Centerpiece

Rightly or not, Trudeau has now alienated the US, India, Japan (not showing up for the TPP signing - Abe was very upset) and China (he was sent packing with his gender equality spiel). You could throw Belgium in there as well - he refused to meet with the Royal family when they recently visited. When high level meetings are held, the table has already been set for the leaders - it's all scripted beforehand. All it takes is a diplomatic delivery of the message - and perhaps a bit of nuance. Is there anyone who things Trudeau is doing a good job? Am I being too harsh?

Interesting picture of Merkel and all the G7 leaders facing off with Trump - and Trudeau nowhere to be found. Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/06/09/the-g-7-summit-summed-up-in-one-photo/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7451800828e8

The Star is not alone in spreading the Fairy Tale that every one who didn't vote for Ford was a "progressive" voter. It's a convenient bucket to create the illusion/implication of some sort of unfair/illegitimate election result. Many Liberal and Green voters are fiscally responsible and want nothing to do with endless deficits and debt. "Progressive" has morphed into a fraudulent term - because putting our children behind the eight-ball (not Eyeball ) to pay the bills is not progressive - it's criminal!

It's always so easy to look back and judge actions through today's moral lens. It would be interesting to see how things would have turned out if either a) the government had done nothing or b) there had been no abuse. As with most issues in Canada, we only seem to get one side of the story. There were likely many, many success stories with the Residential School system that remain untold....but as they say - the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

With The Star predictably crying out for proportional representation in today's edition, I found it surprising to find a well written article by Jaime Watt that sums up quite nicely what is going on in Ontario. As a final act of arrogance, Kathleen Wynne delayed her election night speech for so long that the networks threatened to halt coverage - this would have stolen the opportunity for Doug Ford to speak to Ontarians. This - in spite of Wynne having had a historic length of time to prepare. So Mr. Ford spoke first - and he was castigated for it. Mr. Watt is a Conservative strategist - but I have found him to be as balanced as a partisan can be expected. I think he nailed this one - although it's self evident to the open-minded who follow Politics. Link: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/06/10/why-ontarians-relate-to-ford-and-not-his-media-critics.html

Perhaps some sort of compromise would be appropriate - not full official status but some sort of good-faith benefits in recognition of the history of the Liberal Party (in spite of the ghoulish facsimile it has become). Make no mistake though, his critics will never be silenced. Nothing will be good enough for them. Very similar to the eco-nuts - there is no such thing as "social license"....nothing - absolutely nothing will satisfy them other than keeping every drop of fossil fuel in the ground.

You're going to have to put a few more words to your snippets of thought - because we might be closer than you think. Globalism is bad. I don't agree with complete nationalist isolation but heck, you need to at least get training wheels with tried and true bi-lateral and tri-lateral trade before you move to the next stage. Find common ground in small blocks and then find common ground with another block. It takes time and patience and we've got along way to go.

You're a scary guy Eyeball. With all the advances we've made on Human Rights and Environmental awareness in the past 30 years alone - all the trading relationships that have taken hold, a grudging end to Soviet Communism, China being pulled ever closer to some form of people representation.....all these advances - and you are advocating violence? For heaven's sake - the EU is only 25 years old - still an experiment. Have some patience - have some faith! Your "one world" view is just a larger breeding ground for elitism - a place where the one-percent can hang out. Humanity will never accept a one size fits all - it's just another way of expressing "the lowest common denominator". I've said it before - the challenge that democracy faces is the constant vigilance and legislation that's required to keep the rough edges of Capitalism in check - in other words "how much is enough?". Capitalism and Socialist ideals make strange bedfellows but in proper moderation, there is a vital symbiosis - and there should be respect for both. Dream of what's to come - but pay the bills today.

Nothing to do with anything other than you've described an incompetent, corrupt professor........and let's not disrupt this thread to describe the state of some of our Universities.

I answered it directly - but I'll try to reword it for you. It would be a shame if resentment built up because resentment breeds opposition to what we need (managed immigration) and what's right (managed and supported refugee system). As for the Global economy - you're jumping ahead to Nirvana with one measly, unexplained sentence. The EU is at risk of crumbling for a variety of reasons. It will take time and patience to sort it all out. I like the idea of developing and maturing different, smaller blocks of trading partners instead of a one size fits all approach. Then we can start to fit the blocks together. We've got enough problems getting Mexico/Canada/US functioning smoothly. And then there's China.

Whether this ever happened or not - it's a good demonstration of Socialism in action:

Because properly managed immigration is needed......and a refugee system that provides a strong support system to a manageable stream of genuine refugees is the right thing to do.

