Time Heals All Wounds

Today, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney spoke in Windsor on the state of Canada's economy and made his predictions for the future. The outlook seems that the economy will remain at a crawl, for the time being, with gradual growth.

Still recovering from the recession, growth will not come easily in Canada, due to the fact that our economy is tied heavily to other nations, especially the United States. The U.S. is also trying to recover from the past recession, and the results have hurt the more stable Canadian economy. This is due in large part to the decline in exports making their way to the U.S. because Americans are reluctant to pay for unnecessary items in fear of a, "double-dip," recession. Therefore sales are on a downward trend.  Carney had this to say on the foreign markets, "During this period of adjustments, we should expect subdued growth in major advanced economies."

Back in Canada, the GDP, has fallen for the first time in over a year this past July by 0.1%. It does not seem like a huge fall but the worrisome part is the lack of growth of the economy. In an age where job opportunities are shrinking, as small and large businesses downsize or fold up completely, there is a cause for concern. Carney also hopes that the "average amount of hours worked [by Canadians] will return to its trend, but only very gradually." However, "the unusual uncertainty surrounding the outlook, warrants caution."

With unemployment starting to become an issue for more Canadians, those with jobs will soon be facing a hike in their employment insurance (EI) premiums. However, the federal government is recognizing that Canadians are not bursting at the seems with cash these days. In light of this, Financial Minister Jim Flaherty has announced the recent increase will be slightly scaled back. No longer will Canadians be expected to pay 15 cents extra on every $100 instead the hike will be reduced to 5 cents. Canadians across the nation are pinching pennies as it is and money seems to always be tight. Although this is a small increase, over time, will EI premiums, ironically, be a factor that sends Canadians to the unemployment line?
Further Reading:

• Mark Carney warns of 'modest' growth (theglobeandmail.com)
• Feds Scale back EI Premiums Hike (yahoo news)

Census vote!

The House of Commons will vote on a motion to call on the Government to reinstate the long form census, about 40 minutes from now. It is known that the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc will all support the motion, with the Conservatives likely voting against it.

At this point it is very likely that the motion will pass, however it is important to note that the motion is not binding. Because the census falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal government, it is not up to the House to control the census. All MPs can do is ask the Government, on behalf of the Canadian people, to reinstate the census. Harper's response: no. It is highly unlikely that the government will change their mind.

I was considering live blogging the vote, but I don't think it is really necessary since it is just a vote, and we essentially know which way everyone will vote.

As a side note, I will be live blogging David Johnston's swearing in ceremony on Friday, so check back then!

More information:

• Liberals move to reinstate long-form census (cbc.ca)
• Tories haul out 'coalition' label in census spat with opposition (theglobeandmail.com)
• Ontario, Quebec want long-form census reinstated 'as soon as possible' (theglobeandmail.com)

Putting the registry in perspective

Conservatives, and many other Canadians, are upset about Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's decision to force his MPs to save the gun registry, but Liberal MP Scott Simms really put it in perspective today.

Simms was one of the eight Liberal MPs that voted in favour of scrapping the registry at second reading, but he has now told his colleagues that he has changed his mind, not only because Ignatieff ordered him too, but for his own personal reasons too.

Simms father, Reginald Simms, took his own life with a long gun in June of this year, prompting his son to change his vote, stating that even if the registry saves only one life, it will be worth it.

Simms has more than his father to think, he also stated that after the second reading he looked up into the gallery and saw a woman crying. He mouthed the words, "I'm sorry" to her, and now he plans to make good on his "mistake." It is believed that the woman in the gallery was Suzanne Laplante-Edwards, the mother of a girl killed in the L'Ecole Polytechnique massacre. It is unclear whether she will be in the gallery tonight.

Simms wasn't the only MP to change his mind for this reason. Liberal MP Michelle Simpson tweeted that a "Newfoundland colleague" put the registry in "unprecedented perspective."

With all Liberal MPs voting to save the registry, the Bloc voting to save the registry, and the NDP stating that they have "enough" MPs to save the registry, it looks like the Conservatives will lose the vote, and the registry will stand to live another parliamentary session.

