Segacs's World I Know » Canada eh

The Liberals are battered and bruised but not out. Despite taking a beating in the polls and attacks from all sides, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau fended off a challenge from Andrew Scheer’s Co...

https://www.segacs.com/2019/its-a-liberal-minority-so-what-happens-now.html

It’s December 31st again. But it’s been no typical year. This time last year, I wondered whether we were a little too eager to leap from the frying pan into the fire. One year later, I can sa...

https://www.segacs.com/2017/it-could-always-be-worse.html

Former astronaut Julie Payette has been named Canada’s next Governor General, taking over from David Johnston in September. And of course, the internet is all abuzz, because a woman is doing a ...

https://www.segacs.com/2017/payette-named-next-governor-general.html

Dear Justin Trudeau: There’s a LOT to criticize about Canada’s relationship with our First Nations, both past and present. So, two thoughts about this statement: 1. Words matter. Tone matters...

https://www.segacs.com/2017/canadas-first-nations-relations-an-open-letter-to-justin-trudeau.html

Campaigns like “Let’s Talk” are all well and good when it comes to ending the stigma and launching a conversation. But it’s not enough to just talk about mental health. We urgently need t...

https://www.segacs.com/2017/mental-health-in-canada-lets-do-more-than-talk.html

BCCLA has written a clear, easy-to-understand guide for Canadians about issues that are far from clear or easy to understand: The first thing to remember if you’re a Canadian travelling to the ...

https://www.segacs.com/2017/digital-devices-at-the-border-a-guide-for-canadians.html

I’m one of those Canadians who really, really likes the census. I completed it (alas, the short version) within minutes of receiving my card in the mail. Apparently, I’m not the only one: Thi...

https://www.segacs.com/2016/i-admit-it-im-a-census-nerd.html

Google searches for “moving to Canada” rose by 1000% after the US primary “Super Tuesday” results: In the four hours around the close of polls across Super Tuesday states, searches for �...

https://www.segacs.com/2016/americans-considering-moving-to-canada-if-trump-wins.html

There are petitions going around urging Justin Trudeau to appoint Elizabeth May as Environment Minister. I think that’s a terrible idea. Here’s why: After a decade of Stephen Harper’s “wa...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/elizabeth-may-should-not-be-environment-minister.html

Wow. Just wow. Prime Minister Trudeau. It’s been a long time since Canada has heard those words. Before my lifetime, anyway. I dared hope for a Liberal minority. I never in my wildest dreams co...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/its-a-liberal-majority.html

#Pollwatch: I’ve been hearing reports of people having difficulty voting, despite being on the voter registration list and showing up with multiple forms of ID. Via the Orwellian-named “Fair ...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/pollwatch-dirty-tricks-as-canadians-vote.html

John Oliver is one of my favourite comedian-slash-pundits. Last night, he took on the topic of the Canadian federal election, as only he could: Now, it’s true that this is a bit of a lightheart...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/john-oliver-on-canadian-election-dont-vote-for-harper.html

Well, it’s been a really long slog of a campaign. But either way, it all ends tomorrow. So I’ll just leave you with this plea: Please get out and vote — it CAN and WILL make a difference. I...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/lets-do-this-canada.html

Thoughts heading into the weekend before the election: ‪ Polls showing a Liberal surge are going to help Trudeau‪‬, as anti-Harper voters get off the fence and hop on the bandwagon of the p...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/pre-election-thoughts.html

The Guardian has published a damning, point by point account of how the Harper‬ government has cheated, lied, blustered and outright steamrolled over democracy on their way to three consecutive...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/the-guardian-on-stephen-harper.html

Stephen Harper is an idiot for refusing to do this interview. They lobbed softballs for the most part, and he might have even scored some points with young Canadians. His silence speaks volumes a...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/13-thoughts-after-watching-the-vice-interviews-with-trudeau-and-mulcair.html

Two weeks ago, like Jewish people around the world, I went to my local synagogue on Yom Kippur for Kol Nidre prayers. I saw a giant “Shana Tova” campaign poster just outside my shul in Westmo...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/tories-israel-and-chutzpah.html

This goes beyond the pale: The Tories have announced that they want to create an RCMP Hotline to report “barbaric cultural practices”: The new pledge follows a string of opinion polls showing...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/barbaric-cultural-practices-and-the-ugly-side-of-wedge-politics.html

