Does that mean the people are somewhat fine with the way the Govt. is being run?
Do the voters see Ignautious as a non entity?
Will it be at the Libs peril to force an election?
I can only hope that PMSH gets a majority whenever the next election happens, we do not need the likes of Ignautious, Jack the weasle (my apologies to all the good weasles out there)and the Bloc head forming a coalition that would no doubt destroy this country.
Who would want to follow politics with the partisanship displayed by the msm.Watching the blonde bimbo Fife on the Nat News last nite,discussing corporate tax-cuts with Ms LaPhlegm,the lis must have been revelling in the suck-up job Fife provided.That had to be the biggest propoganda exercise I’ve seen in some time.
oops,’lis’ should be ‘Libs’
With those kind of numbers, that means that we posters here on SDA are the only ones who watch and listen to what is going on in politics here in Canada.
I feel like I really am making a contribution to this wonderful nation. (stands up and takes a bow)
And how many of those 15% who follow politics actually give a rip about any of the parties? Traditionally, I’ve been a Conservative but since they’ve turned into Liberals I really don’t have anyone to support anyways. There are probably those on the left side of things that feel the same way about the Libs and the Dippers.
I still follow politics but I don’t have a horse in the race any more.
This is what happens when the media lie about something for 40 years. People stop listening.
Farmer Joe, you may not think you’ve got a horse in the race my friend, but just ponder a moment what you’re going to be thinking when Iggy jacks up your income taxes AGAIN, and the price of gas goes up above its present $4.50 a gallon because the Liberals voted in the Green Shaft.
How much blood do you have left in you?
Dare I say it?
Perhaps it’s because Canadian federal politics are, er, well, fundamentally boring.
We live in a country where the fate of a census form can become a serious political issue.
Give me a break.
Exactly JJM
Canadian politics is to American politics what the CFL is to the NFL. Most of us keep an eye on the CFL, but for entertainment, quality, and accessibility most of us tune into the NFL.
Seriously though, even at times of excitement in Canadian politics, it is nearly impossible to find any interesting programing on it. Perhaps FOXNewsNorth will engage Canadians and perhaps we’ll get a bump in that 15%.
Furthermore, the Liberals and the NDP revel in the fact that 85% of Canadians are disengaged, and most definitely wish that number was higher. Want proof? Look no farther than both party’s wish to lower the voting age to 16. Need I go on?
The title to this post is too funny… Nice one, Kate!
ask how many Canadians follow U.S. politics? The number is probably higher because the only political coverage we can stand to watch is Fox….It’s a shame I’m disengaged from Canadian political coverage but the liberal bias drove me away from it. It’s their own fault…
On the upside for the Canadian parties on the left, they count on uninformed Canadians grabbing a quick soundbite before they vote…garbage in, garbage out.
Taber is typical of the Canadian elite and their hangers-on,the MSM reporters, in her contempt for us,the beer and popcorn crowd.
I don’t know where she gets her ideas from,because everyone I know,from students to seniors to construction workers I meet on the jobs,is well aware of the political scene in this Country.
They may not be as fully conversant on every twitch in Ottawa as an MSM reporter,but most I’ve spoken to are very aware of the latest bill or law or controversy emanating from the “Big Waste of Our Money in the East”,otherwise known as Ottawa.
Has Taber EVER written an intelligent and well researched column,if so,can someone direct me to it as I’m trying to figure out how she holds her job.
What’s interesting here is that Taber prefers to take the views of the Liberal Party pollster rather than Ipsos-Reid. I-P’s surveys are always much wider and deeper than snapshots done by political parties. Maybe what Marzolini is finding is that only 15% of Canadians are interested in participating in a Liberal Party poll.
None of this is surprising of course. By her own admission a few years back, Taber has no liking or comprehension of policy, legislation and regulation. Perhaps the real question is why does CTV keep her in Ottawa when she’s so obviously useless at political analysis?
I agree dmorris. I couldn’t even finish the article: “Why am I wasting my time with this drivel?” I thought.
