Throne Speech

[M.Dancer]

The highlights...(the things I like)

• 
  In addition, the Conservatives vow to press ahead with establishing a national securities regulator

• The government “will freeze departmental operating budgets, that is, the total amount spent on salaries, administration and overhead,” the Throne Speech says. If salaries were increased, administration and overhead costs would have to be reduced
  

.

• The Conservatives are also freezing the salaries of the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament, and senators
  

• Our government will open Canada's doors further to venture capital and to foreign investment in key sectors, including the satellite and telecommunications industries,” as well as to the uranium industry
  

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/throne-speech-freezes-mp-salaries-opens-door-to-foreign-investment/article1488376/

[Smallc]

They're also going to convene a committee to look at making O Canada gender neutral.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Smallc

[Sir Bandelot]

They'r also going to convene a committee to look at making O Canada gender neutral.

Sheesh, thats all we need. ANOTHER version of O Canada. There's been so many, most people don't even know the right words anymore.

[M.Dancer]

They'r also going to convene a committee to look at making O Canada gender neutral.

That's to counter balance the immigration handbook...

[nicky10013]

The only good thing is the cell phone liberalization. Other than that, not much to look at here. A lot of stolen liberal policy that frankly will never come to fruition anyways.

[Moonbox]

I'm happy with the Throne Speech. Keep government expenses down where you can please. The foreign investment thing may be interesting providing we don't mortgage ourselves to the Chinese, so we'll have to see.

As for O Canada...I didn't think it bothered anyone but whatever. I always interpreted it as a religious expression for old school Bible-thumpers so if anyone I thought it would be non-Christians who would stink about it. If you make it gender-neutral doesn't that remove the meaning? Ah I don't even care.

[nicky10013]

I'm happy with the Throne Speech. Keep government expenses down where you can please. The foreign investment thing may be interesting providing we don't mortgage ourselves to the Chinese, so we'll have to see.

As for O Canada...I didn't think it bothered anyone but whatever. I always interpreted it as a religious expression for old school Bible-thumpers so if anyone I thought it would be non-Christians who would stink about it. If you make it gender-neutral doesn't that remove the meaning? Ah I don't even care.

Freezing salaries is nothing but a symbolic gesture. The deficit was this high before the freeze anyways. All it does is make for angry civil servants which isn't a good thing.

[punked]

I would actually focus more on the relaxing of foreign investment laws. There is a reason they are there it is so foreign investors don't buy Canada out to rape and pillage it then leave after everything that is worth anything is taken leaving Canadians to clean up the mess. It is great in the short term as we have seen but in the long term we get screwed.

[nicky10013]

I would actually focus more on the relaxing of foreign investment laws. There is a reason they are there it is so foreign investors don't buy Canada out to rape and pillage it then leave after everything that is worth anything is taken leaving Canadians to clean up the mess. It is great in the short term as we have seen but in the long term we get screwed.

Meh, I don't mind international telecom companies in Canada as long as customer support centres are actually located in Canada. Really, that's the only thing that can be outsourced when talking about telecom companies. Wireless networks constantly need maitanence and that can't be done from India. Obviously as well, the phones have to be sold here. As long as the jobs stay here, who cares where the money comes from.

[Moonbox]

Freezing salaries is nothing but a symbolic gesture. The deficit was this high before the freeze anyways. All it does is make for angry civil servants which isn't a good thing.

It's not a symbolic gesture. That will have a real effect on our pockets. It might be a drop in the bucket but anything that lowers expenses is welcome in my eyes. Our public servants, as far as I know, aren't exactly hurting compared to their private sector counterparts. I could not care less if they're angry. We're angry about the deficit.

I would actually focus more on the relaxing of foreign investment laws. There is a reason they are there it is so foreign investors don't buy Canada out to rape and pillage it then leave after everything that is worth anything is taken leaving Canadians to clean up the mess. It is great in the short term as we have seen but in the long term we get screwed.

It really depends on the investment doesn't it? Foreign investment can often be a good long term thing. It can also be a short term fix with long term problems. Look at in case by case and then we judge.

[nicky10013]

It's not a symbolic gesture. That will have a real effect on our pockets. It might be a drop in the bucket but anything that lowers expenses is welcome in my eyes. Our public servants, as far as I know, aren't exactly hurting compared to their private sector counterparts. I could not care less if they're angry. We're angry about the deficit.

