Reading international news, I keep marvelling at how the French can get 800,000 people on the streets and shut down Paris over (afaict fairly generous?) pensions and we can barely get a few thousand to protest Ford attacking core services for the vulnerable after getting elected on no platform.
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:15 (four years ago) link
starting to think we actually should break up Canada into several smaller countries tbh
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:17 (four years ago) link
canada too large
We'd still take after our neighbours, who make similar excuses for their quietism.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:21 (four years ago) link
The Legault link didn't work so here it is.
(No, Simon, that's what they want you think!) xp
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:21 (four years ago) link
Ugh, what a two-faced piece of shit. I guess it's consistent with his logic according to which all muslims are unassimilable foreigners.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:23 (four years ago) link
Tbf it's important to point out that much of this jingoistic, neo-theistic authoritarianism is cheered on by a genuine majority that is deathly afraid of heterogeneity and actively wishes to restore a premodern hierarchical model. If anything, this has historically been the norm, so we may have gotten used to a small miracle that is slowly coming to an end (or so I tell myself in my more pessimistic moments).
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:29 (four years ago) link
I'm not inclined towards pessimism or defeatism generally and I know it's not useful but the notion of a robust left program that even the slightest majority of the voting public of this country could get behind just seems like such a distant dream at the moment. I try to remember that tremendous change can and does occur very quickly but it's fuckin dispiriting man!
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:34 (four years ago) link
On the other hand, Quebec's social model is fairly solid when compared to those of most Western countries (tax rates are already quite high, even when set against France). It's just that we could do so much better and the push at the moment appears to be towards the exact opposite: hoarding by and for the few.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 15:38 (four years ago) link
Scheer resigns
― silverfish, Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:51 (four years ago) link
holy shit
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:52 (four years ago) link
Well hot damn. Let's see if they can get a proper terrible populist in.
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:53 (four years ago) link
Can't tell whether this is a good or a bad thing. Leaning towards bad.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:53 (four years ago) link
same tbh
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:55 (four years ago) link
Guess he's gonna run for President instead
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 16:58 (four years ago) link
I'm cool with that.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:00 (four years ago) link
I haven't been following Conservative party discourse, has this been brewing for some time or is this some excuse they just pulled out of a hat?
BREAKING: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is resigning after sources tell Global News he used Conservative Party money to pay for the private-school education of his children #cdnpoli https://t.co/OOWQDsVy4y— Amanda Connolly (@amandacconn) December 12, 2019
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:00 (four years ago) link
Global News has learned that Scheer is resigning after it was revealed he had been using Conservative Party money to pay for his children's private school education. #cdnpoli #CPC— Mercedes Stephenson (@MercedesGlobal) December 12, 2019
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:01 (four years ago) link
if he'd become PM, would this have been a genuine scandal for more than a week? I can't tell anymore.
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:04 (four years ago) link
Probably not. It comes across as a lame pretext to me.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:06 (four years ago) link
I'm trying to think of something interesting to say, but I don't really know enough about the conservative party and have no idea in which direction they are heading. I feel like it could go either way (either doubling down on populism or trying to distance themselves from it). I'm guessing the main objective of the party for the next election is gaining votes in Ontario but I don't know what the best approach is for that.
― silverfish, Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:06 (four years ago) link
I can't imagine them going less populist from here unless they're total morons (I know, I know)
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:09 (four years ago) link
Buck a beer for the whole country, simple as that.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:10 (four years ago) link
in their last leadership election 141,000 members voted, scheer got 62,593, bernier got 55,544. think it was a ranked ballot situation. so the appetite for a far-right populist was fairly high (they also don't do one member one vote, they do it on a riding basis, with each riding worth the same number of points, regardless of population, this probably benefits rural votes - which i assume means it leans further right).
i would be unsurprised if they go for more of a bernier type next time - though maybe one who speaks english well
― #FBPIRA (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:13 (four years ago) link
jason kenney probably wishing he wasn't premier of alberta rn
― #FBPIRA (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:14 (four years ago) link
Bernier, who was at least 100% upfront about what he was after, was a total flop on his own, though. Seems more likely to me that they'll get a Ford-a-like who will be completely vague. (I haven't even noticed a difference in the price of beer!)
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:19 (four years ago) link
Is O'Leary free?
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:20 (four years ago) link
bernier was a flop but i would think that the idea of going third party and clearly damaging the chance of a conservative government by vote-splitting must play on voters' minds?
― #FBPIRA (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:21 (four years ago) link
unfortunately, he remains unjailed
― Simon H., Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:22 (four years ago) link
bernier ran a really different campaign for the cons leadership than he did with the people's party
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:29 (four years ago) link
one of those great libertarian goes alt right conversion stories
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link
"I am putting my party first and my family first" - Scheer's resignation statement
― jesus is zing (symsymsym), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:43 (four years ago) link
you were definitely putting your family first you little rat lol
― #FBPIRA (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 12 December 2019 17:48 (four years ago) link
everyone ties for first in Justin's canada
― rob, Thursday, 12 December 2019 18:44 (four years ago) link
Former SNC-Lavalin exec found guilty on five counts of corruption, fraud, and money laundering in Libya:
#BREAKING Former SNC-Lavalin executive found guilty on Libya corruption chargesSami Bebawi, 73, convicted on all 5 counts including fraud, corruption of foreign officials and laundering proceeds of crime #cdnpoli https://t.co/dXtSw6l0eg pic.twitter.com/4zM82420bK— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) December 15, 2019
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Monday, 16 December 2019 00:21 (four years ago) link
Former resident Kabul head of Canada's aid program in Afghanistan on the failure of the mission: https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/banerjee-why-we-still-need-a-review-of-canadas-role-in-afghanistan
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Wednesday, 18 December 2019 04:45 (four years ago) link
In the light of the Afghanistan Papers, btw, I'm reminded of 'Taliban Jack' Layton's statement in 2006:
That mission is the wrong mission for Canada. There is no plan for victory. There is no exit strategy. There is no sign that it is making the Taliban weaker or the world safer. And there is no hope of changing the realities on the ground in Afghanistan--with the forces we have or can commit.
― No language just sound (Sund4r), Wednesday, 18 December 2019 04:47 (four years ago) link
New thread: We Still Have a Government, Right?: Canadian Politics 2020
― Un sang impur (Sund4r), Monday, 6 January 2020 16:51 (four years ago) link