CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

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EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

PK loving SUBBAN posted:

I'm reading a pretty good book about this right now, People Get Ready by John Nichols. It argues that the automation is coming and that elites are going to run roughshod over the rest of unless we get organized.

https://www.amazon.ca/People-Get-Ready-Citizenless-Democracy/dp/1568585217

Does this book offer any suggestions about how to effectively combat this trend or is it just 300 pages of 'we're all hosed and here's why'.

I need some good news about where our country and planet is headed, it's getting to the point where I can't even laugh at how hosed it all seems anymore.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 20:51

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# ? Jun 8, 2024 19:24

Ambrose Burnside: Aug 30, 2007; pensive

lol helsing are there really trots trying to do Trot Entryism in the ndp

e: and yeah, occupy was a big meandering mess, but it still strikes me as really important b/c i would have never figured in a million years that a leftist and nominally 'radical' movement would kind of spontaneously form- and persist!- outside of establishment politics. it's valuable as an example and as a case study for future movements- why it happened, what didnt work, what worked, and why it fizzled out

Ambrose Burnside fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Apr 6, 2016

# ? Apr 6, 2016 20:52

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

Ambrose Burnside posted:

lol helsing are there really trots trying to do Trot Entryism in the ndp

At least two separate groups!

The Socialist Caucus, and Fightback.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 20:59

infernal machines: Oct 11, 2012; we monitor many frequencies. we listen always. came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. it played us a mighty dub.

Kafka Esq. posted:

I think that the First Nations organizers got a great deal of momentum out of it. As for the original thesis of getting money out of politics, well, the current focus on campaign fundraising is probably due to a greater awareness from Occupy as a whole. I think most of the people there were glad of the synthesis from a protracted confrontation with various other left groups. Like I said, most of what I see now as remnant are the youth and homeless groups, and First Nations advocacy. They are a lot stronger and louder. Two other U of T students ended up working in the Citizen Lab at Munk doing anti-censorship work.

In fact, Yusra Khogali of BLMTO (who is in the process of getting reamed for an entirely harmless "please allah give me the strength not to kill these men and white folks out there" tweet) is the sister of a friend of mine from student government and Occupy. She's the reason I went down to check it out and get involved.

I guess I can understand its benefit as a sort of social advocacy incubator, bringing people together to form new more focused advocacy groups.

As an interested observer with no connection to any kind of social change movement, it seemed spectacularly ineffective at doing anything but presenting protestors, and the protest movement itself, as anything but wingnuts disconnected from reality. From the laughable organizational structure, to people protesting American laws in a Canada, the lack of coherent narrative, and the smattering of actual tinfoil hats hijacking the discourse, it didn't present well.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 21:23

Kafka Esq.: Jan 1, 2005; "If you ever even think about calling me anything but 'The Crab' I will go so fucking crab on your ass you won't even see what crab'd your crab" -The Crab(TM)

infernal machines posted:

I guess I can understand its benefit as a sort of social advocacy incubator, bringing people together to form new more focused advocacy groups.

As an interested observer with no connection to any kind of social change movement, it seemed spectacularly ineffective at doing anything but presenting protestors, and the protest movement itself, as anything but wingnuts disconnected from reality. From the laughable organizational structure, to people protesting American laws in a Canada, the lack of coherent narrative, and the smattering of actual tinfoil hats hijacking the discourse, it didn't present well.

Yes, the reaction to a poster of a ballerina on a bull was not focus grouped or designed to meet anyone's approval in particular. Also, that one city's activist vacation didn't change the nation. Thank you for making this insight again.

It was an event, not a movement. As an event, I consider it very successful.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 22:36

infernal machines: Oct 11, 2012; we monitor many frequencies. we listen always. came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. it played us a mighty dub.

I'm sorry for upsetting you. I was just stating my personal reaction.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 22:39

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

I wish someone at the NDP vetted their leadership so that they wouldn't take on a Thatcherite.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 22:41

Helsing: Aug 23, 2003; DON'T POST IN THE ELECTION THREAD UNLESS YOU JOE BIDEN

PK loving SUBBAN posted:

I'm reading a pretty good book about this right now, People Get Ready by John Nichols. It argues that the automation is coming and that elites are going to run roughshod over the rest of unless we get organized.

https://www.amazon.ca/People-Get-Ready-Citizenless-Democracy/dp/1568585217

This looks really interesting and I'll probably check it out... on kindle... off of Amazon... :downsgun:

... God drat it.

