
Yaro
Member-
Posts
330 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Everything posted by Yaro
-
A provincial statute can override the charter in the matter, but yes in absence of such a statute the Charter does apply. This is why Manitoba tried to introduce English as its official language (but failed the test of Manitoba's own charter). The language in Ontario is what the provincial government says it is, it just hasn't said what it is and so it defaults. There is also some debate about whether the term “the government of Canada” only covers the federal government. No, its not the same at all, the Canadian charter does not cover Quebec, the Quebec charter covers Quebec. It is the Quebec Charter which was tested by bill 101 not the Canadian charter and that is why it passed the test.
-
Where is the statute that declares English as Ontario's official language, because in absence of that the charter applies. In fact there are some opinions that suggest that regardless s. 16 could reasonably be interpreted as to apply.
-
Are we really how rich? Do we have an operating surplus? Sure, but we still have a 500 billion dollar debt. Despite what some say your household economics are very relatable to the government, so let’s say you owe 5 times your yearly income, but day to day you are outpacing the cost of living and interest do you consider yourself rich? While the Liberals have been a very fiscally responsible government (the best in the world really) it is a long shot to call Canada "rich". The Healthcare system along with pretty much every other social structure in Canada has been slashed to produce these surpluses so that we are capable of paying down the still rather crippling debt load. Consider how much money is spent just on the interest for the debt in Canada, and imagine that we could direct that money to such services as healthcare and you will begin to understand why we have a significant social infrastructure deficit. Yes and no, the truth of the matter is that Canada's economy isn't as strong as the government would have you or I believe but the same could be said with just about every other country on earth. Some like the US and UK are far more dishonest with there populations were some are slightly more honest, like Germany and Sweden. That would depend on where you live of course, we are still undergoing a basic economic shift to competitiveness with Asia. Certainly there are many industrial jobs being replaced by service jobs (which is a very bad thing) but on the whole Canada remains fairly stable in this regard (surprisingly stable considering our strengthening dollar). Our taxes are not especially high, and to reduce them before paying down the deficit would be highly irresponsible. Somewhat true, while this isn't the real definition of double taxation it’s something that some people like to hold out as unfair. Considering that road & highway infrastructure is subsidized from general revenue to the tune of 1600 dollars per vehicle on the road I would have to say that I can't really find anything unreasonable about our total fuel taxation regardless which is the only real issue of fairness.
-
There’s always has been and always will be those individuals with the goal of "world domination". However no one has ever been successful and there’s no reasonable reason to believe that anyone ever will be.
-
You don't even understand what you’re looking at; you didn't go where I told you to go and your misinterpreting the data you did find. This is EXACTLY why I didn't want to bother debating this issue with someone with no education or training on this topic. They don't even track the data that you THINK your looking at. Now go back read my instructions and compare them to what you have done. Sigh, once again a basic economics term that you obviously have no clue how to use or interpret. US Personal Savings Levels Do you know what the above chart even means? How it’s arrived at or what its implications are? Do you understand the nature of the current corporate liquidity? How it occurred? How it supported the current issues with lack of corporate savings and how it has related to the under funding of pensions and massive bankruptcies which are only now starting to hit in the US, all of this before the US economy enters a recessionary cycle. How about the relationship between savings and investment and further to that how a sharp decline in investment in the US in particular would be devastating because of so much overseas ownership in the US. Right now the US has its head above the water in large part due to many Americans owning substantial portions of foreign based operations. This is slowly disappearing. Right, now your going to explain to me what GDP is? Nobody who understands GDP has anything against it, it’s just a statistic, it has severe problems however when used as an indicator social wealth. I think we all acknowledge the massive trade deficit the US has. This is only relevant to understanding the extent to which China has waged economic war on the US, and how incredibly successful it has been. This article (which I largely agree with BTW) doesn’t say that the US isn’t in huge trouble, what it says is that it may not be as bad as most fear. I agree it probably won’t be as bad as most fear, the market is very well controlled right now, and I imagine at some point things will shift fairly dramatically and we will understand just how far our technology has brought us but things will certainly be a lot worse then your thinking they will be at this point.
