Support NeoGAF

[potatohead]

Conservatives making sure they don't regain power or even have a chance in the next election.

Well, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Oh god, I have a feeling we're going to be seeing some Kevin O'Leary = Canada's Trump thinkpieces soon.

He's not nearly as interesting or successful enough.

The man is a trainwreck in the business world and is only coming to the political world after becoming popular from the Lang and O'Leary crapshoot on CBC, now both parts of which are defunct thankfully.

 

[Lexxism]

It's kinda funny how CBC comments are all united against O'Leary. I guess that pretty much tell you about him. Like what the guy above said, I wouldn't mind him winning the Conservative lol

 

[potatohead]

It's kinda funny how CBC comments are all united against O'Leary. I guess that pretty much tell you about him. Like what the guy above said, I wouldn't mind him winning the Conservative lol

It's simply reflective of the state of their leadership. They have fostered an environment in which snakes thrive. How must trust does someone like Rempel or Ambrose actually engender in people? They are probably two of the stupidest Canadian politicians in history!

Would anyone truly trust someone like Ms. Ambrose or Ms. Rempel with foreign policy in Canada? Social policy? Economic policy? Healthcare policy? Ambrose was probably the least informed health minister in all of Canadian history even.

Who are their sensible leaders to draw upon to attract voters? Preston Manning isn't going to do it. And there is literally no one else sensible really maybe besides Chong.

Look how many of their MPs abandoned ship when they saw the Harper boat sinking in 2014 and 2015... Baird? Gone. MacKay? Gone. And not just those two, but those are by far the most notable ones who were Harper's "inner circle" members. And they left him high and dry before the 2015 election!

The new PC party is just a euphemism for the Reformist party it became. They are huge, huge talkers but no doers.

What was the platform of the Conservative party in 2004 that won them the election: Transparency and balanced budgets.

Since then, we have had the least transparent government in history, and one of the highest debt-producing leaderships in Canadian history.

I once voted Conservative too, only provincially in Ontario a long time ago. I didn't vote in national elections in 2004 even though it was the first national election I could've voted in, because I wasn't sure of what Harper's Conservatives were about and my suspicions were confirmed in the last year.

The suspicions were they're just batshit crazy and are not interested in evidence-based or socially conscientious policy.

All they did in this past election is try to rail against marijuana and Muslim attire and talk about Trudeau's hair to gain votes and stay in power.

That tells you where their head is in terms of evidence-based policy. Say anything to get votes kind of party.

I'm supposed to vote on policy, not bigotry, and that's what I did... and that's what I'll continue to do. I was happy to vote Green, NDP, or Liberal last year and I simply voted strategically and personally I'm glad with the result.

 

[potatohead]

Did anyone see this yet?A CPC MP tried to get this motion passed in parliament recently. The NDP and CPC said yes to this motion while the Liberals all said no.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HouseChamberB...1&Parl=42&Ses=1&FltrParl=42&FltrSes=1&Vote=13

Why the hell would the NDP vote for that?

The NDP themselves even accused the CPC of that surplus being a complete fabrication.

What in the actual fuck?

 

[Foov]

Why the hell would the NDP vote for that?

The NDP themselves even accused the CPC of that surplus being a complete fabrication.

What in the actual fuck?

Probably because it's now in their interests to make the governing liberals look bad, so they'd support the narrative that Trudeau has ruined the supposed surplus.

 

[potatohead]

Probably because it's now in their interests to make the governing liberals look bad, so they'd support the narrative that Trudeau has ruined the supposed surplus.

Just sad that Mulcair's NDP stooped that low, because they ran a strong campaign on decent policies during 2015. I have a lot of respect for how he ran his campaign in 2015. Even if it was too academic for the Canadian public, not unlike what May does, it's still a good badge to wear.

That second qualifying statement in that motion is just shilling unnecessarily. They don't need to suck up to the CPC, they did well in the last election despite their losses.

Really they should realize that with the internet so pervasive now people will read about that kind of stuff even if we don't see it on TV in those less common televised HoC debates....

 

[matthewwhatever]

Why the hell would the NDP vote for that?

The NDP themselves even accused the CPC of that surplus being a complete fabrication.

What in the actual fuck?

Wait, what? No they didn't. They campaigned on a balanced budget, using the same assumptions that the Conservatives did. It was one of the areas where the Liberals were able to establish themselves as the "change" party -- you had their two main rivals both accepting the budgetary numbers the Conservatives had put forward (and both of which were basing their projections on $60+ oil), and the Liberals on the other side saying that the numbers weren't believable.

As for the Conservative leadership, soon we'll have a Feel the Bern-ier movement up here!

Spoiler

We won't. Though Bernier may be the one guy who could get support from both Quebec and Alberta.

 

[Simon Belmont]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kevin-o-leary-liberal-leadership-1.3467710

"I can choose which party to actually run in because I think there will be a leadership race in the Liberal Party," he said.

Sure Kevin. Whatever you say.

 

[SRG01]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kevin-o-leary-liberal-leadership-1.3467710

Sure Kevin. Whatever you say.

Completely delusional guy. Wow.

 

[Walpurgis]

So, Vince Li is probably going to be set free soon...

