life in moderation

man of vanity, frank klees, goes out with a bang

2011-10-25T16:18:00.004-04:00

The Ontario PC Party is up in arms now that one of their own, Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees, has put his name forward for the speakers chair. Dalton is just one-seat shy of a majority government, and that means neither opposition parties could afford to lose one of their own to become the legislatures moderator. Andrea Horwath and Tim Hudak have been touting their opposition horns the past couple of weeks, as they should, and making demands on Dalton for great consultation in the upcoming minority parliament. With larger numbers in the legislature, I'm sure both the PC's and the NDP were eager to get back to work. Then Frank steps in... and poo-poo's their party. Am I surprised that Frank made such a move? Not really.

When I started getting involved in politics, Frank Klees was my MPP in the now defunct riding of Oak Ridges. As a former volunteer for the failed campaigns of Liberals Vito Spatafora and Helena Jaczek in 1999 and 2003 respectively, we despised Klees with a passion. He was cocky, he was vain, and those of us in the Ontario Liberal Party Oak Ridges riding would have loved nothing more than to see this man lose. But, to give Frank Klees some credit, he was a man who had political ambition. As a case in point, he once flirted with the idea of running for the leadership of the Canadian Alliance and ran and failed twice in running for the Ontario PC Party leadership.

Knowing Frank, I knew he could not bare to sit through 4 more years in opposition, especially under the bumbling leadership of Tim Hudak. What does he have to lose? The lost of "buddy status" in the Tory caucus- who cares? As this will most likely be his last term at Queen's Park anyways. A speaker's salary and status isn't shabby... nor is the amount of media coverage. Maybe he's inching to jump ship to the federal Tories in 4 years time. Though knowing Harper, he wouldn't be pleased with having such a rogue, for a lack of better words, on his team.

tim hudak playing the US style family card

2011-09-28T00:10:00.004-04:00

Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC's were clearly playing the US style "family" card during the Ontario leaders debate tonight. Like Sarah Palin constantly mentioning her son Trig in talking points, Tim Hudak mentioned his daughter Miller multiple times during the debate (and almost made a sad puppy face at one point) in an attempt to come off as the "family man". He also mentioned a couple of times how proud he was coming from an immigrant family.

Unfortunately for Tim Hudak, those American-style "family values" talking points are only effective to a demographic that is already deeply conservative. Progressive Canadians see through such talking points as being very opportunistic and to simply put it... fake.

Tim Hudak... just not up to the job.

conservative.ca considers backbenchers to be irrelevant

2011-06-26T19:58:00.008-04:00

I wanted to learn more about the newly elected MP here in my parents' riding of Richmond Hill. So my first instinct was to visit the Tory's official website, www.conservative.ca. I was a little mind-boggled, yet not surprised, to find that no such listing of MP's actually exists (or that it's really well hidden beyond the web-surfing capacity of the average voter). According to the "TEAM" tab at the top of the page, the only relevant parts of the Conservative "team" are the cabinet and the team of unelected Senators. What about local MP's? What about parliamentary secretaries?

Am I surprised? No... Under Harper, most backbenchers are just puppet-moles who stand up and sit down once in a while to vote as per the wishes of the PMO, in hopes they don't get whacked after saying "extreme right wing" statements to the public (i.e. Cheryl Gallant, Rob Anders). The lack of any backbencher MP presence on the Conservative.ca website, just comes to show how little the federal Tories actually value grassroots issues now that they have a majority. Yes, Martin and Chretien also had a reputation for running a PMO-controlled government, but at the very least, their local members were recognized on their respective party websites.

congrats to bryon wilfert for the order of the rising sun

2011-06-21T17:15:00.004-04:00

Hard quality work shows for itself. Joining the likes of General Douglas McArthur, former Liberal MP, my former MP, The Hon. Bryon Wilfert, is going to receive Japan's second highest honour, the Order of the Rising Sun. Bryon has worked tirelessly for over a decade as Chairman of the Canada-Japan Interparliamentary Association, with the goal of improving diplomatic, cultural and business relations between the two countries.

It's unfortunate hard-working MP's like Bryon get swept out by populist waves. It just comes to show the extent of how party machines are the ones actually runing our federal government, and not individuals.

tory senator larry smith wants us to sympathize with him for taking a cut in his pay

2010-12-23T00:47:00.003-05:00

Awwwe... isn't that nice? The newly appointed Conservative Senator wants us to thank him and sympathize with him for taking a pay cut (using our tax-dollars) to sit in an un-elected chamber to "serve the public". Even if and when he loses his race to sit as a Montreal MP, he'll still have a comfy padded seat in the Senate to cushion his fall. Very sneaky, Mr. Harper.

repeal of "don't ask, don't tell", a big feat in US politics

2010-12-18T18:40:00.004-05:00

I would like to commend the United States Senate for voting to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Despite the pain the Democrats went through in losing these stronghold Senate seats, it is great to see Republican Senators like Scott Brown of Massachusetts and the newly minted Mark Kirk of Illinois, vote with socially progressive minds, despite the taboo nature of the topic amongst the conservative voter base. This is definitely a big feat and victory for Barack Obama and the LGBT community.

The lame duck Congress, isn't so lame after all.

ezra levant for prentice's calgary seat?

2010-11-05T06:49:00.003-04:00

There are grumblings in the Alberta political scene that the almighty Ezra Levant may vie for the Conservative nomination to replace Jim Prentice in Calgary Centre-North. If that's the case, we should definitely have Warren take him on.

harper ploy to frame ignatieff makes headlines on UK papers

2010-10-14T03:17:00.005-04:00

Harper's embarrassing and blatantly obvious ploy to frame and blame Ignatieff for the failed UN vote has made it alllll the way across the Atlantic to the UK Guardian. Harper is truly an international embarrassment beyond riches. Who's gonna get the PMO axe for being ineffective puppets? Cannon? Dmitri Soudas?

blogging tories finger pointing after UN vote

2010-10-13T03:27:00.005-04:00

So after yesterday's sad rejection from the UN, I thought I'd flip the channel over to our Conservative friends over at the Blogging Tories to see what their reactions were. Basically it's a lot of excuses and finger pointing: "Ignatieff's fails the test of leadership" says one, "Bob Rae's lack of class" says another, and the "regressiveness of the UN" says the third, etc... but NOTHING about the Conservative's FAILED foreign policy that has brought our great nation, that Lester B. Pearson fought so hard for, to epic embarrassment. Surprised? Not in the least. It is the quint-essential Tory brand to blame others instead of being accountable and taking responsibility for their negligence.

Talk about lack of class. I guess this what happens when you have a puppet-foreign affairs minister who instead of exercising respectable diplomacy, decides instead to give out bottles of maple syrup, play domestic partisan games, and pretend like he and his Tory cronies are suddenly in love with the UN. According to Tory reaction, this rejection was not because of their apathy toward southeast Asia and Africa; and its wasn't due to their misguided/ill-timed trade announcement with Israel, but the fault, instead, lays solely on the super-powerful man in Stornoway. What a joke! The buck stops at the top. But this buck has lost his edge.

I can just hear Pearson and Mackenzie-King turning in their graves in embarrassment.

pmo-puppet lawrence cannon injects unwanted BS onto the world stage

2010-10-07T07:55:00.005-04:00

Harper puppet minister, Lawrence Cannon, recently accused Michael Ignatieff of putting his party over the country by apparently not wanting Canada to sit on the UN Security Council. By injecting domestic partisan politics into the international scene, aren't the Tories, by just making that accusation, putting party over country?

Lawrence Cannon likes to talk a lot (with scripts from the PMO), like he did when during the G20 regarding family planning. Everytime he opens his mouth, it's either obviously hypocritical or just plain BS. It gives me stomach pains knowing that we have such a pathetic/moronic Foreign Affairs Minister representing us on the world stage. The respectable days of Lloyd Axworthy, John Manley, Flora MacDonald, and Joe Clark are long gone.

time for change in mississauga ward 7... say no to nando

2010-09-19T19:41:00.001-04:00

"Nando is not your run-of-the-mill, ordinary citizen. He is a professional politician who has been feeding off the teat of the public purse for quite some time."

— Peter Nazwaski, Mississauga (Letter to the Editor, Mississauga News)

nando iannicca... it's time to go

2010-04-08T03:05:00.008-04:00

"One of the great blessings that we have in municipal governance is the fact that few people vote."

- Nando Iannicca, Mississauga Ward 7 City Councillor, December 13, 2006 (www.nandoiannicca.com)

Is that so, Nando? I think it's time for change. Mississaugans cannot be taken for granted.

liberal contraception motion defeated - shameful down to the core

2010-03-24T02:57:00.009-04:00

A Liberal motion (whipped vote) to include contraception within family planning programs for developing nations has been defeated. As a Canadian development aid worker currently living in Africa, this is absolutely shameful. I even had a few Zambian co-workers question me on Canada's logic.

How can we, as people of the Western industrialized world (especially as Canadians), continue to claim our progressive knowledge on issues such as health care when working with people in developing nations, when even our own government is stuck in a swamp of decades past. This makes me sick to my stomach.

Shame, especially on those Liberals who either didn't show up for the vote, or abstained from voting.

Below is a photo I took near a high school deep in the villages of rural Zambia. The message on this outdated government HIV/AIDS awareness billboard, in my opinion, is no different than what our Canadian government and legislators are promoting.

the tumbling of king obama's deck of cards

2010-02-16T08:46:00.003-05:00

With the rising federal deficit and a very confusing national health-care plan, tea-party participants have every right to be angry with law makers in Washington. We have recently seen this anger turn into consecutive elections losses for the Democrats in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey; two of which were thought to be a cake-walk for the ruling party. If the revered political god that is Obama wants to stop this disastrous domino effect and survive the mid-term elections coming up at the end of this year, he needs to move to the center... and fast. He needs to move away from the ultra-idealistic Nancy Pelosi and closer to the middle now that he has no choice but to work together with the GOP.

There was no Bush-factor involved in what looks to be the tumbling of the cards for the almighty President Obama. It wasn't Bush's fault that the Democrats were not unified when they controlled both houses with huge majorities. If the GOP takes back
congress this November, the Democrats will have no one to blame, but themselves.

Let's hope Obama takes a card from the Clinton years of moderation and pragmatism, instead of blindly stumbling into the swamps of over-spending and idealistic left-wing fiscal politics that we so often see.

it's about time we fight back!

2009-07-30T09:47:00.006-04:00

The federal Liberals have finally decided to fight back. "Highly partisan" flyers are now being sent out to Conservative-held ridings.

It's about time we fight back! Fight fire with fire. Playing Mr. Nice Guy has been slightly ineffective, in my opinion.

art is only for straight ivory tower elitists anyways, right?

2009-07-22T09:40:00.006-04:00

In lieu of the recent Toronto Pride federal funding fiasco, the Harper Conservatives have recently turned down funding for a Montreal arts festival that is geared toward the LGBT community.

With their poll numbers sinking lower and lower in La Belle Province and fully knowing the immense value and importance of arts, heritage and culture to the Québecois, you would think they would have handled this differently.

But this comes as no surprise. This is a Reform Party Kodak moment: Harper thinks the arts is exclusive to elitists and the so-cons, like Brad Trost, will do anything they can to strategically outcast the LGBT community. Shocking? I expect no less.

congrats jean

2009-07-13T10:13:00.003-04:00

Congratulations Prime Minister Chrétien on his appointment to the Order of Merit by her majesty.

With a long history in public service, an immpecable record of fiscal responsibility as leader, and unmatched electoral success (other than by Mackenzie King), I consider Jean Chrétien to be one of greatest Prime Ministers in recent history. The Queen made a very wise choice.

anti-union satire makes me less of a moderate?

2009-07-06T23:11:00.008-04:00

I would expect that most politically minded readers (of all political stripes) could tell the difference between satirical humour and me being a "fascist" seriously wanting to start military coups on a municipal level.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Fellow blogger Kirbycairo described me as being irrational and a"wacko". To my defence, how does being critical of organized-labour make me any less of a moderate ? There are many so called blue-Liberals/red-Tories who feel that the effectiveness of organized labour has had its day. What makes the Liberal Party so appealing to so many Canadians across this great country is its big-tent nature. We have members who are on the political left and those on the political right. Why is it so surprising that politically moderate individuals, like myself, have opinons that lie on both sides of the political spectrum?

If me showing my disdain toward the inaction of Mayor Miller is considered "undemocratic", as Kirbycairo put it, then I don't know what democracy is.

a honduras-like coup here in toronto?

2009-07-06T16:10:00.006-04:00

It's been over 2 weeks, and the city continues to pile up with garbage. We can literally hear a pin drop at City Hall. Toronto needs a new mayor. Not just any mayor, we need an effective one who isn't leashed and gagged by organized labour. David Miller needs to go.

What do we Torontonians need to do to make him take action? Maybe we need to pull a Honduras-like coup here in Toronto? Afterall, like President Zelaya, Miller will have the option of parachuting back into the city and land safely on the heaps of trash.

canada, a nation of opportunity

2009-07-01T14:10:00.012-04:00

The first of July is a day of reflection and celebration. Whether you are a citizen, a refugee, a permanent resident or a student, today is a day to reflect upon the great nation in which we live.

My middle-class parents and I immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada when I was at the tender age of 3. Canada welcomed us with open arms and opened doors to opportunities we never thought was possible. Despite the up's and down's, my parents worked very hard, each and every single day, to give me the best upbringing possible. I grew up in Canada, I went to school in Canada, and currently developing my career in Canada. Without any hesitation, I can proudly consider myself a Canadian first, before all else.

I feel very lucky to be living in a nation where democracy is practised freely without doubt and violence. I feel very lucky to have grown up with people from all over the world, of all colours, of all sexualities, of all political stripes, and of all religions. I feel very lucky to be a citizen of a country where I can determine my own destiny, succeed, and learn from my failures with peace and without repression.

As Canadians, we certainly don't express our patriotism as outwardly as our gracious American neighbours. Why? Because I believe our patriotism and our love for our nation is intrinsic. This past weekend was Pride Week in Toronto for the LGBT community. Three days later, we celebrate pride once more, this time as Canadians.

Happy Birthday Canada! I will forever be grateful.

