fellowtraveller

I don't see the country being 'forced apart', but I do wonder about the future of the federation. The intransigence of the provinces/regions in collaborating with each other means we are increasingly unlikely to cooperate with each other for our mutual good. And why would any region be willing, when we have examples of how a pragmatic, focused asssault on Ottawa can produce plenty of gravy for your region. Quebec has set the gold standard for taking care oif themselves, the culture/language issue is simply a convenient tool for blackmail and intinidation for getting your share plyus more. I don't blame them, and we can expect to see every region trying the same. Why not, since it works?

What assets do they have? Real estate, stock portfolio, gold bullion? I wonder how readily banks will now lend to orgnaizations without real collateral.....certainly they have tightended up criteria for those who actually do have assets, physical assets.....a colleague at an international NGO told me they used to readily get credit 'secured' by various operating grants and donations not yet received, and she said they have had a fair amount of trouble maintaining their tradiitonal credit line since about this time last year.

So the stories that Layton is reluctant to actually initiate the federal election- the one he has been blubbering about for ages- has nothing to do with the low coffers of the federal NDP after they poured $ and support into the NS election are all completely false? Is $400k a lot of money in NS?

More likely that the unions are dwindling in power, and their political opposition gets plenty from corporations. Will they also ban donations from the national NDP to the provincial NDP?

Good post. I agree about the regions, but think the illness within our confederation is well advanced. The disparity in population per ridings and Senate representation, or lack of it, are a couple of examples of what contributes to the several solitudes that have been created. It isn't French vs English or East vs West anymore, it is 'grab what you can and screw the others'. Example: we simply cannot get past inter-provincial trade barriers and work together for a common good. What is the alternative? It is what is happening: the money that drives our economy is north-south now. Quebec finds it much more expedient to deal with the USA than deal with BC. And vice versa. I worry about our little confederation.

If you are a Dipper and not concerned that the NDP has failed to take electoral advantage of the glorious opportunites presented by the meltdown of the Liberals in the last 5 years, you deserve what awaits. There is a message there and a pretty clear one, ignore it at your peril.

And without massive injections of equalization money to 'budgets' to both provinces, they would not have 'balanced' anything. To be fair, this is true of most provinces under a variety of party labels.

That was not my point and I do not agree with what you said, it does not apply to all entertainment. The other 'major sports(though hockey is nowhere near as big as baseball, football or basketball) have other sources of revenue, mainly monster national TV contracts, merchandising and lucrative local TV/radio deals. Hockey is the exception, every team relies heavily on their gate plus parking/food/beer sales. You have to sell all the tickets all the time at high prices to break even. Hockey fans in all six existing Canadiain markets do just that, there are suffcient fans and corporate money to make that happen. But.... I question if that is sustainable in smaller markets like Winnipeg and Quebec.

If you cannot answer that question with an enthusiastic 'yes' then Winnipeg and Quebec will have problems surviving. If your team is successful, you can and do charge those numbers. If you are Phoenix, you charge ten dollars, as they did on opening night and sold out. Now they have gone back to their regular(low) prices and are drawing 7,000. In a league given by the gate and a payroll in the $55 million range per team, you have to sell out lots of expensive tickets to make a dime. I just do not see markets like Winnipeg and Quebec doing that for long.

No, if you want to form the government you don't have to stop voting for the NDP, you have to present policies and candidates that sufficient Canadians support so as top form the government. It is all quite symmetrical, I'm surprised you had not worked this through. The math is really quite simple, the NDP failure to grasp this reality is one of the things that turns people off. If you can't divide 308 by 2, then add one to reach a target number, how will you manage an economy? Any comment on the abject failure of the NDP to increase their popular support with voters in the wake of Adscam, Martin, Dion and now Ignatieff. Isn't that both embarassing and revelatory?

Would you prefer a full public inquiry or would Harpers resignation suffice? In case the inquiry works for you, there should be a judge available now that Screiber has gone back to Germany. This is the last straw, Ignatieff and his coalition partmers should bring this governemtn down now!

I look at NDP popular vote and the number of seats they hold and they both confirm exactly what I say. The vast majority of the Canadian electorate reject your ideology. They much prefer the center to far left or far right. You can hate that, you can pretend otherwise, but you ignore the reality at your peril. What must be very tough for Dippers to swallow is that the last four years or so has presented an absolutely golden opportunity to turn their Party into a contender. Instead, the NDP wallow eternally at the edge of oblivion, hoping the Liberals or Greens don't siphon off even more votes and make you even less relevant. You can move to the center, or you can continue in the party tradition of righteous loserdom. Your choice.

