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[Divvy]

Apparently, in the final days, Harper was on the verge of announcing that he wouldn't seek reelection if the Conservatives had won

Man, they were desperate

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Not a separatist, but I imagine they'd argue Canada is the reason Quebec is so poor. It's not like the province was always economic deadweight, you know. Montreal used to be the financial and trade hub of North America before New York overtook it. Quebec used to have strong textile and pharmaceuticals industries, but free trade agreements like NAFTA (and soon, the TPP) paired with a volatile dollar thanks to oil really screwed Quebec manufacturers over.

You could make similar arguments for NS and Halifax pre-confederation at least. There's a reason so many of our largest banks were founded there.

Canada has a habit of turning prosperous regions to become permanently economically disadvantaged.

Spoiler

Alberta's next, but that's hardly Canada's fault.

 

[Sean C]

Apparently, in the final days, Harper was on the verge of announcing that he wouldn't seek reelection if the Conservatives had won

Man, they were desperate

Pretty much everybody was already assuming this would be his last campaign, one way or another, so I don't see how much that would have changed anyway.

 

[matthewwhatever]

Yeah, I don't see how effective "Vote for me, get a PM picked by the Conservative Party base!" would've been.

It is actually really weird going from full speed, 90+ hour work weeks to now this period of nothing. I dont think I have ever been as drained as I was yesterday. Every ounce of energy, both physically and emotionally was gone. I still cant believe we won.

I know what you mean. Watching TV this evening was weird -- I kept expecting to see political ads during every commercial break.

I'd rather not have someone with a history that's anti-GMO, thinks wifi can cause cancer, believes homeopathic medicine should be covered by our public healthcare, a 9/11 truther, and an anti-vaxxer be anywhere near a cabinet position. For the Greens claiming to be pro-environment they sure do have some dumb ideas on science.

I didn't say I'd want her in cabinet -- ignoring her beliefs entirely (which are undeniably wacky in a lot of ways), making her a minister over dedicated Liberals would be a nonstarter. I could, though, see them tasking her with something like resurrecting NRTEE -- one of those tasks that takes advantage of her energies and pushes them in a useful direction. However crazy some of her ideas may be, she's someone you'd rather have on your side. Just look at her sole debate performance. We already know she's more comfortable working with the Liberals (who were, after all, the only party pushing for her to be included in the debates, plus I think there's residual affection from 2008 when they didn't run a candidate against her in a bid to help her get elected), so why not use that?

 

[Perfect Blue]

I didn't say I'd want her in cabinet -- ignoring her beliefs entirely (which are undeniably wacky in a lot of ways), making her a minister over dedicated Liberals would be a nonstarter. I could, though, see them tasking her with something like resurrecting NRTEE -- one of those tasks that takes advantage of her energies and pushes them in a useful direction. However crazy some of her ideas may be, she's someone you'd rather have on your side. Just look at her sole debate performance. We already know she's more comfortable working with the Liberals (who were, after all, the only party pushing for her to be included in the debates, plus I think there's residual affection from 2008 when they didn't run a candidate against her in a bid to help her get elected), so why not use that?

When you put it like that, I probably agree. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen due to the potential of it causing a rift within the Liberals AND Greens. If I were an MP I'd feel pretty shitty campaigning for 78 days then seeing a role go to someone that campaigned against you. Might sound like petty politics but with Harper fostering such a hostile environment I think Trudeau is going to need all the loyalty he can get.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

mon amour Gilles Duceppe confirms that he is quitting political life,
official announcement tomorrow

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/po...on-du-bloc.php

I might have missed a part but where does it say he's quitting political life? Stepping down as the Bloc leader isn't the same thing (plus he did that already and then came back...).

Honestly, the issue between Canada and Quebec, is similar to the North and South of the US. We just never had our civil war for one side to dominate the other for re-unification.

....What the fuck is this?!

I definitely respect not wanting to debate this as I don't think we will meet eye to eye, but want to understand your importance globally with French language comment.

France is 0.9% of our trade. Germany, China, UK, Japan, South Korea, and Mexico all exceed France trade. China has a much larger both economic and cultural impact on Canada in our modern world, so Mandarin would be a better language.

(facepalm)
This isn't about whichever language is the most spoken, it's about protecting one's culture and heritage.

