Making Sense with Nicholls

Conservatism in Canada

2009-12-21T16:18:00.001-05:00

Is Canada moving to the Right?

Interesting CP article on that topic (and it's not interesting just because it happens to include a quote from me!)

New OLA site

2009-12-19T12:28:00.003-05:00

The Ontario Landowners Association has just come out with a revamped website.

It's all part of the OLA's increased efforts to promote and protect property rights.

Property rights, of course, is one of those issues we don't hear a lot about. And that's too bad, because the right to own and enjoy property is crucial for a truly free society.

That's why the OLA's mission is so important. And it does a truly great job in exposing and opposing attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to infringe on our freedoms.

So check out their site and consider offering your support.

Debating Canada's reputation

2009-12-18T12:52:00.006-05:00

Had a fun time yesterday debating former Liberal/Bloc Quebecois MP Jean Lapierre.

Our topic was Canada's reputation on the world scene when it comes to climate change.

Lapierre thought it was important that Al Gore like us.

I disagreed.

You can see it here.

(Note my Christmas tie doesn't show up very well.)

Media Alert

2009-12-17T13:33:00.002-05:00

I am scheduled to appear on the CTV news program Power Play today at about 5:30 PM EST.

Be sure and watch because I will be wearing my special Christmas tie.

Stop the dopey stunts

2009-12-16T14:20:00.005-05:00

Both the Liberals and Conservatives really need to tighten up their security.

After all, it seems drunken frat boys are somehow breaking into their party headquarters late at night and causing all sorts of juvenile mischief.

These delinquents, for instance, posted a tasteless doctored photo on the Liberal website of Prime Minister Stephen Harper getting assassinated a la Lee Harvey Oswald.

It must have taken quite a few beers for the kids to do something that outrageously stupid.

Meanwhile, these same mindless pranksters also managed to insert a “pooping puffin” into a Conservative Party ad. Then there's this.

If something is not done soon to stop the sophomoric punks responsible for this sort of inane activity, it’s going to reflect poorly on our political process.

Canadians might start to think the Liberals and Conservatives actually condone such childish stunts.

McGuinty deserves credit

2009-12-16T10:58:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had some nice words on this blog concerning Liberal MP Bob Rae.

Well as if that's not strange enough, I know find myself congratulating Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

It seems the premier is considering the idea of privatizing certain provincial assets as a way to raise money for his cash-strapped government.

The fact that a lefty-Liberal like McGuinty is even considering privatization is pretty newsworthy and he deserves credit for putting it on the table.

Of course, only time will tell if he actually does place government agencies on the auction block.

I hope he does.

Then I hope he rolls back his plethora of nanny-state decrees.

Hey a guy can dream, can't he?

Let's be the bad boy

2009-12-15T12:15:00.004-05:00

According to news media reports, Canada is a “pariah” when it comes to fighting global warming.

And I think that’s just great.

After all, when it comes to everything else we are such upstanding international citizens: we are never late for UN meetings; we are always polite to all the other countries, we hang out with the nice Alliances.

In other words, we are goody-two-shoes – the global equivalent of boy scouts.

Nice, but boring.

However, when it comes to the environment, or at least when it comes to “climate change,” Canada is the bad boy, the outsider.

We are dangerous, we are edgy, we play by our own rules.

When Al Gore sees Canada strutting down the sidewalk, he meekly crosses the street.

Rather than bemoan this state of affairs, as so many in the media do, I say let’s revel in it.

Sometimes it's cool to be bad.

So let's play it for all it's worth.

For instance, here’s what we should do at Copenhagen climate summit:

* Leave a couple of tons of fresh Alberta tar sands on Denmark’s doorstep and ring the doorbell.

* Announce we plan to increase our greenhouse gas emissions, “just because we can”.

* Spice up the environmentalist protests in the streets of Copenhagen by unleashing a dozen or so hungry polar bears.

* During all meetings we should drink out of plastic bottles labelled “Melted Glacier Water.”

* Continually ask the question: “If global warming is such a problem how come it’s so darn cold outside?”

Of course, none of this will actually impact on the climate. But then again, nothing done at the Copenhagen summit will actually impact the climate.

At least we can have a little fun.

Crossposted at Libertas Post.

Speaking out on gag laws

2009-12-14T16:47:00.005-05:00

The reaction to my speech on election gag laws, which I recently delivered at a Free Speech and Liberty Symposium, has generated an extremely positive reaction.

And that's gratifying.

However, my real goal in delivering this talk was to help re-spark interest in the whole issue of free-election speech.

Sad to say, this issue has fallen off the radar lately, which is unfortunate because election gag laws deny all Canadians the right to free expression, not just those who wish to advertise. After all, free speech is a two way street; it means having the opportunity to speak and the opportunity to listen.

Simply put, gag laws prevent Canadians from getting all sides of a story.

So I am glad to see that writer/author Paul Tuns is blogging about how gag laws negatively impact on the Right to Life movement.

Similarly, Rightchik is urging Canadians on her blog to contact Prime Minister Harper and demand he scrap the gag law.

