EI debate could lead to election: Ignatieff

Leafless · May 4, 2009

"I'm not playing games," Ignatieff said during a news conference after the Liberals ended a national convention at which his leadership was affirmed. "I'm trying to help these unemployed workers across the country, and if the government will work with me, we can get it done. And if they won't, then we'll have to have an election."
His EI proposal would lower eligibility criteria to 360 hours of work in the last year. Eligibility now varies according to local unemployment rates, ranging from a high of 700 hours where unemployment is low to 420 hours where it is high.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/deba...0254/story.html

I guess Mr. Ignatief forgets it was his own party under Jean Cretien in 1995 that changed the standards of EI payments to reflect local unemployment rates.

And it was Liberal Paul Martin's cuts to EI that had a negative effect.

Both EI and welfare benefits fell in dollar terms because of falling unemployment, which is a good thing. But Paul Martin's cuts to EI benefits had a big negative impact on spending as well. In 1993, there were 1.6 million unemployed workers on average over the year, 57% of whom collected regular EI benefits. By 2002, the number of unemployed had fallen to 1.3 million, but just 38% of the unemployed now qualified for benefits. The dollar saving was much greater than that justified by the fall in unemployment, and the cost was borne directly by the unemployed

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:1uCdrF...=clnk&gl=ca

This is on top of allowing huge surpluses in the Employment Insurance fund, which the opposition said helped pad the government books.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/chretien/

Borg · May 4, 2009

Iggy is quite happy to make those statements - he knows the average canadian is not overly bright and is quite willing to believe the liberal "tall tales".

As an academic I am sure he is intelligent - I just wish he had - at least for a short time in his life - had to worry about paying a utility bill or keeping his job - that way he might have a tiny, tiny idea of what real life as a midlle or lower class worker might be like.

I must admit I despise the man and those who would idolize him as the saviour of canada

Borg

Leafless · May 4, 2009

I must admit I despise the man and those who would idolize him as the saviour of canada
Borg

He sort of reminds me as a wandering gypsy.

Molly · May 4, 2009

What utter tripe!

If you are concerned about a leader never having held down a real job, look a little farther to the right.

madmax · May 4, 2009

HAHAHAHA

The LPC are not going to try to rig an election over EI.

Are they planning to put back the $48 Billion they stole, or Just the $6 Billion that the CPC gave away.

The LPC will not do it. They haven't the balls.

August1991 · May 5, 2009

Gratuitous comment: How much has Michael Ignatieff contributed to UIC in his life?

-----

We will only have an election if the NDP, BQ and LPC simultaneously vote on a confidence motion. Given the polls, I doubt that this will happen any time soon.

IOW, Ignatieff's speech is empty rhetoric.

Or as Ignatieff said at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington State :

"There is only one thing we can do about this: live the way we are supposed to live, as our Constitution commands us to, with dignity and respect for all. Being an American is not easy. It is hard. We are required to keep some serious promises. We are judged by a high standard, one we crafted for ourselves in the founding documents of the republic, the ones that talk about the equality of all people, the ones that tell us that government is of the people, by the people and for the people. We need to live by this, at home and abroad, and it is just about the only thing we can do to face the hatred of those who want to destroy us. Our best defense is to stay true to who we are. Our best defense is to refuse to live in fear, of them, of ourselves, of anyone."

Link

h/t B_C

Edited May 5, 2009 by August1991

Radsickle · May 5, 2009

What's empty rhetoric is using an acronym after every third word.

EI distribution can definitely be distributed more fairly.

Ignatieff took direct aim at Mr. Harper's inability to understand Canadians enough to unite us. This forum is a case in point. I will never agree with Mr. Harper and some of you will never agree with Mr. Ignatieff. At least he's trying to bridge the divide though. Instead of manipulating it.

Radsickle · May 5, 2009

Plus, August, please post a link other than Wipikedia for that supposed quote from a speech Ignatieff gave while head of the Harvard Centre for HUMAN RIGHTS. He was working in the States at the time but your unreferenced quote insinuates more.

Oleg Bach · May 5, 2009

Maintaining the corrupt status quo is a must... :lol: EI is very similar to a temporary pension fund - traditionally as we have seen - when a mafia controlled unions go bust - the hoodlums ALWAYS run off with the pension fund. There seems to be very little difference in mafia of old and these bailed out corporations - first thing they did after the "bailouts" was to take the bail out money AND run off with the pension fund... :lol:

charter.rights · May 5, 2009

Iggy is quite happy to make those statements - he knows the average canadian is not overly bright and is quite willing to believe the liberal "tall tales".
..

Borg

Kind of like Stephen Harper's "Conservative tales" when late last fall he tried to convince us that there was nothing wrong with our economy and that Canada was in much better shape than the rest of the world.....

Oleg Bach · May 5, 2009

Neither Harper or Ignatieff are sincere....as for the EI money - and there was a huge surplus for years - seems the bigger it got the more greedy the holders of the fund got - I can say one thing on behalf of the average working Canadian..who paid into the fund - who was part of this huge common bank account "Give me my god damned money you bastards" :lol:

Borg · May 5, 2009

Kind of like Stephen Harper's "Conservative tales" when late last fall he tried to convince us that there was nothing wrong with our economy and that Canada was in much better shape than the rest of the world.....

Well, my economy is doing rather well - in fact the tougher it gets for people the better the family businesses do - but that "american" imposter has never worked for his money.

