Summer Showdown

Well it's been a while since I've written in this space. My humble apologies! I have been dealing with some personal issues. As I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel I can once again find the time to write.

I wanted to take a moment to look at the ongoing saga that is our federal government. Once again we came close to a crisis this past week. Ignatieff cried foul over the governments handling of the current economic crisis. In particular he wanted to see changes to E.I. and a faster roll out of the stimulus package.

Harper for his part dismissed this as political posturing. He claims the stimulus package is moving along rapidly and that while he is willing to listen to suggestions for improvement to E.I. - these things can not take place overnight. So who's telling the truth here?

The answer probably lies somewhere in between. Let me first make it clear I have always been conservative in my political leanings. I make no secrets about that. Having said that, these are extraordinary times and such times require everyone to take a long hard look within themselves. What I've discovered, is that simply saying that the government should stay out of everything and let the free market rule is short sighted and narrow. The government has to provide assistance to Canadians and not just in difficult times. This is what separates us from our American cousins. I think most Canadians agree with this philosophy in some form or another. What separates us is how far we think this social safety net and government intervention should go.

This is the crux of the argument between the governing Conservative Party and the Liberal Party of Canada. While I think Ignatieff was clearly trying to tap into the fear of Canadians in these uncertain times - which was cynical at best - for once I think he has a point. The stimulus package needs to be rolled out faster. Many Canadian families and businesses are bleeding money right now. We face an uncertain few months and the governments efforts will make all the difference. Canada can and should emerge from the current crisis a world economic leader. What we don't need is an election. Fortunately this has been avoided. So kudos to our political leaders for getting it right for once!

Undemocratic Senate Proposes Undemocratic Bill

Well, the wheel continues to turn. Not to beat a horse to death, but I just had to comment on the latest Liberal tactic to deal with the Tory attack ads targeting Ignatieff. Now they've sicked a senator on an unsuspecting public. That's right! They don't like the way the Tories are expressing their right to free speech so they're trying to introduce a new censorship bill in the senate.

Liberal senator Dennis Dawson introduced a bill today to force political parties to include all advertising produced in the three months prior to an election as an election expense. Apparently, the best way to deal with criticism is to ban it! They offered some lame excuse, suggesting their actions were an attempt to even the playing field. The truth of the matter is they have employed the same tactics themselves when they were in a better financial position. The ads must be having their desired effect!

Ignatieff's Feeling the Heat

After a brief' sabbatical I'm back, and I'd like to take a closer look at the recent Tory ads criticising Ignatieff. He came out with his defense today - typical Liberal tripe! He's trying to turn the Tory criticism of his timely return to Canada to join the Liberal political machine into an attack on all new Canadians and immigrants. What? I don't know too many "new" Canadians who enter politics within months of their entry to our country.

The Tories are not suggesting in these ads that new Canadians, or returning Canadians, can not be a valuable part of the political process. In fact, I would argue they would welcome their participation. But new Canadians come to this country for a better life not to be opportunistic. Ignatieff returned to Canada to further his own ambitions - it's that simple. The Tory ads are simply focusing the Canadian public on a fact few may realise.

Let's review the facts. From 1978 to 2000 Ignatieff resided almost exclusively in the U.K., working at both Cambridge and Oxford. Did he return to Canada after this? No! He spent the next 5 years in the U.S. as as professor at Harvard. He returned to Canada in 2005 to take a position in Toronto, and almost immediately began rumblings about his ambitions in the political arena. By 2006 he was elected to parliament.

Clearly Ignatieff returned to Canada for political ambition - not for love of country. He is now using the standard Liberal arguments against the Tories to deflect criticism away from himself. You know the arguments, the Tories are anti-immigrant, racist, and of course do not stand for anything regular Canadians do. The fear mongering has started. The Liberals must be running scared!

