Well, this isn’t good
March 30, 2012 | 10 Comments
It seems a Tory MP got into a little (alleged) hot water after a recent visit to an Ottawa high school: Garry Breitkreuz, the Tory MP best known for his campaign to repeal the long-gun registry, denies an Ottawa woman’s claim that he was “promoting gun violence” during a recent speech to her daughter’s high [...]
Quebec, language and oppression
March 29, 2012 | 2 Comments
I’ve been negligent in responding to Jared’s thorough post on Quebec’s language laws. He makes some solid points, but I still think the overall jist of the post is off-base. It really deserves a thorough discussion, but I’m not sure I’m up to that right now, so - as one who is disgusted by Quebec’s language [...]
Shoot thy neighbour
March 26, 2012 | 1 Comment
A friend of mine recently shared an observation about the tragic death of Trayvon Martin in Florida that revealed a much deeper truth about American justice. This friend, who has travelled for business in the United States for years and lives on the Ontario-Michigan border, is a keen observer of American culture, to put it [...]
You can’t legislate docility
March 23, 2012 | 1 Comment
The Tories struck a blow for vacationing upper middle class families when they decided to step in and take some fundamental rights away from the workers at Air Canada. The assumption was, I guess, that if they bullied the unions quickly and swiftly, the unions would just roll over and take it. But, that’s not [...]
Vigilantes – all of them – are a threat [Updated]
March 23, 2012 | 5 Comments
This is why I think the Conservative government’s fetish for protecting vigilantes* the fetish for protecting vigilantes by all federal parties is more than just foolish, it’s deadly: What we have in Florida–and doubtlessly in other parts of the country–is the state relinquishing a crucial aspect of meting out justice. The logic here militates toward [...]
Language and Immigration: From Quebec to English Canada
March 22, 2012 | 5 Comments
I’m currently reading Claude Ryan’s book Regards sur le fédéralisme canadien (A look at Canadian federalism), which describes Ryan’s perspectives on Canadian federalism and Québec’s place in it. Ryan was the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec from 1978 to 1982, and was one of the provincial leaders of the NO forces in the [...]
Jamaican Journal
March 19, 2012 | No Comments
This post has little to do with voter turnout, politics, or even Canada. Just a quick update for Commons readers- I have moved to Jamaica as a Cuso volunteer to work with Y.O.U. Jamaica. It is an NGO that works with youth, providing mentoring and career counselling. I am excited about this wonderful opportunity, but [...]
Big Brother is watching you riot
March 19, 2012 | 1 Comment
My inner grumpy old man was seething last night and this morning as I watched the disturbing images of a St. Patrick’s Day student riot in London, Ont. I’m sure many a Londoner is probably thinking along of the lines of what’s-wrong-with-kids-these-days and I can’t blame them. I actually wrote an editorial for this blog [...]
Let Air Canada rot
March 9, 2012 | 1 Comment
So the federal government has decided to step into the current Air Canada labour disputes, stripping workers (read: citizens) of their leverage in their contract negotiations. The government will make claims of saving the national economy or helping ‘average’ Canadians, but it’s all rhetoric. This isn’t about economics, it’s about control and it’s about politics. [...]
Competing priorities
March 7, 2012 | 1 Comment
Regular readers of this blog might have picked up on my penchant for writing about the importance of voting. It’s boring or irrelevant to most people, I know, but I continue to be convinced of the need to increase turnout at the polls. So naturally, the robocall scandal has captured my attention. Whether it is [...]