Canada - Next Federal Gov't?

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  • #16
    Re: Canada - Next Federal Gov't?

    Intersting article by Brad Lavigne on the Orange Crush.
    http://www.irpp.org/po/archive/jun12/lavigne.pdf

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    • #17
      Re: Elizabeth May - opposition leader for this week!

      Elizabeth May has more sense and intelligence than the entire Harper government.

      Comment


      • #18
        Bill C38 - break it up!

        Vlad, your attacks on Elizabeth May are pathetic. They are also off topic. The problem with the budget bill (C38) is that it contains way too much stuff unrelated to the budget. How are politicians supposed to properly debate and vet legislation when too much is thrown at them all at once. If the measures are good, why hide them away. Let the sunshine in.

        Here are a few of the items contained in C38:

        Overhaul of environmental laws – C38 is repealing the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and replacing it with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

        Changes to EI laws - C-38 removes definitions of "suitable work" from the Employment Insurance Act and gives the federal cabinet the power to create new regulations about what constitutes suitable work and reasonable efforts to find work. The budget bill gives no details about what the new criteria will be.

        The Auditor General will no longer be required to audit several agencies. The agencies will instead report directly to the minister.

        C-38 will amend income tax act rules concerning political activities of charities.

        Among the amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is a move to wipe out a backlog of 280,000 applications under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Applications made before 2008 would be deleted and the application fee refunded.

        Legislation currently protects fish habitats that are defined as "spawning grounds and nursery, rearing, food supply and migration areas on which fish depend directly or indirectly in order to carry out their life processes." Bill C-38 would instead protect fish based on their use: bodies of water that support commercial, recreational and aboriginal fisheries or fish that support such fisheries. It rewrites the Fisheries Act's rules against work that can cause the destruction of a fish habitat. The bill also would allow the federal government to transfer Fisheries Act responsibilities to a province with equivalent laws.

        The budget bill creates a new law to implement the Framework Agreement on Integrated Cross-Border Law Enforcement Operations that was signed between Canada and the United States in 2009. It applies to joint operations between authorities in both countries on the seas.

        The budget bill scraps the office of the inspector general at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. The office is meant to be the public safety minister's eyes and ears overseeing CSIS. It also makes other changes on how CSIS reports to the minister.

        Bill C-38 shuts down several government-funded groups and agencies, including the National Council of Welfare, the Public Appointments Commission, Rights and Democracy, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal and Assisted Human Reproduction Canada.

        The age of eligibility for OAS will rise gradually to 67 from 65 starting in 2023. C-38 lays out a complicated chart showing how that change will be phased in.

        Whether you agree or not with these measures is not the issue. C38 needs to be split up into several pieces and debated properly. Those that can stand up to debate and public scrutiny will be passed.

        ps. No I haven't read all 420 pages. I pulled most of these comments from another website. I wanted to give you all the link, but then I lost it. :(
        Last edited by Bob Gillanders; Monday, 11th June, 2012, 03:10 PM.

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        • #19
          Re: Canada - Next Federal Gov't?

          Originally posted by Vlad Drkulec View Post
          If your long term strategy is to wait for your opponents to blunder in a catastrophic manner, you might need more than three years.
          It has already happened. We've had some time of pax harperanicus; nobody need posit any action foreign to that nature. Three more years suffused by that nature ... some people believe that it is an entirely wholesome nature; but don't pretend that everybody does; it was only about 40% at last complete (save for those fooled by the election fraud) count. The count that counted.

          If you characterize Mr. Mulcair's strategy with the word "wait", then the omission of the points of view of that other chunk of voters is hardly surprising.

          The Liberals will make a resurgence next time and most of that will be at the expense of the NDP.
          You are awfully cocky about the manner of resurgence of what is a rudderless husk of its former self. On that subject, very confident about the effect. Have you read Stephen Vizinczey's Rules of Chaos? It is a book that would appeal to a skeptic, one not in the thrall of prognostication.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Elizabeth May - opposition leader for this week!

            Originally posted by Paul Beckwith View Post
            Elizabeth May has more sense and intelligence than the entire Harper government.
            She sure seems to know what she is talking about:

            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rth5u285vVY

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
              Vlad, your attacks on Elizabeth May are pathetic. They are also off topic.
              Why is it off topic in the context of the main topic? The current changed title is off topic.

              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
              Changes to EI laws - C-38 removes definitions of "suitable work" from the Employment Insurance Act and gives the federal cabinet the power to create new regulations about what constitutes suitable work and reasonable efforts to find work. The budget bill gives no details about what the new criteria will be.
              What's wrong with that? When I couldn't find suitable work in another province I moved. It was a reasonable effort to find suitable work.


              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
              C-38 will amend income tax act rules concerning political activities of charities.
              It's about time. Why should I pay for the political ideological activities of groups with whom I disagree? Let them do it on their own dime.

