Posted in Entertainment, Movie
Tagged 2009, abrams, hero, JJ Abrams, May, Movie, Star Trek, star trek movie
Harper wins big in the election
OTTAWA — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday he will reach out to all parties during the global financial meltdown after his Conservative Party won in national elections but fell short of a parliamentary majority.
Harper had called Tuesday’s elections early in hopes of getting his party a majority, and in doing so he became the first major world leader to face voters since the financial crisis.
Instead, the Conservatives will once again be forced to rely on opposition support to pass budgets and legislation — as it has had to since a 2006 election victory.
Harper sought to put a good face on the results Wednesday, pointing to an increased number of seats and pledging cooperation.
“We have shown that minority government can work and at this time of global economic instability we owe it to Canadians to demonstrate this once again,” Harper said. “We hold out a hand to all members of all parties asking them to join together to protect the economy and weather this world financial crisis.”
With nearly all the returns in, Canada’s election agency reported on its Web site that the Conservatives had won or was leading in races for 143 of Parliament’s 308 seats, an improvement over the 127 seats the party had in the previous Parliament.
The Conservative Party needed to win 155 seats to govern on its own.
The Liberal Party, long Canada’s top party, suffered a severe drubbing, dropping to 76 seats from 95 in the previous Parliament, according to the election agency. Bloc Quebecois won 50 seats, the New Democrats 37 and independent candidates 2.
Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion, in his concession to Harper, offered his “full cooperation in these difficult economic times.”
The party winning the most seats generally forms the government, with its leader becoming prime minister. The opposition parties could unite and topple Harper if they won enough seats for a majority, but analysts said that was unlikely because the parties have no tradition of forming such coalitions.
The opposition Liberals have typically been the party in power, forming the government for most of Canada’s 141 years. But the left-of-center vote was divided among four parties, giving an edge to the Conservatives.
Dion’s campaign was hindered by his unpopular plan to tax all fossil fuels except gasoline and by perceptions he is a weak leader. A former professor from French-speaking Quebec, Dion also suffered in other regions because he frequently mangles English grammar and his accent makes him hard to understand.
Dion said Canadians have asked him to be their official opposition leader, a signal that he’s not ready to step down at this point.
If Dion was ousted as leader after a loss, he would be just the second Liberal leader to fail to become Canada’s prime minister. The only other was Edward Blake, who led the party to defeat in the 1882 and 1887 elections.
Many Canadians complained Harper was slow to react as the global credit crisis worsened. He hurt himself by saying during a debate that Canadians were not concerned about jobs or mortgages. A few days later, he said stocks were cheap — just before Canada’s main stock exchange had its worst week in almost 70 years.
Harper later said he knows Canadians are worried and stressed that Canada’s economic and fiscal performance contrasts to the more dire situation in the United States.
Voter turnout Tuesday about 59 percent, the lowest in Canadian history. It was unclear how much stringent new proof-of-identity requirements affected the turnout.
Posted in Canada, GTA Issues, GTA Politics, News, Ontario, Toronto, World
Tagged Bloc, canada, Canadians, dion, economy, Edward Blake, election result, elections, Green party, Harper, History, Layton, leadership, lowest in history, May, missed a majority, NDP, politics, proof-of-identity, requirements
Make sure you vote!
In my estimation, these are the errors each leader made during this campaign. They are in no particular order, however I welcome your comments.
1. Called the election in the first place, knowing that Canadians wanted the minority government to remain, as is. We wanted everyone to work “together”.
2. The perceived indifference to voters and the electorate during these tough economic times.
3. Hoping to get the election done, before the market meltdown, the Conservatives hoped to get a majority government.
4. Telling Canadians that there were “good deals to be made on the stock market now”.
5. Trying to give leeway, albeit the judges, and more options in allowing 14 year old criminals to be placed as adults in court or placing them in jail for longer periods of time.
6. Cutting off Arts funding and then flip-flopping on that plan. He totally misread the importance of this issue, and the crime bill, in Quebec.
7. The “optics”, no matter how true it may be, of telling Canadians that the “fundementals are sound“. A leader must be able to tell Canadians that he/she will do something, even if nothing is to be done. Canadians need that assurance, however you may feel about that situtation.
8. Offering no ease to the manufacturing section or some kind of plan. People are hurting and loosing jobs in Ontario and Quebec. The perception is that he is uncaring. I know that this is not true, but the the optics are bad.
1. The Green Shift. You may agree with it, however it needed to be implemented in a different fashion. The economic meltdown has destroyed this plan (albeit unfairly). You need to explain it in layman terms. Just give us the basics. They allowed the Conservatives to control the message. Carbon taxes are not a bad thing and even conservative economists believe it is the best way to deal with taxes. This reminds me of the religious school funding issue in Ontario and how it played out.
2. The unfair perception of Leadership in this campaign. Somehow the Liberals needed to fix that.
3. Not offering clear and precise answers to Canadian voters.
4. Again restoring to “don’t split the vote and vote for the Greens or NDP“. The scaremongering was low! Yes, they just came to my door and told me that and it really pissed me off! This is a democracy, I will vote based on the issues and who “I” feel is the best option for Canada. I do not vote based on fear.
