Budget 2011 Canada - Who will win the day?

Tomorrow is budget day in Canada. Jim Flaherty the Finance Minister will introduce the budget in hopes it will cause the Government to go down instead of the expected confidence motion to come after his government is found in Contempt of Parliament.

The Liberals and Bloc have indicated they will vote against the budget.  For the Liberals it would be the first time they have done this since Harper was elected.  The Bloc will of course hold their fire as they await news that a deal has been reached with the Quebec Government to compensate them for the conversion costs associated with the HST.  Quebec did not get the same money as Ontario or BC when they combined the provincial sales tax with the GST.

That leaves the NDP.  Jack Layton, leader of the NDP has put a few things on the table.  If the government meets the goals set by the NDP they would vote for the budget.  Some of the items put forward by the NDP include, removal of the GST on home heating fuel, Increases to Seniors income (GIS) and changes to the Canada Pension plan for seniors, and the continuation and funding of the ecoHome renovation program.

Barring a self detonating bomb in the budget and Harper meets Layton's requests, we may see the NDP support Harper on the budget.  There is of course lots of room for Layton to dismiss any efforts by the Harper Govt on these issues as being too little and or the big deal breaker of inclusion of significant corporate tax cuts.  We won't know for a couple of days what will happen.

In the interim Harper and company along with the Liberals will blast the NDP until they vote one way or the other.  Harper by saying he gave them much of what they asked for and Ignatieff  because of all the heat he has taken from the NDP for supporting Harper. 

Its a mine field in the House of Commons right now.  One that will easily blow up on which ever party fails to step carefully.

update: The NDP list presented to Prime Minister Harper.

Jack Layton and the New Democrats have put forward a set of practical, affordable proposals – all focused on taking pressure off your family budget:

• Take the federal sales tax off skyrocketing home heating bills and restore the EcoEnergy Retrofit program.
• Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement for our most vulnerable seniors.
• Strengthen the Canada Pension Plan we all rely on.
• Hire more doctors and nurses across Canada.

The Audacity of Iggy and the Liberal Party of Canada

Over to you Mr. Spector...

"Still, if a Toronto Star report is accurate, you have to marvel at Mr. Ignatieff’s audacity in claiming that “the NDP will stand for ‘no darn principles’ if leader Jack Layton and the New Democrats fail to support the long-gun registry in a crucial vote this fall in Parliament.” Actually, the word “audacity” doesn’t quite capture it: Frankly, in light of the history of these two political parties, it’s ludicrous for any Liberal to claim advantage over the NDP when it comes to questions of principle. Whether you agree with those principles or not." Globe and Mail

Whatever happened to the national Childcare plan my dear Liberal friends?

My rant

Its crazy here in Canada. We have an ever growing Christian lobbying effort in Ottawa. People that won't stop until Canada no longer allows abortions, says to queers of all kinds, get back in the closet and be lucky we don't do what the Muslims do in Iran.
Stephen Harper thinks he is fooling us all. In fact the mainstream media are fooling us. They act like Mr. Harper won an election. Hell, 66% of Canadians voted for someone other than Mr. Harper's party. Of course the Liberals have conceded to almost everything Harper has put forward. No wonder folks have the idea that Harper is an absolute ruler. The Libs are propping him up.  If Mr. Harper wins a Majority, it because of a completely inept Liberal party.

Iggy couldn't come up with a policy if Canada depended on it.  I guess that was a given.  The Liberals missed the boat going with this academic.  He waits for the results to come in months after a decision is needed.  Witness his late conversion on the road to Damascus, "the Harper Government has to go at all costs"  all the while, hoping the Harper government would not fall.  He was about a year late in that conversion.  Now he is at it again.  Supporting Conservative budgets. 

The only hope for people opposed to Harper is to vote NDP.  Not a bad choice given they have wrung concessions out of Harper and before him, Martin.  In fact they are the only ones in Parliament committed to making the place work.  Harper has a narrow agenda to get through, Iggy is protecting his own publicly paid housing across the street from Harper. 

The media need to start asking the tough questions of Harper, Ignatieff and Layton.  Make them answer and when they side step it go after them.  I know that Layton will be okay.  He at least has policies to refer people too. 

Imagine that, maybe we could focus on what each party would do if they were elected. 

Jack Layton was ahead of the Pack

“A comprehensive peace process has to bring all the combatants to the table.”

Jack Layton, NDP Leader
Sept. 1, 2006.

