Jerry J. Fortin

Canada needs to first redefine its role in international terms. Our role prior to the Conservative government was one of a peace keeping nature. A combat role is something completely different. You need a much different force composition to partake in this role. There is a vast difference in offensive and defensive operations. As it stands we are sadly lacking in an air component in the Afgan theatre of operations. Without attack helicopters and other fixed wing ground attack aircraft our soldiers in the field are deprived of adequate protection. There is a distinct lack of political comprehension of what is involved in military operations in this nation of peace keepers. That little fact has detrimental impact to the mission at hand.

Why concern yourselves with polls? The only relevant issue is how the elected representatives conduct themselves in Parliment. The only votes that are counted are those of the MP's, their positions determine foreign and domestic policy. The Harper government pays for a lot of polls, just as the other political parties and media outlets do. Sadly the system of gauges the government and media uses to ascertain public opinion is flawed and does not reflect the reality of the majority of citizens. As much as the pollsters try, they target an audience that may or may not participate in the democratic process. Unless the person being polled actually votes in a general election then their opinions are not supported by their democratic actions and they can therefore rightly be discounted from the process. So what is the point of the poll? The true problem in this nation is public apathy. The citizens are bombarded with media that is spun to produce a specific desired effect, ususally outrage, and that is more often than not detrimental to resolving the issues at hand. The evolved process has lead citizens to believe that society is so fouled up that they can't possibly make a difference themselves and therefore simply cease to participate in what they belief is a flawed system. Until this nation can produce some leader that is willing and able to provide a vision of the future that is bright and beneficial to the public there will be a lack of will on the part of the citizens to participate in the democratic process. After all, whats in it for them? Negative politics, or attack politics serve the purposes of partisan affiliations but do little to format the benefical support of the majority. Once a political system has degenerated to this level it is extremely difficult for a positive approach to be successful. That is where we now find ourselves, lacking a visionary leader and engaged in negative politics.

The middle east is a powder keg because of religion and history. The lack of tolerance and the desire to seek vengence is coupled with racism and paranoia to create all the conditions for war. Until those conditions are understood and changed then the chance for peace remains at essentially zero. The folks over here taking sides do little to further the cause of peace in the middle east and in fact harm domestic relations here. These concerns of the middle east are not ours. We cannot solve their problems because they don't want us to, and it really isn't up to us how they live. Their societies are in conflict and not related to or endangering ours, so why do we waste our time with the question in the first place?

Canada has had the short end of the stick in this relationship from the begining since we are in literal fact only a tiny fraction in size and economy. So yes we get pushed around alot, but having said that no other nation on this earth enjoys the benefits from mutual association that we in Canada do. There is even far more that could be gained from expanding this relationship. Perhaps more importantly these days in terms of the current state of industrialization and energy consumption we are now becoming even more important to the United States than we ever were. The simple truth is that we need each other badly. That vast gulf in political differences that exists between the two nations is a large sized wall to scale. But it is only a challenge and not truely an impossible impediment that we must overcome. Together these two nations are able to provide energy self sufficiency, agricultural self sufficiency and so much more. Seperately both nations are dependent upon each other to a certain degree. In combination we would be a dominant economic player in the international forum. In very real terms American citizens and Canadian citizens are truely alike in social and cultural matters. It is only the political sector that we differ in and in that we tend to be more people orientated and the Americans more business focused. A merging of the two mindsets would benefit both nations.

We can form one in a hurry after our independence, rest assured. We don't need a militia to seperate, we can simply do it through democratic process in the absense of violence.

THe cause of wars are legion, or at least the blame game rules. The fact that Henry is consulting with George and Dick means that the Bush government is actively seeking solutions doesn't it? Forget what spin is put on the subject for a minute and consider that the impact of this military venture has on the US economy. This is expensive to say the least, and it is coming at a time where US economic interests are begining to conflict with Chinese interests. With Iran right next door who is the single largest supplier of oil to China, the entire question becomes far more complex that what is evident on the surface. Where does the Bush government go in terms of seking a solution to the problem with Iraq? Iraq is a civil war at this point in all but name, and the US is involved. It is no wonder that there is a large flak barrage assaulting the US at the UN. International involvement in a civil war is a big no-no. Therefore nobody is using the word, if you know what I mean. America needs to consider its position very carefully with the China variable in mind. North Korea is a wildcard that China holds in its pocket, screw around with the strategic situation in terms of energy requirements of a nation and you get the picture very quickly. Isn't that how the Japanese stepped into military action in WWII, right after an oil embargo by the US? The only nation North Korea will listen to is China because as crazy as their leader is he just isn't stupid. If China lets this boy off the leash, both South Korea and Japan are threatened without them lifting a hand in Bejing. So staying in Iraq means that they must win there in spite of the civil conflict that they have inadvertantly created, and it means that by extension they must protect their interests there even in the face of Iranian opposition or involement. The picture is far from fuzzy, in fact its very clear. We are at an international political nexus in which any wrong move could have very serious long term implications. Therefore calling in some outside help seems like a reasonable choice to make in my opinion.

