MetaFilter posts tagged with politics and Canada

A little help from his friends

salishsea — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:25:10 -0800

Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, sings "With A Little Help From My Friends" at a gala last night in Ottawa with Yo Yo Ma and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Harper survived a confidence vote this week with a little help from his former sworn enemies.

Obama's Got Options, Baby.

Naberius — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:54:43 -0800

Maybe America needs Barack more than Barack needs America... It's got to be tough being Barack Obama these days. Just managing to hang onto a slim lead in the polls against a truly horrifying Republican ticket - after eight years in which a Republican administration has all but destroyed the nation. Having to explain to people over and over again that no, he's really not a Muslim, and people still don't believe him. Sarah Palin. Maybe America isn't worth Barack's trouble. Maybe there's other fish in the sea, America. Maybe you ought to think about that a little and stop being this way. Canada has an election coming up too, and given what they've got to work with, more and more Canadians are starting to take a hard look south of the border.

Disturbing on many levels

mathowie — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:15:00 -0800

"It's the first time since Japanese Internment that we've imprisoned children" -- from a post displaying a letter written by a 9 year old Canadian.

Mythbusting Canadian Health Care

homunculus — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:11:03 -0800

Mythbusting Canadian Health Care, Part I. Part II: Debunking the Free Marketeers. [Via Orcinus.]

Canada's Back!!!

KokuRyu — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:16:43 -0800

PM Stephen Harper’s Canada Day greeting Harper adopts a hawkish, true-blue Tory tone for this year's Canada Day greeting, with an uncharacteristic (for a Canadian) shout-out to God: From championships in hockey to humanitarian and military leadership roles in Afghanistan and Haiti, we can say again this year, Canada is a citizen of the world and we make our contribution a positive one. And why shouldn`t we? From the natural wealth of the land that God created, to the talents, energy and imagination of people drawn from all the nations of the earth, we are a country that has been truly blessed.

Whistleblowing? Or just another angry anarchist?

Menomena — Thu, 17 May 2007 12:26:32 -0800

A Canadian public servant who leaked Conservative green policy documents, was taken away in handcuffs and fired - Jeffrey Monaghan calls the government's actions "a profound threat to the public interest" and "an extension of a government-wide communications strategy pinned on secrecy, intimidation and centralization."

The documents outlined the Conservative's dismissal of the Kyoto Protocol and were to be released to the public a week later. Let the media panic begin: some have focused on Monaghan's political activism, others accuse corporate media of scapegoating Monaghan. Question is - if the documents were to be released to the public anyway, is this even whistleblowing? The environment minister says no. NDP environment critic Nathan Cullen says yes. Liberal leader Stephane Dion calls the Tories' actions "an attempt of intimidation ... although I have no sympathy at all for leaks."

Quebec voters elect first minority provincial government since 1878

runningdogofcapitalism — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 20:12:39 -0800

Results of tonight's election in Quebec are in. The Quebec Liberal Party has managed just barely to hold onto power in that province, winning a minority government--the first time this has happened in la belle province since...well...since the year the phonograph was first patented. But there's an even bigger story. And that's the apparent collapse of the separatist Parti Québécois vote, in favour of the centre-right Action Démocratique Party, surprising just about everybody other than those who actually live in the province. Here's the breakdown in the vote as of 11:00PM:
Liberal (32.50%) - ADQ (31.19%) - PQ (28.48%). What these results mean for Canada's federal parliament---also in a minority situation---is anyone's guess at this point. The smart money is on Prime Minister Harper calling an early summer election. These results tonight would certainly give him reason to think that Quebec voters are in the mood for change. But like spring weather in these parts, things are quite changeable these days.

The Liberals reboot

bowline — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:32:53 -0800

Stephane Dion has been elected Canadian Liberal Party leader at a convention in Montreal. Barely third (by two votes) on last night's first ballot, Dion gained support today through each of the next three ballots he needed to reach the 50%+1 level. An Quebec academic known for his federalist writings, he was originally recruited by former PM Jean Chrétien to fight Quebec separatists in the mid-nineties. He served as intergovernmental affairs minister for several years under Chrétien, then later organized the UN Climate Change summit as environment minister. He now goes to Ottawa as Leader of the Opposition, in hopes of soon replacing current PM Stephen Harper.

