HC in AB

A member since September 23, 2008 16:44

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Comment History

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

• If you are talking about the Flames/Blues game on the 23rd, I was at the game, when PM Harper was flashed up on the screen there was a light buzz of hand-cla...

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

• I don't know if the study that I saw was the same one that you are referring to but the one that I recall reading went further than than just the burden on t...

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

• Lex, given the "Casey Affair" in Cumberland, you really have to go back to 2006 to get a valid comparison. The LPC's by-election result is down about 2.5 po...
• So Ronald, does the fact that you expect "keep kicking this governments's ass" in the spring mean that you don't expect an election before spring or that you...
• and.... we are comparing the by-election results to the worst results in LPC history
• Lex, did you note the NDP gains all the 3 of the 4 ridings.. LPC vote slipping to the NDP?

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

• Lex, certianly the fact that Nik does not "prompt' by a menu of choices reduces the GP numbers, however, Ekos has "cell phone only" households in the mix. ...
• Lex, the reason that I asked was that when I read the Ekos commentary on their site a couple of weeks ago, they were talking like it was some sort of an inno...
• Tom, for a bit of chuckle, I had lunch yesterday with some friends in a small ranching community in southwestern Alberta. With respect the to the "what's th...
• If you think that you are agreeing that he is promising, you didn't understand the old expression. What it means that someone is a fake cowboy, dresses the ...
• Elf, quit the misrepresentation and outright lies, pages 9 and 10 of detailed breakdown of the Ekos poll is clear, 85% of those whose currrent vote intention...
• You said that you saw "that poll" (the Oct. 29 Ekos poll). I have gone thru the full report in detail and nowhere does it indicate that only party members w...
• You know that we both referenced the Oct. 29 Ekos poll, you know that you misrepresented the numbers and the data base sector. You know that you got caught....
• For the numbers of any of the parties to mean anything you really have to go back to the previous results and see what the overall trends are. I took a look...

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

• hollinm You are so correct. If you spot the Bloc 45 seats and allow for 2 or 3 independents, a party has to take 155 out of the remaining 260 seats for a...
• One interesting point is that the CPC regional "block" in the West is probably good for 65 to 70 seats. The LPC "block" in the metropolitan areas is probabl...
• I would submit that Canadians, generally, are more accepting of PM Harper's "Lets manage the environmental issue in concert with our continental partners" ap...
• Paragraph 2 above should read "not generally DISSATIFIED"
• I would think that he is perhaps continually losing credibility. He has, until Sept. 1, found reasons not to vote against the government. He has had nothin...
• I kind of find the current situation an amusing ambiguity. The people (LPC) who say they will bring down the government and cause an election at the first o...
• Sooooo, now the reason that the LPC is trailing the CPC 41-28 (Strategic Counsel, yesterday) is that LPC supporters screen their phone calls and CPC supporte...
• It is delusional to grasp at straws and indicate that the LPC is trailing in the polls because their supporters screen their phone calls. It is condescendin...
• Can you explain this to me, I was always taught, and the history books concur, that the original 13 colonies "created" the central government in the United S...
• Elf I for one prefer to have the PM making note of the return of the head office of a signifcant corporation (Tim Horton's) to Canada rather than attendin...
• Lex, just to clarity a bit, what I was referring to was a "landslide" among the seats that are actually in play. Like the time Chretien had a "landslide" in...
• So, just what are these policies as enucnciated by Mr. Ignatieff, other that "Harper Bad, Me Good, Vote for Me"?
• There is no point in carrying on with this. You tell me where you personally stand on these issues, but some of your positions (oil sands for example) are d...
• To use your words, just because everybody else does, doesn't mean that it is right. You must have missed Mr. Ignatieffs speech in Alberta where he unequiv...
• The thing is, the $2 billion waste of money managed to register less than half of the long guns, so the police still had no idea. All it is another nanny st...
• You could not have picked a poorer analogy than the public education system. Virtually all of the people who received their education in Canada benefited fr...
• Aww, don't spoil my breaks from productive work, it is very amusing to poke you with a sharp stick a few times a day just to see what kind of a pompous, cond...

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

• Mr. Harper, having re-united the political right after it was fractured by the Mulroney era, then going on to achieve to two consecutive minority governments...
• elf - if you continue down the road that you suggest, Harper Bad, Harper Bad, Me Good, Me Good you are handing Mr. Harper a majority. That is all we have h...
• elf, you seem like a thoughtful and insightful person but I find it difficult to believe how out of touch you are. Effectively Divide Canadians...I don't th...
• Tom, interesting comment on the "per vote" subsidy. I happen to agree that it is not a good thing, mostly for the reason of proliferating parties. Question...
• elf Yes, the economy is "healing itself". And Mr. Igantieff has in no way differentiated himself from the current government. Health care.. First o...
• Come now elf, quit deluding yourself, if that number of NDP and GP supporters had moved to the undecided column, their polling numbers would be down to just ...
• The Federal Tax credit is actually 75% on the first $400, 50% on the next $350 and 33.33% on the next $525 with the maximum contribution being $1,275 and the...
• So, can you advise where Mr. Ignatieff stands on all these matters, or is he still in a "learning mode", having just repatriated himself?
• Ronald - Most of the funds are committed and have to spent by March 31, 2011. There has never been any committment beyond that. However, the G8/G20 is...
• I could be wrong, but it appears to me that the CPC may have successfully framed Mr. IIgnatieff as coming back to Canada with the expectation of being corona...
• All I can say is that it's going to be an interesting ride to watch. You may be correct that we may be moving back to essentially a two party race outside o...
• Ronald, it will all depend on how much the NDP is able to influence the CPC agenda in return for their support. With the CPC leading in the polls and the ND...
• If the CPC is able to run a tight campaign like 2006 they will be OK. Given Mr. Ignatieff's relative inexperience, my money would be on the LPC to pull the ...
• That is something that had not crossed my mind to date, and it doesn't have to be the public service in general, it only takes one individual. If there are ...
• Lex, you are correct. I will not argue with sound investment in infrastructure that supports economy and quality of life, but it should be a stable, long te...
• Might it be in the CPC best interest to throw a few bones in the direction of the NDP to allow the NDP to appear that they are influencing the agenda and thu...
• How much weaker? That will depend on the NDP support. If the NDP drop further to the 10-12% range, expect the LPC to rise to 32 to 33, more if some CPC vote...
• Arts Community?? Friends of Broadcasting?? Voters in these groups likely weren't supporting the CPC to start with, so there aren't likely many CPC votes to...
• Oh, and I work in the infrastructure business and I don't know any upset mayors, the ones that I know are kind of looking to buy some time to come up with th...
• Bernie and Tom Just to clarify: Thanks to legislation brought in by PM Chretien just before he left office political donations are capped. His legisla...

Nanos Economic Monitor - Confidence in economy up - but Canadians still worse off than a year ago (2009-09-21)

• It appears to me that Nik is asking questions about how the general public feels, not about what the talking head analysts and economists are saying about wh...
• As far as I know, if the Senate does not hold up money bills it is by convention, not constitution. PM Harper can go to the GG anytime, whether they held ...
• Just another thought on this, we will remember that the Liberal Senate was refusing to pass the GST, which was definitely a money bill and confidence issue. ...
• I think that, constitutionally, they can reject it. Perhaps we can get someone with a little more knowledge than you or I to clarify this. As I recall, the...