More at the Toronto Star.

Liveblogging Question Period

Liveblog of Question Period! Watch it live on CPAC or ParlView!

McGuinty: A Product of Technology

Too bad no one was paying attention, after all they were probably too busy on social network sites reporting that he was about to make a comment. All the while missing the big picture entirely. The result ultimately trickles down to the youth of today's technological society in this global village we call Earth.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, made headlines and caused new heated debates across the province when he made some comments about technology in classrooms. To put it simply, he is in favour of having students being able to use cellphones in the classroom. The premier was quoted in a Toronto Star article stating, "Telephones and Blackberries and the like are conduits for information today [...] and one of the things that we want our students to do is to be well informed. It is something we should be looking at in our schools."

This comment lead to a flurry of reports and opinion pieces being published over the past day or so. Most of which condemn the idea of the use of cellphones in the classroom and rightfully so. As a teacher to be, here at Nipissing University, and only being a couple of years removed from high school, this idea seems to invoke more harm than good into the education system. Sure McGuinty has good intentions by seeing the positives that could come out of this, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions and hell is exactly where the provinces educational system is heading if this comes to fruition. Students even now, when some schools have banned personal electronics altogether, are still caught texting under their desks. The idea to incorporate cellphones into classrooms just opens up more opportunities for students to be distracted.

There is no doubt that we are in an age of technology, and that technology is, and will continue to be at the heart of society. However, we are also in an age of socially inept people who would rather sit in front of a computer screen than have a conversation with a person. With that, as a society, we lose that emotional connect and human contact we need to survive as a proper functioning community. We become more like robots than humans as the social experience becomes more habitually faceless. I do not condemn technology and social networking and in fact I embrace its simplicity and ease of use but where do we draw the line and teach the new generations that there is a reason for paying attention to one thing at a time

McGuinty is obviously not in sync with many new educational studies that relate to multitasking and social networking. One such study basically states, that we are losing the ability to think critically and tend to produce a lower quality of work. A news report on this study can be found here. So while we are tempted to use the ease of technology to help students learn we are just classically enabling them, so they cannot think for themselves. Technology has a place in the classroom but has to be used quite sparingly and effectively in order to work properly.

Therefore, the Premier should get off his Blackberry once in awhile and look at the world around him. I bet he would be surprised to see what he has overlooked or missed while he was on his phone.

More Sports Talk in Quebec Politics

After reading an interesting article over on cbc.ca, it is interesting to note how much sports coverage is taking place at Parliament Hill these days and across many provincial political arenas. Oddly enough there have been a few stories on sports news channels these past couple of weeks that seemed more like parliamentary debates than that of the news surrounding current sports teams and leagues.

The aforementioned article points to the PMO and its comments towards Bloc Quebecois leader (provincially) Pauline Marois. The latter mentioned that she would like to see the Montreal Canadiens incorporate more Francophone players into their lineup. To which the Prime Minister responded that even though the team is one that unites almost all Quebecors it really should stay out of the political light and simply be left alone.

This story comes on the heels of a debate (which is still ongoing but has simmered for now) of federal funding for a new arena in Quebec City, which has been speculated to be built in an effort to attract an NHL team. Instantly a revive the Nordiques campaign started in not only the streets but in the political offices as well, as many MPs gathered and had photos taken wearing the vintage sweater.

While it is true that hockey is Canada's national pastime and regarded as a sacred institution in not only Quebec but across the nation, but where should the line be drawn between sports and politics. It seems one side already has drawn the line far away but the other just will not stay on its own side. Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson stated following the most current incident, "We are in the hockey business and not into politics [...] I can tell you that we don't talk about politics in the dressing room."


So while Marious comments to the media stating the Habs are, "a symbol of our pride to succeed in this sports, and I think that Quebecors would like to have more Francophones in this team." most people including Harper, don't think that is the case, or like Geoff Molson, don't care. The result is a lot of people changing the channel on their television and switching pages in their newspaper to the sports section, where the real news and commentary about sports remains. Thus, leaving the politicians to once again return to what they are suppose to care about; that is running this country and/or its provinces and territories.