To play devil's advocate, I do find it funny that as a country, we chose to save French culture while we almost systematically destroyed aboriginal culture by taking kids away from families and forcing them to be Christian and to speak English. Talk about "fair" treatment and all that.

You're absolutely right about that, the treatment of aboriginals has always been supremely shitty and embarrassing as a Canadian.

I don't think it was the English being nice to the French but the French fighting back.

So you agree that the French language was saved by the French fighting back... yet somehow I get the impression you don't quite like it when they do. Hmmmm

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politi...nti-terror-law

C-51 getting overhauled ASAP

They're moving even faster than I had hoped

It reads as if they are mostly adding oversight, and clarification on vague terms. They should just get rid of it, but I guess they didn't campaign on that

Whoa. Good news for sure.

I just might come to really like Trudeau after all... :O I'll celebrate only when it's actually done, but this is a good sign, better than "we have no plans on touching or revising this bill at this point" or anything like that.

 

[Mysterious]

Not a separatist, but I imagine they'd argue Canada is the reason Quebec is so poor. It's not like the province was always economic deadweight, you know. Montreal used to be the financial and trade hub of North America before New York overtook it. Quebec used to have strong textile and pharmaceuticals industries, but free trade agreements like NAFTA (and soon, the TPP) paired with a volatile dollar thanks to oil really screwed Quebec manufacturers over.

There's also the possibility that, you know, money isn't the most important thing in life. Crazy, I know.

Replace North America with Canada and New York with Toronto, and you've got it.

 

[Tabris]

(facepalm)
This isn't about whichever language is the most spoken, it's about protecting one's culture and heritage.

I don't understand this though. The law should protect outside forces from destroying or attacking one's culture and heritage. But you are not trying to protect it from outside forces but inner forces (fellow Quebecois) who don't feel the need to practice the culture and heritage of Lower Canada. That's their choice, they should be able to make that.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I don't understand this though. The law should protect outside forces from destroying or attacking one's culture and heritage. But you are not trying to protect it from outside forces but inner forces (fellow Quebecois) who don't feel the need to practice the culture and heritage of Lower Canada. That's their choice, they should be able to make that.

...Huh?

 

[Deleted member 126221]

I don't understand this though. The law should protect outside forces from destroying or attacking one's culture and heritage. But you are not trying to protect it from outside forces but inner forces (fellow Quebecois) who don't feel the need to practice the culture and heritage of Lower Canada. That's their choice, they should be able to make that.

What does that even mean?

 

[gabbo]

Whoa. Good news for sure.

I just might come to really like Trudeau after all... :O I'll celebrate only when it's actually done, but this is a good sign, better than "we have no plans on touching or revising this bill at this point" or anything like that.

So far he's been giving me more reason to like him. It's the others in his party I'm weary of.

 

[Buba Big Guns]

Apparently, in the final days, Harper was on the verge of announcing that he wouldn't seek reelection if the Conservatives had won

Man, they were desperate

That was a great article. I love reading behind the scenes stuff like that.

Crazy they even called the NDP to start attacking the Liberals after what their polls started showing.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Apparently, in the final days, Harper was on the verge of announcing that he wouldn't seek reelection if the Conservatives had won

Man, they were desperate

If the strategists thought we simply hated Harper himself and not his policies then they're more oblivious than I thought. Harper is inseparable from his policies.

 

[lupinko]

While I loathe Harper's policies the person I hated the most was Chris Alexander.

And we all know what came of him!

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Apparently, in the final days, Harper was on the verge of announcing that he wouldn't seek reelection if the Conservatives had won

Man, they were desperate

Those strategists are out of touch. Well except the strategists who had no power and kept telling the other strategists that they were out of touch.

Blaming the NDP for the Conservative vote collapse and 69% turnout LOL. Whackos. Glad we're not seeing 'em for at least another 4-16 years.

 

[Divvy]

If the strategists thought we simply hated Harper himself and not his policies then they're more oblivious than I thought. Harper is inseparable from his policies.

Yeah I keep hearing that narrative being trotted around, which just tells me they aren't going to actually reflect on what they did wrong. If Canadians hated the man so much, they wouldn't have given him a majority in 2011. It's not like he went on television and sacrificed some kittens or something since then.

 

[Tabris]

...Huh?

What does that even mean?

