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[You Are Viewtiful]

Just card-carrying members, or those who vote for them too? Are you saying that 37% of Canadians.....hate Canada?

He's probably talking about those Sun News Readers who are brainwashed to hate Quebec. They hate united Canada.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Ontario Liberals could possibly be hiding a deficit as small as $4.5 billion. So Ontario's reported deficit of $12 billion could be as high as $17 billion or $18 billion. So much for the "openness and transparency" premier.

 

[Ether_Snake]

You are a conservative on identity. You are as close as France's Front National on race, religion, heritage, langauge, identity. Look how far up your are on identity

Haha, no. Let's see:

Religion: totally do not care about religion, should not even be a concept recognized by the state since it is categorization of thought, which is unenforceable and impossible to verify; someone can claim to wear something for religious reasons and someone else wear the same thing for non-religious reasons, what happens? State recognition of the concept of religion leads to discrimination, it should be the same rules for everyone and the rules should not infringe on people's rights, but no right can be based on religious belief since that would be privilege or discrimination. That's the opposite of FN.

Heritage: What the heck is that?

Language/identity: I want the French language to be protected, just as much as I want the First Nations' to be. Nice try, but again that would not be a position FN would take.

I'm the good guy here, you're the one branding the torch and seeing separatists evil plots everywhere, shaping your world view to make everyone who disagrees with you a representative of "The Reds".

edit: And to mess with your mind, I was celebrating live here on GAF when Trudeau beat up Brazeau. I'm anti-conservative, but unlike you it's not a facade just to bash Quebec independence, it's because their policies are repugnant and hurtful to ALL of Canada.

 

[diaspora]

Haha, no. Let's see:

Religion: totally do not care about religion, should not even be a concept recognized by the state since it is categorization of thought, which is unenforceable and impossible to verify; someone can claim to wear something for religious reasons and someone else wear the same thing for non-religious reasons, what happens? State recognition of the concept of religion leads to discrimination, it should be the same rules for everyone and the rules should not infringe on people's rights, but no right can be based on religious belief since that would be privilege or discrimination. That's the opposite of FN.

One does not necessarily lead into another and you've done dick-all to actually support this assertion so the rest of this quote is really worthless. Part of the problem with the Charter isn't about really religion more than it is about the PQ deciding to sodomize people's rights when it comes to self-expression whether it be cultural through dress or linguistic.

Language/identity: I want the French language to be protected, just as much as I want the First Nations' to be. Nice try, but again that would not be a position FN would take.

"I'm only a somewhat like FN"

I'm the good guy here, you're the one branding the torch and seeing separatists evil plots everywhere, shaping your world view to make everyone who disagrees with you a representative of "The Reds".

Ford thinks so too, saying that has absolutely no value. Seperatists aren't evil, just intellectually bankrupt which Marois has proven over the duration of this campaign.

edit: And to mess with your mind, I was celebrating live here on GAF when Trudeau beat up Brazeau. I'm anti-conservative, but unlike you it's not a facade just to bash Quebec independence, it's because their policies are repugnant and hurtful to ALL of Canada.

To mess with his mind? Anyone across the political spectrum wouldn't be out of order in enjoying watching Trudeau smack around someone as personally shitty as Braz-man,

 

[Ether_Snake]

You don't even know what I think of the PQ's charter. Nice try pretending I'm for it as it is somehow.

Legislative recognition of religion makes no sense. A religion cannot actually exist, it is an abstract concept unless it is recognized by the state on a case-by-case basis, but this would be against a basic principle of legislation which is that legislation should not exist unless needed. The charter's attempt at categorizing icons is discriminatory unless it considered those icons to represent something condemnable, and that should be based on anything other than mere categorization of belief; it has to be related to action and words (uttered or written), not based on an abstract category.

How many members are needed for a religion to be recognized as such, and to which authority does it answer? Can a religion have no authority it answers to? Then who can say who ascribes to it or not other than the state? So it's clear that ultimately religion can only exist as a result of being categorized through recognition by the state, but this would be discriminatory either in favor or against those who ascribe to a religion.

If a doctor can wear a turban for religious reasons, can someone else wear one for non-religious reasons? The only way to determine this would be to categorize a set of beliefs against another, yet beliefs are all equal; they are in the realm of beliefs or they are facts. Beliefs cannot be manifested outside of acts or words, spoken or written, so they cannot be categorized by legislation; laws must not be written to deal with things that cannot manifest themselves.

