Tom Good

A member since November 30, 2006 22:46

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Comment History

Part 1 of Energy Study - US and Canadian Views on Energy Policy (2013-04-22)

• Of course a continental petroleum energy strategy makes sense. Using strict regulatory laws and strict pipeline manufacturing processes, the Keystone XL ...

Harper seen as having best experience to lead, but Trudeau is most inspiring (CBC Power & Politics/Nanos Survey) (2013-04-11)

• Ah! Where would we be without political parties to dissect. To start a wee bit backwards, I still regard Elizabeth May as a safe place to park my vote i...
• Hello Bernie: Thanks for the welcome-----it seems the windows of this blog are working for me again. At one time I could reply to nothing as that reply...
• Hello Bernie: At Confederation, Canada was Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes and, I believe the thought process lingered on over the years to the detrimen...

Words used by Canadians to describe federal political parties (2012-04-27)

• It was most fortunate that the Progressive Conservative, Alliance and Reform Coalition did not keep any deadwood of their founding parties. Harper was in c...
• I see I have a reply but I cannot open it nor can I open anybody elses where it says "join the conversation". I have contacted Nik but nothing changes. ...

Federal Tories lead, Grits and NDP tied for second - Jobs/economy top concern (2011-11-26)

• This poll confirms that Harper is doing more things right than wrong therefore electorate support thus far. Harper is addressing a number to issues that the...
• Hello Lex----finally got this comment to open. Cannot agree with what you suggest. as it suggests that fewer workers (taxpayers) at the bottom will agree t...
• Holinm----Received notice that you had replied to my comment but I am unable to open it----not a new problem on this blog.
• Hello Lex----Believe you replied to my comment but I cannot open any reply and it has been that way for months.

CTV/Globe/Nanos Poll - Tories lead closes, NDP and Liberals tied for second (2011-08-08)

• On the basis of this poll, it would not be a pipe dream to suggest that the NDP may well become the future Government of Canada. Given Layton's health and...

Nanos/IRPP Poll - Policy priorities for the federal government (Completed May 29, 2011) (2011-06-02)

• I am not in disagreement with the identified priorities of this poll. It is very much a "today" picture and is not a political roadmap for Canada's future...
• HC-----you are so right.
• Somehow, cannot open "join this conversation"
• Sorry, cannot reply to any responders as cannot open "join this conversation" Must be a few hiccups on this site.

Layton score jumps, Harper score drops, Ignatieff flat (April 23 to 26) (2011-04-27)

• Everybody is ready or nobody is ready for the top job-----it depends on which side of the road you may be standing on. Harper is "not done" as he continue...
• Hello hchristine: You say "....Canada has weathered the global meltdown very well...." I agree with you but you have to concede that Canada reviewed and re...

Tories ahead by 6 points, Grits up, NDP down (2011-03-31)

• I am not going to bet on this horse race. With a NDP candidate in Manitoba withdrawing in favour of the Liberal incumbent and Jack promising another NDP ...

Healthcare top issue, F-35s timing questioned and trust on economic policy (Nanos National Poll: March 15th 2011) (2011-03-22)

• Who would suggest that Healthcare was ever off the table---this is a defining issue for who we are as Canadians------we have empathy for our fellow beings in...
• Hello Hollinm: The opposition is always looking for scandal no matter what the political stripe. Harper was just as competent at that when in opposition i...
• Well Lex----when you say "....stop spending so much money on unproductive residents (seniors)" I assume you have made your pile and to hell with the rest or ...
• Morning Bernie: As an aside to your comments about hospital and healthcare--------Our neighbour down the street, who is a short term snowbird to Arizona, h...
• Hello Hollinm: Yes, American free enterprise health care is a shocker. My wife worked for years in the medical field in LA. She said it was not in th...
• Hey Hollinm----Political junkies---yes we must be... Leaders and Parties., the leaders may change but the parties generally march on. No doubt a creditabl...
• Hello Hollinm in sunny Florida----I agree with your sentiments.
• Hello Lex: Private healthcare is here now in varying forms and I assume in most provinces. The Military, the RCMP and the Prison system are funded by the...
• Hey Lex: You have lots of company when retirement looms and the purse is not as full as it might be. I do expect we all believe we should receive what we ...
• Hollinm: When I was at university in the distant past taking an urban geography course, there were a number of families into the third generation in Vanco...
• Blackacadian: All politicians, no matter what their political stripe, are past masters at pointing the finger. They may wish to rewrite history but they...

Harper advantage diminishes in wake of controversies (Nanos National Poll: March 15th 2011) (2011-03-21)

• This poll is understandable as the Canadian electorate is not as stupid as some around the "Harper Government" appear to assume. For a Government that clai...
• Hello Jay: In my opinion, they all sound like broken records. According to all the economists, either the government has to rake in a hell of a lot more...
• Hollinm: Talking about programmes that do not attain objectives-----the Afghanistan War is one that has cost billions-------Libya is yet to be seen and we sh...

Comfort with Harper majority erodes over past four years (2011-02-23)

• What I have to say is tangential to this poll but I am sure it figures in the background thinking of more people than myself. The Canadian minority situati...
• Morning Hollinm: Duceppe-----I said calibre of the man and NOT policies----no, I do not want to see the country broken up any more than you do. The m...
• YES Hollinm, I do believe we get honest reporting from the CBC, the Globe and Mail and McLeans so we do not agree here. I do agree that the opposition leav...
• Hey Lawson: You are fortunate to be able to nip over the border to fill up with the less expensive US gasoline. Although I do not think the Government o...

Harper Up in Wake of Ad Campaign: Nanos National Poll (Completed February 14th) (2011-02-21)

• If you do not look at the undecideds in VISION, COMPETENCE and TRUSTWORTHY, then one might say Harper has it in the bag.. The country is in election readi...

Party Funding and Corporate Tax Cuts: Coincidence? Not Likely (2011-02-06)

• No political party will ever be nominated for sainthood even if some dyed in the wool adherents believe that to be justified. In our part of the world, ho...
• Hello Digby: What you say about the disappearing surplus in Mulroney's time and Harper's time is true. Now, to be fair, the Liberals have put forward thre...
• Hello Bernie: It seems to me that the current crop of leaders place party interests before the interests of the Canadian electorate so, to me, they are all ...
• Hello Black: Yes, you are so right. Harper is wearing bullet proof boots provided by both the Liberals and the NDP. And yes, the Liberals have NOT p...
• Hello Hollinm----And how is everything in sunny Saskatchewan? I agree that the opposition is rather weak, to say the least. I like the Globe and Mail pol...
• Hello Black: Completely unscientific but for years I was a Voting Officer both provincially and federally and the under 30 turnout was pathetic. The only...

Tories lead by 7 points - majority cluster strategy emerging (Nanos Poll Completed December 2nd 2010) (2010-12-06)

• The Conservative focus on winnable seats stressing local issues, is a darn good political tactic. However, the assumption the Conservatives can govern wit...

One in two Canadians think government change would have no impact on economic stability (Nanos Poll completed November 5th 2010) (2010-11-17)

• What a mess we have allowed to happen to the governance of our land. As we approach an election, one little hiccup such as a little well placed RCMP invest...
• Hollinm: I see with TV ads, a chap in Victoria is putting himself forward as "Victoria's Conservative candidate". Does he know something ???? Mind yo...
• Hollinm: Could not agree more.

Federal Tories continue to lead, Harper advantage as best PM erodes (Nanos Poll Completed November 5th 2010) (2010-11-10)

• An interesting picture on the state of Canadian politics. Would you guess, possibly, that the electorate is "not amused". Well, John Baird is leaving po...
• Ronald: Yes, we put them there but I disagree that we have the government we deserve. I return to my two favourites 1....If we had equal representation...
• Ronald: I agree, first past the post has to change but I have suggested the fairest and most effective way is to implement the requirement for election of...
• Hollinm: In British Columbia, old WAC Bennett railed for years ...."that the socialists were at the gates" to his political advantage. There was a time ...
• Hollinm: To twist a phrase, possibly crisis is the mother of invention. Who thought the arrogance of GM would require the scale of intervention to save it...
• Hollinm: You are right about a headache ! ! Yes, the UK coalition appears to be shaky and I am wondering about the Canadian coalition of Reform and Progre...
• Hollinm:Cannot disagree as all governments---meaning Liberal or Conservative----could have at least tried to modernize the 1867 Confederation act and bring i...
• Hollinm: I agree but somebody has to try to reform governance before the country splits apart--------how many new states do you think our country would make ...

Conservatives have advantage - women undecided (Nanos Poll completed October 6th 2010) (2010-10-14)

• Ah, the ladies ! ! ! It is a fact that the demographics of Canada are PREDICTABLY changing. Economies at ALL levels of government. municipal, provinci...
• Wilf: Personally, I wish to be able to vote directly for whoever was running in the riding and not have some committee deciding who is elected on this or t...

Healthcare pulls away from economy as top national issue (2010-10-05)

• The see-saw of what is of major public concern appears to be functioning quite well. The "economy" has received so many positive political pronouncements ...
• Peter:---could not agree more. Also, in Canada, level of healthcare varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and that is an issue that should be addressed ...
• Peter:---a very interesting comparison table---- assuming the comparisons are correct, makes one wonder what exactly is behind the moves this government is m...

Federal Conservative Advantage Evaporates (Nanos Poll Completed September 3rd 2010) (2010-09-08)

• Although Harper's bag of cummulative error is getting bigger and heavier, which is bound to happen for a ruling party, the opposition does not even have a ba...
• Ronald: You are likely correct about that evasive majority. Although the pollsters seem to indicate that they have measured "vision" as perceived by the...

Conservatives Lead by Six Points, NDP up (Nanos Poll Completed June 3rd 2010) (2010-06-08)

• Ho Ho Ho----The only thing that has changed over the last few months is the undecideds have gone up two percentage points. Seems the electorate has not wa...
• Bernie: I believe what you say is correct. I also believe that as long as governments do not reach into ones pocketbook too much, people will not be overl...

Harper ahead but slides as Best PM; Leaders slide in wake of negativity (Nanos Poll Completed May 3rd 2010) (2010-05-10)

• Seems to confirm that the trend is a small majority for the Conservatives, a leadership convention for the Liberals and, hold your breath, do I see possible ...

Federal Conservatives Lead (Nanos Poll Completed May 3rd 2010) (2010-05-06)

• With the next election, the Conservatives will enjoy a stronger minority if not a small majority, the Liberals will enjoy yet another leadership race while I...
• Hollinm: Could not agree more with your balanced analysis from the side lines or as a referee who is there to judge the game fairly for both sides. Yes, H...
• Yes, Hollinm. Harper is now an experienced campaigner and an unusual tactician but he is prone to putting his foot into his mouth too and stirring up unnece...
• Hollinm: It was not the issue but rather the timing of the announcement. On the per capita vote grant, I believe it should be phased out. Yes, the n...
• Ronald: I do not know where the current Liberal Party stands on important Canadian issues nor do I know what issues for the future that they may support. ...
• Ronald: The MacKenzie King "agreement" did not seem to damage his government although it was not a coalition but an agreement not to run candidates in the ...
• Hollinm: Yes, I agree that when one gets into such a small pool of expertise, then one would be wise to pick the best brains rather than the best linguist.

Economic optimism muted (Nanos Economic Monitor, First Quarter 2010) (2010-03-23)

• Not as optomistic-----understandably. Imported foods from the US are well up in spite of near parity. In the west fresh wild fish is more expensive than th...
• Bernie: I understand your feelings about big box stores and many feel the same way. For us, it is a major savings with our big list about once a month. The...
• Thank you Pharmacist: Yes, table 15 for the CPI from Stats-Can gives the percentage breakdowns and food is 17%, shelter 26%, household expenses 11% and so o...

No Post Budget Bounce for Tories (Nanos Poll Completed March 12th 2010) (2010-03-16)

• Ronald: Here is my take on the horse race whenever it may be called. Conservative fortunes have languished at the 1/3 mark of acceptance for 4 years a...
• Ronald:I agree but I rather doubt that too much will come out of the Montreal Conference. I suspect it will be another placebo for the party faithful, like...
• Bernie: Danny Williams sees perfectly that the federal government is the child conceived by the provinces and not the other way around. He had the guts t...
• Ronald: Quite agree. If there is no platform, then what the devil does one stand for. In the BC provincials last time around, the NDP opposition though...
• Ronald:---OK, should have said caucus solidarity. I strongly disapprove of MPs not being allowed to speak their minds.
• Bernie: We hope honest people will be our representatives to government, but, once there in the system where money and power come together, we find they are...
• Bernie: No relation. Have to chuckle though----was selling a collector car to a guy from Ontario who asked me if I had any relations in northern Ontario--...

Budget Unlikely to Significantly Impact Currrent National Political Situation (Nanos/Policy Options Poll) (2010-03-15)

• In all fairness, I believe the government is doing a satisfactory job with their economic policies and going carefully in the right direction but long term p...
• QCG:No politician would ever get into office musing about a tax increase. Ignatieff was incautious enough last year to allow that to be thought about him an...
• Ronald: A good suggestion. Something of this nature will have to come in Canada as the time of isolation and indifference has long past. All governments ...

Anxiety about Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan (Nanos Policy Options Poll) (2010-03-01)

• The discussion of future federal pension issues is very dificult because governments do not seem to care about long term planning beyond three months or to t...
• Zachary: Yes, 5% is a much better recovery statistic than 3.3%. The CNN business report the other night did not seem to be as rosy for our neighbour to the...
• Zachary: As you say regarding some of the media outlets----If the public does not like their product, they will not buy. One could say that about politi...
• Bernie: You make very sensible points regarding the media.. In my opinion, one should sift through all information available then make up ones mind while s...
• Yes, Bernie: It is just a different driver of the political bus. Yes.the far right and the far left are lonely places when most of us define the centre are...

Canadians believe PMO has too much power, House of Commons not enough power (Nanos Poll Completed February 8) (2010-02-24)

• It just goes to show one that the poll responders have a more diagnostic view of our dysfuctional federal governance model than the very MPs we elect to mana...
• Dm0720: I certainly agree with you. If the local Riding Association and the local MP had enough guts, they could reverse the negative trend we are seeing ...
• Hollinm: Harper is such a mixed bag. He has some very good points such as the Arctic programme, law and order package and reform of the Senate that I can...
• OK Hollinm---I will accept "best on offer"---Ho Ho. I do not believe the coming session will be any more interesting than the last session where there was...
• Hollinm: The Olympic Games are just over out here so it is time for the Parliamentary Games to begin and see who gets the tin medals ! ! !
• Dm0720: In BC, entrance to university is a combination of some departmentals and teacher ratings. I agree, departmentals must be there in the senior grad...
• Ronald: That is also true in the provincial legislature in BC anyway. With the exception of Danny Williams, the provincial premiers seem to have no mind...
• Ronald: No, the Supreme Court must not write the law---that is the job of ELECTED MPs. One can take the government to court for inaction or malfeasance o...
• Ronald: I agree and I certainly admire Danny Williams calling in his Nfld-L MPs and telling them what he expected of them in Ottawa-----a little more of th...
• Ronald: To declare this or that ultra virus, the Supreme Court has to quote a statute already in place-----if it is ultra virus, it has to conflict with so...
• Ronald: I could be wrong too but the Supreme Court is there to interpret the laws and to be let it be known that this new law infringes on what was stated i...

