Canadian Politics: Revenge of the small minds

[TrueMetis]

Everything about how conservative idiots (though I repeat myself) are handling the carbon tax is pissing me off.

[Fragile Bird]

How are people reacting to Trudeau accepting the finding of genocide by the Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women?

I have this vision of the Conservatives churning out fund raising e-mails with headlines screaming "Trudeau says you committed genocide!"

I remember having arguments with people in the comments sections of news reports on Facebook, before the last election, when the Conservatives refused to create an inquiry because "it wasn't needed". There were some brutally ugly comments made, so much so the CBC banned comments on all stories involving First Nation topics.

[TrueMetis]

Conservatives biggest pet peeve on the First Nation genocide isn't that it happened, it's that it wasn't total. Cause that means they actually have to deal with the impact of what Canada did and is doing.

[maarsen]

I don't know how accurate this is but I heard that a recent poll put Justin and the Liberals at 14 points above the PCs coming up to the election. 

[TrueMetis]

Man I hope so. I cannot handle another fucking conservative government. I deal with enough obvious bullshit on the provincial level as is.

Suppose we're lucky that Scheer is such a fucking non-entity that he make Harper look charismatic.

Though I really hope the Liberals get their shit together on electoral reform already. That's pretty much the one thing that's pissing me off about this government.

[maarsen]

In Ontario Scheer needs to wear a t-shirt with "I'm not with stupid" on it to avoid comparisons with Doug Ford. 

[JGP]

I thought I'd hit peak disgust for Canadian politics and our media during the Harper years. Yeah... no.  

[House Balstroko]

On 6/16/2019 at 5:10 AM, JEORDHl said:

I thought I'd hit peak disgust for Canadian politics and our media during the Harper years. Yeah... no.  

Nah, it'll just keep on rearing it's ugly head in different forms. That's just human nature unfortunately.

[kairparavel]

Please, please don't Boris up the election. 

And this. Ugh. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/racial-slurs-quebec-1.5225459

[TrueMetis]

So, new election is called. And apparently there are people pissy that it was called for September 11. Apparently we're supposed to just drop everything because of something that happened in a different country? One wonders how we'll ever get anything done since there isn't a day without some tradegy happening somewhere.

In more important news, the Globe and Mail released a shitty click-bait article just before the Writ dropped that implied the PMO was committing obstruction of justice, and if any politicians repeat that lie now that the election is officially underway I will be reporting them to Elections Canada.

[Fragile Bird]

The Globe and Mail has been a Conservative supporter since the day it was founded. They supported Harper no matter what shit he pulled. 

You can bet they sat on that story for the day the PM was going to Rideau Hall. The cost of producing the story should be an illegal corporate donation made to the Conservatives.

[maarsen]

5 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

The Globe and Mail has been a Conservative supporter since the day it was founded. They supporter Harper no matter what shit he pulled. 

You can bet they sat on that story for the day the PM was going to Rideau Hall. The cost of producing the story should be an illegal corporate donation made to the Conservatives.

I am sitting in the library in Skagway Alaska, getting on the internet for the first time in days. I have much to say on this but will have to wait till I get back. (sigh...) 

[TrueMetis]

God the Macleans debate was a joke. Scheer was as shit as expect, but Singh disappointed, this used to be the Party of Jack Layton? Good call on Trudeau not joining in.

[maarsen]

I have been away in Alaska for the past week and what do I come back to this morning as I get in my car at the airport and listen to CBC radio for the first time? Doug Ford can't even sell pot and make money. The Ontario government basically has a monopoly on selling cannabis and yet still lost money when selling it. And then there is the carbon tax stickers. He owns a sticker company and can't figure out how to make stickers stick.

When you make your brother Rob look like the smart one in the family, you have problems. 

[TrueMetis]

The conservatives are on a fucking roll with the constant lies. I hope election Canada brings down the hammer on them.

[JGP]

I hear you. It's pretty incredible, frankly. Just, rampant lies.  

I voted to get Harper out because I hated him with the fiery passion of a thousand thousand suns, so Trudeau doing a fantastic job is quite a bit beyond my expectations. The only things I can knock his government on is the failure of electoral reform [but the mandate isn't really there] and the Indigenous file. I mean, even though I'm relatively certain there's stuff going on in the background, I'm still quite disappointed with the response to the MMIGW Inquiry. Otherwise, best performing economy and lowest debt-to-GDP in the G7 [soon to be G6 maybe] lowest unemployment in 40 years, foreign investment up, taxation on the rich likewise up [though not much] a backstop federal Carbon Tax if the Provinces won't get their shit together, and in that vein the circumvention of delinquent Provincial government if/when necessary, ie: Ford-cut programs in Ontario.

