fellowtraveller

Almost certainly the worst hyperbole in the history of the internet. Oops I did it again.

Your optimism cheers me immensely. And where is that growth going to come from in Ontario? Will the rate of growth exceeds the rate of increase in expenditures? It may be their saving grace, Ontario has the clout to ensure they get their share of the pie or more. Not really.

I have no problem answering your questions. Yes, he has done a pretty good job so far. It will get harder though, the world economy is still shaky and Canada is far too dependent on one of the most wobbly economies. That will be a small challenge compared to what is happening internally, with Ontario slowly moving towards being a failed state. Maybe he has already connected the two. Aside from some useful edcuation in economics, his qualifications are almost purely political. He is kind of like Obama, with his background as a 'community activist'. So, I still don't know much about the NDP candidates, time to do some reading once the field narrows down some.

Save my seat while I pop some popcorn. I want a good seat to watch Ontario duke it out with Quebec for the crumbs of Confederation. It should be no problem for Ontario to federally legislate whatever % of the gravy they need, given the vast numbers of MPs they have.

Everybody has taken sides already, they just have not been declared pubicly in some cases. Iran vs Israel is shaping up as a classic proxy war. Syria, Lebanon , Hamas and Hezbollah are Iranian proxies and would be directly involved on Israels borders. Russia and China will support Iran, not known to what extent. Israel itself will be effectively a proxy for the EU, who will feel obliged to sit back and wring their hands, but they feel threatened by Iran too. The USA will supply whatever Israel needs in terms of money, armaments and surveillance. If Iran closes the Straits of Hormuz or gets frisky in the Persian Gulf, the US and Europe will get directly involved, likely by wiping out the Iranian air defence capacity. Canada has no role other than ongoing verbal support of the Israelis- unless it escalates to where NATO is involved..

Bloated government, declining revenues, industry fleeing the scene with many jobs..... is Ontario already a failed state?

Here is another one: Trudeau senior was loved by all.

Yep. It plays well to some here though, and to some in Justins turf. Oh well.

Many employers do offer third party longterm disability. That cost would transfer fully and directly to taxpayers, and get corporations off the hook for benefits they provide now. Oh, and if your family does not have disability insurance through their employer, absolutely nothing stops her from buying some- just as the employers do now. I don't get how you think your daughters leave is unpaid if she collects EI. And there are no criminals, but I fail to see how long term disability is related to an employment insurance plan that is primarily intended as a short term bridge with the specific intention of getting people back to work. If a person is not capable of working, they should not be on EI for a long term, unspecified term.

Not exactly. What he has consistently said is that he has no intention of discussing either issue or reopening the debate and that neither is part of any legislation.

By what measures? I hear this all the time, but in reality the good education system in Cuba is actually a high rate of literacy. That is admirable, but it does not equate to much beyond that. A degree from a Cuban university is not worth much outside Cuba. or inside Cuba for that matter. If you belive that life expectancy is a measure of the quality of health care, Cuba ranks 36th in the world. Cuna trained doctors have zero chance of working in Canada without complete retraining programs, a start over basically. The reason is that equipment and medications available to Cuban medical schools is hopelessly old, outdated or nonexistent. I don't care about good intentions, universality or myths, there is no way I would want to be treated in a Cuban hospital f I was seriously ill or injured.

Not nearly as impressive as Chretien getting a majority three times with 41%, 41% and 40%, But that was entirely different, oh yes, not the same at all.Harper and whomever the NDP pick would do handsprings of glee if Justin Trudeau ever becamse Liberal Leader.

