Category Archives: Liberal

Its entirely possible that the last person I ever shook hands with was Steven Del Duca.

It was late on Saturday afternoon, March 7, 2020, and Del Duca had just won the Ontario Liberal leadership in convincing fashion, on the first ballot. I was anchoring TVOs gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Mississauga event, which we jokingly called The Corona Convention, because we were beginning to hear warnings about this new virus, which would come to dominate our lives.

Del Duca made his way to our broadcasting position and sat down for our interview.

I have only been fist-bumping all our guests until now, but let me make an exception for the new Liberal leader, I told him as I extended my hand and shook his. Immediately thereafter, I reached for some hand sanitizer and deposited a dollop in each of our hands.

Yes, it was a strange ending to one of Del Ducas best-ever days in politics but just the beginning of an unprecedentedly daunting year for new leader. The Ontario Liberals had been decimated in the June 2018 election, surviving with only seven seats (and Del Ducas seat in Vaughan wasnt one of them). They were dead broke and didnt even have official-party status in the legislature, meaning that all that extra money to hire staff and do more rigorous research wasnt available to them.

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As the realities of the pandemic became apparent, Del Duca came to realize hed need to raise more money and find more candidates than any of his 32 predecessors as Liberal leader, going all the way back to Archibald McKellar in 1867. And because of promises hed made as a candidate, fulfilling that mission was going to be even more challenging.

The election campaign is only 14 months away, Del Duca told me last week on a Zoom call. Ive served in cabinet before, so I can tell you, I know how quickly the time will go.

Del Duca promised to open up the party even more by ensuring that half his candidates for the 2022 election would be women, and further, that 30 would be under age 30. The party has started nominating candidates already but has almost 100 still to find. (There are 124 ridings to fill; Del Duca says hell contest his former seat in Vaughan, which is currently held by cabinet minister Michael Tibollo.) At this point, more than half his candidates are women; only three are under 30, and Del Duca admitted that keeping that commitment to the partys youth wing may be a bridge too far.

Its been a struggle to convince young people that partisan politics is the right vocation, he said. But many are kicking the tires on us.

In fact, Del Duca said, 400 people have requested candidate-application forms, which suggests the Liberal brand still has more than a bit of a pulse out there.

The hardest part of the job, of course, is to try to do all the things a leader has to do in the lead-up to an election and all of it from a living room. Del Duca joked that his wife has given up asking him to hang up his suit jackets, many of which are hanging on chairs in the familys dining room, the place where Del Duca does all his Zoom hits.

He takes former premier Dalton McGuintys well-worn admonition to heart Never too high, never too low. Just relentless and reminds himself that both McGuinty and David Peterson started on the opposition side of the house before becoming premier in 2003 and 1985, respectively. (They didnt, however, have the Everest-sized mountain to climb that the current leader is facing. Both McGuinty and Peterson led decent-sized official-opposition caucuses and had their own seats in the house. The 47-year-old Del Duca has neither.)

But hes trying to find the silver lining in that. Not being an MPP means he never has to worry about house duty, leaving him free to pursue candidates and money, the latter of which will be even tougher to find now that the current government has done away with the per-vote subsidy parties used to enjoy receiving.

Del Duca has farmed out the policy-development process to two of his leadership rivals: former cabinet colleague and Don Valley East MPP Michael Coteau (who came second) and London North Centre candidate Kate Graham (who, at just age 35, came third and captured a lot of attention for her thoughtful and energetic campaign).

Theyve been tasked with coming up with ideas that align with my values and those of Ontario Liberals, Del Duca said. Theyll make sure the platform is authentically me and will deliver a message thats compelling and relatable. The public wants to feel not just think that we get them.

The leader has also been fortunate inasmuch as several party veterans have emerged to lend a helping hand. For example, pollster and strategist Don Guy, who helped McGuinty and British Columbia premier Christy Clark win elections, now volunteers to assist Del Duca.

There will come a time, he said, when even if people are somewhat satisfied with the status quo, theyll want to see the alternatives. So Im working on myself and my own personal performance so theyve got a better choice.

Whenever Del Duca speaks about his hopes for Ontario, he always, and I mean always, talks about women and men. He never says men and women. I wondered why.

How we speak about issues matters, he explained. Ive been blessed to be surrounded by strong women my whole life. Both my grandmothers, from Italy and Scotland, have been through a lot in life. My mother has had many different careers. My wife is an immigrant whos got three university degrees and runs her own business. And weve got two daughters, and I want to make sure that nothing holds them back.

Its also true that the Liberals have no hope of getting back into government unless they improve their popularity with female voters. The Tories have a huge advantage in male voters. And Andrea Horwaths New Democrats, after recently shuffling their critic roles, now have women in the top six jobs in opposition: from the leader to the critics for all the top shadow portfolios.

Thats progress, Del Duca admitted. But in the next breath, he said that Horwath is auditioning for the job shes already got. They want to hold what theyve got rather than develop a road map for the future.

New Democrats would obviously disagree and suggest that, if people are looking for an alternative to the current government, theyre more likely to consider the party thats only 23 seats shy of a majority, rather than the one thats 55 seats back. Thats what happened more than three decades ago when Bob Rae took his NDP from third place (1985) to official opposition (1987) to government (1990).