Harper widens leadership advantage over Ignatieff: Nanos Poll (Completed September 11th) (2009-09-14)

• The Latest Ipsos Reid Poll falls in line with these leadership numbers. It has the CPC at 39, the LPC at 30 and the NDP at 12. If the NDP internal numbers ...
• I would suspect that Mr. Ignatieff is not looking back with great fondness on the day the the boys from Rosemount walked into his office a Harvard and said "...
• Fact is, Mr. Harper did defeat Mr. Dion, 143 seats to 77 seats, 37% of the vote to 27%. Some polls now have the CPC 10 points ahead of the LPC (now under Mr...
• Lex, I'm thinking really 6 to 7, somewhere in there. the interesting thing is that this comes after Mr. Ingatieffs bluster about no longer propping up the C...
• They poll about 1000 people, Ekos about 3000. There are somewheres over 10,000,000 households in Canada. So the odds of being polled are about 1:10,000 for...
• Mr. Ingatieff had to go now, before there is more improvement in the economy and before the NDP can recover in the polls. Mr. Layton gets a couple of little...
• So he doesn't hug his son... how many 11 year olds do you know that want to be hugged on national television. Personally, I know many women who would prefe...
• What you really need to learn is a little respect for people with a different view of the world than yours... your life will be much richer for it.
• And your heros are the past masters of the attack ads. How do you think the CPC learned how well they can work.
• Let me tell you about intrastructure stimulus packages on a non-partisan basis, they are joke in terms of doing anything but helping to create the impressio...
• P.S. You may not have noticed, but I should tell you that the CPC generally reflects my view of the world more than the "others".
• Because that is what every politician that proposed any infrastructure stimulus package has always done. On approval, the criteria is that the projects have...
• I am actually very surprised that the Bloc and NDP could be bought so cheaply. Ducceppe said that the items in the ways and means motion were good when they...
• Quite wrong, the Bloc does not have an automatic veto, the government only needs the support of any one of the three opposition parties on a confidence vote....
• Why did you choose not to address the other issues of the NDP losing their balance of power, election readiness etc., especially considering that you got the...
• Stimulus packages are strange animals. They don't create jobs the moment they are announced. Given the lag between an announcement and beginning of constru...
• But Iggy has had 9 months since he war coronated last December, he got a bit of bump around the convention, then stagnated and now has been sliding, both in ...
• The LPC and NDP have about 107 votes between them. The CPC now has 142. The Coalition couldn't pass confidence vote (or anything else) without the support ...
• We've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting.... for Mr. Ingatieff to say anything that is substantial.
• If you check the Ekos website, you will find that they poll about 3000 persons nationally and state their national MoE at 1.9%. Most of the polling companie...
• Most polling companies now have access to cell phone numbers and include those in the mix of numbers that they randomly call. So these people are now also b...
• Lex Your are so right. The 19 out of 20 MoE actually looks like a bell curve if you you were to plot it. If you were to use a 5 out of 20 or a 10 out of...
• Balderdash, my children were brought up at home by their parents. The are well adjusted, well socialized, have their own values (they seldom agree with me p...
• It may provide choice and support for those who are not able stay at home or are not willing to make the necessary sacrifices (living on a single income wasn...
• Nik A question. Do you (or other polling firms who's methodology that you may have knowledge of) adjust your published results to reflect the historica...
• Sorry, you completely missed my point, what I said is that universal day-care advocates dismiss and denigrate the quality and value of stay-at-home parents. ...
• So elf, what you are saying is that you would re-write to constitution to take your "major issues" from the responsibiliy of the provinces to the federal gov...
• Come now, come now, no need to get excited, I was only trying to point out that high-minded platitudes are fine, but the reality is, that under our constitut...

Nanos National Poll - Election speculation fuels Tories (Completed September 2nd) (2009-09-09)

• Historically, "undecideds" either stay home or fall roughly in the same proportion as the "decideds". It will be interesting to observe if this holds true t...
• The LPC has to go now for two reasons: 1. If they continue to prop up the CPC government, Ignatieff becomes another Mr. "Sit on My Hands" Dion or a Mr. "...
• It will be interesting to follow Mr. Williams actions. I am fairly certian that he won't look forward to continuing without his province having a seat at th...
• Trouble is, the LPC does not poll well enough for a majority either, and there are lot of voters who will be pretty reticent about having an LPC government b...
• I would take issue with the Green/NDP vote moving to the CPC. I would think that they are moving to the LPC to "stop Harper" and that some soft LPC support ...
• Thats what I said, it will be interesting to observe if it holds true this time around.
• I "get the notion" from the fact that the NDP has lost about 4 out of every 19 supporters that they had in the last poll. I (in my nearly 60 years of life a...
• Hey Lex, nice to see you back, your first post since Jan. 17.
• You may wish to consider that your personal unabashed hatred for PM Harper prevents you from seeing the forest for the trees. Canadians, as a whole, may be ...
• All of which have hashed and re-hashed and none of which will resonate with the voting public.... good luck!!
• Latest Ekos/CBC Poll CPC - 34.2 LPC - 30.8 NDP - 14.8 Bloc - 10.0 Green - 10.1 This pretty much confirms the Nanos Poll except for the Greens, but ...
• I would beg to differ, the move from the left of the political spectrum to the right is not likely. It is more likely that there is movement from the NDP to...
• You are out of date, see the Sept 10 Ekos/CBC above. It has the CPC about 3.5 points ahead of the LPC and the NDP continuing to slide.
• Where did you find the Ekos undecideds? I was looking for it on their website and couldn't find it, which didn't surprise me. I have been polled by Ekos in...
• My apologies, your second post was not there yet when I made my reply.
• OK, I checked again, Ekos polled 2825 people, they reported 2381 results, so I guess that means 444 undecided/wouldn't answer or whatever, thats about 15.7% ...

Nanos National Poll - Canadians' views on minority governments and Harper's re-election a mixed bag (2009-08-22)

• Let's be fair, the CPC government was initially elected about the same time that our forces moved to the combat role in Kandahar that PM Martin had committed...
• Did I miss something? Mr. Finley's appointment was just announced last week and he has already been sworn in and is collecting his Senator paycheque?
• In your post, you refer at least 3 times to Mr. Finley carrying out his function for the CPC while he is collecting a Senate salary while he has not even bee...
• For one who has been a member on this board only since August 25, you seem to know a lot about the history here. Who were you before?
• Canadians will not accept a coalition government of 116 seats that needs the separatists to prop it up and maintain power. That was evident from the polls j...
• Sorry for the double post, I don't know what happened.
• syl, I agree with you, except that it wouldn't be a formal coalition anymore than there has been a coalition between the CPC and LPC, the Dippers would not h...
• Ronald I will check you out. Howie
• syl Nik was way too tolerant for too long. This board had deteriorated to several partisans with a visceral hatred with multiple aliases bleating out min...

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

• Huh?? Did you get the link right? This article is about Bolduc, the Quebec Liberal provincial health minister.
• Doesn't do much for your cred tho does it.
• Ronald, sorry to see you go. You are one of the few people on this site (on either side of the fence) who would engage in thoughtful, intellectual conversat...

