normanchateau

Because he has the power to steal people's money legally or otherwise create financial chaos. Flaherty has certainly done both. Thanks to Flaherty, our income taxes went up and our basic personal exemption went down on July 1, 2006. Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/stor...oliticians.html Thanks to Flaherty, Stephen Harper's income trust promise was broken in fall. Thanks to Flaherty, a 2007 budget was delivered which redistributed a huge multibillion dollar surplus to dozens of special interest groups. Some provinces were winners, e.g., Quebec, some provinces were losers, e.g., British Columbia. What this country needs is a fiscal conservative rather than a freespender like Flaherty as Finance Minister. May I remind you that in a minority, there is no such thing as a fiscal conservative. So Flaherty raised income taxes on July 1st because he had a minority government? In your dreams perhaps.

Because he has the power to steal people's money legally or otherwise create financial chaos. Flaherty has certainly done both. Thanks to Flaherty, our income taxes went up and our basic personal exemption went down on July 1, 2006. Link: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/stor...oliticians.html Thanks to Flaherty, Stephen Harper's income trust promise was broken in fall. Thanks to Flaherty, a 2007 budget was delivered which redistributed a huge multibillion dollar surplus to dozens of special interest groups. Some provinces were winners, e.g., Quebec, some provinces were losers, e.g., British Columbia. What this country needs is a fiscal conservative rather than a freespender like Flaherty as Finance Minister.

Bunch of stupid people complete ignore the upcoming deadline, pay no attention whatsoever to the news or warnings, and wait until the last minute and - SURPRISE - there's a flood of applications and they have to wait. Obviously the Auditor-General is a fool for suggesting that the Government ought to be proactive in order to maintain a reasonable level of service. She should be completely ignored...except of course when she points out Liberal failings.

He wasn't. He was defending the authority of Parliament. Now who is trying to set up a strawman? Strawman? The Conservatives supported the bloc motion, and Michael Chong defended it. If they didn't want to waste time and money on this issue, they wouldn't have voted for it now would they? So please do explain why the Conservatives, and Michael Chong, supported the motion. If you want to avoid the question again, don't bother waiting for a response. I'm sure they supported it reluctantly, but they supported it for political reasons anyway. In other words, the Conservatives supported the motion because they're noble and high-minded whereas the Opposition supported exactly the same motion because they're a bunch of unprincipled scumbags. Here's an alternative hypothesis. The Conservatives, having previously shown that they lack brains and heart, have no shown that they have no balls.

The Conservatives campaigned on a platform of government accountability. Apparently this does not apply to Peter MacKay's ministry which is apparently "in charge" of Passport Canada. "Auditor-General Sheila Fraser warned the federal government in mid-2006 that the agency wasn't ready for the increase in applications. Naturally, nothing was done -- which has led to the current crisis." Story below: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/ed...e7-68106e9b2b99 Perhaps Monte Solberg, another minister in this government of incompetents, was being ironic last month when he said in Regina, "Canada's new Government is working to improve the services we provide Canadians." I wonder how many of those Vancouverites in the eight hour lineups on the sidewalk at Passport Canada will be voting for Canada's new Government next time.

Who would have thought it? Alberta voted against a party that supports business. Perhaps social conservatism trumps even business.

tHE NEDERANDS rOCk...... Well, maybe a few years ago, but .... Their gov't is getting tough and taking a stance, they are now going to ban the Burkha. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4616664.stm Getting tough? As your link points out, there are only about 50 women in the entire country who wear it now. Seems like banning it is a novel way to provoke the Dutch Muslims but I'm sure the traditional Dutch ways are more effective, e.g., sharing the wealth, legalizing same-sex marriage, condoning marijuana use, minding one's own business. The Dutch Muslims are so conservative that they make Stephen Harper look liberal.

