May 17 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There’s a party game called “Would you rather?” that forces participants to choose between two equally undesirable, ridiculous options: Would you rather walk around with wet socks for the rest of your life or sweat out mayonnaise? Would you rather have every song turn into a Hanson song halfway through, or not be able to […]
May 10 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Long, long ago, there was a young political staffer named Stephen who helped to cultivate the populist vision for Preston Manning’s Reform Party. The relationship that this Stephen H. — or perhaps that’s too obvious: let’s go with S. Harper — would have with Reformers would eventually become strained, but much of his subsequent popularity […]
May 4 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The NDP has provided #MeToo skeptics with a handy new case study: the expulsion of Saskatchewan MP Erin Weir from caucus. As of Thursday, the NDP hadn’t revealed the exact nature of the allegations against Weir — only that a third-party investigator had found merit in one claim of harassment and three claims of sexual […]
Apr 5 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The campaign strategy for Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford has now become clear: say little, avoid specifics, remind voters that you are not Premier Kathleen Wynne. This is a good strategy for, say, a houseplant running to be Ontario’s next premier. In fact, I am confident a houseplant really could win the provincial election if […]
Mar 29 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The Ontario Liberals’ re-election strategy, as delivered through Wednesday’s budget, appears to consist of one central promise: We’ll give you literally everything. Pharmacare for seniors. New funding for hospitals. A couple billion for mental health care. Expanded drug and dental coverage. Funding for a high-speed rail line. Hundreds of millions in new funding for children […]
Mar 15 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh lucked out in a couple of ways when he posted one of his more sophomoric and senseless tweets back in 2016, marking the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. “He saw a country wracked by poverty, illiteracy & disease. So he lead (sic) a revolution that uplifted the lives of millions. […]
Mar 12 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There’s an episode in the sixth season of The Simpsons where Marge tries out for the local police force. During the physical fitness test, she lumbers across a field carrying heavy anchors, shimmies herself under a wire fence and hurls herself at a brick wall that she struggles to climb over. Watching Marge attempt to […]
Mar 1 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — The best-case scenario would have been that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent trip to India was merely embarrassing. His trip to China back in December was embarrassing: he left Canada amid the expectation that his visit would launch formal free trade negotiations, but returned largely empty handed except for a few side deals. The Chinese […]
Feb 22 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Patrick Brown is doing this for you, Ontario. This is not about clearing his name — though he has said he’s on a mission to clear his name. This is not about exacting revenge on his enemies — but don’t forget that a small group of insiders is trying to derail him and his campaign. […]
Feb 9 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — There is a pattern, of sorts, to almost every legitimate high-profile #MeToo allegation. A credible media outlet publishes a claim against a particular man, usually after months — sometimes years — of investigation. The accuser or accusers are typically named, but occasionally their identities are withheld for fear of public retaliation. In the days following […]
Feb 2 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — When Henry Ford unveiled his brand new Model T at the turn of the 20th century, he noted that “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.” A reader reminded me of that quote after I took to Twitter to share what might be Prime […]
Jan 25 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — It was never really a question of whether the Ontario PCs would screw up the election this time around, but how. A toddler always manages to find the one uncovered electrical outlet in the house. Your tire practically seeks out that little rusty nail lying imperceptibly on a five-lane highway. And the leader of the […]
Jan 22 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — A humble suggestion for the good folks churning out the talking points in the Prime Minister’s Office: one of your oldies could use an update. Instead of “Diversity is our strength,” I’d suggest something more specific. Perhaps: “Visual diversity is our strength” or maybe “Diversity is our strength — sorta.” The old slogan jibed well […]
Jan 12 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to kick off 2018 with a series of town hall discussions with everyday Canadians is a master class in manipulating the narrative. Honestly, well done. Politicians always earn extra cred by submitting themselves to the lion’s den, and the PMO’s decision to not screen the questions — as evidenced by […]
Jan 5 2018 — Robyn Urback — CBC — Of course businesses were going to announce a reduction in hours in response to the news of Ontario’s minimum wage hike. Of course prices were going to go up. Of course employers were going to claw back some staff benefits to make up for what will effectively be a 32 per cent wage hike over […]