The man who beheaded a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus in 2008 could move to independent living in the community once his treatment team completes an assessment report and community living plan and recommends he's ready to do so, according to a decision released today by the Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board.

Li, who has changed his name to Will Baker, was found not criminally responsible for the beheading death of 22-year-old Timothy McLean.

Since last spring, Li has lived in a halfway house in Winnipeg.

He will continue to live there under conditions that include abiding by house rules, taking his medications, attending appointments, keeping contact with mental health professionals and going to counselling.

McLean's mother, Carol de Delley, said she is not surprised by the board's decision. She added she does not have confidence in the review board process.

"I do believe that with an incurable illness the likelihood of him descending back into his illness is high," she said.

"At the end of the day we do not have a legal mechanism in Canada that requires him to take his medication, treat his illness. If he decides not to, we can't make him."

Any future independent living would still include supervised administration of medication and contact with health specialists and his treating psychiatrist, the board heard Monday.

Did anyone see this yet?A CPC MP tried to get this motion passed in parliament recently. The NDP and CPC said yes to this motion while the Liberals all said no.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HouseChamberB...1&Parl=42&Ses=1&FltrParl=42&FltrSes=1&Vote=13

Wtf NDP? Why are you being so stupid?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/kevin-o-leary-liberal-leadership-1.3467710



Sure Kevin. Whatever you say.

lol

St. Norbert NDP MLA mum on caucus frustration ahead of election

An NDP MLA is staying mum about what happened at the party's caucus meeting Wednesday. A source tells CBC St. Norbert MLA Dave Gaudreau left in anger after he told party members he was getting a lot of negative comments about party leader Greg Selinger at the doorstep. The NDP, in power since 1999, is running to remain in office in spite of Selinger admitting in election ads, "It's been a tough year.... We haven't always gotten it right." In a statement to CBC News Saturday, Gaudreau said, "Our caucus is a place where we talk to each other and sometimes express frustrations. That's what happened."

Selinger is such a loser.

 

[potatohead]

Most concerning thing right now is the lack of transparency by the Liberals in regards to their budget.

Kevin Page has called the budget even less transparent than under the Conservatives. Which might be possible at this moment, the Liberals need to delineate their plans of spending sooner than later.

Wait, what? No they didn't. They campaigned on a balanced budget, using the same assumptions that the Conservatives did. It was one of the areas where the Liberals were able to establish themselves as the "change" party -- you had their two main rivals both accepting the budgetary numbers the Conservatives had put forward (and both of which were basing their projections on $60+ oil), and the Liberals on the other side saying that the numbers weren't believable.

They campaigned on a balanced budget for the next year in which they would be in power, which would be 2016. Mulcair even criticizes his own election platform for promise future years to have balanced budgets, which is contrary to any appropriate strategy given the time or even to his voter base's opinions.

The one that was the contention was the 2015 budget in which the surplus was fabricated. There never was a 1.8 billion CAD surplus for the 2015 year. And that is the one that motion is referring to.

What you're mentioning about oil in fact supports this idea, since oil is currently at $35, and has been as low or even lower for a greater part of this fiscal year, and the NDP knows this... Which brings us back to the main point.... since they know this and $35 oil has been part of the budget.... they should know any surplus is impossible based on the Conservative numbers of $60 (or whatever it was, I thought it was $75 or $100 CAD).

So yea... fabrication.

 

[Pedrito]

Québec governements files an injunction against TransCanada over Enery East.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...e-hit-with-quebec-injunction/article28962973/

Round 2 of back and forth bashing starts now!

 

[Walpurgis]

Here's some nice progress from the Liberals.
An Ontario Liberal MP is pushing to criminalised private torture.

Last week, London North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos tabled a private members bill in the House of Commons to amend the Criminal Code to create the offence, for a private individual, of inflicting torture.

"Right now, when acts of torture take place by private citizens operating in the private sphere, aggravated assault is the charge that is applied and that is not really reflective of the suffering that has been endured," said Fragiskatos.

"This is a human rights bill that I am pursuing, plain and simple."

He points out the existing law in Canada only recognizes acts of torture carried out by state officials.

"Police officers, military officials, things along those lines. We have to make sure that when acts of torture take place in the private realm, that our Criminal Code recognizes that," Fragiskatos said.

The MP said the case of Dustin Paxton highlighted the need for a torture law. In 2012, Paxton was found guilty in Calgary of aggravated and sexual assault against his former business partner and roommate. He put his roommate through daily beatings over a period of 18 months. The victim, who can't be named because of a publication ban, was dropped off at the Regina hospital in critical condition. Over the last two decades, Sarson and MacDonald estimate they've dealt with 3,000 victims of domestic torture around the globe, including about a dozen in Nova Scotia. Second reading of the torture bill is expected in late March or early April.

Another Ontario Liberal MP is pushing to reform maternity leave benefits

A welder temporarily left without income because the hazards of her job forced her to stop working early into her pregnancy is the inspiration behind a private member's bill to reform the maternity leave benefit system. Melodie Ballard said she took leave from her job at a company that builds rescue boats in Kingston, Ont., because of the chemicals, aluminum dust in the air and the risk of heat exhaustion from working in confined spaces. However, gaps in benefits left her without income for two and a half months.

