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[Perfect Blue]

Obama probably knew Trudeau didn't really give a shit either way so he waited for him to be sworn in before delivering the fatal blow to the project.

Though, I doubt the US government is all that concerned with hurting Canada's feelings.

I think so too. He did Trudeau a favour with this, since now the oil barons won't be asking for Justin's head.

 

[maharg]

I think so too. He did Trudeau a favour with this, since now the oil barons won't be asking for Justin's head.

Hah. Of course they will be.

 

[firehawk12]

The higher prices for drugs is a valid concern. Same for ISDS, but it already exists in other trade deals so it's nothing new.

But many of the concerns about the IP provisions are laughable. First, many of the provisions already exists in IP legislation in many countries. The point is also having them in places like Vietnam or Malaysia.

Then, many of the scenarios are completely absurd because they don't take into account the basic rule of risk vs. reward. For example, some people are freaking out because it would be "legal" for a corporation to send malware to brick a device. But the second the news get out that something like this had happened, people would simply buy from a competitor. And there always will be at least one competitor known for "not sending malware" for the good publicity. Think #SonyNoDRM. So there is really no point of doing that aside from wanting to ruin your reputation.

Also, as long as you don't go overboard, you won't get sued for copyright infrigement for stuff you post or download on the Web. Why? Because their lawyer costs more than what they'd get in damages. At least in Canada where courts don't award ridiculous damages for small transgressions. And if they make it a criminal offense, prosecutors won't bother because it's such a waste of judicial resources. "De minimis non curat lex". You can apply the same line of reasoning to most "scenarios" that have come up.

I wouldn't dare post that in the TPP thread because I would get eviscerated and be called a paid shill or something. And I'm not even in favor of the TPP.

I mean, that's the first part of my problem with it - and I know this is hippy-dippy Starbucks-drinking douchebag bullshit, but it's the new colonialism, where we tell other people who to run their countries because we know better than them and if they want our shit, they better do exactly what we want.

As for IP and other similar rights, given how ill-defined a lot of this stuff is, I'd rather not give up rights even if it's "corporate suicide" for companies to use these new tools. This is like the anti-Snowdown/pro-NSA argument - if you're not a member of ISIS, why is it a problem that the NSA reads your emails? Well, I'd prefer not to be monitored at all - at least not without cause.

Or to use the Canadian example, if you're not joining ISIS and you have dual citizenship, why do you have to worry about the government taking away your Canadian citizenship and tossing you back to your other home country?

I think the fact that this was all done in secret, and is so massive in scale, is part of the problem with the optics of the situation. It really feels like a deal worked by special interests, none of whom actually represent the citizens of the countries affected.

Interestingly, tobacco companies are specifically excluded from being allowed to sue under this deal.

The most recent Planet Money is about the TPP.
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/

I'll give it a listen, but I generally wary of anything that give corporations more rights to impose their profit motives on other people. It could be cynicism, skepticism, or maybe just plain paranoia.

 

[matthewwhatever]

Just re: the IP parts of TPP, it's important to remember that IP covers more than just music and movies. It covers pretty much all consumer goods, and there's a significant consumer safety aspect to having stronger IP laws. The way I've heard proponents of stronger laws describe it is that stronger IP protections reduces the risk of counterfeit drugs reaching the market, or, say, cars going on the road with fake brakes that haven't been subject to safety testing. I think there's a lot of merit to that argument, especially in Canada, where we're regularly identified as being one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to counterfeit goods. There's definitely a danger to giving corporations too much power, but I think it's important to remember that it's not just a black and white issue.

It was actually an EKOS poll that showed the federal NDP at 2% support in Manitoba. About Selinger I would not be surprised if he pulled off another victory looking at his opponents especially his PC opponent who has said a lot of controversial and if I recall offensive stuff in the past and is a former alliance and conservative MPl. It's possible the PC's 20 point lead will evaporate by election time.

Ekos, Nanos, Ipsos...I know this isn't an original observation, but wow do our pollsters do a bad job of original-sounding names.