Quebecois nation

stinkycheese — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:36:51 -0800

Quebecois now a nation. Arguably, this all started with Liberal Party leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff opening the Pandora's Box of Quebec nationhood earlier this fall, pondering whether the French-speaking province of Quebec should be granted some sort of special status. Canadians old enough to remember Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord feared the worst. Before you knew it, the Bloc was arguing that Quebec ought to be viewed as a "nation without conditions". Prime Minister Steven Harper then presented a motion to Parliament recognizing the Quebecois as a nation. The controversy raged, both from the Conservatives and the Liberals. Yesterday, the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted for the motion. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong has resigned. His statement. How will this change the country? How do nations operate within other nations? Who is a Quebecois anyways? How does this work? Could other groups in Canada be recognized as nations? And what about those separatists? Looks like they already want their own hockey team.

"The House recognises the member from Dooce"

docgonzo — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:34:02 -0800

Canada's governing Conservative Party has expelled one of its Members of Parliament -- for blogging. Garth Turner, Conservative MP for Halton, author of "The Turner ~~Diaries~~ Report" (link) was today suspended from the ruling party's caucus because of his blog. "There is [sic] attacks that were made on individuals, including the Prime Minister," explained Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer. "The theme of confidentiality was not being respected, in their opinion, and it restricted the ability for members to operate in a confidential way." At least one national pundit compares the exiling to 1984.

Hark, the Canadian Liberal Party Leaders speak!

orange swan — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 07:23:10 -0800

Comments that didn't get quoted because they weren't made.. Prominent Liberals have been jumping into the fray about the crisis in the Middle East and the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. Here are some (parodied) comments from them.

CBC Radio Available in Podcast Form

boost ventilator — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 05:44:47 -0800

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is pumping out a pile of podcasts that have covered the importance of offensive comics to Art Spiegelman, 600 bands over 54 shows, Captain America versus the American government, Amy Sedaris and geekdom, the journey of young immigrants, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut and Harper's publisher John MacArthur discussing Europe and America perspectives since 9/11, the after life, sex with monkeys, what radio producers do, the french word "corps", Bonnie Fuller's "The Joys of Much Too Much: Go For the Big Life — The Great Career, The Perfect Guy, and Everything Else You've Ever Wanted (Even If You're Afraid You Don't Have What It Takes)", Veteran Washington reporter Helen Thomas and some other bits & bobs [Breakdown inside]

Conservatives introduce fixed-date election bill

pezdacanuck — Tue, 30 May 2006 09:18:07 -0800

Are Canadians changing parliament? It seems that the minority government Conservative Party has introduced legislation to set fixed four year election dates, the third week in October. Some people seem to think it can work, and others don't. Evidently I fit into a minority position as I can't see the benefit of having a year long election runnup.

$1k reward for identity of blogger

boost ventilator — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:09:54 -0800

$1,000 CDN ($880.80 US) reward for exposing anonymous blogger: A Prince Edward Island business owner wants to punish a person by breaking their anonymity. According to the CBC, the targets are PEI Liberal Party (peiliberal.blogspot.com) and The Guardian (theguardianpeca.blogspot.com). More info: Don't Sue

Harvard Mice come home to roost

loquax — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:49:33 -0800

(CanCon Newsfilter): The vacant seat on the Supreme Court of Canada will be filled by Marshall Rothstein of the Federal Court of Appeal. Interesting enough, as he's the fellow that ruled that Harvard was entitled to patent a mouse (which was overturned by the SCC) and was involved in banning Ernst Zundel and David Irving from Canada. However there's a twist. For the first time in Canada, Stephen Harper's new Conservative government has decided that an all-party committee will question the nominee and provide recommendations to the PM (although the final decision rests with Harper, and the committee has no veto power).

Canada's 39'th General Election - a case for Proportional Representaion?

generichuman — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 12:10:03 -0800

Canada is about to head into its 39’th general election. Current Poles have the Bloc Quebecois at 8-12% of the national vote. Because it is concentrated in Quebec, this translates to 53 seats. The NDP, on the other hand, with 17-21% national support, is projected at only 23 seats as its support is spread across the entire country. With the main race between the Conservative and Liberal Parties, we’ve heard little about proportional representation. Even the NDP, which stands to gain most from throwing out the current plurality First Past the Post system, has been oddly silent about this plank in its platform. The question is, why?

Dial-a-Candidate

Hanover Phist — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 09:02:23 -0800

2006 Canadian vote selector quiz! Politics Watch brings us the new Vote Selector Quiz for the Canadian election, which is less than a week away. 18 questions that should pin down your candidate for you. But sadly, this too is Green free.

What if Canada's ruling party was ousted because of copyright reform?

GuyZero — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 15:22:05 -0800

What if Canada's ruling party was ousted because of copyright reform? Sarmite Bulte, Canadian MP and incumbent in the January 23 election, has been getting a lot of press in the "blogosphere" as of late - too bad it's all negative. Ms. Bulte, the primary backer of Bill C-60, a copyright reform bill, is accused of taking a lot of money from industry lobbyists. She may not be Tom Delay, but in a minority government where every seat counts, Bulte's loss could swing the minority government from the Liberals to the Conservatives - based on an issue that has hardly any newspaper coverage.