I would certainly agree with you that the Taliban were unequivocally more restrictive and regressive than the current Islamic government in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, I find the current regime not one which is worthy of our support. The fact it's "better" than the Taliban is insufficient, in my opinion, to sacrifice noble Canadians. Suppose Iran, another Islamic regime which is less restrictive and regressive than the Taliban, were threatened by a Taliban-like insurgent group. Should Canadians be sacrificed to save Iran? In my opinion, no. What if NATO asked us to? My answer would be the same. I see the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as analogous, though by no means identical, to Iran. Perhaps one day you'll see it that way as well.

Bingo. Thank you!

BC ideologically similar? Here's how British Columbians planned to vote federally when polled last month: "In B.C., the Liberals would get the support of 39 per cent of voters, compared to 26 per cent for the Tories and 24 per cent for the NDP." Source: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.h...fab6195&k=18732 And the number of Liberal and NDP MPs (19) elected from British Columbia surpassed the number of Conservative MPs (17)...not quite like Alberta. And neither Vancouver nor Victoria elected a Conservative MP, David Emerson notwithstanding.

I agree, there's no question of an association between abortion and suicide. And there's no question that during pregnancy in those who actually want a child, suicide rates actually decline. But I look forward to you citing beneficial evidence on the psychiatric effects of unwanted pregnancies.

In most cases yes, it's not only my opinion but what they are instructing as part of our overseas package, keep in mind i did not say it did not have an impact, but when dealing with indiv Afgan his family,is always first, then his tribe/clan then Afgan and finally to religion...address those concerns first and in most cases you'll have it right. Army Guy, I'm still not convinced that religion ranks fourth in terms of loyalties in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Your evidence is: (1) your opinion (2) "what they are instructing as part of our overseas package". Could it be that what they are instructing is not evidence-based but merely opinions? Over the years, I have learned that what is taught and what is written is not necessarily correct. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. When something doesn't sound intutively correct, I like to search further. I would question the view that religion ranks relatively low in importance in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as it seems to contradict the evidence, e.g., the thousands of Afghan people who participated in demonstrations and protests after the man who converted to Christianity escaped death by fleeing to Europe. Those people were clearly not happy. And if they weren't motivated by fanatical devotion to Islam, why were they protesting? Could it be, Army Guy, that Canadian forces are consciously (or unconsciously) playing down the importance of Islam in Afghanistan in order to justify Canadians risking their lives in this dangerous mission? I wonder how much instruction Canadian forces receive in details of the Afghan constitution which states that the rules of Islam over-ride any human rights in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

No medical need whatsoever? Do you not see psychiatry as a medical discipline? Nine months of compulsory and unwanted pregnancy has significant psychiatric and psychological consequences in a proportion of the population. Even among those who very much want a child, hormone-triggered postpartum depression can be serious and life-threatening. Imagine how serious it can be in those who didn't want the child to begin with. No medical need whatsoever...humbug. Read the psychiatric literature!

NederLands!

Yes, Suzuki has a lot of sway. If they can get him on side that would be a huge plus. That *could* be enough to swing them a majority. Yes, it could swing a majority if Canadians outside of Alberta actually believe that Stephen Harper, the man who proposed to Ralph Klein that a firewall be built around Alberta to protect it from an "aggressive and hostile" federal government, will seriously follow through with a plan endorsed by Suzuki. And if Canadians actually believe that, they'll believe anything that Harper promises...or Dion promises...or Layton promises...or Santa Claus promises.

This appeared in the second link you provided: " But seriously, a contributing factor for the socialist paradise’s demise is the fact that Dutch society is being overwhelmed by Muslim immigrants who do not share…" Assuming this comment accurately reflects what is happening in Holland, those Muslim immigrants might feel more comfortable in Stephen Harper's Canada.