But Del Duca has other ideas. I believe the Ontario Liberal party has been rejuvenated, he said, noting the most recent poll puts them in second place, close behind the Tories and ahead of the NDP. But I take nothing for granted. The public wants a leader they can trust. And despite his current circumstances and lack of profile, Del Duca insisted, Im getting there.

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Its never been harder to be Ontarios Liberal leader - TVO

That didnt take long.

The day after Nova Scotias Liberals made Iain Rankin their leader, and the next premier, the official Opposition Progressive Conservatives issued a news release referring to the provincial government as the Rankin-McNeil Liberals.

The intent is clear.

Rather than a revitalized Liberal government, with a fresh, new leader, the Tories want Nova Scotians to see a tired, old government, eight years in office and sporting a record thats spotty at best.

The pandemic permitting, 2021 promises to be a very political year. A federal election is a distinct possibility and, in Nova Scotia, a provincial election is a near certainty.

The Liberals enter the fifth and final year of their current mandate in June, and Nova Scotian voters have not been kind to governments that push elections beyond the traditional four years.

While the governing Liberals watch for a welcoming window for that election, the opposition PCs are working like Trojans to position themselves as the alternative thats ready to govern.

After spending 2020 sidelined by Premier Stephen McNeils refusal to call the legislature, or even allow its committees to meet from March to September, the Tories are determined not to be further eclipsed by the Liberals leadership change.

For starters, they rolled out an advertising campaign, beginning with a spot that aired locally during Sundays Super Bowl game. The ad features PC Leader Tim Houston, a somewhat perplexing tagline Its not politics, its personal but most importantly it points to four areas where the Liberals may be vulnerable and where the Tories have, or are developing, substantive proposals.

Those are health care, mental health, seniors and jobs.

The Tories goal is to be seen by Nova Scotians, not merely as the governments critic, but as a party with a clear plan to fix the problems that the Rankin-McNeil Liberals created. Rankin has been a Liberal MLA since McNeils government arrived in 2013, and a minister from 2017 until he resigned from cabinet in October to seek the leadership.

So far, the PCs have released their plans to address seniors issues and mental health, backed by fairly substantial papers by opposition standards detailing their proposals. This week theyre expected to release a primary health-care plan. A jobs plan is also in the works.

The cornerstone of the PCs mental health plan is the creation of a new department focused exclusively on addictions and mental health.

They propose to increase spending on mental health and addictions by about $100 million-a-year and extend access to professionals, like psychologists, to Nova Scotians without private health insurance or whose insurance is insufficient to meet their needs.

Drawing on various studies, the Tories point out that every dollar spent on mental health results in twice the savings down the road in avoided health-care costs.

The partys most interesting proposal related to seniors is the establishment of a new level of care called supportive care for seniors who need more than can be provided by the provinces home-care network, but who dont require the level of daily care provided in nursing homes.

The Tories are proposing a significant capital expenditure close to half-a-billion dollars to build new long-term care beds.

They point out that new beds are urgently needed now but will become even more so over the next decade when 20,000 Nova Scotians will reach the median age for seniors to enter nursing homes. The province currently has about 8,000 long-term care beds and more than 1,400 Nova Scotians are waiting for one.

Some folks may question the political wisdom of dubbing the government the Rankin-McNeil Liberals when Premier McNeil is leaving office as popular as hes ever been. Why associate the untested incoming premier with the popular outgoing premier?

The Tories are betting that the perception of a government thats grown long-of-tooth and lazy will overcome any residual goodwill for Premier McNeil.

And, they may have taken to heart the words William Shakespeare put in Julius Caesars mouth: The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.

A modern political translation might go something like: The misdeeds of politicians live on. Their successes are forgotten once theyre gone.

Journalist and writer Jim Vibert has worked as a communications adviser to five Nova Scotia governments.

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JIM VIBERT: Tories working to present ready alternative to Liberals under Rankin - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Local Journalism Initiative

