Four news stories of the day

The first major story today is Danny Williams runs ads in national papers denouncing the Conservatives' changes to equalization. While I am not sure how effective it will be elsewhere, I do agree that Harper broke his promise since the changes made seem to contradict what he originally pledged. Although I live in Ontario where most people think Danny Williams is being unreasonable, I fully support the Atlantic Accord as it was written by Paul Martin in 2005. This is not about Atlantic Canada still getting equalization if the provinces some day become have provinces, rather this is providing Atlantic Canada with an opportunity to become have provinces. The sooner they can become have provinces, the better off we all are. By not clawing back non-renewable resources, this will allow them to develop new industries, which will sustain economic growth in the long-run and create other benefits. This is what was done for Alberta between 1957-1964, so why can't the same be done for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador. Had Harper handled this right, it wouldn't hurt him anywhere, but this will likely hurt him in one of two ways: he caves in and gives both Newfoundland & Labrador and Nova Scotia what they want, which will hurt him in Ontario and Quebec or he ignores them and loses in those two provinces. As someone with family from Alberta who get shafted by the federal government under Pierre Trudeau's National Energy Program since Alberta didn't have enough seats to effect the outcome, I know what it is like to be shafted. The Liberals previous shafting of the West was wrong and Harper following the same strategy of shafting Atlantic Canada, which doesn't have enough seats to have a big impact, is also wrong. I also like the fact Rodney Macdonald is taking a more diplomatic approach while Williams is taking a more hardline approach. It is tough to know which has the best chance working, so by using different strategies there is a better chance of success than if they used the same one.

The second story is the results of the Barley plebiscite on the Canadian Wheat Board are now in. Not surprisingly, a majority voted against maintaining the single desk although support for abolishing the single desk was substantially higher in Alberta than either Saskatchewan or Manitoba, which is really not that surprising considering how Albertans tend to subscribe more to free markets and rugged individualism whereas the idea of collective responsibility and we are stronger united than divided has more reasonance in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I do myself support ending the Wheat Board monopoly, but I totally condemn the handling of the plebiscite, which was an absolute farce. Since there were three questions, there should have been a run-off ballot if no question got over 50%. In addition it should have be run by an independent non-partisan agency such as Elections Canada to avoid either side trying to rig it. Finally the numbering of ballots, which can identify the voters is the worse fraud of it all. If the Conservatives want to end the monopoly on the basis it violates individual rights, fine, but then say so. If they want to do it through the democratic process, then do it fairly. My worry is Harper's bullying tactics here may ultimately backfire and put off any meaningful reforms for many years to come, whereas if done properly we could eliminate the monopoly in the near future without a major backlash.

Former BQ leader Michel Gauthier won't be running again, so it will be interesting to see how his riding plays out. He is from the Saguenay region which went solidly PQ provincially and the ADQ performed poorly so on the surface it might seem like a safe BQ riding. However, this was the only riding of the 65 ridings in Quebec, the Conservatives didn't win, that they came within 10% of winning. For whatever reason, the Saguenay is an anomaly in the sense that the Conservatives are competitive here while the ADQ isn't, despite the fact the ADQ is stronger in most parts of Quebec than the Conservatives.

The final topic is Indian Affairs minister Jim Prentice will not offer an apology for the residential schools. If the government had a policy of not offering any apologies due to fear of legal implications, then fine, but if they are willing to offer one for the Chinese Head Tax and Maher Arar then they should for the residential schools. I am almost feel sorry for Jim Prentice as I think he wants to help aboriginals, but he is dealing with a prime-minister who is hostile to aboriginals, not just here, but also through his other actions such as scrapping the Kelowna Accord. Clearly the Reform wing of the party is running the aboriginal affairs agenda as every Progressive Conservative premier and even former PM Brian Mulroney support the Kelowna Accord. I guess this is just more of Harper's vindictativeness towards those who aren't conservative or potential conservative voters. Although the Liberals did this too, I believe a PM should govern for all of Canada including those who didn't and won't vote for their party.