Now All Canada Can Try The "Common Sense Revolution" That Brought Onta

Please. We can only hope we get a Harris style government. For all that you malign Harris for, he did exactly what he said he would do, like it or not. People just acted surprised that a politician would do what he said. I plan to hold Harper to his promises, the same way I did Harris. If he keeps them, he keeps my vote. If he sways (like Eves did after Harris), then I look another way (and in that case voted for Dalton - a mistake I won't be repeating).

So I expect the accountability act, the GST discount, increased military funding, movement on the elected senate, etc... If I don't get them, he won't get my vote - unless he couldn't follow through due to the opposition. Then I vote for him to give him the majority he needs to make it happen.

Michael: This is so confusing!

Please explain: did you expect Harper party organizers to be
appointed -- not elected -- to the Senate?

... an unelected guy to be appointed as Minister of Public Works -
- unaccountable to any constituents (because he has none) or
to the House of Commons?

More secret backroom deals to bring a legally-elected Liberal into
the Conservative cabinet?

More lobbyists given the Ministry they were lobbying?

Is this what Stephen Harper promised you?

He's working with the system that he was handed. I could care less about the "lobbyists". They were elected, so they get to stand. If we didn't want them they should have been exposed before the vote. The guy is also an ex-general, so at least we'll have someone in the ministry who actually knows what they are talking about for a change.

To get an elected senate, you'll need to get the law past the current senate. What better way of doing so than stacking it (after 12 years of Liberal stacking, this might be difficult). Again, working with what he was given.

I've voiced my disapproval of Emmerson previously (as I did with Stronach). However, I also applaud this move (begrudgingly) because it makes the NDP relevant. Without this single vote, the CPC+NDP+Indy=154... I vote short of being able to pass laws if the BQ and Libs get difficult. With the defection, you get to 155. And just like magic, the NDP matters. Now the CPC can make deals with the NDP without having to deal with the separatists. The NDP now has real power. Otherwise, it would not have mattered what the NDP said, since the cons would have had to cut a deal with either the BQ or the Libs to get anything done.

So yes, this is what he promised me. A working government.

Yeah, Hitler kept his promises too. Um, just because a guy promises to cause damage, doesn`t mean he`s any better than the guy who lies and causes damage. They`re both tyrants! People in Ontario died waiting for hospital beds. People died in Walkerton because of privatization of that town`s water quality due to cuts to provincial water quality inspectors. Then there was Ipperwash. And the Highway 407- built by Ontario taxpayers, and then sold to a foreign company that charges ridiculous tolls. Oh, yeah, Ontario became the 3rd largest polluter in North America behind Texas and Pennsylvania under the dollars and cents revolution. Mike Harris was nothing more than a spoiled brat who enjoyed watching others suffer! And our federal conservatives are no different. Under these guys, you`ll do OK if you have money, but they don`t care if everyone else dies! Tax cuts for the rich that they don`t need, cuts to the social safety net, trashing the environment, scrap the anti-scab law, making it easier to lower wages and benefits. Yeah, nice bunch!

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Dave Ruston

Harris is Hitler now? The CPC are the Nazi's? They're tyrants in your mind, eh? And you draw this conclusion because they did what they said and when people wanted change, they were voted out? News flash here... tyrants don't get voted out. Ontarians voted for Harris twice. They got what they wanted. If they wanted more NDP, Rae wouldn't have been tossed on his keister. So before you start with any more of your garbage "neocon/nazi" cr@p, get some f*cking perspective. Maybe visit with someone who witnessed what a real tyrant or a real nazi is. Your blithering does nothing to advance this debate.

I appologize for the profanity. That was unprofessional and I should remain above that. My emotions got the better of me, and that is no excuse. Dave, if in any way you took personal offense, I make a personal appology.

Eh, no F@#$ing problem. I believe in free speech. I was going to say something nasty, (not to you, but something related to the topic) but your apology totally dis-armed me. I do have some perspective on totalitarianism. My grandmother came to Canada from Poland after WW2. She lived under Stalinist Russia, and Nazi rule. And she has told me, many times, that Canada was great from the 50`s to the 80`s, but what she sees today is very worrisome. Aggressive governments in Canada today attack low income people, while the rich get richer- that`s a form of oppression. My grandmother not only sees Canada and the US headed down an ominous path due to the clues she sees, but she even WARNS ME to be careful what I say, because there`s no freedom today, unless of course, you have money. I`ve told my grandmother of the countless battles I`ve had at various workplaces with management, because they treat the workers like dirt, and I`ve told her about the many letters I`ve sent to various politicians- and some of those letters are pretty blunt, and she cringes and says," Just be careful. I`m telling you, we`re not as free as you think." And as far as Harris getting elected, well, first off, elections can be fixed, like we saw in the US in 2000 and 2004. I don`t know if both Harris victories were fixed like the past 2 US elections, but I can say this- that the combination of corporate media saying only certain things ( they NEVER talk about chapter 11 of NAFTA) and a shocking Canadian ignorance and complacency seems to determine electoral outcomes. For instance, everyone bought the notion that beer drinking, cigarette smoking, single welfare moms were the problem, so cuts were in order. And we`re always told to remember what Bob Rae did (I`m not a Bob Rae fan) but we somehow NEVER remember what Mulroney did. The softwood lumber dispute is another example- the uS is in the wrong, yet with every new government in Canada, all we hear from the media is 'time to mend fences with the US' when we didn`t wreck that fence!