And if Selinger even has a chance, that's crazy! I don't follow Manitoba politics at all, so I'm just going by the Wikipedia polling numbers for next year's election. I vaguely recall Brian Pallister, but I can't remember anything substantive about him. Don't we have a few Manitobans in here who can provide us any first hand impressions?

 

[Perfect Blue]

Hah. Of course they will be.

Sure but not because of Keystone XL.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Just re: the IP parts of TPP, it's important to remember that IP covers more than just music and movies. It covers pretty much all consumer goods, and there's a significant consumer safety aspect to having stronger IP laws. The way I've heard proponents of stronger laws describe it is that stronger IP protections reduces the risk of counterfeit drugs reaching the market, or, say, cars going on the road with fake brakes that haven't been subject to safety testing. I think there's a lot of merit to that argument, especially in Canada, where we're regularly identified as being one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to counterfeit goods. There's definitely a danger to giving corporations too much power, but I think it's important to remember that it's not just a black and white issue.

While true (and you won't see me argue against any enforcement mechanism that enhances consumer safety), it's also worth noting that typically the sources identifying us as a bad country when it comes to counterfeit goods are typically the US government and the USTR through the Special 301 report, which is basically a political weapon used to yell at countries that don't have US-style IP laws.

As it relates more directly to Canada, Wikileaks cables confirm that when Harper was trying to pass US-style copyright reform circa 2008-2010, he and his ministers specifically asked the US to excoriate us in public to give them more public cover to pass the reforms. After doing so, we got raised from the normal "tut tut this country should do more" position to the "DANGER: THIS COUNTRY IS AS BAD AS RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND CHINA" position in said report, which is patent nonsense.

 

[maharg]

Sure but not because of Keystone XL.

Of course they will. FFS in Alberta, oil companies and their shills are blaming the NDP for the falling price in oil.

 

[Pancake Mix]

Wouldn't it be better to build the Pacific pipeline and sell to China at full cost unlike what the US pays? Additionally, unlike to the US because of NAFTA (and unless the TPP messes it up) we can shut the tap off at any time!

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Wouldn't it be better to build the Pacific pipeline and sell to China at full cost unlike what the US pays? Additionally, unlike to the US because of NAFTA (and unless the TPP messes it up) we can shut the tap off at any time!

China wouldn't pay at full price unless we also refined the garbage tar-sand/water mixture into usable fuel here in Canada.

Building a pipeline through two sets of mountains, through native territory, through pristine wilderness, and encouraging oil tanker traffic into an environmentally sensitive coastal region with lots of islands to navigate are also all terrible ideas.

 

[Pancake Mix]

The Liberals are essentially in support of the TPP aren't they?

Prime Minister Trudeau has promised "a full and open public debate in Parliament."

China wouldn't pay at full price unless we also refined the garbage tar-sand/water mixture into usable fuel here in Canada.

Building a pipeline through two sets of mountains, through native territory, through pristine wilderness, and encouraging oil tanker traffic into an environmentally sensitive coastal region with lots of islands to navigate are also all terrible ideas.

They would pay more, period than the US or they wouldn't get a drop and we could turn off the tap, though we would have to worry about retaliation. I meant the full price or an agreed upon wholesale rate (that can be changed at any time) of the heavily discounted one our "dirty oil" sells for, not the full price of oil itself. I'm sure we could get a higher price from China than what the US pays even if there's still an extra discount on top of the "dirty oil" one. So you're right to call me on the "full price", I should have said a higher wholesale rate.

I'm aware of the environmental costs involved but either way President Obama frankly did us a favour. We cannot turn that tap off once we start it under NAFTA. It's the same with water.

And yes, I know our oil is garbage but I use "dirty oil" in quotes because...well, oil is dirty period. I agree with everything you've said to an extent.

 

[~ Zyzomys ~]

China wouldn't pay at full price unless we also refined the garbage tar-sand/water mixture into usable fuel here in Canada.