PHOTO CREDIT & SOURCE: Official Canada Day poster by 15 year old Allison Forseille of Saskatchewan (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2009/05/22/art-poster-canada-day-123.html)

disruptive strikes and inept city councils.. let's PRIVATIZE

2009-06-22T11:11:00.008-04:00

This recent Toronto city workers strike has tipped me over the edge. We are in the dead heat of summer and festivals (i.e. Pride, Toronto Jazz Festival) are starting soon. Children are also out of school and outdoors enjoying the fresh summer air. The fear of H1N1 has spooked the entire world. Tourism here in Toronto is expected to boom in these upcoming summer months. The last thing that we need at this moment in time is garbage making our sidewalks unsanitary and unpleasent to even walk along. An essential service like garbage disposal should never be compromised because unions aren't willing to make sacrifices during a recession.

A solution? Well as painful of a concept that it is for the political left, a solution to all of this is to PRIVATIZE city services! A great example is in Etobicoke. Although it is technically part of the mega-city, Etobicoke has their trash pick-up services outsourced to an efficient, non-picketing, private entity. Residents of Etobicoke are officially unaffected by such disruptive labour movements. When we privatize, we won't held to our necks by unions with inflated benefits and legacy costs.

The lack of accountability and action by David Miller and his NDP-stacked city council is also appalling. In 2010 we need a new mayor. I certainly hope John Tory throws his hat in the ring. As much as I was against his policies during his leadership as Ontario PC leader, I think he will make an excellent Mayor for our great city. His business know-how is just what Toronto needs.

cheap politics? come again?

2009-06-09T16:24:00.006-04:00

Harper accused the opposition today in the House for playing "cheap politics" in their attacks against Natural Resources Lisa Raitt. Threatening to release "videos" and releasing attack ads during non-election times, isn't cheap? Come again?

Apparently cancer is sexier than a $50-billion budget deficit and stray confidential government documents.

a conversation with george w. bush & bill clinton

2009-06-02T10:54:00.017-04:00

Last Friday, on May 29, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the highly anticipated talk with Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The afternoon started off with the President and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group (the top sponser of the event) introducing the two Presidents. Both men got an opportunity to speak to the audience on their own. This was followed by Frank McKenna, former Ambassador to the US (and currenty Deputy Chair of TD Bank Financial Group) sitting down with the two former leaders (on green couches... TD had no shame). He asked them questions regarding various issues affecting the world today and issues that were critical during their time in power.

Throughout the afternoon, both Presidents delivered their individual opening speeches and responses to McKenna's questions in such a way that clicked with the professional audience by using humour and insight into their combined 16 years in office . Without having to worry about political filters that come with being the current president, it was very interesting to see both men, especially President Bush, be in such a state of ease throughout the entire event. They both discussed about their lives in post-presidency and their current chartitable and global inititaives. Frank McKenna asked questions regarding

the war in Afghanistan/Iraq,
Clinton's lack of action during the Rwanda genocide and how it relates to Bush's response to the events in Darfur,
Same-sex marriage and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell",
the Cuban embargo,
and the new requirement for Canadians to hold passports to enter the USA (to everyone's suprised, both former Presidents had no clue that this policy was being enacted)

I hate to spoil everyone's party, but there was no tension between the two former presidents. As eager as it was for the audience to see the former Democratic president and the former Rebpulican president brawl it out on stage, they were actually very cordial and brotherly to one another. Unlike Canadian politics, I assume it is a custom in the United States for former presidents to refrain from criticizing their successors regardless of party affliation.

To no one's suprise, Clinton was an excellent speaker. As the New York Times put it, he has officially spent more time as a former-President than as President. Throughout his 8+ post-Whitehouse years, Bill has made hundreds, if not thousands, of speeches across the world, set up many global initiatives and was recently named the special envoy to Haiti by President Obama. He joked about the swapping of roles with his wife and is now known across the world as "Hillary's wife". With the present Democratically controlled congress and a Democratic president, Bill Clinton had to be careful as to his responses to Frank McKenna's questions. For example, when McKenna asked Bill about his views on Cuba, he simply responded by saying, with a humourous tone, that his views concurred with those of the current Secretary of State. It was also very refreshing to see Clinton outwardly reflecting and regretting some decisions he made as President, such as his inaction toward the Rwanda genocide, and having to "settle" on the mediocre "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy because of the GOP dominated congress at the time.

Everyone knew what to expect from President Clinton, so I assume that many others in the audience, like myself, were highly anticipating the entrance of George W. Bush. To my surprise, Bush was very well spoken. He delievered his speech and answered McKenna's questions with ease and confidence. He spoke in such a way that I have never seen him speak before throughout his tenure as President of the United States. This lead me to suspect that his "non-elitist" (to be politically correct) nature during the presidency was an attempt to appeal to those voters who value politicians that resemble themselves. Other than an abrupt and incomplete response to McKenna's question regarding Cuba, I give President bush 4 out of 5 stars that afternoon. It would definitely have been tempting for Frank McKenna to go on a Bush-bashing streak during the Q and A session by outlining all the negatives during his presidency. But instead, McKenna approached the more controversial issues carefully with professionalism. President Clinton and Frank McKenna even outlined the positives by priasing Bush for doing more for the HIV/AIDS cause than any other of his predecessors and for forging a historic partnership with India.

To my delight the audience remained very professional. There was no heckling, no booing, and no shoe-throwing. The mood outside the Convention Centre, on the other hand, was starkly different. The CBC building side walk across the street from the MTCC was littered with protestors. Some were holding signs accusing both President Bush and President Clinton of being war criminals. Some were calling 9/11 a fixed event by the US government. Overall I was fairly unimpressed. Not only were some protest messages over-the-line, but I believe there could have been more productive and effective means for individuals to get their message across. Ever since I returned from the States earlier this year, I notice myself having less and less patience for impractical populist movements, like this demonstration and the recent Tamil Tigers protest.

But to end a brighter note, I thoroughly found this once-in-a-lifetime event to be quite the experience. I recommend all political-fanatics to take advantage of such opportunities in the future. Even though I was indirectly contributing to the G.W.Bush and Bill Clinton retirement fund (as some ultra-leftist protestors accused me of doing as I walked across the street), it was definitely worth the money to see two very different, yet similar, men share the stage and share with us what it was like being the most powerful man in the world.

a sad day for canadian political journalism

2009-05-26T12:24:00.004-04:00

Sources have confirmed that CBC is in fact cancelling their "Politics" show. Now that Don Newman is retiring, CBC has decided not to replace him.

This is sad and dissappointing news for Canadian political journalism. Cancelling "Politics" is equivalent to cancelling "Meet the Press" in the United States. Like Meet the Press, Politics with Don Newman is a main source of Canadian political news for myself and for Canadians everywhere. Don Newman is well respected amongst legistlators from all political stripes and provides a very unique and bi-partisan edge to informing Canadians about the going-ons in political trench-warfare. Despite his retirement, I am absolutely confident that someone can fill his shoes and continue this long-standing Canadian tradition (maybe have the members of the At-Issue Panel take over at the hosts). Its alternatives like CTV's Question Period just doesn't measure up!

Maybe Stephen Harper and his anti-CBC goons are behind this! (when in doubt, blame the Tories!)

thanks michael bryant

2009-05-23T13:50:00.002-04:00

Michael Bryant recently announced that he's leaving provincial politics to become the CEO of Invest Toronto. Michael is a rock in the McGuinty cabinet and an extremely valuable asset to the Ontario Liberal Party.

After being shuffled ~~demoted~~ from Attorney General to the relatively lower profile Aboriginal Affairs and Economic Development portfolios, I suspect Bryant feels he has reached a plateau within the McGuinty government. Like Jean Chretien and Ernie Eves, Bryant is looking for opportunities outside the legislature. However, I suspect that, like Chretien was with John Turner and Eves was with Mike Harris, Bryant will return after the incumbent leader (Dalton) steps down.

St. Paul's will be losing a great provincial representative. This is a great loss for the OLP and for the people of Ontario.

ndp blowing hot air... again

2009-04-23T20:19:00.001-04:00

Brian Topp, national campaign director for the NDP, has told the Globe and Mail that the reason why the NDP is no longer eager to have an election is because the Liberals "reneged" on their coalition promise. Apparently we crushed Jack Layton's fantasy of becoming a cabinet minister (violin playing in the background). A coalition, led temporarily by Stephane Dion, with the help of Jack and Gilles would have pummeled the confidence of consumers and investors in our already fragile economy. All for what? To make Jack seem like the kingmaker? I say, no thanks. I am confident that 88% of Canadians can agree with me on that.

This is coming from the leadership of a man, who not too long ago, voted against the socialist-leaning-Harper budget before it was even released. This is coming from a man who declared his party to be the "real opposition". If the NDP truly respresented the people they claim to voice for, then they should stop being such cry babies and admit why they don't want an election. I wouldn't want to lose seats either Jack, trust me. The sudden turn around of strategy is blantently transparent.

I certainly hope Michael Ignatieff continues to stand at arms length from this petty pre-school mentality.

the new tory backbench puppet

2009-03-31T15:36:00.005-04:00

The country is enduring one of the most troubling economic times and governments all over the world are trying really hard to minimize their partisan shenanigans and stick to governing and fixing the economy. Here at home, Harper and his buddies in the front-benches are trying really really hard not to SEEM like they are reverting back to the Dion-era ways of partisan smearing and bullying. So it looks like they're trying to make a puppet out of backbench MP Daryl Kramp (Prince Edward Hastings, ON) to do their dirty work for them. Luckily no one cares what Kramp has to say and its nice to see Peter Milliken making a better effort to crack down on playground behaviour in the House of Commons.

local values trump john tory ambitions

2009-03-06T00:26:00.005-05:00

Yesterday's by-election has demonstrated the power and the importance of local and grassroots politics. Unlike the former riding of Dufferin-Grey-Wellington-Peel (now Dufferin-Caledon), which has been used in the past by many Conservative leaders (including Tory himself) as a surrogate riding, the residents of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock have voted loud and clear that they will not be labelled and will not be taken for granted. Rural voters saw through John Tory's intentions and decided to go instead with a local, like Laurie Scott, who actually lives in the riding and who actually understands the realities and struggles of the surrounding area.

The "bye-bye-bye-election" results have definitely sealed John Tory's fate as party leader. Instead of returning to the opposition front bench, the voters have sent former school board chairman Rick Johnson to the backbenches of the Liberal government caucus. Laurie Scott, the unfortunate sacrificial lamb in this situation, will now have to run against a Liberal incumbent 2011 in what was suppose to be her riding. After losing three elections, I think it's time for John to hang up his political ambitions for now. After being beaten down so many times, I doubt, but I do hope he will consider running again for Mayor of Toronto in the next muncipal election. I truly believe that he will make an excellent mayor for our financially troubled city.

So now that John is more than likely leaving, who is going to take his spot? Who wants the honour to rebuild the party and lead the Tories in the next election (only a short 2 years away)? Tim Hudak? Christine Elliot? Jim Flaherty? Frank Klees? Lizzy Witmer? Let the predictions begin!

I want to also congratulate Rick Johnson on his victory! He went against the "conservative stronghold" tide and prevailed. It was well deserved and well earned!

an ethnic, big-city, liberal canadian in small town conservative USA

2009-02-19T16:23:00.013-05:00

Canadians are filled with optimism and excitement in anticipation of the visit by non other than the grand-pumba himself, U.S. President Barack Obama. Many Americans across the United States are filled with optimism and hope that their new President is going to shoot down a beam of light from political heaven to solve the country's domestic and international problems. Little does the rest of the world see "the other side" behind all the smiles and cheers from the international liberal media.

Since the start of the year, I have been residing temporarily, for work purposes, in a small town called Elko in "the silver state" of Nevada. Well away from the lights, the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas, Elko is considered to be one of the gold mining capitals of world. With the steadiness of commodity prices and despite the economic recession, Elko is now famously labelled as having the highest paying and most accessible jobs in the state. Containing two main thoroughfares, a Walmart superstore, a one-story JC Penny, a few gun stores and a population of a little under 17,000, Elko is the postcard of small town USA. As the host of the annual national Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the home of the Western Folklife Centre, this small town bears a culture far different from the metropolises of Las Vegas, San Francisco or NYC.

Despite Barack Obama winning Nevada's five electoral votes on November 4, 2008, Elko county gave John McCain a whopping 70% of the votes. In 2004 G.W. Bush ousted John Kerry 78 to 22. It's highly conservative atmosphere is clearly reflected in the nature of the industries and lifestyles of the people. For example, despite being next to the green state of California, Nevada painstakingly lacks a viable recycling program (it breaks my heart to throw away my egg cartons). Furthermore, majority of Elkonians are family oriented church-goers, most of whom work in the mining industry and hunt during their spare time. Democrats are infamously labelled here as being "tree-huggers", "anti-mining" and "anti-gun". To no one's surprise, not a soul in my office, but myself, was cheering and excited during the "much anticipated" day of Obama's inauguration. Not only was the energy we see on TV not present, but some were even explicitly expressing concerns over what the Democratic controlled Whitehouse and congress would do with respect to the mining industry (i.e. over regulate) and with social issues like abortion, gay marriage, gun ownership, and "socialized" healthcare.

I am an agnostic Chinese Canadian who has grown up and thrived in the urban settings of multicultural downtown Toronto. I consider myself socially liberal and fiscally moderate. I put my career first and don't see myself settling down, starting a family , nor having kids anytime soon. Contrastingly Elko is 81% Caucasian, 17% Latino or Hispanic, and 2% "other". Sixty percent of the population is married and 73% of married couples have two or more kids. So where do I fit in? Definitely in the "other" category in many regards. Needless to say living here required
a big adjustment and a lot of understanding on my part.

Over the months, after having interesting conversations about life with many fascinating people (both white and blue collar) and experiencing the unique small town USA culture, I have come to learn many things and to dispel many myths and stereotypes. Besides the occasional awkward stares and questions, I have not met one person who has been rude, discriminatory or unhelpful. As a pleasant surprise, I have come to realize that many are in fact fairly tolerant, very intelligent, accepting and welcoming despite the clichéd negative stereotypes of small-town Americans.

As a politics fanatic, it was good for me to realize the importance of "reaching across the aisle" to work together, patiently, with those who think differently in order to achieve that common goal. Every single American has the similar of intention of wanting the city, state or nation to prosper as a whole. This experience has also taught me the importance of being politically pragmatic and flexible by not adhering strictly to some sort of hard line right or left ideology. Abe Lincoln and FDR had the right idea... and maybe Barack Obama will espouse the same.

