Daily Archives: June 24, 2022

While Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry have not commented on the matter, people are wondering what the couple think of the verdict.

The Duchess of Sussex has been called "way to woke" and "liberal" since she became a part of the British royal family.

Several US celebrities have expressed their views about the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the constitutional right to abortion.

Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Mark Ruffalo and British singer Dua Lipa were first to criticize the ruling online.

As far as Meghan Markle's political views are concerned, the former American actress is against the ruling.

She might not issue a formal statement against the Supreme Court decision, her views suggest that she will never back a court ruling which is being criticized by the women rights activists.

Earlier this year, Conservative columnist Meghan McCain said she is not a fan of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle because they are way too woke.

I was a fan at the beginning because I thought they were interesting and sort of modernising the royal family, Ms McCain told Sky News Australia.

But theyre way too woke for me.

Ms McCain is the daughter of two-time presidential candidate John McCain.

Original post:

What liberal and woke Meghan Markle thinks of Supreme Courts ruling on abortion? - The News International

By Canadian Press

Jun 23, 2022 | 10:15 AM

OTTAWA A pair of Ontario businessmen say they each loaned former Liberal MP Raj Grewal $200,000 before being invited to join a 2018 trip to India with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Brampton tire centre owner Andy Dhugga told an Ottawa court today he has known Grewals family for a long time, and Grewal asked him for the money in the summer of 2017, saying he needed to pay off a different loan.

A former Liberal political staffer testified earlier that Dhugga and businessman Yusuf Yenilmez, who told court he also loaned Grewal money, were both on a shortlist of five guests Grewal invited to participate in a private meet-and-greet with Trudeau in New Delhi.

The former MP is facing two breach of trust charges, with the Crown alleging he used his political office for personal gain and offered access to the trip in exchange for money that he used to pay off major gambling debts.

Originally posted here:

Ex-Liberal MP Raj Grewal invited lenders to private meet-and-greet with Trudeau - EverythingGP

The Liberal Democrats have sometimes struggled to get media attention, usually losing out in column inches to Labour and the Tories.

As a result the party has developed a flair for imaginative and eye-catching media stunts.

1) Showing Boris Johnson the literal door

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey poses with a prop door on June 24, 2022 in Tiverton, England.

(Getty Images)

To celebrate the liberal victory in Tiverton and Honiton this morning Lib Dem leader Ed Davey unveiled a door before waiting press. The joke was that he was "showing Boris Johnson the door". Whether the prime minister takes the hint or not remains to be seen.

2) Knocking down a literal blue wall

Ed Davey knocks down a blue wall after the Amersham and Chesham by-election with a B&Q hammer

(PA)

But the door stunt is far from the first time Sir Ed has played a practical joke at the Tories' expense. After the Amersham and Chesham by-election the Lib Dem leader brandished an orange hammer to knock down a literal "blue wall" constructed by his media team. The message was that the liberals were coming for Tory seats. The Independent understands it was a "nightmare" to find a suitably coloured hammer and that it was ultimately sourced via an emergency trip to Croydon B&Q.

3) Bursting Boris Johnson's bubble

Boris Johnson had his bubble burst after the North Shropshire by-election

(Getty Images)

The Lib Dems have had a very good run of by-election successes during this parliament, and perhaps an even better run of victory stunts. After winning the North Shropshire by-election in December last year Sir Ed popped a giant blue balloon, claiming it representing him symbolically "bursting Boris Johnson's bubble". The scalp of the wiley prime minister has yet alluded opposition parties, however.

4) Paddy Ashdown eating his hat

Paddy Ashdown eats a cake shaped like a hat during BBC Question Time in 2015

(BBC Question Time)

But eye-catching stunts are not just for liberal victories. Paddy Ashdown famously ate his hat or a cake version of it live on BBC Question Time in 2015 after he carelessly used the idiom in a pre-election bout of fighting talk. He had said he would eat his hat if the polls were right to suggest the liberals would lose 47 seats; the party eventually lost 49.

