Canadian cities top World's Most Liveable List
The Economic Intelligence Unit, an Economist run think tank, has released it's report on the world's most liveable cities, and Canada has come up with top ranks. Its cities have made the achievement of making up a fifth of the Top 20, with Vancouver actually ranking in the top spot in a list judged on the criteria of environment, culture, infrastructure, etc.Canada should be very proud of its achievements in urban planning and social services. These are essential to its continued development and should be made a top priority. Although even cities like Vancouver have terrible problems with poverty and a drugs epidemic, for the middle-classes and well-off they are fantastic. The issue is not how to make life better for those already living a charmed life, but how to lift Canada's urban poor out of despair and destitution. Though these cities have been awarded such top marks in comparison to other metropolitan areas in the world, they should not rest on their laurels and bask in their achievements: they should constantly move towards further development of infrastructure and provision of social services, stamping out urban blight and poverty, and generally making life bearable for all residents.
Canada's top cities in the world are:
Vancouver- #1 position
Toronto- #4
Calgary- #5 (Shared with Perth, Australia)
Montréal- #17 (Shared with Paris)
Libellés : Pauvreté et développement
par Borges à 15:57
Senate Reform: Elect of Abolish?
A recent opinion poll reveals a sharp divide between the ROC and Québec over their views for the future of the Senate. Most of the Rest of Canada wants to see the Senate elected, with figures at around 60 percent, and higher in the Western Provinces, while the people of Québec seem to mostly want to see it done away with completely, with 46 percent favouring this option.Besides the gap of opinion between what is the best option, there is also a difference of views over how any of these options would be implemented. Most Québécois are arguing that any change to the Senate would need some sort of Constitutional amendment, requiring the support of at least 7 of the provinces, while many others outside Québec see it as a matter of legislation.
One thing is clear, both the ROC and Québec want a radical reform to the way the country is governed, they want a clear-cut break with the appointed Senate and the lack of control they have over the Upper House. The Senate as it stands is a vestige of feudalism and colonialism, and is anti-democratic, that has to change!
Libellés : Politique, Québec, ROC
par Borges à 11:59
Liberal-NDP coalition back in sight
Last year, when the Canadian public reacted with outrage at the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, many thought such an idea would be dead in the water for years to come. Yet the idea seems to be back on the table, based on a new EKOS poll showing that no party will have a majority in Parliament. The latest survey shows that the Liberals would win only 122 seats, leaving them 32 MPs short of forming a government, which the NDP could help to make up with their projected 31 Parliamentarians.What would be the Canadian opinion of such a coalition? Well after two prorogations of Parliament, a tepid economic recovery, and numerous scandals such as the Afghan torture affair, the Conservatives could do little more to become less popular. However that doesn't mean the public would accept a coalition without a fight. Before it was the issue of Stephen Dion's potential premiership, now that he has been neutralised, could the coalition be viable?
Libellés : Conservatives, Libéraux, NPD, Politique
par Borges à 12:47
Prorogation leads to Tory fall in polls
The long-held Tory lead among the Canadian public has dropped considerably and now the Conservative and Liberal Parties of Canada are at a parity in the polls, at 32 percent each, according to a Harris-Decima poll conducted recently. While at the same level of popularity, it is the Liberal Party which has made significant inroads with the Canadian people, slashing Tory leads especially in Ontario and Québec.The lead is especially strong in the Toronto area ridings, where previously the Conservatives had made significant headway among ethnic minorities and women, but where they have now fallen behind the Liberals by five points (Lib: 40, Con: 35, NDP: 11). A similar situation in occurring in Québec, where although the Liberals are 10 points down on the Bloc Québécois, they have nearly double the support of the Tory party (BQ: 38, Lib: 28, Con: 13).
Much of this shift has been put down to the prorogation of Parliament, an act widely protested by Canadians, seen taking away popular political power and an attempt to insulate the Conservative majority from further embarrassment and lack of popularity. While the Tory party struggles to cope with the political situation, the Liberal Party has struck out with progressive policies to attract the Canadian voting public, such as increased early childhood learning funding, a roundtable discussion on poverty and homelessness, and the flagship «Canada at 150» discussions about the nation's identity and future.
