I enthusiastically support Stephen Harper’s decision to prorogue parliament… Here’s why. Proponents of more open, participatory, and directly accountable government have just been handed the best opportunity we could ask for. It’s a turning point in the narrative of centralized power that began with Jean Chrétien’s run in the 90s and has built up ever since. [...]
stephen harper
I wasn’t comfortable with it until I heard a constitutional expert explain on CBC Newsworld that prorogation is normally used when parliament has an especially large, complex set of legislation to consider, and it’s deemed best for MPs to return to their ridings, meet with their constituents, and look at matters from that perspective. Before [...]
I’ve finally quieted my mind and collected my thoughts about the events in Ottawa this weekend — just enough to make sense of things by way of juxtaposing an older post on the meaning of integrity in politics. In that post I held up Barack Obama as a paradigm of integrity, arguing that: Having established a [...]
It really pisses me off. In many ways I favour the Conservatives’ apparent pragmatism and restraint, but all of their statements have a peculiar, pungent aroma that I can’t quite identify, that makes me distrustful. The other parties are no better; in some ways they’re worse. Paul Wells expressed all this again yesterday in his characteristic way: The immediate post-election period is [...]
“The truth is, Mr. Harper does have a hidden agenda. But it is pragmatic, not ideological. Having learned the lessons of history, he is positioning the Tory party not to win just this election but many others to come. By leading a centrist government that is in touch with the hearts and minds of ordinary [...]