His bill proposes to amend the Employment Insurance Act to allow a claimant to use her maternity benefits 15 weeks before her due date if her job poses a risk to her health or the health of her unborn child. The earliest the benefit can currently begin is eight weeks before the due date.

"That's not going to capture everything. It's a start," Gerretsen said.

That's why the bill also calls for the development of a national maternity strategy, which he said needs to take into account the fact that more and more women are working in trades.

I didn't know that the law didn't recognise private torture. It's nice to see that being dealt with. As for the maternity leave, I can't really comment on that as my only experience is within the womb. It's obviously a good thing though. Will it make a difference for anyone in this thread?

 

[gutter_trash]

Québec governements files an injunction against TransCanada over Enery East.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...e-hit-with-quebec-injunction/article28962973/

Round 2 of back and forth bashing starts now!

Quebec Liberals are morons.

1st they are against distributing Marijuana in their state owned liquor stores (SAQ: our version of your LCBO) if pot ever got legalized.
2nd, they are staunchly opposed to Energy East

Dr. Philippe Couillard is now entering Dr. Ben Carson level of stupid. Maybe it's a neurosurgeon type of stupid.

Quebec seems to hate money.


Anyway, Quebec Liberals are not even real Liberals anyway, they are just soft-nationalists with a small (c) conservative who happen to be Federalist on some days but then nationalist on another.

I hate ALL Quebec provincial politicians and parties. Quebec provincial politics sucks.

God Bless Canada!

 

[Walpurgis]

CBC released this cool interactive map that shows voting stats right down to the poll station.
2015 federal election: How did your Manitoba neighbours vote? I'm happy to know that I currently live in friendly territory and my old Manitoba housing house is orange as well.

If you want to see where you live, go to CBC > Local > Province/City and it should be on the first page. If not, try googling it.


The Manitoba NDP gets schooled by the Manitoba PC. TL;DR at the bottom.

Opposition Leader Brian Pallister is slamming the NDP for what he calls an overuse of untendered contracts in the province. The Manitoba PC leader says there's an "epidemic" of awarding contracts to companies without a competitive bidding process by government departments and crown corporations.

"There's no way to prove if you're getting value for money from an untendered contract," Pallister said. "We've been strong advocates … of smarter shopping by government."

His comments were prompted by a CBC investigation that revealed Manitoba Hydro awarded consulting company Tetra Tech an $85 million contract without a public bidding process.

The premier blasted back at the PCs and accused the party of wanting to privatize Manitoba Hydro as the party did with Manitoba Telephone System (MTS) in the 1990s which Selinger said resulted in higher carrier costs for cell phone users in the province.

"We won't do the ultimate tendering, we won't be privatizing Manitoba Hydro," said Selinger. "We're building Manitoba Hydro for the future — the member opposite wants to slice and dice it and privatize it."

Under a PC government, Manitoba would "reduce" the number of single-source contracts awarded by the province and crown corporations, Pallister said.

A Progressive Conservative government would establish an independent demand-side management agency to oversee Manitoba Hydro, party leader Brian Pallister said Tuesday morning.

"We want to establish an independent energy authority that has clear oversight frameworks," Pallister said. "It has clear reporting requirements and performance requirements that it deliver, that is key."

Pallister said only an outside agency can assess how effectively Hydro is meeting its goals. [...] The oversight agency idea was first recommended by the Public Utilities Report in a report tabled in June 2014. In December 2015, the NDP, delivering its strategy to fight climate change, included a plan to create a demand-side management agency — but said it would be a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro. On Tuesday, Pallister criticized the NDP's plan because it would have Hydro overseeing itself, he said.

Despite the NDP's promise in December, Tuesday afternoon, Eric Robinson, the minister responsible for hydro, said he was unable to explain if the oversight agency would be independent or connected to Hydro. [...] When pressed by journalists why just three months ago the government's position on the oversight agency was that it should be a subsidiary of Hydro, yet today, it remained unclear, Robinson could not explain. [...] Robinson said he would wait for recommendations before determining what the agency would look like. When CBC News told Robinson this recommendation was made to government in a June 2014 PUB report, Robinson said he hadn't reviewed them yet, but couldn't explain the delay. [...] This is the second NDP minister of the day to be offered up to comment on the PC's plan of the demand-side management agency and yet be unaware of the status of the NDP's plan. Earlier in the day, Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak said the NDP was drafting a bill to legislate the oversight agency.

When asked if he will privatise Manitoba Hydro, in whole or in part, PC Leader Brian Pallister said a Tory government will not.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-ndp-use-untendered-contracts-epidemic-1.3471440
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...ent-manitoba-hydro-oversight-agency-1.3471414

TL;DR - CBC recently caught Manitoba Hyro giving some random consulting company an $85 million contract without a public bidding process. The PC Opposition Leader, Brian Pallister, makes some coherent and convincing arguments on why this is a bad thing, and recommends an independent oversight agency. NDP Premier, Greg Selinger, completely ignores that and accuses the PCs of trying to privatise Manitoba Hydro, in the same way that the PCs privatised Manitoba Telephone System in the 1990s. That independent oversight agency idea was recommended by the Public Utilities Report in a report tabled in June 2014. Today, journalists interviewed the NDP's minister responsible for hydro about that Public Utilities report and he says he's never seen it. Earlier that day, the NDP's Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister claimed that the NDP was going to have an oversight agency for Manitoba Hydro (they're not, that's a PC election promise stupid). PC's promise to not privatise Manitoba Hydro.

