Holy Mackerel! (Another Canadian Political Thread... Sorry.)

[cinch]

Instead of starting another CanPol thread, I'll just post this here:

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PM denies plan to send troops into Quebec
Last Updated Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:45:49
OTTAWA - Members of the federal cabinet on Tuesday denied there was ever a plan to send Canadian forces into Quebec, had the separatist forces won the 1995 referendum.

Reporters on Parliament Hill asked several senior members of the cabinet about allegations that Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was prepared to send in the troops to protect federal buildings.

Transport Minister David Collenette, who was defence minister at the time of the referendum, refused to comment, saying he hasn't read the file.

The "No" vote narrowly defeated the "Yes" vote – 50.6 per cent to 49.4 per cent.

"It was never discussed in cabinet," said Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who was industry minister in 1995.

The allegations are contained in an as-yet unpublished biography of Chrétien written by Lawrence Martin. The book is titled Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien.

Industry Minister Allan Rock said he was not aware of any plans that involved sending troops into Quebec.

Stephane Dion, who wasn't in the government in 1995, but became Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in early 1996, said Ottawa was always ready to negotiate following a Yes victory in a clearly worded referendum.

Chrétien, who has been in Thailand for the APEC summit, said – speaking in French – the whole idea is "bull****."
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First of all: I don't really think this should be a controversial issue at all. If the Nationalists HAD won the referendum, I would most certainly have wanted Cretch to send in the troops to protect Federal Property until a time of safe handover. The streets'd likely be pandemonium at first, and then you'd have some small groups of radicals (not the majority of Nationalists, by any means) looking to desecrate reminders of Canadian federalism.

Secondly: Chretien is an ass, and he makes a lot of mistakes, but at least he still makes things a little interesting as he tries his best to imitate his hero.

"Bull****!" Gold.

[cinch]

Originally posted by notyoueither


We'll have to see who wins the battle for the soul of the new party. People like Clark, and those who support him are not going to give up.

From the sounds of it, many socially conservative CA supporters are not too happy with these developments. I take that as a good sign.

Yeah, that's basically what I was asking about in the first post. It will indeed be interesting to see how right, exactly, the party ends up being.

From the looks of it, early on, it seems that the CA are more pissed than the Tories, so I think we might be seeing a more centre-right party than a fringe one. Right of Clark, to be sure, but much left of Hill/Harper... Maybe somewhere around Mackay?

The interesting thing about this is: the next fed election will be my first chance to vote, and it'll be interesting to see who I wind up voting for. I was actually heavily considering the PCs, because I like Clark and his the way he did things, but I'm not very likely to vote for the new Conservatives... And the NDP is a little too left, even for me... Which leaves the Liberals. Shudder.

Things are looking... down.

Well, I guess it's Natural Law for me!

[St Leo]

The Progressive Conservatives should have merged with the New Democrats. They have a lot more in common and people would vote for that.

This, OTOH, basically destroys all the credibility the PCs had.

[notyoueither]

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Ha!

[cinch]

NDP Majority In Saskatchewan! (This didn't warrant it's own thread, so didn't get one!)

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NDP majority in Saskatchewan
Last Updated Wed, 05 Nov 2003 23:39:24
REGINA - Saskatchewan voters have returned NDP Premier Lorne Calvert to power in an election thriller, giving the government a fourth straight term.

"They said it couldn't be done…we did it!" said a jubilant Calvert.

The New Democrats won 30 of the 58 seats in the legislature. The Saskatchewan Party won 28, while the Liberals were shut out.

Thirteen cabinet ministers were re-elected, as well as leader Calvert. The NDP went up about seven per cent in the popular vote.

The NDP showed early gains by taking key rural seats from the Saskatchewan Party, credited to a concentrated late-campaign push.

"The momentum changed, the momentum came to New Democrats, the momentum is now with Saskatchewan," said Calvert.

People say they want change and have entrusted our party to lead that change, said the premier.

"We will build a better Saskatchewan for Saskatchewan families. That is our pledge," he said.

Calvert campaigned on a promise not to sell Crown corporations, boost health care, continue a series of small tax cuts and reduce student loan debt.

The Saskatchewan Party made inroads with urban voters by taking its first-ever seat in Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan Party had advocated corporate tax cuts, a review of Crown corporations and a work-for-welfare program.

Saskatchewan Party leader Elwin Hermanson won his own riding of Rosetown-Elrose, with two-thirds of the popular vote.

"Obviously we're disappointed," said Hermanson.

"Let's remember, friends, that the Saskatchewan Party is still a young party," he said "we don't need to hang our head." Campaign workers, supporters, and voters can feel proud, he said.

Calling it a "beachead," Hermanson commented on the party's success in winning three urban seats, and especially noted its first victory in Saskatoon.

"We have been a good opposition in the past and we intend to be even a better opposition in the future." He also commented on the collapse of the Liberal party, saying it was obvious that Liberal support moved to the NDP and not the Saskatchewan Party.

The Liberal party was shut out of the legislature, including leader David Karwacki.

"This is not the result we were hoping for," said Karwacki.

Karwacki, who had said he would not take part in a negative campaign, thanked Liberals for running a campaign "with dignity."

Voter turnout was 70 per cent, up eight per cent from the record low turnout in 1999.
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I was actually expecting a SaskParty victory this go-around. Things everywhere seem to be trending right, but I guess Saskatchewanians are determined to buck that trend.

I wonder what the deal breaker was? My guess: people feared that Hermanson would deregulate Auto Insurance, leading to an Albertaesque fiasco. I'm willing to bet that most people in Saskatchewan know tonnes of Albertans, and they like to feel smugly superior whenever their "Have" counterparts whine about auto insurance.

But I could be wrong.

[KrazyHorse]

You're right; it doesn't deserve it's own thread.

[KrazyHorse]

What's the word regarding the likelihood of the PC accepting the deal? 2/3 in favour seems like a pretty large requirement...

[Ben Kenobi]

Krazyhorse:

I think the deal will go ahead even with Orchard and his acolytes trying to sink a deal.

Remember the relative sizes of the party memberships, a small number of Alliance Party members switching could really swing the PC vote.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by cinch
Things everywhere seem to be trending right, but I guess Saskatchewanians are determined to buck that trend.

So far this year:
Nfld - PC
Nova Scotia - PC
New Brunswick - PC
PEI - PC
Quebec election - Liberals win
Manitoba election - NDP win
Ontario election - Liberals win
Now Saskatchewan re-elects the NDP

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Krazyhorse:

I think the deal will go ahead even with Orchard and his acolytes trying to sink a deal.

Remember the relative sizes of the party memberships, a small number of Alliance Party members switching could really swing the PC vote.

Hmmm. Reminds me of the sort of cynical manipulation that Liberals are famous for.

I guess Reform has come a long way.