A drop in the bucket is the very definition of symbolic. In this throne speech, what is going to meaningfully reduce the deficit? Nothing. "We're angry about the deficit! What are we going to do about it? Nothing that actually reduces the deficit!" Nothing more than comic relief.

Civil servants provide invaluable services to Canadians and their jobs are just as much jobs as yours. Whatever your thoughts on the deficit, you wouldn't really enjoy it if your raise was nixed because the idiots upstairs pissed away their profits. If you're really angry about the deficit, blame the the people in cabinet, not the people who work in the departments.

[ToadBrother]

A drop in the bucket is the very definition of symbolic. In this throne speech, what is going to meaningfully reduce the deficit? Nothing. "We're angry about the deficit! What are we going to do about it? Nothing that actually reduces the deficit!" Nothing more than comic relief.

Civil servants provide invaluable services to Canadians and their jobs are just as much jobs as yours. Whatever your thoughts on the deficit, you wouldn't really enjoy it if your raise was nixed because the idiots upstairs pissed away their profits. If you're really angry about the deficit, blame the the people in cabinet, not the people who work in the departments.

The first and last paragraphs seem oddly opposed to each other.

But back to the point, the reason the Tories aren't working harder is because it's well nigh impossible for a minority government to get heavy into deficit-busting mode. Can you imagine if the Tories were to go about as the Liberals did in the mid-90s? I mean, they'd drop below sight in the polls, they'd be run out of government as fast as you can say "confidence vote" and just as we are seeing some real concrete signs of recovery, we're plunged into yet another election.

Yes, it sucks we have a deficit. I'm not happy that the stimulus money was largely wasted on pot-hole filling, when it should have be going to building real infrastructure, but oh well. Heck, I can't stand Harper, a man who I think spends half his time hating Parliament and the other half of the time terrified of it. But I have to be fair here. The deficits we're seeing are very much collaborative in nature. It wasn't just the Tories that made them, it was Parliament. If Parliament is serious about deficit busting, then there's nothing stopping the Opposition parties from putting in the appropriate amendments in the budget.

As to civil servants, why exactly should they be immune from the economic problems? I'm watching people I know personally losing their jobs, and then I have you somehow insisting that the civil service is so durned special that no government dare look at trimming, or at modest reconsiderations of public sector pensions and the like.

Edited March 3, 2010 by ToadBrother

[Moonbox]

A drop in the bucket is the very definition of symbolic. In this throne speech, what is going to meaningfully reduce the deficit? Nothing. "We're angry about the deficit! What are we going to do about it? Nothing that actually reduces the deficit!" Nothing more than comic relief.

It's not symbolic. It means that wages won't increase and expenses won't increase. This means that we can be sure the deficit will decrease as the economy presumably improves.

Civil servants provide invaluable services to Canadians and their jobs are just as much jobs as yours. Whatever your thoughts on the deficit, you wouldn't really enjoy it if your raise was nixed because the idiots upstairs pissed away their profits. If you're really angry about the deficit, blame the the people in cabinet, not the people who work in the departments.

Some jobs have better overall wage and benefits, particularly public sector jobs in comparison to similarly qualified private sector jobs. When a public servant gets a raise, that's an extra tax burden for me. I realize that public servants are human beings and workers themselves, but it's DAMN unfair that they be getting wage increases with their safe jobs while the private sector crumbles around them and people are left out of work.

[waldo]

whaaaaaaa! Is that all there is... send in the clowns.

Is that all there is, is that all there is

If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing

Let's break out the booze and have a ball

If that's all there is

a perogy... for this? This is what Harper and his merry gang have been so diligently working on since Harper's suspension of democracy? A perogy... for this?

[nicky10013]

It's not symbolic. It means that wages won't increase and expenses won't increase. This means that we can be sure the deficit will decrease as the economy presumably improves.

Some jobs have better overall wage and benefits, particularly public sector jobs in comparison to similarly qualified private sector jobs. When a public servant gets a raise, that's an extra tax burden for me. I realize that public servants are human beings and workers themselves, but it's DAMN unfair that they be getting wage increases with their safe jobs while the private sector crumbles around them and people are left out of work.

