fellowtraveller

It is profoundly insulting to black people in the US to compare their civil rights battles with the whining of a few socialists in Canada. Shame on you.

Perhaps, it's hard to tell. After all, they voted strongly against it in 2000, then for it-barely- in Sept 2003. The next few weeks will be interesting. MPs from all parties will be hard pressed by constituents to vote both ways. Now we're going to see which parties allow their members to vote freely. In the last vote, the motion supporting same sex marriage carried only when the Liberals bullied their members. In the end, it's likely to pass and about time too.

Oh I do, very much. I just wonder why the NDP doesn't - unless it's convenient of course. Still waiting for an explanation of why the NDP policy changes when it suits them. Don't they believe in 'fairness' in Saskatchewan and Manitoba? Two faced hypocrites by the evidence, with plenty of apologists tucked in bed with them too.

The NDP as martyrs. Laugh...out... loud. How utterly pathetic.

I do fervently believe in democracy, if only we could convince the NDP party to do the same.

good post argus. The govt also doesn't want us to know how many guns remain unregistered. I know of one small town where a person who has registered on weapon is purchasing ammunition for about 40 others who have not registered anything. The cops know all about it, and do nothing. Have there been any prosecutions yet for failing to register?

explain relevance of your post please?

In another astonishing coincidence, Alberta also has standardized testing of all kids in Grades 3, 6, and 9 in basic skills. For some reason, they think it allows them to identify children that are being left behind, and to try and help them individually. It is of particular benefit to immigrant kids, since it's sometimes harder to assess their skills with language issues. It's only been a partial success as overall the students only rank 2nd in the world. The kids don't seem to mind, but the teachers union hates them. Performance indicators, you know.

Would you prefer that a) the state control all press or that the state just control the production of headlines? The trouble with these damned capitalists is that they take freedoms of press and expression so seriously!

Homicides using firearms as a weapon actually went up last year, while overall homicides went down. statscan source It appears some of the criminals have overlooked registering their weapons.

What do I think? I think our policy for decades has been a form of slow genocide. I don't want to be party to it anymore. I think it's way past time to think outside the box, and act outside the box too. We're wasting hundreds of millions if not billions now- why not try something different? Perhaps our First Nations Canadians will rally around a leader seen to be sitting with the adults at the Cabinet table. Maybe it will make a difference. The Liberal government has an opportunity to show some courage, to show some leadership.

It's only inconsistent if you believe that the NDP have more integrity than the other parties. Apparently they do not, they are opportunists like the rest. Glad we could put that claim to rest. For the record, and I checked, proportional represntation is part of the NDP party platform in BC, Alberta, Ontario and federally of course. In all of these jurisdictions, the NDP would benefit from proprep. I did not check east of Ontario. Saskatchewan and Manitoba NDP do not support proprep and have not implemented it despite decades of opportunity. Of course, they would not benefit from it. Democratic deficit, I better not hear Jack Layton speaking about it again.

From todays Edmonton Journal" " That's second and fourth in the world, first in Canada. Alberta spends more per capita than any other province on education. They have also completely changed their approach to the adminstration and funding of education in the province in the last decade. Alberta also enjoys a large and increasing percentage of immigrant students, especially in urban centers.

must be just a coincidence, everybody agrees.

Newfie and Argus, some good suggestions but they suffer from the same old problem - they are 'more of the same'. They are more of the same paternalistic system that just does not work. It can be argued that our treatment of natives for the past 140+ years is the problem, not the solution. Why not apply a little imagination? Why not approach the Assembly of Frst Nations and say: We agree, you deserve a seat at the table. Choose your best to sit on Cabinet. You have to start somewhere and the status quo is achieving nothing, achieving less than nothing. Did you know that the DIAND budget is over $7 billion per year and is not subject to the scrutiny of the Auditor General?

ndpic, there are certainly some prosperous bands , reservations and individuals. But the health and cultural crisis of First Nations people overall is undeniable. Let's try a different tack. Let's pretend they are not native people, let's pretend they are ..... say gay people and that there are no land claim implications. Would you find the fearsome mortality rate, reduced life span, astonishing rate of diabetes, alcoholism, heart disease, child mortality and 3rd world living conditions on both reserves and urban communities - would you find this in any way disturbing if it were applied to a group other than natives? I used to think as you do - but enough years of observation, first hand observation in First Nations communities - has changed my mind. I think 180 degrees differently than I used to. We have to start somewhere, or in a generation or two our children will think of us as genocidal. It seems a small small thing to ensure the First Nations have a voice, a real voice. What do we have to lose? Surely it is far less than what we all have to gain.

