Category Archives: Politics

• As Western Canada chokes on smoke, it’s time to get real about climate change

  Posted on August 24, 2018 by Mark Hambridge in Climate Change, Politics

  This opinion is written by Emma Gilchrist, former  journalist with the Calgary Herald, remembered for introducing the late lamented Green Guide. It is reproduced here as it appeared in The Narwhal. If you don’t have time to read it all (you should!) skip to ‘Here’s what you can do’ below. Each and everyone of us […]

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• Electoral Reform for Canada – Maybe?

  Posted on May 14, 2016 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

  On May 11 the Government of Canada announced the long-promised committee on electoral reform – the press release is here. The CBC reported here: “At its core, the current plan tasks a ten-member committee with studying alternatives to the current first-past-the-post setup. Six of those ten would be Liberal MPs, three Conservatives and one New […]

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  Climate: Time to do what is necessary

  Posted on April 25, 2016 by Mark Hambridge in Climate Change, MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

  The following article is by Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, and reproduced from her web site and blog. On Monday, April 25th, 2016 in Articles by Elizabeth, COP 21 “I write this from the train heading back from New York to Canada.  The last time I made this trip was September […]

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• Earth Day Irony 2016

  Posted on April 22, 2016 by Mark Hambridge in Climate Change, MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

    Last November our valiant national and environmental leaders gathered en masse in Paris to set some goals to deal with climate change. Today 175 of them met at the United Nations in New York to sign the document committing themselves to proceed with implementing those goals after our Parliaments ratify their signatures. How much […]

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• Eight Principles That Will Guide Electoral Reform

  Posted on April 17, 2016 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

    The following letter was sent to The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Democratic Institutions, following publication (with comments) in iPolitics of the eight principles she enunciated on Thursday 14 April 2016. The full letter, which includes references and  footnotes, can be downloaded from here. April 17, 2016 Dear Ms. Monsef: Eight Principles That Will […]

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• Dear Justin – About Electoral Reform:

  Posted on October 25, 2015 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

    Dear Justin Trudeau: You recently received and replied to a Facebook post by Casandra Effe. Thank you for having the courage and courtesy to do so, unlike our newly-de-elected Prime Minister and my former so-called Member of Parliament, the Member for Calgary West. I identify with and strongly support Casandra’s position and emphasize her […]

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  Who Should I Vote For? #2

  Posted on October 8, 2015 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

  If you’ve looked at my Fair Voting page you will know that I support proportional representation (PR) as a better way to elect MPs (or MLAs or municipal councillors) than our present pluralitarian system, more commonly known as Winner Take All (WTA) or First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). That sort of system produces distorted results. In the 41st […]

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• Who should I vote for?

  Posted on October 6, 2015 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

  There are so many factors in play in this election! Do I vote for the candidate I want to see elected, knowing my vote under our present Winner Take All (WTA) system will probably be wasted? Do I vote for candidate A or B because I cannot abide the thought of being governed by candidate […]

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• Alberta – Climate Leadership

  Posted on September 17, 2015 by Mark Hambridge in Climate Change, Politics

    It isn’t often that you see the three words in the heading in the same sentence, without a critical comment. Four months after being elected, Alberta’s New Democratic Government published the 57 page  Climate Leadership Discussion Document,  held a couple of ‘open houses’ in Calgary and Edmonton and solicited responses to the information, ideas […]

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  GREENS CALL FOR MORE DIVERSITY IN THE LEGISLATURE

  Posted on August 10, 2015 by Mark Hambridge in MARK'S REMARKS, Politics

  MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release August 10, 2015 CALGARY – Green Party of Alberta Leader Janet Keeping is urging voters in the riding of Calgary – Foothills to elect her as Alberta’s first Green MLA, as a way of adding a necessary, but now missing, perspective to democratic discussion of the province. Keeping, who is […]

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