Linda McQuaig

Trudeau's pro-Israel stance offside with Canadians -- and hampers bid for UN seat

rabble staff — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 20:03:50 +0000

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Aiming to outshine the U.S. on the world stage isn't exactly setting the bar high these days. Outshining Norway and Ireland, however, might present a challenge.

And these two small countries are the main competitors if Justin Trudeau is to realize his dream of nabbing a seat for Canada on the United Nations Security Council.

For all the focus on surviving his meeting with Donald Trump this week, the real prize for Trudeau lies at the UN as he seeks to position himself, particularly in Canadian eyes, as a peacekeeping-loving, refugee-embracing, women-buttressing internationalist, leading a Canada that is "back" engaging with the world.

While Trudeau's persona of a progressive internationalist has won him kudos at home and abroad, his staunch support for Israel at the UN has left Canada significantly offside with public opinion.

The trouble with 'populist' billionaires is they serve the same old corporate interests

rabble staff — Thu, 19 Jan 2017 18:21:37 +0000

Friday, January 20, 2017

We toss around the word "billionaire" pretty freely these days, as if it's just another word for a rich guy.

And yet, try this little quiz: you are given a dollar every second, 24 hours a day. At that rate, it takes 12 days for you to become a millionaire. But how long does it take for you to become a billionaire?

Answer: 32 years.

Being a billionaire isn't just about being rich; it's about being mind-bogglingly rich -- rich beyond most people's comprehension.

And yet the mega-fortunes being amassed these days by the newly emergent class of billionaires -- and the enormous influence and control this gives them over our economy and politics -- barely registers as a political issue.

Trump's surprise election has alerted us to the depth of dissatisfaction with the status quo. But will Trump and his crowd get to define and shape that anti-status quo sentiment?

Increased cuts push Canadian health care toward privatization

rabble staff — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 13:28:44 +0000

Thursday, December 22, 2016

At Canada's Wonderland, you can buy your child a "Fast Lane Pass" so he or she can experience the thrill of pushing ahead of all the other children waiting to get on a ride.

It's excellent preparation for today's world of hyper-privilege -- where the rich get to buy their way to the front of just about every line.

We live in a society that's riddled with elitism and special privilege. One of the few holdouts is medicare, Canada's public health-care system, where a billionaire can't bypass a fast-food worker waiting for medical care. Access is determined by medical need, not wallet size.

In an age when the rich demand a fast lane to the front of every line, it will require resolve and determination to preserve our medicare system.

Trump likely to turn peaceful Black protests into race war

rabble staff — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:58:00 +0000

Thursday, November 24, 2016

I guess we should be glad that no member of the Trump family or transition team actually attended the white supremacist event in Washington last weekend where Trump's victory was celebrated with Nazi salutes.

For those looking for good news in the face of Donald Trump's presidential victory, these are the sort of slim pickings on offer.

The post-election reality -- in which such a gathering was openly held in the Ronald Reagan Building a few blocks from the White House -- suggests America's darkest tendencies have been given the equivalent of a hot massage.

The soft, itchy underbelly of American racism has been given a good scratching by Donald Trump. Whatever damage he is likely to do around the globe, at home he is going to inflame existing tensions.

Privatizing Canada's airports would bring costs for travellers and profits for corporations

rabble staff — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:47:37 +0000

Thursday, October 27, 2016

If you're a hen, you probably don't want to hear that the farmer has hired a fox to advise on better ways to run the henhouse.

Similarly, if you're a Canadian air traveller, you probably won't be pleased to learn the Trudeau government has hired a major investment bank -- which specializes in privatization -- for advice as it ponders the pros and cons of privatizing Canada's major airports.

Turning our airports into profit-making business ventures will almost certainly drive up the costs for air travellers, and the government insists that it has not yet made the controversial decision to proceed.

While privatizing our airports would mean millions in profits for the banks and law firms involved, aviation authorities say Canadian air travellers would face higher costs to cover corporate profits.

A rational voice in a time of austerity, Douglas Peters could have set Canada on a different path

rabble staff — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 14:10:39 +0000

Friday, October 14, 2016

After sweeping to power in 1993 with promises of expanded social programs, the federal Liberals did a dramatic turnaround in office, deeply slashing social spending in the name of reducing the deficit.

By the late 1990s, the deficit was gone and Finance Minister Paul Martin was the toast of Bay St.

But the drastic cuts he introduced in his 1995 budget ushered in an austerity agenda of underfunded social programs and increased inequality that continues to this day.

Back then, there were few in Ottawa inner circles resisting Martin's deep spending cuts, but one strong dissenting voice came from Douglas Peters, who died last week at the age of 86.

There were few in Ottawa inner circles resisting Paul Martin's deep spending cuts as Finance Minister, but one strong dissenting voice came from Douglas Peters, who died last week at the age of 86.

Gratifying to see snarling bully publicly humiliated as Clinton triumphs over Trump

rabble staff — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 15:14:58 +0000

Friday, September 30, 2016

The possibility that Donald Trump's presidential bid may have suffered a serious setback is, of course, heartening. But what made Monday night's debate especially delicious was the rare joy in watching a relentless bully be publicly humiliated -- in front of 80 million people, no less.

