kengs333

As it should be.

They received over 11% in the riding of British Columbia-Southern Interior, and 9.94% in Saanich-Gulf Island. The Green Party candidate in the Alberta riding of Wild Rose placed second over the NDP and Liberal candidates.

Agreed. You know society is screwed up when decrying sin and evil is considered hate.

Yeah, so Tory won't become Premier...

Interesting how this sort of thing is considered acceptable if ethnic minorities do it.

I took a look at the wiki article for Brampton and city and regional council looks to be non-Sikh, but I see what you mean provincially. Well, that's how it goes. Under the MMP system, you could vote for a party that doesn't subscribe to this kind of policy, but as it stands, if all the party's try to cater to the majority ethnic group in a riding, those who aren't of that ethnicity really don't have many options, aside from maybe a fringe or independent candidate. You're wrong, in my opinion, about the system not being meant to be exploited; it was designed to maintain the status quo; namely, to keep the wealthy and elites in power. That worked until things began to change socially and ethnically post-WWII. It's interesting that the people who are most vehement about the foreigner influence on politics are the ones who want to keep the system just like it is.

...

My, my, grannyrants, that's an interesting comment. One way to reduce crime is to eliminate the source of the crime, even if it means resorting to what may seem like draconian measures. Let's say, for instance, there is a neighbourhood that is terrorized by a bunch of criminals who hold up in bunkers, hideouts and such. The deal drugs, pimp, commit armed robberies, commit acts of violence. The police know who and where they are. Would it not be proper in your opinion for the police to act in a preventative manner by ridding the community of these criminals?

I think there's a difference between referencing news articles, etc. to support one's views and cutting and pasting e-mails/articles without comment. I watch the news, read the paper, and visit on-line news sources enough to know what's going on. I think we all do, don't we? So why can't she just post her opinions--granted, they can be rather eccentric at times--instead?

Honestly, it's far from complex, and the fact that something such as this can be considered to be "confusing" really says more about the confused than the proposed system. It's no wonder politicians are always pulling one over on Canadians--Canadians are just too apathetic to know what's good for them.

If that's how the system is set up, then they're simply doing what is permitted to be done in order to get into political power. The system is designed to allow for such changes because the whole purpose is to elect people who represent their community, and if a community is 65% Chinese, then isn't it logical that the somebody of Chinese origin would perhaps be the best representative? Unless you want to change the system to only allow Canadian-born people of European extraction to hold political power, then I don't see what can be done about it. As someone of European heritage, I am a little disappointed that people from my ethnic background are not coming to Canada in the numbers needed to sustain my community. Given that these people tend to be hard-working, highly educated and more often than not fluent in English, they would seem to me to make ideal emigrants, but the government has its attention focused elsewhere.

Again, this is more a product of wishful thinking than anything else. The Greens are not a regional party like the Bloc or Reform/CA/CPC were/are, and even if they haven't been elected, they certainly have had an "impact". I'm just not sure how someone can simply dismiss the significance of c. 600,000 votes; that's a lot of people who's opinions/ideas are not being represented, and I don't know how anyone can therefore consider our system to be democratic. I certainly have little sympathy for the Conservatives--to me they are nothing more than the Reform/Canadian Alliance cloaked in Tory blue--but I think I can keep a level head when discussing their misguided policies, and certainly acknowledge that on occasion they make good decisions. The Greens have raised valid issues and as a significant political force in Canada they should be accorded some respect. As it stands you're not coming across as all that much more with it than jennie & Posit. Please consider doing something about that.

So if a Green had been elected in the recent by-elections, or Garth Turner had decided to become a Green, you'd suddenly feel that they were worthy of inclusion in the debate, even though as it stands they are an official party, qualify for money for the government, received c. 600,000 votes in the last election, and run candidates in all ridings?

I'm not sure exactly how this could be a problem since the who purpose of the legislature/parliament is to respresent the poeple. If there is a large group that feels they need representation, then isn't it better that they are able to voice their concerns through political avenues rather than demonstrating/rioting in the streets? If you look at the United Kingdom, in the 2005 election, there were a number of small parties elected, and to the best of my knowledge, the government is running smoothly. The whole purpose of MMP is to distribute the seats more fairly, which means that the parties that would benefit the most are those that pole second, third, and fourth. I still have yet to see any examples from other countries that use MMP that indicates that the system will cause government to bog down.

