Canada in Crisis?

I just returned early from an overseas business trip, due to rapidly unfolding events here in Canada. We had a Federal election in September, which resulted in the Conservatives getting another minority. One of the big losers was Stephane Dion of the Liberal Party, many Liberal supporters blamed him for decimating the Liberal Party standing

It was announced that an unholy Coalition was to be formed to topple the Conservative government. This Coalition (The ink is dry, it's a done deal) will be made up of the Liberal Party, the Socialist NDP, with promised vote support from the Bloc Quebecois, which is a "federal" party in Quebec calling for Quebec to separate from the rest of Canada

Despite Stephane Dion all but falling off the face of the earth after the legally recognized election results, he now intends to self-appoint himself as the new Prime Minister. This is due to a quirk of Parliament that allows such coalitions. Historically, they have not lasted very long in Canada, the last Coalition government was 1926

The reason given to form this Coalition is said to be Canada's terrible economic plight, with the current governemnt doing nothing about it. Well, "terrible economic plight" compared to whom? I frequently travel overseas on business, Canada is a relative oasis in comparison. Figures from the IMF, World Bank, and OECD all confirm this

I suspect the real reason for the coalition is for a bunch of sore losers to wrestle legitimate power away from the current government, and to install themselves as unelected, self-appointed leaders.

It's funny when it happens to some third world craphole, not so funny when it happens to your own country

 

I'm just hoping we have a soft landing with this crap. Our Governor General, Michaelle Jean, cut short her trip to Europe to return to Canada and deal with this mess.

She has a few options, all of which are less than ideal:

1. Agree to dissolve Parliament and have another election, about 6 weeks after the last one wrapped up

2. Agree to "prorogue" Parliament. In essence, this puts Parliament into a sort of recess until the main Budget speech, I think on Jan 26.

3. Agree to the Letter Of Coalition drafted by the Three Stooges, cancel the current government, and install a self-appointed, unelected government

One of the points brought up over the Coalition was that, combined, they make up around approx 60% of total Canadian voters. However, there are significant ideological differences among the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP

During the election in September, the Liberals, Bloc, and NDP hotly battled among each other, as much as battle the Conservatives. I now have the strong suspicion this was all a brilliant act, that they had planned this carefully constructed Coalition a long time back

The one thing all three stooges have in common is their strong hatred for Western Canada, especially Alberta. What this country needs right now is another Premier Lougheed to stand up for the rights of Western Canada

Sadly, I don't think that will happen

 

You're welcome. When times are good, everybody will laugh at you for doing so, thinking you a nut. When the s*** hits the fan, they're lined up, begging to be allowed in

Hint: don't advertise the existence of this fallback option. Or if you do, use vague terms like "oh, it's somewhere in Canada"

I think it will happen faster than that. Look at how quickly this country appears to be headed to a self-appointed, UNELECTED government! The neat thing, there probably won't be a shot fired, or a drop of blood spilled

Historically, history, we never seem to learn from all the bulls*** that happened in the past. In that regard, humans are the dumbest animals on the planet

As far as history, usually there is very little opposition from the general public to dictators or juntas/coups. Consider the relative ease Hugo Chavez had in taking control of Venezuela; true enough, he had a couple of false starts, but you wouldn't dare oppose him now

Once this Coalition takes over Canada, the same thing could happen to Canada. As I've stated in the past, a lot of Hydro Quebec electricity is sent down to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. A lot of oil flows from Western Canada into the United States

It isn't inconceivable for a pro-separatist Coalition to take advantage of the fact that winter is here. Say a series of planned blackouts, first lasting an hour a day, then two, then six, in January, would cripple the Eastern Seaboard

I guess you're aware that the Liberals really despise the United States. The NDP more so, the Bloc, well, let's not even go there

 

I just got off a conference call with folks at the office, and have also exchanged a lot of emails with them.

One thing I find interesting is that, at the office, only one other person and myself voted Conservative. Although I disagree with some of their social policies, I felt they were very prudent with fiscal matters. Canada is consistently ranked at the top, or near the top, of a short list of nations with solid, healthy banking systems, solid economic performance, and a "stable" (Whoops, not anymore!) government

Almost everybody else at the office voted Liberal, with a couple voting NDP. Nobody voted Bloc, for obvious reasons.