To forbid a doctor from wearing a turban, it has to be based on a legitimate basis in relation to the duties of the doctor and the rules must apply to all equally. If that means no hats, it means no hats, but if a no-hat rule is considered to be unwarranted in relation to a doctor's duty it can be contested in court, period. It should NOT be permitted simply because one wears a hat for religious reasons, otherwise it would be discriminatory for those who wear one for non-religious reasons, nor should it be forbidden on supposed beliefs being categorized as religious. Anything can be claimed to be worn for religious reasons. Wearing a Canadiens de Montréal hat could be for religious reasons, the state cannot claim otherwise without discrimination, and anyone claiming otherwise brings us back to "how many members does it take for a religion to be recognized as such?".

It is impossible for the state to determine truly what the intentions are behind wearing a symbol. The state can make a list of symbols that it considers inappropriate, just as Germany does with Nazi iconography, but this can be clearly associated with acts and words; it is not because it is a religious or political symbol that the swastika is banned, it is because of what it is recognized to be representing.

No law document should ever contain the word religion since the concept when found in legislation is inalienably discriminatory either in favor or against people who ascribe to a religion. It is using legislation to categorize the unmanifested thoughts.

 

[gutter_trash]

You don't even know what I think of the PQ's charter. Nice try pretending I'm for it somehow.

Legislative recognition of religion makes no sense. I can easily explain why.

that's pretty nationalistic right wing, Republican, Front National sounding to me

 

[Azih]

Ether's condemnation of the PQ Charter is eloquent and well thought out.

Pitting multiculturalism against Secularity ' is very odd though.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Electoral irregularities in Montreal: http://ici.radio-canada.ca/sujet/el...marois-pq-dge-liste-electorale-montreal.shtml

According to the chairman of the commission to revise the electoral list of Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques, Mathieu Vandal, a number of "abnormal" anglophones and allophones are trying to get the vote for a week. Friday, he decided to resign because he could no longer ensure the integrity of the review process, has he told CBC.

[...]

Electoral fraud potential

The ballot director of Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques, Ian Parenteau, confirms that there is a particularly large influx of English-speaking students and allophones who wish to register on the electoral roll. "The crowds do not necessarily reflect the demographics of the voters," he said, indicating that it is an "anomaly".

http://m.ledevoir.com/politique/que...doute-dans-des-bureaux-de-scrutin-montrealais

Returning officers from the Montreal area are concerned about the flood "worrying" and "abnormal" people trying week for the right to vote in elections of April 7 , learned Le Devoir.


Some 75.7% of voters in the riding of Sainte -Marie -Saint- Jacques , in downtown Montreal is French . However, since last Monday , more than half of the people who have to get the right to vote for the first time are English or allophones. A demographic phenomenon observed in several districts of the metropolis, and concern at the highest point the electoral authorities.


This is particularly the case of Mathieu Vandal , President of the Board of Review of Sainte -Marie -Saint- Jacques , who slammed the door Friday , unable to certify compliance of new voters registration process. These committees are responsible for reviewing the entries to the voters list by adding or correcting the radiant names on the list of voters in Quebec .


Arrival dates in Quebec unverifiable "evidence" of residence that can not be certifying the veracity rather than blindly continue to grant the right to vote of the electors, Mr. Vandal chose to resign .

[...]

Residents of other Canadian provinces and newcomers make up the bulk of these new entrants. Many people for whom there is no way to confirm beyond doubt the place of residence.


Many constituencies urban heart of the metropolis would be affected, according to the returning officer, who worked as such in the context of many previous elections.


"I saw more new voters to declare this election that is 18 months after the previous one only when all other ballots. There was a gap of four years between the previous election and the one before, yet there were not as many new voters with this profile, "said the returning officer.

 

[gutter_trash]

Electoral irregularities in Montreal: http://ici.radio-canada.ca/sujet/el...marois-pq-dge-liste-electorale-montreal.shtml



http://m.ledevoir.com/politique/que...doute-dans-des-bureaux-de-scrutin-montrealais

All you gotta do is check out the IGA supermarket, Tim Hortons and McDonalds near Metro Frontenac to visually see there truly has been an increase of visible minorities in that riding.
Lots of new immigrants of lower income are settling in this low income part of town.

