Let's be clear what "conscience rights" really means. It's the idea that no professional should be required to do something they disagree with, even if needed to give effect to someone else's rights or as part of doing their own job properly. #cdnpoli 1/6
globalnews.ca/news/9180654/c… "Conscience rights" can apply to lots of situations. Some teachers don't believe in evolution. Should they be required to teach it? Some nurses and doctors don't believe in ending a pregnancy or even contraception. Should they be required to provide this information? #cdnpoli 2/6

I don't write enough about real poverty. I do write about it, but not enough. Politics revolves around issues that get politicians elected - right now that's the middle-class squeeze, inflation, cost of daycare - not what it's like to go hungry or be homeless. #onpoli 1/15 People get wrapped up in their own problems and concerns. That may not be admirable, but it's normal. When you're worried about the price of gas or the interest rate on your mortgage, real poverty may not seem to be an active concern for you. But it is. #onpoli 2/15

Apparently I hate Canada and I want to destroy it. I hear that a lot. So do many politicians, wide groups of bureaucrats and public employees, anyone in media, and sometimes the entire membership of registered political parties. Let's talk about what that means. #cdnpoli 1/8 A very few unhinged people think that I and many, many others are agents of foreign powers. As in, I've been somehow recruited to undermine Canada, where I live and was born. I don't know how to reason with that but it's a small part of the problem, so let's move on. #cdnpoli 2/8

The Liberal Party, as it exists, is not welcoming to or accepting of the center-right. There, I said it. Call them red tories, mainstream conservatives or any other name you like. We've done a piss-poor job of keeping these people in the fold and a reckoning is due. #cdnpoli 1/14 Language matters, and I'd like to unpack what we mean when we describe people as "not tolerable." I'd also like to unpack what the right and alt-right mean when they describe Trudeau and others as "woke." Because these are the words that divide us. #cdnpoli 2/14

I'm trying to understand what's happening with politics in Canada, especially on the right. I read a lot of comments, though I obviously don't have time to pick fights with all of them. Still, I have to say, I'm discouraged. We're seeing the worst in people, lately. #cdnpoli 1/9 I'm seeing freedom defined as never having to do what you're told - even if that's just to not make life worse for other people. Forget about legal and illegal for a moment. We're just talking about human decency here. Apparently we're only free when that's optional. #cdnpoli 2/9

I pissed off ring-wing twitter quite a lot by pointing out that "gatekeeper" is a nonsense term as Poilievre uses it. I got told, time and again, that everyone knows who "they" are, and was offered a wide variety of definitions that don't agree with one another. #cdnpoli 1/7 I don't deny the word "gatekeeper" has power and can be effective. If you're angry about anything, you can find someone to blame for it, rightly or wrongly. Everyone hearing the term knows who their "gatekeeper" is. It means whatever you need it to mean. #cdnpoli 2/7

The abhorrent backsliding of rights in the United States should be a warning to voters everywhere - in every liberal democracy where we pride ourselves on our values and the resilience of our society. Progress isn't inevitable. It can stop. It can go backwards. #cdnpoli 1/10 What has happened in the States isn't a sudden disaster. The erosion of basic liberal and democratic values happens over time. Every time we lose sight of our common goals as a society - the idea that we're in this together - we damage the project a little more. #cdnpoli 2/10

A number of people seem to be questioning what the invasion of #Ukraine really means for us - or for anyone in a safe, western nation. Not all of these questions are ungenerous. For example, it may be taken as a humanitarian tragedy, but how does it relate to #cdnpoli? 1/14 Chrystia Freeland often refers to the "rules-based international order." That sounds complicated and it is - it's a web of treaties, agreements, and norms that virtually all nations respect. But it's also a very simple idea - that there are rules at all, and they matter. 2/14

I just got done in bail court today. And I have something all you #FreeTamaraLich nuts need to hear. Her treatment in bail court isn't evidence of systemic oppression against her or against your cause. It's evidence the system sucks. Just you usually don't care, or notice. 1/7 Many criminal lawyers agree bail could have and probably should have been fashioned in this case. Often called "bail set not met." Something like as soon as she agrees to go home and stop breaking the law, she can be released. That would have been reasonable and appropriate. 2/7

Al Jazeera isn't wrong that a double standard is at play, in how the world responds to Ukraine as compared to, let's face it, non-white, non-western countries. I don't mean to take anything away from Ukraine at all, but it's something we need to see. 1/4
aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27… It was the same with 9/11. The world responded with an outpouring of grief and shock to a terrible American disaster and tragedy. But almost right away, valid questions were asked about similar tragedies elsewhere, that attracted far less notice or attention. Why? 2/4

I've watched with growing disgust as the intolerant right-wing, and increasingly the militant left, seize on any cause and identity to attack Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party. It isn't the criticism that offends me, it's the coopting of identity and issues. #cdnpoli 1/9 Whether it's blackface, Indigenous rights, women's issues, or anything really, Twitter trolls and even ordinary activists seem to discover deep wells of concern for identities they don't share, and issues they've never cared about, whenever some opportunity presents. #cdnpoli 2/9