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Dave Ruston

"To get an elected senate, you'll need to get the law past the current senate."

Not entirely true. If I recall correctly an Order in Council needs no Senate Approval.

If I'm wrong, someone please let me know.

"The House of Commons and Senate do not have to be sitting in order for an order in council to be issued to proclaim an act or sections of an act into force."<br />
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How a Bill become Law in Canada<br />
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<a href="http://www.bccls.bc.ca/cms/index.cfm?Group_ID=2646">http://www.bccls.bc.ca/cms/index.cfm?Group_ID=2646</a>

How about - 'to get an elected Senate, the Constitution needs to be changed, which cannot be done by an Order in Council'.



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"I think it's important to always carry enough technology to restart civilization, should it be necessary." Mark Tilden

Time to wake up, Michael Scott<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/depts/sml/journal/indexv11/Clancy.htm">http://www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/depts/sml/journal/indexv11/Clancy.htm</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/pdf/annualreports/AR-04.pdf">http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/pdf/annualreports/AR-04.pdf</a><br />
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Your Do-What-I-Said clone was a willing part of a larger agenda<br />
<br />
<p>---<br>Nothing in this World makes People so Afraid as the Influence of an Independant Minded Individual.<br />
Attrib. Al EINSTEIN

Another Harper commandment broken today. Weren't the
Conservatives sworn to do government differently? Weren't they
going to make it illegal for an M.P. to become a lobbyist until he or
she had been out in the real world for 5 years?

Well, today Harper's campaign co-chair, John Reynolds (who was
an M.P. until Jan 23), has been hired by a Vancouver law firm as a
"strategist" for whom Reynolds (who is not a lawyer) will promote
various corporate clients in Ottawa.

Ah, but who said I wasn't also a willing participant in that agenda? I support much of what the Fraser Institute does and many of their reports are quite infomative.

For the most part, I supported Harris and the results that his government obtained. There were mistakes to be sure, but after the Liberals downloaded services to the provinces, the province had to do something. I agree that the trimming was drastic, but had it not been, we would have been in a much deeper hole today. The government ran a surplus for 5 of the 8 years it was in power. Admittedly, Eves lied about the state of affairs before the Libs took over... thus Dalton has a hard row to hoe. However, if Dalton continues on the path he is on, he will be tossed out in favour of Tory in the next election (that's where my vote is heading so far).

But I would figure that Harper's tactics would make the majority here happy since the NDP now count again. Like with the Liberals, they actually hold a balance of power. Without Emerson, the NDP would be irrelevant since they couldn't hold the government in power despite their gains in seats. Without this power, the NDP could not advocate for any changes. Now at least they don't just have time during question period, they also may have a voice that directs budgets, and other critical legislation.

Michael Scott, <br />
<br />
I totally agree with you. The Fraser institute puts out a lot of reasoned and wise research. So does the C.D. Howe Institute. I especially like the proposals to harmonize our taxes with the United States (Which would allow corporations in Canada to grow more profitably) and I also like the idea of adopting the U.S. dollar.<br />
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However, I believe that Harper wasn't open and honest enough with the Canadian public during his campaign. He never openly discussed the meaning of devolving power to the provinces. Here's a good article from the Edmonton Journal: <a href="http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/opinion/story.html?id=e09585f6-4ca9-4788-8240-4c7ee8033268">http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/opinion/story.html?id=e09585f6-4ca9-4788-8240-4c7ee8033268</a><br />
<br />
This article talks about plans to fix the fiscal imbalance and really refound the relationship between Ottawa and the provinces. Fixing the fiscal imbalance is very important in order to limit the ability of the federal government to abuse and dictate to the provinces what cost-shared programs they are going to create and how they are going to be implemented - like day care, or even health care.<br />
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My point is that we need to be more honest and upfront with the Canadian public about what it is we seek. I believe that if we are honest, and not camera shy, then the public will side with us. Let's speak openly and honestly about our relationship with our greatest neighbour and ally to the south. Let's talk about inefficient programs like the gun registry. Let's be clear on Kyoto and have an open and honest discussion about a made in Canada plan for climate change. Let's start talking about lower taxes and the need for a greater role for the private sector. This is especially true with Canada's role in global affairs. Haiti for example. <br />
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We need to be open and honest about what it is we want to do. No more hiding in the closet. We need to let the social conservatives speak!