​In the old days—not so very long ago—it was common practice to actually buy votes by giving cash to voters in exchange for a promise of support at the polls. The so-called “rotten boroughs” or “pocket boroughs” in England were essentially owned by one man, or his family, and through cash incentives or the pressure imposed by a landlord, voters were persuaded to vote for the people with the money and power. On top of that, voters did not have a secret ballot, so the pressures and inducements could be applied with real consequences.

It hardly seems to be news anymore. The Liberals and their “accidental” breaking of the law is just so common that I hesitate to comment on it. Bill Morneau fined for breaking electoral law… Blah, Blah!

In times of chaos, there are two major dangers: Anarchy and Totalitarianism. The government can either abandon the streets to lawlessness and looting or the government itself can impose soul-choking regulations. Both must be avoided.

​Hundreds of billions of dollars have been borrowed this year by our federal government. When the borrowed money runs out and the payments need to be made, how will the government generate the revenue to make the payments?

​35% of Conservatives Voted for a Pro-life Leader, Instead, They Got a Pro-Abortion, Pro-LGBT Politician Peter Mackay’s “front-runner” status in the Conservative Leadership race is gone. His conflating of traditional marriage and the protection of innocent human life with a “stinking albatross around the neck of the Conservative Party” was properly rejected by a majority of the 174,000 Conservative members who voted in their recent leadership race. Some pro-lifers are rejoicing that the most outspoken Red Tory on the stage did not win. But do they really have any reason to celebrate?

This past week, we’ve learned that Canada Revenue Agency was hacked. Our Finance Minister has resigned. Our Deputy Prime Minister has been appointed to serve also as Finance Minister, along with a few other changes that did not affect who was part of the inner circle. (I can’t help wondering why no new blood was brought in!)

​The great Canadian dream of home ownership, productive, meaningful work, safe streets and playgrounds for our children and engaged communities is unravelling in cities across this country. One troubling display of this societal collapse is found in the residential community of Strathcona in Vancouver, BC; it is just one of many communities suffering from legislative, bureaucratic and judicial myopia, but it reveals how deep are the roots of decay and how resistant to remedy. It also demonstrates the absolute urgency of bold action by all levels of government.

The CBC has done some good investigative reporting. They broke the story of the WE scandal, for instance. They cover many issues of national importance. Sometimes, they dig deep into big questions, like the Governor General’s expenses and demeanour. But sometimes, they are a national embarrassment.

​As Canada descends further down the road of judge-made law, a Federal Court judge has once again imposed her opinion on the country. After all, why shouldn’t an unelected judge change the rules for 37 million Canadians and their 338 elected MPs? We should be getting used to it by now. International agreements are not exempt from judicial tampering. A federal court has now declared Canada’s Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States to be “unconstitutional”. That’s code for “I don’t like this law; get rid of it”.

​There are limits to public credulity and tolerance for blatantly reckless behaviour with public funds. The failed attempt by Prime Minister Trudeau to funnel $43.5 million of taxpayer money to his friends at the WE Charity Foundation fell outside those limits. The optics were bad. The amounts were staggering. The lies uttered to cover it up were appalling.

​Let’s talk about numbers—really, really big numbers. Let’s start with a number that most of us have never seen in our bank accounts—one million dollars. A million is one thousand thousands and it looks like this: $1,000,000.00

​If you think that liking the colour blue more than the colour red makes you a conservative, you might be a fan of Peter Mackay, Erin O’Toole, and a bunch of other faux-cons. But if you believe that principled stands on a wide range of issues are necessary to be considered a true conservative, you might be looking for other options.