Monthly Archives: October 2007
Votes at Risk in Rural Canada
| 10/24/2007 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
There are about 1 million Canadians who use a post office box as their primary
mailing address. I happen to be one of them. Under the changes to the Elections Act passed last summer I have to either show up at the poll with photo ID or two pieces of identification, one of which shows my civic address. A post office box is not acceptable.
Now that would seem pretty easily resolved, use your drivers license, except licenses can show a post office box as your address. Now the license isn’t acceptable. While Elections Canada estimates that only about 150,000 Ontarians are impacted by this change in the law, in some areas of the country like the far north as many as 80% could be refused their right to vote.
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Afghan Poll Shows Foreign Troops Welcome
| 10/19/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan |
A public opinion poll was carried out in Afghanistan in September. Now, that is a pretty run of the mill matter in Canada, we get inundated with phone calls for polls for one thing or another on a regular basis. In Afghanistan there are no large scale databases to randomly survey the population and often no phones or lines to call people on if there was. Then there are the cultural issues, like women need to talk to women and men to men. One tribe wont always respond to another and so on. (more…)
The Truth About Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
| 10/15/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan |
A column in today’s Edmonton Sun is one of the best ones I’ve read about Afghanistan and Canada’s role there. The writer, Michael den Tandt, explores the non-combat roles that the combat forces enable in Afghanistan as well as why the Canadian public is not more aware of those roles.
One would think that the Harper boys would want as much non-combat information as possible to get to the Canadian public. It is in understanding what the fight to establish security enables that allows understanding of why we have troops in Afghanistan fighting in the volatile south.
Chretien Attacks Martin in His Book
| 10/13/2007 | Posted by Patti under General |
Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien has come out swinging at former Prime Minister Paul Martin in his newly released book, “My Years as Prime Minister”. The two men at one time appeared to form a powerful pair in Ottawa during Chretien’s time in office. Martin as finance minister won international respect for making hard decisions which brought Canada’s soaring deficit under control and in recent years has produced surpluses. Chretien as Prime Minister backed his finance minister’s moves.
As Martin’s leadership ambitions grew, friction developed between the two. The friction ripped a gapping hole in the fabric of the Liberal party, one that is not yet repaired. By all appearances the faces may have changed in the party but the dynamics established by Chretien and Martin appear to be continuing. The rivalry and infighting which the war produced played almost as much of a role in the defeat of the Liberals under Martin as the stink of the sponsorship scandal which had been transferred from Chretien to Martin. (more…)
Harper Appoints Afghanistan Panel
| 10/12/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan, Canadian Politics |
In a shrewd, albeit calculating, move on Friday Harper appointed a five person panel to explore our future role in Afghanistan at the end of the current February 2009 mission mandate. The panel is to be headed up by John Manley, former deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs during Jean Chretien’s time in office. While not officially in political life anymore, Manley remains a staunch Liberal.
Harper claims that his decision to appoint a panel to examine our role in Afghanistan is an attempt to remove the partisan politics from the issue. It’s a move that is not unwelcomed and is in all likelihood overdue. The opposition parties for the most part appear to have determined their stand on Afghanistan based on being opposed to Harper rather than what is good for Canada and our world commitments. (more…)
Ontario Elects Liberal Majority – MMP Defeated
| 10/11/2007 | Posted by Patti under Ontario Election |
Ontario has voted and returned the Liberals led by McGuinty to the Ontario Legislature. John Tory of the Conservatives went down to defeat not only from the position of Premier of the Province but failed to win in his own riding. One of the lowest voter turnout in Ontario’s history voted down the MMP referendum which I’m happy to see go down. I just wish that more Ontarians had felt the need to add their voice to the referendum.
Tory has said he’s going to stay on to serve the people of Ontario. I’m going to be rather surprised if his party will let him stay on. He managed to take an election that by all appearances was his to win and lose it over an issue which wasn’t even on the public radar going into the campaign — faith based school funding. It took some of his own candidates who were facing the barrages at the doors to revolt before he modified his stand to promising to allow a free vote. (more…)
Aid & Combat Interconnected in Afghanistan
| 10/10/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan |
In Afghanistan’s volatile south, where Canadian troops operate, aid and reconstruction can’t take place without the area being secured by troops who need to flush out and engage the Taliban. Ongoing security has to be provided before any aid groups can operate in these areas. The Taliban will infiltrate back to an area thought to be cleared and undertake a campaign of threats and harassment of aid workers, especially Afghani’s.
The commander of the Canadian task force, Brig-Gen Guy Laroche correctly points out that pulling troops out of the areas like the south will not lead to development and reconstruction, in fact it will end those activities. Please don’t try to feed me the line that it is time for another country to take a turn, to step up to the plate. Isn’t going to happen.
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Afghanistan Debate
| 10/8/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan |
I’m going to say right at the outset here. I support our troops and their mission in Afghanistan. I grow weary and increasingly disgusted by the politicalization of the mission. Politicians hunting for votes and talking points to oppose another party rather than truly hunting down what is the right thing to do.
As much as I hate the fact the clown is Prime Minister, the only one of the bunch that seems to be willing to say it is right for Canada to stay and finish the job is Harper. Dion and Layton’s parties both try to claim social justice as part of their reason to be yet both would see Canada abdicate from Afghanistan and allow the country to dissolve into chaos in the vacuum it would create. As for Duceppe, he heads up a party which takes treason to a whole new level so why would I give a damn what he thinks about anything Canada does.
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