Canadians split on impression of political groups on Facebook; many uncertain (Nanos Poll Completed February 8) (2010-02-18)

• You Tube, Facebook and the rest of the technoligical advances for communication are more the province of the young. If these devices get the young---meani...
• Rsharp:---Agreed. It is the tool of the young and it is wonderful they are involved in the political process of their country.
• Con and Ron: Many can try to rewrite history but it really is a dead issue. Yesterday is history and it will remain that way. We live in the present BUT ...
• Rsharp: I do not pretent to be a visionary nor a futurist. What I suggest or have suggested in the past are self evident policy problems that should be addr...
• ConSup: I do not question your brother's opinions on what is a touchy subject wherever the civil service is concerned. When I was a kid there was a devout...

Nanos Leadership Index: Harper still strong (Nanos Poll Completed February 8th, 2010) (2010-02-15)

• I repeat what I have said before and that is Harper will likely get a small majority, the Liberals will likely get a leadership convention and the NDP will l...
• Iggy----What is your point???? Do you have a point of view to state or an alternative to suggest? I see this is the third comment you have made on this bl...
• Arbie: Yes, there needs to be electoral reform whereby an MP needs 50% plus one vote of those cast to be declared elected. A second runoff vote would be n...
• Sasquatch: Your last line has hit the nail on the head. Yes, "what is the alternative?" is a very crucial question for the upcoming election. The coming ...
• Arbie: In BC we have had a number of governments who were coalitions of Liberals and Conservatives under different names----Coalition, Social Credit and now...
• Bernie: I do not see Ignatieff as a Conservative but that is my opinion. If he was seen as a Conservative, he would syphon off votes from Harper and that ...
• Arbie: To me Clarke demonstrated the worst of our Westminster System where the power of the office of Premier or Prime Minister is almost unlimited. The f...
• Arbie: I do not disagree with what you have said but I still contend that when they are government, they have all the problems / flaws, if you wish, of any p...

Nanos National Poll - Canadians embrace Olympic peace (2010-02-11)

• This topic is rather like asking "Who IS in favour of motherhood?" or "Who IS NOT in favour of motherhood?" On the topic of the Olympics, was it not in 1...
• Bernie, my sentiments exactly. As an aside, each of the Sikorsky "sky train" helicopters requisitioned to haul trucked in snow (trucked from Manning Park i...
• Ho Ho Ronald: The provincial coffers of Ontario will have a heavy debt to pay for the auto bailout and the provincial coffers of British Columbia will have...
• Blackacadian: We need more thinking, reasoning, balancing young people on here who view politics reasonably and who have logical and realistic suggestions ...
• Blackacadian: Valentine's Day 1950 we got the Big Boy atomic bomb aborted above Hecate Strait. In your Library there may possibly be AMERICA'S FIRST LOST ...
• Blackacadian:----Just getting senile---the 1963 date was the birthdate of the author

Tories and Grits Gripped in a Tie (Completed February 4th 2010) (2010-02-08)

• Although the Conservative's overall programme of governance has met acceptance with the electorate generally, their legal tactics for staying in power have b...
• Yes, RSharp, I quite understand what you are saying. I believe what you are saying is that power corrupts and a little bit of ego in there magnifies the wh...
• Hello Ronald: Yes, that is some progress. As the Office of the Prime Minister has evolved so has the elected authority of the House of Commons and meani...
• Ronald: Our only hope is that the worm will turn and, like you, I rather doubt that will now happen. What really gets me is that the NDP have been so silen...
• Ronald: Did not both the Liberals and NDP support the budget???? They could have questioned the budget for the Office of the Prime Minister. It is the...
• Blackacadian: Ho Ho----What do I think of the CAPP movement that I prefer called Canadians Advocating Political Participation. On the one hand I wonder why...
• Blackacadian: If Canadians Advocating Political Participation can somehow energise the apathetic under 40 vote, then they are modern day miracle workers. ...
• Blackacadian: Yes, modern electronics do get the message out, through, around, under the barrier Big Brother may wish to place in the way. I think of Iran...
• Blackacadian: I, too, hope the internet will cause the younger voter to take a more active part in the democracy of our land. I was a Voting Officer in m...
• Hey, World, I am in the ranks of cranky old men. I tend to be a centrist but I have my own mind and will change as the circumstances dictate for me. Fede...

Nanos Leadership Index and Ballot (2009-12-30)

• As I said before, not that I am the best guesser half the time, I believe the Conservatives are moving toward a slim majority, the Liberals are moving toward...
• Rough: In my opinion, all polls should be prefaced with the question...."did you cast a vote in the last federal election?" as the turnout was, I believe, 58...
• Hollinm: What you say with the current "game players", the current "leaders" holds true and the polls bear this out. It is not a steller line-up and the po...
• Hollinm: Of course, I view the political spectrum a little differently to you. I see the NDP as a party of the left and left of centre, the Liberals as the...
• Ronald: It would be a rare day that all would agree with what a government will do or did not do or will not do. I would suggest there is a significent ...
• Ronald: Cannot disagree with you. Yes. Dion was a positive-negative type where he had a strong opinion about the road he was taking but it was not the road ...
• Ronald:I agree------ those who have an advantage through Canada's unequal and unjust system of representation to both the House of Commons and the Senate, w...
• Ronald: Hey, you could be faster than that-----abolish the Senate in the morning and reconstitute it in the afternoon with the 2 most senior Senators of ea...
• Ronald: I believe the Senate could vote itself out of existence with the concurrence of the House. The Liberals have had long enough to get a game plan...
• Ronald: I am sure the House, the way it stands today, would block the move as you say----and the opposition has the numbers too. I do anticipate a Conser...
• Ronald: The main thing is to have that clear / defined / publicly stated goal in place then the dialogue can begin.
• Rough: If Harper were to move as he suggested (using the Quebec ratio) with 21 seats to Ontario, 6 seats to Alberta and 5 to BC, then I tend to believe tha...
• Rough: Quebec is the standard and today Quebec has one MP for each 103,333 souls-----take that standard and apply it to the rest of Canada. Of course, the ...
• Rough:If reform of representation to both the House of Commons and the Senate is unlikely to happen, then, I would content, the continuation of the Federatio...
• Progrogation = Harper hubris: Dismissing parliament is quite legal as the Governor General must do as the Prime Minister directs. Now, what is to prevent...
• Ho Ho, it does seem that we have been poked with a sharp stick. I do recall from my childhood that we were not supposed to poke a hornet's nest for some re...
• Blackarcadian: A good response, in my opinion. Yes, Harper did promise a higher standard of government but, like most things in politics, what one promises...
• Indo: Treating the electorate as if they were stupid is not unique to any one party. Personally, I thought Harper was a faster learner than he has shown hi...

Nanos National Poll - Views on Afghan detainees issue (2009-12-23)

• The related wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not initiated by Canada nor were they well thought out from the beginning. The wars were conceived in deceit...
• Bernie: As Hollinm says, war is dirty and shit happens. Do not polish the Canadian halo too much especially as one recalls the Somalia fiasco perpetrated ...

Nanos-Policy Options National Poll - Third Annual "Mood of Canada" Poll (2009-12-09)

• Conservatives are headed for a majority, all things being equal, the Liberals are headed for a leadership convention and, don't laugh, the NDP may be headed ...
• Rough: I would disagree that Harper has peaked but rather is holding steady. Actually, over time he should have risen in general voter acceptance-----yo...
• Rough: What you say in the first sentence is certainly true. We have had minority governments in Canada but they also have been short lived. Yes, a m...

Nanos National Poll - Healthcare reclaims top issue of concern over economy (2009-11-24)

• Domestic bread and butter issues will always claim the primary attention of the Canadian electorate. International issues tend to claim short term secondar...
• Enviro: In my opinion, public healthcare is working but it may not be working as well as it could. There are other models in other countries that could an...
• Enviro: Private surgical clinics exist because they are profitable for the doctors who own them. Private hospitals exist in the United States because the...
• Enviro:----With qualifications as noted, yes.
• Polifan: Yes, downloading is a good old political tactic and Martin, as Finance Minister, was almost hailed as a hero for "balancing" the federal budget at t...
• Bernie: I cannot disagree with you. When government runs anything, it is not likely to be as efficient as it could be. Somewhere along the line there h...
• Bernie: Yes, one carrier / funding government should have been much more efficient and would have been similar to that in Taiwan-----one of the most efficie...
• Bernie: In the morning paper on the prevention side of the healthcare issue, there is an article on diabetes in BC. In 1998 there were 133,000 diabetics...
• Polifan: That seems just but wait a minute----the heavy smokers have paid a mighty high tobacco tax to the very agency that may like to punish them for thei...
• Polifan: You are so correct. Believe the UK system encourages doctors / rewards doctors for working in the preventitive sector but they have a major "fatt...
• Yes, Bernie: Doctors are in business just like the local supermarket that flogs breakfast cereals loaded with salt and sugar----each makes a profit from a tr...
• HST is Wrong: Yes, Ignatieff is apparently becoming an expert on fancy footsteps and is more of a dancing master than a political leader with future national...

The public opinion environment for Canadian-American relations (2009-11-19)

• I would like the American population generally to know more about Canada. On the other hand, I wonder if effective advertising would cause Americans to be...
• Hey, Bloggers---to comment on this poll, enter the address for Nik on the Numbers ( www.nikonthenumbers.com) into your favourites then use that route to open...

Conservative lead continues, Harper widens best PM advantage: Nanos Poll (Completed November 10th) (2009-11-14)

• At this stage it appears that all Harper has to do is to continue with his programme as it is the only programme that is on the table. Unfortunately, Ignat...
• Brusmit: Cannot disagree with your analysis but you have to accept that Liberal "mismanagement" is a Conservative strength. That is rather "soft ground" o...
• Brunsmit: Nothing is "sure" in politics so never feel complacent. All politicians flip flop if it serves their objective which is usually staying in powe...
• Ronald: Traditionally / usuually / for-the-most-part , byelections do not favour the incumbent party but rather favour the non-government parties. The p...
• Brusmit: I do not disagree with what you say but I believe your reasoning may be flawed. So far Harper has faced rather a poor lot of Liberal leaders-----M...
• Ronald: Just my projection from my perspective. So far the Liberal camp has not deemed it necessary to give so much as a glimpse of what their plan / prog...
• Brusmit: The media gets blamed for too much as people are supposed to think----admittedly, far too many do not think for themselves. Out in BC, Canwest ...
• Ronald: AGREED. Bet you cannot get past the dinosaur gatekeepers in Ottawa. Get your camping gear together because that is where we are headed. So much ...
• Polls: Politicians all have an ego the size of the Parliament Buildings. None ever just step down for the good of the party or the country-----they have ...
• Twiens: Have hope. Harper has said----said only, no action yet-----that he intends to add H of C seats to the under represented areas of the land, that i...
• Bernie: This is an interesting time in Canadian politics where none of the parties really want an election as the polls are not in their favour, the dollar...
• Ronald:Quebec insecurity is understandable and one could liken them to white Indians in Canada. They have had a long tradition of being exploited by the ch...
• Hollinm: Yes, money does seen to grease the palms. I see federal governance reform as something that will take place over 10 to 40 years before we have an...
• Hollinm: The 75 seats is no problem as that ratio today is approximately one seat for 103,333 souls which is a good ratio for the rest of Canada and one H...
• FIVE YEAR STUDY blog---the latest one. If you wish to get access, into your favourites enter www.nikonthenumbers.com and enter the blog that way.

Nanos Policy Options Poll – Canadians overwhelmingly support universal health care; think Obama is on right track in United States (2009-11-06)

• The Canadian Health Care System is very near and dear to our hearts and, in my opinion, it is the hallmark of a caring democracy. Our system is not perfect b...
• Syl: The British system does not sound too attractive to me. The "add-on" seems to deal with ones working life as an employee but not have the same advan...
• Stephen: Your last paragraph about the use of referendum in the Swiss Federation is applicable to the Federation of Canada. I wholly agree that the "voic...
• Elf: For years I have belonged to the Hemlock Society and whatever it has morphed into today. My wife and I both have Living Wills filed with our doctor a...
• Syl: If you have the opportunity to see the programme on PBS "Frontline" titled Sickness around the World, it is a comparative documentary looking at the U...
• Bernie:End of life issues are a personal decision. Life is about choices all along the way except at the end where that choice is denied by law. Assistin...
• Syl:----If you have a chance to view the PBS Frontline programme "Illness Around the World", it is well worth watching. By an American, it is a documenta...

Nanos National Poll: Conservatives widen advantage over Grits: Nanos Poll (Completed October 18th) (2009-10-22)

• I believe this is as much of a poll on "what is the alternative?" as it is a poll on the growing strength of the Harperites. To his credit, Harper has grow...
• Lex: Well, Zachardelli is gone and the current RCMP head is an civilian appointee of the present government. Hope he manages to clean up the force which h...
• Syl: To me there is something wrong with the Liberal management team behind Ignatieff. As I mentioned earlier, it is like managing something "by committe...
• Yes, HC, I am inclined to agree at this stage. He looks promising but we need more than that----at least I do and I am a "centre of the roader"
• HC:---Thanks for the explanation---never heard it before but there are many who would fit the description. I had hoped that Ignatieff had more to offer th...
• Ronald:: Ho Ho----quid pro qou.
• Hollinm: That is my point. I believe Ignatieff has potential if allowed to lead but his handlers, who obviously wield power, will not allow him to do so. ...
• Lex: That is the thinking of 1867 which is comfortable for the original signatories. There is no mechanism for the federal governance of Canada to evolve...
• Lex: Western Canada is the only region in Canada that "generates" different political parties----if one may use "different" in that sense. Without a doub...
• Syl: Yes, The Albertan parties are always on the right yet their neighbour was on the left. Must be something about that prairie water ! ! !

Nanos National Poll - Canadians don't want a fall election; Majority preferred but minority expected (Completed September 11) (2009-10-01)

• Those who say we need an election at this time find little support BUT those who want a majority government find a great deal of support. Seems there is a...
• Hollinm: I agree with you and , as you say, the electorate is very volatile and I would also suspect they are getting crankier------like me--Ho Ho.
• Elf: I quite agree with you. Not only does the electorate not really know what goes on from one end of the country to the other but politicians do not eit...
• Hollimn: I am not co-opted by anyone and I have some strong opinions of my own as you do. Stand back and read what Elf said again. She is dealing with...
• Hollinm: ....."who ARE as power hungry AS stephen Harper" That is a comparison. I believe most would have difficulty denying that politicians are not ...
• Hey Hollinm: We were discussing the right to hold diverse opinions and not minority government. Minority governments do not work in the modern era for C...
• Hello Elf:----I am essentially a middle of the roader but I also expect a somewhat better performance of the party management of the Government of Canada tha...
• Elf: But the thing is that those outside the country do not vote. A politician has to be supported from within therefore internal policy is the critical ...
• Elf: No arguement that Canada had more stature in the world as a peace keeper rather than as a peace maker. We were sucked into the American orbit bear...

