'Harper Canada'.. Budget Reactions.. Liberal Leadership Primaries?

March 22, 2013 Subscribe · Forward It's 'Harper Canada,' We Just Live In It Oh Harper Canada, our home and native land? It could have been a post-budget typo, or a cut-and-paste accident, but one government agency briefly rebranded the country "Harper Canada." Continue reading... Liberal Leadership Primaries? Senior Grits Pine For U.S.-Style Rolling Votes Reactions To The Federal Budget Christy Clark's Days Likely Numbered Flaherty Delivers 2013 Federal Budget Tories Nip Abortion Motion In The Bud Ottawa Shuts Down International Aid Agency Even Trudeau Couldn't Lure Young Voters WATCH: Mercer Blasts Harper And Tories On Water Ottawa Shuts Down International Aid Agency WATCH: Mercer Blasts Harper And Tories On Water WATCH: Mercer Says Harper, Flaherty Think We're Stupid BOB RAE Why I'm Opposing Canada's Economic (In)Action Plan The government's budget plan is a political smoke screen, replete with gimmicks designed to convince Canadians that the Conservatives, somehow, are in fact balancing the books. This could not be further from the truth. Canada's needs have clearly taken a back seat to the needs of the Conservative Party. Continue reading... GLEN PEARSON CIDA's Death Leaves a Foreign Aid Skeleton Sadly, with yesterday's Conservative budget, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) suffered a premature passing. Many of us knew it was coming, but its axing in the budget is a far more significant blow to this country's reputation that the Harper government realizes. Very good men and women in CIDA had built solid and progressive relationships with their partners in other countries, and though Canada's foreign aid will continue in various capacities, the dream of the kind of international interventions of compassion that made a clear and multi-dimensional difference is over. Continue reading... JEFF PATERSON Four Myths About Justin Trudeau Debunked Justin Trudeau is about to head into the national Liberal leadership vote heavily ahead of the competition, with little changing since he first announced his running back in the fall. Below are several of the most often used reasons, and perhaps some perspective on addressing those reasons and hopefully alleviating some of the hesitation in supporting another Trudeau to right the ship and lead the new Liberals in the 2015 election. Continue reading... J.J. MCCULLOUGH We Need Budget Cuts, Not Trims Thursday's federal budget manages, but it does not lead. It was a gentle haircut for a couple obscure federal programs and a beautiful bouquet of boutique tax credits that may or may not wind up getting used. The bulk of federal expenditures has long ceased to be the stuff of debate or discussion. Continue reading... IRWIN COTLER The Transgender Bill Is About Equality, Not Bathrooms Wednesday night the House of Commons passed C-279, a bill that provides human rights protections to transgender Canadians. Since its introduction over a year ago, critics have reduced it to the "Bathroom Bill", a distorted characterization of what is truly important domestic human rights legislation. This legislation not only carries great symbolic value, but would also produce three substantive and practical effects to help reduce the frequency of discrimination and violence against transgendered Canadians. Moreover, there is precedent for the use of the term "gender identity" in Canadian provincial as well as international contexts. Continue reading... Received this from a friend? Sign up for alerts from The Huffington Post here. Unsubscribe here.