I went straight to the comments: much more interesting and astute;-)
I see that I’m not the only one who found something most hilarious with the title of the piece:
“Only 15 per cent of Canadians follow politics, but Liberals see hope in the other 85”
I’m thinking the Obama people used WTF to purposely grab attention from the texting generation. At the risk of being called a racist, I think he’s well served by throwing a bit of ebonics, and profanity around, as well.
Don’t forget, when Clinton got a BJ from a BBW, his popularity among black voters went sky high.
sorry, wrong thread.
Once again, great title, Kate.
Bring on SunTV.
The Liberals should do a little digging into the Avro Arrow Affair. There was bound to be a few conservatives who were working there that probably met politicians at social functions. Blow the lid right off and force an election.
For those who find the present politics unexciting, count your blessings. Government should keep house instead of molding society.
And CBC garners less than six percent of Canadian viewers in Canada, the two couldn’t possibly be related right?
A lot of Canadians are silly and apathetic.
A good deal of Canadians are fed up. Elections have become horse races. If our tax dollars fund ALL parties, why should anyone sing for their supper?
A lot of Canadians have the sense to recognize that Canadian politcs is utter bullshit. Sounds like a good thing.
Thankfully we have low voter turn out, the lower the better.
WTF = where’s the form?
(as in COLB)
Why bother following politics, they’ll just do whatever best serves Ontario & Quebec. F’ the rest of Canada. We don’t count for sh!t anyways.
If the other 85% “really” paid attention to politics, there would be a be a CPC majority.
So, there’s only 15% of Canadians that follow politics… and none of that 15% would vote “Liberal”. So, there isn’t anyone who follows politics in Canada that would vote “Liberal”. Hilarious.
Taber writes….the breathless election speculation….no one cares….
When you think about it, the stuff is mostly in their “journalistic” minds, they are working on creating anti Harper mass hysteria, not that Harper is without sin.
Then Taber writes …..only 15 per cent of the Canadian electorate is paying attention….
Like the rest of the population has nothing else to think about but the same thing as Taber or Mr. Marzolini.
Most people have to take care of living, go to work, get groceries, feed the kids and other such things that the “journalist” would know nothing about. They, the “upper crust” go out and have a beer and pizza and pasta and burger and what ever. Here maybe I’re misunderestimating the “upper crust”.
Mr. Bricker, meanwhile, believes….. sounds like Mr Bricker is thinking with his brain being alert.
….very few people are following what’s happening in Parliament…..no $hit, what’s happening in the parliament would, in another era be called bull$hit. The going’s on in the parliament are nothing short of that.
….there are big opportunities to engage that 85 per cent of voters who are tuned out right now.
What can one say, people go about their daily living. People like me that have nothing else to do look after the folks, though me is not enough.
PET Cemetery: Liberal Iggy’s Screamin’ in the Rain.
The Iggy Scream.
Citoyen Kyoto Dionky says, That’s not fair. Merde! Merde.
“Clearly, the Conservatives are also trying to show Ignatieff as looking slightly unhinged and overly aggressive. A sort-of Howard Dean moment that recalls the excessive and almost maniacal posture of former Vermont Governor Dean, then- U.S. presidential candidate for the Democrats, in 2004. He shouted a throaty “yeah” several times in what came to be known as the Dean Scream. The tape brought an end to his political candidacy.”
“Hitting Michael Ignatieff Way Below The Belt” http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2011/01/28/hitting-michael-ignatieff-way-below-the-belt.aspx http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/01/27/strange-position/#comment-59853
That’s because Canadian politics is boring and unproductive. Waiting for parliament to accomplish something can cause drowsiness. Switch to HNIC or take up an interesting hobby. The rewards are infinitely greater.
The article left me with the feeling that my fellow
Canadians are fine, upstanding people who are too
sensible to waste time on dreck.
They will become engaged when an election comes, and
Duke Michael is not likely to benefit from their
close attention. And I do think that the Conservative ads against him,
being mostly in his own words, are effective.