Liberal Double Speak

Today the Tories launched a series of ads attacking Ignatieff. "The free ride is over", claim the adds. They attack, amongst other things Ignatieff's tenure in the country. It's well known he's spent the better part of his adult life in the U.S. So it stands to reason that this might raise some questions about his credibility.

No! How dare they question Mr Ignatieff - at least, according to Gerard Kennedy. He took the typical Liberal approach, branding the ads as normal Tory personal attacks. The Liberals would never partake in such things. Even when it was pointed out that they are doing just that with a series of YouTube ads, they denied it - claiming instead that these are factual accounts.

So you're getting this right? When Tories launch ads they're mean spirited personal attacks, but when the Liberals do it they're providing information to the public. And so the wheel turns . . .

Mulroney and the Never Ending Ego (I would use story but that titles taken)

Mr. Mulroney was once again in front of the Schreiber enquiry again today. It was vintage Mulroney. He went on about his boyhood in Quebec. He waxed eloquent about his time as Prime Minister of Canada. And of course he continued to deny any wrong doing in his dealings with Schreiber.

Mulroney does not deny receiving money from Schreiber, but he refutes any assertions that this was some kind of payoff. Well, let's see. He took $75, 000 given to him by Schreiber and placed it in his safe at his cottage. This money was never reported to his accountant, and it never saw the inside of a bank. In fact, he never told anyone about it. Does this seem like the actions of someone with nothing to hide? If you or I did some work for cash and then stuck it under our mattress would this be right? If Revenue Canada found out about it would they be happy? Not likely.

What Mr Mulroney did was wrong. If not legally, then certainly morally. Period. He will likely never be punished for his actions, there isn't enough evidence to prove he did anything outside the law. Where he will be punished is in posterity. While many love to hate Mulroney, he did a lot of things right. Most notably the free trade agreement. It was vilified when he introduced it, but has proved important for Canada's economic growth. All his accomplishments will now be overshadowed, and he will be remembered for his dealings with Schreiber. What a shame!

The Senate of a New Beginning

Canada's senate is an archaic institution. It is not democratic. It is not effective. And it certainly is not popular. How do we change this? How do we make it more viable? Should we? Or should we simply abolish it? These are all valid questions - questions politically minded Canadians have been asking ourselves for a long time. I do not think abolition is in the best interest of Canada. The senate can serve Canada in a useful and ongoing capacity, but not in it's present form.

We often here the terms equal, elected, and effective bandied about with respect to the senate. What do these terms refer to? Well, first of all equal suggests that the smaller provinces should have a more representative voice than they enjoy in the lower house. The theory here is that this will allow their interests a greater voice in confederation.

Elected means just that - elected. Mr Harper has often suggested that a system be established in which the provinces hold elections for the senate and then these selections would be presented to the Prime Minister's office for the rubber stamp. Those who oppose such ideas point out the unconstitutionality of this proposal. Look, if the political will existed it would get done. There are always ways of getting around the legal problems. So why would anyone oppose an elected senate? Simple, it doesn't suit their interests. The senate will never be effective if it is not elected. The impasse continues . . .

Euro-Canada

Euro-Canada. What might that mean? Adopting the Euro as our currency? Joining the EU? Nothing quite so dramatic. What I'm talking about here is free trade between Europe and Canada. I'm sure most have heard something about this in recent weeks. This last week there was talk of Canada backing out of talks withe the EU because of there decision to ban the sale of Canadian seal skins within the EU. Look, that is a political decision not an economic one. Let's face it, the seal hunt is not a major sector of the Canadian economy, and certainly not worth risking a major trade agreement over.

A free trade agreement with Europe is essential to Canada's growth and prosperity. At the moment 80 percent of our exports are to the United States - we are far too reliant on them. I am not suggesting we should walk away form NAFTA. On the contrary, we need to establish similar trade agreements with major economic partners across the world to ensure our increased economic diversity. Put succinctly, we should strive for more economic independence.

