Lessons not learned
Yes, plenty of people are pointing out Stephen Harper’s decision to be less prime ministerial, more game show host as the election campaign comes to an end. But we should…
canada 2015
#elxn42 Platform Review – Liberals
Finally, let’s take a look at the Liberals’ platform. Leaving aside the question of whether the Libs can plausibly live up to their campaign messaging of simultaneously being more progressive…
#elxn42 Platform Review – NDP
I’ve pointed out before that Tom Mulcair’s practice – both in pursuing the NDP’s leadership and in leading the party – has been to continue largely with the party’s existing…
On technological preferences
Shorter Diane Francis: I don’t much like Facebook, but this Google machine is neato. I just typed in “Harper Conservative Talking Points”, and it practically wrote my column for me!
#elxn42 Platform Review – Conservatives
Given the lengths Stephen Harper has gone to in limiting how his party is presented publicly as well as the Cons’ general status quo campaign theme, it may come as…
#elxn42 Platform Reviews – Overview
The combination of a majority government and an extra-long campaign period has left Canada’s major political parties with ample time to refine their election platforms. And regardless of what your…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Mariana Mazzucato argues that in deciding how to vote, we need to challenge the Cons’ assumptions as to what the federal government can…
On continuing leadership
Others have responded to Chantal Hebert’s latest by pointing out her past track record of telling the NDP when to change leaders. But even leaving that history aside, it’s worth…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Edward Keenan writes that a lack of affordable child care is the crucial financial pressure facing families across the income spectrum. And…
On conversation pieces
Following up on this post, the stretch run of the election campaign (particularly a holiday weekend with advance polling already underway) is exactly the time when our messages in talking…
On unaccountability
Shorter Harper Cons: It has come to our attention that we may have come to power on a platform of “whistleblower protection“. This was a typo: our plan was instead…
To summarize…
…the Cons’ campaign is effectively down to brainstorming new ways to gratuitously attack women who wear niqabs, regardless of the excuse used to do so or even the non-existence of…
New column day
Here, on how the Cons’ multi-billion dollar price tag for Trans-Pacific Partnership compensation makes clear that every party is planning to spend large amounts of public money reshaping Canada –…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Scott Santens writes about one possible endpoint of the current trend toward precarious employment, being the implementation of a basic income to…
On power dynamics
Paul Wells offers his thoughts on what might happen if the Cons lead in the seat count in a minority Parliament. But I’d think it’s worth noting two other considerations…
On campaign reflections
There’s been a flurry of discussion elsewhere about the NDP’s campaign over the past couple of weeks, and I’ll chime in quickly with my own take on how the campaign…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Paul Theroux comments on the gall of corporations who move jobs to the cheapest, least-safe jurisdictions possible while trumpeting their own supposed contributions…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood highlights how the Trans-Pacific Partnership will do little but strengthen the hand of the corporate sector against citizens. Duncan Cameron…
On uncosted liabilities
So even from the sketchy details made public so far, and even leaving aside the more general harm done by limiting government action and entrenching corporate monopolies, the Trans-Pacific Partnership…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Ian Welsh writes that the Harper Cons have destroyed Canada’s historic economic balance by scrapping the parts of the manufacturing sector which…