Tories take lead, or statistical anomaly?

The latest EKOS poll, released to the CBC, show that the Conservatives are holding a 32.4% lead, with the Liberals at 28.9%. The NDP are holding 16.6% support, while the Green Party maintains 10.7% and the Bloc are at 8.9%.

Normally, the statistics would suggest that the Conservative have a minor lead of 3-4%. However, if we take a look at the data from the past few weeks, we see that the data could be telling a different story.

The data from September 2 suggests that the Conservatives have 29.4% of the vote, while the Liberals have 29.1% of the vote. Even without the margin of error, the two parties were in a virtual tie.

The data from August 19 suggests that the Conservatives would win 32.5% of the vote, while the Liberals would win 27.9% of the vote. The 5% tory lead is barely statistically significant, and should thus be noted as relatively close to that of a tie.

Now, if we take a look at this weeks data, we see that there is perhaps another possibility. Because the difference is within the margin of error, it is fairly difficult for us to be sure that the Conservatives are in the lead. Perhaps they are, or perhaps the parties are still in a tie. The data speaks differently to each party, and is much too close to state that the Conservatives are gaining ground again.

Chart from CBC.

Layton Exercises Proper Politics

Jack Layton has his own views on politics like anyone else, and sure perhaps his opinion is regarded a little more than the average person, but he is the leader of the NDP so it makes sense. As the leader of one of the major political parties in Canada he has had to make many tough decisions along with the rest of the MPs that sit in the House of Commons. When it comes to being the head of the party, that adds extra stress and pressure to guide the party in the proper direction when it comes to the views of its members. Sometimes that means keeping your own views in check and allowing democracy and politics just to flow naturally.

A perfect example of this, is the position Layton is taking on the issue of the gun registry; allowing the members of his party to vote freely based on their own views. Despite having conflicting views with many members within his own party, he is not demanding all NDP MPs vote with him in a whip vote. Instead he allowing the process of democracy to take place freely and without constraint. This move has come under fire by many pundits and politicians such as Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff who stated, "Now they're [the NDP] are lined up with Stephen Harper against the police." Layton however, agrees with Ignatieff's stance on the gun registry and wants to save the program. Layton believes that the gun registry is not without its flaws and that needs to be addressed. He wants the registry to, "work for everybody," and the first step is not, "fix[ing] it by getting rid of it."

Despite allowing his party to vote freely on the issue, Jack Layton still plans on making his pitch to his MPs in hope that they follow his stance. The members of the NDP will not be punished if they decided to vote opposite of their leader. If anything, it shows that they have a spine and stand up for what they believe in, something lacking amongst individual politicians in this era. Instead of representing what the leader may believe, they go on their own belief by representing their riding like they were elected to do. This is an example of Real Canadian Politics.

Qur'an burning unites all - UPDATED

There are only a handful of occasions that unites all political parties in Canada. Death, terrorism, national sports, and holidays are among the most common of these occasions. The burning of a book of faith can now be added to that list.


All political parties in both Canada and the US have denounced the burning as a "despicable, disgraceful" act, and many top political and military leaders have expressed concerns over the repercussions of the burning.


The top NATO commander in Afghanistan has warned that the burning could have negative effects on the mission as the Taliban could have an easier time recruiting new troops.


Prime Minister Harper, who doesn't speak often on religion, had this to say, "I don't speak very often about my own religion but let me be very clear: My God and my Christ is a tolerant God, and that's what we want to see in this world." Michael Ignatieff says, "It has been rightly denounced by the American President and by the Secretary of State as a despicable, disgraceful act, and one that runs counter to the sense of mutual respect and tolerance that are the core foundations of all faiths."


We at Real Canadian Politics have to agree with our political leaders in this matter. The Qur'an is a book of faith, much like The Bible. There are a lot of people in the Muslim faith that are not radicals and do not agree with terrorism, and they should not be punished for the actions of others. 


