Canada General Discussion

[DC Al Fine]

Halifax probably has a pretty low gini coefficient.

I agree, but I think it' more due to our lack of high earning corporate types than our thriving middle class

[DC Al Fine]

Yeah, Moore will probably never be leader.

I just don't see a niche for him. He's too western for the eastern Red Tories, and he's too left wing for the former Reformers.

[DC Al Fine]

He's still, I think, the Red faction leader and their only candidate for next round. Not like there's a whole lot of Red choice.

I still think MacKay will have the audacity to run.

Personally my preferences are:
1) Some super socon candidate
2) Kenney
3) Other Blue Tories
4) Moore/Prentice










MacKay or Bernier if they run.

[DC Al Fine]

McNeil named his cabinet today

Some of the more prominent picks

• Diana Whalen (Clayton Park West) - Finance
• Leo Glavine (Kings West) - Health
• Karen Casey (Colchester North) - Education (her PC cabinet slot)
• Geoff MacLellan (Glace Bay) - Transportation
• Lena Diab (Halifax Armdale) - Justice/Attorney General

[DC Al Fine]

Is there any chance that Nenshi could be a Liberal candidate someday?

[DC Al Fine]

Posted here for its hilarity: Trudeau gets inadvertently skewered by his own star candidate. Whose ads will it appear in first?

Seems like a good one for the NDP to attack from the left with.

[DC Al Fine]

Ugh Biebertrudeau and the Liberaliebers are horrible.

I'm glad we have such mature and thoughtful opposition

Hash is a Liberal

[DC Al Fine]

BC Southern Interior NDP MP Alex Atamamenko will retire in 2015. That's the first opposition MP to announce their retirement.

That riding's seen some pretty huge swings. Is it an NDP riding or an Atamamenko riding?

[DC Al Fine]

And while Wallin, Duffy and Brazeau (women-beater) are still Senators, a bunch of innocent, hardworking and competent civil servants (in my department) got their letters this week. This government is beyond disgusting.

Shall I fetch your fainting couch?

[DC Al Fine]

It's not that you're upset about the cuts, its that this is just the latest in a very long series of Hashemite hyperbole. Your posts are peppered with references to Purgatories and roasting politicians in ovens that I'd expect to see from a youtube commenter, not a serious poster on Atlas.

Seriously dude, when you want to, you post excellent stuff, but it seems lately most of your stuff is insults and whatnot. I want the Hashemite who writes extensive essays on random countries' politics back.

[DC Al Fine]

It's not that you're upset about the cuts, its that this is just the latest in a very long series of Hashemite hyperbole. Your posts are peppered with references to Purgatories and roasting politicians in ovens that I'd expect to see from a youtube commenter, not a serious poster on Atlas.

Seriously dude, when you want to, you post excellent stuff, but it seems lately most of your stuff is insults and whatnot. I want the Hashemite who writes extensive essays on random countries' politics back.

Utterly loathing Harper is a perfectly serious, rational and morally sound attitude to have.

Regardless of one's views, hysteria is not.

[DC Al Fine]

In other news, rumour is that Megan Leslie is mulling a run for the NS NDP leadership. Should be good for the Halifax wing of the party, but terrible for the rural wing.

[DC Al Fine]

I doubt any of the federal MPs make the jump to provincial leadership, either in NS or BC. Especially since Leslie would be a very strong candidate to lead the federal party.

What has she done exactly to merit the leadership?

I mean she's certainly not a bad MP, and would've made a better leader than some of the minor contestants like Ashton and Saganash, but she seems like NDP equivalent of Diane Finley.

[DC Al Fine]

She's an impressive performer, bilingual, seems to have a strong political profile. I don't know how big a grassroots following she has though. Plus is already deputy leader.

She's very popular with her faction*, but I'm not sure she has much cross-party appeal.

*Urban progressives who are too rich to be hardliners but too leftist to like Mulcair.... What do you call those?

[DC Al Fine]

Another CPC leadership discussion, this time claiming that Baird may be at least somewhat open to a bid. I doubt that, he's never been interested. Plus socially moderate fiscal conservatives, in a field where Moore and Kenney would be gobbling up his supporters from both ends... not very viable IMO. Kenney has a hammerlock on the succession if he runs IMO. I'd probably rank my ballot 1) Kenney 2) Baird 3) Bernier 4) Moore 5) Prentice.

Kenney's easily my #1 choice. The rest are all sort of meh. You're right, Kenney's looking more and more likely. All the red challengers have a fatal flaw. Prentice and Moore are too western, Baird will get crowded out, and Bernier/MacKay have been compromised in their performance of cabinet roles.

[DC Al Fine]

Got a Justin Trudeau ad on youtube... the #RealPriorities one. Now if only we could find out what those real priorities are; I didn't here a single bit of policy in the whole minute ad.

[DC Al Fine]

What's the over/under on the next time Toronto has a conservative mayor? 2053?

[DC Al Fine]

Megan Leslie: The biggest problem facing women is this kind of crap.

[DC Al Fine]

Leslie and Chisholm say no to the provincial leadership, Stoffer uncertain but I'd guess he doesn't run either.

Hope Stoffer doesn't run, he's hugely popular here.

[DC Al Fine]

No one is asking Alexa?

Stoffer would be a great choice. I'd fear we'd lose his seat in a by-election though.

Alexa's 69 and wouldn't face the voters until age 73. Kind of pushing it IMO.

Stoffer's seat is a mix of blue collar suburb and rural areas; not a Liberal friendly seat. Quitting while the Tories are down in the dumps is probably the best option. Or did you mean you thought it'd be better for him to wait till 2015 to resign because Justin will be receiving more negative press?

[DC Al Fine]

Didn't his riding just go Liberal in the provincial election? What's to say that voters wont go Liberal federally?

I suppose you're right. It's definitely a Stoffer riding, so there's a potential for it to swing hard Liberal like Timberlea-Prospect did. OTOH there's 3 ex NDP MLA's that could be candidates

[DC Al Fine]

Chinese vote is as good as gone for the Liberals, I think. I can't see them being within his coalition.

Trudeau sounds weirdly like the GOP; intent on pissing off the fastest growing blocs of voters in the country

[DC Al Fine]

This monthly Hill Times Tory leadership piece that includes people who'll never run is getting old.

Bernard Lord? Really? He might've been a good candidate in the last leadership race but not now

[DC Al Fine]

1) No you need to apply to immigrate. We have a points system based on your languages, education, work experience etc.

2) You have to have lived in Canada at least 3 of the past 4 years when you apply, speak English and/or French, and have a clean criminal background. There's also a citizenship test like in the States.

3) You'd have to get a Health Card and Social Insurance Number. Those put you in our healthcare, and tax/pension systems. They're pretty easy to get. Our new minister is American and it took him about 2 hours from start to finish to get them.

4) If you've had an American license for 2+ years, they'll give you a Canadian one without a test.

[DC Al Fine]

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MP Barry Devolin (C-ON) will retire in 2015.

Should be safe. It was one of the more egregious examples of conservative vote splitting in the Chretien years.