The question on Reddit: Are you in favor of abolishing the Constitutional Monarchy system? Do you feel a Federal Republic would make more sense, if not which system would make more sense? One good thing about a constitutional monarchy: the right of the monarch to abolish parliament or to refuse to give approval to a…
Author: downes
The NDP
Responding to this article in the Globe and the associated Reddit thread. “If an election were called tomorrow, the dynamics of the campaign could well push the NDP ahead of the Liberals.” The NDP is forcing the Liberals to move on pharmacare and dental care. As these programs expand (which they will, because Canadians want…
EV Charging
The Canadian government has just passed legislation requiring that all new vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 be emissions-free, which for all practical purposes means that they must be electric. While this is not ideal (there should be much more of an emphasis on public transportation) it is necessary. Leaving aside the climate change sceptics…
Test Post
This is a test post and will be deleted. Testing the fediverse.
Interest Rates
We just moved to a 5% interest rate here in Canada. The reason, we are told, is to combat inflation. There certainly does appear to be inflation; prices are noticeably higher after the pandemic. But are interest rate hikes the cure? The argument is that inflation is caused by increased spending, especially on debt-funded high-ticket…
The Dock Workers
There are continued calls to legislate the BC dock workers back to work. And of course employers don’t need to negotiate; they just need to wait for the federal government to make the move. But why do we always opt for ‘legislate them back to work’? Why is it never ‘legislate the companies to pay…
Making Canada Better
This is a response to a thread on Reddit: What’s something that Canadians should work on in order to make Canada a better country? – we need to address the creeping privatization of public health care. Governments are underfunding the current system and using this as an excuse to extend private services. – housing is…
An Exercise in Deception
In his newsletter Scott Galloway writes the following: The only thing that’s passed for bipartisanship over the past four decades is reckless spending. Democrats want more social spending, Republicans want lower taxes. OK, let’s compromise — do both and fuck over our grandkids. He also writes: Let’s dispense with one of the most tired false…
The Malaise in Ottawa
My comment in Reddit, to the thread ‘Ottawa has changed and I can’t seem to put my finger on how’. Ottawa needs to be a city but its city council is running it like a suburb. The result is that most city functions – from policing to transit to city life – have become dysfunctional….
Contract Day
With all the delicacy of a sledgehammer, Doug Ford’s conservative government in Ontario has crafted an elegant solution to negotiating with public sector unions: Don’t. Instead, as a government, simply define what you want the contract to be, override any constitutional protections the union may have by using the ‘notwithstanding’ clause, and impose it on…