http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060122/od_afp/afplifestylebritain_060122210756

Maybe a conservative minority wouldn’t be so bad… Tax cuts to satisfy those that voted for Harper, and maintaining social programs to keep the liberals and ndp from terminating the government…

I have spent much of that time bragging to my friends and family back in the US about what a great country Canada is. I love the health care system (my mother has worked more years than she needed to just to keep her health insurance in California). I love the fact that Canadians opened their homes to Americans on 9/11 and that the Canadian government has had the guts (trying to keep it clean) to stand up to the US government and say, “No UN mandate, no Canadian troops in Iraq”.

Money stolen by a few individuals may be a scandal, but it’s nothing compared to tapping phones without warrants and holding your own citizens without ever laying charges or telling their families where they are. Then there is the current US environmental policy which allows corporations to voluntarily meet minimal environmental standards. Conservatives in the US allowed the ban on assault weapons to expire, and are pushing to allow the expiration of the voting rights act. Just imagine that country with a notwithstanding clause.

My MP is as conservative as they come and the idea of her party moving this great country any closer to resembling the US makes me sad and disappointed in my fellow Canadians.

If you are seriously concerned about national politics then get involved; this *definitely* doesn’t need to mean running for office; join a party, influence their platform, bring your blog savvy to bear, volunteer to do something, work on it between elections, and not just during elections. Good to see your ire getting raised by these issues, as you can translate this into real action, just make sure to not let it slip away a few weeks after the election.

No witty song quote from me, I’m too busy crying in my beer about a possible conservative govt.

To me, the really depressing thing is that there is literally no one to vote for. Ed Broadbent, the last of a breed, is finally hanging up his hat. That kind of sums it up for me.

I’ll be voting NDP here in Quebec, even if they have less chance of winning here than they do in Alberta. But if Harper wins a majority, it will probably be because he won the few seats in Quebec he needed to push him past the post.

And since we share this particular obsession — there is apparently no interest at all in challenging the parties to construct a meaningful energy strategy. Canadians are even higher per capita energy consumers than Americans, our population more dispersed and we we consume a great deal fighting these winters. You wouldn’t know it from the campaign. There’s clearly no popular interest in demanding our leaders respond to the impending challenges (unless withdrawing from Kyoto counts), there are clearly no votes to be won promising, say, a national transit strategy. Or incentives (or penalities) to promote urban density. I remember in the last election the NDP were mocked for proposing tax credits for cyclists and small-scale home gardens — they don’t even talk about it any more.

My sympathy about Anders. He’s one of the half-dozen biggest nuts in Canadian politics, and that says something.

Our own riding is one the safest NDP strongholds in the country. You sure we can’t lure you over the Rockies?

Seriously, I understand how you feel. The incumbent MP in my riding (Battlefords-Lloydminster) is Conservative Gerry Ritz. Gerry’s a nice enough person, but I disagree with almost everything he’s said during the campaign. The other candidate getting lots of attention around here is Jim Pankiw, whose platform seems designed to do nothing but play to the anger and hostility of rural voters by blaming all their ills on aboriginal canadians and gay marriage. The NDP candidate in the riding is a terrific candidate (and a friend) so I hope that the righ-wing vote is split enough for him to come through.

Should we give up and move away if the conservatives win? No way – I’m going to live where I want to live, and use tools that are available to me (like blogs) to keep their actions in the public eye. To quote Pete Townshend:

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again

your criticisms of Anders are more interesting, though i wish they were more even-handed.

you sound like someone who would be poorer but happier in an “NDP stronghold.” be true to your value system, man.

I’ve also killed any thought that I might throw my hat into the ring and try to run myself – the press would have a heyday with this post (and many others).

I appreciate the productive criticism – that’s how I took it, so no worries.

Not sure how even-handed any criticism of Anders is likely to be. By all accounts that I’ve heard, he’s simply not the man for the job. Even his fellow Conservative MPs are starting to speak out against him in an effort to distance themselves from him.

As for being poorer but happier – there’s no reason to be poorer. Maintain the current taxation level – I’m actually fine with that – but do something productive with it. Tax cuts aren’t the answer to every. single. issue.

But, the call of the “NDP Stronghold” is definitely getting louder…

And there are perogies to be had in every grocery store! :^D (check davidicus’ blog for reference)