On distinctions
I’ve already pointed out the NDP’s opportunity to differentiate itself from the Libs as a truly progressive party. And the Libs’ corporatist votes against democratic decision-making and basic civil liberties…
free trade agreements
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Paul Adams rightly points out that there’s no inherent value in centrism merely for the sake of centrism – especially when the spectrum…
#mtlqc13 Priority Resolution – International Affairs
The NDP’s position on trade policy has of course been a hot-button issue both inside and outside the party – making it the area I’d see needing some discussion in…
Book Review: The Blaikie Report
Among other highlights of the Saskatchewan NDP’s leadership convention this month, I was able to meet and chat with longtime NDP MP (and later MLA) Bill Blaikie, who attended in…
On unbalanced trade
When it comes to trying to justify perpetually-increasing restrictions on democratic governance in the guise of “free trade” agreements, advocates present two polar opposite views as to what such agreements…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Cory Doctorow duly blasts the Harper Cons for meekly complying with an onerous copyright treaty which isn’t even in force. Which raises the…
Sunday Morning Links
That and that for your Sunday reading. – Alex Himelfarb weighs in against gratuitous austerity by pointing out the dishonest cycle of excuses used to push destructive policy: (T)he consequences…
On trade-offs
Dan Tan has put together a noteworthy series of posts comparing the NDP’s actual position on trade to its portrayal in the media, then discussing the effect of the gap…
It takes a Village
Shorter John Ivison: I consider it a sign of profound unseriousness that Romeo Saganash and the NDP want to give effect to an international treaty which might result in indigenous…
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Crawford Kilian comments on Chrystia Freeland’s Plutocrats as a useful expression of trends many of us have seen in action for some time:…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – David Suzuki makes the case for evaluating our well-being through Gross National Happiness rather than GDP alone: There’s more to happiness than just…
#skndpldr – Swift Current Debate Notes
As Scott has already noted, Saskatchewan NDP’s Swift Current leadership debate included plenty of familar themes: And indeed, one of the more interesting issues facing both the candidates and the…
The free trade bust
Judging by the editorial hype in the corporate press and among Conservative politicians, the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement was the greatest boon to this country since the fur trade. When…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.- Paul Boothe discusses the dangers of giving in to resource-boom hype rather than planning for sustainable development:The resource roller coaster and the crazy…
On precedence
There's not much doubt that Canada's debates over the FNOOC/Nexen takeover bid and FIPPA investor privilege treaty with China have become intertwined. But it's worth noting that some observers seem…
New column day
Here, on the need to question both the importance of trade agreements compared to other forms of interjurisdictional cooperation in general, and the Cons' warped priorities in particular.For further reading...-…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Diana Carney discusses the public's growing recognition of inequality in Canada:I see three root causes of our concern with inequality in Canada (three…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.- David Macdonald takes a closer look at a Fraser Institute study on income mobility, and finds strong evidence that there's a significant lack of…
Tuesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your day.- Frances Russell nicely sums up the effect of the Cons' bevy of anti-democratic trade deals:Don’t be fooled. The innocuous language used to describe the…