But what if FPTP isn’t broke?
You almost hate to ask the question. What is wrong with the way Canadians vote? There seems to be an assumption by some people that first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting is a…
Peter Lowry
Justin marks a hundred days.
The wife wanted to send our prime minister a Valentine card. She is a fan. Maybe we both are in our different ways. She only wants him to lose the…
Incremental inclinations of the incompetents.
The banker has been heard from. The other day we noted that Ontario wine drinkers were waiting to hear about liberalizing wine sales in Ontario. We have been waiting for…
Sometimes you do not want to be right.
So, do you feel better after the Whitby-Oshawa provincial by-election? What do you expect when only 25 per cent of the voters would brave the cold to vote? Frankly, the…
The perils of political predictions in by-elections
A friend called the other evening. He wanted to know who would win tonight’s provincial by-election in Christine Elliott’s former electoral district of Whitby-Oshawa. Once again we had to patiently…
A road without remorse for Rona.
It was obligatory on Monday for the news media to check with Opposition Leader Rona Ambrose on Prime Minister Trudeau’s announcement of the change in Canada’s role in the partnership…
Should everyone have to vote?
Many years ago a senior public relations guy gave a tongue-in-cheek speech to a service club about the people we elect to parliament. The theory he presented was that we…
WHERE’S THE BEER?
Do you have beer in your grocery store? Are you one of the favoured few in Ontario? Here in Barrie we are being discriminated against. We are being denied a…
Can Trudeau open the sepulchres of government?
Can Canadians have an open government? Do we want one? Can Trudeau deliver it? They are all good questions. The problem inherent in the questions is Justin Trudeau’s understanding of…
Minister Monsef ‘s measure.
How would you like to have a job based on proving your boss is right? It seems the same as Canada’s Fraser Institute that is always commissioning studies designed to…
It’s not the pipelines, it’s the bitumen.
Thank goodness for mayors who can call a spade a spade. Not every city enjoys that luxury. The only problem is that mayors and their municipalities have no jurisdiction over…
What if nobody voted in the by-election?
We had a by-election for council in a Barrie ward the other day. Admittedly it was the middle of winter but you would think that more people would have voted.…
Ontario Premier Wynne wins India.
Patrick Brown MPP eat your heart out. You are no longer India’s darling. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has won the media wars in the world’s largest democracy. In homophobic India,…
How fast can the Trudeau team pedal backwards?
It was all the fault of the Global team that had parliamentary reporter Vassy Kapelos filling in for Tom Clark on his West Block program on Sunday. She was a…
In the doldrums of a Canadian winter.
Not even Bonhomme Carnaval can cure the January-February blahs this year. Eating and drinking too much in Quebec City might be a popular pastime at this time of year but…
Justin: On electoral versus constitutional reform.
In a sit-down conversation with Justin Trudeau about six years ago, it was immediately obvious that he is an emotional person and as easy to read as an open book.…
How far can electoral reform go?
Because it is 2016, the question should be asked: Will we have thorough discussion on the question of electoral reform? Or will the questions be decided just by votes in…
You don’t get much for $300 million!
Inflation is an unfeeling brute. By the time the Trudeau government brings our six aging F-18s back from the Middle East, Canadians will have spent close to $300 million on…
Justice denied: The Yatim trial.
At one time the Toronto police force was among the most respected in Canada. It had the overwhelming support and trust of the citizens it served. That is no longer…