Political Craziness (for the Canucks)

[Auburngirl]

It seemed like this board needed a place to rant on this topic, as it's all everyone's talking about!

I can't believe the House is perogued until January! What do you think of the coalition? Should the Governor General have approved closing parliament until the new year?

 

[OhSoLittleMouse]

Hey Auburn - where abouts do you live? I am in Vancouver.

 

[Jim]

Well. Definitely some heated discussions in my house, in spite of now living abroad. Never stop being Newfoundlanders! ;-)

Canadians vote for parliament rather than a prime minister. So. Nothing wrong with a coalition in my humble opinion. However. Believe this particular coalition was put together rather slipshod. An alliance with the Bloc is questionable on many accounts. And. Liberals should have waited until 2009, after obtaining a more seasoned, not to mention more appealing, party leader. Haven't met a soul yet who thinks much of Dion. With the shutdown of parliament and the already existing cracks in the coalition, it may not survive until January. Given the general disgust felt by many Canadians currently, the coalition may have just handed Harper and the Conservatives a majority government, next time we go to the polls.

Jim.

 

[Auburngirl]

It's a mess. But I feel that Harper really pulled it on himself and the party deliberately. He seems to be taunting the opposition and trying to get the gov to fall and to have a new election - which given that it's been seven weeks seems ridiculous. He has a stronger minority before and should be able to govern. I'll be right pissed off if we get another election.

Ohso- I'm not comfortable giving out my location publically- I'd be happy to PM you but I can't right now because you're still in moderation - but I wanted to say hello!
The papers have crazy headlines (you'll be missing this Jim) saying things like "Nation in fear" which seems a tad dramatic. Right now nothing's happening.

 

[midi]

Harper ran and hid under shutting down parli.

 

[Jim]

The papers have crazy headlines (you'll be missing this Jim) saying things like Nation in fear which seems a tad dramatic. Right now nothing's happening.

Indeed, was hearing this from my son. Definitely overdramatic. Don't think many are afraid so much as disgusted and confused.

I don't disagree with you re: Harper. Been a Liberal most of my life. And. For the sake of my seven grandchildren under 6 (and one on the way!), would like to see that extra 100 per month per child the Liberals are promising. Would certainly help my sons and their wives. However. I am not hopeful at the moment about anything good coming to pass. Its a mess as you say. Not even certain how I would vote, were another election called. Knock on wood it doesn't happen!

Jim.

 

[Auburngirl]

Jim- I'm not a conservative, I readily admit that. And I find the idea of a coalition slightly exciting. As a woman who'd like to have kids, getting childcare sorted out is a priority.

But really I feel Harper should get his act together and govern, don't put forward things you know are going to bring down the government, be conciliatory and get the job done.

Elections are expensive. The last one was debatably unecessary, having another one would really be a slap in the face of Cdn I think - a senseless wasting of money. We know he wants a majority, but this is wrong, you don't keep having elections until you get the result you want. That's wrong, and a waste of everyone's time and money.

 

[Auburngirl]

Also - the papers are reporting things like 90% of the population would rather an election than be governed by the coalition. I'm mystified! Who are these people that think that would be a good idea? And how many of them are among the 59% who actually voted?

 

[Jim]

Agreed, I am mystified also. Last thing we need is another election. Damn waste of the taxpayers money. Interesting development though... My son tells me Dion may be stepping down within days. Suppose you already knew that, just found out myself though. Wife and I are travelling to Canada for Christmas, along with our daughter and her boyfriend. Leaving Tuesday morning. Must say I am looking forward to watching the news... seeing everything unfold firsthand, rather than hearing tidbits here and there as I get at present.

Jim.

 

[reallydown]

I was wondering if there'd be anything about this on the board :) Jim, I do respect Mr. Dion a great deal but I do question his decision to be gentlemanly and not stoop to theother sides' level....only because, sadly, you have to get dirty, it seems, to win elections. That's all I'll say on that score.

As for Mr. Harper...Ever since he took over he has acted more and more like a dictator. He silences his own caucus, doesn't seem to tolerate any dissent; he attempted to muzzle scientists at Environment Canada (re global climate change); he wants a majority at all costs; he's trying to eliminate opposition; to curtail the rights of women...and the list really goes on...Not to mention that he doesn't know the first thing about democracy, how it's supposed to work or indeed how it does work in Canada. And then there are the international embarrassments: pulling out of Kyoto; meddling in the internal affairs of another state (think Obama--Ohio primaries); he or someone in his party attempted to bribe an MP, a man who was dying, just to bring down the Lib. gov't of the time; he also wanted to make a pact with the separatists and he's also alienating Quebec more and more...so any possible seccession would sooner come as a result of his behaviour, not that of the coalition (which, in and of itself, includes the Libs. and the NDP...the Bloc would only support them for a limited time and mainly on the economic issues). Harper has no clue about the economy...he has squandered a huge surplus; has spent $300 million on an unnecessary election ( for which, by the way, he had to ignore his own legislation) and may even squander more on another election. If he can't even respect his 0own legislation, how can we expect him to respect any other? What happens if he gets a majority?

Wait. There's more. Canada was hosting the AIDS conference in Montreal when Harper got elected...he didn't even show up--ie. snubbed all the foreign dignitaries...There is a thing called diplomacy and protocol etc. in international affairs but I guess Mr. Harper is as clueless about those as he is about everything else one needs to know in order to effectively lead a country. And then...well, then there's his former foreign minister who left important files, possibly national security related, at the home of his girlfriend, who happened to have at one time been involved with a criminal....

Finally, 60% of Canadians voted for the progressive parties...It's just that the vote was split...ugh...Anyway, rant over...at least for now.

 

[mistralwind]

I voted for the CPC in October because I trust Mr. Harper for having kept our economy stronger than that of any other country in the world (except Saudi Arabia). This proposed coalition party was not on the election slip. If this metamorphosed party has a better platform to present the Canadian people, we'll have another general election and let the voters choose which party is best for Canada.

 

[reallydown]

The only reason Canada's economy is doing better than most is because the Liberals had given us such a cushion with that surplus. Had Harper been smart, we would stand even better now. Also, the others were kind of hoping to be able to work with Harper and therefore didn't plan a coalition...but, when his dictatorial tendencies got the better of him, they saw that what would be better for Canada would be a sensible economic plan for the country etc. Another point worth mentioning is that we vote for our MPs...they're all democratically elected. Further, in Canada's system, the government has to have the confidence of the Parliament in oreder to keep governing. Mr. harper does not, and therefore Parliament is perfectly justified in taking the action it did. In fact, one could argue that Harper is not acting democratically by proroguing Parliament. I wish people would educate themselves on our parliamentary system and whilte at it, they may also want to look up representative government, responsible government, democracy. harper brough this on himself. He could've chosen to work with the others. Instead, he chose to attempt to curtail the rights of women, to place a "temporary" ban on strike by public service workers etc...His decisions only confirm that he's not a good leader.