overthere

Because they have selfishly chosen to fail to support the Motherland by breeding. sarcasm font Nope, dead wrong there. My wife stayed home, except for a bit of short term contract work, for the first few years with our 2 kids. I also took most of a year off a bit later, just before they started school. We were very definitiely not wealthy, just living payday to payday and barely getting by sometimes. But it was a conscious choice, we thought it better that our kids were not raised by strangers at day cares. It was hard financially, and this income splitting would have given us a small shot of cash in the spring that we could have used. But, no regrets, we knew what we were doing.

The teachers can afford to pretend to support getting rid of terrible teachers, but in reality they won't. The reason is that determining who is bad/good would require an assessment protocol involving examiners outside their peer group checking every teacher, and that won't happen. You have to abandon most notions of common sense here. The first hirings here are not occasional teachers. First a principal must find a reason to reject every teacher with a contract who is looking for a job.

It is completely pointless here to ask principals anything about the quality of teaching. Principals and teachers belong to the same bargaining unit in this province. They don't criticize their staff unless they have absolutely no choice. Congrats to Mr Procyk for inspiring some students to excellence. I was lucky enough to have a couple like him.

Gee, I wonder if the economy will be on anybodys mind? You know, the thing that pays for everything?

I don't think I have ever heard a government say that, what would be their point since they don't need votes? They have already won an election. They are the government after all. No, you hear that piteous whine all the time from poltical parties, and always the party that lost. Chronic loser say it more often. They all, every one, have an assumption that if only more people came out to vote their party would obviously get all those missing votes and win hands down. It is , very simply, loser talk.

At this point we'd take anybody with a pulse. Well, we would not take you since your resume includes working for the government while making 25,000 posts on taxpayers time.

Your insurance company can decline to insure you, though you will never get them to admit that the reason is too many claims. Or maybe you live in a place with govt insurance, so everybody pays for your claims.

No, only those who work for somebody else pay into it. It insurance for those people only.

I was comparing to the last highest levels, in 2010. Alberta could take all 10% right now and save you an aneurysm.

Imagine, not every person hits the economic jackpot on the road in from the airport. It's a Gawdam crime is what it is, and the Tories are to blame. Do any of those reports ask the immigrants if they want to go home? THanks for bringing us the horrible and disturbing news that the immigration quotas are being bumped up 1.5%.

That is a little confusing. I guess you also are against public edcuation, where complete strangers with no children pay for the bulk of your childrens education right now. And health care too? Yet a $2000 cap is not enough money for you? Could everybody please note that poor people/people in low income households don't really pay much or any taxes now and won't under this new legislation either?

since it will defeat Harper, you support this legislation?

I'm glad that Kevin finally got a new job. I doubt he got a reference letter when he left Ottawa. I'm surprised he didn't compare Harper to Stalin, another Russian leader.

Actually, almost our entire history is a quest to control and dominate individuals within our own culture, and to impose our will on other cultures. Cultures which fail to do this are eliminated by other cultures.. Try as we might to rationalize it, we are social and tribal animals way back in our lizard brains. We forget that at our peril.

what does that have to do with anything? We take in refugees, people that are suffering. We house them, clothe them, feed them and teach them a language and unemployable skills. Then they go off to live their lives in peace as they see fit. Are you suggesting that God will strike down Canadian immigration policy as it relates to teaching a language?

No, it changes nothing if they are all reporting the same unsubstantiated allegations.

I don't care much if immigrants learn English or French. They know better than I that the quality of their lives here is directly related to their ability to compete in the workplace. And that means fluency in one of the official languages. It's a choice, and doesn't make much difference to me. Citizenship is at the end of a process, not the beginning. The US and Canadian immigration processes are not so different, we both have streams of economic migrants and refugfees. The economic migrants to Canada get resdiency on a points sytem. One of the elements is proficiency in an official language, and nearly all who gain residency already are fluent enough to first get in, then eventually get citizenship if they choose. The refugee stream is smaller and who cares what they speak? we are undertaking their entry as a humanitarian gesture and take on some extra responsibilites as a result. .

I'm not calling them anything. At this point, they are creations of the Star reporter. I want somebody other than the Toronto Star to stand up and say ' I have been wronged by this man'. I don't believe in kangaroo courts, star chambers, Inquisitions , or McCarthyesue anonymous allegations. You on the other hand, are content to try, convict and execute on what amounts to no information other than gossip. Owen Pallett is simply repeating gossip. Shame on him. In an unrelated note, I saw Pallett a few years ago in solo concert. He was incredible.

You don't have any information that is worthy of informing an opinion on Ghomeshi. Neither do I. I do have an opinion on the process so far, and I cannot state it more clearly than I have. It actually frightens me that somebody as articulate as yourself would speak like that at this stage of the process. What are the facts you speak of? Are you actually stating that you are content that his career is ended with what we know now, which is very little?

I understand your overwhelming need to gloss over Trudeau Jrs lack of experience at anything, and to ignore Harpers extensive experience at actually running a country, but don't imagine for a moment that voters won't notice. You'll have to do much better than that or you'll be whimpering about four more years soon. Carry on.

They are only there because Syria is vulnerable.

That is a superbly reasoned response.

In Alberta the Hells Angels run the entire wholesale end of the moderately sized hydroponic weed industry. They buy crops from growers on contract, setting a price well before harvest and taking the entire crop for cash. It neatly solves a dilemma for growers, since selling the crop at retail is by far the most dangerous, risky part of the endeavour. The bikers are rarely seen on bikes or wearing colours any more, they have gone corporate. When they need muscle, it is easily contracted out. The HA are also heavily involved in the much larger weed business in BC. THat is going through some downsizing- the legalization is the Western States has hurt trade since that was a prime market for BC bud. The main street gangs in Alberta- who retail a lot of drugs in a hot economy- are the old white gangs which are not well organized, the second/third generation Vietnamese gangs, and First Nations gangs.

My deal has been stated several times already in this thread. To summarize: the rush to judgement -largely driven by a POS rag like the Star- on Ghomeshi is pukemaking. I don';t need affidavits at this point, but I'd like a fact or two. These are not even allegations,what has been set out so far doesn't even rise to that minimal standard. So far it could well be just shit made up to sell papers. But he is already charged, tried, convicted and executed here and elsewhere. He is almost certainly finished from a public career in anything. What really chaps my ass is that no matter what happens from here on does not matter at all to a mans future. Many people are now convinced that he is a brutal rapist, period. Nothing will change that , nothing. An avalanche of facts, a trial, recantations from the wholly anonymous 'victims'. Nothing. Very disappointing from articulate citizens in a country supposedly operating in a tradition of rule of law. That's my deal.

Most of the First Nations people in Canada wish this was how racism in Canada is dealt with.... but it ain't so. This is much more likely http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Respected+aboriginal+elder+humiliated+from+mall/10332381/story.html