Recently, I added some criticism to the pile on Jagmeet Singh, for his announcement of the NDP's intentions in the coming term. I believe the criticism was warranted, but also deserves nuance. So here's what I really think about the NDP and what needs to change. #cdnpoli 1/12 First, let's acknowledge the NDP are in a tough spot. Justin Trudeau is leading a big-spending, left-leaning Liberal government - unlikely to offer any plans or legislation the NDP really opposes. The NDP may want more and to go farther but that's a different issue. #cdnpoli 2/12

The Covid pandemic is a dress rehearsal for challenges that await us in the near-term future, notably climate change, population expansion, ballooning wealth inequality and more. Mostly we've failed - not everywhere and in all ways. But we haven't done well. #onpoli #cdnpoli 1/10 The good news is that we've rediscovered our ability to make rapid, large-scale changes when needed. Many things seem impossible until they really need to happen. Previous generations - anyone who lived through a war - knew what's possible. Now we know too. #onpoli #cdnpoli 2/10

I have a confession to make about Universal Basic Income (#UBI). I'm late to the party and was initially very skeptical. It's not because I don't believe in the research or the important equity issues. I just thought people couldn't swallow it. I let cynicism win. #cdnpoli 1/12 As a double confession, I felt the same way about legalizing marijuana. I thought well, of course I support it. Makes good sense on many levels. But it's too hard to sell. People won't get it. Basically, I succumbed to the dark side of centrism. #UBI #cdnpoli 2/12

A few days ago I wrote at length about how wealth inequality is the defining issue of our time - undermining our ability to solve every other problem. It was well-received, but several people asked what to do about it. So I'll attempt a follow-up reply. #cdnpoli 1/10 There's no single solution to inequality in society, just as there's no single cause of it. What we need is a variety of measures aimed at stopping the slide in one direction, and nudging it back on a trajectory pointed the right way again. So here's a short list. #cdnpoli 2/10

It's still too early to invite post-Covid deconstruction of what Covid really means, beyond many families suffering losses, massive disruptions in our lives, isolation, etc. But this latest snowbird controversy has pushed me to it. We need to talk about privilege. #cdnpoli 1/12 The widening gap in economic reality is the defining issue of our time. "We're in this together" isn't just a Covid slogan. It's the binding promise of society. As long as it's true, we can act together to solve our problems. When it stops being true, we're screwed. #cdnpoli 2/12

Far better informed people than me have commented on the actual winners and losers associated with #GameStop and the #RedditArmy attack on the stock market (see @StephenPunwasi to start) but what fascinates me is the political angle. Which is real, but also completely absent. 1/9 This incredible movement of dollars, headlines, and memes is fundamentally driven by frustration with elites winning endlessly in a game perceived to be rigged. Leaving aside whether the response is productive or destructive, the motivating force is clear, pure, and real. 2/9

I have a new appreciation for conservatives who believe in "me first" politics. They believe the haves should keep what they have, the have-nots should stop looking for hand-outs, and that's the way it is. It's ugly, selfish, and short-sighted. But it's honest. #cdnpoli 1/8 I've been wondering why so many otherwise lucid right-wingers believe insane things about progressive leaders and politics. They can't accept it's about helping people and redistributing wealth. They believe in satanic, pedophiliac, supervillain Socialism. Why? #cdnpoli 2/8

I was asked recently about divisiveness on twitter, and how I engage reasonably with a range of different people and opinions. It led me to some interesting thoughts I'd like to share, and which may be useful to anyone - even people who hate my opinions otherwise. 1/10 First off, let me say it's hilarious to be cited as a model for constructive engagement. In real life, I'm considered blunt and tactless, if not an outright asshole. But I maintain roughly the same tone here, while others crank it up to 100. There's a lesson in that alone. 2/10

This pandemic is a chance to consider the delivery of healthcare in Canada, as it has become both more difficult and more urgent to access care. Erin O'Toole is on record favoring expansion of private options. I'd like to share some recent personal experiences. #cdnpoli 1/13 My right knee is messed up. I don't really know why, but it swells easily and I can't walk long distances. My doctor ordered x-rays and ultrasounds I got locally very quickly. That worked great. Now I need an MRI and I'm totally stalled. No idea when I'll get one. #cdnpoli 2/13

As we argue on twitter with all our strong opinions, on Remembrance Day, I'd like to acknowledge one of the least noticed aspects of military service. When any man or woman agrees to serve they set aside their opinions, whatever they are, and accept higher authority. #cdnpoli 1/5 Almost everyone agrees we need some kind of military. We may disagree in extreme terms on how it's to be used. But unless you believe passive resistance will somehow solve everything in a world where others are not passive, we need to use force at least sometimes. #cdnpoli 2/5