Tag: Canadian Politics 2008

One of the great things about a Canadian election is learning how many ways the same thing can be put. From the right-wing to the left-wing is a span of about a nanometre on the scale of political ideologies. Our neo-cons support socialist programs in health care and business development, our socialists support the free market. In this election there is no better example than the New Energy Economy. Jack (!) has announced programs to shift manufacturing on to a more sustainable foundation. The governing Conservatives have a remarkably strong and, dare I say, progressive program for shifting to a more sustainable economy. We all know about the Green Shift from the Liberals, even if we don’t quite understand it…perhaps, to be fair, yet. Don’t like the big parties? Then you can vote for the Green Party.

This is all plainly good and a bit weird. And I think it is plainly good for another reason other than keeping the place neat and tidy – it will create a new bubble economy! In the last fifteen years we have lived through the IT bubble (burst in 1998-2000) and the credit bubble (burst 2007-2008). The times of bubble economy are good times. Plenty of investment and, best, plenty of high grade burn rate of that investment, distributed generously amongst work toys, snack trays and recreational marine craft. People expect no results and lots of meetings over lunch. People get hired, buy things, save. All good.

And especially good if, by some fluke, the bubble also has the side effect of creating a number of actual benefits other than blowing the investments of others. In addition to jobs and increased trade, energy security should be that sort of bonus side effect benefit…in addition to thousands of buffet-style Chinese, Thai and Korean BBQ takeouts devoured in lunchrooms across the land.

Other news on Day 5:

• Harper does the right thing and does it quickly and decisively.
• Dion makes food inspection prime issue – smart.
• Do you trust any of these polls?
• A very good point from a soldier’s father.
• Questions about this Liberal candidate suggest Denonville’s terrible acts were not most extreme imaginable, even 325 years later.

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The Liberals must be loving this. Everything so far is about how Dion is not as bad as made out to be. First, we learn he has a hearing issue: so he is not the risk the Tory ads would tell you. Then, now he’s outdoorsy: so not an inept bookish dweeb the Tory ads say. And, now, he wears no bird poopie upon his shoulder. Bird poopilessness good. And by the way, Toronto Star, let’s be clear: a puffin is an auk, not a duck as your website stated. Just because we are in an election does not mean we chuck ornithology out the window. Duck poop, indeed.

So now Jack(!) has called for civility and, brace yourself, Stephen Harper has apologized. Harper never apologizes for his own actions. But, now he has – so that is good. He is growing up, too. And speaking of change, don’t expect website management to be left in the hands of partisan teenagers anymore. This apologizing tone is not the campaign the Tories expected.

You know, given that the Conservatives had wanted to make this election about Dion’s ineptness, Grits should remember Iggy wanted to make the puffin the symbol of the Liberal Party. Perfect. Do it…err, bad choice of words…make it so. They should shower themselves with stuffed puffins and plaster puffins on bumper stickers to remind us of the value a sense of humour in the face of mean spiritedness.

Other news for Day 4:

• Don’t you dare forget the GX40 election pool.
• “No, no – after you, Ms. May. Can I get you a coffee? What a striking outfit!“
• Why does Jack (!) most firmly hold on to the same stump speech?
• The Conservatives fail to ask the most basic question of a candidate in Halifax, forcing her to leave and leading to preparedness questions.
• Given this poll, the country may be playing for that weak minority which seems to work so well.
• Hazel would have spent the 300 million on sewers – better value.

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Being Canada’s favorite swing voter, it’s sad to see that Mr. Harper has begun with a great big fib, caught so plainly by the Edmonton Sun:

…it’s Harper’s Conservatives who are likely to prove most adept at demonizing their opponents. For almost two years, the Tories have kept up a barrage of negative radio and television ads against Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, depicting him as weak, indecisive, “not a leader,” and “not worth the risk.” Most ads have been accompanied by an unflattering photo of Dion shrugging his shoulders — a gesture that makes him look clueless and ineffectual…Nevertheless, Harper now says he expects to be the victim of “a very nasty kind of personal-attack campaign.”

Seems to be a case of he who lives by the sword dying by the sword…unless he who lives by the sword also beats off and beats up he who was trying to kill off he who lives by the sword. Regardless, be not fooled. Dion has endured an embarrassment of slander through the days of the last government and has actually come out a teensy-weensy bit better off for it, most Canadians actually thinking the Tory tactic was punkish if not a little thugish.

Whether Dion can leverage something off of his two years of rope-a-dope is an entirely different matter.

Other issues for Day 2: There is more going on out there today like:

• Harper is short three candidates.
• The “throw the bums out” factor.
• Was there ever an election where “majority” was a dirty word?
• I want an “UNDECIDED!” lawn sign.

More later if there is more later.

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So do we like the Chinese government or not? Apparently, Mr. Harper may be suffering from some indecision on the matter, allowing a policy to be defined – imagine! – by someone else:

“We’ve got a trajectory of diplomatic and other kinds of activities that we are laying out in front of us and I look forward to starting to put that together,” Mr. Emerson said in his first lengthy television interview since taking over his new role [as Foreign Minister]. Mr. Emerson is known to be a proponent of a strong relationship with China. His view differs from some Harper cabinet ministers and caucus members who are focused on human rights and want to emphasize that over trade. His appointment was seen by some as an indication that Mr. Harper was trying to improve the China-Canada relationship. “I think that the relationship with China is one that we’ve been cultivating and improving for some time now and my appointment certainly does not get in the way of that, but I don’t think it’s a signal of any profound change in foreign policy,” he said.

I seem to recall that the China-Canada relationship was all tickity-boo prior to the election of 2006, what with all Chretien’s Pacific rim and trade mission policy focussy stuff. But Emerson would know that, being a former Liberal cabinet minister. And I seem to recall it was Mr. Harper who made things a wee bit “who left the fridge door open?”

So have we now confirmed that Canadian policy is to call placing human rights before trade ridiculous in all contexts? Or is this yet another reversion to Chretien era policy with the hope of a Chretien era majority?

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