Leafless

To the contrary, the values of official bi-lingualism should and must trump all other values, even public safety and defense. Then you must be in favour of a welfare state. Quebec is always touting Quebec superiority yet cannot even manage to support it's own province in it's official language on it's OWN without massive federal aid. Demands concerning unreasonable linguistic equality at the expense of ROC does not make economical sense and deprives Canadians of other important priorities. Why would you suggest oppressing other Canadians in order to support Quebec's unrealistic, unjustifiable language demands?

Some Canadians rewarded them with four straight election wins. You can go as far back as 1945 and find it was only the Conservatives who cracked the 50% popular vote barrier with one being John Diefenbaker in 1958 with 53.66% of the popular vote and Brian Mulroney in 1988 who broke the 50% barrier with 50.03% in 1984. We are rewarding political parties with a faulty electoral system.

Iam not as confident as you concerning federal official bilingualism with the emphasis on 'federal' as Canada itself is NOT officially bilingual. The part I have trouble with is it is basically the ROC that is catering by federal demand to federal public service bilingualism while Quebec gets off WITHOUT linguistically reciprocating within it's French provincial kingdom concerning the promotion of English concerns. In my book there is no way Quebec earned these prestigious French rights imposed by OUR federal government and simply because it pays federal taxes does not or should not justify these prestigious rights.

How exactly were the polls manipulated ? Either the Liberals followed public opinion or they did not. If they misrepresented the findings of the polls, then they weren't following public opinion and they were dictators - dictators who somehow got re-elected time after time. If they followed what the polls said, then they were catering to majority interest. Which was it ? Public opinions can be manipulated with carefully written questions relating to polls... Could this be the Liberals key to success?

Leafless, you can maybe make a case for how bilingualism leads to a dysfunctional Ottawa, but this is not good evidence. One of the main causes for a dysfunctional Ottawa relates to linguistic power struggles within federal entities. Obviously it has spread to CSIS.

Fine, Leafless. If you prefer, we should show Quebec who's boss by ignoring all intelligence that isn't in English. That would lighten CSIS's workload immeasurably and quicken their communications as well. That's one solution. How about Quebec simply communicating in English? If Quebec were a separate country, what language do you suppose they would be using communicating with CSIS Canada?

That is a nonsensical question as it involves different interpretations concerning democracy. In a free democratic society with some exceptions leaders rule by catering to majority interest. In Canada the obvious advantageous use of polls which can be manipulated to the desires of a totalitarian government is the route the Liberals choose to take.

Actually, it does just the opposite. The allegation is that a unilingual and unicultural agency missed some information because it came from the French sphere. If there's any time of government agency that should incorporate as many languages as possible, it's intelligence. The "French sphere" that you refer in Canada from a province that is not even 'officially bilingual' is a MINORITY LANGUAGE. The only province in Canada that can accommodate that title being 'officially bilingual' is the province of New Brunswick. The majority language in Canada is ENGLISH. Reports to CSIS from the U.S. and other countries utilize the international language of the world English. Are you suggesting in the world of terrorism investigation and communication within CSIS be bogged down with time consuming hard or impossible words to translate or simple translation with the potential to produce faulty information simply to accommodate a single minority language with an agency that sometimes must communicate quickly and efficiently with other world security agencies?

Never mind the totalitarian religious government think of what democracy really means in Canada. This is my point. How dictatorial or totalitarian a government in Canada is, is entirely in the hands of that party. Most Canadians do not know or are not aware of what goes on behind the scenes. How do you suppose for instance 'official bilingualism' was implemented and made policy?? All parties in Canada can rule in a totalitarian manner if they wish. Back to the church. How has the Catholic religion dictated the role of government in Canada outside of the controversial gay marriage controversy where gays stole the concept of marriage from the church. Christianity in general ( all denominations) were forced to defend that religiously attached traditional concept from being abused by a group not generally recognized with in the confines of most Christian domination's?