The rest of the world has caught up. Histeria ruled the day in 2006. When New Democrats stood against sending more troops, a bigger combat role in Afghanistan in 2006, they did so recoginizing that we would never win with weapons... today

Afghanistan’s president declared Thursday that reaching out to the Taliban’s leaders should be a centerpiece of efforts to end the eight-year-old war there, setting in motion a delicate diplomatic process that will carry great risks for both Afghanistan and the United States … In her remarks to the conference, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton preferred to focus on the less divisive issue of reintegration: luring lower- and mid-level Taliban fighters back into society with offers of jobs, money, and protection from Taliban reprisal … Japan announced it would contribute $50 million to a trust fund to support reintegration. The United States and Britain will also supporting the effort, though the Obama administration must obtain a license from the Treasury Department, since it would involve channeling money to members of the Taliban, a group blacklisted by the United States.

Too bad you were ahead of the pack Jack, now of course, who will remember your call on this...

see Everyone agrees with Taliban Jack now

LPC have a Rae of hope

It looks as if Jack Layton made the right decision when he decided to keep the Harper government in power for now. It is clear the Tories are on a high and today's ekos poll shows the LPCers losing ground in Toronto. To put that in perspective, imagine the Liberals being in the game in Calgary. Thats how big this is. The LPC Iggy lead party is performing as bad and maybe worse than the Dion lead team. At least with Dion, you knew what the LPC stood for.

As is usual, the New Democrat numbers go up a little when the LPC goes down. No different in today's polling info. The New Democrats need to do a lot more advertising, spend it now and show the country they do have some alternative views on the issues of the day. The LPC is sliding and the New Democrats can make some head way.

And the LPC needs to sit down and decide what it is that defines them. Can anyone point to an issue they lead on, that they have made their own?

Can Bob Rae have been worse than this? Rae's NDP government was likely the deciding factor in the LPC decision to choose Iggy to save Ontario. It looks like losing Ontario has happened anyway. The slide in Toronto is even worse. Would Bob have let this happen?

New NDP ad hits the mark

Ok, this is on the right track. Lets see more of these ads on a variety of issues.




See others can do better!

New Democrats and LPCers need to look deep

Update - 5:30 pm Sep 30/09: Olivia Chow has not said she would be thinking she would run for the Mayor's job in Toronto. In fact she will be staying in Parliament! I stand corrected and very happy!
---------------------------

Politics creates some odd realities. The Liberals fed up with taking the brunt for supporting the Harper minority decided it was time someone else picked up that dirty job and the New Democrats have obliged. Jeff over at his "I'm an Ontarian after being a BCer" blog has a good analysis of the situation, albeit from an LPCer point of view. He takes few little shots at the New Democrats.

The truth of the stranger than reality show in Ottawa is that the New Democrats and Liberals do not want an election now. The New Democrats are taking the hit in the media and from Iggy for "propping up" the Harperites. Funny thing is, its truly to Iggy's short term benefit that we don't have an election, especially with Bob Rae breathing down his back. An election now would likely see the NDP lose some seats and the LPC gain a few and Harper gaining some, maybe enough for a majority.

With a another dismal LPC performance, Iggy will have to leave and Bob Rae will step in, bringing with him all of Jean's buddies. The demon of Paul Martin will be washed away and the LPC will actually stand some chance of regaining government.

The New Democrats future looks about the same or worse. I wish I could suggest it would be otherwise. Instead of being acknowledged by the media for preventing an election and trying to make Parliament work at least until spring, they are being characterised as having to hold their noses while voting with Harper.

I haven't met any Canadian other than a few party hacks that want an election or think we need one. With that public thought pervading the land, the New Democrats should get some credit for doing the dirty work. But this is politics and the New Democrats are being roasted as hypocrites (79 Liberal votes).

Further disconcerting is the lack of imagination in any of the political parties. We Can Do Better and Standing up for Average Working Families are lame and bereft of content. Where is the grand vision. All we get is, "they are wrong and we are right."

The New Democrats must do better this time out or Jack is finished. With rumours that Olivia Chow may leave one of only two New Democrat seats in Toronto to seek the Mayor's job, the New Democrats fortunes look bleak for making any advances in Canada's biggest city. If Chow runs for Mayor then I expect the left and centre vote will split and John Tory will become Mayor, thats a lovely thought to contemplate.

The LPC and the New Democrats have a big job to do this winter. Polling does not build grand visions, polls do not inspire people to support this idea or that one. They both need to be out there listening and talking with Canadians.

I have seen many of the ideas the New Democrats have proposed and I support them whole heartedly. What they have failed to do is capture the attention of voters and would be voters. Instead of being seen as a party that supports working families, they are seen as the party that hates business. The LPC on the other hand is seen as having destroyed its foundation.

