Centerpiece

That's the beauty of Maxime - and what he was trying to say in his book. He said it because he believed it. Naive? Maybe. But there are things that politicians SHOULD take a stand on. Guess he thought this was one of them. Regardless of how the media attacked him on his forgetting documents, he's proven more than once to be a man of principle. I like the guy.

The die is likely already cast for a slow death to Supply Management - especially since every other country has already done so. The TPP is the first step - and who knows what the NAFTA Agreement will bring.......so the argument about who is for - and who is against is becoming moot. Link: https://www.agweb.com/article/canadian-farmers-say-tpp-beginning-of-the-end-for-supply-management-naa-jim-dickrell/

For those hoping that this starts an internal squabble, let's not forget the overall context of what Bernier said........

Thank you. I had heard the name but not his great accomplishments. That's what vision and leadership can do. Funny how the media are either too lazy or too politically correct to raise this guy up as a success story - and help to build a foundation of encouragement for others to do something similar. Actually, it's not funny at all.

Transferring that success to the hundreds of other "nations" would be laudable but I wouldn't hold my breath.....and it still does not address the self-imposed apartheid, gender inequity and property rights - among others that arise when racist attitudes towards the White Man are prevalent, if not encouraged. It's time they laid a roadmap to fully participate in Canadian society.

More than 30 years ago, that may have had some merit - at least to TRY. It hasn't worked and won't work until those 600 plus nations get some accountable leadership with the vision and determination to drag indiginous people into the 20th century, if not the 21st. There was no such leadership 30 years ago and there is certainly none today.

Tongue in cheek - but accurately applies to this iteration of (Wynne and Trudeau) Liberals. I prefer to think that previous governments of both stripe had SOME measure of integrity - they were not overt liars and in general, did (or tried to do) most of what they said they would do. Even the hated (or loved) Pierre Trudeau was fairly transparent. He just didn't care - and it took years before the damage of his his deficit/debt orgy became clear. And that's the real shame of the current Trudeau.....not only did he lie about deficits and debt to obtain power - but he has already undone the years of sacrifice that put our books more or less in order. Here's the next election slogan: Why must Trudeau go? Because it's 2019!

A little harsh (maybe) but pretty well true. Any rational look at the issue of utter hopelessness on many of these reserves cries out for trashing the entire system. Even successful ones amount to self-imposed apartheid, devoid of Trudeau's ballyhooed "gender equality". 600-plus "nations"? Where is the leadership with vision - capable of laying out a blueprint for what an empowered indiginous population might look like in 25 or 50 years if not sooner - without the 18th century reservation system? Without such leadership, all the money, hand-wringing and Liberal self-loathing will do nothing to end the cycle of poverty and hopelessness. You're right Argus - we need the political courage to DEMAND such a vision. To DEMAND a roadmap of where and how these particular Canadians can help themselves.

If he appeals - and I'll bet he will try, it means that after all this - he is still failing to recognize the gravity of his offence.....which SHOULD give the appellate court justification to INCREASE his sentence. Now THAT would be justice.

Somewhat stale now but inevitable grist for the political mill - but it looks like the legal and criminal process has come to an end.......... Link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-david-livingston-sentenced-to-four-months-over-deleted-gas-plants/

That's what happens when you have over 600 "nations".

Interesting - there was a huge flurry of reporting about the Forum poll of 728 respondents that showed Liberals making a comeback. I'm out of the country right now but trying to keep up. I have not seen any similar flurry showing the more recent EKOS and Mainstreet polls showing no such thing. I only found out about them through the link. Have there been any mea-culpas from the original flurry?

First off, you used the term "racism" - not me. As the original topic mentioned - it seems that any negativity introduced into an indiginous conversation is often shouted down as "racism". Many Canadians are simply frustrated with a system - both government and aboriginal - that allows poverty and hopelessness to perpetuate within too many of the 600-plus indiginous "nations". This current Liberal government has revised and legitimized the term "colonialism. That has been grasped by the Indiginous Industry to make it seem like if the White Man never came, all would be well. As I indicated with pre-colonial warring tribes - that's just a fairy tale. Indiginous "leaders" often use the term White Man - sounds rather racist to me. I doubt there are many Canadians with outright racist attitudes towards Indiginous people - but a lot are fed up with the self-imposed apartheid of too many reservations that have allowed their own people to descend into the poverty and hopelessness that is so evident. Years ago, I had hope that the Assembly of First Nations would work for the betterment of those 600-plus nations - drawing up a blueprint that would, over time - possibly even decades - amalgamate and regionalize indiginous communities and bring them into the 20th, if not the 21st century. Imagine the political force of a million engaged Indiginous people. Education, jobs and property rights. Create hope for the next generation. It takes time - but it's barely even started. Not racism. Frustration.

