Canadian Politics

Abolishing the Senate won't happen, the Atlantic provinces and Quebec wouldn't go for it.

I'd prefer the Senate to remain unelected but the appointment process should not be in the hands of the government. Senators should be experts in various fields who advise the government, not patronage appointments. And obviously the expenses thing needs serious reform.

Frankly I think the biggest problem with the Senate are the people in it. You put more people like Romeo Dallaire instead of Mike Duffy in and you'd get better results.

Trudeau at least removed the Liberal senators from his party's caucus, I'd like to see something like that formalized.

edited 26th Aug '15 3:30:57 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I agree Duffy was a very stupid choice.

Was Romeo Dallaire wanting to be appointed? Dang.

Oissu!

Dallaire was appointed by the Liberals a while back, he later resigned ahead of the mandatory date (over 5 years I think) to focus on his health, NGOs and speaking (seriously, if you get the chance to hear him, take it. He's amazing. Heard him last year on the subject of intervention and international development).

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

@Phi Sat Thanks for answering my question.

I'll be honest I like how the senate functions as it is. Sure it could use changes like removing the influence parties have over senators and not making it a reward for failed candidates and good party fundraisers. But given that senators aren't elected and are around for a long time, it acts as a speed bump of second thought against populist movements that an elected parliament might fall prey to. Another good thing about the way the senate works is that it's subordinate to parliament. If it were elected, senators would be caught up in the process of raising funds and the strings that come with that. The senate and parliament would also be equal and in certain circumstances at cross purposes with one another which could deadlock the government.

Then there are also senate committees which look into things that parliament doesn't have the time or political will to examine such as:

• Quality End of Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian
• Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy
• Out of the Shadows at Last Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction Services in Canada

There are many more reports like those and are good reads if you're interested in how Canada's senate spends it's time.

So the way the senate works now isn't so bad, getting rid of it we get rid of a lot of good work it does and place it on the shoulders of parliamentarians who have to spread time doing their party's or riding's work while at the same time working to raise funds for the next election. Making the senate elected we run into the same problems as parliamentarians and could have a situation were the two houses could cause the government to be deadlocked.

edited 26th Aug '15 6:22:26 PM by latenight

The Senate does plenty of good work, we just never hear about it unless you look.

In other news, Trudeau has pledged to invest in infastructure and job creation, and is willing to run deficits for three years in order to do so.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-liberals-infrastructure-deficits-1.3205535

We do need investment in those areas and frankly deficits aren't that bad if they aren't spiraling out of control. The last thing we need during a possible second long term recession is more cuts that will only kill more jobs and hurt the economy. Austerity hasn't worked for Europe and it won't work here.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

The Conservatives have dropped into 3rd place, with the NDP possibly in majority territory at 35%, according to one poll.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-grenier-polls-aug28-1.3206184

Still a long campaign, but the Opposition needs to stop playing nice with Harper and continually bring up all the scandals so the public doesn't forget. Focus should be given to the Duffy scandal, because it's the most well known among the general public even if it's not the worst thing the government has done.

edited 29th Aug '15 10:05:25 AM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

This is going to be an interesting election even if it is too long.

Closer to voting day I'm sure they'll ramp up the Harper attacks, but right now it seems they're testing the waters with what issues will get voters interested.

Given that the polls have been not only wrong, but ludicrously wrong, both in the 2011 national election and the BC 2013 election, we should avoid uncritically accepting their numbers as reflective of reality.

In 2011 they were about 5 percentage points below Harper's total and 2 percentage points above the NDP's total. If we applied that to the current polling average given by the CBC, the Conservatives and the NDP would be basically tied with the Liberals a little behind.

In Canada, believing the polls is a recipe for disappointment come election night. And a lot of the current polls are online ones, which are notoriously inaccurate.

I don't know if a major focus on the Duffy scandal would be effective right now; people are worried about the economy and about their jobs and incomes, and may be alienated if it seems like the NDP and Liberals are focusing on a political scandal and ignoring more serious, concrete issues. I do believe that both parties should be reminding voters that the Conservatives committed election fraud in 2011, because that is far more serious than an expense scandal. It cuts at the very foundation of democracy. It can't be made the sole campaign issue, but people should be bringing it up.

The other emphases I think the opposition parties need are:

1) Harper has run deficits every year since 2008, following nearly a decade of surpluses (Justin should emphasize that these were Liberal surpluses). While the recession contributed to that, there would have been deficits even without a recession due to Harper's fiscal irresponsibility: he came to power in 2006, and by 2007 he'd already reduced the surpluses from their previous levels. So Harper has absolutely zero foundation for claiming that he is fiscally responsible, or for accusing other parties of fiscal irresponsibility. Just keep the emphasis on that: Eight. Consecutive. Deficits. That's the Harper fiscal legacy. He's the most fiscally irresponsible candidate in this race.