If a store in Quebec doesn't want to display a french sign, or a restaurant doesn't require their servers to speak French - that should be allowed. The market should decide those things whether that succeeds or not.

If Quebecois really wanted to protect their heritage and culture, then they wouldn't shop at that store or eat at that restaurant. I've walked into restaurants in Vancouver where they only spoke cantonese I think and I was fine with that. Made ordering a bit harder but that's their right.

Forcing people to conform goes both ways and is unacceptable in my opinion. People should have choice and that choice is what should be protected.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

"The market decides", oh boy, for real?

Also your analogy with the Chinese restaurant doesn't work because Chinese isn't a threat to the dominant language (English) and doesn't risk ever displacing it. In fact it's a patently ridiculous analogy.

Then again this is coming from someone who made an analogy with the US war of secession, so uh.... ¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[Deleted member 126221]

If a store in Quebec doesn't want to display a french sign, or a restaurant doesn't require their servers to speak French - that should be allowed. The market should decide those things whether that succeeds or not.

If Quebecois really wanted to protect their heritage and culture, then they wouldn't shop at that store or eat at that restaurant. I've walked into restaurants in Vancouver where they only spoke cantonese I think and I was fine with that. Made ordering a bit harder but that's their right.

Forcing people to conform goes both ways and is unacceptable in my opinion. People should have choice and that choice is what should be protected.

I've eaten at restaurants in Montreal where they didn't speak french or english either. I'm not sure what your vision of Quebec and its language law is exactly, but it seems pretty distorted.

 

[gutter_trash]

An 18 Year-Old Justin Trudeau on Quebec Sovereignty

I've never seen that before.

"Le Canada ne chie pas sur le Québec!" Haha



Pretty much my thoughts exactly.

Justin Trudeau does not compromise on Canadian unity

He will be a great Prime Minister for all Chadians and stand up for equality for all in a Justin Society.

+ he always stayed strong on his position of the matter, unlike some other Federal party leader.

 

[Pedrito]

If a store in Quebec doesn't want to display a french sign, or a restaurant doesn't require their servers to speak French - that should be allowed. The market should decide those things whether that succeeds or not.

If Quebecois really wanted to protect their heritage and culture, then they wouldn't shop at that store or eat at that restaurant. I've walked into restaurants in Vancouver where they only spoke cantonese I think and I was fine with that. Made ordering a bit harder but that's their right.

Forcing people to conform goes both ways and is unacceptable in my opinion. People should have choice and that choice is what should be protected.

Here's the main situation the law is supposed to prevent:

Foreign companies set shops in Montreal. They don't bother with french at all because it's a hassle and it costs money to translate everything. So everything is in english and they hire english-speaking employees. It's only a few companies so who cares right? Most Montrealers are bilingual anyway and the anglo-market is big enough. Then more and more do the same thing. French speakers are then forced to learn english because it's the de facto language in the work place. Consumers are forced to learn and speak english also. Then 30 years later, Montreal is 100% anglo.

You probably think: "Well, who cares? English is the dominant language in the world, and society evolves in certain ways and you can't prevent it, and mandarin is so much cooler, etc.", but many people disagree.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

a Justin Society

Holy shit.

 

[Mr.Sumal]

Holy shit.

lmao but it looks like mobile auto correct

another gem : prime minister for all chadians

Edit: He is also 100% right. The next four years will be the start of a just society part 2

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Here's the main situation the law is supposed to prevent:

Foreign companies set shops in Montreal. They don't bother with french at all because it's a hassle and it costs money to translate everything. So everything is in english and they hire english-speaking employees. It's only a few companies so who cares right? Most Montrealers are bilingual anyway and the anglo-market is big enough. Then more and more do the same thing. French speakers are then forced to learn english because it's the de facto language in the work place. Consumers are forced to learn english also. Then 30 years later, Montreal is 100% anglo.

You probably think: "Well, who cares? English is the dominant language in the world, and society evolves in certain ways and you can't prevent it, and mandarin is so much cooler, etc.", but many people disagree.

Yup. Those opposing the law are often big companies like Walmart, Future Shop, Starbucks, etc. who want to save a few bucks.

The small shop owners, if they don't speak french fluently, will often pass things through Google translate, have approximate results and that's it. Hardly a dictatorship IMO.

 

[gutter_trash]

Holy shit.

that was a good pun, uh?