-
Why would we need an elected senate? While I don't know how I feel about an elected senate I don't see why that would change our need for a more fair distribution of seats in parliament?
-
Fine I will go so far as to tell you what statistics to look at. Look for current employment numbers, you will find them on the BLS website. Look under the seasonal charts. You will find that the number of employed people in the US in virtually every industry has dropped. Combined with a rise in the working age population, a severe fall in the personal savings then look for the method of determining the unemployment numbers specifically the revisions since 1989. After you have studied this in some detail you will understand how the unemployment numbers have been modified to produce results which make the economy appear more favorable. For GDP look for the methodology of determining GDP, then look for the methodology for determining government contributions to GDP and the methodology for determining private sector contributions. Consider the nature of the contractor to government relationship and how it would be applied to GDP. Then consider the amount of private sector goods that are purchased as final goods and are then added to the outgoing cost of another set of final goods. After you have studied this you will understand why GDP is about as poor a measure of social wealth as one can have. You will also understand how economic freedom artificially boosts GDP and if you were a particularly sharp individual you will understand how why under these circumstances GDP diverges from NEW (Net Economic Wealth) under these types of extreme free market systems(well some of the causes). As I said before I will not waste my time on someone who’s sum of understanding as applied to economics is to quote GDP numbers. That individual does not have the education to have a conversation with me and I have no desire to be a free internet professor. But if you or he wishes to discuss any of the following economic topics concerning the US: The petrol-dollar and its relevance to Iraq, Iran, and the EU. China’s monetary support of the US through debt servicing and the holding of a virtually stapled currency and its effects when combined with the Feds’ continuing attempt to drastically devalue the dollar. The effects of the US money supply as a standalone issue with considerations to wealth distribution methodology. Well I could go on, but suffice to say if you have any topic which could actually spark some interesting discussions which could lead to some interesting conclusions, well then I am all ears (and a fair bit of mouth).
-
I agree, federal representation should be based on a strict rep by pop system. One man, one vote is an important principle.
-
For those that don't understand the underlying issues with the northern passage, a quick synopsis. Global warming is causing the northern passage to become open for longer periods every year. Right now that is a fairly short time but if projections are correct it could become a year around possibility. As of right now the US does not have the capability to move there carrier groups from the Atlantic to the pacific without going around the south of south America which is under most circumstances not a very good route. The Panama Canal currently under Chinese control is simply not big enough to move the larger American ships and so the US wants sovereign access to the northern passage and has been instigating political games for almost 2 decades.
-
No football players attempt to break each others ankles whenever the opportunity arises. They attempt to dislocate hips, they attempt to break sternums. The fact that these actions are done within the rules of the game is completely irrelevant, Football players attempt to severely injure each other on every play whenever given the opportunity. Also keep in mind that until fairly recently players would also leap at each others heads in an apparent attempt to decapitate-thankfully this is now against the rules. And everyone is aware of the rules in Hockey, whether the rules are written or unwritten is irrelevant. No player in the NHL doesn't realize that if they dish out a cheap shot at some point someone is going to give it back. Bertuzzi's actions would have only been a problem morally or legally if the logical or reasonable outcome would have been a broken neck. There is no reasonable basis to believe that Bertuzzi's actions might result in the severity of injury which more suffered, which as I stated before was not in any reasonable way a broken neck. The more severe injury by far was the moderate concussion that he received.
