Douglas Coupland on Hockey and the Canadian Identity
“Canadian winters are long. Life is hard and so is ice. Canadian teams playing within the NHL are, in effect, a microcosm of Canada’s ongoing process of trying to remain…
Canadian Politics
NGDP targeting: wither monetarism?
Monetarism is like a Zombie: it can be found theoretically wanting, empirically false and technically infeasible but in one form or another it just soldiers on. In some ways the…
RPPE going ORG
We will be transitioning to our own domain name and hosting services over the next couple of weeks thanks to some outside donations. We should have done this earlier. Thanks…
cindy blackstock, another victim of harper’s "speak against us and we will hurt you" govt
Our tax dollars at work. The head of an agency that provides services to First Nations children and families accuses the government of discrminating against that community. The agency head…
The new enemy of Canada as the Harper government sees it; anyone who questions them
One of the trends this Conservative government has shown since it came to power is the need to demonize their opponents and to paint anyone who oppose them as being…
Quebec and Israel’s changing political narrative
When there is a single issue which dominates the politics of a jurisdiction for decades, it is often the case that progress on other issues is inhibited by the myopic…
Stimulative austerity bearing fruit in Britain? Not. Nor globally
George Osborne was quick out of the gates with the austerity as stimulus gambit. Which as everybody from myself to Paul Krugman predicted was going to be a flop. Osborne…
Thoughts on Liberal primaries and other stuff
My Liberal blogging colleague Jeff Jedras has a new soapbox to preach from. In addition to his own blog, he now is an occasional contributor at Macleans magazine. So first…
Veterans vs. OWS
Today is Remembrance day. I would personally like to thank all those who have served and are currently serving in Canada’s military. When I opened the editorial section of the…
In Remembrance
On this particular day, Remembrance Day, I try my best not to get on to other political topics and instead focus on this day as it was meant for –…
The economy lab, the dark age of free trade theory, and the naive view on natural resources and economic development
Over at the Economy Lab in the Globe which Failed, which itself has gone from bad to worse, one of the economists they keep in their stable has either produced…
canada causes cancer, cons are wrong on crime: two easy letters to send
In case you haven't seen these yet:Through Avaaz, a letter to the premiers of all provinces to oppose the wrong-headed Conservative crime bill: here.Through the David Suzuki Foundation, a letter…
The tone deaf Christmas tree tax
The US Department of Agriculture has announced it is imposing a fifteen cent tax on all live Christmas trees. The 2 million raised from this tax will be spent to…
Mark Ruffalo On Opposing Keystone XL Pipeline: I Look At My Kids and I Say I Can’t Betray Them
I’m looking out the window of my home office today, rejoicing at the sprinkling of snow on the ground. Yesterday rain fell outside, while a confused fly that should have…
Rae the reformer?
Bob Rae said a couple of very interesting things regarding the reform and rebuilding of the Liberal Party over the weekend that caught my eye – the main one being…
In The Face Of Winter, A Movement Blossoms
Despite the police harassment, the arrests, the confiscation of tents and supplies, as well as the imminent arrival of winter, the Occupy movement continues to grow. Although the mainstream media…
The Dean of Peterborough
My reaction to Dean Del Maestro’s criticism of Justin Trudeau as being a “bad Catholic” isn’t going to be as ticked off as some – maybe because I’m not a…
US, Israel and Canada’s response to Palestine’s UNESCO membership
When Palestine overwhelmingly got approved to be a member state in UNESCO, a long standing congressional trigger was activated which entirely defunds the US contribution to UNESCO (about a fifth…
F-35 Irony
There are rumblings in some circles that the Conservatives are very close to ditching their commitment to buying the F-35 “Stealth” Fighter jet for the armed forces – due to…
Weaving Foreign Ministries into the Digital Era: Three ideas
Last week I was in Ottawa giving a talk at the Department of Foreign Affairs talking about how technology, new media and open innovation will impact the department's it work…