The coalition is a go!
Although you have to wonder about the NDP not getting either deputy-PM or Finance (I didn’t think we needed finance but neither?) and that we only got 25% of the seats on the new cabinet.
Nevertheless, this is exciting news for progressive Canadians. And for the rest of you: No election for 30 months (2.5 years) – unless the Bloc take a chance. Also, it’s still not clear who’s going to be PM, but it’ll definitely be a Liberal.
For the short term, I believe (and I’m not the only one) that what Canada needs is a coalition government, that’s willing to govern.
That government clearly isn’t Mr. Harper’s minority, so it’s time for Jack and Stephane to put aside their (major) differences and work through the current crisis.
At the very least, this also gives the NDP a good chance to push for electoral reform including proportional representation.
Finally, I’ll be at the New Democrat Youth of Alberta conference tomorrow, which will feature Linda Duncan, who would make a fine environment minister, and will report any of her opinions on the current boiling pot that has become Canadian politics.
Sign the Progressive Coalition Petition and the Open Letter to Layton and Dion
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This is a few days old, but Edmonton-Stratchona residents who voted for Linda Duncan can be proud of her opening speech in parliament:
After Flaherty and the Conservatives attempted to screw the rest of the parties rather than work together and avert the economic crisis with their recent financial update, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc are agreeing to the following statement:
In light of the government’s failure to recognize the seriousness of Canada’s economic situation and its failure in particular to present any credible plan to stimulate the Canadian economy and to help workers and businesses in hard-pressed sectors such as manufacturing, the automotive industry and forestry, this House has lost confidence in this government and is of the opinion that a viable alternative government can be formed within the present House of Commons.
It looks like a big non-confidence vote only a few weeks after an election, however due to quirks in Canadian politics, we won’t have to go to the polls and the NDP-Bloc-Liberals will replace the Conservatives with a coalition government.
This is a very interesting time to be a Canadian political junky.
It seems I beat the Edmonton Journal to the punch. Their newest editorial calls on Canadian innovation in green vehicles to reshape the auto industry. Sounds familiar.
Again, showing that neo-cons have no economic knowledge, Obama has announced that to try to afford these giant bailouts, he will be instituting a series of spending cuts across the board.
Want something that doesn’t really need funding in the USA?
The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives eats a whopping $2 billion for prostylization of the disadvantaged.
It’s not on the order of the $1 trillion dollar deficit he’s faced with, but every little bit counts.
Actually, my serious hope is that research, education, and health care don’t feel any pressure in the USA (except perhaps the school voucher scam). It’s not easy to inherit the worst economic situation the US has seen in decades, but hopefully the right action is taken.
You probably know by now that The “Big 3″ American auto companies want money. Actually, they want a lot of money. Guess they’re jealous of the banks?
Now, it’s easy and quick to find opinions saying “let them die” or just plain no’s. But I don’t think it’s a simple issue.
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My Philosophy of Space and Time class is winding down, and I have a week now to think up and write my 3000 word final essay. One of the potential topics is time travel.
Now in class we figure that any “second chance” time travel is logically impossible (assuming one timeline) because it will create logical contradictions (the grandfather paradox), and that’s just not cool.
This is disappointing though. I mean, what’s the fun of time travel if you can’t do it, or if you can that you can’t change anything?
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Perhaps Harper needs to go back to school and learn some more economics. Lowering taxes and raising spending, while entering a recession, is not the best time to promise that you won’t go into a deficit.
For some reason, people still think neo-cons know something about economics. They don’t. They know about giving money to big business and big religion.
From the Globe and Mail (emphasis added):
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I wince subtly whenever I hear someone say that nuclear power is dangerous. The last major nuclear disaster was 22 years ago. It was a poorly designed, poorly built and poorly managed plant. Saying that nuclear power is dangerous because of Chernobyl is like saying cars are dangerous because you can be thrown through the windshield in a crash. The issue is moot. Continue reading