The Payette Affair

In Lewis Carrol’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland there is a character, the Queen of Hearts – a foul-tempered monarch who takes offence easily and is quick to hand out death sentences. One of her most famous lines is “Off with their heads!” From all reports, it seems that Ms. Payette, even though supposedly a mere representative […]

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Politicians jet-setting, while COVID deaths mount

“We’re all in this together” has been a constant refrain from politicians during the course of the pandemic. From the beginning, there was never any truth in this. In the same storm, yes, but the boats that became available for this storm ranged from yachts, to rowing boats, to scraps of wood. Given what’s happened […]

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Greens’ New Leader – Same Policies

Kermit the frog used to sing: “It’s not easy being Green. It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things and people tend to pass you over.” That wouldn’t be a bad characterization of the Green Party of Canada. The Greens have just elected a new leader, Annamie Paul, the first Black woman […]

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BC’s NDP: Easy Win, Harder Road Ahead

Updated with full results after postal votes counted. The New Democratic Party (NDP) strolled to a solid victory in the October 24 provincial election. After a delay of three weeks to count the 660,000 postal ballots, the NDP has won 57 seats up, taking two additional seats from the Liberals in each of the Okanagan […]

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October Crisis, 1970

On October 16, 1970, Liberal PM Pierre Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act, its only usage in peacetime. Québec was flooded with 6,000 armed troops. The Act suspended democratic rights, allowed censorship, and authorized the police to search and arrest people without warrant. The spur for this huge attack was the Quebec Liberation Front’s (FLQ) […]

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BC’s NDP Goes for a Majority

To no one’s surprise the BC New Democrats (NDP) have called a provincial election, which they are highly likely to win. The opposition parties are having little or no impact and, not surprisingly, are criticizing the decision. COVID-19 COVID has dominated people’s thoughts for most of 2020. Up to recently, the NDP was considered to […]

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Throne of Games – the Speech

Most people have a healthy scepticism of politicians and their promises. As Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet president in the 1950s, observed, “politicians are the same all over, they promise to build a bridge even when there’s no river.” So, to last Wednesday’s throne speech, either written or pre-approved by Justin Trudeau and delivered by the […]

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Socialist Alternative Magazine #16

After a pause due to COVID restrictions, Socialist Alternative has produced a new 20-page bumper issue. For Socialist Reconstruction Canada “Reopens” to Uncertain Future For Climate and Jobs The Pandemic for Women’s Oppression The Dire State of Canadian Youth Police: A Tool of the Capitalist State Against Indigenous Peoples Capitalism Made COVID Disaster Kenny’s Attack […]

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Tories: New Leader, Same Policies

At a time when the Canadian population is polarizing around the pandemic and looming economic crisis, Erin O’Toole has been selected as Andrew Scheer’s replacement atop a relatively energized and mobilized Conservative Party membership. While the number of Conservative party votes, members and donations are all up, the path to a Conservative parliament is less […]

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Old wine in old bottles

One can hardly call the Cabinet shuffle involving the departure of Bill Morneau and the promotion of Chrystia Freeland as heralding out with the old and in with the new. Despite alleged policy differences (Trudeau supposedly is a more profligate spender of government money than Morneau), it was more a question of Tweedledum and Tweedledee. […]

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