Dissent on climate change within Tory ranks Ian Bailey, CanWest News Service; Vancouver Province Published: Friday, January 12, 2007 VANCOUVER - Canada's rookie environment minister says he will face a tough fight with some Tory colleagues on green issues, according to an NDP MP who met with John Baird this week. MP Nathan Cullen says Baird conceded to the concerns during a get-acquainted meeting in Vancouver with Cullen and federal NDP Leader Jack Layton. ''He expressed there's reluctance within some parts of his caucus,'' Cullen, MP for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, B.C., said Thursday, referring to NDP demands for dramatic action to counter climate change. Meanwhile at the retreat, Layton demanded the Tories drop their opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and embrace its targets and timetables. ''(The Tories) have painted themselves into a corner on this,'' said Cullen. ''(Baird's) the guy that's supposedly going to get them out of this and he's got a lot of work to do.'' [email protected] Vancouver Province © CanWest News Service 2007 This article implies that John Baird will have a difficult task convincing his colleagues about global warming and Kyoto. I think this may be nothing more than spin. If Stephen Harper can get bozos like Myron Thompson to shut up, he can certainly stifle any global warming critics within his party. Come the next election, Harper and his party will pretend to be green just as Harper pretended to be in favour of the Canada Health Act despite his previous pronouncements.

I'm not sure if you're willing to answer this question but if you are, can you say whether your friend was addicted before or after he joined the forces? I ask not because of political motivation but solely because of intellectual curiosity.

Alberta secession is not dead by any means. It is like a volcano that is waiting for the right combination of events and the right leader in place at the right time. Kind of like Germany's perceived humiliation after the Treaty of Versailles?

It was precipitated by a Zolf quote contrasting Diefenbaker's minority government with that of the social conservative Stephen Harper.

"Exploring separation" as a question sounds like the weasel words that Alberta politicians accuse Quebec of with their sovereignty-association poll questions. Yes, that's exactly why Faron Ellis was criticized for phrasing the question as he did. The question was designed to generate a lot of "agree" responses.

OK, thanks, that sort of answers my questions.

The Western Standard published a poll this fall. the polster was Compas. It's a pretty vague question. Adding up the strongly agrees and somewhat agrees they only got 28% support. Here is the link to the poll. This is exactly the same question that was asked in 2005 and shows a significant drop relative to the previous poll. I suppose it's not surprising that having Stephen Harper as PM has reduced the number of Albertans agreeing with the statement.

He didn't feel like running in the election, why would he feel like running in a by-election? He is in the Cabinet already, no? You're right. There's nothing to compel him to run in a by-election other than convention. Here's why I thought he might: Typically, when someone other than an elected MP is appointed to cabinet, an elected member of the same party would step aside and the appointed minister would run for office in a by-election, said Paul Nesbit-Larking, head of political science at the Univertsity of Western Ontario's Huron College. However, Mr. Nesbitt-Larking said it is “acceptable as well” to make such an appointment by way of the senate, even though such a move is “slightly less conventional.” He also said it isn't the first time an incoming prime minister has gone outside the ranks of his elected MPs to fill a cabinet post, noting that former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau made a similar appointment in the 1970s. In 1975, Mr. Trudeau appointed Pierre Juneau as minister of communications, with the expectation he would later win a seat in a by-election. However, Mr. Juneau was defeated in a by-election later that year by the Progressive Conservative candidate and stepped down from the post. No doubt, Mr. Fortier would suffer a similar fate if he ran in a Montreal by-election.

I've heard talk of 40% but never a poll that indicated as such. Even with those numbers though, separation parties in Alberta can't even match Liberal and NDP votes. There was a poll about a year and half ago that was around forty percent. You are referring to the poll published in the Western Standard in August, 2005 which yielded a figure of 42% of Albertans supporting separation. The problem with that poll was how the question was phrased. I don't recall the exact words but it was something to the effect of exploring the idea of forming a new country. Asking people whether they want to explore an idea generates a higher response rate than asking directly about wanting to separate. The pollster, Faron Ellis, was condemned for phrasing the question in a way guaranteed to produce a high percentage of yes responses. I'm not sure if I'm violating some rules of the board by saying so but there are various blogspots, e.g., Bouquets of Gray, which have exposed Ellis' questionable methodology.