But don't worry... these moments of self-actualization doesn't mean I'm going to start voting Conservative or Republican anytime soon.

the political circus that was novcember 2008

2008-12-15T10:19:00.003-05:00

These past few weeks have been a huge whirlwind of political drama. Regardless of party affiliation, political junkies soak it up with excitement. Within the span of 3 weeks, Ottawa managed to run through a slew of "political occurrences" that would otherwise normally happen over a span of a few years:

Just a little over two weeks ago, Jim Flaherty delivered one of the most blatantly partisan and outlandish fiscal updates in Canadian history; prompting the opposition to stand up and band together. Canadians were on the verge of having Stephane Dion move into the PMO, with an NDP leading Industry Canada, all made possible with the backing of the separatist Bloc Quebecois. Then.... (take a breath) Harper then managed to convince our honourable GG to prorogue parliament, which in turn intensified the already existing leadership grumbles in the Liberal Party. The grumbles and dissatisfaction from within the party causes Stephane Dion to make an early exit as leader of the LPC to make way for an "interim" leader. As a sign of party unity, Dominic LeBlanc and Bob Rae drop out of the leadership race, thus crowning Michael Ignatieff as the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. (stop and take a sip of water... and a another deep breath) Which brings us to where we are today. Stephen Harper, with a sudden change of persona, decided that he should extend an olive branch of bipartisanship to work with (instead of taking funding away from) opposition parties to draft this upcoming budget. With this circus of events clouding the media, he hoped Canadians wouldn't notice when he decided to flip-flop and stack the Senate with un-elected Tory cronies, which he stood so vehemently against doing. (BREATH!) I am sure more will happen in the upcoming weeks. 2009 should be an interesting year.

And you thought Canadian politics was boring! This is 100x more exciting than Obama cabinet speculations and Michelle Obama first lady fashion critiques.

As history shows, whenever Bob Rae is a member of any legislature, exciting and dramatic things tend to happen. That's why we love Bob!

thoughts on the coalition that was or may be

2008-12-12T11:16:00.008-05:00

When word first started getting out about the idea of a coalition, as per my previous post on November 28, I was all for it! I was on the wagon! I was all game! But since then, many things have happened and I've remained fairly silent as to what my thoughts are. I took some time to re-think. I felt it was too easy to jump on the pro-coalition wagon without properly thinking through the long-term consequences.

As a centrist/moderate Chretien Liberal, I value moderation. I value moderate Conservatives and moderate Liberals who are willing to work with each other to have healthy and productive debates in order to move Canada forward. With Stephen Harper at the helm, there have been nothing but divisive games, sneaky attacks to literally destroy the opposition, and a huge slew of partisan games and negative advertising that continues to build on the cynicism that Canadians have about politics. There would be nothing happier for me than to see Stephen Harper go. I welcome a moderate conservative, like Jim Prentice or Jean Charest, to take the Tory helm. And for that reason alone did I first support the idea of a coalition. But as attractive as it may sound, getting rid of Harper is only a short term solution… what about long term?

I actually applaud the Governor General for proroguing parliament. If Stephane Dion, fresh from a devastating election loss, had become Prime Minister, I am certain that Canadians would have punished the Liberals beyond John Turner levels and would have given the Conservatives a landslide majority in the next election. This prorogation has allowed the Liberals to take time and figure out the leadership situation. Dominic LeBlanc and Bob Rae have both graciously bowed out of the leadership race for the sake of party unity. Michael Ignatieff, who I have supported since 2006, is now the unified (temporarily labelled as 'interim') leader of the Liberal Party Canada. Unlike his predecessor, Michael espouses the confidence, the sense of courage, and poise that a Prime Minister should have. He has already shown in the past few days that he has, and will continue to have, the political savviness to stand up against the extremely partisan and negative attacks from Stephen Harper and his friends in the front bench. There is a lot more that needs to be done and I am optimistic.

I got some flack for "Dion bashing" in my previous posts. I personally see it more as "stating the obvious" and asking other Liberals to get a whiff of reality. We have been bullied for too long. Instead of pretending like nothing is wrong, blindly lining up behind our "fearless" leader, and pushing through this rushed coalition, let's recognize the weaknesses and make sure that we do not make the same mistakes and missteps again. I have a lot of respect for Stephane Dion. He made outstanding contributions as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of the Environment in the Chretien and Martin governments. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convince Canadians that he was the right man to lead the country. I sincerely hope he decides to remain as the MP for St. Laurent - Cartierville and as a major player in the future Liberal cabinet. I thank Dion for his contributions and for graciously stepping down as leader for party unity purposes.

There are many reasons as to why I feel somewhat uneasy about forming a coalition with the support of the Bloc. If the Liberals and NDP themselves had enough seats to outnumber the Conservatives, will then the idea of a coalition would be more credible and feasible. Not only are there ideological differences, but with three strong hard-headed characters at the helm of each of the parties, there is bound to be disagreements and internal grumblings that will wear on the legitimacy of the coalition. And by giving the separatist Bloc Quebecois more power, there comes risk of giving steam and unintentionally legitimizing the sovereignty movement. There also comes the risk of over-regionalization by focussing too much on Quebec issues at the expense of other provinces. Furthermore I personally am not a huge fan of Jack Layton and the NDP. With their past antics, I sometimes feel that they are the Reform Party of the left. But in order to succeed, we Liberals need to be "big tent" once again and reach out and possibly work with the other federalist parties and bring our team back to the centre. There is a lot of mechanics, logistics and agreements to sort out before rushing to haphazardly topple the Harper Conservatives.

So overall, a coalition is not my first choice of action. I would prefer that our new leader Michael Ignatieff, and the other party leaders, try to work with Harper and come up with a budget that works for everyone. That is what a minority situation is all about. If the Tories continue to do things like they have a majority after these consultations then, as a last resort, should we go ahead with a well-thought-out and unified coalition. If these budgetary consultations are successful, Michael Ignatieff will come out as a unifier and a leader that managed to bring peace to an all-out circus. Instead of trying to rush back into power, let's give Canadians a chance to see what he's made of as leader of her Majesty's Official Opposition. Just like when Chretien took over from John Turner in 1990, time in opposition with Ignatieff at the helm will give us time to heal, grow, and show Canadians once again that we are the alternative and the natural governing party of our great country.

who wound up looking like chickens?

2008-11-29T18:00:00.005-05:00

Well, well, well... by golly... look which chickens clucked their way out of their coops first.

Quoting head Conservative-hen Peter McKay, "When they play chicken, they wind up looking up like chickens." Looks like the Tories like to have their words and eat them too.

tory definition of "undemocratic"

2008-11-28T13:34:00.003-05:00

In the most recent fiscal update, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty included a controversial measure that was set to strip all political parties of public funding. The Conservatives went further by saying that the measure would be a matter of confidence. All three opposition parties proceeded to retaliate by threatening to form a coalition government instead forcing an election. When the Tories started to sense that the opposition parties were not joking around, they quickly flip flopped on the measure by apparently pushing its introduction to a later date.

PMO Communications Director Kory Teneycke then had the nerves to say that he's surprised "the opposition parties would act in such an undemocratic fashion". I question how the conservatives define the term "undemocratic". The incumbent governing party always has a fundraising advantage over its opposition opponents. The existence of public subsidies for enables ALL parties to keep the government accountable, run proper campaigns, and to uphold the principle of democracy. By taking them away, the opposition parties will be at a huge disadvantage. Now that is what I call undemocratic.

By disguising this measure as fiscal prudence is utterly disgusting, political and highly partisan. If the Conservatives had been more fiscally prudent from beginning instead playing retail-politics with economically-null policies like the GST cuts, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation.

If the opposition parties are to form a coalition government, I would be highly supportive of it. Each and every single opposition MP from the Liberal, NDP and Bloc parties were elected democratically in the exact same way Conservative members were elected. Unlike Teneycke, I think it is extremely "democratic" for these elected members to band together to stop such a corrosive and divisive government.

peter milliken re-elected speaker

2008-11-18T16:20:00.010-05:00

It took 5 ballots, but they did it. The members of the 40th parliament of Canada has chosen Liberal MP The Hon. Peter Milliken (Kingston and the Islands), once again (for the fourth time), to be the servent of the house and the bipartisan moderator for the circus that is minority parliament.

The fact that Peter has been elected twice as an opposition member to the speaker's chair says a lot. First elected to the house in 1988, he is a veteran MP and well respected by many in all parties.

Even though Milliken, in his 5-min "campaign speech" for Speaker, said that disorder is inevitable in a minority, let's hope the 40th Parliament isn't as soap opera-ish as the 39th. (Despite the fact that us bloggers and junkies love political drama).

Many said he wasn't going to survive today's vote... but he did it. Congratulations!

michael ignatieff, the next great liberal pm

2008-11-15T09:37:00.003-05:00

Yes folks, It's that time again. It's the time when endorsements start pouring in from politicians, pundits and those of us in the blogosphere for who we believe should be the next leader of the Liberal Party: Bob Rae? Dominic LeBlanc? Michael Ignatieff? (so far).

Though considered a long shot, New Brunswick MP and Harvard Law graduate Dominic LeBlanc threw his hat into the ring. Dominic is young, intelligent, and has amazing oratory skills. This race will definitely give him great exposure. I believe he is a rising star in the party and will have a bright future in Canadian politics.

I live in Bob Rae's riding of Toronto Centre. He is one of the most skilled politicians in the country and is one of the best statesmen Canada could ask for. Bob is my MP, I have volunteered for both of his latest campaigns and I have the utmost respect for him.

I work in Michael Ignatieff's riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. During the 2008 election campaign, I frequently bumped into him canvassing outside Old Mill subway station. I found Iggy to be extremely personable, sincere, and approachable. I supported him in his 2006 bid to lead the LPC, because he came with minimal baggage, an impressive resume, and arrived without any ties to the Chretien/Martin feuds. Ignatieff has exceeded the expectations of many after his 2006 election into the House of Commons. Though he has only been an MP for a little under 3 years, Iggy has shown to the rest of the house, as deputy leader of the Liberal Party, his poise, his eloquent parliamentary debating skills and his ability to be a leader. Our party needs someone like him, who has something Stephane Dion doesn't, which is the courage and ability to stand up and fight back when extreme partisans, like PM Harper, start using negative tactics to smear the opposition.

The Liberal party, under Stephane Dion, has aimlessly floated more to the left, resulting in the vote splitting between the three other left-leaning political parties. Our party is in desperate need of structured, strong and determined leadership to bring us back to the center. Especially with the economic crisis looming over our country, Canadians need to be reminded that the LPC is the party that has a record of bringing the country out of tough times. As a world reknowned author, historian and intellect, Michael's past writings has shown himself to be a pragmatic liberal on domestic issues such as Canadian culture and human rights. I personally believe pragmatic liberalism is where most Canadians sit. He has also shown himself to be a man with conviction and with hawkish stances on issues relating to internatonal affairs. His right-leaning views on foreign affairs may be seen with disdain by those to the left, but also foreshadows that he will be able to reach out to conservatives and help make the LPC into the big-tent party we were so proud of.

A candidate's past may come back to haunt them. Bob Rae's record as Ontario's NDP Premier from 1990 to 1995 will hinder him more than it will help him in his bid to achieve the leadership and the trust of voters across the country. Especially during tough economic times, we all know too well that Stephen Harper will play the fiscally-irresponsible-NDP-turncoat card. Harper will play the card and he has every right to play the card. Bob Rae will have to work extra hard to convince the people of Ontario that he has in fact changed. Michael Ignatieff doesn't come without his own personal baggage. For over 3 decades, from 1978 till 2005, he lived and worked outside of Canada. Critics can accuse him for being out of touch with the Canadian reality. His hawkish views on foreign policy , as previously stated, such as his past support for the Iraq war, may not sit well with some Canadians. After comparing both Bob Rae's and Iggy's past baggage on a scale, I believe Michael Ignatieff will have the best chance to help the party succeed in the future.

Iggy officially launched his bid for the leadership Thursday. As promised in his press conference, he plans to bring change, optimism, and renewal to the natural governing party of Canada. I believe he will be a Prime Minister, the people of Canada can trust.

the post 2008 GOP/LPC dilemma

2008-11-05T22:23:00.010-05:00

Yesterday night, with the election of Senator Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, the political landscape of our neighbour down south was swept with a tide of blue. Not only did Obama make history as the country's first ever African-American president, he also became the first Democrat in decades to win typical GOP-strongholds like Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana. The Democrats also saw increases in their majorities in the Senate and the House. It was a great night for the party of FDR and JFK.

So where does this leave the Republicans? Nobel Prize Laureate Paul Krugman predicts that it will take a while for the GOP to get themselves out of an identity rump and their disconnect with the average American voter. An interesting point Krugman makes is that, after an anti-incumbent-protest election (like the one we had yesterday) occurs, moderate politicians like Senator John Sununu (R-NH), Senator Libby Dole (R-NC), and John McCain usually lose or get voted out off office, leaving party hardliners from conservative states like Senator Saxby Chambliss from Georgia, South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, and Alaska's favourite hockey mom governor, Sarah Palin to take control of the party. These conservative hardliners slowly become out of touch with moderate voters, who now make up a fair portion of large urban centres in what are typically GOP-held states.

You know the party is in a rump when there is much talk about failed US VP candidate Sarah Palin being the future of the party. I can draw a sad, but true, comparison between the soul searching of the GOP and that of Canada's federal Liberal Party. After two years of misguided leadership under Stephane Dion, the LPC is in dire need for strong leadership with conviction and clarity. Yet, an IPSOS-reid poll shows Liberals would prefer kindergarten teacher and rookie MP Justin Trudeau to be their next leader. As a card-holding member of the party, I fear the worse for my own team, as some members unrealistically and foolishly yearn for the days-long-gone of Pierre Trudeau, as the GOP is doing with the years past of Ronald Reagan.

Democracy is like the economy. Major political parties like the LPC and the GOP, if not wiped out by a great depression, will go through its up's and down's and go in and out of government. It's just a question of how long it will take them to climb out of their political-identity recession.

day of hope, change and optimism

2008-11-04T10:31:00.005-05:00

The day everyone in the world has been waiting for has finally arrived. After eight years of divisive Bush policies, many Americans and people from all over the world see today as the day of hope. Many see today as the day of opportunity for the most-influential-country-in-the-world to open a new chapter with a clear direction of change and optimism.

The voter turn out for the recent Canadian federal election was a sad 59.1%: the lowest in Canadian history. Conversely, with the high energy of Obama-mania, the economic crisis, and the yearning for change, the United States can see one of the highest voter turnouts in history.

Don't let others shape your future, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world". So I encouarge all my American friends, family and colleagues to go out and vote and volunteer!

