Canada General Discussion

[MaxQue]

Tonight's an all-nighter on 3000 Brison amendments- consecutively, no debate. He's one of my favourite MPs, but seriously, 3000 amendments is just douchy.

I've always wondered if other MP's would sit down and "have a chat" with the people who make them stay up voting Nay all night. After 1000+ amendments, I'd be ready to punch him out no matter what my party affiliation was.

If I remember well, the Alliance invented that trick (over Indian treaties), so they aren't in a position to complain.

It wasn't the Alliance but the Reform Party (the same thing) with 471 amendments, in December 1999.

42 hours of votes to reject them, over the "Nisga'a Final Agreement"

[MaxQue]

No No No No No NO NO NO NO!  I knew Mulcair was a rotten egg. 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/11/15/pol-cp-ndp-trade-policy.html

??
It's not surprising, free trade is very popular outside of Southern Ontario. Canadian economy is based on natural ressources, not manifacturing, so, free trade is good for Canada, that is not new.

The left being pro-trade isn't new from Mulcair. The votes against free trade was only posturing to please unions, it was obvious since a while.

[MaxQue]

Does it is a surprise, since Tommy Doublas finished first in that CBC contest?

[MaxQue]

Tomassi and Beauchamp were named yesterday.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/11/28/montreal-charbonneau-guestlist.html

Conservative senator Léo Housakos got named, too.

[MaxQue]

*Sigh*

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/inside-politics-blog/2012/11/prepare-the-parliamentary-sleeping-bags-for-the-biannual-budget-vote-a-thon.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Whatever happened to the good old days where the majority government rammed through it's legislation in an hour and everyone went home for steaks?

Again, don't blame Liberals, that tactic was used by Reform Party before.

[MaxQue]

Yep.

Maclean's Power Rankings.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/11/27/25-most-important-people-in-ottawa/

More cronyism in Alberta.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Politics/ID/2310345475/

Max: The rules should still be changed. Up-or-down votes on blocks of amendments in cases like this.

Oh, I agree. Role of Parliament is to debate laws, not lose hours voting down very similar amendments.

Let's see. Up-or-down votes on block of amendments, but no more "mammoth" bills?

It's important to remember than Liberals are wanting to make Conservatives lost their time, because Parliament didn't have the time to study the way too big bill which was proposed.

About the power rankings, it's a bit worrying than most of the people on that list are unknown of most people. I suppose than most Tories never heard about those which have links with the party.

Same at NDP. I suppose than most members never heard about Gébert (Well, I did, but he was the president of the NDP group of my university when I joined.).

Those are obscure people. Powerful, but obscure.

[MaxQue]

Did he rule or not? The article is contradictory on that point. If he didn't, I expect him to rule in her favour. Ugh.

That omnibus will also go through tonight.

That Place projects a comfortable Dipper win in BC, 63-22 in seats.

Why do you dislike The 308?

Eric Grenier is no Nate Silver. He gets way too much attention for a sh** predictor.

Well, at least, he is one of the few English writers which actually understand a bit of Quebec politics.

[MaxQue]

Not again.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/commons-set-to-face-more-complex-abortion-debate-this-time-over-sex-selection-182233201.html

Max: Huh? Grenier's a Francophone and IIRC, a self-admitted BQ supporter.

I mean than he writes in English, for an English public.

[MaxQue]

Not again.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/commons-set-to-face-more-complex-abortion-debate-this-time-over-sex-selection-182233201.html

Max: Huh? Grenier's a Francophone and IIRC, a self-admitted BQ supporter.

For the Bloc thing, that was true around 2008 according to Google. No clue for currently.

[MaxQue]

Bruce Hyer turned up at a Grit Xmas party with Murray (from Twitter). "Progressive who wants inter-progressive cooperation."

He is probably shopping to see which party will offer him the most.

[MaxQue]

China seems to be replacing the US as the main Canada-destroying boogeyman.

I'm not sure whether to be distressed or encouraged by this. I'm leaning towards the former; we haven't done anything to improve our reputation in Canada, so I think it's more so a reflection of our declining reach. That's particularly distressing considering Canada is right next to us. Of course I think that the whole recalcitrance over Keystone has something to do with it, but if we've stopped sparking paranoia in our immediate neighbours, then we're doing a pretty bad job as a superpower.

Well, I'm pretty sure Canadian like more Obama than they like Harper.

[MaxQue]

Im really upset about the Sask robocalls. Tories want US style redistricting?