If we want to stop a Conservative majority we New Democrats and LPCers must take a good look at what our respective parties are offering Canadians and will Canadians like it enough to support it.

This is how you get things right Iggy

Oh oh, looks like the LPCers are down again. Not only is the latest poll showing them to be headed south, but the NDP have done in a few days what Iggy and the LPCers couldn't get done all summer.

See in the spring, Iggy said in order for him to support the Conservative government something had to be done on EI. Iggy created a committee of three of his guys and three of the Conservative dudes. The committee had no teeth. It met a few times with predictible results. Why didn't Iggy make changes EI a condition of his support. The budget could have been amended if the Harper folks wanted to avoid an election. You likely would even have had the NDP support it.

Don't look now, but look who found money for at least 190,000 Canadians! It wasn't Iggy's committee, nope, it was the NDP and Jack Layton, using their leverage when they get it.

h/t Blogging a dead horse

Minority Govt's pass NDP Policy

Somebody is out of the sunlight and they don't like it.

Jack Layton has said he would wait and see what Harper is going to do before deciding if the NDP would vote with the Liberals in bringing down the government. Minority governments must work with the other parties if they wish to stay in power.

In 2005 Paul Martin very much wanted to stay in power and agreed to many of the NDP demands for concessions in the budget. Paul Martin in 2006 decided he wouldn't make any concessions and as a result the NDP voted against the budget. This is one of the methods the NDP though never in power has brought about significant change to public policy over the years. One need only look to the Trudeau government in 1972. Trudeau required NDP support to stay in power. That resulted in several policy moves that likely would not have occurred had Trudeau to rely on his on party to support them. The threat of the government falling allowed for more progressive budgets and legislation to proceed.

In 1974 Mr. Trudeau met with his caucus in Sudbury Ontario days before the non-confidence motion was presented. He suggested at the time the NDP were too scared of an election and thus wouldn't vote down his government. The NDP on the other hand felt that Trudeau had become arrogant and his parliamentary actions proved it. Really what was at issue was Trudeau's wish for an election. He got it and subsequently won a majority government in 1974.

Paul Martin desperately wanted to stay in power. He had barely squeaked back into government with the support of the NDP and as it turned out some independent MP's and the floor crossing from the Tories to the Libs that helped. Martin managed to do some very good things in his time as PM. He passed same-sex marriage, looked seriously at decriminalizing Marijuana possession, agreements with the Provinces to reduce wait times. All of which squeaked by in votes.

Martin then proceeded to deliver on Child Care and repairing relations with First Nations. Martin held a historic meeting in Kelowna, for which many including the NDP applauded him for. Martin failed to deliver however. Seeing his government hanging on every vote, he must have decided he needed election fodder, something to distinguish the Liberals from the Conservatives.

While Martin could have brought in legislation or a mini budget to implement the Kelowna Accord and the Childcare program, he did not. Instead he put it out as a carrot for voters. This was a serious mistake. The Liberals were already down in many places due to the sponsorship scandal and they paid dearly for it in the polls.

Its my contention, that if Martin had brought in Childcare and the Kelowna Accord it would have passed in Parliament and the result would have seen him re-elected, most likely to another minority but re-elected. The NDP voted against the government after it became clear Martin was not going to take immediate action on the Kelowna Accord nor the Childcare program.

It was a very risky strategy for Martin, hold the carrot way out there, hope he could paint Harper as mean, and squeak in on the promise to implement the Childcare program and the Kelowna Accord.

The rest is history as they say.

The election of Harper saw the Liberals whacked severely by the voters. The sponsorship scandal and a line from Harper that stated there were enough checks on his power by the courts and bureaucracy that people should feel safe voting for them. Whats happened as a result was a Liberal party battered from inside and out, no money and no leadership.

I can say charitably that they were between a rock and a hard place. Harper attached confidence in his government to just about everything. If a bill or budget failed it would bring down the government and the Liberals would have to fight an election with little funds and likely return of the Conservatives, perhaps even a majority Harper government. The Liberals sat on their hands, not voting sometimes or voting if they could hold their noses.

The Liberals have only themselves to blame however. Martin need not have lost a confidence motion to start with. The time to pay the piper over the sponsorship scandal was heavy on people's minds.

Yes the NDP could have supported Martin, Martin would still have required some independent MP's and its not totally clear he could count on them. Martin may have lost the confidence motion no matter which way the NDP voted.

