Tag Archives: Liberal Party of Canada

Women in Leadership: MP Ruby Sahota

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As federal MPs return to Parliament on September 15, 2025, citizens of Caledon have a good reason to feel proud. Ruby Sahota, formerly the MP for Brampton North since 2015, is now the MP for the newly created riding of Brampton North-Caledon. When Parliament sits on September 15, 2025, she will be representing Canada as the  Secretary of State – Combating Crime.

I had the honour of interviewing Ruby Sahota recently, just before she moved from her old office to fresh headquarters In her new riding. I have interviewed many politicians over the years from Prime Ministers to Mayors to Trustees, and the measure of a person is often revealed in that first meeting. I was outside her office when an entire family of her constituents poured out the door – grandparents. parents, children, all smiling and still engaged in conversation with her.

She was still actively listening, fully engaged in their dialogue. Rarely do you meet a genuine representative of the people – completely empathetic, involved in their concerns, and fully committed to addressing their needs. That was my first impression in meeting MP Ruby Sahota. Our interview only reinforced that first impression.

My questions ranged from getting to know Caledon, to her new role in Parliament, to her goals for the term, to the legacy she hoped to leave her children. I opened by asking her jokingly (alluding to a famous Russian novel) if she had been appointed the Secretary of State for Crime and Punishment because she was from Brampton. She laughed, “Ah, Dostoevsky, I had to read that in law school.” Unpretentious and versed in the classics, is a winning combination.

As a lawyer, and with her background in Political Science, MP Sahota is more than ready to be combatting crime. She is looking forward to meeting with federal, provincial, and municipal colleagues to discuss issues of public safety and justice.

We then switched from Brampton to Caledon. “I am very excited to be representing Caledon,” she stated, adding that she was getting to be familiar with a lot of new issues: agricultural concerns, meeting dairy farmers, development issues, getting to know Southfields. She added that she was looking forward to dragon boat races on Heart Lake.

While engaging with the communities in her new riding, MP Sahota also acknowledged that she would be devoting a lot of time to her new role as Secretary of State. The crime in Brampton is a local issue, but she clearly stated that globally, “The rules have changed.” Locally, gangs would fight over turf and deal in their own territories, Globally. the criminal organizations now network, sharing supply lines, technology and access to weapons. Cars, drugs, weapons, smash and grab theft, and human trafficking still remain the top issues, However, if we follow the money, we discover that these criminal organizations are being funded primarily by the profits made from auto-theft.

She said the gangs now have better technology, weapons and more money than most of our law enforcement agencies. This means our police forces are going to need more training and better tools to combat both local and global crime. This costs money, so taxpayers will need to recognize that seriously combatting crime will become a major budget item for both federal and provincial governments.

My final question was about the legacy she would like to leave her children when they look back at her role as a person and an Honourable Member of Parliament. Ruby Sahota paused briefly and said, “I would like to be remembered as accessible and willing to listen, as a person who worked hard to understand the needs of my constituents.”

That is a legacy worth remembering. The way I see it.

*****

*Photo Credit: Bernard Thibodeau, House of Commons Photo Services

Note: This article was first written for Just Sayin’ Caledon.

 

Life out of Balance

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The Hopi had a word for it – Koyaanisqatsi – Life out of Balance. We know it intuitively in our gut when it’s happening. Supermarkets loaded with stores of food – chronic hunger and starvation in countries around the world. World “leaders” preaching peace – then dropping bombs. Politicians promising to respect rights – and passing Bills to overstep those rights. City Mayors hosting community fundraisers – with their own private event organizers.

It reminds me of the lyrics in the Crosby, Stills and Nash song “Long Time Gone”  “There’s somethingThere’s something goin’ on around hereSurely, you know it surely won’t stand the light of day.”

We know something is horribly out of balance, but how do we respond? It really depends on how comfortable we are. Or how informed we are. Here in Canada many of us live in a fairy tale. Home, food and water, shelter, sex, and a little time for arts and entertainment. For many it is a daily search for sustenance. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If you don’t have the basics met, you don’t get to pass Go and collect your (in 1950’s Monopoly terms) $200.00.

