Justin Trudeau: Meet the GOYA Group.
During his years as Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau would often remind your writer that we were both members of an exclusive club. Its full name was the Get-Off-Your-Ass Group. It…
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The last angry Conservative.
The news media recently recorded a very angry Conservative supporter at a Stephen Harper campaign event. Since the Prime Minister was stonewalling the media anyway, they were looking for something…
Aesop’s Fables and the Toronto Star.
On balance, the Toronto Star is a reasonably responsible newspaper. Its editors do go a little overboard though when attempting to make a point. Take the current election campaign. The…
Harper needs to take lessons from the Royals.
It is a good bet that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not thought of this. His friends the Brit Royals also have trouble with the paparazzi. They do hound one…
The Candidate: “Do you have anything to say?”
Part 9 of our series for Canada’s federal candidates. The sad demise of small town and neighbourhood journalism in Canada has led to a dearth of opportunity for local candidates…
Another NDP with inflated hopes in Toronto.
There is a probably apocryphal story doing the rounds about the newly appointed New Democrat candidate in Toronto’s Eglinton-Lawrence constituency. This guy is a former member of the legislature and…
When is selling a dozen beers news?
On a hot day in the summer, a good publicist can sell editors on some very thin stories. Take the other day when the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO)…
In the heat of the news media.
If you have seen carrion birds gather around road kill, you might have a small taste of how people feel in a media scrum. The media in full flight can…
Trudeau’s stop-gap Senate solution.
Babel-on-the-Bay is only giving Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau a conditional pass on his proposed Senate solution. The truth is that Trudeau just does not want the constitutional problems that the…
Welcome to an urban Canada.
In 1851 when they first set out to count people in Canada, they concluded that 86 per cent lived in rural areas and 14 per cent lived in urban villages,…
What do Trump, Ford, Harper have in common?
If you think the front runner for the Republican Party nomination for American President is a joke, you did not understand Toronto’s former Mayor Rob Ford either. And Stephen Harper…
What news from social media?
When giving candidates advice to use social media, it has never been the intent to use this as the primary campaign media. Social media is like a vacuum. It can…
Tar Sands: Yours to Exploit.
It must be that on the eighth day that God created tar sands. They seem to be an afterthought. Tar sands are also causing a great deal of hypocrisy in…
Discovering Ontario.
When Babel-on-the-Bay publishes its Morning Line on the federal election in early September, much will hinge on Ontario. With more than a third of the seats in parliament at play…
Duffy is bound to be but a busker.
Justice grinds along as the federal election wanders to its ten-week conclusion. Nothing but a busker, Senator Duffy serves as a minor entertainment as we wait to record the verdict…
Bearding a bully.
Canadians watched a bully get his comeuppance last night. There were no knock-out blows or deathbed repentances but some solid points were made. In balance, the Greens’ Elizabeth May looked…
The election: A metaphor for manipulative media.
It is not a conspiracy. It is merely a collision of interests. It is a fight for survival, not by the politicians but by the news media. The politicians are…
Will we let Mulcair destroy Canada?
It has been assumed for the last while that there are voters parking their votes with the New Democratic Party. That just means if anyone asks, they say they will…
How long should an election be?
On a long weekend in the middle of summer, you should not have to deal with tough questions. You should be lazing by the lake with a suitable cold libation.…