Really, that's more French style (splitting cities and making rurban seats) than American.

[MaxQue]

Really surprised.

[MaxQue]

Oh, Harper has a new strategy to silence opposition.
Closing down offices in towns where the opposition to him is too vocal, as he just did in Tracadie-Sheila.

[MaxQue]

What sort of offices? HRSD?

Service Canada.

[MaxQue]

This PLQ race is getting quite nasty: Bachand's daughter can't vote for her father and the Moreau camp tried challenging the credentials of Bachandiste Andree Bourassa. Plus it emerged yesterday that Bachand was a PQ donor until 2002, a year before he first ran for the PLQ. No wonder he gets so outrageously outraged when people question his federalist cred. Also been hearing rumours that this race might be closer than it appears for Couillard, considering the caucus is so badly split endorsements-wise.

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-quebecoise/201302/19/01-4623192-ca-joue-dur-dans-les-assemblees-du-plq.php

Bachand first ran in 2005 Outremont by-election, to replace Yves Séguin, no?

[MaxQue]

I worry about Moreau. He is the guy which compared Mario Dumont to Jean-Marie Le Pen and which wanted to fire all the employees of the government (and especially the jurists) which took parts in protests against hike or Bill 78, as they were disloyal to their employer.

[MaxQue]

Small ministerial shakeover in Ottawa, to replace John Duncan, former minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, which resigned last week.

He will be replaced by Bernard Valcourt (Madawaska-Restigouche, NB), which is currently Associate Minister for Defence and Minister of State to Francophonie and to the Atlantic Canada Opportinuities Agency.

He will be replaced at the Atlantic Canada Opportinuities Agency by Gail Shea (Egmont, PEI), which is also National Revenue Minister.

He will be replaced at Francophonie by Steven Blaney (Lévis-Bellechasse, QC), which is also minister of Veteran Affairs.

For Associate Minister for Defence, he will be replaced by Kerry-Lynne Findlay (Delta-Richmond East, BC), which was the parlimentary secretary of the Justice minister.

[MaxQue]

Is there a reason why no federal government has ever had an actual aboriginal be Minister of Aboriginal Affairs? It's not like Harper doesn't have anyone to chose from. There might even be some native Tory senators whose names are not Brazeau.

Did a province ever did, anyways?

[MaxQue]

In Quebec, Green party leader resigned during the party convention, a few hours before the result of the leadership review were to be announced.

He said he will perhaps run in the leadership race to succeed himself.

As usual, Quebec Green Party is being a joke.

[MaxQue]

NDP loses another MP in Quebec, Claude Patry, MP for Jonquière-Alma joins Bloc.

He cites the position of the NDP of Clarity Law and the NDP support to the Muskrat Falls project as his reasons.

[MaxQue]

Perhaps he is upset at redistricting. Him and the Chicoutimi-Le Fjord MP would live in the same riding, now and the party would give a preference to the other one?

[MaxQue]

Perhaps he is upset at redistricting. Him and the Chicoutimi-Le Fjord MP would live in the same riding, now and the party would give a preference to the other one?

Redistricting wont be an issue for a while now, methinks. But we could see some interesting things happening. I can't recall a time where 2 sitting federal NDP MPs had to run against each other for a nomination before.

Well, if they are smart enough, that shouldn't happen, since Quebec gained 3 seats, but, we never know if some seats are dreadful for the NDP, the incumbent may try to move.

No problem in Saguenay,, through, there is only one NDP MP there, now (Patry defected and the other MP is a Cabinet Minister, so, Conservative, Denis Lebel.)

[MaxQue]

Ed Komarkicki (C-SK) will retire at the end of this Parliament.

http://www.estevanmercury.ca/article/20130306/ESTMERCURY0101/130309970/-1/estmercury/souris-moose-mountain-mp-komarnicki-will-not-seek-re-election-in-2015

Redistribution reduces Conservative seats in Saskatchewan, his retirement potentially allows someone losing a seat to shuffle over?

The seat is in a corner of the province and only significantly expand in Wascana, which is Liberal-held, so, any move would be saw as carpetbagging, doubt it.

[MaxQue]

That's rather sh*tty. Why not just replace socialism with social democracy?

Because people thought a fit when it was attempted at Vancouver in 2011. Now, they keep the work socialism, but get rid of all marxist vocabulary.

Anyways, who reads the NDP convention?

Earl, why you oppose it? I'm interested to hear as I'll be at the convention and will have to most probably vote on it.