-
Canadian nurses come back because they have made the money they went to make and no longer wish to live in the US; this includes several members of my family. Some doctors get paid more in the US and some don't. Primarily GPs are paid more in the US and Specialists paid more in Canada. It should be noted that more doctors moved from the US to Canada last year then vica versa however. There are more specialists and they are better paid in Canada. That’s right there are quotas, and I agree that this is a major problem. But the reason for the quotas isn't a shortage of either doctors or facilities; it’s a shortage of money to pay those doctors to use those facilities. Because for years the US has been leaching off the Canadian education system, only in the last couple of years have more doctors come from the US to Canada then the other way around. Obviously you don't understand what I said, the system is under funded. This means that despite the fact that there are doctors and facilities, those doctors don't use those facilities because there isn't enough money in the system to pay for it. Which is basically what this thread is about, the Alberta government threw some money at it and the problem went away. They even admit in the article that this system of private overflow clinics (the French system) was not more cost effective then it would have been to do it all within the system. West Jet has smaller aircraft, poor coverage and it is indeed Air Canada that has the shorter turn around time on flights. Air Canada also has the world’s best safety record for a national carrier. Air Canada is making more money, and that will continue for a very long time while West Jet turns there fleet around. West Jet will continue to have to make some large investments as there fleet is still old and relatively poorly maintained. So while I agree that at some point West Jet will become quite profitable again it won't be within the next year. While this is full of buzzwords and cliché’s, I essentially agree that West Jet has an excellent workforce and good business strategy and is a good investment. To some extent yes, overall however critical care outcomes are still better in Canada.
-
What I said was talking about military power as it applies to modern nations was idiotic which is the point of not being able to project power. The fact of the matter is that right now the US has stated unequivocally that they have no respect for Canadian sovereignty. They have said they will use the northern passage regardless of our desires in the matter and that they will shoot down missiles over Canadian territory regardless of the effect. If a nuke lands and detonates in Canada because the US downed it over Canadian territory (as unlikely as that is) then yes I would consider that an attack on Canada from the US and I would wish to be prepared to defend ourselves. The US has not been attacked; they had a single significant terrorist event happen, 3000 people died. Not to sound cold but BFD, want to save 3000 lives a year? Take 1/100th of the money that the US is now spending on security and spend it on transportation infrastructure. Which is what I do, and I agree I don't know why people get so emotional about things like this. GDP is meaningless, if you don't know that then your not educated enough on economics for me to bother debating you (GDP is used by right wing think tanks because it sounds good and the US system produces high GDP, if you understood the issues with it you would see why its not used in educated economics discussions) Also unemployment rates are irrelevant, not that the US's numbers are particularly good you see when calculated using the Canadian system they come closer to 8% and when calculated using the French system they come closer to 12%) if your BLS hadn't been ripped apart by a statistician put in place by the Regan administration you would see that American unemployment numbers are horrific. It should also be noted that the GDP of nations such as China and India are calculated without respect to black and grey markets, or there relatively giant PPP in the area of IP. At the end of the day, your being lied to, spun by your government (like Canadians are to a lesser extent) to such an extreme that you probably couldn't imagine the number of dirty tricks that are used to make you believe the economy is better then it is. I’m sorry if that offends you and if you want to make a particular argument or ask me a question then I will answer it for you but if you think I am going to get into a debate with someone that won't even understand a small fraction of the terms I use then your simply asking me to waste my time. Nobody in the world who understands economics to any real extent and is at all knowledgeable about Canada and the US is going to say that the US economy is healthy or that the Canadian economy isn't. And I will simply add that the US economy IS Bankrupt, the US has more real debt per capita right now then either New Zealand or Argentina did when they declared bankruptcy. Please don't embarrass yourself by arguing this point, if you want to go get an economics professor to try to formulate an argument I will be happy to respond. I don't need to back up my statement at all, when he comes to the table with an actual argument I will bother destroying it until then I’m not going to waste my time.
-
Am I to take this as an admission that you really don't know anything about economics?
-
What can I say other then I agree with you? Reasonably complex yes, I would also say that it would be pretty rare when a bureaucrat would have to use highly technical terms or read "complex reports". But again I already agreed with you, obviously the level of french required is over the top. Then this is no doubt one of those ludicrous circumstances that pisses everyone off. The question is what is anyone doing about it? Ontario is covered by the Charter which guarantees language rights for both French and English. Ontario is officially bilingual.
