Worth Reading – October 25, 2012

As I mentioned earlier this week, there was almost too much news. The same applied to all the interesting articles I put together. I segmented all the ones that fit under a common theme and hope to blog about it next week. So, if the world of Ontario, Toronto and Canadian politics could hold off for the next few days, I would really appreciate it.

Don Lenihan in iPolitics summarizes a lot of the veryharsh scrutiny journalists and columnists have applied to recent actions at the federal and provincial. If our democracy is in crisis I am glad the fourth estate is going to say something, for however little good it will do.

Scott Stinson at the National Post did the math. With a leadership contest set to resolve on January 25^th Stinson estimates that the Ontario Legislature will not sit until February 18. This means Ontarians will be without active representation and the government will not be accountable for over four months.

The second part of the Toronto Standard’s series is up. This week focuses on the future of transportation in Toronto. 

If you love politics in Canada and you want a much more nitty gritty view, you must read Pundit’s Guide. A great example of this is Alice Funke’s recent work on the upcoming by-elections. By-elections have been called in Durham, Calgary Centre and Victoria for November 26.

Michael Harris’ piece argues that the Conservative backbench are getting restless. This is one of a series of articles on this theme in recent weeks. I cannot help but think that their authors are employing more than a little wishful thinking here. Despite a few instances there is very little evidence that the Conservatives are breaking ranks.

Chantal Hébert was one of the columnists who spoke out on the decline of Canadian democracy. She wrote a very interesting piece about the Parliament Hill she arrived at to report on thirty years ago and the state of the House of Commons today. 

And finally, something fun. The first Travers Debates took place recently. The first debate on whether or not Twitter was destroying journalism was exceptionally good. It featured Bob Rae, Chantal Hébert, Kady O’Malley, and Nathan Cullen. Very funny, yet oddly insightful. Allen Gregg and Dan Gardner had a more serious debate over who had a brighter future, Canada or the United States. I highly recommend watching.