Politics [is] the art of pursuing common interests through …active listening, advocacy, public persuasion, compromise and negotiation. Bob Rae William Ford Coaker,the father of the Commission The people from Newfoundland and Labrador quoted in the Globe and Mail on Friday described the problem facing the province today. We are not
Continue readingTag: democracy in Newfoundland and Labrador
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The importance of what we care about #nlpoli
When we do not talk about the most vulnerable people in our society – sex workers and people in homeless shelters to name just two groups – we tell the world that our community does not care about them. Last week’s spectacle in the House of Assembly showed the world that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Where do elections come from? #nlpoli
From fixed election dates to the number of candidates that run in an election, what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians believe about one of the basic institutions of their democracy is as much myth and rumour as reality. Here are some facts to help you navigate the world of post-Confederation elections in
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Campaign Finance Reform: shifting attention #nlpoli
Until 1996, there were no campaign finance laws in Newfoundland and Labrador at all. In 2003, the Conservatives promised to make dramatic changes to the laws governing how parties financed election campaigns. They delivered none of it. In 2015, the Liberals promised changes to campaign finance laws and one year
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: What’s wrong #nlpoli
As with a lot of things in local politics, the most interesting thing wasn’t the fact that Steve Marshall barred Roger Grimes from a hockey rink Marshall owns.What was fascinating was the response of plenty of folks in the province. Some ju…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Strategically Unwise and other political own-goals #nlpoli
Depending on which interview you listened to on Tuesday, Tom Marshall would be hanging around as Premier until the end of the summer. At least. That’s the VOCM story. Marshall will run the place for two full months after the Conservative convention in early July while Coleman runs around the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Bravery and Democracy #nlpoli
“It is easy to be an armchair critic, tweeted natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy before Christmas, “but It takes real courage to stand for election.” In another context, John Steele offered this opinion about your humble e-scribbler.: “One thing that I respect about Ed is, he’s got balls enough to
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Another sign of the democratic deficit #nlpoli
If you have a few minutes to spare, flip through the provincial government’s 2012 budget. Look for the work “donation”. You won’t find it. Nor will you find any amount of money set aside in the health department budget that would cover a donation by the provincial government to health
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Suppressing Dissent #nlpoli
One of the hallmarks of the Conservative political method since 2003 has been the suppression of public dissent. Anyone who wants to raise a problem for public discussion is attacked for being “negative.” It is part of the aggressive campaign the Tories have waged to eliminate political opposition and stifle
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Collins beats Kazakhstan #nlpoli
From a second rebuttal to justice minister Felix Collins, right (not exactly as illustrated) from the Center for Law and Democracy: In a speech to the House of Assembly on 14 June 2012, Collins used derogatory terms to refer to CLD, and claimed we had financial motives in publicising our
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: When rights are annoying #nlpoli
There’s something about this frivolous and vexatious thing that caught people’s attention right from the start. Under the provincial Conservatives’ new secrecy laws, a cabinet minister can refuse to disclose information if he or she thinks the request is “frivolous or vexatious”. (sec. 43.1) Leave aside the idea that a
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: More oil, less democracy #nlpoli
“Oil and democracy do not easily mix,” wrote political scientist Michael Ross in The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations, his 2012 study of the impact that income from oil development has on governments around the world. Regular readers will recall this idea from an earlier
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Stacked House Filibuster #nlpoli
Democracy is a beautiful thing. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are witnessing its full beauty in the filibuster against the Conservative government’s latest assault on openness, transparency and accountability. The opposition parties are into the second day of almost continuous debate on a bill that would gut the public’s
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Our failed state #nlpoli
The always sharp labradore has posted links to a report by the Foundation for Democratic Advancement on election finance laws across Canada. You can find the full report here. The Newfoundland and Labrador section starts on page 34. The analysis (p. 38) reads, in part: Based on the FDA scoring
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