August1991

The Montreal Economic Institute is well known as a market-oriented think tank. It was created recently. They are heavily into PR. Quebec's left wing largely dismisses much that they do. For myself, I would like to see the exact wording of the question that Leger asked in the survey. BTW, one of the directors of the institute is the wife of Paul Desmarais's son. If you go to the site and flip down, you'll see her pic and bio. A good PR job. Desmarais Jnr's wife

Thank you, MS. This poll result is key. It confirms a Tory minority. In 1979, the Tories (Clark) won with such poll results. Watch for a small lift pro-Tory and then a stop. Bottom line Liberal support in Ontario is about 30-40 seats. There is no question we'll have a Tory minority. The question is how close to 154 Harper will get it.

After all, how does the Toronto Star portray Ralph Klein? How do Toronto journalists basically view BC politics? And how do the Bay Street people view those Saskatchewan NDP types? Rubes, loose cannons, nutbars. Wild, naive. No weight.English Canada is more normal than you suggest. When I've been to Toronto and asked questions, people in Toronto do think about the "hinterland". They're certainly more open than Parisians about France. But then in France, like Montréal and Québec, the provincials disdain but take pride in the métropole. I think English Canada is an interesting place.

On the contrary, it means that if the Tories or NDP passed a certain threshold, they would have some members elected from Quebec by party list. And Liberals would have some Albertan MPs.Whichever party wins, the Cabinet would have a "regional" voice. Now, in addition, imagine the poltical significance of announcing the party list. When Harper announces his CPC list for Quebec, believe me, everyone would be curious to see the names. (There are many web sites in Europe with such lists. Here's an example. These names are irrelevant to you. But the names and their order mean something to the people in the community.)

Thanks Idealist, I'll check the web sites. (And I'm actually going to flip through another Richard Gwyn book because of your recommendation). There are two candidates I know running in Quebec who deserve watching. One is Serge Ménard running as a BQ in a riding north of Montreal and the other is Bruno-Marie Béchard running as a Lib in Sherbrooke. Both are very interesting people I have no doubt that both would become household names in Canada if elected. Ménard will win (and despite his age, he may well become BQ leader). Béchard will probably lose. My point is that with PR and party lists, Béchard would win and be an MP without riding. Under the current system, he'll "lose" and go back to being an engineer-rector. But think what that means: First, the party bureaucracy becomes very powerful in deciding the party list. Second, party list winners lose touch with something important: ordinary people. One reason Bill Clinton became president is because he met a lot of ordinary people in New Hampshire. On the other hand, Israel is fascinating because it does it strictly by votes and lists. In France, members of the National Assembly are mayors of their local cities/towns/villages. (Imagine a parliament with our mayors!) If we had some version of PR in Canada, it would have to be provincial and respect the current relative weights of provinces. I think Quebecers would support the idea. I'll post it on my French forum and see what the response is.

While Harper was born in Toronto, he is perceived as a Westerner. French Quebecers have never voted for a Westerner except Diefenbaker and that was solely because of Duplessis. I won't go into the way informed Quebecers speak of Harper. Most Quebecers barely know his name and even less anything about him. (Do you know who the President of Mexico is?) Ontario voters, I think, are uncomfortable voting for a Westerner but they will do it. It helps if the comfort level is raised. I know Harper is perceived as being intolerant, American, and anti-government. More important though is the Ontario perception of Westerners. I think Ontarians view Westerners as naive, and perhaps a little too wild. No one would say that about Harper. The point is that Harper, to Ontario voters, is an enignma because he's a contradiction.

And AF, lay off the Scotch (or whatever it is that makes you twitch). Idealist: The US government spends more per capita than does the Canadian government. Altogether, the American health sector is larger than ours. One reason is because of the many foreigners who use it.But I agree with you. Insurance schemes have many problems and health insurance in particular. IMO, it makes sense for health insurance to be State managed. (A similar argument can be made for car insurance too.) But no one would suggest that we have State car garages. Only the insurance scheme should be State-operated. As to the premiums, that's partly an equity (fairness) issue but I don't see why people who smoke or eat fast food, shouldn't pay higher premiums. They're more likely to require expensive health care.

Speculation isn't the word. This is almost fabulation. But kinda fun. And there is an inexorable logic to it. The holy grail of successful politicians in a post-modern era. How long will this last?Actually, a House with Dion and Harper facing off would be good for everyone. Like Disraeli and Gladstone? BTW, what religion is Harper?

Nothing will change much in the Maritimes. What the polls say now is what the final results will be, more or less. These are local contests and people vote traditionally. The Liberals have traditionally done well. I hate to say it, and I know there's much more to the place, but "Are you all stamped up?" pretty well says it. Maritimers know deep down that Harper is right. Liberal policies have not been good for the Maritimes. It was Mulroney that gave the go ahead for the offshore drilling.

Is is hard not to imagine that Jean Chretien is ultimately behind this Liberal collapse. It's the typical swipe of a collégien, aimed very specifically at Jean Lapierre. In Chrétien's mind, like in Trudeau's, a Harper government is better than a Martin/Lapierre government. If Harper wins, there will be a Liberal leadership race in short order. Tradition has it that a francophone will be the next leader. There are only three possiobles: Lapierre, Pettigrew and Dion. There is no doubt which of these will get Chrétien`s support. Canada has some kind of lucky star. The damned thing can't be put down.

