maplesyrup

PM makes gas tax promise

Harper promises auditor more power

Layton embraces NATO transformation, leaves behind longstanding NDP policy Another good move on Layton's part, as he brings the federal New Democrats into mainstream politics.

Greg Weston of the Sun Newspaper chain is reporting today that the fix was in between the Liberals and the PCs in the last election to ensure Joe Clark's, Anne McLellan's, and perhps dozens more riding victories. No wonder Joe Clark is walking around supporting the Liberals. It all makes sense now. Well what is good for the goose is good for the gander. I believe the only way to dislodge the Liberals is for the New Democrats and the Conservatives to do the same thing. In every riding where the Lberal is perceived ahead, the Cons & the New Dems should decide which of their two candidates has the best chance of defeating the Liberal, and both parties back that candidate. Also the Cons & the New Dems should join forces after the election to block a Liberal government. It really is time for a change in Ottawa.

If you don't think Layton's strategy is working, think again and check this out in Le Devoir: http://www.ledevoir.com/ The first three articles are on the NPD and a pictures of Jack on the first page.

Attention News Editors: The Broadcasters' Consortium - The Road to the Debates: Additional Information MONTREAL, May 28 /CNW Telbec/ - The Broadcasters' Consortium - CBC's English and French networks, CTV, Global and TVA - wish to provide some additional information on the proceedings that will take place over the next few weeks in preparation for the leaders' debates to be held in Ottawa on June 14 and 15. On Monday, June 7, representatives of the parties will be advised of the names of the moderators and journalists who will be assigned to the debates. They will also receive a list of nine general topics of discussion, four of which will be selected later for the actual debates. The same topics will apply to the French and English debates. It is also on June 7 that the Consortium will make public the formula of the debates and officially announce the names of the moderators and journalists. The draw to determine the order of the opening and closing statements of the leaders, as well as their presentations in each segment will take place on Thursday, June 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Representatives of the parties and the networks will be in attendance. The press will be invited. Further details are forthcoming. As announced, Party leaders Paul Martin (Liberal Party of Canada), Stephen Harper (Conservative Party of Canada), Gilles Duceppe (Bloc québécois) and Jack Layton (New Democratic Party) will debate in French on Monday June 14 and in English on Tuesday June 15, from 8 to 10 p.m. (EDT).

First of all, the history of the Liberal party dictates that it will be a francophone that will replace MR Martin, not an anglophone. Probably will be Pierre Pettigrew, unless they pick some from neither anglo nor franco communities. Secondly Martin is considered RIGHT WING, and Chretien was not. Maybe 25% of Canadians are right-wingers. That is Martin's problem in a nutshell. Also Martin being a RIGHT WINGER is Stephen Harper's problem as well. Thet are competing for the same votes.

This is basically a Quebec issue. The Liberal approach is the sponsorship scandal. The Conservative approach - Scott Reid? The NDP is confronting the Bloc and going after the centre, and left of centre, the Bloc voters. It is time to take on the Bloc.

Layton tente de plaire aux souverainistes

Layton promises to repeal federal Clarity Act

Layton puts homeless on front pages

Interesting to Note Based on our numbers completed last night the Liberals are now nine points ahead of the Conservatives. Early next week we will be releasing regional numbers and will have a clearer idea of the possible trends after the first seven days of the campaign. We will continue to poll through the weekend. Our next update will be on Monday. Polling May 25 to 27 (Random Telephone Survey of 600 Canadians, MoE ±4.1%, 19 times out of 20). Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding. Decided Voters (daily change) LIB - 40% (-2) CP - 31% (+2) NDP - 16% (-1) BQ - 10% (0) GP - 3% (+1) *20% of Canadians were undecided (-1) Appetite for Change Time for Change - 53% (+1) Liberals doing a good job - 27% (-1) Agree with neither - 9% (-1) Unsure - 11% (+1) Best PM Martin - 33% (+1) Unsure -23% (-2) Harper - 19% (0) None - 11% (-3) Layton - 10% (+2) Duceppe - 4% (+1) On the SES website (www.sesresearch.com), we post updated daily longitudinal tracking charts and details on the questions and the methodology each afternoon. Feel free to forward this e-mail. Cheers, Nik

Goldie.......very good question. Uunfortunately due to the party system we have here in Canada the answer is no, which is wrong of course. I believe we would have a lot healthier democracy if we did not have political parties in Canada. I think they are actually destroying our democracy to a certain extent. Now how do we get rid of them? A good first step is to elect a minority government for the next 100 years.

Tory outrage: How much is gas, how much is hot air? I see a cat and mouse game going on right now with the politicians and the voters. The politicians are trying to get a majority government for a four or five year period, so they won't have to bother with voters represented by other parties, and the voters want to corral the suckers and keep them on a short leash with a minority government. I hope we have minority governments for the next 100 years. Then maybe, just maybe, the politicians will settle down. One gets the impression sometimes that elected politicians think they are members of some private club.

Maybe there is more support for bilingualism outside Quebec than you realize. Have you ever looked at the French immersion statistics? Now Harper is making it worse and he is going to get burned with it. He should never have added: "Unless there is an overwhelming reason to change it".

Do we want the Liberals to rule this country forever? Well they will if the opposition don't get their act together on basic Canadian values, and bilingualism is one of them. If Conservatives were smart they would promote French more than the Lberals do. Then watch the changes in voting patterns in this country. Anyway kudos to Stephen Harper who has taken the time to learn to speak French.

Scott Reid is the first casualty of this mess - he has had to resign from his position in the Conservative party as bilingualism critic. Also interesting to note that the PC forced the Alliance to adopt a progressive position on bilingualism as part of the merger agreement.

Well, when I moved to BC I was very disappointed with the lack of French. I think it is time for us to revisit this issue, and develop policies that will fully bilingualize all Canadians in English and French. But getting back to Reid's gaffe. I can almost guarantee you the Liberals will have a field day with it, and it will be used in Quebec, in parts of the Maritimes, parts of northern Ontario, and parts of Manitoba, against the Conservatives. It is a real hot button issue in Canada

I think it may have actually have an impact in the franchophone areas, including Quebec, of the country.

Tories deny bilingualism program changes The problem for the Harper Conservatives here is that Scott Reid is the Harper-appointed Bilingualism critic for the Conservatives.

New Dem have separate sites in each province as well. Here are a few: www.ndp.ca www.npd.qc.ca www.bc.ndp.ca

The middle class is shrinking, a few are getting richer, but most are getting poorer, which is what is causing this gap between the rich and poor. It is pretty common knowledge that the government has shifted to the right quite a bit, being pushed by the right wing official opposition; and a lot of Canadians want the pendelum to swing back the other way for awhile. I don't think any of the political parties has a corner on all the answers, they all have something positive to contribute.

One would think so, but the Liberals are still at 42% in the polls, majority government area. I guess Canadians are not too enthused about the alternatives.

Isn't it shocking to hear a politician tell the truth? We just are not used to it.

I do admit to being a bit confused. It seems that things are not going that well for the Liberals during the first week of the campaign, yet last night's SES CPAC Poll shows them at 42% - majority government area. What is going on here? Is it that not many people are tuned into the campaign yet, or are the Liberal ads that effective? Strange.