The Legacy of Ottawa: The Gutting of Canada
When Stephen Harper’s spinners start pontificating about his steady hand on the tiller over the past decade or so, think on this: Is Canada’s economy really that much better off…
political leadership
Ukraine: Minsk deal includes de facto federation
Three powerful leaders and one powerless one gathered around a table in Minsk, negotiating a ceasefire agreement for war-torn Ukraine. The negotiations took a surprising turn when the four leaders…
2015 election: Liberals, put money into the 14 Birddog Seats!
Wise money chases low margins After the last election, I wrote a post that pointed out that these 14 seats were won by the Conservatives by the slim average of…
Michael Den Tandt is wrong: Mulcair knows what a mess of pottage is
Den Tandt: Muclair cannot count So, what will our next federal government look like? Today is the last day of the year 2014, and most commentators have hidden their heads…
Mulcair leads the way to a more democratic Canada
Mulcair: The man who would bring democracy to Canada Thomas Mulcair, that very capable MP who is leader of the NDP, has publicly committed himself to remedy our democratic deficit,…
Pipelines and Ottawa’s dropping of the ball: Gordon Gibson nails it
Gordon Gibson: The Nailer If you are a politician, or work with any political party –federal or provincial or municipal – you should definitely read the succinct, well-written and politically…
With An Eye To The Future
It is to state the obvious that all progressives long for the day that the Harper regime is ousted from office. What is not so obvious, however, is what shape…
Kudos to Premier Wynne for remedying our democratic deficits
Political Reformer Premier Wynne While many premiers, MPs, politicians and commentators wring their hands about the low voting counts in elections, and the feeling of impotence of many citizens, Premier…
Explaining Justin Trudeau
No matter what the Liberal leader says or does, his popularity ranks at a consistently high level. While part of the explanation for his standings in the polls surely lies…
Cowardly Leadership: We All Pay A Price
As I have written in the past, poor leadership costs all of us dearly. Whether looking at local provincial, federal or international politics, the price we pay for leadership that…
Israel & Gaza: Is Kerry a Nebish?
John Nebbish Kerry? This question has been raised, given Kerry’s missteps in recent weeks: Nonetheless, one can’t deny Kerry’s almost inexplicable series of mishaps, faux pas and unfortunate events: on…
USA: Elizabeth Warren takes the fight to Wall Street
The Real USA The highly intelligent, courageous and scrappy new senator is not stopping in her fight for the middle class. She is pounding the streets, raising money for long-shot…
From My Quotes Cupboard: China’s leaders could have ruled the waves, but blew it
Decisions made can impact centuries, as China found out when its leaders made a shortsighted decision in the early 1400’s: In Nanjing today you can see a full-size replica of…
Oh, And One More Thing
It seems I, Martin Regg Cohn and Cheri DiNovo aren’t the only ones to take issue with Andrea horwath’s leadership these days: Re:Horwath admits ‘bittersweet’ election result, July 9 I…
Andrea Comes Down From Her Perch
But only a little bit. And only because her campaign is being criticized from within. As I noted in a recent post, Ontario NDP leader Andrea’s Horwath’s hubris following what…
Congratulations to Susan Delacourt
Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt neatly sums up the state of play in Canadian politics in her article in the Toronto Star: In that same vein, we have been told repeatedly…
Well Said!
The other day I wrote a post critical of the ‘blame game’ being played by the NDP’s Andrea Horwath to excuse her lack of progress during the recent Ontario provincial…
Lisa MacLeod Revisited
The other day I wrote a commentary on recently re-elected Nepean-Carlton Ontario Progressive Conservative Lisa MacLeod. In a thinly-disguised job application/op-ed piece for the Star, Ms. MacLeod talked about what…
Lisa MacLeod’s Ambition
I’ll say right off the top that I am no fan of recently re-elected Ontario Progressive Conservative Lisa MacLeod, and not just because she is a member of what has…
The Better Angels of Our Nature
Like many who follow politics closely, I consider myself to be deeply cynical. Probably the best window into the human soul, politics is the arena where often the worst aspects…