EvilJoven posted:

Does this book offer any suggestions about how to effectively combat this trend or is it just 300 pages of 'we're all hosed and here's why'.

I need some good news about where our country and planet is headed, it's getting to the point where I can't even laugh at how hosed it all seems anymore.

Honestly I am feeling slightly more upbeat about future prospects than I was in a couple years. $15 minimum wage has become a mainstream idea in only a couple years, the rhetoric of OWS has penetrated so deeply that even conservatives now use the 1% terminology, the members of nominally progressive left wing parties are becoming more restive and militant. Voters accross Canada have pretty firmly rejected government austerity, even if they aren't entirely clear on what htey want instead. The situation is really bad but compared to where we were even five years ago I do see some progress. In many cases I'm starting to find that my criticism of political ideas is "that doesn't go far enough" or "that doesn't address the real problem" whereas only a couple years ago it felt like quite often the only refrain was "good god that will make things much worse".

The fact is that the 2008 crash revealed just how ideologically bankrupt and organizationally fractured the remnant of the left had become. To a large degree people have been forced to start over from scratch, trying to puff the tiniest embers of radicalism into an actual roaring blaze again.

If you look back at the history of how issues like government provided affordable housing, healthcare, social insurance and the like were implemented, it took decades of movement building, political battles, protests, riots, strikes, etc., and even then it also required the right alignment of circumstances. It might not be decades until some of the current organizing and agitation truly bears fruit, but at least people are mobilizing.

There's an old Gramsci phrase that I think is appropriate here, advocating "optimism of the will and pessimism of the intellect", i.e. you need to strike that balance between openly recognizing how bad the situation is (and it's bad, we may not be able toa fford to wait decades when environmental collapse and the danger of a drift into authoritarianism are barking at the door), but you also need to have some reserve of inner confidence that change is achievable, otherwise you're going to drive yourself crazy. If being a left winger just leaves you constantly miserable you won't be of much use and you'll end up feeling like poo poo all the time for no good reason.

infernal machines posted:

I guess I can understand its benefit as a sort of social advocacy incubator, bringing people together to form new more focused advocacy groups.

As an interested observer with no connection to any kind of social change movement, it seemed spectacularly ineffective at doing anything but presenting protestors, and the protest movement itself, as anything but wingnuts disconnected from reality. From the laughable organizational structure, to people protesting American laws in a Canada, the lack of coherent narrative, and the smattering of actual tinfoil hats hijacking the discourse, it didn't present well.

I think this is a mistake people slip into quite often where they think that the purpose of any public political action of demonstration is to win the hearts and minds of as many random citizens as possible. It ends up conflating public relations with movement building, which is quite dangerous.

Occupy Toronto was a bit of a clusterfuck and in the short term it probably even alienated some people (in particular I would say it revealed how the atmosphere of 'consensus' was really enabling to inappropriate creeps. Some degree of hierarchy is necessary if you want to have a serious and accountable system for dealing with things like sexual harassment, never mind how you run meetings or manage a budget). However, it provided a space for developing relationships and organizational ties that have since paid off for some people or groups.

I think its dangerous to slip into this trap of thinking that all that matters is how respectable or how dignified you appear in public. Sometimes you've just got to endure the inevitable public ridicule of doing something as inherently silly as trying to improve our awful world. You're going to rub shoulders with crack pots and a bunch of strangers are inevitably going to write you off. That's really unavoidable if you're trying to create some kind of lasting movement.

So I'd say in retrospect that OWS and its offshoots like Occupy Toronto did bear some fruit. The whole thing was silly and premature and didn't lead anywhere on its own but it helped demonstrate that raw public appetite for radical politics and for those who were already organized enough to capitalize on it it seems like Occupy Toronto was a really great work to accelerate the growth and development of individual groups, projects, movements, etc. I think it also helped shift the overall public discourse to the left, something I was a bit dismissive of at the time but which in retrospect I think turned out to be pretty valuable.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:09

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

Helsing posted:

I think that western separatists or hardcore anti-immigrant white nationalists are to the Conservatives what Trotskyists are for the NDP: a small but passionate minority who the establishment really doesn't want anywhere near the media. Back when Manning was getting the Reform party started some of his first big battles were over preventing any talk of explicit racism or western seperatism from defining the movement and its goals. Also if you read books like '"Rescuing Canada's Right" (which sort of lays out a blue print for setting up places like the Manning Centre and otherwise mobilizing a conservative movement that could win power and trnasform the country) then one of the things you'll notice is conservative intellectuals chastising conservatives and telling them to stop openly admitting that they hate Canada -- and I'm not being euphemistic, that book literally has passages where the authors had to tell their audience that it'd be hard to win a national election if they couldn't cut that poo poo out.

