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The Canadian Political Thread

1M views 25K replies 92 participants last post by  Vader101 
#1 ·
Now that the 2011 election is over, let's use this thread to discuss Canadian politics as they transpire over the next 4 years. :)

Please keep the discussion civil and I kindly request no personal attacks or insults directed towards fellow ehMac members.

It would be refreshing to avoid over-the-top hyperbole as well. :) We're all Canadians and lets not make people out to be left-wing or right-wing caricatures or turn things into a WWE fight promo.

I may not be a supporter of Prime Minster Harper, but he does endorse ehMac.ca. :D





^ Picture I took on a nice trip to Ottawa this past winter.
 
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#1,001 ·
Except for the fact that the vast majority of Canadians want green energy, as opposed to the tiny minority that want to see more pot smokers incarcerated.
I really am not sure how the Chicken Little Crowd defines Green Energy.

Seems that wind turbines are OK though they kill more birds and bats than do the Alberta Oilsands.

Solar is OK despite the poisoning of workers, and poisoning the groundwater around the plants in China.

CFBs are OK though no plan is in place to fully recover Mercury, Phosphorous and other dangerous materials they contain. Also need to give the poisoned workers and groundwater in China an encore mention.

Nuclear is now good, even though all the original problems with disposal of spent fuel rods still exist.

To me it is overwhelmingly clear that all aspects need to be reviewed before blessing anything with a "Green" label. Like it or not CO2 is still non-toxic, unlike many of the things we are doing to reduce it. Subsidizing green energy that fails to meet non-CO2 green criteria is doing Canadians no favours at all.
 
#1,002 ·
Seems that wind turbines are OK though they kill more birds and bats than do the Alberta Oilsands.

Solar is OK despite the poisoning of workers, and poisoning the groundwater around the plants in China.

CFBs are OK though no plan is in place to fully recover Mercury, Phosphorous and other dangerous materials they contain. Also need to give the poisoned workers and groundwater in China an encore mention.

Nuclear is now good, even though all the original problems with disposal of spent fuel rods still exist.
All of these are valid points, and worthy of serious study and discussion (even if some turn out not to be true). They are also significant inhibitions to investment by the private sector, which is why government subsidies and research investments are worth considering for these technologies. Given the thermodynamically incontrovertible fact that fossil fuels cannot be used indefinitely, converting our economy to function on renewable 'green' energy is a necessity. We can pay now or pay more later.
 
#1,003 ·
Great news!
perhaps, except the Harper government has reversed the trend towards relaxed possession charges, resulting a a very sharp rise in criminal charges and criminal records, with his being the most serious offence the majority of those charged.

Harper suggests the relaxing of possession laws will lead to drugs being more available to kids. When really, this is totally false, and all this does is waste an incredible amount of taxpayers money, and drive up profits for dealers.
 
#1,004 ·
All of these are valid points, and worthy of serious study and discussion (even if some turn out not to be true). They are also significant inhibitions to investment by the private sector, which is why government subsidies and research investments are worth considering for these technologies. Given the thermodynamically incontrovertible fact that fossil fuels cannot be used indefinitely, converting our economy to function on renewable 'green' energy is a necessity. We can pay now or pay more later.
This is based on all sorts of unfounded assumptions. There's no guarantee that investing in these technologies now will be a money save--particularly if they fail to be economically viable. The fact that they are economically unsustainable is no reason subsidize these technologies. Likewise we have little proof that we cannot run the world's economies on fossil fuels for centuries.
 
#1,005 ·
Not accurate. It has to be proven to the judge that the possession of the plants was for the purposes of trafficking. If the judge decides it was not for trafficking the minimum sentence does not apply. The judiciary still has discriminatory powers in deciding if trafficking was taking place.

Makes me wonder if Mr. Boyd has even read the Bill closely or is he just going off of off here say.
Except that to prove "trafficking" in canadian law all that has to be shown is :

... to sell, administer, give, transfer, transport, send or deliver the (controlled) substance, (or) to sell an authorization to obtain the substance ...
so someone growing plants, and gives some weed to his friend...is guilty of trafficking.
 
