News Items
As usual I've been quite busy so cannot blog on every issue. Unlike when at university or only working contract jobs, I work a full day now and quite often work overtime. Anyways I number of events have happened in the last few days that I would like to discuss
Manitoba Election
Manitoba will go to the polls on May 22nd as Gary Doer will try to seek a third term. Since I am a Blue Liberal and the Liberals have almost no chance at winning in Manitoba, I will endorse Progressive Conservative leader Hugh McFayden. He is also more moderate than Stephen Harper and considering the fact former PC MP Rick Borotsik (who didn't vote for Stephen Harper) is running under his banner, I suspect his policies will be more centrist like the old PCs were. I also hope the Liberals gain seats since having a two party polarized system is not exactly the best.
Virginia Tech shooting
What happened in Virginia was certainly a tragedy and my full condolensces to all who died including the one Canadian. There has been much talk about gun laws over this. My view is America's gun laws are too lax, but because they have the constitutional right to keep and bear arms tightening gun laws will be a lot tougher than most think. This would probably require a constitutional change, which means they need at least 30 states on side, and considering tougher gun laws are only popular in the Northeast and West Coast, this will be next to impossible of doing. Thankfully in Canada we don't have such right so we can have more sensible gun laws. Some have used this as an argument to keep the gun registry, which although I am for tough gun laws, I support effective gun laws and therefore my opposition to the gun registry stands. Other measures such as requiring all hand guns used by collectors to be disabled so they cannot be used as well as requiring target shooters to leave their guns at the range are measurs I support. I would also support doing regular reviews for all gun licencees to ensure they are still fit to use one. And it is important note that registeration is simply about registering each individual gun, one must still have a licence to purchase a firearm and I fully support licencing of all long guns.
Dion runs Liberal ads
On the whole I thought the ads were reasonably good. Some say they should have been nastier, but lets not decend to the Tory's level. If we have to go nasty leave it until the election. The point of the ads should be to define our leader since much of his lower poll numbers is due to the fact we've let our opponents define him and off course they will define him quite negatively. Part of the reason we thumped Stockwell Day in 2000 and Stephen Harper in 2004 is we defined them before they could define themselves.
Stephen Harper appoints Bert Brown
Stephen Harper certainly has the right to appoint whoever he wants, but I would not call this a democratic appointment. Bert Brown was elected over 5 years ago and considering how much politics can change in such a time period, I don't think one should assume a mandate then is still relevant today. In addition, the Alberta senate elections were farces as it was a choice between right wing and even more right wing. Centrists and leftists had no option, and although it still likely would have resulted in a Conservative one, non-right wing Albertans should have someone to vote for. A more sensible solution would be to promise Ed Stelmach he would appoint whoever won the senate ballot in the next provincial election and then you would at least have some move towards democracy. Besides I support abolishing the senate, so if I were in charge, I would leave all vacancies vacant.
Manitoba Election
Manitoba will go to the polls on May 22nd as Gary Doer will try to seek a third term. Since I am a Blue Liberal and the Liberals have almost no chance at winning in Manitoba, I will endorse Progressive Conservative leader Hugh McFayden. He is also more moderate than Stephen Harper and considering the fact former PC MP Rick Borotsik (who didn't vote for Stephen Harper) is running under his banner, I suspect his policies will be more centrist like the old PCs were. I also hope the Liberals gain seats since having a two party polarized system is not exactly the best.
Virginia Tech shooting
What happened in Virginia was certainly a tragedy and my full condolensces to all who died including the one Canadian. There has been much talk about gun laws over this. My view is America's gun laws are too lax, but because they have the constitutional right to keep and bear arms tightening gun laws will be a lot tougher than most think. This would probably require a constitutional change, which means they need at least 30 states on side, and considering tougher gun laws are only popular in the Northeast and West Coast, this will be next to impossible of doing. Thankfully in Canada we don't have such right so we can have more sensible gun laws. Some have used this as an argument to keep the gun registry, which although I am for tough gun laws, I support effective gun laws and therefore my opposition to the gun registry stands. Other measures such as requiring all hand guns used by collectors to be disabled so they cannot be used as well as requiring target shooters to leave their guns at the range are measurs I support. I would also support doing regular reviews for all gun licencees to ensure they are still fit to use one. And it is important note that registeration is simply about registering each individual gun, one must still have a licence to purchase a firearm and I fully support licencing of all long guns.