And the left wants to throw away our NATO obligations by pulling out of Afghanistan. I have wondered about that myself, given that NATO has no juridiction in Afganistan. The articles of its agreement need to be read carefully but even so I think Afganisatn is a long ways out of the envelope. Having said that the entire Afgan mission is not by definition a peace keeping mission at all. In fact Afganistan is a war mission which is outside of the current Canadian Military mandate. The right wants us involved in the military industrial complex economy which is basically a US owned and operated venture. Getting into that little program will see an extensive transfer of wealth from the Canadian taxpaying citizens into US corporate profits. Funny how times change, since it was the Conservatives which killed the Arrow and destroyed the Canadian aerospace industry which was being successfully developed through our own military industrial complex that was at the time in its infancy. Since it no longer exists by any stretch of the imagination we are required to purchase our military toys from outside sources which translates into buying from our United States friends. Perhaps now it the time to start that age old debate again in Canada. What is our role in international politics? What is our goal in international politics? If it was up to me, luckily for Canada it isn't, I would bail out of NATO and the UN imediately. Both organizations are puppets for strategic alliances that have no benefit to Canadian citizens and have absolutely no democratic infrastructure which in turn obliges Canada to comply with formal instructions that we have no control over and very little to say about. While I am committed to very close relations with the US, and in fact favour stronger ties than we currently have, I simply do not have any desire to associate myself with their foreign policy. Canada needs to think about the IMF and the World Bank. We also need to think about both the EU and the Asia alliances. Things are about to change in this world and we should consider carefully our position and role in the greater scheme of things.

The north west passage is riddled with methane ice nodules just under the surface. These nodules are not unique to the north mind you, the exist along both the east and west coasts and even into the Caribean Sea. In fact these nodules may be in existance on most continental shelves around the world. To date the only method of successful extraction is a Canadian development. The US method has not proven to be viable. Some information sources indicate that these nodule represent a greater potential production capacity of natural gas than any other source on the planet. Why is the debate about our Arctic sovereignty coming to the forefront at this point? Perhaps as the ownership of those lands represents a huge source of revenue from the resource development don't you think.......!

Interesting arguements. Considering that Canadians lost the right to own property according to the 1982 Constitutional reforms, the debate seems to be a mute point in as much as the damned government has already removed the right.

Try hemp cloth! Its a little stiff but wears damned well. Figure a way to soften it up some and you will make a bundle of cash. This stuff is like canvass only rougher its incredibly durable.

Egghead Iggy is a Trudeau wannabe. His entire concept of a carbon tax makes a lot of sense to people in Quebec and Ontario which is where a whole herd of delegates come from. Therefore the carbon tax pundits have an edge. Personally I like the idea of Iggy calling the ball because that would definitely push Alberta over the edge into a sovereignty question. NEP2 would have the effect of NEP1 which had devasting effects for Alberta, and everybody in the province knows it. So bring it on folks, because that is my ticket outa here baby!

There are numerous spin doctors in Alberta that predict a population growth of more than 4% per annum. This is actually modest in my opinion. I would venture to say that there is more than likely 7% right now. The current rate of economic expansion will last for at least a decade, based upon the known mega-projects in the oil patch. The math suggests that even with a 4% rate of population growth we will increase our citizens to the tune of 40% by 2016! This is a problem for the folks at the Alberta Legislature to ponder. I am not real comfortble with the current government being able to create a functional solution to this impending problem. Then again the alternatives under the current slate of prospectives partisan leaders is even less attractive. Dodge City will come under some friendly fire damned quickly unless citizens decide to take some corrective action.

It all depends on how they do it. If it is only a small part of a much larger plan, and Albertans see the manufacturing industry also being affected by the plan, then there won't be that many people pissed off. The thing that pissed Albertans off about the NEP is Alberta was being screwed to help Ontario. If it everybody is feeling pain over the issue we will be much more accomodating. I think not. It won't matter how they do it, even the question of why did they do it matter if they in fact do implement such a political travesty. My money is on them doing it. They are watching the Liberal Leadership campaign and the proponents of a carbon tax are finding some traction in Ontario and Quebec. With that in mind they are fully capable of stealing the thunder, don't think for a second that the Conservatives aren't actively pursuing the means to acquire a majority! The only people feeling pain over this issue will be in Alberta. This foolish plan will have no application to off shore oil in the maritimes or in BC, it will just be oil the ground that gets tagged. The point is that Alberta simply doesn't have the demographics to avoid the consequences of any such action. There are a lousy 28 seats here and Harper knows that. What he wants is the seats in Quebec, you now the ones where there will be no carbon tax because of the hydro industry!