Libellés : Conservatives, Libéraux, Politique
par Borges à 10:46
Liberals make a play for the future of Canada
The Liberal Party has opened a progressive debate concerning the future of Canada's identity as a nation, where it's headed, and what it wants. The conversation will culminate on 26-28 March in Montréal, with nearly a dozen town hall meetings leading up to it, being held all over the breadth and width of the Canadian nation.This is a poignant move by the party, who has yet to position itself in the political debate. The Party is making a play for the progressive, forward thinking voters that make up in large part this country. In framing the debate towards the future, the Liberals can put aside present political squabbling and issues and really discuss what kind of a nation Canada wants to be.
The 150 website should be up soon, so stay tuned to the party website, and take part in the debate, whatever shade of political inclination you happen to have. This is a good chance to put issues on the agenda, and ask the existential questions that are required of a country from time to time.
Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 14:51
A general election looms
Political insiders in the House of Commons in Ottawa have hinted strongly at a Spring or Autumn election, as the Conservatives try to capitalise on the economic recovery that the nation is experienced (managing 0.1% growth in the third quarter of 2009). The Conservatives are hoping to finally come out the doldrums of minority government and achieve a long-term goal, that of a definite majority in the lower house.The question remains, do the Canadian people want an election any time soon? Are they ready, do they see a need, or is the current political situation amenable to the population? Have the Conservatives proved their worth to the country, have they assured the general public that they won't launch a right-wing program of government once given the chance, something that Canadians, for the most part, simply do not want.
And what of the Liberals, what chances do they have? The NDP has proven its worth in its strong position on corporate taxes and its hard stance on workers' pensions. The Liberal Party has yet to define itself, yet to make known what exactly it stands for these days, other than vehemently opposing the Conservatives and using any chance to cry foul-play, though very recently they have decided to open a conversation on the future of Canada on its 150th birthday in 2017. Perhaps that is the reasoning behind Leader Ignatieff's promise of no elections in 2010...
par Borges à 11:42
Canadian Liberals: Differentiate, or Die
The latest polls do not bode well for Michael Ignatieff and his party, although they do paint a rosy picture for the Prime Minister and even NDP leader Jack Layton has seen a boost in his standing among the Canadian public.Despite dodging questions on Afghan detainees, climate change, and threatening to prorogue Parliament until after the Winter Olympic games (and then actually doing so), the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his party has won a nearly 40 percent from the Canadian public surveyed. The full results are as followed:
Conservatives: 39.5%
Liberals: 30.2%
NDP: 18.7 percent
Bloc: 7.7 percent
Greens: 4 percent
This shows a slightly widening gap between the two major parties, and a relative stagnation for the third parties in the running. In the polls on leadership, Michael Ignatieff has seen a nearly 15 point drop in approval, from nearly 55 percent in September, to 39.0% in December (coming in after even Jack Leyton, who holds 41 percent).
Again and again, the question is posed, what is going wrong and what can be done to make it right. Could it be the political wrangling of the Liberals, threatening again and again to bring down the government over this or that point, yet never failing to scupper the chance at the last minute, all the while gaining nothing but flack from the wider Canadian voting public, who didn't even want another election?
Could it be a lack of clear definition between the Liberals and the Conservatives on policy ranging from taxation, to the economy, to social services, to the environment? The parties play their role well, with Liberals portraying themselves as more pro-working class, pro-new arrivals, and generally pro-Progressive, all the while touting plans that don't seem to ever differ all that much from what the Conservatives are rolling out. In the end, the public can see through that, they know what's going on, just as well, perhaps even better, than the insiders in Ottawa...
Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 10:52
Québec Liberals betray their own initiative in Social Enterprises
The Liberal Party of Québec has scrapped a long over-due funding increase, and in fact will phase out that funding all together, to the social enterprises of the nation, those organisations that help seniors with accomplishing their daily tasks. The service was meant to get a 3.5 million dollar injection of capital to help off-set the cost of the service to seniors which usually runs at about 18$ an hour, of which the recepient of the sevice usually pays around half.Not only will that funding increase not materialise, but now Minister of Social Services Lise Thériault for the government has said that the funding will be allowed to run out completely in April 2010, and from then on the Social Enterprises will have to find their own funding.
This is a huge and disconcerting summersault. The older-generation has a right to be cared for after all they have contributed to society, and these services are highly esential to helping to maintain a Senior's sense of well-being and connectedness to the wider world. The Liberal Party proves once again that it is the party of big business and capitalism, rather than that of the people and social well-being.
Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, Québec
par Borges à 16:28
Liberal-Péquiste Face-off: Immigration and Identiy
The Parti Québécois has revealed its proposed legistlative program, and in doing so has thrown down the gauntlet over the two issues most important to the Québécois electorate: National identity and immigration. Among the proposals include a sweeping reform of French language legistlation, mainly aimed to promote the use of la langue among new arrivals in the country.The PQ plans to force immigrants to learn French before arriving in Québec, and thereafter forcing them to send their children to French-language day-care centres and eventually French CÉGEPS (the two secteurs of education not currently under the reglementation of the Charte de la langue française). The souverainiste party also wants new-comers to continue perfecting their French, and obliging them to join the French speaking business sector rather than working for Anglophone enterprises.
Over the issue of identity, the two parties are squaring off. The Liberal Party government of Québec is currently trying to push through legislation favourising policies that promote cultural diversity and accomodation to the particular needs of the cultural communities of the nation. The PQ for their part would like to see a bill passed underlining that which they feel is most imporant to the Québécois people: Laicité, the primacy of the French language, and the equality between the sexes.
Who will win this debate, at the heart of Québécois politics? Only time will tell...
Libellés : Accommodements raisonnables, la langue, La question nationale, Politique, Québec, Souverainistes
par Borges à 10:32
What was forward for the Liberal Party?...anything but elections...
Liberal chief Michael Ignatieff seems to have learned his lesson: Canadians want everything, everything but another national election. This pearl was wisdom was apprendred after the 4 bi-elections this past November when his party came 3rd in each one. This electoral defeat followed the August threat of reversing the government with a motion of censure against the government. At the time, the country was still questioning if, and how, it would come through the economic downturn, now believed to be on its way out. The November defeat followed a Spring-Summer period of grace for the Liberals when they consistently outperformed the Tories in polls.In the meantime, the party, and its leader, have promised to revitalise the party and put an ear to the ground in regards to the great concerns that Canadians hold in the areas of the economy, public service and government effectiveness. This is no small feat in a party as bogged in bureacratism and carearism as the next, where policy is made behind close doors, and flashy initiatives such as the Green Turn garner much attention, but lead to very little concrete support.
So the question must be asked, what way forward for the Liberal Party of Canada? Should they lean to the Left, endorsing NDP-style social democracy, or should they stay truly Liberal, and simply exploit the government's own blundering performance? Either way, it has a long and difficult road ahead if it is to gain support at the next elections, now tentatively slated for 2011 at the earliest.
Libellés : Libéraux, Politique, ROC, Économie
par Borges à 11:28
Secularism and political correctness running rampant in Québec
The two main Québécois opposition parties, the nationalist Parti Québécois and the right-of-centre Action Démocratique du Québec have come out in support of a ban on all overtly religious symbols for those working in public service. The ban would include the ever more prevalent hijab (Muslim headscarf), the veil, the turban and the kirpan (a ritual knife carried by adherent Sikhs).The proposed ban would be an outright attack on Cultural Communities which each year make a bigger and bigger contribution to the economic and demographic growth of the country. Though the parties claim that the ban is in the interests of laicité, the concept of secularism, it should be interpreted for what it is: a bulwark of extremism aimed at the denouncement of cultural differences in what is more and more a vibrant and culturally diverse nation.
Those that support the ban claim that the Quiet Revolution and its subsequent changes to Québécois society should have ousted all signs of religiosity from the public sector, that the country did not fight against the yoke of a militant and pervasive Catholicism just to be confronted with an Islamic upsurge in the country 40 years later.
Nothing could be further from the truth. To many Muslims, the hijab or veil is obligatory on them, and further more a representation of a faith that is deeply important to their very social being and psyche. To ban it would be a tragedy and would exclude many Muslim women from working to help provide the services that so many Québécois rely on.
Leil Bdeir, spokeswoman for Présence musulmane, believes that too many people misinterpret everything. «Laicité, that doesn't mean removing every religious symbol from the public sphere. Laicité, it is preventing the values of one religious group reigning supreme over another, its avoiding privelege of one group over another.» [19.12.09 Cyberpresse]The question must be asked, what is behind this proposed ban? Is it a commitment to laicité, religious freedom, and secularism, or is it a step in the direction of xenophobia, Islamophobia, and social exclusion?
