Parliament Recovenes
Parliament has now recovened and for the first time in thirteen years, the Liberals will be sitting in the opposition benches. Peter Miliken was chosen as speaker again, which I think was a good choice. Regardless of one's party stripe, Miliken showed himself to be a fair and impartial speaker so I have full confidence in his abilities as speaker.
There was also a large protest this week against David Emerson's defection. I don't think either Harper or Emerson understood just how unpopular this would be. I should note contrary to what some Conservatives say that these are all NDP supporters, that is completey untrue. Mike Watkins who helped organize the protests is a Conservative himself. I myself would have attended them if I was available and I did not vote COPE or NDP provincially as the riding association president accuses the protestors of. So far Stephen Harper is not off to a good start. He has got a lot of improvement needed and I mean a lot, before I will even consider voting Conservative.
There was also a large protest this week against David Emerson's defection. I don't think either Harper or Emerson understood just how unpopular this would be. I should note contrary to what some Conservatives say that these are all NDP supporters, that is completey untrue. Mike Watkins who helped organize the protests is a Conservative himself. I myself would have attended them if I was available and I did not vote COPE or NDP provincially as the riding association president accuses the protestors of. So far Stephen Harper is not off to a good start. He has got a lot of improvement needed and I mean a lot, before I will even consider voting Conservative.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 7:24 PM
6 Comments:
Mike Watkins, ah yes, the conservative that isn't a conservative. And I'm a Liberal supporter who thinks the current Liberal party is to corrupt to save.
Mike Watkins like myself is a former Progressive Conservatives and did assist Tarlok Sablok this time around and Victor Soo Chan last time around. He may not be a hard core right winger, but those types are pretty much non-existent west of Langley. Most Conservatives in the GVRD are similiar to James Moore, fiscally conservative, but socially progressive.
I believe the Liberal Party can be saved. They still formed a strong opposition and should they choose the right leader, I believe they can win the next election. Stephen Harper is not a great PM, so as long as they can get a strong leader they can win.
OK Miles, I must admit that I am about 180 degrees from your belief system. I support (financially) the Green and Conservative Parties. You fear-monger about scary right-wingers in the Conservative movement. Many socially progressive people support the conservative party. I am virulently pro-choice, SSM ambivalent, and quite frankly I wish the Liberals had properly nominated a representative in Emerson that would be loyal to the Liberal party instead of a Paul Martin toadie.
To succeed, Liberals need to realize that talk is cheap. Talking about saving health care is not the same as actually saving it. Talking about unifying the country is not the same as bringing Quebec into the constitution and working constructively with the provinces. The most important flaw of the Lib...signing up for Kyoto is not the same as actually making the changes to produce actually emission reductions. Also, if you are noticing, the Liberals have fiddling while the agriculture community in this nation is being decimated. Talk is cheap.
Many conservative supporters would gladly give you back your Liberal defector Emerson. Choose a better Liberal representative for Vancouver-Kingway so that you do not screw the people of Vancouver next time.
Sorry that this reply comes a few days too late. Here I go!
You said it brian! Talk IS cheap. Like when Harper talks about accountability and ethics and then appoints a defector and an unelected Senator. Or when he keeps his MP's accountable with the "Accountability Act" but limits media access to documents, and gags his MPs.
Or like when the party platformed on cutting the GST instead of Income taxes... doesn't look that way from the throne speech. How about their "Made in Canada" solution to green house gasses? All Harper is doing is setting NEW target dates for Kyoto... that's not "Made in Canada" that's "Revised in Ottawa".
And they'll keep the National Day-care program they loathed, instead of giving handouts. The CWB will stand, even though many party faithful (and Fraser Institute advocates, including a young Mr. Stephen Harper and Chuck Strahl) platformed on scrapping the CWB. What happend to those market-solutions to our farming woes? Farmers do not want markets, they want subsidies; and that is what the CPC will give them. As the grandson of a farmer I can say with clarity: Farmers will bitch no matter who is in power or how much money they are making a year.
The only thing that is on the current CPC to-do list that they platformed on, is re-opening the SSM debate. Ironically, that's the last thing Canadians want to talk about in parliament.
Talk is cheap. That's why I vote for the most principled candidate in my electoral district over the lofty idea's of two parties who have provent to the public that they cannot govern without going back on the promises people are hanging onto. That's why I am neither a member of the CPC nor the Liberal party.
So why didn't the Liberals implement mandatory ethanol content in gasoline? 13 years, no movement on this.
Farmers don't want markets, just subsidies huh? Suuure, those whiny lazy bastards.
In Strahls words
"The real answer in the long run is not government subsidies. Farmers don't want subsidies. They don't want handouts. They don't want to farm the mailboxes, as they say," said Mr. Strahl, who was responding to a rally on Parliament Hill by a few thousand farmers who blocked traffic for most of the day with their tractors and transport trucks.
"The solutions that we will bring forward in the days ahead will continue to develop programming and strategies that are going to address things like access to capital and getting farmers more involved in the production chain so they can get more value out of it."
Also try some stats that indicates U.S. farmers don't want handouts and are Canadians really any different.
"That's why I am neither a member of the CPC nor the Liberal party"
Agreed, Mr. Harper seems to have learned too quickly from the Liberals and I am somewhat uncomfortable about the similarity to Liberals. With regards to Kyoto, it is highly preferable to set realistic goals that Canada will reach rather than hollow feel good statements that are ignored. The CPC party had a late start on allowing Canada to reach its Kyoto agreements so the Liberal party will need to take its share of the blame on this.
I realize many Conservatives are moderate, I just happen to be a skeptic how fears the party isn't as moderate as they claim to be, but ultimately time will tell.
On the Kyoto Protocol, we should have never ratified it without a plan, but pulling out once you sign it would damage Canada's international reputation. All I can say here is we either pull out and damage our reputation or stay in but fail to meet the targets and also damage our reputation. Despite what some say, we cannot meet our Kyoto targets. We can cut emissions to 15% above 1990 levels, that is do able (we are at 24% now above 1990 levels), but 6% below 1990 levels by 2025 is possible, but not 2012. Part of the reason Britain will achieve their Kyoto targets is their economy has shifted away from heavy industry and coal to the tertiary sectory. Unless our economy goes through a fundamental change, it cannot be done. Now we should still aim to lower greenhouse gases long-term, but also be realistic too.
On health care, we need to stop thinking inside the box. We should not reject private involvement in health care so long as it doesn't undermine universality and accessiblity. Off course any private involvement must have tight restrictions. Considering how many private clinics are operating under the radar, it would make far more sense to recognize them and allow them to exist, but with strict rules rather than pretend they don't exist.
As for national unity, further decentralization or re-opening the constitution isn't the answer. The answer is to give more power to caucus and allow MPs from any region to veto legislation that is harmful to their region. It means reaching out to Canadians from all regions and developing policies that Canadians from coast to coast support rather than ones that are regionally divisive.
On agriculture, I believe the CWB should continue to exist, but farmers should have the right to opt out as they currently do in Ontario. I am in principle against subsidies to agriculture, but until the EU and US stop subsidizing their farmers, we have no choice but to. I support slapping high tariffs on subsidized agricultural products until the EU and US quit subsidizing their agriculture.
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