The Good side of Harper

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
548
113
Vernon, B.C.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau

- destroyed the Canadian military

- greatly decreased our influence in the world (see above)

- started us down the road to massive debt

- gave us martial law, after two kidnappings

- began the uniquely Canadian habit of rule by OIC....bypassing Parliament, whom he refered to as "those nobodies"

- began the centralization of all power in the PM's office, making the nation an elected five year dictatorship (see above)

- repatriated the Constitution as a sop to his own ego...bypassing Quebec (and thus setting in motion subsequent unrest, culminating in the creation of the BQ, the near loss of the country in 1995) and including (at the behest of the Premiers) the "notwithstanding" clause, completely undermining the Charter (as shown by Quebec's use of same)

- took lying in elections to new lows (see the Wage and Price control thing, 1974)

- won the distrust of our allies

And that is just to start....I haven't even gotten into the idiocy of the failed policy of nation-wide bilingualism and Nanny-state control

The man was dangerous.....he killed Canada as we knew it.

In my mind Trudeau was the worst P.M. we ever had. Even worse than drunken old John A.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
I am not an idiot, I know the difference between a Parliamentary and Republican system

Colpy, it is Parliamentary and Presidential system, not Republican system.

In no other Parliament are MPs routinely punished for not voting with the gov't.

I don’t know what are the officially prescribed penalties. However, I lived in Britain for seven years, and it was extremely rare for an MP to vote against his party, even when it was not a confidence motion. In a Parliamentary system, it just isn’t done. The only time an MP would vote against his party is when MPs are specifically given the free vote on a particular issue.

And anyway, even if PET brought in any rules, those would be for Liberal party only, Conservatives can have their own rules. Why didn’t Mulroney permit more free votes? Why doesn’t Harper give permission to his MPs to vote against the government whenever they wish (except for the confidence vote)? How many Conservatives MPs do you see voting against the motions of their government? Very few, and if somebody does, he is kicked out of the caucus.

So don’t blame it on PET, that is the Parliamentary system. When I lived in Britain, I cannot even recall a handful of instances where an MP voted against his party (except when free vote was superficially granted).

In short, if PET brought in any rules, you have had two conservative PMs after that, either of them could easily have changed the rules.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
548
113
Vernon, B.C.
Sorry JLM, that is how life expectancy is always defined. The life expectancy calculated in this manner is used in many walks of life (e.g. deciding lei insurance premiums, retirement planning, calculating annuity payments etc.). Now, if you want to change the rules just for Liberals (thereby trying to portray Liberal achievement les than it really is),that is your business.

However, that is the figure of life expectancy, and you cannot deny the fact that during Liberal rule, life expectancy increased (well, perhaps you can, but that does not negate it).

I don't doubt for a second that you are entirely right, but it's still BULLSH*T.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
99
48
Alberta
That is your opinion, JLM, he continues to be popular in Ontario and Quebec (and justifiably so, in my opinion).

Kweebeck and Ontario will become less and less a factor in this country as the population shifts to the west. It will be a long, long time before the west ever elects Liberals in any great numbers and as the population shifts, any popularity PET had will wane. Most of the people that adore him are old anyway and will be gone in a few years.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
848
113
70
Saint John, N.B.
I am not an idiot, I know the difference between a Parliamentary and Republican system

Colpy, it is Parliamentary and Presidential system, not Republican system.




Wrong. The proper way to refer to the system is republican...........

Sorry, my BS meter is about to pop, so that's all you get tonight.

BTW, I have a degree with majors in History and Poly Sci........it is "republican".

Republicanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

mt_pockets1000

Council Member
Jun 22, 2006
1,292
29
48
Edmonton
Kweebeck and Ontario will become less and less a factor in this country as the population shifts to the west. It will be a long, long time before the west ever elects Liberals in any great numbers and as the population shifts, any popularity PET had will wane. Most of the people that adore him are old anyway and will be gone in a few years.
If the population shifts from the east to the west as you say, that could undermine the strong conservative leanings out here. Most of the transients will be coming from a liberal environment and they'll be taking that bias with them. You don't suddenly become a conservative once you cross the Manitoba border. Nor do you have to follow the western philosophy just because you live here.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario


Wrong. The proper way to refer to the system is republican...........

Sorry, my BS meter is about to pop, so that's all you get tonight.

BTW, I have a degree with majors in History and Poly Sci........it is "republican".

Republicanism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

let us just agree to disagree on this. You say 'Republican', I say 'Presidential', let us leave it at that. We both could be right, I don't know.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
If the population shifts from the east to the west as you say, that could undermine the strong conservative leanings out here. Most of the transients will be coming from a liberal environment and they'll be taking that bias with them. You don't suddenly become a conservative once you cross the Manitoba border. Nor do you have to follow the western philosophy just because you live here.


It has already happened in USA. States such as Virginia, North Carolina, which were once solidly Republican, are tending more and more to the Democratic side.

