Nationalization, the belief that the government should occasionally seize control of private enterprise to better serve the "public good," isn't an idea with much traction in Canadian politics these days -- despite the NDP's best efforts. If there's any Canadian industry crying out for nationalization, it's political parties. Unlike General Motors or CIBC, they have literally no reason to exist beyond serving the public interest. We need parties to form governments in our parliamentary system, and they provide the lifeblood of choice in elections. Is there a downside to nationalization?

These seemingly irrational flaws in judgement can lead to perpetual distortion, inaccurate judgement, and illogical interpretation -- all of which are key ingredients in the widening of cultural rifts, the deepening of global disparity gaps, and the general intensifying of political upheavals.

I am a Liberal because I believe that love is better than hate, because I believe in celebrating success and never resenting it, and because I do not mock failure. I believe in enough government to help us all achieve success, but not too much government to stifle initiative and creativity.

n March 27, the House of Commons had the opportunity to pass a private members bill put forth by NDP member Fin Donnelly to ban the importation of shark fins to Canada. The Conservative party however, decided that fighting to save sharks and represent the Canadian popular will was not part of their mandate and struck the bill down 143 votes to 138.

It is that very fact that Trudeau's lack of a steely edge -- that will cause attack ads against him to fail to do what they are designed to do. Instead, they will boomerang, fostering sympathy. There may yet be a Trudeau ascendancy. But Harper and the Conservatives would do well to keep their powder dry and their attack ads in the vaults.

Published for the Prince Arthur Herald On March 21, 2013 Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled Canada's 2013 budget, Economic Action Plan 2013, with a...

If poverty and inequality is costing Canadians upwards of $72 billion annually then why is poverty and inequality not a main issue both to Canadians and the government? The reason is that reducing poverty and shrinking inequality will involve two taboos and a political risk to the current government.

My congratulations to Justin Trudeau. My condolences to the Liberal Party of Canada. With Marc Garneau's recent withdrawal from the race for the party leadership, the "battle" is all but won. Marc Garneau offered a glimmer of hope for the optimists amongst us who wished to see a Liberal who might give the Conservatives a run for their money in 2015.

After the second protest in the last two weeks following a provincial summit on higher education, everything about Montreal's current spring weather seemed to have year-old Maple Spring undertones to it, including violence, arrests and injuries. The plight of student debt, post graduation underemployment, and rising housing costs are all unarguably quite legitimate burdens faced by my generation. Will free tuition as demanded by the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ) and its followers solve these zeitgeist conundrums? Unlikely.

The recent crackdowns by Quebec's French-language watchdog troupe (officially known as the OQLF) is actually designed to BENEFIT Quebec's English-speaking minority (a.k.a. "Anglophones") and small business. The global attention generated by the OQLF will spawn a new breed of tourist, "Wordies," who will flock here to eat, drink and take pictures in all the affected places.

If B.C. Premier Christy Clark is forced into an early resignation in the next couple of days it won't have much to do with "ethnicgate" -- the press' clumsy name for her party's recently-leaked scheme to use "government initiatives and projects" to rally the immigrant vote. Clark's caucus never liked her.

Ontarian parents who favour one unified school system would be wise to take a look at the education scene in B.C., where some say the teachers' union is more powerful than God. If we didn't have three teachers' unions in Ontario, it is likely that no students would be enjoying extra-curricular activities today.

Isn't it amazing how almost everything in modern politics can find its inspiration, or be reflected, in a Looney Tunes cartoon? As the sequestration ...

A Department of Justice lawyer, Edgar Schmidt, recently challenged his employer in court, alleging that the process that the Department uses to analyz...