Full Comment (Free subscription) | yesterday
Gillese Duceppe declared the other day that the continued existence of the monarchy is among the many aspects of Canada that fail to meet his approval. “The monarchy is a system that is depasse and archaic,” the Bloc Quebecois leader said in Montreal. “I call it a genetic lottery. People who say they have blue blood should see their doctor as soon as they can.” Ho ho. Separatist...
Full Comment (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Here's a map of Canada, showing the results of the 2008 federal election. Observant readers will notice a distinct pattern. If you start on one coast and move across to the other, you see a lot of blue, some burnt orange, and whatever that colour is they use to identify the Bloc Quebecois. Not a lot of red. There's Newfoundland, a splash along the Ontario/Quebec border, and that one itty-bitty riding...
Full Comment (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
There have been a number of stories about the Conservative government and its principles that, taken in isolation, are telling but don't really amount to much. But when you look at all these stories in aggregate, a picture certainly begins to emerge about the style and attitude of this government: Gov't program wants job applicants' views on Tory budget : An elite federal program to recruit the cream...
ProudToBeCanadian Blog (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
DON’T VOTE FOR THESE PEOPLE As promised yesterday , here is the list of MPs who voted against the bill to eliminate the long-gun registry, yesterday, and to instead maintain the government list of innocent citizens who own rifles and shotguns for sport or pleasure or protection or whatever other legitimate purpose they choose as free people living in a free country. Who are these people? They’re...
Globe and Mail (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
As by-election nears, Duceppe sets his sights on Layton's lame excuse for allowing some of his MPs to side with Tories
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Via the Globe and Mail: H1N1 hits the Commons. Excerpt:Bloc Québécois MP Claude Guimond wore a face mask in the House of Commons this evening, fearing he was coming down with H1N1 and not wanting to infect his fellow parliamentarians....
Macleans.ca (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
One MP appeared to be wearing a medical mask during tonight’s vote and it is being reported now that Bloc MP Claude Guimond has, or may have, H1N1. Gilles Duceppe says the Bloc offered to “pair” Guimond’s vote with a Conservative so Guimond could have stayed away from the House tonight, but the Conservatives declined. The [...]
Macleans.ca (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
After Question Period yesterday, Conservative Rick Dykstra rose to complain that Gilles Duceppe had referred to a government minister as a liar on “at least four occasions and more like six.” Mr. Duceppe explained that he had only shouted out the word “lies” in reference to something that was being said. This led once more [...]
Impolitical (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
The vote on the gun registry repeal tonight is a 2nd reading vote, so there's still time for the ultimate vote to come out in favour of retaining it. But it's worth considering at the moment how this is playing in Quebec and what the fallout might be down the road. This piece gives you a sense of some story lines that may be germinating: "Les liberaux hesitent a sauver le Registre des armes a...
Macleans.ca (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
Gilles Duceppe, not particularly excited about the visit of Charles and Camilla. “The monarchy is a system that is depasse and archaic,” Duceppe said Tuesday in Montreal. “I call it a genetic lottery. People who say they have blue blood should see their doctor as soon as they can.”
Impolitical (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
An op-ed today from the mother of one of those killed at Ecole Polytechnique on the need to maintain the gun registry (Google translation): The Law on Firearms is a monument erected in memory of victims of the massacre at the Ecole Polytechnique, including my daughter, Anne-Marie Edward. I am disappointed that the Conservative Party of Canada, who claims to be the party of law and order, chooses to...
The View From North Central Idaho (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
As our neighbors to the north attempt to regain a little bit of their freedom the anti-freedom people are "horrified and fearful" : Gun-control advocates say they are horrified and fearful that Canada's long-gun firearms registry is on the verge this week of being scrapped because the Conservatives may have enough support from the opposition to kill it. Wendy Cukier, president of the Coalition...
CBC.ca (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Former Bloc Québécois MP Caroline St-Hilaire was elected mayor of the city of Longueuil on Montreal's south shore, ousting a party that has been in power for 27 years.
Morton's Musings (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
Family law is notorious for allegations that aren't quite true. Still, the story below has some credibility because of the meetings between officials. Under Saudi law, as I understand it, custody of children is normally given to the father when a couple split up -- that was the Canadian practice a hundred years ago. If the children were born in, and have lived all their lives in, Saudi then, ghastly...
Toronto Sun - News (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
A committee of MPs voted Wednesday to launch an inquiry into the government’s actions concerning the transfer of Afghan prisoners.
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