Dion runs Liberal ads
On the whole I thought the ads were reasonably good. Some say they should have been nastier, but lets not decend to the Tory's level. If we have to go nasty leave it until the election. The point of the ads should be to define our leader since much of his lower poll numbers is due to the fact we've let our opponents define him and off course they will define him quite negatively. Part of the reason we thumped Stockwell Day in 2000 and Stephen Harper in 2004 is we defined them before they could define themselves.
Stephen Harper appoints Bert Brown
Stephen Harper certainly has the right to appoint whoever he wants, but I would not call this a democratic appointment. Bert Brown was elected over 5 years ago and considering how much politics can change in such a time period, I don't think one should assume a mandate then is still relevant today. In addition, the Alberta senate elections were farces as it was a choice between right wing and even more right wing. Centrists and leftists had no option, and although it still likely would have resulted in a Conservative one, non-right wing Albertans should have someone to vote for. A more sensible solution would be to promise Ed Stelmach he would appoint whoever won the senate ballot in the next provincial election and then you would at least have some move towards democracy. Besides I support abolishing the senate, so if I were in charge, I would leave all vacancies vacant.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 6:04 PM
12 Comments:
Manitoba election, Yee-Haw! I guess I'll be a 'real' Manitoban now after I cast my ballot on the 22nd. As for Bert Brown, I'm extremely please that he was appointed by Stephen Harper. I mean, if ANY PM is going to appoint senators from Alberta, why not make it the ones that Albertans elected in the last election. (By the way, I'm aware of the actual number of Albertans who voted for the Senators in Waiting during the last provincial election. That's not to say that every election with a low-voter turn out isn't credible nor is it the will of the people. It was an open race and anyone could have ran for the Senate should they have felt it necessary. That's democracy for ya!)
As for the (sometimes) lack of blogging Miles - no worries. I'm always checking up on this site.
Good ideas about the gun laws Miles, but unfortunately laws are meant to be broken. I pwersonally support the gun registry because it makes it harder for someone to get a gun. If you have the money in the US, you can essentially buy a gun and have it the same day. Whereas in Canada, you need to jump through many legal hoops to get your hands on a gun.
Dylan - I also will get to cast my ballot in the Ontario election this October so it looks like both of us can cast our ballots elsewhere. As for Bert Brown, Stephen Harper certainly has every right to appoint him, I am simply pointing out that the time that has lapsed between his election makes it somewhat questionable to call it democratic. If he promised to run in the upcoming provincial election on the senate ballot, that would make more sense.
Opionator777 - I too support tough gun laws and I support making it tough to get one. The registry is only about registering each individual gun, one still has to get a licence and if someone is to fit to have a gun, it doesn't matter how many they have, while if someone is not fit to have one, they shouldn't have any. Besides I would have supported the gun registry if its cost were much lower. My main reason for opposing it is the costs outweight the benefits.
Bert Brown was elected over 5 years ago
Try "less that 2.5 years ago".
In addition, the Alberta senate elections were farces as it was a choice between right wing and even more right wing. Centrists and leftists had no option
...which is entirely the fault of the "centrist and leftist" parties, who deliberately chose not to run candidates.
Invisible Hand - the NDP and Liberals didn't run candidates since they knew they wouldn't be appointed. And besides even 2.5 years ago is a little too long ago as back then the Liberals federally were 10-15 points ahead of the Conservatives so a lot can change in that time period, while south of the border Bush's approval rating was 15-20% higher than it is now.
the NDP and Liberals didn't run candidates since they knew they wouldn't be appointed.
Obviously, they were wrong.
(And frankly, I think it's far more likely that their not running was a deliberate attempt to undermine the credibility of the election, so that certain people could later claim that it wasn't a "real" election.)
