MustangJay

Gomery, Gomery, Gomery!! We're all sick of hearing it by now aren't we? In addition to sick, I myself, have become concerned with how this issue is effecting mortality in Canada. Ok, so $200 million and change aside, the core issue is about theft! An elite group of people, put in a position of trust, STOLE a shitload of money and have yet to be held accountable for that. In my experience, anybody caught stealing from their job is given the boot without a second thought and prosecuted to the extend of the law. Even if you were stealing the money to donate to a good cause, regardless, it's wrong, agreed? The Gomery trial aside, Canadians seem to have differing views on what exactly "theft" is in this country. Albertans and Ontarians, for example, consider if theft to take X $billions out of their pockets and give it to "have not" provences who consider it "equalization" not theft. Quebecors see the X $'s in government subsidies as compensation for what was stolen from them centuries ago. Rich/poor have differing views on whether or not income taxes are stealing or conpensation for less fortunate. I could go on forever with this, but y'all see my point. My concern, however, is that younger Canadians are being influenced by cases like the Gomery trial (we young people are more poltically aware then most adults may think) into justifying unethical behaviour in their own lives. When I first started out as a retail store manager I was shocked by a statistic that said 80% of people age 18 to 25 said they would steal if given the chance! In discussing this with my own group of what I previously thought were fairly honest friends, I found out that many of them felt company practices of subsidizing full-time work with low-wage, part-time jobs was justification for internal theft. This seems to reflect the general consenus as our company (one of Canada's largest retail chains) has an internal theft rate of 60%! Furthermore, an online survey of unversity grads in Canada found that 80% said it was necessary to give mis-leading information during interviews in order to land meaninful employment. I find this astounding. So, with that said, are we as a nation really breeding a generation of crafty theieves? Will future politics only become more of a snake pit for corruption and stealing as lying, cheating, and stealing are seen as increasingly acceptable ways to get ahead in business? With the retirement age in Canada set to increase, have corporations forced inexperienced graduates into a situation where they are forced to lie in order to get ahead? I fear the day in Canada when a job interview is as loopy as buying a used car! Jay

Won't this new bill just further create regional imbalance in Canada, seeing as the vast majority of Canada's major urban centres are in select parts of the country, mainly Ontario?

Thanks for the replies guys, However my strong feelings against Ontario are deeper then merely their domenance of Politics--its the way they have somehow systematically managed to dominate EVERYTHING in Canada. Economy, is obviously the biggest one...look up any Canadian company that comes to mind and where are they located. I can tell you without even looking; 1) Toronto (GTA) 2) Ottawa 3) Somewhere else in Ontario!! The biggest example is Canada's lucrative auto industry, based 100% in ONTARIO! This is what pisses me off! As a maritimer, I watched our region's last car plant, Volvo, close about 5 years ago. Recently Toyota announced plans to build a new plant somwhere in....surprise, surprise. So how do they do this? How is it every international corporation automatically swarms to Ontario like flies to cow-patties (no pun intended). The only plausable explanation I've had so far is they have the bling bling for marketing in order to attract these companies. Seperatist talk in nearby Quebec was a bonus, forcing much of Montreal's once booming industry to Ottawa and the GTA. The second thing they have going is population, compounded by immigartion---where do almost all of Canada's 200,000 a year immigrants settle? Duh! So I guess when you look at it that way, Ontario is a self-feeding monster of greed, fed by its own prosperity which makes it even more prosperous which in turn increases its appetite. Well...isn't this encouraging to the rest of Canada. Regards, J

Newf, I don't understand some of the critisism of Harper. The only strike against him I see is that he is branded as being 'from the west'. True he's dull but do we want an aggressive candidate to encourage conservative stereotypes the left use against us? However I do think a guy like Peter McKay would be a great leader. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Harper's problem is not that he is 'from the west'. It's that he's: -too pro-American/insuffiently Canadian Nationalist, -identified publicly with harsh right-wing economics, -leading a party that plays footsie with radical social conservatism, -leading a party that is seen as least-environmental, and -is completely uninspiring. And as for Peter MacKay, he's a known liar and permanently damaged goods. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Don't forget his hair cut is worse then Donald Trump's!

Well, since commercial space travel is still unfeasable I've been forced to listen to all the Federal Sponsorship talk and the subsequent spin off about seperaration, anti-Ontario, anti-Liberal, anti-Quebec, anti-everything else! Living in the Maritimes all of my life I long came to the conclusion that there is NOTHING anyone outside of the "Ontario club" can do to change the culture of federal government. Anyone who thinks Canada is a democratic country, in my view, is dilluding themseleves! Canada is an abosolute Monarchy, and no I'm not refurring to the royals in Great Britain, although I do admire the Queen's out of touch stupidity of referring to our country as "the Canadas"--how very 1700's! No, I'm talking about that dynasty known as ONTARIO! Canadian Federal politics are stupidly easy and as follows: screw the west because they can't get their acts together on what's important; screw Quebec because they're just going to vote Bloc; get Ontario's vote, and if you can some of the maritimes. Sometimes the feds are nice enough to toss us a treat like increasing fishing quotas or recently, the childcare program. How nice of them, eh? So, for those fellow Canadians licking their lips waiting for the Martin government to fall, don't hold your breath. As already pointed out, when it comes to Federal politics, Ontario calls the shots and if you think they're about to elect a conservative hill-billy from Alberta, your wrong. In fact, I think the chances that Ontario voters are even still paying attention to the sponsorship news are less likely then Stephen Harper spending more then $4 on a hair cut. So yes, as a Maritimer I can sit back and secretly hate Ontario all I want, but what exactly can you do to the guy who pays your credit card bill? Exactly. Regards, J