Posts Tagged ‘ Canadian politics ’

How to punish Tiger Woods: appoint him to unreformed Senate of Canada

Dec 3rd, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

It seems that the great Tiger Woods is just getting in deeper and deeper. See, e.g., today’s Vancouver Sun: “Tiger Woods voicemail to alleged TV girlfriend released, third woman named as Tiger apologizes.”Â  Or the Yahoo Canada site: “Golfer who introduced Elin to Tiger tees off on Woods.” To save his reputation someone is going […]



Commonwealth’s 60th anniversary summit .. still “an old boys club headed by an old lady”?

Nov 30th, 2009 | By | Category: Countries of the World

[UPDATED DECEMBER 2, 2009]. How many sovereign people of Canada today are even aware that there was a 60th anniversary summit of the Commonwealth of Nations this past weekend in Trinidad and Tobago? A poll commissioned by something called the Royal Commonwealth Society this past  summer asked a representative sample of Canadians: “Which one of […]



Is Iggy really doomed … or can Afghanistan save him?

Nov 23rd, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

So Stephane Dion’s wife, Janine Krieber, posted a “scathing message attacking Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff” on facebook this past Saturday. Shopping for groceries the same day, a little further west, I bumped into a similar scathing message face to face, urging that Iggy should resign, to make way for Ralph Goodale as head of the […]



“Canada Handed Over Afghans for Torture” – what is Richard Colvin doing if he isn’t trying to tell the truth?

Nov 20th, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

The broad Canadian public finally caught up with diplomat Richard Colvin’s story about how “Canada Handed Over Afghans for Torture” this past Wednesday, November 18, when he testified before a Canadian House of Commons committee in Ottawa. But the crux of his testimony has been available since the middle of October, when his affidavit for […]



Jason Kenney’s new citizenship guide – are some Canadians today more equal than others?

Nov 14th, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

Canada’s Conservative minority government has just introduced a new guide for prospective new Canadian citizens. The person responsible for this quite ideologically charged political document is Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. And our always controversial Citizen X thinks its essential subtext is that some Canadians really are more equal than others. How else, Citizen […]



The strange new Canadian citizenship guide: forcing the 19th century relic of the “constitutional monarchy” down our throats

Nov 14th, 2009 | By | Category: Key Current Issues

The prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently wrote: “Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet.” Earlier this year he also wrote about his “Financial Policy Despair.” One of the arguably good things about Canada has been that nothing quite important enough to despair over ever quite happens here. But […]



Something else worth remembering about Canada in 2009 …

Nov 11th, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

TORONTO. NOVEMBER 11, 2009. It was inevitable that the quiet journey of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall through four Canadian provinces during the first few weeks of  November this year would finally bump into some noisy protest when it reached la belle province du Quebec. (See “Flying eggs, riot police, pro-Quebec […]



Waiting progressively for the next federal by-elections in Canada : Donolo, Byers, and Iggy republic?

Nov 8th, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

So there actually will be four Canadian federal by-elections tomorrow, Monday, November 9 – in two ridings in Quebec (Hochelaga and Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup), and one each in British Columbia (New Westminster—Coquitlam) and Nova Scotia (Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley). It would be quite surprising if the Liberal Party of Canada won in any of these ridings, based on its […]



Donolo diaries, Byers ceasefire proposal, and Michael Ignatieff, anti-monarchist

Nov 8th, 2009 | By | Category: Ottawa Scene

These are not easy days for aspiring progressive voters in Canadian federal politics, at the edge of four by-elections that actually will happen on Monday, November 9. According to the October 29 EKOS poll, eg: “Stephen Harper’s federal Conservatives lead the second-place Liberals by a double-digit margin for the fourth week in a row, suggesting […]



Is end of Canadian Liberals’ long ride as natural governing party at hand, at last?

Oct 21st, 2009 | By | Category: In Brief

[UPDATED OCTOBER 22]. Yesterday Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff told reporters that “we won’t support the government but, at the same time, we won’t try to defeat the government each time” the opportunity arises either. Or, the “Liberals will have at least three more opposition days before Christmas but … they won’t use those days to […]