Liberals & Conservatives, Two Halves of One Party
Are the BC Liberals a coalition of federal Conservatives and Liberals or are the Conservatives and Liberals just a federal party not yet united? There’s an answer to that question…
Federal
As Candidate Quits NDP Leadership Race, Canadian Bilingualism Triumphs
Robert Chisholm dropped out the race to replace the late Jack Layton as the Federal leader of the New Democrats for a noble reason. The Nova Scotia NDP MP doesn’t…
Appointment of Next Auditor General Betrays Conservatives’ Contempt of Canada’s Bilingualism
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Angelo Persichilli as his director of communications, he showed the Conservatives contempt of Quebec and the French language. The Toronto native can’t speak French.…
Federal System Still the Best for Canada
Last year I wrote an essay on the differences between a unitary system of government and a federal system of government. At the time, I argued that our forefathers made…
Letter to federal MP Matthew Kellway (Beaches-East York).
Dear Mr. Kellway,I am writing to you as resident of Beaches-East York to express my concerns regarding the government's Bill C-32, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act. While this…
Debt Ceiling Debate is Moot: USG Owes More Dollars than in Existence
Image by Images_of_Money The current debate in Washington as to whether or not and under what conditions to raise the debt-ceiling has for the past week dominated global news coverage…
On back to work legislation. Whoa, deja vu.
So, another conservative (note the small "c") government, another round of back to work legislation. Canada violates its international obligations yet again, and is again grouped with such shining lights…
On governance (3): The Crown.
So, yeah. The Crown. This could be a really short post -- hell, by my standards, it probably will be.Here's the thing. Constitutionally, we need the Crown. We can't get…
On governance (2): Parliament
This one's going to be a little disconnected. The overarching thread, as said yesterday, is figuring out how to adjust our governing institutions to suit the importance of the principle…
On governance: (1) Principles
How should we govern ourselves? Since Locke's Second Treatise, the presumption has been in favour of self-government -- that is, each individual adult person has the natural right to govern…
On the Quebec question: (5) The Constitution
Final point I want to consider on this issue. Some objections to Quebec separatism or nationalism seem to turn on a fear of "opening up" -- that is, amending --…
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…
On the Quebec question: (3) Nationhood
Is Quebec a nation? Is Canada a nation? Can there be a nation within another nation? These are difficult points, but some committment on these issues seems to underlie both…
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…
On the Quebec question: (1) Clarity
(After this, I may just go ahead and write that Israel thing I've had kicking around in my head for a few years. While I'm stepping on landmines, I might…
On election 41.
It really is amazing how difficult it is to drag oneself back into longer writing after a significant time away.Anyway, I just want to run with an idea regarding the…
In Defence of Democracy! (or, To Block The Bloc)
At least I think I am defending democracy. Perhaps I’m just out of touch, too. I read and comment on dozens of online news sources daily but few of them…
Harper: The Campaign Answer Express Lane
There’s nothing worse than seeing a really great price on an item in the weekly flyers that includes that worst of the small-print caveats “limit 5″ per household or some-such.…