Coalition

[damo]

Correct me if I'm wrong... didn't we have years of surplus with a Liberal majority?

And as an Ontarian, I remember the way Mike Harris decimated this province in terms of social initiatives that reflected horribly in high taxes for the municipalities. How is Harper different than Harris?

It isn't about what the Liberals have done in the past, it is about what the coalition plan to do in this present economic situation that is concerning.

 

[TreesyB]

It isn't about what the Liberals have done in the past, it is about what the coalition plan to do in this present economic situation that is concerning.

Wow! Liberal fiscal responsibility means nothing?

What about the way Brian Mulroney sold out Canada with Ronald Regan? Barak Obama has no qualms( ie his public statements regarding free trade) should Stephen Harper wants to sell out this country. How can this country trust a Prime Minister who won't acknowledge we are in a recession?

 

[PCHoffman]

This should really be illegal, as its not democratic! We voted in a Conservative Government, and this supposed "Coalition" is trying to brute its way into parliament??? Rise up my fellow Canadians!

 

[TreesyB]

I do have one happy thought though... if the GG decides to prerogue the governement, I heard that it would launch the greatest campaign that the Conservatives could ever launch. And since i work in the entertainment industry, that could mean more advertising dollars!

 

[damo]

Wow! Liberal fiscal responsibility means nothing?

What about the way Brian Mulroney sold out Canada with Ronald Regan? Barak Obama has no qualms( ie his public statements regarding free trade) should Stephen Harper wants to sell out this country. How can this country trust a Prime Minister who won't acknowledge we are in a recession?

The GDP still grew in the third quarter. We aren't in a recession.

 

[TreesyB]

The GDP still grew in the third quarter. We aren't in a recession.

Yet. The US has been in a recession for a year now according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. So although we aren't currently officially in a recession, a year ago, I don't think the US was saying they were entering into a recession either.

 

[dancin Disney style]

no flaming, just honest thoughtful debating - gotta love Canada!!!

Agreed!!!! Not a single nasty remark, IMO.

Could you imagine this type of thing on one of the American boards?

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Agreed!!!! Not a single nasty remark, IMO.

Could you imagine this type of thing on one of the American boards?

no!! can't imagine it. (and I am a dual citizen)
this is my fave board by far!!!!!

 

[Belle1997]

Well all I get out of this is why not wait till the budget is brought down in January. Even it the coalition succeed they could not get any decent budget together until at least march. So this the people need help now does not wash.

Tonights response from Dion said more than anything about the coalition.

Lets see we are in a crisis. His tape was late and the quality of the video was so bad most of us could have taken better video footage.

Also reported while he was in an elevator and was questioned What happened. Dion's response we are not used ot being in opposition. duh.

We need a leader that comes across strong but not a bully. Dion unfortunatley became a comical joke during his response. And it was not lost that the book behind him said hot air.

PS maybe we should start a new polictical party. Platform. Just average Canuks. Since the creme of the crop has failed pathetically our new party could only have one way to go and that is up

This group has been planning this move since the first day after the election. There is no way they could have all agreed on this in a weekend when they can not even get it together to make a good video response.

And people want this Dion as prime minister. Did we not just read after the election that the liberals were telling us Canadians that he never listened to anyone. Was actually more stubborn and self absorbed than Harper.

Do they think we as Canadians do not remember what was written about him.
So how does this make the coalition better.

This is a farce. It is legal but this was set up. Yes Harper blew it but by the way and time this group has been working it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

Also did anyone catch what the finance minister has be doing. They have not been sitting on their hands.

Even Our Ontario premiere said he had been constantly working with the Conservatives on funding to help Ontario.

How much will these yahoos cost us in the end. I think a new election is a much cheaper choice.

One thing I said to myself when the world economies were failing thank goodness we have a economist as leader. For he should have much more insight into the real issues.

I am just so digusted. I am ashamed to be a Canadian right now.

So to me it is not really about the separistists it is about a legal coup. It comes down to power and control. Not what is good for the canadian people.

 

[WDWcanuck]

I think it's funny that the main argument against the coalition is that people don't want to see the BQ to have the balance of power. However, Harper used the BQ party in his last minority in THREE key votes. So, how is the coalition with the BQ any different than Harper's Conservatives using the BQ to secure a 155+ vote in the house?

And when a constitutional monarch allows for a government to hold power with only 37% of the vote, it's about time that those who feel their vote 'doesn't count' (like those who voted NDP) finally have a chance to feel that it does.

 

[Salome]

I think it's funny that the main argument against the coalition is that people don't want to see the BQ to have the balance of power. However, Harper used the BQ party in his last minority in THREE key votes. So, how is the coalition with the BQ any different than Harper's Conservatives using the BQ to secure a 155+ vote in the house?

And when a constitutional monarch allows for a government to hold power with only 37% of the vote, it's about time that those who feel their vote 'doesn't count' (like those who voted NDP) finally have a chance to feel that it does.

 

[laura001]

Wow! Liberal fiscal responsibility means nothing?

What about the way Brian Mulroney sold out Canada with Ronald Regan? Barak Obama has no qualms( ie his public statements regarding free trade) should Stephen Harper wants to sell out this country. How can this country trust a Prime Minister who won't acknowledge we are in a recession?

He has recognized that we are in a recession, he just knows that at this point throwing money at everything isn't going to fix it. Right now Canada still is not in TERRIBLE shape, he never said that he wouldn't put out a stimulus package, what he said was that he was giving us a balanced budget providing there was no stimulus package, it there was a package at some point, we would have a deficit.