Those strategists are out of touch. Well except the strategists who had no power and kept telling the other strategists that they were out of touch.

Blaming the NDP for the Conservative vote collapse and 69% turnout LOL. Whackos. Glad we're not seeing 'em for at least another 4-16 years.

Senior Conservative organizer Ken Boessenkool even called New Democrats, advising them to turn their guns on the Liberals or both the Conservatives and the NDP would lose.

Conservatives in collusion with the NDP.... tsk, tsk, tsk

 

[maharg]

Conservatives in collusion with the NDP.... tsk, tsk, tsk

 

[Walpurgis]

Dammit. Double post. Rookie move.

The rookie movie is lamenting a double post. Do as I do and triple post without shame.

Wow the last 2 months have been such a whirlwind. I still can't believe we achieved a majority. I remember talking in the office in August think that 90-100 seats would be the best we could do. My riding of York Centre still came down to 1200 votes despite the national wave of momentum.

It is actually really weird going from full speed, 90+ hour work weeks to now this period of nothing. I dont think I have ever been as drained as I was yesterday. Every ounce of energy, both physically and emotionally was gone. I still cant believe we won.

My riding came down to 51 votes. I still can't believe it.

Are you part of the LPC or something?

I'd rather not have someone with a history that's anti-GMO, thinks wifi can cause cancer, believes homeopathic medicine should be covered by our public healthcare, a 9/11 truther, and an anti-vaxxer be anywhere near a cabinet position. For the Greens claiming to be pro-environment they sure do have some dumb ideas on science.

So you agree that the French language was saved by the French fighting back... yet somehow I get the impression you don't quite like it when they do. Hmmmm

No. I don't like it when Quebec parties oppress minorities in their own province and cry about being oppressed federally.

 

[Walpurgis]

Australia has a mixed AV/STV system because it elects its Senate and the Senate has the ability to vote down the budget, which is why the smaller parties have a lot of power.

What do AV and STV stand for?

Nothing's changed in what Trudeau has said, he's still including AV as a possibility. "The last election to use FPTP" is the exact same wording he's been using all along.

Damn it. Just when I got my hopes up. Well, at least he said there would be a "study" or something. If he does that properly, I'm sure they'll come away with PR. I wonder if the results would be public.

 

[maharg]

What do AV and STV stand for?.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

Canada's got their King of the North.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

The gamergate thread goes exactly in the direction I expected. Yikes...

 

[MMarston]

The gamergate thread goes exactly in the direction I expected. Yikes...

As soon as I saw it appear on gaming side

 

[simplayer]

What do AV and STV stand for?

Alternative vote and single transferable vote respectively

 

[Deleted member 126221]

As soon as I saw it appear on gaming side

Sorry.

 

[Divvy]

The gamergate thread goes exactly in the direction I expected. Yikes...

Sometimes I forget gaf's capacity to completely miss the point

 

[lupinko]

If it wasn't for Bibi becoming a one man Nazi Defense Force, I would say Tabris' recent comments on bilingualism would have taken the cake.

 

[Walpurgis]

I hate to say I told you so but I told you so.

 

[Azzanadra]

I think we done good Canada. Correct we if I am wrong, but other than France, are we not the only other left leaning nation in the G7? I count The Democrats among the right wing, in some ways, they are even more right wing than the Conservatives.

 

[Divvy]

Lol the western separatist shit is hilarious

Like, why would BC or Manitoba join you at all

 

[Sibylus]

Lol the western separatist shit is hilarious

Like, why would BC or Winnepeg join you at all

I would rather secede to the US than willingly join the prairies again.

 

[mo60]

Wow the last 2 months have been such a whirlwind. I still can't believe we achieved a majority. I remember talking in the office in August think that 90-100 seats would be the best we could do. My riding of York Centre still came down to 1200 votes despite the national wave of momentum.

It is actually really weird going from full speed, 90+ hour work weeks to now this period of nothing. I dont think I have ever been as drained as I was yesterday. Every ounce of energy, both physically and emotionally was gone. I still cant believe we won.

One of the ridings in my city was won by only 80 votes. I was kinda worried the liberal candidate was not going to beat Tim Uppal and he did it barely, but it took hours to call that riding.

