willy

We were in Iraq, 30 troops and 2 ships. With the size of our military and the deployment in Afghanistan how many more troops could we have sent? How bad would the Liberals have looked if one of these young men or women would have died in Iraq where the Liberal government sent them? Most Canadians thought we should have followed the UN and the security council lead. Do most Canadians realize the power politics the French, Germans and Russians were playing? It had nothing to do with what was right and all to do with the balance of power and domestic politics in these countries. The war is over, but the occupation is real. Should we now support the US in stabilizing a new government in Iraq or should we righteously stand by and watch the country tear itself apart. Our hands are not clean. Doing nothing is not a defense but an embarrassment. If we thought it was principally wrong our troops should have been out of there and if we supported it internationally we should have said so.

Cummings is now an advisor to the fisheries critic. Harper now has to have representation from all sides of the country. Loyola Hern is the new critic. John respects Loyola and will work well with him. John is a respected member who does a great job of fighting for issues. You are right that Harper and Cummins didn't agree on the Westbank treaty. Cummins is worried about how our constitution will apply to a third order of government. As so much of the past few days has been about protecting charter rights, it is a Conservative candidate that has been working hard to ensure all citizens would benefit from the charter, including the first nations under new self governing treaties. The Conservatives are the one party that allows it's caucus to hold a variety of views. This helps open debate and our democracy.

The Liberal advantage. 10 year US boom economy Growth in Europe Low interest rates in the US, Asia and Europe GST NAFTA Cut 25billion is transfer payments So which of the 3 million jobs did they produce? Maybe they had a little help from the Harris government. In BC we became a have not province. Should I blame the Liberals for that? I personally thought the provincial NDP had more to do with it.

Thanks for your brilliant insight. Kyoto is not being implemented. The Liberals have no plan. Harper would prefer to focus on PM(smog). This does not exclude Co2 reduction but it also does not make it the only focus. As a nation we have very few environmental standards. This should change but Kyoto will not make that happen. As for oil only being in Alberta, it also drives north eastern BC, Saskatchewan’s, New Foundland’s and New Brunswick’s economy. We will need oil for many more years to come. Now is not the time to shut off the tap. Petro chemicals not only fuel our cars but they make many of the plastics we use, like the one you are typing on. So before you accuse others of not being in reality, look at the consequences of moving to technology that does not exist. No power, no economy, no economy, no healthcare, no education, no social programs, no government money at all. You will probably say none of these things matter if we can’t breath, and I will say Kyoto, doesn’t address smog. Incremental positive change is the way to go. The Conservatives will move to a policy to tighten permits for emissions over time and focusing on heavy metals and PM10 or below. This is a great place to start and it will affect the air many of us breathe.

caesar, I could say the same thing about the Liberals in Ontario. Oh ya and for that matter every riding west of Ontario. Its not to late, band wagon jumping is aloud in politics. Every one join the one and only true national party the Conservatives. We are working hard in Montreal, common Quebec, vote for honesty, vote Harper.

Hey Maplesyrup, The Macleans poll you linked to yesturday is now off line. http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics...614_170636_5184 You will be interested to note Harper pulled ahead of Layton. As you said not scientific though. People also thought Harper had the best hair but that would not be fair with his competition.

Opinions are based on something and in my case the stats I quoted were in a key note speech I heard at a human resources conference in Vancouver on Friday. The speaker was Todd Moffin, from the CBC and is a futurist. Take them for what they are worth. I can not link you to HR compensation research because they tend to be proprietary and very expensive. I could search the net for a supporting article but for the purpose of this debate I am too lazy.

Playfullfellow, Who are these people you talk of? I have a friend who has a visa right now and is having a very hard time becoming a landed immigrant. He is from Chicago and has a masters degree, will he want to stone you to death. I think not. We have a points system and French and English give you extra points, as does providing a profession where we have shortages.

I only have one other little point in this discussion. The provinces need to be responsible for these types of issues. With the cutbacks to transfers some of the family services meant to protect children have been reduced. Our federal government should really pay up and we must hold our provinces responsible for the protection of kids. Be it to subsidize child care for the most poor or policing abusive parents and having safe homes for kids and women to go to when needed. These are priorities that those on the left and right can probably agree on.

Whackos have also worked in residential schools, as teachers in our public schools and in our current daycares. The question is valid but August your answer will not fix the problem. How can the state help, good social workers and a community that has somewhere to turn to when they witness abuse. The state should always step into abusive situations. The working poor should also get extra benefits to give a better chance for their kids. As you said it was not the kids choice to be born into poverty and we need to give them a chance. This still does not need a societal change that universal child care would provide. The expectation would change that the state should bring up you kids. This is a very scary thing to me and very expensive. People talk of the expensive child care today, why would state run, public sector employee run, day care be cheaper at the unit cost level. You have just shifted the cost to everyone. This is not like insurance, as people choose to have kids and then are entitled to my money. :angry:

Please provide a link. I see the aging population in my work effecting all professions. Teachers, engineer, doctors are all leaving the work force at an incredible rate in the next 5 years. Starting in 2006 we will have 3 people retire for every 1 entering the work place. These are real stats. It is a racist issue for Quebec to discriminate based on ethnic and cultural origin. Perazo made a spectacle of himself making that clear after the last referendum. Human resources are a valuable part of our economy and social fabric. It is a challenge to integrate with new cultures but we don't have a choice so you might as well embrace it. What are these values you are so worried about anyway? And how says that immigrants don't hold the same values?