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

• From the National Post: "The Speaker of the Senate, Noel Kinsella, however, came to the prime minister’s defence Wednesday and provided his own eye witnes...
• Excellent post, however, everything that we have seen from Mr. Ignatieff to date simply relfects the LPC mindset that they have a natural right to govern and...
• My error, Noel Kinsella is Conservative Senator, appointed by Prime Minister Mulroney.
• There is statistics, and then there is "damned statistics'. Without looking at underlying issues you can make them say anything you want. The Fraser Instit...
• Interesting numbers. If you dig a little deeper the numbers are better than it looks for the CPC. They have even better numbers among those demographics wh...
• I hadn't seen SC and Ekos and was wondering if the AR poll was a bit of a rogue anomoly. That tells me that we may have some 'voter fatigue" relative to min...
• Ronald, you couldn't be more correct, IMHO. Neither of the 2 mainstream parties will have the b***s to undertake what it takes to correct the fiscal mess we...
• I didn't comment on your reference to Campbell in BC. The BC voters just took what they saw as the lesser of two evils. After the Glen Clark NDP government...
• I don't disagree with any of what you say, it was over 25 years ago, but just to say you "should get over it" does nothing to change the deep embedded mistru...
• I am talking about perception, which is what will really count. Don't forget that in this part of the world, the carbon tax as proposed by the LPC in the la...
• Your stocks will be just fine... demand for carbon based fuels in China and the Indian subcontinent will see to that. They are just starting to ride around...
• By the way, part of our engineering practice is designing and supervising construction of foundations for wind turbines.. so I am personally already benefit...
• There is all sorts of ideas out there. We have a client (with very deep pockets) who is investigating the feasibility of of "pumped power". You find a loca...
• Ultimatly, you won't find any "magic bullet". You will find a variety of solutions depending on geographical and climate conditions and energy demand. As t...
• It is impossible to analyse the results in Ontario withhout knowing the 416/905/rest of ON split. If the LPC is 50% in the 416 the other 60 seats or so are ...
• But how good is OK, I would guess that on these numbers, the LPC would pick up about 5 seats in the Altantic, 10 or so in Quebec (5 from the Bloc and 5 from ...
• My position: EI is not insurance, it is a social engineering exercise funded by a regressive payroll tax. The premiums we pay bear no relationship to t...
• I find the first question a strange one, in the case that demand on the "fund" (it doesn't really exist, the payroll tax just goes into general revenue) exce...
• The CPC has been doing the same thing, they just when thru the appropriate mechanisms to do it (after the courts slapped the LPC on the fingers for it).
• We all recognize your partisanship Katrina, but any party (in my opinion) would be nuts right now to release a policy platform. They really have no idea whe...
• Where have I ever state that it is not partisan to state pro-CPC opinion. You are a little touchy. But being overly partisan does mean that any opinion tha...
• The point that I was trying to make, which you obviously missed is that it will not likely be the "ballot question". Most Canadians support having an EI pro...
• It would be a lie if the intention had been to dissolve income trusts at the time the statement was made. I don't think that either the CPC or the LPC had i...
• The people who really care about the EI system are seasonal workers who draw benefits on an annual basis. The rest of the population who find themselves unf...
• I knew your response before you touched the keyboard.
• I have to take issue with your 92% number. We have to recognize that in Canada, we generally consider a 3% to 4% unemployment rate as being "full employment...
• You will have to find another "greatest hope". The CPC has been floating the idea of allowing some self employed to "opt in" for some of the programs, not d...
• You will note that I replied to westerner, not you, realtive to the 92%, basically noting to him that make an honest evaluation, that we have to recognize wh...
• I didn't say that it was anyone's proposal, I just said that such a proposal to increase the existing payroll tax would be of a larger concern than tinkering...
• We all know that Mr. Igantieff has flip-flopped on his position on the coalition and the carbon tax. How are we to know that he won't flip again? He wil...
• We don't know do we, Mr. Harper and and Mr. Ignatieff are polititians, they take the politically expedient positions of the day. It is the nature of the bea...
• I have never said that I am not partisan, I have said that I generally lean toward fiscal and social conservatism, the principals of the CPC (as stated in th...
• Huh? Who was talking aobut cancelling social services.. If you want to discuss that, start a new thread with some evidence that it is official policy of so...
• That kind 'hidden agenda" red herring is a thing of the past... get a life.
• Huh, how would one tell?
• And who was talking about cancelling EI?
• Actually, regressive taxation by funding the EI program on the backs of the lower income population ($43,000 and less) would generally be considered by the l...
• Ronald, I would be very surprised to see anybody tinker with the tax system to that degree, but if it does happan, at least you can say that you heard it her...
• Ronald, I agree that both parties will restrict terms of reference for the panel, it's just that all the "little goodies" that have been introduced under the...
• Ronald: I will be retired by then, and it would interfere with time on ski hills, golf courses, beaches and touring Eroupe. You will have to find someone e...
• The later the better, for Mr. Harper anyway, Mr. Ignatieff has to go this fall whether the stars a aligned for him or not. If he waits another 6 months or a...
• Time will tell, in any case, I have great faith in the resileincy (sp??) of our country, whoever is in government, we tread a pretty narrow band in the middl...
• Ronald, regarding my post above, I used the word "majority" a couple of places in the first two paragraphs where it should have said "minority". I think you...
• That would be an interesting HoC, the LPC would have to have the Bloc or CPC on side to govern, the Dippers would be on the sidelines.
• Igatnatieff won't make his re-cycled Dipper EI proposal the ballot question. He will, however, find something else and go this fall. I predict a weak minor...
• Be careful about comparing oil prices between one time period and another. People tend to only look at the published price that is always in $US. When Oil ...
• Not nearly to the same degree, corporate taxes from the industry to the feds are way down, we a pulling a lot more EI benefit into AB, personal income in AB ...
• Better check your facts, the restrictions on the PBO funding were unanimous among all the parties, do YOU not honestly see these things?
• With regard to the PBO, I don't disagree with you, but for Seeker to pin an all-party decision on the CPC is misleading and obviously unresearched. I was ju...
• Every party, including the LPC has their MP's and nominated candidates on a very tight leash right now. I am not extremely happy about that, but that is the...
• Want some dots to connect? Paul Zed, Ignatieff's chief of staff, was formerly married to Jamie Irvings cousin. Jamie Irving is publisher of the Saint John ...
• Ronald, my apologies for not replying sooner, but this discussion page is interesting, but not the highest priority in my life. You pose an interesting qu...
• Soooo, maybe the CPC is trying to get the LPC to make this the "ballot question". The EI program is one that is seen as necessary by most Canadians, but not...
• If the LPC decides to make the 360 hour EI qualification proposal the question, how do the Dippers side-step it? It was their proposal to start with. W...
• Ronald, you know that I agree, it is only a question of framing the appropriate ballot question. I would give about 4:1 odds right now that we have an Octob...
• I am not necessarily PM Harper's biggest fan, but I do find you poor attempt to have him "wear" the gobal economic crises less than acceptable. I am quite s...
• But what would have been done differently, by whom. "Harper BAD!!! Harper BAD!!!!" does not articulate an alternative course of action, it just tell us all...
• If you check the record, you will find that it was Prime Minister Paul Martin who commited Canada to the current role with NATO (not to say that the CPC didn...

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

• Until we have some sort of a major change in Quebec politics at the federal level, or some sort of a major split in the LPC or CPC, we as a country will hav...
• So, Harper is a "failure" with a reduced minority, Iggy is a "failure" if he does not acheive at least a minority, Layton is a "failure" if he comes back wit...
• "Cleaning up" would be another 140-145 seat minority, given the reality of the Bloc and regional voting blocks. No matter who you are, or in what party, wit...
• So, even new normals and realities, if a leader of the CPC or LPC does not achieve a majority after a maximum of four campaigns, someone else gets four attem...
• But in a minority, about 125 to 130 seats gives you the same ability to govern with the support of only one opposition party on any given issue as 145 seats....
• I don't disagree that everybody, sooner or later, gets past their "best before" date. I don't see anybody getting a majority, even in a "change" campaign. ...
• That is the nature of "consensus" government in a minority situation. A CPC minority government is going to be passing "socialist crap" whether it be PM Lor...

