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October 02, 2008 18:14 +0000 | Canada Conservatives Green Party Liberals NDP Politics 1

For those of you not following the federal election, the Big Debate is tonight, and for the first time in history, the Green Party will be represented.

It all starts at 9pmEST, which for the West coast folks, that's 6pm. I'll be attending a shindig at Soho pub on Denman with the rest of the Greens to watch Elizabeth May in action. If the French debate is any indication, it should be a really good show.

For my friends living outside the country, the CBC will be hosting the debates online as well. Just go to CBC.ca and follow the links from the front page. They use a form of streaming Windows™ media, but it should work on a Mac as well.

Is anyone else annoyed that CBC hasn't done more stuff with Bittorrent?

Also, for those interested in the U.S. election, the Vice Presidential candidates debate will be held at roughly the same time down south. I expect Palin to look like the complete idiot that she is. That too should be a fun show, and you can expect the guys at OneGoodMove to have some really good video when it's finished.

September 13, 2008 20:32 +0000 | Canada Conservatives Green Party Liberals NDP Politics 2

Slate has a humbling article about the past few years in Canadian politics:

If you're at all confused or curious about how things have been going in our country; who's said what, or changed what laws, it's worth a look. Among the topics mentioned, it covers our about-face on Kyoto, the disappearance of our financial surplus, and censorship in our cultural sector.

September 10, 2008 19:24 +0000 | Canada Conservatives Democracy Green Party NDP Politics 1

Stephen Harper and Jack Layton have rescinded their statements that they'd withdraw from the debate if Elizabeth May is permitted to attend. It may have taken an impassioned letter to the Globe and Mail from former Prime Minister Joe Clark and a barrage of hate mail from their supporters to shame them into doing the Right thing, but regardless, my faith in our electoral system is slowly returning.

Update: 2008-09-10 16:16:31PST

Elizabeth May's twitter status has been updated to say "I am celebrating my inclusion in the televised leaders' debates! Going out to dinner at my favourite restaurant in New Glasgow."

September 09, 2008 06:38 +0000 | Canada Conservatives Democracy Green Party Liberals NDP Politics 7

The old white men have spoken. They don't want Elizabeth May kicking their asses in the debates, so they threatened to pull out completely if she was permitted to participate:

The Consortium approached the parties to explore the possibility of including the Green Party in all or part of the Leaders' Debates. However, three parties opposed its inclusion and it became clear that if the Green Party were included, there would be no Leaders' Debates. In the interest of Canadians, the Consortium has determined that it is better to broadcast the debates with the four major party leaders, rather than not at all.

For further information: Jason MacDonald, Spokesperson for the Network Consortium, T (416) 482-1357, C (647) 205-4744, macdonald@veritascanada.com

Or to use Adriane Carr's words: "Five men can agree with three men to exclude the only female national leader in Canada."

The lines split like so: the Liberals were cool with her inclusion, The Bloc were on the fence, and Conservatives where dead against it. But I reserve my foulest bitterness for our "Champions of Electoral Reform": the NDP, who like the Conservatives, flat out said that they would not attend if she were permitted to participate. Shame on them. ...and people wonder why I ditched those cowards when I did.

If their platform wasn't enough to compell you to vote Green, maybe the blind rage appropriate for this situation will. They didn't even offer a challenge this time, instead they just said that they'd take their toys and go home if they had to play with the new kid.

How juvenile.

May said that she'd go after them in court over this and I hope she does. If we can't have our democracy in the debates, then I can only hope that we can take it back through the courts.

May 30, 2008 20:25 +0000 | Democracy NDP Net Neutrality Technology 1

The NDP has tabled a bill to legislate net neutrality:

The four-page bill seeks to amend the Telecommunications Act and "prohibit network operators from engaging in network management practises that favour, degrade or prioritise any content, application or service transmitted over a broadband network based on its source, ownership or destination, subject to certain exceptions."

It also looks to prohibit "network operators from preventing a user from attaching any device to their network and requires network operators to make information about the user's access to the internet available to the user."

The proposed bill makes exception for ISPs to manage traffic in reasonable cases, Angus said, such as providing stable speeds for applications such as gaming or video conferencing.

"There are areas where telecoms have to be able to exercise rights, but that doesn't give them the ability to arbitrarily interfere or discriminate," Angus said.

CBC.ca: "Net neutrality bill hits House of Commons"

I know that I've not been a fan of the NDP of late, but they've really done some great work here. This is an important issue that affects the future of democracy and debate in this country and around the world, and the NDP are the only party that has cared enough to do something about it.

Please, read up on net neutrality and then contact your MP to get their support for it. With the combined support of the NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc, the Conservatives will have no choice to let this happen.

And it should happnen.

February 19, 2008 21:37 +0000 | Liberals NDP Politics 6

I received an email today from the Federal NDP with a most extraordinary statement enclosed. Siting the mass failings of the Liberal party to collectively stand up to the Conservatives on crucial subjects like Afghanistan and Kyoto, (choosing instead to abstain from the vote rather than risk an election), the President of the New Democratic Party has offerend the following:

I'm making an extraordinary appeal to all New Democrat supporters to invite their Liberal friends to join our party right now -- the only national party not in favour of three more years of war and the only national party standing up to Stephen Harper's agenda.

Just like we did nearly 50 years ago when we formed the NDP, it's time to build a new political coalition in Canada -- a coalition that will stand up to Stephen Harper and put forward a vision of prosperity, fairness and peace in the world.

Could this be the beginnings of a United Left in Canada? Does the NDP smell death on backs of the Liberal party?

I have no love for the Liberals, and even less respect for them lately in their capitulation to the Conservatives out of fear. I'm not saying that the NDP have everything right, but at the very least, they're standing up for the people who elected them. To all of the Liberal supporters who voted red to keep a balance in the house: how does it feel to know that the people you elected are doing nothing to represent you?

July 04, 2007 17:41 +0000 | Green Party NDP Politics 0

I've just cancelled my membership with both the provincial and federal NDP. Note the dead link on "provincial", that's not a typo, I just thought that I'd emphasise the incompetence when it comes to doing simple things like websites right. www.ndp.on.ca works, while ndp.on.ca doesn't... it's typical.

I didn't bail on them for their poor attention to detail though, that was just a tangent. No, I bailed on the NDP because their environmental policy is far too lax given the current situation, and Jack Layton's leadership ability & charisma pales in comparison to that of Elizabeth May.

In a time when global warming is clearly the greatest threat our race has ever faced, a party that claims to be a champion of the environment should not be focusing on pointless things like ATM fees and high gas prices, and frankly, I fail to see how any party can balance protecting unionised jobs in automobile manufacturing while claiming to be supportive of lowering emissions.

Don't get me wrong, they're still a better choice than the Liberals or Conservatives, but for my money, and my vote, the Green Party is my choice.

March 03, 2007 03:06 +0000 | Green Party NDP Politics 2

Setting aside for the moment that the environmental and health platforms for the Green Party are superior to those of the NDP, it's press conferences like this one that give me serious pause regarding my long standing support for the NDP.

What the hell are they thinking over there?