-
Ok, then it sounds like there is an issue with the examination itself being far to difficult. I have no problem with a REASONABLE level of french being required, the ability to communicate in french. While I understand where your coming from I still can't see the ability to communicate in french being a huge barrier. If someone graduates from grade 12 french then they should have mastered the language to the extent necessary and I don't think that would constitute an unreasonable bias towards Francophones. I do however have a problem with the attitude that Canada's official languages are 1. English and 2. french, that simply is not the case regardless of the practical realities. Again I have to say that I dislike the Quebec language laws, I certainly won't defend them, the only thing I said concerning them was that I didn't as a strict rule of law find them illegal. I do agree with you that the tests sound unreasonable. I disagree, when I graduated high school I spoke and wrote french to a level that made it fairly simple for me to communicate effectively in the language (although since then I have pretty much forgotten it). Of course I don't, I agree with you 100% that there should be a reasonable divide for the origins of our public service (although I don't believe artificial restrictions on origins is the right way to go either-not a fan of affirmative action) The purpose of civil servants being bilingual isn't so they can address the nation its so that whatever business they do they can work with each other. If you don't enforce bilingualism then you could wind up with the ridiculous circumstance of two civil servants requiring a translator.
-
Actually its funny that you should bring up compensation packages because this is one of those very few instances where the private sector pays better then the public sector. Its one of the main reasons why doctors associations are pushing so hard for a US style system (Yes I realize that many people here aren't advocating that, just pointing out that doctors are). Nurses get paid more as well in a private system which is why protests from the nurses about the introduction of a private system are minimal on the whole. Its unfortunate that everyone that does financially benefit from the medical services industry benefits more from a private system because it leaves very little incentive for anyone to defend the public system. Normally this is true, but the medical industry is an exception. There is a major shortage of nurses and doctors and the government(s) in Canada have used the threats of legislated contracts to maintain relatively low wages for doctors and nurses (relative to market demand). Sort of true, the public sector unions have objected to the outsourcing of unskilled labour positions but they have never had an issue with private medical facilities. Essentially the government has (often unfairly) used threats to force down the wages earned nurses and doctors. Not that doctors and nurses are very well paid in Canada (making twice similar positions in Europe, and more recently similar wages to what are available in the US). It should also be noted that wages aren't strictly a modifier to efficiency, as a non-consumptive cost they are an issue of wealth distribution. For some this is a problem, others feel differently but it isn't really the same issue as efficiency.
-
Not a fact at all actually, the government has hundreds of operating facilities that are almost never used. This underutilization isn't do to lack of doctors it is due to the lack of ability to pay those doctors to use those ORs. As I said before even the article itself states that no money was saved, just that the model wasn't any worse. Again you have no idea what you’re talking about; the public system does operate more efficiently to the extent it operates. There is no money in the system to do what is being asked, Alberta has that extra money and so it was able to do something about it. The management models for the public system were far more efficient then the private models, in fact by a fact of 5 in most reports (administrative overhead of 3% for public facilities to 15% for private facilities). The notion of a more efficient private sector is fantasy, it is often the case in the long term but for systematic and organizational efficiency the opposite is usually the case. You should also recheck your example organizations West Jet is as of now getting killed by Air Canada. There were many reasons that Air Canada was having trouble but the single biggest was that they were mandated to provide service to communities at heavy loses. Once those mandates were removed Air Canada quickly became the most profitable airline in Canada with a far more modern and safer fleet then West Jet. France is more sided towards the Public system then Canada's system currently is but I agree they do have a good system and I would have no problem with implementing a similar model here. However you would find it impossible to get the Doctors and Nurses to go along with it since it would significantly reduce there earning potential.