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

• Informed, I find your comments regarding the provincial fallout interesting, especially as it refers to Ontario. It certianly appears to a distant observer ...
• Interesting comments to me personally, I was actually employed by the Town of Oakville for a few years in the late '80s and know your area (and it's infrastr...
• We have a small municipal engineering firm that has been assisting some municipalities with project identifcation and approvals. Some of projects are procee...

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

• You are all forgetting something here. Any political strategist will tell you that they use attack ads because they work. The way that they work is not to ...
• I am a rather dispassionate observer of the political world. This type of political advertising will "cement" the base of both of the major parties. It is ...
• One point that I missed. I personally feel that the rise of negative advertising over the past 10 or 15 years can be directly corrolated to the decrease in ...
• A fine example of "blathering". I am much more interested in seeing the fallout over a much longer period. It's only been a few weeks. I see it much more ...
• blather, blather
• Not scared, just amused by all the the partisan talking points on all sides. For you try to insunuate that your blatherings are not partisan is the most amu...

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

• Could you please give me some details on the "burning off of sour gas". I live in Alberta and travel all over the province. I haven't seen a "flare pit" fo...
• In my experience, most people enter public life in one of two ways, the first is due to concerns regarding particular issues at a local level, so they become...
• I have a brother who has had about 30 gas wells drilled and currently in production on the about 8000 acres that he farms/ranches. He runs a cow/calf operat...

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

• I agree with your comments about infrastructure money not being wasted. The problem is, it doesn't happen very quickly. First the mechanisms and project ap...
• I recall seeing an interesting analysis that concluded that if the projects are truly incremental to what would have happened without the program that the 33...

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

• Did Mr. Harper overplay his hand? Yes, that is the consensus of the water cooler and the boys at Monday evening beer and beef ribs session. As those of y...
• Get a life you idiot, we will submit our withholding for income tax, EI, CPP, GST and quarterly corporate tax (getting lower) like always, we can't continue ...
• Look at the whole picture, the Dow in New York was down by about the same amount, it is not influenced by our current situation in Ottawa. Oil was down by a...
• But the coalition does not have a mandate to do what they are doing. They have all abandoned the major planks in their platforms. There is no Green Shift, ...
• 26% of those who voted gave a mandate for the Green Shift... GONE. 18% of those who voted gave a madate for a $50billion corporate tax increase.. GONE.. 10...
• At least get the arithmetic right, its 62.4%, not 65% :-)
• The GG will not consider the political orientation of the various parties. By convention, under the Westminster parlimentary form of government, the conside...
• I don't disagree with anything you say except that I'm not sure that the political landscape will change all that much. If you add up what are probably safe...
• Relative to the money issue, in 2007 the CPC raised about $17million from about 107,000 different donors. It is all available on the Elections Canada websit...
• Larryl, please explain to me how the CPC is"so good at getting around the rules". If you know so much, perhaps the best thing you can do is to advise the Li...
• I would be interested in researching the law/regulation relative to the disaloution process. Can you give a lead or is this just another figment of your ima...
• Except that right now according to two polls released today, the CPC is about 45% in the polls, the Libs about 23%, the Dippers about 13%, the Separatists ab...
• Thanks, been there, couldn't find anything, I will try again.
• Go to your mirror and repeat one hundred times "people like me are a major cause of regional polarization and aleination in Canada". You come off like a...
• 16 budgets in 2 and a half years, did I miss something? I only recall 3 budgets. No wonder spending went up a bit if I missed 13 budgets.
• Not very literate, are you? Looser is what the noose is is when we decide not to hang someone. Loser refers to your dear Mr. Dion.
• Or perhaps by the politically correct appointment of a light weight CBC talking head jounalist to the GG by your dear Mr. Martin.
• Gee, you do get a little testy when you don't get your own way.
• Mr. Layton and Mr. Dion would do well not the sign deals that sell out the rest of Canada to the Separatists. That is the root cause of any PQ bump in Quebe...
• The queens hired stooge... The politically correct appointment of light wieght CBC talking head "journalist" by your dear, dear Mr. Martin.
• Well yes, the once mighty Liberal Party has developed a bit of a propensity for self-destruction. Chretien blowing their financial base, Martin calling the ...
• EKOS, commissioned by the CBC, and the CBC hates Mr. Harper as much as you apparently do. Your ranting and raving may make you feel better, but a lot of Can...
• Central Canada sits around and ponders why would there ever be such a thing as regional alienation in Canada. Read your words and you will know why. It is ...
• The reason that the CPC has funds is because of strong grassroots support. In 2007, 107,000 individual donors with an average of about $160 each for a total...
• You didn't respond did you, tell me why you insist that the views of Western Canadians are somehow inferior to your veiw of the world. It is people of your ...
• I don't need a memo to tell me that those who are voting to break up the country are "less Canadian" than I am.
• Can you tell me why you speak of "the west" as if it is outer space? The last time that I checked, we were as much a part of Canada as the 416. If you chec...
• You might try Donnelly, Fahler & Girouxville in the Peace River area in northern Alberta, there are also a couple of small communities in southern Saskatchew...
• Liberals are not un-Canadian. They are Canadians with a different view of the country than yours and mine. That is the basis for a healthy democracy. Some...
• Turing Test. I had to Google that one.
• All donors, the amount donated, city of domocile and postal code are listed on the Elections Canada website. I suppose that if someone really wanted to know...
• I would view that differently. The party with the most grassroots financial support has the resources to deliver their message to the electorate. Parties w...
• The way you put that, I get the impression you feel that donations from western Canada are somehow illegitimate. All parties have an equal opportunity to ra...
• Lex, somewhere I read an excellent post of yours that nicely summarized US housing policy on a chronological basis for about the past 70 years. Do you still...
• Non-aligned, most of us on this site who lean to the right side of the political spectrum see MICA as an irrational nutbar. Just ignor him, and maybe one da...
• To the best my knowledge the only remaining mortgage insurer in Canada is CMHC, a crown corporation. The mortgage insurance premiums paid at the time of tak...
• Come now informed, this is an issue with no legs, it was simply a matter of that the EI premium rates were set without the blessing of the HoC. The CPC also...
• I am only suggesting to you that you can rant and post about it all you want in this forum, but, at the end of the day it will have no impact on the electora...
• I can't agree with you, the CPC did the same thing, except that they included the EI surplus in the their budgets and budget implementation legislation to ba...

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

• Smile. Andthat is after committing unbudgeted amounts of about $2billion for carbon capture and storage and and another $2billion for some "other stuff". Ta...
• The mantra of the provincial government to every special interest group that you can imagine that has been standing around with their hands has always been.....
• Isn't 50 plus years stretching it a bit? Ross Thatcher (a Liberal) was premier in Saskatchewan until June 30, 1971 (37 years ago) according to Wiki. If I r...
• Although I am generally a "small c" conservative, I don't really agree with this move. The $27million or so is really chicken feed in the big picture. This...
• I agree that $27million is not insubstantial, but it would only pay for about 1,500 EI claims 10 months long each at $1,800 per month in benefits. We have ...
• 80 out of the 89 Bloc/NDP MP's would have to cross to the LPC. That would leave both the Bloc and the NDP without official party status in the HoC. Not goi...
• and you don't have have party status in the HoC to got the funding. Hence, the Greens get their $1.95 per vote. There is a mininum number of votes or minim...
• Foxer, I agree with you that some tax incentive to contribute is a good thing, It just seems to me that the 75% incentive is higher than it has to be, or sho...
• Right now, you donate $400 and get 75% of that ($300) back so it only costs the contributor $100 at the end of the day... I know this, I just checked my las...
• The powers of the Federal government and the Provinces are clearly delineated in the constitution. The CPC is not "giving" any power to the provinces that t...
• I have no idea what Lex was talking about. If I believe in something, and I can afford it, I will make a small donations. Can you tell me more about thes...
• If there is anything to it, it was 10 or 15 years ago. I am pretty confident in saying that you might make this kind of thing work with a few dozen people, ...
• Roads, education, hospitals??? Those are all under provincial jurisdiction under the constitution.