2) Oil prices are down and Canada's economy is suffering as a result. This is a lesson that we cannot afford to base our economy solely on the resource industry; we need a service-based and information-based economy that can ride out downturns in the resource sector. Harper's Alberta-oriented focus on pipelines and oil as central to the Canadian economy is coming back to bite us; we need to get away from the dominance of oil and natural gas. This is an accurate presentation of the issue, and it allows all three opposition parties - NDP, Liberal, and Green - to argue against the pipeline projects and in favour of carbon controls while showing that such positions are positive for the Canadian economy, whereas doubling down on oil is harmful to the economy. It completely deconstructs the conventional paradigm of economy and environment as two opposing issues rather than complementary ones.

edited 29th Aug '15 1:47:27 PM by Galadriel

Just did my first bit of canvasing for the Liberals this evening, and it went pretty well (though as the new guy I just hung back and learned for the most part). Spoke to a few dozen people and only got one definite No (and that had something to do with his past vis a vis the Liberal candidate). Only one was particularly animated, and that was a veteran and a public servant who had some choice words about Harper and co...

Pretty nice experience overall though, it was nice to get involved. Though I think I might be better suited to office work.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

You can always run the board if you're not good on the door, assuming that that's how your doorknocking groups work.

Also be aware that the most common response is a closed door staying closed, this can be especially true if you're a young male, also some people are assholes.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

And at this time of year some people just want to spend the last few evenings of decent weather on their back decks, which is totally understandable. And a lot of people seemed to be on vacation, judging by the flyer build up.

And yeah, they offered me an office position if I didn't feel comfortable doing door-to-door, which I might well take.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

As of today Canada is now confirmed to be in a Recession.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/gdp-economy-recession-1.3210790

It's a small one, though I expect the next quarter to be even worse if oil doesn't regain some of it's value.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I stumbled onto a Kickstarter board game satirizing the election campaign.

My Blog | My Steam profile

I'm seriously tempted to put 20$ into that...

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

The Tories are continuing their efforts to alienate Atlantic Canadians; by having Harper announce progress in the ship building contracts for Halifax...off the shore of a lake in Ontario that happens to have a bridge that looks quite similar to Halifax's own bridges.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1309049-bridge-stand-in-harper-celebrates-halifax-shipbuilding-in-ontario

And by running Peter Penashue (who you may remember had to resign from Cabinet and then lost in a by-election after he got caught violating campaign spending laws) in Labrador again.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/peter-penashue-to-run-in-labrador-riding-in-federal-election-1.3214348

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

It's kinda weird having to vote twice this October, it's going to be my first time voting. I really hope the other parties bring their game up, I've seen mostly Conservative ads on TV, though that's changing.

The other parties don't have the warchest the Tories do, so they are biding their time for the final stretch.

And the Tory ad campaign has not secured them an advantage, at least not yet. It's a tight race, but they don't really have an edge when it comes to public opinion. Now if they split the left they might squeeze out a minority government, but I'd honestly be amazed if any party managed to form a majority.

edited 12th Sep '15 8:52:59 AM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

Does that mean there might be a Coalition Government?

Keep Rolling On

Doubtful, a few years back Harper convinced a lot of Canadians that coalitions were basically treasonous (so it would be hugely controversial) and the Liberals aren't really interested in playing second fiddle to the NDP, they want their position as the dominant center/left party back. But it's impossible to tell, a Liberal/NDP coalition isn't impossible, but every party would try to rule with a minority (the Liberals and the Tories did it for years in the 2000s) first.

In other news, despite improvements by Elections Canada, polling station are still not accessible enough for disabled voters.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-disabled-voters-challenges-polls-1.3225715

Stay out of the comments section, it's particularly disgusting this time.

edited 12th Sep '15 9:08:26 AM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

I think a coalition, or at least a semiformal deal between the NDP and Libs, is likely in any minority government situation. The death knell of the last coalition attempt was its reliance on the Bloc, a party whose primary, open raison d'etre was the destruction of Canada. I think at this point most Liberal and NDP voters would support a coalition, given that the activist drumbeat within both parties has been 'stop Harper'.

Harper functionally can no longer govern with a minority even if he gets the most seats, unless I'm seriously misjudging Trudeau.

I'd support a coalition if the Libs will agree to repeal Bill C-51.

The Liberals are out to seriously amend C-51, so I think the NDP could find common ground with them.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

First Harper politicized Scouts Canada and now he tried to do the same with the Terry Fox Foundation.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-fox-cancer-conservative-1.3238342

Now the request for money was made to the government (not the party) but was only announced during the campaign and was thus made completely political and basically an election promise. "Vote Conservative or the cancer patients get it." And they said the Foundation was completely behind the promise (which is totally contingent on them getting reelected, though I'm sure any government will support cancer research and should be expected to and not praised for something so basic), which was a complete lie.

There is no bottom to the Conservative barrel, is there?

edited 22nd Sep '15 6:51:17 PM by Rationalinsanity

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

No.

Yeah, I saw that one. I would be tempted to troll that hotline by reporting barbaric acts such as muzzling scientists, destroying the environment, shredding the Charter, ignoring murdered and missing First Nations Women and Bagpipes.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.