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…
democracy
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…
After an election about personalities, not policies, we can and must do better
We have just witness an election which while historic in many ways was not one of any significance in terms of a discussion of actual issues or policies. The political…
The Liberal party needs to play a long game on leadership
After its crushing defeat on May 2nd, the Liberal party has some considerable soul searching to do. Not least among its problems is the task that has recently proved most…
The Landslide Election Victory That Isn’t
I initially had a vague plan for this post but have decided to go with whatever comes to mind to create an election commentary medley of sorts. Actually, it more…
In Canada It’s All Part of the Game
The Canadian federal general election has come and gone and from what I can gather most Canadians are pretty well satisfied with the results: a majority government, the centre left…
Our democracy is broken
In his new job as Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, Jack Layton has pledged to “fix Ottawa.” I’ve taken this to mean he will lead by example in hope…
Hobbits for Electoral Reform
Dear Wise Races of the United Kingdom of Middle Earth, Please forgive a humble Hobbit for bothering you but I just wanted to write about an urgent matter of democracy.…
Did NDP Sectarianism Screw Canada?
While NDP supporters might be celebrating last night’s election results, the reality is that it was an umitigated disaster for Canada. The Tory majority will mean more tax breaks for…
Harper’s centralization of the democratic process: the litmus test for the next four years
Leaving all policy discussion aside, one of the most disheartening aspects of the last five years of minority government under Harper has been a consistent erosion of the adversarial process…
PoliticsRespun.org Election Night Liveblog, maybe
Tonight’s the night many of us have been waiting for – whether it be because we trudged to a poll today, stood in line with credit card bills, drivers licenses,…
Masturgate: The Little Scandal That Couldn’t
It’s election time and everyone is abuzz with the ostensibly shocking allegation that Jack Layton might have, possibly, received a happy ending at a rub-and-tug 15 years ago. Let’s let…
Egypt’s Shifting Geopolitical Policies: A Consequence of Democracy
The recent democratization of Egypt has resulted in a series of distinct policy changes with regards to Israel, Palestine and Iran. These changes ultimately represent a shift in Egyptian policy…
Measuring democracy
It wouldn't surprise anyone if they were told that the rich have more influence on government than the rest of us. Some scholars in the U.S. have gone further than…
A Compendium of My Prime Minister Layton Posts
I’ve enjoyed writing four pieces about the Prime Minster Layton concept in the last 2.5 years. Originally, it was a wishful thinking hyper long-shot in a prorogation crisis at a…