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

• You are right, this is going to take away one of the Lib/Dipper/Bloc main talking points. "Bush Lite/Bush Clone" will no longer be there for them. One of...
• I would be very surprised to see very many defections, people who cross the floor have a very poor record of being successful in their "new" party, think of ...
• From my observation, the US electoral system is a mess. The law and procedures governing elections are different in virtually every county/state in the coun...
• The feds do not directly collect royalties on western oil. It is a provincial resource. The Alberta government budgets its royalty projections based on oil...
• Your ignorance is overwhelming, The federal government gets no royalties from western oil. The oil prices in excess of $100US per barrel were very temporary....
• You are the one who, in complete ignorance, claimed that the federal government would lose billions in royalties when no such royalty even exists. The NEP w...
• Again, you are so far up your butt you will never find your way out. In 1995 the royalty rates paid by producers to the Alberta government were restructured...
• I would agree that it would be politically an ecomonically unpalatable to allow any of the "Big 3" to go under at this time. It really hinges on what the US...
• Regarding the CAW position, I know some of these people pretty well. They are of a mindset that will never likely move away from the adversarial/confrontati...
• The solution just might be to let them go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That would let the trustee/reciever to viritually impose new agreements and make adjus...

Conservative Victory Propelled by Ontario Voters (2008-10-15)

• Before you find your sea legs you will have to find about 150,000 little sugar daddys with about $100 each every year. That in addition to the fact you are ...
• Just giving the benefit of what works for the CPC for Party funding.
• 10 in Quebec and 10 in the Maritimes, as opposed to your 7 in the west, that's what? About 2 and a half times as many.
• Lex, the first 2 quaterly reports fo 2008 are available at the Election Canada website, They are running at just under $1 mill per quarter. It that continu...
• I agree with your bankruptcy comment.. was being a tad sarcastic.
• I think that I have mentioned before that, in my opinion, and to be fair to Mr. Dion, that Turner sunk to 28 without having to deal with the Bloc/Green facto...
• There is a substantial centre right portion in the Liberal support. If the Liberal policy abandons these voters and gets far enough to the left collapse the...
• I agree that it is achievable, but difficult. You might get a couple of seats back in NL and grow 1 or 2 in NS/NB, so give them 3 there. In Quebec I woul...
• I think that you 2006 number is high for the Libs, wasn't their popular vote around 30%, not 33%. The overall trend in their financing is the same tho, they...
• The Liberals in BC are not Liberals in the traditional sense of the word. In BC, there are the NDP and the "others". The "others" are kind of a coalition o...
• People care, or at least they whine and complain. I feel that the problem is that our polititians for the most part these days are policy wonks, political s...
• Thanks Lex, for doing all that work for me, I was going to do it but haven't had time. It confirms what I said, given the current political landscape, split...
• Thanks Lex, you saved me a lot of work, I was going to go and get that information and play with it myself. I think that it proves what I said. Even if you...
• Actually, the price of crude isn't that bad at $US 75 to 80. With the $CA around 85 cents US right now that makes oil about $90-95 Canadian. Remember every...
• That's exactly what I am saying, you need someone who can communicate a passion for the country, I agree that our friend Harper is a wonk with political smar...
• That's old news and everybody was doing it, some just better than others, I think that Harper might win the lawsuit, the Liberal experts are saying the tape ...
• That is exactly right, you get paid in US $, convert that to CA $ and do your production business in $ CA. So with the Candian dollar anywhere between 65 ce...
• That could be viable, but the Liberals overall would have to move overall policy more to the left and that would leave the centre right faction of the Libera...
• I don't know as what anything that extreme would happen, but I would be sure that Mr. Harper won't be going out of his way to make life any easier for Mr. Wi...
• On the the other hand, it cuts both ways, the Liberal party is suffering the consequences of PET's (perceived or otherwise) towards the west.
• So Rob Merrifield made cabinet.... I lived across the hall from him in residence at the U of Alberta in '69-'70. I sure hope that the lad has matured a lit...
• The information is on the Elections Canada website. It clearly states "a leadership contestant may contribute an additional $1000.00 of his or her own money...
• Rob has degree an agriculture and operated the family dairy farm for about 25 to 30 years before contesting the nomination in Yellowhead. That makes him "Al...
• Just a comment, I don't think that parties can pay off leadership debts directly from party funds. I think that it has to come from "directed" donations. I...
• A leadership candidate cannot formally take out a loan that will utlimately be repaid from donations until he/she is officially registered as a candidate. S...
• I think that it would be a grey area, if he/she is not an official candidate, there likely would be no reporting requirments, therefore no official record wi...
• larry - your definition of "infliltrating". One attends a reputable public institution of higher learning and recieves a degree in his field of study. ...
• It is very easy to tell that your world ends at Yonge and Bloor, the University of Alberta in Edmonton is a completely different and independent institution ...
• Again, you have know idea of that of which you speak, a sophisticated modern primary agricultural producer in western Canada has to an in-depth knowledge of ...
• I thought we had determined that you had figured out the difference between the UofA and the UofC. You better get off the sauce. The retention time of your...
• It is so obvious that you know little or nothing about the normal, mainstream, small c conservative Albertan. You make sweeping, unsubstantiated statements ...
• dumbass.... I would like you to post everything you know about running a successful farming operation.. shouldn't take more than half a line. To date, t...
• If you know nothing about running a farm (which is only way too apparent), how can you surmise that the experience gained in that business has no merit in be...
• Edmonton also has a surface LRT.
• Ralph Klein was born in Calgary on November 1, 1942.
• When have I ever said that I "hated" Liberals, I just think that they are a little misguided and that the Liberal Party has no substantial role to play in th...
• Firstly, I am fortunate in being able to say that except for a check-up every year or two and some sports related injuries, I have never had to access our he...