So, I continue to be astonished at how horrible Selinger's NDP is. Why are they so against having independent oversight over Manitoba Hydro? I genuinely cannot understand this. And how could their ministers be so unaware of what is going on? I know that the party lost a lot of good people to Selinger (you can add another one to that list) but these guys are beyond inept. At this point, it would probably be better to stop paying them and replace them with dolls. At least dolls can't make idiots of themselves and don't have six figure salaries.

I have my concerns about the PC but they can't be worse than this. I hope they hold to their promise to not sell Manitoba Hydro because that seems to have caused a lot of issues in Ontario. I can't imagine having a worse government than this so I am slightly optimistic. I think I will actually will vote. Leaning Liberal, atm, but I am open to being convinced by PC.

 

[gutter_trash]

Wait, what? No they didn't. They campaigned on a balanced budget, using the same assumptions that the Conservatives did. It was one of the areas where the Liberals were able to establish themselves as the "change" party -- you had their two main rivals both accepting the budgetary numbers the Conservatives had put forward (and both of which were basing their projections on $60+ oil), and the Liberals on the other side saying that the numbers weren't believable.

As for the Conservative leadership, soon we'll have a Feel the Bern-ier movement up here!

Spoiler

We won't. Though Bernier may be the one guy who could get support from both Quebec and Alberta.

Bernier is too much of a Libertarian for the liking of the authoritarian Conservative orthodoxy. Plus Max is a gaf machine

 

[maharg]

CBC released this cool interactive map that shows voting stats right down to the poll station.
2015 federal election: How did your Manitoba neighbours vote? I'm happy to know that I currently live in friendly territory and my old Manitoba housing house is orange as well.

If you want to see where you live, go to CBC > Local > Province/City and it should be on the first page. If not, try googling it.


The Manitoba NDP gets schooled by the Manitoba PC. TL;DR at the bottom.








http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pallister-ndp-use-untendered-contracts-epidemic-1.3471440
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...ent-manitoba-hydro-oversight-agency-1.3471414

TL;DR - CBC recently caught Manitoba Hyro giving some random consulting company an $85 million contract without a public bidding process. The PC Opposition Leader, Brian Pallister, makes some coherent and convincing arguments on why this is a bad thing, and recommends an independent oversight agency. NDP Premier, Greg Selinger, completely ignores that and accuses the PCs of trying to privatise Manitoba Hydro, in the same way that the PCs privatised Manitoba Telephone System in the 1990s. That independent oversight agency idea was recommended by the Public Utilities Report in a report tabled in June 2014. Today, journalists interviewed the NDP's minister responsible for hydro about that Public Utilities report and he says he's never seen it. Earlier that day, the NDP's Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister claimed that the NDP was going to have an oversight agency for Manitoba Hydro (they're not, that's a PC election promise stupid). PC's promise to not privatise Manitoba Hydro.

So, I continue to be astonished at how horrible Selinger's NDP is. Why are they so against having independent oversight over Manitoba Hydro? I genuinely cannot understand this. And how could their ministers be so unaware of what is going on? I know that the party lost a lot of good people to Selinger (you can add another one to that list) but these guys are beyond inept. At this point, it would probably be better to stop paying them and replace them with dolls. At least dolls can't make idiots of themselves and don't have six figure salaries.

I have my concerns about the PC but they can't be worse than this. I hope they hold to their promise to not sell Manitoba Hydro because that seems to have caused a lot of issues in Ontario. I can't imagine having a worse government than this so I am slightly optimistic. I think I will actually will vote. Leaning Liberal, atm, but I am open to being convinced by PC.

Our system of government breeds this kind of corruption by allowing too much power to rest in the hands of too few for too long. Doesn't matter which party.

 

[gabbo]

Bernier is too much of a Libertarian for the liking of the authoritarian Conservative orthodoxy. Plus Max is a gaf machine

Showing himself to be human might be better for the party than the stiffly robotic it's been under former leader Harper.

 

[Pedrito]

I'd take Harper over a libertarian any day of the week.

 

[gutter_trash]

Showing himself to be human might be better for the party than the stiffly robotic it's been under former leader Harper.

we saw his human side when he left Top Secret NATO documents in a hotel room while dating a biker chick, LOL

 

[gabbo]

I'd take Harper over a libertarian any day of the week.

I don't know how I feel about that particular issue. I wouldn't vote for him in either case, but it'd be interesting to see if the party could fall in line behind such views, given the obvious papered-over fractures between the social con and neolib wings of the party

we saw his human side when he left Top Secret NATO documents in a hotel room while dating a biker chick, LOL

He's for absolute transparency in government?

 

[potatohead]

I'd take Harper over a libertarian any day of the week.