Only 15% are engaged eh?…Does that mean a TEA party north is a non starter? ;-)…
Me too says it’s because most Canucks are happy campers right now…Everyone’s getting a check, everyone got a flat screen at Christmas, beer and pot is always readily available, it’s hockey season for the boys, American Idol for the girls (And liberals) and Quebec is too embroiled in their local scandals (Construction and others) to be screaming for more handouts and/or spitting out insults at the ROC…
Taber also forgets that little nugget: We currently don’t have any other voice than of the perpetual big city lefty in political TV programming anyway…People have tuned off years ago for good reasons.
Watch those TV elitist idiots start bashing and complaining about SUN news just a few days before and after it starts up: This will ensure to spike curiosity and might engage more Canadians into politics once they breath in the fresh air of common sense that channel is hopefully going to provide!…Stupid lefties, politics is for adults!
I would suggest Canada’s Tea Party moment was the Reform movement. Enpowering the grassroots to take control of their politics was to change the Canadian political landscape. The fundamental error was extending the exercise into Eastern Canada and having it sabotaged by central Canadian interests.
After decades of observation I conclude that most people are followers and don’t want the work or confrontation that is required to bring ideas forward and impliment them. A very few people want to put more into their society than they take out. Willful ignorance is celebrated in N. America. That observation is not limited to
either the left or the right!
No no! You are off base man, to cynical. I suggest you look at your local politics where the ‘little guy’ could still have a major impact. Most elected positions are still filled without contest and those that are contested are done so on the most limited basis. Local politicans are not held accountable anymore than those distant potentates in Ottawa.
“Farmer Joe, you may not think you’ve got a horse in the race my friend, but just ponder a moment what you’re going to be thinking when Iggy jacks up your income taxes AGAIN, and the price of gas goes up above its present $4.50 a gallon because the Liberals voted in the Green Shaft.
How much blood do you have left in you?”
Phantom, the conservatives have just broken all spending records and grown the Canadian government to it’s biggest size yet. Who do you think is going to have to pay for all of it? I’m no fan of the Liberals, but at least they could balance a budget once in a while.
From where I sit, it doesn’t matter any more who’s in power. They all spend like crazy when they get in and then point across the aisle saying the other guy would be worse.
Remember the “hidden agenda” scare tactic the Libs used for years? Well, the Iggy would be worse line is the opposite side of the same fear-mongering coin.
The Conservatives have had five years to show us who they are and frankly I don’t like what I’ve seen. I expected better. Not a lot better, just a bit. And what we’ve gotten has not been better, it has been worse.
So like I said before, I don’t have a horse in this race anymore because as far as I can tell it doesn’t matter. Liberal or Tory it’s the same old story.
So FJ, when you look south you don’t see that things with avowed socialists in power could have been a lot worse? You don’t think Dion would have gone forward with the carbon tax had he gained power? You don’t think guns would be banned completely now? you don’t think they would have voted in a stimulus package ten times the size of the one Harper did?
By the way, did you miss the news where jobs in the federal government are quietly getting harder to come by? Did you miss the part where Harper’s all in trouble because he’s championing corporate tax cuts? Did you miss the GST going down twice now?
Small steps true, but still steps.
Elections are won by the people who show up.
“Elections are won by the people who show up.”
This one is worth framing.
Several of the commentators here were close to identifying the truth: it’s not that only 15 per cent follow Canadian politics. It’s only 15 per cent who care about Canadian MEDIA.
The media have squandered their authority, and are now putting themselves out of business. 85 per cent of us know this is true, and don’t care.
Oh yes the baby steps, as phantom says we must remember the baby steps. The giant leaps in the other direction, well to that we say just move along folks, nothing to see here.
$56-billion deficits? That’s just pocket change that we’ll find in Jim Flaherty’s couch. And that 8% a year increase in overall spending since they got in, well hey at least it’s not double digits (yet). Corporate subsidies? Okay they’re still spending billions every year on that, and yes they’ve pretty much nationalized the auto industry, but at least they’ve done something about those wasteful regional development agencies. They’ve only increased them by one.