I dump my car next to Metro Frontenac from time to time and you got to see the demographic shift for yourself. There is no "conspiracy""

+ with the hikes on rent. Students (including English speaking students) seek out lower rent which happens to be in.... drum roll... poor neighborhoods. Not all Anglos are stereotyipcailly rich, there has been a shift of lower income Anglos towards lower income Francophone neighborhoods. Rent is getting high.

And lastly, this riding will never ever become Liberal. If it changes, it would to Quebec Solidaire

 

[Mr.Mike]

All you gotta do is check out the IGA supermarket, Tim Hortons and McDonalds near Metro Frontenac to visually see there truly has been an increase of visible minorities in that riding.
Lots of new immigrants of lower income are settling in this low income part of town.

I dump my car next to Metro Frontenac from time to time and you got to see the demographic shift for yourself. There is no "conspiracy""

+ with the hikes on rent. Students (including English speaking students) seek out lower rent which happens to be in.... drum roll... poor neighborhoods. Not all Anglos are stereotyipcailly rich, there has been a shift of lower income Anglos towards lower income Francophone neighborhoods. Rent is getting high.

And lastly, this riding will never ever become Liberal. If it changes, it would to Quebec Solidaire

It sounds like the sort of riding that would go to the NDPQ once that's up an running.

 

[gutter_trash]

It sounds like the sort of riding that would go to the NDPQ once that's up an running.

In Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques. PQ is ahead, QS is gaining traction (from the left) while the Liberals are behind in 3rd place (no chance of winning there)

Lots of separatists conspiracy theorists believe that this is done to influx more Liberal voters (which is insane because Liberals will still remain in 3rd place in this riding if the theories were true)

what is really happening? Simple, cost of living is rising and low income families are moving into lower income neighborhoods.
New immigrants are moving into these neighborhoods.
Students (of all creeds) are also moving in to these neighborhoods.

There is no conspiracy.

Why would the Liberal conspire in a riding where they are a distant no-chance 3rd place?

It is looney bin conspiracy theory from people who always blame the Ethnic Vote

 

[gutter_trash]

http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/q...ctorale-le-pq-s-inquiete-pour-rien-dit-le-dge
Conspriacy theory debunked, the PQ made the whole thing up

http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/elections-office-debunks-pq-voter-influx-theory-1.1742563

 

[Ether_Snake]

Illegal immigration: a liberal activist accused

Federal authorities have filed a series of charges against a liberal activist who had set up a massive illegal immigration system when he helped Montreal politicians to refuel votes .

In a statement sent Thursday Agency Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA ) said that according to his investigation, at least 250 people have acted under the guidance of Daljit Singh Kalkat , former president of the India Canada Organization, a group Community of Indian origin for immigrants in Montreal. Many of these individuals could now see their status in Canada revoked.

Mr. Kalkat , which must appear in court on March 3 , is accused of inciting people to make false representations to have owned and used fraudulent documents have been trafficking in counterfeit documents, have worked approvals in Canada and working illegally as immigration consultant . The facts alleged were committed between 2004 and 2012 .

Mr. Kalkat is not the end of his sentences. SQ also raided its offices as part of an investigation into a scheme allowing Indian immigrants welfare recipients continue to receive their checks from Quebec while going live and work illegally in Ontario.

In 2012, the Gazette also revealed another facet of the hidden past of Mr. Kalkat. The SPVM arrested for threats in 2006. He was cleared of charges, but officers found taking fingerprints he lives in Canada under a false identity.

His real name is Baljeet Singh Wadyal. He served four years in prison in the United States for possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking, and changed its name in the early 90s in order to enter Canada.

I like how we always see Trudeau wearing different cultures' traditional outfits and eating their traditional meals, but we never see him wear a ceinture flechée, a plaid shirt and eat one of our own traditional foods, let alone celebrate our national holiday. I guess it would be racist.

 

[gutter_trash]

Apples and Oranges.
You guys try to find conspiracies in EVERYTHING. You try to supress voters that don't vote your way then you complain when people are trying to register to vote.

the DGE has said that there are NO irregularities.

Go back on vigil.net and go back reading Jean-Francois Lisée blogues with warped numbers

The PQ is a xenophobique party that does not want more anglophones or allohpones from voting.

