Arthur Weinreb

The beginning of the end of the coalition

The coalition is dead. Long live Iggy! If the Coalition of the Chilling that was formed by the Liberals and NDP and propped up by the Bloc is not yet dead it is certainly on life support. The reality of the coming together of all of the opposition parties happened in unique circumstances that ended last Wednesday when Stéphane Dion stepped down and Michael Ignatieff was acclaimed as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Jack Layton must resign

The main argument in favour of the Coalition of the Chilling that is attempting to replace the government of Stephen Harper is that the current government is not democratic. The argument goes that as more Canadians voted against the Conservatives than voted for them, the party has no real mandate to govern Canada. To allow the Conservatives to continue to rule is somehow undemocratic and unfair to the citizens of the country. Okay, so let’s go with that; democracy dictates that in order for a government (either a single party or a coalition) to be legitimate, they must have the support of 50% plus 1 of the voters. If they don’t, then even if they have the legal authority they lack the moral authority to govern Canada. But if that is the theory, there is no reason why it should only be applied to the country as a whole.

Bob Rae should put his money where his mouth is

In the wake of the Governor General’s decision to acquiesce to the request of the Prime Minister to prorogue Parliament, Bob Rae has emerged as the prime champion of the Liberal-NDP coalition that would be propped up by the Bloc Quebecois. Even lame duck Liberal leader, Stéphane Dion has somewhat backed down from the Axis of Idiots, claiming that the Harper government might survive after Parliament returns if the budget is acceptable to his party. As for Rae’s only real competitor in the leadership race, Michael Ignatieff, if he were really gung ho on the idea of a coalition, we would have heard from him during the week before Parliament was prorogued. Jack Layton, assumed to be the driving force of the coalition, now seems to have taken a back seat to the former Ontario NDP premier.

Canadians need to go to the polls – again!

As has been said many times in the last week, it is hard to imagine that Canadian politics could be so exciting. What began in Ottawa last week has completely overshadowed the appointment by president-elect Barack Obama of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. It all began when the Conservative government, in presenting an economic update, tossed in a couple of other bones. The Tories decided to do away with taxpayer subsidies to political parties that currently amounts to $1.95 for each vote obtained in the last election. The Tories also added, for reasons probably known only to them that federal civil servants would not be allowed to strike throughout 2009. These matters, especially the removal of party subsidies that would cause the least hardship to the governing Conservatives, so incensed the opposition parties that they began talks of forming a coalition that is capable of governing after next Monday’s confidence vote.

Big business loves to be regulated

Contrary to popular myth, big business loves the nanny state. Were it not for the nanny state large companies would have to compete all by themselves in the cruel so called free market system that they pretend exists.. Big businesses’ love of big governments has become more obvious since the financial meltdown began in mid-September. First banks and financial institutions and then the big three auto makers went cap in hand to various governments to bail themselves out of a drastic situation that was by and large of their own making.

Students want “bailouts” from professors

Ellen Greenberger, a professor of psychology and social behaviour at the University of California-Irvine, conducted a survey of 400 university students between the ages of 18 and 25. Her findings were published in the November issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Among the findings, Professor Greenberger found that approximately one third of those students who were polled thought that they deserved a B on a course for merely showing up most of the time. And about two thirds of the students felt that their final grade should reflect the fact that the student was “trying”.

Canadians love affair with Obama may be short lived

Like many other countries around the world, the popularity of Barack Obama is greater in Canada than in the red counties in the United States. Last July, an Environics poll found that 69% of Canadians surveyed wanted Obama to win the American presidency compared to 15% who favoured John McCain. In an Ekos survey taken the month before the US election, the numbers dropped slightly to 64% for Obama while 17% of Canadians polled preferred McCain. Another summer poll showed that more Canadians preferred Barack Obama to any current Canadian political leader. Twenty-six per cent of respondents preferred Obama compared to Prime Minister Stephen Harper who came in second at 21%. If there is any surprise in all this it is that Barack Obama’s numbers are not higher than they are.

Memorializing bad guys

It’s a relatively new phenomenon; erecting a public memorial or shrine near where a person has either been killed by accident or a criminal act. These shrines usually consist of flowers, cards, stuffed animals and an assortment of other things. When a member of a gang, or as we love to call them, a “disadvantaged youth” is the subject of the memorial, gang memorabilia is often included.

The US needs a credible third party

Only having two political parties that are capable of winning the White House and holding power in the Senate and the House has always been seen as a sign of democratic maturity. Many tend to laugh at Italy’s “pizza parliament” and watch with bemusement as Israeli leaders canvas a seemingly endless stream of parties in order to try and form a government. Even Canada with its four parties that hold seats in the House of Commons seems strange for those who believe in a strong two party system.

Canadians to Americans: Don’t call us socialists!