The shorter version of this would be that back in the 1990s the Reformers had some issues with supporters who talked a lot like a CI drunk post. It'll be interesting to see if there's a resurgence of that now that we have another Trudeau in office and Alberta's economy is back in the toilet.

John Ibbitson's biography of Stephen Harper touches on a lot of this (because he places Harper at the centre of the policy development of the Reform Party), and is worth checking out if you're interested reading more about it.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:17

infernal machines: Oct 11, 2012; we monitor many frequencies. we listen always. came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. it played us a mighty dub.

Helsing posted:

I think this is a mistake people slip into quite often where they think that the purpose of any public political action of demonstration is to win the hearts and minds of as many random citizens as possible. It ends up conflating public relations with movement building, which is quite dangerous.

Occupy Toronto was a bit of a clusterfuck and in the short term it probably even alienated some people (in particular I would say it revealed how the atmosphere of 'consensus' was really enabling to inappropriate creeps. Some degree of hierarchy is necessary if you want to have a serious and accountable system for dealing with things like sexual harassment, never mind how you run meetings or manage a budget). However, it provided a space for developing relationships and organizational ties that have since paid off for some people or groups.

I think its dangerous to slip into this trap of thinking that all that matters is how respectable or how dignified you appear in public. Sometimes you've just got to endure the inevitable public ridicule of doing something as inherently silly as trying to improve our awful world. You're going to rub shoulders with crack pots and a bunch of strangers are inevitably going to write you off. That's really unavoidable if you're trying to create some kind of lasting movement.

So I'd say in retrospect that OWS and its offshoots like Occupy Toronto did bear some fruit. The whole thing was silly and premature and didn't lead anywhere on its own but it helped demonstrate that raw public appetite for radical politics and for those who were already organized enough to capitalize on it it seems like Occupy Toronto was a really great work to accelerate the growth and development of individual groups, projects, movements, etc. I think it also helped shift the overall public discourse to the left, something I was a bit dismissive of at the time but which in retrospect I think turned out to be pretty valuable.

Thanks, as I said, initially I couldn't really see how it had helped because I was unaware of the relationships that had been forged during the protest and the depth of interest in social change it had gauged, but I can understand its value better now.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:35

apatheticman: May 13, 2003; Wedge Regret

https://twitter.com/CFRAOttawa/status/717817969666080768

Behold, the taxi industry's death

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:35

Majuju: Dec 30, 2006; I had a beer with Stephen Miller once and now I like him.

apatheticman posted:

https://twitter.com/CFRAOttawa/status/717817969666080768

Behold, the taxi industry's death

https://twitter.com/BlueLineTaxiOtt/status/717840123317108738

Behold, journalism's death

(I mean, who knows, we'll see tomorrow)

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:49

PittTheElder: Feb 13, 2012; Yes, it's like a lava lamp.

The taxis are angry at buses now?

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:50

Kafka Esq.: Jan 1, 2005; "If you ever even think about calling me anything but 'The Crab' I will go so fucking crab on your ass you won't even see what crab'd your crab" -The Crab(TM)

infernal machines posted:

I'm sorry for upsetting you. I was just stating my personal reaction.

That's fair, your reaction was pretty typical of people who were on the sidelines for the whole thing.

# ? Apr 6, 2016 23:59

apatheticman: May 13, 2003; Wedge Regret

Majuju posted:

https://twitter.com/BlueLineTaxiOtt/status/717840123317108738

Behold, journalism's death

(I mean, who knows, we'll see tomorrow)

I'll never trust twitter again

# ? Apr 7, 2016 00:55

brucio: Nov 22, 2004

I wouldn't be surprised if cabbies did it independent of management's knowledge. Ottawa cabbies are the worst.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 01:26

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

I've always sort of liked my MLA, but gently caress this
http://www.andrewweavermla.ca/2016/04/04/labellinggmos/

NDP getting on the MANDITORY GMO LABELS bandwagon. The link goes to a long "fair and balanced" report on the pros and cons but of course anyone can write something that makes any issue sound like some "maybe the truth is in the middle" bullshit. "Well on one side we have science, but that science is funded by CORPORATIONS. What about our right to know what we're eating?!" gently caress you NDP.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 03:18

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

That guy's a Green.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 03:20

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

Pinterest Mom posted:

That guy's a Green.