5) Nick Clegg's high-wire stunts

Nick Clegg took to a zip wire to give his 2015 election campaign a boost

(PA)

On a similar theme, Nick Clegg also tried to galvanise his campaign in 2015 by taking to a zip-wire, apparently imitating an earlier stunt pulled by Boris Johnson. The photo-op led to headlines "Can Nick Clegg pull off his high wire act?". The answer was, unfortunately for the deputy prime minister, no.

6) Willie Rennie stunts, a force of nature

DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND - MAY 21: Willie Rennie leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, water skies during a European Election campaign event

(Getty Images)

It would be wrong to talk about Liberal Democrat photo-ops without an honourable mention for former Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie. As leader from 2011-2021 Mr Rennie has such a fondness for photo-ops that Scottish newspaper the Courirer was about to compile 14 of his best for a retrospective piece, well beyond the scope of this brief article. He manhandled a ram, drove a Lamborghini, and attended a bakery to criticise SNP "half-baked" independence plans. During the party's successful 2019 European election campaign he was seen jubilantly waterskiing in Townill Loch in Dunfermline, "riding the wave of possibility".

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The 6 weirdest Liberal Democrat election victory stunts - The Independent

Faculty members honored during the spring faculty meeting for the College of Liberal Arts include (from left) Ted Ownby, winner of the colleges Award for Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement; Eden Tanner, recipient of a campuswide Frist Student Service Award; Saumen Chakraborty, Edmonds New Scholar Award; Jared Delcamp, Melinda and Ben Yarbrough Senior Award for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Emily Bretherick Rowland, Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award; Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons, Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen; Carrie Smith, Edmonds New Scholar Award; and Timothy Yenter, Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

OXFORD, Miss. Eight University of Mississippi professors have been honored by the College of Liberal Arts for their excellence in teaching and research.

Timothy Yenter

Three professors were recognized for their exceptional teaching. Timothy Paul Yenter, associate professor of philosophy, received the Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Named after alumni donors Dr. Norris Howell (BS 75) and Lynne Thomas Howell (BA 74, MBA 76), both of Ripley, the endowment provides funds to recognize the outstanding teacher within the college.

Emily Bretherick Rowland, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received the Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award. Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons, assistant professor of classics, was presented the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen.

Emily Bretherick Rowland

Donald L. Dyer, distinguished professor of modern languages and associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, celebrated Rowland, Dibiasie-Sammons and Yenter.

The College of Liberal Arts is extremely proud of its three newest teaching award winners, he said. They span the liberal arts disciplines and represent the best the college has to offer in the classroom.

In fact, the college has a rich tradition of valuing and honoring its best teachers. It cultivates and nurtures the best of pedagogical practices and methodologies for betterment and improvement.

Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons

The students of the three being honored, as well as their colleagues, have spoken, and this year ensured that we honor some of the master teachers among us.

Five professors were recognized for achievements in research. Recipients of the Edmonds New Scholar Award are Saumen Chakraborty, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Veronica Menaldi, assistant professor of modern languages; and Carrie Smith, assistant professor of psychology.

Saumen Chakraborty

Ted Ownby, the William F. Winter Chair and professor of history and Southern studies, received the College of Liberal Arts Award for Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement.

Jared Delcamp, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is the recipient of the Melinda and Ben Yarbrough Senior Award for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Excerpts from their nomination letters praised each of the research award recipients.

Veronica Menaldi

(The) Chakraborty group (which is made up of both undergraduate and graduate students) does significant research that lies at the interface between biochemistry and inorganic chemistry and focuses on exploring the role of metals in biology, one letter read. But beyond the science, Dr. Chakrabortys primary motivation is to help students achieve academic excellence and professional growth.

Smith and her lab engage in three primary research activities: investigating peoples daily and relational well-being, examining the interpersonal aspects of personality and individual differences, and exploring the experiences of gender and gender ideology.