The list goes on and on.

I'm not really sure what Conservative and PPC leaning folks are upset about [it's a great record even by Conservative standards] beyond perhaps the potential dilution of the fictitious Canadian identity. 

 

Edit: formatting again, like wtf

ETA II: Oh yeah, another neg is his unwillingness to deal with Quebec's little hate parade. In the lead up to the election I suppose it's understandable, but I do expect a federal challenge if he wins in Oct-- which is looking likely.  

[Fragile Bird]

I saw a good explanation somewhere of why all the political leaders are tiptoeing around the Quebec secular legislation. I'll see if I can find the article.

It seems that very few people are interested in having another referendum, and so the new tact to preserve Quebec identity is secularism. Religion, says the thesis, is the wedge that will undermine Quebec identity, because religious groups will say they are doing something protected by the constitutional right of freedom of religion. By saying Quebec is a secular society, that  argument is undermined. 

The first step was eliminating the Catholic school system. That was difficult to oppose since so many provinces have no funding for RC schools (all of the Maritimes, BC and Manitoba). I'm sure people in Quebec watched politicians in Ontario run on a promise to extend the rights Catholics have to a school system to other religious groups as a warning, even though that idea was rejected by Ontario voters (iirc, it was John Tory who made the promise when running for premier). If the province can create this concept of secularism, it bats away demands for equality from religious groups, or special treatment. And the law is very, very popular in Quebec.

If Quebec says they are separating churches and state, and treating everyone the same, the political parties have an uphill fight arguing otherwise. The NDP leader actually made an appearance (and maybe an ad?) without his turban on. Sikhs are serious about their religion, taking your turban off is serious shit. And he took his turban off to show Quebecers he's just like them. That's some move.

eta: I have heard lots of people say Catholic school funding should be eliminated, and the same people are outraged over the secular law in Quebec. They see no connection between the two.

[JGP]

Singh removing his turban was the wrong move, at least how I see it. 

I'd been kind of leaning into the assessment that he was kind of hapless, wtf has he been doing in the last year [like, really really] but his performance opposite Scheer at the Maclean's debate [Paul Wells sucks ass, btw] impressed me and my respect has cinched up a few. He's been making the right noise since the debate, re: Quebecois haterade.

May is a non-entity. Bernier should be too.

[TrueMetis]

4 hours ago, JEORDHl said:

I hear you. It's pretty incredible, frankly. Just, rampant lies.  

I voted to get Harper out because I hated him with the fiery passion of a thousand thousand suns, so Trudeau doing a fantastic job is quite a bit beyond my expectations. The only things I can knock his government on is the failure of electoral reform [but the mandate isn't really there] and the Indigenous file. I mean, even though I'm relatively certain there's stuff going on in the background, I'm still quite disappointed with the response to the MMIGW Inquiry. Otherwise, best performing economy and lowest debt-to-GDP in the G7 [soon to be G6 maybe] lowest unemployment in 40 years, foreign investment up, taxation on the rich likewise up [though not much] a backstop federal Carbon Tax if the Provinces won't get their shit together, and in that vein the circumvention of delinquent Provincial government if/when necessary, ie: Ford-cut programs in Ontario.

The list goes on and on.

I'm not really sure what Conservative and PPC leaning folks are upset about [it's a great record even by Conservative standards] beyond perhaps the potential dilution of the fictitious Canadian identity. 

 

Edit: formatting again, like wtf

ETA II: Oh yeah, another neg is his unwillingness to deal with Quebec's little hate parade. In the lead up to the election I suppose it's understandable, but I do expect a federal challenge if he wins in Oct-- which is looking likely.  

Pretty much sums up my opinion. though I will say he's doing better on Indigenous issues than I expected, not the MMIGW inquiry obviously but he's put some funding into water treatment on reserves. Given I expected nothing, that's a pleasant surprise. Damning with faint praise though it may be.

As for why the conservatives are upset, maybe because it shows just how wrong they are? After all however slight he did increase taxation on the wealthy and did increase funding for several social programs, and it's working.

ETA: Or maybe it's their general "we hate the liberals" principle.

[JGP]

Yeah, iirc I think they've lifted 90 something water advisories?

Regarding tax on the wealthy, he also closed some loopholes and exposed shelters, so there's an asymmetrical increase.    

Oh, and just now saw Time piece with Trudeau in *blackface circa 2001. Like dude, wtf  [throws hands in the air]  Liberals had a near majority on seat projections. Argh 

 

Though I won't cry if there's a Liberal minority with the NDP holding the balance. That was my preference going in.

 

*brownface, apparently. Arabian Night party...