Sharon Fraser

Sharon Fraser is a former editor of rabble.ca who worked for a number of years as a freelance journalist and broadcaster. She is most recently a columnist with the progressive newspaper Catholic New Times, and an editor with www.chra-achru.ca (Canadian Housing), a magazine that covers issues around social housing in Canada. She has, at different times, been a regular or occasional contributor to regional and national publications, including This Magazine and The Canadian Forum, as well as Catholic New Times, writing about political, social and cultural issues. She was a regular participant on CBC Radio Morningside's political panel and on CBC-TV (Maritimes) Saturday Edition weekly panel discussion and has been an occasional commentator for CTV, Newsworld, CBC Radio. She has written and reported on co-operative issues for Co-op Atlantic and Atlantic Co-operator. She has been editor of Atlantic Fisherman (covering the commercial fishery in the four Atlantic provinces), Atlantic Insight (a general interest magazine), and Miramichi Leader (a prize-winning twice-weekly newspaper in New Brunswick.) Sharon Fraser was a contributor to the book Crossing That Bridge: A Critical Look at the P.E.I. Fixed Link writing a chapter on privatization of the Strait crossing (published by Ragweed Publications) and was a contributor to A Woman's Almanac, a product of East Coast Women and Words, with profiles of Nova Scotia women (published by Creative Publishers, St. John's, Nfld.) For a number of years, she wrote a column on feminist issues for The Daily News in Halifax. She is an occasional columnist and feature writer with Spotlight, a German magazine published in English in Munich, about political and cultural issues in Canada. She has lectured at the university level in women's studies and journalism.

No laughing matter

Sharon Fraser

| January 28, 2009

I listened to CBC Radio's coverage of the pre-budget Throne Speech on Monday. The host, Kathleen Petty, and the two pundits, Chris Hall (CBC) and Don Martin (National Post) could not utter the words "Jack Layton" or "NDP" with even a modicum of respect.

Stephen Harper was taken seriously; Michael Ignatieff was taken very seriously indeed. And Jack? Jack's name was never mentioned except with contempt or in derision.

Stephen Harper's march to majority

Sharon Fraser

| December 9, 2008

The pro-coalition demonstrations last week took me back to February of 2003 and the big world-wide demos against the invasion of Iraq. The size and scope were much different, the targeted result was much less grim but the optimism was very similar.

Suddenly, there was a feeling of people rising up and coming together in the hope of effecting positive change, of having the immense satisfaction of taking Harper down, of moving forward on some progressive policies that would put our country back on track and take us out from under the curse of the mean and nasty people who inhabit the Conservative Party.

Without further comment ...

Sharon Fraser

| October 12, 2008

I have just sent this letter to Avaaz.ca who have written — once again — urging the use of the site VoteForEnvironment.ca as a voting aid.

___________________________________________________

I am very impatient with you people — and I’m not the only one — with your continuing campaign for Elizabeth May in Central Nova.

Elizabeth May never had a chance to beat Peter MacKay — and she’s still not going to. The NDP, however, did have a chance but has had to fight, not just the usual opponents who were running but know-it-alls from all over the country who, somehow, seem to think that they have inside knowledge that the people in Central Nova don’t have.

Backing away from the man in the sweater

Sharon Fraser

| October 9, 2008

I am way too cautious a person to count my chickens before they’re hatched, to cross my bridges before I come to them, all that.

But in my compulsive checking of poll results, I began to think about Stephen Harper and about why voters have started to back carefully away from him.

It’s not all about an “economic meltdown.” Many people I know have financial worries and they have nothing to do with a stock portfolio. They have to do with the cost of home heating which is expected to be double last winter’s cost.

Or they have to do with the increase in price for bread, flour and rice — not the stealthy penny-at-a-time increase which can slip by but the really noticeable jump in the cost of these staples.

Poll puts May in third place

Sharon Fraser

| October 8, 2008

At this hour, CTV in the Maritimes is releasing a poll done in Central Nova, showing Elizabeth May — narrrowly — in third place, running behind Peter MacKay (Conservative) and Louise Lorifice (NDP).

The poll shows:

MacKay: 44 %
Lorefice: 25 %
May: 23 %

The poll also asked self-identified Liberals how they planned to vote:

NDP: 49 %
Con: 25 %
Green: 16 %
None: 8 %
Won’t Vote: 3 %

Read more

CBC news judgement at a new low

Sharon Fraser

| October 6, 2008

As I write this, it’s just after 11 p.m. in Atlantic Canada and we’ve just watched the news. My husband — and he’s no media-whiner — has written this letter to the CBC:

I just saw The National’s item on the all-candidates debate in Central Nova, which misrepresented it as a MacKay-May match, ignoring the candidate and party who are best challenging Peter MacKay for the seat.

Camera angles were used/chosen in such a way that NDP candidate Louise Lorefice was not even shown. She was not clipped. One NDP sign was shown, only as the reporter stated that half the NDP support would have to switch to the third place contender for E. May to be able to win.

Read more

All Quiet on the Eastern Front (with apologies to Erich Maria Remarque)

Sharon Fraser

| October 2, 2008

Some days, I feel as if I’m watching an election that’s taking place somewhere else.

That’s not to say I’m disengaged, however. I have become a poll-chaser, checking polls several times a day, to see what change there might be and I scan for media coverage that might offer some hope that voters are beginning to feel — at the very least — wary of another Stephen Harper government.

You people in the rest of the country should take a lesson from those of us in Atlantic Canada. We hold a grudge. Harper doesn’t like us and we don’t like him. I don’t think he likes many of you that much either but it seems to be taking you longer to recognize it.

The merry month of E. May

Sharon Fraser

| September 15, 2008

Last week I watched Peter Mansbridge’s political panel — Andrew Coyne, Chantal Hebert, Allan Gregg and Janet MacKinnon — and felt I were living in a different country from them. They spoke of Elizabeth May in hushed and reverent tones, and implied that because she would be in the debate, everything had changed … forever.

You're voting for her ... excuse me? why again?

Sharon Fraser

| September 10, 2008

There’s a Seinfeld episode with a scene that takes place in a menswear shop:

Jerry: “Excuse me, I’d like to return this jacket.”

Shopkeeper: “Certainly. May I ask why?”

Jerry: “For spite …”

Shopkeeper: “Spite?”

Jerry: “That’s right. I don’t care for the salesman that sold it to me.”

Shopkeeper: “I don’t think you can return an item for spite.”

Jerry: “What do you mean?”

Shopkeeper: “Well, if there was some problem with the garment, if it were unsatisfactory in some way, then we could do it for you, but I’m afraid spite doesn’t fit into any of our conditions for a refund.”

Read more

The end of a most significant era

Sharon Fraser

| September 8, 2008

There are very few politicians across the land who are known by their first names only but - indisputably - one of them is Alexa. (Okay, okay, Alexa McDonough.)

Alexa first ran for public office in 1979 - the year Margaret Thatcher became prime minister of the United Kingdom. She lost that first election and the one following, but since 1981, she has been an NDP fixture in Nova Scotia, both on the provincial and the federal scenes. She has served as leader at both levels and is respected by many people across the political spectrum. She has worked actively for peace while effectively serving a constituency that includes a large military presence.

Sharon Fraser

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