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/e...B9_elections-quebec-2014_1965459_accueil_POS1
now the DGE has shown numbers of LESS registries this year than in 2014, the numbers don`t lie. There is no invasion in 2014, au contraire. There are fewer people registering in 2014 than in 2012.

 

[gutter_trash]

Illegal immigration: a liberal activist accused

I like how we always see Trudeau wearing different cultures' traditional outfits and eating their traditional meals, but we never see him wear a ceinture flechée, a plaid shirt and eat one of our own traditional foods, let alone celebrate our national holiday. I guess it would be racist.

wanna talk about illegal voting?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Malavoy
Marie Malavoy (exiting PQ minister of education),.

Malavoy first entered politics in 1994 and was elected in the riding of Sherbrooke where she was briefly the Minister of Culture and Communications in the Jacques Parizeau cabinet. She had to step down from her position November 25, 1994, as it was found that she had illegally voted during the Quebec Referendum in 1980 as well as other federal and provincial elections since she was not a Canadian citizen at the time

 

[Ether_Snake]

wanna talk about illegal voting?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Malavoy
Marie Malavoy (exiting PQ minister of education),.

That's more like comparing an apple seed with a giant pile of oranges.

 

[gutter_trash]

Léger's newest poll with double the sampling (3692 people polled)

http://blogues.journaldemontreal.com/tooclosetocall/

if the PQ loses, they will blame everyone else but themselves

 

[Boogie]

Oh come on, how are they supposed to overcome all of that Jewish kosher money being used to pay off thousands of Ontarians to cross the border and vote for the Liberals?

 

[Azih]

Oh come on, how are they supposed to overcome all of that Jewish kosher money being used to pay off thousands of Ontarians to cross the border and vote for the Liberals?

Thousands of MUSLIM Ontarians no doubt. With Hijabs.

 

[gutter_trash]

Thousands of MUSLIM Ontarians no doubt. With Hijabs.

Pouring Halal gravy into the poutine

*speaking of blaming others for losing, it already started:

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/e...-victime-dune-campagne-de-peur-dit-marois.php

Le Parti québécois est « victime » d'une campagne de peur de Philippe Couillard qui a « manipulé » l'électorat, soutient Pauline Marois, alors qu'un autre sondage démontre la chute de sa formation dans les intentions de vote.

translation: the PQ is ''victime'' of a fear campaign by Philippe Couillard who is ''manipulating'' the electorate, says Pauline Marois; while another poll shows the free fall of her party among voter intentions,

LOL, them losing is obviously not there own fault. Oh no

 

[Vamphuntr]

So Philippe Couillard had an offshore bank account in the Jersey Island which is on a black list of places known used for fiscal evasion. It was legal back then but it's no longer anymore.

Also, apparently the reason UPAC seized stuff in the Liberal HQ during the summer is because they had over 400k of undeclared money there which is believed to have been illegally raised since there's no trace of the money in the accounting book.

Seems like Pauline Marois had issues with the UPAC too.

They're really all a bunch of thieves...

 

[gutter_trash]

yup, it is quite sad the state of affairs of Quebec provincial politics.

The 2 establishment parties will lead you believe that the other is worse in terms of integrity,
then you got the other fairy tale parties who will never get into power preaching that their are holier than though. But hey power currupts

Separatists say that things will get better when they get their country, but who do you think will run the new country? The same old politicians.

I don't vote Liberal because I love them or because I agree with them.
I vote Liberal because I find that the PQ is so much worse at tearing people against one another, dividing people with hateful wedge identity politics.

 

[Ether_Snake]

So Philippe Couillard had an offshore bank account in the Jersey Island which is on a black list of places known used for fiscal evasion. It was legal back then but it's no longer anymore.

Also, apparently the reason UPAC seized stuff in the Liberal HQ during the summer is because they had over 400k of undeclared money there which is believed to have been illegally raised since there's no trace of the money in the accounting book.

Seems like Pauline Marois had issues with the UPAC too.

They're really all a bunch of thieves...

Couillard placed 600k in there, which means he made much more than that on which he was not taxed.

Plus, it's not because you leave the country that you shouldn't pay tax on your earnings abroad. He wouldn't have been a neurosurgeon if he had grown up in some poor country. You don't stop benefiting from a country like Canada the day you leave it. Plus, if he had a machine to do the same operations over the net from Canada, would that mean he wouldn't pay tax either just because the people being operated and paying him are abroad?