 

[BigJonsson]

Wow the last 2 months have been such a whirlwind. I still can't believe we achieved a majority. I remember talking in the office in August think that 90-100 seats would be the best we could do. My riding of York Centre still came down to 1200 votes despite the national wave of momentum.

It is actually really weird going from full speed, 90+ hour work weeks to now this period of nothing. I dont think I have ever been as drained as I was yesterday. Every ounce of energy, both physically and emotionally was gone. I still cant believe we won.

You worked on the campaign in York Centre?

 

[Rocky85]

If a store in Quebec doesn't want to display a french sign, or a restaurant doesn't require their servers to speak French - that should be allowed. The market should decide those things whether that succeeds or not.

If Quebecois really wanted to protect their heritage and culture, then they wouldn't shop at that store or eat at that restaurant. I've walked into restaurants in Vancouver where they only spoke cantonese I think and I was fine with that. Made ordering a bit harder but that's their right.

Forcing people to conform goes both ways and is unacceptable in my opinion. People should have choice and that choice is what should be protected.

I swear when I went to chinatown in montreal everything was still in chinese...

 

[Walpurgis]

More about Jenni Byrne from that MSN article.

Sources said the Conservative re-election effort was deeply divided into factions loyal to campaign manager Jenni Byrne and those backing Harper confidants Ray Novak and Guy Giorno.

Byrne was yanked off Harper’s plane and dispatched back to headquarters.

A mid-campaign palace coup against Byrne, who helmed the successful 2011 Conservative majority election victory, failed but bruised egos and hurt feeling persisted throughout the extended 11-week writ period.

Against that fractious backdrop, the Tories concluded they could not win the election.

That forced them to “secure the core,” confided another insider.

I'm surprised that people within the party took her side over Harper's. Could there be two factions within the CPC? How will this affect the leadership race?

In order to motivate their base, the Conservative campaign used the niqab issue, which played well in Quebec and rural Ontario, while also stoking fears of Islamic terrorism that disgusted some Tories.

“We didn’t need to go there. We should have been talking about pocketbook issues not jihadists,” complained the Conservative operative.

Beyond the divisive debate over Muslim veiled women’s right to wear a niqab during citizenship ceremonies or in the public service, there was the Syrian refugee crisis, which painted the Harper government as uncaring.

But a senior Conservative who spoke on background said it was clearly a tactical mistake to push the niqab message so hard because it alienated voters outside Quebec.

Similarly, the Tories’ “barbaric cultural practices” snitch line undermined the party in some ethnic communities that had rallied to them in 2011.

So at that point, they knew it was over and tried to solidify their base but only eroded it.

And that backs up what, I think it was gutter, was saying about the Conservatives destroying everything that Jason Kenny worked for. Good.

At the same time, Byrne argued for a large Etobicoke rally on the final weekend of the campaign with discredited former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, best known for smoking crack cocaine while in office then repeatedly lying about it.

Some in the campaign argued strenuously against the move, saying it would hurt the party’s candidates in Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton, where they were wiped out Monday night.

But the last-ditch Ford rally Saturday got the go-ahead — Harper even posed for photographs, widely circulated on social media, with Ford and his brother, Doug Ford, who was the runner-up to Toronto Mayor John Tory in last October’s municipal election.

What the hell was she thinking? Heh. Maybe it was all according to keikaku.

 

[gutter_trash]

The gamergate thread goes exactly in the direction I expected. Yikes...

you guys went along with it? is is happening on the gamer side?

 

[Divvy]

you guys went along with it? is is happening on the gamer side?

Yeah

Off Topic should secede from Gaming!

 

[Firestorm]

Lol the western separatist shit is hilarious

Like, why would BC or Manitoba join you at all

cascadia baby we're doing it

 

[Deleted member 126221]

you guys went along with it? is is happening on the gamer side?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1127849

I think I like to stir up virtual hornet nests a bit too much. :/

 

[killer rin]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1127849

I think I like to stir up virtual hornet nests a bit too much. :/

Look, deep down inside we all wanted that thread to happen. It cant be helped, we're all still high off the election results

 

[maharg]

I think we done good Canada. Correct we if I am wrong, but other than France, are we not the only other left leaning nation in the G7? I count The Democrats among the right wing, in some ways, they are even more right wing than the Conservatives.

I wish people would stop saying this without examining it. Please explain one policy plank where the Democrats are to the right of the CPC.