Canada is a small market with huge resources. We have barely tapped our potential. By opening up our market to close to a billion Europeans we can only benefit. Europe is a highly developed economic zone, but it's resources have been depleted over the centuries. We have the resources they crave.

The EU has an advanced manufacturing sector, and by opening our markets more freely to their goods we are increasing the choices available to Canadian consumers. We are also insulating ourselves against the downturns in the U.S. economy. A small market likes ours is not self sustaining. We are much more susceptible to the ups and downs of our trading partners. The U.S., on the other hand, can weather the small storms of their economic partners due to the size and diversity of their economy. In order for us to achieve the same sort of protection we need strong trade agreements with other strong economic partners. For this reason a free trade agreement with Europe is essential to Canada's continued prosperity.

Blazing Cat Fur: U.S. begins beefing up Canadian border security

Blazing Cat Fur: U.S. begins beefing up Canadian border security

Small business Survival

Minimum wage in Ontario increased from $8.75 to $9.50 at the end of March. How could anyone argue that this is not good news. Well I will, because it's not that simple. The McGuinty government of Ontario introduced this wage increase in the middle of a recession! Lets look at this a little deeper.

This past week the federal government forced the CAW back to the bargaining table with GM. Why? The cuts they made earlier this year did not go far enough. Tony Clement, Canada's industry minister, wants the CAW to sign a similar deal with GM to the one they've Just signed with Chrysler. If they don't there will be no more federal money for GM - without it GM Canada would likely be liquidated.

So, let me get this straight. These huge conglomerates can not survive without massive wage concessions by their unions, and not without bailout money from the government. Yet small business in Ontario are to give a government mandated raise to their employees and they are to do this without any bailouts. Excuse me? This makes absolutely no sense. Don't get me wrong I'm all for raising the minimum wage - under the right economic circumstances. Now is not that time. Wake up Ontario if you want small business to survive!

Ontarionot!!

How about an update on the economy of southern Ontario? Falling fast! INCO will shut down for several weeks this summer, as will GM. Chrysler has no option but to shut down due to Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States. Stelco is on indefinite shut down and Nanticoke is down to a skeleton crew. Granted, there are stirrings by the federal government about challenging the legitimacy of the moves by U.S. Steel (Stelco's parent company) and INCO, but there's no guarantee's as this is uncharted territory.

So is there any good news? Sure, Canada's banks are on sound footing. The TSX has returned to the heights it reached last November and the real estate market is showing signs of life. So all is not doom and gloom, but the signs of recovery are fledgling at best. In order to move forward there has to be a commitment to change. You're probably thinking "Yes, yes the governments going to implement it's stimulus package they'll spend our way out of this recession and all will be well". This is not what I mean by moving forward.

The roots of this recession run much deeper. It is a problem rooted in the individual spending habits of most Canadians, in fact, most Westerners. We rely far too much on credit. That's it. That's it in a nutshell. In order to ensure our return to prosperity is sustainable we have to change our spending habits. Credit should be used sparingly if at all.

Dahl of a New Day

Well, Mr. Ignatieff has his first serious crisis to deal with. Ruby Dhalla. Perhaps the name isn't familiar to a lot of people. She was, until today, the Liberal Multicultural and Youth critic. Now she is fighting to clear her name. What did she do? Her family is accused of confiscating the passports of two live-in caregivers and forcing them to work long hours, often doing duties that had nothing to do with care giving.

Now we will see how the Liberals new found popularity holds up to the scrutiny of Stephen Harper's Tories. Harper is a master at making his opponents pay for any indiscretions. This is just the opportunity he has been waiting for. Over the next few weeks he will make every attempt to put the Liberals on the defensive. Based on his track record, you can expect him to be relentless.

The End is Near!

Signs are emerging that the end of this devastating recession is near. The markets continue to move upwards, as they have for the last two months. What does this mean for you and I? In the cycle of things a boom tends to follow a bust. As Adam Smith suggested in his "Wealth of Nations", an invisible hand really is at work. Granted, in this case it had a big push from world governments and their economic stimulus packages, but it is happening.