Nanos National Poll - Canadians prefer controlled stimulus; Harper scores well on issue management (Completed September 11) (2009-09-24)

• I believe this poll says it is better the devil you know than the devil you do not. I also believe it is desireable to continue the minority situation unt...
• Yes, Elf, a Harper majority maybe disasterous but, then again, it may not be any worse than the alternative, whatever that may be. I am a little cynical an...
• Hollinm-----good to hear from you although we usually sit on opposite sides of the divide. If I read between your lines, the political offerings in Canada...
• HC----75% tax credit on the first $1100 is essentially what we have today. I believe we have to be very careful that corporations are NOT able to contribute...
• HC: I do not hit those higher numbers on donations but when I got out my chart, you are correct. If political donations up to $1275 get the electorate in...
• Ronald: What you say has merit regarding Quebec and I would have no intention of giving them reason for complaint. As far as I am concerned, Quebec is...
• Bernie: I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I do agree with you that the US tends to be big government of big money as their donation system appe...
• Bernie: I hear you loudly and clearly and equally loudly and clearly, I do not agree with you. I would scream like bloody murder if anybody told me I had ...
• Bernie: I believe the Charter of Rights and the Supreme court would be very busy as soon as you wish to restrict who may or may not run. I have my idea ...
• Elf: Politicians say what the electorate likes to hear and the electorate likes to hear a lot of fantasy whether that is Conservative fantasy or Liberal fa...
• Yes, Elf, politics is a blood sport played with the taxpayer's money. The object of the game is to stay in power, no matter what. Electorate disinterest...
• Elf: I believe you have hit upon the disease centre of the Canadian political process. What runs the country, is really the bureaucracy within the Prime M...

Nanos National Poll - Economy slides as an issue of concern - no political dividend for Conservatives, yet. (2009-08-10)

• As I have commented before, Harper is most predictably unpredictable. I am sure in an election Harper will not be without a platform of significance to a s...
• Ontarian: I agree with your observations but I am beginning to wonder if Ignatieff is beginning to catch a little of the Conservative ""flu". Harper has b...
• Hollinm: Exactly ! ! ! For the most part, Harper is moving the Conservatives toward the centre ground in spite of disagreement with his far right element. ...
• Richard: As you say ".....he must stay silent on his health care reforms..." Poll after poll show that health care is near and dear to Canadians and if Har...
• Jack: That is part of the problem for Conservative electoral numbers. The "what if ??" should there be a Conservative majority and what else is on the Harp...
• Jack: I believe you are correct that Harper is a one man show and I believe he is viewed by the Reform element of his party as unpredictable as I view him as...
• Jack: Your second paragraph describes a politician no matter what their political stripes. To my cynical view, politics is the fine art of opportunism. ...
• Hollinm: The "hidden agenda silliness" may be just as you say but it is there never-the-less and Harper has done that all by himself and it has been there l...
• Hollinm: I am one of those electors who wants good, fair, honest and open government and it does not really matter who is in the driver's seat as long as I c...

Nanos National Poll - Strengths and Weaknesses of the Liberal Party (2009-07-03)

• Trying not to be partisan, the Conservative strength appears to be trying to make a half decent job out of a mighty mess. Their weakness has been their in...
• Informed: A good chuckle and not without truth. Some of the nerds have been in the neighbourhood before.
• Ronald: Quite right. Waiting to see what is rolled out makes one wonder why all the mystery-------in my opinion, that tactic does not seem to work any mor...
• Syld: Quite true---the Liberals do not have to roll out their platform at this point in time but I believe that is a mistake today. This "playing the card...
• Informed: Today, July 4, on the editorial page of the TimesColonist, was a reprint of Andrew Potter's (online politics editor of the Ottawa Citizen),articl...
• Informed: Cannot get in as not a subscriber. May headlines are published for Persichilli but no headlines for June.
• Bernie: In a democracy, people are supposed to rule through their Members of Parliament. Today, unfortunately, MPs are there to represent the voting majori...
• Informed: Good article and thanks. Yes, "playing it close to the chest" is not going to work anymore or, at least, it is not going to work in September. Th...
• Informed: Unfortunately, it is not healthy for a democracy to reduce the powers of MPs and parliament. Parliament itself would have to reduce the budget...
• Hey Informed: You are getting a little cynical like the rest of us---Ho Ho.

New Nanos National Ballot - Impressions of Harper and Ignatieff measured (2009-06-27)

• I believe both Harper and Ignatieff knew they could not win a majority otherwise there would have been an election. Politics is the art of the opportune ...
• Informed: I have another concern about this whole automotive industry corporate bailout that dates back to the T Eaton failure. There the company principa...
• Informed: All Harper had to do from the first minority was to become a STATESMAN but his ego got in the way and his back room boys were either too wet behi...
• Informed: I agree there will not be doom and gloom with the next government no matter what political stripe it may be. We may bitch a lot but our governmen...
• Hello Hollinm: A statesman would foster co-operation as opposed to confrontation. A statesman would engage in dialogue and persuasion. Canadians did no...
• Hollinm: I agree with what you say. The point I tried to make earlier is that there should be an agency---a separate agency---- similar to the Canada Pensi...
• Hollinm: Yes, cooperation and compromise are the key words and some of the minority administrations in northern Europe seemed to give their countries stable ...
• Informed: Of course that funding goes to all political parties in Canada and I must guess there must be at least 20 that run federally. Nobody has mentio...
• Informed: I believe an ultimatum to Quebec regarding separatist sentiments or an ultimatium to Alberta about about the oil sands being a Canadian asset is ...
• Informed: Yes, one could get a historical map and try to determine which map was appropriate. I would hope there was enough good will and sense of belongi...
• Hollinm: Yes in Committee is where legislation is discussed, negotiated, compromised or whatever. And, yes, some Committees have been stymied by the opposi...
• Hey Hollinm: Do not slam Sheila as she sent me a Canadian flag paid for by me----Ho Ho You have chatted with me long enough to know that I believed Harper...
• Hollinm: Yes, Harper will be judged also by his legislative accomplishments in the House. I certainly agree with his law and order package that was long ov...
• Hollinm: I differ regarding the Afghan situation. You say Canada would have been the laughing stock should we have withdrawn. Come come !!!!!. You do n...

Strengths and weaknesses of Conservative government (2009-06-13)

• Ho Ho Ho-----A tiger that changes its spots is still a tiger and no more trusty in the sheep's pen.

New poll on effectiveness and impact of Ignatieff attack ads (2009-06-08)

• Ah---those attack ads ! ! ! I believe those negative ads can backfire on the sponsors more times than not. I would be nice if the authors could use a litt...
• Gordo-----You have just come to dinner said the spider to the fly. So how is your time for the next week for ".......thoughtful conversation about this skewi...
• Syld: Yes proportional representation by population in the House is the first political step otherwise Canada will try to ride around in style in an 1867 sta...
• Gordo: The West has always been home to the protest movement as the West has felt that their interests have been ignored in the federal arena. Alberta h...
• Gordo: I believe our national parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, have failed to understand the word "national" and have governed on a much narrowe...
• Gordo: Yes, Baird was all over the local TV yesterday for his inappropriate remark. I believe we agree that politicians should take sensitivity training...
• Gordo: I rather admire Danny Williams' guts and his determination to stand up to Ottawa. Our premier, Campbell the Conservative in Liberal sheep's clo...
• Gordo: Just the one ad generally on Canwest-Global. Peckford lives locally and a bit of a backroom-boy in municipal politics as I see it. Yes, Wells was we...

Nanos poll shows Canadians think Oliphant Inquiry poor use of tax dollars - mixed on necessity (2009-05-11)

• There are always those who know they can rewrite history no matter what. Whatever the outcome of the inquiry, Mulroney's reputation has been established 17...
• Bernie: I agree with you that democracy is weakened by malfeasance and we tend to see those issues after the fact. The trick is to recruit people to gover...
• Larryl: I have several suggestions for consideration. No ONE person knows of these little clandestine "arrangements". As with "Adscam", there were a n...
• Larryl: Most politicians are principled individuals but there is always the exception and they have likely always been that way all their life. They sa...
• Jack----That is human nature. Politicians always wish to put a bright spin on things and the current economic downturn is one of them. A parallel may be...
• HC:Can only agree with you here on the selection of candidates for public office. The financial aspect figures fairly importantly especially where the per...
• HC: Had a good response to your query this morning but do not see it here so guess it evaporated into the ether !! ! Not singling out the oil sands other t...
• HC: Points well made---thanks for the info.
• Syld: Good to hear that recovery technologies are being refined and, most importantly, being implemented. Yes, the petroleum resources of the province ar...
• Ronald: An interesting campaign in BC. The Campbell "Liberals" focused on Campbell's leadership in a positive way and the NDP focued on Campbell's leaders...
• Bernie: Sometime there is a gulf between theory and practice and that is true with the Single Transferrable Vote in this province. There are 85 electoral di...

Stimulus, sure - just watch the cost - Nanos Comments for the GTR Economic Summit (2009-05-07)

• Ah----the money pit---I wish I had one too. When public largess is on offer, one has only to look to the US to see those who willingly jump on the bandwagon...
• Bernie: Where money and power come together in government there is always reason to look closely. Politicians are just people-----no more honest nor any...

Close federal race continues - Tories down in Quebec up in Ontario (2009-05-02)

• It has been a long winter in Canada and not much has happened politically in April as this poll suggests. Ignatieff, and what he stands for, is still relati...
• Hollinm: I agree with you that any government would have had to have introduced similar policies but not necessarily identical policies. The auto industr...
• Ronald: I believe the "swing voter" represents both your suggestions but, I believe the majority are motivated by self interest----the pocket book issues, a...
• Ronald: Yes, governments are usually architects of their own defeat and Captain Harper's good ship Conservative is heading for the shoals.
• Ronald: Following your line of thought here, it is too bad that Peter McKay and other former Progressive Conservatives do not have the guts to challenage Har...
• Ronald:----Ah, the debate ! ! ! The horse race between the NDP and the Campbell "Liberals",---- the pundits say Carole James, the NDP leader, won by a head....
• Hollinm: I believe there is some good sense to what you say. As politics is theatre full of bluster, double speak, smoke and mirrors and downright decept...

Nanos Poll: Environment Trumps Prosperity for Oil Sands Development (2009-03-25)

• If one focuses on a topic for long enough, there can be all sorts of EMOTIONAL responses. Yes, the oil sands extraction process is a significant polluter b...
• Gerry:---You are right that the oils sands extraction business is a cesspool but it has been allowed to get that way by the Alberta government's indifference...
• Hollinm: Yes, what you say about the oil sands and the toxic by-products is all too true. I hope the cleanup issue is not going to be another Sidney tar p...
• Berni: Yes, the western world is the consumer society and more so on this continent than western Europe. The rest of the world aspires to a much higher st...
• Bernie:----Quite true that the ballooning world population is a much greater threat to the health of the planet. A much more sensible approach to our glo...
• Bernie: Ran across this today which gives another view of Al Gore and his pitch for global warming. http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/586.html
• Larryl:---Could have all sorts of fun with black humour here. Yes, somewhere down the road reality will finally hit home when the planet passes the non-sus...
• Elf:---I it is difficult to explain behaviour and attitudes. Some people have empathy for others while others couldn't care less. Most people are "taker...
• Yes, Jack, if one has the means, then, often, our wants know no bounds and our kids tend to be of the Me,Me, Me generation. With this current economic down ...
• Ronald:----Good points. I believe one has to concede that the current Harper Conservatives are an unstable union of the traditional "Progressive" Conservativ...
• Ronald:---I am on board with you. Although Ignatieff is an unknown quantity at the moment, I appreciate his attempts to include the West but it will be his...

Liberals and Conservatives still close - Trend favours the Liberals at the expense of the NDP (2009-03-21)

• Personally, I do not believe the Liberal surge in their traditional stamping grounds is to be unexpected. Numbers may go up and down in Ontario, Quebec and...
• Syld: A very positive analysis and, as you say, hopefully the Liberal Party will become grass roots friendly and representative. I so completely agree wit...
• Canadian:----What you are saying about the account books is generally correct----they are a mess. Usually a party, a city, a country rebuilds after a disaste...
• Canadian:----Equal representation by population to the House of Commons is the firsy step. The second step is a national referendum on the future of the Sen...
• Canadian:----I am not defending the Bloc but it is just as much a protest party as was the United Farmers Party, the CCF, the Social Credit, the Reform and t...
• Bernie:---I, too, would vote to abolish the Senate if there was any hope of equal treatment. As 80% of our population live in urban settings, that is migh...
• Gordo:---I am inclined to agree with you. Yes. the Liberals find the West a political desert and I wonder why---Ho Ho. With a narrow majority, MP numbers ...
• Gordo:----I do not quite understand the shifting support in Ontario but it is safe to say that any government in power during a down turn will be blamed. ...
• Thanks, Gordo, but do not seem to be able to get that story any which what way.

Nanos - UB Poll: Majorities in Canada and the US support greater co-operation (2009-02-18)

• Quiet Canadians are not very good at selling themselves to our good neighbour south of the border whether it is promoting tourism by provincial governments o...
• Come on Peggy: I assume you are a young thing and possibly do not recall the "long knives" in the days of John Diefenbaker and the days of Joe Clark. I a...
• Hey Quiet: Stand back a little and take another look. I do not believe you can make such a strong statement about Harper who is doing the political thing o...
• MRM---I rather thought Dion was practising the ancient art of Hari-Kari. You are right as no political party has patent rights on the manufacture of long k...
• Ho Ho Moving----Politics is a blood sport and it is not restricted to Canada either.
• MRM----You are probably right about keeping the powder dry----Ho Ho

New Nanos Poll: Measuring Political Coat-tails - Leader Impact on Local Party Candidates + Budget Performance (2009-02-13)

• As Quebec has a Federal party restricted to that province alone, then for clarification of this poll, the numbers should reflect Quebec only for the first qu...
• Hello, Quiet:-----Just politics and any opposition would do the same if they had half a brain. Ignatieff appears to making all the right noises and hope he ...
• Morning Analyst: The ship of state may have veered to the centre otherwise he may have ended up on the policy shoals with the broarder Canadian electorate. ...
• Non-Aligned----I suppose the "art" of politics is being able to avoid the political quicksand. Yes, I agree with you. The electorate does not appreciate t...
• Westerner---are there enough Liberals there for a hand of bridge ????
• Bernie:----The way things should run and the way they do run are usually two different things. One has a choice of being on the outside looking in or being...
• Analyst----As you say, if you stand back, one can see the fracture lines which could suggest fragmentation. Historically, those "stress" lines develop when...
• Ho Ho---makes politics interesting ! ! ! !
• Hello Bernie:----I do not necessarily agree with you but, first, let me say I use the phrase "that's politics" and it is not a complimentary phrase----I supp...
• Bernie:----On your paragraph dealing with population and representation. If all regions of Canada were treated equally for representation in the House of C...

