What do you hope Trudeau said to Trump during their diplomatic tête-à-tête?
Well, they shook hands. We know that much.
Such is the diminished state of politics that because Donald Trump shakes hands like a maniac, if Justin Trudeau comes away looking only slightly constipated, our mainstream presses bray like Canada scored a major coup. But, there was important policy to discuss too, you know. Like the Liberals' bill that will cede sovereignty to U.S. border officials.
There sure was a lot on offer. Fascists like Steve Bannon in the White House; Muslim bans; walls between the U.S. and our NAFTA trading partner Mexico; general incompetence; wars in the Middle East; and so on. Oh yeah: and softwood lumber, amirite?
We assume that our PM Mr. Woke, warrior of human rights and freedom, said something like: "Your xenophobic and autocratic regime is a danger to democracy and world peace and Canada will do everything we can to ensure your darkest desires are thwarted in solidarity with all the vulnerable and marginalized peoples your evil policies target." But until we get a direct quote, which piece of his mind do you hope Trudeau gave Trump?
What will be the worst consequence of Trudeau's broken promise on electoral reform?
After months of delay, cynical maneuvering and two female cabinet ministers tossed under the Liberal bus of "Real Change," Justin Trudeau finally told the ministry of democratic institutions that "changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate." Surprise!
Karl Nerenberg calls this shameless about-face "a gift to the right." He's not wrong. Greg Squires says that this betrayal of the soft left-wing voters that delivered Trudeau his majority has already cost him re-election in 2019.
Of course, there's even worse potential fallout. Proponents of electoral reform must feel like the chance for change at the federal level has slipped back another generation. The desire for change and resistance to Harper-era cynicism so prominent in 2015 has been ruthlessly squashed by those who most profited from it. What will be the worst outcome of Trudeau's broken promise?
How does Canada move forward after the Quebec mosque attack?
On Sunday evening, Canadians saw their national myths of tolerance, multiculturalism and liberalism shattered when a young man enamoured with Donald Trump and white nationalism murdered six people in a Quebec mosque.
As the victims and their family mourn and the rest of the country recovers from the shock, many have pointed out that this event did not occur in isolation. Canadian Conservatives have been stoking the fires of Islamophobia for years. The RCMP have been busy entrapping Muslim youth instead of keeping us safe from xenophobia. And there are over 100 right-wing extremist groups operating in Canada right now.
It is important to hold those implicated in this tragedy to account, but what changes do we have to make -- urgently -- to ensure this kind of attack doesn't happen in Canada again?
What lessons should we take away from the anti-Trump protests last weekend?
Look, I'm going to level with you. This was a hard week. Executive orders cancelling global abortion funding, banning visas from Muslim-majority countries, reviving Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and greenlighting construction on a Mexico-U.S. border wall. And the week's not done. It's like my coal-mining grandfather used to say, "Each day is better than the one that comes after it." He died of the black lung.
Anyway, there are signs of hope. Millions, literally millions marched worldwide last weekend to say: "NOPE." In a stirring testimony, Sophia Reuss called the weekend the birth of a new, radically inclusive left. It wasn't without its hiccups though -- it was criticized as too white, too cis-centric and not self-reflective enough.
But by most accounts, these hiccups have been turned into opportunities for growth. We're looking for the next step, the next chance to resist. So what did last weekend teach us?
What policy are you most excited to see Kevin O'Leary implement?
We did it, Canada! We got Kevin O'Leary to come back to the Great White North.
As candidate number 14 in a field chock full of real humans, O'Leary says he wants to come home (No, not Boston, L.A. or New York. Canada) and run our country, starting with the Conservative leadership. I know you're as excited as I am to find out which of the insulting, idiotic and ghastly things he has said (mostly on the CBC) will make up his policy platform. Will it be making unions illegal? Turning the Canadian Senate into a for-profit sweatshop? Or the real peach, dumping more than half of Canada into dire poverty so that they can use it for "motivation"?
