Canadian Politics

Some thoughts on the importance of historical context

Kathleen Wynne (left) with Sandra Pupatello.

And something is happening here But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones? — Bob Dylan, "Ballad of a Thin Man"

Early Sunday morning on Facebook, I posted a knee-jerk response to the selection of Kathleen Wynne as the Liberal Party of Ontario's new leader — and thus, the province's new Premier. Wynne won on the third ballot, edging out Sandra Pupatello. The women had been the front-runners right from the start. (Entirely coincidentally, but most serendipitously, Wynne's victory came only two days before the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision declaring that women have a fundamental right to control their own bodies.)

I wrote:

Those of you who think that nothing changes, please take note. In some very important ways, the world *is* getting better and it's important we remember that. A divorced, gay, woman is now Premier of Ontario.

Woman. Gay. Divorced. 30 years ago (or less!) any *one* of those facts would have automatically disqualified her.

That's a sea change, ladies and gentleman. A fucking sea change.

There is more to it than that, of course, and finding myself living in a country in which six of its 14 First Ministers are women does not mean we have reached Utopia.

But it is significant.

So significant that it deserves not just an emphasized paragraph all of its own, but consideration at some length. The perfumes of change.

Or is the sex, sexual orientation or race of our elected leaders only a trivial distraction from the real issues facing us?

It's been too quiet here lately. And stuff is happening today, so...

It looks like Justin Trudeau is in hot water.

Can he defuse this? Trudeau himself has yet to comment. However, other Liberals are trying desperately to spin it as a drive-by smear (implausible, since there's no denying he actually said what he said), or that it was taken out of context (which you can judge for yourselves by viewing the interview or reading a transcript, now readily available across the Intertubes). Some Liberals (not party representatives) are shrugging it off outright, on the theory that Alberta was never going to vote Liberal anyway so who cares?

How is this going to affect Monday's by-election in Calgary Centre?

More generally, how is this going to affect the Liberal leadership race? Did Trudeau effectively just take himself out of the race? Is he still a shoo-in? Or did it suddenly become a real race? If he does win, what sort of effect will that have on the Liberal Party's chances in general? On national unity?

Please, discuss!

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has prorogued the legislature for no other reasons than to avoid political fallout from various scandals, and to give his own party time to regroup and reorganize after his surprise resignation.

And he's prorogued it not for six or seven weeks, but for SIX MONTHS.

So... anyone outraged?

I seem to remember that a previous prorogation at the federal level led to a furor and loud cries that democracy in Canada was dead. Do we in this group not have any members who will now say the same for Ontario? Who's organizing the rallies against it? When? I've certainly seen some reaction in the press - but so far nothing on the streets. Is it going on already, and I just haven't seen it yet because I'm not in Ontario?

Or is it not going on? And if not - why not?

Recently, while watching the news, it dawned on me that a youth movement of any stripe is caused because of sheer hatred for any governing party. The youth believe their voices are not being heard properly, so in their wisdom and perhaps even desperation they turn to violence, and it makes me wonder if the introduction of a new party - one that actually represents the youth and a possible adaption of the NDP is possible.

How would a person, interested in creating a grassroots movement, obtain suitable and appropriate material as a start to a new possible career?

Hooray, Quebec is having an election.

Does anybody care?

And, after all, we cannot allow a person, in determination of whose identity we doubt, to become the president.

Different people (Putin's body doubles) speak, on behalf of Vladimir Putin. They have different manners, shape of the skull (the width of the eye sockets, the shape of the chin, the shape of the zygomatic bone), different amounts of soft tissue and cartilage on the face (the wings of the nose, lips, cheeks), different hairlines (scalp and eyebrows), different eye color, different aspects, they have different hands, different height and a different tone of the voice!

At least, it now has its first declared candidate. Sort of - he has to pay the entrance fee first, and that may be in the range of $50,000 or so. Let's hope he has a Kickstarter account.

Thoughts?

Personally I don't think his chances are all that great: but I congratulate him on the effort. And who knows - what if he actually does inspire people to come out and support him? The idea of a regular person becoming leader of a major political party does have a certain appeal that might resonate with anyone who's fed up with the current situation (which I expect is most of us).

Could it happen? Or is this just a stunt that will go nowhere in the end?

Media controlled by powers that be work hard to portray the "controllers" in the most favourable light. But "what exactly are they doing? Smile on pictures, people fooling..."

It's municipal politics, but no, seriously, follow this story.

This is the most exciting moment in Toronto's municipal politics since the megacity merger back in 1997. Nothing is inevitable, everything is in play, and Karen Stintz is about to either turn Rob Ford into a lame duck, or end her own short-term political career trying. It is wonderful and majestic and I have a bowl of popcorn the size of Montreal just waiting for the vote to happen.

Holy Hannah, what is happening in Quebec?! The ADQ and CAQ are merging, Gilles Duceppe has officially counted himself out of the PQ leadership race to replace Marois (although this would not be the first time M. Duceppe has changed his mind on such matters), and the polls seem to indicate that not only is Quebec willing to embrace a left-wing federal party and a right-wing provincial party without a trace of irony or consternation, but that it is the same voters in the same parts of the province who so gladly split their loyalties. (The anglophones and the suburbanites aren't really budging: it's francophones, rural voters and urbanites who are bouncing all over the place.) These new developments will throw the polls through a wobbly (merging with the ADQ will give form to the CAQ, who previously had a sort of all-things-to-all-people vibe going on) and good lord, what is going on?

I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen, that the entire province of Quebec is a performance art project. It's the only explanation which fits all the data.