Small rural communities on Vancouver Island are under strain and individual and community health is at risk with the continued lack of intercity bus service on Vancouver Island, service providers say. The Wilsons Group of Companies that runs intercity bus routes across Vancouver Island has suspended service indefinitely due to drops in revenue during the pandemic after previously hoping to resume service this month. Nick Chowdhury, co-chair of the Strathcona Community Health Network, said a lack of transportation for smaller rural and First Nations communities, especially in the North Island, has been an issue for years. The ongoing social, economic and health impacts on residents who have no safe, affordable and reliable means of transportation has only been compounded by the pandemic, said Chowdhury, who is also member of the Da'naxda'xw/Awaetlala First Nation. Despite recommendations not to travel, people without cars still need to travel for essentials such medical care or mental health supports, work, education or even to buy groceries, he noted. I cant imagine some of the situations that people might be in right now waiting for service to resume, Chowdhury said. Many people during the pandemic could be choosing to give up or delay access to essential services, or to put their personal safety or health at risk, he said, adding many people in remote communities dont have the income or access to cell and internet services to do things remotely. If the need is pressing enough, people have no choice but to opt to travel, he said. Whether thats the risk of getting into a strangers car, contacting COVID-19 or finding yourself stranded somewhere between towns after dark waiting for a car to drive by, Chowdhury said. We know thats not the best answer for a lot of people and has led to many, many stories about why that shouldn't be an option, he added, referring to the deaths and disappearances of numerous young women, mostly Indigenous, along Route 16 in northern B.C., better known as the Highway of Tears. People also worry about becoming a burden on their social networks, he said. People wonder how many more times they can ask this friend or that friend for a ride before running out of favours, he said. The Tofino Bus and the Vancouver Island Connector's intercity bus routes slated to resume Feb. 12 after being shut down in December are now suspended indefinitely due to plummeting revenue during the pandemic, said Samantha Wilson, Wilsons Group brand manager. We were pretty much forced to close down our service again, said Wilson, adding travel and work restrictions due to the health crisis have reduced overall revenue by 95 per cent. We are a private company so we rely solely on the tickets sold and bums in seats in order to cover our operating costs. The coach routes served 29 communities between Victoria, Nanaimo, Campbell River, Port Alberni and Tofino and 21 First Nations communities across Vancouver Island a number of which dont have alternative means of transport between cities. The company has asked for government for one year of assistance to continue to service some of its routes, Wilson said. We also believe that we are essential service; we are the only means of ground transportation for many of the communities we serve, she said. It's certainly not a decision that we made lightly. Even prior to the suspension of other routes on the island, the company successfully applied for permission from the Passenger Transportation Board to stop servicing the 230-kilometre stretch of highway between Campbell River and Port Hardy. However, in our proposal into the provincial government for subsidy, we did mention that we would be more than willing to provide transportation along that route left again, Wilson said, adding the company lost $250,000 on the North Island route in 2019. The company hasnt heard from the ministry as yet about its proposal, Wilson said on Friday. Rob Fleming, B.C. minister of transportation and infrastructure, said in an emailed statement Monday the province is communicating with the coach industry to understand companies concerns. Health authorities will ensure people can get to essential medical appointments, Fleming said. And so, while we're urging people not to travel except for essential purposes, we recognize the need to help private motor coach companies like Wilson's and others so they can continue be that connection for more remote communities. However, the minister did not clarify if or when Wilsons would be getting financial subsidies to run any routes on Vancouver Island, which have already been stalled for two months. Nor did the minister explain how people needing to travel by coach service for essential reasons beyond health appointments would do so. North Island MLA Michele Babchuk said she and other colleagues elsewhere on Vancouver Island have informed the minister of their concerns around the loss of the coach services. I think we do still need to acknowledge that there are people that, for whatever reason, essentially need to move up and down the north end of the island, Babchuk said, adding residents often have to travel to cities to obtain services unavailable in rural communities. The bus service is generally a very affordable way for people to get around, so this impacts some of our most vulnerable people, said Babchuk. There is a small private bus service running south from Port Hardy, but the service is very limited, she added. I have reached out to the ministry and highlighted the importance of the fact that we no longer have this service anywhere on the north end of the island, Babchuk said. It's my understanding that the ministry has taken all that information in and is working on something as we speak. Gold River and the neighbouring TsaXana First Nation, as well as the tiny outlying coastal communities of Tahsis, Zeballos and Kyuquot, have never had ground transportation services to Campbell River, the nearest city, said Enid OHara, Kyuquot Health Centres manager of rural services. There is also no grocery store in Gold River, so without access to a vehicle, residents in the communities face challenges in getting groceries or attending specialist services in the city, said OHara, adding the situation compromises both individual and community health. It is not uncommon for us for people to say, I can't go because I can't get out of town, she said. Some communities have found workarounds, but that only works to a certain extent. OHara says she knows providing extensive bus service to the region wouldnt be financially feasible. But a partial fix is better than the alternative, she said. A little of something is better than nothing at all, OHara said, adding an affordable, regular, once-a-week bus service would go a long way. People will be slow to use at first, but once they realize that it will be there for a while, then they will start organizing their time and their appointments around it. The pandemic has highlighted the need to put some permanent intercity travel supports in place for isolated communities with few other options, whether through private companies, the government or a blend of the two options, Chowdhury said. We need to ask, What can we do better? Chowdhury said. There are gaps and lack of support services like transportation in areas where it needs to be considered essential. Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canadas National Observer Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, National Observer

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N.S. Liberal Leader Iain Rankin names transition team led by former cabinet minister - Yahoo News Canada

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., reacts to the Biden administrations $1.9 coronavirus stimulus push.

The Biden administration's coronavirus relief aid is just "liberal policies in the form of stimulus relief," Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said on Saturday.

Well, first off, let me correct the press secretary. Joe Biden didnt really run on anything. He ran on saving the soul of America or saving democracy or whatever you want to talk about it. He didnt get much into Covid plans except that he had one, Donalds told Fox & Friends.

So, now that the elections are over and he is president, now we are seeing that come to fruition. And frankly, its a wish, its a grab bag of liberal policies. That's all this is, Donalds said.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATIONS CBP REVIVES CATCH AND RELEASE POLICY AT BORDER AMID COVID CONCERNS

TheHouse of Representativeson Friday passed an updated budget resolution sent over from the Senate that paves the way for Democrats to push through President Biden's$1.9 trillion coronavirus relief packagewithout needing any GOP support.