In case you needed another reason to vote out Stephen Harper, Canada under the stewardship of the Tories has fallen to dead last in environmental protection, in a ranking of 27 wealthy countries ...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/environment-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-environment.html

So let me get this straight: Hillary Clinton deletes a few personal emails and it causes a national uproar. Stephen Harper deletes DECADES of statistical, scientific and historical records and no...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/stephen-harper-war-on-data.html

Yesterday’s shocking “Orange Crush” sweep for the NDP in Alberta wasn’t supposed to happen. After 44 years of Conservative rule, the province much-maligned for being “Canada’s Redneck...

https://www.segacs.com/2015/ndp-victory-in-alberta-spell-trouble-harper.html

Shots were fired on Parliament Hill this morning. A soldier guarding the National War Memorial was shot. The gunman then seized a car and drove to Parliament, after which there were shots reporte...

https://www.segacs.com/2014/shootings-in-downtown-ottawa.html

“We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.” — Winston Churchill. For the past 18 months, it’s felt a bit ...

https://www.segacs.com/2014/the-war-in-europe-is-over-now-to-turn-our-attention-to-the-pacific.html

We Canadians pay the highest mobile rates in the world, thanks to the entrenched Bell-Rogers-Telus oligopoly that for years has been gouging customers with impunity. The CRTC, the regulatory body...

https://www.segacs.com/2013/crtcs-new-wireless-rules-dont-go-far-enough.html

Today was the official end of the penny in Canada, as the Royal Canadian Mint halted production and went into collection mode. While pennies will continue to be legal tender indefinitely, retaile...

https://www.segacs.com/2013/penny-idioms-on-their-way-out-in-canada.html

The CRTC has actually momentarily remembered that its job isn’t to rubber-stamp requests from the big telecoms: It has squashed Bell’s plan to buy Astral and thus control a massive share of t...

https://www.segacs.com/2012/bells-purchase-of-astral-crtc-says-non.html

That’s the theory behind this site: We are the 1 percent. It contains manifestos of a bunch of people who claim to be part of the American super-rich, but who feel that it’s unfair that they ...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/im-too-rich-tax-me-more-please.html

Ontario voters avoided the threat of a triple-whammy conservative blowhard government – Ford in Toronto, Harper in Ottawa, and Hudak challenging at the provincial level – by rewarding incumbe...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/ontarians-give-mcguinty-a-third-term-avoid-triple-whammy.html

The longtime leader of the NDP and official opposition leader of Canada, Jack Layton, lost his battle with cancer this morning at age 61: “We deeply regret to inform you that the Honourable Jac...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/jack-layton-loses-his-battle-with-cancer.html

As the eyes of the world have been on our American neighbours and their efforts to make a deal childish grandstanding and petty squabbling to avert a default on the national debt, it’s understa...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/by-the-numbers-canadas-debt-load.html

What will Stephen Harper do with a majority government? That was the question on everyone’s lips just 50 days ago, after an election shocker gave the Tories their long-awaited majority with 166...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/the-first-50-days.html

The number of hate crimes reported to police increased by 42% between 2008 and 2009: While hate crimes remain primarily motivated by race (and black Canadians remain the most-targeted by hate cri...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/statscan-hate-crime-is-up.html

The bad news? Bob Rae is the interim Liberal leader. The good news? He can’t be elected as long-term leader. The post Good news, bad news first appeared on Segacs's World I Know .

https://www.segacs.com/2011/good-news-bad-news-2.html

Well, the votes are in, and Stephen Harper has his majority government. The right moves further to the right. The Tories, after spending five years walking all over Canadians as a minority, now g...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/top-10-reasons-why-tonights-results-are-bad-for-canada.html

I want to write a long, rambling blog post about why tonight’s election had the worst possible results for Canada. But I’m too depressed. I’m going to sleep. Hopefully I’ll still recogniz...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/it-is-what-it-is.html

With about 36 hours to go until the polls open, it’s time for me to post my totally unscientific, personal-opinion-only musings about the election and what the likely outcomes will be: The NDP ...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/election-predictions-2011.html

If you don’t have enough reasons to vote against Harper and the Conservatives in the upcoming election, here’s some scary food for thought: 4 out of 9 of Canada’s Supreme Court Justices hav...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/stephen-harper-hates-women.html

