Jim Flaherty has died.

[Topaz]

Such as shock for Canadians and the world and even though there are different views on him as finance minister, I think he tried to do the best he could, especially his views on income -splitting. May he RIP, very sad. https://www.google.ca/search?q=jim+flaherty&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=UupGU4L-POzRgwKO9oD4Bw

[Rue]

Massive heart attack. Well its a shock for sure. All political types on the hill will be sheocked and mourn and respect his years in office. I did n ot agree with his financial policies myself but its hard not to have respected the man regardless of political opinions simply because if for no other reason his years of dedication as a civil servant and serving the toughest portfolio there is both privincially and financially. A tough little bastard that is for sure! Another reminder of how fleeting life is.

[Argus]

Every day is a lottery of life, and we never know how long we've got left on this earth before our number comes up. Flaherty lived a good life, and was tremendously successful in his chosen field. Still, every time someone dies at a comparatively young age it reminds us all of our mortality, and that, inevitably, our number will come up, sooner or (preferably) later. It behooves us to do the best we can with the time we have. Flaherty had recently quit as finance minister. He had plans for other things which will now never see fruition. It reminds me of the old saying that no one ever went to their death wishing they'd spent more time at the office.

[bush_cheney2004]

Looks like Mr. Flaherty was a Princeton man, Class of 1970...played on a hockey scholarship, but also did very well academically. He is highlighted in this 2007-2008 Canadian Studies Report:

https://www.princeton.edu/canadian/history/CanadianStudiesAnnualReport2007-08.pdf

[eyeball]

He struck me as being a lot easier to take than many C/conservatives, a gentler, kinder, seemingly reluctant example that it would be nice to see many of his almost proudly noxious peers emulate - the world could benefit from more like him being in power than the other kind.

[WestCoastRunner]

Massive heart attack. Well its a shock for sure. All political types on the hill will be sheocked and mourn and respect his years in office. I did n ot agree with his financial policies myself but its hard not to have respected the man regardless of political opinions simply because if for no other reason his years of dedication as a civil servant and serving the toughest portfolio there is both privincially and financially. A tough little bastard that is for sure! Another reminder of how fleeting life is.

Was it a heart attack?

[WWWTT]

Sorry to hear he died.

He looked like he was packing away a few extra pounds over the last couple of years and I wonder how that had any effect. Maybe this was diet related and/or lack of exercise?

Also his sudden departure a few weeks ago. Wonder if his doctors told him something?

WWWTT

[waldo]

Sorry to hear he died.

He looked like he was packing away a few extra pounds over the last couple of years and I wonder how that had any effect. Maybe this was diet related and/or lack of exercise?

suggest you channel your expressed 'sorriness' away from the need to wildly speculate... and towards recognizing his weight gain reflected upon a long-standing health issue being treated with steroids.

[waldo]

He struck me as being a lot easier to take than many C/conservatives, a gentler, kinder, seemingly reluctant example that it would be nice to see many of his almost proudly noxious peers emulate - the world could benefit from more like him being in power than the other kind.

with his push-back on income splitting, it was refreshing to finally see a profile Conservative come out from under the Harper thumbscrews... however, much too little, much too late. And yes, on some levels he did project a semblance of the much constrained Progressive C.

[WWWTT]

suggest you channel your expressed 'sorriness' away from the need to wildly speculate... and towards recognizing his weight gain reflected upon a long-standing health issue being treated with steroids.

Oh no I'm sorry he died!

Just making an observation.

Saw Jack Layton lose a lot of weight too before he died.

Sorry he died just the same.

Sounds like you've got some info about his steroid use to treat a condition. Doesn't answer anything about if he was regularly exercising.

But I'll let you get back to his politics.

WWWTT

[waldo]

Just making an observation.

Sounds like you've got some info about his steroid use to treat a condition. Doesn't answer anything about if he was regularly exercising.

no, you didn't observe... for whatever reason you applied your internet medical degree to (wildly) speculate on the cause of weight gain/death. My expressed reference to his health condition/treatment is common knowledge... except to those predisposed to (wildy) speculate.

[Argus]

Long hard hours of work and stress combined with strong medication... Almost all those prescription drugs have a variety of possible dangerous side effects if taken long enough. That was one of the reasons I put in the necessary effort in exercise to stop taking Celebrex for my bad back.

[Topaz]

I've never heard of the skin disease he had but I think Canadians will hear more about this awful disease. It's called bullous pemphigoid, which to me, is like a very bad case of psoriasis, which I think being treated with corticosteroids,that for some people, can react in your body, especially one's heart. My son has psoriasis and he refused to used the medication because of the side effects on the body. After reading online what the disease was all about, I don't know how he managed to keep his appearances up, but he did.

[WWWTT]

I've never heard of the skin disease he had but I think Canadians will hear more about this awful disease. It's called bullous pemphigoid, which to me, is like a very bad case of psoriasis, which I think being treated with corticosteroids,that for some people, can react in your body, especially one's heart. My son has psoriasis and he refused to used the medication because of the side effects on the body. After reading online what the disease was all about, I don't know how he managed to keep his appearances up, but he did.

Thanks for the update Topaz.

Sounds like something hard to live with and I hope your son stays strong!

WWWTT

[Annoyed1]

As a Finance Minister, the man was an utter disaster.

Was it a heart attack?

He had a heart?

[WestCoastRunner]

As a Finance Minister, the man was an utter disaster.

He had a heart?

Well, let's not get too crazy with our sympathies. We wouldn't want to go overboard.

