What are you dressing up as for Halloween?
It's that time of year when folks pretending to be something exciting and attractive turn out to be just a bunch of children demanding hand-outs and threatening vandalism or worse. No, I'm not talking about the latest stream of Justin Trudeau's broken election promises or Minister Chrystia Freeland's will-she-won't-she cajolery over CETA -- I'm talking about Halloween! The greatest holiday of all time.
Halloween is the perfect time for leftists and progressives everywhere to wear their politics on their sleeves while having fun (yes, Halloween is the one day of the year leftists are allowed to have a sense of humour -- so make it count). How will you be dressing this Oct. 31?
If you're not the biggest fan of Investor-State Dispute-Settlements and corporate rights, perhaps you will be paying tribute to les Gilles of Wallonia, who wear wax masks, wield sticks to fend off evil spirits and carry baskets of blood oranges to hurl at spectators of the famous Carnival of Binche. No wonder they were such a thorn in the side of CETA -- but alas, they must have run out of oranges to throw because it looks like CETA will be ratified at the eleventh hour after all. Yay for corporate power!
Anyway, what political statement will you be making this Halloween?
What's the most Liberal thing Justin Trudeau's government has done so far?
So Canada, are your faces red yet?
It looks like Justin Trudeau is walking back what Karl Nerenberg calls his "clear and very personal ownership" of the Liberal pledge to ensure 2015 was the last election to be decided under First-Past-the-Post. For many voters and advocacy groups last October, that was the one campaign promise that made a Liberal government palatable -- and now it may not happen.
"Under Stephen Harper," PM Trudeau told Le Devior, "there were so many people unhappy with the government and their approach that people were saying, 'It will take electoral reform to no longer have a government we don't like.'
"But under the current system, they now have a government they're more satisfied with and the motivation to change the electoral system is less compelling."
Ha ha ha. I think the phrase is: "If the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." Sure it sounds entitled, self-important and deluded -- but for those of us who remember the Liberal governments of Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and, er, Kathleen Wynne, this is just Liberals Liberalling. Broken promises and the LPC go together like gum and nuts.
But maybe electoral reform is only cocktail talk for policy wonks and political science grads. Then we might look at Bill Morneau -- the finance minister! -- who saw no problem inviting mining magnates into his home for a $1,500-a-plate fundraising dinner (oh yeah, we called that one too). Or maybe at the Liberals' announcing climate targets with much pomp and circumstance and then do precisely zero to reach them. Whatever, man, it's the feeling that counts.
Welcome back, Liberal Party of Canada. It's been awhile.
So what's the most Liberal-like act of Liberalling Justin's Liberals have Liberalled?
What is the most surprising thing to come out of the allegations that Donald Trump gropes women?
The rubber appears to have hit the road/giant tire fire in the U.S. presidential campaign. After a leaked 2005 tape showed Donald Trump boasting of assaulting women, a dozen women (so far) have come forward alleging that Donald Trump did to them exactly what he bragged he did to women. Outraged at being quoted correctly, Trump threatened to sue the New York Times -- who promptly responded, "Bring it."
What a time to be alive.
It's left us Canadian progressives a bit at sea, to be honest. We don't know whether to address Trump's factless drive-bys on the Canadian health-care system or just be grateful for a passing moment that we don't need to vote in this election. Besides, when it comes to high-profile sexual assault cases involving skeezy celebrities, we Canadians have been through it all before.
But hey, maybe we can learn something new after all. So: what's the most surprising thing to come out of Donald Trump's groping allegations/taped confession?
What film would you show Cineplex execs to convince them their low-wage workers deserve a raise?
Cineplex Odeon has hiked ticket prices across the country, despite pulling in over $700 million in revenue already this year. Then it had the gall to blame the hike on the modest and still-insufficient increases to the minimum wage. Cineplex, which enjoys a near-monopoly over theatre-goers, managed to convince the CBC to reprint its corporate talking points almost verbatim. But rabble blogger Nora Loreto caught Cineplex's spin cold.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we at rabble decided to treat this as a teachable moment. And what better way to teach Cineplex execs and spin doctors how the economy actually works than through the silver screen?
