[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[crazy canuck]

@Malthus I don't understand your argument. Are you suggesting that winning the political battle has not always been the preeminent goal in Canadian politics because we have a head of state which is a national crown?

Are you suggesting that the person who thought of the Robo call strategy had trouble sleeping at night because they were violating some honourable code?

I'm not making such an absolutist argument. Of course political parties have always wanted to win, and of course there has been corruption and excesses in every system.

Point is that certain places have preserved norms better than others, and the details of how the systems were established may have an effect on that.

Our particular system has evolved from a constitutional monarchy. If we were designing a system from scratch, we would probably not choose a constitutional monarchy ... but our system has evolved in this particular manner, and it has demonstrated, for whatever reason, better resilience against the populist disease afflicting democracies everywhere (and in particular, south of the border). I would suggest Changing  the fundamentals of our system now would have unknown and possibly detrimental effects, so unless significant benefits can be demonstrated, it should not be done.

In other words, don't try to fix what ain't particularly broke.

I agree that changing would create a lot of problems. But we differ on why.  I don't think it has anything to do with tradition or ceremony.  If that was the thing that prevented populist extremism then 44% if the Conservative party membership would not be Trumpist.

I think chaos would be created because so much of our constitutional law and particularly indigenous rights are inexorably bound to the honour of the crown.  That concept would be very difficult to successfully transplant into another system if government with any degree of certainty.

[Grey Fox]

I think having the RoC electing a figure Head president that actively despise francophones is not something we should be working towards.

[viper37]

@Malthus I don't understand your argument. Are you suggesting that winning the political battle has not always been the preeminent goal in Canadian politics because we have a head of state which is a national crown?

Are you suggesting that the person who thought of the Robo call strategy had trouble sleeping at night because they were violating some honourable code?

The people who thought of what would became the sponsorship scandal were certainly acting for their honourable code: to preserve Canada.

[viper37]

but our system has evolved in this particular manner, and it has demonstrated, for whatever reason, better resilience against the populist disease afflicting democracies everywhere (and in particular, south of the border). I would suggest Changing  the fundamentals of our system now would have unknown and possibly detrimental effects, so unless significant benefits can be demonstrated, it should not be done.

We are not more resilient to populism than the US because of our political system.  We are more resilient because the majority of people here are agnostics and atheists compared to the US were only a tiny fraction is.

Religion makes it easier to manipulate the people in the US, since a religious agenda becomes the core issue and deeply religious people are willing to ignore everything else for a chance to advance their agenda.

We have had the exact same problem in Canada with monarchism and federalism.  At times, people were willing to endure anything to promote their greater values.

Canada is also much more centralized than the US, and we only have 10 provinces, not 50 States.  So the rise of populism in a province is unlikely to lead to anything at the Federal level.  In fact, as we have seen, provincial leaders rarely succed at become Federal party leaders, unlike the US, where governship is usally seen as the stepping stone toward the Presidency. 

Also, one province is totally alienated from the rest of Canada. Only by professing absolute loyalty to the colonizer and imperialist authority and betraying your own people can you hope to achieve higher function in this government.  See Trudeau, both of them, Jean Chrétien, Jean Charest.

It's a not a system I would be proud to defend, given everything it costed us in history.

In other words, don't try to fix what ain't particularly broke.

Unix wasn't broke.  But Bill Gates still thought MS Dos would be better and Linus Torvald thought Linux would be better.  And for a while, neither OS was better than Unix.

[viper37]

I think having the RoC electing a figure Head president that actively despise francophones is not something we should be working towards.

Only one in recent memory wasn't like that

[viper37]

Let's say you are Albertan.  You are repeatedly told that oil is very bad for the environment, and it must stay in the ground or else, we risk cataclysmic failure of our climate.  You are constantly mocked and denigrated for your lack of faith in climate science.  When you talk of Western Alienation, you are ridiculed for your paranoia.

Let's say you are from Quebec.  Your government makes constant efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.  The Federal government constantly denigrates your environmental efforts, saying you're not doing enough.  It does not take official position against particular projects, but clearly hints that if you go forward with it, you will be blocked at Federal level because it's not a sound environmental project.  You ask for financing to build a tramway in your capital city and this level of government drags its feet and refuse to clearly commit to financing.  Worst, you need a new bridge, and the Federal flat out refuse to finance it because it involves cars, the worst cancer on this face of the Earth, apparently.