Nanos-Policy Options Poll - Canadians see recession lasting into 2010; Support deficits and Infrastructure spending (2009-01-25)

• One has to polish their crystal ball and pretend they know what to do in the coming economic crisis. I say "coming" as we are tied closely---too closely---...
• Bernie: My point was a cut at the botton of the income scale and a reassessment of taxes to be paid by the $200,000+ group and to close the gap between the ...
• Gerry: It is as you say...."It is to despair". Those in Canada who think that when the American elephant twitches we are not going to feel much in Canada are...
• I hear what you say, Bernie, but I do not agree with you for this reason. In the 80s I was in Britain and the government had housed a number of unemployed y...

Nanos Poll - Ignatieff still unknown, Harper too well known (2009-01-18)

• Harper has been out shooting and practising how to shoot himself in the foot proving he is a damn good shot. Increasingly, I believe Harper's error is one of...
• Thank you Ronald. Yes, Harper has disappointed and I did believe he could, if he wanted, carry his last minority to the October 19th date this year.
• Thank you Bernie.
• Parnel: I have not seen the ads today but one could expect the negative advertising based on past performance. As you say, the tenor of those ads is expre...

New Nanos National Poll - Lib 34, CP 33, NDP 19, BQ 7, GP 7 (completed Jan 7) (2009-01-09)

• The current political environment is anything but static---it is charged. Harper now has an articulate, viable challenger with empty pockets. That new face...
• Larryl: Yes, Ignatieff is an unknown quantity but all leaders are likely to start out that way so that should be no problem. If he is a team player with ...
• Ronald: The furor Harper stirred up over the coalition was essentially an advertising tactic-------say it long enough and loudly enough, then it must be true...
• Informed: How much time Ignatieff has to rebuild the Liberals will be up to Harper. Somehow, I do not think Ignatieff will go for the coalition and the ...
• Ronald: Yes, I know this "hidden agenda" item sticks to Harper like merd to a blanket. I believe the "what IF"----if he has a majority lingers in many m...
• MRM: Ignatieff ate crow on the Iraq War / invasion so I give him credit there. "Getting Iraq Wrong" is well worth reading at www.vigile.net/article8029....
• MRM: Point taken.
• Your latest poll results really show that Dion's potential leadership of a coalition was very unpopular. The present numbers show that Canadians would pr...
• Westerner:----Go back a step. Rural Ontario and the West voted the way they did with Dion as the Liberal leader with understandable results. With Ignatie...
• Parnel:---I commented on that new poll to Westerner. I am a Westerner too and a centrist always looking for good, fair and just governance and not a rabid...
• Westerner: BC provincial politics are rather unusual where for the last 50 years or so, the government has either been the NDP or Conservative of a differ...
• Westerner: This leadership image thing is quite mystifying at times. Robert Stansfield (the underwear guy) was a very capable, honest and much respected ...
• Made In:----I suggest that you may be putting yourself out on a limb unnecessarily to make your point. China is certainly no paragon of virtue and its reco...
• Bernie: Yes, that Reform element is the albatross about the Cons neck. As said earlier on this blog, there is no voice for the "Progressives"??? that MacKay...
• OK, Westerner, and what is the constructive or positive comment to keep the discussion going ????
• Westerner:---Just history and I understand that one should be aware of history so one is not forced to relive it. It is a little like the Afghanistan War....
• Calmecam: I agree and the poll before Christmas was more of an expression of Dion's proposed leadership of that coalition. Mind you, the Cons stirred up al...
• Calmecam: I rather agree with you but I have a few points to ponder. Now Martin was considered the genius of the budget but to balance that budget and get...
• Thanks Bernie:---Nobody has to agree with what I suggest but it is appropriate to a discussion to offer an alternative or two.
• Calmecam: I agree that politics tends to be political theatre with lots of screens, smoke and mirrors. I imagine Harper has muzzled Kevin Page after his an...
• Calmecam: Yes, political memories are notoriously short. Like good advertising, if you say something long enough and loud enough, it takes on the sembalance...
• Calmecam:---One would hope so but there are still too many Canadians who are politically disconnected for example, the 42% who did not turn out to vote last ...
• Calmecam: I see your point but I do not agree with it. I am sure the busy family gets those things done it wishes to get done. Personally, I have never m...
• Calmecam: Rights without responsibility is everywhere in our society. In such simple matters as a right to use the crosswalk in spite of a bus or 15 ton tru...
• Calmecam: What you say is basically correct. What is possibly in question is the basic education standard of the broad electorate and their ability to eval...

Harper has "poisoned the well" in parliament - path forward is uncertain (2008-12-01)

• Personally, I am most disappointed with Harper's actions as I rightly expected him to do everything in his power to make this parliament work. He asked fo...
• Albertosaurus: I agree with your thoughts about the Conservative "backroom boys"---two minorities in a row does not bode well for Harper. However, if Har...
• Morning Taylor: Everybody is entitled to express their opinion as they see the picture unfolding------as I have said before, it depends upon which side of t...
• Larryl: I agree that the conservatives would like the opposition to disappear but that is up to the electorate and where they place their votes. Admittedly,...
• Lex: Harper is a front man and, granted, he may have tight control of the apparatus but he is the front man, nevertheless. Behind him as with any successfu...
• Larryl: Nothing is forever in politics and no matter what we may say, there is always something that comes up to set a new precedent. I think of Diefenbaker...
• Larryl: I respect Duceppe the man but not his political stance. Too bad he is not in one of the major parties as, to me, he appears to have integrity. Ye...
• Larryl: There are all sorts of extreme undercurrents that we see on this blog----they are not politically all encompassing as they should be in a federation...
• Hollinm:--Yes, Harper has messed up and here I keep saying he is an excellent tactician but unfortunately I am finding out he surely is lacking in some leade...
• James: I doubt the Cons will boot Harper at this time but I am sure there there must be some underground rumblings after two minority governments. For the ...
• Ronald: Excellent
• Hollinm: In the democratic tradition, a good viable government demands a good viable opposition. One may suggest that Harper is not too keen to have a good...
• Hollinm: We would not be in this mess if Harper had done the job he applied for. If the coalition does come into play, then it will be the job of the opp...
• Hollinm: "Harper could never do enough to satisfy those opposition parties"---possibly so, but Harper was the government and he had the reins of power but ...
• Hey, Informed: It is a nice day out here in Lotusland.---Positive, constructive remarks may assist along the line but the scatter gun approach just causes p...
• Hollinm: The policies of the Bloc are one thing and what the electorate of Quebec want is more than likely not the same thing. The Quebec provincial legi...
• Elf:--I agree with your position regarding Harper----he must go as he is becoming or has become as big a threat to Canadian unity as anything that has come o...
• Elf: I wish he would do just that before he splits my Canada into two or three or more banana republics ready to be swallowed up by the United States--- Can...
• Elf:---I agree that Dion is essentially an honest, decent man but he is a disaster as a politician. The events of the last week suggest to me that Harper is...
• Lex: I do not see any terrible issues with a modified FIRST PAST THE POST where there is a following election where the bottom candidates are dropped from ...
• Elf: This "recess" is a blessing for the Liberals if they have the guts to act and move the leadership race up to the second week of January under "extraord...
• Lex: Yes, the STV is a terrible idea that Gordon Campbell is going to try for the second time, come the election next May. I rather know who I am voting fo...
• Lex: You know politicians----they will try to wear the voter down if it is an advantage to them at this moment. Think of Harper and the fixed election dat...
• Informed----Try to be constructive.
• Lex:Conservative Campbell in BC has fixed electiom dates but, as with all things political, I am sure they can wiggle around it just as they did with recall ...
• Gerry: A politician's ego always gets in the way and the only smart and timely exit in recent times was Martin. The rest await the conferring of the ORDE...
• Lex:Gordon Campbell was in the Socred camp when he was a developer in Vancouver and when he was the Mayor of Vancouver. Backed by the Howe Street boys fin...
• Lex---Ho Ho---Good for you and that is a excellent way to keep the hormones spinning around. If I was 60 years younger, I would follow your lead ! ! !

New Nanos National Poll - CP, 32%, LP 30%, NDP 20%, GP 10%, BQ 9% (2008-11-19)

• It all goes to show that elections are related to the stock market whose prime motivating force is emotion rather than common sense. The volatity of the vot...
• Westerner---Wish BC had that in the savings account---ours shows red and there will be much more red when the bill for the Olympics comes in.
• Ronald: Somehow I thought Harper would have gone to the election of October 10, 2009 last time round but obviously I was wrong. All things being equal wit...
• Ronald: You have more understanding of the many cross winds in Quebec than I do. It will be interesting to watch to see if any telling trends emerge.
• Gohabs: A couple of points.---Dion is an intelligent man but, unfortunately, intelligence and political common sense do not go together with him. As you say...
• Bernie: The leadership should be interesting and the figure the leader projects is important too although some seem to think "leadership" takes second or th...
• As you know, Chris, circumstances change, parties change and governments change. I would not hazard a guess on the political cycle but something around 10...
• Gohabs: A minority situation is an abnormal situation and, yes, the cycle is much shortened. Provincially it seems to be about that cycle except Alberta wh...
• Bernie:---The Opposition is the "government in waiting" and they do not like to wait.
• Lex---good info---many thanks
• Informed:---Unfortunately, the Liberals were not given a choice of having an interim leader so their responses in the House are understandable and it will be...
• Informed: Harper tied his own hands with the fixed election date that initially was a good idea but not when Harper wanted an election and the opposition w...
• Informed---It depends upon which side of the river you stand on and view what is going on. For example, in the 1770s in the US, the colonists were viewed a...
• Chris: Often provincial political parties do not square with the federal parties in that province. In BC we had the long running Coalition (Lib and Con) d...
• Hollinm---not coming up as a double posting on my machine
• Informed---Your first sentence says it all. What you say in the following paragraphs is generally correct too. I do question how convenient it is to keep r...
• Yes, Informed, old bodies die and new bodies come along. Circumstances change with time and that is understandable.
• MRM ---I believe I am correct in saying Thatcher sold off / privatized many public / crown assets, for example, many bridges became toll bridges, public owne...
• MRM:--Thanks for the info
• Morning Gohabs: When I was a kid it was lots of fun to poke at a hornet's nest in the garden with a very long pole then run like hell. Of course, we did g...
• MRM:---You maybe right but I believe there is a rather big bite of optimism there. The party of the right, whatever it wishes to be called, has had two run...
• MRM---I agree that Dion, as coalition PM, would be a disaster----the electorate has already made their thoughts known regarding Dion and HIS plans for the c...
• Yes, Gohabs, I have heard those noises too regarding Dion being prevented from leading any coalition. In Canadian politics, the only thing you can be assur...
• Ronald: I am inclined to agree with you and I can't for the life of me understand what has managed to get into Harper's noggin. As I said, I expected more o...
• Gohabs---Are you sure he will not try to be named "Prime Minister for life"-----Ho Ho
• MRM---No matter what the PM does next, he has set the tone for this session of parliament. He had the opportunity to make this session work and come out a...
• MRM;---A minority government must always be prepared to compromise and somewhat rule jointly on common ground issues with the majority opposition. The Gove...
• MRM---A minority government to work must invest in a lot of negotiation to come up with the common ground. Talking throught the media does not qualify as si...
• Gohabs: In part I agree with you. All along I have suggested that parliament would run much better if the leaders of both major parties were replaced and ...
• MRM---Yes, it would be an uneasy coalition to say the least----you are correct there especially if Dion heads it up as the electorate has already given their...

On the Harper election win (Nanos Sun Column) (2008-11-04)

• I agree. As a centrist I was most disappointed in the hearing acuity of the Liberal leadership and said so in my letters (note the plural) to Dion over the ...
• Larryl: You have a very valid point regarding low voter turnout. Each vote cast federally for a party results in about $1.85 per vote of federal money goi...
• Diefenbaker rode into power without any support in Quebec and, I believe, he enjoyed saying just that. I do not believe this did any great good for the fab...
• Ah, Rightside, you have touched on my favourite topic and that is REPRESENTATION by POPULATION in the House of Commons. If one was to take the Quebec repre...
• OK Larryl, there are many ways to cut the cloth----Not a bad way to fund the election though I believe it may fly like a lead balloon. How about this sugge...
• Larryl: Like me, all elders have at least the OAP whether they worked or not and a $100 chit, if they are not in the income tax payable bracket, would act as...
• Rightside---another little tid-bit for you. The Trudeau years saw the design of the Polar 8 icebreaker come to the blueprint stage. Mulroney promised the...
• Ho Ho---OK, the Centre but at times I believe the "Centre of the Universe" may have applied ! ! !
• Made in Canada;:---No, I did not hear the govenor of Montana but I am sure US interests like the petroleum products from Alberta---did he mention the Petrole...
• Lex: Try to be positive. People who do not turn out to vote tend to scream when it hits them in the pocket book------if one does not vote, do they have a ...
• Made in Canada----just a suggestion. Neither past or present governments of Canada control how capital moves, however, governments do control the rules and...
• Hey, Made in Canada---be careful because I bet 75%+ of the clothes you and the rest of the people are wearing are outsourced.
• Made in Canada---A sober thought is that NAFTA may be up for review in the US as there appeared to be a protectionist tone in each candidate's platform. It...
• Yes, Bernie, the Soft Wood is a sectorial agreement and not in NAFTA and the US has ignored every WTO ruling if it was not to the US advantage. Yes, Canada...
• Hello---Made in C---There is a new government in Ottawa and it has been there for several years-----think we all have to look forward because the future we c...
• Ho Ho--Made in C----Would that be the goegraphical centre which would likely be Churchill, Manitoba or Watson Lake, Nunavit or the population centre which wo...
• Hello Foxer: I believe you are right------a Harper majority would have been "good" for the Liberals as it would have given them 4 years to sort themselves ou...
• Foxer: I think your hunch is correct and that certainly would be the route to the wilderness---and who knows---40 years ???
• Degres---You are so right. With Confereration in 1867, Ontario got 24 seats, Quebec got 24 seats and the Atlantic Provinces got 24 seats----12 for NB and 1...
• Bernie---I have never missed a vote either. Often university students protest when the fees go up (and I do not blame them) but they are representative of...
• Informed---In my opinion, the only thing you can be assured about in politics is that you can be assured about nothing when the smoke and mirrors are brought...
• Made in C-----was not the same remark made after Mulroney left Kim Campbell with an astounding caucus of 2 ????
• Hey, Made in C----I imagine you may have the same difficulty I have in wondering how some religious groups predict the end of the world, sell up everything, ...
• Gohabs:---I agree. That great unalligned / unaffiliated centre electorate must be "attracted" to move a little left or a little right but it never moves fa...
• Ronald:---How true. It is desirable to have an open mind and be realistically able to weight the merits of varying proposals. I believe that maybe called ...
• Morning Made in C: -----Have you considered running for the Conservative nomination in your riding ?
• RonaldO:----Some good thoughtful comments in this section. From my perspective, I suggest the "Go right, Go right" element will do more damage to the Conse...
• RonaldO: ---I just couldn't resist and it went completely unnoticed by the target----I know, it really was not fair ! !!
• Informed:---I am note too sure of the voting procedures within the Conservative camp, but I believe their one man, one vote as opposed to delegates, favours ...
• Lex----Charet took on the task of rebuilding before he jumped to provincial politics then along came Peter McKay. The Conservatives have a long history of ...
• Lex:---Right of centre is right of centre no matter what name one officially wishes to use. Parties should "evolve" with the times---no sin in that. Howev...
• Hollinm----I suppose everyone looks for the Messiah and I believe the last leader offered himself as such with the green shift and his refusal to listen to a...
• Hollinm: Somehow I wonder if the Canadian electorate has the stomach to show continued interest in the Canadian political scene which has been on high octa...
• Lex: When you say..."almost any person can rise up and become wealthy" you seem to paraphrase those who seem to say you can make a silk purse out of a so...
• Made in C:---For a generation or so, China has persued a "one child policy" in an attempt to control its population growth. As the population ages in ano...
• Gohabs: I agree with you but immigration will never replace a healthy birthrate. At present the Canadian birthrate is below the deathrate and immigration...
• Bernie: Yes we certainly need to smarten up within our land and get the priorities right. With immigration, there needs to be the infrastructure to "integr...
• MRM---I agree. I believe in China, for example, education has led more to the loosening of the system than has international pressure. Well educated citi...
• Lex---Good points
• Larryl: You have covered several good points. Dropouts----my point here is how many kids that start grade 1 graduate from grade 12----I believe the dropout ...
• MRM----Yes Putin would like to have Russia as a competing super power again but, I believe, they have a set of problems internal and external that may well c...
• Northgirl:---Capital flees to where it finds a more fertile field and so do people. Canadians ALL have been immigrants at one time or another---my great gr...
• Northgirl: Well, I know my ancestors came from Britain and they did not pop up on the Canadian landscape like a mushroom. It is even thought the First Nat...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 37, LP 32, NDP 13, BQ 9, GP 9 (ending September 10) (2008-09-11)