A neurosurgeon who learned everything here, went to Saudi Arabia to make more money, comes back here to become health minister and looks for a job in the private health sector during the same time, leaves to work for those private healthcare companies, and then comes back to be prime minister and tell us what to do with our healthcare system?

Scam, profiteer. This guy would be worst than Charest.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

From what I'm reading, he was taxed on that 600k. He didn't hide it. I mean, he lived abroad. As far as he knew he was probably going to stay there more or less permenantly. He didn't know he was going to become the Premier of Quebec, why put the money in a Canadian bank as opposed to a Saudi bank (they're terrible) or a Jersey bank...

Unless there is proof that he tax evaded then you can throw this in the PQ conspiracy pile which is getting pretty big for just one election.

That 400k is more serious, and the PQ is involved too. Pretty disappointing showing.

 

[gutter_trash]

From what I'm reading, he was taxed on that 600k. He didn't hide it. Unless there is proof that he tax evaded then you can throw this in the PQ conspiracy pile which is getting pretty big for just one election.

That 400k is more serious, and the PQ is involved too. Pretty disappointing showing.

he is declaring his earnings today, something that Marois is refusing to do because her hubby is the one hiding the money

 

[Azih]

Doctors in Saudi Arabia make a lot of money. Especially Western ones, and the living expenses are pretty much zero.

 

[matthewwhatever]

Does anyone know why Quebec politics seem so much more corrupt? I don't get the sense that rest-of-Canada politicians are just better at hiding things, and even with the couple of non-Quebec mayors that have been caught doing bad things in recent years, it still seems far outweighed by the volume of problems Quebec pols have.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Ontario is just as bad. Sandra Pupatello just got hired as the head of OPG for $900k/year salary. She has no experience in the energy sector whatsoever, she just so happens to be a Liberal insider.

And the revolving doors at PanAm. Never mind that PanAm is a huge waste of money and entails corruption itself, but people are getting fired over there every 3 months with fat severance cheques and golden handshakes. It's too suspicious.

Let's not even delve into Ford, Fennel, Fontana, Hazel, eHealth, ORNGE, gas plants, EllisDon, green energy act...

 

[gutter_trash]

Does anyone know why Quebec politics seem so much more corrupt? I don't get the sense that rest-of-Canada politicians are just better at hiding things, and even with the couple of non-Quebec mayors that have been caught doing bad things in recent years, it still seems far outweighed by the volume of problems Quebec pols have.

Quebec used to have the Catholic Church take care of everything, then the Government stepped in and took over the care-taker role of the Church and kept keynesian policies.

Through the ages, the establishment parties have grown so engrained into all the inner workings of taking care of social program imaginable, budding up with the elite and making deals with them for favors. While the unions who initially fought for good labor standards ended up in the late 20th century with lots of control of the labor force and the left wing political officials.

It's part of the Catholic care taker heritage. People just expect the Government to take care of everything just like the Church used to.

*Ether will lead you to believe that the Liberals are a Right Wing party but they are as much Center or Center-Left as the PQ in terms of maintaining Social-Programs and historically keeping them in place. Yes the PQ has done things in the late 70s that were more on the left in terms of Social Programs but the Liberals never ever removed them, they either maintained them or boosted them afterwards. Only the CAQ is openly serious at removing such social programs

 

[maharg]

So I see my prediction was right.

Aaand what the hell is this? http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ection-despite-living-in-province-since-2009/

Insanity.

 

[gutter_trash]

So I see my prediction was right.

Aaand what the hell is this? http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ection-despite-living-in-province-since-2009/

Insanity.

Republican voter repression is alive and well in Quebec

 

[matthewwhatever]

Ontario is just as bad. Sandra Pupatello just got hired as the head of OPG for $900k/year salary. She has no experience in the energy sector whatsoever, she just so happens to be a Liberal insider.

And the revolving doors at PanAm. Never mind that PanAm is a huge waste of money and entails corruption itself, but people are getting fired over there every 3 months with fat severance cheques and golden handshakes. It's too suspicious.

Let's not even delve into Ford, Fennel, Fontana, Hazel, eHealth, ORNGE, gas plants, EllisDon, green energy act...