Sad thing is I would too. And I have no love for Harper at all.

TL;DR - CBC recently caught Manitoba Hyro giving some random consulting company an $85 million contract without a public bidding process. The PC Opposition Leader, Brian Pallister, makes some coherent and convincing arguments on why this is a bad thing, and recommends an independent oversight agency. NDP Premier, Greg Selinger, completely ignores that and accuses the PCs of trying to privatise Manitoba Hydro, in the same way that the PCs privatised Manitoba Telephone System in the 1990s. That independent oversight agency idea was recommended by the Public Utilities Report in a report tabled in June 2014. Today, journalists interviewed the NDP's minister responsible for hydro about that Public Utilities report and he says he's never seen it. Earlier that day, the NDP's Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister claimed that the NDP was going to have an oversight agency for Manitoba Hydro (they're not, that's a PC election promise stupid). PC's promise to not privatise Manitoba Hydro.

So, I continue to be astonished at how horrible Selinger's NDP is. Why are they so against having independent oversight over Manitoba Hydro? I genuinely cannot understand this. And how could their ministers be so unaware of what is going on? I know that the party lost a lot of good people to Selinger (you can add another one to that list) but these guys are beyond inept. At this point, it would probably be better to stop paying them and replace them with dolls. At least dolls can't make idiots of themselves and don't have six figure salaries.

I have my concerns about the PC but they can't be worse than this. I hope they hold to their promise to not sell Manitoba Hydro because that seems to have caused a lot of issues in Ontario. I can't imagine having a worse government than this so I am slightly optimistic. I think I will actually will vote. Leaning Liberal, atm, but I am open to being convinced by PC.

Yea that's bullshit.

Kind of similar to our current federal military contracts and shipbuilding crap, no oversight whatsoever, no competition, way over budget.

Fuck the F-35. I'd take the Rafaels or Eurofighters over those overpriced pieces of trash any day of the week.

Funny thing is if we scrap the F-35 project the savings from that scrapping alone we would save enough money to build as many ships as our Navy could possibly need. It's amazing we haven't already gotten out of that contract. And we'd have even more jets to build up our air force.

 

[potatohead]

Quebec Liberals are morons.

1st they are against distributing Marijuana in their state owned liquor stores (SAQ: our version of your LCBO) if pot ever got legalized.
2nd, they are staunchly opposed to Energy East

Dr. Philippe Couillard is now entering Dr. Ben Carson level of stupid. Maybe it's a neurosurgeon type of stupid.

Quebec seems to hate money.


Anyway, Quebec Liberals are not even real Liberals anyway, they are just soft-nationalists with a small (c) conservative who happen to be Federalist on some days but then nationalist on another.

I hate ALL Quebec provincial politicians and parties. Quebec provincial politics sucks.

God Bless Canada!

Yea, Quebec is basically in a bad place for the foreseeable future. Nothing has changed even when the NDP magically picked up so many seats last election.

It's still the same province with all the same problems and no plan to change or move forward like the rest of Canada.

Did you know if you're from Quebec your tuition is magically $1000 per year? No matter what the rest of us paid?

Have-not province isn't even the start of it. They are dug in a subsidized hole so much that it will take decades to get them out of it, and that's only if Quebec wants to get out of it.

 

[Deleted member 126221]

Did you know if you're from Quebec your tuition is magically $1000 per year? No matter what the rest of us paid?

I'm in Quebec and go to school, yet I did not know that at all.

 

[gabbo]

Yea, Quebec is basically in a bad place for the foreseeable future. Nothing has changed even when the NDP magically picked up so many seats last election.

It's still the same province with all the same problems and no plan to change or move forward like the rest of Canada.

Did you know if you're from Quebec your tuition is magically $1000 per year? No matter what the rest of us paid?

Have-not province isn't even the start of it. They are dug in a subsidized hole so much that it will take decades to get them out of it, and that's only if Quebec wants to get out of it.

You say this like it's a bad thing? Unless I'm reading the context wrong

 

[gutter_trash]

Yea, Quebec is basically in a bad place for the foreseeable future. Nothing has changed even when the NDP magically picked up so many seats last election.

It's still the same province with all the same problems and no plan to change or move forward like the rest of Canada.

Did you know if you're from Quebec your tuition is magically $1000 per year? No matter what the rest of us paid?

Have-not province isn't even the start of it. They are dug in a subsidized hole so much that it will take decades to get them out of it, and that's only if Quebec wants to get out of it.

what in the Blue Hell are you talking about?

I am ranting about our Provincial Leaders being short sighted and hating money and you pivot to uh NDP MPs? I don't get what you are getting at with that because opposition Federal MPs do not dictate dumb decisions made by dumb Provincial MNAs in our provincial legislature.

 

[Walpurgis]

what in the Blue Hell are you talking about?

I am ranting about our Provincial Leaders being short sighted and hating money and you pivot to uh NDP MPs? I don't get what you are getting at with that because opposition Federal MPs do not dictate dumb decisions made by dumb Provincial MNAs in our provincial legislature.

Don't you just hate it when people do that?

 

[potatohead]

My god you kids are whiney.

You say this like it's a bad thing? Unless I'm reading the context wrong

The issue is that Quebec needs it to catch up.