The vote was 219-209 to adopt the budget framework that the Senateapproved early Fridaymorning thanks to a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Kamala Harris. All House Republicans voted "no," plus one Democrat, Rep.Jared Golden of Maine.

The measure unlocks the process for lawmakers to now draft a final coronavirus relief bill under the budget reconciliation rules that would let Democrats avoida GOP filibuster and pass the major stimulus legislationon their own as long as their caucus remains united.

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Donalds said that a $15 minimum wage and sending $350 billion to state and local governments will not stimulate the economy.

School districts already have $55 billion plusto help reopen their schools. They just need the relationship to do so, Donalds said.

Donalds went on to say, So, all were doing right now is just passing liberal policy in the form of stimulus relief, using the crisis to get things done they could not get done during regular order in Congress. Its that simple. Thats really whats happening here.

Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.

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Rep. Byron Donalds: 'We're just passing liberal policy in the form of stimulus relief' - Fox Business

While most Nova Scotians were digging out Monday, Iain Rankin was digging in for his role as the next premier of the province.

Its a different feeling for sure, Rankin said of winning the Liberal leadership at Saturdays convention and being vaulted into the premier-in-waiting status.

There is a bit of weight on my shoulders but I am also very happy.

Happiness evolved into getting down to work on Sunday and Monday.

Mostly checking in and getting back to many of them who have reached out to me, Rankin said of the other 25 Liberal MLAs in caucus. I do want to make sure that unity is a focus and the transition team will begin meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).

Diana Whalen, the Liberal MLA for the Clayton Park area from 2003 to 2017 and a former minister of finance and justice in the Stephen McNeil government, will chair the transition team.

Well announce the other folks who are going to join the team and well be working every day to think about departmental structure and cabinet appointments,Rankin said. Shortly after that, well be looking at the throne speech and getting ready for the (legislative) sessions.

Rankin said after his victory Saturday night that he has a great deal of respect for Randy Delorey and Labi Kousoulis, the respective MLAs for Antigonish and Halifax Citadel-Sable Island whom he outpointed to win the leadership. He said he would welcome both into cabinet positions.

Both Labi and Randy will be a strong part of my team, Rankin said Saturday when he met with media after his victory.

Its a different feeling for sure. There is a bit of weight on my shoulders but I am also very happy.

Iain Rankin, next N.S. premier

I will be looking for strong candidates that believe in the vision that I put forward, that I think Nova Scotians, by and large, want to see next, a strong population growth and a strong economic performance. Now is the time we start taking the the next step to help grow our economy back stronger, more inclusive and more low-carbon.

Rankin said he sees no signs of fracturing in the party despite the long leadership campaign and the close race between himself and Kousoulis.

Were a strong party and we all believe in the values of moving forward and helping people that need it the most, he said.

This is the next evolution of our party and those who are not offering are friends of mine and I wish them well in their future endeavours, Rankin said Saturday night of six Liberal MLAs -- Geoff MacLellan, Karen Casey, Leo Glavine, Gordon Wilson, Margaret Miller and Bill Horne -- who have announced that they will not reoffer in the next election.

Many of them have served long before I came to the legislature (2013).

Rankin said the transition period generally takes about two weeks and McNeil will be on board during that period.

Then well have the swearing in happen somewhere in that one- or two-week period of time.

McNeil is to visit with Lt.-Gov. Arthur J. LeBlanc and Rankin will make a similar visit Tuesday.

Things start rolling every day after that, Rankin said.

Monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic carefully is top of mind for Rankin.

Ive already talked to Dr. (Robert) Strang (provinces chief medical officer of health) and well be managing that very closely and at the same time looking at a strong economic recovery with strategic investments that came out of my platform, bringing in more renewable energy and really focusing on growing jobs across the province.

An economic growth council is something Ill be putting together in short order with business leaders and really focusing on how we rebound back strongly.

Rankin said Saturday that an election call is not an immediate priority.

Up until today I was focused on winning this race, Rankin said Saturday. Now, Im turning my attention to meeting with the leaders of the opposition to see where we have some mutual areas of interest. Were going to go into this legislative session with an ambitious agenda.

Then well start to look at whats next for our government.

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Rankin moving Liberals into transition, names Whalen as team lead - TheChronicleHerald.ca

TEHRAN - Professor Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, chair of the Centre for Iranian Studies at the London Middle East Institute, says the digital economy is the dream world of extremist liberal capitalism.

Noting that the man is entering the age of supersonic power, Professor Adib-Moghaddam says technology has sped up power projections to the degree that we are even haunted in our living rooms.

Adib-Moghaddam has introduced the first course on Artificial Intelligence and Human Security to the curriculum of SOAS University of London. The Module presents a critical analysis of Artificial Intelligence with a particular emphasis on its implication for human security. It connects current research into the ethics of AI, to comparative philosophies including the socio-economic theories of the Frankfurt School and their emphasis on the perils of modern forms of production for human existence and the threat of perfectionism in capitalist societies. In addition, the course considers the techno-politics of Paul Virilio and the critical approaches of Iranian philosophers such as Jalal Al-e Ahmad(https://www.soas.ac.uk/courseunits/15PPOH048.html).

