Political Watchdogs
Published by Michael O'Brien on January 1st, 2011The minority Conservative government has spent a large amount of money on setting up offices for watchdogs because of their election platform of “tranparency and accountability” However, they then proceed to ignore the watchdogs that they have created – those responsible for Veterans Affairs; for answering complaints against the RCMP and also for Victims Rights. In order Read more»
Funding Cuts for Toronto Immigrant Agencies Are Just In Time for the Holiday Season
Published by Grigor Grigorian on December 27th, 2010Almost 10 Great Toronto immigrant service agencies have been told by Citizenship and Immigration Canada that their program funding will not be renewed in the new year. These agencies provide education, social, and employment services to help all immigrants in the Toronto area attain self-sufficiency in the Canadian society. They offer language classes, assist new comers Read more»
A ‘Coalition of Separatists’ in disguise?
Published by Andrew Hamilton-Smith on December 23rd, 2010With the announcement of targeted cuts to immigrant-settlement services in the Toronto-area, I am reminded yet again of Stephen Harper’s penchant for divide-and-conquer politics. This practice of “scorched earth” attacks on opponents, which pit Canadians against one another – while arguably effective – has the unfortunate side-effect of threatening the social cohesion of our entire Read more»
CPP Reform Too Important to Ignore
Published by Andrew Hamilton-Smith on December 19th, 2010The recent Conservative decision to reject an expansion of CPP contributions and benefits, in favour of a privately-run market-value proposal, strikes me as particularly unreasonable. Although we are used to seeing Stephen Harper’s government decline to support broad social interests, it is remarkable that on the same day that Harper promised in a CTV interview Read more»
Harper Uses Unelected Senate to kill Breakthrough Climate Bill
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on December 13th, 2010In a shocking snap vote on November 16, Canada’s undemocratic Senate killed the Climate Change Accountability Act. This was the landmark New Democrat bill that was going to get Canada back on track to reducing climate-changing emissions. This was the historic environmental legislation that your elected House of Common passed on May 5—legislation that most Canadians supported. You deserve to Read more»
HST Will Punish Seniors
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on December 13th, 2010The Harper-backed HST is going to make life more expensive for all Ontarians. The Prime Minister and Premier seem especially insensitive to how this unfair tax will hurt the seniors who built our province. The HST could devastate seniors on fixed incomes, by adding eight per cent to the cost of basic items like these: hydro, water Read more»
Integrity of our Watchdogs
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on December 12th, 2010In 2007, Harper created the Office of Public Sector Integrity Commissioner PSIC. The purpose of the commissioner is to provide a safe and confidential mechanism enabling public servants and the general public to disclose wrongdoings in the public sector. Ironically, the Auditor General Sheila Fraser found the actions of the Commissioner Christiane Ouimet in the last three years Read more»
Nothing about this tax adds up
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on May 1st, 2010Ontario Revenue Minister John Wilkinson was in town for the second time this month on Monday, trying to allay fears that the HST will drive up prices and close down businesses. Yet this is exactly what Wilkinson admitted could happen, noting that consumers must become more educated and demand lower prices – and if business refuse Read more»
Ugly Politics
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on April 8th, 2010This is really too much. Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament for six weeks just to release the same plan he had before his “recalibration” break. His explanation for killing half his government’s legislation and sending MPs home early keeps changing, but rest assured it had nothing to do with questions about Afghan detainees. Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals are playing Read more»
Political Alternatives
Published by Farah Kalbouneh on February 23rd, 2010As I have met with residents while canvassing in recent weeks, many have expressed unhappiness with the current Liberal and Conservative parties. However, many of these same residents have never given any serious thought to supporting the New Democratic Party (NDP). Many residents I meet have never encountered any of the NDP’s policies, except when they Read more»