It's good that there are programs in place to help young Quebeckers get educated.

Quebec as a whole needing subsidies to catch up to the rest of the provinces isn't a good thing in itself though.

what in the Blue Hell are you talking about?

I am ranting about our Provincial Leaders being short sighted and hating money and you pivot to uh NDP MPs? I don't get what you are getting at with that because opposition Federal MPs do not dictate dumb decisions made by dumb Provincial MNAs in our provincial legislature.

First of all turn down your tone just a pinch. "Wah wah can't comment on something that wasn't specifically in my post" give me a break.

What I was saying that even also that there was a huge change last election with federal NDP seats in Quebec, the province really did not change much in policy. You still need a force in the HoC at the federal level to help change the status quo in Quebec.

Obviously with Harper the NDP probably couldn't affect much on that front but it is what it is.

TLDR dumb decisions at the federal level also affect provinces. And by dumb decisions I really mean no decisions at all, because Cons had the majority anyway.

I'm in Quebec and go to school, yet I did not know that at all.

You need to apply for Quebec resident tuition status and go to a Quebec university.

This is Concordia's page for example:

Quebec resident tuition status

Apply and qualify as a Quebec resident


Quebec residents pay a lower tuition rate at Quebec Universities than other Canadian or international students. To pay Quebec resident tuition rates, first you must apply for Quebec resident tuition status. If you do not do this, you will pay higher tuition rates.

Apply for Quebec resident tuition status now

You can apply for Quebec Resident status through the MyConcordia portal.
Log into MyConcordia.ca
On the left-hand side, under "MyConcordia Menu," choose "My Student Centre."
Under the "Personal Information" section, select "Quebec Residency Application."
3 steps to qualify for Quebec resident tuition status

Find out if you are eligible to pay Quebec Resident tuition in three steps:

Prove your legal status in Canada: are you a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident of Canada?
Choose a Quebec resident situation. Submit the necessary documents before the end of the term.
Check deadlines and guidelines before you complete the Quebec residency application.
You can also read about your eligibility on the Quebec government's website (in French).

http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/tuition-fees/quebec-residency.html

Released: 2014-09-11

Canadian full-time students in undergraduate programs paid 3.3% more on average in tuition fees for the 2014/2015 academic year this fall than they did the previous year. A similar increase was observed in 2013/2014.

In comparison, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index was 2.1% between July 2013 and July 2014 and 1.3% between July 2012 and July 2013.

On average, undergraduate students paid $5,959 in tuition fees in 2014/2015 compared with $5,767 a year earlier.

Tuition fees rose in all but one province, Newfoundland and Labrador, where tuition fees for undergraduate and graduate students have been frozen since 2003/2004.

Elsewhere, for undergraduate students, tuition fee increases ranged from 1.0% in Alberta to 4.0% in Saskatchewan.

Undergraduates in Newfoundland and Labrador ($2,631) and Quebec ($2,743) continued to pay the lowest average tuition fees.

In comparison, undergraduate students in Ontario ($7,539) paid the highest average tuition fees in Canada, followed by students in Saskatchewan ($6,659).

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140911/dq140911b-eng.htm

 

[Minus_Me]

So is it 1000$ or 2743$?

 

[Pedrito]

The issue is that Quebec needs it to catch up.

It's good that there are programs in place to help young Quebeckers get educated.

Quebec as a whole needing subsidies to catch up to the rest of the provinces isn't a good thing in itself though.

Wut?

Québec is fourth among provinces in university attainment, 0.1% behind NS in third, and was 4th in 1998 as well.

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/provincial/education/university.aspx

You could argue that it should be higher because of the low tuition fees, but I don't know where you got the idea that subsidies were needed to help those poor uneducated quebeckers to catch up to the rest of Canada.

 

[maharg]

Quebecers pay less for their higher education because the provincial taxes in Quebec are considerably higher.

 

[gabbo]

My god you kids are whiney.
The issue is that Quebec needs it to catch up.

It's good that there are programs in place to help young Quebeckers get educated.

Quebec as a whole needing subsidies to catch up to the rest of the provinces isn't a good thing in itself though.
First of all turn down your tone just a pinch. "Wah wah can't comment on something that wasn't specifically in my post" give me a break.

So you're saying it's bad that theyve subsidized education because... it's the only thing allowing them to keep education standards up? I find that a bit hard to swallow

 

[LordAmused]

So is it 1000$ or 2743$?

It's 2700$ for two semesters, around 1200-1300 + books / semester.

 

[Walpurgis]

It's 2700$ for two semesters, around 1200-1300 + books / semester.

Turbo Galaxy + VPN is your friend. If that doesn't work buy used from Kijiji.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I just want to say that potatohead's avatar is totally adorable (I only noticed it just now).

Don't you just hate it when people do that?

Hahahaha

 

[Silexx]

For those interested: Last night's At Issue panel.

Fields questions from BC students on climate change, pipelines and Indigenous issues on the heels of the First Ministers meeting.

 

[fallout]

Did you know if you're from Quebec your tuition is magically $1000 per year? No matter what the rest of us paid?