              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
              The age of eligibility for OAS will rise gradually to 67 from 65 starting in 2023. C-38 lays out a complicated chart showing how that change will be phased in.
              This one is no problem. Any of the others can make repealing that a plank in their platform for the next election.

              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
              ps. No I haven't read all 420 pages. I pulled most of these comments from another website.
              There's a big surprise. You find ideas and then try to feed them to the masses like pablum.
              Gary Ruben
              CC - IA and SIM

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
                Vlad, your attacks on Elizabeth May are pathetic. They are also off topic.
                You made them on topic by bringing her up in a thread on the next federal government. Responding to a silly comment does not make me off topic it makes you off topic. There is also a concept that you need to be aware of: thread drift. You derailed this topic by bringing up that very irrelevant person who aside from being an MP representing one riding is compelling only in the lengths that she went to to get elected including riding shopping and blowing her party's whole election budget on one riding.

                C-38 will amend income tax act rules concerning political activities of charities.
                If you engage in political activities then you are not a charity.

                Bill C-38 shuts down several government-funded groups and agencies, including the National Council of Welfare, the Public Appointments Commission, Rights and Democracy, the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal and Assisted Human Reproduction Canada.
                So? All of these organizations are welcome to make the transition to private funding. If we can't afford to have people retire at 65 we certainly don't need to fund any of those groups.

                The age of eligibility for OAS will rise gradually to 67 from 65 starting in 2023. C-38 lays out a complicated chart showing how that change will be phased in.
                The only annoying thing is that he picked my birth year as the cutoff. Hopefully I won't need the money at that point in time.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                  Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
                  You find ideas and then try to feed them to the masses like pablum.
                  Gary, again you miss the point. I have not declared my support or lack thereof for any of the measures in C-38. The point is that instead of having a proper debate on the issues, the government has chosen to bundle together everything they want to change to every conceivable law they don't like.

                  It sounds like Elizabeth May maybe the only MP that has actually read the damn thing.

                  I want the government to convince us of the validity of their actions. They have a majority, so what's the problem? Or are they worried that with enough sunshine, their own MP's would abandon ship.
                  Last edited by Bob Gillanders; Monday, 11th June, 2012, 06:14 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                    Originally posted by Vlad Drkulec View Post
                    You derailed this topic by bringing up that very irrelevant person who aside from being an MP representing one riding is compelling only in the lengths that she went to to get elected including riding shopping and blowing her party's whole election budget on one riding.
                    Vlad, I get it. You hate Elizabeth May. This is not going to be a good week for you, as she takes centre stage and leads the opposition forces. :D

                    As far as thread drift is concerned, the thread dealt with who was leading the opposition. This week anyway, it is Elizabeth May. :D

                    As for her election tactics that got her the first Green Party seat, well done. :D

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                      Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
                      Vlad, I get it. You hate Elizabeth May.
                      Actually, I don't hate Elizabeth May. It is the ineffectiveness of people like her that contributed to the current pleasant situation where she became irrelevant.

                      This is not going to be a good week for you, as she takes centre stage and leads the opposition forces. :D
                      The peasants are revolting! Yes, they are. What is your point?

                      Elizabeth May upstaging the NDP leader is a good thing from my point of view. I am sure that he will be thinking about it. I won't.


                      As far as thread drift is concerned, the thread dealt with who was leading the opposition. This week anyway, it is Elizabeth May. :D

                      As for her election tactics that got her the first Green Party seat, well done. :D
                      In the next election she won't have quite so much money to work with.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                        Bob, do you think the Ontario budget bill is OK?

                        Regarding May reading the bill, if I was paid as much as she is as an MP, I'd read it as well. In reality, the MP's don't have to read the entire bills. They get to vote the way their leader tells them.
                        Gary Ruben
                        CC - IA and SIM

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          The NDP - Prov ( Ont )/Fed

                          Hi Gary:

                          Ontario - The NDP wrung some concessions out of the Liberals, and the budget is now acceptable, given that an election is not in anyone', including the public's, interest at the moment ( though the thick-headed PC's will do anything to again lose in an election to the Liberals. They should be worried that Ontario voters next time are going to see the Ontario NDP as the official alternative, not them, and they are going to go the way of the dodo too, like the federal Liberals ).

                          Federal - in a majority gov't, the opposition role is to highlight the gov't deficiencies in the media, however possible. Their action is in the court of ppublic opinion. They really can do little to wring concessions from a majority government, bound to ideological change. The NDP roadshow on the budget was a great strategy. Elizabeth May's amendments are another. All of Canada now knows that the Conservatives are abusing the system by tieing all kinds of irrelevancies into the budget bill, soley because they have a majority and think they can get away with it. But are they going to, without damage? Why else is the NDP neck and neck with them now in the polls, and the Canadian public has never before been willing to consider the NDP a gov't in waiting?

