Tar sands bumpf at convention

Published November 1, 2013

Photo: @Josh_Wingrove These buttons are making the rounds at the Conservative Party convention. A more apt slogan is, “I love GHG emissions.” Here’s what we know about Canada’s tar sands. The goal of the Conservative government is to triple tar sands production by 2035, even as Canada keeps missing its greenhouse gas reductions targets. After walking […]

Is Canada’s gun lobby calling the shots?

Published November 1, 2013

Conservative Party members from Manitoba will be pushing their party to “recognize the legitimacy of private ownership of firearms” and to “resist any domestic or international pressure to the contrary” at this weekend’s policy convention. You read that right. And it looks like the Conservative government has already been listening. Recently, Ottawa balked at signing a […]

Thou Doth Protest

Published November 1, 2013

With all the bad news coming out of Ottawa these days, Conservatives must have been looking forward to a weekend getaway in Calgary at their party’s policy convention. But even Conservative Mecca yields some headaches when you’re knee-deep in a scandal that just won’t go away. Here’s a flavour of different protests in and around […]

And the anti-union campaign begins

Published October 31, 2013

Just as registration for the Conservative Party convention opened on Thursday, the push to undermine bargaining rights kicked into gear. A pamphlet making the rounds calls on delegates to get behind a slew of proposals that are variations on one theme: undermining bargaining rights. It echoes the same statements heard from Tories in the House of Commons, […]

Income splitting: little relief for those who need it

Published October 31, 2013

There’s a policy proposal up for debate at the Conservative Party convention to make income splitting for married and common-law couples official party policy. It likely won’t be contentious – and that’s too bad. The Harper government has already pledged that once it balances the federal budget, parents with children under 18 would be […]

The “Old Duff” fundraising for the Conservative Party

Published October 31, 2013

The daily revelations coming out about Mike Duffy and the Senate scandal are riveting. They can distract, though, from the underlying problem with Canada’s upper chamber. One of the defining features of the modern Senate is that, for decades, the government of the day has appointed party fundraisers, organizers and former staffers, tapped to do […]

Tag: Conservative Convention Monitor

Tar sands bumpf at convention

Is Canada’s gun lobby calling the shots?

Thou Doth Protest

And the anti-union campaign begins

Income splitting: little relief for those who need it

The “Old Duff” fundraising for the Conservative Party