[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

I agree.  The interesting point for me is that based on what you have been hearing the NDP are doing their best to suggest the reason the Greens are more likely to cooperate with the Liberals is because somehow the Greens are really "Conservative".  The irony is that it is actually the NDP who have been more "Conservative" in their approach to climate policy and only recently they have put on a show of supporting policies to reduce greenhouse emissions.  On the policies that matter most to the Greens, the Liberals are historically much more trustworthy political partners.  However, the Greens will be a bit wary of the Liberals under the present Premier since she cancelled the planned escalation in the carbon tax.

So it is not so obvious what the Greens will do.  But I find it telling that the NDP appear to be putting out rhetoric like what you have been hearing.

Heh, yeah fair enough. It was pre-election rhetoric, so it may have been intended to swing Green-inclined NDP voters (or vice versa) to the NDP. Haven't heard anything like it since the actual election

Ok, that makes sense, the NDP trying to scare progressive voters away from the Greens.

[viper37]

Little known facts about Canadian PM

Nothing earth shattering, nothing important, nothing worth remembering, but the again, it's Languish.  You might like it.

[Valmy]

JOHN A. MACDONALD: JULY 1, 1867 TO NOV. 5, 1873 AND OCT. 17, 1878 TO JUNE 6, 1891

Canada's first prime minister was also the first to enter 24 Sussex Drive – but not in the way you might expect. The famous Ottawa address wouldn't become the official residence of PMs until 1951, 60 years after Macdonald died in office. But in 1868 its original owner, lumber baron Joseph Currier, hosted a reception for 500 guests... and among them were Sir John and Lady Macdonald.

Fascinating!

Edit: Ok I was not aware Mackenzie King was getting political advice from the ghost of Teddy Roosevelt. They should implement that in Hearts of Iron V.

[Grey Fox]

John Thompson's the most interesting one. Died infront of Queen V.

[Malthus]

This is interesting. Have you heard of this, BB? It just passed (May 4th)

http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-224/royal-assent

2 The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act is amended by adding the following after section 4:

Definition of overdose

4.‍1 (1) For the purposes of this section, overdose means a physiological event induced by the introduction of a controlled substance into the body of a person that results in a life-threatening situation and that a reasonable person would believe requires emergency medical or law enforcement assistance.

Exemption from possession of substance charges

(2) No one who seeks emergency medical or law enforcement assistance because that person, or another person, is suffering from an overdose is to be charged or convicted under subsection 4(1) if the evidence in support of that offence was obtained or discovered as a result of that person having sought assistance or having remained at the scene.

Precision

(3) The exemption under subsection (2) also applies to any person, including the person suffering from the overdose, who is at the scene upon the arrival of the emergency medical or law enforcement assistance.

Exemption — violation of conditions or orders

(4) No one who seeks emergency medical or law enforcement assistance because that person, or another person, is suffering from an overdose, or who is at the scene upon the arrival of the assistance, is to be charged with an offence concerning a violation of a pre-trial release, probation order, conditional sentence or parole relating to an offence under subsection 4(1) if the evidence in support of that offence was obtained or discovered as a result of that person having sought assistance or having remained at the scene.

Precision

(5) Any condition of a person's pre-trial release, probation order, conditional sentence or parole relating to an offence under subsection 4(1) that may be violated as a result of the person seeking emergency medical or law enforcement assistance for their, or another person's, overdose, or as a result of having been at the scene upon the arrival of the assistance, is deemed not to be violated.

[Barrister]

I've heard of it, though of course CDSA is under the responsibility of federal prosecutors, not me (though I am the designated federal prosecution liaison in our office).

Not sure how often that actually comes up though.  Generally not a lot of interest in trying to prosecute overdose victims, or good samaritans trying to help, to begin with.

[Malthus]

I've heard of it, though of course CDSA is under the responsibility of federal prosecutors, not me (though I am the designated federal prosecution liaison in our office).

Not sure how often that actually comes up though.  Generally not a lot of interest in trying to prosecute overdose victims, or good samaritans trying to help, to begin with.

I think the point isn't to actually prevent prosecutions (which as you say are probably rare anyway), but (assuming this law becomes well known) to encourage seeking out medical treatment, which may otherwise not happen for *fear* of prosecutions.

The problem is that the trigger for the exemption is set so high. "Overdose means a physiological event induced by the introduction of a controlled substance into the body of a person that results in a life-threatening situation and that a reasonable person would believe requires emergency medical or law enforcement assistance".  It requires there to be a "life threatening situation" on an objective standard AND an objectively reasonable belief that emergency assistance is necessary!

[Barrister]

Alberta PCs and Wildrose have apparently agreed to merge.  Details coming at 1pm.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-s-wildrose-pcs-have-agreed-to-merge-sources-say-1.4121473

It'll have to be voted on by membership.  It's funny that I'll be voting on the PC side, despite the fact I was a reliable Wildrose voter.

[Barrister]

Near the end on a lengthy HuffPo piece on Maxime Bernier puts into words the reason I'm pulling for him as Conservative leader:

Many of the proposals Bernier champions are found in the Reform Party's 1996-1997 policies and principles statement, known as the Blue Book, which was co-written by Harper.

"Ending corporate welfare, it was in the Blue Book. Ending regional development agencies, it was in the Blue Book. Revisit equalization, it was in the Blue Book. Respect the Constitution, it was in the Blue Book. Free trade across Canada, it was in the Blue Book," says Bernier.

