[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

Your perspective sucks

Typical lefties idiots and Quegbec sponges upset that government may have not spent money they didnt have to.

Again what bit about no project going without funding and not spending stimulus money because it was not needed is so fucking hard to understand?

The part where apparently they thought they needed 30% money when they budgeted than when they actually spent it. It's not that projects were underfunded or cut apparently, which is good. Is it that that 30% extra money was allocated to contingency overruns and those contingencies never happened? Did a whole bunch of projects and initiatives come in under budget (and if so, which were the most noteworthy ones)?

The money wasn't needed. Great. Got it.

What was the money thought to be needed for when it was budgeted? What happened that it wasn't needed? That's what's so fucking hard to understand; not because, I expect, there aren't perfectly good reasons for it but because those perfectly good reasons haven't been discussed.

I mean, the answer I'm expecting to hear is something lie: these X projects all came in 20% below budget because of excellent management (perfect opportunity to assign some political credit somewhere), we also saved $Y due to the a strong Canadian dollar versus the costs of foreign supplies, and of course we always budget a 10% contingency which we didn't need in this case. Something like that, though I'm of course hoping to hear that based on actual facts rather than just making up my own.

... not sure what's so terrible about that.

Its not really rockets science.  In the budgetary process money was allocated that wasnt actually needed.  It is a good news story that somehow in the screwed up NPD political pull of this country becomes a hidden agenda story.

[crazy canuck]

So there was some rare political discussion at the office at lunch and there was some discussion about the new Trudeau and the West. One person threw out the factoid that there's something like a 20% for the Liberal party in BC when it's connected to Trudeau.

Now... I have no idea what the source of that is or how accurate it is. I'm wondering if anyone has heard anything else to support or counter that?

If it is a factoid it is by defition not worth the utterance

The Liberal party normally has a low level of support.  20% sounds a bit high to me but probably the high point of the range.

[Jacob]

In the budgetary process money was allocated that wasnt actually needed.

All I'm asking for is a little more detail on the "it wasn't actually needed" part.

[Jacob]

If it is a factoid it is by defition not worth the utterance

The Liberal party normally has a low level of support.  20% sounds a bit high to me but probably the high point of the range.

So, like, the Libs have had 5% support which is low even for them, but with Trudeau at the helm they made it up to 25% in one poll which is still terrible, but Trudeau boosters use it as evidence for how awesome he is? Something like that?

[crazy canuck]

So CC is just spouting nonsense?  I should have figured

You are an idiot.  Someone else says something and that somehow makes it my position?

I hit a nerve talking about provinces not deserving things because that is of course the language of Quebec politics...

[crazy canuck]

If it is a factoid it is by defition not worth the utterance

The Liberal party normally has a low level of support.  20% sounds a bit high to me but probably the high point of the range.

So, like, the Libs have had 5% support which is low even for them, but with Trudeau at the helm they made it up to 25% in one poll which is still terrible, but Trudeau boosters use it as evidence for how awesome he is? Something like that?

That would be my take on it.

[crazy canuck]

In the budgetary process money was allocated that wasnt actually needed.

All I'm asking for is a little more detail on the "it wasn't actually needed" part.

Budgets are estimates only.  The fact that they underspend what they estimated is a good thing.  What detail is there?

[Jacob]

That would be my take on it.

Not implausible.

[Barrister]

If it is a factoid it is by defition not worth the utterance

The Liberal party normally has a low level of support.  20% sounds a bit high to me but probably the high point of the range.

So, like, the Libs have had 5% support which is low even for them, but with Trudeau at the helm they made it up to 25% in one poll which is still terrible, but Trudeau boosters use it as evidence for how awesome he is? Something like that?

Well the poll that came out does show some fairly remarkable results.  Apparently a Trudeau-led Liberal Party would win 39% of the vote, which likely would give them a majority.

The poll is what it is.  It's certainly not nothing.  But you'd have to be a fool to think that means anything once Trudeau leads the party.  Just wait until an election campaign full of Conservative attack adds get after him.

Ignatieff polled well at one point if you'll recall.

[Jacob]

Budgets are estimates only.  The fact that they underspend what they estimated is a good thing.  What detail is there?

Whether the overestimation was uniformly across the board (suggesting that someone is being too generous in their estimates), whether it was due to external factors (changes in market conditions etc), whether it was a good estimation to begin with but due to changing conditions, whether the difference was due to a one-off type event, whether it suggests a long-term trend, or whether it has to do with the budgeting process itself.

I've sat through a number of budget meetings in various capacities, and something being off by 30% - above or below budget - at the very least gets a footnote of "here's the reason". All I'm looking for here is something similar. I think it's worthwhile to understand how and why the balance sheets turn out the way they do.

... and of course the NDP is kicking up a fuss. That's their job. They're the opposition.

[Neil]

So Beeb, what's your stance on eliminating preliminary hearings?

[Barrister]

So Beeb, what's your stance on eliminating preliminary hearings?

Please please please please please!

Now I'll admit some prelimns are useful, but 98% of them are just a giant waste of time now that we have mandatory disclosure.

[viper37]

No province "deserves" money.

And the Federal government should lower everyone's taxes by how much?  Since provinces do not "deserve" money from Federal program, it means we are overtaxed and the Federal government has too much reach.  You are bordering seperatism here.

[viper37]

So CC is just spouting nonsense?  I should have figured

You are an idiot.  Someone else says something and that somehow makes it my position?

I hit a nerve talking about provinces not deserving things because that is of course the language of Quebec politics...

you have not hit anything, you constantly dodge the question.  You made a mistake in your first post, and you don't want to admit it.

[viper37]

Budgets are estimates only.  The fact that they underspend what they estimated is a good thing.  What detail is there?

So you have blind Faith in the government now?