Oct 30 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — One of the great things about politics is its ability to bring various facets of an issue together, form perspectives, achieve compromise if possible, and then improve public policy. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. But it’s isn’t. We’ve watched it unraveling in real time in recent years and the effect of bad […]
Oct 24 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — In a modern world infused and driven by billions of images, few of them rise to the level of those iconic photographs portraying an individual death that goes on to define a generation. We all still have them buried in our minds – the man being shot in the head near the close of the […]
Oct 22 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — It’s Election Day across communities in Ontario and one gets the sense that, as democracy is facing growing difficulty around the world, the validity of such contests continues to come into question, as citizens wonder if they truly make much difference. The repeated calls across the globe for some “strong leader” to overcome the weakness […]
Oct 11 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — We have so many causes in our world, so many voices, so many injustices and so many opportunities. But in the end, it all might come to nothing, for the one great challenge overriding all others continues to remain an outlier. The world has known of the coming climate apocalypse for decades and warnings have […]
Oct 1 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — One could almost hear the collective sigh of relief when news emerged yesterday of a tentative NAFTA deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Technically, Donald Trump wants it renamed to the “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement – or USMC.” Credit must be given to the negotiators from all three nations who were at it for a […]
Sep 24 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — A lot has changed in the three years since Justin Trudeau’s government came to power, promising to deliver on the “sunny ways” he promoted during the campaign. A few big things got in the way – a court ruling on Trans Mountain pipeline, struggles with the provinces, including the Doug Ford victory, carbon pricing troubles, […]
Sep 17 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — One thing you can say about politics – it’s forever exciting. For all our complaints about its apparent dysfunction, “gotcha-ism” and ineffectiveness, research is revealing that we are increasingly becoming fascinated with it through the media. Ironically, it proves the old adage that “effective politics is boring.” It’s a sure sign that democracy is undergoing […]
Sep 6 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — “It can be safely said that no widely applicable economic models have been developed specifically for the upcoming era.” Here we go again – another global report on the dangers of climate change and a warning that the world is woefully unprepared for the approaching onslaught. The problem is that there have been so many […]
Aug 30 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — A couple of days ago, in a National Newswatch piece, I broached a sincere question: Can we actually afford the kind of capitalism we have at present? There were lots of interesting responses, usually focusing on America as the epi-centre of economic dysfunction. So, it was surprising to read Franklin Foer’s column in the Atlantic […]
Aug 28 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — In the midst of what was perhaps Donald Trump’s worst week of his presidency emerged a Gallup poll whose findings got lost in all the political intrigue. To quote the poll directly: “The major change among Democrats has been a less upbeat attitude toward capitalism, dropping to 47 percent positive this year — lower than […]
Aug 17 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — Along with many other Londoners shocked by the events in Charlottesville, Virginia a year ago, our family joined the rally in our city’s central park to speak out against the racist and neo-Nazi behaviour that had so troubled that American city. But we came away feeling that it wasn’t enough. And, so, this past week, […]
Aug 10 2018 — Glen Pearson — London Free Press — In a move likely designed to rattle a few cages this summer, the provincial government’s decision to chop the basic income pilot project came across as a cold reversal of a campaign promise that said the opposite. The basic income guarantee has been around as a concept for decades, but after years of research and […]
Jul 26 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — In capitals around the world, including Ottawa, questions are being asked no one ever envisioned examining only a few years ago. The rise of authoritarians and the turbulent world of populist politics represent an ongoing conundrum, leaving global leaders flummoxed in the wake of uncertainty. But one Great Question is outflanking all the others: Is […]
Jun 20 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — In the parliamentary calendar, it is inevitable that the subject of Question Period’s dysfunction will emerge, often with a twinge of anger. It’s happening again in these last few days, led by the Toronto Star researching into the veracity and truthfulness of that one time in the House where the government must account for its […]
Jun 19 2018 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — I caught his stare as I was brought into the House of Commons for the first time and just couldn’t read it. It was late-2006, shortly after I had won a by-election as a Liberal in London, Ontario. Paul Dewar had entered the House as a newcomer for the NDP only a few months before. […]