• Quite understandable projections in as much that Harper is known although his leadership may not suit all, he has more good points than bad. Harper is a m...
• Marhilda: In my riding of Nanaimo-Alberni, there has been no life in the Liberal riding association since BEFORE the leadership race. I sent numerous "hel...
• Thanks, Foxer:: Just hope Harper can govern closer to the centre and represent the majority Canadian view. What effect the American election may have on Can...
• Welcome back Hollinm:---Now you can get back into form as there have been some good issues on here. Yes, Harper has moved on some serious issues that were ...

LP 35, CP 33, NDP 17, BQ 8, GP 7 - Harper leads as best PM (New Nanos Poll) (2008-08-29)

• Ah---the fine art of Hara-Kiri-----No, I do not think either man is that stupid as to enter into a no win situation. I believe Harper, quite rightly, is c...
• Hello Larryl: Yes, our Canadian political scene is an unfortunate mess. An ill conceived election may also force a change in one of the prima donnas in th...
• Hello Foxer:---Yes, you are right about a change in leadership and I see that as the only positive if an election is called.
• Greetings TPQ: You are more optomistic than I am but, then, I do not always have the best judgement either as I supported Dion for leadership. Not much fo...
• Foxer, a good analysis. Yes, the West is gaining in influence with its resources, it is gaining with the migration of some head offices and it is no longer ...

Time for federal politicians to refocus (Nanos Sun Media Column) (2008-08-18)

• The minority government syndrome, of the last number of years, is like a bad virus that has infected all aspects of government resulting in retarded politica...
• Larryl: I agree with your first sentence but neither the Liberals nor Conservatives in the minority position have shown any desire to be anything but focused...
• Foxer: Right on.---Stealing planks is a good old political tactic and stealing them from the NDP has given the NDP the title of "the social conscience of th...
• Foxer: I believe the NDP do get a lot of credit for being the social concsience and that is where their strong point resides. In BC we have had several N...
• TPQ: In reality, the longer a government is in office, the more problems bubble to the surface and it is a common affliction for all parties municipally, p...
• Foxer:---I generally do not disagree with you except I perceive Harper to be further right than you do. As a social conscience, the NDP does have an influe...
• Foxer: I cannot disagree with what you say. Although I am a centrist and essentially a Liberal supporter, I believe Harper has addressed a number of issues...
• TPQ: I hope you are correct but the couple of sitting MPs that have dropped out for the next election are troubling and are, in my opinion, symptomatic of so...
• Foxer: "What do they stand for now ?"-----that has been my point for a long time---they have subverted their principles. To me, Dion is the master of the ...
• Foxer:---My thoughts exactly.

Both Harper and Dion face greater risks than their rhetoric suggests (Nanos Sun Column) (2008-07-21)

• To sound like a broken record, elections are LOST and rarely won. So it is up to Harper to lose and how is he going to do that???? I would suggest on the bro...
• Larryl and TPQ------I believe I can answer you both as your themes are similar.All governments, no matter what their political stripe, are prone to scandal--...
• HRM;---What you say about history is true and that cannot be changed----we can do a little about today and a bit more about tomorrow. At the moment, Harpe...
• TPQ----Yes, I would rather we be quite distinct from what has been described as Imperial United States. The current "Americanization" of our foreign policy...
• Hello Foxer: You are right---The liberals took us to Afghanistan as peace keepers that morphed into peace makers---two entirely different roles. You remem...
• Helo Bernie:---This endless climate change issue for which politicians "have the answer" is better referred to a scientific inquiry. 40 years ago we were h...
• Larryl: good comment.
• Hello Foxer: Many of the issues you comment on are tinkering by the government. Immigration was looked at for expediting process and not looked at as a lo...
• Foxer:---May I apply your reasoning to Zimbabwe and should we go in there for the same humanitarian reasons ??????
• MRM: The House controls the Speaker and the Government controls the House even in this minority fiasco. In war, people do get killed as that is the natu...
• Hello Bernie:---Yes in the 60s, the ice age cometh and that was the scientific thought at that time. What I am trying to say about climate change is that it...
• MRM:---Decorum of the House---The current government , the minority government, has not tried to introduce measures to improve House debate through direction...
• HRM:---I feel strongly on this point too. I can see your point of view but I cannot accept it. Khadr may be a little b--tard but he is a Canadian b--tar...
• Bernie---Right on.
• Bernie---well said.
• Larryl: Of course you are right about the designation about "freedom fighter" and "terrorist". The same thinking applies to wherever there is a conflict goi...
• MRM---I am sure you can justify anything. Could you give me the date of the Americans blasting Afghanistan and the date of the UN sanction?
• HRM--Thank you for the dates. What I have said and continue to say is that we should not have been in Afghanistan in the first place. What is equally s...
• Larryl: There are really several good articles in TIME but the essence of this one is that there has been a little progress in the "quiet" areas. However...
• TPQ---There is the United Nations and I do not agree that the US can ursurp the UN when it chooses to do so. The UN is the not the most effective body but ...
• Bernie: If somebody bombed the s--t out of us then landed troops, I would consider that to be war even if they tried to apply another name. Mind you, li...
• TPQ----If we regard ourselves or anybody else regards themselves as the the social and cultural arbiters of the world, then, as you say, your remarks are com...
• Ah, Foxer: I gives on a good feeling to join the ranks of the self appointed righteous. 9-11 was manned by Saudi nationals and not Afghani.
• Larryl: Britain gave rise to the Industrial Revolution with coal and iron ore in close proximity to each other and, with a powerful military, became the to...
• Larryl: As in Canada during an election campaign, we hear all sorts of things which are not necessarily so and the same is true in the States. Obama and...
• MRM: I am sure you are pleased to see on the evening news that there are some placard bearing Canadians concerned regarding detention at Gutanamo Bay. McCa...
• MRM----...."A veteran diplomat and student of the country on what it really needs.....and why more troops won't help" by Rory Stewart, Kabul since 2002 ! ! !
• Foxer: If there is a world policeman, it is the United Nations and not the self appointed United States nor NATO who is suffering from a bad case of arm twi...
• Larryl:---I do not believe any one country will remain on top of the heap for long. The US is there now and it would be short sighted to say there is not a...
• Bernie: On the reason for the choice of a detention centre using Guatanamo, you are correct. The choice was very deliberate so the "detainees" were outsi...
• Larryl:---Mutual destruction is really not an option for the west, however, the extremist Muslims believe they will go straight to heaven with twenty virgins...
• Foxer: You say...."nobody bombed HIS country"-----OK ,but there is a long standing concept, whether we like it or not, of getting involved if the "general t...
• Hello Hollinm:----Your comment has been sitting around for more than a week without answer. On this compare and contrast, Harper vs Dion, leadership vs bra...
• TPQ: An interesting analysis. I am sure that any of the three leaders you mention are more than at risk should they not end up with a better showing, come...
• Larryl:--Never heard of "The Calgary School"---tell us more.
• Foxer:---I believe there are a number in NATO who are suffering from seriously twisted arms. No, I do not accept that Canada's presence in Afghanistan is ...
• Larryl:---I rather like the name of the School of Redneckology. A rather "right" think tank but, as they say, they are not all in agreement with each othe...
• Hello: Recall legislation was implemented in British Columbia but subsequent governments can modify that legislation so it just will not work. ---Yours is...

Who Canadians trust on the issues (New Nanos National Poll) (2008-07-07)

• Nik---Who said a minority government works in Canada or who thinks playing your cards "close to your chest" is a smart move. Too bad we cannot dump all the ...
• Hello, Non-Aligned: Yes, let's hope an election will be decisive and we will not continue to view the House of Commons as the monkey house it has become. ...
• Hello Foxer----Couldn't agree more. This jockeying for election advantage suggests that the people's business is the last thing on the agenda.
• Hello Hollinm:---Long time no speakee. Yes, Campbell has tried to float his lead balloon and all the time failing to admit that escalating fuel prices are...
• Hello---I see I have poked a hornet's nest as the Morgentaler nomination for the Order of Canada has raised the abortion issue. Morgentaler advocated SAFE...
• Bernie:Where life begins is a religious arguement of the last 100 years and both side of that arguement can mount eloquent arguements. Some argue that blood...
• Larryl: Yes, that sperm and egg meeting is the subject of much religious interpretation and I do not argue with that interpretation---everybody has a choic...
• Larryl: I am all for surprises---Ho Ho
• Hello Bernie:---"Who do Canadians trust on the issues?" OK--Back to the topic of trust and we can add contentious social issues re: the Morgantelar issue. ...
• The current MacLeans has a couple of good articles suggesting workable compromises followed in other jurisdictions. Worth a look.

Democracy Online - Pushing the limits or creating a new frontier (Video Blog Post) (2008-07-04)

• Nik--I believe the instant access to the internet has improved the degree of accountability / honesty of government and its agencies. For example, and ther...

Liberal Green Shift - High Risk and Potentially High Reward (Video Blog Post) (2008-06-23)

• I am not inclined to follow any "savior" especially a self proclaimed political eco-warrior. Dion's proposal is too much, too soon when we appear to be in...
• Larryl---What you suggest makes sense. In my opinion, the current crisis with fuel is doing more for conservation that any government regulation or progra...
• Hello Russell: Not trying to pat myself on the back, we drive an energy efficient vehicle, have an energy efficient house by the 90's standards, grow most ...
• Larryl: THE FIVE POINT PLAN 1. Scrubbers for all sorts of industrial exhausts have been technologically feasible and in operation for many years.----think ...
• Hello Calmecam: I try not to be in the group of wasters you refer to. There are many in Canada who have not been as fortunate as we have been in this land...
• Hello Calmecam:Yes child poverty continues to be shocking in our wealthy land----one can conclude it was just a political slogan that politicians thought wou...
• Hey Sharp, I am awake along with a great many others who say they will not be panicked on the serious issue of climate change. Some believe honest politicia...
• OH, yes, Iceland----forests used to grow there when the climate was milder and the Vikings used the trees for their boats/ships and houses------think that i...
• Parnel: You may possibly be right that Dion has a couple of more election issues up his sleeve that, so far, he has not decided to share with the rest of ...
• Erich, what you say is true but you must put everything into perspective. The North American standard was and still is the envy of the world and everybod...
• Ho Ho JW----It is good fun to tweak the noses of the big guys from time to time. Yes, the West has often felt to be a colony of the centre which is somewhat ...
• Erich---what you say is correct but market forces here have had a strong role to play and still do have a strong role to play. On dealing with corporations w...
• Nik: In medicine today, there are mighty few who address the cause of the disease----preventative medicine---- while the majority address the symptoms of t...
• Larryl: Greed and larceny are a human trait and in this era, are a corporate trait also along with corrupt governments, for example, Zimbabwe. Yes, the tec...
• Larryl:---The Chinese do not bother me as they only want what we already have and the same goes for the Indians. the south Asians and maybe the Africans away...
• L:arryl:---I would be delighted to be a part of the North American self sufficiency and, too, would buy a North American vehicle if the manufacturers would o...
• Larryl: The major problem appears to me to be that Canadians have lost control of the ownership of too many of our natural resources particularly energy. ...
• Parnel: In my opinion, foreign investment in resource industries is a good investment except where Canada loses control of that resource and I think we are j...
• Larryl:---On listening to many American commentators, they seem to agree that the current spike in petroleum products will cause the big importers like Wal-M...
• Larryl:---Of course you are right-----that arguement about under utilized public buildings has been raging for years----- School Boards, in their little ba...
• Larryl: Human beings are far from perfect
• MRM---No ruddy way ! ! ! Had my fill sitting at School Board meetings.

