Category Politics

Assisted Dying II

The Canadian Parliament has started debating legislation legalizing what they are calling “Doctor Assisted Dying” – which to me is a euphemism for euthanasia. I have touched on the subject before, the first time a year ago, and it is safe to say I am not enthused about the prospect. Neither are many Parliamentarians. The […]

Assisted Dying I

The Canadian Parliament has started debating legislation legalizing what they are calling “Doctor Assisted Dying” – which to me is a euphemism for euthanasia. I have touched on the subject before, the first time a year ago, and it is safe to say I am not enthused about the prospect. Neither are many Parliamentarians. The […]

Still Remembering Kent State

I posted this on May 4 2015. A year has passed, it has now been 46 years since that day. But I still do remember and want to pause again to reflect on a world where so often things can go horribly wrong. Forty-five years later their names are a footnote to history. But I […]

The Debate

It must be a week since I last wrote about Donald Trump, who is so close to sewing up the Republican Party nomination for the US presidency that he can almost taste it. Rather than write something new, I thought it fitting to re-post this piece from last August, the first time “The Donald” graced […]

Unintended Consequences

Anyone with half a brain could have seen it coming. That no-one did is probably because there were politicians involved. A couple of years back the Ontario government decided that sick leave for teachers was costing the province way too much. Change the system, the experts said, and reap the savings. Under the old system […]

The Verdict – II

I was right. In a decision that took 4 ½ hours for the judge to summarize (it is 308 pages after all), Mike Duffy was found not guilty on all counts. No misuse of funds, no accepting a bribe, no breach of trust. Thirty-one charges, 31 charges dismissed. As I said yesterday, I fully expected […]

The Verdict

Today is the day Senator Mike Duffy learns his fate. I have avoided commenting on his criminal proceedings for the past year, but want to get my prediction on the record. The case has held Canadians’ attention since the trial started more than a year ago. Even before that, when the scandal broke surrounding Duffy’s […]

An Outraged Trump

It’s been a couple of weeks since we turned our gaze southward to look at the Trump campaign. Time to rectify that, just in case you are suffering from Trump withdrawal. Maybe the novelty has faded, but we in Canada aren’t hearing much about Donald Trump these days. Or maybe it is just that our […]

Moral Blindness

O tempora, o mores! (Oh what times! Oh what customs! – Cicero, 63 B.C. Once upon a time there were no rules when it came to politicians and fundraising. As the saying went, the definition of an honest politician was: “one who stays bought.” We have higher standards today. Or do we? There has been […]

Bric A Brac VII – The Church

On my desk and shelves, in my home office and in my office on Parliament Hill are some objects that have a certain amount of significance in my life but which are otherwise useless. It is not like I need more ornamentation or decorations after all. Each one though has a story attached to it, […]