For months, Trump has swaggered around like a snarling junkyard dog menacing the neighbourhood. He seemed unstoppable. But that was until he found himself face to face with the smiling little kid on the block, who came armed with nothing more than a big brain.

The fact that this little kid was a girl -- a category of human that, for Trump, has been mostly measured in cup sizes and runway potential -- made the encounter all the more legendary.

The U.S. election is far from over, but Monday's faceoff was a crucial battle in that campaign, and it fell to the first woman candidate in U.S. presidential history to take a dangerous bully down.

Why is Trudeau following Harper's lead and giving special protections to powerful corporations?

rabble staff — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 16:06:41 +0000

Thursday, September 1, 2016

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Foreign investors -- including some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful corporations -- typically generate little public sympathy and aren't usually lumped in with groups deemed worthy of special protections.

So the Trudeau government, which is in the process of granting wealthy foreign investors extraordinary legal protections and access to public money, is probably hoping the public isn't paying much attention.

Rather than accepting half-hearted revisions of Harper's corporate-embracing policies, the Trudeau government should refuse to sign any trade deal with sweeping privileges for foreign investors.

Elizabeth May puts spotlight on the case for a boycott against Israel

rabble staff — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 19:10:12 +0000

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

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She may not remember, but when Elizabeth May first contemplated running for leader of the Green Party, I was among those enthusiastically suggesting she go for it.

Now, as she contemplated giving up the job she has successfully held for the past 10 years, I wanted to offer some unsolicited advice: Don't resign.

Whether you agree with the BDS movement's boycott strategy or not, it is a peaceful way to protest a serious violation of human rights.

Passionate movement for public power is pushing back against hydro privatization

rabble staff — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:23:37 +0000

Thursday, August 4, 2016

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In the early 1900s, Toronto entrepreneur Henry Pellatt used his enormous wealth to build the most magnificent private residence ever seen in Canada -- a stunning palace that took 300 workers three years to construct and featured an oven large enough to cook an ox.

The construction of Casa Loma put to rest any doubts about whether there was money to be made harnessing the power of Niagara Falls, which was how Pellatt had made his fortune.

The Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne is hoping Ontarians have long since abandoned the passion that fuelled the century-old popular movement that led to the creation of Ontario Hydro.

Bernie Sanders' insurgent populism has shaken the Democratic Party and it's not going away

rabble staff — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 19:46:42 +0000

Thursday, July 28, 2016

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Besides providing some powerful lines for Melania Trump's next speech, Michelle Obama reminded us this week how inspiring the Democrats can be at their best.

Indeed, while Donald Trump has grabbed political centre stage due to his sheer loutishness and the fierceness with which he's disemboweled the party of Abraham Lincoln, it may be the Democratic Party that is undergoing the more intriguing and far-reaching transformation.

The forces unleashed by Bernie Sanders hunger for a real populism, and they're unlikely to settle for anything less than a party that once again shows backbone against bellicose billionaires.

Let's not mix xenophobia with legitimate resistance to corporate trade deals

rabble staff — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 17:51:26 +0000

Thursday, July 7, 2016

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The decision of British voters to leave Europe has been treated as evidence that they're intolerant xenophobes keen to seal themselves off from the world. That Donald Trump is on their side only helps make the case that they represent a boorish throwback, a desire to make the English-speaking world great again by turning it into a giant gated community surrounded by sky-high walls.

With Neanderthal wall-builders lurking, it may be easier for the Trudeau government to convince Canadians to accept badly flawed trade deals as part of living in an open, modern world.

Despite tough talk, Trudeau shies away from tackling Bay Street's chronic tax avoidance

Michael Stewart — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 16:33:44 +0000

Thursday, June 9, 2016

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Brian Mulroney will surely be best remembered for the suitcase full of thousand dollar bills he received in a New York hotel room.

Recent scandals with KPMG and the Panama Papers leaks reveal Canada Revenue's standard kid-glove treatment for the wealthy and powerful.

In Canada's concentrated banking industry, what we need is a public bank

rabble staff — Thu, 12 May 2016 16:05:35 +0000

Thursday, May 12, 2016

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For those with a yacht or a Porsche, banks are warm, welcoming places. But banks are considerably less hospitable to those needing financial services that don't include "wealth management."

Indeed, for hundreds of thousands of Canadians who have no wealth to manage and really aren't richer than they think, banks are increasingly inaccessible places.

While the Trudeau government's review of Canada Post is primarily focused on the issue of reinstating home delivery, the prospect of postal banking may be the more far-reaching and intriguing idea.

Rather than fearing the Leap Manifesto, let's bring on the debate

rabble staff — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 12:39:26 +0000

Friday, April 15, 2016

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That silly Leap Manifesto -- giving itself away right in the subtitle, which calls for "a Canada based on caring for the Earth and one another." No wonder it provoked fury and outrage.

As my colleague Thomas Walkom pointed out earlier this week, reports of the manifesto's scariness have been greatly exaggerated; its call for a transition from fossil fuels to green energy is solidly based in science and widely accepted.

That silly Leap Manifesto -- giving itself away right in the subtitle, which calls for "a Canada based on caring for the Earth and one another." No wonder it provoked fury and outrage.