"Gilles Duceppe was elected in a by-election two years later as an independent, not as a Bloc candidate. Despite having no seats in Parliament, no official recognition from the Speaker and only 75 candidates out of 295 ridings, the Bloc Quebecois was included in both the French and English debates."

I disagree. There are some ridings in BC where the greens did exceptionally well, and if she wanted to run in one of them, I think she would win, or at least come very close, even if there was a Liberal candidate. But she wants to run in Nova Scotia, believing that raising the party's profile there is more important.

I think you seriously underestimate the Green Party and their ability to win seats.

The HDI has no legitimacy or authority, he therefore has no obligation to deal with them.

Harper has to over compensate for the fact that he and his party stand for English-speaking western Canada by dumping money into the province and making promises/statements to/about Quebec that the Liberals never would have done. The Liberals try to maintain favour in the province by creating a party that has a strong Francophone flavour. With Trudeau, the Liberals have always had a Catholic, Quebec-born (except Turner) leader. That's why they chose Dion; but Dion has no charisma, and he comes across as a weakling. The party is in dire straights, and may just implode if there is an election this fall; that's okay, though, the Greens are there to pick up the pieces if that should happen.

Actually, Jim Harris used to be a PC, and I think that some others have strayed into the Green camp since Harris moved the party into a more centrist position, but yes, I suppose most support will probably come from traditional Liberal supporters, and to a less extent the NDP. I'm not sure how the Global Warming issue is "fading" I think it is getting ever increasing attention, and the true extent of the problem is starting to sink in with all but the most ardent delusional deniers. While the Green never end up doing as well in elections as they poll, they are now polling higher than ever and I can see them upping their support to between 6.5 and 7%, maybe even electing a candidate or two in BC. The Green also present a less shrill option for people who want to vote progressively, the NDP's platform being rife with contradictions and always having the stigma of Socialism hanging over them. I can see the Greens and NDP trading places within the next 10 to 15 years. I think your belief that the Greens will "fade into... obscurity" is really nothing more than wishful thinking. You're starting to sound a bit like jennie.

Parties tend to prefer fielding candidates that have a similar background when a riding has a strong ethnic identity.

Global Warming killed our chokecherry tree so I guess I won't be seeing the benefits first hand.

Actually, I believe it's ecominic policies sanctioned by the likes of the CPC that's "killing the spirit and culture" of the western world. The Greens advocate local agriculture and business and are against globalization. Globalization has many jobs to go overseas and has made us dependent on foreign products, including food. This is not acceptable.

Exactly, I've made this point a number of time. We only know what is written in documents and other written sources on the Canadian side; we don't know what went on in the discussions among the Six Nations chiefs, but we can only assume that they agreed to whatever they agreed to for reasons that they felt were valid. Which means that they whole Six Nation's case is unfounded. If they feel that the right thing to do is for peoples to honour their treaties & agreements, then they have to accept the fact that they entered into agreements that with time didn't turn out to their advantage.

Whatever the case, I think the rest of shuvlak's post presents a good argument for why the Greens should be included. As for not being a credible political party, that's more wishful thinking on your part rather than reality. The party is quite well organized on the federal level and has been running candidates in all ridings for the last few elections. It is finally getting attention in the media and is now being included in polls rather than hidden among the "others". Green policies have even been adopted by other parties because they recognize them as being good ideas and view the Greens as a legitimate threat. In particular this applies to the NDP, which went so far as to incorporate green into their campaign signs, etc. Argueably, it has come to the point where the Greens could elect MPs, although they do tend to lose support on election day because of strategic voting. Still, I think if May did the right thing and ran in BC, she and perhaps a few more candidates could get elected. This is a party that received c. 600,000 in the last election and under a PR system should have 12-14 seats in Parlaiment. In my opinion, that's not "not a credible political party".