5. The anybody but Harper campaign. I am starting to wonder, can you not offer anything better than that? Old tactics, which makes me believe that they are worried about Jack Layton.
1. Should have “never” tried to stop Elizabeth May and the Greens from appearing in the debate.
2. They should have got their message out even more in the media. Tell people what you are going to do.
1. Going after a blogger for trying to post a video/audio of her telling Canadians that they were “too stupid”. If you listened to the entire phrase you would understand that she was actually making sense. However, this is a free Country and threatening a mere blogger is a pretty junior mistake. let people decide for themselves.
1. There biggest mistake is ignoring the NDP in Quebec. They may be in for a surprise come election day.
2. Not running candidates outside of Quebec.
3. Instead of looking for a way to break up the Country, find a cause of unify the country with Quebec culture. I will never understand, if we are a bilingual country, why we were not ingrained in learning French while growing up. Look at some of the European countries and how successful those strategies are.
In the end I cannot tell you who will win and loose. It is too close to call. I know what would happen if people voted how they wanted to. I can only say that Elizabeth May and Jack Layton seemed to perform the best. They had the least amount of gaffs and missteps. The Dion and Harper have not looked good through this election. I sense that the electorate would love to punish both of them and send the NDP and Greens to Parliament in force. However I sense the fear. Even though they want to vote Green or NDP they fear giving the Liberals or Conservatives a majority. The Liberals have done a good job and swaying voters in that manner. That is not a democratic ideal. Our soilders fought in wars for YOUR FREEDOM TO VOTE, so use it! Vote you conscience! Canada will go on no matter which major party is in power. Although I do not agree with his policies, Harper is NOT the devil.
You should not fear making any mistakes when voting. There are no mistakes when you vote based on your conviction and what you believe makes Canada better. If you want to vote Green than do so. If you want to vote for Jack Layton and the NDP, than do so. For the day we start voting based on fear, it is no longer a democracy! it is not longer Canada.
By: Andy MJ
a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot
Posted in Canada, election, News, politics, Quebec, World
Tagged Bloc Quebecois, Campaign, Conservatives, Decima Poll, democracy, dion, economy, Elizabeth May, green, House of Commons, how to vote, jack layton, jobs in Ontario, Layton, Liberals, Majority, May, Michaëlle Jean, minority, mistakes, NDP, not voting, October 14 election, please vote, politics, polls, Progressive Conservatives, Stéphane Dion, The election, The Green Party, Trudeau, voting
BRIAN LAGHI , HEATHER SCOFFIELD and STEVE CHASE AND TARA PERKINS
Globe and Mail Update
October 9, 2008 at 10:48 PM EDT
OTTAWA, RICHMOND, B.C. and TORONTO — The federal government is moving to backstop the Canadian banks’ capacity to lend money in an acknowledgment that not even the country’s sturdy banking system is immune to the global financial crisis.
A plan originally earmarked for Friday morning would see the government assume some mortgages currently held by the banks by giving them to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp., a Crown corporation. In turn, the banks might receive CMHC paper – possibly bonds – against which they could use as collateral for their own loans from other banks.
In recent weeks, the big banks have faced a sharp rise in the cost of borrowing money in international markets to cover Canadian mortgages – a situation that puts them at risk of losing ever-increasing amounts of money on one of their core businesses.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the banks say no bailout is on the table and the plan falls short of an intervention, but sources told The Globe and Mail Ottawa now recognizes the fast-changing economic landscape requires action to help the banks access cheaper funds to fuel lending.
With the double whammy of the last days of an election combining with the global economic slowdown, the federal government and senior bank executives are hypersensitive. The Conservative Party has been insisting throughout the election campaign that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. But in the past 24 hours a new reality has set in.
Mr. Flaherty, who is expected to be in Washington Friday at an emergency G7 session of finance ministers, had been preparing to make the announcement of a banking plan Thursday, but after word leaked Wednesday night, the plans were delayed, sources say, in an illustration of how important it is for the government to try to control the message.
Pressure from the banks is growing, with executives arguing their sector needs federal help immediately to ease their credit pressure.
Banks want it right now but the Harper government has to reconcile calls for immediate assistance with its insistence the Canadian banking system requires no extraordinary measures.
Posted in News
Tagged Bad Mortgages, Bank of Montreal, banking system, banks need money, BMO, bonds, canada, Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation, cash flow, CHMC, Conservative Party, credit, election, Emergency Meeting, finance, flip flop, G7, housing crash, I thought we did not have any bad mortgages, Jim Flaherty, lending, May, money, mortgages, Reality, Royal Bank, Scotia Bank, securities, Stephen Harper, stock markets, TD, The Fundementals are sound
Alberta Oil Sands
The development of a pipeline network and refineries around the Great Lakes to process Alberta bitumen “could cause irreversible” environmental damage to the region, says a new report that traces the tendrils of Alberta’s oilsands developments across the continent.
There are currently 17 refinery projects either being “considered, planned, applied for, approved or developed” around the Great Lakes, according to the report, How the Oil Sands Got to the Great Lakes, released Wednesday.
