How Canadians actually choose their federal government got a full airing at Tuesday night’s all-candidates meeting in the Toronto-Danforth riding. Candidates contesting the riding offered their views about replacing the traditional “first-past-the-post” election with proportional representation. The latter would see percentage divisions in the electorate represented in the House of Commons.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, called Toronto “Canada’s most important city” Monday — while in Vancouver.
Liberal candidate Nathaniel Erskine-Smith wants to be clear: he is not running to be Justin Trudeau’s voice in Beaches-East York; he is running to be the voice of Beaches-East York to Justin Trudeau. “I got involved because of Justin Trudeau,” Erskine-Smith said, “(because) Trudeau is the only leader of a major party who has committed to bottom-up democracy, not telling candidates what to say or think, but really encouraging us to be strong advocates for our communities.”
For Ashley Stolk, Ontario’s new health and physical education curriculum came too late. “My mom was never open with me about intercourse,” Stolk said. In 2008, Stolk, then 17, gave birth to her daughter Hailey….
MP Craig Scott was given the nod by the NDP riding association in Toronto-Danforth on Saturday to run for re-election.
Canada’s new immigration point system, set to come into effect May 4, 2013, drew criticism from some New Democrats during a language and culture celebration in Toronto. At a Wednesday (Feb. 20) celebration of International Mother Language Day, hosted by NDP MP Matthew Kellway (Beaches-East York), some NDP politicians expressed concern over planned changes to federal immigration policy.
Removing inequalities, through measures such as long-term job training and investment in post-secondary education, is part of the solutions to reducing violence on the street, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said.
An elementary teacher in the Ontario system fears for the future of her career and for her students’ education. The Ontario Federation of Labour staged a protest, yesterday, at Queen’s Park. About 1,000 protesters representing about 90 different groups, participated in the rally, and marched through downtown Toronto.
The fate of Ontario’s Liberal minority government rests in the hands of the New Democratic Party. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath was quick to slam the provincial budget tabled today at Queen’s Park, saying it has very little to offer in terms of job creation and may not be worth supporting.