The Liberals knew this for a long time too, and oddly chose to abandon it around Martins time. Since they, they just drift in whatever breeze may be blowing that day on The Hill, generally to the left whwere they get mixed up in the general confusion and rhetoric. The NDP never did understand that most Canadians, the ones that vote, are not interested in radical positions on eoither side of the spectrum. The NDPs inability to grasp this ensures they will never be relevant to Canadians. Works for me.

Steps up how? By agreeing to move into a brand new $400 million arena paid for by taxpayers where they will demand all revenues go to their team? What a ridiculous concept, spending that kind of money in a small place to gratify the egos of locals. Next step: the cry of RACISM AGAINST QUEBEC if taxpayers fail to leap behind this cause. Question for Winnipeg and Quebec: will your market support the purchase of 18,000 tickets priced $70 t0 $250 for 41 homes games and four exhibition games every year, indefinitely? That means a pair of season tickets will cost around $6000 to $20000 every year, win or lose.

Given that the Cons have been spending like socialists from day one of their government, and have not implemeneted a single piece of the feared social conservative hidden agenda, how do you arrive at the conclusion that the Cons are right wing in any way? Just a hunch, waiting on facts to blow into town?

I agree with much of what Who's doing says but not this The value of teams in the US depends on where it is located. Rangers, Flyers, Hawks , Wings and a few others are doing OK and will continue to do OK. But several others will ultimately fail, and the league will and must contract by a few teams: Phoenix, both Florida teams, Nashville, Atlanta. At that point, the opportunity will be there for a new team with big fat franchise fees in Southern Ontario, I really doubt Quebec or Winnipeg will ever see their teams back as relocations. Kansas zCity and Las Vegas are about the only real possibilities and I doubt KC would be anything but another Phoenix. Las Vegas might do OK, but right now the economy in Las Vegas is absolutely brutal.

So, does it now brim with substance? Several plot lines were laid out in Episode One, have they all turned into material worthy of Shakespeare?

Nope, the NHL has been asked and answered that question. Southern Onatrio is the one market that may get $200-$250 million in a big fat franchise fee, 6.5 to $8 million cash money to each owner, and likely not necessary to share it with the players. The 'threat' would be accompanied with a big windfall cheque, the only one they are ever likley to get of that size. If anybody just moves a franchise to Hamilton a la Balsillie, the other owners get nothing, zero. That is why they have voted against Balsillie, it will cost them a fortune to move the Coyotes or anybody else into Hamilton, they want and will get an 'expansion' team eventually. Toronto and Buffalo Bill Daly can blubber all they like, NHL VP Daly says that any approval of a franchise with a massive fee in Hamilton requires a simple majority of owners voting in favour, which would be a slam dunk: the vote would be 28-2 , with Toronto and buffalo opposed.

Balsillies bid was doomed from the day he made it, speculation on what happens after is just silly. He could have offered eighty nine bajillion dollars and still would not have been sold the franchise by the bankruptcy court judge. The reason is very simple: his offer was conditional, and the condition was a whopper: that he would buy the team if he could move it to Hamilton. The judge cannot and could not and did not have the authority to order the NHL to permit a franchise wherever Balsillie or anybody else chose, he recognized the exclusive right of the NHL to control their own franchises. End of story, end of game for Balsillie.

Watched the season premiere. Glee=Yawn

I generally loathe romantic comedies. but this is one that I can recommend. It does not have the usual outcome in the genre, an endearing quality, and the people are not all gorgeous. Soundtrack is pretty good too.

Paul Bernardo has paid his debt to society.

That is a ludicrous number, nobody will pay anything close to that. $200 to $250 million is closer to the mark and there are very few fools with that kind of spare change. eta: the $200 million mark is only achievable in Southern Ontario, if they can find a very rich idiot soemwhere else it might get to $50 million.

Not really, both have the rote zombie action and both are comedies, but they diverge from there.It was great fun really. Aniother very good and very overlooked zombie flick is recent and Canadian : Pontypool. It is low budget, so the visible zombie element is minimal, but a couple of hours well invested.

That is an absurd number for a franchise in Quebec, $50 million will be closer to reality. And they won't be paying any $150 million to Molson for 'infringement', unless The Habs paid that to the Nordiques for leaving 15 years ago.