maplesyrup

Canada when Trudeau was around never felt boring or dumb.

Galahad wrote: PSS - Happy International Womens day to all the ladies here. Hear! Hear! Ditto. And thanks for publishing that response to that unfortunate Don Martin article, and for exposing Don Martin as well.

L Ian MacDonald has a fascinating editorial in today's Montreal Gazette about Belinda Stronach's campaign for the leadership of the CPC entitled: "Quebec puts Stronach in game with Harper" It was the deal breaker in the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties. While the Alliance preferred a one-member, one-vote system, the Tories insisted on equality of ridings, with so many points per riding, which had been their system in the 1998 PC leadership campaign. It was the only way the PCs could be sure they wouldn't be swamped by the Alliance in a merger. Harper was desperate enough to do the merger, and confident enough he could win the leadership regardless of the rules, that he went along with a system which, in Quebec, is greatly to his disadvantage. So he can hardly complain now that Belinda Stronach, who barely speaks French, is racking up big gains with small numbers in Quebec. The Clement camp had always counted on two things - a superior performance in the debates, and Stronach cratering long before now. One of the best stories of the campaign is that she hasn't cratered. Instead, she's demonstrating a surprising capacity for growth. Constant briefings have given her a grasp of policy, constant exposure to media scrums has sharpened her performance. She's also proving that she can take a punch, such as last week's revelation that her father, Frank Stronach, pays his taxes in Switzerland. Her comeback, again yesterday, that she is the candidate, and she pays her taxes here, is a good one. And at one point yesterday, annoyed at Clement's hectoring, she slapped him upside. "You'd make a good health minister." The girl can play. And she's in the game. http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgaz...F4-ED267A686A6E Above are a few of the points Ian has made in his editorial. For those who are interested in the Conservative leadership race I recommend you read the entire article. Ian has confirmed for me, what I have thought all along, which is: Belinda will become the leader of the CPC.

The PMO probably has all these "falls from grace" plotted on a timeline chart leading up to the rumoured April 4th dropping of the writ. Wouldn't you love to see the list? I wonder what kind of feedback the MPs are returning with from their week off back in their constituencies. Are enough Canadians going to buy into Martin's "dealing with the scandal" to allow him to call the election soon? No kidding Martin wants to get the election over with ASAP, as it appears there are going to be major scandal reverberations for some time to come. The race against time for Martin is on.

Once the leader is chosen for the new Conservative party, only then will we begin to see what really shakes for this merger. 1 If either Tony Clement or Belinda Stronach win the leadership, the Harper forces will stay in the party, as they have no where else to go. 2 If Stephen Harper wins the leadership, we can anticipate there will be some drift from the Clement and Stronach supporters, to other parties. The important question in this second scenario is, how much drift will there be? 12 days to go before the leader is chosen on March 20th. the federal budget will be tabled three days later, on March 23ed, and then if the growing buzz from Ottawa is to believed, BANG! right into the election. We live in interesting times.

NDP are poised to make substantial gains in BC, particularly in the urban areas such as Vancouver and Victoria. One of the reasons is the current unpopularity of the BC Liberals who have been in freefall, and they are connected both with the federal Liberals and the CPC. These are unbiased opinions of university political scientists, rather than the rah rah party boosters, that post here on these discussion boards. There is a good possibility the NDP might take 1/2 the seats in BC. In Quebec not by much but the NDP are ahead of the the CPC and it will be the NDP, not the CPC who could possibity pick up a seat or two there.

March 7th, 2004 For Immediate release Broadbent outraged by Martin’s abuse of Power. Ed Broadbent issued the following statement this evening. "Paul Martin should have set the normal 36 day by-election period – instead he has delayed voting day for over 9 months. It is an outrageous abuse of power. It is totally unacceptable to deny democratic rights to the residents of Ottawa Centre because the Prime Minister is afraid the Liberals will lose the seat. It is also the ultimate in hypocrisy for a Prime Minister to say he wants to reduce Canada's democratic deficit, while denying the basic democratic right to have an elected member to 114,000 Canadians for over 14 months." Ed will be holding a Press Conference on this subject tomorrow morning. For more information – check the web site tomorrow. www.edbroadbent.ca 43/389

I guess PM Martin is running scared in Ottawa Centre. Martin sets date for byelection that will likely never be held OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Paul Martin has set Nov. 29 for a byelection in the riding of Ottawa Centre - although it's virtually certain the vote will never be held, because a general election will be called before then. The date was announced Sunday because federal election law required Martin to pick a day for filling the vacancy that was created last year, when former MP Mac Harb, who held the seat for the Liberals for three straight elections, was named to the Senate by Jean Chretien. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/03.../374045-cp.html

Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for Hiv/Aids in Africa, will be the keynote speaker for the official launch of Ed Broadbent's campaign in Ottawa Centre on March 9. I wonder if Stephen Lewis will be running for the NDP as well.

