Ukraine: The Solution is at hand
Foreign Minister Lavrov – the man with the answer Within a week or so the outlines of a solution to the Ukraine predicament will become clear to all. As I…
political reform
The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty: Evil fruit from Secret talks
It is worth reading the article by Joseph Stiglitz on the problems posed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade treaty. Our government is one of those negotiating in confidence a treaty…
A Liberal Party Mess in the Making
A man of principle This is a mess. Justin Trudeau and his advisors had better get on to this debacle post haste, reveal all the facts and communications, and make…
Ukraine needs help to overcome the Iron Law of Oligarchy
Daron Acemoglu’s articleon the Ukraine in today’s Globe & Mail is a must read for all who are concerned about the mammoth task facing Ukraine right now. Unlike so many…
Ukraine Predictions: A Breakup, of sorts
Plea from Ukraine My earlier post showed some interesting maps of the ethnic and language divisions inside the Ukraine, and asked whether a split into two parts was going to…
Liberal Party Convention: The Most Important Policy Resolution
In my view, the single most important policy resolution at this week’s convention in Montreal is the prioritized number 31, which should significantly reduce our democratic deficits. That resolutionreads: 31.…
Ontario Byelections: The change that really counts
It seems that the leaders of all three poltical parties in the province of Ontario sense that voters want change. Premier Wynne, leading a minority Liberal government, was rejected by…
Brian Rice: The right person for President of the Liberal Party of Canada
Brian Rice – Political reformer par excellence For many reasons, I believe that Liberals should elect Brian Rice as the next President of the Liberal Party. He is a mover…
The Senate: Will Mulcair’s rabbits and doves flee in all directions as Mulroney’s did?
Constitutional twins? Thomas Mulcair gives the impression that he relishes the views of some of him as a tough guy. In Question Period, faced with a cornered Prime Minister Harper…
The Battle for the Soul of Canada’s NDP
Tony Blair wrested control of the British Labour Party away from the hardliners who had successfully run that party into the ditch in election after election, by concentrating on a…
Canada, want a good Deputy Prime Minister? Look for the man with the hardball in his office
Two of these men could be PM in the next 18 months Thomas Mulcair says he and his NDP have learned from the disasterous provincial NDP election: “It’s not enough…
Deperately seeking Toronto’s Nenshi
Purple reign Is it time for Canada’s largest city to have its very own purple rain? The Editorial Board of the Globe & Mail seem to think so. They frame…
Why Stephen Harper will call an early election in spring 2014
George S. Patton I expect the Throne Speech in late January 2014 to be the timing for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to dissolve Parliament and call for an election in…
Making them answer for their actions #nlpoli
Anyone who wants to understand the value of the House of Assembly need only look at Question Period on Tuesday. Liberal Andrew Parsons threw question after question at child, and…
Senate expenses scandal: The spreading ripples
Mounties are acoming … Here are some recent developments: Duffy’s expenses actually amounted to more than $90,000, and the RCMP alleges that Wright broke the law by giving Duffy the…
Senate expenses scandal: Snippets from the Mounties
They’re are the march … to protect our democracy A bombshell burst in Ottawa today when the Mounties filed a request for a search warrant dealing with the Duffy expenses…
2015: The ballot question in Canada’s next election?
Methinks John Ivison has hit the nail right on its head with this: If the Auditor-General’s report does suggest a systemic problem of corruption and abuse, who would bet against…
Wrestling with Democracy
Wrestling with Democracy is an ambitious, historical examination of the changes in voting systems across a large number of Western liberal democracies over the course of the twentieth century that…
Justin Trudeau raises the bar for MPs and Senators
A breath of fresh air in Ottawa In a move that is refreshing, because it shows an MP who is willing to listen to criticism, and to rethink matters in…
Stéphane Dion: Let our MPs take a pocketful of votes to Parliament
A pocketful of votes Dion gave an interesting talk at Joyce Murray’s meeting in Vancouver this morning, dealing with the different kinds of electoral reform that we could adopt. One…