I personally have optimistic hope that positive and real change is coming to the US. Here are my predictions for tonight:

President
MCCAIN- 185
OBAMA - 353 (Kerry States + NV, CO, NM, IA, OH, VA, NC, FL)

Senate
DEM - 58 (Dem incumbents + AK-Begich, OR-Merkley, NH-Shaheen, NC-Hagan, CO-M.Udall, NM-T.Udall, VA-Warner)
GOP - 42

House
DEM - 251
GOP - 184

floor crossing?... cotler should know better

2008-10-29T23:10:00.006-04:00

Let me start by saying that I have the utmost respect for former Justice Minister and Liberal MP Irwin Cotler. He is an intelligent, eloquent and highly respected politician. Recently, there have been rumours swirling that he may pull an Emerson and cross the floor to join the conservative cabinet.

To me, what's interesting is that he is the MP for Mount Royal, which is considered one of the safest, if not the safest, Liberal ridings in the country. This was the riding of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and former speaker Alan McNaughton. Unlike Outremont, which did flip PC in 1988, Mount Royal has remained solidly red since 1940 even during the darkest of times for the Grits. There is a high possibility that the people of Mount Royal voted for Cotler, not because he's Irwin Cotler, but because he's a Liberal. I am sure he's well aware of that. Furthermore, I don't think he's stupid enough to risk away, what basically is an ultra-safe, lifetime guaranteed seat in parliament. If David Emerson and Wajid Khan's experiences haven't been good enough lessons for him, then I don't know what is.

palin's 30-hr world-leader speed dating marathon

2008-09-23T13:18:00.001-04:00

Meeting with world leaders for a little over a day, doesn't suddenly make her qualified to be a heart-beat away from the Presidency. But you know... she can she Russia from her backyard, so Palin can AT LEAST have high-tea with Vlady.

Joe Biden is going to clean her up at the VP debate.

time to get dirty

2008-09-08T11:43:00.009-04:00

The writ has FINALLY been dropped after many many months of speculation. For almost two years, Stephane Dion has taken a pounding from Conservatives without fighting back. There is no way we grits can out-advertize the financially endowed Conservative war room, especially after 2 years of being clobbered. The only way to fight back is with effective, smart, and aggressive negative advertising. It's time to fight fire with fire.

Let's stop kidding ourselves, if our fearless leader continues to play the nice guy, we'll end up with something similar to 1984/1988. Dion, essentially, will be John Turner-ed if he doesn't make a dramatic shift in his campaign style.

I dare not even imagine what damage a Harper-led Conservative majority government would do to Canada.

hearn hypocritically accuses williams for being a 'dictator'

2008-09-05T08:53:00.003-04:00

Federal Fisheries and Oceans minister Loyola Hearn has called Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams a "dictator" and has accused the provincial cabinet for not having any guts to speak out against the premier.

The amount of hypocracy spewing from Hearn is actually quite amusing. This is a man who is leaving one of the most muzzled and controlled federal "PMO-puppet" cabinets in Canadian history. He should take a glance at his own boss before trying to accuse another for being a "dictator".

Apparently he's also been told that potential NL Tory candidates have been "threatened". I would like to remind Minister Hearn of the Toronto-Centre Mark Warner fiasco.

Glass houses, Loyola, glass houses.

mccain picks governor sarah palin of alaska

2008-08-29T10:59:00.005-04:00

Republican John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running-mate. This move, I am sure, has taken the media by surprise by passing over the highly speculated Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Joe Lieberman.

This is a very interesting choice. Relatively unknown outside of ther state of Alaska, it should be very interesting to see how Palin fares in the national spotlight. As the underdog in the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial election and as a relatively young Washington outsider with a relatively clean decisive record so far as governor, Palin will definitely help McCain's bid for the Whitehouse. Not only does Palin have the youthful 'glow' of a beauty queen (youth and glow is something that is BADLY needed in the McCain campaign), but she has something that neither McCain, Obama, nor Biden have... and that's executive experience. Could this be also a ploy to woo the Hillary 'Nobama' dissidents? By picking a female, McCain has made history by appointing the first female to run on a Republican ticket.

However, Sarah Palin is no Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been a figure in US national politics for over 3 decades with amazing orating-ability.

But regardless of who wins the November election, both parties will have broken various glass ceilings. This is a very promising sign for CHANGE from the old and tired ways of Washington.

obama picks biden!

2008-08-23T01:31:00.004-04:00

Preliminary sources say Sen. Barack Obama has chosen Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate.

Biden is an excellent choice. He brings with him to the ticket over 30 years of experience in the U.S. Senate and balances out Obama's weakness with respect to experience and time in federal politics.

Despite being one of the more outspoken members of Congress, I believe Biden will be a major asset to the Democratic ticket. The campaign needs an attack dog (someone who can go negative other than Obama himself) and Biden is definitely their man.

GOP Prediction: with Biden as Obama's running mate, I feel McCain will now have to choose someone who is equally well known with Americans from across the country >>> Mitt Romney.

tories prefer treasure hunting over fighting climate change

2008-08-14T08:35:00.004-04:00

Environment Minister John Baird has announced a federal government initiative to find the lost ships from the Franklin expedition.

Finding the HMS Erabus and Terror will definitely help reduce green house gas emissions. Concrete environmental plans like this is one of the many reasons why Canadians should vote for the Harper Con's. It's really great to see that the Conservatives have their priorities straight.

welcome back to the era of conservative deficits

2008-07-25T13:06:00.004-04:00

After 11 years of budget surpluses, the Conservatives may once again be putting us back in the red. Thanks Jimbo... at least this time you're not hiding it from us.

buzz hargrove in toronto - danforth?

2008-03-25T19:14:00.007-04:00

National Newswatch has speculated that Buzz Hargrove may run for the Liberals in the next election against Jack Layton in Toronto - Danforth. That should be interesting. Though considered an NDP fortress, with a big organized-labour name like Buzz Hargrove in a farily left-leaning riding, he will definitely give Jack a run for his money on his own turf and thus possibly give him less time to campaign, as party leader, across the country (deja vu to John Tory in Don Valley West).

Though I think a Buzz Hargrove vs. Syd Ryan battle in Oshawa would be more interesting. It would also generate a healthy debate regarding the slumping manufacturing sector.

john tory trying to imitate flaherty

2008-03-24T08:44:00.006-04:00

Another lame attempt by John Tory trying to sound credible and another desperate cry to have people pay attention to what he has to say.

He lambasts McGuinty for continuing to blame previous governments. But when it comes down to it, the facts speak for themselves: a party that supposedly preaches upon being economically responisible wouldn't have left a hidden $5.6 billion dollar deficit for the people of Ontario to deal with.

As vile and toxic as Jim Flaherty is, at least the man is an ELECTED official. It's a shame John, that you don't have a seat in the legislature to preach your message. I think poor ol Bob Runciman is getting tired. At this point, the only people who are paying attention are 66.9% of the Ontario PC Party.

new tory mp rob clarke already being muzzled

2008-03-23T20:41:00.005-04:00

A segment of last Tuesday's (day after by-elections) edition of CBC's Politics with Don Newman, featured newly elected Tory MP for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, Rob Clarke and federal Agriculture Minister (and political minister for Saskatchewan) Gerry Ritz. It seems like the PMO has wasted no time in muzzling the newly elected Tory MP. To me, it seemed like Clarke was regurgitating answers he memorized from some sort of PMO-crafted script of "appropriate" media responses. Ritz had him on a tight leash. Considering the present one-man-Harper-government in Ottawa, I wouldn't be surprised if this was in fact the case.

guergis opts to party over a photo-op

2008-03-23T20:23:00.006-04:00

Obviously the Conservatives are taking the Brenda Martin case as a complete joke. First you have Secretary of State Jason Kenney and MP Rick Norfolk going to Mexico for a flashy photo op. Exploiting such a situation for political gain is very typical Conservative protocol, so I'm not surprised at all. But traveling to Mexico to party and dish on h'orderves instead of paying Brenda Martin a visit while being only 20 km is totally unacceptable. This is strike two for Guergis. Harper needs to turf the future Mrs. Rahim Jaffer out of cabinet.

greens place a strong third in toronto centre

2008-03-18T08:15:00.009-04:00

First off, I would like to congratulate Bob, Martha and Joyce on their victories. Last night I was scrutineering and pulling votes at the John Innes Community Center (Shuter St. and Sherbourne), in the heart of the Toronto Centre riding. An interesting note was that the Conservatives brought in some out-of-riding help to the polling station. The almighty Lois Brown (she ran against Belinda Stronach in 2006 in Newmarket-Aurora) along with her poshly-dressed posse made a grand and pretencious entrance into the community center. Being one of the lowest income areas of the riding, they looked extremely out of place.

On that note I would like to congratulate Chris Tindal of the Green Party for an extremely strong showing placing only 36 votes behind NDP's El-Farouk Khaki for second.

Bob Rae (L) - 14,187 (59.2%)
El Farouk Khaki (NDP) - 3,299 (13.8%)
Chris Tindal (Greens) - 3,263 (13.6%)
Don Meredith (Cons) - 2,982 (12.5%)
(Elections Canada)

This should be a big concern for the NDP in the next election as I am sure the Greens took a big chunk of their usual voter base last night. Conservative Don Meredith placing a sad fourth (along with Martha's blowout in Willowdale) is a troubling sign for the Tories as they are continually being completely shut out of Toronto (and other urban centres). I guess the extremely vile Jim Flaherty can continue to mouth off and bash Ontario since they really have nothing to lose.

happy vagina-day everybody!

2008-03-17T11:47:00.009-04:00

Yesterday, I was fortunuate enough to attend the final Toronto production of "The Vagina Monologues- In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Vagina-Day". The show, produced and directed by the talented and insatiable Tanisha Taitt, was absolutely spectacular. You can tell that the entire cast was filled with conviction. Even as someone who doesn't have a vagina, I was very inspired, empowered and blown away by the energy and passion. I think after the show, I had vagina-envy.

I wholeheartedly feel, as liberal and progressively minded individuals, we have the responsibility to be speak out against international attrocities such as domestic violence against women and female genital mutilation. Such realities happen around us everyday and we must not turn a blind eye.

Happy V-day everybody!

66.9%... uh oh spaghettios

2008-02-23T19:47:00.003-05:00

It's now official... 66.9% The Ontario P.C. Party has voted to support John Tory to stay at the helm of the party. That is hardly a sign of confidence. When almost 40% of people in the party wants to give you the boot... I think it's time to go. Joe Clark got 67% in 1983 and he called a leadership race. and so should John Tory. John say's he's going to "ponder" his political future... if he is the decisive leader that he claims to be, then he shouldn't have to keep pondering and dragging out every decision. Ralph Klein and Bernard Landry, both former provincial premiers, and who were seen as decisive leaders, promptly stepped down after luke warm party approval numbers. Why can't John Tory do the same? Cause he is not a leader and is not up to the job.

I am sure Tim Hudak, Frank Klees, and Jim Flaherty are grinning with glee. The Harris wing of the Tories are starting to rise again... which in the long run will only benefit the Liberals.

john tory's hypocritical attempt to draw attention away from his own failed leadership

2008-02-18T20:15:00.012-05:00

John Tory recently wrote an article in the National Post accusing the McGuinty Liberals of inaction on the Caledonia issue. I quote John Tory...

This represents an abdication of leadership, and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario won't stand for it because the people of Ontario don't accept it -- nor should they

Let's take everyone back to September 1995 to the Ipperwash conflict when the Tories were in power. So his P.C. Party "won't stand" stand for this supposed "abdication of leadership"... but you know.... according to the Tories it is okay to order the O.P.P. to use violence in order to "get the fucking Indians out of the park". You might argue that it was under Mike Harris' leadership when this happened, so John Tory is safe. But not only did Tory never proactively condemn or apologize for his own party's past disgraceful actions (it was Liberal minister David Ramsay who eventually took leadership to apologize on behalf of the Ontario government and Tory merely reactively "supported" the apology), but the silent faces sitting in Conservative front benches today looks awful similar to the silent Harris/Eves cronies that were there when Dudley George paid the ultimate price.

Maybe John Tory should do some research into his own party's actions and history of extreme hostility toward Ontario's Aboriginal community before opening his mouth and going off on a hypocritical rant that lacks crediblity. And maybe he should get a seat in the legislature if he wants people to take him seriously.

It took the leadership of the Liberals and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant to remedy the Ipperwash issue and I am sure he will do the same for Caledonia.

tories to spend less on polling?... unlikely

2008-02-14T08:23:00.005-05:00

Public Works Minister Michael Fortier has announced that the Conservative government is going to spend $10 million dollars less on polling. Every move the tory government has made and every breath the tory government has taken so far has been ultra-political and partisan and seemingly based on polling. This makes it very hard to believe.

Maybe un-elected cabinet minister Michael Fortier should win a seat in the House of Commons before we believe what comes out of his mouth.

ontario tories can't wake up

2008-02-11T14:42:00.000-05:00

The opposition at Queen's Park has rejected a proposal by Liberal House Leader Michael Bryant to make legislative sittings earlier in the day, accusing it to be some sort of Liberal ploy to avoid answering questions.

First of all, why would John Tory care? He doesn't need to get up early cause he doesn't have a seat! What about the rest of the caucus... does Randy Hillier need to herd his sheep? Does Frank Klees need the morning to style his hair? Does Lisa McLeod need to bake cookies? (HA! Sorry Warren... I just couldn't help myself).

Uh oh... Look out! Here comes Cheri DiNovo in her pajamas!

mcguinty grits cut red tape for transit projects... hear, hear

2008-02-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

The Dalton McGuinty Liberals have passed a new regulation that cut down the maximum allowable time for environmental assessments to take place on transit projects. As an environmental-civil engineer I understand the importance of having proper environmental assessments done before any action takes place, but as Torontonian, I first and foremost directly feel the frustrations as a result of the mediocre transit system and the endless amounts of transit project promises that never seem to come to fruition. An excellent is the Toronto Sheppard subway line. It literally took AGES for the actual line to be proposed, constructed, and FINALLY come into operation after years of unnecessarily long red-tape. In order for any city to grow and prosper, the transit system needs to grow along with it. Toronto and the rest of Ontario has definitely been falling behind on this aspect. The province needs to look beyond the "not in my backyard" protests and complaints and speed up projects for the sake of long term growth. By merely begging and dumping more money into a system filled with red-tape is not attacking the problem at its root cause. So I applaud Dalton McGuinty on this decision.