If not in military, then in the RCMP or CSIS. Call it what you will, but as much as you may wish it otherwise - you cannot have it both ways.

You've missed my point entirely Newfie. The purpose of having a First Nations rep as the Minister of Indian Affairs is to move the First Nations agenda forward, and to have a dispossessed people represented at the highest level of government. This fits in with Martins avowed and promised goals of a)promotion of the interests of First Nations peoples and democratic renewal, which he has failed miserably at so far. Best of all, the appointee would have an excellent knowledge of the First Nations culture, goals and players. They may actually get something accomplished, and the symbolism alone would be of great benefit. Cabinets are not always elected - there is no rrequirement for a Minister to be elected - I believe Brian Tobin (from Nfld)was the most recent unelected appointee - and that was not on merit but as a political move. Why wouldn't you want an expert, if one were available?

Proportional representation seems to be a mainstay of NDP policy, nationally and federally. The NDP would gain many seats in most provinces and federally. There are two provinces - Sakatchewan and Manitoba - where this is not the case. Introduction of proprep would result in a loss of seats for the NDP governments, in Manitobas case they would lose their majority. Yet despite being in power off and on for decades, the NDP governments in these two provinces have not implemented this NDP policy mainstay, there are no plans for proprep in either province. Seems to be an integrity problem here, or is this exception just a 'coincidence'?

Much of the info in the first post is incorrect. Alberta remains in the middle of the provincial pack in tuition costs.source Alberta also spends more than any other province, per capita, on elementary and secondary education. Not coincidentally., Alberta also leads the nation in student achievement testing and is among the owrld leaders in some subjects. You can blame Klein for that too.

Like Kimmy said. More recent info from the cops has stated that the death of this woman was not criminal, which leads me to think that it was a suicide. Howver, it does seem likely that there is a serial killer in the area. There have been numerous sex trade workers found dead east of the city in the last few years. Perhpas the serial killer from the Prince George area has moved east to Edmonton.

First Nations peoples continue to suffer in ways that are near criminal in a developed country. They have health crises in diabetes, alcoholism and several other areas would be considered catastrophic in the general population. Self governance, institutional racism, lousy leadership, paternalistic federal government and so on... the list is long and it is real. Our nation needs to begin a real dialogue about our treatment of First Nations, and our current relationship needs to be abandoned and then overhauled. We need to get beyond the paternalistic approach of Indian Affairs, we need to find a model that restores quality of life and some measure of dignity to First Nations people. We cannot continue on the present course simply because the people we think we are helping may not survive our 'help'. I have a suggestion on where to begin the process of bringing hope . The federal government should not have an elected person as Minister of Indian Affairs. Instead, national native groups should select their single best and brightest, to be appointed by the Prime Minister as Minister of Indian Affairs. We need a strong voice at the Cabinet level, a full time advocate for his/her people at a level where a difference can be made. What use is having some Liberal Party hack as Minister? They don't even understand the issues, much less have any clue as to solutions.

The very first priority of any federal government, regardless of ideology, is to ensure the safety/security of its citizens. If Martin fails to ensure this, and the pathetic state of security - which has worsened in the last few years despite an obvious threat- is allowed to continue, he will never be forgiven. The government has put itself in a difficult position by promising the moon in ever-expanding social programs, while neglecting the most important issue of all. Spending some serious coin on our safety and security while limited resources are bled from our collective pockets by universal day care, gun registries, Adscam etc? The chickens will inevitably come home to roost for Mr. Martin and for all of us. Of course, we'll do the usual then and blame the Americans for our problems. Our country remains in desperate need of leadership.

Get rid of Alberta. Good plan. I'd vote for that, though for different reasons.

Americans emigrating to Canada? What a novel idea. Perhaps that would reverse the longtime trend of many more Canadians emigrating to America than vice versa, at about a 5 to one ratio. They're welcome here, but they'll have to get in line with everybody else.