I hope other bloggers follow their lead.

Anyway, I would like to thank Joseph Ben-Ami of the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies, which organized the symposium, for giving me the chance to speak out on this matter.

It was a great event.

NCC now a pussycat

2009-12-12T09:59:00.004-05:00

It's painful for me to say this, but the National Citizens Coalition once a lion, is now a pussycat.

Just check out this recent blog from the NCC website, where the group apologizes to a Tory cabinet minister.

Industry Minister Tony Clement was angry because the NCC has posted in its "Tales from the Tax Trough" booklet that he had spent $30,000 on a trip to Kenya.

And it was true, he had.

But Clement called up NCC president Peter Coleman to complain and amazingly Peter agreed to apologize and to delete the Kenya reference from the booklet!!

And the NCC didn't do anything to warrant an apology.

The NCC even posted a message from Clement on their site (Note they refer to him as "Peter" Clement).

All I can say is that when I worked at the NCC we never would have let a politician bully us like this.

Somewhere NCC founder Colin M. Brown is rolling in his grave.

Gag laws and free speech

2009-12-11T09:07:00.003-05:00

On Monday December 7th, I gave a speech on the dangers of election gag laws at a Liberty and Free Speech Symposium organized by the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies.

I have posted the text of my talk here.

Blogging friends

2009-12-10T22:08:00.005-05:00

Been getting some good comments around the blogosphere these days.

Gay and Right has some kind words to say about Libertas Post and notes that a visit is "well worth your time."

Kerry Forrest, who I had the pleasure to meet recently at the MacDonald-Cartier Society meeting in Ottawa, says my speech on conservatism has him "stoked to get out there and show the path to others."

And finally Rightchik gives a good review of a speech I gave on gag laws at the Liberty and Free Speech seminar.

Media Alert

2009-12-10T14:18:00.003-05:00

I am scheduled to appear on CTV's Power Play this afternoon at about 5:30 PM.

One of the topics will be the Afghan detainee issue.

Speaking of which, I have just posted a poll on this matter over at Libertas Post.

Let me know what you think of this issue.

Talking about conservatism

2009-12-09T11:55:00.002-05:00

On Monday night I gave a speech at a MacDonald-Cartier Society meeting on the topic: The conservative movement at the crossroads.

You can read the text of my talk here.

By the way, it was a fun event, the place was packed and I had a chance to meet many old friends and also to make some new ones.

China and Harper

2009-12-03T16:41:00.004-05:00

Lots of debate is taking place over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to China.

Should he bring up human rights issues or should he focus exclusively on trade?

And that happens to be the focus of this week's Libertas Post survey.

Check it out and cast your vote.

Harper a Neo-Con?

2009-12-03T10:41:00.001-05:00

I recently sent the following letter to the Toronto Star in response to this column.

Dear Sir/Madam:

Eugene Lang and Philip DeMont argue Prime Minister Stephen Harper has an “overriding objective to cut taxes.” (“Big-spender Harper true to his neoconservative roots” November 30)

If that were true, of course, it would also mean the Prime Minister would have an equally overriding objective to refrain from deficit spending.

After all, big deficits today inevitably mean higher taxes tomorrow.

Yet, the Prime Minister has, thanks to his economic “stimulus package”, plunged the country into a sea of red ink.

In other words, the supposedly tax hating Prime Minister is actually imposing a "future tax" on Canadians.

Lang and DeMont call this “neo-conservatism.”

I call it bad economics.

Talking conservatism

2009-12-03T09:16:00.003-05:00

On the evening of December 7th, I will be in Ottawa to address the following topic: "The conservative movement at a crossroads: Lessons from the past, directions for the future."

The MacDonald-Cartier Society is organizing the event.

And it won't be just me yakking either, I will be a part of a panel that will include columnist John Robson, who will talk about "Reclaiming Canada’s conservative tradition" and Joseph Ben-Ami of the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies who will offer his opinions on "Building a small-c conservative movement" and Don Lenihan of the Public Policy Forum who will speak on “Governing in a Multi-Stakeholder World: are conservatives ready, willing and able?"

Sounds like an interesting evening.

So if you are in Ottawa next week drop on by.

Rae and Black Ribbon Day

2009-12-02T09:44:00.004-05:00

Never thought I would ever write this, but here goes: Congratulations to Liberal MP Bob Rae.

Rae introduced a motion in the House of Commons yesterday to declare August 23rd "Black Ribbon Day" as a way to commemorate victims of totalitarian Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes.

As Rae himself put it, "We must unequivocally condemn the crimes against humanity committed by totalitarian Nazi and Communist regimes and offer the victims of these crimes and their family members' sympathy, understanding and recognition for their suffering."

The motion, I am happy to report, passed unanimously.

August 23rd, by the way, was chosen as "Black Ribbon Day" because that's the day in 1939 when Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia signed their infamous non-aggression pact.

Of course, people have been marking Black Ribbon Day for years.

In fact, back in the mid-1980s when I was working at the National Citizens Coalition we helped to set up and organize "Black Ribbon Day" rallies.