What surprised me was that everybody was united in their absolute anger and horror at this proposed Coalition. Primarily, despite the fact they never voted for Harper, they accept he received enough votes to form a Minority government.

What they are completely against is the fact a small group can self-appoint themselves as the new leaders of Canada, in particular Dion self-appointed himself to be the new Prime Minister, with ZERO voter input. He is not ELECTED he is APPOINTED

Watching some of the news clips, some Canadians still appear confused on this issue. They actually think they can vote for this Coalition. No, their vote isn't required, these people appointed themselves. Why even bother with elections anymore? Save a lot of money and just have a small group determine who will run the country

Judging by the mood among my co-workers, the Liberals will lose a lot of votes, if and when free elections return to Canada. I've resigned myself to the fact that as early as next Monday, the Governor General will effectively destroy Canada.

C'est la vie

 

I don't see that happening, do you?

Probably true. We have so many "federal" parties to pick from, it dilutes everything down

I was thinking of the prorogue. However, that would all but paralyze Parliament. I personally doubt any economic stimulus package will work, as I frequently travel overseas on business

We are just starting in a very severe global recession. What good will it do to pump billions into an automotive sector if nobody is buying cars? I can see perhaps national infrastructure programs, but I've always been against Crown Corporations trying to make winners in the economy. That rarely works

Ok, by that line of reasoning, I did some math. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Around 62% of Canadians didn't vote for Harper. Yeah, that's bad

Around 74% of Canadians didn't vote for Dion.

Around 82% of Canadians didn't vote for Layton.

Around 90% of Canadians didn't vote for Duceppe

I seem to recall a huge difference in political ideology among the Bloc, Liberals, and NDP. I find it very suspicious that Duceppe, Dion, and Layton argued and fought against each other and Harper like cats in heat, but are suddenly new best friends.

According to Elections Canada, it is against the law for a business to donate to a political party. So, how does this "business support" help the Conservatives?

Elections Canada On-Line | Election Financing

It is also against the law to accept more than $20 in cash donations, unions cannot contribute, and a legal maximum of $1,100 per year for individual donations

Seems to me, you get rid of corporate bribes - "donations" - and union bribes, that tends to make it more democratic, not less. Of course, most businesses will still tell their workers to vote Conservative, most unions will still tell their members to vote NDP, etc.

I agree 100% with you

 

You are 100% correct. Fear has always been a strong motivating factor for the average person to suspend disbelief, and for otherwise rational folks to allow terrible injustices to happen in the name of "prosperity" and "security"

I predict if we enter into a severe global depression, the countries labeled as Socialist will slip into some form of Fascism

 

What arrogance was that? Once the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc whined, there was quick retreat on those contentious issues. However, that did no good, they were going ahead

I find it very interesting that despite quite different ideologies, and a lot of professional acting ability, the NDP, Liberals, with the support of the Bloc, all suddenly came together within just a couple of days.

The purported need for this Coalition, the horrible economic conditions, isn't just a Canadian issue. The entire globe is sliding into a very severe recession, perhaps even a depression.

I did some searching and found this at the OECD

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/7/2/20209192.pdf

Notice how the OECD mentions the need to "keep a lid on discretionary expenditure increases"

There is a much longer report from the IMF

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2008/cr0859.pdf

On pdf page 8 is the Executive Summary.

I've already accepted this Coalition is going ahead on Monday. I sincerely hope Western Alienation doesn't increase under the new government

 

Thomas

Perhaps not in Germany, as there are still deep wounds from what happened over 70 years ago.

However, in most other countries, especially here, those events were stories told by our grandparents with little connection to modern times.

All we need is a very severe global depression, or perhaps a large-scale natural disaster, and the great masses will be numbed by fear. In a situation of panic and fear, anybody who comes along and promises to make everything better - especially if you look the other way - is likely to gain power

Keep in mind that the Great Depression in the United States and Canada, was *far* less severe than the economic depression that hit Europe and the USSR. For example, not only did Germany have a crippling depression after world war one, it also had hyperinflation of the worst kind

jay

 

Well, what exactly has Dion done to actually deserve that praise? It has been my experience that all politicians lie, cheat, steal, and otherwise push their way into power.