Carrie Smith

Smith has demonstrated exemplary performance in research and creative achievement, one letter stated. Among her accomplishments in research to date are 41 peer-reviewed articles and three book chapters. She has also been a presenter and co-presenter for 100 presentations given regionally, nationally and internationally.

A nomination letter for Ownby states, (He) has distinguished himself as one of the most productive and pioneering scholars in both the History Department and in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. (His) impact on the lives of students at both the graduate and undergraduate level is broad and lasting.

Ted Ownby

But more striking is the tone of deep affection and regard his former students use in describing their relationship, which in many cases extends far beyond the UM campus and into their professional lives.

Delcamp has established an extraordinary track record with more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognized journals,and more than $4 million in major grant funding earned at the university, plus three multi-investigator, multi-institution NSF EPSCoR grants totaling $30 million.

Jared Delcamp

In his time with the university, Dr. Delcamp has grown a productive, diverse and inclusive research environment, one of his nomination letters states. As a true testament to the diversity of Dr. Delcamps activities, he has developed a summer school program for high school students in economically disadvantaged areas of north Mississippi.

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Liberal Arts Professors Honored for Excellence in Teaching, Research - Ole Miss News

The next election is supposed to be three years away, but were seeing a lot of predictions of Justin Trudeaus political demise. But for his Liberal Party, there is no easy way to leave him behind.

Predicting Mr. Trudeaus next three years seems like a mugs game when you consider the surprises of his first seven years in office included Donald Trump, pandemic and war in Europe.

But this is a Prime Minister whose last two re-election bids saw him eke out minority governments without winning the popular vote, and who will have been in office for 10 years by the time the next election is due.

Any other party, with any other leader, would already have plans, or plots, to replace him. Yet for the Liberal Party of Canada, the big challenge would be finding a replacement leader who isnt seen as a pale imitation a Trudeau Liberal who isnt Justin Trudeau.

By profile, the obvious contender is Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, who now delivers budgets, handles major policy files, steps in for the Prime Minister on key occasions, and often stands next to him for major announcements.

But if the problem with Mr. Trudeau seeking re-election in 2025 is that its been too much Trudeau, and Canadians are tired of the way hes done things, its hard to imagine Ms. Freeland being seen as the wind of change.

And for all the weight Ms. Freeland has in Mr. Trudeaus government she led NAFTA talks with Mr. Trumps administration, helped build political peace with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and is responsible for the pandemic-recovery fiscal plan she isnt a political performer like the PM. Few people are.

Mr. Trudeau is a master of the maddening art of the talking point, while Ms. Freeland delivers long lectures. Even now, with his approvals worn lower, no one doubts Mr. Trudeaus ability to charm a room or deliver a line.

And thats a conundrum for the Liberals: Its hard to find a better salesperson for Trudeau Liberalism than Justin Trudeau. And it will be hard to find a Liberal leader who wont seem like a Trudeau Liberal.

There are some contenders with their own political charm. Innovation Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne can work a room. Foreign Affairs Minister Mlanie Joly has some charisma, too. But both have been on Mr. Trudeaus team for seven years.

Defence Minister Anita Anand is newer, and seen by some as a potential leadership aspirant, but by 2025, she will presumably have been a Trudeau cabinet minister for six years. Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, didnt join Mr. Trudeaus government, but its not clear if he can handle himself in the cut and thrust world of electoral politics which is very different from any other stage.

And at this stage, when potential leadership aspirants are still limited to the quiet work of travelling to fundraisers and regional Liberal meetings, and making backroom plans, many of those potential candidates seem to have similar ideas about how to differentiate themselves from Mr. Trudeau with a harder focus on the economy.

Ms. Freeland, as the Finance Minister, has a platform to do that but she is very much tied to Mr. Trudeaus overall governing agenda.

