Archive for Social justice & diversity

Annika Tabovaradan addresses Toronto City Council members at 2am and makes a tearful plea to keep area libraries open. She already has to wait 30 minutes for computer time.

I have often thought of reversing the way that proportional representation is calculated and applying it to the MPs already in Parliament.

The one Green seat represents almost 580,000 votes.  166 Conservative seats represent 5.8 million votes.  So while each Conservative MP represents just over 35,000 voters, Elizabeth May represents 580,000.

Therefore one Green is worth 16 Conservatives.     Read more »

Elizabeth’s question regarding the budget was smart.  Watch the Conservative member avoid the question.  He does not answer why the government perversely chose to trim the most democratic and fair form of public finance for political parties.  The Conservatives like the subsidies that give rich people the majority of their money back when they contribute to political parties, but would deny the funding that goes to parties people vote for even when they can’t afford to contribute.

You can get a good explanation of what is going on here.

If you watch through to the end of this short video, it covers why I entered politics. What is now at stake is food security, water security, and the ability to deliver the fundamentals of decent civil society. All of these are already stressed and becoming more so. Concerns about things like gas prices, while important in our current state of addiction, nonetheless need to be contextualized in a world of threats that are far, far greater.

About a week after the election, I wrote what I worried might be too strident a post and finally published it now.  Someone has to hold the NDP accountable.  Their climate policy is possibly the worst of all parties, as they continually find creative new ways to subsidize fossil fuels.     Read more »