Just for the hell of it

I know none of you care at all because you live in the states and frankly if I lived in the states i wouldn't care at all but on monday the Paul martin's liberal government in Canada is going to fall and there is going to be an election. Any thoughts?

[jokerthief]

This confirms my suspision that Canada should now be treated as military threat to us. I think America ought to seriously consider a pre-emptive move against this threat. The Canadian meanace can not be tolerated.

[BluffTHIS!]

You have the British monarch's picture on your money and stamps, and mushy-headed French liberalism in your politics. No wonder Canada is unstable.

[fluxrad]

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This confirms my suspision that Canada should now be treated as military threat to us. I think America ought to seriously consider a pre-emptive move against this threat. The Canadian meanace can not be tolerated.

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I hear they have WMD's.

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I know none of you care at all because you live in the states and frankly if I lived in the states i wouldn't care at all but on monday the Paul martin's liberal government in Canada is going to fall and there is going to be an election. Any thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

1. That's what happens in a parlimentary system when there's scandal after scandal.

2. Sometimes I wish we had a parlimentary system.

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I know none of you care at all because you live in the states and frankly if I lived in the states i wouldn't care at all but on monday the Paul martin's liberal government in Canada is going to fall and there is going to be an election. Any thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]
Personally, I'd like to hear a Canadian's thoughts. As you probably know, the U.S. news coverage concerning Canadian politics is slightly overshadowed by reports on Canadian hockey and curling.

If you decide to comment, please let us know if you consider yourself liberal, moderate or conservative.

[DVaut1]

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This confirms my suspision that Canada should now be treated as military threat to us. I think America ought to seriously consider a pre-emptive move against this threat. The Canadian meanace can not be tolerated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear they have WMD's.

[/ QUOTE ]

Also, some of the 9/11 attackers had some rather vague, unsubstantiated ties to the Canadian government (despite the fact that al Qaeda's goals are diametrically different from secular Canada's; and that in fact, Canada and al Qeada are philosophical, if not outright political opponents) - for instance, 9/11 ring-leader Mohamed Atta met with a Canadian intelligence officer in Prague in the Spring of 2001, which Vice President Cheney said proved that Canada had "long-established ties" with al Qaeda.

Consequently, 57% of Americans now believe Canada was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks.

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...Vice President Cheney said proved that Canada had "long-established ties" with al Qaeda.

Consequently, 57% of Americans now believe Canada was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks.

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When you toss fire bombs like this, it would be of great help to those of us who(m) like to occasionally verify things, to use your linky-doo. Should you happen to have one - or two. And they're handy. Sure don't want to inconvenience you. thx

[DVaut1]

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I know none of you care at all because you live in the states and frankly if I lived in the states i wouldn't care at all but on monday the Paul martin's liberal government in Canada is going to fall and there is going to be an election. Any thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because I live in southeast Michigan, I get the CBC provided in my cable package and try to watch The National nightly -- which is frankly far superior to anything on network or cable news produced in the US (C-SPAN aside).

Even with the elections, is Canada not headed for another Liberal minority government? All the opinion polling I've seen has shown the Liberals have sustained some damage with the release of the Gomery report -- but that some of the Liberal bleeding has stopped since then, and they've rebounded some. Unless the elections are scheduled after the release of the full Gomery report, or unless there is some ad hoc alliance between some of the other federal parties (I heard Peter Mansbridge speculate in one of The National's panel discussions that it’s possible the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois could form some kind of coalition - which seems inconceivable to me) – it seems to me that Canada is headed for something similar to the status quo. However, I’m no expert and I’m genuinely curious as to what the OP thinks.

[DVaut1]

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When you toss fire bombs like this, it would be of great help to those of us who(m) like to occasionally verify things, to use your linky-doo. Should you happen to have one - or two. And they're handy. Sure don't want to inconvenience you. thx

[/ QUOTE ]

Believe me, this was no inconvenience... (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/joke)

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"Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech."
- Martin Fraquhar Tupper

[maxpower72]

We are headed for another minority gov. The gomery report has already said what it is going to say. The full report will just have procedures and safeguards to ensure that that doesn't happen again. Until the conservatives choose an electable leader (no ties to the social conservatives out west) we will have Liberal minorities or Liberal majorities.

