From Wonderful Wednesdays to Freedom Fridays.
Toronto Star reporter Susan Delacourt wrote a column recently on the changing work hours of our federal parliamentarians. It seems they are finally recognizing that spending any part of Friday…
Peter Lowry
Positioning the Liberal Party.
It is nothing unusual today when the Prime Minister sends you a note, calling you by your first name, and asking for your help. What is unusual is the e-mail…
The meanness in means tests.
Neither Finance Minister Charles Sousa nor Premier Wynne really understood what they were doing in the recent budget. They were offering half measures. They insulted both students and seniors. They…
Ontario Conservatives look for leadership.
They can scrub him, fix his hair and dress him properly but it hardly adds to his ability to lead. Patrick Brown might hold the title of Ontario Progressive Conservative…
PM’s Job: Making the tough calls.
Sorry Prime Minister, the honeymoon is over. It is time to decide whom to please and whom you are going to piss off. And you can hardly please both the…
We have heard from our MP.
It was cruel in a way. The uncaring Conservatives of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte sent a boy to Ottawa. They threw him to the wolves. He was unprepared and unknowing. He was hardly…
On political suicide.
It is not that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is not smart. Never having the opportunity to meet her and talk with her, it is not even fair to say she…
In search of Ontario’s liberalized beer sales.
It was a pilgrimage. The objective was to experience booze in an Ontario grocery store. There was no such grocery store in Barrie. Our city is too unimportant to the…
Donald Trump: Master of the Free World?
Some readers assumed we were sampling liberalized pot when we suggested that Donald Trump could win the American Presidency. Frankly it is not something we care to bet on. We…
Political parties promote populism.
There are people who actually fear for the future of political parties as populism grabs more of the attention in the current American primaries. It is not something you need…
A conservative budget from Premier Wynne.
Patrick Brown, eat your heart out. As leader of Ontario’s Conservative Party, it is no fun having all your good potential tax moves made by conservatives in liberal clothing. The…
Finding out the truth on Cap and Trade.
It is like you are saving the world one added tax at a time. Only politicians would believe that the refineries and gas providers would be constrained from polluting by…
Measuring Mr. Morneau.
Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau is a political newby. While he carries solid credits from the Toronto financial community, the gloves and all bets come off on March 22. First…
The terror of Trump.
If you really do not understand Donald Trump, your favourite psychiatrist might be able to help. You can also just think of Trump as another cathartic solution to the American…
It’s leadership that builds our future.
This is just an idle thought for a bleak February in Barrie. It is what a difference leadership can make. This comes to mind with the sour grapes announcement by…
It’s a Wynne-Wynne for wine in Ontario.
It was like a fanfare of trumpets and drums for the announcement of the coming of some decent wine to Ontario grocery stores. Not immediately and not all at once…
Does a Pope trump a Trump?
This must be the divine intervention that American Catholics have been praying for. Having a younger brother who is (in his order of importance) Republican, Roman Catholic, an American citizen…
Is Ottawa thinking outside the box?
We should send an ‘Attaboy’ to the Trudeau Liberals in Ottawa. It seems they are trying to stretch the thinking in the Finance Department to find new ways to fund…
An Honourable Member from Barrie.
In writing about the honourable members we elect to our legislatures and parliament yesterday, an image kept coming to mind of our new Member of Parliament for Barrie–Springwater—Oro-Medonte. It is…
Honourable Members All!
A reader brought up what he considers a serious weakness in first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting yesterday. It is the assumption that we elect “honourable members’ to our legislatures and the House…