There’s quite a number of folks willing to give Tony Clement advice on what to do with the Bethune Centre in Gravenhurst, the national park site honouring Dr. Norman Bethune: namely, shut it down and let it rot, because he … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted July 14th
More from this author:
Well. It’s been quite a week, hasn’t it? The thing about political scandals like these is that, once they’re resolved, they fade pretty quick. Penashue? Resolved in the Labrador by-election. Duffy-Wright? Resignations. Wallin? Her leaving the Tory caucus means she … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted 5 days ago
It would seem that the Leader of the Third Party has come up with a new “initiative” of sorts. It seems that he’s holding a data-gathering exercise: if regular folks write down a question that they want presented in Question … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted May 13th
Well, it’s been a while since we last had a rhetorically silly exchange in Question Period. This particular one is from yesterday’s Question Period: Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are deluded if they think that … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted May 4th
Well, hello lad. I don’t think there’s any need for me to congratulate you, since (a) everybody foresaw this and (b) you’re going to get a lot of them anyway, from people you actually pay attention to. I will give … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted April 15th
A sad day? No, not really. At age 87 and plagued by dementia, Baroness Margaret Thatcher would definite pass from the scene sooner rather than later; it was only a question of when. With her gone now, it’s a good … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted April 8th
It’s tempting to snicker at this, were it not so utterly predictable. Of course Rob Ford’s support would rise in this poll. Any time mainstream media launches a sustained personal attack against any politician, media consumers will become suspicious. Especially … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted April 6th
I suppose the New Democrat member for Halifax has a lot to learn about setting rhetorical traps, if this exchange from yesterday is anything to go by: Ms. Megan Leslie (Halifax, NDP):Hon. Keith Ashfield (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 26th
Okay. So — due to Peter Penashue grossly overspending during the 2011 election, there will now be a by-election in the riding of Labrador. Some things you will want to know: In the 2011 election, Mr. Penashue got 4256 votes … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 18th
No, it’s not a fatal incident. No, it won’t be fodder for a negative campaign ad. But it’s akin to Michael Ignatieff’s bus breakdown in that this was something that should have been foreseen, but ultimately wasn’t. And it’s something … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 13th
I think you’ll have gathered, from yesterday’s blogpost, that I was at the Manning Conference. You’ll also know, from today’s National Post, that Chris Selley was there too. So we both listened to the same speech, yesterday, by Preston Manning. … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 10th
During a morning panel session discussing how the Conservative Party could grow its voter base, the immigration minister, Jason Kenney, joked that the Manning Conference wanted to get Justin Trudeau to speak on a panel, but that the Conference couldn’t … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 8th
Well, well. It’s been a while since I last did one of these. I’m guessing it must have been a slow month in the riding of Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, since its Conservative member didn’t think there was anything happening there worth mentioning … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 7th
I’m starting to get the impression that the New Democrat member for Timmins – James Bay isn’t really enjoying his time in question period, particularly when it comes to trying to make the Parly Sec for Infrastructure look bad. I … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 6th
The National Post’s John Ivison is only the latest pundit to complain that Justin Trudeau’s campaign, while certainly popular, is short on policy: For now at least, it hardly matters that Mr. Trudeau’s apparent prescription for raising middle-class incomes in … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted March 2nd
I’ve just finished reading the Kindle version of The Big Shift, an analysis of current Canadian demographics by pollster Darrell Bricker and Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson. Let me say right off the bat: this has a definite place … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 26th
Having established, in my last post, that Justin Trudeau’s speaking engagements haven’t really affected his performance as an MP, I think it’s time we asked the question: how has his performance as an MP? One way to measure this is … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 23rd
How the heck I wind up in the position of actually defending Justin Trudeau, I’m not sure. It’s possibly because I think the outrage over his public speaking fees is a tad … well, overblown. Not to mention contrived. Let’s … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 17th
You may have seen something in the news about Parliament debating zombie invasions. Well, here’s the exchange, from yesterday’s Question Period: Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the Centers for Disease Control in … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 14th
There may be a few persistent, “progressive” partisans who had hoped that last month’s Idle No More movement might have led to a mighty, left-leaning populist movement that would propel those of the leftward persuasion to the pinnacles of power … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 11th
Oh my. It’s been a while since we had one of these. It would seem that New Democrat MP Pat Martin, having been liberated from the wit-dulling activity that is Twitter, has discovered his inner Vogon: Farewell to the lowly … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 5th
This has got to be one of the more bizarre linkages that a Tory backbench has ever made, connecting last Sunday’s Super Bowl power failure to the fake NDP carbon tax. Still, the Conservative member for Mississauga-Streetsville has a go … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 5th