Nanos-Policy Options Poll - Immigration as Nation-building (Video Blog Post) (2008-06-06)

• Canada's recent immigration policy, or lack of policy, has often been driven by heart and little head while the decision makers were often vulnerable to voca...
• Morning Hollinm: In society, the egalitarian society reflected in the public school system, we try to make a"silk purse out of a sows ear"---doesn't work. ...
• I agree with you, Non Aligned: Our immigration needs are symptomatic of a much deeper social policy failing that you allude to.
• In my opinion, you have a very valid position, Parnel but you are talking about the skilled trades. Doctors, who we need, are apparently blocked at every...
• Hollinm:---Give us 50 years and it will be those of Canadian ancestry who will be at the bottom of the socio-economic scale and it will be those of recent im...
• Correct, Hollinm, but the Feds could be more actively involved in overcoming or even over riding the issue. The Feds could demand accreditation committees ...
• Agreed and the Feds must show leadership.
• Morning Hollinm----That is exactly what an accreditation committee is supposed to do-----uphold the standards we expect.-----What are those standards when do...
• Hollinm----Like the measles, attitudes are catching. Really cannot blame the kids who, for the most part, have been brought up in the land of plenty. I a...
• I agree Hollinm but I do think the key to better overcoming poverty---most of it---is an enlightened education policy that offers first class technical schoo...
• Hollinm: There always have to be checks and balances----if they do not make the "standards" expected, they are out. Like anything, one cannot force kids to...
• Yes, Larryl, those lawyers are paid for by the Government of Canada and that is you, me and the neighbours.
• Larryl:---In all fairness, political parties are not too far out of step with the electorate. If they are too far out of step, like Mulroney, they are tur...
• Hey Larryl: In a democracy there are many opinions and some with more merit than others. No government can satisfy the wish list of everyone so they try ...
• Northgirl, right on. I hope you send this comment to the Prime Minister. Another point is that we make a very weak effort to train our own citizens so t...

The Bernier Resignation - Is it more than political "eye candy"? (Video Blog Post) (2008-05-30)

• The longer a government stays in power, the greater the chance for scandal of some sort or another. Scandals of this nature are not good for the health/per...
• Gerry---I doubt too many internationally pay too much attention to Canada's internal politics any more than Canadians pay too much attention to the internal ...
• Calmecam---- What you say is correct and I am sure Canada's little scandal has made the diplomatic circuit. It seems that no secrets were disclosed to the...

The Economy - Political Opportunity and Minefield (2008-05-26)

• Here we go with political roulette and "where it stops, nobody knows". To dwell on past sins too much is a weak arguement BUT, I think we have a pretty good...
• Hello Supper: The majority in parliament is the opposition and not the government. If what the government is doing or not doing is so bad, then the oppos...
• Hello Parnel: What you say about the secrecy and accountability of this government is close to the mark however, the people, through their MPs, continue the...
• Well, Supper, I am of the opinion that Harper has done nothing wrong and, whether you do not like the man or the party or the government programmes, that is...
• Parnel: At confederation, each of the three groups were assigned 24 Senate seats-----24 for the Maritimes, 24 for Lower Canada and 24 for upper Canada, how...
• Hello Sharp: I agree that the Greens, as I see them to date, have something to offer but I am firmly opposed to opening the back door to them or, for exampl...
• Yes, Sharp, but the American system has had a couple of spoilers running recently for example, Ralph Nader and Ross Perot----essentially the third party. Thi...
• Supper---Hold it for a moment---you will have to fill me in on the electoral system in The Republic of Ireland. As far as I can recall recently, they have h...
• Hello Hollinm: I agree that if Dion thought there was any chance the greater majority of the electorate would support him, there would have been an election-...
• Hollinm, you are right. I believe Dion is a capable man but not in politics. He seems to have a great ability to cut his own throat. As in all political ...
• Hey Sharp: Nobody is disenfranchised---all can vote.. Because my party does not elect a representative it does not say the system is wrong. There possibly...
• Brother Sharp: I suppose we can develop arguements all around this topic. The Bloc gets about--or did-- 10% and does all right but they are strictly a regi...
• Morning Parnel: Although the Bloc got 10% of the national vote it was not a national vote as the Bloc is Quebec only. Under those circumstances, their se...
• Bernie, good points: Yes, Harper, in minority, is kept in power by the opposition, in majority. Harper is correct to continue governing as he is SUPPORTED ...
• Parnel: As long as I have been around the Senate has needed reform. Harper is the only politician who has had the courage to say so in that time. So far it...
• Larryl:---Are you a litle cynical about the abilities of your fellow Canadian voter who got us this far in the world with a rather enviable country in which ...
• Hollinm: I agree----Money export is not a good idea. As far as I am concerned, if there is green charity, then charity begins at home. Our collective pers...
• Sharp: I would suggest the electorate has had it up to the teeth with the antics in the House and would welcome an election to clarify the situation. An el...
• Larryl: What system do you suggest as being a better model for us to follow??? No matter what you suggest, we are still dealing with people who are dealing ...
• Hello Hollinm: Come the election, we will see who gets sucked in by what----pocketbook issues will certainly get the attention of the electorate. On July ...
• Larryl----I agree wholeheartedly that mandatory voting is the way to go----I believe this is true in Australia. What really sticks in my craw is the indiff...
• Hollinm: One would hope the BC voter would be smarter than that but do not hold your breath. Just gassed up this morning and paid $1.46 per litre. On July...
• Ho Ho ! ! !

Leadership Tracking - Harper personal image untouched by controversy (Analysis with video) (2008-05-09)

• Nik: a "new" electorate appears to be forming with a "major apolitical swing group" outside the traditional party fold. That group is very fluid. Where the...
• Morning Parnel: Yes, Harper is the party and this poll says he is the front runner. Yes, the large block of "swingers" have not smiled on any party at the...
• Morning Hollinm: A "new" electorate-------well, here is my reasoning if you can follow my convoluted thinking. When the questions of this poll---trust, com...
• I agree Hollinm but I believe the slow drift to Harper---not necessarily a drift to the conservatives--- will result in a Harper majority, a small majority, ...
• Morning Hollinm: I believe the electorate looks and sees Harper---they see the man and know he leads the Conservatives----the party and the man are not sepa...
• Hello Parnel: I see your points but, to me, a pseudo election has been running for the term of this government. To suggest a big act is coming in the pol...
• Morning, Parnel: Although my sentiments lie in the centrist sector, I do not share your optimism for the Liberal fortunes at this time. I am also sure that...

The House Returns - Ethics, Accountability and the Big Picture (Nanos Sun Column) (2008-04-28)

• It would be gratifying to find a political party that was motivated by the wishes of the electorate rather than the political needs of the party. In our ...
• Hello ronmack: I really do not disagree with you regarding Harper but he does play his cards rather close to his chest. As you appear to allude to-----not t...
• So true.
• Hello Hollinm: Did not see Question Period but there are a couple of comments here regarding the "show". Yes, Quebec and Ontario are always key to a Can...
• Morning Parnel: The centre is my comfort zone usually and I believe that it is very unusual for a politician to retire gracefully-----they have to be kicked ...
• Hello Jan: In my opinion, I believe your last paragraph is off the mark in a couple of ways. I believe all politicians care about the country and Canadi...
• Hollinm-----Unfortunately you are generally right and the sword does cut both ways, though, depending if an MP---Party---is opposition or government. I do ...
• Hollinm: I do not know what the powers of the Speaker may be or whether his authority is restricted to the four walls inside the House. You are right, some...
• Nik, as the weeks go by, the Canadian electoral atmosphere is no less cloudy but I believe a slow change is taking effect. At the rate we are going, I would ...
• Brother Sharp: At one time I thought time was on Dion's side but I now do not for the suggestions I made above. Somehow, I believe there is a very subtle ...
• Hey Parnel: When the Liberals effectively support the government by sitting on their hands or staying out of the House, they are a defacto coalition. If ...
• Morning Parnel:---Will pull up the Globe and Mail later----the garden comes first today. Hope you are right and my total annual tax bill from all taxes is ...

Federal Tories and Grits Tied - Are NDP voters in Ontario strategically parking with the Grits? (Nanos Poll completed April 9) (2008-04-11)

• What the polls say and what the electors do in the next election, I believe, is still up for grabs. At the moment it does not bode well for a majority. ...
• Hello Hollinm: This new login procedure gets me writing everything twice##^%)*&+++. You may be correct about the Quebec predictions and I am a little far...

Last week should have been a good week for the PM - he was sideswiped (Video Blog Post) (2008-04-07)

• Interesting week ???? Blackburn's comment. if unguarded, will keep him on the backbenches, if he is lucky. If calculated, the comment will likely find rea...
• Hello Hollinm----But that is the nature of politics--it is a dirty game and it doesn't have to be.
• Holinm----I like your second paragraph----somewhat like some game shows where one presses the buttons on a hand held modem to vote. Now the ancient Greeks ...
• Morning Hollinm: Of course you are correct----the constituents are the final arbiters as they were in the Rigma case. Immigration----interesting mess. ...

The Federal Tories - Poking Ontario with a sharp stick (Sun Media Column) (2008-03-31)

• Ho, Ho, Nobody but nobody speaks out for the federal Conservatives without the PMO and Harper checking every word and every punctuation mark. Those were no...
• Hello Broughad: A little interesting twist to the American deficit is that China, dollar wise, is the biggest world lender to the US-----makes for very s...
• Hello SaskKen: The BC "Liberal Government" is a Conservative government------you are correct in suggesting Gordon Campbell was a Socred (generally Conserv...
• Right, Hollinm: Coderre is now a free agent to ferment what you will. Actually, Dion is smart as he will not have to plan to commit Hari Kari----somebod...
• MRM----Always pleased to receive constructive comments from the righteous right.
• Hey, Parnel: A word of support. I am chuckling at the history buffs on here and I am surprised Sir John A MacDonald and the CPR scandal has not surfaced. ...

Afghanistan Vote and the Issue Environment (Video Blog Post) (2008-03-14)

• Harper has manoeuvred Dion, or should I say, pointed Dion to the corner again. Got to hand it to Harper as he surely knows how to handle the malleable Libe...
• Hello Hollinm: You have to think back a moment---Paul Martin had every bit as good a machine behind him as Harper but he was not decisive thus "Mr. Dithers...
• Hello Blossom: Just a little support. There are those of us who choose a "selective memory" when trying to make our point. The Afghanistan mess first---...
• Morning Bernie: Yes, the ambivalent Liberal MPs have allowed this Afghanistan issue to come around and bite them in the butt. I saw in the news last nigh...
• Ho Ho SaskKen: I can just imagine the Animal Farm uproar when they view the political theatre that is supposed to be the Government of Canada. Personally, I ...
• MRM-----"........Harper loudly criticised Chretien for not following Bush into Irag" which gave rise to Chretien's remark. Do you also remember the infamous ...
• Thanks, Mike----just wait until the election starts and the smear campaigns begin. In the past, some of them have backfired badly.
• Evening Hollinm:---See I have a couple of responses from you so will answer both here. Smear campaign----read my comment again whereby I said "just wait fo...
• Hollinm---Would I be correct in suggesting that you only see the political world around you through Tory eyes? I am a centrist, which is in the Liberal sph...
• Hey Hollinm: I cannot disagree with you today but I have a few wrinkles to add. Could not agree more---hand up and not a hand out. The hand up part is ...
• Morning Bernie: There are many who figure out how the system works then work the system. I quite agree with David Lewis when he coined the phrase "corpora...
• Bernie:-----Somewhere in the distant past on this blog I cited the case in Vancouver where the third generation were living on the Dole. Not a comfortable i...
• Bernie: I do not know where you get "their rightful inheritance"-----sounds like a handout. I believe we all have the right to PARTICIPATE in our society/l...
• Hello Blossom:----Yes, when we do not think for ourselves and try to tie our foreign policy to the apron strings of others, we are in difficulties. I believ...
• Hello Hollinm:---Here is something that you have touched on above and that is the federal-provincial relations regarding jurisdictions. As you say, how ca...
• Ho Ho Blossom----Over the last 5 years all parties have been doing the "political thing" rather than the "people thing" supporting the minority government an...
• I agree Hollinm-----we need to modernize governance provincially and federally but we can hear the screams now. The probabi;ity of that happening on a good...

What will be the impact of the Cadman affair? (Video Blog Post) (2008-03-09)

• The Cadman affair, not just the alleged million dollar bribe, is a good example of crass party politics. Before Cadman ran as an independent, the indifferen...
• Hello Candace-----Do not know that anybody could--dollar wise---buy Belinda as she seemingly has more money than any of her colleagues of either party. Sh...
• Hello MRM: Yes, politicians enjoy a generous pension plan but I do not believe that is a prime motivating factor to run for office. I believe that it is t...
• I generally agree with you, Gordo05, but I have this comment regarding managers of money and good advertising. If we understand the advertising in the auto...
• Non-Aligned----I agree with you and Hollinm makes a very valid point regarding the young voter, that is, the under 40 crowd. Having been a voting official ...
• Hey Holinm-----Yes Trudeau was a big spender and yes, Chretien/Martin threw more of a financial burden on the provinces and, here in BC, the provincials thr...
• Hollinm:---the outcome of the next election I am not sure about but I am sure with Dion at the helm of the good ship Titanic, it will not be a Liberal majo...
• Right on Gordo05,----seems as if today when somebody disagrees the idea to to hang a label on them but that is a usual reaction for some who think their way ...
• Morning Bernie: I am getting more cynical regarding the Canadian political mess and, given the present distribution of MPs and the number of parties, a mi...
• Bernie, you are right: Perhaps the soaring gasoline/fuel prices will be one of those right in your face items. Both the feds and the provincials have a ...
• Hello Gordo05: My old Grandfather, a local magistrate for some 35 years or so, would have voted only Conservative no matter what. Every April 23, Primrose...
• Gordo05----Read Weston's piece in the Ottawa Sun. Personally, I believe that if Cadman told his family there was a million on the table, there was a million...
• Hey Parnel: I have written to Harper on this and, by this mornings e-mail, the PM's office has forwarded my letter to Prentice. I have written to the opposi...
• Hey Hollinm: Remember a sword cuts two ways. I believe your "socialist" comment backs you into a corner. Tell me, was Harper the leader of the Reform Party...
• Hey Parnel: All politicians of all stripes try to show themselves in the most favourable light ,however, we hope that not all the electorate are sheep and ...
• Quite true, Westerner. My point is the feds and the provincials are enriching themselves at the expense of the little guy who pays all the bills. If we ...
• Score 1, Hollinm: You are right, Harper was a founding MEMBER of the Reform Party and MP. Manning was the leader. In 97, when Manning refused to haul in...
• Morning Hollinm: Pleased to note you concede that people can change. Sweeping pronouncements are sometimes incorrest. The National Citizens Coalition ...
• Couldn't agree more
• MRM---Are you being a little selective? Cadman, to me was a straight shooter and got into politics for all the right reasons but the circumstances around h...
• MRM: Being politics, the Cadman affair has been blown out of proportion and that would have been done by either party in similar circumstances. What I have ...

Election fraught with risks - Nanos Ballot - Lib 33, Con 31, NDP 19, BQ 10, GP 8 (2008-02-08)

• Well, Nik, I believe I have an equally reliable predictor for the Canadian political scene. Unfortunately, one chicken sacrificed itself for the greater go...
• Hey, Blossom, and who pays for all this political theatre ! ! !
• Hello Calmecam: You are so right---all principles or the principled stand have been thrown out the window as each party massages the bottle containing the...
• Hello Calmecam---And we test ran Dion too with the same rather unexpected results-----and I supported Dion for the leadership but, obviously, I do not have t...