The digital economy is opaque, unseen it blurs the boundaries of states, it transcends them and by that impinges on the sovereignty of national governments.In an interview with the Tehran Times, Professor Adib-Moghaddam says even biggest theoreticians of power such as the French philosopher Michel Foucault and Antonio Gramsci couldnt realize this supersonic power.

On whether this will downplay the traditional aspects of power, Adib-Moghaddam says, We are entering the age of supersonic power. Power, including the might to discipline and control, has been galvanized, accelerated and magnified. This is something even the biggest theoreticians of power such as the French philosopher Michel Foucault and Antonio Gramsci couldnt realize.

We are even haunted in our living rooms

The professor says, Technology has sped up power projections to the degree that we are even haunted in our living rooms. Unless we will develop equally supersonic forms of resistance, our ability to think independently and to empathize compassionately will be substituted by a robotic subjectivity that is compliant, docile, and dispensable.

On the fact that the digital economy is determining the economic power of countries, the professor says, As our current technologies, in particular AI-based systems, are based on supersonic hyper-speed, everything is accelerated including the economy of course.

The distinguished scholar says the digital economy is promoting capitalism.The digital economy is not only a reality that is already determining the global economic system, it is an indispensable factor in the dissemination of capitalism. Exactly because it is supersonic like a projectile that one doesnt see coming, the digital economy is opaque, unseen it blurs the boundaries of states, it transcends them and by that impinges on the sovereignty of national governments. Its the dream world of extremist liberal capitalism. The invisible hand of Adam Smith has been substituted by bionic tentacles of an opaque avatar with no real location and material structure.

If AI research yields a new ideology centered around the notion of perfectionism and maximum productivity, then it will be a destructive force that will lead to more wars, more famines and more social and economic distress, especially for the poor and vulnerable.The professor cites some examples of the unseen digital economy.

Uber became the worlds largest taxi company without owning any taxis. Facebook, the worlds most popular social media site, creates no content. Amazon has no inventory. And Airbnb, the worlds largest accommodation provider, does not own any real estate.

Humanity is at threat like never before

Technology and the digital age have emerged as a revolution that is shaping human destiny.

About where the digital revolution is taking humanity, the professor notes, Humanity is at threat like never before. This is a part of my research projects, now and it is based on my new SOAS postgraduate seminar on Artificial Intelligence and Human Security, flanked by a great cast of SOAS students. In this seminar, we are discussing how the new inventions in AI based technologies affect our individual security.

We look at trends that are post-human, in warfare, in forms of surveillance and data gathering. AI is affording companies and governments the great luxury of direct penetration into our private lives. We are under a huge microscope, a constant MRI that scans our cognition, body, and preferences.

What is needed is a strong regulatory framework that is anchored in local, national, regional and most importantly global institutions to supervise how all of this is used. We need a comprehensive ban on killer-bots for instance, in the same way that we have the Geneva Convention.

He also predicts that countries that wont develop their digital infrastructure will be dominated by this new assemblage.

Professor Adib-Moghaddam says Iranian intellectual Jalal al-e Ahmad had rightly pointed to the threats and opportunities of the digital age even before Artificial Intelligence-based technologies were invented.

Jalal al-e Ahmad rightly referred to the threats and opportunities of this machine, even before AI-based technologies were invented. As I mentioned in a recent article: If we can program our machines to understand our ethical standards, then AI research has the capacity to improve our lives which should be the ultimate aim of any technological advance. But if AI research yields a new ideology centered around the notion of perfectionism and maximum productivity, then it will be a destructive force that will lead to more wars, more famines and more social and economic distress, especially for the poor and vulnerable.

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Digital economy is the dream world of extremist liberal capitalism: professor - Tehran Times

The Liberal party faithful will not gather Saturday for the COVID convention to select a new provincial party leader and premier.

We would have much preferred no pandemic and all the usual bells and whistles but that just wasnt in the cards, party executive director Michael Mercer said this week.

Once that was apparent, which was immediately, we moved on to doing it the best we could. Everyone has been wonderful.

The everyone Mercer refers to are leadership candidates Randy Delorey, Labi Kousoulis and Iain Rankin, their families, the 8,100 delegates who voted for a new leader and party staff.

Of that group, only the leadership hopefuls, their immediate family and the party staff will be among the 60-plus people who will attend the muted convention at the downtown Halifax Convention Centre on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Were all in this together, Mercer said, adding that the party is very appreciative of the guidance from Dr. Robert Strang, the provinces chief medical officer of health, and the provinces health department for helping to organize convention protocol that is comfortable for public health and the party.

Its not ideal, none of it is for anybody, Mercer said. Certainly, were making the best of it.

Scott Pruysers, a political science professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said that leadership elections, under normal circumstances, are usually good business for the party.

These internal elections allow parties to recruit new members, attract lots of free media attention, energize core supporters, and, according to the empirical evidence, often result in a short-term boost in the polls, Pruysers said.

Even with COVID-19 restrictions that limited the travel of the leadership candidates and hampered the in-person recruitment of new members, the party added roughly 7,000 new members to its ranks. I suspect this would have been higher under more normal circumstances, but 7,000 new members is still a good thing for the party. New members provide financial support to the party through membership dues, donations, etc., and act as a good source of labour come election time."