You DO know that prior to the arrival of Europeans, tribes all over North America were battling each other. Of particular note in the Ontario/Quebec area were the Hurons and Iroquois - each trying to wipe each other out and broaden their territory. That's why they so easily went to opposite sides of the French/British conflict. The Indian Wars had three outcomes for the defeated - assimilation, slavery, or death - perhaps with a bit of torture thrown in. The image of indiginous Kumbaya prior to "colonialism" is mostly a fairy tale. They stole from each other.

He's in BC today getting ready for a $1000 per plate Liberal fundraiser. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-energy-environment-to-be-focus-of-trudeau-trip-to-western-canada/

You cannot legislate Kumbaya. It takes time - as history continues to prove all over the world. That's why people get their backs up when politicians carelessly use the term "racist" to describe an undefined swath of Canadians. Sure there are a few die-hard racists......but there is a large portion of society who prefer their own "kind" - and many, perhaps even most - are newer Canadians - that's not racism - it's a natural tendency. Why do you think there are huge enclaves of hyphenated Canadians in major cities. I prefer to believe that most Canadians (if they are not from that somewhat fictitious Kumbaya group - living in perfect harmony... color-blind, non-biased, and all-inclusive) subscribe to the "live and let live" doctrine. Canadians are doing just fine, thank you. We don't need to be lectured and shamed - we need to celebrate how far we've come and understand that we are already on a noble path. From Buddhism: "The obstacle is the path".

I don't understand what you're trying to say......really.

Following the topic thread of National Security - we have a supposed an Indian conspiracy that the Trudeau government refuses to tell Canadians about. Now. four Russian diplomats were expelled in a coordinated multi-country response to the poisoning of an ex-spy in UK territory. Chrystia Freeland now says that these diplomats/spies have "used their diplomatic status to undermine Canada's security or interfere in our democracy". Couple of obvious questions here: First, Freeeland didn't have to say that - so what exactly were they doing to undermine/interfere in our security and democracy and secondly - if that was the case, why did we have to wait so long for a convenient excuse to expel them? It seems everything this government says or does ends up in mass confusion - littered with half-truths. Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/russia-diplomats-expelled-canada-election-1.4599210

The BIG LIE continues to grow. Those "modest" 10 billion dollar deficits and balanced budgets were supposed to spur the economy through infrastructure spending. Not only did the deficits bloat to well over $20 billion per year - the Trudeau Liberals have spent only half the money earmarked for infrastructure - with very little impact on the economy. Lies upon lies - there's just no other way to frame it. These guys have got to go. Link: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-slow-pace-of-infrastructure-spending-hurting-canadian-economy-and/

They'll be more as election day nears. Granted, Ford is fertile ground for outrageous comments - but Liberal desperation has not and will not be a pretty sight. We'll all have to consider the source. At one time, Liberals AND Conservatives were somewhat trustworthy parties at both the Federal and Provincial level. They gave Canada well-deserved credit for stable governance. In general, they did what they said they would do, within reason. THESE provincial Liberals cannot be trusted. Putting aside the scandals and waste of the Lost Decade - it was only last year that Sousa said they would balance the budget for the foreseeable future because it wasn't fair to burden our children with debt. Nothing has changed other than their position in the polls as the election looms. You cannot trust what they say. As for Trudeau and THESE federal Liberals - their campaign promises were nothing but lies - each one crafted to attract a block of voters. Not only can you not trust them, you should never believe them. It's sad and shameful that it's come to this.

Just another example of how these things can propagate through cyberspace via twitter and it's re-tweets, online posts and forums......it's a crazy place out there.

On the important points, we agree - Trudeau is not very bright - and it's only one poll. Your story about Ford and the CBC is fake news - unless you can show us a mainstream news piece to the contrary. For heaven's sake, the CBC would have jumped all over it. Here's the exact quote - though somehow I don't think you'll care that much......... Link: http://www.raisethehammer.org/article/3470/

First - it's really more than a gaffe - the Liberals just finished spending a half Billion dollars on our 150th. If he wasn't taught about 1`867, perhaps he could have remembered the celebratory bill. He's not that bright (I'm being kind). You're putting too much hope in your poll of 728 people - so much so that it's gotten comical. Funny how Liberals will revert to "it's only one poll" when it goes the other way. After all the bribes, even THAT poll has then STILL behind by 7 points.

Trudeau's gaffe was not a "slip of the tongue". Watch the video - no one could just ignore having said that. He's just not that bright. At least Ford has street smarts. It remains to be seen how well that will work for him.....but a poll of 728 people with the Liberals still 7 points behind after all those bribes is nothing to be smug about. Funny how the media is focusing on where Ford will find savings from money that we already HAVE - but think nothing of Wynne's 7 billion deficit (and counting) - money that we DON'T have. The only certainty of cuts and increased taxes will come with a re-election of the Liberals because when the Banker's come for their money, it won't be pretty. https://www.spencerfernando.com/2018/02/22/video-speaking-india-trudeau-forgets-old-canada/

That's an invitation to severe thread drift that I'll avoid since we've already drifted from the thread topic.