[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[viper37]

1. That entire constitutional system of government symbolized in the British monarch (for sake of argument, I will limit this to areas outside of England) is by definition colonialist and oppressive.

A symbolic head of state with no formal powers is hardly the definition of colonialist.

As to oppressive, I suppose a person who would  prefer not to take the oath could consider that oppressive.

Nowadays, "colonialist" refers to symbols, mostly.  Indigenous laws are seen as colonialists not because of their current effects, but because of how they came to be and what they represent.

[HVC]

But that is technically what we do in Canada when we pledge allegiance to the Canadian Crown.  To the extent the Crown has any constitutional power now, it is exercised by the GG.  And it is that constitutional arrangement that the pledge is directed to.

I still got an eye on you

And Viper, learn to love your new king

[crazy canuck]

But that is technically what we do in Canada when we pledge allegiance to the Canadian Crown.  To the extent the Crown has any constitutional power now, it is exercised by the GG.  And it is that constitutional arrangement that the pledge is directed to.

I still got an eye on you

 

[crazy canuck]

Paul Wells interviewed Jason Kenney shortly after he stepped down, and it is now available on Wells' new podcast. There are a lot of interesting bits.  The discussion on the negative effect of alt right social media and Trump's influence on the Canadian right is particularly interesting/concerning

https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/the-paul-wells-show/2022/09/28/jason-kenney-the-man-the-right-left-behind.html

[crazy canuck]

David Eby, the person who will likely win the NDP leadership race, just unfailed a huge housing strategy. He will basically take all zoning power away from municipalities and make it so that it becomes much easier to build multi family dwellings. He will also remove all restrictions on rental, meaning that there will no longer be any buildings that prohibit rental units. He's basically all in on increasing supply.

[Jacob]

I'm fairly positive on it.

[Barrister]

Paul Wells interviewed Jason Kenney shortly after he stepped down, and it is now available on Wells' new podcast. There are a lot of interesting bits.  The discussion on the negative effect of alt right social media and Trump's influence on the Canadian right is particularly interesting/concerning

https://www.thestar.com/podcasts/the-paul-wells-show/2022/09/28/jason-kenney-the-man-the-right-left-behind.html

So I listened to the podcast.  I don't necessarily disagree with a single thing Kenney said.  I even commiserate with the "wait a sec - I'm pretty fucking right wing.  What the hell does that make you guys?" attitude.

But other than a perfunctory "of course I accept responsibility" statement, Kenney portrays himself pretty much entirely as a victim of circumstances.  There's no introspection on what he could have done differently.  I would note that in Saskatchewan who has a lot of the same political dynamics did not go through a political revolt the same way Kenney's Alberta did.

[crazy canuck]

Yeah I noticed that too BB.  He seemed to suggest that he was overtaken by new members coming in who were not what he recognized as the tradition core, and he identified them as the folks who were more of the alt right types.

Accurate?

[crazy canuck]

I'm fairly positive on it.

It could be good.  I am waiting to see how this is actually implemented through legislative amendments.  The devil here is very much in the detail. 

For example, what are the new building codes going to be related to the conversion of single family to multi family dwellings and who will establish them.  One concern is if that is not done correctly we could see a large increase in slum landlord types.

But if it is done correctly, this could be very good.

[Barrister]

Yeah I noticed that too BB.  He seemed to suggest that he was overtaken by new members coming in who were not what he recognized as the tradition core, and he identified them as the folks who were more of the alt right types.

Accurate?

But that's how political party membership works.  You always see a big influx for important votes, like for leader or a leadership review.

"Alt right" is kind of like the word "woke" - a word that for a time was used genuinely by people to describe themselves, but that was taken up by their opponents and is now a pejorative.

And finally, I do think people were radicalized by the pandemic.  There's always been people in rural Alberta who were sceptical of the government and just wanted to be left alone.  And you can have legitimate arguments about to what extent various Covid isolation and masking measures were required.  But you know have a significant minority that aren't just sceptical, they're full-on anti-vax and conspiracy-minded.

By the way, all reports are Danielle Smith is going to win the UCP leadership very handily.  Depending on what she does as Premier in the 7 months she has my vote may be up for grabs.

[crazy canuck]

Yeah I noticed that too BB.  He seemed to suggest that he was overtaken by new members coming in who were not what he recognized as the tradition core, and he identified them as the folks who were more of the alt right types.

Accurate?

But that's how political party membership works.  You always see a big influx for important votes, like for leader or a leadership review.

"Alt right" is kind of like the word "woke" - a word that for a time was used genuinely by people to describe themselves, but that was taken up by their opponents and is now a pejorative.

And finally, I do think people were radicalized by the pandemic.  There's always been people in rural Alberta who were sceptical of the government and just wanted to be left alone.  And you can have legitimate arguments about to what extent various Covid isolation and masking measures were required.  But you know have a significant minority that aren't just sceptical, they're full-on anti-vax and conspiracy-minded.

By the way, all reports are Danielle Smith is going to win the UCP leadership very handily.  Depending on what she does as Premier in the 7 months she has my vote may be up for grabs.

Fair point about the labelling. I think our political discourse would be better if those terms stopped being used.  I am not sure what an alt right or woke leftist is.  It's a lazy shorthand for "people I don't agree with".


Much better to talk about what policies are being proposed and perhaps that is the way to getting a broader consensus of critical issues.

It will be interesting to see if she governs as radically as she is now sounding.  My hope is that while she might keep up her rhetoric to keep her base happy, she will govern in a more rational way.  For example, I had no idea that Alberta had entered into so many protocol agreements with the Feds during Kenney's tenure, until I heard him list them off during his interview in that podcast.

[Jacob]

The
I am not sure what an alt right or woke leftist is.  It's a lazy shorthand for "people I don't agree with".

I don't think alt right is a lazy short hand for "people I don't agree with". The location of exact boundaries may have shifted or been blurred over time and for various political reasons, but there are real political differences between, say Pierre Poilievre and the Diagolon movement. Only one of them is alt right (Diagolon, in case that was in doubt).

[crazy canuck]

The
I am not sure what an alt right or woke leftist is.  It's a lazy shorthand for "people I don't agree with".

I don't think alt right is a lazy short hand for "people I don't agree with". The location of exact boundaries may have shifted or been blurred over time and for various political reasons, but there are real political differences between, say Pierre Poilievre and the Diagolon movement. Only one of them is alt right (Diagolon, in case that was in doubt).

Sure, I think BB you and I would be able to readily agree on who we think fit that label.  But the problem is, as a term of common usage, it has gone beyond that.  It's like PP calling everyone to the left of him "woke".  I hear a lot of people on the left talking about everyone to the right of them as being alt right.  I think BB is also correct that when those terms were first coined, it was people self identifying as being part of that group.  And now it is merely a pejorative. 

See my sig for more details 

[Jacob]

I'm not aware of a lot of people being called alt-right who fits outside the definition BB and I could hypothetically agree on, though that could very well be because I've missed it.

[crazy canuck]

Very quick google search turned up multiple examples.

Case in point.

Read through this article - I got a chuckle when one of the notable red flags was the person under attack retweeted something Sheer tweeted.  And she had the audacity to be at a freedom of expression talk... The horror.  Also note the smear of attempting to link her with the Proud Boys, even though their event had been cancelled.  And, to make Berkut's blood boil just that much more, the reference to Sam Harris as being a huge red flag for identifying someone belonging to the alt right.

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/canadian-media-just-created-another-alt-right-superstar