Evening Star

Norway and Sweden have 25% VATs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_of_Europe

I guess it's because the main parties are all in agreement on it. I also found it odd though.

To what did they attribute it? Did they foresee an NDP breakthrough in SK?

I guess this is the crux of our disagreements. I definitely don't think it's madness to have different priorities than "lifted up trucks or 3000 sq. Ft homes".

I do agree that there are some important differences between the Nordic approach and that advocated by the NDP or left-learning Liberals. As I understand it, the Nordic countries have kept business taxes relatively low while raising personal income taxes beyond what Canadian politicians would dare to advocate. Their consumption taxes, which our left tends to oppose, are especially much higher. As well, they are unitary states, which makes it easier for resources to be nationalized and for services to be administered evenly across the country. I believe that it is also the case that they do not have comparable levels of immigration.

I think part of the problem might also be that the Liberals always seem to be bringing up contempt for Parliament - a really fundamental issue - alongside relatively trivial issues like the Bruce Carson 'scandal' or the CPC kicking someone out of a party rally, seeming to put all these things on equal footing.

Yeah, watching the clip, that first part's not so bad.

Yeah, I actually donated to the Liberal campaign but this new approach is a little embarrassing.

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Hm? I was just asking about the community in Montreal because of this: I was just wondering how important that particular issue is to that particular community. Wasn't meant to be a comment on the community in other regions.

Is the Jewish community in Montreal especially pro-Israel?

That makes sense... So what to make of EKOS projecting 6 QC seats for the NDP?: http://www.ekospolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/seat_projection_april_15_2011.pdf

? Your source is a MSM outlet that is reporting on it...

I'd spin it differently than you but I always understood that the change in policy from 2004-2006 had to do with the fact that the NDP's support was needed to support the LPC minority.

That argument is usually not made on the grounds that Canada or the US are poor countries though.

Different perspective here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/04/08/cv-election-vp-smol.html

When has any leftist said that our countries are poor per se, as opposed to commenting on issues of distribution, fairness, or stability?

Not necessarily. In many blue-collar or Western ridings, the contest is between the NDP and the Conservatives. Likewise, in QC, the NDP mostly seems to be eating into BQ support, although this might not amount to many seats.

On what grounds do you say we have a better standard of living? Nordic countries are regularly ranked at the top of the world on measures such as the UN's Human Development Index and the Legatum Propsperity Index. And there is much to suggest that they are excellent places for entrepreneurship.

People seem to point to Ignatieff's five years in the US more than his 22 years based in the UK, a country with a stronger socialist tradition than Canada.

I dunno, I only recently started reading some of his writing rather than just going by what has been written about it. "The Attack on Human Rights", for example, is highly critical of the US' disregard for international conventions and the UN and also points to the divide between the US and the rest of the developed world on abortion and capital punishment. He also posits the international struggle for human rights in opposition to the interests of global capitalism at times. Not exactly Republican talking points.

The result of the 1980 referendum was closer to 60-40: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_referendum_1980

Surely you can see a difference between keeping your job with fewer hours and losing your job altogether? I think I actually agree with you here.

That's what I was referring to as the "social contract". My understanding of Rae Days has always been that they were mandatory days of unpaid leave for public servants who made over $30k, with the specific intention of cutting costs without laying people off.

Most of the major changes in ON's educational system since that time were first planned/proposed during Rae's term: elimination of Gr 13, the common curriculum, standardized testing, per-pupil funding. And rent control and anti-scab legislation don't seem like failures to everyone.