scribblet

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Its a good start, Harper's opening campaign speech was to a packed crowd. He performed flawlessly, with his english occasionally interspersed with some pretty classical french. He was positive, good humoured and crisp. I think he punched a sufficient number of hot policy buttons, the childcare policy, Parliamentary and Senate reform, tax reduction, healthcare, defence, and accountability. If he keeps this up and gets fair media coverage including the CBC, the CPC has a chance.

Women weren't allowed to vote in 1890 - should we go back to them times??? In 1890, the life span was much younger, people got married, worked and raised their children at a very young age. In 2005, perverts are not wanting sex as "part of the package"; they are using 14 year olds for their personal pleasure. It is inconcievable that any parent could support that... . <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is isn't it, 'liberal value' are certainly not necessarily Canadian values.

She's not all that silent, she put forward the motion to raise the age of consent, and has been questioning about law and order and gun violence etc. She was speaking up for seniors last week as Liberal are blocking a fast track motion that would place seniors as pension recipients upon reaching age eligibility. She does her job. Grewal did the right thing which shows some cojones and respect for the party.

"An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda), popularly known as Bill C-250, its title during the second session of the 37th Canadian parliament in which it was passed, was a controversial piece of Canadian legislation. The act added penalties to the Criminal Code of Canada for inciting the hatred of or encouraging the genocide of people on the basis of sexual orientation." No one in their right mind would condone 'gay bashing' per se, the problem with the bill is its language, and lack of definition in the wording. It could and has had the effect of limiting freedom of speech and doesn't go far enough to protect religious institutions. It does not go far enough to distinguish between the 'person' and the 'sexual activity' so we should all be concerned that this will have the effect of of labeling the bible for instance, as hate literature, the Koran too. I'm an agnostic more or less, not any religious fundamentalist, but I believe we need to protect our religious institutions and the freedom of speech, and opposing this does not translate into hatred of gays or any other such labeling.

The age of consent has not always been 14, it was dropped from 16 to 14 by the conservatives. They did this in the name of equality for male and female, they should have raised the 14 to 16 instead. The age of consent for sodomy is 18, Svend Robinson and Egale want it lowered to 14 in the name of equality, which would have the practical effect of allowing a 40 year old male to have legal access to a 14-year-old youth for sexual purposes. Maybe it should all be equalized out at 16. Back in 2002 a Canadian Poll on Age of Consent got 80% Support In 2002, a Pollara survey commissioned by Focus on the Family Canada found 72% of Canadians want the age of consent raised to 16. A further 8% believed it should be raised even higher. Only 18% said it should stay at 14 years of age. http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/links/offsi...pollresults.pdf What motive would someone have for not raising it, when we know that raising the age of consent to 16 will not criminalize acts between teenagers. The criminal Code already exempts from prosecution those closely related in age. The Canadian Police Association agree as do a majority of voters raise to raising it from 14 to at least 16. So this issue has considerable public support. Priority should be given to three major areas of child abuse in Canada - issues on which the government should take action. (1) raising the age of consent for sexual activity for adolescents, which is set at 14 years of age, and which is one of the lowest in the western world; (2) closing the loophole of "artistic merit" in our child pornography law; and (3) curtailing cross-border pedophiles luring Canadian children on the Internet for sexual purposes. Canadian children are more vulnerable in this regard than children in other countries because of Canada's low age of consent for sexual activity and also because Canada has more households with computers than anywhere else in the world.

Too bad. Does anyone have any stats as to how parliament would look if there had been proportional representation?

I'm curious about the ignore feature, and how many people find it useful. I can understand how someone might want to use it, but then would it not disrupt the continuity of a thread, make it hard to understand what's going on ?

I've decided to start posting on here more often as it appears to be well run, no personal attacks, hijacking of threads etc. Hope it continues that way. Just curious though, thread drift is normal, but is hijacking of threads allowed, and how far will admin let them go ? cheers

This is exactly the same position of the Reform Party in which Harper was a co-founder. Put yourself in that position, with this defeatist position how are you going to convince Quebecers to vote "no"? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Your probably right, I would and so would Harper still campaign to keep them in confed. after all, nobody in their right minds would really want to see Canada break up, least of all Stephen Harper.