The foreign investment decision on Potash it’s right out of the NDP’s playbook, but come on, its only potash who really cares.
They can’t make up their mind if they want to cut and run from Afghanistan or stick around for the long haul so they’ve decided to do both. Nothing like having your cake and eating it too.
Tax’s? I’m glad you brought that up. The top marginal rate of income tax remains where it was a generation ago, while the tax system has been further complicated with the addition of a slew of special credits for children’s sports, transit passes and other ‘good’ causes.
Employment Insurance has been larded up with supplementary payments that make a return to actual insurance principles more remote than ever. And the Canada Pension plan is still a ticking time bomb, what with the Baby Boomers and all. But don’t be paying any attention to that, remember the baby steps.
What about Canada Post, the CBC, VIA rail, the free speech hating HRC and of course the Canadian Wheat Board. One homosexual feel’s offended by the song “Money for Nothing” and its instantly banned. Thousands of western farmers are offended every day because they’re forced to sell their wheat to the government at below market costs but that’s still A O.K.
Then there is this thing about constitutional matters. Transfer payments particularly. What’s been going on with them? They’ve been increased, not by a little, but by a lot. Gobs and gobs of money is being thrown around all over the place with special deals going on here and there, particularly for Quebec. But hey who can expect Quebecers to vote conservative without being paid to do so.
I suppose we can expect the Conservatives to clamp down on criminals though. Any day now the tough on crime thing is going to kick in. The next time Rahim Jaffer gets caught drinking, while speeding, with cocaine in the car there will be some serious consequences. There’s a new sheriff in town by the name of Julian Fantino and he’s going to clean things up just like he did in Caledonia. Oh yeah right… never mind.
But you know you got me thinking about those baby steps. Let’s look at some other baby steps. How’s about that new funding for Horse Canada magazine, snowmobile trails, ice cream for inmates, and the banning of light bulbs. Or how’s about Helena Guergis claiming $977 worth of handbags, shoes, clothing and jogging gear as “campaign expenses”. Yes, baby steps indeed.
Does that mean the people are somewhat fine with the way the Govt. is being run?
Do the voters see Ignautious as a non entity?
Will it be at the Libs peril to force an election?
I can only hope that PMSH gets a majority whenever the next election happens, we do not need the likes of Ignautious, Jack the weasle (my apologies to all the good weasles out there)and the Bloc head forming a coalition that would no doubt destroy this country.
Who would want to follow politics with the partisanship displayed by the msm.Watching the blonde bimbo Fife on the Nat News last nite,discussing corporate tax-cuts with Ms LaPhlegm,the lis must have been revelling in the suck-up job Fife provided.That had to be the biggest propoganda exercise I’ve seen in some time.
oops,’lis’ should be ‘Libs’
With those kind of numbers, that means that we posters here on SDA are the only ones who watch and listen to what is going on in politics here in Canada.
I feel like I really am making a contribution to this wonderful nation. (stands up and takes a bow)
And how many of those 15% who follow politics actually give a rip about any of the parties? Traditionally, I’ve been a Conservative but since they’ve turned into Liberals I really don’t have anyone to support anyways. There are probably those on the left side of things that feel the same way about the Libs and the Dippers.
I still follow politics but I don’t have a horse in the race any more.
This is what happens when the media lie about something for 40 years. People stop listening.
Farmer Joe, you may not think you’ve got a horse in the race my friend, but just ponder a moment what you’re going to be thinking when Iggy jacks up your income taxes AGAIN, and the price of gas goes up above its present $4.50 a gallon because the Liberals voted in the Green Shaft.
How much blood do you have left in you?
Dare I say it?
Perhaps it’s because Canadian federal politics are, er, well, fundamentally boring.
We live in a country where the fate of a census form can become a serious political issue.
Give me a break.
Exactly JJM
Canadian politics is to American politics what the CFL is to the NFL. Most of us keep an eye on the CFL, but for entertainment, quality, and accessibility most of us tune into the NFL.
Seriously though, even at times of excitement in Canadian politics, it is nearly impossible to find any interesting programing on it. Perhaps FOXNewsNorth will engage Canadians and perhaps we’ll get a bump in that 15%.
