Canada General Discussion

[RogueBeaver]

Aping our Aussie friends, talk about anything related to Canadian politics here.

I'll start us off with Chantal Hebert's "People to Watch", some MacKay marriage gossip, and Wells' speculation on Harper's major policy initiatives for this year.

http://www.thestar.com/article/1110563--hebert-thirteen-to-watch-in-2012

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2012-01-05/article-2855946/MacKay-shares-wedding-story/1

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/01/06/harpers-sleepy-majority/

[RogueBeaver]

Two Quebec Tories will be appointed to the Senate, plus Marc Bellemare.

http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/339656/l-ex-ministre-bellemare-serait-pressenti-comme-senateur

http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/canada/339734/deux-conservateurs-du-quebec-sont-nommes-au-senat-canadien

[RogueBeaver]

The bill will be passed fairly shortly. Personally I like the Senate the way it is...

[RogueBeaver]

McGuinty-Harper: Frenemies as usual.

Foreign policy: What's incoherent about it?

AB: She's a Red Tory who loves spending auctions. That budget mess won't be sorted out till Wildrose wipes the Progressives off the electoral map.

[RogueBeaver]

One elected, one appointed. That's my position. On this issue and fixed election dates I side with the Reds, not my own Blues.

Power shifting westwards.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1111715--hebert-power-shifting-from-central-canada-to-the-west

Harper proposes a veterans' jobs scheme.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/201201/06/01-4483579-stephen-harper-propose-un-programme-pour-trouver-des-emplois-aux-veterans.php

[RogueBeaver]

It won't be the premiers. Either the new NDP leader and/or Bob Rae.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1112279--tim-harper-who-can-slow-stephen-harper-in-2012

[RogueBeaver]

Government eyes creation of native education system. I like this idea.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/tories-eye-creation-of-formal-native-education-system/article2295443/

[RogueBeaver]

Today is the nomination day for the NDP in Toronto-Danforth for the upcoming by-election.

Wonder why the PM is waiting so long to call it...

[RogueBeaver]

Because he will obviously lose it.

So why not call it if we're going to nearly lose our deposit anyways? The best we Tories could hope for is boosting the Liberal AMAP.

[RogueBeaver]

Craig Scott gets the nod.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/craig-scott-gets-ndp-nod-to-run-in-by-election-in-laytons-old-riding/article2296681/

[RogueBeaver]

I'd like to think the Grits have learned their lesson, since they haven't advocated such policies in the past 6 years. But in this case, it was Harper who wanted to override provincial jurisdiction and the opposition which objected. Both Dippers and Grits are centralistic, and Harper's centralistic or devolutionist depending on the subject.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1112925--hebert-liberals-top-down-view-of-federalism-out-of-date

[RogueBeaver]

Quebec Dipper backbencher defects to the Grits. She represents the Strangler's old riding. IIRC this is the first defection since Blair Wilson's 4 years ago.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/01/10/pol-lib-rae-coderre.html

[RogueBeaver]

Which begs the question of why Coderre engineered this in the first place.

[RogueBeaver]

Now they're making a big deal over her backing for Mulcair.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mp-who-backed-mulcair-for-ndp-leader-defects-to-liberals/article2297353/

[RogueBeaver]

Updated seat count:

CPC: 165
NDP: 101
LPC: 35
BQ: 4
IND: 1
VAC: 1

[RogueBeaver]

Quebec Dipper backbencher defects to the Grits. She represents the Strangler's old riding. IIRC this is the first defection since Blair Wilson's 4 years ago.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/01/10/pol-lib-rae-coderre.html

It is me, or the article is more or less implying than she left because she didn't got a good position.
Anyways, she will lose next time, if she bothers to run.

She probably won't run, and the seat will probably flip.

What's also interesting: article says Coderre still has organizational duties. Last I checked all real power was devolved to bureaucrats, with the "lieutenant" becoming a "caucus liaison to Pelciquiste board" after the Candidate Swap Incident 3 years ago.

[RogueBeaver]

I agree with the by-election idea.


Also, interesting: Rae says he doesn't know whether or not this is an isolated event. Depends on how things develop politically this year IMO. As it is the Pelciquistes are a small but talented and experienced group- they don't need (and shouldn't want) dead weight just to pad their seat count.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/mp-defects-to-liberals-ndp-decries-lack-of-respect-for-democracy/article2297353/

[RogueBeaver]

This is ridiculous. If federalism's an issue, don't run with the Sherbrooke Declaration party.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1113145--ndp-mp-lise-st-denis-defects-to-the-liberals

[RogueBeaver]

The last time a defector was reelected would be Scott Brison in 2004- but he had a legitimate reason and never really changed his ideological stripes.

[RogueBeaver]

From her comments, it sounds like she was a Dipper who didn't realize that ideologically, she's a Grit.

On another subject, since my "LPC policy convention" thread never really got going, should I post about that here or in the Grit leadership thread?

[RogueBeaver]

Dunno. Grit brand is still toxic in ROQ anyhow. And she should thank her benefactor, the Strangler, for that.

Anyhoo, I think I'll place any non-leadership related stuff from the Grit convention here and anything leadership-related in that thread.

[RogueBeaver]

LOL. If any federalist party supplants the Dippers in ROQ, it'll be we Tories.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/defection-reminds-ndp-and-liberals-its-quebec-or-bust/article2298466/

[RogueBeaver]

What appeal do/could the Tories have in Quebec?

Provincial autonomy, coopting soft-to-middling nationalism. Harper gave up on Quebec apart from our small beachhead established in '06. The Liberal brand is toxic there not for ideological reasons or federalist ones IMO, but because of Adscam's lingering effects. As recently as 2000 Grits won 38/75 seats in Quebec.

[RogueBeaver]

The Liberals always placed a close second under Chretien in terms of seats and votes in Quebec. As for PET, polls say that in retrospect, Quebecers like the effects of 1982 if not the methodology.

[RogueBeaver]

PM headed to China next month.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-canadienne/201201/11/01-4484813-stephen-harper-ira-en-chine-en-fevrier.php