Good point, though I honestly hadn't heard about most of those things until you mentioned them -- I'm in Ottawa, and provincial politics don't seem to get nearly as much attention here as they probably do in southern Ontario.

Also, I suspect those scandals you listed off all point to the real reason: organized crime is pretty strong in both Quebec and southern Ontario, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising if that culture gets reflected in the politics, too.

Quebec used to have the Catholic Church take care of everything, then the Government stepped in and took over the care-taker role of the Church and kept keynesian policies.

Through the ages, the establishment parties have grown so engrained into all the inner workings of taking care of social program imaginable, budding up with the elite and making deals with them for favors. While the unions who initially fought for good labor standards ended up in the late 20th century with lots of control of the labor force and the left wing political officials.

It's part of the Catholic care taker heritage. People just expect the Government to take care of everything just like the Church used to.

*Ether will lead you to believe that the Liberals are a Right Wing party but they are as much Center or Center-Left as the PQ in terms of maintaining Social-Programs and historically keeping them in place. Yes the PQ has done things in the late 70s that were more on the left in terms of Social Programs but the Liberals never ever removed them, they either maintained them or boosted them afterwards. Only the CAQ is openly serious at removing such social programs

Ah, so the ghost of Duplessis is still alive and well. Got it!

 

[Azih]

Ontario problems don't seem like organized crime type corruption, they seem like buying votes and loyalty within the party types of corruption.

I don't think the Green Energy Act qualifies as corruption though.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Good articles

On the economic front , Quebec could become independent , say two researchers at Harvard
Raymond Giroux | The Sun | November 13, 2004
http://bit.ly/1dqXgWq

Sovereignty would not be "bad" for Quebec , says a researcher at the Fraser Institute
Olivier Bourque | Silver | June 29, 2012
http://bit.ly/MGUOxX

More productive than the Japanese and South Koreans Quebecer
François Normand | The Business | August 15, 2012
http://bit.ly/1gkvnid

Quebec a bad place to do business ?
Actually , U.S. retailers and restaurant chains beat a path to Quebec
Jeff Heinrich | The Gazette | December 14, 2012
http://bit.ly/1c9t804

Public spending in Quebec do not rely on equalization , says IRIS
The Canadian Press | HERE CBC | March 12, 2014
http://bit.ly/1kn4l9S

Canada Needs in truth far more than Quebec Quebec Canada Needs
Lawrence Solomon | Financial Post | March 20 , 2014
http://bit.ly/1do9hvW

Surprise! Ontario and Alberta are likely to default before Quebec , says a researcher at the Macdonald- Laurier Institute
Yannick Clérouin | Business | October 18, 2012
http://bit.ly/1hV75t4

For Quebec currency : Optical heterodox a U.S. investor
Warren Mosler | The Gazette | July 17, 1997
http://bit.ly/NKYM9z

Better a Quebec dollar , according to an economist
Business | March 20, 2014
http://bit.ly/1fbxUqB

An independent Quebec might benefit from icts own currency: report
The Gazette | March 19, 2014
http://bit.ly/1gSvVXT

Quebec The Most corrupt ? Maybe not
Warren Kinsella | Toronto Sun | June 18, 2013
https://bit.ly/1i7DKx1

 

[maharg]

Surprise! ... Alberta [is] likely to default ... , says a researcher at the Macdonald- Laurier Institute

Hahahahhaha.

 

[gutter_trash]

Ether, if provincial parties are currently too inept to run a province as is; how do you even envision them run a country?

 

[Ether_Snake]

From what I'm reading, he was taxed on that 600k. He didn't hide it. I mean, he lived abroad. As far as he knew he was probably going to stay there more or less permenantly. He didn't know he was going to become the Premier of Quebec, why put the money in a Canadian bank as opposed to a Saudi bank (they're terrible) or a Jersey bank...

Unless there is proof that he tax evaded then you can throw this in the PQ conspiracy pile which is getting pretty big for just one election.

That 400k is more serious, and the PQ is involved too. Pretty disappointing showing.

So when Quebec Solidaire condemned Coullaird yesterday for the same reasons, it was PQ conspiracy? How does that work?

And for disclosure, I wouldn't be surprise Marois and her husband have money in offshore accounts. Don't assume criticism of PLQ = praise of PQ.

 

[gutter_trash]

answer my question:
if the provincial government is incapable of running a province, what makes you think they could ever run a country?