So: What film would you show Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob (Annual compensation: $5.3 million) to convince him his low-wage workers deserve a raise?
Which broken Liberal promise most reminds you of Stephen Harper?
If Gerry Caplan is right, the shine is starting to wear off Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals. This week, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved the controversial Pacific Northwest LNG plant in British Columbia, enraging environmentalists and Indigenous leaders who trusted Trudeau when he promised a new deal for Canada's First Nations and real action on climate change.
We suspected from election day that Trudeau's promises were far from ironclad (timely then that our Parliamentary Correspondent Karl Nerenberg returns this month). The Liberal Party, and particularly Trudeau who currently stands unchallenged by the two leaderless parties facing him in the House, have enjoyed high approval ratings in the polls. But with this latest flip-flop, the broken promises are starting to stack up.
Maybe you're sad about some of them. Maybe (probably) some of them make you pretty angry. Maybe you're disappointed or maybe you're just pretty pleased you can finally say "I told you so." But which broken promise makes you forget that we ever had an election at all?
Can Canada be a real leader in the fight against climate change?
It is now officially fall, which means it is officially time to talk about carbon pricing, apparently.
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said on Wednesday that all provinces could soon have either a cap-and-trade system or carbon tax as the Liberal government continues to prepare its national plan for carbon pricing.
McKenna also noted that in order for the system to be effective, price must increase with inflation instead of being fixed.
Hilariously, at the UN conference this week, Norwegian politician Erik Solheim joked that since everyone loves Canada, everyone would be happy to take leadership from Canada.
Can Canada be a real leader in the fight against climate change?
Do you think the Energy East pipeline should still be built?
So... things have been happening when it comes to the Energy East pipeline.
Well that's an understatement, but the gist is that the members of the regulatory panel were forced to resign last week after some... conflicts of interest among other things.
Once a new panel is selected, the hearings will continue, apparently.
Also of note is that a CIBC bank analyst said there is now only a 25 per cent chance the pipeline will be built.
Do you think the Energy East pipeline should still be built?
What problematic parts of Bill C-51 do the Liberals need to repeal?
Guess what?! The Liberals have started the formal review process for national security, which has specifically identified problems with the former Conservative government's highly controversial Bill C-51.
Let us all remember that the Liberals, then the third-party opposition, were apparently against parts of Bill C-51, yet still voted for it.
The new Liberal government has now promised to repeal the problematic parts of the bill and introduce new measures that will balance security with rights and freedoms.
What problematic parts of Bill C-51 do the Liberals need to repeal?
How impressed are you with the Liberals?
It's been what, 10 months, since Canada's new Liberal government was ushered in under our new prime minister, Justin Trudeau.
Trudeaumania got off to a rousing start -- the man could do nothing wrong. He launched committees, assembled task forces, reversed cuts and had some great photo-ops.
Now, is the sparkle starting to fade? The Liberals have been criticized for their bungling of files such as assisted dying, breaking promises, specifically to Indigenous communities, and generally talking left while acting right.
How impressed are you with the Liberals?
What's your reaction to the fact that fracking could trigger earthquakes that could damage B.C. dams?
This week the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative (CCPA) exposed through a Freedom of Information request that senior B.C. Hydro officials fear that earthquakes, triggered by fracking, could damage Peace River dams and put hundreds, possibly thousands, of people at risk.
The Crown corporation has not said anything publicly about these concerns, instead negotiating behind closed doors, and has kept the public in the dark.
Let that sink in.
Fracking could trigger earthquakes more powerful than some dams are designed to withstand and they said nothing.
What's your reaction to the fact that fracking could trigger earthquakes that could damage B.C. dams?