We would have much preferred no pandemic and all the usual bells and whistles but that just wasnt in the cards. Once that was apparent, which was immediately, we moved on to doing it the best we could.

Michael Mercer, Liberal party

Pruysers said COVID is a challenge for political parties

The campaign was entirely virtual (online town halls, debates, etc.) and as a result, the party lost an opportunity to cultivate a sense of excitement among the public, and to provide long-term party members with some exciting party business to be involved in, Pruysers said.

With the convention and results being held virtually, we wont see the same kind of buzz as a result, Pruysers said.

The five dozen or so people who will attend the convention will arrive in separate groups, be COVID tested before entering and take their places in the family rooms, media or staff spaces.

Masks and social distancing will be enforced in all spaces at all times.

The convention itself will feature a video tribute farewell to Stephen McNeil, the outgoing Liberal leader and premier. The votes will be counted, with each delegate having listed their preferences from first to third. If a winner with 50 per cent of the first-place votes is not declared in the initial count, the second- and third-place votes will determine the winner.

No delegates will be in attendance but they will be able to watch online. The 8,100 delegates would have had to be a member of the party or become a party member before Jan. 6 and register before Jan. 12 as a delegate, which included a $20 fee, to attend the virtual convention, Mercer said.

Pruysers said the party is unlikely to be worse off as a result of the modified campaign and convention.

The party will still reap the benefits of a leadership election, they will just be muted by COVID, Pruysers said. The party is going to have thousands of new members, free media attention for the winner, and a modest level of excitement for long-term supporters.

Mercer said everyone involved with the party has had a good attitude about the campaign and convention restrictions.

There is no point dwelling on it, the whole world is in this, Mercer said. Were looking forward, were excited for the 8,100 folks that registered. We grew our party tremendously. The three candidates have been out working through Zoom or in person when it was allowed or safe or appropriate. We all feel that we managed this the best that we could and the final show on Saturday will be similar.

I havent heard any disappointment. I think folks understand, Nova Scotians and Canadians are being asked to follow advice and guidance and we have to do the same thing.

The new leader should be declared by 7 p.m.

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Liberals 'making the best' of COVID-muted leadership convention - TheChronicleHerald.ca

The leader of Newport councils Liberal Democrat group has resigned from the authoritys planning committee, claiming it is increasingly toothless.

Cllr Carmel Townsend has voiced frustration over the amount of decisions being made after planning appeals to the Welsh Government and says city councillors have an increasing lack of influence.

She resigned from her position on Newport council s planning committee on Monday with immediate effect.

The committee is increasingly toothless, with councillor input of limited value, Cllr Townsend said.

So many decisions get appealed back to Welsh Government, and they are almost always upheld by people who dont understand the negative impact on the ground.

In my area, and elsewhere across Newport, peoples quality of life is being damaged by almost a developer free-for-all. This impacts parking, general amenity, and litter and rubbish.

Cllr Townsend, who represents theSt Julians ward, has been a member of the committee since 2017.

But she says the city needs a new strategic direction, rather than a leadership that appears to be frightened of appeals and Welsh Government planning inspectors.

I am resigning so that I can be completely free to stand up for residents who deserve far better, and be critical of the decisions being made, Cllr Townsend added.

Conservative councillor Charles Ferris, who is also on the committee, said he shared some of the frustrations voiced by councillor Townsend.

I do not think its a fault of Newport council or the planning committee, he said.

But it is the fact that we seem to be tied by diktats of the appeal process and the inspector seems to cast in stone what will be accepted.

It goes against in many ways the influence of the planning committee.

Cllr Ferris said there has been particular frustration over applications regarding houses in multiple occupation which have been recommended for approval despite parking concerns.

Despite being against an application, Cllr Ferris said the committee can be reluctant to reject plans if the decision is likely to be overturned after an appeal.

If we vote against it goes to the inspector, who can award costs against the council, Cllr Ferris said.

Newport City Council has been contacted for comment.

See the original post:

'We are frightened of Welsh Government,' says Newport Liberal Democrat leader as she quits her role - Wales Online

Informal allegations and "spectres of concern" about potential inappropriate conduct by the country's former top military commander were, at various times, placed before the Liberal government, as well as the former Conservative government, which selected Gen. Jonathan Vance, CBC News has learned.

At one point, a bitter dispute over what to do about one of those allegationsled to the sudden resignation and retirement of the country's former military ombudsman almost three years ago, say multiple defence sources, as well as political and government insiders.

The sources spoke to CBC News on the condition they not be named because of the sensitive nature of some of the discussion or because they were not authorizedto speak publicly about the matters.

Almost six years ago, as the thenConservative government weighed his appointment as the chief of the defence staff, Vance was asked by officialsin Prime Minister Stephen Harper'sofficeaboutconcerns that the top general had an inappropriate relationship with a femaleU.S. officer in Italy, a subordinatewho later became his wife.

The concerns were, at the time, investigated by both the Canadian and U.S. militaries. The sources said the Canadian military cleared the relationship. There is no indication of what position the Pentagon took.

Vance retired as defence chief two weeks ago.

Earlier this week, Global News published and broadcast a story alleging Vancehad an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate, one that included private meetings and allegedly sexually explicit texts.

