News and notes from the last few days as the deadline to sign up looms just a week away in advance of a convention that's set to far exceed the turnout the NDP expected.
- Niki Ashton responded to questions about whether she'd stay in the race with a strong indication that she won't be pushed out.
- Nathan Cullen added a noteworthy endorsement from Brian Masse, who becomes the first MP from outside Cullen's home province to back his leadership bid.
- Paul Dewar unveiled his foreign policy, while Daniel Leblanc wrote that this weekend's Quebec City debate could serve as as a crucial test of Dewar's French.
- Thomas Mulcair met with the Toronto Star editorial board, offering up an interesting perspective on the need to expand beyond an appeal to "ordinary" Canadians. And Mulcair also unveiled endorsements from three more MPs.
- Peggy Nash earned the endorsements of two more Quebec MPs, released plans party-building and foreign policy, and criticized the Cons' prioritization of the oil and gas sector over any other economic development.
- And before his exit from the race, Romeo Saganash took aim at regressive tax expenditures.
- Meanwhile, the Star Phoenix covered the Saskatoon candidate forum, while QMI didn't exactly do the same for last weekend's Sudbury debate. Rick Salutin framed the core debate over the NDP's future based on the respective leadership positioning of Cullen and Nash. Chantal Hebert had plenty to say - first in musing that the race was still largely taking shape, then highlighting both the importance of challenging the Cons in Western Canada and what strikes me as an overblown assumption that the NDP can't carry out that task while also building on its Quebec gains. And Joan Bryden notes that the NDP's membership-driven voting process won't leave much room for the type of backroom dealing that's decided so many Canadian leadership races over the past decade.
Showing posts with label brian masse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brian masse. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Steps forward
It's easy enough to get accustomed to the steady stream of bad news on a federal scene where the party in power displays the Cons' combination of incompetence and disdain for government. But there are a couple of positive developments on the opposition side worth noting.
First, Brian Masse's proposal to remove the political influence that allowed the Cons to gut the long form census looks to solve most of the issues with trying to legislate what gets asked. About the only danger is the question of what would happen in the event that a Con ideologue actually took over the position of chief statistician - but since that doesn't seem to be an issue even after the Cons named Munir Sheikh's replacement, Masse's bill looks to have the potential to resolve the current mess.
Meanwhile, to my pleasant surprise, the Libs have joined the NDP in calling for an open data policy. There's a ways to go for both parties in translating that goal into practice (both through legislation and a philosophical change in government), but the odds of it becoming a reality have to be better if the Libs' braintrust doesn't plan to fight the party's supporters on the need for transparency.
First, Brian Masse's proposal to remove the political influence that allowed the Cons to gut the long form census looks to solve most of the issues with trying to legislate what gets asked. About the only danger is the question of what would happen in the event that a Con ideologue actually took over the position of chief statistician - but since that doesn't seem to be an issue even after the Cons named Munir Sheikh's replacement, Masse's bill looks to have the potential to resolve the current mess.
Meanwhile, to my pleasant surprise, the Libs have joined the NDP in calling for an open data policy. There's a ways to go for both parties in translating that goal into practice (both through legislation and a philosophical change in government), but the odds of it becoming a reality have to be better if the Libs' braintrust doesn't plan to fight the party's supporters on the need for transparency.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Overruled
Yesterday's news that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology has rejected Maxime Bernier's phone deregulation plan passed largely without comment. But it's worth pointing out not only based on the substantive effect, but also for its political ramifications:
That said, the political context bears some discussion as well. After all, it's clear that the Cons are looking for an excuse to go to the polls. But with a number of their crime bills looking likely to pass as soon as the Cons bring them forward and C-30 appearing to be the last reason the Cons would want to provoke an election, they may instead need to try to compile a list of small perceived slights to justify going to the voters.
Of course, calling an election on such a weak excuse might well reduce the Cons' chances of reaching their hoped-for result. But it seems entirely likely that the Cons' fallback position to force an election is to present a laundry list of every time the opposition parties have teamed up against them.
Which may result in some danger to the opposition, as each vote in the Commons or on any committee may have far greater ramifications than just the issue at hand to the extent that it may serve as part of the Cons' excuse. But at the same time, that could also provide an opportunity to make sure that the motions themselves contain something that can be used to make the Cons look all the more unreasonable for challenging the will of the majority.
NDP Industry critic Brian Masse (Windsor West) called today’s vote to overturn the Conservatives’ local phone deregulation decision a victory for consumers.For consumers, it's certainly a plus that Bernier's choice to overrule the CRTC isn't going unchallenged.
“We now have the opportunity for all areas of the telecom sector to be examined and improved in terms of quality of service, consumer rights, job protection, foreign ownership, and innovation,” said Masse. “Ordinary Canadians’ voices will be part of the process, instead of Minister Maxime Bernier's favourite lobbyists.”...
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science, and Technology passed a motion, which is to be reported back to the House today, demanding that “the Minister of Industry withdraw the order varying Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-15 and table in Parliament a comprehensive package of policy, statutory, and regulatory reforms to modernize the telecommunications services industry.”
That said, the political context bears some discussion as well. After all, it's clear that the Cons are looking for an excuse to go to the polls. But with a number of their crime bills looking likely to pass as soon as the Cons bring them forward and C-30 appearing to be the last reason the Cons would want to provoke an election, they may instead need to try to compile a list of small perceived slights to justify going to the voters.
Of course, calling an election on such a weak excuse might well reduce the Cons' chances of reaching their hoped-for result. But it seems entirely likely that the Cons' fallback position to force an election is to present a laundry list of every time the opposition parties have teamed up against them.
Which may result in some danger to the opposition, as each vote in the Commons or on any committee may have far greater ramifications than just the issue at hand to the extent that it may serve as part of the Cons' excuse. But at the same time, that could also provide an opportunity to make sure that the motions themselves contain something that can be used to make the Cons look all the more unreasonable for challenging the will of the majority.
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