 

[equippedwithtowel]

Good article titles

Fixed for accuracy

 

[Pedrito]

Does anyone know why Quebec politics seem so much more corrupt? I don't get the sense that rest-of-Canada politicians are just better at hiding things, and even with the couple of non-Quebec mayors that have been caught doing bad things in recent years, it still seems far outweighed by the volume of problems Quebec pols have.

I think Québec just has better investigative journalists. Without "Enquête", most of this shady stuff wouldn't even be known by the public. There would be no Commission Charbonneau. Even today's news about Couillard came from them.

 

[Azih]

On the Ontario corruption front:

http://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...n_mcguinty_staffer_over_computer_access.html#

McGuinty chief of staff alleged to have gotten an IT savvy outsider to wipe harddrives.

I kinda feel bad for Wynne but this is getting bad enough that an election may be required. I don't know how Horwath can continue to prop up Wynne unless the ONDP gets to write the whole damn budget.

Seriously McGuinty, what the hell were you up to? Gas plants should never have been cancelled in the first place and then to act so incredibly shady afterwards?

 

[Mr.Mike]

I kinda feel bad for Wynne but this is getting bad enough that an election may be required. I don't know how Horwath can continue to prop up Wynne unless the ONDP gets to write the whole damn budget.

They might be concerned that the PC might end up forming the government if an election were to happen, which is probably even less palatable to them than allowing the Liberals to continue, even with this scandal.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

I don't think NDP will continue to prop up the Libs. Libs already said they won't negotiate with NDP on budget, and Horwath said if they don't negotiate she will vote it down.

It won't look good on the NDP if they can't say they got concessions from a reluctant government. It's why 2012 budget looked good for NDP. The government had to be dragged kicking and screaming to keep open hospitals and apply the 2% tax surcharge. But 2013 budget didn't work out so well, Wynne basically agreed to all the NDP ideas in one fell swoop.

 

[gutter_trash]

i envy you Ontarians, you can vote from a clear left, clear center and clear right parties.

Not like us, we don't have left wing or right wing parties.
We have separatist, separatist, a mish-mash of both and a federalist party. Our parties suck balls

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

i envy you Ontarians, you can vote from a clear left, clear center and clear right parties.

Not like us, we don't have left wing or right wing parties.
We have separatist, separatist, a mish-mash of both and a federalist party. Our parties suck balls

It probably helps that ethnic nationalism is not a point of contention. But our parties aren't that great, it is a choice between Tea Party, Populist, Criminal and Neoliberal.

Wynne Q&A press conference http://youtu.be/34ag4nkSh7Q

 

[diaspora]

Can someone reformat ontario?

 

[Vamphuntr]

The TVA debate was much better than the one on SRC. Pierre Bruneau was a much better host. He had difficult questions and let the 4 of them dig their own hole fairly well.

Legault, Marois and David did much better than last time while Couillard did worse this time. He wasn't able to dodge questions as well under a 3 vs 1 crossfire. He definitely lost the part about la loi 101 and the one about ethics (Porter, 428k, Charest's Legacy, fiscal haven). He had no effective counterarguments about the fact he was more or less using Charest's economic plan which made the debt implode and Legault was able to show that Marois was as worse as Charest on that front. He could never answer clearly about what do to with religious signs and reasonable accommodations.

Legault was strong on the offensive and attacked both Marois and Couillard effectively. Best part was when he said both of them were exploiting the fear of people to win. It was also a good idea to show how both Marois and Couillard were placing their friends into good positions in their government. His rant about Nicolas Girard was also fairly effective, he was right too. Marois put someone that never managed employees into a big managing position where he had to oversee 400 employees. Good point about the fact she was using her charter as an electoral tool too.

David was good at showing she clearly wasn't like the three other candidates in the room. The part where she asked the help of the other 3 on passing her project to prevent promoters to evict elderly citizen from their home was a great moment. She had to force their hand since they were all talking about ethics and they eventually had to agree with her idea. She also did well on the part about french protection, she had good example and Legault and Marois had to agree with it. She also got Couillard good on Fatima Houda-Pépin. He liked her idea but she simply left? The lady herself says she was pushed out of the way. David's idea about CLSC sounded worse than last time though.