CPAC-Nanos Election Tracking CP 34.2, LP 26.7, NDP 21.4, BQ 9.5, GP 8.2 (ending October 12) (2008-10-13)

• Yes, positive compared to a week ago. The CPC has trended up by about a point a day on a three day roll up, so likely last nite's number was in the 35-36 ra...
• Aside from the state of the world economy, and the effect that it will have on Canada, (which seems to have become the ballot question) what is the one issu...
• I recall seeing that report, or someone talking about it, perhaps the the most relevant quote that I have heard about the whole issue, talking about climate ...
• So, if those numbers are right, and they trend another half a point or so tday, we could be looking at 38 - 26 - 20 - 6 with about 10 for the Bloc. That wou...
• Got to be careful with those regional numbers, the sample sizes are very small and the MoE is very high. Following the leaders today would tell me that the ...
• CPC: 36.5 LPC: 26.5 NDP: 20.5 Green: 6.0 Bloc: 10.0 Other: 0.5
• I think that my friend Mr. Harper blew away about 5 existing seats and a possible gain of 3 or 4 in Quebec with the "rich people going to gala's comment". A...
• You might be correct if the media was all over the place saying "on the cusp of a majority" or words to that effect. What i am hearing in the media is the "...
• I don't think that there is much question that it will take all 3 opposition parties. In a best case scenario for the Bloc and NDP they would have about 100...
• I can't see the LPC going into an election that soon, they would still have Dion as leader and be so far in debt that they would be campaigning out of a bunc...
• The polls and the pundits are all they have, and most NDP/Green supporters are loath to hold their nose and vote Liberal if they don't think that it will hav...
• What you have just done is make a very sound argument for de-centralization of the federal government and leaving the matters where the provincies have const...
• You comment with regard "visions and ideas". How about a "passion for Canada as a country", whatever your vision for the country may be within that passion....
• All live streaming and broadcasts from the MSM will be blocked out in every region until the polls close. So CPAC and CBC east live broadcasts will not be a...
• According to the 2007 reports by the parties to Elections Canda, at the end of 2007 the Libs were carrying a $2,000,0000 bank loan. They had raised just und...
• The Libs have been getting the public cash based on the votes in the last election and they are still massively in debt. Last time they got about 4,500,000 ...
• Lex, you are likely a little better informed than I on this. How about to leadership candidates. From the returns filed after the last LPC leadership race,...
• OK, I double checked, the big numbers were not donations, but loans/loan garrantees, from individuals... not corporatins involved. All donations were from ...
• It seems to be dissapearing into operating expenses, leadership conventions etc.
• They are still restricted to $1,000 per year per individual, I believe, outside of leadership contestants donations. So the CEO can only donate a max of $1,...
• The big problem that the Liberals will have is getting their base used to writing the cheques a $100 per pop or whatever. The CPC base is used to this as th...
• To be fair to Mr. Dion and this campaign, had Mr. Turner had to contend with the Bloc and the Greens as part of the equation, the Turner campaign would have ...
• Facts, Please. If this is the case, kind of like your Mr. Volpe. That one is documented, as we know.
• If you want an interesting comparison of the grassroots support of the Bloc and the Greens, in 2007, the Greens raised about $975,000 in donations from about...
• My position is that abortion is not murder, your position is that abortion is not murder, Lex's position is that abortion is not murder. All Lex is saying...
• Hell thats not bad, No. 2, did that in two minutes multi-tasking while I was on phone with a client at work.
• I think the MBAGS ,TPQ, TPQ1, gohabs, was just regurgitating what he heard down at the campaign office every day when they were trying 'to rev up the troops"...
• I have this gut feeling, no backup from anywhere, that the backroom boys in the LPC will make a few phone calls and get everybody to put it on the back burne...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 33, LP 27, NDP 22, BQ 10, GP 9 (ending October 11) (2008-10-12)

• I have a suggestion for the Liberal Party of Canada... If you wish to co-opt the NDP/Green vote, then you should espouse policies that appeal to the curren...
• What I was actually referring to, outside of the who may go where in this election, is that the political philosophies of the 3 national parties in oppositio...
• The Liberal Party is bankrupt, both in terms of money and ideas.
• Then why don't you "compromise" your supposed "principles" and vote NDP?
• Judging by the quality of the discussion, there are a lot of people on this board who would say the CPC currently is most currently most aligned with their p...
• I have always been very clear that I feel very strongly that people should vote "for something". They should vote for the party and/or candidate that most c...
• Facebook group as on TV today saying that they had 5,000 members on their site, far cry from 350,000. I would be interested in where you "last heard" that i...
• I can't say that I have any knowledge of glue, but from my personal experience, screech, on occasion, has had it's merits...:-).
• Doesn't really mean much, I have visited that site a couple of times, along with a couple of hundred thousand other political junkies. And the people who wi...
• I'll send the mustard and ketchup, I'm guessing 62-65%
• Zab, you do the Liberal "spin machine" proud. For those who may have missed it, here is the rest of novadog's post (20:33:33 EDT, Oct. 12, 200*) "Times h...
• Decentralization of government, less government intrusion, more personal responsibility, reward for personal initiative, lower taxes... those are Conservati...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 32, LP 28, NDP 22, BQ 10, GP 8 (ending October 10) (2008-10-11)

• If you are all the "same". Why is there 4 different parties?? Because the Libs are political opportunists, they are all about "power at any cost, and abu...
• I have not doubt that Globe and Mail quote is accurate, but that kind of a quote sounds like it has a lot of LPC "spin" in it. Any coalition would likely ...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 33, LP 27, NDP 22, BQ 10, GP 8 (ending October 9) (2008-10-10)

• As an Alberta resident, born and raised here, and returned after a long sojourn in central Canada, I would note that my personal observation is that the peop...
• As I understand it, the only remaining mortgage insurer in Canada is CMHC, which is a federal agency. If these mortgages were defaulted on, the feds would ...
• Because there are no other mortgage insurers in Canada that I am aware of. The last one that I am aware of was MICC (Mortgage Insurance Company of Canada) a...
• Obviously, 35 to 40 percent of Canadians feel we are "within Canadian bounds". I always take great offense when people with your view of the world insuate...
• First of all, you now seem to know that CMHC is the "insurance company". So there are no private sector insurance companies being bailed out, as that seemed...
• But they have to maintain a proportion of funds they have lent as reserves. So there is limit to the amount of loans that can be written. So the purchase ...
• To the best of my knowledge the percentage is regulated, 10% rings a bell but don't quote me. You are right, we may have the strongest, best regulated banki...
• Who's word, coffee talk in a liberal campaign office I assume. You know as well I do that the core NDP vote is very concentrated and efficient. That is wh...
• Keep on lying to yourself if it helps you sleep for a couple of evenings. Saying doesn't make it so and the rest of us know it. Sweet dreams.
• It is nice that you can confirm that your intolerance and bigotry knows no bounds, that you find it absolutely intolerable that in a democracy, 35 to 40 per ...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 33, LP 29, NDP 20, BQ 10, GP 7 (ending October 8) (2008-10-09)

• I, and I think most people here, see absolutely no connection between our troops and professional hockey. Most Canadians enjoy following the game, and and ...
• Personally, I cashed out of equities in late May/early June, both in self directed RRSP's and a bit of portfolio that is not sheltered. It is now time to lo...
• High risk mortgages????? The portfolio they are purchasing is all CMHC backed anyway. These are the the high ratio mortgages where people pay a mortgage in...
• Notwithstanding all of that, his answer still was "well, in the first 30 days I will have some meetings". So he has no plan, no knowledge etc. And you want...
• In the past, others of your ilk have had no issue in "nitpicking" about the linguistic abilitis of the Preston Mannings and Stockwell Days of the world.