It's not only the markets that are returning to life. In the U.S., the epicenter for the current world crisis, for the first time in months construction spending was up in March. It has been sometime since we heard of a major world bank or investment company in trouble. It's true the auto sector continues to suffer, but there are signs even this industry is finding it's legs again. The changes have been painful, but the North American auto companies and their stake holders appear to understand that drastic change is needed to make the industry competitive.

There will be further hardships. More people will lose their jobs. Others will see their hours cut. In the end we will be faced with a very different economic landscape, but we will be better for it. In particular Canada is positioned to do well going forward. Our strong banks and conservative values virtually assure we will be leaders in the new market reality. We could be on the cusp of Canada's golden age.

Bringing Canadian Politics back to Life!

Well, a new Crop poll in Quebec puts the Liberals firmly in the lead ahead of the Bloc, and far ahead of the Conservatives. What does this mean? Unfortunately very little. Except that people have short memories. It wasn't that long ago that the Liberal party was reviled in Quebec. Yes, I understand the effect a new leader can have on the fortunes of a political party. I also realize this new liberal leadership will put some distance between the party and it's past. This doesn't mean that anything has really changed - there is just a perception of change.

This is the fundamental truth of politics in Canada (and any other country for that matter). Change happens slowly, if at all! The Conservative party of Canada is a case in point. It is the result of a marriage between the old Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and the Reform Party of Canada (formerly called the Canadian Alliance). There was a process of renewal and the appearance of change on the surface, but there is little difference between the present day Conservative Party and the old Progressive Conservative Party. Yes, you may argue that his new party is a lot further to the right. That may have been true - initially. However, the Conservatives have moved much closer to the center-right position of their origins, and this move has been expedited by the economic realities of the current recession. The result? The political positions of today's center-right Conservative party, and the Center-left Liberal party are very similar to what you might find if you travelled back to the Mulroney era.

The truths I've discussed above, are the reason that Canadian are highly cynical about the political process. They generally do not believe that real change is possible. This is the reason for voter apathy and the continuing decline of voter turn out in this country. It is not because they don't want to be involved in the political process. It's because they don't believe that anything will ever change.

Eventually the continuing change in Liberal fortunes will lead to their return to power. This is not true change for Canadians. It is just a continuation of the cycle of politics in Canada. How do we get out of this cycle? How do we truly invigorate the Canadian political system? The system itself needs to be revamped. Whether this involves some kind of proportional representation, abolition of the monarchy, Senate reform etc. is not clear. However, I do believe Canadians are ready for real change!

GM and Chrysler: Welcome to reality

Well the good new is both Chrysler and GM look like they've done enough restructuring to avoid bankruptcy. The bad news is thousands more auto workers face the loss of their jobs. GM has publicly stated that another 21, 000 jobs will be eliminated in the U.S. and the Canadian workforce will be reduced from over 10, 000 to approximately 4400 employees! Without a doubt we all feel sympathy for those employees and their families that are about to lose their livelihood, as well as those who have already been put out of work by this recession. However, GM and Chrysler have been operating in an unrealistic bubble for years. For this reason it is difficult to feel for the executives and upper management of these companies.

Yes the unions continued to drive salaries higher year after year, but that's what they're there for - to get the best possible deal for their members. That's it. They do not exist to ensure the profitability of the company. Sure they may spout rhetoric from time to time about the need for the company and workers to compromise. This is just talk. They exist for one purpose and one purpose only - to drive up salaries and benefits. You can't really fault them for this. GM and Chrysler should take full responsibility for not protecting there own interests in the face of an ongoing union onslaught.

