Canadian Politics

[Aggie]

I got a kick out of this - it seems like the Conservatives have got the Canadian mentality well figured out:

OTTAWA — Tuesday's budget will be fiscally prudent because of the economic uncertainty facing Canada, but it will contain "one or two surprises," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday.

His comments came as he picked up a pair of resoled shoes Monday, rather than the traditional new footwear that finance ministers sport in advance of a budget, which he said reflects the frugality of his third budget being delivered Tuesday that he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have indicated will be a tight budget for tough times.

"It suits this budget. It's a budget that's prudent," he told reporters, after paying $56.49 for his refurbished shoes to Khalil Merhi, the owner of the small footwear store, Healthy Feet, in downtown Ottawa. "We have to stay within our means."

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=8e5a825b-77cd-4d46-88b2-e1e11626062e


As concerned as I was with the Conservatives coming into power, all-in-all they haven't mucked things up too badly.  I LOOOOOOOVES minority governments - they have to play nice and compromise on the big issues (e.g. Afghanistan).  I don't like having silly waste-of-money elections called, but am damned happy we have the option to shift a (minority) government out of power if they are doing a bad job.  The Liberals better keep their scurvy hands off the non-confidence button for a while yet though, because IMO they'd risk sending the Conservatives to a majority if they forced an election at this time.

-----------

Speaking of elections, we have a provincial election coming up next week, and I might actually NOT vote Green this time.  The Liberal candidate in my riding seems pretty decent, although I admittedly haven't had time/effort to properly check him out.  There's a good chance Alberta is going to shake off the PC yoke this time, and I might vote Liberal since my vote might actually have a chance to count (in the past, it's been an assumed PC win, so I use my vote to help the Green Party keep its numbers up).

[goat starer]

they have politics in Canada? whatever next... Fire? the Wheel?

[Sibling Chatty]

Computer literate goats??

[Aggie]

Yeah we have politics...  I'm not sure who came up with the backwards system we inherted, though. 

[goat starer]

Computer literate goats??

who on earth said i was computer literate? I have a chicken to do that sort of thing. I just dictate....

....a bit like stalin!

Yeah we have politics...  I'm not sure who came up with the backwards system we inherted, though. 

whoever it was it had nothing to do with marxist goats or you would be living in paradise! 

[Aggie]

Another reason to vote Liberal, p'raps:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/albertavotes2008/story/2008/02/26/liberals-cancer.html

[Sibling Chatty]

Please!! Carcinoid care there is limited to a 2 day a week clinic that has a location assigned on the day of the appointment, so the patients play hide and seek with their docs and nurses.

Last year, at ane point, they had to do (gluteal)  injections in the restroom for 'privacy', which meant either female nurses in the men's room, or men in the ladies... They need the space!!

[Aggie]

Win some, lose some....  my candidate won my riding, but the rest of the freakin' province went even more Conservative than last time.

[Aggie]

Just wondering how much media/public consciousness play "NAFTAgate" is getting down there.

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

As concerned as I was with the Conservatives coming into power, all-in-all they haven't mucked things up too badly.  I LOOOOOOOVES minority governments - they have to play nice and compromise on the big issues (e.g. Afghanistan).  I don't like having silly waste-of-money elections called, but am damned happy we have the option to shift a (minority) government out of power if they are doing a bad job.

I can't shake my mistrust of the Conservatives.  I keep waiting for the lid to blow off some issue for the Federal Conservatives like what happened with the Ontario Conservatives and Walkerton.

I think a big part of my distrust and dislike for the Conservatives boils down to Jim Flaherty.  I remember all the stuff he got up to as part of the so-called "Common Sense Revolution", and I'm in his riding now, so I get all his biased, partisan propaganda flyers mailed to my house, paid for with taxpayer money.

I told my wife a while back that Jim Flaherty is the best chance there is for making me a theist, because he's the strongest evidence I've seen myself that the Devil exists.

I was only half joking.

[Sibling Chatty]

Just wondering how much media/public consciousness play "NAFTAgate" is getting down there.

Depends on who you're listening to.

I'm hoping the RCMP bust Hillary's people's chops BIGTIME.

When did she start taking campaign directions from Karl Rove??

[Aggie]

Hah! Good luck...  the Opposition's pressuring for RCMP action, but I haven't heard anything indicating it's likely at this point in time.