What does your party believe? I’d venture a guess that only a small number of Canadians who vote actually bother to read their party’s platforms… or the platforms of the other parties.  Ev...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/vote-smart-read-the-platforms.html

A new BMO report suggests that on average, Canadians pay about 20% more for the same goods and services as our American neighbours do — even though the loonie is above par: BMO’s survey compa...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/musings-on-the-us-canada-price-gap.html

I hear it all the time. Heck, I’ve even said it myself. In our first-past-the-post system, only a handful of the 308 ridings nationwide are really, truly up for grabs in the election. For the r...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/10-reasons-to-vote-even-if-you-dont-live-in-a-swing-riding.html

As the campaign progresses, I’d like to share a few links to some interesting interactive election-related tools and sites: Vote Compass: An online quiz on issues that is supposed to help you s...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/interesting-election-tools.html

High-ho, high-ho, it’s election time again in Canada. And it sure does feel an awful lot like 2008: 4 out of 5 of the party leaders are unchanged. Only Iggy is new this time around, though his ...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/back-to-the-polls-we-go.html

You can tell it’s an election year when the government actually bothers to do something useful. Harper, seeing the writing on the wall after massive petitions and public outcry, has issued an u...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/federal-government-to-crtc-youve-gone-too-far.html

Just when I think I can’t possibly hate the Harper Conservatives any more… their attack ads on Ignatieff and the Liberals are some of the most annoying, boorish, ill-conceived spots I’ve ev...

https://www.segacs.com/2011/oh-shut-up-3.html

A man who was thought to be inside his house in a standoff with the RCMP had actually let himself out the back and went to buy cigarettes while the Mounties supposedly had his house under siege: ...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/not-rcmp-finest-moment.html

A coworker, on hearing the recommendation of the Senate Finance Committee to finally, finally get rid of the penny: “We have a Senate that actually does something?” The post Best quote ev...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/senate-penny-drops.html

When it comes to so-called “universal” Medicare under the Canada Health Act, as the Globe and Mail reports, Quebecers are truly second-class citizens: Under the portability requirement, every...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/not-so-universal-healthcare.html

Coming on the heels of the news-that-will-shock-nobody that Canadians pay the highest cell phone bills in the world, someone’s taking notice… and it ain’t the CRTC: Unlimited wireless data ...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/gouge-gouge-gouge.html

The rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners, who have been underground for 69 days, is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. As of right now, two of the miners have been rescued so ...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/briefly.html

The Liberal bill introduced in the House of Commons today to reinstate and entrench the long-form census, after the Tory government callously and summarily ignored an opposition motion on the sam...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/too-little-too-late.html

One of the three suspects arrested this week in Ottawa by the RCMP on terrorism-related charges apparently auditioned for Canadian Idol. You can watch the video clip of arrested suspect Khurram ...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/would-be-terrorist-or-aspiring-pop-singer.html

Wait, am I reading this right? Georges Laraque is now the deputy leader of the Green Party? The same Georges Laraque who, after two woeful seasons in a Habs’ jersey, thought this would be a log...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/laraque-goes-green.html

Statisticians as a group have always kind of flown under the radar, perceived as boring number-crunchers even geekier than accountants who are constantly going on about confidence intervals and a...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/census-woes.html

Fuck the moronic thugs who decided that setting police cars on fire and smashing store windows was an appropriate Saturday afternoon activity. Fuck Stephen Harper and the Conservative government ...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/g8g20-rant.html

It was the shot heard from coast to coast – Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal to win this hockey game 3-2 and secure the record-breaking 14th gold medal for Canada. A fitting feather in the cap o...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/with-glowing-hearts-we-see-thee-rise.html

We’ve now won 10 gold medals, which – at the moment, anyway – is more than any other team. Our athletes are impressing the hell out of everyone, on the skating rink, the ski hill, the hocke...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/canadian-pride.html

The biggest attraction at the Olympics? Stephen Colbert, who’s been on site all week. He and Michael Bublé sang their unique take on the national anthem. He’s done mock tryouts for events. H...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/colbert-nation-eh.html

The Olympic opening ceremonies will stand as a shining example of where creative-by-committee will get you. As best as I can figure, someone at some point must have had a cool creative concept fo...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/5-things-they-should-have-done-at-the-opening-ceremonies.html