There yo go again, citing vague allegations.Redford spoke of a judicial inquiry during the leadership campaign, and after election as leader changed her mind to let the AHC inquiry carry on, an inquiry she had nothing to do with previously as she was not Premier or Minister in that portfolio. The CMA is a heavily biased interest group that does not dictate government polciy or action policy anywhere except within their own organization. Their prime mandate is to advocate for their members, just like any union does. The decision to upgrade the independence and power of the AHC is the right move, economically and institutionally. Of coure the 'critics' are the same choir that howls outrage with breakfast every morning, led by the utterly lame duck Brian Mason. When the legislative washroom runs short on paper towels Brian insists on a judicial inquiry. It is what he does. It appears that you are still stuck on 'Shermans allegations', which he has utterly failed to provide any actual information on. What would you expect from the Opposition but criticism? They are singularly and jointly desperate to hang onto the seats they have. Any issue will do, but this one is a stone cold loser because it is based on the musings of somebody who refuses to back up his mouth with facts of any kind. Who gives a shit if they call for an enquiry. When the AHC report is released, likjely this month, furhter action will stem from that. It at least will have some actual information. Note that the AMA, another advocate group for its members, makes no mention of Sherman because like pretty much everybody else know they need to disassociate themselves from him. That does not mean that further inquiry is needed, but like the AMA most Albertans are content to wait for the AHC report and take it from there.We'll see if the AMA still supports a fully public inquiry when doctors will be named and their pay will be discussed under oath and in front of cameras. If the AHC report indicates serious wrongdoing, I have no problem with whatever follows. Sherman is an ambitious guy for years, but was not a happy camper when he did not get a cabinet post when first elected in 2008. He invented his own crisis, but at first it had resonance with people. His refusal to provide anything to back up his allegations caused his support to dwindle in the press, public and caucus. Now he is the big fish in a small pond, and about to be a big fish in a cup of tepid water. He'll have a fight on his hands to keep his own riding, the public isn't buying his baloney any more.

Why would any employer continue to offer disability insurance(which is the norm, companies pay for longterm disability programs from a third party supplier) if the government supplies the same thing for nothing?

My, you are on a roll! Kevins Pages factless speculations on OAS, The Grope and Flails meanderings on alleged Wildrose/PC ties, and now Raj Sherman is your hero! Sherman got booted because he made very serious allegations wihtout providing a single fact to back them and still has not done so. I can see how that appeals to you. I agree, 'journalists' are lazy bastards who try to get by with recycling 11 year old lawsuits in which not a single fact was obtained or allegation proven. Thank goodness you are around to point that out by linking to these opinion pieces masquerading as facts. You're still on that fact free roll. The AHC investigation- which is not public and not judicial- started over a year ago. long before Redford was Premier or Sherman became Beloved Leader. The Opposiiton, such as it is, is constantly outraged and calling for inquiries constantly. Google 'Brian Mason NDO Leader' and 'outrage'. You'll get so many hits your computer will sieze up. Brian does outrage very well, which is good because that is about all he does. Rolling right along, the AHC has not yet released their report, so it would be tough for it to create legislation beforehand. Love 'em, though I am puzzled on how you copuld possibly conclude that Raj Sherman has anything to do with Bill 24. The main thrust of the Bill is to get the AHC out from where it is buried in AHS and have it report to the Legislature. It will also give it quasi judicial powers and put it on the same basis as other investigatory bodies in the province. The legioslation will have zero impact on the current AHC investiagtion. The enhancement of power and stature is appropriate given how much money is spent on health care, and the qaulity assurance review function of AHC will be retained. You really need to do more homework, though it is much more fun watching what comes from you when you don't.

Interpol is the international cop clearinghouse, they mostly communicate between national police forces. The Saudi cops issue a warrant for the accused, and tell Interpol they think he is somewhere, like Malaysia. The Malaysian cops are free to decide if the warrant if sufficient for arrest and extardition. Since Malaysia is also an Islamic nation, they would sympathize with the Saudis.Interpol is not involved other than communicating the warrant at the behest of a member nation.

Lovely bit of CBC journalism, from a non-case dredged up from 11 years ago. Nobody knows what the result of the lawsuit was, and the plaintiffs lawyer states plainly there is no link between Sherman and the plaintiff. The article goes in to detail filings by both sides with absolutely no point at all, since the case never got to court and all of it therefore not relevant. Typical CBC, and you call it 'vindication'. There is scarcely a fact to be found in that 'reportage', all reported in breathless detail as it it meant a thing. It doesn't. Sherman is already a joke here, a political footnote . But do carry on, you are mildly entertaining.