Those were the days when the Soviets were still oppressing much of Eastern Europe and our goal was to remind Canadians that Soviet totalitarianism was just as evil as Nazi totalitarianism.

Anyway, I am glad to see Rae take this principled stand for freedom. The Soviet Union may be gone, but its evil legacy will live on forever.

The old double standard trick

2009-12-01T11:09:00.006-05:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is taking a lot of criticism because he recently suggested that anyone questioning our prisoner transfer policy in Afghanistan was really maligning Canada’s soldiers.

Lawrence Martin calls this tactic “intellectually infantile”; Andrew Coyne, using less elegant language, calls it “trash” and Liberal MP Bob Rae stated “To argue that some are stronger supporters of our soldiers than others I think is frankly reprehensible ... to label what we are doing as somehow unpatriotic is quite frankly beyond the pale."

And to be sure, Prime Minister Harper is using an emotion-laden charge to make his point.

But isn’t that politics?

Indeed isn’t this exactly the sort of ploy the Left routinely uses when attacking conservatives?

Consider, for instance, this typical exchange between a conservative and a liberal:

Conservative: I think we need to cut taxes and make government smaller.

Liberal: Aha, your true agenda exposed! All you care about is helping the rich. You’re a heartless monster with no compassion for the poor or downtrodden. You want to close down our public schools, throw orphans into the streets and condemn our seniors to lives of poverty and misery. Oh and you probably want to bring back slavery, since you are also clearly a racist.

Conservative: We also need to increase funding for our military and help our allies in the war against terror.

Liberal: War monger!

Conservative: In my view it's time to inject some sort of free market principles into our costly and inefficient health care system.

Liberal: Oh I get it. You want to transform our hospitals into profit making factories which will heal only the rich and which will use poor people in diabolical medical experiments designed to help the rich live longer. And furthermore: rich, rich rich.

Conservative: I am sceptical about some of the global warming hysteria going on.

Liberal: OK you are clearly a pawn of the big oil companies. Why else would you want to murder those cute polar bears?

Conservative: The long-gun registry was a bad idea.

Liberal: Shut up you stupid redneck. You’re responsible for every murder in the past 100 years. In fact, you probably have all sorts of guns hidden in your basement and are just waiting to go on a mindless shooting spree. Umm … please don’t shoot me!!!

Of course, when left wingers make these sorts of arguments nobody calls them “infantile” or “trash.”

It’s what you call a double standard.

And by the way, if you don’t like this posting, then it means you must be some sort of Marxist.

Crossposted at Libertas Post

The day I warned the Liberals

2009-11-28T10:58:00.003-05:00

A year ago today the federal Opposition parties unveiled their diabolical scheme to form a Coalition and wrest power away from the Conservatives.

It was also on this day one year ago that I posted a blog warning the Liberals to think through this dopey idea.

They heeded my advice .... eventually.

Want economic growth? Cut taxes and red tape

2009-11-27T09:05:00.002-05:00

Recently the Toronto Dominion Bank came up with a grim report, predicting a decade of stagnant economic growth for Canada.

Fortunately, we can avoid this.

How?

Well for answers check out this column I wrote which appears in today's Hamilton Spectator.

Media Alert

2009-11-26T14:31:00.002-05:00

I am scheduled to appear on CTV's Power Play this afternoon at about 5:25 PM EST to talk torture.

Libertas Post stuff

2009-11-25T15:38:00.004-05:00

Here are some interesting items you might want to check out at the Libertas Post:

* Take part in an online survey, which asks the burning question: "What can Michael Ignatieff do to turn things around?"

* Charles Adler slams the "venus flytrap" climate scam.

* Rondi Adamson asks "Why do you think they call it dope?"

* Walker Morrow laments what's happening to the Olympic debate in BC.

Libertarianism and Politics

2009-11-25T09:17:00.002-05:00

The National Post today published an extract of a speech I recently gave to the Ontario Libertarian Party.

If interested, you can read the entire speech here.

Michael Ignatieff's To Do List

2009-11-24T10:09:00.004-05:00

Using the Access to Information Act, I managed to get a hold of this key political document:

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff’s “To Do List”

* “De-friend” Janine Krieber

* Memorize names of my new staff members

* Renew VISA for working in the United States

* Take piano/singing lessons

* See doctor about mysterious knife-like wounds in my back

* Ask Warren Kinsella when “ass kicking” will begin.

* Tell aide to stop showing me those blasted poll results

* Hire a new pollster

* Find out why Bob Rae is measuring curtains in my office

* Remind myself why I wanted this job.

Crossposted at Libertas Post.

Liberty and Free Speech

2009-11-22T14:17:00.002-05:00

I am looking forward to participating in the upcoming December 7th symposium on Liberty and Free Speech.

Organized by the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies, the symposium will feature a top-notch cast of speakers including John Robson, Brian Lee Crowley, Barbara Kay and many others.

And the symposium's agenda will cover an array of timely and interesting topics.

So if the issue of free speech concerns you, I would strongly urge you to register for this important event.

Hope to see you there!