Electoral Reform – The Parties Position
Its sometimes hard to see where the parties stand on any particular issue given the hype, bafflegab and spin that issues from almost all of them at times and the…
democracy
BC’s Deep Deep Racism, Shhhh!
Shhh, this is uncomfortable. It might make you ashamed. Hopefully it will anger you to action? First Nations burial grounds in BC have less protection than settler cemeteries. Along with…
The Occupy Movement Has Changed the Narrative, But We’re Not Done
Recently, with the WEF spending the last few years acknowledging global income inequality is a problem, I’ve declared a kind of victory for the Occupy Movement: getting the lexicon on…
The 1% Has More Solidarity Than We Do
In Davos, the 1% rule the world. Literally. They also have the guns. The 1% are claiming we have it out for them; that if we don’t tone down the…
Electoral Reform – Voting Systems
I have said that simply calling for PR (Proportional Voting) is not sufficient but that we must understand the various systems that are generally promoted as ‘proportional’, and the alternatives.…
Desperation and Distraction, but a Little Satisfaction?
http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2014/07/the-increasing-desperation-of-stephen.html Two things have me momentarily distracted these days, and both are all about the lack of traction that the Cons are getting from attacking both Junior and the NDP..vis…
Corporations suing countries—how crazy is that?
Lone Pine Resources sues Canada because Quebec has imposed a moratorium on fracking. Philip Morris sues the Australian government over its tobacco plain packaging legislation. Swedish energy company Vattenfall sues…
Electoral Reform – Proportional Representation
Proportional Representation or PR for short has become the buzz word for those who are advocating for Electoral Reform (and that group includes myself) but what exactly do we mean…
Unpacking the undemocratic Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Jeremy Malcolm argues that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) repeats the errors of ACTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and imperils democracy and the broader public interest. The…
Congratulations Ontario For Having Successfully Outsourced the Governance Function
Way to go Ontario! When it comes to thwarting democratic rule in Canada, you continue to lead the way. Not only did Ontarians peviously vote in a province-wide referendum against…
That Was Predictable
Way back in 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq (long before the Afghanistan mess had been anything close to resolved), I remember having a conversation in which I said…
Election Stories
With the Ontario election now history and a slight uptick in the voter turn out I will relate a few of the problems various voters have encountered whilst trying to…
Ontario Election: Polling Fails Again!
After spectacular failures during the Alberta and BC elections, polling, as an industry struggling for credibility, lost yesterday’s election in Ontario along with the neoliberal, anti-social Hudak. 308.com reviewed the…
Why Do We Vote?
In a democracy there are almost as many reasons to vote as their are voters. Some vote out a sense of civic obligation, others vote so they can still feel…
#PCloadLetter The Ontario PCs Send Misdirecting Mail #VoteOn
.@kady @KrankyKanuck @Mary_OGrady @1223Chuck Wouldn't you rather unmarked envelopes tell you where? twitter.com/LibPressSec/st… #PCloadLetter— Saskboy K. (@saskboy) June 11, 2014 (PC Load Letter is from printer displays of the past,…
Elections Ontario Struggling……
Elections Ontario is struggling to find enough staff to fill the positions required to process your vote, this is not a particular surprise to those who have worked the polls…
ConCalls: Trial Begins for Sona in #RoboCon #elxnfraud
An important trial in Canadian history is underway in Guelph, Ontario. Michael Sona, the only person accused by prosecutors of carrying out the illegall robocalls in Guelph to redirect people…
Its Silly Season in Ontario
With advanced polls opening for the Ontario Election today its definitely silly season in Ontario, we are inundated with totally meaningless TV ads from 3 of the Partys telling us…
Why only politics when we think of democracy?
Conversations about democracy tend to revolve overwhelmingly about politics and government. These topics are rightly at the centre of democratic dialogue as they are the overarching institutions of our society.…