Responding to the initial Global story, Vance acknowledged knowing the woman, said they dated in 2001 and that it was not inappropriate because they were in different chains of command and that the meetings, more recently when he was CDS, were strictly professional.

The concerns about Vance in 2015came to the PMO through political channels, said sources with knowledge of the selection process.

Vance had already been interviewed for the top job, the sources said, but was asked about an alleged relationship with a female of junior rank. One source said it also came up in conversation with Harper's chief of staff Ray Novak.

The sources also said Vancedenied the relationshipwas inappropriate because the woman in question was not within his chain of command at the time they were together.

Global News also reported on a second, separate allegation, claiming that in 2012 whilea major general, before becoming defence chief, Vance sent an inappropriate email to another female subordinate.

Vance declined comment to CBC News.

The Liberal government became aware of concerns through a more formal channel.

Multiple sources tell CBC News a woman, serving in the reserves, approached the ombudsman's office for the Canadian Forcesin early 2018, delivering a sealed envelope that allegedly contained harassing emails from "a very senior member of the command team."

The woman emphasized she didn't want to file an official complaint.

Under Operation Honour, the military's campaign to stamp out sexual misconduct in the ranks, the ombudsman could only act as a conduit to the Military Sexual Misconduct Response Centre. The ombudsman's office, at the time, collectedcomplaints to forward on and limited itself to advising potential victims on their options.

On March 1, 2018, thenmilitary ombudsman Gary Walbourne met with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, where multiple sources say he raised the informal allegation.

It is unclear what transpired during the private meeting, but after Walbourne left, the sources told CBC NewsSajjan spoke with senior officials.

A senior government source acknowledged Thursday that "a spectre of concern related to the former chief of the defence staff was raised at the meeting," but the minister insisted the issue be directed to the "proper authorities" for investigation, which included the Privy Council Office.

In a statement late Thursday, Sajjandefended the way he handled the situation.

"When allegations of sexual misconduct are brought to my attention, I have always taken them seriously," he said.

"I want to assure Canadians that I have always ensured that any allegations that are brought to my attention have been reported to the appropriate authorities so they can begin any and all investigations that might be warranted, regardless of rank or position. My office has also worked with all relevant offices and followed all appropriate processes in pursuing issues related to workplace harassment whenever allegations have arisen."

Sajjan gave a similar reply when asked about Vance today in the House.

WATCH | 2 governments heard concerns aboutformer top soldier, sources say:

Late Thursday, in a statement, the Privy Council Office, which supports the prime minister's office, released a statement saying it makes sure theprocesses for investigating complaints are properly followed.

And when it came to the informal allegations raised against Vance two years ago, "no information was provided to PCO which would have enabled further action to have been taken," said Paul Duchesne, the PCO's director of media affairs.

Documents obtained under access to information show the day after the meeting with Sajjan, Walbourne tendered his resignation and announced to the minister he was leaving his job before the expiration of his mandate. The letter was presented to Sajjan two weeks later.

Walbourne left his job in late 2018 and has now been replaced by Gregory Lick.

In the fall of 2019,Walbourne told CBC News he was driven from office by a political vendetta, which involved a closed-door, wide-ranging review of complaints against him of mismanagement, nepotism and misuse of public funds.

Throughout the ordeal, the former ombudsman denied the allegations and saidin an interview with CBC News, that there was an attempt to "silence" him.

The defence department is planning to conduct an investigation into the allegations against Vance.

On Thursday, the department stated that the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service had opened a file and interviewed one of the alleged complainants.

WATCH |Conservatives question defence minister on allegations against Vance:

The rest is here:

Liberal, Conservative governments were made aware of concerns and allegations against Vance: sources - CBC.ca

A combination of social compacts, globalisation, demographics, and technology have made evident some of liberalisms limitations. But we could just as likely see not a reversion to a pre-liberal past, but an explosion of new diverse, experimental, chaotic, and rebellious liberal political traditions.

The end of the history of music, at least in the Western classical tradition, can be dated to the warm, rainy evening in August of 1952 in Woodstock, New York, when a pianist first performed John Cages 433, a work consisting solely of four minutes and33 seconds of silence. Cages composition was perhaps the natural conclusion of a cultural evolution that began in medieval abbeys and Renaissance courts, thrived in German churches and Italian opera houses, and flourished under Dvorak, Mahler, and Shostakovich.

Despite the uproar over 433, music did not die. Less than two years later, in July of 1954, Bill Haley and His Comets enjoyed rock and rolls first major commercial success with the songRock Around the Clock. Over the next seven decades, popular music exploded, evolved, and globalised: bebop, folk, bossa nova, blues rock, soul, country, glam, reggae, prog rock, disco, punk, metal, new wave, grunge, hip-hop, reggaeton, EDM, K-Pop, mumble rap. Classical music stayed popular, but further innovation in that genre was relegated to the ivory tower, subsidized performing arts centers, and the occasional film score.

Liberalism may be at a similar point today. A combination of social compacts, globalisation, demographics, and technology have made evident some of liberalisms limitations. But we could just as likely see not a reversion to a pre-liberal past, but an explosion of new diverse, experimental, chaotic, and rebellious liberal political traditions.

