Worth Reading – March 28, 2013

I cannot say this is a definitive list for good reads this week. I have a window open in Google Chrome with at least 25 tabs of stories I have not read yet. However, after coming home from work I do not feel I have time to try to read them all, sift through them and write this up before the self-imposed deadline. So, instead, a worth reading list from mostly the last 5 days.

The Hill Times is a fantastic publication. I was lucky enough to win a subscription in a contest a few months ago. I dread the day when it expires. This week a writer challenges the “Big Shift” theory advanced by John Ibbitson. If progressives in Canada rally to a single banner the “Conservative century” will swiftly end. 

From Spacing, John Lorinc scrutinizes Andrea Horwath’s (ONDP – Hamilton Centre) position in regards to funding transit. Rosario Marchese (ONDP – Trinity-Spandia) offered a response to the piece as well.

Walkom in the Toronto Star discusses one of the underlying failings of the Conservative government’s jobs plan. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has proposed a national job training program, but the truth is that temporary workers and immigration laws make it easy for companies to hire labour rather than train.

Andrew Coyne isdisappointed in the budget, but he didn’t expect otherwise.

Brampton’s mayor, Susan Fennell, is the highest paid mayor in Canada. I cannot imagine that will sit well with the fiscally conservative electorate in Brampton. There were grumblings about pensions, there will be yelling over this.

Definitely the biggest Toronto story this week by a long-shot. Mayor Rob Ford, reportedly, was asked to leave a charity event because he was intoxicated. After reading the story about Mayor Ford I could not help but feel sorry for the man. Despite claims that it is all lies it has a very solid core to it. The part about how Mayor Ford’s agenda has vanished since late 2011, and he has cut back his working hours significantly is also concerning.

Aaron Wherry in Maclean’s discusses MP Mark Warawa (CPC – Langley, BC) challenge to Canadian parliamentary democracy. His motion is a simple one, either he and his colleagues have real voice and authority, or they do not.

This is super wonky, but I found it fascinating. Steve Paikin and TVO hosted a discussion about how the federal government in Canada does its budgeting and carries out its financial matters, and its failures. Perhaps most importantly, the roundtable featured former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page.

Laura Payton at CBC helps provide some context for Warawa’s “rebellion”.