When a Quebecer says the Canadian government and its people are constantly discriminating against your province and your people, you are ridiculed, as much as the guy talking of Western Alienation.


Then this same Federal government goes and announce this, after market closure, concerning Newfoundland:
Federal government to approve controversial Bay du Nord oil project

The federal government will formally approve the Bay du Nord offshore oil megaproject after markets close at 4 p.m. ET, CBC News has learned from multiple sources who are not authorized to speak publicly.

CTV was first to report the news.

Bay du Nord has been panned by environmental activists and climate scientists, who say it flies in the face of the federal government's climate goals.
[...]
Norwegian oil company Equinor and its partners plan to develop the oil field at the Flemish Pass, about 500 kilometres east of St. John's. Bay du Nord will be the first project to move the offshore oil industry into such deep waters, with drilling more than a kilometre underwater.
Their plan is to use a massive floating production, storage and offloading vessel, commonly known as an FPSO, capable of producing up to 200,000 barrels daily.
The project will be Newfoundland and Labrador's fifth offshore oil field in production, and will begin producing as early as 2028.
Bay du Nord — seen as an economic lifeline to Newfoundland and Labrador, whose economy has been dependent on offshore oil royalties and labour — has been years in the making.
[...]

So, in essence (French pun intended!), oil and gaz are bad for Alberta. 
Gaz is bad for Quebec. 
A pipeline is good for Canada, so long as it can't be exploited. 
Building a bridge to replace an aging one in Montreal (it's pure coincidence that it happens to be where the Liberal vote is concentrated in Quebec and where the PM's riding is) and making it toll-free is good. 
Building a bridge to replace an aging one in Quebec city is a really stupid idea from another century (more or less what our Federal Environment Minister said).
Building a tramway is a good idea, but the Federal will not say if it'll finance it or to what amount.
Building a gigantic offshore oil-drilling platform in Newfoundland is a very good idea.


All is good with this government.  Please keep voting Liberal!  It's important for the environment!

Thank 'od we don't have an evil, bitumen obsessed government in power.  It might have approved some gigantic oil drilling platform somewhere... oh wait...


And before a smartass comes and tells me this is "clean oil", look at the last paragraph:

Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore does emit fewer emissions during extraction than other producers, but extraction only accounts for about 15 per cent of a barrel's total emissions. When that oil is burned for energy, it produces just six per cent less carbon than diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands.

At this point, even Mad Max couldn't do a worst job of governing the country than the Libs.

[Jacob]

Canada looking to add $8 billion to defense budget: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/defence-department-military-canada-norad-ukraine-nato-1.6410530

This should bring us to 1.5% of GDP which is - IMO - insufficient. But if we keep increasing every year until we get to 2%, then I suppose I can accept it.

Of course, the question is also how that money is spent.

[Josephus]

Loved the "essence" pun. Was that intentional, or did it just happen?

[Duque de Bragança]

Loved the "essence" pun. Was that intentional, or did it just happen?

It's a fine one indeed.   

[viper37]

Loved the "essence" pun. Was that intentional, or did it just happen?

I realized it after I typed it, so I noted it.

[Barrister]

Thoughts on the budget?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/budget-2022-chrystia-freeland-1.6412227

Hard to see a $52 billion dollar budget as showing "fiscal restraint", but I guess that's where we are.

A focus on housing price is absolutely an area that governments should focus on, but hard because it's largely an area under provincial (even municipal) jurisdiction.  The effort to "slash red tape" is also a good sentiment, but also largely a provincial area.  And creating a Tax-Free Home Savings account may paradoxically boost house prices.

Still no idea how $5.3 billion over five years is going to create a national dental program. In 2018 it was reported Canadian spend $12 billion per years on dental services.

[crazy canuck]

A lot of dental services that go into that number are for cosmetic purposes.  Something which is presumably not going to be covered - as it is not covered in our existing health coverage.

As for housing, the Feds are just getting back into it, not creating something new.

[crazy canuck]

The announcement of the Newfoundland oil project seems to of been well timed. It is completely buried now with the budget news. I wonder how many people will remember the liberal government approval off the project a week after the UN Secretary General warned that no new projects should be started.

[Jacob]

BC amends the unionization legislation in the province. The new process is:

If 45-55% of employees sign union cards, a secret ballot must be held.

If 55+% sign union cards, unionization takes effect.

[crazy canuck]

Long time goal of Bains.  He couldn't do it in a minority government because Weaver was against the carding system.  But in a majority he could obviously do it.