                          Bob

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                          • #28
                            Re: The NDP - Prov ( Ont )/Fed

                            Hi Bob,

                            In case you didn't notice, after the budget deal the Cons lost one of their MPP's. Within the next 6 to 8 months the Liberals should be in majority territory.

                            Anyhow, the Ontario NDP insisted on a wealth tax and Ontario lost 18,700 jobs last month. Many of them the high paying jobs. An interesting coincidence. By time the next Ontario election rolls around the people will likely be calling the NDP leader "Hard Times" Horwath.

                            I'd imagine with the passage of time the NDP waffle movement has been forgotten. Do you remember it? The waffle was disbanded because it didn't play well with the voters. Do you remember? If it didn't play well back then, why would you suppose these student protests and the other protest in Toronto last year would appeal to the voters?

                            You do realize having a lead in the polls and winning an election are two different things, don't you Bob? Ask Hudak. He lost a big lead in the polls on election day.

                            The problem is many don't talk to the pollsters but they do vote.
                            Last edited by Gary Ruben; Tuesday, 12th June, 2012, 01:11 PM.
                            Gary Ruben
                            CC - IA and SIM

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                              Originally posted by Bob Gillanders View Post
                              Changes to EI laws - C-38 removes definitions of "suitable work" from the Employment Insurance Act and gives the federal cabinet the power to create new regulations about what constitutes suitable work and reasonable efforts to find work. The budget bill gives no details about what the new criteria will be.
                              Originally posted by Gary Ruben View Post
                              What's wrong with that? When I couldn't find suitable work in another province I moved. It was a reasonable effort to find suitable work.
                              Gary,

                              Not everyone has the ability to pick up and move to a different area or province. While it was something that worked for you, the Federal Government would not (and should not) impose that kind of requirement in order to allow an EI claimant to continue receiving benefits.

                              "Suitable work" has many meanings. It does not just refer to the type of work, it also refers to rate of pay, work conditions, work schedule, distance from home, and other factors. While it still remains up to the EI claimant to prove that a particular job is not suitable for him or her, the new criteria that Service Canada will use to adjudicate job refusals may be slightly more restrictive than previously, but not unreasonably so.

                              This bill targets workers who are on seasonal layoff, but they choose to not look for work when suitable work is available. For instance, a person may live in one province and work in another. They get a layoff for six weeks, so they return to their home province and collect EI benefits. While stating on EI reports that they are available for work, they are not actively seeking full-time work while on layoff. However, when a Service Canada agent asks a EI claimant if he is looking for work, the claimant might say that he is not because he will be returning to their regular employment in just a few weeks. If an EI claimant is not looking for work during the off-season, then he should not be entitled to benefits, which has always been the case.

                              The problem is, the question on the report is "Were you ready, willing, and capable of working", however it does not ask "were you actively seeking full-time employment". This is something that should be reviewed, because although this question is implied, many EI recipients don't see it that way.

                              Jordan
                              Last edited by Jordan S. Berson; Wednesday, 13th June, 2012, 08:57 AM. Reason: Grammar and spelling corrections
                              No matter how big and bad you are, when a two-year-old hands you a toy phone, you answer it.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Bill C38 - break it up!

                                Originally posted by Jordan S. Berson View Post
                                Gary,

                                Not everyone has the ability to pick up and move to a different area or province. While it was something that worked for you, the Federal Government would not (and should not) impose that kind of requirement in order to allow an EI claimant to continue receiving benefits.

                                "Suitable work" has many meanings. It does not just refer to the type of work, it also refers to rate of pay, work conditions, work schedule, distance from home, and other factors. While it still remains up to the EI claimant to prove that a particular job is not suitable for him or her, the new criteria that Service Canada will use to adjudicate job refusals may be slightly more restrictive than previously, but not unreasonably so.
                                Jordan, when I was much younger I worked for a Hydro utility. 1st year lineman. That was about 50 years ago. Long hours with lots of overtime. The amount of money I made was very good for the times. For various reason I didn't like the job and left.

                                It was many years before I made the same kind of salary I was getting doing that job.

                                For me to hold out for a salary of even 50% of what I had been making, in that area of the country, would have been unreasonable. It wasn't going to happen. So I went where the work and the money were. But still not as much as I'd made doing that work.

                                I'd like to think the definition of "suitable work" would be work which the person is physically fit to do, but other than that can see why the job can't be taken while seeking something else.

                                Your post to me mentions workers who leave their home province and get laid off for 6 week so they collect EI. To me these are mobile workers. Particularly when they don't want to do other work because they expect to go back to their jobs.

                                Were you referring to jobs where workers are flown in? It's so many weeks on and then they get flow home and get so many weeks off. Then it's back to the job. I don't think that should be eligible for EI at all.
                                Gary Ruben
                                CC - IA and SIM

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