I always wondered why Alberta does not have more (any?) oil refineries. It would seem to be a great way to add value to a natural resource, create thousands of high paid jobs, and possibly permit the pipelines themselves to be smaller. Refined oil/gas must take up less space than unrefined bitumen.

 

[Snowdrift]

The KeystoneXL decision is such a farce. Quite the double standard when it comes to climate policy from a President who is always happy to talk about how he has presided over a shale boom and low gas prices. A cynic might say, this was more of a protectionist measure for American shale.

If you want to protect the environment, start taxing carbon instead of these ridiculous token gestures.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Kinda odd to read the hollow sounding statements of disappointment coming from the new government on Keystone. I think everyone knew this one was already dead and I didn't expect the Liberals to fight for this one. They don't care and they'll move on immediately.

In earlier statements it was clear that Trudeau was totally against Northern Gateway, and Notley is deemphasizing that as well, so that one seems dead too.

We can expect the Liberals to support Energy East and the twinning of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline to Burnaby.

 

[jstripes]

Wouldn't it be better to build the Pacific pipeline and sell to China at full cost unlike what the US pays? Additionally, unlike to the US because of NAFTA (and unless the TPP messes it up) we can shut the tap off at any time!

Didn't Harper give China a 50 year lease on some of the oil fields anyway? So, if I'm remembering that correctly, they wouldn't need to pay anyway, since they own what's coming out of the ground.

 

[Slime]

The Liberals are essentially in support of the TPP aren't they?

Yes, Trudeau agreed to it before he was even sworn in.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Canada’s prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau agreed to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), both seeing the free-trade deal as beneficial to the region, Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...te-trans-pacific-partnership/article27058428/

 

[Dr.Acula]

China wouldn't pay at full price unless we also refined the garbage tar-sand/water mixture into usable fuel here in Canada.

Building a pipeline through two sets of mountains, through native territory, through pristine wilderness, and encouraging oil tanker traffic into an environmentally sensitive coastal region with lots of islands to navigate are also all terrible ideas.

That's the biggest deal. That's why Canada supports the pipeline largely, and the US opposes it. It goes through a relatively short and non-critical part of Canada as it stand. To build it West would lead to the kind of resistance from Canadians as we're seeing in America.

 

[gutter_trash]

The KeystoneXL decision is such a farce. Quite the double standard when it comes to climate policy from a President who is always happy to talk about how he has presided over a shale boom and low gas prices. A cynic might say, this was more of a protectionist measure for American shale.

If you want to protect the environment, start taxing carbon instead of these ridiculous token gestures.

you are 100% right; for posturing, he talks as if he did the right thing but everyone knows that the Saudi overloards have been artificially bringing down oil prices to choke smaller markets, choke out Iran, choke out Russia and from a US point of view choke out Canada.

at the same time, like you say, shale gas fracking has spiked in the US and fracking is dirty as fuck

Obama, Bush it doesn't matter. The US bends over to their Saudi overlords when it comes to energy

 

[SRG01]

I always wondered why Alberta does not have more (any?) oil refineries. It would seem to be a great way to add value to a natural resource, create thousands of high paid jobs, and possibly permit the pipelines themselves to be smaller. Refined oil/gas must take up less space than unrefined bitumen.

The official reason? Because there are refineries in the states that are already tooled for heavy crude, which can process diluted bitumen without too much problems. Building refineries wouldn't make much sense.

The real reason? Many players in the oil and gas industry are vertical players -- that is, they both pump and refine petroleum products. They're not going to build a new refinery when they can pipe it somewhere else and take a slight hit on the price.


That's why there was talk of a LNG terminal in BC: it wasn't one of the typical O&G players and therefore the economics work differently for them. Similar economics apply to new entrants looking to build new refineries in Alberta. The returns would be there, but they'd need a couple billion in funds to get it started.

 

[maharg]

I get all the great facebook ads.

 

[Pedrito]

Who's starting a petition to rename the Keystone XL pipeline: the "Calgary International Airport pipeline"?

