Worth Reading – August 15, 2013

This is my last Ontario-based Worth Reading for a while. Tomorrow at about this time I’ll be leaving for the airport and on westward. I am excited, though understandably a tad nervous. On to the articles!

From iPolitics, the author suggests that the recent slate of candidates running in Toronto Centre to replace Bob Rae may signal a return of the political intellectual. The piece does not suggest that political intellectuals are great party leaders, but form a critical backbone to cabinets and effective caucuses. I am inclined to agree.

In the Ottawa Citizen, we need a better Senate and abolition does not do enough to improve our governing structure. This seems correct to me. As has been pointed out many times, federations similar to Canada all have functional upper chambers to balance state/province interests against the central government. Basically, I’d favour copying Australia completely, but I understand how difficult that is.

Don Lenihan in iPolitics interviewed James Rajotte (CPC – Edmonton-Leduc, AB) on what silences MPs. Rajotte says that anyone that claims the PMO and its staffers are silencing MPs needs to basically grow a backbone. Rajotte points to other issues, such as media coverage of MPs who speak out. Worth a read for sure.

Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak (PCPO – Niagara West – Glanbrook) refuses to face a leadership review. 

Excellent piece from the Globe and Mail highlights some of the more troublesome observations from the e-mails discovered in the course of the gas plant controversy. Staffers and advisors to Premier McGuinty come across as remarkably cynical and devious, it is not flattering, nor I imagine unique.

Based on the above information, the Opposition is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne (OLP – Don Valley West) to cut ties to Don Guy. 

Corky Evans (Fmr. BCNDP – Nelson – Creston) offers an open letter about his thoughts about the current state of the British Columbia NDP. Evans calls on the leader Adrian Dix to resign, citing Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff as examples of fellow damaged goods. That isn’t the interesting part. Evans’ assessment of what has gone wrong with the party is the interesting part. He suggests the central control and destruction of internal dissent has crippled the BCNDP. I believe this could be applied to all parties in Canada to some degree. 

And finally, a video...