The passage of the EI Bill today, with support from the Bloc & NDP, goes to prove one thing, that politics is indeed a strange world. I am finding, as I grow older, that politics isn’t about serving the people anymore. It is about power, about doing what it can, to be in a position to seize power.

I think that the lead up to the vote today, and to coming votes, is not about doing what is in our best interests, but in lining up for the eventual election. Today’s vote givs the Liberals a counter to the NDP attack of propping up the Harper Regime. It isn’t about protecting our rights, or about getting workers more benefits, but about having a way to counter an election attack.

The support of the NDP & Bloc isn’t about insuring workers get more benefits either, but about them not being in a good financial position to wage an election. Some will argue that it is because we, the people, don’t want a fall election, so that is why they have given away their support to a Government, that is cruel and has only the interest of Big Business at heart. I would disagree, because frankly it is about not giving the Harper Regime a campaign weapon.

Maybe we don’t want a fall election, but then, did anyone ask you?

Polls say we don’t, but then again, how is the question phrased, and is it about the issues, or about simply preferences? IF, and that is a big if, a fall election would mean an end to the Harper Regime of mismanagement, of neglect of our resources, our economy, our social programs, then I’d suffer through it, and I think most would too. After all, the MAJORITY of us voted for ANYONE BUT HARPER.

I think we don’t want an election, because NO ONE has given us a reason for one. And that is why the NDP & Bloc have supported Stephen Harper today, probably will next time around too. It isn’t about ending a regime, it is about having a reason to end it.  EI Benefits, just isn’t a big enough reason, or one that can capture our imagination.

If Michael Ignatieff & the Liberals want a fall election, they are going to have come up with a more enticing reason, than EI Benefits. All of them, are going to need a real reason, one that we can debate, that can be devoid of partisonship, or attack proof. Not easy to do, when you lack imagination, and when you are more concerned about seizing power, than you are in serving the people who elect you.

I can’t believe it, the Harper Government is going to guarantee new car warranties. I couldn’t believe that the Obama Government was going to do it, when it announced it a month ago, and now, Harper shows us he has no plan, other than to mimic whatever the USA does.

How about we guarantee some real things, Mr. Harper?

Perhaps a guarantee to us, the people, that companies that import shoddy products, instead of producing them here, are denied access to our retail sector?

How about that NO COMPANY is allowed to hire foreign nationals, for any reason?

Least that way we’d keep our citizens working, which means we could pay for all these guarantees. After all, it isn’t like GM or Chrysler are going to. GM is about to declare bankruptcy, and Chrysler, well hell, they haven’t paid their back taxes.

How about we guarantee that teachers wil teach, not use excuses for increased illiteracy rates?

How about we insure that doctors and nurses, are actually competent to perform their duties, and make diagnosis?

How about we insure that every nickle government spends, is accounted for and available for public scrutiny?

How about we insure that citizens who travel abroad, are protected by our government, not forced to live on cots in our embassy, simply because they are black and muslim?

How about we end bullying and racism, by insuring that all citizens are treated equally under civil law?

How about we grant all of our citizens a fair and impartial hearing before real judges, not allow them to be held in prisons indefinately, while being tortured, even if they are children accused of murder?

How about we stop worrying about corporate profits, and guarantee clean water, clean air, by supporting environmental rules, instead of figuring out how to circumvent them?

How about we guarantee that any elected official is forced to disclose exactly where their campaign funding came from?

How about we simply guarantee that any elected party, HONOR ITS CAMPAIGN PROMISES?

Now, those are the kind of guarantees we need Mr. Harper, not your kind, that supports corporate rip offs, that weakens our protection agencies. Instead of giving guns to our customs officers, how about we strengthen our police forces, our military, by upping the standards, not lowering them. How about we stop pandering to corporate interests with huge tax cuts, and start insuring our jobs stay here, in Canada?

Those are what we need guaranteed, not your wait until America does something, then follow it. How about a MADE IN CANADA SOLUTION TO CANADIAN PROBLEMS?

Now, wouldn’t that be a novel concept.

Is this the secret plan of Stephen Harper, in case he didn’t get his majority government on October 14th?

Or is it simply a sign of how incompetent the man and his party are, when it comes to dealing with serious issues like the Economy?

The gamble for the Opposition Parties, is will the People be convinced that the Harper Government is not what we need, and what about the Liberal Party? With Dion having resigned, will they go with him leading them on, or what?

And was that also part of the Harper strategy when he came up short on October 14th?

Canada’s opposition parties said Thursday they will vote against the Conservative government’s fiscal update, sparking speculation the country could face another election in the midst of a global economic crisis.

The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois said they would not support the update introduced by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty because it contained no stimulus package to spur Canada’s slumping economy and protect Canadian workers during the crisis. (source – CBC News)

The thing is this, the time to fart around is gone. We, as a nation, need to be serious about the situation, without panic. Stephen Harper lied in the last election, when he claimed our economy would avoid the economic melt down that was happening. How can we trust him now?

Stephen Harper lied when he said we’d not have deficit financing, but in his drive to keep that promise, he is selling off crown assets. Now, I don’ know, but if things make you money, when things are bad you don’t get rid of what adds revenue, for a quick buck to avoid reality.

This is the problem when you have a leader who has one goal, to stay in power, at any cost.

By making promises he knew were likely to be broken, he is now selling off assets to try and keep them. The result is we may not have a deficit this time around, but we are going to have a bigger deficit next go round. That is also what happens, when you LIE. You have to use wrong choices, to try and cover up your LIES.