As for Harper - I support him because I figure he has a better handle on things than the average lib liar. In fact the canadian economy may be hurting - but it is doing far better than many - have to give him credit for that at least.

Cheers

Borg

Oleg Bach · May 5, 2009

Saying the economy is bad does not make it so. I don't see anyone weeping in the streets - all is about the same as it ever was.

waldo · May 5, 2009

Well, my economy is doing rather well - in fact the tougher it gets for people the better the family businesses do.

and we should all be most thankful for your recession proof string of family run repo businesses - Borg, the original repo-man!

as for Mr. Ignatieff, he has certainly worked hard throughout his life - accomplishments abound... “do you think it is easy to make priorities" :lol:

Oleg Bach · May 5, 2009

What ? Borg spawns from a clutch of vultures? Oh my.. :lol:

Moonbox · May 5, 2009

I'm less and less a fan of Harper's every day, but I can't seem to get a handle on what Ignatief is all about.

He wants to extend EI to people who only work NINE weeks in a year? That's TWO MONTHS. There are literally THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people already who already abuse the ability to work seasonally in the summer and then collect EI for the majority of the year while PRETENDING to look for work. Why make it that much more easy?

EI is for people who lose work temporarily. It's not for people who are habitually and almost ALWAYS out of work.

To me, this seems like a disgusting transformation from what EI should and was meant to be.

What's confusing to me is why is he criticizing temporary infrastructure spending that will CREATE jobs and then on the other hand advocate for structural and long term increases to EI spending that will encourage people NOT to work???? :blink:

Wild Bill · May 5, 2009

I'm less and less a fan of Harper's every day, but I can't seem to get a handle on what Ignatief is all about.
He wants to extend EI to people who only work NINE weeks in a year? That's TWO MONTHS. There are literally THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of people already who already abuse the ability to work seasonally in the summer and then collect EI for the majority of the year while PRETENDING to look for work. Why make it that much more easy?

This is only a marginal change on Ignatief's part. His party years ago implemented what in Newfoundland is still called the "10-42".

You work 10 weeks and you can collect for 42! Just for living in an "economic disparity zone".

So he's carrying on the Liberal tradition but he's not traveling at warp speed, after all!

The only major difference this time is he is finally conscious of Canadian unity. He wants to give the same deal to ALL Canadians!

How can we possibly fault him for that?

Smallc · May 5, 2009

He wants to extend EI to people who only work NINE weeks in a year? That's TWO MONTHS.

Only for the duration of the recession. At this point, I would rather have a Siamese cat as the Prime Minister than Stephen Harper. He is, in my opinion, the worst Prime Minister in my 20 year life.

bush_cheney2004 · May 5, 2009

Only for the duration of the recession. At this point, I would rather have a Siamese cat as the Prime Minister than Stephen Harper. He is, in my opinion, the worst Prime Minister in my 20 year life.

Gee...how many would that be...a total of four?

Smallc · May 5, 2009

Gee...how many would that be...a total of four?

5

bush_cheney2004 · May 5, 2009

5

Oh, in that case, a much BIGGER sample size!

Borg · May 5, 2009

and we should all be most thankful for your recession proof string of family run repo businesses - Borg, the original repo-man!
as for Mr. Ignatieff, he has certainly worked hard throughout his life - accomplishments abound... “do you think it is easy to make priorities"

Ah c'mon wally - you love me

Even if you are a smug canadian who thinks he knows it all - you love me

You call me names because you are jealous of me and my life

I cannot help it - long hours, hard work and a pile of sacrifice by me and the wife and the kids - yup - child labour - but they are really happy now - it all came together when we made some sound decisions - took the big risks and it worked for us.

Hey we pay taxes so you can get your old folks cheque - tell the world you love me

Iggy is a snot who abandoned Canada and is now from the US - who basically was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has never worked a day in his life to ensure his utility bill was paid. Just because he wrote a book or two means little - heck I am a published author too - but that is another story - and it paid well.

So you worship your false God - after all he will be the saviour of kebec and Canada - but in fact it might be better to let those people go.

Have a good one wally - life is good - but we do not do repo - not even close - too risky

See you on the flip side old boy.

:lol:

Borg

M.Dancer · May 5, 2009

Oh, in that case, a much BIGGER sample size!

Only 4 were elected...

Smallc · May 5, 2009

Oh, in that case, a much BIGGER sample size!

Ok, I'll go further. From the reading I've done, and from the research I've done, he is the worst in a long time. As the CBC's Kieth Boag said during the Parliamentary Crisis, never in history have the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers said so many things about the constitution and parliament that weren't true. After hearing that, I knew that this government was bad, and my opinion of them since then has only continued to fall. Never, since I started following politics (about 8 years ago) have I had so little confidence in the Government of Canada. I still think the outcome of the crisis went as it needed to, but I think that the sooner that we can have a new election and a new government, the better.

Moonbox · May 5, 2009

Never, since I started following politics (about 8 years ago) have I had so little confidence in the Government of Canada. I still think the outcome of the crisis went as it needed to, but I think that the sooner that we can have a new election and a new government, the better.

You were 12 when you started following politics? Did you really understand it then? Probably not. Prior to Stephen Harper you were still in highschool or just getting out.

You don't have to like Stephen Harper. I don't really myself. I think he's a clown. You really have no experience, however, to comment on your confidence level as compared to previous governments.

At this point in time you're barely if even part of the workforce and you likely don't have a clue what you're looking for from a government aside from what your teachers and parents have told you.