Too many election risks (2008-01-22)

• In my opinion, the governance of Canada over the last several years has defined narcissism. Who said political parties had principles------all of them hav...

Federal Political Year in Review - Challenges and Opportunities for 2008 (2007-12-27)

• After the coming election, Elizabeth May will be the only national party leader whose leadership will not be in question. She has displayed, thus far, no do...
• Hello Parnel: Good point if put into practice in a significant number of ridings---thanks for the reminder.
• Right on, Ronald. The electorate is ONE amorphous mass and politicians who think of the electorate as being compartmentalized do so at their own peril-----...
• I agree, Parnel.-----Probably the most critical calculation is to try to predict what "cancellation effect" the Green vote will have on the NDP vote in those...
• Hello Digby-----Nobody can argue with the fact that the electorate is "fluid" to say the least and the "Conservatives", that is the Conservative vote, was co...
• Ho Ho Digby---I am for the beer !----Yes, Harper did manage to vilify the Liberals but you remember that Martin managed to paint Harper as someone who would ...

Canadians are remarkably optimistic (Nanos Mood of Canada Poll) (2007-12-12)

• Nik, I believe there are a couple of "moody" questions here. First, the touchy feely one regarding the direction the country is going. It is progressing we...
• Lorne-----With the lack of response to this topic your suggestion concerning the indifference of the electorate may be correct-----rather sad observation.

New Nanos Poll - Canadians moving away from all party leaders (2007-12-03)

• Ah, Nik, Canadian politics ! ! ! An election is like taking a bath, having a clean change of clothes and smelling like violets. Could one say that is a "f...
• I agree Hollinm, the Liberal party / leadership is like the good ship Titanic heading for disaster under the current command. My point is that the "command...
• Morning Hollinm:------Personally, I agree with Harper's stance on mass murderers sentenced to death in a democratic jurisdiction where justice is fair and th...
• Hollinm----Your key word is WORKING----there are always some who would prefer to stay on the dole rather than work----easy dole I am opposed to. Now child ...
• Agreed, but I, and I suspect you, had a reasonably stable home as a child and my parents had a reasonable education for their day as did my grandparents-----...
• Hello Bernie and Zena:----There are many perceptions about where the Liberals and Conservatives maybe headed in the next election and why they maybe headed t...
• Good, Van, you have hit the nail on the head ! ! !
• Hello Blossom---What do you disagree with in Van's World comments ? ? ? In my opinion,he is stating the political facts of life as they exist at this time.
• Blossom---I cannot disagree with you in any way about what you say about Dion, the man----he is what you say. It is leadership that is being questioned. ...
• Well, Bernie, we are worlds apart on the circumstantial evidence issue. Anything that can be embellished, be with-held, be twisted is suspect as the Truscot...
• Bernie, you are as entitled to your opinions as I am entitled to mine. When I took urban geography somewhere in the 40s or 50s, there were families in Vanc...
• Hey Hollinm: It is just the political game of trying to discredit your opponent at the expense of the public's bottomless purse. Schreiber---I guess ther...

Latest Nanos Poll - Federal Deadlock - Tories 35, Grits 34, NDP 17, Bloc 9, Green 6 (2007-11-14)

• The Conservative Party is more correctly the Harper Party thus it is Harper who is in the bullseye. The RECENT initiatives of Harper appear to be in general...
• Good points to ponder, Calmecam, Yes, setting fixed election dates puts the government into its OWN straight jacket but not the opposition who, as you say,...
• Calmecam--I agree with the minority or very weak majority government concept as long as we do not get to the Italian model where there almost seems to be as...

Canadians Support PM/Dalai Lama Meeting - Tibetan Rights Trump Trade with China (SES Research Survey) (2007-10-26)

• As Chretien said----"the last I heard, Canada is still a sovereign country". Of course we meet with decent world leaders who knock on our door and welcome t...

Speech from the Throne - Tories Continue "Leadership" Narrative (2007-10-17)

• Politics is a blood sport that is not polite, kind, decent or above board-----refer to the current memoirs of Mulroney and Chretien. Harper is a master str...
• Yes, Hollinm, the liberals seem to have caught that political flu which seems to affict the varying parties when popularity results are not where the back-ro...
• Parmel, I would be pleased if you were correct but I do not believe you are. In regards to the justice bill, Marlene Jennings says three of the four items...
• Hey Hollinm-----No Canadian governing party has been all bad nor do any of them sit upon the right hand of God although some may think so until the Loyal Ord...
• Parnel----possibly I am a little cynical but in politics one always paints themselves in the best light possible and all parties share that trait. In this ...
• As you say, Hollinm, many of the services are within provincial jurisdiction however, as a Canadian, I would like to think a standard of service for hospital...
• Ho Ho---hey Holinm---elect us as benevolent dictators and we will be bound to get it right ! ! !
• Kschell---I agree with you about NOT raising taxes. We have big government and that means expensive government. Someday, I would like to hear of a politi...
• Calmecam----As the Scots say----"when ambition is tempered by conscience, greatness is possible"----personally, I do not see any "greats" in my crystal ball ...
• Nik, Harper's budget has achieved its goal---cowing the Liberals. What it also has achieved is to promote Ignatieff to the Liberal leadership, sooner or la...
• Calmeccam----A name is just a name and it is the actions that better describe a party, for example, the governing provincial Liberal party in BC is conservat...
• Hey Westerner:-----today labels seem to be everywhere, rightly or wrongly. "Racist" seems to be one that has been very loosely thrown about for the last d...
• Morning Parnel: Politics has its own rules that most people do not particularly care for but that is politics. There are dust ups, scandals, defections, bro...

Canadians want limits on accommodating minorities - SES Research/Policy Options Survey (2007-09-25)

• Oh, boy, Nik, this topic will certainly get the pot boiling. The American melting pot is my ideal. An American first then an American of this or that anc...
• This "accommodation" topic is like shooting a scatter gun----everything is getting hit. Think I will sit in my foxhole as I make the following observations:...
• Hello Bernie-----In BC there are the independent schools that receive the per pupil instructional allotment as determined provincially for the public school ...
• Hello PMK: I believe the bone of contention is the French language which is one of the official Canadian languages. I quite understand why the French speak...
• Having watched the Bouchard / Taylor Commission hearings for hours, I am led to conclude the presenters are not too different to what maybe heard in most reg...

Duceppe Provokes Election Showdown (2007-09-22)

• Canadian politics of late is theatre which, in turn, is usually make believe. Or, our federal politics could be likened to a fencing game with the thrust an...

Harper Tories Should Tread Carefully on Elections Canada Issue - Nik's Sun Media Column (2007-09-10)

• Nik---whoever said politics was a clean sport and whoever said the Harper Conservatives, other than themselves, had a corner on the ethics and trust markets?...
• Hello Hollinm:---Faith and politics is an uneasy mix for any politician if they are ambivalent and allow one to intrude upon the other. Early on, Harper was...
• Hello Alfeee----I am going to be the odd man out on this issue and support the stance of Elections Canada regarding the wearing of the birka. Marc Mayrand ...
• Yes, William Johnson is a political columnist for the Globe and Mail on the Quebec scene and his informative articles are available on the internet. Simila...

Green Party of Canada - Likely the Political Wildcard in the Next Election (2007-08-30)

• Politics is a blood sport and, like the gladiators, you either politically win or you politically die-----a mighty compelling reason to fight hard and dirty ...
• Yes, Bernie, there are a number of honest people who enter politics but too often they are co-opted by the system or allow the system to corrupt them. It is...

Jack Layton & the NDP - The Minority Challenge (2007-08-27)

• I believe the Laytonites and the NDP may better define themselves in the upcoming Quebec by-elections. After their current policy meeting in Montreal , the...
• Hello Blossom: Too many egos involved to think of amalgamation / coalition. When two candidates involved in an election, then FIRST PAST THE POST is the wa...
• Yes, Blossom, I saw the major part of the report. Disgusted, to say the least, regarding this governments administration of our tax dollars and they feed...

New SES Research Poll - Federal Tories and Grits Close - Harper Best PM Advantage Weakens (2007-08-14)

• Nik: A cabinet shuffle is like rearranging the furniture in the livingroom----it is still the same house and the same furniture but, a little paint on the wa...
• Nik: When I look at the polling numbers/percentages, I get indigestion.---36% is in the realm of a minority and 40% is in the realm of a majority. Seems to ...
• Hey, Lawson, that is what is called "outsourcing" which is a polite way of saying jobs have been exported to the cheapest labour market. As I look at my co...
• Hello James---I maybe wrong but I believe the proportional representation system is eventually decided by a tribunal / commission rather than the voter. I ...
• James-----no way. I can see the marijuana party getting 1% or less and demanding 3 seats in the 308 seat parliament or the Communist party doing the same...

New ailment strikes leaders - Nik's Sun Media Column July 31, 2007 (2007-08-01)

• Nik: I am having difficulty disagreeing with your analysis.----I believe there is a difference in meaning between LEADER and LEADERSHIP.----All the parties h...
• Bernie: I couldn't agree more that good, honest, attentive government has to be the ultimate goal in governance regardless of party. I believe you are corre...
• Hey Bernie: If Harper gets back I would assume it would be with another minority unless the fates intervene on his behalf. The Arctic---there is already a...
• Bernie: I agree that policy is the most important however, do not rule out the effect of a matinee idol image on the electorate and I think of Van der Zalm i...
• Bernie----of immediate issue is whether the Northwest Passage is an international waterway, as the US contends, or is it a Canadian waterway and subject to C...
• Bernie: Ambassador Wilkins has said loudly and clearly that the US does not recognize Canada's claim---note CLAIM----that the Northwest Passage is Canadian t...
• Greetings, Blossom: Here we go----AGM---Annual General Meeting as prescribed in all by-laws for local riding associations whereby there are elections for p...
• Bernie: On the eldertreks page you have to click on travel to the ARCTIC then by SEA-----it gives you a menu of varying Arctic destinations which you can ope...
• Blossom: A system of governance is Pandora's Box for me and, I guess, for most of us on this blog. I believe most of our problems with our parliamentry sys...
• Correction Bernie---The CF 102 flew 13 days after the Comet but stayed in the air---the Comet didn't because of metal fatigue with the engins within the wing...
• Bernie, another correction regarding icebreakers-----I said the US had two nuclear ones----wrong. They considered nuclear in 1958 but scrapped the idea as to...
• I do not disagree with your priorities, Bernie, but consider that a vibrant economy should allow the "trickle down" effect for the benefit of all. I totall...
• Hello Blossom: World powers have usually spoken to the lesser countries that way----in the not too distant past, it used to be called gunboat diplomacy. M...
• Hey, Bernie, we certainly go in interesting directions on this blog. The SPACE between the treasury and the programmes/people in need is called "political ...
• Hello Blossom---interesting points. Afghanistan----I understand Kandahar Airport is under local police control although we are led to assume it is Canadian ...
• Hello Blossom: Hope the three Amigos invited you for coffee today ! Russia has 6 operational nuclear icebreakers and 1 nuclear cargo ship with an icebreakin...
• Hey, Blossom---No issues real or imagined. The scramble in the Arctic is a crap shoot and that is where you play to win----or, another way of putting it is...
• Hello Blossom----Got some dates straight from Parliamentary Library.---1969 Voyage of SS Manhattan through NW Passage.----1985 voyage of US icebreaker CGS Po...
• Blossom: Yes, the Bush-Cheney-Rice leadership would like a dust-up with Iran and It would be another Viet-Nam.---Russia will come to the aid of Iran which ...

Summer will be serious for PM - Nik's Sun Media Column July 16, 2007 (2007-07-16)

• To me, the Conservative Party should be called the Harper Party as, I have said before, it is a one man show. Harper demonstrates arrogance when faced wi...
• Hello Pamel: Expectations were very high when Harper became government and, in my opinion, he was riding the crest of the political wave. There are goo...
• Hello Kutkw'-----I too, am pleasantly surprised at the degree of compromise that Campbell has been able to demonstrate in his second term after coming on the...
• Ho Ho,--you hit it on the head, Kutkw', just wait for the bill to come in for the Olympics then as you say, weigh that against the social issues that have be...
• Hello Blossom:----Yes, once a government is in power, they do seem to say to hell with the electorate-----this is the way WE are going to do it and ignoring ...
• Ho Ho Blossom----Hey Harper has had a "vision" but it is not the one that is shared by most Canadians. None of the opposition want an election as they hav...
• Well said, Bernie----I couldn't agree more. This "vision" word describing some of Harper's policies / thrusts is tongue-in-cheek.-- If you liken it to som...
• Ho Ho Bernie---that will keep me chuckling all afternoon

Conservative NASCAR Sponsorship – Likely more risk than political payoff (2007-06-21)

• For any political party receiving public funding, I believe it is frivolous to spend those funds---or portion thereof--- in such a manner. HOWEVER, spons...
• No, I have not seen the big C on the car as yet-----I am sure it has been in the newspapers but I managed to miss it.
• Lawson, I believe you would vote Conservative even if they ran a dead horse in the local riding of Whiterock. I also believe others would think before th...
• Bernie---MacLeans gives a fairly good coverage of the "events" in Canada and those international "events" generally of interest to Canadians. BUT Rogers Co...
• Bernie----an excellent response, in my opinion, and I fully support your thoughts regarding the CBC.

Bill Casey and Tory Political Brushfires (2007-06-10)

• Well, Nik, are you surprised at the course of Canadian politics ?---I bet you are not--Ho Ho. I applaud the stand of Casey but I am equally sure it is a pol...
• Hey Blossom: I believe we will see Harper continue trying to ignore public opinion re Afghanistan and the environment or, at least, trying to get them onto...
• Ho Ho----sounds like gunboat diplomacy favoured by the British and others in the last century----think that maybe a euphemism for "bully".

