[This is the first blog post in our “WTF/FTW” series. In the magazine we’ve been including tiny articles that come under the heading “WTF?” and “FTW!” for bad/crazy/weird news, and good news, respectively. We’ll now be doing these weekly, as well: Look for Wednesday WTF and Friday FTW. You can probably work out which days […] More »
If several high-profile individuals have their way, one of Canada’s major political parties could be on the way to a rebranding even before the summer is out. The New Democratic Party could enter the fall session of parliament with a new name, simply called the “Democratic Party.” The move has been promoted by a mounting […] More »
The furor over the new Conservative attack ads, which were released early last week, has thankfully started to die down. But their central jab — that Ignatieff has been out of the country for 34 years and is only back because he is a political opportunist — has continued to inspire a stream of Facebook […] More »
Yes, today’s the day: President Barack Obama visits the capital of our fair dominion. Air Force One just landed in Ottawa, and we’ll keep an eye on things and post any notable happenings here, including links to good commentary or other interesting tidbits. But Obama’s visit is so short — less than seven hours — […] More »
Earlier today there was a headline on Yahoo!’s homepage that caught my eye, “Liberals demand budget change”. What was this all about, I wondered, could we be in for some more political drama? Sadly, no. The big budget change turns out to be the inclusion of three “detailed progress reports”, something that can be summed […] More »
Michael Ignatieff’s press conference this morning was quite the performance: the Liberal interim leader told the assembled press that he was putting the prime minister “on probation.” Which is an odd metaphor to use, since probation usually follows punishment. The decision to amend the budget and pass it is more like rewriting the law after […] More »
Monday saw the return of Parliament after its long winter hibernation, a product of the Harper government’s surprise prorogue in December. And much like a hungry bear waking up from months of slumber, it was a pretty sluggish, grumpy affair. The throne speech itself provided almost nothing of substance, just refried Obama-ish platitudes about standing […] More »
Almost every year that I was in high school, I had to write an exam on my birthday. Two years ago, the Robert Pickton trial started on my birthday. Last year, Heath Ledger died (not too bad until you start receiving phone calls along the lines of “Guess what I just heard!” instead of “Happy […] More »
What would the coalition have amounted to if Parliament hadn’t been suspended today? According to a report in Embassy, a Canadian foreign policy newsweekly, the coalition would have had an internationalist and multilateral vision; emphasizing human rights. For instance: “It seems the free trade agreement with Colombia, signed by Mr. Harper last week, could also […] More »