Furthermore, the Liberals and the NDP revel in the fact that 85% of Canadians are disengaged, and most definitely wish that number was higher. Want proof? Look no farther than both party’s wish to lower the voting age to 16. Need I go on?
The title to this post is too funny… Nice one, Kate!
ask how many Canadians follow U.S. politics? The number is probably higher because the only political coverage we can stand to watch is Fox….It’s a shame I’m disengaged from Canadian political coverage but the liberal bias drove me away from it. It’s their own fault…
On the upside for the Canadian parties on the left, they count on uninformed Canadians grabbing a quick soundbite before they vote…garbage in, garbage out.
Taber is typical of the Canadian elite and their hangers-on,the MSM reporters, in her contempt for us,the beer and popcorn crowd.
I don’t know where she gets her ideas from,because everyone I know,from students to seniors to construction workers I meet on the jobs,is well aware of the political scene in this Country.
They may not be as fully conversant on every twitch in Ottawa as an MSM reporter,but most I’ve spoken to are very aware of the latest bill or law or controversy emanating from the “Big Waste of Our Money in the East”,otherwise known as Ottawa.
Has Taber EVER written an intelligent and well researched column,if so,can someone direct me to it as I’m trying to figure out how she holds her job.
What’s interesting here is that Taber prefers to take the views of the Liberal Party pollster rather than Ipsos-Reid. I-P’s surveys are always much wider and deeper than snapshots done by political parties. Maybe what Marzolini is finding is that only 15% of Canadians are interested in participating in a Liberal Party poll.
None of this is surprising of course. By her own admission a few years back, Taber has no liking or comprehension of policy, legislation and regulation. Perhaps the real question is why does CTV keep her in Ottawa when she’s so obviously useless at political analysis?
I agree dmorris. I couldn’t even finish the article: “Why am I wasting my time with this drivel?” I thought.
I went straight to the comments: much more interesting and astute;-)
I see that I’m not the only one who found something most hilarious with the title of the piece:
“Only 15 per cent of Canadians follow politics, but Liberals see hope in the other 85”
I’m thinking the Obama people used WTF to purposely grab attention from the texting generation. At the risk of being called a racist, I think he’s well served by throwing a bit of ebonics, and profanity around, as well.
Don’t forget, when Clinton got a BJ from a BBW, his popularity among black voters went sky high.
sorry, wrong thread.
Once again, great title, Kate.
Bring on SunTV.
The Liberals should do a little digging into the Avro Arrow Affair. There was bound to be a few conservatives who were working there that probably met politicians at social functions. Blow the lid right off and force an election.
For those who find the present politics unexciting, count your blessings. Government should keep house instead of molding society.
And CBC garners less than six percent of Canadian viewers in Canada, the two couldn’t possibly be related right?
A lot of Canadians are silly and apathetic.
A good deal of Canadians are fed up. Elections have become horse races. If our tax dollars fund ALL parties, why should anyone sing for their supper?
A lot of Canadians have the sense to recognize that Canadian politcs is utter bullshit. Sounds like a good thing.
Thankfully we have low voter turn out, the lower the better.
WTF = where’s the form?
(as in COLB)
Why bother following politics, they’ll just do whatever best serves Ontario & Quebec. F’ the rest of Canada. We don’t count for sh!t anyways.
If the other 85% “really” paid attention to politics, there would be a be a CPC majority.
So, there’s only 15% of Canadians that follow politics… and none of that 15% would vote “Liberal”. So, there isn’t anyone who follows politics in Canada that would vote “Liberal”. Hilarious.
Taber writes….the breathless election speculation….no one cares….
When you think about it, the stuff is mostly in their “journalistic” minds, they are working on creating anti Harper mass hysteria, not that Harper is without sin.
Then Taber writes …..only 15 per cent of the Canadian electorate is paying attention….
Like the rest of the population has nothing else to think about but the same thing as Taber or Mr. Marzolini.