Mr. Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, is positioning himself as the business Liberal in the cabinet who will talk industrial strategy, economic growth and jobs. Prominent Liberals have suggested to Ms. Anand that she seek out similar turf if she decides to run, although her current job as Defence Minister doesnt make that particularly easy. Mr. Carney, if he chose to run, would have a different challenge: He would enter the race with hefty economic credentials but would have to convince voters that he is in touch with ordinary Canadians.

Thats a group of potential aspirants who would aim to rebrand the Liberals as a party more focused on economics after the long tenure with a more left-leaning PM. Thats something of a tradition in the Liberal Party that replaced Pierre Trudeau with John Turner, and Jean Chrtien with Paul Martin with less than stellar electoral results.

With Justin Trudeau seven years into his tenure but three years from an election, the conundrum for the Liberal Party isnt whether Mr. Trudeau will run again. Its whether he can be replaced with someone voters will think is different.

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Can the Liberal Party really replace Justin Trudeau? - The Globe and Mail

PM Modi has done it again! He manages to do things that leave our liberal elites seething in anger, but unable to directly attack his actions. They vent their frustration in many ways. Often, they take it out on him by choosing an entirely different arena.

The choice of Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader who has grown from the grassroots, has riled them as well. We will see why and how the ecosystem may plan its revenge.

NDTVs initial coverage of the story is astudy in propaganda. In fact, reading our liberal websites and magazines should be compulsory for anyone interested in researching political propaganda and hatchet jobs disguised as journalism. Not able to attack BJP directly, it refers to President Kovinds choice as Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who happened to be a Dalit. In other words, it wants to mention Bihar Governor and Dalit in the same breath, and does not want to credit BJP with choosing a Dalit! In fact, the person that wrote it or the editor thinks it is so clever, that it is repeated in the headline to give it more punch!

You see, Kovind was Bihar Governor that happened to be Dalit, not a Dalit that happened to be Bihar Governor a position that Modi gets to fill as well. After all, Bihar Governors have a natural claim to Presidency nominations so his being Dalit was a mere coincidence!

Of course, when you play with words there are many a way to escape. You can talk about context, nuance etc., and take full benefit of plausible deniability. And of course, abuse the person questioning as a Sanghi, troll or whatever words that comes to their mind.

Let us turn to the question of why elite liberals hate Modi for choosing outsiders that dont belong.

Modi himself was attacked relentlessly by the ecosystem of Stalinists, Beijings serfs, Islamists and brown-nosed coolies of corrupt fascist families that control the liberal narratives in India. One elite leftist journalist, Malini Parthasarathy said she would not want someone that cant speak English in that position. Obviously, she must have been impressed with Deve Gowda or Charan Singhs enthralling audience with perfect Queens English and wants the standards not to be lowered. Of course, Manmohan saheb can speak any language because saying nothing is the same in Telugu, Swahili, or French.

We often come across assorted low-life critters crawling out of rocks and blackwater tanks of Janpath to abuse Modi in other ways, including his alleged lack of knowledge on western cutlery. The point is always the same he is not one of ours, he cannot rule. No matter what the majority of Indians that voted to say. Of course, selective, temporary exemptions are granted to rustic leaders from cow belt, who dont care about English or vinglish, provided table scrap of their loot is also shared fairly and doesnt in any way impede the main loot in Delhi.

The answer to the question of WHY they behave this way is quite simple.

Firstly, these abuses and elitist contempt for merit, far from disqualifying them, act like stamps in the Starbucks cards that you can trade for more coffee. In this case, it is a passport to many juicy gigs, chances to write Op-Eds in western liberal rags, global NGO gigs, dollar flow into fundraisers and investments from favoured moneybags in your online rag. Membership has its benefits.

Secondly, many of our so-called journalists are dynasts themselves or have benefited from the corrupt, nepotist, cronyism-ridden, mutual back-scratching network of left-liberal elites. Merits or talent had nothing to do with it. It goes without saying that practically all of them are from upper castes as well. So dont be surprised if they root for an upper-class dynast from a similar background.