So many petitions, so little time.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

I get all the great facebook ads.

Does that basically confirm he'll be running for Conservative leadership?

 

[Joeku]

I get all the great facebook ads.

Jason Kenney don't know shit about laying pipe. I'm sure I am the first to make this joke.

 

[Walpurgis]

Meh,par for the course really, those Canadians reveling in the loss are happy that it means a lot less money for the country as a whole but...who cares right, fuck Alberta, about time they got their commupance or so I've been told here a few times now

Albertan economy or global environment..... tough choice.

Reminder: Selinger is the most disliked premier in Canada. He's so toxic, he helped tank the federal NDP during this past election -- remember the Nanos poll where they were at, like, 2%? I don't know what the opposition in Manitoba is like, but the ingredients are there for the Manitoba NDP to get thoroughly routed.

Anyone know what Gary Doer is doing now? Maybe he can come back and save them from oblivion. (Unless he's been tainted with Harper's stench, of course.)

And if Selinger even has a chance, that's crazy! I don't follow Manitoba politics at all, so I'm just going by the Wikipedia polling numbers for next year's election. I vaguely recall Brian Pallister, but I can't remember anything substantive about him. Don't we have a few Manitobans in here who can provide us any first hand impressions?

I've only started following politics a few months ago but I don't get the impression that things are going well for him. I listen to CBC radio every weekday morning and there is always something new about the provincial government being garbage.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...ed-to-do-everything-for-people-wrha-1.3307299
This was from a few days ago. A 91 year old Winnipegger that just came home from the hospital sent two home care workers away because they refused to help her shower and take her medication. They said

"The program isn't intended to do everything for people," he said.

"It's essentially help them if they have specific gaps in their health needs so they can stay home."

And there are lot of similar stories in the comments. It's a common problem. And as I said, it's also not the first time that I have heard stories like this on the radio. The two areas that I commonly hear about screw ups like this are healthcare and social work (specifically, Aboriginal people).

I tried to search for that story about infants being taken away in Manitoba and here is what I found.

And here is the story that I was looking for.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...n-a-day-first-nations-advocate-says-1.3211451

The children's advocate for Manitoba's First Nations says social workers are seizing an average of one newborn baby a day and "shoving them anywhere."

Cora Morgan told The Canadian Press that she was with a mother in hospital on Monday when Child and Family Services took the woman's three-day-old son. The only reason given was that the mother had been a ward of family services until she was 18, Morgan said.

"It was heart-wrenching," she said. "It just seemed so utterly heartless."

Manitoba is seizing a record number of newborns — as many as 40 a month from one downtown hospital — rather than supporting parents, Morgan said. The infants are being taken into care without any assessment of the parents or their ability to care for the child, she said.

Manitoba has one of the highest apprehension rates in Canada, said Morgan, who added the seizures are as damaging as Indian residential schools. The longer a child is in care, the more complex the child's needs become, she said.

"In this system, you are guilty until you can prove you're innocent. They're not going in and investigating to see if there is another side of the story. They're not going in there to say, 'How can we help you?' ... They just take the kids."

Manitoba has more than 10,000 children in care. The system has been under scrutiny for years following several high-profile deaths and assaults.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross earlier this year promised to stop using hotels to house young wards after a girl was seriously assaulted. Both the victim and the youth charged were in government care at a downtown Winnipeg hotel.

Child welfare came under intense pressure a year ago when 15-year-old Tina Fontaine was killed after running away from a hotel where she was in government care. The teen's body was found wrapped in a bag in the Red River.

As someone living in Winnipeg, this is what I have seen and this is what matters to me. And as an NDP supporter, I will not be voting for the NDP in this provincial election.

For others, I think the 1% tax increase on PST and general mismanagement is what will push them away from the NDP.

It's hard to tell how things will play out because I don't think turnout is high in these elections and I don't know what voters know. I think the NDP is finished though.

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Forced adoptions of First Nations children has been a thing since the '60s. So sad to see it still alive and well today in 2015.