Oak Bay Gordon head, jesus I can't keep my MLA's straight. I even read the whole page and never clued in "this is the oak bay green MLA, not yours". Embarrassing! (I'm really really bad with names!)
This is 100% par for the course for the greens, nothing surprising there. Wouldn't surprise me though if the NDP got in on this though after enough focus groups showed it was popular with their voters.

\/ Well this is embarrassing for both of us then

Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Apr 7, 2016

# ? Apr 7, 2016 03:30

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

He's my MLA :negative:

# ? Apr 7, 2016 03:33

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

Bod

http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/6443334-milton-s-former-federal-liberal-candidate-files-17-5m-libel-lawsuit/

The local fb group moderator is being sued for probably spreading rumours about a lpc candidate that beat out the other more popular candidate locally who is also admin of said fb group. :lol:

# ? Apr 7, 2016 03:52

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Everyone who supports mandatory GMO labelling should be relentlessly and publicly ridiculed. Also possibly beaten with a large stick, if necessary.

Edit: This post contains substances known by the State of California to cause cancer :v:

# ? Apr 7, 2016 04:36

HackensackBackpack: Aug 20, 2007; Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?

brucio posted:

I wouldn't be surprised if cabbies did it independent of management's knowledge. Ottawa cabbies are the worst.

My guess is it got found out ahead of the plans and now they're in damage control mode. Deny, deny, deny.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:01

Chicken: Apr 23, 2014

Pinterest Mom posted:

He's my MLA

Are you one of the lucky few who has a Green MLA and a Green MP?

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:04

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Leofish posted:

My guess is it got found out ahead of the plans and now they're in damage control mode. Deny, deny, deny.

My guess is gently caress the taxi industry in Canada and everyone involved in it in their syphylitic rear end in a top hat. Now they've pissed me off to the point I just want them to wither and die out of pure spite.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:16

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

http://www.660news.com/2016/04/06/ex-ahs-ceo-claims-ndp-interference-in-resignation-letter-aupe-and-nenshi-respond/

Something is rotten in the kingdom of the AHS. I'm inclined to disbelieve everyone involved, so I don't know what any of this means, but I find Nenshi's response needlessly antagonist even if it's factually correct. This is the sort of thing I am talking about when I criticise his demeanour.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:33

JawKnee: Mar 24, 2007; You'll take the ride to leave this town along that yellow line

PT6A posted:

http://www.660news.com/2016/04/06/ex-ahs-ceo-claims-ndp-interference-in-resignation-letter-aupe-and-nenshi-respond/

Something is rotten in the kingdom of the AHS. I'm inclined to disbelieve everyone involved, so I don't know what any of this means, but I find Nenshi's response needlessly antagonist even if it's factually correct. This is the sort of thing I am talking about when I criticise his demeanour.

sounds like he was perfectly levelheaded, reasonable, and clear in his response - and that's just considering his tone which you seem to have a problem with. Personally I'm not seeing it - you seem awfully biased towards disliking anything he does just because.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:44

sbaldrick: Jul 19, 2006; Driven by Hate

flakeloaf posted:

In other questionable mayor news, Jim Watson has reiterated his staunch disapproval for safe injection sites, because it's the availability of rehab that serves as the only barrier to these people getting clean

The biggest problem with safe injection sites in Ottawa is the places they would need to go to be of use to anyone with an addiction problem are controlled by either the NCC or various embassies.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 05:45

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

JawKnee posted:

sounds like he was perfectly levelheaded, reasonable, and clear in his response - and that's just considering his tone which you seem to have a problem with. Personally I'm not seeing it - you seem awfully biased towards disliking anything he does just because.

Do you really think it's appropriate to say "good luck to the people of South Australia [where she's been hired, evidently]?" I don't think that sort of mean spirited sarcasm has a place in our public discourse.

I mean, either go balls to the wall and say what you really think or just shut up. I'd have so much more respect if he just said, "good, she was useless. Hopefully she doesn't let the door smack her rear end on the way out," instead of his customary passive-aggressive douchery.