Libellés : Accommodements raisonnables, Politique, Québec
par Borges à 10:55
Does economics justify climate change?
Albertan Premier Ed Stolmach has contested at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit that without the astronomical revenues from the tar sands of the province, the Canadian economy and the provincial coffres would be in dire straights. According to figures recently released, the oil sands help the province to contribute over 21 billion dollars in transfer payments to Ottawa, more than the entire defense budget of the nation.It raises an interesting question, just how committed to mitigating climate change if it means that we will suffer economically. Destroying the environment is big business, and goes a long way towards funding the social programmes that all Canadians rely on. Let's be realistic: the mining of this country's natural resources is extremely lucrative, and without it the Canadian economy could very well collapse.
So, what way forward? Should the exploitation of natural resources and the pollution of the environment be curbed for the sake of moral highmindedness and sheer self preservation at the expense of the provincial purse strings?
Libellés : Environnement, Politique, ROC, Économie
par Borges à 10:47
Provincial Premier Popularity Contest
A recent poll conducted by Angus Reid reveals the state of popularity of the nation's provincial Prime Ministers. It makes for interesting reading not least when you realise that the country's most and least popular Premiers are both Conservatives, with the most loved being Newfoundland and Labrador Prime Minister Danny Williams and the least liked being Ed Stolmach of Alberta.The results are as follows:
Danny Williams (Con): Newfoundland and Labrador: 78%
Brade Wall (Sask. Party): Saskatchewan: 58%
Darrell Dexter (NDP): Nova scotia: 43%
Jean Charest (Lib): Québec: 32%
Greg Soulinger (NDP): Manitoba: 29%
Dalton McGuinty (Lib): Ontario: 18%
Ed Stolmach (Con): Alberta: 14%
It just goes to show that in Canadian politics, different shades of Left and Right can play well with the public, and that neither side is especially hated or loved. It's all about who can deliver, and how. Who do you think is the nations best Premier, and why?
Note: At the time of publication the information for PEI and British Columbia were not available
Libellés : Conservatives, Libéraux, NPD, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 13:08
Torture of Afghan Detainees- Did the government ignore warnings
M. Richard Colvin, who spent over a year in Afghanistan as a diplomat for the Canadian government, has refutted government claims that there were no warnings that there was abuse of detainees in the Afghan prisons under the auspices of the Ottawa.According to M. Colvin, he sent numerous reports during his tenure as Canadian diplomat in the country, which were systematically ignored by top officials in Afghanistan and Canada alike. The warnings were apparently very explicit, and casts a shadow on the Harper government which maintains that it was unaware of the human rights abuses taking place on their watch.
Could this issue finally be the tipping point which will bring down the Harper administration, after years of mismanagment, negligence and shadowy deal-making? Will the opposition parties step up and demand culpability for these agregious violations of the most basic rights, the very pretence for the continued presence of the Canadian military in Afghanistan? Only time will tell
Libellés : Conservatives, Droits, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 16:02
Suspend parliament...again?
Rumours have begun circulating that the Prime Minister Stephen Harper will suspend parliament until after the Winter Olympics amid the firestorm over Afghanistan among other controversies. This would be the second time within a year that the PM has taken this course of action, as he made the same manouver last December amid the threats of a reversal of the government at the hands of a proposed Bloc supported Liberal-NDP coalition.Is this a constutional mis-step, or simply the Prime Minister saving us all a lot of time wrangling over issues that won't be set right for quite a while. Parliament has done little actual work as of late, but should difficult times really be an excuse for the chief of government to shut down parliamentary proceedings until he feels it's the right time for action? Do the Canadian, Québécois, Acadien and First Nations along with the numerous cultural communities not deserve better from their elected government?
Libellés : Conservatives, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 14:22
Make the wealthy and businesses pay!
