Federal Election Called for Oct 19, 2015

[Regorium]

We had a discussion about climate change and McQuaid like 10 pages back, and I basically said exactly what this author writes.

http://news.nationalpost.com/full-co...-in-the-ground

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Lchoy

Not sure to put this here, or in the polling thread.

The National Post has an interactive map of the Ridings, and how closely contested they were in the last election.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/where-your-vote-really-counts-check-out-the-closest-races-and-safest-seats-from-2011-with-our-interactive-map

Very cool, I'm adding this to the first post of the 'polling' thread.

[Incogneto]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Unless you're someone who's spent considerable time working in politics, it's a pretty safe bet my level of political engagement from about age 14 on completely dwarfs most people's.

I'd take this challenge.

[rubecube]

This one looks pretty bad on both Harper and Mulcair, IMO. Probably looks worse on Mulcair because you'd kind of expect Harper to not care about this debate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08...cahpmg00000001

Thomas Mulcair’s decision to drop out of a debate about women’s issues forced organizers to pull the plug on the event entirely on Monday.

Over 50,000 Canadians had signed a petition supporting an “Up for Debate” proposal to hold a federal leaders’ debate focused on women’s issues. The campaign included backing from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Oxfam Canada.

According to iPolitics, the cancellation is due to the NDP leader pulling his participation after committing to it in November.

Mulcair's status comes weeks after his party released a shortlist of the debates he would participate in, but Up for Debate did not make the cut.

On July 30, the NDP announced Mulcair would not participate in any debate that Conservative Leader Stephen Harper didn't attend. Harper never agreed to the women's debate.

The NDP leader had earlier been adamant that there be a designated leaders debate to address concerns around gender equality.

“I believe I’m the only leader of a recognized party in Parliament to have said that I’m willing to participate in a debate on women’s issues,” he boasted to reporters on Feb. 25.

“I’d like to have a specific debate on women’s issues.”

[Incogneto]

I know it's Vice, but a very interesting read on on the media secrecy that surrounds Stephen Harper and the Cons party.

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/if-we...is-party-78000

Honestly, it is stuff like this that makes a long term conservative like me vow to never vote for Harper. I will be voting Liberal.

[octothorp]

Yeah, I see that as being worse for Mulcair than Harper, as voters who vote with women's issues at the forefront of their mind are more likely to be on the left side of the spectrum than the right (I assume... but I think that's a safe assumption?). More left-wing voters will move from Mulcair to Trudeau because of this, than from Harper to Trudeau.

I get the strategy though... in any debate with Harper, Harper's the guy with the target on his back, the other parties aren't attacking the NDP that hard. In a debate without Harper, Mulcair is going to be the target, instead, and there's little room for him to actually increase his edge in such a debate. It's just that in this particular debate, I don't see any issues that the NDP would get hammered on, so I don't see the risk in showing up.

[Coach]

Yeah, pretty disappointed in Mulcair on that one. I'd expect it from Harper, which IMO looks worse on him than anyone else, but it seems like a chance for Mulcair to come out with any and all jabs about the other leader(s) not attending something affecting 1/2 of our population. He's obviously just sticking to his guns about not participating if Harper's not (which I really don't understand anyway) but I'd much rather he stick to his guns on what he apparently wants to talk about rather than this petty "if he's not playing, neither am I!" BS.

Clean it up Mulcair.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by InCoGnEtO

I know it's Vice, but a very interesting read on on the media secrecy that surrounds Stephen Harper and the Cons party.

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/if-we...is-party-78000

Honestly, it is stuff like this that makes a long term conservative like me vow to never vote for Harper. I will be voting Liberal.

I think I'm with you on this one. And it's not like this is just new for campaign as the CPC has implemented this for Harper for years. It's just so soviet. Last election Davinder Shory came to my door to ask if I am voting for him and I told him "As long as Stephen Harper is your leader you will never get my vote, I will go and vote for myself to spoil my ballot". He was confused so I pointed out 5 things Harper had done prior to the previous election until he left.

