Recent Issues
Haven't blogger for a while due to a combination of factors including a bad cold I had recently as well as I also wanted to be outside when we finally got our first spring like weather here in Toronto. Anyways a brief summary of my take on a few recent issues.
Clinton Wins Pennsylvania
The results in Pennsylvania ensure one thing, which is the race for the Democrat nomination will continue. Clinton's win of 55% to 45% over Obama was not a small margin, but neither a blowout. Clinton needed to get over 60% to be fully back in the game, which she failed to do, but she needed to win by more than a few percentage points to stay competitive, which she did. However, I still think it is almost a guarantee Obama will be the Democrat presidential hopeful, so my advice to Clinton would be to bow out if she doesn't win either Indiana or North Carolina. In the mean time the super-delegates need to start declaring who they will support, so hopefully by June when the primaries are over, one of the two contenders will have graciously bowed out. The longer the contest goes on, the more divided the party will become and the better the chances are of a Republican victory in November. As much as Americans don't like Bush, McCain is still reasonably well liked and is electable. As for my opinion on McCain, I am still somewhat undecided, since although I respect the fact he was willing to go against his party on several issues, he is still too conservative for my tastes, albeit he is definitely an improvement over Bush (which isn't that hard to do unless one is a dictator).
Economic downturn and Ontario's struggling economy
A recent report has come out that Ontario may become a have not province in a few years. Perhaps maybe I need to leave as British Columbia became a have not province right around the time I graduated from high school and then moved back to a have province just before I moved to Ontario, so it seems I bring bad luck economically wherever I go. But all joking aside, this could be quite serious for not just Ontario's economy but Canada's as a whole. With 38% of the population and over 40% of the GDP, a downturn in Ontario will hurt all of Canada. It will mean less tax revenue to fund our social programs, debt repayment, and lower taxes. Also if Ontario goes on equalization, it will either mean the have provinces in the West have to pay a lot more into equalization, or those currently receiving equalization will get a lot less, both which are not attractive. Rather than pick fights, the federal government and provincial government should work together to find a way to prevent this from happening. Much of this is off course beyond the control of the government is we live in a global economy and we cannot avoid an economic downturn especially one in the United States. The decline of the manufacturing sector has been happening for some time and I don't think it can be fully reversed, but we need to find ways to allow our economy to make a full transition to new sectors. Economies that can change easily from one sector to another tend to do better than those that cannot. By having a highly skilled and educated workforce as well as making Canada and Ontario a competitive place to do business, this can make the transition easier.
Harper's dispute with Elections Canada
Elections Canada has accused the Tories of using an in and out scheme to exceed the election spending limits. This is an serious issue and if the Tories broke the law, there should be penalties. This also seriously undermines the confidence people have in our democratic institutions. Now I am not saying the Tories are guilty since although the partisan side of me would love to say they are, I do believe in the idea of innocent until proven guilty, so I will wait until the court hands down an opinion one way or another before commenting. I am however, disturbed by Harper's frequent attacks on Elections Canada. Back in his days as president of the NCC, he referred to them as jackasses and his former right hand man at the National Citizens' Coalition, Gerry Nicholls (www.gerrynicholls.blogspot.com) still is attacking them daily. Ignoring the fact Nicholls bashes Harper frequently for not being right wing enough, I think he is simply saying what Harper believes but has enough sense not to say. One may not agree with all of Elections Canada's rulings are all election laws, but independent organizations like Elections Canada are vital to ensuring the fairness of our elections. Unlike in the US where parties frequently gerrymander congressional districts to favour their party, our boundaries are drawn up by Elections Canada in a fair matter that does not favour one party over another. In fact it has helped many other countries around the world including Ukraine and Iraq in their elections. Therefore, I abhor Harper's attacks on them and am very concerned about them. I am all for less government and getting government out of areas it doesn't belong in, but clearly this is a legitimate area for an independent government agency such as Elections Canada.
Clinton Wins Pennsylvania
The results in Pennsylvania ensure one thing, which is the race for the Democrat nomination will continue. Clinton's win of 55% to 45% over Obama was not a small margin, but neither a blowout. Clinton needed to get over 60% to be fully back in the game, which she failed to do, but she needed to win by more than a few percentage points to stay competitive, which she did. However, I still think it is almost a guarantee Obama will be the Democrat presidential hopeful, so my advice to Clinton would be to bow out if she doesn't win either Indiana or North Carolina. In the mean time the super-delegates need to start declaring who they will support, so hopefully by June when the primaries are over, one of the two contenders will have graciously bowed out. The longer the contest goes on, the more divided the party will become and the better the chances are of a Republican victory in November. As much as Americans don't like Bush, McCain is still reasonably well liked and is electable. As for my opinion on McCain, I am still somewhat undecided, since although I respect the fact he was willing to go against his party on several issues, he is still too conservative for my tastes, albeit he is definitely an improvement over Bush (which isn't that hard to do unless one is a dictator).
Economic downturn and Ontario's struggling economy
A recent report has come out that Ontario may become a have not province in a few years. Perhaps maybe I need to leave as British Columbia became a have not province right around the time I graduated from high school and then moved back to a have province just before I moved to Ontario, so it seems I bring bad luck economically wherever I go. But all joking aside, this could be quite serious for not just Ontario's economy but Canada's as a whole. With 38% of the population and over 40% of the GDP, a downturn in Ontario will hurt all of Canada. It will mean less tax revenue to fund our social programs, debt repayment, and lower taxes. Also if Ontario goes on equalization, it will either mean the have provinces in the West have to pay a lot more into equalization, or those currently receiving equalization will get a lot less, both which are not attractive. Rather than pick fights, the federal government and provincial government should work together to find a way to prevent this from happening. Much of this is off course beyond the control of the government is we live in a global economy and we cannot avoid an economic downturn especially one in the United States. The decline of the manufacturing sector has been happening for some time and I don't think it can be fully reversed, but we need to find ways to allow our economy to make a full transition to new sectors. Economies that can change easily from one sector to another tend to do better than those that cannot. By having a highly skilled and educated workforce as well as making Canada and Ontario a competitive place to do business, this can make the transition easier.
Harper's dispute with Elections Canada
Elections Canada has accused the Tories of using an in and out scheme to exceed the election spending limits. This is an serious issue and if the Tories broke the law, there should be penalties. This also seriously undermines the confidence people have in our democratic institutions. Now I am not saying the Tories are guilty since although the partisan side of me would love to say they are, I do believe in the idea of innocent until proven guilty, so I will wait until the court hands down an opinion one way or another before commenting. I am however, disturbed by Harper's frequent attacks on Elections Canada. Back in his days as president of the NCC, he referred to them as jackasses and his former right hand man at the National Citizens' Coalition, Gerry Nicholls (www.gerrynicholls.blogspot.com) still is attacking them daily. Ignoring the fact Nicholls bashes Harper frequently for not being right wing enough, I think he is simply saying what Harper believes but has enough sense not to say. One may not agree with all of Elections Canada's rulings are all election laws, but independent organizations like Elections Canada are vital to ensuring the fairness of our elections. Unlike in the US where parties frequently gerrymander congressional districts to favour their party, our boundaries are drawn up by Elections Canada in a fair matter that does not favour one party over another. In fact it has helped many other countries around the world including Ukraine and Iraq in their elections. Therefore, I abhor Harper's attacks on them and am very concerned about them. I am all for less government and getting government out of areas it doesn't belong in, but clearly this is a legitimate area for an independent government agency such as Elections Canada.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 5:20 PM
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