Tagged With: federal politics
Harper majority bad for Canada
Day 1 of Steve Harper’s “stable” majority government is accompanied by news that the PM has appointed three rejected Conservative candidates to the sheltered unelected refuge of graft and privilege – the Canadian Senate. But today’s major policy announcement is the more ominous – the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board, an important institution founded in response … Continue reading
Big defence spending the wrong priority
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 7 February 2007 The Conservative government’s decision to spend $3.4 billion on four “super-jets” is good news for defence contractors, but bad news for ordinary Canadians who support other priorities. Climate change, child care, housing and health and education require a substantial injection of federal … Continue reading
No such thing as ‘free trade’
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria News, 24 August 2005 Scott Brison, federal Public Works Minister, told Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce that trade agreements prevent Canada from favouring domestic producers (“Canada can’t discriminate,” Victoria News, August 24). This demonstrates once again why our country should withdraw from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), NAFTA and … Continue reading
Public healthcare still the best system
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 10 June 2005 Lobby groups for private health corporations, such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the Canadian Healthcare Association, are celebrating the Supreme Court ruling supporting private insurance. They have called this decision ‘historic.’ Taking a long-range approach to Canadian history, this decision signifies … Continue reading
Risk of spill too great
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria Times Colonist, 22 November 2004 The recent oil spill off the shore of Newfoundland will hopefully put to rest the agitation for oil and gas drilling on the West Coast. The Campbell Liberal government is demanding an end to a federal moratorium on offshore drilling. Serving the agenda … Continue reading
The real problem with resource developments
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 26 July 2004 Re: “Ottawa should invest in the West,” July 15. As a trained historian, I would like to clarify a recent editorial on the pattern of economic development in B.C. From a historical standpoint, investment in infrastructure offers no panacea for economic success. Nor … Continue reading
Irving, Liberals and working people
Letter to the Editor published in The Brunswickan (Fredericton), 6 November 2003 Reports have surfaced, confirming that federal Liberal cabinet ministers received favours from the Irving corporation. Minister of Labour Claudette Bradshaw hitched a free ride in an Irving jet. Justice Minister Allen Rock received similar perks of office. Conservative MP and former Saint John mayor … Continue reading
People before profit
Letter to Editor of the Victoria Times Colonist, 7 May 2003 Re: Letters, “Harper Speakers for Most Canadians,” May 7. “Canadianess” is not only defined in terms of opposition to US foreign policy. In many areas of social policy, Canadians have succeeded in forcing their governments to act in the common interest. Universal Medicare is … Continue reading
Socialism is not an evil
Letter to the Editor of the Victoria Times Colonist, 11 August 2001 In a recent editorial, this newspaper suggested the NDP needs to resist the agenda of the New Politics Initiative. Socialism should be rejected in favour of Tony Blair’s moderate program in Britain, we are told. I fundamentally disagree. The problems facing our people … Continue reading
Farewell Bouchard, hello local sovereignty
Published in the Martlet (Victoria), 18 January 2001 Many have celebrated the resignation of Quebec premier and Parti Quebecois leader Lucien Bouchard as a victory for Canadian unity and a defeat for the cause of sovereignty. I see it as an opportunity to engage in serious questioning rather than blind flag-waving. One can feel affinity … Continue reading
The price of fuel and truckers’ militancy
Published in the Martlet (Victoria), 22 February 2000 Truckers across Canada are parking their rigs to protest rising fuel prices. The deep rumble of air horns lingers in the air from Parliament Hill to the Maritimes. After decades of declining real wages, rising prices have pushed these workers towards militancy. Stalling Toronto-area freeways, shutting down … Continue reading
Un-masking Reform
Letter to the Editor of the Oak Bay News (Victoria), 12 September 1998 I am writing in response to R. H. Eldridge’s letter (“Reformers showed intergrity”, September 11, 1998) in which he defends and applauds the Reform Party of Canada, stating that its member “show integrity, honesty, and ethics quite foreign to those in other … Continue reading
Partition of Quebec not the answer
Letter to the Editor published in Oak Bay News (Victoria), 18 September 1997 To all those who support the concept of partitioning Quebec, consider the following scenario: In the fall of 1998, a majority of Quebec citizens vote “Yes” in a sovereignty referendum. The province immediately declares itself independent from the rest of Canada, forming … Continue reading
A day and a half away from dictatorship
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 24 November 1996 Liberal democracy has been hailed in the western world as the ideal form of government, as the model which all the “dictatorial” powers of the world should strive towards. I cannot help but see a fundamental hypocrisy in this claim. Democracy emerged … Continue reading
Ben’s Open Office
Thursdays 5-6pm
Solstice Café
529 Pandora
Email: Ben@Isitt.ca Councillors@Victoria.ca
Make a Presentation to City Council
Register of Lobbyists
-
-
Ben’s Photo Album
Canadian hero
It is with admiration that I read Brigette DePape’s explanation of why she disrupted the Throne Speech in Canada’s Senate chamber. The 21-year-old parliamentary page from Winnipeg has now been fired for her defiant act. On June 3rd, she stood stone-faced in the centre of the sterile red chamber of privilege, holding a sign reading … Continue reading »