So do I, and Harper has united a party and actually transformed it to 'Liberal Lite', (not necessarily good) he's certainly no religious extremist as some would like to portray him, his religion is a private matter to him. In fact, he's become a bit soft on some conservative issues, particularly the social issues. Thats okay for me, but he still has to come out and be more specific on policy, guess we'll hear more of that now. Although the liberals have stolen a lot of the CPC thunder, I'm hoping Harper has something up his sleeve to pull this off. I think his or the party's biggest problem is getting their actual policies and message out, but the media etal continue to repeat the tired old rhetoric. As far as I know there's nothing in the works for a leadership review, I suppose if he loses badly, then there would be one. I'm guessing Monte Solberg might be a contender.

Its going to be nasty, their attack ads are allready in the works. Funny I thought liberlas didn't like American style politics, the liberals do it best. Well in my opinion. Here's how Harper can fight back David Frum National Post Tuesday, November 29, 2005 We know how the Liberals will campaign against Stephen Harper. They will fill the airwaves with ads in which a concerned female voice talks of a "scary secret agenda" while the screen flashes grim, black-and-white photographs of the Conservative leader. The real question is: How will Harper fight back? Maybe this time, he should try some negative ads of his own. How about one showing the face of Joe Morselli and some highlights from his career -- over a recording of the voice of former Liberal director-general Daniel Dezainde testifying that Morselli was the "real boss" of the Liberal party in Quebec? Maybe the ad could then fade into a clip of Dezainde testifying that he believed that Morselli had threatened his life. Or perhaps Stephen Harper could carry with him a manila envelope stuffed as if it contained $120,000 in hundred-dollar bills: the amount of cash Marc-Yvan Cote says he received from former Liberal party official Michel Beliveau. Perhaps we could see some shots of the lavish behind-the-scenes goings-on at the Montreal Grand Prix, with Liberal politicians and cronies entertaining themselves at taxpayers' expense? Perhaps an ad could recreate one of those legendary "cigar club" evenings at which sponsorship deals were done over Havanas donated by Fidel Castro's ambassador. Justice John Gomery has concluded that these misdeeds took place over seven years without Paul Martin ever catching on. That too offers a rich target for Conservative ads. The theme could be: What else has Paul Martin missed? Maybe that's why taxes are so high -- and the hospital waiting lists so long -- because Mr. Martin just didn't notice. Perhaps the ads could feature an alarm clock and a cheerful message to Canadians that it is time to wake the Liberals up. Another approach: The average Canadian paid a little over $6,300 in federal taxes in 2005. The total cost of the sponsorship program over the period 1994-2003 was $332-million. In other words, this one program devoured the total annual taxes of 53,000 Canadians -- or almost as many as attended this year's Grey Cup game. Maybe the Conservatives could show a skycam shot of the crowds who watched the Eskimos beat the Alouettes, with a voice-over saying something like: "This year, like every year, Canadians from across the country came together to join a national tradition: the Grey Cup. These Quebecers, Albertans, British Columbians had something else in common, too. It would take every dollar of federal tax paid by almost every one of the fans in this bowl to fund the Liberal government's sponsorship program. At the end of the game, the fans will have great memories. After $332-million of sponsorship waste, fraud and theft -- what did Canadians get?" snip Real change in Ottawa won't happen by itself. It's up to you. Hey -- maybe there's a campaign slogan. http://tinyurl.com/cutpl National Post

http://nicedoggie.net/2005/wp-content/phot...dypriceless.JPG

You know what, Bob Rae might not be all that bad, after all when he was premier of Ontario he acted more liberal than NDP, and he is a very smart man. I agree though, it won't happen. If Martin either loses the election or only gains another minority (same with Harper) I would think there would be a leadership review. Nothing is a given in this election, its going to be close and another minority government. Then what, they'll have to work together, should be fun.

I disagree, I'm sure defending unity would be with his heart, but there's only so much we can do. If we care about unity then we should care about Alberta too, not just Quebec. Personally I'm getting tired of Quebec whining and moaning, sometimes I feel like saying, for pete's sakes, just let them go and get it over with. Defeatist I suppose, but ...