It may be unfair but don't blame them. They got into the public sector while others got into the private. The only blame that shold fall for this is the government. Bureaucrats weren't saying that there wasn't a recession coming and that Canada didn't need to do anything to prepare.

As for the salaries, in 5 years that may be the case but it isn't the case today. This does absolutely nothing towards the deficit it provides no meaningful relief because it isn't a cut. As for this causing deficit reduction, it will never cause deficit reduction because, at least when it comes to government MPs salaries, how much would you like to bet that this shows up no where in next years budget?

[Machjo]

They're also going to convene a committee to look at making O Canada gender neutral.

From what I read in the link below, they're not planning on 'making' it gender neutral, but rather re-adopt the gender-neutral original version from which the current version was modified.

[ToadBrother]

It may be unfair but don't blame them. They got into the public sector while others got into the private. The only blame that shold fall for this is the government. Bureaucrats weren't saying that there wasn't a recession coming and that Canada didn't need to do anything to prepare.

I haven't seen anybody blaming the civil service. But that doesn't mean that they should remain immune, or that the government should treat them as some sort of untouchable sacred cow.

As for the salaries, in 5 years that may be the case but it isn't the case today. This does absolutely nothing towards the deficit it provides no meaningful relief because it isn't a cut. As for this causing deficit reduction, it will never cause deficit reduction because, at least when it comes to government MPs salaries, how much would you like to bet that this shows up no where in next years budget?

Even if symbolic, I don't mind at all seeing MPs sharing a bit of the pain.

[Machjo]

Weir's 1908 original version (his was not a translation of the French original, and so must be considered equally original in its own right):

O Canada! Our home, our native land,

True patriot love thou dost in us command.

We see thee rising fair, dear land,

The True North strong and free;

And stand on guard, O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee.

Refrain

O Canada! O Canada!

O Canada. We stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where Pines and Maples grow,

Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.

Thou art the land, O Canada,

From East to Western sea,

The land of hope for all who toil,

The land of liberty.

Refrain

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies,

May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise;

And so abide, O Canada,

From East to Western sea,

Where e’er thy pines and prairies are,

The True North strong and free.

Refrain

[Machjo]

Sheesh, thats all we need. ANOTHER version of O Canada. There's been so many, most people don't even know the right words anymore.

No, not another version. They're talking about re-adopting the original version.

[M.Dancer]

No, not another version. They're talking about re-adopting the original version.

The french one?

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix!

[Moonbox]

I haven't seen anybody blaming the civil service. But that doesn't mean that they should remain immune, or that the government should treat them as some sort of untouchable sacred cow.

Thank you. It's not often when Toad and I agree, but when we do we must be on to something!

When a private sector company suffers, the wage increases and bonuses often freeze. Why shouldn't that happen in the public sector?

Even if symbolic, I don't mind at all seeing MPs sharing a bit of the pain.

Same

[ToadBrother]

The french one?

Nah, the Snoop Dawg version,

Yo! my Canadian homies...

[Mr.Canada]

Just change the anthem to "Maple Leaf Forever", problem solved.

This is just more white liberal guilt. Nothing more.

10 more years of this shit and I'm out of this socialist hell hole.

I'll be taking my money, if it hasn't been taken away to redistribute to lazy people, to another country where I'll be valued.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Mr.Canada

[punked]

Just change the anthem to "Maple Leaf Forever", problem solved.

This is just more white liberal guilt. Nothing more.

10 more years of this shit and I'm out of this socialist hell hole.

I'll be taking my money, if it hasn't been taken away to redistribute to lazy people, to another country where I'll be valued.

Don't let the door hit you.

[ToadBrother]

Just change the anthem to "Maple Leaf Forever", problem solved.

This is just more white liberal guilt. Nothing more.

10 more years of this shit and I'm out of this socialist hell hole.

Can't you make it sooner?

An odd attitude, however, considering you seem to have a considerable crush on Stephen Harper. Sentiments of a jilted lover, perhaps?

I'll be taking my money, if it hasn't been taken away to redistribute to lazy people, to another country where I'll be valued.

Do you still think someone believes that you're rich? Or any of the ridiculous background story you've tried to perpetrate?

Edited March 3, 2010 by ToadBrother