Improving the public transportation system here in Toronto and around Ontario will not only benefit transit-dependent commuters but will also benefit car-drivers by reducing the terribly large volume of traffic and congestion on our highways and roads. Something needs to be done. One reason why more Ontarians are not converting to public transportation is that the system really doesn't cover a lot of ground, the times are sparse and it's convenience is very limited. In order to encourage commuters to do so, the system most definitely needs to expand. With increased ridership and less cars on the streets, not only will it greatly decrease congestion, but it will also reduce the burden placed on the air we breath and will make our already-volatile environment more sustainable in the long run.

With transit commissions across the province solely relying on fares and and municipality coffers that are practically empty, projects will not move forward, grow, nor will existing systems remain sustainable. In light of such dim prospects, the Liberals in Queen's Park have stepped forward back in June with the MoveOntario 2020 plan (which hopefully was not just an empty election promise). The plan is to build a whole slew of very hopeful and attractive transit projects over the next 12 years and finance them over the next 50 with the help of the federal government (Harper helping cities? I highly doubt it). Twelve years may be the optimal reality given the available resources but if you think about it, 12 years is a very long time considering the fluctuations of the economy and the more-than-likely numerous turnovers at all levels of government within those years. Furthermore, do those 12 years include the possibility of environmental assessment delays? If so, does this new regulation help significantly decrease the projected 12 years? I certainly do hope so.

I have personally traveled to and have lived in many large cities around the world such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, and numerous large European cities. When transit projects are proposed in these cities, they get built and are up and running within one or two years. I understand that the circumstances are different in those cities as compared to Ontario municipalities when considering factors like population density and transit usage. But if it can be done in such short periods of time elsewhere, I am certain it can be done here in Ontario as well. With Canada being one of the G8 countries with the largest budget surpluses and considering the multiple long term positive effects of investing in transit, I don't see why it shouldn't be done.

Public transit plays a huge role in the livelihoods of people all across the province. Let's just hope the extra funding and steps like reducing unnecessary red-tape will help improve a system that is in dyer need of attention.

black-focused schools charter unknown & murky waters

2008-01-30T08:04:00.000-05:00

The trustees of the Toronto District School Board has narrowly voted in favour of having black-focused schools in the city. As I am most definitely no expert in the field of education and am not a person of African-Canadian descent, I will not downplay nor can I fully understand the needs and the struggles faced by these students. But I personally am not 100% sure that having black-focused and black-only schools is the optimal solution; and nor am I 100% sure that it isn't. But what I do know is that there are a lot of unanswered questions and will most definitely open a HUGE can of worms in the debate of publicly funded education.

I have written a post about this issue back in November and a commenter provided a very compelling argument in favour of such schools:

The students who go to these school have almost always dropped out of regular schools due to persecution or have been expelled due to opposition to authority. They are in essence "special needs students" based in part on their racial background or sexual orientation. It is really no different than having "gifted schools" which also exist in many school boards for students who are also special needs and can have behavioural problems or drop out as well if left unchallenged or misunderstood.
These schools and their premise are totally different than "segregation" or religious funding. These students are having trouble functioning in the regular system where their needs are not met. Religious schools are not for students who couldn't otherwise function.
-Anonymous commenter (2007-11-06)

I agree with the commenter that the students' needs are not met by the regular system; but is separating them by race attacking the root cause of the problem? Or are there other non-race related issues at the root of the struggle. Moreover, I am sure there are other students from all other ethnicities and races facing similar struggles and needs. Do they not also deserve the special attention as well? Would a better solution be strengthening and empowering the existing Special Ed programs already in place in our public schools?

Of all cities in North America, I would assume that Toronto is one where race and ethnicity causes the least conflict in all aspects of life. Growing up in Toronto, I experienced first hand and the multicultural classrooms and workplaces and am very thankful for it. A lot of Torontonians take the diversity for granted because it comes so naturally to us that we don't even think twice about it. There are very few places in the world, where you have students from different backgrounds from all over the world learn in the same classroom from the same curriculum, and are taught the same values. But with this recent vote, a big big can of worms has definitely been opened. As much as some people may not like to see this word used for this context, the students will literally be "segregated". Race and ethnicity have now entered into the realm of debate in what has been our race-neutral public education system. Like Ontario education minister Kathleen Wynne said before the vote it may also "spur other cultural and religious groups to lobby for their own separate schools within a public system".

The Toronto District School Board calls this a "pilot project". If this little experiment doesn't end up being effective, it will be extremely hard to backtrack and may end up causing more damage and generate even harsher repercussions. These already troubled students absolutely cannot be used as guinea pigs. If the schools do become a reality, the school board and the province absolutely CANNOT allow them fail. A LOT of time, planning, and feedback will be required to make them the best they can be.

Furthermore, upcoming talks, debates and discussions will have to be made carefully as race/ethnicity (including religion) is an extremely sensitive subject. Torontonians are not use to facing the issue in the context of segregation and are typically very politically correct when the topic of race does come up. If words are not chosen carefully, the fire will definitely spread, maybe even uncontrollably. Ontario PC leader John Tory most definitely got burned by such a fire during the recent provincial election campaign.

It will be interesting to see what step the provincial government and school board takes next.

liberals are up in...... alberta?

2008-01-12T16:39:00.001-05:00

So Ipsos-Reid for Canwest Global recently released a poll showing the Liberals slightly leading the Conservatives. You know... that's no surprise considering it's been teeter-tottering both ways for the past two years.

But the interesting point is where this gain is registering for the Liberals? Nope, not in Ontario, not in Quebec, nor is it in Atlantic Canada... but in the grit-wasteland of Alberta of all places. The Liberals have INCREASED a whopping 20 points and the Conservatives have dropped 23. Are pigs actually starting to fly? Is money actually starting to grow on trees? Are Albertans sniffing too much oil?

The article claims that the drop for the CPC is due to the mediocre performance of Alberta premier Ed Stelmach and the inability for Canadians to separate a provincial party from a federal party with the same name. These reasons sound legitimate, but 20-23 percentage points?! I think that's a lot for something not directly related to the Harper government.

Even though I don't think these numbers are sustainable, it's just interesting to mention due to it's rarity.

the harper bottleneck factor

2008-01-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

The Conservatives, two years later, are still standing at approximately the same level of support. With a weak opposition and with everything that they've managed to get passed in the House, one would expect Canadians to have embraced the Cons by now. And why haven't they?

In my opinion, it's because our Right Honourable Prime Minister is seen as extremely non-charismatic, without character, and extremely stiff. When he smiles, it looks ingenuine and fake. This gives off the impression that every move he makes is more for personal political gain rather than for the good of the country (well actually thats a fact, not an impression...). It's been almost 5 years since Stephen Harper has re-entered federal politics and two years into his prime ministership and still he hasn't been able to shake off his "boogey man" image. He tells Canadians that there is no "hidden agenda"... but do we believe him? According to the polls, I would have to say no. If it were any other prospective leader, like Belinda Stronach, Bernard Lord, or Jim Prentice (who all have more character than Harper), I think the CPC would be in majority territory right now.

Don't get me wrong, I think our PM is definitely one of the most stratgeic "politicians" around. Like the recent GST radio ads. They're a complete waste of money and totally ridiculous, but I'm sure some Canadians will buy into them. He also doesn't hold back on attacks against the opposition. This is evident when one logs on to Conservative.ca, It's amazing to see that there are more pictures of Dion on the main page, then there is of the PM himself. But being politically slick and constantly attacking and undermining the other guy doesn't necessarily mean that it will translate into votes. In this case, I think it has made Harper look more slimey, slick and untrustworthy.

Pierre Trudeau was like the anti-Harper. There were people who absolutely hated him... but there were definitely people who absolutely adored and loved him. Trudeau definitely had the charisma and character to garner trust from those undecided Canadians who just weren't sure how to vote. This trait that Trudeau had is what Harper lacks and it is what is holding him back. I don't see a Harpermania happening anytime soon.

What I am trying to say here is that if a leader is charismatic enough, they have a better chance at selling their agenda, no matter how controversial it maybe, and still will be able to garner trust from Canadians across the country. If Harper and the CPC want a majority... they definitely need to hire a better image consultant for the PM.

most over/underrated canadian politicians of 2007

2008-01-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

I would like to begin by wishing every a happy new year and a successful, balanced and happy 2008.
I was watching last weeks CBC's End-of-Year At Issue Panel (hosted by Peter Mansbridge) and they talked about 2007's most overrated and underrated politicians. They made some good points but I would like to add some names to the list.

MOST OVERRATED

John Baird
I agree with the panelists on this one. This man is loud, and only knows how to make angry-gorilla-like faces without any substance. This lack of substance proved to be true as he turned out to be a HUGE embarrassment for all Canadians at the Bali conference. The "standing ovation" that he received shouldn't be priased, but should be recognized as a shame. Baird vs. Ambrose?? Not much difference there in my opinion. Maybe Rona Ambrose was dumped cause she wasn't gorilla enough.

Lawrence Cannon (Transport Minister and Harper's Quebec Lieutenant)
This man was highly touted in 2006 and was almost invisible in 2007. Does Cannon actually have THAT much influence over Quebecers? I would think Foreign Affairs minister Maxime Bernier would be a more appropriate choice as Quebec Lt. instead

John Tory
Tory was seen as the saviour/golden boy for the Ontario PC party after Dalton trampled Ernie in 2003. He ended up only being an embarrassment of riches. He is the equivalent to the 2003 overrated Paul Martin. He ran on the platform on leadership but very clearly showed none during the election campaign. The first of his dumbest mistakes in political history was by bringing up an issue that obviously wouldn't fly with the liberal thinking/immigrant-oriented province. He made his second most dumbest mistake by running in a riding against a high profile, hardworking cabinet minister in a Toronto urban riding. I think the City of Toronto needs this man more than Queen's Park does.

MOST UNDERRATED

Peter Van Loan
Even though I do not like Van Loan, partisanship aside, he did do a good job as a "politician". It's not easy to be the House Leader of the governing party in a minority parliament. He hasn't gotten a lot of recognition from the conservative leadership for his performance. He has done a better job as House Leader than the lying Rob Nicholson.

Stephane Dion
This was obviously a bad year for Dion.. but the first year for a leader of the opposition is always bad. Mind you three years ago nobody would have thought Harper would ever become PM. But you know what they say, when people have low expectations of you, its easy to out perform. He has been getting a lot of flack from fellow liberals, including myself, but I have a feeling he will pleasently surprise us in 2008.

Dalton McGuinty
I also agree with the panelists on this one. He was so underrated that everyone was predicting him to at-best get a minority government or even be a "one-term wonder" by some. He blew everyone away by winning a 2nd landslide majority government. By having a secured 2nd term in office, he has shown his courage by fighting for Ontario's representation in the House of Commons and has started work immediately (i.e. Ipperwash). "A small man of conderation" he is not.

harper's brilliant ontario strategy

2007-12-21T08:44:00.000-05:00

Stephen Harper says, "We have to make gains in Ontario to make gains nationally"

Apparently, according to the Conservative handbook the way to accomplish such gains is to...

Fire Conservative candidates in Ontario who are trying to connect with local values instead of following national party lines.
Ignore cities
Shortchange the province on the number of seats in House of Commons.
Call the premier, who has every right to stick up for his province, a "small man of confederation"

Yes Steph, that's the way to go about it.

urquhart mulls about mcguinty replacing dion

2007-12-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

Ian Urquhart from the Toronto Star brings up the idea of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty replacing Dion after the next election (if it results in the more than likely Conservative minority). This, to me, has come out of the blue as this was never a likely scenario in my mind. I personally highly doubt this will happen for several reasons:

Dalton has just won a landslide majority and still needs a lot more time leave his legacy as Ontario premier. He has at least 2.5 to 3 more years to go.
Highly unlikely to step down as the second most powerful man in the country to take on the thankless job as federal leader of the opposition (I think McGuinty feels he's had enough time in opposition)
This is reminiscent of newly formed Conservative Party of Canada courting then freshly re-elected New Brunswick premier Bernard Lord to head the party at the height of federal Liberal popularity (at around the time when a lot of people had high hopes for Paul Martin). Benard Lord wasn't so stupid as to take the bait to sit in seemingly eternal opposition (at the time), and neither would Dalton.
Dalton (or Dion) doesn't have the aggressiveness or the pitbull-like qualities to take on the ruthless and extremely partisan Stephen Harper. Ernie Eves and John Tory are lightweights in comparison
Contrary to Ian Urquhart's opinion, I believe either Rae, Ignatieff, or Kennedy would have a better chance at taking back government from Stephen Harper in the future than Dalton can despite their baggage in the past.
Federal politics is his brother David's territory?? (I know this is a flimsy reason...) Can Canada handle two McGuinty's on the Hill?

ly'in brian and his substanceless regrets

2007-12-14T08:41:00.001-05:00

The Rt. Hon. Ly'in Brian says his first biggest mistake in life "was ever agreeing to be introduced to Karlheinz Schreiber in the first place."

Substanceless statements like that are easy to make AFTER shit hits the fan. They seem to be very typical of our suave former PM.

Come on Brian, give Karlheinz a break! It's not like he destroyed the Meech Lake Accord or anything.

growing up in canada turns deadly... blurring the canadian identity

2007-12-12T08:38:00.000-05:00

Growing up in one of the most multicultural cities in the world, we are used to sharing classrooms, working in offices, and going on with our daily lives with individuals from all over the world. It is second nature for Torontians and we don't think twice about it. However, unlike the melting pot society in the U.S., we take pride in the fact that people from all over the world can move to our great country, become Canadian citizens, and at the same time maintain the culture, heritage and religious practices from their native countries. But, by living in the same environment, we are exposed to the same external influences such as peer pressures, North American popular culture, and media. So should immigrant parents force these native practices on their children who are growing up and who are being educated in our multicultural society?

When children from immigrant families attend Candadian public schools, I believe parents should expect their children to be affected by these external influences and make friends from all over the world, from various religions, but who watch same TV shows, read the same books, etc... So naturally, parents should expect their children to start to develop their own unique identity that may differ from what is expected of from their native countries.

Which brings me to the sad story of 16 year old Aqsa Parvez. The Mississauga teenager was murdered by her own father when she rebelled against her family's religious practices, such as wearing the hijab. She payed the highest price for wanting to have her own identity. Aqsa's case is an extreme example to make the point, but it definitely spurs some interesting and thought provoking questions about what it means to be Canadian.

Is the Canadian identity about having the freedom to choose, who and what you want to be? There is definitely a blur when finding a balance between maintaining your family ethinc heritage, culture and religious practices, and growing up with multicultural and North American influences.

