Manitoba | Provincial Politics

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger@Heart

NDP tax cuts = giving the crust of a piece of bread to a homeless person...whoopee. Get serious. The NDP never wants to surpass mediocrity, while McFadyen believes we can do better.

Right, because no government likes an improving economy with increasing revenues.

From Manitoba Hydro (ie: west side line as opposed to east),

That's a debatable and complicated subject.

to a lack of rural ERs,

I live in rural Manitoba. Leave the ERs of the small hospitals closed...and close the hospitals. Put the money into the larger hospitals in the region, where it belongs.

to an increase in the number of children in the care of CFS,

You think the NDP made parents worse? What?

to misuse of MPIC & MB Hydro funds,

They're funds of Manitobans for the Manitoba government to use on their behalf.

to filling the pockets of its cabinet ministers at the expense of the debt,

Manitoba ministers have some of the lowest pay in the country.

to ignoring the deficit, to suspending the balanced-budget law,

Yes, they ran a deficit, like every other province in the federation and the federal government...and every other country in the world during the worst recession since the great depression.

the NDP is out of touch. Don't expect any surplus in a few years, because the words surplus and NDP can never be used together.

Except for all those years that it was. But no, I don't expect a surplus now that western Manitoba has turned into a lake.

Yeah, good ol' transfer payments; why bother to find new ways to get revenue when the rest of the country supports us very nicely. The only reason why the NDP can refer to budgets as being balanced is thanks to these, yet how balanced can budgets be when the deficit is so high.

You think that McFadyen somehow has a new idea about how to grow the economy (which was growing quite quickly before the recession)?

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

They're funds of Manitobans for the Manitoba government to use on their behalf.

Really? Hydro has funds? The truth is that Hydro is swimming in debt and the further theft by the Natural Debt Party isn't helping.

Originally Posted by jmt18325

Except for all those years that it was.

The NDP has not run a balanced budget since they took office, without stealing from Hydro, adding to their debt. Our debt actually.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Really? Hydro has funds? The truth is that Hydro is swimming in debt and the further theft by the Natural Debt Party isn't helping.

That debt doesn't really matter, because it's actually provincial debt in the end...just like the money is provincial money.

The NDP has not run a balanced budget since they took office, without stealing from Hydro, adding to their debt. Our debt actually.

Except that they have ran balanced budgets. It's there to see. Yes, Hydro has taken on more debt, and so the province has more debt, but our debt to GDP ratio and our credit rating are both far better than when the NDP took power in 1999.

[vid]

Uh-oh. Sounds like you guys are being Harrised. The PCs in 2002 used tricky book-keeping to make it look like they were running balanced budgets with modest surplusses but when the Liberals came into power they found out we had a fairly large deficit and the hydro companies were so deep in debt it wasn't funny.

They're still in debt and a few weeks ago, the PCs went from accusing the Liberals of ignoring the hydro debt to stating that they believe it no longer exists.

Oh, how much you guys have to look forward to! If the next government is like our Liberals are now you're really in for a treat!

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

That debt doesn't really matter,

...and this the mindset that has our province where it is today. Entirely dependant on transfers from Ottawa (the only western province left), the second highest taxes in the country, the highest taxes on low income families, yet massive social spending announcements daily.

Unless they flip-flop on the west side Bipole III boondoggle they are done.

[khabibulin]

Unless they flip-flop on the west side Bipole III boondoggle they are done. [/QUOTE]

I tend to agree with you. The citizens of Canada seem to favour right of centre, more fiscally responsible, governments right now. The federal Conservative majority, the Saskatchewan revival under Brad Wall, and soon, new Conservative Governments in both Manitoba and Ontario. The majority of voting Canadians (rightly or wrongly) are continuing to place their trust with governments they believe they can trust to put the best economic interests of their country, province and personal lives as a priority.

[headhorse]

I tend to agree with you. The citizens of Canada seem to favour right of centre, more fiscally responsible, governments right now. The federal Conservative majority, the Saskatchewan revival under Brad Wall, and soon, new Conservative Governments in both Manitoba and Ontario. The majority of voting Canadians (rightly or wrongly) are continuing to place their trust with governments they believe they can trust to put the best economic interests of their country, province and personal lives as a priority.

actually citizens of Canada continue to vote left of center. Just because the Cons won a majority doesn't mean the majority of Canadians are right of centre. More people voted for the two "left" parties. If you want to see how incompetent a Conservative government is, look at Alberta. One of the best economies in the world, highest wages, high standard of living, and they're probably going to lose the next election. As much as everyone talks about Conservative government's being fiscally responsible, history proves they're not.