Edit: it's the same reason I respect CI: he has the common decency to tell me to go gently caress myself right to my face, rather than wringing his hands and whining about how I disagree with him so I clearly need therapy and such.

PT6A fucked around with this message at 06:42 on Apr 7, 2016

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:20

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

Chicken posted:

Are you one of the lucky few who has a Green MLA and a Green MP?

#blessed

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:29

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/essex-woman-uses-google-translate-to-deliver-goods-to-refugees-1.3522589

quote:

Essex woman uses Google Translate to deliver goods to refugees

Google Translate usually works well, unless it autocorrects a word to 'reindeer' three times

Laura Soutar-Hasulo is using Google Translate to break down language barriers between her and Syrian refugees new to southwestern Ontario.

The Syrian Canadian Council in Windsor, Ont., gives her an address of a family in need and she hops in her car to personally deliver the goods. She brings her smartphone to help translate during the conversations.

"I don't really have a shy bone in my body so I would just go in with my iPhone and start trying to translate. Every family has been so gracious, so welcoming. They've given me jewelry. I'm wearing jewelry given to me by people who have nothing. They are just so happy to be in Canada. One mother said to me, 'Now, my children can breathe.' I just can't fathom it."

After a stroller delivery to one refugee family, Soutar-Hasulo discovered another family in need of clothing and took them to the Rose City Islamic Centre, where the donations had been dropped off.

"They had no shoes for the young girl. So I said to her, as a gift, welcoming her to Canada, I would take her and buy her shoes. When I picked them up from their apartment. I realized they only had one towel for the entire family. And then I started asking them on Google Translate, 'What else do you have? Do you have socks? Do you have underwear?'

"They had one pair of socks, they had very little. Nothing. They had no plates. They had absolutely nothing. So the need is now. So many people say, 'Canada should be doing this, Canada should be doing that.' We're all Canada. I'm Canadian. These are new Canadians. The need is now and it needs to be done."

Soutar-Hasulo said Google Translate usually works well but said the service auto corrected one word to "reindeer" three times. Needless to say, the Syrian family looked confused, she said.

Frequent stops nothing new

Soutar-Hasulo is used to making frequent stops. She's been a conductor with CN for 30 years. But even on her days off, she makes frequent pickups and deliveries.

Soutar-Hasulo figures she's filled up her black Ford Focus about 40 times since January. Tuesday, she was transporting a bike, toys, bedding, diaper bags and baby supplies. There's just enough room in her cramped car to see through the rear-view mirror. It's not the fullest the car has ever been.

"I've had it floor to ceiling, every inch of space in this car has been taken up. It's been an adventure and it's been a lot of laughs, oh my gosh. Because I don't speak Arabic. The children are determined that I'll learn Arabic as much as I'm trying to help them learn English. I've made some really, really good friends. And they're going to be friends for the rest of my life," she said.

Her and her husband live just outside Colchester, and her travels take her all over Windsor-Essex, to towns like Leamington, Kingsville and Belle River.

"I've been to I've been all over Essex County. I've been all over Lasalle, Windsor, Tecumseh. I'm going to Ottawa to visit my niece, but she has a bunch of stuff for me to bring back," she said.

Soutar-Hasulo started her work when she learned about a donation drive through Facebook and posted that she had a car and would be willing to pick up donations. Soon after sharing the information on social media, she started receiving donations to her house.

"I started having things dropped off on my porch. I started receiving Purolator and FedEx and regular mail; towels and all kinds of household goods," she said.

The father of one family Soutar-Hasulo met was a tailor in Syria.

"So, I'm picking up a sewing machine for him in Sunderland from a friend of mine. I can't even begin to count how many kilometres I've put on my car," she said.

"I think it's great. More people should be doing that," says Diane Masters, who's filled up Soutar-Hasulo's car twice. "I filled up her car a couple of weeks ago [with] a couple of cribs, a high chair, a few toys."

From Lasalle, Soutar-Hasulo drove the toys to the Khalaaji family in downtown Windsor.

"I am thank you, Laura. Thank you, Canada to welcome [us]," said Nazer Khalaaji, who arrived in Windsor in January.

Soutar-Hasulo says it was the tone of the federal election campaign last fall that upset her, and was her initial call to action.