To put life into balance you have to tighten your locus of control. For example, I can’t stop Donald Trump or Benjamin Netanyahu from dropping bombs. But I can treat my spouse and my children and my neighbours with love and respect. I can’t stop Doug Ford or Mark Carney from passing Bills that erode democracy and basic environmental safeguards. But I can ensure that I honour those rights and safeguards in my personal dealings with my community.

I may not be able to prevent local politicians from abusing their powers and selling out their community to the highest bidder, But I can speak truth to power and carefully cast my vote in the next election. It may not restore balance to the world, but it will keep balance in my world.

The way I see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rise and Fall of a Political Animal

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The results of our federal election seem to be all accounted for at this point in time, and we can enjoy those May flowers knowing that a secure centre-left majority will work their best to provide the economic, environmental, health and housing security that all Canadians hope to achieve.

It is also calming to know that Pierre Poilievre will be out of Parliament for the rest of the year. Yes, he suffered a humiliating defeat in his long held riding in Ottawa, losing his seat and his Opposition leader status, and maybe even his residence in Stornoway. And yes, there will possibly be a leadership review that could send him into the barren lands. BUT, Pierre Poilievre is a consummate political animal. Now he is a desperate political animal backed into a corner. He will fight ruthlessly to win back a seat in Parliament and resume his former role as Leader of the Opposition by any means possible. Why? Because he doesn’t have any other skills – politics is the only thing he has ever done and ever wanted to do. The only other thing he has ever wanted to do was to drive a stake through the heart of the Liberal Party of Canada.

If his Party doesn’t reject him in a leadership review, they will seek a sacrificial lamb of a newly elected or re-elected MP to give up their seat for him. It can’t be anywhere near Ottawa, because the good citizens of Ottawa have kicked Pierre to the curb and don’t want him back. That’s what you get for waving support to a  convoy of anti-everything insurrectionists who blockaded and terrorized your hometown for weeks while you just smiled down on the chaos. That was really, really stupid.

How could anyone who wanted to be the leader of our country align themselves with a group of burly, bearded, bully truckers and bikers who desperately wanted to have sex with our Prime Minister? But I digress … back to slithering into the House.

Having been born and raised in Calgary, Pierre would be very safe moving to rural Alberta and trying for a seat there. He would be quite comfortable in the nest of discontent woven by past Reform,  Alliance, and Conservative mentors. He could easily settle under the warm wings of Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta’s far right United Conservative Party. There was a joke circulating when Trumpism began to rear its ugly head to our south: “What do you get when you cross a far right Floridian with a far right Texan? A UCP Albertan.” Pierre would fit right in with that crowd.

In the meantime, if needed ,the Conservative Reform Alliance Party will sit a place holder in the House of Commons and may even figure a way to let Poilievre and family stay in Stornoway until  the party’s leadership is decided. Heaven forbid that poor homeless Pierre would have to go house hunting for an affordable abode like so many hard working tax-paying Canadians do every year. And imagine, having to do new job skills training at the same time. Oh, the horror, the horror!

Until then the unemployed Pierre will be putting on his election defeat speech demeanor as he continues to seduce the media circuit with his newfound co-operative spirit to work positively for all Canadians. He cannot afford to let Canadians see his true colours – that provocative, petulant partisan personality that is hardwired into his reptilian brain stem.  He also cannot afford to lose the many angst filled Generation Z young adults who drank his kool aid during the election campaign. What happens if they discover that he lied to them (Canada is 1st in the G7 in per capita GDP share), and what if their needs get met, as promised, by the new minority/majority government in his absence?

Until then, if and when her returns, there will be entente in the family. Just remember that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

The way I see it.

UPDATE: As we predicted, the Conservatives found a sacrificial lamb –  on May 2,2025 Damien Kurek stepped aside from his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot, Alberta to allow Poilievre to run in a safe seat. Prime Minister Carney then threw Poilievre a lifeline by promising that he would call a by-election “as soon as possible … no games.” That means that Pierre Poilievre could be back in Parliament this as early as this September. Let’s hope he’s ready to work for Canada this time.

The Morning After the Night Before

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Dawn rose on a new Canada this morning. Instead of the Conservative majority predicted by pollsters at the start of the campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney wins his seat and the government of Canada will be Liberal. One of the greatest reversals of fortune in Canadian political history. To add insult to injury, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre loses his seat and a place in the House of Commons. Didn’t see that one coming.