Forget SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder); what we’re really suffering from collectively as a nation is VDS: Vacation Deprivation Syndrome. And it hasn’t gotten any better, either. Us Canadian...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/vacation-deprivation-an-update.html

Here’s Jane Taber in the Globe and Mail, on Harper and prorogation of Parliament: In an interview on BNN yesterday, the Prime Minister suggested that prorogation gives him the opportunity to do...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/distractions-of-democracy.html

Air Canada has been directed to offer nut-free zones on its flights by the CTA, in response to a complaint filed by a passenger with severe nut allergies. As much as I sympathize with people with...

https://www.segacs.com/2010/air-crapida-to-restrict-nuts.html

The CRTC has approved a broadcasting license for English Al-Jazeera in Canada: I first blogged about this back in 2003, when media monitoring organisations were sounding the alarm about the virul...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/crtc-approves-al-jazeera-application.html

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fie...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/eleven-eleven.html

Allegations that the Calgary Flames cut in line for the H1N1 vaccine: The provincial health minister wants to know if swine flu shots were “inappropriately diverted” to the Calgary Flames whi...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/wait-your-turn.html

The usual list of celebrity idiots are protesting the Toronto film festival for highlighting Israeli films and culture: The group is circulating a letter of protest and has drawn more than 50 sig...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/anti-israel-crowd-targets-tiff.html

Haven’t you heard? The recession’s over! This according to the Bank of Canada, which has waved its magic wand and proclaimed an end to all things R-word. Something tells me that the record nu...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/bank-sez-recessions-over.html

The new Montreal transit chief – get this – actually uses public transit! What a concept! He’s even promised to ride the bus out to the west island to see for himself what a disaster the sy...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/one-timers.html

The Conservative minority government will live to fight another day. Michael Ignatieff announced that the Liberals would support the Tory budget, slightly amended, to avoid the collapse of the go...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/no-election-for-now.html

Canada was the only member of the ironically-named UN Human Rights Council to vote against a resolution condemning Israel for its actions in Gaza yesterday: At a meeting in Geneva, Canada asked f...

https://www.segacs.com/2009/canada-shows-some-moral-courage.html

Looks like there will be a transit strike in Ottawa. Barring a last-minute deal, workers are set to walk off the job at midnight. In the middle of snowy, blizzardy weather. With no alternate mean...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/oc-transpo-prepares-to-strike.html

With Bob Rae’s withdrawal from the Liberal leadership race, looks like it’ll be Michael Ignatieff by acclaimation. A strategist more than an idealist, Ignatieff doesn’t arouse much exciteme...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/update-rae-drops-out.html

The inevitable result of the petty political squabbling has occurred: Parliament has been shut down to stave off a no-confidence vote that would have been scheduled for Monday, where the oppositi...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/these-foolish-games.html

They’re calling for his head on a platter from all sides, but Stephane Dion won’t quit yet: The Toronto Star had cited Liberal party insiders who said Dion would make the announcement on Thur...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/dion-hangs-on.html

17. That’s the number of seats where the Liberal-Green combined vote total was higher than the vote total for the winning candidate. Of those 17 seats, 9 were won by the Conservatives. The rema...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/the-may-effect.html

Another day, another Conservative minority. Stephen Harper can talk all he wants about it being a “strengthened” minority, but the fact is he called this election with the objective of securi...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/election-results.html

The Election Prediction Project is forecasting 125 seats for the Conservatives, 94 for the Liberals, 51 for the Bloc, 36 for the NDP, and 2 for Independent candidates. They’ve been pretty dead-...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/election-day.html

Well, it was lively and even funny at times. That’s all I can really say about the debate format that provided more of a chance for attack zingers than real reasoned debate. Still, I guess it m...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/the-english-debate.html

As I watch the US presidential campaign unfold, it’s easy to feel a bit smug. Our election issues are – on the whole – pretty boring, mostly because things are – on the whole – pretty g...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/top-5-issues-that-are-thankfully-not-part-of-the-canadian-election-campaign.html

The great debate isn’t between Obama and McCain, or between Biden and Palin, or between Harper, Dion, Layton, Duceppe and May. No, it’s over which debate to watch tonight on TV: the Canadian ...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/the-great-debate.html