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by headhorse

actually citizens of Canada continue to vote left of center. Just because the Cons won a majority doesn't mean the majority of Canadians are right of centre. More people voted for the two "left" parties. If you want to see how incompetent a Conservative government is, look at Alberta. One of the best economies in the world, highest wages, high standard of living, and they're probably going to lose the next election. As much as everyone talks about Conservative government's being fiscally responsible, history proves they're not.

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. But the trend is there for conservative governments springing up across the Country. And if there are two left wing parties, maybe one of them isn't so left wing at all .

And your argument in Alberta is confusing. Are you saying that the conservatives will lose the election to a "more" right wing party (Wild Rose). Or a re you saying that the Liberals or NDP might actually win in Alberta?

My feeling is that the majority of Canadians feel that they can spend money more wisely than the government can. We certainly have enough examples of federal and provincial governments wasting billions of doallars every year. There should be a cap on federal spnding, otherwise, when one of the the "tax and spend" parties gets back in power", it is back to the "trough".

[vid]

I won't deny that Canadians are leaning more to the right (I compiled data for every riding in the country and mapped them so I noticed that), but we're still no where close to having a majority of the country on the right side of the spectrum. If we had one left wing party and one right wing party, the left wing party would still have a clear majority.

[headhorse]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

We will have to agree to disagree on this one. But the trend is there for conservative governments springing up across the Country. And if there are two left wing parties, maybe one of them isn't so left wing at all .

And your argument in Alberta is confusing. Are you saying that the conservatives will lose the election to a "more" right wing party (Wild Rose). Or a re you saying that the Liberals or NDP might actually win in Alberta?

My feeling is that the majority of Canadians feel that they can spend money more wisely than the government can. We certainly have enough examples of federal and provincial governments wasting billions of doallars every year. There should be a cap on federal spnding, otherwise, when one of the the "tax and spend" parties gets back in power", it is back to the "trough".

In regards to the Alberta analogy, I was just making the point that even in Canada's richest province that weathered the recesion better then most, the Cons still might be on the way out. Yes, I know it would be for an even farther right wing government, but no one there seems to understand things like "limited resources" and "permanent environmental damage that taxpayers will be paying for for years".

In regards to the "tax and spend" comment, recent Canadian history actually shows "left wing" government being very fiscally responsible, so your comment really has no factual base.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Riverman

...and this the mindset that has our province where it is today.

You just took what I said completely out of context. What's important is debt ratio's, and ours is far better than in the past.

[Riverman]

Another example of poor decisions by the NDP.

From Slurpees &m Murder:

http://slurpeesandmurder.blogspot.com/2011/06/alberta-watches-greyhound-backfire.html

[vid]

Bus service in rural Alberta had to be de-regulated? Northern Ontario has always have smaller bus companies operating alongside Greyhound. Funny, because we panicked more when they threatened to leave even though we've got several companies to pick up the slack, to a degree. We've had a few companies competing with Greyhound the whole time, though none are as comprehensive.

[jmt18325]

In Manitoba, the problem was that there was no other immediate solution to a very immediate problem.

[headhorse]

I checked out PC Manitoba's website today, but am having an awful time finding out any facts or plans. I watched all the videos and when it told me to "click here for the facts about the NDP's mismanagement" it was just the same thing being rehashed, no actual numbers... also, is there no platform on the website? I'm not sure how this aprty is so close to the NDP in the polls...

[1ajs]

added the 3 big parties in mb to the front page

ndp party of manitoba website
http://todaysndp.ca/

conservative party of manitoba website
http://www.pcmanitoba.com/

liberal party of manitoba website
http://mlp.manitobaliberals.ca/

[Winnipegger@Heart]

Yeah, I think it is time for the NDP to go...

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/winnipegs-office-market-limping-along-126822953.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/manitobas-job-creation-far-below-canadas-127059473.html

[jmt18325]

Because the NDP can control the US economy. We're not a resource economy to the extent that Saskatchewan and Alberta are, and therefore, we're very affected by weakness in the US and around the world. All of our markets are in pretty bad shape.

Oh, and from the first story:

The Avison Young report does not factor in the 80,000 square feet of office space that will be built at Portage Avenue and Donald Street or the 70,000-sq.-ft. space about to get underway at the old Winnipeg Arena site.

[Authentic_City]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger@Heart

Yeah, I think it is time for the NDP to go...

Hardly. And honestly, what new ideas is Huge McFayden bringing to the table?

[Winnipegger@Heart]

The McFadyen government would create a better tax environment for which companies look when expanding.

Also, in the article, which you must have missed, is that no new companies are moving here.

"There really aren't even any new branch plant offices moving into Winnipeg these days," he said. "The office market just limps along."

For instance, about 30,000 sq. ft. of prime space atop 201 Portage Ave. (formerly called Canwest Place) has been unoccupied since the bankruptcy and breakup of Canwest Global.