Canada's Debate

Scott is going to chuckle upon seeing this, but I just can’t resist commenting on the latest on developments in the Suaad Hagi Mohamud story. During a bbq held this past week for Progressive Bloggers the discussion of both her and Abdul Razik came up a few times, and the subject invariably came to [...]

Well, I’m going to shut down Canada’s Debate. While my interest in politics has not abated, my enthusiasm for talking about it has. I am engaged in a new business venture with a couple of colleagues and that is going to consume the bulk of my online “bandwidth” for the foreseeable future. [...]

To the surprise of nobody, the Federal government is looking to sell AECL, one of the country’s last remaining profitable Crown Corporations.
The Harper government plans to put Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s nuclear reactor business up for sale.
It’s part of a major restructuring that will also mean private-sector management for AECL’s Chalk River research facility.
AECL [...]

I tend to participate in political discussions with Americans, and as the token-foreigner I often end up playing the role of “International Obligations” cheerleader. I’ve defended the International Criminal Court and emphasized the necessity for a real international Comity on justice and governance…
All of which leaves me in an uncomfortable position. The story [...]

The whole issue of the Reformers leaking Mulroney’s supposed departure from the Conservative party has been interesting pretty much right from the start. The conversation has been predominantly one of the “cracks” it reveals in the Reform-Progressive Conservative Alliance, and justifiably so. Harper wanted to distance his two-headed abortion of a Conservative party [...]

So Harper is trying to wrangle enough hunters and anglers to rally support for cancelling the Long-Gun Registry program. That fact alone isn’t news… the facts on this issue are not up for dispute: yes, it was expensive to start, but the program is now inexpensive to operate, law enforcement wants it but [...]

Simple question… Should Political Theory be taught in high-school? Our educational system seems to be designed to teach students the broad mechanics of government, but the education of civics does not provide any insight into how a young Canadian should learn to vote.
The foundation of any functioning democracy is a society that is [...]

When exactly did the current economic “situation” stop being a crisis and develop into a full-blown parody? Apparently the titular “head” of Ford Motor Company of Canada thinks that the solution to the stagnating auto-industry is to simply make it easier to buy cars.
The best way to rescue Canada’s battered auto sector is not [...]

Almost exactly one year ago I wrote the following:
As much as I love this city and think that it is truly one of the greatest places in the world to live, Toronto’s real character isn’t it’s diversity, or its food, or anything else along cultural lines; it’s the legacy of bad city planning.
Well, the only [...]

For those who missed it, the Toronto Star is reporting that Peter McKay has been suggested as a new head for NATO.
This isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard (no, that would be any idea involving a combination of Bev Oda and integrity), but it does set a new bar for the continuing disintegration of [...]

I have mixed feelings on the idea of “financial stimulus” actions by government, and neither the time nor the space to fully elucidate on them now. Suffice it to say, there are definitely pros and cons…
Anyways, I’ve seen something alarming in the current discussion of Canada’s stimulus actions. Take for example, this, taken [...]

I’ve written on the subject of justice several times on this site (although not very much recently), and apparently my words have wisdom have yet to achieve universal acceptance; if any of you could help out on that I’d appreciate it.
To wit, we have the case of Vince Li, the famous Greyhound beheader. I [...]

Please note that this is not a planned series of posts. The more I observe and evaluate the Middle-East peace process, the more I realize that there are a whole host of easily definable factors which prevent any sort of lasting peace from taking hold. As I see them, I will write about them.
Gizmodo [...]

I just came across a response to my earlier post about Sid Ryan and the recent CUPE boycott brouhaha. The author’s blog is called “To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth”.. and I can’t help but notice that there’s no mention of reading comprehension in that title. Now the blogger, a gentleman by the [...]

So everyone’s favourite fire-breathing hypocrite is making headlines again. Stephen Harper is loudly and proudly displaying his remarkable knack for being behind-the-times in speaking out against Iran’s evil ideology, at the same time that our U.S. neighbours are inching towards actual diplomacy.
Of course, the first reaction that most people are likely to have is that [...]