Brian

You say: "Our Charter should be rewritten and the only system that works in a capitilistic democratic country is unfortunately majority rule all other systems are subject to corruption." Please clarify what changes you think should be made to the Charter. Bear in mind that any changes to the Charter are subject to the amending formula.

I believe that power corrupts and have no doubt that if Harper and the current version of the Conservative Party gain a majority he and his party will become corrupt just like the current Liberal Government. The Conservative Blue Book, released today, is full of smoke and mirrors coupled with some creative accounting. The Senate is a colonial anochronism and ought to be abolished in my opinion. In any event meaningful Senate reform is highly improbable as there are too many vested interests at play not to mention the threshhold for Constitutional change (amending formula). Electing some some fire breathing conservative from Alberta and then having that person appointed by the Government is hardly meaningful. Secondly Harper's affinity to all things American as well as the links with the Christian fundamentalists in the USA are most disconcerting to me.

I'm glad we won't have to rely on you for parliamentary reform.

You arrogant SOB. I've been all over Europe (GB, Netherlands, German, France, Italy, Check rep, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg). You don't know Sh*t about me. So don't assume. Slightly higher? The taxes are MUCH higher, on top of that, the EU unemployment is nearly double than the US, almost tipple in some countries when broken out. Why would you brag about their min wage? It's pathetic; it's like bragging about being the dumbest in the class. Min wage is for the most unskilled workers to have a bare min. Not exactly something you should be banking your family’s income on. Hell, get a second job if you don’t like, nobody said live was easy. BTW, in your example our '70 yr old women' wouldn't need to work b/c she would have Social Security and Medicare, among many other social services provided by the US. Not to mention whatever retirement plan she had built up throughout her life. America1 you strike me as a very angry man with an axe to grind. Maybe your mommy didn't cuddle you enough.

Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party he leads definitely have a considerable following if the polls are to be believed. I have no doubt that Harper, at heart, is a conservative with very fundamentalist views. I also have no doubt that there is a link between the neoconservative element in the Republican Party in the USA and the Harper led Conservative Party. The current Conservative Party is after all the by-product of a rather questionable merger of the old Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance (Reform Party). For some voters, who are of a conservative persuasion, there appears to be a need to decide whether to vote for Harper and his bunch, to continue to support the Liberals (there is a sizable element of conservatism in the Martin version of the party), or not vote at all. Depending where a person is located I would suggest, as a social democrat, that those undecided vote strategically. I am hoping this next Parliament will have many more NDP MP(s) with the NDP holding the balance of power. Should this be the case it really doesn't matter to me whether the Liberals or Conservatives have the most seats. Under the current circumstances I like the idea of a minority government as the arrogance of majority government is replaced with a more collaborative approach.

Hello. I've just registered here and would like to comment on the topic. As I see it Canada/US relations are at an all time low primarily due to the stance currently taken by the current American Administration. As the world's only superpower it is, in my opinion, using it's powers in an overly agressive manner to the detriment of us all. My son lives in Dallas and he tells me that living down there is like living in a different world than we are accustom to. On an individual level I am sure Americans and Canadians want many of the same things out of life. I am from central Canada and occasionally travel to the states to the south of me. There is no discernable difference between the two places. We speak the same language and appear to have similar tastes. When I travelled to Texas I did notice a difference in the ethnic makeup than that which I noticed just south of the 49th parallel. On an instutional level I see Canada as being distinct from the USA in that I think we emphasize the collective in contrast to the emphasis on the individual in the USA. Even though we (Canada/USA) have a number of differences I feel that there is a strong enough bond between us to overcome some of the problems we are currently experiencing. I am at the left of the political spectrum.

Yes and no, it should be noted that a great many Americans strongly support the policy and administration. I think the worm turned on this when the administration was returned to power for a second term, I know thats when many Europeans came to the realization that the government in the US IS representative of the people. So then you are saying one cannot separate one's politics from one's essence or personality? Some of my best friends are on the extreme right of centre and I am a bonafide lefty. Yet, we have no difficulty in maintaining our friendship. I don't hate the conservative point of view. I respect it, but do not agree with it, and I don't judge people by their political affiliations. Yes and no, it should be noted that a great many Americans strongly support the policy and administration. I think the worm turned on this when the administration was returned to power for a second term, I know thats when many Europeans came to the realization that the government in the US IS representative of the people. So then you are saying one cannot separate one's politics from one's essence or personality? Some of my best friends are on the extreme right of centre and I am a bonafide lefty. Yet, we have no difficulty in maintaining our friendship. I don't hate the conservative point of view. I respect it, but do not agree with it, and I don't judge people by their political affiliations.