Whatever you like best, there are some real innovative and stupid ideas in that brain of O'Leary's that will surely move Canadian political discourse even further to the absurd right. So which is your favourite?
What should be the first focus of the Canadian left for 2017?
Now that the world's most ambitious and depressing performance art piece has concluded (titled "Dumpster Fire, 2016: A Tragedy in 12 Parts"), it's time to roll up our sleeves. Federal Parliament reconvenes in just about four weeks and we have some work to do if we want to stave off a tide of right-wing populism.
Will Keystone XL come back to give Kinder Morgan activists something to do on weekends? Will anyone actually hold Justin Trudeau to account to keep his promise to reform the electoral system? Will the Conservatives finally answer that age-old question, who is more despicable? Kellie Leitch, Chris Alexander or Kevin O'Leary?
There's a lot to keep us busy as 2017 kicks off. What's most important?
What was the biggest progressive win from 2016?
Hey, let's make a rule, OK? No more talking about how lousy 2016 is. We get it. It sucked. And while we're at it, let's wear off the phrase "dumpster fire" forever. We don't need it! We're moving on.
The fact is there were a lot of things in 2016 worth celebrating. Michael Stewart's optimistic look back at some of the biggest victories last year is a good place to start. Northern Gateway's finally dead. Black Lives Matter showed Canada what civil disobedience can do. We got a national inquriy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The Standing Rock Sioux shocked the world.
So let's take a moment this holiday to reflect on what we've won, even as the rest of the world crumbles around us. So what's your favourite progressive victory of 2016?
Which of these progressive issues can you just not believe we're still fighting for?
An unnamed Globe and Mail columnist who set new records for plagiarism in 2016 just wrote about how there's "no consensus" on climate change. You know, the thing 97 per cent of the world's scientists...ugh, I'm getting demoralized just writing this sentence. YES, THERE IS CONSENSUS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, MR. "CANADA'S PAPER OF RECORD."
"I can't believe I'm still protesting this shit" is basically an evergreen motto to bring to any demonstration these days, even more so with Donald Trump in the White House. Apparently, previously won battles like Keystone XL and basic human decency need to be refought.
The tragedy taking place in Aleppo is proving once again that destabilizing the Middle East (or anywhere) through thoughtless imperialist regime change never works out for civilians. And, of course, Justin Trudeau is proving that no one Liberals like the Liberals when it comes to signalling left and turning right.
So what shit can you not believe we're still protesting?
What caricature of democracy did you get in the Liberals' MyDemocracy.ca survey?
Ho boy, just when you thought the giant tire fire of electoral reform currently burning in Ottawa was about to simmer down, the Liberals went and poured kerosene all over it.
MyDemocracy.ca, Minister Maryam Monsef's attempt to solve the gridlock (that she created) in Parliament over the way Canada decides elections, is, to put it bluntly, a train wreck. A hilarious, flaming, garbage-hauling train wreck.
rabble's Parliamentary Correspondent Karl Nerenberg, in his characteristic grace and tact, called the pop quiz "simplistic and manipulative." The less measured among us might have called it "Liberals drowning democracy in a shallow, mercury-fed tailings pond."
That said, we here at rabble.ca are always interested first and foremost in science, data and facts. So we want to poll our readers to find out which category of democratic denizen they fall into. So, after you completed this embarrassment, which views did the Liberals say you most align with?
After 'Gallagher's Index,' what is your favourite piece of 'Liberal math'?
If Justin Trudeau approving two pipelines on Tuesday was tragedy, Minister of Democratic Institution Maryam Monsef's performance in Parliament today was farce.
Min. Monsef held up a drawing of "Gallagher's Index," a fairly simple equation used to measure the proportionality of electoral systems, in order to show how complicated ordinary Canadians would find electoral reform -- you know, the reform she was specifically mandated to study and communicate to those same Canadians. She was immediately and roundly mocked on Twitter.
But is Gallagher's Index complicated compared to the other examples of Liberal math? Which equation best defines the Liberal party?
