Canada Election 2021

[Neil]

A GST holiday?  That might be the worst idea I've ever heard of. 

[Jacob]

Very fancy, and not appropriate for daily use. 

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5289171.1568999202!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/justin-trudeau-brownface.jpg

Good to have you back

[Jacob]

MacLeans has an overview of the different platforms by issue and party here: https://www.macleans.ca/rankings/2021-federal-election-platform-guide/

[crazy canuck]

The NDP climate platform is disappointingly vague - they promise to set targets.  They seem much more interested in dealing with plastics, which is about .0001% of the climate problem.

The Conservative climate platform is completely inadequate - but what can we expect from a party that can't even acknowledge climate change is real.

The Liberal plan is going to throw a lot of money at things that may develop ideas (and actually I like the R&D spending) but really beyond throwing around a lot of money around there is not much there in terms of what they plan to do in the next 4 years.

The Greens are not an option even for a protest vote this election.

I despair.

[Neil]

I feel like there's a lot of things that'll get fleshed out over the next couple of days.  Otherwise, the Conservative platform is almost non-existent.  And we all know that the Greens don't really care about the election.  They're busy fighting each other over whether Jews should be allowed to exist or not. 

I'm concerned about people proposing emissions free vehicles.  Until the technology gets there, they're not really practical for many Canadians yet. 

[viper37]

I find that Singh's turban is too narrow.  I prefer a slightly fuller look for a turban, like Tim Uppal, for example.  Tim Uppal always chooses the richest of blues for his turban.  It might be my favorite turban in Canadian politics.

Has Trudau ever worn I turban, I wonder? And if so, what style was it?

orange:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/02/22/trudeaus-india-trip-is-a-total-disaster-and-he-has-himself-to-blame/

[viper37]

1) The Conservatives - if they win - will scrap the childcare plan and "send the money directly to parents" (by converting the existing child care expense deduction inot a refundable tax credit to cover up to 75% of the cost of child care for lower income families). Seems on brand.

Other elements of the Conservative platform, according to the CBC:

2) Robust role for government spending to prop up the economy thorugh the pandemic, with cash injections for businesses.

3) Increases the Canada Health Transfer by "at least 6%."

4) Tax credits on investment (of up to $100K) in small businesses, as well as Federal loans of up to $200K (with 25% potentially forgivable) to small businesses.

5) A one month GST holiday.

6) Doubling the Canada Workers Benefit for low income Canadians, payed as a monthly direct deposit rather than an end-of-year tax refund.

I like all proposals except #2.  I especially like #1, economically speaking, it makes much more sense since it achieves the main objective: get women back to work instead of staying at home to raise children instead of promoting wellfarers to use the service and pushing working families out of the system due to induced shortages of the program.  However, it's not going to be popular among most Canadians, and will be easy to demonize by opponents, as Trudeau has demonstrated right away.

[viper37]

MacLeans has an overview of the different platforms by issue and party here: https://www.macleans.ca/rankings/2021-federal-election-platform-guide/

Libs:

• luxury tax has been ineffective everywhere else.  I doubt it will bring much in terms of revenue. It's a populist measure, like 90% of their platform.
• I like taxing properties of non residents.  I think it should be for all properties though, like the NDP proposal.
  
• Reduce the tax rates of zero-emission technology firms by 50 per cent: another populist measure.  Even the playing field by removing those tax credits on oil&gaz exploration instead.
  
• tax credit for cc projects: I like.
• Strengthen the Canadian Revenue Agency's ability to combat complex tax schemes.  The Conservatives had it right: small, dedicated teams entirely devoted to that issue.  The Libs scrapped that as soon as they gained power and instead increase the number of bureaucrats in the agency.  Net result: 0$.  Colour me skeptical.  They have everything to lose and nothing to gain by actively fighting this.
• Establish a $15 per hour federal minimum wage: No.  Fucking. Way.  That is not a Federal concern.
• Make it easier for Canadians to find unclaimed federal assets: so basically, they are announcing that they won't fight us as hard as they can to give us what we are owed?  Nice... (sarcasm)
• Make Employment Insurance simpler and more accessible, including uniform access to benefits across regions.  Back when the Libs changed it, it was to consider regional disparities.  better idea: give the money to the provinces and let them handle it how they see fit.  stupid centralizing bullshit again.
  