New Democrats lose their Party Status, and Jagmeet Singh also loses his seat and graciously gives up his leadership as soon as a successor can be chosen. Elizabeth May, so-leader of the Green Party wins her seat and a place at the table. While votes in close races are still being tabulated it appears at this point that we have a Liberal minority that will need every vote from the few NDP, Green, and Bloc seats to advance their agenda.

We are going to need a united front to deal with the Trumpian threats from the south, yet it appears unlikely that a bitterly disappointed Conservative Party will be anything but the obfuscaters and obstructionists they have been for the last ten years. If you look closely enough you may see that the “lost decade” as Mr. Poilievre calls it, really had nothing to do with ten years of Liberal governance. There were global financial crises, global health pandemics, and the rise of far right politics that gave the stamp of approval to nasty, divisive behaviour.

The Conservatives frequently liked to state that because of Liberal policies, Canada was ranked last of the G7 countries in terms of GDP. True, but what they didn’t clarify was that Canada also has the smallest population of the G7 countries. When you look at the rankings, each country’s place in the list corresponds exactly with its population.

So, when we calculate how Canada is doing using GDP per capita as our guide, lo and behold, Canada comes out in #1 spot at $38,000 per person. The USA and UK are next at $35,000, Germany at $34,000, Japan at $33,000, France at $31,000. and Italy at $29,000. Gee whiz, Conservative Reform Alliance Party, you’ve been lying to us for the last ten years! Shame. Canada is actually #1 in the G7. Not last, NUMBER ONE.

And you never told us that the real reason that house prices and inflation went out of control was caused by a global financial crisis, and greedy developers, land speculators and real estate agents who all got richer while most us us got quite a bit poorer. Very little to do with our government. Dear Conservative Party, please tell all those young Gen Z people who flocked to the size of your rallies, your seductive sloganeering, and your rabble-rousing rhetoric that you’ve been pulling the proverbial wool over their eyes.

When the forces from the South come looking to plunder the richness of our lands, and when the next election comes, we are all going to need to see very clearly.

The way I see it.

Weaponizing Research by Pierre Poilievre

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This article is NOT by Pierre Poilievre. It is about how Poilievre took a Government of Canada research paper on predictions of possible changes in the course of our lives over the next few decades and turned it into a “create a crisis” moment, His weaponization of the Policy Horizons Canada Report proved once again why he is unfit to lead this country.

You may have seen the usual media suspects trumpet Poilievre’s panic about a “dystopian society” report released by the Liberal Government that proved everything little PP warned us about would be coming true by the year 2040. Unless, of course, we elect a Conservative Reform Alliance Party government in four days. “It’s the countdown to Armageddon,” squawked Chicken Little.

Except it isn’t. First, the Horizons Canada  Report is issued by the Canadian Government which is composed of Bloc, NDP, Conservative, and Liberal MPs. It is not a report issued by any particular political party. Secondly, The Report, Parts 1 and 2, is titled Future Lives: Exploring Life Course Transformations.

It clearly states in the preamble: “Policy Horizons Canada does not represent the views of the Government of Canada …. readers are encouraged to use this report to test their assumptions about the future.” Pierre, please read the report as an intellectual exercise in futures possibilities for your life course. And make sure your brain is informed before putting your mouth in gear.

The researchers who write the report use nine Forces of Change intersecting with six Life Course components and make a futures projection to the year 2040. The nine Forces of Change include categories like longer lifespans, data and AI systems influence, economic insecurity for most but economic security for few, and rising anxiety due to existential threats like accelerated climate change. They get meshed with Life Course components like education, living arrangements, reproduction and labour to create a possible future.

I’ll bet Pierre Poilievre didn’t see Donald Trump’s terrible tariffs attack derailing his Life Course plans, or the ascendancy of Mark Carney taking away his favourite Liberal target. When the Conservative Party recently replaced Poilievre in their commercials with former leader Stephen Harper, did Pierre suddenly see his own dystopian future unfolding?

 

Let’s hope that Canadians can see that their decisions in the upcoming federal election will transform everyone’s Life Course plans. We are living in interesting times. If we choose wisely on April 28, 2025, we could still be living in Canada the next day.

The way I see it.