The Supreme Court and the Democratic Deficit

Today we see Prime Minister Martin pressing forward with his plan to attack the apparent democratic deficit in Canada. The most recent of his initiatives is to subject judicial nominations to some level of scrutiny by MP’s. While I think this is a great idea, I doubt in practice is will have much effect on who PM Martin actually appoints. Nor do I see this move to be welcomed by the judiciary, who I imagine enjoy (maybe enjoy is a bit strong, but certainly favour) the lack of scrutiny currently paid to these types of appointments.

MPs will vet top-court nominees, Liberal says
Ottawa — Judges nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada will face scrutiny from House of Commons committees, says Liberal MP Roger Gallaway, the man Prime Minister Paul Martin has placed in charge of democratic reform.

Mr. Gallaway, parliamentary secretary for democratic reform, warned Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and other sitting judges who oppose the idea to “remember their proper roles, one of which is to avoid comment on political or parliamentary affairs.???

Mr. Gallaway also took aim at public servants, suggesting they were dismissive of the role of MPs during the 10-year Chrétien government.

“Mr. Martin has said in matters of policy formulation and choice he trusts the judgment of members over that of departmental officials,??? he said.

“The door is now open for House members and committees to push civil servants back to their proper role of administration of the law, and not the creation of it or engaging the public in debate.???

A Liberal by any other name…

I noticed during my ritual morning perusal of Alberta dailies on the web that the provincial Liberal Party has come to the shocking conclusion that they lack popularity amongst voters in the province.

Sparked by the imminent defection of present Liberal leader Ken Nicol to the Paul Martin team, the few who still vote Liberal in the province and admit it have been throwing around ideas about how to salvage the party from the province’s political scrap heap. Suggesting that it is mere optics that are the problem, some have suggested that a name change will be the remedy that will deliver the Liberals to the promised land.
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Iraq Bribed France With Oil

Prehaps it isn’t finding WMD that we should be concerned with in Iraq. I suspect over the next few months we’ll see more bombs like this one,

Iraqi govt. papers: Saddam bribed Chirac
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 28 (UPI) — Documents from Saddam Hussein’s oil ministry reveal he used oil to bribe top French officials into opposing the imminent U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

The oil ministry papers, described by the independent Baghdad newspaper al-Mada, are apparently authentic and will become the basis of an official investigation by the new Iraqi Governing Council, the Independent reported Wednesday.

French diplomats have dismissed any suggestion their foreign policy was influenced by payments from Saddam, but some European diplomats have long suspected France’s steadfast opposition to the war was less moral than monetary.

“Oil runs thicker than blood,” is how one former ambassador put his suspicions about the French motives for opposing action against Saddam.

Alberta, fortis et liber. Ontario, not so much…

The BC-based Fraser Institute and the National Centre for Policy Analysis in Dallas have released the 2004 Annual Report on Economic Freedom of North America. The report casts a critical eye on all 50 U.S. states and the 10 Canadian provinces (sorry, no territories were surveyed), using the following criteria to determine the economic freedom rating for each jurisdiction:

“The study rates economic freedom on a 10-point scale for two indexes. An all-government index captures the impact of restrictions on freedom by all levels of government. A sub-national index captures the impact of restrictions by state or provincial and local governments.”

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Gay Marriage in Canada

With the Canadian government flirting with the idea of extending the rights and privileges of marriage to gays, some authors have sought to examine the consequences of such actions on the family.

Marriage is Slowly Dying in Scandinavia
A majority of children in Sweden and Norway are born out of wedlock. Sixty percent of first-born children in Denmark have unmarried parents. Not coincidentally, these countries have had something close to full gay marriage for a decade or more. Same-sex marriage has locked in and reinforced an existing Scandinavian trend toward the separation of marriage and parenthood. The Nordic family pattern–including gay marriage–is spreading across Europe. And by looking closely at it we can answer the key empirical question underlying the gay marriage debate. Will same-sex marriage undermine the institution of marriage? It already has.

Dear Mr. McClelland

An Open Letter to Ian McClelland, MLA Edmonton-Rutherford- Chairman of the MLA Committee on Strengthening Alberta?s Role in Confederation;

Dear Mr. McClelland,
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Belinda Announces Leadership Run

With the launch of Belinda Stronach’s Conservative party leadership campaign, we see a long string of media stories aimed at dissecting this former Magna CEO. Margaret Wente’s article in the Globe and Mail isn’t particularly inspiring, but does make some valid points,

Belinda lives and works in a world that daddy built
Belinda Stronach hates being known as “daddy’s little girl.” I would, too, if I were her. But that’s exactly what she is. Her job comes from daddy. Her money comes from daddy’s company. Her house, which sits in the magnificent corporate compound north of Toronto that daddy built, is a stone’s throw away from daddy’s house. Her first husband was an executive in daddy’s company, and her first taste of politics was when daddy ran (unsuccessfully) for office and she knocked on doors for him. Friends say her current interest in politics was inspired by Magna’s essay-writing contest, which she administers. It awards scholarships to students who write the best essay on the topic, “If I were prime minister.” Her dad started that too.

Sealed with a kiss

The morning after Stephen Harper “officially??? announced his candidacy for the leadership of the new fangled Conservative Party of Canada by planting a wet and juicy one square on the lips of the CBC’s vexatious Mary Walsh a.k.a. “Marg- Warrior Princess???, fellow united righter and former Tory leader Peter MacKay, citing lack of funds, announced he would not be giving Harper a run for his money…
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