#1,006 · (Edited)
Except that to prove "trafficking" in canadian law all that has to be shown is :

so someone growing plants, and gives some weed to his friend...is guilty of trafficking.
And that is a likely reason/scenario for a judge to impose a trafficking sentence...? I mean seriously.

Judges are smart people who continually interpret laws and do not adhere to them verbatim...

Even if you don't "trust" the legislators at least give some credit to the judiciary to rule against the legislators... Insite ruling par example...

I for one am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal who disagrees with the prohibition on marijuana aspect of C-10. However, albeit too strident in my view, it allows for judicial interpretation and therefore the minimum sentence is still up to a judge to decide if it is to be applied.
 
#1,007 ·
#1,008 ·
And that is a likely reason/scenario for a judge to impose a trafficking sentence...? I mean seriously.

Judges are smart people who continually interpret laws and do not adhere to them verbatim...

Even if you don't "trust" the legislators at least give some credit to the judiciary to rule against the legislators... Insite ruling par example...

I for one am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal who disagrees with the prohibition on marijuana aspect of C-10. However, albeit too strident in my view, it allows for judicial interpretation and therefore the minimum sentence is still up to a judge to decide if it is to be applied.
So you support "Activist Judges" and thwarting of the will of the majority of duly elected representatives to Parliament?
 
#1,011 ·
#1,014 ·
#1,015 ·
Days after howling that we're wasting money on party subsidies.

This, is a governmet that just loves... To spend, spend, spend.
GT you're a closer to the "action" so which Ontario Federal Conservative riding(s) needs some pork barrelling money?
 
#1,018 ·
all of them. starting with clements. Well that already happened...
There must have been a fair amount of jealousy amongst the Ontario Conservative Caucus over all the goodies Clement's riding received and none for them. So I would imagine to appease and quiet the rancour of the Ontario caucus Harper had to spread around the pork from the barrel.

It must sting that it's only 28 million dollars for all Ontario but I suppose it's really only Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario and likely only Conservative held ridings. Perhaps I missed the impact of the British Colonial War of 1812 on Northern Ontario.
 
#1,019 ·
There must have been a fair amount of jealousy amongst the Ontario Conservative Caucus over all the goodies Clement's riding received and none for them. So I would imagine to appease and quiet the rancour of the Ontario caucus Harper had to spread around the pork from the barrel.

It must sting that it's only 28 million dollars for all Ontario but I suppose it's really only Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario and likely only Conservative held ridings. Perhaps I missed the impact of the British Colonial War of 1812 on Northern Ontario.
I don't know about jealousy, I imagine the response is the same across the board for conservatives, which is to totally clam up altogether and not let on his is even pork barrelling, or just fend it off with some vague quip that someone else would have spent more.

So much for being better than the liberals I guess. I think there was a spoof thing called...

"Lowered Expectations". Could be a fun video edit sometime :)
 
#1,020 ·
Ex-PMO aide Carson left Calgary school with debt

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former senior adviser, Bruce Carson, charged thousands of dollars in personal expenses to the federally funded think-tank he headed for just over two years.

Robert Turner, a prominent Edmonton lawyer and chairman of the Canada School of Energy and Environment's board of directors, says that in one month alone Carson charged almost $28,000 in personal expenses to the school's corporate credit card, which is supposed to be used only for business
.
Carson is already under investigation for possible influence-peddling and illegal lobbying last year in a failed attempt to land federal contracts for a shady company employing his then girlfriend, a former escort.

Once among Harper's most trusted advisers, Carson has a long history of personal money problems, including fraud convictions and personal bankruptcy.
The school has hired former Canadian oil industry executive Robert Skinner as its new interim director with an urgent mandate to figure out what Carson was up to during his time there.
(CBC)
 
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