Author: justinbeach
-
Idea In Progress: A new kind of electoral reform
What if you could not only vote, but change your vote at any point, vote for individuals rather than parties and have your vote reflected in government without having elections at all? This is an idea in progress. There are some flaws that would need to be addressed and a lot of “what about” questions…
-
The Case for Canada joining the European Union
We live in dangerous, disruptive times. At some point, if we are going to move forward, Canada is going to have to chart a new course. We will need a new “New Deal” for individuals, and we will need a foreign policy course that reduces our dependence on the United States, without leaving us vulnerable…
-
The USMCA isn’t a threat to Canadian sovereignty
There has been a great deal of hand-wringing the last few days about Clause 32 of the US – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA). Some see it as a threat to Canadian sovereignty but it isn’t, not really. It has more to do with US sovereignty and the paranoia of an out of control US…
-
Never belittle the court of public opinion, it’s the most important court of all
Fair or not, the court of public opinion is the most important court in the world, people should stop acting as if it’s insignificant. One of the cliches of the #MeToo era is people bemoaning the “court of public opinion”. “Innocent until proven guilty” they’ll say and “but he was acquitted by a court of…
-
Earth’s population may be maxing out at last
Many of our global social and environmental problems are all tied back to the same root problem: There are simply too many of us for the available space and our consumption of resources is pushing the world toward the breaking point. However, the assumption that the global population will continue to grow exponentially consuming ever…
-
If Democrats take the House, impeachment might not be the best strategy
As the saying goes, if someone is busy digging their own grave, don’t take away their shovel. If the Democrats win back the House of Representatives in 2020, they do better in the long run if they don’t impeach the President. Impeaching Donald Trump might feel good, but even if it’s successful, which is far…
-
Bernier is going to be more of a problem for conservatives than they want to admit.
Last week, just before the Conservative Party of Canada’s 2018 convention in Halifax, Maxime Bernier announced that he was leaving the party to form his own. The immediate response from Tories and most of the press was dismissive. From the convention state to Twitter, Conservative leaders and most of the media waved off Bernier as…
-
High levels of immigration are the only way we get to keep Canada, Canadian
Despite Canadians generally positive attitudes toward refugees and immigrants, conservatives continue to try to make it controversial. They try to limit the number of immigrants and refugees admitted to Canada, the types of immigrants we allow, try to frame the debate as if we have to choose between immigration and domestic concerns and sometimes even…
-
What the Future Holds Part I: Science and Technology
Like most people, the future I want to see informs my politics and my worldview. However, I’ve also had a hard look at what the coming decades are likely to hold. Trying to plan for what you’d like to happen, without taking into account what is very likely to happen, regardless of whether you want…
-
What the Future Holds Part III: Everything shifts East and South
Back to Part 1 or Part 2 The third major shift that is coming in the next several decades is the rise of the rest of the world. For all of our recorded history, the West has dominated the world. Greece and Rome, the Norse and the Celts, the colonial powers, the British Empire, the…