A leopard is a leopard
The published photo of Kathleen Wynne greeting Dalton McGuinty at the Ontario legislature with open arms on the day of the swearing in of her new government, coupled with McGuinty being quoted as saying the recent election was a vindication of his time in office, was a bit hard to… READ MORE
Pride in Canada
Far be it from me to praise the City of Toronto, under any circumstances. But I have to make an exception. Last week the City hosted the World Pride conference, which culminated in a parade that was attended by 2 million people. Compared with all of the difficulties that result… READ MORE
What came first, the sustainability or the resiliency?
... if something has a lot of resiliency it is more likely to be sustainable, but even things that are very resilient are not always sustainable over time. Then again, how sustainable can something be if it is not resilient? When push comes to shove, is it better to push… READ MORE
Local campaign slowly getting underway; and what is Hudak up to?
While local election campaigns have been slow to ramp up, Kathleen Wynne and Tim Hudak have already set up a polarizing debate that each hopes will lead to their own success. Wynne went first. She put out a left-leaning budget, fully expecting to campaign on it, and then began the… READ MORE
Is there a Conservative Party candidate on the ballot in LFL&A?
The short answer is yes. Randy Hillier is a Conservative MPP, a former leadership candidate for the party and until the dissolution of the legislature last week he was member of the Conservative Party Caucus. But at the very least, Hillier is about as likely to become a cabinet minister… READ MORE
GREC Opened Too Soon, & The Children Paid The Price
Editorial by Jeff Green Granite Ridge Education Centre is a few days away from its formal ribbon cutting/grand opening ceremony. A lot has been said in the community about the decision to build a comprehensive school for the region (which drew a mixed response); its location (a mixed to negative… READ MORE
There Are Lots Of Trees, But This One Will Be Missied
Two machines have been slowly, steadily, inexorably dismantling the former Sharbot Lake High School over the past few weeks. The school, which was built in three stages over decades, is being taken apart one attached building at a time. Its replacement, Granite Ridge comprehensive school, built in a style that… READ MORE
Quebec & Ontario Elections And That Odd Lawsuit
Editorial by Jeff Green Among other things, the Quebec election demonstrated that a poor campaign by one party can shorten the attention span of the electorate. The massive corruption scandal that forced the retirement of Jean Charest and sent the Quebec Liberals into the penalty box of the opposition benches… READ MORE
A Strategic Plan For An Organization In Flux
The draft Frontenac County Strategic Plan, which is being promoted to local councils this month, focuses on three unfortunately named Wildly Important Goals (WIG). As someone who has attended too many municipal meetings in Frontenac County, “wild” is not a word that should be associated with anything to do with… READ MORE
The Quebec Secular Charter Does A Disservice To Secularists
One of the great things about politics in Canada over the last 30 years, in my view, is the gradual move away from a religious based laws and the ascendancy of the charter of rights and freedoms. A good example of this is the way the same-sex marriage issue has… READ MORE
Lessons from a good day in Verona
A lot of things went right last Monday in Verona. When an electrical fire started at McMullen Manor, 28 people had to evacuate the building on a bitterly cold and blustery day. They did not know where to go at first and were sitting in their cars, but since one… READ MORE
Will The Conservatives Now Throw The Senate Under The Bus?
Although I do not share the view that the Senate expense affair will have a long-term impact on anyone but those who actually touched the money, it is still all bad for the Conservative government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Whether you agree with the planned suspension of the three… READ MORE
Bedard Appeal May Have Ripple Effect On Land Claim
The fallout from the ruling by former Justice Chadwick for the Algonquins of Ontario to the effect that the names of 500 members of the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation are to be removed from the Algonquin electors' list is just starting to become apparent. A number of those 500 people… READ MORE
Hard Times For Journalists
The main benefits of being a journalist are two-fold. First, journalists can dress poorly. Second, journalists get to sit in judgement of public figures. This judgement lies at the root of all reportage - editorials and news reports alike (that’s a trade secret, news reports are only editorials masked as… READ MORE
Forty-Two Homeless People In Frontenac County?
“It would be nice, at some point, to do an in-time survey of homeless people in Frontenac County,” said John Whitesell of OrgCode consulting, which has just completed a homelessness reduction plan for Kingston and Frontenac County, “but for now we have to be satisfied with a reverse-vector analysis.” The… READ MORE
Paramedic Protest Exposes Fault Lines In Amalgamation
After being rebuffed at Frontenac County Council, the Kingston-based OPSEU local that represents the paramedics in Kingston and Frontenac County are now trying a kind of end-run. They are trying to influence Kingston politicians concerning the delivery of land ambulance service in the city. There is something odd about this.… READ MORE
