Alibiing elitism 150 years later.
If there was just one institution in Canada that could be changed this year, many Canadians would choose the Senate. They are tired of the elitism shown by the prime…
Senate of Canada
Is the political middle just one?
Nobody seems to be able to nail down this middle ground in politics. It is like the middle class that Justin Trudeau chased in the last federal election. Did Trudeau…
Weep not for vote reform.
Among each successive generation there are those who seek to change how we elect our representatives to run our cities, our provinces and our country. Good for them. It is…
Even an elite Senate needs direction.
It seems you cannot keep a newspaper person from writing. Even with a sinecure such as a guaranteed salary for sitting in the Senate (until age 75) former La Presse…
In the quiet before the storm.
It is the ho-hum time between New Year’s and the real reasons for having a January. In our area, that just means more damn snow. At least the ski hills…
Queen advises: “Take a deep breath.”
We can all buy into that advice. It was directed mainly to Great Britain in Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas message to the Commonwealth. It was obviously related to the surprise Brexit…
So long, Senate Nominee Elections!
The Senatorial Selection Act, the law that governs Alberta’s unique Senate nominee elections, expires on Dec. 31, 2016. With the current session of the Legislature expected to end at the…
RCMP explanation of why Nigel Wright was never charged doesn’t quite pass sniff test
PHOTOS: Sen. Mike Duffy arrives at the courthouse for the final day of his trial in April 2016 in this screenshot. A couple of hours later he would look considerably…
The silence of Trudeau’s lambs.
You wonder what a writer such as Thomas Harris (The Silence of the Lambs) would make of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most recent elitist appointments to the Senate of Canada.…
What’s in it for us?
That is not a selfish question. It came up the other day when reading another boring presentation to the House of Commons special committee on electoral reform. “What is in…
Patience: Elites at work.
It seems we might be seeing more of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s elitist senate. A committee of senators think they should have their own television channel. It is just a…
What does electoral reform solve?
With one of the least experienced ministers in the government responsible for democratic institutions, you sometimes wonder what this special committee on electoral reform is supposed to solve. It seems…
If Canadians had their druthers on the Senate…
The delays are over on the government’s Bill C-14 on assisted dying. The Senate showed its true colours: cowardice. After one effort to help fix the flawed bill from the…
Appalling gun lobby press release begs Canadians not to blame the gun used in massacre
PHOTOS: Retired Quebec Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette (Alchetron.com), whose Senate bill would make a sensible model for government gun-control legislation. Below: Conservative British Columbia MP Bob Zimmer, an advocate of…
The braggadocio of the blogger!
That is one way to describe it. There is a hollowness in the endeavour. It is not just a hobby or an interesting way to waste away a few hours…
He wanted an independent Senate; he got it.
We told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that this independent Senate of his would bite him on the ass. And it happened sooner than anyone expected. But to make the point…
Harper goes “quietly into the night.”
That line from Shakespeare’s Henry V is a haunting phrase that can give deep meaning to a legacy. The only problem for Canada’s failed and former Prime Minister Stephen Harper…
An appropriate salute to Queen Victoria.
The following is a repeat of our 2013 salute to Queen Victoria. Nothing has changed. Enjoy your long weekend. Happy birthday Your Majesty! As children in Ontario, we used to…
All the Honourable Persons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be looking at the Senate of Canada and wishing he had taken a different approach. There is no guarantee that the honourable persons that he…