The unions of Québec have taken a step forward in militancy over the past few days, demanding that the Liberal government of Jean Charest place to bill for the funding of state services and the economic recovery program firmly at the feet of the top earners and businesses of the country.The Secretariate Intersyndical des Services Publiques which counts over 300 000 public sector workers mainly in education, healthcare etc. has also stepped in, proposing six measures to support the economy basically maintaining that priority should be placed on the maintenance and improving of public services rather than over-prioritising budgetary relief. It also proposes 9 concrete steps towards a more sane financing of the public sector:
- Renounce hikes in electicity bills
- Reclaim what is owed to Québec by the federal government ;
- Intensify the fight against tax evasion and offshore tax havens
- Increase mining revenues (adding 300 million to the provincial coffres)
- Raise taxes for those who earn the most (950 million) ;
- Introduce a tax on luxury goods
- Levy an additional tax on financial institutions (300 million)
- Apply a minimum duty on profit making enterprises (150 million) ;
- Place a limit on tax credits for businesses (250 million).
These measures should be supported wholeheartedly by those that purport to be leftist of any stage. It is only fair that those that have and continue to benefit from the country's prosperity pay their fair share to help those in need and continue to provide a decent standard of living and public services to all.
Libellés : Politique, Québec, Économie
par Borges à 10:41
Spineless Layton betrays the party, holds grudge against the Liberals
In an interview with La Presse, Jack Layton, has defended his party's recent parliamentary actions in supporting the Conservative government in the EI confidence vote. While pontificating about his gesture of approval towards the Harper administration, he rejects the claim that he has gone against everything that the party claims to stand for, not to mention making himself and his organisation look like complete hippocrites for constantly attacking the Liberals for their continuous support of the government in no-confidence votes, until now that is...The Liberal Party took a stand for the working class and those that have lost their jobs by fighting for a true reform for employment insurance and against the continuation of this government. Even as economists claim that green shoots are sprouting economically, the fact is that many thousands more will lose their jobs before the recession starts to lessen in intensity, and that means that Canada needs a comprehensive and generous program to ensure that families can continue to make ends' meet.
The New Democratic Party is nevertheless still the party with the closest links to the working class of Canada and its traditional organisations, the trade unions, however their position on this issue is a complete betrayal to that status. If people are expected to choose between Liberal and NDP, how can they when the two seem to mirror each other in policy and practice...?
Libellés : Conservatives, Libéraux, NPD, Politique, ROC
par Borges à 12:00
In face of govenment represion, the Iranian working-class shows its heroic strength
On the occasion of Palestine Day in Iran, the Opposition, led by liberal-reformist Mir Hussein Mousavi, and former president Khatami, reared its head once more after months of an apparent bout of silence following the government crackdown on the opposition supporters and their protests after this summers elections. Quds Day (Palestine Day) is a government created holiday to help rally support for itself by showing off it's anti-Semite and «pro-Palestinian» character, however this year it was hijacked by marked violence between hard-line supporters of the current regime, and those that have had enough.These events clearly demonstrate that the underground opposition movement is far from dead, and that the people of Iran are still motivated by a desire for a radical change in the way society is run. The important thing to remember is that Mir Hussein Mousavi and his entourage are only the catalysts for this desire, that in fact the popular support for the opposition is more a popular-rage against the government. The people of Iran need to channel their ambitions, their raw power, into more productive and militant forms of struggle, such as a revolutionary general strike, if real change is to be effected. Mousavi is not the answer, a change in faces of the president will mean nothing for the people of Iran, short of a symbolic victory for the limited democracy that the Ayatollah so «graciously» permits them.
par Borges à 11:30
SAFE: The Conservative Government will survive
Thanks to the approval of the Bloc Québécois and the NDP concerning the confidance vote regarding the EI reforms proposed by the Conservatives, there will not be another general election in Canada for now, much to the charign of the Liberals...or is it.In reality, neither the Bloc nor the NDP is ready to fight an election, and to be fair, Canadians have had quite enough of elections, considering that there have been 4 in the past 5 years. However the Liberals took a principles position during this past scene in the EI saga, wanting to topple the government over its flimsy proposals for reform and relief.
Now that the vote of confidence is sorted though, it seems that the Bloc Québécois is dragging it's feet on the passing of the law, while the other parties, including the Liberals, seem to want as quick an ascendance as possible for what is agreed to be an extremely pressing and necessary reform to the regime of unemployment benefits, both short-term and long-term. The Bloc contests that there is too much unknown, too much not spelled out in the plans, too many unanswered questions, too many left out. If that's how they feel, maybe they should have supported the Liberals...
Libellés : Conservatives, ROC, Économie
par Borges à 13:59