Update


Earlier this evening, Terry Jones announced that he had come to a deal with the New York Islam group responsible for building the ground zero Mosque. He stated that his Qur'an burning event was cancelled, and in exchange the Mosque would be moved to a different location.


He later retracted the statement, alleging that he had been lied too about the relocation of the Mosque. He is now saying that the event is suspended, but not cancelled.

Claude Bechard Passes Away

Former Quebec Liberal Cabinet Minister, Claude Bechard, has passed away at the age of 41 after losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. Mr. Bechard had just stepped down from his post as a cabinet minister hours before the tragic occurrence. He was a politician with very high potential at the age of 41, he was seen as a possible successor to current Quebec Premier Jean Charest. As a good friend of Premier Charest and a loyal and respected member to the Liberal Party of Quebec, he will surely be missed. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cancer-stricken Quebec minister quits politics (theglobeandmail.com)
• Béchard quits politics as cancer worsens (cbc.ca)

The Love of the Game or the Love of Votes?

                                Image via Wikipedia
Today, controversy surrounds PM Stephen Harper as rumors are circulating in Ottawa about the federal government possibly giving the province of Quebec money to build a new arena in Quebec City. The debate will rage on, as many people doubt that taxpayer money should not be spent on private commercial industries. However it is clear that the Conservatives would love to increase their approval rating in Quebec, as would all the other parties. Is this a case of trying to buy off Quebec in exchange for votes or will it be Harper's love of the sport that drives his actions? Either way, nothing is imminent on the front of moving a NHL franchise back to Quebec City and it would be a long process in order to do so. It can be concluded though, that as the approval rating for Conservatives has the potential to rise amongst Nordiques fans it could drop amongst fans of the Montreal Canadiens.

Taxpayers may be torn across the nation. Should taxpayer money be used to help build this arena. Many hockey fans would love to see a seventh team in Canada in the modern NHL. With rumors of moves back to Winnipeg and Hamilton in recent years to go along with the rumors of the Quebec City return, many Canadians have flirted with the idea. One thing remains clear: Canada deserves another NHL team. Although at what cost are Canadians willing to pay for the team.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Quebec City inches closer to Nordiques rebirth (canada.com)
• Duceppe wants Harper to back arena plan (cbc.ca)
• Is Quebec City a viable NHL market? (tsn.ca)

Ignatieff appoints new House leader

We're back everyone! We have been extremely busy these last few days but we are back for good now!


In political news today, a rather exciting day considering we are still in the summer session. The Liberal Party has released a statement announcing Ralph Goodale's replacement. David McGuinty, brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, will take the position this fall when Ralph Goodale is promoted to Deputy Leader of the party.


This may sound like pretty standard news, unless you recall that the Conservatives have chosen John Baird to replace Jay Hill as their House leader. John Baird is a seemingly hard enough man to get along with, and now we have McGuinty who already has a history with Baird.


Both men are from Ottawa, and McGuinty served as Environment critic when Baird held the Environment portfolio. McGuinty's Premier brother also had several conflicts with Baird when he still served in former Ontario Premier Mike Harris' cabinet.


Also, at the municipal level, McGuinty backed former Ottawa mayor Bob Chiarelli, who was defeated by incumbent Larry O'Brien, who had Conservative support. Chiarelli is now a member of Dalton McGuinty's provincial cabinet, after winning a provincial by-election. The two also had opposing viewpoints over a proposed light rail link in Ottawa.


With these changes in the Liberal party comes MP Justin Trudeau's promotion to Citizenship and Immigration critic! 


These changes will undoubtedly create even more tension in the House, as we hurtle dangerously close to an election.

Short Leave

As many of our regular readers may have noticed, we haven't posted any new articles lately. This is a very busy time for Chad and I as we prepare to move to our new apartment/headquarter in North Bay, Ontario.

Although posting has been light lately, and will likely be non-existent over the next few days, you may rest assured that Real Canadian Politics will resume after the long weekend.

Follow The CBC's political coverage for political news until we return!

Thanks for your understanding, have a great long weekend, and we'll be back in a few days!