[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Monoriu]

If I understand correctly, the Canadian Supreme Court has, in its infinite wisdom, decided to allow...me of all people to vote in the Canadian Federal election 

Now, I am not going to meddle in other people's affairs.  So I will throw away my meaningless vote.  This is my sacred promise to all Canadians 

But just for the heck of it, I actually looked up what my district is.  First time I ever did this.  Turns out my district is my last residential address in Canada.  My supposed MP is one Joyce Murray of the Liberal Party.  According to wiki, she won like 31k votes in 2015.  That's a lot lower than what I expect 

According to wiki, there are five people running in my district.  Conservatives, Liberal Party, Green, New Democratic Party, and People's Party.  My understanding is -

People's Party - complete unknown and probably won't win anyway
Conservatives - sane people
Liberal Party - sane people
Green - crazies and probably won't win anyway
New Democratic Party - crazies and communist but may actually win

Since the Liberal Party is the incumbent, I will cast my meaningless internet-non-vote for Ms Joyce Murray. 

[crazy canuck]

BB, never took you for an ends justifies the means person.

I, on the other hand, always took you for someone who would mischaracterize some else's argument.

Interesting

[Oexmelin]

The good thing about Mono's intervention, is that it made me aware of the Supreme Court's judgment. Since I am in Chicago right now, I'll drop by the Canadian consulate to be reinstated as an elector, and vote in the upcoming election.

[mongers]

The good thing about Mono's intervention, is that it made me aware of the Supreme Court's judgment. Since I am in Chicago right now, I'll drop by the Canadian consulate to be reinstated as an elector, and vote in the upcoming election.

And a  to Mono for unintended consequences.   

[Grey Fox]

@Mono

Immigrants vote Liberal.

[Monoriu]

@Mono

Immigrants vote Liberal.

Yeah, most of my Chinese relatives and friends in Vancouver are Liberal supporters.  The only thing they care is immigration policy and whether voting for this guy will make it easier or more difficult to get their friends and relatives in China/HK to come to Canada.  I don't know about now but back in the 90s, the Chinese immigrants were very happy to note that there was a Chinese cabinet minister in the Liberal government, albeit with a tiny portfolio. 

[crazy canuck]

The good thing about Mono's intervention, is that it made me aware of the Supreme Court's judgment. Since I am in Chicago right now, I'll drop by the Canadian consulate to be reinstated as an elector, and vote in the upcoming election.

And a  to Mono for unintended consequences.   

And it is old news too.  The restriction on voting after being away for more than 5 years was overturned in January. 

[Oexmelin]

Yes, I had totally missed that.

[viper37]

the very decent, but in way over his head, Stephan Dion.

I would have settled for "honest".  Decent, he was not.

[HVC]

So I guess Scheer's business experience is as an insurance company go-for

[viper37]

New announcement from the Conservatives: 25% less in foreign help, concentrate on Canadians first.

Not a terribly bad idea when you read the actual announcement, what it entails.  Not a terribly good move either.  However, the way it was phrased by Scheer, you'd swear he was pandering to the hard right of Maxime Bernier's party.  I'm not in total agreement with that, however.  While on the surface, some things are quite nice (Italy and Turkey don't need our help, no more than Iran), I fear the economic criteria alone is insufficient.  All in all, that is something that requires much more thought and analysis.  Lots of Canadian companies do business with countries receiving our aid, and it's not always simply money being wasted (though it often is).

[viper37]

Another candidate of Bernier's party has dropped out of the race:
Link

HALIFAX—A Nova Scotia man who pulled out of his candidacy for the People's Party of Canada on Monday said he's since been subjected to "abuse and hatred" from the "far-right fringe."

"I've received an absolute deluge, a complete torrent of abuse and hatred and harassment from some very unhinged elements of the far-right fringe on Twitter," Chad Hudson said in an interview Tuesday. "It certainly hasn't been pleasant. It has definitely been very threatening, to be perfectly honest with you."

Hudson announced Monday afternoon via Twitter that he was no longer standing as a candidate for the People's Party in the riding of West Nova, citing the party's "values and the choices its leadership have made."

He posted his statement less than two hours before the Elections Canada deadline for candidates to officially register to be on the ballot in the Oct. 21 general election.

"I do understand that there are some people who are legitimately disappointed by the timing of it," Hudson said. "It is coincidental, in all honesty. Although it may not look that way, there was no ulterior motive to my timing whatsoever."
[...]

As he was the victim of similar hatred and censorship, Maxime Bernier should speak publicly about this, say he accepts and regrets his decision, and ask everyone to allow him to retire in peace.
I'm not holding my breath.

