September 30, 2008
To market, to market
This weekend’s Trinity-Spadina federal candidates debate in Kensington Market was, at first, like one of those earnestly quirky but kind of lame dinner parties where the host insists you wear a toga and play Headbandz and which, for one reason or another, you feel obligated to attend. But despite the cheese, (like swearing allegiance to Trinity-Spadina and having the candidates wear colour-appropriate... [More >>]
September 29, 2008
A compass for the road to the general election
We often use the old left-right spectrum while describing political sympathies. You are on the right if you favour the free market, limited government intervention, and, often, social conservatism. You are on the left if you favour economic safety nets, or progressivism, and social inclusiveness. Simple. Neat. Inadequate. The Political Compass tries to lend us a few more tools for this endeavour. We... [More >>]
September 29, 2008
Holy Fuck, is the Polaris Prize ever politicized this year
Tonight the Polaris Prize, the “$20,000 prize for a full length Canadian album, judged solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or record sales” will be awarded, and both the timing and the artist lineup are delicious (if unintended). One of the bands whose artistic merit is being judged this evening is Holy Fuck, the Toronto electronica/prog/rock/whatever group which became a... [More >>]
September 29, 2008
NDP (finally) releases platform
With just over two weeks left in the race, Jack Layton and the New Democrats finally released their party platform yesterday, and along with it came a pledge from Layton to end poverty in Canada within the next 12 years, as reported by the Toronto Star. The platform is rich with hot button issues like child care, the economy and the environment, but here are a few easily-missed points that add a little... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
Elizabeth May in Montreal
CLAUDE WILLIAM GENEST GREETS ELIZABETH MAY Elizabeth May and her train made a quick stop in Montreal today. The Green Party leader greeted about 60 supporters and began her brief address to the crowd in French. (I, and many other Quebeckers I think have been dreading hearing May stumble along in the upcoming French debate, but if today is any indication it might not be as bad as we thought.) May derided... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
This Blog Has Seven (Count Em, Seven) Days
For the team of This bloggers, this past week has been a flurry of news briefs, policy announcements and candidate resignations, all while the highly debated polls have swayed back and forth. In case you’ve missed anything this week, here’s a quick recap: On Monday, Daniel Tseghay wrote about the pros and cons of a carbon tax, proposed by both Stéphane Dion of the Liberals and Elizabeth... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
On vetting your candidates: try googling their names
Before a political party settles on a candidate to run in an election they engage in the immensely important process of vetting. This is simply the examination of and research into the candidate in question: findout out about their personal history; their legislative or executive record; and everything else about the person so they don’t unwittingly choose a candidate with skeletons in their... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
Layton to announce national drug program
According to CBC.ca, New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton will be in Vancouver today to announce his plans for a universal prescription drug plan for Canadians who pay more than $1,500 in drug costs each year. The announcement came about a week after a study by Wyatt Health ranked Canada 17th out of 18 OECD countries studied in terms of of public funding of pharmaceuticals. According to the study,... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
Event: Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting launch
For our Hamiltonian readers, you might want to check out the launch this weekend of the Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting, a new outfit supporting investigative journalism. It’s on Saturday, September 27 at 7 PM at the Skydragon Centre, at 27 King William St. Susanne Reber, Author of ‘Starlight Tour: ‘The Last Lonely Night of Neil Stonechild’ will be speaking. Email... [More >>]
September 26, 2008
Decade-old McDonald’s burger is an insult to food and farmers
This picture of two McDonald’s hamburgers is making the rounds of the blogosphere, but it’s germane given Margaret Webb’s story in the current issue. She visited an organic, family-owned bison farm in Saskatchewan that has been driven out of business by shortsighted government policies. The Legault family, along with their herd of organic grass-fed bison, is out of the food business... [More >>]
