The National Energy Board has never rejected a major proposal from the oil industry, and so it really comes as no surprise that they have approved the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. 

If there ever was or could be a pipeline that the NEB could have turned away from on the basis of a social consensus of Canadians, surely Gateway was that pipeline.  But the NEB has just proven that it cares not a whit about how Canadians define the public interest.  The NEB really has only one constituency that it considers relevant; that being, of course, the oil and gas industry.

Stephen Harper's class war against Canadian unions came out into the open Wednesday when the PM led the Conservative majority to pass the anti-labour bill C-377.

Every one of the 147 votes for the law that singles out union finances for discriminatory treatment by the government was cast by a Conservative. Every opposition MP and five Conservative backbenchers mustered 135 votes against.

Although technically a private members bill from B.C. Tory Russ Hiebert, there was never any doubt that the legislation was a government initiative. Opposition MPs had days earlier signalled to labour organizers that the vote on 377 was being informally whipped out of the PMO and was all but assured of passage.

As the summer of 2012 recedes into memory, extreme events leave their mark on the land, the water and on the institutions that for millions are part of a shared Canadian experience. In Eastern Ontario, the summer was an extreme weather event which saw a level 2 drought. The drought was serious business for farmers and a lot of crops just didn't make it to harvest. For cottagers, boaters and outdoor recreation users, water levels dropped by half a metre or more.

At times of significant political change, it always helps to wait a while before reaching ultimate conclusions. So it is with the election of Thomas Mulcair as the new leader of the New Democratic Party.

After four ballots and more than 24 hours of voting, there was a sense that something had changed when Tom Mulcair emerged the winner. At 57 per cent his victory was hardly decisive, but it was nonetheless a clear win which allowed the convention to close ranks and for all camps to pledge unity and support for the new leader.