Now here we are two elections later and the Liberals could have defeated the Harper government on any one of 79 occassions. They have allowed Harper to govern as if he has a majority. Throughout this time the NDP as is well noted voted against the Harper government. The NDP put many motions and bills before parliament but were rejected by Harper.

Now the Liberals have a new leader (their second since Martin lost), the party coffers are full and they want to go to an election. The trouble is they have no reason for their new found opposition. It will be fourth election in approximately five years. The chances of a majority government are slim, Canadians have become less scared of Harper after three years in the job. Generally polls have indicated the electors do not see a need for an election now.

Back to the NDP and Jack Layton. They have continued to try to make Parliament work. Proposed many Bills and Motions in the house and all were rejected by Harper. Now Harper faces a significant threat of losing power. Does he want to remain as PM? If he does he had better look at the issues the NDP have been talking about for the last year. Major EI reform, Pension secuirty, Credit card interest rates. True these are not sexy issues but they matter very much in the lives of Canadians.

I don't like Harper's politics and what he has been able to do to date. We can't undo that. He has managed to govern like a majority because of the state of the Liberal party. Now that the Liberal party has stepped up, there is a chance (however slight) for some movement from Harper. It is not something that should be ignored.

I doubt very much the Liberals would vote against the issues being put forward by the NDP. I expect the BLOC would also support the NDP positions if Harper brought them forward.

As awful as Harper is, there is likely no better opportunity to extract some progressive policy from him for a few more months in power. That of course is reliant on Harper's desire to stay in power.

Smoking Harper's butts

It seems Jack can't do anything right by red LPCers standards. First they castigate Jack for reminding them the LPC voted for Harper's first budget, and then they voted again for Harper and again. Soon it was ten times and then twenty and then fifty and then seventy-nine. My god how did it get so far out of hand.

Its kinda like the first pull on a cigarette. You cough, you sputter but it also makes your head dizzy. You try it again, a little less coughing, soon you begin to like it, even though you know its bad for you. You keep puffing away, have them more often.

Then the effects of the smoking start to take effect. You are coughing more, and all that second hand smoke is hurting those you seek to support you. People around you glare, you begin to smell...

You get the picture. So have the Liberals really quit? I expect they have this time. So instead of going on, they attack the NDP for not jumping up and down cause the LPCers quit. Jack Layton I suspect is happy the Liberals decided to give up smoking Harper's butts.

Layton however wasn't content that the LPC managed to wean themselves, he wanted to see if he could get the Cons to quit selling those butts and do something a little more healthy for Canadians.

No luck there it seems as Harper is addicted to selling butts.

So it looks like an election this fall. Now it would be cool, if just a couple of those LPC bloggers would say something nice about Jack and how he managed to embarrass the LPCers enough that they had to quit smoking Harper's butts!

Now I want to spend some time going after Harper's Butts and all that gross smoke coming from the PMO.

Jack 's new fan club

You know that when the Liberals are operating round the clock surveillance they are doing it because they are worried. Is it Prime Minister Stephen Harper they are paying all this attention too? No not Stephen, its Jack Layton.

Kinsella and a few other LPCer bloggers are behaving like frat house kids. Why, they are scared to death that Jack Layton is a serious threat to their electoral success. So serious they have dispatched loyal bumpkins off to hold up silly signs and look pretty.

I'm sure that Layton's team finds it amusing. When was the last time people were actually following Jack like this to "harass" him? It means the LPC brass is very worried about the NDP. Expect the Liberals to pay a great deal attention to Jack and the New Democrats this election.

Its going to be a fun election for New Democrats.

h/t to Accidental Deliberations

Layton lets Iggy stew

It looks like the Tories don't like kool aid. They will love campaigning on the budget especially the home renovation credit. That still has to be passed in the budget when MP's return. Can you imagine Harper out there slamming Ignatieff over that one.

Today Jack Layton comes to the microphone and will respond to recent developments. Layton has left Ignatieff out there all by himself for a couple of days now. I'm sure he hates being ignored. Today The LPC leader will be reminded of his record. Or perhaps Layton will be talking about his and the NDP.

Who was the federal leader that raised concerns for workers losing jobs and a need for expanded EI reform now, not four months later after you study it. Pension reform, protection against rip off cell phone contracts, credit interest rates? Those are things that bite down hard on Canadian wallets.

Who has consistently hammered both the current government and the Liberal government on the child soldier in Gitmo? Whose motion was it that called for the Government to allow American war resisters to remain in our country? Who was it that has been hammering away at getting money for affordable housing year after year and did force the Martin government to do just that and embarrass the Harper government into doing it as well.

