fellowtraveller

Imagine the US reinstated a draft for young people to fight a war somewhere, doesn't matter where...... In the 60s and 70s a fair number of young American men came to Canada, purportedly in protest against US involvement in Vietnam. Canada let them in for an indefinte time and did not force them to leave, some still remain. But what would Canadas response be today? Their response to US military deserters who apply for refugee status has been quite unequivocal: they are turfed out because they are in no danger of torture or death in the US, they are not true political refugees. But what is the US brought back the draft and bunches of young men and presumably women showed up at the border seeking asylum as before.....

I do not agree that the two solitudes means federalist vs separatist. It does mean Englsh vs French, which is not the same as federalist vs separatist.

"The accompanying summarized statements of financial position, operations, changes in net assets and cash flows are derived from the complete financial statements of Women’s College Hospital as at March 31, 2007 and for the year then ended on which we expressed an opinion without reservation in our report dated June 26, 2007. The fair summarization of the complete financial statements is the responsibility of management. Our responsibility, in accordance with the applicable Assurance Guideline of The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, is to report on the summarized financial statements. In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements fairly summarize, in all material respects, the related complete financial statements in accordance with the criteria described in the Guideline referred to above. These summarized financial statements do not contain all the disclosures required by Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. Readers are cautioned that these statements may not be appropriate for their purposes. For more information on the hospital’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows, reference should be made to the related complete financial statements. Chartered Accountants, Licensed Public Accountants" You have clearly been duped. There is not a single word in here about mashed potatoes or toast.

I think you're freeloading too. I didn't think much of you before, but now I won't be thinking of you at all.

The investigation I'd like to see centers on what exactly happened to a couple of hundred million bucks linked to Adscam. Where did it go after it hit the ad agencies? Why have no politicians gone to jail? Where are the forensic audits of Liberal riding associations? What would be said when you hook some electrodes to Jean Corriveaus pink bits? And so on.

Must be Calgary. My family has received first rate care at two hospitals in Edmonton, on three occasions in the last two years. Really, I could not have asked for more. Nobody got sent home until they were up for it.

You guys are reading way too much into this. The whole affair is a collaboration and semi red herring by Layton and Harper to enable harper to fire himself and call an election. It brings the focus on the Senate and how they are stopping Parlianment from doing their jobs. Senate is the fall guy..... Whatever the referendum decides, it will get pushed way back on the priority list - after the election.

Why hasn't Dion stated his position on abolishment? It seems to be a straighforward question. I'd expect the same question as the people will have: do you support abolishment of the Senate? Yes. No. If it is yes, I'd expect the govt to pursue the issue as laid out in the constitution, consult the provinces and then take it to Parliament. Stephane, do you support abol;ishment, yes or no? The rest of Canadas so-called leaders have spoken, why not you? Of course a referendum would not decide the issue, but it would provide guidance to the govt. Much better than taking it the Liberal way, and begging the Supremes to tell us what to do.

Maybe. I think it is more likely they will run ads up to and through an election, which I interpret as short term. They want an election ASAP, the Cons have much to gain by getting to the polls right now. Waiting for spring is filled with risk for them, and allows a reeling Liberal party some time to somehow get their act together. A real possibility is that Dion may abruptly resign, which means the Cons will be obliged to wait, and lose huge momentum, and face a leader that will be far more formidable than Dion. (which means nearly anybody. except Joe Volpe). They want an election now, and are engineering just that in my opinion. The only change lately is that Layton is now actively involved in making that happen.

I don't know if you meant that as a joke, but thanks for the laugh anyway. I can just see the sign utside town: "Welcome to Dognuts, Ontario: Home of the Worlds Largest Waffle and Great Hospital Cafeteria Food!.

Yes, yes, Jack Nicklaus, maybe, daffodils

I agree that they are keeping Dions weakness front and center, but not that it is a long term strategy, Why bother when Dion is clearly not personally in any long term situation. The ads are part of a short term goal: force an election, now. The only reason that the Liberals are not responding in kind is quite simple: they have no money, or more accurately no cash on hand. The Cons do, plenty of it with plenty more rolling in. Of course, they are strictly limited in what they spend after the writ is dropped - but they can do what they please beforehand.

