Worth Reading – December 20, 2012

This story has been popping up more and more over the last week. You may have been seeing the hashtag #IdleNoMore on Twitter, or that expression elsewhere. Idle No More has come to represent the current national protest by Aboriginal people in Canada against government policy. As far as I can tell the movement began when the Chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation began a hunger strike to protest government decisions. The movement appears to have developed from that point.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer, Kevin Page, in an interview on Sunday says that the government has misled Canadians on the F-35 issue. Now, will Canadians care?

Metrolinx did a survey of how major transit systems in the world fund themselves. This clear layout should be considered by anyone interested in public transit and infrastructure in the GTHA because we desperately need a better funding formula. 

James Potter examines the two camps within politics. He breaks them down into the Naïfs and the Cynics. At first I thought I would be in the cynic category, but he suggests that anyone in favour of many of the ideas I am is actually a naïf. It’s a great read, check it out.

The City of Brampton’s budget was introduced, and expected to be passed this week. Some within the community are pointing out the total lack of consultation on the city’s finances and priorities. It’s not clear why Mayor Fennell is trying to ram the budget through, perhaps she has been following what’s happening in Ottawa too much.

The Brampton Guardian has done a little reporting in what the budget contains. It is essentially a retread of the 2011 budget.

The Onion often says things better than traditional media can. Here is their take on the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.