fellowtraveller

Not really, Layton has been very vocal and very consistent in voting against Harper. He may gain spine by knowing that the NDP vote doesn't matter unless Dion was willing to take down Harper, but still he has been persistent and consistent. The problem for Layton is the old one for the NDP, nobody pays much attention. It will beinteresting to see if Jack survives as leader. He managed to increase seats from 19 to 29 last election, but I'm betting that unless he has the same increase again his days are numbered. Pat Martin wants his job, bad. The NDP has a mahjor problem with votesplitting Greens. I think many folks will vote Green in protest, though it won't elect any MPs. Every vote for Green is one less for Layton and Dion, since Harper will lose zero support from Green voters. It may be enough to give Harper a slim majority.

The Green Shift is simply a revenue transfer from petro producing provinces- mostly the West - back to the center where all the money rightfully belongs in Liberal minds. Dion could care less how it plays in Alberta, no votes now or ever for him there. Plenty in the GTA though, which is the political target and economic beneficiary. It s a winner for him to take money fromSakatchewan to build public transit in GTA. LiberalJim, do you agree or disagree that the conduct of the Liberal Party of Canada is illegal, immoral and disgraceful in stealing the trademarked and copyrighted 'Green Shift' signature from the legal owners, a Tornto environmental firm? Without any compensation or apology or explanation? And a sure sign of election looming: new Liberal shills appear on websites like this.

Haven't heard a peep from old Karl lately. No word from the much touted parliamentary committee investigating his claims of dire doings with former PM Mulroney. Whatever happened to the full inquiry promised? Why isn't Karl in the German jail that should be his home?

That is simply not true. All that is required to maintain a vehicle warranty is proof that scheduled maintenance has been performed, there is no requirement whatsoever for the work to be performed at a dealer. None. Zero. You will note that scheduled maintenance for most new cars during the warranty period consists of fluid changes and a variety of inspections, none of which require any codes or special technology. If you want the manufacturer to pay for repairs done under warranty, they must be done at an authorized shop- which may or may not be a dealer. I have been far from a dealer, required urgent repairs, and the manufacturer authorized the repair at a neighbourhood garage- and paid for all of it.

Nonsensical premise. As usual. The govt does not operate any drilling rigs. The government has absolutely no need to own the land for it to be developed for oil, thousands of landowners currently earn revenue from companies drilling, building pipelines, installing compressor stations, etc etc etc. on their privately owned land.

Only 90%??? That's nothing, Stephan Dion has agreed with Stephen Harpers legislation on 100% of the Tory agenda for over 2 1/2 years. No exceptions. Beat that.

Dion had stated flatly that he would refuse to meet Harper until after the byelections, Sept 9. I wonder what changed Dions mind? Attack of the vapours? Chill wind on the spine? Maybe they found some foolish bank or shylock to lend the Liberals some money, just in the nick of time. Maybe Alfonso Gagliano emptied his piggybank..

Not quite correct. Newfoundland got screwed by Joey Smallwood, who negotiated a horrible deal with smarter people from another province, and did it willingly. eta: Wacky Bennett did the same thing in BC, negotiated a terrible deal on hydro with the US.

You've lost me there. Is Masse intending to turn all those CAW members into independent repair shops that will require free access to foreign car repair codes? Seems to me that if every mechanic has easy access to GM, Ford and Chrysler codes, the profits of those companies will erode further and his members will be in further jeopardy.

You are confusing the role of auto builders. They are not just in the busness of building cars, they also finance and repair them- and make more money at that than selling the cars. They are in fact in direct and heavy competition every day in the repair of their vehicles. IOf they develop diagnosticv toolsand choose not to hare them it is within their legal right. Other, independent repair shops can take the same course, if they choose to make the same multi-billion dollar invstment. The dealers pay very dearly for maintaining that edge. Any reasonable buyer who plans to keep a vehicle for a long term, or buys a used vehicle, has only himself to blame if the vehicle he chooses does not share proprietary information for free. Pick another vehicle if it is an issue.

Manitoba=shameless, relentless sucking........and proud of it.

Has Dion abandoned the summr rubber chicken circuit yet, and gone begging for money again at the banks? You'd have to wonder at what the banks will ask for in pay back, since the Lberal Paty of Canada is so clearly a poor credit risk. They cannot come close to managing themselves, yet we are asked to believe they can manage the economy of a G8 nation. Perhaps their plan is to revert to their proven track record and simply award themseves cash through Adscam2 after an election. It will be interesting to see the Liberals fight another election on borrowed funds, since ordinary Candians consistently refuse to support them financially.

Anything is possible if your very existence depends on relentless sucking on the public federal teat, which Manitoba has done for a generation, and continues to do. Don't thank Doer or Layton or yourself for your prosperity, thank Canada.

Disagree. Manufacturers of any equipment have the right to not allow access to their proprietary software, they paid the money to develop it and it belongs to them under intellectual copyright. If that means you have to take your Volvo(a prime culprit btw) to the Volvo dealer to get thoroughly cheated for repairs- then so be it. Of course, ifyour brand is labelled as 'expensive to fix', the maker will eventually have trouble selling them. Comsumers are cluing into the reality that the main sources of income for dealers are financing and service/repairs. selling the vehicles does not make a lot, especially now.

That is nothing compared to the Liberal, who know they aren't in minority territory.

The only meaningful choice is 'other'. The first two choices provide examples of countries that don't fit the choices, and every country has elements of socialism and capitalism. For example the 'capitalists' in Japan have much more govt involvement in businessthan Canada. The most capitalist country would be somewhere like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands.

Agreed. It also took some fantastic luck with very low interest rates through the mid-late nineties, which also enabled Chretien to pretend his 'good management' had anything much to do with it..

payment of opposing legal costs is up to the judge.

Speaking of pine beetles, I saw their effects first hand this summer. The hillsides in central BC are visibly devastated

I can see rates skyrocketing from the olde favorite: supply and demand.... Right now, it takes many months in Alberta just to get a car into the shop to be repaired, they are booked far into the future. An emerging huge issue in the industry is labour. Auto body mechanics are paid less than many other trades, and many are leaving to earn more in other work. That m,eans fewer qualified people, and that means higher costs, and that means higher rates. Even now, many shops refuse work from certain insurers because they squeeze them too hard.

What this country needs is a man with a firm hand on the environmental tiller, a man that given any sort of chance would guide us to glory. That man is Stephane Dion.

Whover is calling for the RCMp to shut this operation down is urinating into the wind... I've been in two RCMP detachments that have beer vending machines (beer at cost price) in their coffee rooms. There is nothing illegal about it, the public is not served.

Do you mean that same industry that is subsidizing the Canadian economy? That one?

......will render the list virtually useless.

Greyhound has announced that in their marketing response to this incident that they intend to hack and slash prices so deeply it will leave your head spinning.