For example, the Liberal Party of Canada won the 1993 election and had Jean Chretien as Prime Minister. Their Red Book was the policy document “Creating Opportunity.â€

Despite some claims, the Red Book never actually promised to remove the GST. It suggested replacing the GST with a system that was fairer to consumers and small businesses. I’ve read this book a few times

Let’s not forget that during that campaign, the Conservatives launched a very mean attack ad making fun of Chretien’s facial paralysis. On that alone, the Conservatives deserved to lose the election.

Perhaps one of the most hated items during his first term was dramatic cuts to provincial transfer payments, which had a huge impact on health care. As you may know, health coverage is the responsibility of each province.

During his first term, Dion was instrumental in drafting The Clarity Act. Chretien and Dion are very well recognized for helping to keep the Parti Quebecois in check, and keeping Canada unified

Just like what Harper did in September, Chretien called an early election in 1997 to take advantage of the polls. Just like Harper, it was a risky gambit, and Chretien held a bare majority. One of the most hated items introduced during his second term was the YCJA or Youth Criminal Justice Act, which tended to remove harsh penalties for young offenders.

Chretien also got involved in the NATO bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia in 1999. So it’s not only the Conservatives in Afghanistan who were directly involved in an aggressive military campaign

Chretien was also criticized for becoming very cozy with China, ignoring the plight of Tibet. If you search “great firewall of China†you should be able to find articles documenting how a Canadian telecoms company, Nortel Networks, was instrumental in providing the Chinese government the ability to conduct surveillance on voice, internet, and cellular traffic using their Shasta Broadband Service Node system. The Canadian taxpayer generously paid for this surveillance capability too, thank god for Crown Corporation funding

In 1997, during the APEC conference, Chretien allegedly authorized the RCMP to very aggressively control the protestors who were there.

To take advantage of the polls, and to take advantage of Stockwell Day being party leader of the new Canadian Alliance – wasn’t *that* embarrassing for us? – Chretien called another early election in 2000. After the attacks of 9/11, Chretien authorized the Canadian Army to take part in NATO operations in Afghanistan

In 2002, with assistance from Dion, Canada ratified the Kyoto treaty. One would think the Liberals would have had a plan to actually reduce co2 emissions, but instead co2 emissions rose all throughout the 1990’s. Stats Can has numbers on who produces CO2 and how much

Additional information: Who is producing the carbon dioxide in Canada?

Indicator: Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use, Canada (1958–95)

Canada's National Environmental Indicator Series 2003-Climate change

Of course, thanks to the collapse of oil prices, Tar Sands development will be dramatically curtailed. Also, thanks to a very severe global recession, our CO2 emissions will plummet now

The biggest embarrassment to Chretien and the Liberal Party was the Sponsorship Scandal. I shouldn’t have to go into any great deal on that topic, you must be aware of it

Overall, I would characterize Chretien as a “neo†Liberal, as he saw to significant cuts to Social programs established under Trudeau. I have a great deal of respect for how Chretien balanced the books, despite the social cost to doing so. Despite some significant blunders and scandals, he was one of our best Prime Ministers

The thing is, while the Liberals had those outright majorities in Parliament, they could have introduced tough emissions standards. Eg, California emissions for all light duty vehicles, which I fully support. They chose not to

Let’s be clear on one thing

I don’t kiss nice person or rah-rah any politician. I want to know who will do what is best for Canada. As I stated, I support far stricter emissions controls here in Canada, but apparently most politicians do not.

For example, even for cleaning up previous problems, why is it that the US has CERCLA and SARA, and we have no comparable initiative? Look at decades of uranium tailings in northern Saskatchewan, what has been done about that? Nothing

How about the former Sydney Steel plant? Estimates are one billion dollars to clean it up, but all that has been done is a chain link fence surrounds the worst of the mess.

Canadians tend to believe that somehow they are more environmentally “friendlier†than other nations are. Up until the late 1980’s, it was still possible to buy cars and light duty trucks that legally had no catalytic converter, no EGR, and with a wide mouth filler neck to accept leaded regular gas. I have a 1984 Ford truck at my hobby farm, assembled in Oakville, that states on the decal “Non Emissionâ€

We clearly have a lot of work to do, both for our economy and our society.