-
And I am not against the US, I am not trying to "destroy America", and you will find that I hardly ever even say anything bad about them. I would say I like far more Americans then I dislike regardless of whether I agree with American policy decisions. I don't take it personally when someone insults Canada and hell if I agree I will say so, its not like I don't think Canada has problems. But when it comes to Canadian policy decisions I won't consider US opinion any more then I would expect them to consider ours, it’s not a position that comes from any kind of animosity but one born of practicality. It’s not like I will pay attention to Chinese, or Japanese, or European or anyone else’s opinions beyond considering them on there merits. NAFTA will eventually be destroyed; the fact of the matter is that there are too many interests in opposition to it. I know that most Americans aren't Anti-Canadian, in fact I am well aware that they really don't think of us at all which is something I consider perfectly understandable we are literally 1/10th there size population wise and we hardly ever do anything to offend them. However I am not under the delusion that the US media will not turn the US population on Canada in the same way that it turned them on the French or the Germans or the same way that they prevent them from turning on the Saudi's and the Chinese. The US is a country like any other, it has positives and negatives. But I do think they are going through a rough period that will get allot worse before it gets better. You want to know my honest feelings for America in general? I worry for them, there are millions upon millions of Americans that are going to be literally destroyed in the next decade, there are going to be millions of seniors that are going to be forced into jobs they can't physically do because there pension has been mismanaged, and there’s going to be millions of Americans who can't get any kind of health service because emergency rooms are disappearing at an astonishing rate because they are money losers (because they service the uninsured before knowing it). I hope that I am wrong, but my experience says that the US is in for a rough ride and when it comes out it won't be the world’s pre-eminent power. This exact situation almost destroyed the French, and it’s still something that the British psyche is finding hard to deal with.
-
He punched him with a gloved fist to the side of the head with hardly any windup. I said before it didn't rate in the top 25 worst incidents in hockey, I was being generous the fact is it doesn't even rate in the top 250. Want to see a vicious sucker punch? Check out some of Domi's work. What I don't get is why Bert got singled out more then others, if I had to guess it was because he has a history of being short with the media and they decided it was payback time. Moronic, people are struck far harder then Bertuzzi struck him without incident. It was a freak blow that knocked him out. There is no way any reasonable person could have concluded that gloved punch with little to no windup would have knocked him out, and it is a virtual impossibility that it did the damage regardless. That’s fine, everyone is due there opinion, that doesn't change the fact that his actions were no worse then many other actions taken they simply had an unfortunate result. You have no idea what you are talking about. Football is far far more violent then hockey. There may be less fights but players attempt to injury each other every single play; it is a code that is understood in football. No the Olympics have nothing to do with sportsmanship. I do find it amusing that you think they do, and yes I am world class at something and I know what kind of competitive behavior occurs at that level. Sportsmanship is great for 10 year olds, but you will never reach the highest levels of a competitive sport without doing whatever it demands of you to attain it. No he didn't just have the class not to disparage him, he SIDED with him, and he stated shortly after the incident that it wasn't Bertuzzi's fault and that Moore was handling it poorly. The same with virtually every "classy" player in the league. But like I said if you want to believe that about hockey in general that’s fine, but singling out Bertuzzi for special punishment is not reasonable. Funny, you obviously know nothing about the situation. Moore will never play hockey again but it has nothing to do with his "broken neck", it has to do with the fact that he was at best a borderline player who tried to stick in the league by taking cheap shots at the leagues stars and because of the way he has handled the whole incident. Perhaps you are unaware but a basketball player by the name of Wally Szczerbiak had a slightly more severe case of the same injury that Moore had, he was back in 2 weeks. Anyone who knows Shane knows this is patently absurd, the guy is probably one of the most verbally clean players the NHL has seen in a decade. The reason this never stuck was because everyone agreed that if there was something said there is no way it came from Shane of all people. Of course it makes a difference, if you want to start punishing people more severely for there actions that’s fine. But to arbitrarily single a player out and make him pay 10 fold the punishment that others have had to pay before AND SINCE is unreasonable. Yes Bertuzzi is that much better, he is currently 2nd in scoring among Canadian right wingers and he is miles ahead of any other forward in the league physically. There isn't a hockey analyst in the country that will say that Bertuzzi isn't a very easy pick. Heatly is one of the best players in Canada at this point maybe even the best. Doan is a borderline pick but a class act and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. At the end of the day how this ever spun into what it has become is beyond me and I am just glad that people who obviously hate the sport of hockey don't have any say in who gets to go.
