Up in Ontario

Understanding Politics in Canada

It may be that the single option left for serious writers is to avoid irony and the big questions altogether and concentrate instead on re-evaluating in a sober and modest manner the simple words we use every day. —John Ralston Saul, The Doubter's Companion, 1994

Right Wing

• Political (chickenhawk): popularly known as a 'conservative,' though currently not in the traditional Lockian sense, closer to the tradition of Hobbes.

  Rhetorical keywords: values (family, traditional, big box), strong (military, decisions, property rights), tough (decisions, conditions, punishment), freedom (to choose, to transfer inheritances, to create monopolies, to collude, of capital).

  Golden calves: the level playing field, the individual, tax cuts, tariff-free trade, inheritance, hiring the darkies to do the work in the back.

  Nemises: the welfare state, (un)employment insurance, universal healthcare.

  Boogymen: Loony left, pinkos, reds, commies, Pierre Trudeau.

• Sports (hockey): A big strong kid, not afraid to go into the corners, not afraid to drop the gloves when he has to, with some scoring upside and good puck sense.

  Example: Cam Neely.

• Political (socialist): popularly known as a 'liberal,' though currently not in a classical sense Rousseau would recognize, closer to northern and western European social democracy.

  Rhetorical keywords: rights (human, civil, my, to negotiate), equality (of sexes, of orientations), tolerance (race, creed, religion, origin, of diversity).

  Golden Calves: universal healthcare, freedom to organize, public education.

  Nemises: privatization, social darwinism, political correctness.

  Boogymen: capitalist pigs, economic fascists, flintskins, robber barons, the Fraser Institute.
  
  

• Sports (hockey): A good skater who you can trust to be accountable in his own end, hits the net with his shot and gets it away fast, strong on the boards and in the neutral zone.

  Example: Brendan Shanahan.

• Political: member of a political party who embarrasses the party by mentioning what others have been thinking but never said for reasons of sensitivity, politeness, fear, etc.; old war horse.

  Examples: Andy Scott (the return of), Francoise Ducros, Jason Kenney.

Wing span

• Political: intellectual and political commitment of the Liberal party; varies in elasticity according to timing, temperment, temerity, timber, etc.

• Nature: (bird) distance from wing tip to wing tip when wings extended to maximum spread.