(on a side note, I find it unsettling that social conservative nut case Jason Kenney is the man in charge of Canadian idenity and multiculturalism at the cabinet table)

this time, the ndp accuses tories of viewing, not subsidizing, "big ass"

2007-12-06T09:34:00.000-05:00

James Moore is one of the only Conservative MP's I actually have shred of respect for. This man had the guts to depart from typical conservative voter values, along with Belinda Stronach at the time, and vote in favour of same-sex marriage. I have faith that Moore, being a veteran MP and with hundreds of collegues surrounding him while parliament is sitting, wouldn't be so stupid as to look at porn.

Instead of approaching Moore privately in a civilized manner , London area MP Irene Mathyssen felt compelled to make this "viewing scantily glad women on laptop" accusation a media spectacle by announcing it to the entire country without getting her facts straight first. As this is a matter of parliamentary conduct/behaviour, it should have been dealt with privately and not strewn out in question period. This is reminescent of the accusation against Peter McKay for calling Belinda Stronach a dog. It was totally blown out of proportions. I would truly hope our parliamentarians have bigger issues to deal with and would leave such matters for another time.

As the NDP Status of Women Critic, Mathyssen could have attacked the Harper government on many OTHER things (e.g. the HUGE cuts to the department). But alas, like typical NDP behaviour, Jack and his team has once again decided that they have nothing to lose and will do or say anything to ATTEMPT to show that they are a "good opposition" (eye roll). This incident is a PERFECT example of why the NDP will forever remain in opposition.

no-seat tory wants people to listen to him

2007-11-30T09:07:00.000-05:00

Shadowed by the Karlheinz Schreiber fiasco, little beknownst to most Ontarians, a provincial speech from the throne was delivered yesterday at Queen's Park by Lt. Governor David Onley to open a new session of the Ontario legislature. Fresh from a landslide re-election victory, the McGuinty Liberals sent a message to the province with committments on attacking poverty, bettering relations with the Aboriginal community, and to continue their work from their first mandate. Dalton has obviously learned his lesson and is treading carefully by not make any specific and ambitious promises.

What I found interesting were the going-on's of the official opposition. Despite the fact that he has no seat in the legislature, and despite the fact that he ran one of THE worse campaigns in Ontario's history (or Canada's for that matter... another bad one was the PC 1993 federal campaign.. which coincidentally he was in charge of as well), I am surprised that John Tory was the man representing the PC's in delivering the opposition's response to the media. There are 26 other "ELECTED" MPP's to choose from and NONE of them made a peep, not even Her Majesty's Leader of the Official Opposition Bob Runciman. The fact that he had to watch the speech from a TV instead of in the legislature speaks loudly. This man has lost credibility and is truly embarrassing for the party. He will forever be branded as the man who lost an election before the campaign even started. One cannot even compare this recent loss to Mike Harris' in 1990 and Dalton's in 1999 as they were facing strong competitors at the time.

It's time to step down Mr. Tory.... or maybe have one of your party's MPP's let go of their seat for you out of pity. The federal government has just announced strategies to increase competition for the wireless sector... so maaayyyybe you would make better use of yourself back at Rogers. I am sure all Canadians, including myself, certainly wouldn't mind paying less on our cell phone bills.

typical conservative A.G.'s

2007-11-29T08:55:00.000-05:00

Deny, lie, deny, lie.... incompetent!

on the first day of x-mas, my true love gave to me... a speaker's warrant?

2007-11-27T08:02:00.000-05:00

I think after all putting Canadians through all this hoopla regarding the Mulroney-Schreiber scandal, we AT LEAST deserve some answers. But regardless of who get's the first stab at getting these answers, if Karlheinz Schreiber is not in the country, this entire spectacle (including the work David Johnston is currently doing) is going to be deemed a waste of time, money and energy. At this stage in the game, the government has the minimal responsibility to keep him in Canada.

All this stalling and posturing by Justice Minister Ron Nicholson and the conservatives is obvious. As Robert Thibault puts it, "what Nicholson wants for Christmas is a Schreiber-free Canada". I 100% agree that if this stalling continues, the ethics committee and all opposition parties should work together and pull out all stops to get to prevent extradition, even if we end up having to use something extreme like a "speaker's warrant" (which has primacy over the justice minister over such matters). But apparently god forbids anyone to supercede or question anything the Harper government does.

badly needed rat pack

2007-11-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

Journalist Ian MacDonald mentioned today about a new and emerging Rat Pack in the Liberal and NDP benches. Former Chretien Fisheries and Oceans minister Robert Thibault, Ruby Dhalla, Mark Holland, Marlene Jennings, and Pablo Rodriguez are stepping up the attacks on the government. I feel the Liberal opposition, since losing power, have been fairly quiet and has been letting Jack Layton steal some thunder. Well let's stop that! So I say it's about time!

With the countless antics this government likes to pull (e.g. excluding opposition MP's from the Canadian delegation for the Bali environmental conference) a Rat Pack is needed more than ever (even more so than back in the Mulroney days). Especially with sneaky ex-Harrisite goons like John Baird.

We need to turn the heat up a notch!!

dalton vs. barney rubble

2007-11-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

It is sooooo typical of this conservative government to start name calling and mudslinging when someone even slightly questions what they are doing. Dalton McGuinty, as the premier of Ontario, has every right to question the federal Tories about this new bill to increase seats in the House of Commons. Dalton, as premier of the province, has the absolute responsibility to defend and to fight for fair representation for Ontario. He is doing what he needs to do and is by no means a "small man of Confederation". It's about time Ontario Liberal MP's speak up.

Is Peter Van Loan making all this noise in preparation for a run at John Tory's job? That's very possible.

karlheinz fatigue

2007-11-21T07:45:00.000-05:00

Is anybody else feeling this too? I personally am getting very tired of hearing about the Mulroney-Schreiber scandal. Every time I turn on the news these past couple of weeks, it's the same thing over and over again. It mostly consists of either justice minister Ron Nicholson or other Conservative caucus members telling us they "cannot comment on extradition matters" and maneuvering around questions regarding the legitimacy of the possible inquiry if Schreiber were to be extradited and thus lacking the principle witness.

This entire fiasco is going to be a big waste of time and tax payer's money just like how Gomery was. We should have listened to Chretien, our wise and quirky former PM, for both Gomery and Mulroney-Schreiber, and let the RCMP do their job (unless they end up tasering us of course).

I thought our country had other more important issues to deal at this point in time... apparently not.

mario lévesque?

2007-11-15T08:23:00.000-05:00

The Montreal Gazette has posted, in my opinion, what has got to be THE MOST unflattering photograph of Mario Dumont (normally I would consider him to be one of the better looking members of the Assemblée Nationale du Québec). It makes him look at least 20 years older than he really is and very much like René Lévesque.

Image Source: Montreal Gazette

vs.

The media takes too much joy in catching politicians in the most awkward and unbecoming poses and pairing them up with a similar-toned articles.

dr. johnston takes the stand

2007-11-14T15:11:00.000-05:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just appointed the president of my alma mater to review the Mulroney-Schreiber scandal (the inquiry into an inquiry). Even though I think this inquiry into an inquiry is a big waste of tax payers money, I applaud the PM on his choice.

I had the fortunate opporunity to meet and work with Dr. Johnston on a number of occasions during my years at UWaterloo. He is a very professional, calm and well-spoken individual with a very impressive resumé behind him. By the time I graduated, under the leadership of Dr. Johnston, many significant and positive changes were made to the University. Regardless of what you feel about the merits of the infamous Maclean's Canadian Universities Rankings (I personally don't think much of them), David Johnston did play a large role in the success and achievements of the school.

I have full confidence he will make an unbiased, bi-partisan and thorough review into this issue.

tony & gordo vs. jean & paul

2007-11-12T10:05:00.000-05:00

Boy oh boy oh boy. These Prime Minister vs. Finance Minister feuds never end do they. Like Blair says, its inevitable that there will be ministers vying for the top job and with ambition comes a certain level of tension and drama between the top man and potential successors. But the Blair-Brown relationship certainly did not escalate (or so it seems) to the level of Chretien-Martin where the party became severely divided and internally severed. Though one can argue that Martin's strong ambitions to become PM started from day one when Chretien was elected leader of the Liberals and Brown's came later on.

There are, however, some similarities between the two pairs. When both pairs stepped out of opposition and into government, they both had a "zeal to reform their parties", as the article puts it. Both the British Labour party and the Federal Liberals here in Canada needed a big facelift (and not look back to the past) as a centre-of-spectrum alternative after many years of conservative rule. Both pairs also had the forunate advantage of having a weak and divided opposition, which allowed them to have an "undistracted" opportunity to govern and rebuild their countries. But on the flip side, the "distraction" came within their own parties, and both pairs saw their relationships sour even further when both PM's refused to step down near the end of their second mandates. Hmmmm... maybe there will be some more juicy The View-esque drama inside Tony Blair's upcoming memoires.... dun dun dun.

When the PM is performing well into the second mandate, is it logical to push them out the door? Is it essential for party renewal? Should federal and provincial Liberals consider having 8 year maximum leadership terms like they do in the States to help minimize such internal battles and divides? I personally don't think it's such a bad idea. (I stress "maximum" because of a certain leader is performing under par, the party should be able to boot them out before the 8 years come to an end.)

References: http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/blair-lifts-lid-on-relationship-with-brown/2007/11/12/1194766543800.html

those gosh darn turn coats

2007-11-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

One year ago, I would have confidently predicted that Emerson would be soundly defeated in Vancouver-Kingsway in a general election. Now, I'm not so sure anymore.

I would predict Wajid Khan going down in Mississauga-Streetsville before Emerson does out west.

Source: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=1bd96576-e94f-428b-8e76-f448b2f8fd9b

the sudden light on consumer product safety

2007-11-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

Recently, there has been a flurry of news pourring in from the States and here in Canada regarding consumer product safety.

Most notabley are the lead-filled toys imported from China. Whether it was Barbie or Hot Wheels, majority of us Canadians grew up playing with toys made by Mattel. If they were found to be made with lead and possibly other harzardous substances now, who's to say they weren't always "contaminated" from many decades ago. Quite possibly a lot of us have already been exposed to such hazardous substances as toddlers.

So why are these cases coming to light now? Are we doing enough here in Canada to ensure the safety of consumer products both made here domestically and imported from abroad? The White House is increasing the budget for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Here in Canada, the Harper government has set up a website http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/ to inform Canadians about product recalls. But is this reactive approach enough? Shouldn't we stop these defective products from getting onto our store shelves in the first place?

Back in 1985, the federal Hazardous Products Act was passed. But unfortunately, now in 2007, our children is still playing with toys filled with poisoness lead. Where are the holes? Is the root of the problem at Health Canada, at Industry Canada, at International Trade? Or is foreign political relations getting in the way of consumer safety?

segregated schooling: a need or a slippery slope?

2007-11-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

The issue of black-focused schools has been brought up again. The Toronto Star reports that the Toronto District School Board may be opening such schools to cater to African Canadian students by next fall.

Now this brings back the issue of segregation and the entire debate we had during the last election concerning the funding of faith-based schools. Even though this isn't exactly the same thing, as say funding Jewish schools, didn't Ontarians just overwhelmingly voted against segregating our children in the classrooms?

According to the article, some community workers feel that the "status quo" isn't working and that the need for such schools is there. By fulfilling this need, are we directing Canadians toward a dangerous slippery slope debate and opening up Pandora's Box?

Currently in Toronto, there are existing high schools set up specially for children of First Nations background and for Gay/Lesbian/Transgendered/Bisexual teenagers. Since segregation in the Ontario public school system has already taken place among divides like ethnic background and sexual orientation, who are we to say which groups do or do not have the "need" to have their own public schools? In Canada, we take pride in multiculturalism and equality, but when does "need" override such values?

This is definitely a discussion and a debate that needs to take place.

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/273910

ndp going full force?

2007-11-05T08:33:00.000-05:00

Buoyed by the protest-vote win in Outremont, the NDP has officially announced that they will match dollar for dollar spent by Conservatives and the Liberals by spending the maximum allowed amount in the next election.

But unfortunately for Jack, his party is stalled in the national polls. Not surprisingly, his message has also plateaued on the typical ultra-left-wing, ra-ra protest rhetoric that lacks substance and an actual plan. EVERYTIME Jack Layton open his mouth, it's about (obvious things a Tory government would do to anger the left):

the growing prosperity gap in Canada and how it is being ignored by the Conservatives
tax cuts are going to banks and oil companies
there is a big surplus, and it needs to be spent spent spent!

Don't get me wrong, I agree with Jack that these are realities in our country, and I do believe that the main role of the NDP is to keep these concerns and other social issues on the radar. But in order for them to become an actual viable alternative to the Liberals the Conservatives, Jack needs to broaden and make his message more creative beyond the overused and clichéd left-wing rhetoric. I believe, by having a Conservative government in power, Canadians EXPECT (but not necessarily want) and are not surprised to see typical Tory policies such as corporate tax cuts come to the table. So Jack needs to stop stating the obvious. The electorate is fatigued and wants to hear less of the same old sound-bites he uses over and over and over again.

So with his new election spending announcement, I am expecting the same old message but in a louder and not-necessarily more productive way. So be prepared Canada, for more loud and repetitive yapping from the dippers.

But, being a federal Liberal at this point in time, who am I to comment about repetitive rhetoric. At least there is rhetoric coming from their party. KNOCK KNOCK! WAKE UP STEPHANE! Instead of using our PRECIOUS time and resources to fighting past and non-tractive issues like the Mulroney-Schreiber scandal, let's tell Canadians about our plans for Canada (no... GST hikes don't count... I'm not asking for political suicide). Someone needs to dump a bucket of cold water on our leader's head.

the ghost of stocks past returns

2007-11-02T08:40:00.000-04:00

The "scary" ultra-conservative policies of the Canadian Alliance party, which Jean Chretien fought so hard against during the 2000 election campaign has come back to haunt us. The difference this time around is that they may actually come true. Our friend Stockwell Day is no longer a wet-suit-wearing opposition leader anymore, but a decision making minister of the crown.

With the flip flops in the past week, it is very clear that his personal opinion has finally seeped into actual government policies. In the 2000 general election campaign, the Stock and his Canadian Alliance party supported the idea of referendums on contentious issues like capital punishment. With the current Conservative caucus being filled with the same ol' Alliance/Reform buggers, I don't have any reason to believe that anything has changed. Unfortunately, this time around, a referendum isn't even being considered.