Just as an added emphasis, you can bet that if Harper or Ignatieff were Prime Minister when Iraq war was started, Canadians would still be there. Afghanistan is a war effort well supported by Liberals and Conservatives. Only the NDP and BLOC have consistently said, we have to get out. You can bet that the LPC will extend our effort there just as Harper will if he is re-elected.

Those and many more issues were led by the NDP. You want an election, you will get it. The NDP will be campaigning as the real opposition and the party that can not be bought. Liberals will be reminded of their 79 (maybe 80 by the time they gather up the courage to say no) votes in support of Harper.

What changed that Ignatieff couldn't take anymore. He has issued at least seven ultimatums to date. He and the LPC brain trust have decided they want to play chicken. They have a reputation of capitulating to Harper, a million reasons for doing so, none of them reflective of what was good for Canada.

The NDP will largely ignore Ignatieff on the campaign. They will present a real alternative to the Harper government.

Comments lost

I'm not sure what happened. I know I posted to Bcer in Toronto's blog yesterday and about twenty others left comments. My comment never made it. Only five comments remain today. I guess it touched a nerve.

I know the issue of the fundraiser has become a little silly, as I posted earlier here, all political parties have them and charge big money, albeit Liberal fundraisers tend to charge the most. That's okay as it is what their members and supporters will pay.

So in that respect I see where Jeff got on his high horse yesterday and then decided to calm it down a bit. Good. Still I wonder why my comment never made the cut. I don't have the exact comment saved so from memory I said Jeff was comparing apples and oranges. A mail out for funds versus holding a big money fundraiser in a town that was facing a hard time are different.

Optics are everything in politics and I guess that is what happened when my comment and the comments of some fifteen to twenty others were deleted from the conversation. Too be fair, there were a few LPCer supporter comments that were lost in the editing of the comments along with some pretty hard nosed NDP comments.

Just to add one more thing, I know I am hard on the Liberals. They give me much reason to be. Still in the end I will prefer a Ignateiff led government to a Harper led one. My first choice is Layton yet I know that will be in the future.

If Liberals want to gain progressive voters then think about what you're saying. Quit sounding like Harper lite and I will have to turn my attention back to Harper. I haven't forgot him, but like LPCers I want my party to become stronger. As long as LPCers keep saying its them or Harper when we know different, you piss us off.

The next election will likely see another minority. I am hopeful it can be someone other than Harper. That will mean we will have to work together. That will mean the NDP will have to moderate its demands and the Liberals will have to deliver on some NDP cherished issues.

It has been done before, remember old age pension, medicare, CPP, Affordable Housing, Canada Health Act, Employment Insurance, 40 hour weeks, right to organize, and education funding agreements.

They all happened under minority situations or Liberal governments facing electoral defeat (1944, King adopted almost the entire CCF platform). They gave rise to much of the social safety net as it exists today.

Partisans in both parties push hard. One pushes and the other pushes back. I know Layton will take cheap shots at the Liberals, he wants to displace them. Ignatieff and his team do the same because they want to limit an NDP rise in seats.

How do I get off this horse?

EI reform isn't coming anytime soon to workers exhausting their benefits. As unemployment continues to rise, banks make huge profits and the prospect of an election dimming, we can expect little help.

Ignatieff managed to avoid a spring election by having Harper agree to a panel of LPCers and Conservatives, discuss over the summer, possible changes to EI. They met over the summer and so far agreed to disagree. That's not a surprise really. Harper has been stating for months that such action when demanded by the NDP was not needed. Now Iggy is back peddling. How do I get off this horse?

Where are the roots to today's EI problems? Go back to 1994 and Paul Martin, then finance Minister in the Liberal government. He cut back the entitlements, building of Brian Mulroney's cut backs to make it even harder to qualify for EI. They expanded the number of regions and extended hours needed to qualify, cut weeks of benefit and unless your boss went belly up, you couldn't hope to get EI.

Today we see record numbers of people on EI. Those people will see their benefits run out in a few months. What then, there are few new jobs, heck more people than ever are losing jobs.

Back to Paul Martin. As finance minister he stole funds from EI to balance the governments budget. So while collecting ever larger amounts of premiums from employers and employees, they used the excess. They cut EI benefits to allow even more of the EI premiums money to go to balancing the general budget.

Now we have Harper who wants EI to cover the self employed. Not a bad idea, but one that is fraught with difficulties. It looks like his plan would see current workers subsidize the plan. It looks like workers in Canada are caught between a rock and a hard place, between Conservative and LPC boulders.

