In the brilliant 1995 movie “The American President”, actor Michael Douglas plays a progressive president whose new gun control legislation is widely opposed, despite the fact he introduced it shortly after a string of fatal…
Recent Posts
Guns and Violence are Integral to American Political Culture: Trump’s Attack is Nothing New
Seventy-five years ago, world-renowned American political sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset published his definitive work explaining the differences between Canadian and American political culture. Using the early westward expansion of both countries as an example, he…
Toronto-St. Paul’s By-Election : The NDP in Freefall
One of the major differences between the party politics of Canada and the United States has been the presence in this country of all three philosophical strands – conservatism, liberalism and socialism – represented in…
Recent Calls for “Clarity” and “Transparency” Ignore Reality, Fundamental Democratic Principles
Former prime minister Jean Chretien had a clear winner when he introduced the Clarity Act. The legislation was part of his ten-point national unity plan, drawn up in the aftermath of the too-close-for-comfort 1995 Quebec…
Federal Public Servants and Remote Work: The Wrong Battle at the Wrong Time
The “right” to work remotely is a hugely controversial issue in both the private and public sectors. On the one hand, the trend towards reduced work patterns, such as “flex hours” and the ‘four day…
Forget Free Speech, Freedom of Assembly is the Real Issue on Student Encampments
If there is one thing the current debate over student encampments on universities is NOT about, it is free speech. Yet many commentaries on these protests have referred to this fundamental freedom and, more importantly,…
The Poilievre Conservatives’ Incivility Tests Canadians’ Faith in Democracy
By now there are likely few Canadians who have not heard about Pierre Poilievre’s latest display of bad behaviour in the House of Commons. The Conservative leader was expelled from the chamber after repeatedly calling…
The Proposed Capital Gains Tax Changes:
How Conservative/Private Sector Disinformation Campaigns, Public Ignorance and Poor Government Communications Are Once Again Putting a Good Policy At Risk Here we go again. The most effective and least costly option to fight climate change…
Antisemitism is Ominously Resurgent in Canada, Not Just Elsewhere
Everyone thinks Canadians are a tolerant and peaceful people, and no one more so than Canadians themselves. We pride ourselves on our acceptance of others. After all, we are a longstanding immigrant receiver country. Even…
“So-Called” Experts? Is Pierre Poilievre Heading for Another Cultural Revolution?
A few days ago some 200 economists across Canada signed an open letter indicating that in their expert opinion the Trudeau government’s carbon pricing plan is the least costly and most effective way to reduce…