-
And you really think I care about the US's opinion? I understand the nature of the US VERY well, I have lived there, I employee almost 100 people in the US and I have a winter home there. I studied in the US, and am intimately familiar with there sociology and I can assure you I am far more familiar with there military-industrial complex then you are.
-
If you don't get my point then just say so, no need to get snippy. Anyone in the modern era talking about military supremacy is an idiot. don't believe me? Then answer these questions. Who would win in a War France or the US? Who would win in a War China or the US? Who would win in a War Russia or Great Britain? Given 10 years to build up arms who would win in a War Canada or the US? The answer to all of these questions is obvious, no one because in the first three they all have enough nuclear arms to completely destroy each other, and in the 4th question the answer is no one because Canada rather easily could build enough nuclear arms to destroy anyone. Military power in the modern world when discussed as a comparison between modern nations is pointless and meaningless. If you can build nukes you should because that's the only way that countries like the US won't bully you. Before I bother stealing your club and beating you with it, do you actually have any economics education because I don't want to waste my time on someone who will argue this point as feebly as most seem to. Again you clearly don't know what your talking about, the animosity between the US and Canada has been almost entirely of the US's own making unless you can come to the table with a single instance in which Canada has economically attacked the US in the last 20 years. It should also be noted that he personally animosity between Bush and Chretien started because Bush while governor of Texas refused to take a call from Chretien about a Canadian who was on death row in Texas (not saying that he should have or not just pointing out a historical fact you may not be aware of). Your probably unaware of the extent to which the US is unique in the world in there nationalism so I will simply say as an experienced world traveler that yes, the US is more patriotic then any nation on earth and by some distance. I don't think people think that the US is lazy or stupid, just vicious and amoral. Note that's not traits that most assign to Americans as individuals but on the international stage the political evaluation is fairly accurate. I agree, I have myself called the US the current Rome, I also agree that many Americans work there asses off. I also don't think that anyone is asking the US to apologize for its current position, all anyone anywhere wants is for the US to stop being asses on the world stage and to stop trying to throw there imaginary military weight around. And this is the single biggest problem, I don't think you have any idea how much the US has galvanized the rest of the world against them. You say that you will do fine either way, that's ludicrous. The US is nearly bankrupt, and that's just not the US government that's many of the US based corporations, and a great many US citizens. This is one of the area's where many Canadians and Americans tend to disagree, loving your country for the sake of loving your country is stupid. Be proud of the positive aspects of your country, and work to change the negative ones. Mindless adulation or degradation is pointless. Disapproval of the War ran and still runs above 75% in England. The fact that both major parties in the UK supported the US says something but it isn't that the people do. Wow did this topic spin out beyond all reason. To think that people like Tucker could possibly actually start such a bitter conversation.
-
Fine, a turn of phrase turns you on then Canada has two official languages that maintain equal standing. Citizens of Canada regardless of where they live have the right to deal with the government in either official language. While I have already stated that I dislike Quebec's language laws it contravenes neither of those rights and the reference to cruel and unusual punishment is ludicrous. I think both of you are missing something here, the Quebec Charters and not the Canadian charter are the laws which possessed the not withstanding clauses in question. Bill 101 may be ugly, and I may not like it but I have yet to see anything strictly illegal about it.
-
I will take that bet. Even in this article it makes the point that it was cost neutral, in other words it simply cost the same amount that it would have to do it under the public system. This point seems to be lauded as if its some kind of accomplishment (as I suppose it is).
-
Rank the importance of an economic plan
Yaro replied to JOVIAC's topic in Federal Politics in Canada
speaker is essentially correct, although I doubt that many will actually understand his terminology or the relationships they imply. -
Private healthcare is not delivered as efficently as public healthcare. Its a fact get over it.