normanchateau

And here's what I said: "Dion signed on for a two year extension thereby depriving voters of yet another reason to vote for him." A strategic error on Dion's part and one he'll regret.

And of course this conversation could only have happened at the Democratic Convention.

Harper is the extreme right. He even opposes embryonic stem cell research. With a minority government, he has few prospects for passing socially conservative legislation. Thanks to the opposition, even his six months for one marijuana plant legislation are stalled in the Commons Justice Committee.

And so the nameless Cabinet Minister spoke to? And of course this conversation could only have happened at the Democratic Convention.

Afghanistan Extension July 10, 2008 Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in Canada believe the House of Commons was wrong to lengthen the country’s military mission in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 58 per cent of respondents disagree with the decision to extend the mandate until the end 2011, up four points in two months. (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - More adults in Canada believe the House of Commons was wrong to lengthen the country’s military mission in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 58 per cent of respondents disagree with the decision to extend the mandate until the end 2011, up four points in two months. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/more_...stan_extension/ Too bad Dion signed on to Harper's extension. Most Canadians oppose it.

Alberta seems different from the rest of Canada in that they have a right wing majority so vote-splitting is less relevant. No wonder Harper wanted to put a firewall around Alberta to protect it against the rest of Canada.

And the Cabinet Minister who spoke to Obama about the importance of Nafta is?

Or the Greens might eventually form a coalition with what's left of the Liberals analagous to Britain's third party, the Liberal Democrats.

Yet another reason why Dion has been a disastrous leader. With a majority of Canadians opposed to the Afghan mission, Dion signed on for a two year extension thereby depriving voters of yet another reason to vote for him.

And there's no better qualified Canadian than the Health Minister to tell them so. And there's no better place for the Health Minister to tell them so than at the Democratic Convention when the focus of Americans is on what Canada has to say.

Like six months in jail for one marijuana plant?

August 26, 2008 DENVER - Dismissing criticism of being AWOL during Canada's food recall crisis, Health Minister Tony Clement said Tuesday his trip to the Democratic National Convention was part of a robust new effort to inject Canadian interests into U.S. politics. "We believe and prime minister Stephen Harper believes that we have to be more aggressive in representing Canadian values and interests in the American political scene," Clement told Canwest News Service from the convention on Tuesday. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/new...b9-acfe0cf0bb36 Yes, nothing could possibly be more urgent for Canada's Health Minister than telling Americans about Canada's values. Way to go Tony and Steve, eh.

With the Conservatives now 9 points ahead of the Liberals in Ontario before the campaign officially begins, it's inevitable. Dion does not have the personality, funds or Flanagan- and Rove-type, American-trained political advisors to fight the kind of fight that he now needs to fight.

Funny how you failed to mention all the Conservative Cabinet Ministers who also attended the Democratic Convention: http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?di...7/chatterhouse/ No doubt they were there on tax-funded government business, promoting NAFTA...

I suspect that how Canadians vote on October 14th is independent of any comments made by you, I or jdobbin on mapleleafweb.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...ba-d10be1a9efa8 "David Emerson said Thursday evening that he could have won Vancouver-Kingsway but ultimately decided not to seek re-election in order to spend more time with his Vancouver family. Asked about speculation this week that Prime Minister Harper could opt to keep Emerson in cabinet by appointing him to the senate, Emerson said: "I haven't even given any thought to that. It's premature to speculate on anything of that nature." What's interesting here is what Emerson did NOT say: (1) He did not say that he'd decline a Senate appointment and cabinet position if it were offered to him. (2) He did not say that Harper would not be so sleazy as to appoint an unelected senator to his cabinet.

We deserve better but won't get what we deserve until 2012. I wouldn't wish Harper on my worst enemy.

I agree completely. This is a historic time for Canada and reminiscent of what happened in Great Britain in the early part of the twentieth century when the Liberals became a third party leaving only Labour and the Conservatives as the major parties. Churchill was forced to abandon the Liberals and rejoin the Conservatives if he hoped to remain a MP. Dion has been a disaster for the Liberals and even in the unlikely event that he campaigns well, he'll have no momentum and few funds for advertising. Canada will eventually have two major parties, CPC and NDP. Eventually the NDP will capture former Liberal voters but it will be a long process shortened only if the social conservative wing of CPC becomes influential.

Reminiscent of Harper's delay, via CPC MP Art Hangar, of the Cadman allegations.

Having such a metric will encourage parties like the Christian Heritage Party to run 308 candidates. Maybe that's not such a bad idea. It would siphon off some of those Harper voters.

These findings parallel those of political contributions as well. Not only did more Canadians contribute to the NDP than the Liberals in 2008, their average contribution was higher. In the first quarter 0f 2008, 68.7% of contributions went to the Conservatives, 15.5% went to the NDP and 12.2% went to the Liberals. A Conservative majority is on the horizon.

A democracy is where a candidate can be elected a Liberal MP, be found in violation of the Canada Elections Act three times, be booted out of the Liberal party, and become a Green MP with the full endorsement of Elizabeth May. Opportunist Blair Wilson almost makes Belinda Emerson look ethical.

Of course not. The mandatory jail time for marijuana legislation that Harper introduced is now stalled in committee, specifically the Commons Justice Committee chaired by CPC MP Art Hangar. So why is it stalled. Here's the story: "The outline of what the government will evaluate when deciding whether to pull the plug was signalled by Government House leader Peter Van Loan in an interview with Canwest News Service. He suggested the government is fed up with having to "push Parliament to the brink" of defeating the government to secure passage of legislation. Van Loan singled out specific outstanding legislation he believes the government received a mandate to enact and which he alleges the opposition has been purposely obstructing and delaying. Among the legislation are three crime bills. Dion said the three crime bills are stalled in the Commons justice committee because the Conservative committee chair, Art Hanger, repeatedly shuts down the meetings when opposition MPs seek a vote to hold hearings on an alleged attempt to buy a vote from the late Chuck Cadman, an Independent MP, in 2005." http://www.dose.ca/news/story.html?id=8bea...b6-2c79c3632f9a No wonder Harper wants an election before the Commons Justice Committee meets again. Every time they meet, Hangar cancels the meeting. So Harper's six months in jail for one marijuana plant legislation is stalled because he wants the media and the Canadian public to forget about the Cadman allegations.

What evidence do you have that they offered him a safe seat? Emerson lives in Vancouver Quadra which the Liberals won by only 151 votes in the 2008 byelection. There were rumors that he would run in Quadra but CPC has appointed Deborah Meredith, the Conservative who almost won the riding in the byelection, to run again: http://www.straight.com/article-159987/rem...h-versus-murray Too bad. As a Quadra resident, I was very much looking forward to Emerson knocking on my door. I might even have provided him with feedback about his leader.

So six months of mandatory jail time for one marijuana plant is prudent and tactful?