AF, it seems to me that you're the one always making a big deal about this. If you don't like it, change the channel.

How do you define coverage? You are right that it leads to smaller taxes rates now.The real point however is that Americans have significantly higher incomes than we have. Take a look at this: Toronto Star Anderson

Hey kids, keep me out of this fight. The last time I posted was in reference to how the US government manages to have lower tax rates yet spend more on defence and health care in per capita terms than the Canadian government does.This is largely the product of a series of government decisions starting from Reagan through Clinton. Moreover, the US has had significant productivity growth in the 1990s because of computer innovations developed in the 1980s. Has the Canadian federal government been a positive or negative force?

Individuals make choices, not generations.

The sample size is 600 which means that the margin of error is large. In the case of the BQ, there's a 95% chance the true number is somewhere between 12% and 14%. I'd say they are closer to 12%.The front page headline in La Presse today was about Harper organizing a transition team. That kind of headline is a killer for the Liberals because their main argument (sole argument?) is for people to have an MP in government. In general though, there is little interest in the campaign here. I think people have already decided. Unlikely. The callers wouldn't recognize any trend.

I just did AF's test and got "Centreville". Not to quibble but the questions were quite obvious. Also, Bush Jr in centreville? WTF?

Do you really believe people were more moral in the past? Or that moral questions were easier in the past? I think Hinduism is more tolerant than the Spanish Inquisition was. But I guess you'd disagree somehow. (Have you read 'The Name of the Rose'?)So, I could have given the example of Thailand. But then I suppose you'd mention Cambodia. And then I'd have to go back to my German example (or Poland to pick another example). People kill each other for many reasons. No group has a monopoly on tolerance. I'm inclined to believe that religions contribute more to intolerance and violence than they prevent it. What, in God's name, gives you the right to say whether someone is a "good" Christian or a "bad" Christian? Are you the Pope? On the contrary, I'm saying nothing of the sort.On abortion, if the State tries to forbid it, the State will create even greater havoc, more death and more immorality as people seek ways around the interdiction. (Have you read 'The Cider House Rules'?) The perfect is the enemy of the good. We live in a practical world with real people.

Geez Dad, he started it. I know you won't like this source but the numbers are accurate and I'm willing to argue their interpretation. In Canada, many simply don't realize what has happened. How serious is it? Well, we're not Argentina. Toronto Star Anderson If I'm not mistaken (I'll find a source, I think it's Romanow), our governments combined spend less per capita on health care than US governments spend. Obviously, we can't fix this in a few years. It will take time. It is hard not to realize that federal politics in Canada, since at least 1970, have been dominated by the "Quebec question". (Internal Quebec politics have suffered even more. Virtually every political discussion in Quebec gets somehow connected to independence.) The result, in Canada, is that our federal governments have not properly responded to the desires of ordinary people. Taxes are not raised and money is not spent in ways that are beneficial to Canadians. IMHO, the disconnect between Ottawa and the country is much greater than the disconnect between DC and the country.

The questions are deeply flawed. (eg. There was no question about Quebec sovereignty or even provincial rights.) I got Martin (100), Harper (62), Layton (57), Duceppe (52). WTF?

Political Compass Test Since we have new posters, I'll bring this thread to the top. Do this test. It takes about five minutes and is fun. Then post your results here.

TakeNumber, this is where you are fundamentally wrong and you just can't seem to get your head around it. Please try. The world today has much more stuff (infrastructure, things and in particular ideas in the form of technology) than it did in 1980 and in 1950. Our total wealth, whether in the form of human capital or physical capital, is greater now. (One example - computers and the Internet.) IOW, the Echo generation as a whole will have more assets than the boomer generation as a whole. It appears however that other Echo individuals have more assets than you because their parents have left them more paper claims on those assets. You should not rant at boomers; you should rant at fellow Echo individuals for not sharing. From what I gather though, you seem to have a pretty good pile. Although this is really crude, and misses the value of new technology, here are net fixed assets (in 1983 $) in the US: 1925 $1,574 billion 1950 $3,901 billion 1975 $10,376 billion 2000 $17,415 billion BEA Current-Cost Net Fixed Assets (Note I used the CPI to deflate but I haven't done the per capita calculation.) I'm sure Canadian stats are similar.

Well, you certainly seem to be filled with yourself - as many young males are. But I suspect it's just a pose hiding your insecurity.

Dhaliwal I can sort of understand. But Tobin? (BTW, Tobin and Michael Harris are both with Magna. Makes you wonder what the pay back is for.) Sort of understand? The Liberal Party is going to have alot of internal issues to resolve when this is all over. Whichever way it goes, there will be some groups angry with others. This has never happened inside the Liberal Party before. Canwest in Vancouver Sun

I don't doubt this. But is it the whole truth?

Eh? With an attitude like that, you understand my rage. WTF? Life is unfair? Your rage? You could have been born in Bangladesh. You could have been born ugly. You could be one of those people who doesn't know eye contact. Gimme a break. Life is not about fairness. It's about doing the best with what you got. Look, I read your posts and think about them. What you write is not nonsense. I just disagree.