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Currently viewing entries in the Canadian Politics, Economy and Foreign Policy category.
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NDP Identity Crisis for August 5, 2009
Today, Canadian news media sources are all mentioning the possible name change for Canada’s New Democratic Party. There is, however, a lack of thorough discussion about what this means for the party that remains in the background of federal politics. Among the more serious questions being asked are whether talks about a name change will prompt debates about the party’s mandate and target audience.
- Political soul searching — The Ottawa Citizen
The NDP convention will feature a speaker from the Obama presidential campaign; many within the party support this. They feel the party needs effective strategies to engage with younger voters who don’t identify with any of the federal parties. Lawrence Martin discusses this and believes a name change is the first step in the right direction.
- A new name for the NDP would be like a fresh coat of paint by Lawrence Martin — The Globe and Mail
One of the proposed names is to drop the ‘new’ and become, simply, the Democratic Party — another connection to the Democratic Party of America. Maybe it is true the NDP are trying to mimic the Obama sensation as much as they can? Though Obama’s campaign was successful, Barry Weisleder argues the NDP should distance themselves from the American democrats.
- Obama’s spin doctor has no business at NDP convention by Barry Weisleder — Rabble
Corvin Russell, on his rabble.ca blog, points out the lack of any racial or gender diversity on the program for the NDP convention.
NDP bring white fest to Halifax by Corvin Russell — Rabble
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Canadiana for June 30, 2009
Dollars for destruction
Having recently declared the estimated future cost of Canada’s participation in the Afghan war a secret matter of national security, the Department of Defence reversed itself, revealing a price tag for the war on Afghanistan that — surprise, surprise — far outstrips original expectations. The cost for 2009-10 is estimated at $1.513 billion, and at $1.468 billion for 2010-11, while total costs for the 2001-2011 period are estimated at $9 billion. Mike Blanchfield of Canwest News Service reports:
- Canada’s ballooning Afghan war cost no longer national secret by Mike Blanchfield — The Ottawa Citizen
No new nukes for Ontario
The Ontario government will not be proceeding with plans to revamp and expand the nuclear energy sector, which accounts for half the province’s electricity needs. Here’s the Globe and Mail’s Karen Howlett with the story:
- AECL’s future in doubt as Ontario suspends nuclear power plans by Karen Howlett — The Globe and Mail
Stanford vs. Swift
It was a foregone conclusion that the financial crisis would be used as a pretext to attack what remains of the gains of organized labour. As billionaires are bailed out, the union-bashing, benefit-crushing chorus grows steadily louder. Last week, CBC radio’s The Current featured a debate between Canadian Auto Workers Union economist Jim Stanford and Canadian Federation of Independent Business President and CEO Catherine Swift about whether unions should be making greater concessions during the crisis. Listen to the argument:
- The Current for June 25, 2009 — CBC radio’s The Current
Not with a bang but a whimper?
Karl Marx and Leo Panitch may be gracing the pages of the Globe and Mail these days, but the question remains: Where’s the rage? In face of an ecological crisis that threatens humankind’s very survival and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, serious political protest should be staging a major comeback. But in the overdeveloped countries of the North resistance seems in surprisingly short supply. The perplexing silence of the left is the stuff of recent columns by Murray Dobbin on Rabble:
- Imagine: Prosperity without growth by Murray Dobbin — Rabble.ca
and Thomas Walkom of The Toronto Star:
- The silence of the left by Thomas Walkom — The Toronto Star
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Canadiana for May 27th, 2009
The worst is yet to come
The head of Export Development Canada is expecting rougher economic waters ahead based on the rising rate of corporate loan defaults, reports Kevin Carmichael for the Globe and Mail:
- Corporate loan defaults to rise: EDC head — Globe and Mail
And here’s the Globe and Mail’s Tavia Grant with the latest figures on the predictable impact of the recession on unemployment: - Canadian EI claims soar 10.6% — Globe and Mail
The dark side of infrastructure spending
The Conservatives are using the economic crisis as a pretext to axe environmental impact assessments, particularly in connection with oil and gas projects on First Nations land, according to Todd Gordon, assistant professor of Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto. He’s interviewed by Mordecai Briemberg on Redeye at:
- Canada’s shock doctrine — Redeye radio via rabble.ca
You can also read Gordon’s article in The Bullet
What’s mine is yours?
