democracy
Brigette DePape reminds us of our duty
Some people are upset with the protest in the Senate by Senate page Brigette DePape.The issue is not when and where and how she protested (in the Senate in the…
On the Quebec question: (4) Devolution
So far, I've argued that there are good reasons to favour Quebec's right to determine, on its own, whether to separate from Canada. One option that has come up under…
Releasing Government Bad News Under Cover of a Hockey Game
Based on the bad news coming from the BC and Canadian governments under cover of game one of the Stanley Cup finals, we should be wary of the Canucks going…
On the Quebec question: (2) Self-determination
Yesterday, I suggested that objections to the definition of a "clear majority" in favour of separation as 50%+1 were insincere, and really masked forms of other objections. The first I…
Corporate Personhood Alert!
We have to spend some time this week carefully watching BC business playing good cop and bad cop. The good cop is opposing the idea of a corporate tax rate…
The greatest of dangers
The challenge is not to become a machine. The greatest danger is not from outside: the greatest danger is ourselves – that is, the greatest danger is losing touch with…
The NDP, The Quebec Question and 50% + 1
Much has been made of Jack Layton's "controversial" comments on a possible Quebec sovereignty referendum.The fact is that it is a very rational and defensible position. Based on the closest…
The system is broken: strategic voting, coalitions, and the political regime under which we live
While I can of course see the rationale for strategic voting, there is much to be said for voting with one’s conscience. When we consistently choose the lesser of two…
Anonymous: The Commons and the Last of the Outlaws?
The ongoing attacks on net neutrality constitute a new round of enclosures of the modern commons. If the original enclosure movements during 16th and 17th centuries in England signified the…
Harper, Hypocrisy, Syria, and Degrees of Freedom
Yesterday I lifted my head from some work to watch the Ottawa journalists in Twitter filling us all in on John Baird’s first press conference as the majority Conservative government’s…
Harper’s anti-democratic senate appointments.
Harper has appointed three senate seats from among his party. Here is the kicker: these people just lost their election campaigns to be MP's. Opposed to supporting democratic influences it…
Tonight, Live-Blogging COPE’s Re:Imagine Schools
I’ve already written about how much I’m looking forward to COPE’s Re:Imagine Schools event tonight. I’ll be live-blogging the event as well. You can scroll down to watch or participate…
Tory, PC, Harper, Conservative, Alliance, or Reform Majority?
I know what’s in a name. Soon, everyone will. We’ll have a long time with this new Harper Government. Bets are now on in terms of what he’ll name the…
Akaash Maharaj: A Party of the Many
As long as I have been involved in the Liberal Party, it has been my conviction that for all its strengths, its one fundamental weakness has been an unhealthy obsession…
And The Contempt Continues
Before Parliament even resumes Cabinet Ministers are issuing decrees to Parliamentary committees:"Industry Minister Tony Clement said Thursday he will ask oil industry refiners, distributors and retailers to appear before a…
How Can We Get Better Public Schools?
Well, the first thing we can do is carve out some time to ponder, imagine, dream, inhale, exhale, chat, brainstorm, breathe some more, and forget for a minute that we’ve…
Know Your Lines – Center for Urban Pedagogy’s latest poster tackles redistricting
The Center for Urban Pedagogy's latest issue of Making Policy Public takes you behind the scenes of the largely invisible redistricting process in which politicians often get to choose their…
PC Party Confusion
A word association test: If handed a federal election ballot that displays a candidate's name beside the "PC Party" label - what do you make of that? Some may mistakenly…