CanPol: May(?) 2011 Election. Vote today!

[Asher]

Just correcting your "facts".

Which fact?

[Wezil]

Sorry, "implication" would have been better.

This issue was never campaign tested.

[Asher]

The only thing I was implying was its effect on the electorate, which was sampled via polls last time. The fact that there wasn't a formal election isn't a big deal.

I would be shocked if this "news story" hurts him by more than two points.

[Wezil]

I doubt it will "hurt" him at all. I do think it will take away what he has clearly been planning on using as his #1 sound bite.

When the question gets turned around and he gives the "deer in the headlights" reaction like he did yesterday it isn't a winning approach.

[Asher]

What Harper needs is another "We didn't get it done! Stephane, we didn't get it done! heh! We didn't get it done!"
"THIS IS UNFAIR!!! Do you think it is easy to make priorities???"

[notyoueither]

How many people are willing to fess up and be open about the real issue with coalitions?

The issue is not coalition per se, the issue is the federal government being influenced by the Bloc.

The coalition in Britain is brought up frequently by commentators. However, they stop short of saying the obvious. There would not be and never will be a coalition in GB that includes Sinn Fein or the Scottish National Party.

Secondarily, the British coalition is led by the party with the most seats. It is not a coalition of losers.

If it is possible, if it happened that the Liberals win the most seats, the Conservatives finish second, and then the rest, and if the Liberals and NDP had a majority of seats, then a Liberal-NDP coalition government would be completely acceptable.

Do we hear any of the morons in the media discussing this? No. This is how we get the governments we do. Ignorance promoted by politicians or special interests and abetted by the media.

[Asher]

How many people are willing to fess up and be open about the real issue with coalitions?

The issue is not coalition per se, the issue is the federal government being influenced by the Bloc.

The coalition in Britain is brought up frequently by commentators. However, they stop short of saying the obvious. There would not be and never will be a coalition in GB that includes Sinn Fein or the Scotish National Party.

Secondarily, the British coalition is led by the party with the most seats. It is not a coalition of losers.

If it is possible, if it happened that the Liberals win the most seats, the Conservatives finish second, and then the rest, then if the Liberals and NDP had a majority of seats, then a Liberal-NDP coalition government would be completely acceptable.

Do we hear any of the morons in the media discussing this? No. This is how we get the governments we do. Ignorance promoted by politicians or special interests and abetted by the media.

[notyoueither]

or another scenario. The Bloc withers and gets wiped out. The Conservatives have won the most seats, but the Liberals and NDP win enough that the Conservatives do not have a majority. Then a coalition of the Liberals and NDP would also be fine since it would be the only way to run the country.

[Wezil]

How many people are willing to fess up and be open about the real issue with coalitions?

The issue is not coalition per se, the issue is the federal government being influenced by the Bloc.

The coalition in Britain is brought up frequently by commentators. However, they stop short of saying the obvious. There would not be and never will be a coalition in GB that includes Sinn Fein or the Scottish National Party.

Secondarily, the British coalition is led by the party with the most seats. It is not a coalition of losers.

If it is possible, if it happened that the Liberals win the most seats, the Conservatives finish second, and then the rest, and if the Liberals and NDP had a majority of seats, then a Liberal-NDP coalition government would be completely acceptable.

Do we hear any of the morons in the media discussing this? No. This is how we get the governments we do. Ignorance promoted by politicians or special interests and abetted by the media.

The smart play (for the Libs) is to bring down the government but not make a formal coalition. Do as Harper has done and let the other parties support their budget or cause the election.

[notyoueither]

Yes, but... The problem with that is it leaves the federal government at the mercies of a party that cares less then zero for anything outside of Quebec. The fact that their stated aim is the seperation of Quebec from Canada is another niggling issue.

[notyoueither]

If both the Conservatives and Liberals resign themselves to another election immediately should neither be able to hold a majority (add the NDP to the Liberals for this purpose) that did not include the Bloc, then fine. I don't trust either of them to pass up trying to hang on with sloppy seconds though.