Utter bollocks, and revisionist bollocks at that. Nodody cares what rank and file Liberals think about abolishment, and no Liberal leader has proposed abolishing it in my lifetime. Do you just make up this nonsense as you go? The only reason Dion has expressed any interest NOW and only NOW in abolishing the Senate is he can see he is being outflanked yet again, this time by both his worst enemies. Dion has played his game knowing that he may be able to slow down Tory business in Parliamentary commttees, and when they finaly get through those the Senate is available to do his bidding, acts he does not have the political courage or capital himself. Unfortunately for him, that too is blowing up in his face. It must just totally chap his ass too that Harper and Layton aren't - as is the Liberal way- asking the Supreme Court in advance what they should do in governing the country. They are asking the people. Oh, the horror......

The Liberals are so broke they cannot even fund any Quebec ad agencies lately.

You have it backwards. The food that was brought in by private sector caterers was good, the food prepared by the hospital staff was utter garbage. No doubt the hospital union was involved in getting the outside caterers shut down on some pretext.

More like a mental sikhness. i promise to stop now. Some local entrepreneurs put together a dandy business catering to hospital patients in Edmonton. They had this wacky idea of providing tasty, fresh food to anybody who wanted it, dropped off at your bedside at mealtimes. Next meal, they would pick up the dishes and linens. I saw two of their dinners, both were of a quality seen at home or at a good-to-very good restaurant. They cater to any diet, and prices were around $18 for dinner, $13 for lunch, delivered. They lasted about 3 months before the hospital blocked entry on some premise or another.

Why do you think an election campaign hasn't already begun? If harper , Layton and Duceppe have their way there would be one tomorrow. In the meantime, Harper has plenty of Party money to spend, and I don't think there are many rules on spending outside an offical campaign.

Thanks, and I think that Dion is a proud man and sooner rather than later will recognize that he is channelling Bill Murray in the movie 'Groundhog Day'. It just won't get any better for him , so he may as well get it over with. How long can anybody take the repeated shame of saying one thing(decrying everyhting the govt does), then doing the opposite (voting for it).

Liberal 'strategy' doesn't matter here, they are the guy walking behind the elephant with a shovel at this parade. They've been upstaged by Harper and Layton on the Senate. What the public sees from the Liberals, and what Harper is going to make sure is front and center really soon, is that the . Dion can cry that the Senate is not under his control, but nobody will believe that it is nothing more than petulance at not being allowed to govern, as they see their Natural Right. Expressions of support won't mean anything, the horse has already left the barn. If the Liberals wanted to enact change, they had an opportunity in over a decade of majority govt. See, the 'do-nothing' attituide of Chretien comes back to haunt.... Harper, I hope and pray, won't revert to the practice the Liberals loved of referring things to the Suipreme Court so they could make laws. They, like the Senate , are unelected and that is not their job. But all of this is secondary anyway. Harper has no burning desire to reform the Senate. What he wants is to call an election ASAP. This is a great, safe issue and an obvious lever to do what the Liberals wont' do - force an election. So: refer legislation - more of it, lots of it- to the Senate- and hope they continue their current obstruction. First whiff of it, declare a constitutional crisis, dissolve his own govt and go to the polls. Oh yeah, tack on a Senate referendum.

The Tory strategy becomes clearer: Announce a referendum on the Senate tied to an election. Soon after, announce that he is obliged to advance the date of an election to 'immediately' because of Senate obstructionism of leisaltion passed by Parliament.. The Liberals in the House would be decimated in an election. The Liberals in the Senate would eventually be gone after a referendum If the Liberals in the Senate suddenly see the light and start to behave themselves, Harper still wins since he can act as a majority indefinitely. This guy is scary smart.

There is no need for consensus. The Cons need a lever to force an election, and the Senate obstruction of legislation is a very good one.

Oh, so you actually do agree that it is an issue? Thanks for the clarification. I'm going out on a limb here and guess that the Tories have reviewed the polls,and still want an election. So do the NDP and Bloc, though for different reasons. That leaves the Liberals. What is your estimate on how long Dion can tolerate being forcefed turd sandwiches until he gives up and concedes that an election is going to happen?

I disagree that it is a useless isuue. I reckon Harper is going to make very good use of it if the Senate slows down anything passed in Parliament. He'll stop waiting for the Liberals to tire of debasing themselves, and force an election himself on the basis that the Senate made him do it. A referendum may accompany the general election that follows.........

What is less clear is if it is in Albertas best interest to join NAFTA. Given the restrictions on how and for how much we can sell commodities like oil and gas via NAFTA, a sovereign Alberta might want to think about all that for a bit.....

Witness the major move to the centre by the CPC over the last few years....... Harper has deliberately made the tent bigger and more inclusionary. Haven't heard a peep from ol' David Orchard for eons...... no stoires on the ambitions of Peter Mackay...... no whining from the hinterlands....the deal is done, long done.