[Annoyed1]

Shakespeare wrote the most fitting epitaph for Flaherty

Julius Caesar, Scene III, Act II

Marc Anthony speaks:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them

Thus it will be with the late Jim Flaherty.

However it would seem that a collective amnesia has gripped the body politic and public. In death, great honours are being visited upon him, terms like visionary, a great Canadian, etc, etc. are being used to describe this man. Visit any Canadian new outlet web site including the CBC and you would swear that a combination of The Queen, JFK, MLK, the Pope and Christ himself had just died instead a recently retired MP and ex-Finance Minister.

Like Marc Anthony, I come not to praise Flahtery, but bury him.

He was not a great Canadian, nor a good Finance Minister, at best he was a mediocre Finance Minister, at worse he was a hopeless disaster who have left us all poorer for his efforts. As Mike Harris Finance Minister in Ontario, he generated a massive debt before bolting to join Stephen Harper’s (neo-) Conservative Party of Canada. When he left, he claimed he had balanced Ontario's budget, later after going through the books, Ontario found he had left them in a sea of red ink that the Ontario taxpayers will be dealing with for decades.

He then inherited a tidy surplus and stable budget from Paul Martin which he quickly blew through like a drunken sailor let loose in a cat house with a stolen credit card. Not only did he blow through that surplus, he created the largest debt load we Canadians have ever seen, a debt which not only will we be paying off for decades to come, but one our kid and most likely their kids will have to service. And while creating this massive debt, he and Harper were busy cutting the services Canadian have come to expect. So in short, more debt, less services.

And lets not forget the 2008 melt down. We had both Harper and Flaherty telling us firs that there was no recession and later that it would not affect us or our economy. Nice fairy tale that one.

So while condolences are due to his family for his loss, I refuse to lionize the man in death. So let bury him, not praise him.

[Annoyed1]

Well, let's not get too crazy with our sympathies. We wouldn't want to go overboard.

Wait till you read my first (and possibly last depending on the mods here) post....

[Shady]

Shakespeare wrote the most fitting epitaph for Flaherty

Julius Caesar, Scene III, Act II

Marc Anthony speaks:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come to bury Caesar, not praise him.

The evil that men do lives after them

Thus it will be with the late Jim Flaherty.

However it would seem that a collective amnesia has gripped the body politic and public. In death, great honours are being visited upon him, terms like visionary, a great Canadian, etc, etc. are being used to describe this man. Visit any Canadian new outlet web site including the CBC and you would swear that a combination of The Queen, JFK, MLK, the Pope and Christ himself had just died instead a recently retired MP and ex-Finance Minister.

Like Marc Anthony, I come not to praise Flahtery, but bury him.

He was not a great Canadian, nor a good Finance Minister, at best he was a mediocre Finance Minister, at worse he was a hopeless disaster who have left us all poorer for his efforts. As Mike Harris Finance Minister in Ontario, he generated a massive debt before bolting to join Stephen Harper’s (neo-) Conservative Party of Canada. When he left, he claimed he had balanced Ontario's budget, later after going through the books, Ontario found he had left them in a sea of red ink that the Ontario taxpayers will be dealing with for decades.

He then inherited a tidy surplus and stable budget from Paul Martin which he quickly blew through like a drunken sailor let loose in a cat house with a stolen credit card. Not only did he blow through that surplus, he created the largest debt load we Canadians have ever seen, a debt which not only will we be paying off for decades to come, but one our kid and most likely their kids will have to service. And while creating this massive debt, he and Harper were busy cutting the services Canadian have come to expect. So in short, more debt, less services.

And lets not forget the 2008 melt down. We had both Harper and Flaherty telling us firs that there was no recession and later that it would not affect us or our economy. Nice fairy tale that one.

So while condolences are due to his family for his loss, I refuse to lionize the man in death. So let bury him, not praise him.

Enough of the trolling. Go seek some attention elsewhere.

[On Guard for Thee]

Now there's the pot calling the kettle black!

Actually Annoyed has valid information, whether you like the timing or not.

[WestCoastRunner]

Is it not appropriate to set politics aside for the passing of someone? Let's have respect for at least one day. Not sure of the appropriate time to show respect but surely it must be more than 12 hours.

[Shady]

Is it not appropriate to set politics aside for the passing of someone? Let's have respect for at least one day. Not sure of the appropriate time to show respect but surely it must be more than 12 hours.

You would think one day would be reasonable. To normal people.

[Annoyed1]

Is it not appropriate to set politics aside for the passing of someone? Let's have respect for at least one day. Not sure of the appropriate time to show respect but surely it must be more than 12 hours.

I would argue that it is one thing to note the passing of the man, and offer condolences to his family, it is quite another thing to lionize the person in death to the point where sainthood is all but bestowed.

And this is what we are witnessing with Flaherty, you visit the CBC website and see the posting there. You would swear he not only walked on water, but produced fishes and loafs to feed the multitudes and slated their thirst with barrels of wine pulled out of thin air. Try to interject a measure of reality and the 3rd party mods (CBC forums are now managed and modulated by an outside source) are quick to disable it.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Annoyed1

[Annoyed1]

You would think one day would be reasonable. To normal people.

Son, after 50+ years on this mudball, seeing both the best and worst we hairless apes have to offer, I can attest that the only place you will find normal is on the fat end of a bell curve.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Annoyed1

[Bryan]

Sad to see him go. Jim was one of the classiest MPs in parliament. Brought honor to the position. The best finance minister this country has ever had by a very wide margin. That he was able to do so much under the conditions he had to do them was absolutely remarkable. Others will look to emulate his economic management for generations to come.