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Our current imigration system is so backlogged that it in some cases it takes years to process applications, all the while these persons are roaming our streets. and then trying to deport them after the application is denied is a problem. Then maybe they should fix the system so that this won't be a problem. If they have a dual citizenship, sure, but if not, where do you send them ???? Certainly, if they are caught in conspiracy to commit serious crimes, etc.. they should be punished. I have no problems with that at all...

Strengthen is code for spend more tax dollars. Why shouldn't Canadians have the choice of private healthcare instead of having to go to the USA? If they want private health care, they can go to the USA and get it..... CANADIANS DON'T WANT PRIVATE HEALTH CARE.....You'll note that your hero, Steven Harper won't dare breathe a word about private health care... do you know why... BECAUSE CANADIANS DONT WANT IT !!! and he'll NEVER get elected promising private health care. You might want it... and your beloved Fraser Institute might want it... but CANADIANS DONT WANT IT....There are other threads where you can spout off your ridiculous ideas about health care... And there are more Americans without healthcare than there are Canadians, Cubans, and North Vietnamese citizens ...combined... Now go play somewhere else Montgomery.....

And if the unions go away, will the employers adhere to the safety and wage protocols mandated by the unions ??? They have a job to do. In a non-union shop, perhaps the cream will rise, but most of the rest will be trodden upon... There's good and bad in everything.... However, we need the balance... There are cases where unions overstep their bounds... I remember, 15 years ago, Bob White telling me about the wonderful contract he got for the Ford workers... and feeling like I wanted to punch him because I thought he way overstepped what he should be asking for... and that he could actually be costing jobs by overstepping his bounds...However, we need unions because we know that corp Canada will walk over anyone who isn't either extremely valuable to them, or doesn't have anyone to protect them.

I don't understand your complaint... I have made true statements about the party that you so vehemently defend, but don't believe I've attributed any statement to you personally... (unless of course you're Steven Harper in disguise)

Just not too sure what they'll be calling themselves after their next flop... I just cut and pasted the exact text from the linked article so that people could see what you were ridiculing... Maybe you should complain to CTV for not quoting Layton they way you would have liked... Harper will oblige because a leopard can't hide his spots for too long... And if I'm proven wrong... won't we all be surprised...And you cannot assume that a person is in a minimum wage or unionized job just because they believe that the government should represent the majority of its citizens.....

And Brian Mulroney didn't act as a king in the destruction of our social policies ???

The Reform/Alliance/Conservative party isn't onside for trying to tear down the government.... really.... Or is it that the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives are against what Layton is pushing for?: It is a good thing that at least one of the three parties is making avial of our present political situation to try to benefit Canadian citizens.... Because we can't accuse Harper's Reform/Alliance/Conservative party of that... can we ?? PS: You'll note that Layton did not say that he'd call the non-confidence vote.... just that he wouldn't support Martin when the non-confidence calls came in.. and we know theat your beloved Harper's party will be obliging in that department.

If the people with the criminal links and violent records are not Canadian citizens, then ship them off.... However, the situation is much more complicated if they are Canadian citizens... I don't have all the answers, and would never pretend to. However, I don't think we should be promoting racial hatred, profiling, etc... It will only fuel the radicals' cause and recruiting efforts....

That is not what started this topic, nor has anyone said that. Not exactly true... It is the comments below that have driven my argument... That we should be "doing something" about Muslims in Canada.... First of all, I haven't defended any rapists. blah, blah, blah... In addition, as I pointed out, virtually no rapists are gathering, organizing, training, or propagandizing for the cause of mass rape. They are individuals, yes... Just like Muslims who believe Osama Bin Laden's vision are individuals.... one of these groups organizes (the radical Muslims), and the other doesn't (the rapists).... what they share in common is criminal intent.... My position is contrary to their intent, but at the same time, I don't think we should tar all Muslims with the same brush, or promote any kind of racial hatred here at home... It would only aggravate the situation and promote recruiting for the radical fundamentalist "army"...

I seem to remember a few different positions on abortion during the last election campaign... First they had strong principles - against... (until they saw the public's reaction) then "wouldn't stop a private member's bill" (until they saw the public's reaction) then "will let it stand where it is".... It would appear that the Harper Reform/Alliance/Conservative party's principles are "get elected at all costs, then implement what we think is best"... Hardly principled on their hot-button abortion issue .... and consequently, it would appear... totally untrustworthy... Jack Layton He appears to be the one candidate who takes the side of the majority of Canadians... not just Corp. Canada.... (Chances are remote for a win, but controlling a minority... that would be wonderful... If you'll remember, that's how we got health care, unemployment insurance, old-age pensions.... ) Most Canadians think these are good things, even if you don't....

If you read their recommendations for Ontario, you'll get a pretty good idea whos interests they represent (hint: not the general public) Exactly how to get more for your buck isn't specified, other than the ridiculous idea of adding private health care... Make it so that business pay even less tax... and make the plebs pay it all. In Canada's heyday (1950s - 1960s), business paid 50% of taxes collected - citizens paid 50 %... Now business pays 20% and citizens pay 80%. It would appear that their goal is to have citizens (particualarly the middle class) pay 100% and business pay nothing... Need I say more... The Fraser institute is a far-right-wing organization with no interest in helping the majority... just the business owners....

