SSD

In '93, the Tories were not doing very poorly in the polls. They were going to lose but it didn't look like it would be the upset it turned out to be and cause a Liberal majority. The trigger that set it off was the face ad. Any party can make a mistake like that. After that huge loss in 93, no one took them seriously since the Reform took over the right. Had that ad not aired, we would be living in a different Canada right now. It probably would have taken until 2000 to get as many seats as they did in '93.

He went abroad to find the best institutions. Canadian institutions are great. UofT and McGill are the two best. However, as an academic, you always strive for the best, no matter what. Of course he had to work abroad. Does someone who has an in Canada. As an author, its easier to sell your books as a Professor at Oxford than as a professor at UBC. His career as a broadcaster was also contingent on the fact that he was from Oxford or Cambridge. That was his gimmick. His life experiences are enormous. He has travelled to all parts of this globe, and has reported on many world issues. He has been controversial at times but he can explain them and also knows where he might have gotten out of hand. Harper, on the other hand, is an Albertan separatist (see Ezra Levant and also the Firewall bullcrap), who has been involved in organization that who campaigned against the Canada Health Act. He is also against equal pay for equal work. Lastly, the party he is currently involved with (Alliance-Conservatives) was born from a Western Interest group (The Reform) much like the Bloc is with Quebec, except that they are honest.

The last recession (90's) people turned to the Liberals and we did pretty well.

There are two important (controversial) social issues in Canada: gay marriage and abortion. Christians care about both issues (mostly Catholics and evangelicals). Immigrant could care less about abortion--they actually support abortion even though their religion say differently. The bigger issue for them is gay marriage and that is dying down in recent years because the Supreme Court poses a problem that would prevent the issue being opened up again. However, for South Asian and Muslim voters, that is the main reason they would vote for the Conservatives. These said voters are very anti-gay and some are very racist. I should know since I belong to the South Asian community. Remember, the Conservatives (PC and Reform) have continually attacked the South Asian community. Joe Clark, as foreign affairs minister, called the Punjabi Separatist in India terrorists even though India at that time banned foreign media due to the treatment of the Sikh community (remember, I am talking about the Sikh separatists in India and not the group that organized the Air India bombing which was a year later). One Reform MP called the immigration boom as an Asian Invasion. A former Heritage Minister in the Harper administration said some sad stuff about coloured candidates. Every major national political leader (including May) attended South Asian celebrations in Downtown Toronto (almost 100000 people were there) the past two years, except Harper.

When I referred to that, I meant that MPs shouldn't be for/against an issue just because Jesus said so--or at least shouldn't explain their stance that way. Look, people's religion influences them--its just that Canada has gotten to the point where we have so many religions that if our MPs make a decision based on their religion (and explain to the public that its because of their religion) we are going to piss people off since not everyone is Christian, Muslim, etc.

I was at UofT when he was there. If you have never gone to UofT, its not like other universities. Some courses have 4 or 5 professors. Some profs don't even teach. I never saw him there but I am sure he taught a section of a course and contributed to some research. Just because he has worked outside of Canada doesn't mean he doesn't love it. He went elsewhere because that's what his job entails him to do. An accomplished academic looks for the best opportunity available. Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard are the best in the world. Remember, he did teach at UBC at some point in his career. If you were a dedicated academic, would you refuse to go to a place that presented you with the best opportunity? Yes, someone can love Canada yet find the best job for him/her anywhere in the world. Conservatives bring up his foreign experience because Harper never even left North America before he became P.M. Sound familiar? Well, it should--Sarah Palin. I'm sure if I were trying to get the best research opportunity possible, I wouldn't turn down Oxford or Harvard.

Did I say religious people are racist. I am religious but I ain't racist. I said and I meant that people who want to enforce their religious rules into government and thus, onto others are, for the most part, racist or at least prejudice. If I were Christian and I wanted to impose my beliefs into government I sure as hell wouldn't want some Hindu getting in the way even though in reality they are just as equal as me in every sense of the word.

The previous point is exact on. God has no place in politics. Remember, reason over passion anyday. Most Canadians, except racists, would prefer to keep religious worship to the private individuals rather than enforced by the government. That is the problem with Christian conservatives. John A. MacDonald said something along the line that no decision in government should be made when its most powerful explanation is a religious one. Trudeau even said that religious fundamentalists need a dose of reality because the most advances (in a specific time) man has made was in the last century, and it was also the most "un-religious." Although Paul Martin felt strongly that marriage is between a man and a woman due to his own religion, he knew that one of the government's role is not to promote one religion's rules over another but to advance the rights of individual so as long as it doesn't harm anyone.

Ignatieff has a real chance at winning an election. Everyone needs to realize that. He is currently the most popular leader in Quebec and the Liberals are 10 points ahead of even the Bloc at this point. He could snatch up to 40 seats in Quebec (more if Duceppe resigns as has been rumoured). In Ontario, he will win Toronto (with the exception of Layton's and his wife's riding) and win take back a lot of the 905 since they voted Liberal before Dion. He also could pose a threat to the other parties in the Vancouver area. The NDP currently is the big player there are quite a few centrist voters who will get behind Iggy.The Maritimes have leaned red for the past couple of years and will moreso do so since Harper is anti-Atlantic (he even wrote that they are lazy or something). Personally, people say that Dion lied when he said he wouldn't enter into a coalition but Harper made an even bigger lie when he said the Canadian economy is strong. The Liberals and other parties forecasted this recession while Harper was saying that we should put all our remaining savings in the stock market (equivalent losses from $1000 to $200 in a lot of cases). Face it guys, Tory times are bad times.

We should abolish the senate. It's useless. Imagine an elected senate. We would end up in a legislative deadlock. An elected senate would gain the legitimacy to "do something." They could veto anything the lower house proposes. How would the government function in such a situation. Either we keep things the way they are or abolish it altogether.I don't want to live in an American system.

Remember, Dumont is not the man the Tories want to tie themselves to if they want to project themselves as a national party against the separatists. Dumont signed the letter to Quebeckers with Bouchard and the Quebec Premier in 1995 telling them that these three people and their parties want Quebec to separate and will move for that. Dumont now doesn't want a referendum but still go into constitutional talks with Ottawa to ask for Quebec to be an autonomous province without representation or much permission from Federal Parliament yet still not totally a country (i.e. passports, military, equalization).

For those of you that think that having the Bloc support you is not the correct move are wrong. The Conservatives were supported by the Bloc for the first year and a half of their first term. With Dion in the picture, you can trust that Bloc wishes on Quebec's position in Canada won't be granted. This is meerly a deal made for the economy, which right now don't look like to be doing much, especially in Ontario which has factories shutting down every day. I can't believe Ontario was painted blue the last time and now I hope they have learned their lessons. Oh yeah, The Bloc has become more moderate in recent times. They stress Quebec separatism less and less now and now are just a Quebec-interest group and thats it.