"It seemed to be a campaign of division and fear and people fear what they don't know and I'd been watching events in Syria and these are just innocent families; families that are in horrific situations, situations that we can't even imagine in our comfortable lives in Canada. We just can't," she said.

quote:

i on u:
That's great but tell me CBC is there a day that goes by that you don't have a story about Syrians? How about some stories about some of the other 35 Million Canadians in this country.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 13:00

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

quote:

Good Thursday morning to you.

It�s World Health Day, but as it turns out, we�re not so healthy. To mark its anniversary, the World Health Organization released its first global report on diabetes yesterday, which found the number of people living with it has almost quadrupled since 1980 to 422 million adults. Not surprisingly, most are living in developing countries. So you know what you have to do this morning. That�s right�back away from the donut.

As for Tom Mulcair, he has no plans to back away. He�s made his way to Edmonton to face his party head on as they prepare to vote on his political fate this weekend. There isn�t anyone lined up to take his place, but most of the blame for last fall�s poor showing at the federal polls is being pointed Mulcair�s way. That�s got a good many in the party calling for change at the top, but as CP�s Kristy Kirkup reports, others remain conflicted.

So far there aren�t any signs of an open revolt against his leadership, but Mulcair says he's not afraid of the possibility. The reality is, however, the NDP can't really afford a leadership election right now anyway.

However, there is a push afoot to return the party to its leftist roots and embrace the �Leap manifesto,� which calls for Canada to wean itself off fossil fuels, among other things. Should the party adopt a controversial policy to keep oil and coal in the ground, Mulcair told the CBC�s Peter Mansbridge he�ll do everything he can to make that a reality.

Whatever he vows to do, it's probably not going to be enough for the party's younger members. As our Janice Dickson reports, in a letter to iPolitics, the youth wing is urging all young New Democrats to support �a new direction, and a new style of leadership.� You can read the full text here.

But hold up. The party�s current state isn�t all Mulcair�s fault, is it? In a bit of a twist, former Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber makes the case for why the NDP needs to stop blaming Mulcair for everything. You�ll hear more from him this weekend as he covers the convention for iPolitics.

Turning to the Conservatives, if you�re looking to run for the leadership, the party has a few questions for you. Forty pages of them, to be exact. Ontario MP Kellie Leitch is the first to fill out the application in full. She handed it in yesterday, along with 300 signatures and a $50,000 fee. Quebec MP Maxime Bernier is expected to do the same today.

This evening we�ll be live from Rachel Notley�s kitchen. That�s where the Alberta premier will be when she delivers a 15-minute talk on TV about the economic challenges families are facing. One week ahead of her government�s budget, she�s going to share her recipe for getting the province back on track.

In Manitoba, while Conservative Leader Brian Pallister once called same-sex marriage "a social experiment,�' he now says he's �not adverse� to participating in pride celebrations if he is elected premier. Of course he�ll have to check his calendar. Because you never know when one of those pesky dentist appointments is going to sneak up on you�

Ontario Tory MP Jack MacLaren has the support of PC Leader Patrick Brown and won�t be given the boot despite making sexist remarks and a vulgar joke about Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon and her husband at a recent cancer fundraiser. Word is his comments left everyone in the room gobsmacked and this week found their way into the Toronto Star.

On the Magdalen Islands, preparations are underway for tomorrow�s funeral for five victims from last week�s plane crash that included former MP Jean Lapierre. As the Gazette�s Philip Authier reports, with the wreckage gone and little more than the odour of spent fuel on a muddy hill as a reminder of the terrible loss of life, residents have shifted from a quiet private mourning to a kind of group trauma therapy.

Here and there:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy is in Ottawa today to meet with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna. She�ll also give a keynote address at the University of Ottawa and participate in a town hall discussion with Minister McKenna. The speech and discussion will be live-streamed.

The families of former cabinet minister Jean Lapierre and Nicole Beaulieu, two of the seven people who died in a March 29 plane crash, welcome mourners a day ahead of their funeral.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives several interviews to Quebec radio and TV stations.

In Ottawa, Ford Canada CEO, Dianne Craig, appears at the Mayor's Breakfast Series.

Statistics Canada releases building permits for February.

The Mood Disorders Society of Canada hosts a conference for Canadian educators on mental health. Her Excellency Sharon Johnston delivers remarks during the opening ceremonies. Runs through to April 8.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion holds a teleconference call from Burma following his meetings with President Htin Kyaw and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. releases its latest Housing Market Insights supplemental report on foreign ownership in Canada's housing market.

A ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the Rwandan genocide takes place on Parliament Hill.

Ilene Grabel, University of Denver, discusses the global crisis and the architecture of development finance at the University of Ottawa.

Frank Vermaeten, Canada Revenue Agency, holds a noon-hour Virtual Lunch and Learn tweet chat. He discusses the CRA�s innovations and improvements to online services introduced this year, such as Auto-fill my return, the MyCRA mobile app, and improved correspondence.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau will tour Communitech Corp. in Kitchener and hold a news conference. He�ll also visit the University of Waterloo and hold a town hall meeting, which will be broadcast live on Facebook.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks in pre-recorded address televised by CTV, Global across the province.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose speaks to the Surrey Board of Trade.

Infrastructure and Communities Minister Amarjeet Sohi and TTC Chair Josh Colle make an infrastructure announcement.

Buoyed by his win in Wisconsin earlier this week, Bernie Sanders broke out the big talk and an aggressive tone yesterday, declaring that Hillary Clinton is not 'qualified' to be president. Why? Well, she�s said lately he�s not qualified either. But he also has an issue with the fact a super PAC supporting her campaign takes "tens of millions of dollars in special interest funds,� as well as donations that come from Wall Street. As for Clinton, she made clear to Politico she�s had enough of Sanders.

Having been trumped in Wisconsin by Ted Cruz, the Donald couldn�t be happier to be back on home turf in New York. With the state�s primary set for April 19, he kicked off his campaign in Long Island last night to thundering cheers. Cruz wasn�t far away in the Bronx. But given that he�s now looking for votes when he once decried 'New York values,� he hasn�t exactly been greeted with warm fuzzies. Deemed a �right-wing bigot� by one man, while another protestor yelled he "has no business being in the Bronx,� Cruz probably shouldn�t hold his breath for open arms in Harlem either.

In the wake of millions of documents finding their way out into the world from law firm Mossack Fonseca, showing it helped some clients evade tax and avoid sanctions, Panama�s President Juan Carlos Varela has announced his government is creating an international panel to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry. The BBC has more.

In Featured Opinion this morning:

One more sleep to the NDP convention in Edmonton! Brent Rathgeber's stoked; he's covering it for us, partly because he's heard New Democrats have better after-parties than Conservatives.

This year, the cocktail hour could be a little ... tense. The consensus seems to be Tom Mulcair is going to have a hard time reaching the 70 per cent support mark � and if he doesn't, he'll be in no position to stick around. Rathgeber says New Democrats need to put 2015 in perspective: It was a disappointment, but by no means the world-shattering catastrophe many of them seem to think it was.

The NDP's youth wing begs to differ. In a caustic new essay, the NDP youth argue that 2015 saw the party blow a rare shot at power through a combination of timidity, pig-headedness and an disinclination to listen to its own people.

Don't miss this one: Jon Manthorpe dives into the explosive revelations in the Panama Papers � about how the global elite keeps its money safe from the proles � and ties it to the real estate investment schemes that are making Vancouver and much of Toronto completely unaffordable for ordinary human beings.

Finally this morning, do news bloopers ever get old? We think not.

Have yourself a great day.
____________________

International

Panama Papers: Government announces creation of 'panel of experts' (BBC News)
Netherlands rejects EU-Ukraine partnership deal (BBC News)

National

Trudeau calls for global co-operation to crack down on offshore tax evasion in wake of Panama Papers scandal (Canadian Press)
Liberals launch long-awaited review to decide future size and shape of Canada�s military (Canadian Press)
Justin Trudeau dismisses worries over private fundraiser with attorney general (Toronto Star)
Mulcair not worried about MPs rebelling against his leadership (CBC News)
Kellie Leitch first to launch campaign in Conservative leadership race (Toronto Star)

Atlantic

P.E.I. Opposition hammers government over lending practices (CBC News)
Liberals softening on more controversial legislation (CBC News)

Ontario

MacLaren won�t be turfed from Tory caucus over vulgar �joke� about MP (Toronto Star)
Mayor wants Mississauga to separate from Peel Region (Toronto Star)

Prairies

Pallister says he's open to attending Pride parade (Winnipeg Sun)
Sask. Party cabinet to keep positions until budget release (CBC News)
Selinger's former top political adviser was charged with theft under $5,000 (Winnipeg Free Press)

Alberta

Premier Notley to outline plan to create jobs, help families through low oil "economic shock" (Edmonton Sun)

# ? Apr 7, 2016 13:24

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

The only way Pallister would show up at pride would be with a protest sign and a bullhorn cocked and loaded with hate.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 13:31

Postess with the Mostest: Apr 4, 2007; Arabian nights
'neath Arabian moons
A fool off his guard
could fall and fall hard
out there on the dunes

Another cutting edge progressive move from the OLP.

quote:

Ontario�s opposition parties are ratcheting up the pressure on the governing Liberals over the cash-for-access uproar, calling for a public inquiry and complaining to the Integrity Commissioner over a secret fundraiser last year.