SES National Ballot Tracking (as of May 1) - Liberal-Conservative Dead Heat - Greens Up (2007-05-08)

• I believe the weakness and also the strength of this government is that it is essentially a one man show. In comparison to Martin, Harper is the undisputed...
• That is the beauty of a democracy, Alfeee, we can all have an opinion and should have an opinion. If it is not under the auspices of the United Nations, I...
• Hey, Guy, a couple of points. Khan was the Liberal who became an "advisor"and thus also removed the government from the vulnerability precipice. Just took ...
• Hello Candace:---None of PMs were perfect but generally they have been a pretty good bunch in Canada no matter what their stripe---WEEELL, that means either ...
• Yes, Blossom, there seems to be a mess everywhere. An American flotilla steaming into the Gulf of Oman and rattling the swords over the four dual citizenshi...
• Well, Blossom, I do not know what is going on either except these minority governments just do not seem to work in the Canadian context. In my opinion, a v...
• Hey, Blossom, it is called "wiggle room"---Ho Ho

New SES Research Poll - Canada's Mission in Afghanistan - Obstacle to Harper Majority (2007-05-06)

• I find this a most interesting poll with the Conservatives most accepting of casualties---almost double the acceptance level as compared to those in other pa...
• My father and uncles were in World War I ----- it was legalized murder and none of them found anything to glorify war. Supposedly it was war to end all wars ...
• Good points, Scientist. To United States we are a very important resource colony even if the general American public do not know we share a common border--...
• A couple of points, Ice: I do not believe one can call the Taliban cowards---they are anything but that. Many were highly thought of , trained and equipped...
• I agree with you NNL and might add a point on Canadian citizenship. I strongly believe that landed immigrants MUST function---read and write at least at the ...
• Hey, Ice, we have to start somewhere. We should all stand up and say loudly and clearly that we are pleased to receive immigrants BUT be a Canadian first a...
• Tyrrell. what you say about the Taliban is correct and they are just reflecting the "purity and intollerance" of Wahhabism. ---Wahhabi is state supported by...
• Hello Bernie: My suggestions certainly do not exclude refugees nor non French/English speakers-----they would receive landed immigrant status. BUT, befor...
• Not too fast Bernie----depends which side you you view those actions. To the Republic of Ireland, those who gained Irish independence are heros----the IRA...
• I do not disagree with you, Scientist, but not all immigrants are farmers and, I believe, the days of homesteading are long past. You are very right regard...
• Morning Bernie:---Yes, the "troubles" of Northern Ireland were as much the lack of economic opportunity within the country as political.-- I haven't any doub...
• Yes, Scientist, sponsored immigrants were never a burden on the system but, today, greater numbers are accommodated in the government sponsored refugee cata...
• Bernie, like all "politiciams", Castro stayed in office too long with no successors in sight. ---No, did not know of Mary McCarthy---she beats me by 29 years.
• WOW----Bernie, your last paragraph would open up a hornets nest. Population numbers were seen as one thrust to do as you suggest and all the idiological rel...
• Morning, Tyrrell---Here is another thought about the Taliban and their fundamentalist Wahhabism. ---In the western world we have all sorts of groups that on...
• Hey Blossom----Currently in Turkey there is a debate raging as by law, the women are not to cover their faces---they can cover their heads. The fundamental...
• Hey, Blossom, we are all immigrants to this continent or our forefathers were immigrants. We trust that immigrants come to Canada for a better life and leav...
• Hey Blossom: In my opinion, Harper is a good tactician but who said we had to agree with him------I agree, he is a Bushie and thinks he sits on the right ...
• Evening Blossom: Several points for comment. Charet inherited a big deficit but he has made it bigger just as out Gordon Campbell has done in BC. If I ...
• Wyly: If you have a chance, read Gwynne Dyer's column today titled "Afghanistan war unwinnable".-----The Mujahideen, loosely translated in the Muslim world...

New SES Research Poll - BQ supporters would Tilt to Tories and NDP (2007-04-17)

• Very interesting, Nik: For me to comment on Quebec politics would be presumptious but the suggestion for the demise of the centre party and a future right ...
• Hello Guye-----Often things are contradictory here----the current BC Liberal Party is Conservative. Two elections ago, the NDP were reduced to two seats ...
• Since the early 50s when WAC Bennett broke from the old Liberal?Conservative coalition and formed the Social Credit, essentially a mild Conservative party he...
• Digby------well said. Two nights ago on national TV, Arthur Kent, correspondent covering the Afghanistan desk for 27 years, says Karsi is a front man for t...
• Well said,Digby. Hillier knows the score, O'Connor knows the score, Harper knows the score and I believe one could reasonably say we are being deliberatel...
• Yes, Blossom, it is very sad how Canada's good name over the world, built up over generations, has been debased so quickly by the current government. I su...
• Thanks Bernie----Printed Laxer's article---excellent reference. The Missed chances about Baird and the environmental question generally seemed well balance...

SES Research Poll - Comfort with Harper Majority - Support/Opposition to Election Call (2007-04-12)

• Nik, I believe it is all a perception of "what is the profile of the alternative". The two recent American elections did not seem to offer an outstanding c...
• Hello Fuzzy----Diefenbaker and Tommy Douglas were the last of the great orators and I heard them both. As a young guy, I was inspired by Dief when he was ...
• Thanks for the analysis, Paulalex. That will certainly be egg in the face for Dion. I was also polled today by a PC party member from The Rock trying to g...

SES Research Poll - Best PM - Harper 42%, Dion 17%, Layton 16% (2007-04-10)

• Yes, I would agree that Harper is in control, appears to know where he is going, is the picture of the Chairman of the Board and CEO rolled into one, a good ...
• Hello Bernie:----CPAC has had some good programmes and you can get their broadcast schedule via the internet by clicking on and requesting the same.------Sca...
• Hello Ranter: Here is something to consider..... 1.) The Americans are the best merchandisers in the world and they drive a hard bargain always on their ter...
• Yes, Blossom, Harper is rather a one man show and those who choose the strong man position also get all the blame or all the glory. Seems to fit Harper's ...
• In response, Blossom: I have always felt the Arctic is our store house not generally recognized by the myopic population that seems not to see outside tha...
• Blossom, The aboriginal peoples of Canada have suffered for years under federal paternalism and general indifference. The treaty process is frustrating but...
• Ho Ho Ho----Bernie, tell us in the west about the distance from Ottawa no matter what party is in power-----we have been a colony for years and, I believe we...
• Blossom----To me the reserve system, where there are only communal rights and no personal property rights, is another gross abuse of the individual's rights....
• Blossom: The deaths of Canadian service personnel is completely unacceptable and their families deserve the most generous support. As bad as this war is for ...
• Hello, Bernie-----Looks like all of 7 buildings in Nain----that is isolated-----bet Danny Williams has never set foot there !
• I agree with you Blossom but we can never rewrite the past---that is history,---The carnage of war is always frightful for all participants. ---We have an e...
• Blossom, I am sure Harper and Bush cannot transpose the analogy of "How To Win Friends and Influence People" with their foreign policy initiatives. Obviou...
• Bernie, I agree that Nato has had its day. Like all bureaucracies, there is a huge techno-military comlex in a supporting role behind it. The threat of di...
• Good point Fuzzy-----Distance is really not relevant in the world today for the major powers and their exploding devices and neither do they wish to engage i...

Federal Grits Drop in Quebec – Tories Still Short of Majority (2007-04-08)

• I believe Harper is conceited enough regarding his own abilities to believe he is the natural to be Captain Canada. He holds tight reigns on his party machin...

New SES Research Poll - Likely Impact of Federal Budget on Harper and Charest in Quebec (2007-03-19)

• Nik, as I have said before, Harper is a good tactician and he is just doing what any party in power does, that is, take the planks out of the opposition's pl...
• Hello, Blossom: Survival in politics is really refining the art of opportunism and no matter what party is elected, they all begin to look alike after a li...
• Yes, Blossom, Harper is trying to buy voter support as the total of all programme monies committed recently on a per capita basis gives Quebec the lion's sha...
• I understand your sentiments and how maddening the political antics must be for the ordinary Quebecois as they are for most of us in the west. As a wester...
• Hello Blossom-----Yes, we are in an era where the extremes appear to be in control. Muslims and their religion of Islam in the past was all encompassing th...
• Hello Blossom: Remember when you were a kid there were "good time friends" when you had a few coins in your pocket to spend? In my opimion, there are a lo...
• Bernie-----The most important action is that you think reasonably about our country and take part in the democratic process. In my opinion, no government...
• Hey Atilla: What you say is generally on the mark but do not rule Harper out yet for two reasons, in my opinion.---1-the showing of Mario Dumont in the Queb...
• Hey Blossom:---I would not be surprised to hear an election had been called given the good showing of Harper's fellow ideological traveller, Dumont, and th...
• The American press----Blossom I believe after 9-11 Bush made it very clear that one was either with the US or with the terrorists. Not much choice. The Fox...
• Yea, Blossom: Politics is a blood sport and one has to enter the political forum as a gladiator to do battle. What worries me if Harper gains a majority is...
• Ah, Blossom, you have hit upon the crucial point-----will the ADQ votes for Dumont be transferrable to votes for Harper. As you say, the Quebec voters want...
• Hello, Blossom-----Good programme tonight with Avi Lewis on CPAC regarding the North American Union "integrate This"which our press is rather quiet about. ...

Nuclear Power - Is it part of our future or past? (2007-03-10)

• When I hear of nuclear power generation, it immediately brings to mind the disasters of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl-----the former where corporate dishon...
• I agree, Bernie. Neither corporations nor governments are honest in their disclosure regarding malfunctions within the nuclear systems thus generating great...
• Hello Blossom:------In my opinion, whether we like it or not, we will have to consider nuclear in the future as fossil fuel generation is finite. Hydro elec...
• Do not disagree with your concerns, Bernie, and I am sure we all share those concerns. What I said earlier on this topic was alternate power generation sh...

The Green Party: Political Force or Political Phantom? (2007-03-04)

• I have recently parked my vote with the Greens as a safe protest against either the lack of stature of the local candidates or the governance record of the g...
• Hello, Shoop, I agree with your statement---no MPs, no debate BUT , if included, the Greens would have to take a stand on the issues raised in the debate thu...

SES-University at Buffalo Poll of Canadians and Americans - Americans Keen on Co-operation with Canada (2007-02-26)

• Nik, without a doubt, United States is "family" but their side of the family usually gets what it wants. The great wealth of Canada is with its natural r...
• Blossom, you mention China and its holdings of American debt---you are so right. When China hiccups these days, the US belches. Our US cousins would be ...
• As you say, Mike, "....that whatever is good for the USA is also good for the rest of the world....". World super powers, wax and wane. Power corrupts a...

Harper Scores on CPAC-SES Leadership Report Card (2007-02-12)

• I agree, Harper, the man, has grown in the job as he ought to but, remember, he is being compared to someone who has not been in the job----speculative, to s...
• Thank you Blossom. I understand what the Sec. Gen is saying but so often politicians as a group, meaning the ruling party of a country, are sensitized to ...
• Nik, do you think if Harper's report card poll was held today, February 15th, it would read the same ? Harper has said he will not recognize Bill C-288 pa...
• Have patience and hope, my friend, there must be some men of honour somewhere in the wood pile.
• Hello Blossom------I certainly agree that there are major issues in this country and I am sure Harper is generating some of them for his own political purpos...
• Yes, Mike, I agree that politics is a blood sport at times where reputations are deliberately destroyed if it serves a purpose as base as that sounds. Har...
• Hello Blossom. Yes, there was a leak from Finance and Gooddale was personally cleared but, just the same, it was HIS department and the issue was very sens...
• Mike, I believe some programmes from Nikonline were not functioning for a couple of days---at least that was true with my machine until late last night.
• Hello Blossom: All governments in Canada have been either Liberal or Conservative. If you wish, we could say there has been a governing party and the oppo...

Federal Dead Heat - SES Research Poll Completed February 8 (2007-02-09)

• Trust and credibility will be major factors in the upcoming election------do you think the poll is reflecting the electorate's judgement of the shenanigans o...

Watch, Rate and Comment on the New Conservative TV Ads which Attack the Liberals (2007-01-31)

• I would seem to me that the Conservative attack adds are giving Dion media exposure and causing the electorate to take note but I am not too sure the ads wil...
• Harper,prior to assuming the position of PM and until the last several months, was so adamently opposed to Kyoto and mocked the plan that one has to question...
• One skates on thin ice---very thin ice----when one assumes a government elected by 32% of the electorate is a majority. This applies to the Liberals and ...
• Going it alone does have a parallel. Canada is a signatory to the banning of land mines whereas the United Stares, the biggest manufacturer and exporter ...
• Hey, Supper, I agree with you. I am old enough to remember the whisper campaign against Trudeau when he first ran and I could not believe my ears. S...
• Hey, Hollinm, you are a little partisan but not all wrong. Leave a party in power for too long and they all develop sticky fingers, believe patronage is ...
• Agree generally. Yes, my vote has favoured both the major political parties in the past also. In reference to your last line and motivation-----what ...
• It would not surprise me to see the environmental issue cranked up higher to try to get it to be the number one issue for the coming election. With more ...
• I believe the environment is a very real issue and has been for more than 50 years. In the 50s, Rachel Carlson wrote the "Silent Spring" and in the 60s, Dr...
• Thanks, John.------Just went to the official Conservative Party site and clicked on Health Care............."The Government will engage the provinces and ter...
• Thanks, John, for clarifying the differences between party priorities ("political teasers to garner votes") and purpose ('quite another thing"). On the pur...
• John: Very good. May I suggest you get this into McLeans.
• I do not disagree with you Blos, but from the Conservative strategy, to keep the electorate focused on the environment is good for them. I do not think f...
• Hi Blossom. Of course stealing the other guy's thunder is as old as the hills in politics. For years, in Germany, Bismark stole the opposition's plank...
• Morning Blossom. Further to your query regarding the North American Union/Alliance. This morning under the CanWest News out of Otawa is a good explanatio...

Wajid Khan and Changing Political Stripes (2007-01-16)

• Crossing the floor is a British parliamentary tradition and, as long as we follow that tradition, it is a perfectly "legal" move. The floor crosser is r...

Environment as an Issue - Is it over-hyped? (2007-01-08)

• Where the environmental issue has a direct link to one's health, then I believe it may be a valid election plank. Most Canadians live in an urban setting ...
• Couldn't agree more Blossom but our government has allowed corporate Canada to have undue influence to the corporation's advantage, for example, to label or ...
• Undoubtedly there are "natural" climatic cycles over the 100 year span to the 1000 year spam, or more, as evidenced for example, by tree rings. But we a...

Harper Cabinet Recalibration - Will it make a difference? (2007-01-04)

• I believe Harper's shuffle is what a sensible leader must do, that is, put the best foot forward. As it is, that figurative foot has a few self inflicted...

National Political Scene - Year in Review - What are your predictions for 2007? (2006-12-27)

• As you say, Nik, governments are usually architects of their own demise given time, loss of hearing and arrogance. I must say Harper has impressed me wit...

Wheat Board President Fired (2006-12-20)

• As a consumer looking at marketing boards, I beleive they have both positive and negative effects just as they have supporters and detractors. They often a...
• January 17th-----After the release of the Manitoba government's own referendum on the Wheat Board showing overwhelming producer support for that Board, the f...

Impact of new Liberal Leader Stephane Dion (2006-12-02)

• Good looks are skin deep but a good brain is a rarity. In Canada today, the ability to communicate in gramatically correct English (listen to the sports...

What Canadians like and dislike about the Liberal Party of Canada (2006-11-23)

• I favour neither right nor left in politics but I think for myself before I vote therefore I like to weigh the party, the platform and the local candidate an...
• All are entitled to their opinions in a democracy as you are. Thank goodness most people have an open mind and eyes that see so they can vote using COM...