Not only Obama carried both of them (normally they would be expected to go Republican, Gore and Kerry didn’t carry either), but even at the Senate level, Governor level etc., Democrats are winning more and more. That is bad news for conservatives.

So yes, the migration is already changing the political map of USA.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
let us just agree to disagree on this. You say 'Republican', I say 'Presidential', let us leave it at that. We both could be right, I don't know.

Colpy, Google for ‘presidential democracy’ or ‘presidential system’, you will find a whole bunch of websites describing the American system.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
Mt_pockets1000, I thought of even a more striking example, California. California used to be reliable Republican state. It voted twice for Nixon, then for Ford, then twice for Reagan, then once for Bush.

But in 1992 there were enough immigrants (mostly Hispanics) to turn the state around from reliably Republican to reliably Democratic. It has consistently voted Democratic since 1992.

In the 70s when I lived in USA, a prominent Republican, Hayakawa, defeated the incumbent senator in California, John Tunney. After that Hayakawa was California Senator for a long time.

But I think he was the last Republican from California. California has not had a Republican senator for a long time now.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
75,301
548
113
Vernon, B.C.
Kweebeck and Ontario will become less and less a factor in this country as the population shifts to the west. It will be a long, long time before the west ever elects Liberals in any great numbers and as the population shifts, any popularity PET had will wane. Most of the people that adore him are old anyway and will be gone in a few years.

Before I go any further I would say performancewise, Libs and Cons. over the years are in a dead heat- like Tweedledee and Tweedledumb. As far as Trudeau goes the following goes without saying, he was arrogant, he was an intellectual in the academic sense of the word, but who's to say he had common sense? He ran up a huge debt to the tune of about $400 billion and he brought down a document, that gave some people more rights- a lot of the wrong people in my view. He squandered $millions switching over to metric and he gave someone in Salmon Arm B.C. the finger. If all that makes him "great" so be it.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
he brought down a document, that gave some people more rights- a lot of the wrong people in my view.

Indeed, JLM. He gave rights to minorities. Now, those may be wrong people in your opinion (women working outside home, gays etc.), but to me, they are not. They deserve fully as many rights as heterosexual white males (like you or I) and I for one, am proud that Trudeau guaranteed equal rights to minorities such as blacks, gays and women, through the Charter of Rights (easily the best document of its kind, certainly far superior to the American Bill of Rights).

No, like it or not, Trudeau will forever will be remembered fondly for giving us the Charter.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
He squandered $millions switching over to metric

JLM, another great achievement by Trudeau. I had forgotten that one, thanks for reminding me.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
29,461
11,086
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
From what I'm reading here, it seems Trudeau was remembered one
way in Ontario & Quebec (the population hub), and differently in what
is left of Canada minus Ontario & Quebec. Is that a fair statement? 8O

Might that also be Harpers Legacy?
____________________
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
99
48
Alberta
Most of the transients will be coming from a liberal environment and they'll be taking that bias with them. You don't suddenly become a conservative once you cross the Manitoba border. Nor do you have to follow the western philosophy just because you live here.

Most people, once they are here and see that a world without Liberals is not as bad as they were led to believe, adapt remarkably well. We have re-education camps for those that resist.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
From what I'm reading here, it seems Trudeau was remembered one
way in Ontario & Quebec (the population hub), and differently in what
is left of Canada minus Ontario & Quebec. Is that a fair statement? 8O

Might that also be Harpers Legacy?
____________________

Even if it is, that doesn’t help Harper all that much. The population is still concentrated in Ontario and Quebec. That is why any politician must appease Ontario and Quebec if he wants to get elected (he can safely ignore Alberta, usually Liberals ignore Alberta and conservatives take it for granted).

So if Harper is remembered in Ontario and Quebec in a negative manner, that means his overall standing is all shot to Hell. Being remembered fondly in Alberta isn’t enough. I assume any conservative (even Mulroney) is remembered fondly in Alberta.

And yes, Trudeau is universally respected and admired in Ontario and Quebec.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
99
48
Alberta
As far as Trudeau goes the following goes without saying, he was arrogant, he was an intellectual in the academic sense of the word, but who's to say he had common sense? He ran up a huge debt to the tune of about $400 billion and he brought down a document, that gave some people more rights- a lot of the wrong people in my view. He squandered $millions switching over to metric and he gave someone in Salmon Arm B.C. the finger. If all that makes him "great" so be it.

I have kids in junior high school and they don't know who he was. I have a kid in high school and all she knows about him is that he was the PM. They aren't being taught much about him here.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
99
48
Alberta
I assume any conservative (even Mulroney) is remembered fondly in Alberta.

You should really stick to commenting on things you know something about. The only places Mulroney is fondly remembered in is Kweebeck and Mulroney's own mind.


One thing I don't understand is why you have such woody for PET considering the man was a Catholic and you have so little respect for Catholics.
 
Last edited: