News
When a bill is big, complex and nearly unreadable, you can get away with a lot
Blog | Monday, 07 May 2012The budget omnibus bill was best described by Terry Glavin the other day as a “statutory juggernaut that introduces, amends or repeals nearly 70 federal laws.” (Ottawa Citizen, May 5, 2012 “Something...
A devastating first year of Conservative majority rule in Canada
Blog | Monday, 07 May 2012The mainstream media is marking its report cards for the one-year anniversary under Harper Conservative majority rule. The bromides are calming—the Globe and Mail editorial gives the Conservative...
You have to be kidding....
Blog | Wednesday, 02 May 2012Okay, agreed. There’s nothing about Stephen Harper that suggests he is a big joker. He doesn’t speak in public except in modulated monotones. Very reassuring, like Prozac. No off-...
How the Conservatives stole environmental protection in broad daylight
Blog | Monday, 30 Apr 2012The single biggest assault on environmental law was tabled last Thursday morning in the House – to nary a whimper. No front page headlines. No media interviews for Opposition parties for the major...
How Orwellian traps are laid
Blog | Thursday, 19 Apr 2012When I heard that ForestEthics, a group targeted in a Prime Minister’s Office memorandum as an “adversary” of the PMO agenda, had decided to split its activities so as to make advocacy a separate arm...
An imagined interview: Bob Newhart asks Stephen Harper about the 2012 budget
Blog | Thursday, 12 Apr 2012BN: Mr. Prime Minister, I am so pleased you agreed to take my call. BN: Thank you for that, but I am not actually from Vermont…. It was a television show. BN: Great, well I wanted to start by...
F-35s
Blog | Friday, 06 Apr 2012In July 2010, I wrote a column for my local paper, Island Tides, on the decision to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets. Now that the Auditor General has confirmed what everyone knew, that the planes were...
The budget "debate"
Blog | Tuesday, 03 Apr 2012Because the Leader of the Official Opposition is entitled to make a speech in response to the budget with no time limit, the NDP Finance critic, given the speaking rights by his leader, has the...
Why the 2012 budget is the worst in the history of Canada
Blog | Friday, 30 Mar 2012No doubt the Harper Conservatives are strategic – even clever. The major national media seems to take the budget as somehow “less” -- less awful, less ruthless, less impact than they had expected...
Election fraud: how many unsolved crimes are there and can Elections Canada get to the bottom of them?
Blog | Monday, 19 Mar 2012Lately, a lot of allegations have been made that there were election irregularities and some outright crimes committed in the 2011 election. What we do not know is who was responsible. But we may be...