Ever since capital punishment was removed from the Canadian Criminal Code in 1976, both Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments alike, have upheld the anti-dealth penalty stance. To this present day, Canada is known internationally for denouncing such a carnal and regressive practice. The federal government has a duty and fundamental responsibility to uphold this long-held tradition and intervene in cases for Canadians abroad (or non-Canadian criminals about to be deported to their home country from Canada) who are about to face the dealth penalty(regardless of the nature of the crime the person has been accused of committing). The Harper government is now trying to turn back time and reverse all that.

This is an oppotunity for the Liberals to stand up and show Canadians that they do have a clear choice. Dion and the team needs to let Canadians know that the Liberals are committed to fight to protect this principle of fundamental justice which we take a lot pride from.

I think Canadians should start to feel the chills of what might come out of a Harper majority.

delaying the inevitable

2007-10-31T23:34:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everybody! I hope everyone had a wild and ghoulish evening.

So about this "mini budget".... some say it was altruistic and the Conservatives delivered it because they believe in good government and others believe it's just another political ploy to push the Liberals further into a corner. Whichever way you look it, we are only delaying the inevitable, and I personally don't believe that it is benefiting us at all.... not now, not a few weeks from now, and not a few months from now either. I don't see how much longer we can keep abstaining from every "confidence" vote that comes along. We can use the "Canadians don't want election" excuse only for so long. By dragging our feet, we are only giving more time for Harper to deliver more "good news" (politically slick news... like a GST cut) to Canadians. Having to continue to deal with Harper's antics, means we don't have time and are not devoting the optimal amount of resources to rebuild a solid foundation in our own party (e.g. our team in Quebec). When a party is in opposition, most of their time, energy, and resources should be devoted to preparing for the next election. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening (oy vay to minority parliament hijinks)

So maybe it's time for us Liberals to seriously start preparing ourselves to go to the polls. Will an election loss be a "healthy" thing for the party from a "wake up call" and renewal point of view? Maybe something productive like Chretien's 1991 Alymer Conference can come out of such rebuilding.

Let's get on with the show, shall we folks?

thoughts on the new cabinet

2007-10-30T20:44:00.001-04:00

Overall, I am quite pleased with the new Ontario cabinet. Dalton surprised us all by making a a giant shuffle instead of staying with the status quo.

What I was most surprised with were the four senior ministers who were dumped from cabinet. Well more so two of them: David Ramsay and Steve Peters. I personally cannot say whether they underperformed or not, but neither one of them really caused a lot of controversy during the last mandate. Given that Peters held Agriculture and Labour, both tough and senior-ish portfolios, I don't see why he was chosen to get the boot. Laurel Broten, on the other hand, was no surprise; she has twins and a family to spend more time with, the Garage Mahal scandal hit, and underperformed as environment minister. Monte Kwinter was most likely removed to let fresh blood in, and because he had his "time to shine" in cabinet in both the Peterson government and during McGuinty's first term (though this also applies to Jim Bradley and would have also applied to Greg Sorbara). Both Kwinter and Ramsay did not accept or were not offered Parliamentary Assistant positions. I actually expected McGuinty to dump Harinder Takhar because of past scandals and because of his earlier under-performance in transportation.

I thought five big misses were Helena Jaczek (Oak Ridges - Markham), Sophia Aggelonitis (Hamilton Mountain), David Orazietti (Sault St. Marie), Bas Balkissoon (Scarborough - Rouge River), and Liz Sandals (Guelph). I think both Helena and Liz would be more suited as Minister of Health Promotion than Margarett Best, but McGuinty needed to replace the equivalent Maryanne Chambers (African Canadian and female) in cabinet.

Some Ontario northerners have expressed to me their content with Mike Gravelle becoming Northern Development and Mines minister. They say it is a nice change from the non-action of Rick Bartolucci.

Personally, I am happy to see Michael Chan receive a promotion to Citizenship and Immigration. (Chan's predecessor, former Markham MPP and current Markham Regional Councillor Tony Wong, must be PISSED with smoke coming out of his head right about now). I am also glad to see hardworking MPP's like Monique Smith and Deb Matthews get promoted into cabinet.

Cabinet making is one of the toughest jobs of a government leader. As Adam Radwanski, from the Globe and Mail, said today in his blog, Dalton has performed a strategic shuffle and has obviously learned some lessons from the mistakes of his former federal counterpart, Jean Chretien. .

newfoundland and labrador wordmark

2007-10-30T14:08:00.000-04:00

Image Source:(http://www.gov.nl.ca/)

I would like to direct everyone's attention to the new wordmark for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Personally, for a government website, I think the wordmark looks very immature and unprofessional. It looks like its a children's clothing store sign. It's a bad choice of font and graphics.

The website goes onto describe their "signature Brand" (http://www.gov.nl.ca/brand/).

How will the world recognize us? They will recognize us by a symbol that represents our natural beauty, humanity, and the strength of our collective character.

I understand the reasoning behind the pitcher plants, but what is the deal with the generic, daycare-ish and comic-ish font?

Something as small as a wordmark may seem insignificant. But marketing and visual aesthetics is extremely important. The word mark is what symbolises your province/country to the rest of the world.

They need something like what British Columbia government is using, shown here http://www.gov.bc.ca/. Or the New Brunswick government wordmark: http://www.gnb.ca/index-e.asp

Newfoundland and Labrador deserves better. It deserves something more professional.

early leaks

2007-10-30T13:14:00.000-04:00

Here are some early leaks according to KW's The Record (http://news.therecord.com/News/article/263034) and other sources. I'm shocked, if this is true, at how many new ministers there are. I'm also shocked that Ramsay, Kwinter and Peters got dumped.

The newbies

John Milloy (Kitchener Centre) - Training, Colleges, and Universities
Margaret Best (Scarborough Guildwood) - Health Promotion
Aileen Carroll (Barrie) - Culture
Deb Matthews (London North Centre) - Children and Youth Services (also chair of new and powerful anti-poverty committee)
Ted McMeekin (Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale) - Government Services
Brad Duguid (Scarborough Centre) - Labour
Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay - Superier North) - Northern Development and Mines
Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East-Cooksville) - Tourism
Monique Smith (Nippissing) - Revenue
John Wilkinson (Perth-Wellington) - Research and Innovation

Returning Shuffled Ministers

Chris Bentley - Attorney General
Michael Bryant - Aboriginal Affairs
Jim Bradley - Transportation
John Gerrettson - Environment
Dwight Duncan - Finance
Gerry Phillips - Energy
Jim Watson - Municipal Affairs and Housing

Stayed the same... zzzzzz

David Caplan - Public Infrastructure Renewal
Kathleen Wynne - Education
Sandra Pupatello - Economic Development and Trade
George Smitherman - Health and Long Term Care

Supposedly dumped to the backbenches

Steve Peters (formerly Labour)
Laurel Broten (formerly Environment)
David Ramsay (formerly Natural Resources and Aboriginal Affairs)
Monte Kwinter (formerly Community Safety and Correctional Services)

Re-elected Incumbent ministers with no news yet (or any that I've heard or read)...

Michael Chan (formerly Revenue)
Donna Cansfield (formerly Transportation)
Leona Dombrowsky (formerly Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs)
Madeleine Meilleur (former Community and Social Services, Persons with Disabilities, and Francophone Affairs)
Harinder Takhar (formerly Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship)
Rick Bartolucci (formerly Northern Development and Mines)

Cabinet shuffles and announcements are super exciting for political junkies. They are like sport team trades for sports lovers.

___________________________________________________

* UPDATE (http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/271905)

Michael Chan - moves to Citizenship and Immigration (good move Dalton!!)
Rick Bartolucci - moves to Community Safety and Correctional Services
Donna Cansfield - moves to Natural Resources
Harinder Takar - stays in Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship

I assume...
Leona Dombrowsky - stays in Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Madeleine Meilleur - stays in Community and Social Services

ndp shenanigans

2007-10-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

The NDP are at it again. This time preventing finance minister Jim Flaherty from presenting his economic update in the House of Commons, where he can be AT LEAST, minimally, be held accountable by being questioned afterward by opposition finance critics.

Instead, Jack and his extreme-left loonies is going to give Jimmy and Stevey another free card by allowing him to have an all-out photo-op by presenting the economic update in a venue where opposition parties can't do anything.

NDP House Leader Libby Davies was on Politics with Don Newman yesterday. According to her, the reason the NDP did not grant consent to have this "last minute change in agenda" was to not "allow the Conservatives to use the House of Commons as a propaganda tool". I agreed with her that the Conservatives are obviously using this last minute economic update, and the many other ultimatums in the past, as means of playing politics. (Paul Martin and Ralph Goodale did this before too). But given the circumstances and the stobborness of the Tories, they will obviously deliver the update elsewhere where no one can touch them. John McCallum is right, since the finance committee isn't set up, the next best option is the House.

By giving the Regressive Conservative government uncontrolled free reign, you Dippers aren't being the all-mighty opposition party you guys have been touting to be.

argentina breaks the glass ceiling

2007-10-28T20:32:00.000-04:00

Argentina has elected a former first lady, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, as their first female president. Now let's see the U.S. do the same thing and elect a former first lady into office.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071028.wargy1028/BNStory/Front/home

the way it works... my thoughts

2007-10-27T16:12:00.000-04:00

So I finally finished reading "The Way it Works: Inside Ottawa" by none other than the man himself, Eddie Goldenberg. Eddie was Jean Chretien's Sr. Policy Adviser and has been with Jean ever since he was Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development in Lester Pearson's government in the 60's. Having been a staff member in various ministerial offices and the PMO, I think there couldn't have been a better person to write such a book. And not to mention the fact that he was the glue that held Jean Chretien and his finance minister Paul Martin together for so long. Eddie plays an important "behind the scenes" role in the success of the Chretien Liberals and the history of Canada.

The title "Way it Works" is somewhat deceiving as it is not so much about HOW Ottawa works from behind the scenes, but more so stories and chronicles of his life as Chretien's "sidekick". This book is highly recommended for political junkies everywhere of all political stripes. Eddie tries really hard to keep a fairly bipartisan tone in the book and tries to make generalizations about the realities of being in government and in opposition. There were many interesting points in the book that stood out that I would like to share with everyone:

Contrary to popular belief, Jean Chretien had a fairly "Laissez-faire" management style as Prime Minister. Chretien tried to delegate as much as possible and, for the most part, tried not to interfere in the decision making of his ministers.
Chretien insisted that the PMO is no there to second-guess ministers or try to do their jobs for them. (pg. 73)
So this "dictator" reputation Chretien got near the end of his term as PM, from what I believe, was mostly noise and heckling from the Martin camp. Unlike our current PM, dictatorship was far from Chretien's style.
Chretien was a very laid back type of guy but as PM, he wanted his ministers and staff to tell him what they really thought instead of what they thought he wanted to hear. But unfortunately that is not always the case. As Eddie says
Everything a prime minister says is unfortunately taken by some as coming from the fount of all wisdom. Often the prime minister is just throwing out an idea or suggestion for debate and discussion; yet, inevitably to his surprise, it is solemnly transcribed as if it were one of the Ten Commandments. (pg. 83)
Chretien always suspected that Paul Martin was always extra conservative in his projections and spending as finance minister, so that he could keep resources for when he becomes Prime Minister.
As a standard answer when asked why leaders like Chretien would meet with dictators with abysmal human rights records, like Fidel Castro, is that in order to create "constructive change", we need to participate in "constructive engagement".
In order to get rid of the horrendous deficit left behind from the Trudeau and Mulroney years and to bring the country's finances back into check, Paul Martin had to make many cuts in areas across the board in his 1995 budget. The department that took the biggest hit was the department of national defense. However, after 9-11, contrary to what critics say, security spending topped almost $8 billion. However, because it was spread out and allocated as "new spending" in various departments like Transport, Immigration, and the Solicitor General, it made made it seem as if the Chretien government didn't do much. In retrospect, Eddie says that the government should have instead categorized the entire 8 billion as "defense spending".
Eddie brought up the idea of former NYC mayor Mario Cuomo's philosophy of "campaigning in poetry and governing in prose". Because Canadians "expect" their government to keep the country's finances in check as a basic responsibility, they have little interest in hearing during an election campaign run in prose that only touts the government's record. Instead Canadians, want to hear more poetry and be enlightened about the party's plans an ideas for the future. Trudeau made this mistake in 1976 and almost lost what was expected to be a cake-walk election. Chretien also made this mistake in 1997 and campaigned more on the Liberals' record of balancing the books instead ideas for the future and as a result, was reduced to a smaller majority. Also, if one can remember back to the 2003 Quebec general election, Bernard Landry and Parti Quebecois' election slogan was "Restons Forts" ("stay strong" in French) and campaigned mostly on the stability of the PQ brought to the province. In the end, Landry's PQ was defeated and gave way to Jean Charest's majority government.
Chretien, after becoming leader of the official opposition back in 1990, helped rejuvenate and renew the Liberal Party. He helped bring the party's policies and ideas in line with modern times and the changing world and away from the old "idealized" days of Trudeau and Turner. Chretien put on the famous "Alymer Conference" in 1991. This was a very significant event for the Liberal Party and helped the party win back the confidence of Canadians. Maybe this is what Stephane Dion needs to do.
Many conservatives and other critics like to make the argument that Chretien did not make many significant achievements and for the most part "didn't do anything" for the country. In fact, Jean Chretien did A LOT during 3 majority mandates. Some programs and policies may not be as flashy and political savvy like Harper's "1% GST cut" but was more "behind the scenes" and was good for Canada's economy. To name a few

"Canada Research Chairs" was established by the Chretien government to help stop the academic brain drain the States. To those outside the world of academia, this may not seem important, but it was a crucial to the Canada's reputation and stability
"Canadian Foundation for Innovation" and the "Canada Opportunities Strategy" were among the other economic development programs set up by Chretien government
"Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation". As a former student, I personally benefited from this program and am very thankful for the support that was provided. This was a program that was brought about by Chretien himself and not by any of his ministers.
"Canadian Institutes of Health Research" was set up to ensure Canada's leading role in the health research.
The Chretien Liberals fixed the country's finances. It is because of Paul Martin's fiscal prudence and Jean Chretien's leadership, that Stephen Harper can now spend and politically arm twist to govern like he has a majority.
Same sex couples across the country, like any straight couple, can now get married. In the words of Paul Martin, "We're a nation of minorities and in a nation of minorities you don't cherry-pick rights".
Some saw this as a smart move, and some saw this as a really dumb move. Regardless of what you think what Chretien did forever changed the way political parties work. Chretien, in an attempt to increase public trust in the government, forever changed political party financing by banning all corporate and trade union contributions.