 

[Walpurgis]

Rona Ambrose will support inquiry into missing, murdered indigenous women
The Conservatives will support a public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women, says interim leader Rona Ambrose.

Her comments mark a stunning reversal of the position taken by the Conservatives under Stephen Harper, who repeatedly rebuffed growing calls for a national inquiry, saying the government action on crime precluded the need for further studies.
"If the Liberal government wants to do an inquiry, and they think that's an important thing to do, I will support it," said Ambrose during an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics.

Ambrose said she met with Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould today.

"Our approach was always, let's not study it, let's take more action. If this government wants to do this study, we will support it.… I said to her, I'll support you in any way," Ambrose told host Rosemary Barton.

"This is an absolutely non-partisan issue," she said.

LMAO! That 180.

I hope this signals the future of the CPC and their tone going forward.

Does that basically confirm he'll be running for Conservative leadership?

Looks like it. God help us all.

 

[Stumpokapow]

"the Liberal government". Weird she doesn't call it "the government" or better yet, "Canada's new government"

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Good for her, better than digging in and disagreeing with absolutely everything.

 

[Fuzzy]

"the Liberal government". Weird she doesn't call it "the government" or better yet, "Canada's new government"

Especially since as an MP she's part of the government just like every other MP. The government isn't just made up of MPs from the majority party but the CPC doesn't understand that.

 

[killer rin]

"the Liberal government". Weird she doesn't call it "the government" or better yet, "Canada's new government"

It is weird, though at least its better than naming it directly after the guy in charge, ala 'The Harper Government'... although Trudeau should totally rename the government for like a day to "The Trudeau Government", just to see if and who of anyone complains about it.

 

[Rocky85]

Especially since as an MP she's part of the government just like every other MP. The government isn't just made up of MPs from the majority party but the CPC doesn't understand that.

Not sure I understand this post. People always say the harper government or the obama administration.

 

[maharg]

Especially since as an MP she's part of the government just like every other MP. The government isn't just made up of MPs from the majority party but the CPC doesn't understand that.

Err... no. In a parliamentary system, "the government" has a very specific technical meaning: It's the crown and the ministers that advise it. The government is effectively, in our system, the cabinet. All members of the legislature not in cabinet (including those of the party that holds government) are supposed to hold the government to account.

Calling it the Liberal government is fine. Calling it the Harper government was also fine, until it became something that started appearing on the government's own letterhead. It was called the Chretien government and the Martin government and the Liberal government and the Conservative government long before Harper appeared on the scene.

 

[Divvy]

Bill C-24 gonna get the axe

This new government literally doesn't need to do anything aside from cancelling the stupid shit the previous government did and will still get an enormous amount of goodwill.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Can we get a constitutional amendment preventing stripping people of citizenship? Like honestly that should just never happen, and I don't want a future parliament ever bringing that back.

Can we do that without opening the whole changing the constitution can of worms?

 

[killer rin]

Can we get a constitutional amendment preventing stripping people of citizenship? Like honestly that should just never happen, and I don't want a future parliament ever bringing that back.

Can we do that without opening the whole changing the constitution can of worms?

It would be nice, but Constitutional Law is completely convoluted (and for good reason), which is why a good portion of changes usually get thrown on the back-burner and done in bulk once you find a legitimate need to amend it

 

[Sean C]

Can we do that without opening the whole changing the constitution can of worms?

I'm not sure what you mean. Any amendment to the constitution that applies beyond a narrow range (i.e., one involving only a single province) would effectively require the consent of all or most provinces and, at least in the widely-prevailing theory, trigger an avalanche of other proposed changes.

 

[Walpurgis]

I'm not sure what you mean. Any amendment to the constitution that applies beyond a narrow range (i.e., one involving only a single province) would effectively require the consent of all or most provinces and, at least in the widely-prevailing theory, trigger an avalanche of other proposed changes.

What changes do you think would be proposed?

