"On remarquera une chose : l’ingérence étrangère passe par ce qui est le point faible de nos institutions démocratiques : les instances locales des partis politiques, au niveau de la circonscription et des investitures de candidats."
"The restrictions [Japan] imposes on some freedoms beget other freedoms we no longer have: the ability for ordinary people to go about their business peaceably and the freedom for their kids to be independent. Sometimes, striking the right balance between liberty and security can mean thinking outside the box — and even, outside our country."
"As first reported in the Globe and Mail, Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper have volunteered to lead a campaign to raise the money required to restore the official prime minister’s residence, each of them calling upon their wide network to do so."
Wonderful news. It's crazy that PMs have been too afraid of the optics to have 24 Sussex fixed up while in office...
I've been wondering what the status quo is in terms of taxpayer-funded contraception in Canada:
"[F]ree universal coverage for all women in B.C.; targeted coverage in the Yukon; free oral contraceptives and IUDs for those on Alberta’s low-income benefit plan; free or incredibly cheap birth control to those on Saskatchewan’s low-income plan; free prescription contraception in Manitoba; free prescription contraception for Ontarians under 25 without private coverage."
This is of course in the context of the plans of the Trudeau ministry to bring in #pharmacare , with prescription contraceptives being one of the promised first items, to be provided to all Canadian women regardless of income level or insurance status.
🚨 BOOST CHALLENGE! 🚨Ok #Fediverse and #Mastodon. If I tell my Canadian Member of Parliament, Gord Johns, that he will get 2000 followers within one week of creating a Mastodon account, will you make that happen?
I want him to be able to say when he stands in the House and presents the #e4769 petition for an official Fediverse server that he himself is the first Canadian MP to be on the Fediverse!
Boost for yes! I am going to show him this post! I'm counting on you, literally! 🔥 🙏 2️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣ 0️⃣ 🙏
These subsidies cost Canadian taxpayers at least $6.03 billion, or roughly $214 per taxpayer every year. And unlike the federal #CarbonTax, Canadians don’t get a rebate on this tax. (1/3)
I sometimes wonder whether Prime Minister #JustinTrudeau wouldn't be happier as a provincial premier. Pharmacare, daycares, rental law, school breakfasts — these are all properly provincial jurisdictions; inflation, national defence, crime — federal jurisdictions. Is it a coincidence that the condition of these latter has deteriorated while the Trudeau ministry has spent time and money the former?
Maybe PM Trudeau has been constrained by the #JagmeetSingh agenda...
@BarryCooke The polling results are ambiguous: Canadians tend to say that #ClimateChange is important, but not be willing to pay much in costs; more recently pocketbook issues seem to have become higher priorities.
But I think the general history of Canadian policy is that we're willing to do our fair share, at least if we see our peer nations taking action.
It's good to see writers defending freedom of expression; if they don't do so, then who will?
The Minister of Justice has his explanation to be sure:
"In the article, Virani compares the new measure to existing peace bonds that can be sought in domestic violence cases and to prevent harm to children, terrorism or organized crime offences."
"Sen̓áḵw, an 11-tower development that will Tetrize 6,000 apartments onto just over 10 acres of land in the heart of the city. Once complete, this will be the densest neighbourhood in Canada, providing thousands of homes for Vancouverites who have long been squeezed between the country’s priciest real estate and some of its lowest vacancy rates."
Michael Geist ( @mgeist ), among others, has recommended that #HateSpeech provisions be removed from the proposed #OnlineHarmsAct — many other aspects of the bill are good ideas and relatively uncontroversial, but these changes deserve consideration and debate on their own merits. Seems wise to me.
@mattblaze@mike This is literally how we vote in Canada: a cardboard box and a paper ballot. Granted we're only 40 million people, but no one ever feels the need to question the results.
Alternate Headline that would actually deserve to be on a Canadian top-news page:
“Kate Photo Scandal another reason Canada should divorce itself from this circus”.
I mean, for the love of god, WHO CARES.
They Don't Live Here.
None of them have any impact on our day to day lives.
They aren't even Canadian Citizens.
It's just gossip. That's all it's good for. Stupid, meaningless, gossip.
@chris
The #monarchy is one of the elements of Canadian government that works well, an enduring, non-partisan element at the top of our political system, connecting us to our heritage, a reason for politicians not to put on airs.
Besides, articles like the one you're complaining about exist because of popular interest. If Canada were a republic, the #CBC would still have published that story. Gossip maybe, but gossip many in the public want to read.
I am not opposed to a government programme in which taxes cover the cost of prescription drugs [0], but I do oppose the current #Liberal-#NDP plans for pharmacare. My reasons are as follows:
a) Healthcare is a provincial jurisdiction according to the constitution, and the feds should focus on their own responsibilities, not interfere in those of the provinces;
b) Joint federal-provincial programmes lack accountability and lead to squabbling;
c) Such a programme should be aimed at helping those who lack insurance coverage for prescription drugs, not at also paying for Canadians covered by existing plans;
d) Federal taxes would be better spent on other matters.
[0] Taxpayer-funded drug coverage already exists here in #Québec, and in other jurisdictions as well.
@CanadianPolling Maybe what people really want is more government services, lower taxes, and borrowing money so that people in the future pay the bill. That's what we've voted for in the last three federal elections, and in many provincial elections as well.
Leaving Australia very impressed.
Traveled extensively across Melbourne and Sydney.
Unified transit with card taps. Ferry to bus to tram to train frequently going anywhere. It makes exploring fun. Their commuter rail is basically a metro to the edge of town.
But beyond dorky stuff. The cities are clean, diverse, interesting, barely any homeless.
It’s caused a lot of reflection for me as a person who mentally categorized Canada as the same.
I think we have a systemic issue with our governance.
@paige Homelessness in Canada has gotten much worse in recent years while our institutions of government haven't changed much, leading me to doubt it's a problem with our institutions as such. Though to be sure there are ways Canada ought to change our government for the better; I would suggest stronger MPs and a weaker PMO.
My first political memory was the election of #BrianMulroney in 1984. I won't claim to have followed #CanPol that closely for the next few years, but I remember in 1988, in elementary school, that we all kept journals of where the leaders were and what they were promising. That was the Free Trade election, and as I recall I decided that free trade would be good for Canada. (No, I didn't really know anything about economics at the time.)
@pinhman Housing prices are a major issue in Canada in 2024, but I think even #TheTyee article points to the social #housing policy of the federal government in 1993 as a minor factor, in comparison with the last thirty years of monetary policy, exclusionary zoning, etc.
@Jeff The CPC today is indeed much different from the PCs of 1990 — it's much more socially liberal. Can you imagine the outrage of Tories in 1990 about same-sex marriage or legalised marijuana? But there will be no effort to repeal either in the next platform...
People overestimate the degree to which the old PCs were centrist [0] and underestimate the degree to which the CPC has moved to the middle.
[0] E.g., there was a strong minority supporting capital punishment.
@Jeff But you're moving the goalposts: your original claim was that today's CPC is not Brian Mulroney's PCs (which I agree with, to a degree); whether today's Liberals differ to an even greater degree from the Chrétien-Martin Liberals is a different matter.
I think today's CPC is the clear successor to the old PCs, in policies, in membership, and in popular support. The career of Marjory LeBreton is a case in point: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjory_LeBreton