Some of them were simply born into the job. Papa and gramps was a journalist, so am I. Many of them are some connected or favoured babus daughter, liberal netas brother or wife or girlfriend etc. Since they control the ecosystem and the awards that go with it, close ties to powers dont make them officially biased at all. They are still fearlessly independent and speak truth to power depending on who is in the power of course. They will get upset if you question their independence. While anyone that was seen at a bus stop standing next to a BJP leader becomes Sanghi for life, these elites are just journalists. They dont have to explain their conflict of interests or even disclose them. You are a troll if you question.

You may have noticed they often must quote their drivers or maids when discussing the problems of the subaltern because they themselves have not experienced even one skipped a meal or one job application that was turned down! They romanticise the dynasty era and its shortages and depravity because they were not the ones that stood in mile-long ration shop queues or suffered day-long power cuts if there was electricity at all. As someone sarcastically put it, you waited five years for the phone and fifteen minutes for a dial tone. You can go to a shop and buy an HMT watch or a Bajaj scooter. You need to wait or have connections. Like their annadatas, they too studied overseas or in good schools and colleges and came back to lecture us on the idea of India.

Meritocracy is alien to them and must oppose it tooth and nail as it endangers not just them but the entire ecosystem. It is like an alien species of weed or predator imported and starts wreaking havoc as the native ones are not adapted to them. It sends a bad signal to Dalits and tribals that they should demand real powerful jobs not just the posts like floor leader of House etc that the Prince Regent thinks he is too good for.

Let us now turn to HOW after all, some things are not easy to oppose or take on directly. Other ways must be found. Attacking BJP for choosing a Dalit affects their carefully constructed faade of sympathy for the subaltern. As we mentioned, most are upper-caste elites and therefore depend on their political loyalties and obedience to the cause to wipe clean their own privileged lives and fast-track careers and thus attack others for being anti-Dalit.

So, the choice of Kovind for the highest job was dealt with in a variety of ways not talking about it, blacking it out, attributing other reasons, cynicism etc. But such was the anger that unless I am mistaken, Madame never visited him once for courtesy, except to present memos and demands. Her coolies in the media have never said anything good about that man, who too rose to the highest office from a humble background. Contrast that with comparing Kanhaiya to Mahatma Gandhi and Rahul to the Mahatma for his splendid speech! It is not as if these boot lickers were short of words.

The choice of Murmu presents the same problem. And it will be dealt with in the exact same way. Propaganda, snide remarks, tangential attacks, outright lies and half-truths. And of course, selective blackouts.

So dont be surprised if attacks are launched on Modi and BJP from totally unexpected flanks. Some of these tried and tested weapons are still potent. All it takes is to get someone to throw a stone at some place of worship to start a global cycle of outrage that goes all the way to Biden or UNSC. Having tasted victory through street power, burning trains, violence and anarchy, that is yet another open route.

You can even expect tribals to be incited through well trained leftist liberal networks to nullify this choice.

The ecosystem is scared. They will lash out. It is best if both the government and the people are prepared.

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How PM Modi riles liberal elites: The choice of Droupadi Murmu, the frustration of the cabal and the dangerous games they might play - OpIndia

Yesterday, the United Conservative Party failed to get a leadership candidate it really could have used and instead got stuck with a non-candidate it sincerely wants nothing to do with.

Michelle Rempel Garner, touted for weeks by media pontificators as a likely contender to lead the UCP who had been granted special dispensation by the party to run despite not quite meeting its membership requirements, took a clear eyed look at her chances and said nuts to that plan.

Meanwhile, Raj Sherman, a former Alberta Liberal leader and one-man political wrecking crew whom it would be charitable to describe as sometimes erratic, said he was going to stick around and run anyway despite being told to get lost by the UCP.

I didnt think it was possible to feel empathy with the UCP, but after it suffered this double whammy in one day, its hard not to sort of.