 

[Dr.Acula]

Bill C-24 gonna get the axe

This new government literally doesn't need to do anything aside from cancelling the stupid shit the previous government did and will still get an enormous amount of goodwill.

I like your member tag.

As a Canadian with a second passport, I am breathing a sigh of relief here. I know it would have never affected me, but it's pretty terrifying that if I ever got into trouble with the law, I could be shipped off. I know it's supposed to be used only for extremist offenses, but who knows what will be considered "extremist" in 30 years, and if we have situations where Canada would be effectively deporting people to their other countries for political reasons.

Can we get a constitutional amendment preventing stripping people of citizenship? Like honestly that should just never happen, and I don't want a future parliament ever bringing that back.

Can we do that without opening the whole changing the constitution can of worms?

Possibly, revoking citizenship was unconstitutional anyway. They were challenging it in court, but with the new govt. everyone's put a pause on it, and I'm sure a lot of people are hoping they can avoid actually having to rule on it.

http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/as-trudeau-takes-power-judge-adjourns-citizenship-court-battle/

Five of those convicted terrorists have since launched Charter challenges in Federal Court, arguing, among other things, that Bill C-24 is unconstitutional because it amounts to “cruel and unusual punishment” and creates “second-tier citizenship” by singling out dual nationals. One applicant, Saad Gaya, was born and raised in Canada, yet faces the possibility of being deported to his parents’ homeland of Pakistan, a country he’s never lived in.

[...]

The ball is now in the new Prime Minister’s court, says Lorne Waldman, a Toronto lawyer who represents two of the men fighting the government’s revocation attempts. “I am very hopeful that the constitutional challenge will become unnecessary because of the changing government,” he says. “Given what Prime Minister Trudeau said very unequivocally during the campaign, I would expect this constitutional litigation will not be necessary.”

What happens next, though, is not entirely clear. The Trudeau government could decide to withdraw all notices served to date, eliminating the immediate threat of revocation and rendering the court cases moot. But striking down the law itself will require an Act of Parliament, a process that could take many months, if not years. As for Amara, restoring his Canadian citizenship appears simple enough—as long as the political will exists.

“Under the Citizenship Act, the minister has the ability to grant citizenship to anybody they please, so they could fix any revocations that have already been done,” Paterson says. “They could also, in any new legislation, have a decree that says any revocations that took place under Bill C-24 were null and void.”

 

[mo60]

Another poll from forum this time shows a 44% lead for the Newfoundland liberals.I feel sorry for the Newfoundland PC. I seriously don't know how they will be able to close the gap in the next three weeks before election day.I seriously hope the NL Liberals don't win all the seats in the province in this election.

http://poll.forumresearch.com/post/2423/first-post-writ-poll-has-liberals-up-by-a-factor-of-3

 

[Walpurgis]

Another poll from forum this time shows a 44% lead for the Newfoundland liberals.I feel sorry for the Newfoundland PC. I seriously don't know how they will be able to close the gap in the next three weeks before election day.I seriously hope the NL Liberals don't win all the seats in the province in this election.

http://poll.forumresearch.com/post/2423/first-post-writ-poll-has-liberals-up-by-a-factor-of-3

I hope they do. Like someone else said, it would put the problems with FPTP on full display.

 

[Triggafinga]

The KeystoneXL decision is such a farce. Quite the double standard when it comes to climate policy from a President who is always happy to talk about how he has presided over a shale boom and low gas prices. A cynic might say, this was more of a protectionist measure for American shale.

If you want to protect the environment, start taxing carbon instead of these ridiculous token gestures.

Congress would not allow Obama to tax carbon in the united states.

 

[gutter_trash]

Provincially, Quebec's 3rd place party (CAQ) has decided to go far ubber nationlist to compete with the PQ on identity issues.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/caq-unveils-new-logo-but-ends-up-with-egg-on-its-face


IMO, I think this is a grave mistake on their part strategically.

If the CAQ would have just concentrated only on economics only and tried to bridge the gap between ethnics and Anglos, he could have competed with the Quebec Liberals on the Island of Montreal.

