Rick Salutin on Democracy, Parties, and Electoral Reform
“Democracy,” as Winston Churchill famously stated, “is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Somewhat less famously, he also…
Song of the Watermelon
On Growth and Its Limits
George Monbiot offers a fascinating insight in the wake of last week’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro. While rightly deriding the declaration adopted by…
Assisted Suicide, Discrimination, and the Constitution
Suicide is a difficult case. I do not believe that people, under most circumstances, have a moral right to unilaterally kill themselves. An individual’s life is not the sole property…
Retiring the Monarchy
Alright, what longstanding Canadian institution shall we dispense with today? Queen Elizabeth II has been all over the news of late in honour of her Diamond Jubilee. Never satisfied, some…
The Senate Election that Refuses to Die
Three months ago, I wrote a post warning of coming Senate elections here in British Columbia. Now it seems that the private member’s bill providing for such elections, despite Premier…
The Forgotten Issues of Quebec’s Student Strike
The ongoing three-month strike by Quebec university students over tuition increases has sparked near-unanimous outrage from members of Canada’s mainstream commentariat — and not just over the violence, but over…
Another National Post Letter
This one is about the Harper government’s crackdown on the charitable sector despite its important contribution to our democracy. Please see today’s National Post for my letter.
A Multi-Partisan Approach to Environmental Protection
I am a strong believer in the Green Party. It plays an essential role. Environmentalists cannot afford to patiently wait around for traditional parties to see the light and pass…
Stephane Dion’s Shiny New Voting System
Did I read that right? Did Stephane Dion, former head of the Liberal Party of Canada, just come out in favour of proportional representation? Better late than never! Well, that’s…
Oliver’s Twist: So Long Federal Environmental Oversight
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver — yes, the one who labelled environmentalists foreign-backed radicals — announced a major overhaul today in how environmental assessments will be conducted in Canada. Not…
On Israel and Apartheid
Message on a wall at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Last month, university students and activists around the world marked Israeli Apartheid Week, an annual series of lectures and…
And the Winner Is . . .
Well, I guess I won’t be turning in my laptop to make my living as a fortune teller. Contrary to my deliberately unconventional prediction, it was Thomas Mulcair who won…
On Ezra Levant’s Victimhood
I have been blogging for nearly four months now, and am embarrassed to admit that — contrary to firmly established best blogging practices — I have yet to engage in…
The Alternative Norquist Pledge
It has been over two years since the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling struck down government restrictions on political spending by corporations and unions. A…
Red Chamber Blues
BC Premier Christy Clark took a break from bullying teachers yesterday to back the idea of elections to Canada’s Senate. If the private member’s bill introduced by Liberal John Les…