Jack, I need you to tell me this is a global catastrophe, and that something needs to be done! Snow on October 28th? Where are you?

We woke up to some 4 cm of snow today (I know, the STORM TEAM from A-News announced 15 cm yesterday, but hey, we’ve got that STORM TEAM all fitted out with the parkas and the ski-goggles, so we’ve got to use ‘em!), and, of course, Ottawa’s streets are filled with idiots who do not know how to drive. On my modest 20 minute drive to work I came across three cars in the ditch and one spinning out of control coming up to a stop sign you can see from four miles away. On top of that, there were numerous cars with the windshield “cleaned up” by windshield wiper instead of snow brush, leaving the driver to peer through two small half-moon holes in a white sea of snow. This was 4 cm of snow, people. Neither a STORM nor weather worthy of a WATCH or WARNING. Slow down, clean your car properly, watch your fellow road users and you can easily stay on the road.

And Dalton, never mind banning gadgets, how about banning idiots?

This is the first election I’ve heard the opposition parties say: If the Conservatives win a strong minority or a slight majority that means they got 40% of the vote which means 60% of Canada did NOT vote for them. 60% of Canadians DO NOT WANT them. That means 60% of Canada voted for US and so we should govern.

So I did some research into past elections and, applying the above ‘rule’, where you don’t have the Canadian people’s blessing to govern if you don’t get more than 50% of the vote, the history of our country would have been quite different: read more…

Jack Layton sent me another email (calling me his friend, I’m so lucky) containing the following quote:

Every vote for a New Democrat elects a New Democrat MP and stops Harper. And every vote for a New Democrat will spark the change that’ll move Canada forward.

“Every vote for a New Democrat elects a New Democrat MP”?!? I hope Jack Layton is running 6.4 million candidates, if he gets 20% of the vote, he’ll need them!

Hypothetical scenario:

Minority Conservative Government. First vote of confidence will be on Tough on Crime for Young Offenders. It will (obviously) be defeated. Liberals, NDP, Bloc and Greens will go to the Governor General, and form a new coalition government. We’ll get:

1. Prime Minister Stephane Dion
2. Minister of Finance: Bob Rae
3. Minister of Defense: Jack Layton
4. Minister of the Environment: Elizabeth May

If this doesn’t scare anybody I don’t know what this country is a-comin’ to.

And this is a VERY REALISTIC scenario. The Bloc, Greens and NDP have already said they’re open to it. Dion has REFUSED to rule out putting May in his cabinet, indicating he’s open to a coalition. The only way to stop this is by electing a majority Conservative government.

h/t to Lowell Green‘s radio show

From The Star, December 21, 2007:

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper expects Canada’s economy to suffer next year, buffeted by turmoil south of the border and the “cost” of new climate-change measures here at home.

In a calculated signal to Canadians, Harper said that 2008 will be “more challenging” for his government and the country.

“There remains very serious economic uncertainty in the United States and in other parts of the world, and it’s impossible for me to see how Canada can be entirely immune from those developments,” he said in a year-end interview with the Star.

read more…

Candidate Bob Rae issued a warning that Layton and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May are robbing votes from the Liberals and as a result, are actually strengthening the Conservatives’ chances.

Bob, you’re all on the left, and judging by the debates, you’re all battling a common ‘enemy’! Of course you’re “robbing votes” off each other. All parties are constantly “robbing” votes off each other. There are not any more voters now than 20 days ago. It is the same pool. They go from party to party. That’s how the system works!

“We know for certain that if Stephen Harper had been Prime Minister five years ago we would have troops in Iraq,” Rae said.

Um, if Ignatieff was the leader of the Liberals 5 years ago, we’d be there too.

And if you were Prime Minister, this country would be bankrupt within the year.

If I was the PM and I was at the French debates I’d say:

To Gilles Duceppe: Can I finish my sentence for once?
To Jack Layton: How come you sound like a Scot, and I sound effeminate?
To Stephane Dion: Can you take a stand on something? I know Rae and Iggy are not here, but geez. You can’t even say if you’re for or against a our crime bill. At least Jack said he’s fundamentally against so he’ll vote against. You say “we’ll see”.
To the moderator: They have four minutes to pile on me, and I have 1 minute for rebuttal. Why are we sitting around a giant guitar pick? Do I have to sit next to the passion flaky? Why am I facing a three headed firing squad? Why is my back to the camera in the overhead shots, and the firing squad is facing the audience?
To Elizabeth May: God, you’re annoying. You remind me of Jar Jar Binks (“Global Warming comin dees way: Meesa Gonna Die!”) I hope so…

And that is why I would never be a PM. But that’s OK.

The debates

Wouldn’t it be fun if, at the debates, whenever someone says something really stupid (and the chance of that is pretty high, with Dion, Layton, Duceppe AND May in the same room), that Harper looks into the camera a la Jim Helpert of The Office with a look of “What am I supposed to do with this?!?”.

That’s what I want out of these debates.

Dion stated he’s ready to become PM and he’s going to show that to Canadians during the debates.

So in order to accomplish that, he’d have to serious brush up on the following areas before the French debate on Wednesday:

1. The Economy (uh, might as well start from the beginning: “An economy is the realized social system of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area.”) 
2. The Environment (why don’t you fight pollution rather than some plant feeding odourless gas)
3. Foreign Policy (nuff said)
4. Reading the Canadian people (“It’s the Economy, Stupid!”)
5. Democracy (Teaming up with Lizzy May and not running candidates in each other’s riding, then getting in bed with the strategic voting crowd is NOT democratic)
6. English (you have an extra day for this one, only due on Thursday)

Layton revealed his feel good platform. It’ll make everyone, except for those nasty corporations, happy! He’ll take the feel good money from those nasty corporations and put it on your kitchen table. Yay. Raising corporate taxes. Yes, nothing says “buy our cheap products” than higher corporate taxes.

“Now is not the time to do something new, wild or stupid” (Stephen Harper).

Dion finally gets it: it’s all about the economy. A full 18 days AFTER Harper started talking about the economy, Dion is finally on the same page, and then has the audacity to say “It’s the economy, ” [waives hands] “Stephen”. Is this guy not embarrassed? Who does he think he’s fooling?

Jackie proposes a brand new, expensive to run, Ministry of Consumer Affairs. Is this what Harper means when he says “new, wild and stupid”?

Five Ottawa Liberal candidates ganged up on Ottawa-West candidate John Baird yesterday, saying he meddled in municipal affairs by intervening in the Light Rail project. They say the Federal Government should not meddle in municipal affairs, and then, in an ironic twist, proceeded by laying out THEIR terms for the Ottawa Light Rail project.

Another good day for conservatives: a great economic speech by Harper, an embarrassing moment for Dion, Layton talks kitchen tables, Gilles stands by his “fresh meat” comment, and May hasn’t been heard from.