Thoughts on BC Politics and More

When political parties ride to power calling themselves “populist,” their leaders can sound as if they are restoring power to the people as they carry out their radical reform movements. But here’s what populist parties — from the extreme-right AfD in Germany to Donald Trump’s Republicans in the United States, from the Conservative Party of Canada to the United Conservatives in Alberta — have in common. Their idea of freedom and democracy is fundamentally different from what most of us are used to. A “liberal democracy” doesn’t mean one governed by liberals or Liberals. The term, originating in 18th-century Europe, instead means a form of democracy that protects individual liberties and group rights, and ensures diverse voices are heard ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Dare to be different ... part 3 We hear more and more about the dangers of populism. When our Prime Minister utters the word, he manages to spit it out as if he just took a bite of something exceedingly vile.    Populism: noun; a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups . Politicians like to divide us – by age (seniors and youth) colour (any non-white group), economic strata (homeless, middle class, working poor) by ethnicity or religion (Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh – Christians need not apply) and then promise to be the protectors and saviours of each group. Political parties are established elite groups . They hold themselves up as separate tribes and seek to have electors and people of influence promise allegiance to their tribe. Unfortunately, that does not translate into representing electors, heeding their pleas or acting in their best inte...

The news media in Canada has reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, “… called hate speech and the politics of division a “dangerous path” for Canada. Trudeau said he fears a rise in extreme populism and polarization around the issue of immigration and he accused some of feeding intolerance with partial truths and outright lies.” – this is just one example from the CBC. Let’s start with a definition of populism. According to the Oxford English dictionary it means: A political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups. Appealing to ordinary people is the basis, and root, of a democracy. Our governments do not exist to represent or serve anyone else. Despite this, we do not need to be told that we are ignored by the political establishment – we can see clear evidence of that every day. The Kinder Morgan debacle is the result of governments bucking to the whini...