[notyoueither]

There's too much agreement and civil discussion here. So...

On Why Proper Funding for the Criminal and Justice Systems is Required: An External View

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/oecd-slams-canadas-lack-of-prosecution-of-bribery-offences/article1959569/

OECD slams Canada’s lack of prosecution of bribery offences
JULIAN SHER
From Monday's Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Mar. 28, 2011 8:47AM EDT
Last updated Monday, Mar. 28, 2011 10:56AM EDT

Canada’s “problematic” track record of ignoring bribery offences by its citizens and corporations abroad has prompted the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to raise significant concerns in an unusually harsh report released Monday.

“Canada’s regime for enforcement remains problematic in important areas,” the Paris-based organization said in a statement, calling on Canada in its report to “urgently take such measures as may be necessary to prosecute its nationals for the bribery of foreign public officials.”

Among the most serious problems, the OECD cites jurisdictional loopholes in Canada’s laws, weak penalties and an insufficient number of prosecutors and police assigned to go after offenders.

“It’s definitely a black eye for the country,” said Rudy Duschek, a fraud examiner who works as a corporate consultant on white-collar crime. “Canada’s enforcement against bribery is pathetic.”

Since the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act came into force in 1999, Canada has only recorded a single conviction of a Canadian company on foreign bribery charges. (Another case is before the courts.) But the OECD found the penalty imposed – an Alberta company was fined $25,000, less than the bribe it paid – was too low to be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive.”

The OECD notes that while Canada applies “nationality jurisdiction” – meaning a Canadian who commits an offence abroad is liable to prosecution and punishment here – to such crimes as child sex tourism and terrorism, it insists when it comes to bribery there must be a “real and substantial link” to Canadian territory.

The OECD calls that “overly restrictive.”

“In Canada, the question is: Was the plot formed or hatched here? Some component has to be based here,” explained Mark Morrison, a partner with Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP who specializes in anti-corruption compliance. “That makes it much more difficult to prosecute.”

By contrast, the U.S. prosecutes its citizens accused of bribery abroad even if there is little or no geographic connection to their home country and the U.K. is planning changes to its laws to do likewise.

On a positive note, the OECD did single out the “diligent efforts” of a new RCMP Anti-Corruption unit which has “over 20 active investigations” under way – but it warned the future of these and other cases “may be uncertain” because of serious staff shortages.

It said Ottawa has no federal prosecutors exclusively devoted to handling these crimes and the RCMP unit has lost “many” members recently who are “often” re-assigned to the other investigations.

The OECD concluded there were enough “significant issues” raised in its report to ask Canada to “report back on progress” by October.

But there will be more bad news for Canada on the bribery front before that.

The Globe and Mail has learned that Transparency International (TI), a group that monitors corruption around the world, will again scold Canada for doing little to fight bribery in its annual ranking of countries this May.

For the past seven years Canada has been the only G7 state to be listed among the worst offenders with “little or no enforcement,” joining such countries as Bulgaria, Greece, Mexico, and Poland.

“Canada will stay in the bottom category” one of the report’s authors, Fritz Heimann, said in an interview.

“I find it shocking that with a legal system like Canada’s so little has been done,” he said, describing his upcoming report and the one issued by the OECD on Monday as “a damning and shaming exercise.”

“It doesn’t work as quickly as we would like,” he said.

[Wezil]

Yes, but... The problem with that is it leaves the federal government at the mercies of a party that cares less then zero for anything outside of Quebec. The fact that their stated aim is the seperation of Quebec from Canada is another niggling issue.

So? Harper has survived on BQ votes in the House before. It is the formal arrangement idea that rankles.

[Wezil]

There's too much agreement and civil discussion here. So...

On Why Proper Funding for the Criminal and Justice Systems is Required: An External View

This is one of my few (believe it or not) policy issues with C- policy. The entire Justice file is a mess under this government. I haven't heard of this particular issue before now but it really doesn't surprise me.

[notyoueither]

So? Harper has survived on BQ votes in the House before. It is the formal arrangement idea that rankles.

Budgets have not needed Bloc support.