A time and place for political deals
Election day in Ontario in 1985. On the way into a candidate’s campaign headquarters, Liberal Leader David Peterson’s executive assistant was leaving and we stopped to chat. There was no…
NDP
Chris Hedges Calls Steve Harper A Pawn Or Puppet Of Corporations
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The Vancouver Observer has been a most welcome edition to the media mix in the Vancouver market and beyond. They prove, dig and unapologetically provide us with…
We’re having a ‘Be Kind to Stephen Harper Month!’
At a recent meeting of the Broadbent Institute supposed communication experts were telling the New Democrats that they should not keep up the incessant attacks on the Conservative government. It…
Who leads Canada’s progressives?
Canadian media are a lazy bunch. They follow the paths of least resistance and false assumptions. Take this past week when some supposed progressives were gathered at the Broadbent Institute…
On enduring foundations
The framing panel at the Progress Summit included plenty of ideas as to how the left can shape political debates. But I’ll note that it seemed to miss a couple…
Dollar for dollar
Thomas Mulcair’s Progress Summit commitment that an NDP government will redirect the value of a stock option tax loophole toward families in need will surely make for one of the…
New Contest. Spot the Progressive!
I’ll bet you’ve got inside yourself some sense of progress, progressive, progressivism. Even bad people have a little. The question today is whether progressivism remains a real construct in Canadian…
History repeating
2008, pre-election: Liberal bigwigs make a ridiculous spectacle of themselves proclaiming that they’ll never deign to cooperate with the likes of the NDP. 2008, post-election: Having spent the campaign echoing…
What’s Wrong with Canada? We’re Not Denmark-ish
And I don’t mean we need to become Denmark, but we need to have the dialogue about why they can do what they do and we choose not to. When…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Both Edward Keenan and the Star’s editorial board take note of Thomas Mulcair’s plan for urban renewal, with particular emphasis on its appeal…
Saskatchewan Needs a Real Change of Destination
Greg is making a good point in his latest column, but I had to throw in a Green campaign slogan into the title in good fun. The bottom line really…
On prospects for change
The latest round of discussion about the possibility of a coalition to offer something better than the Harper Cons seems to have taken an noteworthy turn. At this point, everybody…
Laurie Blakeman Takes a Symbolic Step…in the Wrong Direction
Crikey! On Friday Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman announced that she’ll be running as a candidate for the Liberals, the Alberta Party and the Greens in the upcoming election… …and on…
The Gamble – High Stakes for Harper, Trudeau and Mulcair
The collapse of world oil prices is reverberating through Canada’s petro-provinces; Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador; and the fallout should yet might not be a major issue when Canadians go…
On dividing lines
For the most part, Joan Bryden’s report signals that there isn’t much controversy left arising out of Alexandre Boulerice’s comments about niqabs in the civil service. But it’s worth asking…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Lee-Anne Goodman reports on studies from both the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PDF) and the Broadbent Institute (PDF) showing that enlarged tax-free savings accounts…
On proper fixes
Since this headline seems to be getting far more attention than the actual accompanying interview (if mostly from people with a strong vested interest in distorting the NDP’s position), let’s…
New column day
Here, on the Cons’ attempt to spin an election narrative out of a fictional bogeyman rather than protecting or helping Canadians. For further reading…– The National Academy of Sciences offers…
A Timely Scottish Warning for the New Democrats
There’s a price you pay for abandoning the Left. The latest party to learn that lesson is Scotland’s Labour Party. The “Blairification” of the Labour Party has sent a good…
On needless concessions
Shorter Dougald Lamont: The only way to win against Stephen Harper’s Conservatives is to let the Conservatives define both the significance of Stephen Harper, and what it means to “win”.