Why is it so hard to get either of these leaders to stand up for workers in this country? Why do they continue to block EI changes that would allow people more time to find work, to pay their mortgage and bills and get by. Just a couple of days ago the big banks announced that 16000 Canadian households are three or more months behind in payments. That's a record. Its still a small number but an ugly looking trend.

The prospect of a fall election looks dimmer. Harper managed to hide his nine appointed senators behind Gary Doer, Canada's new chief lobbyist in Washington. He is managing to look moderate in the media and the public.

Well then, imagine Stephen Harper with a majority. It won't be a pretty sight. The LPCers will have only themselves to blame. They will blame the NDP for failing to fall into line and support the so called centre left. There is nothing left about the LPC save CB in Toronto and soon there will be nothing.

How do I get off this horse? That's the question Iggy should have looked after before he forced Dion out. The LPC choose this horse and now I must admit, I am mildly amused watching them vote against still another non-confidence motion. Seems they prefer the opposition benches as they are, no need to spend money they don't have to run in an election that Harper just might win again.

Better talk to Jack and the NDP. He was supportive of working together a while ago. But remember, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Jack may want a little more than a token cabinet seat or two when you come calling again.

NDP still the NDP

NDP still the NDP

and not so "Lily White," says LPC blogger...

Seven hours for debate. That's a fair amount of time at any major party convention. That is in addition to the time spent by the panels. At NDP conventions, it is the delegates that decide what priority is set to each item. Not the party brass.

Good guy Liberal blogger Scott Tribe wrote a blog titled "How undemocratic of the New Democratic Party delegates (or some of 'em). " specifically about the name change resolution.

Scott reasons that the name change issue was so big that the party faithful should have had an opportunity to debate it and when it did finally come to debate, the clock was run out by some pretty smart (undemocratic in Scott's terms) delegates opposed to a name change.

The name change was all big hype by the media and bloggers. I even supported the idea. That said, the delegates did not seem to think it needed such a high priority. When the ranking of resolutions was put to the floor, the delegates adopted the ranking. Any resolution can still be moved up on the the list if there is a will by the delegates to do so.

So the real story behind Scott's blog is made clear here in a reply from someone who said the story isn't so important...

Scott Tribe Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

@Paladiea, Actually.. its all over the papers (ie the Star saying this was all anti-climactic), but whatever.. I’m just pointing it out so the next time NDP bloggers try to be critical of Liberal leadership for some undemocratic slight (and they’ve had no bones about doing so before), they can be reminded they aren’t lilly-white when it comes to undemocratic practices in their own party.

I suppose its tough being a Liberal (LPC) these days. They have been working overtime to bring the NDP vote into their fold. It has proven to be a great failure. So while the NDP took positions on many issues of the day at their convention, the LPCs are still trying to figure out how to prevent an election as their party succumbs to the Conservatives in the latest polling. Muddying the "Lily White" NDP seems to be an ongoing growth strategy for some LPC supporters.

Back to Scott's blog, Devin Johnson, a NDP blogger wrote...

Devin Johnston Reply:
August 17th, 2009 at 3:51 pm

@Scott Tribe,

Where is the lack of democracy here? We didn’t get to the name change because the party delegates voted to prioritize other resolutions first. It is literally not possible in our party for the party leadership to prevent us from debating something that the membership is interested in debating: the prioritization list comes from the convention delegates themselves. When New Dems criticize the Libs for being undemocratic, it’s because the Liberal brass is actually making a unilateral decision without allowing the membership to dissent. When Liberals accuse New Democrats of being undemocratic, it’s because we were pressed for time at our convention. Incidentally, any policies that didn’t make it to the floor get forwarded on to our federal council for further discussion.

I think Devon did a good job here...

Im not sure what the bloggers will say when the NDP introduce a motion to eliminate small business tax. "NDP abandons workers," comes to mind.

What's in a name...

What's in a name...

There is a proposal at this weekends NDP convention in Halifax to drop the "New" from the New Democratic Party of Canada moniker. Several generations have grown up with the "New" attached to the Democratic Party in Canada. I think its a good idea to drop the "New" as well. Michael Byers, a professor at UBC and NDP candidate in the 2008 federal election thinks its a good idea as well, you can see his article in the Toronto Star today.

The people most fearing the potential NDP name change are the Liberals. The Liberals biggest threat is the NDP and their worst nightmare is the potential of the NDP with a name change to be seen by many younger Canadians for their polices rather than the dreaded red scare the NDP has been hobbled with at the hands of very effective Liberal campaigners and their supportive media.