• Allow Canadian-controlled private firms to immediately expense up to $1.5 million of eligible investment: why?  the economy is already restarting nicely, they want to tax everyone a little more, but then they give money to large corporations?  Tyipical Lib shit of favouring their donors.
  
• Launch a National Quantum Strategy: Oh yeah! A totally new, nice thing to give money to!  Just a decade too late tp have any real effect...
• Regional Development Agency for British Columbia: What's happening with Pacifican?
  

Cons:

• introduce flow-through shares (a tax-based financing incentive) to make investment in small tech start-ups more attractive. (source)Cut the income tax rate in half for new patented technologies developed in Canada.The first part has no real use, there is already a lot of incentives to invest in small tech start-up.  The problem is not with small tech start up, the problem is when they want to become large tech start-up from medium tech start-up. They get swallowed by American corporations/equity funds.  Access to risk capital to grow up is still largely limited to government financing in many provinces.
• Implement a new carbon pricing scheme: Their system is needlessly complicated.  A carbon tax for people that don't want a carbon tax.If the Cons want to be smart on this, they should propose to work with provinces to provide alternatives for those who need to use oil for heating to convert to natural gaz at the very least, if no other affordable options exists.  Or help provinces upgrade their energy grid while compensating those who already made the smart choices.  As it is now, even if you tax people who need to heat their homes and they switch to electricity in provinces where they burn coal, fuel or gaz (maybe?) to produce electicity, the environmental gain will be nil.
  
• Establish a Canadian Advanced Research Agency: Nice, but nearly a decade too late there too.

[Barrister]

The Conservatives - if they win - will scrap the childcare plan and "send the money directly to parents" (by converting the existing child care expense deduction inot a refundable tax credit to cover up to 75% of the cost of child care for lower income families). Seems on brand.

Look, as a parent, I think we've used pretty much every available form of child-care out there: formal day-care, nanny, informal day-home, stay-at-home parent.  Only think we didn't manage to use was extended family child care - and not for lack of trying.

It seems ridiculous to me that 100% of government child care resources should go to only 1 model of child care, and ignore all others.

[viper37]

The NDP climate platform is disappointingly vague - they promise to set targets.  They seem much more interested in dealing with plastics, which is about .0001% of the climate problem.

Polar bears floating on little patch of ice is so passé.All the rage in on sea turtles now.

The Conservative climate platform is completely inadequate - but what can we expect from a party that can't even acknowledge climate change is real.

Un "tient" vaut mieux que deux "tu l'auras".(A bird in hand is worth two in the bush; if I trust Google...)

I prefer something real, albeit inadequate, to some vague promise that will never be implemented anyway.  Not like the carbon tax has produced any results.  Quebec has had one for many years, our GHG emissions still increase and there are still report from the auditor general's office that it finances many things with tenuous or no links at all to environment, or specifically to reduce our emissions.

The Liberal plan is going to throw a lot of money at things that may develop ideas (and actually I like the R&D spending) but really beyond throwing around a lot of money around there is not much there in terms of what they plan to do in the next 4 years.

they plan to talk a lot about it and remind us how evil the Conservatives are for nor adopting a tax hike on heating homes.
Basically, the same since 1993.

[Neil]

Honestly, I don't think the plan to ban single-use plastics is going to hold up.  There's a significant number of disabled people (who also tend to be low-income) who are going to have a very hard time without things like plastic straws.

[crazy canuck]

Establish a $15 per hour federal minimum wage: No.  Fucking. Way.  That is not a Federal concern.

• 
  

Fyi the Federal government has always, since Canada was founded, regulated employment standards for employees of federal undertakings.  You are confusing that with the regulation of non federal undertakings which is within provincial jurisdiction.

[viper37]

Jagmeet Singh attacks Jason Kenney on campaign stop

and here I thought we were having a Federal election...  I did not sleep much, this week, but apparently, I missed Jason Kenney's return to the Federal scene

So, basically, if the provincial Conservatives are of a paler shade of blue than the federal ones, they're exactly the same devil worshippers as them.  If howerver they are "true" blue, then it means the federal Conservatives are exactly like them.

Was it Murphy's law, it was called?

I'd really like to see some real campaigning instead of fearmongering.

[Josephus]

I'd really like to see some real campaigning instead of fearmongering.

Alas , that's a thing of the past these days.

[Jacob]

Alas , that's a thing of the past these days.

What do you consider "real campaigning", and when point in the past did it occur?