The reason these are bigger questions is their political effect is larger than their judicial merit. They don’t need to follow from that, but they will anyway.
Before the Hunka scandal (inviting a Ukrainian Nazi to address parliament), I would have completely disagreed with you.
Now, you may well be right…
The state funeral for Ed Broadbent begins in an hour - you can watch it through this link - Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent will be laid to rest today with a state funeral | CBC News .
I was struck this morning thinking about how he came from a time when politicians could speak of each other with respect, however much they disagreed - it’s something we’ve lost that I deeply miss!
And Ed was one of many people of whom I think “It’s a shame they never became Prime Minister.”.
I don’t lean NDP, but I think Ed was one of the good guys in politics.
When it was Pierre, Bob, Ed and Réal, I thought they were all good guys.
I’m glad to hear someone else say that! I get accused of nostalgia, and of having rose coloured glasses when I look back on politicians of the past!
I don’t remember politics being anywhere near as nasty back then. I blame part of it on our modern social media, where outrage provides better ‘engagement’ than positive posts, but I also think the public discourse has become a lot uglier.
Ed was clearly a decent guy, which does not mean his policies always aligned with my views. The others mentioned were largely before my time, except, alas, Bob Rae. Though he could not be criticized for lacking decency.
I assumed @Northern_Piper meant Robert Stanfield when he said ‘Bob’ - the leaders of the (then) four parties in parliament in the early 1970s were Pierre Eliot Trudeau for the Liberals, Robert Stanfield for the Conservatives, Ed Broadbent for the NDP, and Réal Caouette for the Social Credit.
I wondered if I had the right Bob. Thanks for the clarification.
Is this supposed to be all about politics? On a Canadian food note, I share with my fellow Canucks a healthy disdain for Tim Horton’s. I dislike their coffee, their donuts are no longer freshly store-made, and posters have shared their utter disdain for some of their sandwiches. They also sell prepackaged stuff in grocery stores, which raises the natural question, who would be stupid enough to buy any? The answer in one specific case is: me!
I had several nice sandwiches in the cart in my last supermarket excursion and was thinking about soup to go along with them. In the soup section Timmie’s Tomato & Herb Bisque caught my eye, in nice convenient microwaveable containers, so I got one to try. Never had it with the sandwiches but had one just now.
After microwaving I detected a very interesting and pleasant scent, and indeed the soup was very good. Looking at the ingredients list, aha – the magic ingredient was coriander, aka cilantro. A spice that many people despise with a passion, but which I like and which I associate with one of the best soups I’ve ever had in a gourmet restaurant some years ago.
So there you go – Timmie’s Tomato & Herb bisque may be yet one more reason for the haters to hate Timmie’s, but if you happen to like a hint of cilantro, go ahead and furtively pick up a couple of containers of the tomato bisque while maintaining the Canadian tradition of never acknowledging that you like anything about Tim Horton’s! 
Thanks for the tip. Tim’s tomato and herb bisque has to be better than Safeway’s, which was disappointing.
I don’t hate Tim Hortons, but I find that they pay way more attention to the drive-thru than they do to walk ins. Okay, so we’ll use the drive-thru for our Large Regular coffee. Except we’ll spend 20 minutes behind three cars, each of which is ordering sandwiches, soups, three or four fancy coffees (think cappucinos, etc.), and then, they’ll need extra napkins, and where’s the extra mustard? So you walk in for a plain ordinary Large Regular, and might be served if the drive-thru gets a little less crowded.
Tim’s coffee is fine—if you can actually get one.
When I lived in a small town, Tim’s was the de facto meeting spot, open for early morning hockey practice and late night shifts. It’s still a welcome sight on the road far from home.
Pastries were always its strongest suit. But it has become more disappointing each year. Higher prices are inevitable. Blandness and extremely plain sandwiches less so. Hot drinks have improved at every other place; they took decades to get a fancier lid. They can do better.
I did get a couple of the retro anniversary donuts last week. Had a sugar cinnamon twist and a blueberry fritter. Neither lived up to my memory of them.
I don’t mind Tim Hortons chili or a few birthday cake Timbits.
I’m slightly mystified by people who get on the subway at Finch station with a cup of Tim Hortons coffee and then ride all the way to Union Station without drinking any. I guess it’s the most efficient way to get lukewarm Tim Hortons coffee at their destination?
Their ‘retro’ donuts are carefully made to look JUST like their fresh donuts used to. But they are cake based/frozen then defrosted. I could tell from the tv ad. ‘Retro’ is used three times. Not once do they mention ‘fresh baked’.
Tim Horton’s founder Ron Joyce claimed to be highly upset the big corporations that purchased his baby reheated mass produced pastry rather than having night cooks make them fresh.
Although Joyce probably had good reason, the frozen donuts are not the reason Tim’s could be so much better. The donuts taste pretty good. They never were Krispy Kreme. The lines move quickly. But quality could be much better, apart from pastry. I got a hot chocolate last time, a fifty cent surcharge to the combo, and it tasted like the proverbial water and crayon.
It doesn’t have to be about politics, it’s just that’s the one topic we can all disagree over! 
I’d be delighted to talk about everybody’s picks for the Junos, the Giller prize, or Canada Reads. Actually, I’d love to hear about everybody’s favourite music venues in their locales!
I will have to check out this Tomato & Herb bisque next time I’m in there. While it sounds like it ought to be at least vegetarian, that’s not always the case.
Our tour manager for the Elmer Iseler Singers is obsessed with Tim Horton’s - I can’t count the number of times on tour we’ve passed by perfectly good mom and pop restaurants only to end up at Timmie’s for a half hour lunch stop. It was alright back in the day when they had Beyond Meat patties available (not that I want to eat those more than once a month!), but they went out of those sometime in 2019, and the only other vegan option was a dry bagel, which it usually took them a couple of tries to get right. (“You don’t want any butter? What about cream cheese, or mayo?” “No, just toast it and hand it to me straight out of the toaster, please!”)
Tim Horton’s is why a) I’m downgraded from vegan to vegetarian. It was hopeless and frustrating trying to stay vegan on those tours, and b) this is why I now travel with a medium sized cooler full of fresh fruit, fresh veg, cheese, dips like hummus, tapenade, raita, lachumbar, etc., along with a stash of granola bars, crackers, mini naan, and pita breads.
As far as home cooking goes, I’ll only get a store bought soup if I’m feeling too tired or ill to cook for myself. The rest of the time, I make what I call ‘Stone Soup’ - take whatever fresh veg you have, chop them up and sauté them in the pot, then add veg/mushroom/garlic broth and some noodles or some leftover rice. Soup in 20 minutes, and it’s fresh made from scratch.
Next EIS tour coming up sometime in mid-March, but I’m not sure where to…
Having just mentioned the Junos, here are the nominees for 2024 - 2024 Full JUNO Nominee List - The JUNO Awards .
I was really hoping I might see my name somewhere on that list, but it seems it was not to be…
There’s always next year?
Seriously, who do we need to talk to? The stuff you’ve been putting out over the past year is fantastic; you deserve recognition for it.
Thank you very much for your kind words and support!
I do get recognition for it, it’s just that said recognition comes at around 20 - 30 people at a time… 