Interesting little factoid about Manitoba, you can get a 60% rebate (up to 10% per year over 6 years) on your tuition. What's even more impressive about is that you can claim it even if you didn't go to school in Manitoba. For example, I went to school in Toronto, but I now work in Winnipeg and I'm eligible.

 

[Walpurgis]

Canada-U.S. cross-border police project 'postponed' over differences

A Canada-U.S. initiative to create new, cross-border, law-enforcement teams has been "postponed" due to unresolved concerns about how to treat police officers accused of breaking the law. [...] The initiative — part of the 2011 Canada-U.S. perimeter security pact — would see the two countries build on joint border-policing efforts by creating integrated teams in areas such as intelligence and criminal investigations.

Good riddance. That garbage seriously scared me when I first read about it. Dealing with those assholes at the border is more than enough.

Interesting little factoid about Manitoba, you can get a 60% rebate (up to 10% per year over 6 years) on your tuition. What's even more impressive about is that you can claim it even if you didn't go to school in Manitoba. For example, I went to school in Toronto, but I now work in Winnipeg and I'm eligible.

Huh. I didn't know that. Seems pretty stupid to be giving us that money when we don't actually need it. They should just use that to lower tuition fees for students since that is when we actually need money.

 

[matthewwhatever]

They campaigned on a balanced budget for the next year in which they would be in power, which would be 2016. Mulcair even criticizes his own election platform for promise future years to have balanced budgets, which is contrary to any appropriate strategy given the time or even to his voter base's opinions.

The one that was the contention was the 2015 budget in which the surplus was fabricated. There never was a 1.8 billion CAD surplus for the 2015 year. And that is the one that motion is referring to.

What you're mentioning about oil in fact supports this idea, since oil is currently at $35, and has been as low or even lower for a greater part of this fiscal year, and the NDP knows this... Which brings us back to the main point.... since they know this and $35 oil has been part of the budget.... they should know any surplus is impossible based on the Conservative numbers of $60 (or whatever it was, I thought it was $75 or $100 CAD).

So yea... fabrication.

What on earth are you talking about?

"Our fiscal plan that was put forward was based on the best projections of Canada's finance ministry, backed up by the most recent analysis by the parliamentary budget officer," Mulcair said.

"Our approach ... is sustainable and it is transparent."

How you get "We knew these numbers were fabricated" out of "We believe these numbers" is bizarre. (And per that story, the assumptions for both the Conservatives and the NDP were based on $67/barrel oil.) I'm also not sure where you're getting that Mulcair criticized his own platform, since I feel like that would've gotten quite a bit of attention. I'd love to see any links that suggest otherwise, though.

Bernier is too much of a Libertarian for the liking of the authoritarian Conservative orthodoxy. Plus Max is a gaf machine

I don't know how I feel about that particular issue. I wouldn't vote for him in either case, but it'd be interesting to see if the party could fall in line behind such views, given the obvious papered-over fractures between the social con and neolib wings of the party.

I think gabbo gets it -- Bernier might bridge those two sides more easily than a lot of other candidates would. He also has appeal in Quebec, which none of the other candidates will. We don't know the official leadership election rules yet, but that could play hugely to his advantage -- in a one-member, one-vote system he'd be hurt against someone like Kenney, who's spent years selling memberships, but if individual ridings play into it at all (i.e. not just delegated conventions, but also ones where each riding gets a certain number of points), he'd start off with a 70-riding advantage in Quebec. Again, I don't think he's the frontrunner or anything, but I do think he stands a better chance than most other people. Definitely better than Michael Chong, who I predict will get way more attention than he merits, since he says things that appeal to non-Conservative journalists.

 

[Walpurgis]

Why are you guys afraid of Libertarians? I thought they were just fiscal conservatives. I think that's better than Harper's Christian conservatism.

 

[maharg]

I don't think it matters what type of conservative they are, a leader of the CPC that isn't from west of Quebec wouldn't do well in Alberta. Might even lose them seats or re-fracture the party.

 

[Pedrito]

Why are you guys afraid of Libertarians? I thought they were just fiscal conservatives. I think that's better than Harper's Christian conservatism.

They take fiscal conservatism to an absurd level, i.e. deregulation and privatisation of everything. Of course it's in theory, as no one could run on such plateform and be elected. That's why I don't think anyone is really afraid of them. As a whole they are and will remain a fringe movement.

But a true libertarian as a leader of a mainstream party could do some damages. It's easy to undo social policies of the previous governement, but not economical ones.

 

[gutter_trash]

I think gabbo gets it -- Bernier might bridge those two sides more easily than a lot of other candidates would. He also has appeal in Quebec, which none of the other candidates will. We don't know the official leadership election rules yet, but that could play hugely to his advantage -- in a one-member, one-vote system he'd be hurt against someone like Kenney, who's spent years selling memberships, but if individual ridings play into it at all (i.e. not just delegated conventions, but also ones where each riding gets a certain number of points), he'd start off with a 70-riding advantage in Quebec. Again, I don't think he's the frontrunner or anything, but I do think he stands a better chance than most other people. Definitely better than Michael Chong, who I predict will get way more attention than he merits, since he says things that appeal to non-Conservative journalists.

