the reeves report
Archive for April 2011
Weekly Round Up: April 24-April 30
Sunday, April 24 | The Canadian Press – Leaders gird for frenetic last week of election campaign “The federal party leaders charge into the cut-and-thrust final week of the election campaign Monday after a docile day of Easter egg hunts and church services. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who needs to close a big gap with … Continue reading
Voting and income disparities in Toronto Centre
I have always been fascinated by my riding. I always tell the story of our disparate communities coming together at common places and events, like the Cabbagetown Festival in September, or the No Frills on Parliament any day of the week. These are the times and places were people with some of widest income disparities … Continue reading
The Catch-22 of Third Party Candidates
There was something that stuck out to me yesterday in Andrew Coyne’s Liberal endorsement, and it stayed with me for the rest of the day. In narrowing his choice of party down, he had this to say about eliminating the NDP and the Green Party from the first round: I can eliminate two options off … Continue reading
Andrew Coyne’s support for the Liberals: help bring “government to democratic heel”
My previous comments about abuse of power and using media outlets to state voting intentions notwithstanding, I wanted to bring attention to Andrew Coyne’s article ‘A price must be paid – but by whom?’ in Maclean’s that came out today. Coyne does a fantastic job exploring the debate between the two pillars of the campaign … Continue reading
Editorial: Globe and Mail endorses Harper and the Conservatives
At least the Globe editorial board and I agree on one thing: we are having an election on May 2, that much is true. No – I kid. The Globe & Mail has come out with their public political endorsement, said some pleasant things about all party leaders, and thrown their considerable, national weight behind … Continue reading
Solidifying the ‘Youth Vote’ starts with respect
Stephen Harper can say that this was a needless election all he wants, but for millions of Canadians on the political left of the spectrum, the May 2 vote appears to be anything but. And if record-breaking advance polls turnout is any indication, the election in search of a story appears to have found its … Continue reading
Asbestos is Canada’s deadly double standard
Stephen Harper has been in the heart of asbestos country recently, attempting to win votes on the export of a highly toxic and dangerous substance banned throughout much of the industrialized world. That Canada has a deadly double standard with regards to limiting our own use of a hazardous substance while exporting it to developing … Continue reading
Are the injustices of First-Past-The-Post becoming too hard to ignore?
It is always news to the ears of electoral reform supporters when mainstream media outlets report on the possibility of changing our outdated system. The Guelph Mercury spent spent some time yesterday talking with Guelph Political Scientist Judith McKenzie on the subject, thinking about the likelihood of a discussion on electoral reform being one of … Continue reading
Ignatieff is finding himself on the hustings
With the recent NDP surge in the polls over the past week, I think media outlets – myself included – have tended to write about the big story, the drastic change that many people are looking for to justify what Stephen Harper has relentlessly called a ‘needless election.’ The outside chance of Jack Layton and … Continue reading
Uniting the Left: Part II – Drawbacks and Alternatives
Continuing from yesterday… Uniting the Left: Why We Should Avoid It The problem is, I will never believe that uniting very different left-leaning political parties in Canada would ever make more sense than seriously considering electoral reform. This would eliminate the need to vote strategically to keep someone out, rather than install someone you desire, … Continue reading
