As O-Town doesn’t really have a Mayoral race to speak of…
… this political junkie has to find another one to follow and enjoy. And Toronto, the land of the crack-smoking, loud, obnoxious, and the tacky champion of all Torontonians with…
Ontario
The mouse in the room: Small business fetish and the minimum wage debate
The scrappy mom-and-pop shop may be a nice image, but how well does it reflect the reality of employment? Small business may be neither as ubiquitous nor economically heroic as…
Time to get serious with distracted drivers
In March, the fine for being caught texting, talking on your cell phone, or tinkering with your MP3 player while driving will jump from $155 to $280 in Ontario. That’s…
Collingwood’s municipal debt and 2014 budget
Tuesday, Council got a combined debt-and-budget presentation that set the stage for the upcoming, fuller 2014 budget deliberations starting next week. CAO John Brown gave us a recap of a…
Hudak drops ‘right to work’ policy
CBC is reporting that Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak has dropped the mandatory representation, voluntary dues policy for union membership from his party program. It’s nice to know that he…
Affordable Housing and Homelesness
This morning I gave a presentation to an church group in Ottawa on affordable housing and homelessness. My slides can be downloaded here. Points I raised in the presentation include…
SUPPORT: Auto Unions in the US and Canada are on a Roll
With all the union busting and union bashing going on by the 1% and their compradors in government, it’s nice to see the labour movement getting some traction. The next…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Nora Loreto offers an important reminder as to why we contribute taxes to social well-being: (T)axes still pay for things we need.…
Another Conservative Against Tim Hudak’s Right-to-Work Gambit? ( #pcpo #onpoli )
Well, at least he used to be. Like Dave Brister and John O’Toole, the Conservative candidate for Niagara Falls, Bart Maves, likely has some reservations about Tim Hudak’s desire to…
Another Conservative Fears Tim Hudak’s Right-to-Work Gambit ( #pcpo #onpoli )
There’s another Conservative who’s worried about Tim Hudak’s right-to-work plans. The MPP for Durham, Conservative John O’Toole, believes that the Conservative Party’s plan to introduce right-to-work legislation could cost them…
PC candidates and MPPs flee from Hudak’s leadership
Hudak is down two candidates, with his candidates in Hamilton Mountain and Hamilton East-Stoney Creek resigning. This of course, comes hot on the heels of PC candidate Dave Brister getting…
Tim Hudak’s Right-to-Work Gambit ( #pcpo #onpoli )
It would appear that the Ontario Conservative Party’s support for right-to-work legislation is costing them support and costing them candidates. Ontario Conservatives are concerned how the labour policy messaging is…
The political aspects of the minimum wage
Discussion of the minimum wage can easily slide into a technocratic back-and-forth that ignores the vital political aspect at play. We can see this in much of the response to…
The tar sands—our climate change nemesis
While Neil Young very publicly feuds with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and its ally the Canadian government, tar sands production continues to systematically advance Alberta’s position as the…
Good Reading: Paisley Rae On Really Engaging With Toronto Politics
Toronto’s municipal election campaign is officially underway. When it is all over on Oct. 27, 2014, several school board trustees, 44 councillors and one mayor will be elected. Paisley Rae…
Good Reading: Paisley Rae On Really Engaging With Toronto Politics
Toronto’s municipal election campaign is officially underway. When it is all over on Oct. 27, 2014, several school board trustees, 44 councillors and one mayor will be elected. Paisley Rae…
Future Proof: Ice Storms
Last year Shane vlogged about ice storms. Let’s not wait until a big storm hits Saskatchewan before we future proof our homes being built today. You can check out Shane’s…
Tim Hudak: Scott Walker wannabe
Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s pledge to create one million new jobs sounds like a direct rip-off of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s promise to create 250,000 new jobs in a…
December: a podcast premiere
The nice folks at http://www.thisweekinenergy.tv/ (TWiE) invited me to guest on their podcast on their late November episode, Good News, Bad News, Ugly News. While most of their guests are…