Cody Waite

Author
cody.waite@maritimeperspective.ca

Cody Waite is currently completing his MA in Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. He obtained his BA from UNB as well, attending both Fredericton and Saint John campuses. Cody’s main interests are Canadian politics (federal and provincial) and social and economic issues. His research has focused on parliamentary systems (Canada and abroad) and, more specifically, responsible government and the role of the Governor General. He is the co-author of Proposals for Legislative Reform in New Brunswick (2011). Cody grew up in Tignish, P.E.I. but currently resides in Fredericton, NB.

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The Auditor General, the Governor General and the State of our Democracy

April 20, 2012 – 4:37 pm

Does anyone remember the outrage when Michael Ferguson was first named to the office of Auditor General? Alas, the media, and Canadians in general, do seem to have short term memories. Ferguson’s inability to speak French was a sticking point for his detractors a month or more after his appointment was announced. However, Ferguson recently read more »

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Liberal Leadership, Conservative Budget and NDP Convention Equals Exciting Times in NB Politics

March 18, 2012 – 4:29 pm

In the world of New Brunswick politics times are interesting: the Legislature will resume sitting during the last week of this month; the Progressive Conservative (PC) Government will be presenting its second budget shortly thereafter; the New Democratic Party (NDP) will be holding a party convention in Saint John during the middle of April; and read more »

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Forsey and Dawson on the Reserve Powers of the Crown: re: Dawson and Forsey Clash on the Prorogation of 2008 by James Bowden

February 23, 2012 – 3:33 pm

Introduction: James Bowden and Parliamentum James Bowden—an M.A. student at the University of Ottawa—writes a blog called Parliamentum. I too am an M.A. student (University of New Brunswick). I, much like Bowden professes to have done, developed the majority of my understanding of the parliamentary system from the events of the 2008 prorogation. On Monday, read more »

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Questioning Harper on the Environment: “Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change”

February 17, 2012 – 1:51 pm

In the last month we have witnessed more than a few significant events in the ever-evolving debate about climate change and potential responses to it. The Obama administration emphatically said “no” to the Keystone XL pipeline. The Democratic president stated that the project could not be adequately reviewed within the 60 day deadline imposed by read more »

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The Liberal Convention: More Problems than Solutions?

January 17, 2012 – 1:37 pm

The Liberal Party of Canada held a policy convention this past weekend. The event focused on the party’s ‘renewal,’ an effort to reverse the party’s historic losses over the last decade. The 1990s were a good decade for the party and its leader, Jean Chrétien. However, this was largely due to vote-splitting on the right read more »

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Issue versus Party Polling: Turning Abundance into Relevance

December 18, 2011 – 9:30 pm

This past week two different federal polls were released before Parliament recessed for the Christmas break. The focus of this piece will be to lament the, for lack of a better term, bombardment of polls since the federal election on May 2—an election that resulted in a Conservative majority government. Normally, that would put the read more »

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The 1st NDP Leadership Debate: Some Thoughts on the Candidates’ Performances

December 5, 2011 – 10:04 pm

The New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada held its first leadership debate in the quest to replace the late Jack Layton on Sunday. Nine candidates from all across the country lined up in front of a crowd of party supporters, each attempting to explain their vision for moving the party forward. This leadership campaign is read more »

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Proportional Representation: Lessons for Canada and New Brunswick from New Zealand

December 1, 2011 – 8:24 am

This past weekend New Zealand held a general election.  The country currently operates under a Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system.  The general election, however, included a referendum on the electoral system, gauging whether New Zealanders felt satisfied with it.   They had previously voted for MMP in a 1993 referendum. The country, when adopting MMP, scheduled read more »

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Recess is Over: A Throne Speech, a Government and the Opposition Parties

November 22, 2011 – 9:12 pm

The New Brunswick Legislative Assembly is set to resume sitting on Wednesday (November 23) morning for the purpose of proroguing. Prorogation, despite the negative connotation it has received over the last few years, is simply the act of ending one session of a sitting of a legislature. It is usually used before governments bring forth read more »

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The Right to Die, the Passion for Debate and the Need for Change

November 17, 2011 – 10:37 am

I’m going to be very explicit to begin this post. I am in favour of this country legalizing physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. Now, in my opinion I shouldn’t have to go any further. However, as a country we seem to be good at ignoring important issues and hoping they will go away or work read more »

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