There’s the apologetic and inferior-feeling kind of sorry. Then there’s the sorry that is polite and thinking of others.
Canadians are this second kind of sorry, and only Canadians probably truly understand that.
Douglas CornishOttawa
Stuck in the middle
Re “Where is the Purple Party?” (Opinion, July 1): I believe our political system has stagnated across the spectrum. The “choose your own aristocrat” approach to democracy is showing cracks.
I would like to see a new party initially focused less on specific social and economic policies, and more on our democracy and how policies are discerned. It could put at its core a goal of renewing our system of government, inviting more deliberation and ensuring more voices are heard.
Unless any new party makes changing the political system its raison d’être, it will likely fall into the same quagmires: political intransigence, focus on its base and polarization, to name a few. When the system is changed to stop rewarding these behaviours, and instead reward democratic virtues, advancement would be possible.
Tim CrouchWinnipeg
We should be careful what we wish for.
In France, Emmanuel Macron has tried exactly this and even succeeded in getting his new En Marche, a centrist movement, elected. He ran on a pragmatic platform to solve longstanding labour and fiscal problems.
But many of his voters fear the left or right, leaving them with the mistaken impression that his mandate is only to not be left or right, rather than implement his program. That means “up with the barricades” and even greater polarization. The prospects of his centrist party look dim.
Canada’s relatively mild political extremes were once the domain of some provinces. But the purge of Red Tories from the Conservatives has ceded the centre to the Liberals without competition, allowing a drift to the left and a vacuum of new ideas in the centre.
But good to retain some optimism. I lost mine.
Manuel MertinCalgary
That party already exists. It’s called the Green Party.
Gene ValerioteVictoria
Didn’t the Liberal Party used to be the “Purple Party?”
They were often criticized by opponents for “stealing” good ideas from both sides. Sadly, these days the Liberals are often seen as the party of big spending, identity politics, postnationalism and division.
If this is to change and we are to rekindle the pragmatic middle – with its emphasis on economic prosperity, equal opportunity and respect for all – it is up to members of each party to push for that agenda and seek leaders within their own ranks who can deliver. But I see no brilliant leaders waiting in the wings.
Perhaps if the Conservatives are successful in gobbling up Liberal votes in the next election, they will realize how far they have strayed from the expectations of traditional Liberal voters.
My business is small, under $500,000 in annual sales, yet I am besieged by CRA for a series of what I consider silly requests. I am sent forms pages long to fill out: proof of expenses for business travel (often several years ago) and HST/GST amounts from across the country.
We serve Indigenous businesses (I am Indigenous), so we have variance as to whether services were provided on status land, a consideration that seems to befuddle CRA representatives. It is highly insulting to have to “educate” clerks and bureaucrats, who seem to have no idea how hard it is to run a small business while ensuring consistent funds for payroll.
Surely there are better ways for CRA to spend its time.
Judith (Judi) Spear Founder, Spear-Rhodes; Fort Erie, Ont.
Perhaps because music brings joy and beauty to life, it seems too good to be true that its study also helps children do better in mathematics. An orchestral or ensemble environment nurtures co-operation, cultivates and rewards task orientation, teaches discipline, improves grades and gives the joy of mutual achievement. I believe there is no better apprenticeship for adulthood.
Music is a basic need of humanity: One of the ways we make sense of our lives, to understand with our hearts when we can’t with our minds. Anthems proclaim our patriotism; songs celebrate our birthdays, recall our youth and declare our love.
If music attends virtually every important spiritual, emotional and civic event, how can its study not be an essential part of education?
Robert EisenbergCM; founder, Sistema Toronto Academy
The government would do well to take on the modernizing of the highway as a symbol of its commitment to connecting us as a nation. Two-lane sections and dangerous level crossings should have no place in a national transportation corridor.
Bruce Alger Calgary
My mother didn’t like Saskatoon, where my father was a colleague of Edward McCourt, who wrote The Road Across Canada. She missed the Maritimes.
In 1956, she persuaded my father to buy a summer house in Port Maitland, N.S. Every summer she bundled her children into the car and drove six days there, then six days back.
Before the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway, she crossed the border to U.S. Highway 2, because the roads north of Lake Superior were unpaved, and usually crossed back into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
This became such a formative influence on my life that, when I was on my own and a student in Britain, I thought nothing of driving across the Soviet Union to Tbilisi and back with my sister and fiancée. Such is life!
Nicholas TracyFredericton
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Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