Most people have to take care of living, go to work, get groceries, feed the kids and other such things that the “journalist” would know nothing about. They, the “upper crust” go out and have a beer and pizza and pasta and burger and what ever. Here maybe I’re misunderestimating the “upper crust”.
Mr. Bricker, meanwhile, believes….. sounds like Mr Bricker is thinking with his brain being alert.
….very few people are following what’s happening in Parliament…..no $hit, what’s happening in the parliament would, in another era be called bull$hit. The going’s on in the parliament are nothing short of that.
….there are big opportunities to engage that 85 per cent of voters who are tuned out right now.
What can one say, people go about their daily living. People like me that have nothing else to do look after the folks, though me is not enough.
PET Cemetery: Liberal Iggy’s Screamin’ in the Rain.
The Iggy Scream.
Citoyen Kyoto Dionky says, That’s not fair. Merde! Merde.
“Clearly, the Conservatives are also trying to show Ignatieff as looking slightly unhinged and overly aggressive. A sort-of Howard Dean moment that recalls the excessive and almost maniacal posture of former Vermont Governor Dean, then- U.S. presidential candidate for the Democrats, in 2004. He shouted a throaty “yeah” several times in what came to be known as the Dean Scream. The tape brought an end to his political candidacy.”
“Hitting Michael Ignatieff Way Below The Belt”
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/powerplay/archive/2011/01/28/hitting-michael-ignatieff-way-below-the-belt.aspx
http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/01/27/strange-position/#comment-59853
That’s because Canadian politics is boring and unproductive. Waiting for parliament to accomplish something can cause drowsiness. Switch to HNIC or take up an interesting hobby. The rewards are infinitely greater.
The article left me with the feeling that my fellow
Canadians are fine, upstanding people who are too
sensible to waste time on dreck.
They will become engaged when an election comes, and
Duke Michael is not likely to benefit from their
close attention. And I do think that the Conservative ads against him,
being mostly in his own words, are effective.
Only 15% are engaged eh?…Does that mean a TEA party north is a non starter? ;-)…
Me too says it’s because most Canucks are happy campers right now…Everyone’s getting a check, everyone got a flat screen at Christmas, beer and pot is always readily available, it’s hockey season for the boys, American Idol for the girls (And liberals) and Quebec is too embroiled in their local scandals (Construction and others) to be screaming for more handouts and/or spitting out insults at the ROC…
Taber also forgets that little nugget: We currently don’t have any other voice than of the perpetual big city lefty in political TV programming anyway…People have tuned off years ago for good reasons.
Watch those TV elitist idiots start bashing and complaining about SUN news just a few days before and after it starts up: This will ensure to spike curiosity and might engage more Canadians into politics once they breath in the fresh air of common sense that channel is hopefully going to provide!…Stupid lefties, politics is for adults!
I would suggest Canada’s Tea Party moment was the Reform movement. Enpowering the grassroots to take control of their politics was to change the Canadian political landscape. The fundamental error was extending the exercise into Eastern Canada and having it sabotaged by central Canadian interests.
After decades of observation I conclude that most people are followers and don’t want the work or confrontation that is required to bring ideas forward and impliment them. A very few people want to put more into their society than they take out. Willful ignorance is celebrated in N. America. That observation is not limited to
either the left or the right!
No no! You are off base man, to cynical. I suggest you look at your local politics where the ‘little guy’ could still have a major impact. Most elected positions are still filled without contest and those that are contested are done so on the most limited basis. Local politicans are not held accountable anymore than those distant potentates in Ottawa.
“Farmer Joe, you may not think you’ve got a horse in the race my friend, but just ponder a moment what you’re going to be thinking when Iggy jacks up your income taxes AGAIN, and the price of gas goes up above its present $4.50 a gallon because the Liberals voted in the Green Shaft.
How much blood do you have left in you?”
Phantom, the conservatives have just broken all spending records and grown the Canadian government to it’s biggest size yet. Who do you think is going to have to pay for all of it? I’m no fan of the Liberals, but at least they could balance a budget once in a while.