The two-pronged attack came Wednesday as Premier Kathleen Wynne clamped down even harder on her own party�s fundraising, saying ministers will no longer raise money from industries they regulate or give contracts to.

The controversy involves secret small-scale fundraisers � first uncovered by The Globe and Mail last month � in which corporations and lobbyists paid thousands of dollars to meet with Ms. Wynne and her cabinet over cocktails.

The Premier said Wednesday she had cancelled a private fundraiser that night, but would not provide details about its location or ticket price. Ms. Wynne also scheduled a meeting for Monday at 3 p.m. with Mr. Brown and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to discuss what new campaign finance legislation should look like.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/wynne-orders-end-to-fundraising-from-firms-people-in-business-with-government/article29538684/

# ? Apr 7, 2016 14:28

Count Roland: Oct 6, 2013

Baronjutter posted:

I've always sort of liked my MLA, but gently caress this
http://www.andrewweavermla.ca/2016/04/04/labellinggmos/

NDP getting on the MANDITORY GMO LABELS bandwagon. The link goes to a long "fair and balanced" report on the pros and cons but of course anyone can write something that makes any issue sound like some "maybe the truth is in the middle" bullshit. "Well on one side we have science, but that science is funded by CORPORATIONS. What about our right to know what we're eating?!" gently caress you NDP.

I don't see the disadvantage to labeling them. I don't think the stuff will cause me harm but I don't much like the practice, so I'll buy non-GMO when convenient. More info = good? Especially if this is information plenty of consumers want, regardless of their motives.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:45

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

Everything you've eaten your entire life is GMO.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:57

Postess with the Mostest: Apr 4, 2007; Arabian nights
'neath Arabian moons
A fool off his guard
could fall and fall hard
out there on the dunes

jm20 posted:

Everything you've eaten your entire life is GMO.

Not maple syrup or venison.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:59

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

Ikantski posted:

Not maple syrup or venison.

No rurals itt ok??????????????? I'm sending you a care package of Roxul R24

# ? Apr 7, 2016 16:05

BattleMaster: Aug 14, 2000

Count Roland posted:

I don't see the disadvantage to labeling them. I don't think the stuff will cause me harm but I don't much like the practice, so I'll buy non-GMO when convenient. More info = good? Especially if this is information plenty of consumers want, regardless of their motives.

Why don't you like the practice?

I'm not going to turn this into an argument, but I am curious because I'm not sure what reason there could be if you don't think it's harmful to you because that's the main argument against it by opponents.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 16:08

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 8, 2024 19:24

Brannock: Feb 9, 2006; by exmarx; Fallen Rib

Dreylad posted:

http://ipolitics.ca/2016/04/06/new-democrats-need-to-stop-blaming-mulcair-for-2015/
This year, the cocktail hour could be a little ... tense. The consensus seems to be Tom Mulcair is going to have a hard time reaching the 70 per cent support mark � and if he doesn't, he'll be in no position to stick around. Rathgeber says New Democrats need to put 2015 in perspective: It was a disappointment, but by no means the world-shattering catastrophe many of them seem to think it was.

http://ipolitics.ca/2016/04/06/were-young-new-democrats-and-we-want-our-party-back/
The NDP's youth wing begs to differ. In a caustic new essay, the NDP youth argue that 2015 saw the party blow a rare shot at power through a combination of timidity, pig-headedness and an disinclination to listen to its own people.

You know, between the entrenched insiders saying nothing is wrong and everything is fine, and the young people with energy and motivation saying that a lot of things are wrong and the party needs an actual vision and drive, after a third-place showing I'm inclined to side with the latter.

quote:

In an era of massive popular movements energizing progressives across Europe and North America, it�s time for the NDP to boldly and unapologetically stake our ground as the party of the left.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 16:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

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