So Sheila Copps and the Martin Liberals have parted company. Another sign that the Martin Liberals have shifted to the right and the NDP could end up being the real beneficiaries here. I'm not sure, come election time, disconnecting from Copps, is going to help the Liberals.

Pell.....if you are serious I think you need to stay away from that guy. He sounds sick. you might even want to consider reporting him to the authorities.

I sure don't get that Stevie Cameron thing. Sometimes there is no explaining human nature, and also often we don't get the full story from the media. Also some guy, a former advertising person I believe, has announced the launch of a class-action suit against the government I presume, to retrieve the missing sponsorship scandal money. He says it amounts to $50. for each Canadian. But isn't that like suing yourself?

August1991.......d'accord. Tu as raison. And thanks for the accurate history lesson. Trudeau in the Globe: Setback in '79 'In Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau promised to remain as Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition, and he urged Liberals not to feel downcast about the result. "Most important, be of good cheer and don't be sad because the Liberal Party has fought a great fight and will fight many great fights in the future," Mr. Trudeau said. "I will be a pretty good Leader of the Opposition," Mr. Trudeau said to deafening applause from his supporters. A clause in the Liberal Party constitution requires a leadership review to be held at the party's next convention.' http://www.globeandmail.com/series/trudeau...au/setback.html Does anyone know who was the NDP leader at that time and how many seats they received in the 1979 election?

I miss Real Caouette.

good discussion @ Vive le Canada about this issue and reasons to oppose the idea

You were asking earlier about Ottawa Centre. I believe the latest date to call the by-election is March 7. It is something like 6 months maximum, so the Liberals still have until March 7 to call the election, and apparently roll it over on April 4th, into the General Election. What about current Toronto City Councillor Olivia Chow, Jack Layton's Chinese- Candian wife? I understand she is an entity of her own accord politically, and apart from winning her own seat in Toronto, she will probably be assisting many other NDP candidates, such as Ian Waddell in Vancouvber Kingsway, to win his seat. Olivia and Jack will be the first ever, I hesitiate to say it any more these days, married couple, in the House of Commons. I know the NDP is going to do well in the urban areas, but I'm curious where their best chances are for gaining seats in the suburban and/or rural areas.

There is a riding in BC, apart from Svends which will be a catwalk for him this time, which is Keith Martin's riding of Esquilmalt -Juan de Fuca. Is he gay BTW? It is going to be a battle royal between the Cons and ther Libs there. I wonder if the NDP will squek up the middle and take it. Maybe the NDP could get a lesbian to run there.

I'm not quite sure what you are on about concerning Svend unless you're one of those Alliance or Reform types. Then that would explain everyting.

I'm still laughing.

I cant see Nader dropping out. Maybe he has more frustration with Democrats than the Republicans because the Democrats should at least know better. For the progressive forces in America it will get quite discouraging as Bush has oodles of moola to spend, even though his ads that started yesterday will probably have to be withdrawn because of the complaints from the families and friends of people who perished in 9/11.

All political parties have their differences but this merger seems to have brought together very opposing forces. Many Harper supporters say if Stronach wins the leadership they are gone, not sure where, but gone. But what if Harper wins? Will the Stronach & Clement supporters stay, or will they leave to join other parties? And if they do leave, which other political party will they go to?

Pierre Foglia....thanks. Ill have to read some of his stuff. Slinger is entertaining. Major Policy Shift for Laytons NDP: Looking at Second Place The NDP, trying to shed its spendthrift image, will go to the electorate with a promise to keep the country's ledgers balanced while helping households improve their own bottom line. New consumer protections are the key, Layton told The Canadian Press. Both concepts won the national party's seal of approval last weekend and will be rolled out in a federal election widely expected this spring. http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl...04/CPN/10809017

Just saw Layton give a press conference in Ottawa about croynism, ethics, and corporate lobbying. Quite an effective communicator he is. Some political pundits are beginning to wonder if the NDP will come in second. I think aside from NDP leader Layton, some of their reasoning is that once the Cons leader is chosen, a lot of folks, from losing side, will leave.

Nader who has previously gotten involved in an election campaign in Canada is showing 6% support in the polls in the US presidential race. I wonder if he would consider coming up to Canada again and put in a plug for the NDP in the coming federal election campaign? The last time Nader got involved in Canada if I recollect he got involved in a BC election on behalf of the nurses in BC over health care issues. BTW saw an interview with some journalists today on CBC and Paul Sullivan stated that Layton's NDP is expecting 17-18 seats in BC this time around.

In the first poll since John Kerry captured the democratic nomination for the 2004 US presidential campaign, Bush & Kerry are tied at 46 & 45 percent each, while Nader has 6% taking support from both the Dems & Repubs. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._poll_president This is very interesesting that Nader is already at 6%. Nader might have more room to grow here as a lot of voters do not see any significant differences between the Dems & Repubs. This is a great beginning for Nader and it going to set tongues wagging in both opposition camps.