Just as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, or Bob Marley would have sounded jarring to Bach or Brahms, future liberalism may appear almost unrecognisable to todays observer.And yet, just as the functions and forms of classical music are foundational and familiar to any contemporary performer of popular music (there would be no Beyonc without Beethoven, no Chance the Rapper without Tchaikovsky), liberalism could well remain the basis of all future politics. Contemporary life almost anywhere in the world is so pervasively imbued with liberalism that it will be impossible to fully escape its gravitational force.

Francis Fukuyama, in his essayLiberalism and Its Discontents,mourns the global wave of discontent with liberal democracy, a system of governance that ensures checks and balances by combining accountability with the rule of law. He says that liberalism, by ensuring human dignity through tolerance, equal rights, and individual choice, tends toward a kind of universalism. He laments the threats now faced by liberalism from within and without from authoritarian regimes, the economic forces of neoliberalism run amok, and the cultural hollowness created by stoic individualism.

This account of liberalism and its present-day challenges may be zeitgeist-appropriate, but it is not entirely satisfying. One problem is that liberalism, without sufficient context, is frustratingly nebulous. As historian Adam Tooze notes, liberalism means and has meant many different things: After all, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, John Rawls and Margaret Thatcher are all reasonably identified as liberals.

In fact, depending on your vantage point, two very distinct strains of liberalism either briefly converged or split apart around the time of the French Revolution. There was the bourgeois liberalism of Hanseatic burghers, London coffeehouses, Scottish moral philosophers, and landed American colonists. Then there was proletarian liberalism, which recognised structural inequities and believed that politics was about righting social and economic wrongs in favor of the systemically disadvantaged. Both conceptions arose within the Third Estate; both required rebellion against theancien rgimeof the European aristocracy. But they diverged to become the forerunners of the Western political traditions of the right (conservatism, libertarianism, Austrian economics, Christian democracy) and left (progressivism, socialism, Keynesianism, social democracy). In this sense, all modern democratic politics in advanced industrial societies has been a contest between two liberal traditions.

Additionally, liberalism, contrary to Fukuyamas somewhat Whiggish account of its progress, stumbled from crisis to crisis for much of its history. Despite the 18th-century revolutions, the 19thcentury was in some ways decidedly illiberal, featuring a reactionary political elite in Europe, chattel slavery in the United States, and global wars of nationalism and colonialism. The first half of the 20thcentury forced the more liberal powers to contend with fascism and manifestations of competing imperialisms, including colonial competition, domestic oppression, and ideological compromises. In the second half of the century, liberals had to contend against Soviet communism, often prioritising ends over means. The people of Algeria, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, and South Africa may be forgiven for their lack of nostalgia for the post-World War II liberal international order. Fukuyamas contention that postwar Europeans saw the folly of organising politics around an exclusive and aggressive understanding of nation does not fully acknowledge Europes rigidity when it came to immigration, decolonization, and multiculturalism.

None of this means that liberalism should be jettisoned on grounds of hypocrisy, as its critics frequently conclude; but the case for liberalism is far stronger if made on concrete and material rather than moral grounds. It remains the case that liberalism, not any other ideology, created the conditions for the absence of large-scale conflict and the growth of unprecedented (albeit unevenly distributed) global prosperity over the past three decades.

There are also inconsistencies in Fukuyamas portrayal of the universality of liberalism. As he observes, liberal individualism has always been at odds with the social proclivities of human beings, especially in non-Western societies, where kin, caste, or ethnic ties are still facts of life. Yet he subsequently argues that liberalism properly understood is perfectly compatible with communitarian impulses and has been the basis for the flourishing of deep and diverse forms of civil society.

So, is liberalism then universal, or isnt it? Is it compatible with identity politics and, if so, to what extent? Those questions remain unresolved; and, being unresolved, they lie at the heart of many of liberalisms problems today.

For liberalism, the equivalent of John Cages 433 composition may have been the evening in August of 2008 when the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics served as an announcement of Chinas global ambitions. On the same day, Russian forces entered Georgia. In the same month, Lehman Brothers laid off 1,500 employees, a precursor to its crash and the global financial crisis. In that year, the Chinese navy deployed to the Gulf of Aden in its first modern operations outside its claimed territorial waters. These developments, though obscured by Barack Obamas historic election victory that November, heralded an end to Western liberal primacy.

Still, liberalism has not come crashing down in the years since. Liberal aspirations human dignity, individualism, equal rights remain achievable, desirable, and inherently unobjectionable. What the events of the last 12 years have done is to expose liberalisms inherent weaknesses. Human beings are not just logical but emotional creatures. Free markets attain miraculous economic growth but undermine equality of opportunity. Access to abundant information does not guarantee enlightenment. Individuals exercising free choice may choose to be tribal. Elected officials exploit these conditions.

The way to perfect these imperfections is not simply to reaffirm liberalisms moral superiority. It is to tinker continuously with liberalism, exploring the potentially infinite variations upon its themes.

Dhruva Jaishankar is executive director of ORF America in Washington, DC. Views expressed are personal.

This column originally appeared inAmerican Purpose. It has been republished fromORF Onlinewith due permission.

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For all its flaws, liberalism still has a future; it may just look different from what we are used to - Firstpost