But the CAQ now it taking a staunch nationalist position which guarantees them to have zero seats on the Island of Montreal.

I don't get their logic about trying to be more nationalist than the PQ. Yeah they may win seats in the regions but they are will never form government without the 28 seats in Montreal.


Nobody in Quebec loves the provincial Quebec Liberals but people like me vote for them because all the other parties are ideologically crazy.

The Quebec Liberals are sure to do well in Monday's bi-election (4 ridings) even if they are doing unpopular budget cuts in many segments of the public sector.
But the fact is that the other two main parties would also do budget cuts themselves just turns the choice on nationalist ideology.

The Quebec Liberals being the least ideological ends up winning as defacto party of governance, even if they do a shitty job at governing

 

[Walpurgis]

Provincially, Quebec's 3rd place party (CAQ) has decided to go far ubber nationlist to compete with the PQ on identity issues.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/caq-unveils-new-logo-but-ends-up-with-egg-on-its-face


IMO, I think this is a grave mistake on their part strategically.

If the CAQ would have just concentrated only on economics only and tried to bridge the gap between ethnics and Anglos, he could have competed with the Quebec Liberals on the Island of Montreal.

But the CAQ now it taking a staunch nationalist position which guarantees them to have zero seats on the Island of Montreal.

I don't get their logic about trying to be more nationalist than the PQ. Yeah they may win seats in the regions but they are will never form government without the 28 seats in Montreal.


Nobody in Quebec loves the provincial Quebec Liberals but people like me vote for them because all the other parties are ideologically crazy.

The Quebec Liberals are sure to do well in Monday's bi-election (4 ridings) even if they are doing unpopular budget cuts in many segments of the public sector.
But the fact is that the other two main parties would also do budget cuts themselves just turns the choice on nationalist ideology.

The Quebec Liberals being the least ideological ends up winning as defacto party of governance, even if they do a shitty job at governing

What is this election about? I thought they just had a provincial election last year. And is the NDP going to set up a provincial party in Quebec? I think they could do quite well there.

 

[LordAmused]

What is this election about? I thought they just had a provincial election last year. And is the NDP going to set up a provincial party in Quebec? I think they could do quite well there.

There are elections in only 4 ridings, to replace those who quit lately.

 

[Sean C]

Provincially, Quebec's 3rd place party (CAQ) has decided to go far ubber nationlist to compete with the PQ on identity issues.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/caq-unveils-new-logo-but-ends-up-with-egg-on-its-face

They were supposed to be the latest "let's move past federalism vs. separatism" party, as I recall, so that's a pretty pronounced bit of brand dilution.

 

[gutter_trash]

What is this election about? I thought they just had a provincial election last year. And is the NDP going to set up a provincial party in Quebec? I think they could do quite well there.

just a bi-election of 4 seats, it is a party rebranding because they are stuck between the Federalist party (Quebec Liberals) and a separatist party (the PQ)

They were supposed to be the latest "let's move past federalism vs. separatism" party, as I recall, so that's a pretty pronounced bit of brand dilution.

PKP's arrival as leader of the PQ has created problems for the CAQ since PKP the man is a Right Winger and a Separatist taking over a pseudo Center-Left party the PQ. This poses a problem for the CAQ to compete for votes from Right Wing Nationalists.

The CAQ was supposed to be a mish-mash of disaffected members of other parties to join under one as an alternative to the Liberals but now they decided to go full Nationalist.

Dominique Anglade, an intelligent business woman of Haitian heritage has dumped the CAQ months ago and has decided to run as Quebec Liberal. She said that the CAQ turned its back on the promise of being inclusive and has become an old white men party.
She will be elected on Monday's bi-election in an easy to win riding.