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 35, LP 28, NDP 19, BQ 10, GP 8 (ending October 3) (2008-10-04)

• The Liberal have always had a tendency to run on the left and govern on the right. Hence their financial woes as they shot themsleves in the foot when they ...
• I think that you could be right on your 38 number. What you missed is the 35 seats or so in the Altantic, all else being equal that is ulimately majority/no...
• I would remind you that there is virtually nobody left on the Liberal Benches who has any experience in senior government positions, the Manleys, Rocks, Mecl...
• Ten in and ten out has been normal in any large scale or remote development across the county almost forever. It makes no sense to construct permenant housi...
• Tweaked, reading thru this thread I agree wholeheartedly that one should vote with the courage of the their convictions, the origonal Reform voters did so wi...
• Domestic water usage would not be the issue as it in a normal urban setting is only about a 50 to 70 imperial gallons per day or about .25 to .3 cubic meters...
• 92 seats in the west right now to 103 in Ontario and more will come to the west with redistribution. The CPC will likely take more of the 92 (75 to 80) than...
• You can't talk out of both sides of your mouth, I thought the whole premise behind the tax shift was to make energy more expensive to discourage use. Now yo...
• In addition, all of Canada is benefiting, Alberta makes a net per captia transfer to federal coffers of about 3 times that of Ontario. The rest of Canada be...
• Nobody is disputing that fact, now you have to accept the fact that it was a good decision and now the rest of the country as well as Alberta, Saskatchewan a...
• You were talking about housing, did you not read "miniscule compare to industrial requirements".
• A small income tax decrease and a whole mess of program spending. The tax shift is very explicit about the tax rates that would be imposed on various commod...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 35, LP 30, NDP 18, BQ 10, GP 9 (ending October 2) (2008-10-03)

• Really, really hard to say, but maybe Nik's numbers are right and there is a move back to the Reds that he has caught and hasn't shown up yet in the other p...
• Most of that was included in the last budge... go check
• When you get a single poll that is substantially different than others you have to look at the overall trends etc. The other thing that I look at is the ove...
• Its called "rounding". Every result is rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. When you get more rounding up than rounding down, it is more than 10...
• Thats what I am thinking too, as I said, probably at least a 10-12 point spread.
• I for one, cannot imagine the kind of grassroots groundswell that created the Reform Party coming out of the Liberal ranks to form a separate entity. There ...
• Even as a committed CPC voter, I have to note that he is not really below Turner, Turner would have been much lower had he had the vote split to the Bloc and...
• If it makes you feel better.
• But maybe a little high in Quebec and the Atlantic, but i agree, likely low in the west. I see CPC 145 to 150, Libs 75 or 80, Dippers around 30 plus, and th...
• Who would you see other than IGGY or Rea, i don't see anyone in the ranks who could catch the attention of the country (he/she would have to do it one electi...

CPAC-Nanos Daily Election Tracking CP 37, LP 26, NDP 19, BQ 10, GP 8 (ending October 1) (2008-10-02)

• The 41 is SK/MB. The 47 includes AB. This kind of bouncing around is to be expected. The sample size for the regions is very small and the margin of erro...

Chat about the Leaders' Debate Live (2008-10-02)

• I notice that "the 'boys" seem a little reluctant to interrupt and "talk over" Ms. May
• and no question that if this were a high school debating match, Mr. Duceppe would win the gold medal.
• Hi Nik, I'm pushing 60, so I think that we can say that that has been the case in 4 of the previous debates that he has been involved in. He speaks English ...
• "us as a country"
• Well, at least he won't any of his committed vote with his performance this evening, but I think that cuts 5 ways.
• According to Mr. Layton, the firm that I am a partner in will not get a tax cut, Exxon and the banks will get it all.
• I would like the Liberal representative on your panel to tell me what the projected reduction in Carbon emissions is over the four years outlined in the Gree...
• It gets really complicated and is difficult to understand, for staters, the price of crude oil is determined by global commodities markets, so the producer t...
• And all that aside from the fact that about 98% of the handguns used in crime are illegaly imported, so they are illegal to start with. A namby-pamby feel g...
• You are right, overall crime is decreasing, violent crime among youth is increasing. The biggest reason that crime decreasing is because of changing demogra...
• great leaders like mr. klien are able read the public mood and one hell of a lot higher proportion of "loved" him than the proportion of canadians that "love...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 36, LP 26, NDP 20, BQ 10, GP 9 (ending September 30) (2008-10-01)

• Only if there is a complete collapse outside of the GTA for the Liberals. They would have to come out of the Atlantic with only 5 to 10 seats in order loose...
• With respect to all, as we evaluate all four situations on a historical basis, we must come to the answer if they were "good" wars or "bad" wars. In the fir...
• The only one that is worthy of any consideration now is the current one. I do, however agree with your comments, I will be voting CPC (as usual),but for a l...
• Agreed, I watched it, but the translated version, so a lot of what you take away is dependent on the quality, inflection etc. of the individual translator. ...
• Does this tell us that the system has been working pretty well for the last 10 to 15 years and the recent events are a "glitch"? I think that the interest...
• I have been watching these debates for about 35 years. They have very little effect on overall outcomes and last nite was one of the blander ones.
• If what is being reported is correct, and the machines were being cleaned and serviced in accordance with the process that was recommended by the manufacture...
• Problem is, just how would we propose to legislate that? Especially given that many foodstuffs are only produced regionally in North America, or the agricul...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 37, LP 26, NDP 20, Bloc 10, GP 8 (ending September 29) (2008-09-30)

• But they will gain a about 3 close ones from the libs in northern ontario, check the numbers on the ctv battleground riding tracking.
• Their vote is too concentrated to get him much above 40 even at over 25%. This is why they have been able to produce around 30 seats at about 17%. The over...
• Actually, everybody in Quebec is picking up "action" at the expense of the your Liberals, go check the targeted polling there.
• I was refering to the most recent CTV "Battleground" Poll relative to the 2006 results: Bloc: 37 to 37 (no change) CPC: 23 up to 25 NDP: ...
• Bitter, bitter man you are, and you support the party that purportedly supports inclusiveness and a strong centralized federal government
• I don't hate Ontario, I actually lived and worked there for 13 years after the NEP and other factors tanked the economy here in '83 - '84. I have a lot frie...
• If you know her, you have all my symathies :-)
• I am not in phone book, but I do have a "cable land line" and I have been polled once this time around. This probably does not have much of an effect on p...
• "I WILL SUPPORT THE LIBERAL PARTY THRU THICK AND THIN, I WON'T CHANGE MY STRIPES"..... Talk about indoctrination. When we are not represented in the man...
• Then maybe we won't have so many of these polls that fascinate me so much and take up so much of my time when elections are happening LOL Actually, I wo...
• Smallest country in terms of population or the smallest government in terms of expenditure/size of public service?
• If you really wanted to take a radical stance on it, we probably have too many provinces, the result of an accident of history as the country was settled by ...
• I wouldn't do that because there should be some cultural/demographic cohesion. I would also think that huge sparsely populated areas in the northern regions...
• TPC/MBAGS was not exactly raising the level of discourse on this board. He won't missed but comic relief was good for the soul.
• Most of us are here to engage in a discussion of the merits of various points of view. I find blind partisanshop amusing. If you think that by venting vitr...
• I don't know, maybe when he said to me that "your ex told be that you are a dirt bag". I will admit to flagging that one.

