Defining True Progressives

After almost ten years in power, the biggest question of this fall’s election is which party represents the true progressive alternative to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. This resulted in the nastiest campaign to date in which political party leaders are calling each other out on their promises and determining what is true can be difficult. Even within parties, loyalties are being tested such as disgraced Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau calling for Harper’s defeat[1], Liberals leaving the party over anti-terror Bill C-51, and New Democrats criticizing leader Tom Mulcair’s positions on issues such as pipelines and Palestine.[2] For this blog post, I will discuss past Liberal and NDP records, as well as certain key campaign promises and accusations.

Lessons from Bill C-51

Last week, the final vote on the Harper government’s so-called “Anti-Terror” Bill C-51 passed in the House of Commons with Liberal support. The bill has now been sent to the Senate for debate prior to receiving royal assent. During the three months between the bill’s introduction and this moment, there have been several twists and turns which reveal three important lessons for Canadian politics.

Takin' it to the Streets (of Toronto)

While many young adults took it to the various St. Patrick's Day parties this past weekend, I opted for something different. To paraphrase a song title from The Doobie Brothers, I took it to Toronto’s streets for a couple of rallies.

When Doing What's Right Is Unpopular

Have you ever had that feeling where you have been ignored or discredited for doing what you felt was right? As a cycling advocate, I have had my share of criticism from drivers complaining about cyclists breaking the law (which drivers do too) and so-called inconveniences of removing parking or traffic lanes to accommodate cyclists. However, this post will instead focus on two recent events; one in Toronto and one in Ottawa.