[HopeydaFish]

Yeah, it'll definitely be another minority. There's no way for the Conservatives to get enough votes in Ontario to get a majority. What I'm hoping is that the Conservatives win a few more seats than the Liberals so that they form the government, and that the NDP don't win enough to make up the difference.

The Liberals *are* going to win fewer seats this time. It's inevitable. They're very unlikely to win more than a couple of seats in Quebec, and they'll lose a few of the seats they had in Ontario. They won't win any additional seats out west.

So if they lose 15+ seats in Quebec, and lose 10+ seats in Ontario, that would be enough for the Conservatives to win the election...with a minority government.

At this point it'll then be a question as to whether the Conservatives can work with the Bloc in order to stay in power.

Personally I hope the liberals do not get a minority because their corrupt and stealing tax payers money and since I would never in my life vote NDP(Socialist) I am hoping the conservatives win. Unfortunately Canada is full of lots of extremely left wing people who hate America and think anything that isn't left wing is fascist. The National is a pretty good news program and is fairly accurate so what you hear on that is probably right.

[DVaut1]

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Unfortunately Canada is full of lots of extremely left wing people who hate America

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I once heard from a Canadian acquaintance (a pastor from British Columbia - who I don't believe is a leftist) that one of the worst things you can call a Canadian is an American.

However, it must be noted that my acquaintance had also told me he refused to visit Vancouver often (when he lived in BC) because "of all the crime there" – telling me all of this after he had just recently moved to the Detroit area. Needless to say, I think he reconsidered after spending some time living in the Detroit area, and conceded that perhaps Vancouver wasn’t nearly so crime-ridden after all. So perhaps we can call into question his wisdom.

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At this point it'll then be a question as to whether the Conservatives can work with the Bloc in order to stay in power.

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On a note more related to the thread, one thing I'm still fuzzy on (and perhaps someone will be able to shed some light on this for me) - how would the Conservatives and the Bloc manage to form a stable alliance, given their philosophical and ideological differences (and from what I know, a blanket unwillingness on behalf of the Bloc to participate in any federal government)? Are the Conservatives substantially more sympathetic to Quebec sovereignty than the Liberals? Do the Conservatives have a specific Quebec policy (that the Bloc might somehow find tolerable) - and more generally, do the Conservatives favor 'weaker' federalism/federalist policies than the other Federal Parties do?

[HopeydaFish]

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I once heard from a Canadian acquaintance (a pastor from British Columbia - who I don't believe is a leftist) that one of the worst things you can call a Canadian is an American.

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This might be true when Canadians are travelling. Americans are not looked upon favourably in many parts of the world. Most Canadians wouldn't want to be mistaken for an American for that reason -- whatever their personal feelings towards Americans may be.

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On a note more related to the thread, one thing I'm still fuzzy on (and perhaps someone will be able to shed some light on this for me) - how would the Conservatives and the Bloc manage to form a stable alliance, given their philosophical and ideological differences (and from what I know, a blanket unwillingness on behalf of the Bloc to participate in any federal government)? Are the Conservatives substantially more sympathetic to Quebec sovereignty than the Liberals? Do the Conservatives have a specific Quebec policy (that the Bloc might somehow find tolerable) - and more generally, do the Conservatives favor 'weaker' federalism/federalist policies than the other Federal Parties do?

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You've basically deduced the answer to your question on your own. Much of the Conservatives' platform is similar to the Bloc's. Both parties believe in a more decentralized government which gives more power to the provinces. The Liberals have traditionally been a party which believes in a strong federal government -- which runs contrary to the Bloc's beliefs. The Bloc should be willing to work with the Conservatives if it means more power for Quebec because, short of separation, this is the only way that the Bloc will achieve its goals.