Can you imagine language squabbling or perhaps even worse trying to manipulate or perhaps control CSIS operating functions based on impressing the minority French language as the language of importance within CSIS. Who in their right mind would incorporate any sort of bilingual policy in a an important agency such as CSIS who's main criteria is to protect the Canadian public? If there is any example where majority rules it is this one where has there should be no question as to what language especially for all around practicability and coupled with many safety concerns should be used. This example highlights what Charter rights and federal government bilingual policy has done to destroy the efficiency and operating characteristics not only with CSIS but within the entire public service as many federal public service complaints are duplicates of what is going on within CSIS. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/s...5d6&k=73695

Opinion polls are more than sometimes worded to obtain a desired response and could be used to manipulate the masses. If you believe you are in the fold replying or agreeing to an opinion poll ----please think again. The PM in Canada has more power than a president and is on the same level as a monarch. If you do not understand the damage done to Canada by previous federal governments behaving solely in a dictatorial manner and in the same manner as a totalitarian government, I really don't understand why you would be worried or object being ruled by a totalitarian religious government.

I think you will find all socities are racist and as nothing to do with religion per say but "Dominance Hierarchy". This is the real cause concerning indifference, incompatibility of the races. "Dominance hierarchies can also be observed in human societies and are important phenomena to understand the organization of family, tribe or clan, work organizations, politics, etc. in normal and abnormal social situations. It is not clear how much of dominance hierarchy in humans is due to the intrinsic biology of our brains, derived from evolution, and how much is due to cultural factors." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominance_hierarchy

While I for one would love to see a debate on traffic safety....considering there are perhaps 100,000 times more cars on the road in the last 5 days than CNDs in afghanistan....perhaps we should limit the numbers of cars on the road for the next 5 days to 2,500 for better accuracy in analogies...or boosting our troops to 2,200,000 for a week....either or, I'm flexible. Don't you get it? Canadian soldiers dying are worth more sorrow than Canadians dying on the roads. Cmon now. This is truly a matter of opinion. The Afghanistan issue is a very complex issue and is not not cut and dry. Our soldiers in Afghanistan are all volunteers and whether they think this war is worth the fight then it is totally their personal business or decision independent of what any Canadian might think or support. It is for this reason that Canadian support cannot be guaranteed and should not be expected.

Really?? How so? What we have in Canada is a multitude of Canadians spinning toy steering wheels -- the kind that you attach to children car seats to give them the illusion that they are driving. I agree to a point, majority demands do not rule the land. But then again in Canada this really depends who is steering the government. Normally in a democracy governments do listen to majority concerns important to it's citizens.

Really? Presumably, laws that create a free society. In your opinion, hould english Canada have a language law similar to the law in Quebec that requires the use of English only? That is a distinct possibility. All provinces in Canada have the right to declare their majority language 'official' similar to what Quebec did with their language. The process is the same in the U.S. where there are states that have declared themselves officially English separate from the federal version if applicable.

At least try to be honest in your irrelevant data..you said import vehicles.....the data is a comparison between north american and over seas...... I consider autos made in Mexico to be foriegn (detroit too) Where is your data????

LinkNo other comment. Blair=Chretien, I don't think so! Tony Blair is a leader not a dictator preoccupied with the fate of his own minority culture. Like all strong leaders Tony Blair will pay the ultimate price for refusing to dance to the beat of fickly voters.

Leger Marketing is a Quebec based research dedicated with Quebec interest in mind and gives out prizes to answer questions. http://www.peterdiekmeyer.com/040106.html http://legerweb.com/default.asp?langue=EN I wouldn't be to concerned with a poll of this type as many Canadians are misinformed and not kept abreast concerning pertinent facts regarding their own welfare.

There goes your reading comprehension again...I'm calling you a historical revionist...but hysterical revisionist would probably be more accurate. Where have I revised history concerning the history of Canada? Perhaps you can produce a link that describes how France conquered and won Canada. Quebecers are only a group of people left over from when French elites retreated back to France and left these people with virtually NO RIGHTS or entitlement to the land other then what Britain gave Quebec in the form of the 'Quebec Act'. I'll say it again because today is BKTIs day... 18th century politics has no place in 21st century canada. Your opinion is unsubstantiated and was never formally challenged. That day will come.