"So the English in Western Canada must recognize themselves in my platform, it's ideal platform that Stephen Harper wrote for Reform at the time."

'The Reform party leader from Quebec'

The similarities are coincidental, Bernier says, noting that they were recently pointed out to him during a trip out west.

It may not be entirely by chance. After all, Masse is a former Reform party member. After giving up on sovereignty in the mid-1990s, Masse decided a decentralized federation could be achieved by uniting with like-minded individuals across Canada. He got a job with the Reform party's Quebec office and ran as a candidate in a 1996 byelection. He won less than one per cent of the vote.

"[Bernier] is like the Reform party leader, from Quebec," Masse says. "It's like the perfect combination."

In Masse's mind, the story of Maxime Bernier is not a comeback tale, but the far-fetched narrative of a Quebecer from a typically socialist province, a former separatist, and a player in one of the biggest political scandals of recent years, who rises to become the new Reform party leader.

"[He is] the ideal leader that they should have had 20 years earlier to win, but didn't," Masse says. Reform had to merge and disappear. Now, he says, Bernier can bring it back.

"That to me is the miracle," Masse says. "It's just totally implausible."

Implausible, perhaps, to everyone but Maxime Bernier.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/05/19/maxime-bernier-conservative-leadership-part-3_n_16694222.html

[Grey Fox]

God damn it.

[viper37]

Near the end on a lengthy HuffPo piece on Maxime Bernier puts into words the reason I'm pulling for him as Conservative leader:

Many of the proposals Bernier champions are found in the Reform Party's 1996-1997 policies and principles statement, known as the Blue Book, which was co-written by Harper.

"Ending corporate welfare, it was in the Blue Book. Ending regional development agencies, it was in the Blue Book. Revisit equalization, it was in the Blue Book. Respect the Constitution, it was in the Blue Book. Free trade across Canada, it was in the Blue Book," says Bernier.

"So the English in Western Canada must recognize themselves in my platform, it's ideal platform that Stephen Harper wrote for Reform at the time."

'The Reform party leader from Quebec'

The similarities are coincidental, Bernier says, noting that they were recently pointed out to him during a trip out west.

It may not be entirely by chance. After all, Masse is a former Reform party member. After giving up on sovereignty in the mid-1990s, Masse decided a decentralized federation could be achieved by uniting with like-minded individuals across Canada. He got a job with the Reform party's Quebec office and ran as a candidate in a 1996 byelection. He won less than one per cent of the vote.

"[Bernier] is like the Reform party leader, from Quebec," Masse says. "It's like the perfect combination."

In Masse's mind, the story of Maxime Bernier is not a comeback tale, but the far-fetched narrative of a Quebecer from a typically socialist province, a former separatist, and a player in one of the biggest political scandals of recent years, who rises to become the new Reform party leader.

"[He is] the ideal leader that they should have had 20 years earlier to win, but didn't," Masse says. Reform had to merge and disappear. Now, he says, Bernier can bring it back.

"That to me is the miracle," Masse says. "It's just totally implausible."

Implausible, perhaps, to everyone but Maxime Bernier.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/05/19/maxime-bernier-conservative-leadership-part-3_n_16694222.html

end to official bilinguism was also in the blue book.  And Harper was a pragmatist while Bernier is an ideologue.
The RP was also openly anti-French at the time: "Too many French in Ottawa".  You're kidding yourself if you don't realize the double meaning.  And "respecting the Constitution" does not mean much.  It's flawed by design to give massive power to the central government instead of the provinces.

[Barrister]

end to official bilinguism was also in the blue book.  And Harper was a pragmatist while Bernier is an ideologue.

The end to official bilingualism didn't mean getting rid of the french language.  I believe the policy was French services in Quebec, English services elsewhere, and bilingual services in only select areas.  But in any event that's a 20 year old issue.

Prior to becoming leader, Harper was seen as an ideologue as well.  He was the former head of the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobby group.

[viper37]

The end to official bilingualism didn't mean getting rid of the french language.

Of course it was.  There's always been such a current since the conquest, it come and goes.

I believe the policy was French services in Quebec, English services elsewhere, and bilingual services in only select areas.  But in any event that's a 20 year old issue.

Something that many still believe is sound policy.  Quebec would still be forced to offer bilingual education, bilingual hospitals, bilingual information on request, bilingual trials, but the rest of Canada would be exempt because the numbers of french citizens in the overall province would be too low.

Prior to becoming leader, Harper was seen as an ideologue as well.  He was the former head of the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobby group.

And I didn't vote for him at the time either   I waited until he proved me he could be a pragmatic.  I'll be doing the exact same with Bernier.

[Barrister]

I believe the policy was French services in Quebec, English services elsewhere, and bilingual services in only select areas.  But in any event that's a 20 year old issue.

Something that many still believe is sound policy.  Quebec would still be forced to offer bilingual education, bilingual hospitals, bilingual information on request, bilingual trials, but the rest of Canada would be exempt because the numbers of french citizens in the overall province would be too low.

Education, hospitals, "information on request" are all matters of provincial responsibility.  Federal bilingualism has nothing to do with those.

Bilingual trials are guaranteed in the constitution.  Federal bilingualism has nothing to do with those either.

[Oexmelin]

Why are you against Federal bilingualism, BB?