At the invitation of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), indigenous representatives from Canada visited communities affected by Canadian-financed mining activities in Ecuador earlier this month to share experiences and discuss indigenous peoples’ right of prior and informed consent on projects affecting their lands or territories. Jennifer Moore reports for Upside Down World:
- Ecuador’s Future for Canadian Transnationals: An Exchange of Indigenous Perspectives — Upside down world
Busting Bill C-15
Bill C-15 (formerly Bill C-26), the legislation proposed by the Conservative Party to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses in Canada, is a misguided approach to curbing drug use and violence, according to Deborah Peterson Small, Executive Director and founder of Break the Chains, a US organization that campaigns for fair drug policies. Writing in Rabble, Small warns that mandatory minimum drug sentencing is not an effective deterrent to crime, as the American experience demonstrates:
Something fishy at the supermarket
Greenpeace Canada will be targeting supermarket chains in a plan to draw attention to unsustainable fishing practices, Amelia Bellamy-Royds tells us in The Tyee:
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Canadiana for May 21st 2009
A post-mortem on the BC election
The results of last week’s provincial election in B.C. are bad news for the environment and for democracy. Tyee columnist Rafe Mair comments:
From immigration to indentured servitude
Guest’ workers in Canada are an especially vulnerable group as the nation’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program offers them no protection from unscrupulous employers. Straight Goods publisher Ish Theilheimer explains:
Toronto artist blacklisted by Koffler Centre speaks out
Reena Katz was punished by the Koffler Centre of the Arts for supporting Israeli Apartheid Week. While continuing to fund Katz’s exhibition about Toronto’s Kensington Market district, “each hand as they are called,” scheduled to open later this month, the Koffler Centre has publicly dissociated itself from the artist. Katz and exhibit curator Kim Simon issued this statement in the wake of the incident:
Duncan Cameron calls for creation of Canadian investment bank
Rabble columnist Duncan Cameron explains why Canada needs a public sector investment bank:
Cheers for Canada’s healthcare system from unlikely quarters
National Post editor-at-large Diane Francis affirms that universal healthcare is in everyone’s interest and tells wealthy opponents of universal healthcare to stop slandering our system, which, she argues, is clearly far better than that of the U.S.:
Hot Docs RoundUp
A guide to some of the highlights of Hot Docs, the Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, including H2Oil a film about the impact of the Alberta Tar Sands project on the environment and public health, by Rabble columnist June Chua:
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Canadiana for May 12th 2009
Pressure on to step up Canada’s combat role in Afghanistan
In recent months it has come to light that Canada is contemplating sending CF-18 fighter bombers to Afghanistan at the behest of the United States Air Forces Central and CENTCOM. Such a decision would represent a major increase in our combat role in Afghanistan, and defence policy critic Steven Staples of Ceasefire.ca and the Rideau Institute is calling on citizens to express their opposition.
Swine flu symptomatic of sick food system
Pigs are not the real culprit in the world’s case of swine flu: the root cause is a corporate- controlled export-driven food production system that exploits workers and mistreats animals. Straight Goods features a discussion of the evolution and implications of factory hog farming in Canada and abroad Cathy Holtslander of the advocacy group Beyond Factory Farming
Police descend on civilian occupation of Canadian-owned mine in Mexico
In one of several instances of environmental defense actions against Canadian mining companies by small communities in Latin America, residents of San José del Progreso, the capital city of Oaxaca, had mounted a blockade of the Canadian-owned Trinidad silver mine since mid-March in protest of the mine’s contamination of water and inordinate demands on water resources. Last week, the Mexican government sent in police, who violently ousted the protestors. The Dominion features this story by Komala Ramachandra, a Harvard law student working in Oaxaca:
See video footage and join a letter-writing campaign on the issue at: www.intercontinentalcry.org
Union bash
Union stewards from every union in the Toronto area gathered for an evening of solidarity-building and an opportunity to talk about the crisis and its effects on organized labour. The presidents of the CAW and the CLC attended the event, as did NDP leader Jack Layton and Toronto mayor David Miller among other notables. Michelle Langlois reports for Rabble:
Media mum on immigration raids
Tim McSorley, Media Analysis editor with The Dominion, ponders the media’s silence in the face of US-style immigration raids on undocumented workers in Ontario last month:
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