I am cool with Bernier becoming leader of the CPC because he brings the comedy and right now we lacking in that department, anyone who can give us LOLs is much appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99bsPtZ3T4Q

the song here is an actual Radio Ad he used during the last campaign with a Remixed portion

 

[You Are Viewtiful]

Why are you guys afraid of Libertarians? I thought they were just fiscal conservatives. I think that's better than Harper's Christian conservatism.

My problem with libertarians is that "moderate libertarian" isn't a thing. They want deregulation and privatization of virtually everything, whether or not any case study can prove that it would be beneficial. If there was a 'moderate libertarian' that can take certain issues on a case by case basis (like Harper can), then I'd be less scared of them.

You don't see mainstream Conservatives talking about healthcare privatization for example, despite it aligning with their ideology. Every Libertarian Party platform I've looked at on the other hand talks about privatizing healthcare, education, etc. the whole lot.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

I know a guy (American) who considers himself a libertarian, but he said he would definitely be in favour of a UHC system, among other things. He's socially liberal too, and knowing him, I'm sure he wouldn't be in favour of deregulating some industries such as the pharmaceutical or medical ones.

So I guess "moderate" libertarians do exist, but then again I'm not sure if my friend really thought about things all the way through... I think he just likes the sound of "government stay out of my life" thing without having really considered all the ramifications. xD

 

[Walpurgis]

They take fiscal conservatism to an absurd level, i.e. deregulation and privatisation of everything. Of course it's in theory, as no one could run on such plateform and be elected. That's why I don't think anyone is really afraid of them. As a whole they are and will remain a fringe movement.

But a true libertarian as a leader of a mainstream party could do some damages. It's easy to undo social policies of the previous governement, but not economical ones.

My problem with libertarians is that "moderate libertarian" isn't a thing. They want deregulation and privatization of virtually everything, whether or not any case study can prove that it would be beneficial. If there was a 'moderate libertarian' that can take certain issues on a case by case basis (like Harper can), then I'd be less scared of them.

You don't see mainstream Conservatives talking about healthcare privatization for example, despite it aligning with their ideology. Every Libertarian Party platform I've looked at on the other hand talks about privatizing healthcare, education, etc. the whole lot.

Wow, they sound like maniacs.

 

[maharg]

I know a guy (American) who considers himself a libertarian, but he said he would definitely be in favour of a UHC system, among other things. He's socially liberal too, and knowing him, I'm sure he wouldn't be in favour of deregulating some industries such as the pharmaceutical or medical ones.

So I guess "moderate" libertarians do exist, but then again I'm not sure if my friend really thought about things all the way through... I think he just likes the sound of "government stay out of my life" thing without having really considered all the ramifications. xD

In this case that's just someone labeling themselves a libertarian without knowing what it means. A libertarian considers universal health care confiscatory almost by definition. Guy just sounds like a modern centrist (so-called "socially liberal fiscally conservative").

 

[PumpkinSpice]

My problem with libertarians is that "moderate libertarian" isn't a thing. They want deregulation and privatization of virtually everything, whether or not any case study can prove that it would be beneficial. If there was a 'moderate libertarian' that can take certain issues on a case by case basis (like Harper can), then I'd be less scared of them.

You don't see mainstream Conservatives talking about healthcare privatization for example, despite it aligning with their ideology. Every Libertarian Party platform I've looked at on the other hand talks about privatizing healthcare, education, etc. the whole lot.

Libertarians are all about removing most of the government for what they consider moral reasons. That is, it's not moral to spend someone else's money in the first place. They're basically anarchists with a few concessions for things that kind of need to be state run, like policing. Some take those concessions a bit further than others -- like should the state run public roads? Well they could be run privately, and funded by users. Those are the kinds of arguments libertarians have.

It's an asinine viewpoint. I think if Canada somehow ended up accidentally electing a libertarian Conservative government ("punish the Liberal" vote comes back again) you'd see them moderating their stance pretty quick since they wouldn't be able to even hold their own party together, it's just way to extreme.

 

[Boogie]

Canada-U.S. cross-border police project 'postponed' over differences

Good riddance. That garbage seriously scared me when I first read about it.

Ummmm, why, exactly?

 

[Morrigan Stark]

In this case that's just someone labeling themselves a libertarian without knowing what it means. A libertarian considers universal health care confiscatory almost by definition. Guy just sounds like a modern centrist (so-called "socially liberal fiscally conservative").

That's what I thought too. I asked him some questions just now. He says he will vote for Gary Johnson in the next presidential election, that's the candidate of the Libertarian Party. He says that while he doesn't agree with him on everything, he's the candidate that better reflect his views.

But here's the thing; he doesn't like Clinton, but likes Sanders. He says he wants small government and low taxes, but agrees that taxes should go into social safety nets and basic human rights (he considers healthcare to be among those, as well as schools, roads, the FDA, etc. - he says saying otherwise is too anarchist). He says he hasn't thought about taxes much because he doesn't know enough about "the math".

Anyway, I'm not gonna go into more details 'cause it's off-topic but I just found it amusing how he considers himself libertarian, but if he lived here in Canada he'd definitely vote like NDP or Liberal haha.