As much as possible families need to bring up their kids. Why? Because in the first few years of life kids need an emotional bond with a parent. As a kid starts to mature they learn values first form their families. Daycare for the youngest of kids as the norm robs the child’s opportunity to have family values instilled. I personally don’t want the state paid daycare workers deciding what is important to teach to my children. At the same time child tax breaks help me afford parenting for the first few years of life. Tough choices have to be made but now days children are a choice and then they should be a responsibility. I understand single parents must work but that needs a much different solution than universal daycare.

I too am from BC and will vote Conservative. Harper is a bright young family guy with the right stuff. You might want to note that the BC Liberals still poll in the high 30s. Even if they have upset some people they will still clean up in an election. Gotta love first past the post. To all the NDP lovers the Green Party will take away your new seats in BC this election. Go Jim Harris Go.

The Liberals don't have a good track record of bring Quebec back as a federal partner. The last two major referendums on sovereignty were under guess who, the Liberals. It was Martin who was part of the government that was almost defeated in the last referendum and he holds his seat in Quebec. I like a Canada with Quebec, with a little less fiscal imbalance, and some respect for provincial jurisdiction. Maybe we can have a long future with all the federal partners if we follow a new model of federalism. Hey Maplesyrup, where are then NDP on giving the provinces some space to make decisions. Oh ya, they want to get into delivery of health care, education and City planning. How do you think that will go over with the soft federalists in Quebec?

Be thankful for what we have. 80% of our trade goes south of the boarder. They must be allowing us to do something right. This is not to discount the BSE problem and softwood lumber. As for “we should diversify our trade,” of course we should but guess what, it is not that easy. The other countries must give you access like the US does. Second we have to ship our products over vast seas for every other trading partner, and this negatively affects our competitiveness. The US is also the largest market in the world. Lucky us it is so close, don't you think. When you think about it our trade surplus with the US pays for a lot of our social programs. Love those American markets. Don't be a hater.

3B per year form this area yes + Expected surpluses in the next few years+ Corporate subsidy reduction of 5b+ Scraped Gun Registry+ phased in approach over 5 years= no black hole As for the American recession, I read the economist, New York Times, Fortune and they are predicting economic growth for the seeable future as business spending and retooling are just now picking up after the correction of 99/00.

Some of the pictures from the weblink above may explain why Jack always looks so happy.

I am all these things and yet I thought Harper did well last night. He has clear positions and you might not like them, but I do and many others are like me. Note it is the Conservatives are likely to form the next government and not the NDP. What is your justification that the NDP has not caught on RB? Are our minds just not as good as yours (too small)? According to Jack last night we should put our blind support in him and his mind. Now I don't only find that arrogant but scary. When he thinks the provinces are wrong, well the Feds should fix it, when he thinks the cities are wrong the Feds will fix it, when he thinks you don't run your business right the Feds will fix it, if you are not green enough don't worry the Feds will fix you. This type of Jack knows best mind set is what is really scary. Harper is a bright guy but he does not insult those who do not agree with him this way. Have a little faith in your fellow Canadians, and don't erode our freedom and democracy.

Martin and Harper both had to put up with one sided attacks on their character. Now it is Jacks turn. He seems to like attention but I don't think he will like this kind. It does show someone took him seriously. As the Harper, and Martin attacks were out of context and misleading I am sure these are too but lets see how many of these will be repeated. Supports terrorists Puts homeless people in shanty towns Takes up space in low cost housing Lies about poll numbers Just a few. http://www.jacklaytonsaid.com/

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories Quoting different numbers. As for Harper's ideas, the man is brilliant.

Duceppe 57% Martin 16% Harper 9% Layton 8% These are are the Ipso nubmer of the CTV website. This measure was who won. I wonder the other impressions that were left, trust, ideas, second place...

Not to be picky BigGunner but last election in Richmond Joe Peskaleto (spelt his last name wrong and to lazy to look it up) won. As it turns out many in the Chinese community are conservative and they did not support Raymond Chan in the last election. Just goes to show that people will also vote with their value system.

A little humour. But here is a thought? Can you imagine in a right wing conservative province like Alberta, they lead the pack in wind power? I do find it ironic, that in a competitive business environment innovation will find its place as environmental leader. Aside: (By the way I see the role for government to set emission standards, just not the production of power)

Just wondering when the Liberals/NDP start building wind mills all over the country how the bird populations will fare. Wind mills are a disaster for birds. They may be responsible for the mass killing of our feathered friends. Innovative, positive, green solutions that don't create enough power to run a small village, let alone industry, and cities.

Not a good example as a white man I must say we don't have a good record on aboriginal relations. The Indian Act being a great example. But aside I still agree with the other statements.