The report, commissioned by the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre program on water issues, warns that little is known about the environmental impact on the Great Lakes given the level of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption that comes with the refining process.
There are currently 17 refinery projects either being ‘considered, planned, applied for, approved or developed’ around the Great Lakes, according to the report, How the Oil Sands Got to the Great Lakes, released Wednesday.
There are currently 17 refinery projects either being ‘considered, planned, applied for, approved or developed’ around the Great Lakes, according to the report, How the Oil Sands Got to the Great Lakes, released Wednesday.
“We are paying more attention at the oilsands end, but not where the oil gets to and what happens there,” said David Israelson, the report’s author. “The other big issue is climate change and this means exponential increase in greenhouse gas emissions before you put a drop in your car.”
Dubbing it a “pollution delivery system,” the report said the thousands-kilometres-long pipeline complex used to ferry Athabasca bitumen from source to refinery could bring “2.3 million tonnes” of greenhouse gas emissions to the centre of North America every year.
“It will also bring new, large-scale sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions – the building blocks of acid rain – as well as fine particulate matter, which is responsible for premature deaths,” said the report. “Pipeline and refinery expansion applications are being made and approved right now with little general awareness of the potential long-term damage to the Great Lakes environment.”
Bitumen is a tar-like heavy hydrocarbon that is removed from Alberta’s oilsands and upgraded into synthetic crude oil.
Environmental groups were quick to back the report’s findings. Justin Duncan, a lawyer with Ecojustice, said the federal government needs to revise its entire approach to oilsands
Posted in Alberta, Canada, climate change, Environmental Issues, News, Oil, Science
Tagged Alberta, Alberta oil sands, Bitumen, Crude Oil, damage, dion, environmental, environmental impact, federal government, great lakes, greenhouse, Harper, Layton, May, Munk Centre, Oil, Oil Sands, Oil sands and the Great Lakes, refineries, U of T, water
Prime Minister Jack Layton?
With Liberal leader Dion faltering and lagging behind Jack Layton in the polls, one has to wonder if change is in the air? We are already seeing old Liberal tactics; telling people not to split the vote, and cause a majority Conservative government. One has to ask, if this is the ONLY tactic they have to remain as the official opposition than maybe it is time for change? The Liberals are getting old and there is a sense amongst voters that it is “time for change” in Canada. Elizabeth May was seen as a possible alternative, however there is the feeling that they are in league with the Liberals, tainting the green image. Who knows what will happen on October the 14th, but one thing is clear, change is in the air. I am not sure if Canada is really ready to have an NDP government in Canada. The experience in Ontario maybe scaring individual voters, however I guess it does not matter since Bob Rae is now a Liberal? Maybe Bob Rae was never truly an NDP backer and we have never really seen what an NDP government can do. The question is, can Jack Layton deliver? Is it time for change? Is it time to for the new world of NDP Orange? Is it time for Prime Minister Jack Layton?
By: Andy MJ / a.k.a The G.T.A Patriot
Read more about the NDP Party of Canada below.
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Through three decades of public service, and as Leader of Canada’s New Democrats since 2003, Jack Layton is delivering the kind of change that can make life better for you and your family.
Months after taking his place in Parliament, Jack Layton successfully rewrote the 2005 federal budget. In place of $4.6-billion in corporate tax giveaways, Layton secured investments in better priorities—affordable housing, training, public transit, energy efficiency, development assistance and wage protection.
At last: this was policy from the kitchen table, not the boardroom table, and ordinary Canadians responded.
Posted in Canada, election, GTA Issues, GTA Politics, Multiculturalism, News, Ontario, politics, Quebec, Toronto
Tagged 2008, bob rae, canada, Change, change for canada, change is in the air, change we can beleive in, change we can believe in, dion, Elizabeth May, federal budget, green, housing, jack, jack layton, Layton, leader, leadership, May, minister, NDP, New Democrats, Obama, October 14, oil and gas, oil companies, oliva chow, orange, Parliament, polls, Prime Minister, prime minister jack layton, Public Transit, time for change, Toronto
First a puffin, now a Sparrow….CTV says Conservative Party communications director Ryan Sparrow has
been suspended for the duration of the campaign for questioning the motives of a father who lost a son in Afghanistan.
The Tory war room attacked a father of a soldier because he is allegedly a supporter of Michael Ignatieff. Good on the Tories for suspending Sparrow. Bad on the Tories for making him the fall guy when he is only the mouthpiece. At a certain point, a leader needs to take responsibility for what comes out of his war room.
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Jim Davis, who lost a son to the war, openly complained that Stephen Harper’s stance on leaving our troops in the country until 2011 – a commitment he made on Wednesday – is ‘irresponsible.’ Tory communications director Ryan Sparrow wrote an email to a reporter accusing Davis of being a Liberal supporter, the fur began to fly. The inference that the comment may have been politically motivated instead of a grieving father lamenting the worst loss of his life, moved the Conservatives to suspend Sparrow for the rest of the campaign and they’ve ordered him to apologize.
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