[PRC]

If you needed more evidence that Andrew Scheer is full of it:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/scheer-british-columbia-carbon-tax-analysis-wherry-1.5304364

Scheer says British Columbia's carbon tax hasn't worked. Expert studies say it has

How one province's carbon program has become a touchstone for climate policy

Aaron Wherry · CBC News · Posted: Oct 02, 2019 4:00 AM ET

A significant piece of the federal election debate in 2019 rests on what the government of British Columbia did on July 1, 2008 — and how you understand what happened after that.

Faced Tuesday night with an undecided voter who was worried about climate change, but who didn't think he could afford to pay the costs associated with a carbon tax, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer offered a reassuring response: a Conservative government would repeal the federal carbon levy.

But then Scheer pushed his argument a step further. A carbon tax, he said, doesn't reduce emissions.

"It's not working," he said. "We saw in British Columbia, emissions go up in the most recent year, even though they've had a carbon tax for quite a long time. So, based on the fact that it's not working, why would we continue to go down that path?"

British Columbia's carbon tax, introduced by Gordon Campbell's government, came into effect in July 2008. It was initially set at $10 per tonne and increased $5 each year until it reached $30 per tonne in 2012.

It's more accurate to say British Columbia's annual emissions have remained at approximately the same level. In 2005, according to federal data, B.C. produced 63 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2017, the province's emissions totalled 62 megatonnes, a decrease of 1.8 per cent.

By that simple measure, not much has changed. But that doesn't mean the carbon tax hasn't worked.

Between 2005 and 2017, British Columbia's population and economy grew significantly — from 2008 to 2017, the province's economy grew by 23 per cent and the population increased by 17 per cent. In that respect, it is notable that B.C.'s emissions didn't also rise. (Over the same period, Alberta's emissions rose by 18 per cent.)

But to properly assess the impact of the carbon tax, you have to consider a counterfactual scenario in which the carbon tax was not in place.

Multiple studies have considered that question and those studies found the carbon tax was responsible for a decrease in fuel consumption and emissions. A study in 2016 linked the carbon tax with the purchase of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"The primary objective of the B.C. carbon tax is to reduce GHG emissions and essentially all studies show it is doing just that, with reductions 5–15 per cent below the counterfactual reference level," concluded a 2015 survey of published research.

A reduction of five to 15 per cent is not enough, on its own, to achieve Canada's international target, but it would be a significant contribution. The federal price is currently scheduled to reach $50 per tonne.

In their own defence, the Conservatives point to a study which observed that demand for diesel fuel was inelastic — that it's less likely to be affected by changes in price. But even that study estimated that the carbon tax in British Columbia had reduced the per capita use of diesel.

More broadly, the evidence also shows that British Columbia's economy has not suffered as a result of the carbon tax.

British Columbia is the clearest example of a revenue-neutral carbon tax — where the costs are offset by cuts to other taxes — but it is not the only example of a carbon price being associated with a drop in emissions. Significant reductions have coincided with carbon levies in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. The European Union has been covered by a cap-and-trade system since 2005 and its emissions have fallen by eight per cent (China is planning to launch its own cap-and-trade market in 2020).

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and more than 3,000 economists in the United States have expressed support for pricing carbon as a means to reduce emissions — in large part because implementing a price on emissions is likely to reduce emissions at the lowest possible cost to the economy. Though pricing policies are easier to attack, alternative policies to achieve comparable reductions will tend to be more expensive.

But economics is easier than politics.

A year after the Campbell government implemented a carbon tax, it had to fight for re-election against B.C. New Democrats who vowed to "axe the tax." Campbell's B.C. Liberals were re-elected, but his successor, Christy Clark, declined to increase the tax after 2012. As a result, the price stayed at $30 per tonne until, coincidentally, an NDP government raised it.

If Justin Trudeau's Liberals retain power after Oct. 21, a similar convergence on carbon pricing could occur at the federal level, with the Conservatives choosing to pursue a different line of attack.

In fact, shortly after condemning a broad-based carbon tax on Tuesday night, Scheer found himself praising his own plan to apply a carbon levy to large emitters (Scheer's plan would replace the Liberal regulations on heavy emitters with a policy that requires firms to invest an unspecified amount toward research or clean technology).

Regardless, Scheer's climate platform would result in higher emissions. But he can promise to repeal the federal carbon tax.

The undecided voter Scheer was faced with on Tuesday night was evidence that there is an audience for political leaders who promise to repeal carbon-pricing policies. Not even the federal rebate — and analysis showing that most families will receive more than they pay — was enough to convince the skeptical resident of New Brunswick.

All of which can be debated.

But that debate should be based on a real understanding of the options and the known merits of the policies that are being proposed.

[Admiral Yi]

So I watched this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KitLiKbIsSU&t=464s by a guy in Van with irritating hair.  TLDNW: the bilingualism requirement is crap.

My question is, for jobs that have a bilingualism requirement, how are they tested?

[The Minsky Moment]

If you needed more evidence that Andrew Scheer is full of it:

He does make a decent argument that the carbon tax is set too low and should be raised.  Although I suspect that was not his intention.