“Liberal values” · Liberal values include the Age of Consent that endorses 14 year olds (junior high school children) having sex with 50 year olds. Conservative values are my values! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Excellent post , am in full agreement with it, no argument from me. I'm wondering if there will any more attempts to have the age of consent raised, I know two CPC MP's had a motion on the floor which I believe died (before the election call). Its the current climate of anything goes, which seems to lead to a lack of moral values and ethics within families. Part of the reason for gangs and shooting in TO, IMHO. I'm going to be working on the CPC campaign in my area, I feel its worth the effort, and I do dislike the cold. -

Harper will probably give a sincere look about what to do with Quebec. He will not get a majority government without a few seats in this province, but it is likely he would offer a fresh prospect without spending taxpayer dollars like an alcoholic with a blank cheque at a liquor store. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree, certainly nothing from anyone else has worked, so why not give him a chance. IMHO it wouldn't matter what the rest ROC did, the same people who want to separate will still want that. I don't have an answer, but throwing more money their way and trying to buy them off hasn't worked. So how about laying the cards on the table as to what would actually happen if they did separate. e.g. they have to take their portion of the national debt, their own currency etc. etc. I wonder how many who vote yes, fully realize the economic implications.

I listened to both speeches: if I had to choose a PM based on what was said in those speaches alone I would choose Harper because he offered the most positive vision for the future. If he keeps that up he will do well. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree, Martin attacked right away, used the terms separatist and neo-cons, deliberately thought out wording. This is going to be nasty, the liberals have allready admitted to it being a negative campaign, with the worst of the negative ads to come out towards the end. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...elec051128.html Martin attacks Harper, Bloc after no-confidence vote Shortly after his minority Liberal government collapsed Monday night, Prime Minister Paul Martin lashed out at the opposition as he launched his party's election campaign.

LOL Your right, they've been closed. Watch out for an influx of CPC and Harper bashing. Oops sorry, meant discussion.

If the CPC gets in I'm sure he will. If the liberals get back in, look for more sepratist problems with Alberta.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree wholeheartedly, its time for a change, Bill C-250 isn't an issue in this campaign, and Harper and the CPC don't have their hands in the till.

This is interesting, wonder if it will trickle down to other provinces, or up to the federal level. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/20...ite-051128.html P.E.I. votes on new way to elect government Last Updated Mon, 28 Nov 2005 09:46:55 EST CBC News Polls are now open in a historic vote in Prince Edward Island that could result in major changes to how the province elects its provincial government. Islanders are being asked to vote Monday on a plebiscite that could see voting switch to a system with two ballots. It's called Mixed Member Proportional, or MMP, and it would be a change from the current practice – in the province and across the country – where the candidate with the most votes wins. This is often referred to as the first-past-the-post system. In races with more than two candidates, it can mean that more people voted for the other candidates, when combined, than voted for the winner. The plebiscite asks voters: Should Prince Edward Island change to the Mixed Member Proportional System as presented by the Commission on P.E.I.'s Electoral Future?

I believe he's a hawk on foreign affairs. It appears that the nomination process was rigged, http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive...5/27/c0369.html Protest in front of Liberal Party Headquarters in Toronto - Sunday, November 27, 2005 TORONTO, Nov. 27 /CNW/ - After prolonged speculation about whether and where he would run, Michael Ignatieff appears to have found himself a safe haven in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. snip Despite the abridgement of time, and the difficult nomination filing requirements, two candidates were in fact able to prepare and submit the required forms, including police and credit checks, as well as the required 30 signatures in support of their nominations. The two candidates delivered their nomination documents to Liberal Party headquarters in Toronto, only to find that the office was locked before the 5:00 p.m. filing deadline. Liberal party staffers could be seen through the second storey windows but they refused to answer repeated knocking on the doors and phone calls to the office. The two potential candidates are more than qualified to seek the nomination. Marc Shwec, a bilingual (English/French) engineer and MBA, has been active in community and volunteer work. Ron Chyczij, also an MBA, is the president of the Etobicoke-Lakeshore Riding Association and is active in many community and volunteer projects.....

CBC Radio One's national news announced on the 6 a.m. broadcast this morning that, if parliament fell, CBC would tonight be releasing the results of a poll it has commissioned. I'm not sure why the results would be only released in the event of the fall of Parliament, but it's something to watch out for. They're keeping it in under wraps for now. Wonder if this is the beginning of CBC trying to manipulate the election results.

Today's Liberal government is far more vulnerable to accusations of patronage and corruption than Mulroney's government ever was, and yes, he was cleared of corruption charges. The problem with Mulroney was that he was so disliked, even if Mulroney walked on water, he'd be accused of not being able to swim. Not only that, the CPC party today, is not the same party, nor are any of the people the same.