In a very un-Conservative move, Stephen Harper made a campaign promise today to regulate businesses more, cracking down on such unfair business practices as price-fixing, deceptive marketing, and...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/harper-promises-crackdown-on-text-message-fees.html

Well, this is a new one, I have to admit: A politician apologizing for not smoking pot: “I am not a fan of marijuana use. I have to confess this — I know all politicians are asked. I’ve nev...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/something-you-dont-see-every-day.html

A massive ice shelf has broken away from Ellesmere Island, in Arctic Canada… just further evidence that we’re soon going to have the climate of the tropics. And just in time for an election, ...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/and-north-of-the-border.html

Here’s a shocker: Canadians don’t like to wait in line. In related news, the sky is blue. The post No, really? first appeared on Segacs's World I Know .

https://www.segacs.com/2008/no-really.html

Canadian elections may only last for 30 days, but politicians handily get around that rule by threatening for months. So will it be an election this time? Really? Or just more of the same? Does a...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/an-election-this-time-really.html

Responding to massive public pressure, including an online petition that garnered over 57,000 signatures, Rogers has announced a $30 data plan for the iPhone. It’s not the unlimited flat plan t...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/update-on-the-cell-phone-wars.html

Two related stories in today’s Gazette, referring to all three major players in Canada’s mobile phone market: First, a story about how Bell and Telus are both going to start charging for inco...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/price-gouging-the-cell-phone-market-in-canada.html

Q: What’s red and white and red and white and red and white? A: Canada Day in Ottawa. Another first for me, as I headed up to Ottawa for the day yesterday to celebrate our nation’s birthday. ...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/more-flags.html

A new Maclean’s poll pretty much confirms that, when it comes to foreign perceptions of Canada, ignorance is bliss: The Maclean’s poll discovered an epic lack of global knowledge of Canadian ...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/canada-the-worlds-obama.html

Air Canada, not satisfied with being one of the worst customer-service companies in existence, has found a new way to price-gouge customers: Charge a fee to deal with flight hassles: Trumpeting t...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/air-crapida-hits-bottom-digs.html

Canada will not take part in a major United Nations conference on racism next year because the event is likely to descend into “regrettable anti-Semitism,” a top official said on Wednesday. O...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/canada-to-boycott-un-racism-conference.html

A CBC reporter was caught red-handed playing favourites among federal political parties: A Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reporter who covers Parliament will be reassigned because she inappropriatel...

https://www.segacs.com/2008/is-this-what-they-mean-by-fair-and-impartial-journalism.html

With the Conservatives’ popularity rising, and Harper so far refusing to cave to the opposition parties’ throne speech demands, the only question in this high-stakes game of political chicken...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/playing-chicken.html

The Canadian blogosphere is abuzz today about Barack Obama’s gaffe: U.S. Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama has been trying to burnish his foreign policy credentials. So it didn’t...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/if-only-hed-watched-more-molson-canadian-commercials.html

According to this, when it comes to terrorism threats, Canada’s gotten more dangerous: Canada’s “elevated” threat level is now the same as that of the United States, and “elevated” is...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/canadas-elevated-threat-level.html

You know you’re Canadian when you will cheer on any Canadian hockey team still in the playoffs (except the Leafs, of course). Since my Habs aren’t there, I’m now on the Sens’ bandwagon, s...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/sens-nation.html

The all-powerful “Jewish lobby” we keep hearing about (but that has thus far failed to get me a centrally-located indoor parking spot or a good discount on shoes, among other things) has stru...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/jewish-lobby-strikes-again.html

First it’s the local public transit that’s threatening to strike. And now, the longer-distance buses are getting in on the fun, too: Unionized drivers, mechanics and terminal staff at Greyhou...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/more-strike-fun.html

Canada wins gold yet again at the World Hockey Championship, with this afternoon’s 4-2 victory over the Finns. Woohoo! (Now that Gilles Duceppe’s 24-hour run for PQ leadership is over, he can...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/still-our-game.html

Canada must not have enough real problems, if something like this is keeping our Parliamentarians occupied all week: The issue erupted on Parliament Hill this week as opposition parties criticize...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/we-need-to-give-our-politicians-more-to-do.html

No, not a merger, just some limited cooperation. The deal between the Liberals and the Green Party that will see the Libs step back so that Elizabeth May can compete seriously for a seat, is, on ...

https://www.segacs.com/2007/unite-the-greens.html