Put a name change together and the prospect that the next election will see no party with a majority, the Democratic Party stands to make gains, likely at the expense of the Liberal Party. No wonder Liberals are running scared.

Mr. Ignatieff has returned the party's traditional core support levels – and revived it in Quebec – but the Strategic Counsel poll found they have lost the traditional edge among women, younger voters, and Canadians who live in cities and large towns, crucial to their hopes of victory. The NDP vote has remained firm.“The Liberals have plateaued,” said The Strategic Counsel's Peter Donolo. - The Globe and Mail, August 11, 2009

One of the reasons for this lack of growth has to be leadership on issues. People have a good idea what the Conservatives and the NDP would do. People have also seen what they get with Ignatieff and they haven't warmed up to it. Two big issues Liberals fumbled, E.I. and the Republican attack in the US on Canada's healthcare system.

As tens of thousands of vote rich Ontario workers lost jobs every month, Ignatieff proposed a committee to spend the summer studying the idea of change. What these workers needed was action, not another delay. The Liberals will pay dearly for that miscue.

Next up is the outright attack by the right in the USA of Canada's healthcare system. Now we all know and appreciate that we don't have a perfect system, its still better than the US healthcare system. Canadians are more than a little ticked off to see our country being maligned in this manner. They want Canadian leaders to speak out. Only NDP leader Jack Layton has stood up.

Name change or not, the next election will see the NDP going after both Harper and Ignatieff. This is a taste of what you will see from the NDP provided by National Director Brad Lavigne...

“Mr. Layton has written a book about investing in Canadians and their communities. Mr. Ignatieff has written books defending torture,” said Lavigne.

“Mr. Ignatieff has defended and supported the war in Iraq … If Mr. Ignatieff or Mr. Harper were prime minister in 2004, Canada would still be in Iraq today.”

Lavigne also scoffed at Ignatieff’s proposed changes to reform the Employment Insurance system saying the Liberal leader was “out of the country” when the system Canada has today was crafted.- By PETER ZIMONJIC, National Bureau, Sun Media

The NDP name change throws a big wrinkle in the Liberals election plan. They know its a smart move, its an opportunity to re-brand the NDP and they have little time to counter attack, unless the Liberals decide to find some other "face saving" means of supporting the Harper government until the spring.

What's in a name, ask any Liberal.

update: I found a post by the Northern BC Dipper supporting a name change. He does a good job of it!

Deficit looming

Parliament dysfunctional?
It was his control of our cheque book...

It looks like we are headed to a deficit next year and maybe even this year. Now we know why Harper decided to go to an election at this time. He was protecting himself. It wasn't Parliament that was dysfunctional, it was his control of our cheque book that mandated an election.

The Toronto Star is reporting a possible 10 billion dollar shortfall for 2009-10. That would be the first deficit since the mid 90's. Its a good thing we have re-elected Stephen again, because he is Conservative and they are the best at managing our finances, right?!!

We just spent an election where Harper and Dion were hell bent on beating each other to cut more taxes and layton was going to spend it all. In each case the Liberals and Conservatives said they would not run a deficit, but would go ahead with the tax cuts worth about 50 billion dolllars.

Layton said he would not run a deficit either. So all three said we won't go into the red. If the Conservatives go ahead with the promised tax cuts to business, where will the new income come from? Will it generate more revenue because of the good old trickle down trick? And if it doesn't trickle down what will Harper cut from spending to avoid a deficit?

The same question goes to Dion and or whoever the next Liberal leader is, what will you cut? I expect the Liberals might put on a slightly more progressive face on their cuts but it would not be pretty. Would the Liberals still go ahead with refunding the court challenges program? Would they still reinstate funding that was cut from HIV/AIDS funding, will they still implement fully the Kelowna accord?

And the NDP and Jack, would they still go ahead with a national pharmacare program, Childcare, and court challenges program and the Kelowna Accord if facing a deficit? What would they cut and would they cut some taxes for business or would they leave them where they are?

If you believe any of the leaders, they would do almost anything to avoid a deficit. That said, how the heck would they do it? We are facing a deficit, we are in the middle of an international financial crunch. Families are worried about being robbed of their pensions and savings.

We are in the potential hole at this time due to some decisions made by our current government. They have cut many sources of government revenue. The GST has been cut twice, eliminating 10 billion dollars annually. I can not estimate how much they have cut taxes in other areas readily as i write this.