Who here really thinks that this is all about a stimulus package anyway, it is really about 1.95 pp that the parties get that Harper wanted to take away. That money would have been better spent on a stimulus package than us giving it to the political parties just to act like children!

 

[tbay]

why did we bother to vote

 

[damo]

I think it's funny that the main argument against the coalition is that people don't want to see the BQ to have the balance of power. However, Harper used the BQ party in his last minority in THREE key votes. So, how is the coalition with the BQ any different than Harper's Conservatives using the BQ to secure a 155+ vote in the house?

And when a constitutional monarch allows for a government to hold power with only 37% of the vote, it's about time that those who feel their vote 'doesn't count' (like those who voted NDP) finally have a chance to feel that it does.

With so many different parties forming the coalition, I don't think anyone is going to feel like their vote counts.

 

[bdoyledimou]

"The right to quit your job if you feel you aren't paid enough for your work" is already there. The "right to strike" is nothing more then Gov't workers holding Canadians hostage. It should go. (note this is a sentiment only for Public Service workers, who's very job is to server the public, at the public's expense)

And i already said, that the parties should get their funding through fund raisers, not through a public funds payout.

Both of these issues are selfish and do not serve the public, they only server the political parties.

And i have no idea what any of this has to do with the Bloc except for the fact that they exist.

 

[Hug the Mouse]

We voted the Conservatives a stronger minority just 6 weeks ago...the Liberals and NDP were attacking each other during the campaign, trying to grab each others vote---we're to expect them to work together now???...Dion led the Liberals to their worst election results ever...Dion sees this as an opportunity to save face after his awful campaign...Layton sees this as his best opportunity to grab powerand gain access to the public purse--a very scary thought...I would like to know what they are offering the Bloc for their support???

Liberal supporters had no trouble taking power with support only in the high 30's when Chretien while they benefitted from the Reformers and Conservative vote splitting. Stop trying to spin the numbers for your own benefit.

Should the house be suspended until late January, it only reduces days sitting by 5 or 6 as they are soon scheduled for Christmas break anyway. Time for all to lick their wounds and get their egos in check, plus an ear full from their constituants.

The coalition says the house does not have confidence in the government. Well let's see if the coalition has the confidence of Canadians. Let's go back to the polls. Sure it may cost $300 million, but it will be a stimulus for the advertising/media industry.

 

[pxlbarrel]

The people of Canada, or the few that bothered to vote, voted in a MINORITY government. That, literally, means that the majority of Canadians did NOT vote for the Conservative party. It means that their mandate to govern is at the will of the representatives of the parties that make up the majority of the rest of the House. The Liberals, NDP and the Bloc (and I think 2 independents) have the majority of seats in the House.

There are some people who prefer minority governments because it forces the government to compromise when governing. They can't do epic decisions or dictate controversial legislation because they are held in check by the opposition which outnumber them. Of course, the reverse is also true that it could be bad because there's always a chance that nothing will get done because everybody's so concerned about not pissing off the other side that they're spending more time negotiating than law making.

So, whether you hate the idea of a coalition or you hate Harper or you hate Dion or Layton or what not... say that... but don't say that the Canadians voted for a Conservative government. Like the glass is half full or half empty, it's all in the perspective. The majority of people did not vote for a Conservative government.

Oh one more thing. Those of us outside of Quebec and those in Quebec who don't believe in what the BLOC stands for cannot sit here and say to them, "you have no say in Parliament because you want to destroy the unity of Canada." Whatever we think, they were elected by people who are still Canadians, whether they like it or not. For the same reason we hate them, we have to accept them. Tricky... Whoever said Canadian politics was boring obviously never lived through a minority.

 

[TheZue]

I think the long term scary thing here is that once a coalition is formed what they individually ran on is pretty much out the window. We have a very limited idea on what these guys are going to do; the NDP have already dropped their desire to tax corporations more. So basically you could have parties run on things to attract votes; get into coalitions then throw it all out the window and do what ever they want under the guise of compromise. Well I'm sure that people who voted based on the original platform would be really happy with that. Hopefully this is a really short term situation, the parties manage to get some competant leaders and we can go back to business as usual.

There are a few things I'm VERY relieved about. The NDP are taking a major backseat and are no where near the finance department. I'm also relieved that the anger about it isn't exclusive to the West or even totally party lines. And finally I really really hope that this will get people to actually understand OUR system of government, that when they vote they are voting for their MP NOT the Prime Minister, and that our system is incredibly different than the US system.

 

[naosam]

Me I life in Quebec. I am not separatist. On the other hand at present time the coalition meets the economic need. All that Harper succeeded in doing in Quebec is to give again life to the separatistist has shows to them that for Canada Quebec it is ****. That it will close the government because it is afraid of the vote. It is not worthy to be a Prime Minister. Sad but true because of that Charest gone lose this time. Maybe we all should stop of saying bad thing about Quebec because we are Canadian. Bloc Québecois for now in the coalition maybe would stop separatist of saying we should leave Canada. But now the way Canadian are sayin we are so bad to be in Québec they helping the separatist

 

[declansdad]

This should really be illegal, as its not democratic! We voted in a Conservative Government, and this supposed "Coalition" is trying to brute its way into parliament??? Rise up my fellow Canadians!

Why should this be illegal? It is part of the parliamentary system that we have used since we became a country.

A conservative minority government was voted in by 36% of the people who voted. A government, especially a minority government, has a responsibility to work with the other elected members. Harper has never shown that he is willing to do that.