Lastly, to my surprise, many significant events in the history of politics occurred on June 23, 1990. That day, coincidentally, happened to be my 7th birthday. On June 23rd, 1990,

the Meech Lake Accord officially died
Jean Chretien became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Lucien Bouchard was in the process of forming the Bloc Quebecois.

So I recommend EVERYONE to go buy this book. Check it out!

My next political book adventure:

"The War Room: Political Strategies for Business, NGOs, and Anyone Who Wants to Win" by Warren Kinsella

mmp in taiwan

2007-10-26T16:48:00.000-04:00

I have a political junky friend currently living in the city of Taichung, Taiwan. He was describing to me their new electoral system for their upcoming federal legislative assembly elections on January 12, 2008:

"The legislative election next Jan will use first-past-the-post system for constituencies and another ballot for 'at-large' legislators=vote for party ballot"

I was like... why in the world does that sound so familiar... and then it hit me... they're using the MMP system, which we just overwhelmingly voted down here in Ontario. My friend assured me that these "at large" legislators wouldn't be considered "second class" because there are some really big names on the "lists" of both parties. Then I asked him about any possible cronyism involved. He responded to that by telling me that these 'big names" would be placed low on the "list" (e.g. #15) to be an "at large" legislator. The responses were very fluff but it's still very interesting.

I would like to ask him how it works out for them in the upcoming years.

greg's out

2007-10-26T15:23:00.000-04:00

This is a big shock to me. I thought McGuinty would hold on to Sorbara for dear life since he was one of masterminds behind the two Liberal election victories. I have a feeling there is more to this than "personal reasons" since it is sooo close to the day when the new cabinet is being announced and sooo soon after the election. I smell fishiness.

So who's gonna be the new Minister of Finance? hmmmm... this makes way for someone like George Smitherman or Dwight Duncan to be promoted. I think Dwight did a good job back in 2005 during the Sorbara RCMP investigation and deserves to be put back into the treasurer's job. I think Georgy boy, if he is being moved out of health, would be more suited for the environment portfolio than finance.

This is going to be interesting.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071026.wsorbara1026/BNStory/National/home

the damage has been done

2007-10-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

It took the man an entire two weeks AFTER a humiliating election loss in the province and in his own riding to FINALLY see the light. Too little, too late for Johnny boy?

Source: "Tory backs off from contentious funding policy", toronto.CTV.ca, Wed., Oct. 24, 2007, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071024/Tory_leadership_071024/20071024?hub=QPeriod

christina blizzard likens hillier to smitherman

2007-10-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

Christina Blizzard, the right leaning columnist for the Toronto Sun, says that the PC leader should use newly elected controversial MPP Randy Hillier (Lanark - Frontenac - Lennox - Addington) as the Liberals did with George Smitherman while in opposition as the "attack dog".

But Ms. Blizzard forgets to mention the fact that Hillier was once arrested for illegal actions for anti-government protests (which puts him at odds with his past as an MPP). Not to mention the fact that Mr. Hillier's history of rhetoric is so rural-oriented and so anti-urban establishment and development that Mr. Tory's use of him in the legislature would only be limited to a certain scope.

Yes, one can make the argument that Smitherman is very urban/downtown Toronto oriented. But he was never the president of a partisan, special interest group and was never arrested for illegal activity. Nor did Smitherman ever take pictures of dead animals and proceed to send them to Harris cabinet ministers. And Smitherman, most definitely, never spewed anti-Quebec, anti-native, anti-arts, anti-gay, or anti-multicultural rhetoric before becoming a MPP.

Other than the fact that they are both outspoken individuals, these two very different men cannot be paralleled as having equal credibility and having equal political effectiveness at Queen's Park. Can you imagine a Deputy Premier and Agriculture Minister Randy Hillier in a John Tory government? I sure can't. That would be as lethal to the PC party as Harper appointing Rob Anders into his cabinet.

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Blizzard_Christina/2007/10/24/4600837-sun.php

sneaky harpy and the week from hell

2007-10-22T09:12:00.001-04:00

I've got to say, that Harpy is one sneaky man. He's got to be one of the most opportunistic and strategic politicians I have seen in a long time.

First by killing three crime bills by proroguing parliament. Then bringing them back as a packaged, "4 for 1" omnibus crime bill (as a confidence measure), thus giving off an illusion to the politically apatheic electorate that there is a great "need to pass them off quickly" and that the Tories are actually "tough on crime". And if it fails to pass, the blame can be placed on the opposition. And Dion, our fearless leader, has no other choice but to play along with his antics as our numbers in the polls continue to slide and while being laughed at by members across the aisle.

Is it fair to say we might face a "Turner"esque anihilation in the next election? I can't even say for sure myself. It all depends on how well Dion disciplines the Liberal benches and how well he manages to work around Harpy's political slyness in the upcoming weeks.

First the throne speech, then the omnibus crime bill, what's next? Some say this "week from hell" may have ended with Garneau coming back on board... I personally think it has only just begun. Sigh...

garneau's back with the pack

2007-10-19T15:07:00.001-04:00

So Marc Garneau is back with the Liberal team after all that huffing and puffing. This time he's running in the supposed Liberal Montreal stronghold of Westmount-Ville Marie. I don't know if there is such a thing as a Liberal stronghold anymore in Quebec. We thought Outremont would be a cake-walk and look what happened. This time around, I would like to remind the LPC to not take Montrealer's for granted. Garneau is no Lucienne Robillard.

I like how Dion's new Quebec lieutenent, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, has come out admitting and recognizing the faults of the Grits in Quebec, one of which is being too distant from grassroot supporters. It's time we stop the arrogance and rebuild that trust.

I still remember the days when Quebecers were appalled by Preston Manning and the Reform Party. Now a former Reform MP, our good ol' PM Stephen Harper, is riding high in polls in la belle province. What happened? What went wrong?

breaking the glass ceiling? hmmmm.....

2007-10-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

Next year, the US may make history by electing their first ever female president.
At the moment, I believe Hilary has a pretty safe hold on the Democratic nomination.As much as I do want Hilary to be the United State's next President, I think she is too devisive of a figure for many reasons. Americans either hate her or love her. In order to win the presidency, she needs to gain approval from everyone. That is going to be an uphill battle for her especially in the critical electoral college states like Florida and Ohio (which tend to lean Republican).

Not only does she hold baggage as a former First Lady and a questionable voting record as a US Senator. But the fact that she is a women, as sad as it may sound, will deter some Americans from voting for her. I find it odd that some Americans/Canadians feel that the country is not ready for a female leader. Then when are we "ready"? The next century? Give me a break. A great example is Nancy Pelosi. She has demonstrated that females can be just as good of leaders as her male counterparts. Her performance as Speaker of the House, I believe, has been quite good considering the tiny majorities she has to work with and considering the Republican cronies she has to constantly deal with in the White House.

In the US and Canada we always take pride in our equality, freedom, etc.. etc... but yet we seem to only be electing middle-age to senior citizen white men, for the most part, to be our government leaders (with the exception of the few months Kim Campbell was in power... whom we didn't elect anyways). But yet, in other countries, some whose records on human rights are deemed infurior to ours, female leaders leaders have been elected as the head of government/head of state and have done a fairly effective job. So what are we waiting for?

Here in Canada, even though Shiela Copps, Hedy Fry and Martha Hall Findley didn't stand a chance in winning the leadership of the LPC in the past (or Belinda for the CPC), they deserve more respect and encouragement for trying to "break the glass ceiling".

If the US takes the lead by electing Hilary as their commander in chief, I am sure it will give Canadians something to think about. Maybe then Canadians will start to seriously consider increasing the level of estrogen in the PMO, Premiers offices, and Mayoral offices across the country.

congrats helena and rahim

2007-10-18T21:53:00.000-04:00

Ontario Tory MP and junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis and Alberta Tory MP Rahim Jaffer are getting married. Congrats! May you two have lots of little Tory minions.

They really kept their relationship low key. I was surprised when I heard the news. It's not a headliner Iike the Stronach-McKay fling I guess.

(Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071018/torymps_altar_071018/20071018?hub=QPeriod)

religious hoopla overrides reality and common sense... once again

2007-10-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

Trustees from the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (here in Ontario, near Sault St. Marie) have voted against giving HPV vaccinations to Grade 8 girls.

Trustees opposed to the motion argued that providing a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease, rather than dealing with the issue through promotion of abstinence, goes against their Catholic values and assumes premarital sex is occurring.
(Source: "Sault Catholic board votes against vaccinating girls for HPV", The Globe and Mail, October 18, 2007)

I think the Catholic church should wake up and join the rest of us in the 21st century. They should spend less time going against common sense and the realities of society and should instead spend more time being less hypocritical by putting more resources toward cleaning up the corruption within their own church. Premarital sex is a reality, even among priests in the Catholic church. I'm being blunt, but its the truth.

This is another reason why we DON'T need to start publicly funding other religious schools. It's bad enough already.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071018.wsaulthpv1017/BNStory/National/home

john tory cronies

2007-10-18T09:06:00.000-04:00

So some members of the Ontario PC party wants John Tory to stay. Just look at this website http://www.tory2011.com/.

Read "Top Ten Reasons John Tory must stay as PC leader". The reasons are as ambiguous and lame as his election campaign.

The problem is ladies and gentlemen, John Tory doesn't have a seat in the house. If I were a newly elected MPP in a conservative stronghold, I would not step down, for a leader who has failed us miserably, to allow him to run in a by-election.

This website stinks of desperation from the red Tory faction of the Ontario PC party. You can sense the neo-con 'Harris'sites smell blood and are ready to pounce.

grits halt potential election.. for now

2007-10-18T08:44:00.000-04:00

The throne speech, which was delievered by Governor General Michaelle Jean Tuesday night, was largely seen as a potential election platform for Stephen Harper and his Conservative government. It contained many broad issues from arctic soverignty to tax relief (including another percent drop in the GST)

I was listening to the podcast of CBC's Politics with Don Newman this morning on the bus on the way to work. The general message I got from the broadcast was that the Liberals are only delaying their humiliation. By "approving" the throne speech, they are essentially pushing themselves further into a corner. Various bills, which the Liberals have opposed in the past (e.g. toughening of Youth Justice Act... which is in the omnibus crime bill to be introduced soon in the house), will presented in the upcoming months. So essentially, sooner or later, a confidence motion will be presented again by Harper. Dion will be hard pressed to either trigger an election or continue to drag their feet. But yesterday, the Liberals had no choice. The throne speech contained lots of "wiggle room" and there was no one issue that was critical enough for Dion and the Grits to call an election over. It would be foolish for him to do so as the contents of the speech would be hard to campaign against. Not to mention how unprepared they are.

Stephane Dion just appointed Liberal senator Céline Hervieux-Payette as his Quebec lieutenant. It's very rare for a leader to appoint a senator as his Quebec "right hand WOman" but he had no choice. After Marcel Proulx resigned from the job, two other veteran Quebec MP's, Denis Coderre and Pablo Rodriguez, declined the offers from Dion. This should be interesting.

So Harper finally decides to drop the "Canada's New Government" bit. HA!

becoming partisan

2007-10-17T12:31:00.000-04:00

A lot of my friends ask me, "Why do you always support the Liberal party?" That is a very good question and I'll be glad to elaborate on the reasons why I chose to jump on board the wonderful world of partisan politics by supporting a certain party.

1. Family
My family immigrated to Canada in 1986. In Hong Kong, even though it was under British rule, we didn't have the luxury to democratically vote our government leaders. Nor were there services and cultural aspects, which a lot of us take for granted here in Canada, like universal healthcare and multiculturalism. When we moved to Canada, with a big distaste for the communist movement in China, my parents happily embraced the diversity that was handed to us. They saw Canada as a balanced society and have always instilled in me the importance of such moderation. My parents saw a Canada with a social conscience with accessible public services such as universal healthcare and the Canadian Pension Plan. The social conscience extends beyond public services into the acceptance of various cultures, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations and religions all living together in the same country with minimal conflict. My parents also saw Canada as a competitive capitalist society with excellent job and education opportunities and as a land where governments (for the most part) strive to be fiscally responsible. All these components are fundamental to the Canada my parents chose to raise their family in. The federal and provincial governments in power play a big role in how this country is shaped. Instead of sitting idly by and letting others decide our future for us, my family decided to exercise our democratic rights and take a stand and form an opinion regarding the various issues and where we stand on our values. We saw that the Liberal Party of Canada was, and still is, the most moderate and centre of the spectrum party to provide us with the social and fiscal balance we value so much in our family.

Growing up, starting at a very young age, my father would frequently tell me about the parliamentary system and the political dynamics in Canada. He has always encouraged me to always be informed about politics. My interest grew and grew and during high school I took the "awareness" a step further by becoming involved. What better way to step into the world of politics by being part of the team. For me, that team is the Liberal team.

2. Being in the front line
Within the past 10 years, I have worked on 5 different election campaigns. The foundation of these election campaigns are run by the many passionate partisan volunteers who believe that their local candidate, party, and or party leader is the best and should win. You get to experience all the background political drama that takes place and the immense amount of energy and work that is needed to win an election. As you become more involved in the party, you get to help mold and shape policies, and if successfully elected, you are indirectly helping to mold Canada.

3. Meeting new people
Let me tell you... the interesting people I have met, from all political stripes, throughout my years of involvement with the party has made it all worth it.

4. Personal development
By taking a stand and jumping on the wagon of a specific political party, I got involved in debates and discussions everywhere I went. By forcing myself to defend my values and my beliefs it has definitely helped me grow as a person. Not only has it helped me gain self-confidence and greatly improve my communication skills , but it has also helped me be a better problem solver.

5. The game
When you are involved with a certain party, you become part of the game. Politics is a game of strategy. All the cabinet shuffles, the appointments, the throne speeches, the confidence votes, the elections, the ruthless question periods and the "loud mouth" politicians, etc, all are part of the exciting game which main goal is to convince people to vote for you. Strategy is everything.

Will I take a shot at running for office in the future? Maybe? Too early to tell.

speech from the throne

2007-10-17T08:12:00.000-04:00

Some of my friends have been asking me whether I think Dion should support the speech and swallow the "Kyoto targets cannot be met" "poisoned pill" that Harper has conveniently slipped in. I believe Dion should recognize that Canadians simply doesn't want another election so soon after the previous one (not to mention we just had on in Ontario) and allow the government to continue doing their job. This can be done by having some MPs, including himself, vote against the speech and have some MPs not show up to the vote. This is politically devious, but it has been done before by all parties and it will be used again.

you used the 'w' word! gasp

2007-10-16T21:56:00.000-04:00

You sanctimonious 'weathervane', you!

Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/267582