Marois sounded less cranky than last time. During the first debate it seemed like she was ready to hit someone at some point and she was clearly nervous. She was calmer tonight. She also published her tax records just before the debate to counter Couillard's argument about ethics. She also didn't had to use some nonsensical retort like last time when she got stuck (last time she even used that the province's finances weren't great because inflation didn't raise as much as expected). She didn't appeared fazed as much when she got attacked either. She appeared more like a Premier in control than a nervous and cranky amateur like last time. She still not as clean as she wants to appear though. I have no doubt the UPAC will raid the PQ HQ just like they did for the Liberals. It's following the same pattern too.

Couillard was on the defensive a lot tonight and since all the other 3 concentrated most of their fire on him. He had a really hard time trying to find ways to dodge the questions he couldn't answer. He didn't get K.O.ed but had it rough for sure. At some point most of his arguments consisted of saying the other were saying lies, were unjust, making unfair associations or were not making sense. He wasn't able to escape the integrity questions and Charest's legacy this time like in the SRC debate and it showed. Even Pierre Bruneau told him he had to answer the question about Porter, ouch.

 

[Azih]

Yup, even though I believe Horwarth would love nothing more than to keep extracting major concessions from Wynne (since Hudak is apparently incapable of playing with the other children) her hand has been forced with the latest revelations. It's ultimatum time.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...l_public_inquiry_into_gas_plants_coverup.html

The letter is naasty.

“It is simply not good enough to say: ‘I knew nothing about this.’ For over two years, people have seen virtually every claim made by your party about this scandal proven to be false or misleading,” she continued.

Full text of letter:
http://www.netnewsledger.com/2014/03/28/open-letter-from-andrea-horwath-to-premier-wynne/

The allegations of McGuinty's senior staffer giving admin passwords to an outsider so that said outsider could wipe hard drives clean has Wynne legitimately shook. Is she willing to fight an election on this? Horwath has given her a lifeline but damn is it slim. Full public inquiry with an outside prosecutor or Wynne goes down. If she clutches on to that line Horwath will probably want a major say in the budget to keep the government limping along. There's only so much scandal that Horwath can afford to keep propping up.

 

[gutter_trash]

Francois Legault showed his true natiaonlist colors last night... English bad, bilinguailsm bad

now Marois today unveiled her desire to boost Bill 101 like her defunct Bill 14 last spring.

Couillard says that being bilinguial is not a bad thing then gets accused of being anti-French, LOL

as a trilingual person, I find Legault and Marois to be so Republican l

 

[Vamphuntr]

Francois Legault showed his true natiaonlist colors last night... English bad, bilinguailsm bad

now Marois today unveiled her desire to boost Bill 101 like her defunct Bill 14 last spring.

Couillard says that being bilinguial is not a bad thing then gets accused of being anti-French, LOL

as a trilingual person, I find Legault and Marois to be so Republican l

Couillard made the mistake of confusing individual and institutional bilingualism. Saying a factory worker needed to be able to speak English in case clients from other countries wanted to visit the factory and check the product made wasn't the smartest idea. That's akin to stepping on a landmine in Quebec politics. It was a dumb answer, especially with the availability of interprets and all that. He's the first to complain that Marois is discriminating employee on religious signs and now he would have bilingualism as a requirement for jobs when it's not even required. Ouch.

It lead to some pretty harsh critics from columnists and bloggers (here, here) Even Chantal Hébert that really dislikes the PQ said it was a mistake by Couillard. That's quite telling.

Fortunately for him it seems people are more interested in his fiscal haven account. The excuse he gave yesterday was pathetic on that front. He kept the funds for years in there when he came back to Canada because having a secret account there prevented him from burning through it to pay the groceries. Hahahaha.

I have to wonder now what Marois will come up with to scare people. Charte des valeurs isn't working anymore. Attacking the liberals on corruption isn't as effective when it's publicly known you are corrupted too. I guess she will go further with the language thing as Couillard can't counter this one at all. It's been a while since Couillard repeated Referendum too. I have to wonder how the carnival of stupid will end.

I'm thinking of voiding my vote. I'll go for sure to not get my vote stolen though. If I was in Gouin I would vote for Françoise David because she appears to be the less insane and most authentic and she's the only one that seems to care about outcasts. I'm more on the left but QS's program is really bullshit so I can't see voting myself voting for it and especially not for the lamppost in my riding.