Is this the real reason our troops are dying in Afghanistan????

Do you pull these gems out of your arse or do you have someone to assist you? I got news for you, I'm not sure what part of the hinterland you are currently squatting in, but DVD players are obsolete or will be in the next 5 years....and the last I looked "jap" cars are in demand so I don't know what you intend to mean when you sputter so. Perhaps you are like that urban legend fellow Charles H. Duell who urged the President to close down the patent office because everything had already been invented. The "technology" that has propelled India is not new. It's called education. India has seen a boom in knowledge based industries like programming. Not to mention it's becoming an outsourcing capital. So be it. What has happened in India can be replicated anywhere there is education and capital. Your gloomy and near sighted predictions are hilarious. We had a good chuckle in the office, keep them coming. Iam really not certain how you can predict the future relating to economies in to-days volatile world especially Afghanistan's in which I predict will not advance or progress very far from it's present state. Import vehicles are Not leading the way in Canada and had in 2005 only a 32% market share. http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060214/d060214a.htm I don't know what this India thing you have but per capita income of a 496.4 million working population was $3,400 U.S. and ranks 122nd world wide in 2005.

Really? What evidence do you have to support that? Would you say that 25 years ago someone would have predicted that India would be a player in the global economy? Or Korea? Would you say that someone 50 years ago would have predicted that Japan would become the world's leading auto manufacturer? Where does, Malaysia or Singapore fit in to your already antiquated opinion? The economies you quoted happened years ago when technology was still progressing. To-day we already have all the cheap plastic items, dvd players and the sort anyone could possibly want and jap cars if you want them. Technology has reached a peak and there is really nothing new to bring new third world countries into the fold without sacrificing modern technology necessary to keep our own countries functioning.

There goes your reading comprehension again...I'm calling you a historical revionist...but hysterical revisionist would probably be more accurate. Where have I revised history concerning the history of Canada? Perhaps you can produce a link that describes how France conquered and won Canada. Quebecers are only a group of people left over from when French elites retreated back to France and left these people with virtually NO RIGHTS or entitlement to the land other then what Britain gave Quebec in the form of the 'Quebec Act'.

Do you actually have a clue what the REAL reason for the war in Afghanistan is all about. For starters there is no way economies in most third world countries will ever be developed similar to ours the U.S. or Europe. For instance the only real reason China is successful as they are is they have an non-exhaustible number of their own people they will perpetually be able to exploit. But the real reason for the war in Afghanistan is "The survival of the culture". Large civilizations are presently dying with others trying desperately to claw their way to the top. "Radical Islam is an opportunistic infection." " Radical Islam is what multiculturalism has been waiting for all along" Here is an interesting article: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110007760 The war in Afghanistan IMO is not our war. It would make more sense simply to bomb these countries off the map rather than waste lives with our ground troops in an offensive role.

First of all, Christianity is not the government's "own" religion - we have a seperation of church and state in this country. And I doubt very much that you would refuse to adhere to a court ruling forcing the Canadian public to accept only the standards of Christianity. Freedom of religion means that people are not hindered in practicing whatever form of religion they choose. If their religion dictates that they wear a turban, no one should stop them - really, what harm does it do you? As for gay marriage, the topic has been exhausted on several threads. IMO the government of Canada has a moral obligation to support Canada's major religion similar to the U.S. In Canada Christianity was and is a positive force and goes hand in hand concerning providing the building blocks and moral fibre that holds and bonds society together building this great civilized country. And to be denounced by the federal government in favour of homosexual concerns relating to marriage was a BLACK day for Christians in Canada Freedom of religion does not carry on to the streets of society in everyday life as this could be seen as fanatical or cultish in nature. The point of the issue is the government has no business forcing society to accept the foreign religious dress code (turban) especially in areas of public employment as many Canadians could find this offensive. Personally I find the turban looks silly and unprofessional as well as reminding me of the fanatical Taliban in Afghanistan and would certainly want no employee of mine wearing one.