We as Canadians are used to being called socialists, commies or worse by our neighbours to the south. Even those of us in Canada who are on the right of the political spectrum, as few as there may be, use those appellations to describe the country in which the highest form of treason is a medical doctor who would want to charge a patient for the most minor of medical procedures. But that was then; and this is now.

Is it too dangerous to go to a bar?

In the city that was once known, a long time ago as “Toronto the Good”, perhaps not. But in light of a recent event it is something that should be considered. In the early hours of October 25, just prior to closing time, a dispute began in the Duke of York Tavern in Toronto’s now trendy Leslieville area. As is common in drinking establishments, the participants took their fight outside. At least one of the men involved pulled out an automatic pistol and fired off about 15 rounds. When it was over, four people had been injured and 23-year-old Bailey Zaveda, who had left the tavern before the bar before the fight started to have a cigarette, lay dead.

Stéphane down, Steve to go

With the announcement that Liberal leader Stéphane Dion will be stepping down, what can we expect in the future? Well, the Conservatives are not the Liberals. A Conservative majority or even minority government in Canada tends to be the exception rather than the rule even though it is difficult to think of the Libs as the Natural Governing Party these days. Conservatives like Mike Harris and Ralph Klein easily won majorities when they talked and acted like real conservatives. The chance of a federal Conservative leader doing that is extremely remote.

Canadians are dumb:  Stéphane Dion

Stéphane Dion didn’t really say that but he could have cut 17 or 18 minutes off his twenty minute press conference yesterday if he had. Dion announced that he had called on the Liberal Party of Canada to schedule a leadership convention, one in which he will not be a candidate. The Liberal leader also announced that he will remain at the helm until the new leader is chosen, dispelling last weekend’s rumours about which of the dwindling number of Liberal MPs would end up as interim leader.

The “unbelievable” reelection of Stephen Harper

When the last Parliament was dissolved, the polls showed that electorate would choose another Conservative Party minority. For a brief shining moment, before Quebec took the Tories minimal cuts to the arts as an attack on the province’s culture, it seemed possible that the Conservatives would be returned with the first majority government since Jean Chrétien went bye bye. And when Stephen Harper refused to shed tears over the worldwide market meltdown, it even looked possible that the hapless Dion might preside over a minority Parliament. Except for that brief nanosecond, the polls consistently showed the Conservatives being returned to power. Had anyone bothered to make a prediction when the election was first called, they were probably right on. The universe unfolded as it should and after the votes cast on October 14 were counted, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives were returned with a second minority government.

Stéphane Dion “not a leader” – it’s not just a campaign slogan

Despite the fact that NDP leader Jack Layton is campaigning to become Prime Minister of Canada, the idea of that actually happening is confined to Smilin’ Jack and a few ardent party supporters. Liberal MP Bob Rae perhaps gave the best description of Layton when he said that although Jack thinks he’s Barack Obama, he’s really Ralph Nader. No, when the dust settles and the votes are tallied after tomorrow’s election, either Stephen Harper or Stéphane Dion will end up with the top job. To wads of complaints by Canada’s Liberal supporters, Harper began the election campaign going to negative on their leader. Dion was attacked early on as being “not a leader”. The only change that has occurred since then is that Stéphane Dion has proved them right.

Torontonians are such wusses

There’s no other way to put it. This became readily apparent last week when Canada’s largest city suffered a crisis of unparalleled proportions. What happened in the city once known as Toronto the Good dwarfed other so-called crises such as the Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the current financial meltdown in the United States. Or at least that’s how it appeared to the city’s media. This catastrophe occurred when some electrical cables fell on the track of Toronto’s main north-south subway line.

“Harpernomics” – the Liberals have to be kidding

The issue of the current election campaign is not whether the Liberals will win the next election. Barring a major unexpected development, Stéphane Dion will be one of the very few people ever to lead the federal Liberals without becoming prime minister. It’s not whether they are losing the election but whether they are simply losing it.

Councillor Thompson: when exactly will we “be there”?

Last week a 16-year-old student was shot just outside of his secondary school in Scarborough. In an unusual twist, the “victim” was later charged along with another for attempted robbery. The alleged “real victim”, another student, apparently consciously or unconsciously successfully applied the wisdom of the late Jimmy Hoffa – always run towards a gun and away from a knife. As soon as he saw the gun he made a grab for it and it went off, critically injuring the shooter’s alleged accomplice.

The Canadian election is boring, but …

The election that was called last week for October 14 seems like a real sleeper, especially when compared to the contest south of the border. The US presidential election is billed as the most important in the history of that country. It’s true that if Barack Obama wins, the United States will have the most far left president that it’s ever had and the impact will be felt for years to come. The election will either see the first black US president or female vice president. It’s an historic contest. And between Obamamania and Sarahmania, the campaign is hard to beat for excitement.

Jack Layton endorsed by the Taliban

Not by name, but there is no doubt that the Taliban are rooting for Smilin’ Jack to be snuggly ensconced at 24 Sussex Drive when the dust settles after the October 14 federal election.