Canada is at sizable risk of creating the same situation that exists in the US. Incremental illegal immigration over the past 15 years has resulted in many millions of undocumented aliens. It matters little how many sob stories are told - the fact is that it got out of control and has bred general resentment to the refugee and immigration process. If we don't get things under control and control our borders, our incremental "irregular" crossings will spawn the same resentment - and that would indeed be a shame. But it's happening as we speak.

Wish I could - but I doubt those numbers are readily available. Not really worth the effort - if you think that all the negative ads, union endorsements and scare tactics have little effect....then giving you some numbers likely will just lead to another round of "ya but". Truth is - the Liberal vote tanked - a lot of voters switched to the NDP - and 5 will get you 10 that many were public servants running to the party that will best keep their wages and entitlements on the upswing. Shows how predatory the unions are......after milking the Liberals for 15 years (and the Liberals milking their votes), change was in the wind so the unions abandoned the sinking ship like rats and endorsed the NDP. I guess that's what they call "progressive" politics.

1) I don't need to cite that the sky is blue. If it's a guess, it's an educated one along the lines of Einstein or Stephen Hawking. 2) Talk to teachers and nurses - a lot of them truly believe that the Tories would cut jobs and/or wages......surely you know that? 3) With regards to Hudak, now you're just enforcing what I'm saying. It matters little what they did do, would do, will do, or won't do - the vast majority simply won't vote PC.

I said I think it's fair to say the vast majority of public servants did not vote for the PCs. Your friend is obviously in the minority. The unions themselves have openly encouraged their members to switch from Liberal to NDP. Do you not remember the Ontario Families Coalition? Do you think union members are not influenced by their leadership - and frightened by the scare tactics that they employ? And the Liberals - saying the Conservatives will fire 40,000 public workers including teachers and nurses? And you think they'll all be completely open minded? Seriously?

This morning's Star had the usual gripe that 60% of voters voted for the "progressive" options. What BS. There are over a million unionized public servants in Ontario.. With a 58% voter turnout, at least 600,000 of them probably voted - and I think it's fair to say that the vast majority did not vote for the PCs. There's nothing "progressive" about a union voter - just keep those taxpayer taps turned on and you'll have their vote. What the hell does 'progressive" mean any more? It seems to be just a derogatory catch-word to imply that Conservatives are not "progressive". With these election results, I'd like to think the public is starting catch on.

Sorry Robert - but I don't see any indication that Horwath is "on drugs". None. No need for that type of accusation. Just a tired leader trying to put lipstick on the pig.

Don't think you'll find any Conservative "socialists" anywhere near the party. Let me know if you come across any.

You've been duped with The Star's anti-Ford headlines again.....read it and tell me if you think that is fair reporting..... Here's the huge, bold headline: Here's the actual content from their own story: Link to The Star article: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/06/05/rob-ford-estate-file-shows-11-million-in-assets-and-no-indication-of-any-payout-to-widow-and-children.html

Timing? At best it appears to be blackmail - pay up or we'll go public. At worst, it's some sort of manipulation by the anti-Ford camp to take advantage of Renata's questionable mental state. Either way, there's a bad smell emanating from it.

And that's bad because.....? As I suggested before, I'll bet SOME of the diehard Liberals (Liberals and nothing else) will stay home with the "why bother" attitude. That would play into the NDP's hands. It'll be interesting, hopefully not disastrous. Seriously, an NDP government would send us into WORSE than Bob Rae territory and would need another Mike Harris to try to bail us out. Interest rates are on the way up - that in itself is a big problem for the Debt and deficits. On top of that are the credit rating agencies who will downgrade us automatically. Taxes will be increasing. Deficit spending is already committed to. There is NO doubt that businesses will take a hit - some will flee like Magna who already said they would go if the NDP win (don't look for that on CBC or in The Star). So the economy and general revenues will take a huge hit. It's not even a minor exaggeration to say that an NDP win would be a disater - one that would be awfully hard to recover from. It's a fact.

Often Wrong - Slightly Right (I got the Right part BTW) - good handle.......reminds me of women, specifically my wife.......they might not always be right, but they're never wrong. Good rule to live by.

Funny you mention greedy. I was thinking this morning along a similar line. The Right is often called greedy at the corporate level - rich companies and CEOs - runaway capitalism - that sort of thing. But this election more than any I remember plays to individual greed - the "what's in it for me" attitude/entitlement. Started by the Liberals and doubled-down by the NDP, it's a schmorgasbord of "free" baubles in the window. I'm so damned disappointed that so many people are falling for the NDP "free" schtick - or are just plain greedy. There's a lot of buyer's remorse already at the federal level - so all I can say is.....be careful what you wish for.

For those who are interested, here it is: Link: http://www.sice.oas.org/trade/nafta/chap-22.asp