I’m guessing most of you didn’t bother watching yesterday afternoon’s all-candidates meeting for the Liberal leadership. Most of you made a wise choice. Apparently it was carried by Sun News Network, CBC News Network but not the actual main English … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted February 3rd
Well, you could argue that it’d be more accurate to say “The Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing strategy shows outdated and out-of-touch thinking,” but it’s a bit soon. Sometimes retro in marketing can work. Think Doritos chips. Or the BMW Mini. … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 31st
I should, I think, offer some congratulations to our new Premier-designate, Ms. Kathleen Wynne. The only thing holding me back is my skepticism that her prize — the premiership of Ontario — is actually worth having. The main reason I … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 27th
It’s an anniversary worthy of note: seven years ago today, the Canadian Establishment got a nasty kick in the backside. Seven years ago today, the Canadian electorate decided it had had enough of the smugness of Paul Martin’s Liberal Party, … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 23rd
In an attempt to find some face to save in the snorefest that was Sunday’s Liberal leadership debate, Warren Kinsella has come up with the following: Liberals … had a series of debates in 2006 that were highly captivating. They … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 22nd
I was a little busy to pay attention to today’s debate among the federal third party hopefuls, but I gather I didn’t miss anything earth-shattering. I will admit, though, to being puzzled by a comment from one of the hopefuls: … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 20th
No, there’s no misspelling in the blogpost title. Bacn (rhymes with what goes with eggs) refers to solicited e-mail messages from an organization to whom an e-mail addresss was voluntarily sent. If you’ve ever gone to a trade show, seen … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 18th
There’s a passage in the second chapter of Deborah Coyne’s recently released memoir, Unscripted, when she talks about her youth and meeting a KGB agent who was bodyguarding a Russian tennis player who was staying with her family. I talked … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 15th
As you might have gathered from the title, I won’t describe Chief Theresa Spence’s current regimen as a “hunger strike.” Fish broth and tea do supply nutrients, and constitute no real, consequent sacrifice of health or well-being. But I’m looking … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 12th
If the name “Kai Nagata” is familiar, you’ll probably remember a small kerfuffle from about a year and a half ago, when he quit his job as a CTV journalist because he felt the job stifled his ability to have … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 10th
I’m certain most of you enjoyed your New Year’s Eve, popping open bottles of wine and partying on. Me, I spent New Year’s Eve on a plane to Heathrow. This isn’t a complaint. I normally take my Christmas leave break … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted January 4th
Interesting report in the New York Times today, about a carbon tax scheme in Ireland and how it’s going. I suspect more than a few politicians, both in Canada and the U.S., will want to look at this, so here’s … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 28th
Resolution No. 1: I must blog more often. For various reasons during 2012, I didn’t write as many blogposts as I should have. Perhaps it’s due to complacency, always a danger when your side is the right side of a … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 28th
Well, as you probably know by now, the Canadian Press has named the accused killer Luka Magnotti as their newsmaker of 2012. It’s a move that’s actually managed to unite all sides of the nation’s political spectrum in near-unanimous condemnation. … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 23rd
It seems that Pat Martin has finally recognized his limitations. Ending his Twitter account was probably the smartest thing he could do for his political career, given his temperament. There may be some Members of Parliament who see Mr. Martin’s … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 20th
The Globe’s got an interesting article out on the federal Liberals’ efforts to recruit Mark Carney, current governor of the Bank of Canada and future head of the Bank of England, as a prospective leadership candidate. Buried in there is … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 15th
I don’t know about the rest of you, but to me there’s something vaguely disturbing when an MP makes a plea on behalf of a hypothetical person. Case in point: the New Democrat member for Louis-Hébert: Mr. Speaker, John is … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 12th
Of course, it wasn’t as strong as it was under a Labour government, but it’s a little hard to argue with the 2011 British census numbers: Today’s Census figures show that 176,632 people in England and Wales identify themselves as … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 11th
Rex Murphy has an excellent piece up at the National Post, where he explains his inability to understand Harper Derangement Syndrome. Of course, a lot of the comments following try to explain it, but unfortunately the commenters’ own hatred of … Continue reading →
The Phantom Observer | more | posted December 8th
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The opinions of blogs aggregated by this website are those of the respective individual authors. These individuals have no association, legal or otherwise with Blogging Tories or with each other. The aforementioned opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the opinions held by Stephen Taylor, Craig Smith, other individual bloggers, any political party or Blogging Tories as an organization.
The opinions of blogs aggregated by this website are those of the respective individual authors. These individuals have no association, legal or otherwise with Blogging Tories or with each other. The aforementioned opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the opinions held by Stephen Taylor, Craig Smith, other individual bloggers, any political party or Blogging Tories as an organization.