Oh Canada!
Many years ago I stood proudly with other newcomers to Canada and became a Canadian Citizen, of late I have not been so proud to be Canadian. The Canada that…
Rural
Elections Canada slow to investigate robocalls.
Perhaps that should read `Elections Canada fails to protect our voting system` or better yet EC protects wrong doers! Either way its pretty clear by now that they have been…
Elizabeth May: Parliamentarian of the Year.
When it comes to choosing MP’s who have earned special recognition for their contributions in the House the choices, in my opinion, are somewhat limited however that Elisabeth May has…
Democracy, the Charter and Ontario Teachers
Here in Ontario there is currently a 'dispute' between the teachers and the government as to what the teachers unions want and what the taxpayers can afford, the government has…
A Western Point of View
A guest post by Jared Milne.When the federal Liberals governed Canada, Albertans were often frustrated by what they saw as pork-barrelling, a lack of transparency in government, few checks on…
Municipal Councils Follow Harpers Lead
I dont often comment upon the actions of lower levels of government here but make no mistake that such proceeding are carried out in an open and accountable democratic way…
A Week of Unaccountability
I make no effort in these pages to opinionate on things as they happen, even when limited to just attacks upon democracy it would be more than a full time…
Pro-rogue – In favor of – unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable?
I don’t often write about the Provincial government for two reasons:- 1) there is enough anti democratic stuff going on at the federal level to keep me and a truck…
Democratic Decline: Death by a Thousand Cuts.
This week the text of Allen Gregg’s speech at Carleton University went viral, in it he outlines many of the concerns that a lot of bloggers, myself included, and some…
The Gish Gallop
The Gish Gallop, named after creationist Duane Gish, is the debating technique of drowning the opponent in such a torrent of half-truths, lies, and straw-man arguments that the opponent cannot…
Maintaining Trust and Engagement in Canadian Elections
Extracts from a Speech of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada at the the Economic Club of Canada on September 25, 2012 (my bold) According to any international democracy index…
‘Democracy no longer enters into it’
This week I will let a few other commentators speak to the condition of our democracy and the Harper regimes ongoing disdain for opposing views, parliamentary process, the taxpayers, and…
Harper, champion of Democracy….. NOT!
With great fanfare, an international organization has announced it is honouring Stephen Harper as its World Statesman of the Year for his work as a “champion of democracy, freedom and…
Participative Democracy in Canada
A few weeks ago I became aware of the Online Party of Canada, a new political party which attempts to introduce ‘Participative Democracy’.to Canada. Their mission is “to create a…
Rural Internet Survey
Democracy requires dialog and part of that dialog should come from my fellow rural citizens however for some that is more difficult than their urban counterparts. Attending a townhall meeting…
Compare and Decide where the problem lies..
The latest story regarding robotic phone calls during the last federal election is that in one riding the Liberal candidates team made an error and failed to identify themselves in…
In Search of Heroes
I am a little rushed this week an so will simply republish this article by Elizabeth May who is far better qualified to speak about such matters than I. On…
Election Fraud Case Further Delayed.
In the ongoing court case brought by Council of Canadians challenging the legitimacy of seven particular ridings election results, RMG the company that worked for the Conservatives is now claiming…
Democracy in Decline
A study into the state of democracy in Britain over the last decade warns it is in “long-term terminal decline” as the power of corporations keeps growing, politicians become less…
Scrutinizing government Expenditures.
Members of Parliament receive conflicting, outdated information about how billions of tax dollars are being spent each year, and get little opportunity to review fiscal plans. Those are some of…