Last poll I saw (including Alberta) showed little support for opening the Constitution. Some may want Senate reform but they don't want Charlottetown or Meech. It is generally a free for all when the Constitution is opened. Harper can only tinker around the edges when it comes to the Senate and even then it may require a ruling from the Supreme Court. Harper can do a lot more than tinker! He could simply appoint a Senator that we elected! But is he smart enough to do that? Further to that he can simply do what he wants which is why opening the can of worms is something that needs to happen. Unfortunately the polls do show that we in Alberta do not favour opening that can of worms, but that answer is completely dependent upon the nature of the question asked! That is what makes me laugh about polls. Who is running them under what pretext? Most of the MSM is aligned with one partisan faction or another so the question foundation is designed to promote a partisan position! Once again the need for political reforms becomes more and more visible, all we have to do is open our eyes and minds to the outside of the box thinking that we require to solve the problems we have. The current bunch of partisan legislators seek career advancement along with power and influence. What citizens need is public servants who actually desire to represent the interests of their constituents instead of their partisan leaders or for that matter their own positions on matters. Once the can of worms is opened, we will see where the slimy poitical creatures gravitate to! Only then will citizens see what happens next. Life is truely like a box of chocolates, but you do have to open the box in order to gain the opportunity to taste the rewards of the effort!

to be replaced by? A large movement toward independence, and whatever political faction that supports retaining what is ours. Equalization is only the tip of the iceberg, the other side of the equation is the royalty regime. The feds and the rest of the nation believe they have an entitlement to the rewards of our efforts.

No one wants constititional reform. Beyond that, I suppose there is violent overthrow. I think most of Alberta wants Constitutional Reform! We want an elected senate and the only way to get that is through opening that can of worms.

The choice of ignoring Africa is not wise. The cost of humanity is high, but you simply can't put a price on human life. Trying to calculate a ROI on Africa merely highlights the plight of the citizens there. Without effort on part they will believe that we do not value their lives, this will not serve the purpose of attaining peace on this earth.

Wait for it.....here comes Rona ! NEP2 will change a few minds. That with whoever gets the crown jewel and the job of Premier. The days of the Conservatives in Alberta are numbered.

In simple terms use it or lose it. After Alberta seperates from Canada in 2015 (!) a movement will begin to annex the rest of Western Canada, the Northern Territories and Alaska. Sound funny? Think of it this way, all of these locations believe that the federal counterparts treat them unfairly. Once Alberta draws the line in the sand it will get a lot of people thinking. Depending on how an independent Alberta is set up other may or may not choose the same path of independence. Alaska has much in common with Northwest Canda, far more than it does with the lower 48. Consider the resource wealth of such a combined nation! Do the math people, no other nation on earth has that much wealth. Ha ha..... go figure! A nation like that would have sufficient means of feeding itself with praire wheat and Alberta beef, not to mention the greenhouses of BC. There is fish galore in the northern lakes and the two giant bodies of water in Manitoba, let alone the Arctic fishery which is currently undervalued or even marginally developed. There is oil and gas, uranium and coal, and even hydro power within the borders of such a country. There is even diamonds and gold. There is a hell of a lot more resources that are not developed. Just a thought......

The Conservative Party was the founding party in Confederation, a rose by any other name......

But it may create a little vigor in Alberta! This could form the beginings of a seperatist movement in the Land of the Black Gold. It may even serve to oust the current Tory government here in a guilt by association scam!

I agree there will never be a perfect system. Having said that, the current system is far from perfect already and too few people choose to view it in that fashion and act against it.

The birthplace of humanity is in dire straits. Unless the world starts paying attention to the travesties going on there the consequences will be extreme. As it stands a vast portion of the population is HIV positive, impoverished and the largest receipants of products from the arms manufacturers of the world. Not that they are buying nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, or even aircraft. They are not buying tanks and and SAMs, they are buying AK47's and M16's. Millions of landmines are sold there as well. The world is taking a profit at the expense of Africa in the arms industry. Its easy to understand why there is so much political unrest over there. The scant funds available to governments in this less than industrialized continent go to providing the means of achieving or retaining political power at gunpoint.

Proportional representation is not an answer to the problem. Electoral reforms can only scratch the surface of the political reality. The system of a federal parlimentary form of government is flawed. The system is antiquated and incapable of reforms.

The only enlightening thing about 9/11 is how it changed a Presidency. Bush campaigned on less government and less involvement in the lives of citizens, but look how things have turned out. I don't blame Bush for this, I just state a fact. Amercans have lost some freedom and are now subject to corporate governance. The military industrial complex has added trillions to their national debt. That little segment of the economy is so large that it now dominates all other areas. Defense contractors account for a huge percentage of employment, and those are good paying jobs. In turn this has provided much disposable income for citizens who have been raising families and buying houses. This residential development is the source of their next largest industry. Along with this industry is the real estate sector which has been booming for as long as the defense contractors have, an interesting point I might add. Now consider this, what happens when the bubble bursts on the real estate sector? Defaulted mortages are becoming very common and the bankruptcy rules are changing. Those unfortunate citizens finding themselves in a credit crunch will have an adverse impact to the financial sector which will cause some ripples in that industry. Since the government borrows money to buy the bombs and bullits the defense contrators make, and since taxes are going down what effect will that have on the US dollar? In addition the oil producing countries in the middle east are shifting to Euro Dollars instead of greenbacks, doesn't that mean a significant drop in demand for US dollars? What do people think will happen to the US dollar, and what will the economic impact be of replacing the greenback with the Euro? The United States has lost its budget surplus and replaced it with a deficit. That is what 9/11 has done, but it isn't over yet. Times are changing.............