And besides even 2.5 years ago is a little too long ago as back then the Liberals federally were 10-15 points ahead of the Conservatives so a lot can change in that time period...
So what? Do we kick out MPs in-between elections if their party's poll numbers go down? And you haven't even shown any evidence that fewer Albertans support Bert Brown than in 2004...
Invisible Hand - At the time of the last election, the Liberals were in power federally and stated they wouldn't appoint who was elected, so it was quite reasonable for the NDP and Liberals not to run candidates. The Alberta Liberals in fact favour elected senators and I should note the Alberta Liberals although philosophically identical to the federal Liberals are a separate party and not directly affiliated.
Secondly, using your logic, we should therefore re-appoint the Liberals to power since they were elected a little under 3 years ago. The reality is when an election is held if the person is not appointed within a few months (all swearning ins happen within 2 months of an election) then it is meaningless.
Alberta will have an election soon enough and Harper could have appointed whoever was elected there.
Although Americans have guns in the constitution, the government is fully capable of regulating gun ownership. As much as pro-gun lobbies talk about "their rights" they never clame any gun control is unconstitutional. If the Dems weren't such cowards, they'd mention this from time to time.
Anonymous - I agree that the government can to some degree regulate the ownership of guns, but the real problem is the 2nd amendment. I think anytime you have a right in the constitution, it should be one you support in principle. Lets remember the United States doesn't have a section 1 like Canada which allows for violations if they are a reasonable limit in a free and democratic society.
As for the Democrats taking this on, don't count on it since although gun control is popular on the West Coast and Northeast, it is not popular in Middle America and the South and the Democrats need to at least win a few states here.
Our solution here in Canada is we need to start cracking down at the border to stop the flow of guns northward.
Invisible Hand - At the time of the last election, the Liberals were in power federally and stated they wouldn't appoint who was elected, so it was quite reasonable for the NDP and Liberals not to run candidates.
The government-in-waiting (Conservatives) clearly stated that they would appoint whoever won if they came to power, so it would have been foolish for the Alberta provincial parties to not run candidates because "they won't be appointed".
Secondly, using your logic, we should therefore re-appoint the Liberals to power since they were elected a little under 3 years ago.
That's complete nonsense, and you know it. The reason that Liberals aren't still in power based on their 2004 mandate is because there's been another election since then, which they lost. The 2004 Alberta Senate election is the most recent one for those positions.
The reality is when an election is held if the person is not appointed within a few months (all swearning ins happen within 2 months of an election) then it is meaningless.
Says who? Alberta law states that our Senate elections are good for a six year term as a Senator-in-waiting.
The people who are complaining about this seem to be the ones who assumed that The Liberals Will Rule Canada Forever...
Invsible Hand - Few considered the Tories the government in waiting until the New Year of 2006 as most polls showed them trailing by at least 10 points prior to the election being called.
In addition, I would argue that the election took place to long ago as I cannot think of a case where someone is appointed 2.5 years later and it is called an election. In addition senators serve six year terms in the United States, not Canada. In Canada it is until age 75.
I am not saying the Liberals are entitled to rule forever, but the appointment of senator Bert Brown can hardly be called representing the people of Alberta. There will be another election soon and if Harper appoints the senate winner after that, you may have a point.
Invsible Hand - Few considered the Tories the government in waiting until the New Year of 2006 as most polls showed them trailing by at least 10 points prior to the election being called.
The official opposition is is the government-in-waiting, regardless of irrelevant non-writ opinion polls.
If the other parties didn't run candidates for that reason, then they have only their own short-sightedness to blame for not having a chance at getting a Senator.
In addition, I would argue that the election took place to long ago as I cannot think of a case where someone is appointed 2.5 years later and it is called an election. In addition senators serve six year terms in the United States, not Canada. In Canada it is until age 75.
We're not talking about the term for a Senator, we're talking about the term for an Alberta Senator-in-waiting:
The term of a Senate nominee commences on the day the person is declared elected in accordance with the Senatorial Selection Act and expires 6 years from that date.
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