Quebec Political Cartoons

angrybeaver — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 17:21:36 -0800

Le Cornichon seems to be Quebec's version of The Onion with a strong political bent. There are many excellent political cartoons covering the sponsorship scandal, Kyoto, and other issues.

Movie posters of your favourite politician: Jeancula, The Godfather, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton as Canada Man, and Paul Martin starring in Pirate of Canada, Paul Almighty and The Aviator. And it's always cool to see a vamped Duceppe.

British and American mefites need not feel left out, Bush and Blair make multiple appearances.

CBC has a fine collection of newspaper cartoons about the current election. (unfortunately they are in a flash wrapper that Firefox has trouble getting through).

Canada's Government to Fall

five fresh fish — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 12:42:53 -0800

Canada boots out its government: the Non-confidence Vote. A binding, non-confidence vote is being tabled and the minority parties -- which collectively hold a majority of seats -- agree to support it. It's also a bit historical: it has been more than a century since a general, binding non-confidence vote has been tabled all by itself, unattached to a big-issue item like the budget.

DaVinci's Successor

docgonzo — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 20:49:13 -0800

On one side: Jim Green, the Alabama-born, opera-loving Vietnam draft-dodger, a hard-nosed community activist and the choice of the local tabloid and the outgoing mayor (himself the inspiration for not one but two Canadian television series) who together fought to bring harm-reduction (i.e. sanity) to Vancouver's drug-plagued downtown eastside; on the other: Sam Sullivan, the surprising underdog, a paraplegic -- and former lead singer in the "Spinal Chords" -- who, he's proud to say, was flat on his back and on welfare 20 years ago, then taught himself Cantonese and is the longest-serving member of city council. Who will be the next mayor of Vancouver? (It'll be close.)

Coming out/going out

docgonzo — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:22:53 -0800

He's young, telegenic, bilingual, a Harvard grad... and now André Boisclair, the youngest person ever elected to a seat in Quebec's National Assembly, is the new leader of the Parti Quebecois, the nationalist -- as in Quebec nationalist -- left-leaning party founded to take Canada's mostly french-speaking province out of the federation. Oh, and he's gay. And an admitted (former) cocaine user (although that might be a good thing.) Oh, and, according to the polls, the next Premier Ministre of Quebec.

" You cannot name a Canadian prime minister who has done as many significant things as I did, because there are none"

loquax — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 17:31:24 -0800

As author Peter C. Newman writes in an explosive new book: "He bugs us still." : The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister is due for release this fall, and it's safe to say that it will likely be the most intimate and personal behind the scenes look at what a Canadian Prime Minister is actually thinking. That's because it's based on alleged secret tapings of private conversations between Brian Mulroney and Peter Newman, the man enlisted to write Mulroney's biography. Oh, and it's really juicy (for Canadian politics junkies at least). On Trudeau:"He didn't want anybody to succeed where he had failed. Trudeau's contribution was not to build Canada but to destroy it, and I had to come in and save it. Three times I've achieved unanimity. In 16 years, he couldn't do it once, the 'great statesman.'"

Maple Leaf Neighborhourliness

illiad — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 11:36:46 -0800

Vancouver's elite Urban SAR team has been and returned, having helped out in New Orleans in the way they were trained. There's more help on the way from Canada, in the form of Operation Unison; this includes a a Canadian Navy flotilla consisting of the destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, the frigates HMCS Toronto and HMCS Ville de Quebec and the Canadian Coast Guard boat tender HMCS Sir William Alexander. The flotilla carries around 1000 servicepeople, many of them medical and rescue specialists, in addition to engineering and construction crews. Additionally, forty Canadian navy clearance divers will be accompanying the relief force. Despite recent diplomatic spats between our two nations (notably over Iraq, cattle and softwood lumber) we remain good neighbours. After U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci's departure Canada was awaiting an even worse adversary in replacement Ambassador Wilkins. And yet, despite Wilkin's lack of knowledge of things Canadian, he appears to have a significantly greater measure of humility than dick-swinging Cellucci ever did. In any case, as "irrelevant and disappointing" as Canada is to the likes of Bill O'Reilly, we're on our way to help our friends to the south.

GG-a-go go

docgonzo — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:43:19 -0800

Will it be Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space? Or maybe former Tory politician Joe Clark, unlucky as prime minister but inspired as foreign minister? Or the "man in motion," Rick Hansen, a paraplegic who wheeled the circumference of the earth? Step right up and wonder at the identity of Canada's next head of state: [more inside]