Showing posts with label federal liberal party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label federal liberal party. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Warning Signs

 

I realize there are some who see the Liberal Party of Canada as our natural governing party, and hence are perhaps too forgiving when wrongdoing is detected. While I am certainly glad that it was Justin Trudeau who presided over the past two-year-plus of our pandemic (a Conservative administration during our crisis being unthinkable), I do not subscribe to the notion that one particular entity should be above criticism or accountability.

And there is much to criticize about the current incarnation of the Liberals who, the longer they are in power, steadily revert to their old ways. The SNC Lavalin scandal immediately comes to mind, plus the fact that they are far too close to the corporate sector. (On that note, for example I have little doubt that despite the problems at Rogers, their acquisition of Shaw will ultimately be approved.)

Heather Scoffield turns her attention to the matter of the Liberals and public trust, citing both the Rogers debacle and the accusations of political interference in the Nova Scotia mass shooting probe:

On Monday, in one corner, we had the contrite and apologetic corporate executives ready to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at a problem to make it go away.

In the other corner, we had a federal minister talking tough, assuring the public he had let that company have it, in no uncertain terms, and it had better shape up — or else.

Tough words, but why so much secrecy around discussions?

Government officials, the CRTC and the company alike have already shown a proclivity to discussing solutions in secret on this file. Talks between Champagne and the telcos’ CEOs were in private. Undertakings by Rogers were widely redacted. And there’s been little to assure the public or parliamentarians they’ll get a full public airing of all of the details in the future, let alone a government that wants to tangle with telcos.

The past may be an indicator of future performance. 

While the Liberals’ record on regulating the internet and its players hasn’t led to the fireworks of its dealings with SNC-Lavalin, it does have a history. Rogers had a large outage of its wireless services in April 2021, with little regulatory followup.  

Too big to touch? 

As for the government's apparently too-close relationship with the RCMP, which is supposed to be free from political interference, Scoffield has this to say: 

And just across the street, we had a minister and the head of the RCMP protesting hard that neither they nor their surrogates had overstepped.

 The subtext of the hearing on the Nova Scotia shooting was whether the Liberals put their thumb on the scale of the legal system in an attempt to bend the outcome in favour of their political agenda  [i.e, their firearms legislation].

That the Liberals are trust-challenged is the final point the writer makes: 

The common thread is their collective challenge of maintaining the trust of the public in their ability to keep a reasonable eye on things when there’s trouble, and ensure the public interest is respected in the midst of turmoil and competing interests.

Ultimately, it is up to a vigilant public to hold the Liberal Party to a higher standard than they are used to. In that, we must not fail.

 


Saturday, August 29, 2015

Olivia Chow's Video About Bill C-51

Given yesterday's post on the growing worldwide governmental repression of civil society groups and NGOs, as well as the disturbing information included in my update, a video by Olivia Chow attacking the Liberal position on Bill C-51 seems especially pertinent.
The NDP is launching a national attack on Justin Trudeau’s Liberals over their support for Canada’s controversial anti-terrorism law.

The “T minus 51” blitz — 51 days from Saturday until the Oct. 19 election — will see dozens of NDP candidates in targeted ridings from coast to coast go door-to-door with special brochures attacking the Liberals on Bill C-51.

The weekend blitz will focus on ridings with incumbent Liberals who voted for the Conservatives’ “spy bill,” NDP sources say, including Toronto MPs Adam Vaughan and Chrystia Freeland.

Olivia Chow, the former MP and failed Toronto mayoral candidate, has gone a step further and created an online attack ad accusing Trudeau and Vaughan, her opponent in the new downtown riding of Spadina-Fort York, of “betraying” constituents by voting for a “dangerous and anti-democratic” law.

NDP leaders hope C-51, which they brand a threat to the civil liberties of peaceful protesters, journalists and anyone else who opposes the government, will be the wedge issue that convinces Canadians they are the real alternative to Harper’s Conservatives.

Liberals “said they were going to Ottawa to stand up to Stephen Harper and they didn’t,” an NDP organizer in Ottawa said on background Friday.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

I Want To Believe



But it will take more than an interview by George Stroumboulopoulos to convince me that Justin Trudeau has the right stuff.