No, not really. EI is intended to be an insurance program for persons able and willing to work and that does not apply to persons with serious illness or injury. Many workers in my province are covered by workers compensation in the case of injury, many have coprorarate or personal disability insurance. In the event of really longterm disability, the province has programs. One of the possible changes I'd like to see explored is to treat EI like any other available insurance program by making the premiums paid fit the circumstances. For example, in Alberta you have to work more weeks to qualify for shorter benefit periods, while at the same time you are less likely to be laid off because the economy is stronger. If you live in Quebec, you have to work fewer weeks to draw benefits for a longer time, and are more likely to be unemployed. It is backwards, and provides no reason for workers to relocate to where there are jobs. If it is not meant to be an actual employment insurance program, change the name to Regional Welfare Program.

How so? Red implies left. So was Gary Mar, her main opponent in the leadership campaign. So too was Doug Horner, to a slightly lesser extent. The right wing PC candidates like Morton and Orman got thoroughly smoked. She is a Red Tory. She has and will take a big chunk of the 26% Libweral vote from the last election. It will easily and neatly replace the Wildrose vote. Indeed, where is the beef?. Sherman did not name names because he didn't really have anyand as a result he was turfed from caucus. He spent months looking for a home, and ended up with the utterly sadsack Liberlas, In doing so, he alienated what little power they have, MLAs like Blakeman wouldn't cross the street for him now. He is just the latest in an incrasingly crappy series of leaders. They had a real shot at power with Lawrence Decore in the 90s, but they pissed it all away. Oh, and the PCS ways over health care spending have consisted in recent years of big, big capital injections and plenty of operating money while constantly reorganizing- note the ongoing cash in the recent budget your yourself reference. Alberta has the highest per capita spending in Canada both for operating costs and capital investment. And that is our money, not yours. They kicked him out because he was and is an idiot. They asked him to prove he was an idiot and he obliged.

That made me laugh a lot, though ignorance of anything in Canada west of London is standard in our national media . Politics in Alberta have not been conservative since Social Credit vanished a generation or two ago. Most of the people here now are from other provinces or countries.

But how can it be an NDP budget without big tax increases and shrill cries of outrage about... everything?

Why would they cut the nuts off their own economy to satisfy a small group of unionists?

What premise? Where do you think the Wildrose support came from? Delivered in the night in black helicopters? Why wouldn't I acknowledge the obvious, a reality you are apparently only up to parrotting, not discussing. I understand your dismay, it takes some starch out of your rednceck land stereotyping. The PCS have moved hard to the center. all three leadership finalists were Red Tories, including Redford. Nice move really, it simulataneously moves the party more to the fertile middle, flushes the noisy right splinter, cuts the gonads off the Libs and NDP though they had already done that to themselves to a certain extent. That was mainly Stelmachs work. It kind of reminds me of what Harper did......... Your hopes and aspirations for Alberta will not be realized this election. Your ignorance of Sherman and his recent history is not surprising.

No, that is utter bullshit. The Liberals in Alberta were the same left -of- centre-but-not-NDP typically found all over Canada. Many of them came from elsewhere in the country, like so many Albertans in the last generation or so. The right of centre types within PC left to form Wildrose, and a whole bunch are mnoving back to PC now that they see they have no hope at all of coming anywhere near being anything of significance. The proof, again, of that is what happened with Ted Morton this time in the leadership race as compared to what happened with Morton in the last one. Premier Alison Redford owes her somewhat surprising leadership win in part to disaffected Liberals who actively worked on her campaign selling memberships. They've given up on the Liberal Party of Alberta, a point driven sadly but firmly home when the Liberals elected a certifiable idiot as their new leader. It is the legacy of Stelmach, who knew that if the PCS moved to the middle with a new leader they would grab many Liberals, and they had already purged the party of the right. If Gary Mar had been elected, the result and direction of the PCS would be the same: hard to the middle, the safe ground vacated by a bankrupt Liberal Party.

Now you are getting the idea, sort of. What were Mulcairs significant accomplishments as a lawyer, civil servant and teacher?Is that all Topp has as work experience, been an operative within the NDP? What have the others done for a living, other than be politcians. I understand your obsession with Prime Minister Harper, but could you try and stay on topic for a couple of posts?