Ms. Rempel Garner, the Conservative Party of Canada MP for Calgary Nose Hill, may have been the best chance the party had to field a credible leader for the early 21st Century, an economic conservative who nevertheless favoured reproductive and LBGTQ rights.

She would have been an excellent foil to NDP Leader and former premier Rachel Notley.

Alas for the UCP, Ms. Rempel Garner took a look at the Iron Age social attitudes nurtured by departing Premier Jason Kenney in the partys ranks and the simmering civil war in its caucus and cabinet and decided it couldnt be fixed. Who can blame her?

Details of her remarkably frank Dear John letter to the UCP yesterday are found here.

Dr. Sherman? Since his days as a junior member of Ed Stelmachs Progressive Conservative cabinet, the Edmonton Emergency Room physician has left a trail of political devastation in his wake.

In 2010, he gave premier Stelmach little choice but to fire him after he penned a rambling, sometimes incoherent email attacking his own partys failure to reduce Emergency Room wait times and mailed it to, well, almost everyone.

This wouldnt have been so bad if Dr. Sherman hadnt been the Parliamentary assistant to what was known in those days as the minister of health and wellness.

Given the boot by Mr. Stelmach, Dr. Sherman followed up with a media interview attacking Alberta Health Services Board chair Ken Hughes and then health minister Ron Liepert, now one of Ms. Rempel Garners Conservative Caucus colleagues in Ottawa.

In 2011, Dr. Sherman took a notion to run for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party, whose leader David Swann really wanted to retire.

The Liberals had two good candidates for the job, capable MLAs Laurie Blakeman and Hugh Macdonald. However, the party had foolishly decided to allow anybody to vote for their new leader, including non-members.

On Sept. 10, 2011, thanks to that brainstorm, Dr. Sherman won the Liberal leadership on the first ballot.

He thought he had all the answers especially when it came to health care and for a spell he managed to persuade quite a few Albertans that was so. It didnt last.

At one point Dr. Sherman tried to modify the partys name to the Liberalberta party. That didnt work out either.

In the 2012 provincial election, Alison Redfords PCs formed the government with 61 seats. The Liberals once a credible opposition party managed to win only five seats with Dr. Sherman at the helm. That surprise kept the partys heart pumping, though, for another three years.

The Wildrose Party led by Danielle Smith, now another candidate to lead the UCP, managed to win 17 seats, enough to become the Official Opposition. The NDP won four.

Dr. Sherman soon earned a reputation as a party leader who made startling revelations and strident claims about the conduct of the government and the health care system, and then couldnt back them up.

He didnt seem that interested in leading the party, either, which was described by a cynical commentator as a group of independents who shared office space.

Dr. Shermans performance in the 2013 preferential health care inquiry was underwhelming. His accusations, which contributed to the inquiry being called, amounted to very little, with retired Judge John Z. Vertes concluding there were only a few minor incidents of patients receiving preferential access to care.

Before the next election in 2015, Ms. Redfords premiership imploded; Jim Prentice was imported from Ottawa to save the four-decade PC dynasty; Ms. Smith and eight of her Wildrose MLAs committed political hara-kiri by crossing the floor of the legislature to the PCs; and the Liberals under Dr. Sherman began to disintegrate with two MLAs quitting to run federally. The NDP surpassed the Liberals both fund-raising and popularity.

On Jan. 26, 2015, Dr. Sherman chose to pull the plug on the Liberals, quitting as leader and promising not to run again as an MLA.

On May 5, 2015, the NDP astonished everyone, including themselves, by winning a majority government in a general election. The Liberals elected only one MLA, an outcome for which Dr. Sherman certainly deserves some of the credit. Dr. Swann, the only Liberal still standing, was pressed back into service as interim leader.

In the 2019 election, the Liberals failed to elect a single MLA.

When Dr. Sherman began talking about running for the leadership of the UCP after Premier Kenneys announcement in April he would be stepping down, the notion was greeted everywhere with incredulity.

Having been sensibly turned down by the UCP, Dr. Sherman insisted hes going to run anyway, sort of.

