It looked like a mob meeting, with big black cars and burly bodyguards to keep reporters away.Or as Tom Mulcair called it, the gathering of some secretive cult. But it was only Oily Joe Oliver's hush hush swearing in ceremony. Read more »
Continue readingTag: Jim Flaherty
Bryan Crockett: The aftermath of a week of resignations
Yesterday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty resigned. I speculated on which political players that the Mr. Harper might appoint to replace him, and I was flat-out wrong. Stephen Harper’s choice for Finance was former Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver. No offence to Joe Oliver, but this was ultimately a boring choice on Mr. Harper’s
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Hanging up the shoes
It’s not a huge surprise, but it’s still big news. After 8 years, the only Finance Minister Stephen Harper has ever known and loved is calling it quits: Jim Flaherty steps down as finance minister OTTAWA – Jim Flaherty is leaving the federal cabinet after more than eight years as
Continue readingBryan Crockett: Who will replace Deficit, err, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty?
Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has announced that he’s resigning from Cabinet, and leaving politics to work in the private sector. Considering Flaherty has been in politics for nearly two decades, it would be fairly reasonable that he’d want to leave. However, it is peculiar, considering how strongly he lobbied
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Rick Smith hopes that the Cons’ backtracking on income splitting means that they won’t go quite as far out of their way to exacerbate income inequality in the future: (T)he unfortunate reality is that we are still becoming ever more unequal, a trend
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Robert Reich comments on the concerted effort by the U.S.’ rich to exacerbate inequality – and points out how it’s warped their worldview. And Dean Baker criticizes the spread of inequality by design: And then there is the financial sector where Mankiw tells
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Caucus Splitting
By design, Tuesday’s budget was a non-event. The public’s eyes are on Sochi, and the pundits’ eyes are on next year’s budget. So, it should not be surprising that it was the post-budget fallout that grabbed the most headlines, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty mused that the Tories central 2011
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On testing principles
It’s obviously tempting for opposition parties to turn the recent spate of stories about difference of opinion within the Cons into a simple matter of “they’re not united”. But it’s well worth emphasizing the substance of the issues – and particularly questioning whether the MPs who are challenging their partymates
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Who Benefits From Income Splitting?
Rich folk. From this guy. No wonder Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is having doubts. I can’t see this as being good politics, and it wouldn’t surprise me if his negative comments are some kind of trial balloon to gather feedback before the Tories decide for or against. Alternatively, if you’ve heard Flaherty
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Harper Legacy: Empty Mantras And Empty Ideology
I hope readers don’t think I have grown lazy or burnt-out when I reprint letters from The Toronto Star. It is just that their observations and ideas are frequently so nicely expressed that I think they merit some exposure in the blogosphere. Today’s offers a sharp rebuke to the tired
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – The Star’s editorial board sees Canada’s woeful job numbers as a signal that it’s time for some economic management in the interests of people (rather than artificial manipulation of numbers): Economists used words like “dismal” and “ugly” for these results, and no wonder.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On consistent preferences
Stephen Gordon (among others) took the time to point out that Jim Flaherty’s attacks on the Bank of Canada are both unwise in general, and wrong in terms of economic theory. But even setting aside those critiques, the mot important message to be taken from Flaherty is that he’s once
Continue readingOPSEU Diablogue: Should the LHINs really be the e-Harmony of health care providers?
When the province decided to call its most recent crown agencies Local Health Integration Networks, it was clear where the emphasis lay. Rather than plan a system based on need, it appears the primary function of the LHIN was to … Continue reading →
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Con Regime and the War on the Young
On my way home this evening I passed by a young guy sitting on the edge of the pier his legs dangling over the edge staring into the frozen lake.And for a moment, until I checked him out, a horrible thought came into my mind.Because despair is in the air.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Don Lenihan is the latest to highlight the difference between citizens and consumers – as well as why we should want to act as the former: In the old view, public debate is all about defining the public interest by establishing collective needs.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Ed Broadbent comments on Parliament’s review of inequality in Canada: In a more encouraging vein, the majority report cautiously endorses some positive proposals. Given stated support from both of the opposition parties, these could, and should, move to the top of the
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Should Account-holders pay for High-Flying Bankers’ Misdeeds?
When the next big financial crisis hits the world economy, and Canadian banks are in distress — as they were during the 2008 financial crisis — the bank-using public will have plenty to worry about. As we saw earlier in this series, it’s hard to trust banks to protect our
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Bill Tieleman tears into James Moore for his callous disregard for child hunger, while PressProgress reminds us that plenty of the Cons’ policy choices reflect Moore’s complete lack of concern for his neighbours’ children. And Polly Toynbee looks in detail at the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Day the Con Regime Revealed its True Face
First he claimed his callous comments about hungry children were out of context, and ridiculous… Then he claimed the story wasn't accurate, and ridiculous… Then when he realized the reporter had the whole interview on tape he apologized. Read more »
Continue readingImpolitical: CPP reform rhetoric
Since there is a significant meeting among Canadian finance ministers today, where reform to the Canada Pension Plan is on the agenda, it’s worth pointing out some really unhelpful ongoing language the federal Finance Minister is using to describe CPP….
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