While Stephen Harper flops around, pushing failed policies like Free Trade with Columbia, and Brazil, there is NO PLAN to help Canadian Industries. Least any that still remain alive, nor is there any plan to help hurting workers, or citizens. Other than more tax cuts, the Harper Government has no idea on what to do, or how. They buy more mortgages, claiming it won’t cost taxpayers, that somehow it will spur more credit, but it does nothing about lowering credit card rates.

During the last election, Stephen Harper said that the experts were all wrong, that there would be no deficit, that employment would continue to grow, that he had made several key decisions, such as his tax cuts, that would stimulate industrial growth. Well once more, the experts are being proven right, Stephen Harper wrong.

Is the time right for another election?

No, course it isn’t, but the alternative is to have a Government that is simply too inept to solve or even manage the serious problem. Harper has shown, his party is not equiped to adapt to the changing economic climate, as all he has is failed George Bush policies. After all, those are the policies that created this Global Mess. Yet our Prime Minister still hasn’t a clue, and so yes, we need to head to the polls, and hopefully this time, get it right.

We have a choice, if the Opposition holds to its guns, and forces the issue. Either we give Harper his majority, and risk the collapse of our entire way of life, or we choose a new Government, that at least is willing to try new things. I mean we can’t keep on falling back to solutions that didn’t work the first time around, nor did they work around the second & third time. Yet that is what Harper is doing, using failed tactics, so we do need to make a choice.

Old Back Room Deal Politics or Something Fresh & New.

ANYONE BUT STEPHEN HARPER & THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

The Tory Government in Alberta, under its new leader, will test the polls on the 3rd of March. It should be an interesting election, given that many believe the long Tory Reign in Alberta is not as safe as it once was under Lougheed and Klein.

In its run for re-election the promises are already running ahead of campaign ads and literature. The Tories are offering to phase out health care user fees within 4 years, as well as to increase the number of health care workers.

In the speech, the government promised to eliminate health-care premiums over four years, increase the number of health-care workers in the province and allocate significant new funding for crime reduction. (source)

And like all Tories, they are promising to get TOUGHER on criminals. I wonder, what is about ‘conservatives‘ that makes them appear to be the choice when it comes to dealing with crime? I never understood that, because if you look at the conservative model, the Republicans in the USA, they are the biggest bunch of crooks out there. Maybe that is it.

They know the criminal mind best, from personal experiences? 

Well it certainly was an interesting night.

So for the time being Canadians have appeared to opt for the Conservative agenda but thankfully in their wisdom they didn’t give Harper and his Klansman a blank cheque, as they put them in a minority position.

Some pundits say this is a switch in Canada’s direction, though personally I think that two major factors came into play in this election.

1. Paul Martin didn’t run a campaign that really showed he wanted the job, and I think his immediate resignation kind of proves that.

Now personally I haven’t been a fan of his, but I think in all fairness to him he simply was tired. It had been a dream of his and I suppose that the reality of having the dream was totally opposite to the fantasy he may have had about it.

He did give us 8 years of strong economic growth and it is hoped that Harper won’t piss it all away before the next election as Mulroney did when he practised ‘Conservative Economics’ which gutted a lot of our social programs, many of which have just barely begun to recover.

2. 12 Years of rule seemed a bit much given the difficulties the Liberals encountered with the Sponsorship scandal and not having a charasmatic leader didn’t help them weather that storm.

Without a true leader, I think the Liberals sealed their fate. Now Martin might have made a good PM if he had a majority but compromise of ethics isnt always going to get you that majority. I think people simply wanted a change because the Liberals under Paul Martin couldn’t show they wanted the job very much.

So where do we go from here?

Well if you listened to Herr Harper last night, he plans to push forward with the policies he outlined in his campaign which should make for a very interesting session of parliament.

Will his election end same sex marraige? No, not when he is in a minority, as all opposition parties support it so he really won’t try to alter that just yet, unless Layton or Duceppe make a deal.

Will he try to change our justice system? He says he will so we shall have to see how that plays out.

Will he gut National Health? Again he doesn’t have the votes in Parliament on that one so no, but he will nibble away at it where he can, just as Bush has done with Medicaid in the States.

I think a lot is going to depend too on who he chooses for cabinet. He has a lot of debts to pay off and it should be interesting to see how he approaches this.

Also the Liberals need to find themselves another Trudeau or Chretien who can spark imaginations and who also want the job, not for the glory but for the job itself. Who that might be is anyone’s guess right now but take into account that in the last parliament Martin’s Liberals held 133 seats, now they hold onto 103 I think. The Tories had 99 but have 123 now, only a 24 seat gain so frankly it wasn’t what I think many expected. The Tories gained and are the government but in a more fragile sense than the Liberals were.

Will there be an election soon?

I don’t know, right now just want to lick the wounds and ponder whether or not this is a blip in our country’s make up or are Canadians truly moving over to the American style of government and elections, where hatred, lies and deception are the norm?

I think a lot will depend on what Harper and his Klansmen do in the coming months. Will they show their true colours or be able to mask it for a bit before the real Alliance party philosophy come out?

Should be interesting not to mention watching to see who will lead the Liberals.

It is also a time now for Jack Layton to see if he can step up or not. Frankly given his platform in this last election, his comments, I tend to think he won’t step up, not because he doesn’t want to, but simply because he really isn’t capable enough. There is no substance to him, but time will tell. Hopefully I am wrong because I’d like to see the NDP become a more viable alternative than the Tories or the Liberals even.

Be nice to have three really viable political parties. Jack Layton has that opportunity now, so we’ll see if he can seize it and run with it.