Nonetheless, I was impressed by the Liberal leader's relaxed manner, especially striking since it is beyond my powers of imagination to envisage Stephen Harper in such a pose.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

On Federal Byelections



It is commonly held that Stephen Harper chose June 30 for the four recent byelections in the anticipation that turnout would be low. Even the advance polls, which were set for Friday and Saturday of what for many would be a long weekend, offered little motivation for the winter-weary to cast their ballots before escaping town. The turnout statistics show that the Prime Minister got his wish:

Fort McMurray-Athabasca (15.2 per cent)
Macleod (19.6 per cent)
Scarborough-Agincourt (29.4 per cent)
Trinity-Spadina (31.6 per cent)

However, according to Tim Harper, not everything worked out according to plan. He points out the following in his column today:

...there is a federal political trend that is unassailable — in nine trips to the polls under Justin Trudeau, Liberal voting percentages have grown nine times, in ridings as diverse as Labrador, downtown Toronto and Montreal, rural Manitoba and rural and northern Alberta.

Having achieved victory in two out of the four contests,

... it is the growth of the Liberal vote in Manitoba and Alberta in contests over the past seven months that could hold an omen for 2015.

In Brandon-Souris last November Trudeau grew the Liberal vote by 39 points, and in rural Provencher he grew his party’s vote by 23 points.

Monday, in the seemingly impenetrable Conservative vaults of Macleod and Fort McMurray-Athabasca, the Liberal vote grew 13 points and 25 points, respectively since the 2011 general election.


These numbers should worry Harper for two reasons. The first is obvious, if indeed a Liberal trend has been developing. The second, more ominous indicator, however, is that Harper's base, at least if the byelection numbers are to be taken as harbingers, are losing their own motivation to turn out at the polls; if this proves an accurate assessment of their mood, implications for the general election next year should be disturbing to Dear Leader.

Having won the 2011 election with 39.2% of the popular vote in which only 61.4% of eligible voters bothered to turn out, Harper knows that two things are eseential for next year's contest: a low general turnout and a high turnout from his base.

It would seem that the second part of his strategy needs some work. The first falls to the rest of us, if we indeed truly care about this country and its future.


Friday, March 7, 2014

A New Motto For The Liberals and The NDP?



Many political observers and bloggers, including me, have lamented the fact that outside of style, little separates the policies of either the NDP or the Liberals from those of the Harper regime. Given their timidity when it comes to policy proclamations, the biggest clue to their abandonment of a progressive vision for the country lies in their use of language.

The following succinct letter from a Star reader speaks directly to that fact as it pertains to Mr. Trudeau's leadership, but of course is equally applicable to Mr. Mulcair:

Young Mr. Trudeau continually makes reference to the middle class when pronouncing his grand scheme of things. When did the term working class become derogatory?

The political magicians have used their smoke and mirrors to convince ordinary Canadians that everyone can climb through the glass ceiling into the world of the corporate elite. No one wants to label himself as a worker; it has become something very undesirable.

There is nothing wrong with honest work and getting one’s hands dirty; it is time we all pulled together so that no one needs to be without adequate food, clothing or shelter. Social democracy is not a dirty concept nor something to be feared. It is the way of the future.

Larry Rendall, Grimsby

Put another way, as John Kenneth Galbraith once said, Though power corrupts, the expectation of power paralyzes.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Search For Authenticity

In their bewilderment over the staunch following that Toronto mayor Rob Ford continues to enjoy amongst 'Ford Nation,' some pundits have advanced the idea that it is his 'authenticity' that accounts for his traction, no matter what drugs he ingests, no matter how many criminal elements he consorts with, no matter how many lies he tells to the public. His deep flaws, some suggest, appeal to the 'everyman.'

At best, I suspect this is only a partial answer. Nonetheless, it has gotten me thinking about leadership styles; serendipitously, the other day I caught the latest Justin Trudeau ad on TV in which he seeks to distinguish himself from the Harper regime without really uttering anything of substance:



While I realize that the ad is directed to a demographic much younger than mine and may in fact 'hit the mark' with that audience, I was struck by a few aspects of the production:

1. It offers an obvious contrast to the button-down, anally-retentive demeanour of our current Prime Minister. Although his suit colour is fairly subdued, Trudeau's open shirt suggests a relaxed manner that only one possessed of a vivid imagination could transpose on Stephan Harper (the latter's blue cardigan campaign costume notwithstanding).

2. Trudeau's cadences are balanced, offering another contrast to the inflectionless Harper.

3. The Liberal leader maintains strong eye contact with the camera, suggesting an openness and authenticity that voters may find appealing.

4. He utters platitudes that no one could disagree with.

However, even though it is a very polished production, the ad does nothing for me; as a veteran observer of political matters, I find the entire effort completely contrived, for all of the above reasons.

We leave in an age of shallow thinking, disengagement and phony 'reality shows.' Given the widespread disengagement from the electoral process of young people, this ad may indeed strike a responsive chord among its intended audience.

How do others feel about the ad?