Do you think that this is one of the first corrupt governments we've had for a while... Actually, you'll probably find that it was the previous Liberal government that presided when the corruption occurred... But if you were to look at the previous Conservative governement of Brian Mulroney, the dollar value of the corruption (airbus, etc..) dwarfs the $100 million Liberal scandal.... Let's not be super naive.... And as for the CBC having far-left views, I would beg to differ... as I don't think they give the Left enough coverage... they are central, and they give both the left and right wing coverage... I guess your problem is that they are well balanced, and that sometimes can show the right-wing for what they are.... And we wouldn't want well balanced coverage in a Conservative world, would we....

Canadians are forced to pay $1 billion a year to the state-run CBC to be brainwashed in America Hatred. And now they want state-run daycare, they want our children at a younger age... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The CBC is an outstanding organization. Just because it was never an extreme right-wing station, doesn't make it extreme left wing.... And brainwashing... have you been spending a lot of time ordering from Mark Emery's web site ????

Your're not painting a complete picture. Don't you think it is possible that there might be some other factors surrounding the robbery rate... like the fact that its unemployment was at an all-time high in 1996.... And how about unemployment or other factors. You have to beware of over-simplifying something that is potentially complex.... Less restrictive gun laws would increase the number of guns in circulation, and hence make it even easier for "bad guys" to get access to them....

That's right... they can show the public that they have no problems with the Bush Republicans policies... in fact, they share the same values, and like the Bush Republicans, they are against abortion, against Gay marriage, unions, you name it....

ha ha... good one.... but I think you might have to explain it to them...

I, like most Canadians, like the American people that I know... I've spent a lot of time in the USA and found most of the people I've met to be very nice, welcoming, etc.... I also share many Canadians' negative feelings about the Bush administration. Just because we don't like the administration doesn't mean that we don't like Americans.... And conversely, just because the like the citizens, doesn't mean that we have to like the administration....

Are you one ??? You sound like you could be.... The union isn't there as a mouthpiece for the company .... The union exists to protect the workers from abuse individually or as a group. The union stands up for the rights of the workers. Without the union, do you suspect that the company is going to bargain in good faith.... or offer benefits.... I hardly think so... And if they can get Mexicans in to work for peanuts, even better.... eh ???

That's over-simplifying, August.... She didn't stand a prayer of being re-elected because of the havoc that her right-wing policies made of the lives of the British people and their econonomy.... In standing up for Thatcher, any member of her caucas was kissing their own political future good-bye..... Could you imagine John Tory saying "I support the stuff that Mike Harris stood for"... he'd never get elected.... and neither would any other Tories in Ontario....

Sure it might play well in 'some circles' but hey - screw the west, right? It's about time Martin stood up to the Bush administration.... I gather the Tories think we should just take whatever the USA throws at us.... or better still, turn around and bend over... I think you will, as Martin obviously does, see that Canadians don't like to be pushed around by the USA... at least not too much...

Here's another link with similar realities to the Fraser Institute: Fraser Institute reality.

If, as a consequence of the "energy crisis" in the early '70s, the automotive companies could, in 2 years, come up with an across the board 25% increase in the efficiency of automobiles, I'm sure with a little effort, they could come up with a bit more right now... For example, putting ANY pollution constraints on SUVs that weigh more than 6000 pounds would be a start... currently, they don't have to meet any criteria for emissions. Tightening the criteria for SUVs under 6000 pounds would be another big plus.... This doesn't have to "cut productivity"... If it cuts sales of SUVs, and the auto companies sell more 'practial' vehicles or more highly efficient 'sporty' vehicles, where's the loss in that....

However, when dealing with statistics it behooves you to have something approaching the proper numbers. The numbers you used were "hundreds" of radical muslims. I pointed out that ten thousand were in Bin Laden's camp in Afghanistan alone. The numbers of fanatical muslims are not hundreds but hundreds of thousands, if not millions, with millions more in sympathy with them. The number used in the original calculation was 10,000... I used your numbers.... On the other hand, if there are a million radical muslims, then there are a hundred of them in your neighborhood. That's a lot of potential suicide bombers. This seems a ridiculously high number now, doesn't it... If we were to get back onto what spurred this diversion, it was the suggestion that all Muslims should be kicked out of Canada... Now, supposing there are as many as 250 radical Muslims in Toronto, out of the probable 250,000 that reside there (5% of Toronto/GTA population), and using your statistic (of 1 million radical Muslims in a Billion). You think that the 249,750 "non-radical" Muslims in Toronto should be punished for the 250 "bad" ones...If you go back the the rapist statistic of 1 in 100 thousand... Should all men be curfewed because of the small percentage that you defend.... I mean, there's an awful lot of potential rapists in Toronto.....

Most Canadians are heavily influenced by advertising. And who gets the most advertising.... not the NDP. Our media is owned, operated, and controlled by big business. So are they going to promote a party that is for the common man, or their own personal/business interests..... It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. Coke is the number one soft drink... probably because Coke is the number one soft drink advertiser....

True, though. The NDP doesn't support union workers. It supports big unions. But big unions don't care about their workers. The senior leaders of big unions have long since gone political, and care far more about the glorious social revolution than they do their own workers. Wow.... Your vision is astounding.... you can see things from a different angle.... backwards.... The NDP doesn't think so. The NDP needs to put you into a nice little niche in order to have any care or interest in your well-being. That is why the NDP remains the enemy of the common working man. And which party, pray tell, is the friend of the "common man"..... this should be interesting... Perhaps, but nothing the NDP has ever proposed has struck me as favourable to my interests. All they seem interested in doing is taking away more of my money to give it to someone else. And the Liberals and Conservatives don't do that... I think that you'll find that the NDP supports lower taxation for the lower income brackets, and higher taxation for the higher tax brackets. So unless you are in the latter category, the NDP is probably your best choice.....