Apolitical Staples

Thing to remember: the BQ has always favored more autonomy for Quebec, which coincides more consistently with the Reform/CA “provincial rights” mindset.

Other thing to remember: polls are only snapshots. You should expect the Tory lead to shrink as the summer grinds on and complaints about gas prices go up.

“I can’t be the only one who thinks this has more do with this.”

You are not. I mentioned it yesterday. ;)

It’s not “fiscal imbalance”. The new buzzword is: Fiscal Balance … this term was used by the Finance Minister and both Dueceppe and Mario Dumont have said that they like the new term.

Dumont went on to say on TV today that the budget will make a stronger Canada and it’s up to Quebec to become a strong part of a stronger Canada. Dumont went out of his way to sing the praises of a fresh approach by Harper that is quelling separatism. It all sounds too good to be true, let’s hope it lasts.

P.O. - Yes, that’s right, the Conservative Party of Canada, and Stephen Harper personally, are responsible for the world-wide increase in the price of oil. It has nothing to do with demand from China and India. Far better to set an artificially low price in Canada, thereby forgoing export sales (and corporate tax revenue) as well as encouraging Canadians to consume and pollute. Brilliant!

Good comments on Harper’s gameplan to substantially reduce the powers of the central government in Canada by devolving those powers on the provinces. If Harper is successful, Canada will become a balkanized nation of bickering premiers, with no common standards uniting Canadians as a nation, and with the Prime Minister sitting in the booth closest to the kitchen, with his hands tucked under his seat, doing nothing.

Harper and his New Tories aim at a massive transfer of power (legislative, financial) to the provinces, through a deal cut in smoky rooms, and over a policy which has not been tested by being debated vigorously during an election campaign. Harper is aiming at a stealth-change of how Canada functions, agreed to by premiers and him, without the voters of the provinces or the voters of Canada being involved in such a decision. It is akin to a Meech Lake Accord without requiring Canadians to vote on it.

Is this process of Harper’s democractic? Not by a long shot.

Have Canadians agreed to these dramatic changes in the federal / provincial structure? Not by a long shot.

Will Harper open his dealings to public debate? Never – he does not agree with his decisions being debated by voter representatives.

Harper is aiming at making Ontario the “bad guy”, and getting the other provinces to gang up on Ontario’s Premier. He is hoping to stampede Ontario into agreeing to a deal, so that Harper can then go the country for an election, hoping to win more seats in Quebec and gain a majority government.

As Chantal Hebert wrote: “Nothing would do more to accelerate Harper’s plan to emerge as the default federalist option in Quebec than a campaign that found the federal Liberals and the Bloc Québécois on the wrong side of a deal with Charest on the fiscal imbalance.”

Harper’s stampede tactics (similar to those used by Bush in his deceptive entry into the war in Iraq) have been successful so far – he suckered Duceppe and Layton into supporting a vote of no confidence in the Liberal government. If it worked once, why not try again?

What can Ontario’s Premier, Dalton McGuinty, do given the by now obvious strategy of Harper?

Simple. He can take a stand on principle: that such decisions should be made by the people. McGuinty can make the whole backroom-dealing process transparent by simply stating right now that he requires two things to take place: (1) that all meetings of Premiers on this subject, and any meeting he has with Harper, be open to the public, and televised; and (2) that he will not agree to any deal unless it has been put to the voters of Ontario through a plebescite.

This will immediately make the whole process of nation-changing more democratic, put pressure on the Premiers of all provinces to consider voters as well and perhaps adopt similar plebescites, and relieve McGuinty of any pressure to rush into a deal “in the interests of Canada” (as John Tory has tried to frame it).

So, Dalton: strike a blow for democracy. Call for transparency in meetings of Premiers on this “backroom Meech Lake Deal”, and have Ontario voters decide the issue.

Canada “will become” a balkanized collection of provinces with no common interests or identity? What the hell else has it been for the last 140 years?

Sodomykilledthecat is just concerned that if the PMO gives up its claim on absolute dictatorial power, he won’t be able to take over simply by seizing the PMO. He’ll have to try to get the damned rednecks out there to vote for him. And we all know how well that works.

And speaking of premiers - the premiers of Alberta and B.C. “bicker” by holding joint cabinet meetings and developing common policy. Yup, we need Comrade Stalin to step in here and knock their heads together, all right.

If Harper is successful, Canada will become a balkanized nation of bickering premiers, with no common standards uniting Canadians as a nation

Sort of like the US, because of the role and rights of each of the states, is a balkanized nation with nothing unifying it? How stupid do you have to be to believe yourself with evidence to the contrary sitting right across the border?