It’s easy to get cynical and believe that change isn’t happening. Want to shake that chill? Just take a quick look at the announcments in today’s news alone. 1. Saudi women are driving. They are challenging the archaic rules that ban them from driving cars, a pretty basic act in the rest of the world. [...]
Polarized politics in Canada?
Friday, May 6th, 2011Remember Ayn Rand? Alan Greenspan was one of her most famous protégés and her ideas continue to influence right-wing conservatives and libertarians. You can even find Rand slogans imbedded in the Tea Party movement. After the May 2nd federal election results in Canada—and the fears of polarity politics looming large—I found myself inexplicably drawn to [...]
The rewards of politics: It all starts with the nomination
Monday, March 28th, 2011By: Gary Mason While no one would suggest that federal politics offers an easy life, it can certainly present some rich rewards. The base salary of nearly $160,000 isn’t bad. Get into cabinet and you can tack on another $75,000 a year. Then there’s a nice housing allowance, and don’t forget the pension plan. So [...]
Behind that Prentice Wikileak
Friday, December 24th, 2010By: Colby Cosh Much like “Jurist”, I had to laugh at the headlines conjured up in the wake of the most interesting Wikileaks revelation so far concerning Canada. The Globe, summarizing the leaked minute of a private meeting between former Environment Minister Jim Prentice and U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson, says “[Prentice] threatened to impose new [...]
Prentice was ready to curb oilsands: WikiLeaks
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010By: CBC News Former environment minister Jim Prentice told U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson that he was prepared to step in and impose tougher regulations on the oilsands if the industry damaged Canada’s green reputation, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks. “[Prentice] noted that if industry did not take voluntary measures and if the provincial [...]
Oilsands Report Response
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010By: CBC News Environment Minister John Baird talks about the Oilsands Advisory Panel report that is critical of the government for not doing enough to monitor the environmental impact of oilsands development in Alberta. Watch Full Video. Source: http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/oilsands-report-response/16a0c0476?from=gallery_enca_News_Topstories_CBC
Oilsands Panel Calls for Critical Fixes
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010By: CBC News A high-level scientific panel has sharply criticized the water quality monitoring system in Alberta’s oilsands, going so far as to say ‘there is no system’ Read Full Article. Source: http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/oilsands-panel-calls-for-critical-fixes/16a0zsg6w?from=gallery_enca_News_Topstories_CBC
Are we skirting the issue of gender imbalance in political leadership?
Monday, September 6th, 2010On August 29th, the Calgary Leadership Forum hosted a much-needed public debate among candidates running for Mayor of Calgary. The forum gave voters in our city a chance to hear from candidates directly on strategies to fund the airport tunnel and otherwise transform Calgary into a ‘world-class’ city. Eleven male candidates participated in this debate. [...]
Can a politician be fiscally conservative… and have a social heart?
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Can political leaders declare themselves to be fiscally conservative…and in the next breathe, say that they have a social heart? That’s exactly what former CTV news anchor —Barb Higgins—announced at the launch of her campaign to run for Mayor of Calgary. In my last blog on political integrity, I promised to look at how conservatives [...]
Political Vigilance – Part 3
Monday, July 5th, 2010“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” It’s funny that it was a politician–American President Thomas Jefferson–who recognized the need for eternal vigilance to preserve freedom and liberty in a democracy. A political leader telling us how important it is to hold governments and political institutions accountable. Hmm…. In this blog, I want to talk [...]