Potash and the Canadian corporate elite
So the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan drama is about to come to a head Wednesday with the Harper government’s decision on whether or not to approve the takeover bid by Australia’s mega corporation BHP Billiton. Most are predicting that Harper will cave under the pressure from Brad Wall, Saskatchewan Party premier and...
The Green Party...of small business?
When asked recently what she thought of Jack Layton’s proposal to increase the payout of the Canada Pension Plan (by gradually increasing premiums paid by workers and employers) Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party replied:“I’m not sure why Jack would propose that. I think that’s a very poor idea. It would constitute...
Reckless and ruinous: Harper's economics
What are the key issues that progressives need to be fighting to rid the country of Stephen Harper's wrecking crew? One is the tar sands and the Enbridge pipeline, which would see giant oil tankers plying the waters off the B.C. coast. Another key issue is the Harper government's oft-announced plan to begin its so-called...
Fox News North – Not! Savour the victory
It’s quite a come down. From in-your-face arrogance to a total retreat in a matter of a few months, the big money behind Quebecor’s determination to set up a Fox news North is now looking pretty humble.There’s no doubt that part of this is overreach on the part of Pierre Karl Peladeau and his junkyard-dog front man Kory...
Leaders, parties and businesses that ignore Blogosphere do so at their peril
Almost hate to admit it, but I am old enough to remember the advent of television in Canada. In Montreal, in the early 1950s, it all began with two television stations: CBMT (English) and CBFT (French), and we would watch, mesmerized by anything they broadcast',even the Indian head test patterns, with their various very...
Don't give Canada a Security Council seat
Stephen Harper's hypocritical performance at the United Nations, in aid of winning a seat for Canada on the Security Council, should be enough by itself for Canadians to rise up in unison and say we don't deserve it. Both the NDP and Liberals have said that the seat is for Canada, not for the Conservatives, and that...
Anti-recall strategy: Attack the messenger, not the message
The Liberal strategy for fighting recall is now very clear: go after Bill VanderZalm personally, since they apparently don’t believe they can beat recall on the issues. And their attack strategy has been picked up by their mouthpieces in the media: either deliberately, trying to scuttle recall, or naively by taking up the...
Carole James courts the carpetbaggers
So Carole James thinks meeting with business is going to help her look like a leader. Good luck with that. No one will take this sad effort seriously – not her supporters, who want her to represent them which means against the reactionary interests of business. And certainly not business who will only be impressed with an NDP...
Do we need a Police State Watch?
Last spring I wrote a column called “Is this what a police state looks like” in response to the dangerous police actions surrounding the G20 Summit in Toronto. I argued–as many have–that police states don’t pop up full blown over night. They develop slowly in direct proportion to people’s willingness to accept new definitions...
Carole James: Say it ain't so!
NDP leader Carole James was so quiet for so long, many of her own supporters wondered where she was all summer. With the HST and the Liberals imploding, it would have been a great time for the wanna-be Premier to show her stuff, to take the lead, to convince British Columbians she’s no wasteful socialist extremist. Then she...