This will be a challenge since his name wont be on the ballot.

Yesterday, Calgary Herald political columnist Don Braid gave Dr. Shermans notion a gently respectful hearing.

Mr. Braid reported that Dr. Sherman who suffered what seemed to be a heart episode last week at 55 planned to leave emergency medicine at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton after 30 years, having always worked some ER shifts through his political career.

This is a pity. By all accounts, Dr. Sherman is a fine emergency doc.

The same cannot be said of his political acumen.

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Told to take a hike by UCP, former Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman says he'll run to lead Conservatives anyway - albertapolitics.ca

Ottawa, ON Matt Jeneroux, Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, and Luc Berthold, Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and Qubec Political Lieutenant, today released the following statement in response to the CMHCs Housing Market Information report:

Todays report released by the CMHC blows a hole through the Liberals housing narrative, exposing that their plan will fail to make housing more affordable for Canadians.

The report identifies a 3.5 million shortfall between the current rates of new constructions and the baseline for housing affordability for Canadians, meaning that over 22 million units are needed by 2030. Simply put, this report is the most recent confirmation of what Conservatives have been warning of all along.

The Liberal government has had six years to fix the issue of housing affordability and has failed to develop a plan that works. Instead, they double-down on a failing system that favours foreign buyers over affordability for Canadians and continues to see supply lag far behind demand.

As families and young people are being priced out of the market and abandoning the dream of home ownership, Canadians cant afford more hollow promises and failed programs from Justin Trudeau. Since the Liberals formed government in 2015, the average price of a home has nearly doubled. In the last year alone, prices have jumped by nearly 20 per cent, making the dream of home ownership unattainable for families and young people across Canada, and driving the sky-high rent costs we are seeing in cities across the country.

Enough is enough. Conservatives will continue to fight for families and young people across Canada who are struggling to afford rent and are giving up on homeownership. We will continue to advocate for measures that increase supply, combat money laundering, improve mortgage policies, and simplify the tax code. Our plan will provide meaningful solutions that prioritize Canadians and put families first, not speculators.

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Liberal housing plan will not fix affordability crisis: CMHC - Conservative Party of Canada

Former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance does not have a plan B.

For the first time in 20 years, Constance is not a politician after bowing out of his long career in state politics to contest the federal seat of Gilmore. But the long-term state minister did not think it would end like this.

Former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance has not ruled out a future in politics.Credit:Janie Barrett

Counting came down to the wire, but his federal ambitions fell short by just 373 votes, and Constance failed to pick up the South Coast seat the Liberals were pinning their hopes on. His request for a recount was knocked back by the Australian Electoral Commission, but for now, he is happy.

However, the fire in his belly has not gone. The career MP hasnt ruled out another tilt at Canberra, although he says the troubled NSW division of the party he joined as a Young Liberal needs to find its way or face irrelevance.

The party cant exist for itself, its got to exist for the community, Constance said. Its got to reflect community values and community thinking. Politics cant continue as a dog-eat-dog world because it isnt resulting in good outcomes for our community.

While Constance, 48, was a constant and senior figure in the NSW Coalition after it was swept to power in 2011, he rose to prominence after the deadly Black Summer fires. He almost lost his home in Malua Bay on the final day of 2019. That day, New Years Eve, changed me forever, he later said.

Andrew Constance, pictured in January 2020, was personally caught up in the Black Summer bushfires. Credit:Kate Geraghty

He publicly clashed with then prime minister Scott Morrison, who Constance said probably got the welcome he deserved after an ill-fated trip to the fire-ravaged town of Cobargo, where Morrison was heckled by locals.

I know this is tough, and I know Im on his side of politics. But the only two people who are providing leadership at this stage are [NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner] Shane Fitzsimmons and [premier] Gladys Berejiklian, Constance said at the time.

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The Liberal Party cant exist for itself: Constance on life after politics - Sydney Morning Herald