse for public health in Hamilton, indeed across the country — yup, it’s gotten worse. In December of last year, I…
Connecticut abolishes death penalty
This is easily the good news story of the day. Last night, the state legislature in Connecticut abolished the death penalty. The number of states that have done away with…
More problems with Ornge
This week it was learned that there could be a nasty side effect (no pun intended) to the scandals that have plagued Ornge, the air ambulance service. Hamilton could lose…
Guest Post: New Progressive Narrative
Today, I’m please to allow fellow progressive Jared Milne write a guest post about how the progressive movement should change the course of the debate between progressives and the right…
Blast Furnace Canada Blog 2012-04-04 14:56:00
The decision this week by the ruling Conservatives to abolish the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development — also known by the shorthand “Rights and Democracy” — isn’t…
Ontario Court of Appeal says prostitution laws unconstitutional: Thumbs up (kind of)
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a lower court decision and ruled that several laws that make it all but impossible for “street workers” to ply their trade, is…
Bad cases make for bad laws …
… and in the current trial about the murder of Tori Stafford, there are a lot of hot tempers. Some have even called for the reinstatement of the death penalty…
Sledgehammer against refugees
In recent days Jason Kenney, the federal immigration minister, has proposed tightening some of the rules regarding refugee claims. I have these thoughts. First, it is true that there are…
Towards a "living wage" in Canada
A number of years ago, Canada’s statistics agency got rid of the concept of “the poverty line.” Instead they came up with what is called the “low income cut off”…
Another massacre in Afghanistan
If this is how one “wins the hearts and minds” of a people, this past weekend’s massacre of 16 civilians by a US soldier has only succeeded in creating even…
"Robogate"? Special prosecutor
Canada’s relative proximity to the United States is beneficial in many ways — not the least of which include that we get access to their markets relatively easily and we…
No more "nuclear ambiguity"
As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East about what Iran is up to with its nuclear program, a reasonable person cannot be in much doubt. With the large…
What passes for road maintenance — in Hamilton (Part 1 of an unending series)
Really. This is one of Hamilton’s busiest routes – the Claremount Access which connects the lower city at Victoria (northbound) and Wellington (southbound) with the upper city at Upper James.…
It’s called ministerial responsibility, Toews!
“Sit down, my son. We don’t read most of the bills. Do you really know what that would entail — if we were to read every bill that we passed?…
Prop 8 struck down again
I have only had enough time to skim through the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in California’s Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban. As we all know, the appeals…