The next few months will be critical because its important we avoid a deficit less we fall into the trap of doing so regularily. I can hardly wait to see the discussions and Parliament coming together as one to agree.

ok i admit, im feeling a lil silly right now...

One plank at a time

stop planning the implementation of the "New Jerusalem" on day one...

NDP wins but miss big opportunity.

No doubt the NDP can be happy with the election, they should not however be too happy. In an election where the Liberals were on the ropes, where Quebec was snuggling up and beginning to say sweet nothings into your ear, you have to pounce.

First the NDP campaign did a much better job of than in past years. Layton managed to get through the whole election without snickering once when he said he was running for Prime Minister and the media only snickered a few times. Well done.

The NDP platform was almost good enough. Much of it held things that were important to people. Bank charges, mortgages, health care, child care etc worked well. Unfortunately the NDP fell back to the tired slamming of Corporations and banks. Its true most of us don't care for these folks but at the same time we recognise that we can't always be talking about making them pay.

The NDP stated they would end the proposed tax cuts for business. Its a lot of money, 50 billion dollars. Canadians understand that business can move away, that the world is becoming increasingly smaller. That means we need to be at least on the outer fringes of competitive taxation. The message may appeal to the NDP's core support but it is a red flag for many that like the other things we talk about but are concerned about the reality of business.

Harper has learned a lesson in politics. He is practising incrementalism. Something the NDP could and should look at or the chances of electoral success will be limited to victories like this one. We have a few more voices but never enough to change direction of the flow.

The NDP don't call for leaving NATO or nationalising the banks anymore because it a lost cause and not needed. We don't need to bash business or blame them for everything. We use to have policies that were good for small business, yet they never get discussed because we have allowed others, the media, the Liberals, the Conservatives to define us. They can do it because our leadership are quick to dice up corporations the minute a microphone is stuck under their nose.

We need to know who it is that will vote for us. Its low and middle income families, people that shop at Wal-mart, IKEA and Canadian Tire. Immigrants should be voting for us as well, yet we losing to the Conservatives. Rural Canadians should be voting for us but we are losing there to those same Conservatives. Quebecers should be voting for us, yet we look like old radicals to most of them.

When we stop planning the implementation of the "New Jerusalem" on day one of our election to government, we will be elected to government. One plank at a time comrades...

Stephen Harper's Toppling Economy

Where are my blocks...

Jack's borrowed them to show us what Harper has been doing

Blame Layton

"I can't win without the NDP...," Liberal message

The Liberals can not win this election. We are going to have a Conservative minority. As the latest polls put the Conservatives anywhere form 6 to 10 points ahead and the NDP anywhere from 8 to 4 points behind the Liberals its any body's guess what the seat count will be for those two parties.

There is no obligation or higher goal that should see NDP supporters and candidates to toss out their vote to a Liberal. Its always a one way street with the Liberals. You have to vote for us, they chant. Even in Saskatchewan, in BC and parts of Ontario where the Liberals don't stand a ghost of a chance.

I think it is ludicrous and disingenuous of the Liberal crowd to go after Jack for not saying, vote Liberal. 1 in 4 Canadians according to most polls plan to vote liberal. 1 in 5 (or higher) say they will vote NDP. To say those Canadians should fold their tent and go home is pretty self serving and not unlike every other Liberal campaign.

This time the desperate appeal from the Liberals to NDP voters is going unheard. Steve V over at Far and Wide, is blaming Jack Layton for the Harper lead in the polls. It seems to me that the Liberals responsibility is for their own position and the NDP for theirs and Harper can look after himself.

The NDP have steadily attacked the Harper government and its agenda for two years and in this campaign, while the Liberals played silly games like, not showing up for votes, or worse yet voting for the harper agenda, for legislation they say they are opposed too, just so they did not have to go to an election.

The Liberals are full of excuses, like they couldn't win an election, we had no money, we had no leader, we have lost our base of supporters. It goes on. The thing is, the Liberal party gambled that they could hold off a little and then people would flock too them, recovering in the polls or a Harperite would say something stupid.

It did not work. While the leader of the opposition and his party were busy propping up the harper government, Then NDP and Jack Layton refused to vote for legislation they did not believe in. Thats the difference and why many people saw Jack Layton as the Unofficial leader of the opposition.

The Liberals will have only themselves to blame if they lose and it looks like they will.

All that said I and many of my friends do have much in common with those that are Liberal supporters. We also look and think and many of us will vote for a Liberal, because in this case they are someone that shares our values, albeit in another party, and they might be able to beat the Conservative.

a good reason to vote NDP is posted at Dr. Dawg