Coalition Deal To Topple Minority Tory Govt- [Update Parliament Prorogued until Jan]

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Fair enough. It's sort of a philosophical question with good arguments for and against I'm sure.

The best answer right now is "WHO CARES?".

30 million bucks is nothing. It's a dollar for everyone. It's a hundred yards of some freeway in Toronto. It changes nothing. It's an insignificant amount of money that should not be bringing the whole goddamn works to a grinding halt as the bad news piles higher and higher.

Stupid-ass Harper couldn't have picked a worse time to pull this petty stunt. A couple years ago would have been the time to get into it. Even a year ago. If he didn't see this reaction coming, he should have. Whether or not they deserve the money, the Liberals and the NDP were not going to watch themselves be essentially bankrupted. They just weren't. We all know it.

It's a bad move and he should have seen it coming. The other clowns should have backed off when he did.

They all look terrible now. Every last one of them.

Agreed. They all look like buffoons in this debacle. I just wanted to gain a better understanding of how a cut of tax payer funding could get us to this point. I'm honestly quite shocked that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc would essentially be bankrupt if public funding was cut. Such a thing never occurred to me. Thanks to some answers from other posters, I now have a better understanding of the situation.

[Rerun]

It still burns my but to know that my tax dollars, in the form of $1.95 per vote, are going to a party who's primary purpose is the destruction of Canada. I think political parties should be more self-sufficient and get off the public dole.

I think that Harper should submit a revised plan in the January budget.

$1.00 for every vote, and to be eligeable to collect, the party has to get at least 10% of the popular vote. $1.95 is too high and 5% is too low.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Rerun

It still burns my but to know that my tax dollars, in the form of $1.95 per vote, are going to a party who's primary purpose is the destruction of Canada. I think political parties should be more self-sufficient and get off the public dole.

I think that Harper should submit a revised plan in the January budget.

$1.00 for every vote, and to be eligeable to collect, the party has to get at least 10% of the popular vote. $1.95 is too high and 5% is too low.

You can't say MY tax dollars. They're everyone's tax dollars, even the people who vote for the Bloc. That's the whole point of the per vote subsidy. You can determine who your share goes to by voting for them. Otherwise, the subsidies only go to whomever collects the most from private donations through tax deductions. I think that's even less fair.

Using your logic, why should taxpayers subsidize private citizens' campaign contributions? If some guy wants to donate $1000 to the Conservative Party that's fine, but why should he get a tax break for doing so? Unfortunately, the Conservative wasn't looking to remove all subsidies, just the ones that benefited their opponents more.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Using your logic, why should taxpayers subsidize private citizens' campaign contributions? If some guy wants to donate $1000 to the Conservative Party that's fine, but why should he get a tax break for doing so?

Good point. I agree with you. People shouldn't get a tax right off for political donations.

[First Lady]

[metallicat]

So is anyone here attending the anti-coalition rally tomorrow? My hotel in Calgary last night was right across the street from the pro rally. I considered going over to cause a ruckus, but thought better of it.

[CaptainCrunch]

I'm going to the rally tomorrow.

[Resolute 14]

I'll probably be about as well.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Krack Korn

Agreed. They all look like buffoons in this debacle. I just wanted to gain a better understanding of how a cut of tax payer funding could get us to this point. I'm honestly quite shocked that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc would essentially be bankrupt if public funding was cut. Such a thing never occurred to me. Thanks to some answers from other posters, I now have a better understanding of the situation.

The media sure likes to try and make it look like a public funding issue, but it was much more than that. As mentioned earlier, there was also the right-to-strike and removal of the pay equity program that had the opposition up in arms.

And the even bigger issue was how Harper was basically trying to use bully tactics to rule like he had a majority. What would it say about our democratic process if our minority government was able to pass whatever they wanted because the opposition couldn't financially afford to oppose anything?

It was much more than just a public funding issue.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

And the even bigger issue was how Harper was basically trying to use bully tactics to rule like he had a majority.

You mean how he proposed something, the opposition rejected it, and so it was removed?

It certainly was a move of political opportunism, even if it is the right thing to do, imo. But once it was removed, the opposition should have claimed victory and moved on.

Harper overplayed his hand, and lost. Now the opposition is doing the same, and may lose worse.

[Resolute 14]

[Resolute 14]

[C_Rush]

nm

[FlamesAddiction]

I like the sign with the poem.. it's pretty witty. Don't agree with people using their children to make politcal statements though. I doubt that girl understands enough about politics to form an opinion.

[calculoso]

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I like the sign with the poem.. it's pretty witty. Don't agree with people using their children to make politcal statements though. I doubt that girl understands enough about politics to form an opinion.

She can't know any less than the people with communism and tyranny signs.

[First Lady]

More cracks appearing as another Liberal MP speaks out.

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/mps-divided/#clip119396

[kermitology]

Global news BC just had three MPs on the show. 1 CPC, 1 Liberal, 1 NDP.

The Liberal and NDP avoided every single question asked, and the best part was the NDP MP who was asked, do you still support Stephane Dion as the leader of your coalition? "I'm not a Liberal"

Duurrrr...

[Dion_Iggy_Kipper!!!]

I'm in a finacial services class, and there are about 26 people in the class, our economics teacher asked us who would support a coalition gov't. Out of 26 people, no one raised their hands. She then asked that if there was an election then, do you think Harper would get a majority gov't, I think about 23 people raised their hands. It was funny, nearly the whole class thought the same thing, that never happens in the class I'm in.

[browna]

Well, looks like its to be Ignatieff
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...rals-dion.html

These are the same Liberals that hoped to have Dion in there as PM with a vote tomorrow, if Harper had kept Parliment alive?

Makes more sense for the Liberals from the start to have a guy like this.

One almost wonders if that miscommunication with Dion's tape was semi-intentional, sincer Parliment was already done....as if you notice at the bottom of the article, they are quoting Liberals who are throwing him under the bus for him and "his team" in that "snafu" (btw a great game for the old Intellivision). Thus, the new leader can distance himself from Dion and use that as a valid reason as why they are replacing him.