During negotiations it is rare that there is not a winner. Each party has a responsibility to it's stakeholders to obtain the best deal possible. For years the big three have failed to do this. As a result, they have been overtaken by their competitors such as Honda and Toyota. These companies recognized the need to offer fair compensation to their employees while still maintaining a profitable bottom line. Such practise have enabled these companies to survive and prosper at the expense of the big three. GM and Chrysler have existed for years as though normal business rules did not apply to them - now they are paying the price. This market correction may be painful, but it is necessary for the long term survival of the industry in North America.

Canada's Afghan Mission

What are we doing in Afghanistan? That seems to be the question on a lot of Canadian minds. They don't want our help and it's not our fight anyway. We're only there to protect western political interests, not because we really care about the future of Afghanistan. These cynical views are easy to accept as gospel, but this would be a mistake. We are in Afghanistan because it's the right thing to do! This country had become an epicenter for destabilizing influences in the world. The bottom line is the Taliban regime was allowing terrorists to operate from their territory. This is not acceptable and all such regimes should be forced from power. Does the rest of the world have to accept the western model? No, but they have to realize that today's world is integrated at such a level that we can not ignore dangerous and rogue states.

Canada has a history of defending the principles of freedom stretching back to 1914. The Afghanistan mission is an extension of this continuing legacy. Make no mistake, organizations such as the Taliban and al-Qaida do not accept compromise. They are not seeking peaceful coexistence with the West. They are seeking the destruction of our way of life. Let me be clear this is an extremist view - this is not a Muslim view. Many Muslims find what Osama Bin Laden stands for as distasteful as anyone else in the west. I am not suggesting we remain in Afghanistan in perpetuity, but we need to stay until there is a stable regime in place that is equipped to deal a death blow to these dark forces within their land.

Ontario Tories Leadership Race

Finally, the provincial Tories have a chance at legitimate renewal. There is no doubting that change was needed. The Conservatives under John Tory where a long way from posing a serious challenge to the McGuinty led Liberals. The question is who should lead the party into the next election? The main challengers for the role are Christine Elliott and Tim Hudak. Both have some outstanding qualities, but I believe Tim Hudak is the best person for the job. I'll tell you why. Hudak has both youthful appeal and extensive political experience. He has been an MPP since the mid nineties yet he's still only 41. What better way to renew the party than to bring in a man with his background. Elliott certainly has the background to be a leader, but she also has the baggage. She is married to Jim Flaherty, the federal finance minister who described Ontario as a poor place to invest. This may be true, but it's not going to score her any points with Ontario voters. Perhaps more importantly, she's only been in the Ontario legislature since 2006. While her background as a lawyer is certainly valuable, it is no substitute for experience in the political arena. Hudak has fought in the trenches for the Tories since the "Common Sense Revolution". He has always been a strong voice within the Conservative party and his record speaks for itself. Tim Hudak is the man to lead the Conservatives out of the wilderness!

CAW pensions

In this past week we witnessed a protest on behalf of the Canadian Autoworkers Union at Queen's Park in Toronto. There beef? The McGuinty government of Ontario was making noise about not honouring it's commitments to the protection of their lucrative pensions. While at first glance this may seem like an easy cause to get behind, it's not that simple. Most Canadians (and indeed most average people in general) can only dream of retiring in the comfort that until now has been the norm for CAW retiree's. For this reason it's hard for most of us to be sympathetic to their cause. The reality is the unrealistic bubble that autoworkers have lived in for the past forty or fifty years has now burst! GM, Ford and Chrysler simply couldn't sustain the gravy train and remain competitive. We are now faced with the very real possibility of one or more of these companies going bankrupt. So the CAW will have to face reality and realize that things are never going back to the way they were - there is a new reality. They need to accept the fact that the average Canadian is not willing to pay for their pension. I know many will argue that a deals a deal and the government should honour it's commitments, but the economy has changed drastically in the last few months and this kind of thinking simply isn't practical. Having said that I'm sure if I was a CAW retiree I would be fighting tooth and nail to protect my pension - it's only natural.