From where I sit, it doesn’t matter any more who’s in power. They all spend like crazy when they get in and then point across the aisle saying the other guy would be worse.
Remember the “hidden agenda” scare tactic the Libs used for years? Well, the Iggy would be worse line is the opposite side of the same fear-mongering coin.
The Conservatives have had five years to show us who they are and frankly I don’t like what I’ve seen. I expected better. Not a lot better, just a bit. And what we’ve gotten has not been better, it has been worse.
So like I said before, I don’t have a horse in this race anymore because as far as I can tell it doesn’t matter. Liberal or Tory it’s the same old story.
So FJ, when you look south you don’t see that things with avowed socialists in power could have been a lot worse? You don’t think Dion would have gone forward with the carbon tax had he gained power? You don’t think guns would be banned completely now? you don’t think they would have voted in a stimulus package ten times the size of the one Harper did?
By the way, did you miss the news where jobs in the federal government are quietly getting harder to come by? Did you miss the part where Harper’s all in trouble because he’s championing corporate tax cuts? Did you miss the GST going down twice now?
Small steps true, but still steps.
Elections are won by the people who show up.
“Elections are won by the people who show up.”
This one is worth framing.
Several of the commentators here were close to identifying the truth: it’s not that only 15 per cent follow Canadian politics. It’s only 15 per cent who care about Canadian MEDIA.
The media have squandered their authority, and are now putting themselves out of business. 85 per cent of us know this is true, and don’t care.
Oh yes the baby steps, as phantom says we must remember the baby steps. The giant leaps in the other direction, well to that we say just move along folks, nothing to see here.
$56-billion deficits? That’s just pocket change that we’ll find in Jim Flaherty’s couch. And that 8% a year increase in overall spending since they got in, well hey at least it’s not double digits (yet). Corporate subsidies? Okay they’re still spending billions every year on that, and yes they’ve pretty much nationalized the auto industry, but at least they’ve done something about those wasteful regional development agencies. They’ve only increased them by one.
The foreign investment decision on Potash it’s right out of the NDP’s playbook, but come on, its only potash who really cares.
They can’t make up their mind if they want to cut and run from Afghanistan or stick around for the long haul so they’ve decided to do both. Nothing like having your cake and eating it too.
Tax’s? I’m glad you brought that up. The top marginal rate of income tax remains where it was a generation ago, while the tax system has been further complicated with the addition of a slew of special credits for children’s sports, transit passes and other ‘good’ causes.
Employment Insurance has been larded up with supplementary payments that make a return to actual insurance principles more remote than ever. And the Canada Pension plan is still a ticking time bomb, what with the Baby Boomers and all. But don’t be paying any attention to that, remember the baby steps.
What about Canada Post, the CBC, VIA rail, the free speech hating HRC and of course the Canadian Wheat Board. One homosexual feel’s offended by the song “Money for Nothing” and its instantly banned. Thousands of western farmers are offended every day because they’re forced to sell their wheat to the government at below market costs but that’s still A O.K.
Then there is this thing about constitutional matters. Transfer payments particularly. What’s been going on with them? They’ve been increased, not by a little, but by a lot. Gobs and gobs of money is being thrown around all over the place with special deals going on here and there, particularly for Quebec. But hey who can expect Quebecers to vote conservative without being paid to do so.
I suppose we can expect the Conservatives to clamp down on criminals though. Any day now the tough on crime thing is going to kick in. The next time Rahim Jaffer gets caught drinking, while speeding, with cocaine in the car there will be some serious consequences. There’s a new sheriff in town by the name of Julian Fantino and he’s going to clean things up just like he did in Caledonia. Oh yeah right… never mind.
But you know you got me thinking about those baby steps. Let’s look at some other baby steps. How’s about that new funding for Horse Canada magazine, snowmobile trails, ice cream for inmates, and the banning of light bulbs. Or how’s about Helena Guergis claiming $977 worth of handbags, shoes, clothing and jogging gear as “campaign expenses”. Yes, baby steps indeed.
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/01/28/the-damage-done-by-doing-so-little/