Light blogging ahead
Off to a couple of undisclosed locations for the next week, with little to no blogging in the meantime. But let's note one point worth watching as Parliament reconvenes.While I…
NDP
Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading.- John Allemang's profile of Jack Layton is well worth a read in full. But after a campaign where any show of support can easily…
Saturday Afternoon Links
This and that for your weekend reading.- In case we didn't already have enough examples of the Wall government's contempt for voting, James Wood notes that it's dragging its heels…
Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading.- The McGill Institute's Election Content Analysis includes plenty of interesting information on how this month's federal election was covered. But the most noteworthy point…
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…
Whose interests, Jack?
During a press conference, the issue of the referendum for independence of Quebec came up, and Jack Layton did a bit of dodging and weaving around the issue. Finally, he…
Time for clarity from Jack Layton on the Clarity Act
As the man who crafted the Clarity Act which now governs the manner in which the government of Canada has to deal with the framing of a question for a…
On questions and answers
Lawrence Martin's theory on how the NDP can start making Question Period more substantive looks to be a good start. But I'll add that there's one more consideration worth taking…
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…
Wanna understand the next 4 years? Read Éric Grenier
We all know the saying that the tail wags the dog. But sometimes it takes a bit of number crunching to determine just how big a tail might be, and…
On losing strategies
Sure, Greg is right to criticize the Libs for being willing to provoke a national unity crisis for political gain. But I'm not sure when that became reason for surprise:…
Jack Layton’s Dilemma & Bob Rae’s Puzzlement
Before the momentous May 2 election catapulted the NDP party into the role of Official Opposition when they knocked out the Bloc and won 59 of Quebec's 75 seats, Jack…
Let’s NOT Be Civil
There seems to be a very strong current within Canadian politics to "restore civility" within the House of Commons. This message was emphasized by Elizabeth May and the Green Party…
On shadows
A couple of quick notes on the NDP's shadow cabinet announced today...The most intriguing set of announcements comes in the form of several up-and-coming MPs assigned to a counterintuitive set…
NDP On Quebec
The NDP leader Jack Layton said that Quebec would just need 50% +1 to be it's own country. That is just crazy. You can't just destroy and split up a…
Separatism angels dancing on the point of Jack’s needle …
What a short honeymoon! Having romped home with 59 of Quebec's 75 seats in the House, Jack Layton has fumbled his first attempt to reconcile the soft nationalist / sovereignist…
On continued momentum
In case there's any doubt, the usual caveats about paying too much attention to polling are probably all the more important now that any federal election is more than four…
Separatism redux, courtesy of Jack Layton’s NDP
Separatism Redux The centre of gravity of the NDP has shifted to the two largest provinces – Ontario and Quebec. In a sense, having ousted the Bloc Quebecois from power…
Fact Check: NDP Largest Opposition in Years
I'm seeing some pundits take Jack Layton to task for claiming his NDP opposition caucus at 103 members is the "largest ... opposition in 31 years". Notwithstanding insinuations to the…
The Church of the NDP is closed, and good riddance!
Typical NDP meeting in days of yore. Below: Jack Layton.In the last hours of the 2011 federal election campaign, as word of Jack Layton’s Orange Wave spread to a wondering…