April 2011
232 posts
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Now that they're surging, the NDP is saying that... →
I’m wondering if Jack is feeling a bit like Bob Rae did when he got elected as Premier of Ontario in 1990. Rae was absolutely dumbfounded that they had won. They didn’t have as many experienced candidates as would have been wanted for a government. Effective ministers were something difficult to come by. Jack must be really happy but wondering whether they’ve got all the...
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People ripping down signs....do they know they're... →
People with Liberal signs on their lawn in Toronto had their cars vandalized. The City Councillor has told them to all park on the street so as to not let people know which house the car belongs to.
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There's avoiding a question and then there's... →
Harper managed to avoid questions about a BC candidate’s knowledge about a man charged with helping with the Air India bombing when his staff and many of the crowd starting cheering for a whole minute to drown out the reporter. This is frustrating, nuts and infuriating.
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Michael Ignatieff is running coast-to-coast...
They’ll cover all of Canada outside Quebec. At the same time, he’ll be on Tout le monde en parle, a really popular French-language talk show. There’s just over a week left until the election, and the Liberals are going all-out to stay competitive.
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Elections Canada’s Twitter ban shows why... →
Section 329 of the Elections Act states that “no person shall transmit the results” from one riding to another before the polls are closed. The fine for breaking this can be up to $25,000 – and Elections Canada has a history of prosecuting people under this section. After the 2000 election it raided the home of a man who had posted the early results on his website, fined him and seized his...
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“Layton appeared as a guest during the first week that conservative-leaning Sun...”
– The Sun media conglomerate is trying their hardest to split off as many Liberal voters to the NDP as possible. Mighty sneaky.
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Cheryl Gallant’s support slips as promises start... →
Until now, these gaffes have harmed her little with her constituents, and arguably may even have reinforced their support for their beleaguered representative.
That, too, could be starting to change. Gallant made national headlines in February when she suggested that Newfoundlanders who venture out on the sea should take more responsibility for their own lives rather than relying on the Coast...
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Dosanjh files complaint over publicly funded... →
Vancouver South MP Ujjal Dosanjh filed a complaint with Elections Canada on Friday, alleging the publicly funded Khalsa School held a parents’ meeting April 6 urging attendees to vote against the Liberal incumbent.
Khalsa School founder Ripudaman Singh Malik, the man acquitted in the Air India bombing, spoke at the meeting, endorsing Dosanjh’s main rival, Conservative candidate Wai...
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interactive graphic on campaign microtargeting →
The Globe and Mail has a very cool (but kind of bleak) graphic on campaign microtargeting and how the parties swing ridings by targeting one very small demographic subgroup at a time.
Bonus points if you can figure out which category you fall into and identify how the parties pander to you.
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In the 2008 federal election, the voting rate...
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three election endgames
We’re now ten days out from the election, and it’s still not clear at all what kind of government we’ll have after May 2. Judging from the polls, though, it looks pretty much inevitable that we’ll have one of three possible outcomes.
1. Conservative majority
This is a situation where the Conservatives get at least 155 seats. They, they could pass any legislation they...
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Vote mob mentality →
A vote mob is simply a silly, feel-good event to put on some music, dress in matching costumes, paint your faces, and make pointless YouTube videos saying you’re going to vote. Having a “surprise party” with fellow university students doesn’t mean you are going to make the effort to learn about the candidates, parties and issues. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of these participants stayed home...
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Canada-U.S. relations out of sight, out of mind →
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the evolution of political thinking in this country than the complete silence on the campaign trail as the relationship between Canada and the U.S. is being reshaped.
A generation ago, a historic trade deal with the U.S. dominated a dramatic campaign.
Ten years ago, when a U.S. ambassador called for a North American security perimeter, this nation convulsed.
...
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advance polls open today
They’re also open tomorrow and Monday. If you’re already sure how you want to vote, go do it today starting at noon, since there will be basically no lineups and it gives you a chance to sort things out if there are any issues with your ID and also it’s a long weekend anyway.
Elections Canada has all the information. Disposible aussi en français, bien sûr.
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NDP call for oil and gas 'ombudsman' →
With close to record-high fuel prices and ever-rising costs to heat homes, area NDP candidates Thursday called for the creation of an “oil and gas ombudsman’s office” to investigate sudden price surges like the one Canadian motorists are currently experiencing at the gas pumps.
[…]
Essex NDP candidate Taras Natyshak said the proposed fuel ombudsman would be given the teeth to order...
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“Fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, who is travelling on the Liberal plane, played as...”
– So apparently this happened at a small-town rally in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where Michael Ignatieff was campaigning for a local Liberal candidate and promising to restore an escape route from rural Nova Scotia ferry service to Maine.
Frustratingly, the video from the event doesn’t show the...
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$1.8M more in tax dollars gone missing from G8... →
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"Ottawa cutting funds to Planned Parenthood, Tory... →
The Tories were quick to go into damage control after these comments but does this bring up the specter of limiting abortion once again for the Tories?
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A short story by Margaret Atwood in today's G&M... →
“That’s a very dark fiction,” says the reader. “Surely people won’t sign away their right to know how their money is being spent! That would result in tyranny! It can’t happen here!”
“Anything can happen anywhere,” I say.
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A DAY after complaining about misquotes, the... →
COALITION…..sorry….did I scare you?
The hypocrisy is maddening. Now they’re nailing Iggy for saying he’d work with other parties if it ends up that he gets to form a government. Why is it dirty pool for parties to cooperate?
Tory version:
I’m prepared to talk to Mr. Layton and/or Mr. Duceppe … and say we have an issue and here’s the plan that I want to put...
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Our Head of State, HM Queen Elizabeth II, got a... →
To those who say our Queen is out of touch with Canada and the ‘goings-on’ here, I offer this as exhibit R…there’s already plenty of examples out there to the contrary to serve as A-Q. :)
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“Gratzer proposes a workable solution for the biggest public policy problem of...”
– Stephen Harper, reviewing a book that calls for private medical savings accounts. Oh really now.
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Ignatieff Clears the Air: Grits Could Govern If... →
politicalcanuck:
Michael Ignatieff is saying clearly for the first time that he could defeat a minority Conservative government and make a case to the Governor-General that his party could govern with the support of others – and without another trip to the polls.
Until now, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has only said the party that wins the most seats on May 2 can “try” to win the...
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In Alberta, a conservative rebellion in the Tory... →
Mr. Uppal had previously lost two tight races in another riding, and before then won the nomination in Sherwood Park, a safer Conservative seat long held by outgoing MP Ken Epp. Mr. Uppal didn’t live in the riding at the time.
His nomination smacked of top-down party influence, and Mr. Ford – who has ties to the provincial Progressive Conservatives and the federal Conservatives – broke rank to...
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“The Conservatives are being very strategic about the communities that they...”
– Wow, apparently having the royal Y chromosome lets Justin Trudeau be more blunt about the Conservatives’ “very ethnic” strategy than any other brand-name politician.
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A few pictures of all the party leaders looking... →
First prize has to go to Gilles Duceppe for his attempt (and fail) at ‘the Bob Dylan’
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Harper v. Canada: Climate Change Mitigation is a... →
abcsoupdot:
From The Sixth Estate:
Harper’s position on climate change is much more moderate than certain Conservative politicians, but it’s worth noting that he does believe we are causing permanent global warming. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be massively boosting military assets for the eventually ice-free North (which, left ice-free, wouldn’t need these assets in the first place). His...
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It's my Party: Parliamentary Dysfunction... →
Two overriding trends emerged from these reflections, raising provocative and important questions for the health of our democracy.
First, what the MPs described as their “real work” was done away from the public spotlight in the more private spaces of Parliament. In fact, the MPs told us that the politics most commonly seen by the public—that which took place on the floor of the House of...
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the party lines on marijuana →
Conservatives: Only medical marijuana. No decriminalization, and mandatory minimum sentences for as few as six plans.
Liberals: Decriminalize small amounts for personal use. Opposed to full-on decriminalization.
Green Party: Legalize it, and tax it pretty heavily. (They’re estimating $1.5 billion in tax revenue, which is comparable to federal tobacco tax revenue.)
NDP: Not in the...
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Are we growing tired of democracy? →
As Canada promotes democracy abroad, are we becoming weary of the concept here at home?
Stephen Harper seemed to suggest so this week, saying the string of minority governments was already hurting Canada’s interests.
He warned that if Conservatives don’t win big on May 2 — the fourth election since 2004 — Canada will face a fifth, even sixth election in quick succession.
For a country that...
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Canada’s F-35s: Engines not included →
The multi-million dollar F-35 stealth fighter that the Conservatives want to purchase comes with all the accoutrements of a high-tech aircraft — everything, that is, except an engine.
The government will be required to provide engines for the 65 planes to be delivered by U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin, according to newly released Defence Department documents.
The proposed F-35 purchase,...
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vote at advance polls 22, 23, and 25 April →
If you’re basically already sure who you want to vote for, and have no major attachment to voting on May 2, then it’s entirely worth it to vote ahead of time. Here’s why:
You get to beat the lineups. At the advance polls, you can expect maybe three or four people ahead of you in line. On election day, you can expect dozens. The lineup moves pretty quickly, but why wait anyway?
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TV debates annoyed Canadians, poll finds →
Respondents were shown four clips chosen by the Star from the English-language leaders’ debate. One featured all the leaders arguing over coalition government; another featured Harper and Ignatieff facing off against each other on the issue of majority versus minority government. A third segment, which registered the highest interest of all the clips, showed Layton and Ignatieff debating...
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“Rise up! Rise up, Canada! Rise up!”
– As the campaign hits the home stretch (barely two weeks left!), Terry Milewski at CBC spots a potential new angrier Ignatieff. He’s mad at the Conservatives’ dismal record and the steady public apathy, and he wants Canada to pay attention to what’s been going on. (And hopefully...
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Tory effort to annul votes at University of Guelph... →
Elections Canada has rejected a bid by the Conservative party to annul some 700 ballots cast by students at the University of Guelph.
In a statement issued Friday, Elections Canada agreed the special balloting at the university was not properly authorized.
Nevertheless, the agency said the votes were “cast in a manner that respects the Canada Elections Act and are valid.”
The...
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Volpe says supporters targeted by call campaign →
Toronto Liberal candidate Joe Volpe says someone displaying an American-based phone number is targeting his supporters in the Italian community with repeated, harassing telephone calls.
Volpe — an incumbent candidate in the riding of Eglinton-Lawrence, who is seen as vulnerable to a potential Conservative breakthrough in Toronto — says angry residents have called him to complain that they have...