A modest proposal for reimagining Canadian foreign policy
The Canadian flag flies over the Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa. Photo from Flickr. Kim Campbell once said “an election is no time to discuss serious issues.” While most politicians would…
Canadian Politics
Spare a thought for Jason Kenney. He’s lost a lot
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney during a news conference in Ottawa on May 2, 2019. Photo by Andrew Meade. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney can’t seem to catch a break. He just…
In Alberta this week, COVID’s surging and there’s no sign of the premier – but, fear not, we have a chief firearms officer!
Alberta’s premier hasn’t been seen in public since Aug. 9. But he’s just on holiday, Jason Kenney’s spokesperson says. “He is of course still able to fully communicate with his…
The Fairy Tale Factory
As children, we very much enjoyed fairy tales. Stories filled with wolves and innocent damsels, children led astray by heartless witches, princes and plotters, giants and giant-slayers, all combined to…
Back in the holster: Sport shooting, 3-Gun, and the ban on assault-style rifles
The firearms industry loves practical shooting, but especially 3-Gun, which encourages participants to buy multiple firearms as well as various ammunition and other paraphernalia that people use to trick out…
Alberta premier unseen since Aug. 9 as COVID counts rise; Opposition assails inaction and media starts to grumble
With COVID-19 case counts in Alberta marching higher by the day, now closing in on 8,000 active cases, the chorus of grumbles about the what’s become of Premier Jason Kenney…
Erin O’Toole’s promise he’d put workers on corporate boards is meaningless at best, harmful at worst, unlikely to be implemented
Federal Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole has launched a charm offensive to win over unionized workers normally treated as lepers or enemies by modern North American “conservative” parties. A key policy…
On the 10th anniversary of his death, from the vantage of Election 2021, happy memories of Jack Layton and the campaign of 2011
Don’t mourn! Organize! — Joe Hill, Swedish-American union organizer Canadians still mourn the loss of Jack Layton, Joe Hill’s wise strategic counsel to social activists notwithstanding. Mr. Layton on one…
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, target Jason Kenney on his own turf
The Alberta portion of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s election campaign got off to an upbeat start in Edmonton yesterday with an enthusiastic outdoor crowd of supporters, a substantive policy announcement,…
Independent Ontario MP Derek Sloan, dumped by Conservatives he vied to lead for extremist views, rumoured set to run in Alberta
For heaven’s sake, Ontario, would you stop sending us your right-wing nut-jobs? There was Derek Fildebrandt. Horrible! There was Jason Kenney. Even worse! There are too many more to mention.…
Three Alberta universities announce COVID-19 restrictions declared impossible just three weeks ago
The universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge announced a joint back-to-school vaccine strategy yesterday that will require everyone on campus who can’t prove they’ve been fully vaccinated to undergo rapid…
Pandemic election an outrage: Alberta Conservatives. Pandemic over, we’re open for good: Also Alberta Conservatives
It’s an outrage, practically a crime against humanity, for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call a federal election in the midst of a global pandemic, Alberta’s Conservatives say. The pandemic…
The blog awakens for Federal Election 2021
Hello folks: Miss me? (Don’t answer that ) Seeing as we’re about to head into a Federal Election set for Sept 20, I thought it time to shake off the…
The blog awakens for Federal Election 2021
Hello folks: Miss me? (Don’t answer that ) Seeing as we’re about to head into a Federal Election set for Sept 20, I thought it time to shake off the…
who else turned 60 this year: celebrating the bc ndp
The great Tommy Douglaswas an MP for a BC riding in the 1960s. I recently learned that the BC NDP — the party I vote for, the party that currently…
How Jagmeet Singh and the NDP can stunt the Liberals’ majority hopes
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh with ONDP MPP Sol Mamakwa. Photo from Twitter. While it’s been clear for a while now that Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party have been itching…
The door remains open a crack for Canada to act in the interests of its citizens, including the ones jailed in China
Canada ignored the lifeline China threw us last spring, when a Chinese court adjourned the trial of Michael Spavor without a verdict. The implication at the time was clear: Let…
No surprise: Alberta health minister takes the bait with belligerent response to federal minister’s rebuke
Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro and other United Conservative Party officials reacted with predictable belligerence yesterday to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu’s letter chiding them for abandoning such public health…
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu waves a red flag in front of her irascible Alberta counterpart, Tyler Shandro
Obviously, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu didn’t expect to get a serious answer from Tyler Shandro, her Alberta counterpart, when she wrote the irascible minister to warn him the Kenney…
Is Canada’s governor general just a rubber stamp for the PM?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and newly appointed Governor General Mary Simon. Photo from Twitter. Only 26 percent of Canadians would be happy with an election this fall, according to a…