Opinions
International Affairs: How North Korea has impacted Japan’s election
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 30th, 2017
The North Korean crisis has thrown Japan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a lifeline. But it is a slippery one. Just three months ago, Abe was in the political doldrums. A series of scandals, including one involving a dodgy land sale, dogged him. His attempts to resuscitate Japan’s moribund economy had failed. Polling showed his ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!UCP leadership race has some Seinfeldian overtones
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 30th, 2017
The United Conservative Party leadership race is shaping up to be the Seinfeld of Alberta electoral politics. That is, a race about nothing. Instead of concrete policy proposals, the contest thus far has been more about broader themes than specific policies. It doesn’t help that one frontrunner, former PC party leader Jason Kenney, is openly ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Right of recall could be a powerful tool
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 29th, 2017
We are two weeks away from electing our municipal politicians who will serve for the next four years. A commentator recently called it a democratic process to elect a dictatorship for four years. That may sound harsh but actually once they are elected we are stuck with them for good or bad until the next ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Can we break the cycle of voter apathy?
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 28th, 2017
Democracy is more than a once-every-four-years exercise, but it is during elections that the act of voting is the clearest example. And at every election, pundits begin to fret about generally declining voter participation rates. Fewer people than ever, it seems, are taking advantage of their rights, it’s true. There are a number of theories, ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: When sports and politics collide on the social field of play
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 27th, 2017
Sports and politics have intersected in nasty fashion, thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump withdrew his invitation to the star of the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry. He tweeted that Curry was no longer welcome at the White House to celebrate the team winning the NBA championship because Curry was hesitant ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Do your part to take the community to a better future
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 27th, 2017
With municipal elections less than three weeks away, the campaign is in full fervour as candidates go out and make their pitches to voters. Some of these candidates simply bring with them a desire to serve, others see these elections ambitiously as a means to enter the power structure of our city and influence the ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!The loudest voices against tax reform are not neutral
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 25th, 2017
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s proposals for tightening tax breaks associated with private companies is generating several kinds of response on social media and in mainstream media. The most evident is an impressive deluge of evidence-free rhetoric claiming that the proposals are an attack on everything from the middle class to maternity leave for female ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Tax system fairness should be the government’s end goal
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 23rd, 2017
“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” — Donald Rumsfeld Sometimes the most knowledgeable person in a room ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Alberta could follow other provinces’ leads in setting rules for pot sales
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 23rd, 2017
With the nation-wide legalization of recreational marijuana coming up in July 2018, the clock is ticking for Alberta to put in place its own set of regulations. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is essentially legalizing weed while dumping the logistics of its distribution on the provinces. If anything goes wrong, he can blame the provincial governments ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: Investments, not corporate welfare
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 22nd, 2017
I don’t believe a $23 million infrastructure investment split between the federal and provincial governments to help facilitate the building of a $360-million potato-processing facility is, “corporate welfare.” What I do believe is such an investment such as that made to develop the Cavendish Farms facility is just that — an investment. An investment that ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Transit at forefront of 2017 municipal election campaign
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 21st, 2017
Monday night’s decision by city council to reverse course on transit changes may have also short-circuited campaigns of half those seeking seats next month. Or did it? Depending on the viewpoint of individual voters, it hurts some and helps others, but who and how much remain to be seen. Council voted 6-3 on Monday to ... Read More »
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