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 36, LP 26, NDP 20, GP 9, BQ 9 (ending September 28) (2008-09-29)

• I agree with the NDP comment. Their core vote is concentrated to TO, 3 or 4 industrial ridings (think southwestern ON and Hamilton), about 5 ridings in Nort...
• Whoops, I missed a point, the interesting thing to observe will how effecient the Liberal vote will be at 25% or so. Outside of TO it could be too wide and ...
• I agree with your analysis Foxer, except that I think the Bloc will gain some of the Liberal seats in Montreal coming up the middle between the Libs and the ...
• I expect that the CPC will hang on to what they have in Quebec and maybe gain one or two. I agree that they could pick up about 20 outside of TO since they ...
• I agree with your Gen Y comment. My kids are 19 and 21 and attending University at York in TO and Brock in St. Catharines. They say they won't be bothered ...
• I would expect that Danny's rantings have done him nothing but good with his electorate, he has taken a page from King Ralph's book... If you want to ensure...
• Tuition be damned, thats small change, got to keep them little beggars fed, watered, clothed and entertained too, and they also like to fly out to visit me o...
• Bring Beer???? Do you have any idea what airlines are charging these days for overwieght bags.. I just have to put up with Western brewed Canadian or Koka...
• To be honest, my tastes run a little more to a really good single malt.
• I agree with you Foxer, the CPC took advantage of the sponsership scandal etc. to get into government and then have governed from the centre, effectively pus...
• Even at 36 for the CPC, the Libs down 3 and the Dippers up a little will swing at least 10 or 15 seats to the CPC. I would guess that the 36 is a little...
• Some of us have found the institution of marraige very difficult to make successsful on a personal basis. What he is saying is "why do they want that". Fai...
• I am an Albertan and proud of it. I take huge offense that somehow makes me less of a Canadian than you.
• So what you are telling me, as an Albertan, I am an "imposter" trying to masquarade as a Canadian Citizen. You sure as hell seem to like the $15,000 in pers...
• Not likely, a teacher and a women's studies major with an eye to a Masters Degree in social work. Both likely to be members of public sector unions. Good o...
• So, again you are saying that, that because of my general view of the world and my political leanings, i am not a REAL Canadian. I pay my taxes, I vote, I w...
• Trendlines does not give enough consideration to vote concentrations of the various parties. The current vote concentrationtions are wash in the Atlantic, t...
• So someone who does not subscribe to your particular view of the world and your country is "blind". I can only take it that you do not subscribe to the view...
• When did 2% reduction in the GST (making the people pay less) become "blowing" the windfall. It just meant leaving the money in my pocket instead of sending...
• 30% = 103 seats (2006), 24% = 110 seats 2008, I would suggest that those boys and girls go back school.
• I would suspect that it wouldn't matter to you in any case, since the universtiy is west of the Manitoba/Ontario border and in your view, is not part of Cana...
• I would suggest to you that that if anything, western canadian have historically been willing to not follow the herd, if we vote for people and they do not r...
• Oh come on, I have gay colleages at work, and some gay people in my social circle, some of whom have married and some married and divorced, They would have a...
• Given the vitriol I read in your posts, they should put you in Websters under the definition of "hate".
• I'm sure that Foxer can read, and to ridicule you is not a particularily difficult task. For the most part it is self-inflicted on your part.
• Just love the show of intellect and reasoned debate.
• Fine, send a memo to your buddy Dion, we don't want Albertas $10 billion per year, tell them to keep it and take a hike, us good folks in Ontario will pick u...
• Agreed
• Actually, due the volatile nature of the marketplace, the estimated provincial royalty revenue stream for budget purposes is based oil oil being at $75 per b...
• Nice to see that a few facts don't get in the way of you "blind" partisanship.
• Agreed, but one point, I actually lived in Ontario for 13 years after the NEP, Oakville and then Oshawa to be specific. I have a very difficult time just bl...
• Really grasping at straws these days aren't we.
• I really can't see the debates having much impact unless someone goes completely off message. Mr. Harper will try to appear calm and "Prime Ministerial", M...
• Want to put up a nice $150 bottle of single malt on that prediction??
• So sad but so true. To really make progress on this front, we have to see economic integration, but so many of our first nations are on reserves completely ...
• Name your poison then.
• But the provinces have no jurisdiction. It all funnels thru INAC. It is not just a matter of putting in infrastructure, improving education, addiction help...
• There is a band in the Okanogan in BC that has been very successful, to the point where they have had to hire "whites" into their enterprises to staff them. ...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 36, LP 27, NDP 19, GP 9, BQ 9 (ending September 27) (2008-09-28)

• rsharp 1. As a member nation we have obligations under both NATO and the UN. That is why the Libs went to Aghganistan with the other NATO members. I re...
• This is all bouncing around within the margin of error with the CPC at 38 %. They really haven't changed all month. The Libs are down a 2 or 3 over the mon...
• My comment was relative to Liberal/NDP parties being dominated by central canadian interests and they are the parties that insist that no changes should be m...
• The more sophisticated western producers would prefer to be able to market outside of the board. My brothers who farm have post-secondary degrees in commerc...
• I complusory is bad for the western producer, it is bad for the rest of the country's producers. I would not be in favor of imposing a bad system on others ...
• Don't make me laugh, Alberta has just about the lowest regular attendance at churches anywhere in the country and has the highest level of support for the CP...
• Only if you count 37 to 39 per cent of Canadian as Christian freaks. The CPC has a pretty big tent these days.
• So the electoral result might reflect the views of a vey large proportion of the population there, isn't that, in large measure, what democracy is all about?...
• The LPC is the Corporations Party of Canada. Note how thier financial situation has tanked since corporate donations were severely limited. The CPC war che...
• I'll have to have a chat with my local constituency office, I just send them a $100 a couple of times a year and take the 75% tax credit. Might save myself ...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 39, LP 24, NDP 19, BQ 9, GP 8 (ending September 25) (2008-09-26)

• Atlantic 15 Quebec 15 Ontario 40 (mostly GTA) West 5 Total 75
• The reason that the Liberals have been so successful is that they have been very adept at reading the public mood and swinging from centre left to centre rig...
• But they have been very successful and developed a loyal following. They have been a lot, actually, like most successful polititians here in the west what a...
• Not a tranplanted easterner, but I did spend a "sentence" of 13 years of my life in the GTA as a "refugee from the NEP". Born and raised in Alberta and in a...
• No fear, he's also a "pragmatic populist".
• Enjoy, my time, it was OK but I hated the climate, too hot and muggy in the summer and grey, chilly and damp in the winter. Couple of months in the spring a...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 40, LP 25, NDP 19, BQ 9, GP 8 (ending September 24) (2008-09-25)

• 154
• Your comments regarding the projections are right, who knows? If you follow all the polls since the beginning of September and roll them all up over 4 days ...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 37, LP 26, NDP 21, BQ 9, GP 7 (ending September 23) (2008-09-24)

• Mr. Harper and his organisers ar the consumate political strategists. Let's face it, they know that Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be as nice to them ...
• With regard to EKOS, I was actually polled by them about 10 days ago.. (2nd time being polled in 40 years of being a bit of a political junkie). It was and...
• You cannot treat Ontario as 37 to 37. You have to look at Toronto separately. The number of seats in Toronto will saw off against Alberta (more or less) wi...
• The Liberal advisors of yesteryear... didn't they leave with Chretian, Martin and the rest of the old crowd?
• Lex, what you say is what is wrong with BC provincial politics and what is right for the rest of the country. For the most part, in the rest of the country ...

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 38, LP 27, NDP 21, BQ 8, GP 6 (ending September 22) (2008-09-23)

• If the Liberals are down another 3 and the NDP up another 3 there will be a lot of Ontario seats where the CPC comes up the middle... That could mean a CPC ...
• I was also going to say, that at this point a 3 point move would be huge, the Liberals have an abolute core vote to the "Red Brand" no matter what of about 2...
• A sample of 400 will give you about +/- 4% 19 out of 20 so an 8 point swing over one day isn't beyond imagination. The 1200 over 3 days will be about +/- 2....

CPAC-Nanos Tracking CP 35, LP 30, NDP 22, BQ 7, GP 6 (ending September 21) (2008-09-22)

• I also read the whole thing and found it an interesting comment, however, as near as I could tell, the carbon tax revenue projections seemed to indicate no r...