The CAQ is a stupid party right now. C'est du n'importe quoi

 

[lupinko]

I was sent this Justin thug life video just recently.

http://youtu.be/cqhMse--cLw

 

[matthewwhatever]

Maclean's decided to build a second cabinet for the Liberals using MPs who didn't make the cut this time. It's pretty impressive. Even looking past the obvious snubs like Andrew Leslie, Adam Vaughn and Joyce Murray, there are some seriously talented, smart people sitting as backbenchers. I imagine a lot of them will become parliamentary secretaries, but it shows that Trudeau is really going to have to work to keep all those MPs busy. If the past is any guidance, a Liberal MP with nothing to do is a Liberal MP thinking about who the next leader should be.

While true (and you won't see me argue against any enforcement mechanism that enhances consumer safety), it's also worth noting that typically the sources identifying us as a bad country when it comes to counterfeit goods are typically the US government and the USTR through the Special 301 report, which is basically a political weapon used to yell at countries that don't have US-style IP laws.

As it relates more directly to Canada, Wikileaks cables confirm that when Harper was trying to pass US-style copyright reform circa 2008-2010, he and his ministers specifically asked the US to excoriate us in public to give them more public cover to pass the reforms. After doing so, we got raised from the normal "tut tut this country should do more" position to the "DANGER: THIS COUNTRY IS AS BAD AS RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND CHINA" position in said report, which is patent nonsense.

That's true to an extent, but I don't think we're on that 301 Watch List for copyright reasons anymore -- Canada was taken off the list a few years ago after Harper got his copyright legislation passed. We got put back the list because of a loophole in our laws that meant we were no longer checking goods transiting through Canada into the United States, which in turn was an issue because Canada and the US have been trying to expedite the flow of goods across our borders, and the plan under the Beyond The Border agreement was to have a check in one country be good enough for both countries. If we're offloading responsibility for transiting goods, I can see why the US might be a little pissed off about it.

I hope they do. Like someone else said, it would put the problems with FPTP on full display.

I don't know - I think if the Liberals win all the seats with 65%+ of the vote, not many people will be too upset if they have absolute power in the legislature. There's more likely to be a groundswell of opposition to FPTP when you get a Liberals-in-1997 victory, where winning a little over a third of the vote yields a big enough majority to govern absolutely.

Does that basically confirm he'll be running for Conservative leadership?

Was there ever any doubt he's running for leadership? I think it would be more surprising if he gave some indication he wasn't. A petition supporting Keystone is basically a way for him to build up his fundraising list for next year.

 

[gabbo]

Was there ever any doubt he's running for leadership? I think it would be more surprising if he gave some indication he wasn't. A petition supporting Keystone is basically a way for him to build up his fundraising list for next year.

Hasn't Kenney basically been running for Harper's spot since he started 'publicly disagreeing with Harper' on certain issues after the last cabinet shuffle? Basically show he was 'able to stand up to his megalomaniacal boss' and 'be strong on certain conservative issues'?
Now I use the quotes because at the time, and still now it, seemed more like a PR move by the party to put him out there to be the public good cop to Harper's bad cop so the base remembers/thinks of Kenney when Harper is gone.

 

[maharg]

I don't know - I think if the Liberals win all the seats with 65%+ of the vote, not many people will be too upset if they have absolute power in the legislature. There's more likely to be a groundswell of opposition to FPTP when you get a Liberals-in-1997 victory, where winning a little over a third of the vote yields a big enough majority to govern absolutely.

It's a solid, practical demonstration of how non-proportional systems can have distorted results in the real world. And it creates a pretty messed up legislature when there aren't even opposition members of any sort on any of the committees. The legislature just becomes a complete rubber stamp. With no opposition only those who voted for the government have any representation at all, where the usual levels of distortion at least allow for, as an example, May to represent Green members from elsewhere than her riding.

 

[mo60]

I hope they do. Like someone else said, it would put the problems with FPTP on full display.

I wonder what dwight ball would do if none of the opposition won a seat Will he do what other liberal governments have done in the past when they won landslide(100% of the seats) victories or will he rule like the liberals had absolute power and don't care about the opposition. The later option will probably make it impossible for him to win the election in 4 or 5 years from now if he did that.