The Canadian Press reports that the “Harper government is trying, for the fourth time in four years, to impose eight-year term limits on the Senate … Legislation introduced Monday [March 29, 2010] would limit senators to a single, non-renewable term and would apply to all senators appointed since October 2008.” On an earlier theory, this […]
GANATSEKWYAGON, ON. SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010. As of just after 12 Noon today, the Washington Post online is reporting “House leaders express confidence they will secure enough votes to pass health bill.” But it still seems no one knows for sure (well, maybe?). Up here north of the Great Lakes, we watch with some amazement. […]
For those who may actually be interested, our resident Ontario historian Randall White has now unburdened himself on the Toronto Centre by-election in Ontario politics last week. He also offers some hard and soft information on the March 4 Ontario provincial by-elections, in Leeds-Grenville and Ottawa West-Nepean. CLICK HERE for the complete article, or see […]
More than 60 years ago Harold Innis, the almost-great Canadian historian (or economist, or economic historian, or communications theorist who inspired Marshall McLuhan, etc, etc), lamented the “futility of political discussion in Canada.” And it is sobering to think that in this respect at least not much has changed since the late 1940s. Take, for […]
The dead of winter always makes you a bit crazy in a northern country. Our resident Ontario historian Randall White’s deep-background investigation of the current great Canadian prorogation debate is apparently still a work in progress – with a new “almost firm” deadline of January 13 or 14 (or even 15?). Meanwhile, we counterweights editors […]
Our resident Ontario historian Randall White had a first swing at the Stephen Harper minority government’s latest prorogation of the Parliament of Canada last week. Since then the issue has been gathering more steam (in at least some old transcontinental railway towns, across our vast treasure-chest of natural and human resources, etc, etc). And Dr. […]
It seems that the great Tiger Woods is just getting in deeper and deeper. See, e.g., today’s Vancouver Sun: “Tiger Woods voicemail to alleged TV girlfriend released, third woman named as Tiger apologizes.” Or the Yahoo Canada site: “Golfer who introduced Elin to Tiger tees off on Woods.” To save his reputation someone is going […]
QUEEN’S PARK, TORONTO. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009. Believe it or not, at least for a few brief moments the Legislative Assembly in Canada’s most populous province of Ontario will be the centre of the Canadian Senate reform movement usually identified with Canada’s most oil-rich province of Alberta. After two earlier false starts, Ontario MLA Bob […]
The answer is of course Stephen Harper – back in January 1996, when he had less experience with Canada’s wicked capital city. (And thanks to such twitterers here as ktorrie – who also notes “Stephen Harper is unequalled in Canadian history as the only Prime Minister to make 27 Senate appointments in a single year.”) […]
The current quixotic and apparently only half-serious quest for Senate reform in Canada shows both the best and worst sides of the Stephen Harper Conservative minority government in Ottawa. There is a high-minded sense in which this relic of the 19th century desperately ought to be brought up to date, in the interests of a […]