[rubecube]

I think spoiling a ballot is the biggest waste of time ever.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by rubecube

This one looks pretty bad on both Harper and Mulcair, IMO. Probably looks worse on Mulcair because you'd kind of expect Harper to not care about this debate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08...cahpmg00000001

Seems like a short-sighted move by Muclair, one would think he could gain a lot of capital by going to the debate and then hammering Harper on "not caring about women" enough to attend

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Seems like a short-sighted move by Muclair, one would think he could gain a lot of capital by going to the debate and then hammering Harper on "not caring about women" enough to attend

Well I thought his whole refusing to attend any debates Harper wasn't at was short-sighted, but this one looks the worst by far. If I'm Trudeau, I start hammering both Harper and Mulcair for not caring about women.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I think spoiling a ballot is the biggest waste of time ever.

Yeah, more sybolic than anything. I usually watch question period every day and a few commitees here and there and I just couldn't stand the way the CPC have degraded into junior high bullies. They have gotten to the point where I won't even let my kids watch question period because the MPs are not anything close to a role model. How about governing like statesmen? I know crazy idea.

"can the honorable membor tell us about how awsome we are?"

"yes we really are awsome but these guys are evil because blah blah blah..."

That without even going into Rob Anders or any of the other blowhards who have been revolving through since 2004.

Even commitees have become so highly contentious where nothing of substance seems to come out of them. Even since the "how to disrupt commitees manual" was given out by Harper it's been getting worse and worse.

http://www.thestar.com/news/2007/05/...ok_leaked.html

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Well I thought his whole refusing to attend any debates Harper wasn't at was short-sighted, but this one looks the worst by far. If I'm Trudeau, I start hammering both Harper and Mulcair for not caring about women.

They are really leaving themselves exposed on this issue. And it is not like it is some fringe issue at all.

[killer_carlson]

Trudeau can't hammer away at that unless he was planning on being at the same debate.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Yeah, more sybolic than anything.

Yeah, the problem is it only ends up being symbolic to the person who spoils their ballot. Elections Canada just tracks it as a spoiled ballot, which can mean any number of things. It's not like they take a record of which ones had nasty things written on them, were intentionally spoiled, etc. IMO, you're better off just tossing your vote at a fringe party because at least it chips them a couple bucks.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Trudeau can't hammer away at that unless he was planning on being at the same debate.

It's in the article.

Justin TrudeauVerified account
‏@JustinTrudeau Justin Trudeau retweeted iPolitics
I was looking forward to this debate. Very disappointed it had to be cancelled.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, the problem is it only ends up being symbolic to the person who spoils their ballot. Elections Canada just tracks it as a spoiled ballot, which can mean any number of things. It's not like they take a record of which ones had nasty things written on them, were intentionally spoiled, etc. IMO, you're better off just tossing your vote at a fringe party because at least it chips them a couple bucks.

Didn't want to give any more money to a random fringe party. Besides I went during the day and it took 5 minutes. Voted for myself.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by rubecube

It's in the article.

Justin TrudeauVerified account
‏@JustinTrudeau Justin Trudeau retweeted iPolitics
I was looking forward to this debate. Very disappointed it had to be cancelled.

I keep hearing Kanye in my head

"Harper and Mulcair don't care about women"

Now run those ads.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Didn't want to give any more money to a random fringe party. Besides I went during the day and it took 5 minutes. Voted for myself.

I like giving the fringe parties some money just for the sake of pluralism, but it's all personal preference.

[rubecube]

Any of the O&G crowd want to weigh in on this? I'd heard the for the discrepancy is because the price of gas is set based on the costs associated with refining and not the cost of the oil itself, and that creates a bit of a lag between prices at the pump and barrel prices.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08...n_8006212.html

SAINT-JEROME, Que. — Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe called on the federal Competition Bureau on Tuesday to look into the price of gas at the pumps.

"On the one hand, the (price) of a barrel of crude oil drops, on the other side, gasoline increases," he said while campaigning in the Laurentians north of Montreal.

"Everyone knows there's something that's not working."

The Bloc leader said the falling Canadian dollar doesn't explain everything.

"You just have to look at the refining margins to see where the problem is," he said, referring to the difference between the wholesale value of the oil products a refinery makes and the value of the crude oil used to make them.

Duceppe urged the Competition Bureau to look at the practices of large oil companies, which he accused of gouging consumers.[/quote]