Federal Elections

[adam-machiavelli]

reidjr,

I am sorry for accusing you of being a Conservative Party supporter. To accuse someone of your intelligence and whit is a very horrible thing. I just didn't understand the intent of your criticism.

[Ottawan]

The recent municipal election was full of surprises and changes to the Ottawa-area political landscape. Whether or not that is your desire, this election has the same potential transformative effect. It is exciting to see democracy in action, and to take part in it. All there is left to do is for everyone to make sure to exercise your right and responsibility as a citizen, and to go out and vote!

[Kitchissippi]

The Ottawa Citizen's shoddy endorsements affirms why I never buy that paper anymore. I remember them endorsing a majority for the Mulroney government, too. I don't know why their editorial board feels like it has to openly show bias, as it really erodes the paper's credibility and polarizes readers.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by Ottawan

The recent municipal election was full of surprises and changes to the Ottawa-area political landscape. Whether or not that is your desire, this election has the same potential transformative effect. It is exciting to see democracy in action, and to take part in it. All there is left to do is for everyone to make sure to exercise your right and responsibility as a citizen, and to go out and vote!

I hope people will vote in large numbers and we see a change my hope is for a liberal majority.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by adam-machiavelli

After a bloody battle, Ivory Coast just finally got rid of its leader who refused to submit to the wishes of superior authorities. I seriously hope Harper doesn't make us go down such an awful path. It seems implausible now that such a thing could happen in Canada. However, given our government's desire for authoritarian-style mass arrests last summer, nothing should be seen as implausible anymore.

One thing worth pointing out is that in the highly unlikely event that an incumbent Prime Minister refuses to vacate office, the Governor General, being the Crown's representative and therefore [essentially] the apex of the military (and the paramilitary RCMP) in Canada, would have the ability to call upon the armed forces (probably their own foot guards or more probably the local RCMP detachment in practise) to force the Prime Minister out of office.

The situation in Ivory Coast is fundamentally different because there the President (as in the US and France and elsewhere) is at the apex of the military so there is no one "higher up" in the system to force a departure of a losing incumbent.

[AuxTown]

Now I wonder how many people in Nepean and Kanata who voted the Conservatives in are working in jobs that could potentially be on the chopping block? That's gonna sting. I'm all for efficiency in government, but this is going to have a HUGE impact on our city in the coming years. This could be more significant than the fall of Nortel. Makes me glad I'm self-employed, but I'm getting ready for a lot of very nervous/anxious/depressed/unemployed patients coming into my office.

from www.cfra.com

Clement Prepared to Shrink Public Service
Josh Pringle
Friday, May 20, 2011

The new President of the Treasury Board is warning the axe could fall on entire programs in the Strategic and Operating Review of the public service.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Tony Clement says “failure is not an option” in finding $4 billion in annual savings from federal program spending.

Clement says he believes cuts to the public service can be made through attrition, but wouldn’t rule out public service jobs cuts.

Clement says he's prepared to shut down programs to help find savings for the Federal Government, adding "there are going to be reductions" in program spending.

The Treasury Board President suggests entire federal programs will be on the chopping block, adding the government will look at direct program spending and that includes wages and salaries.

"It may well mean that some other things that perhaps were important 20 or 30 years ago are less important now and we can logically get out of those things without doing too much harm to the public or to people's expecations of what government should be doing," Clement told the Globe.

[Cre47]

And their main priority is the economy??? That kind of move would basically have a negative impact on the economy especially here. Mixed messages which is typical from the CPC. Already three weeks in and this government is already off to a very rocky start let alone the very controversial Senate nominations. I'm telling you, this is going to a long, bad and very bumpy ride for this country. This party just doesn't know the real priorities. Instead their priorities are wars, jets, jails, banks and oil companies not the average Canadian.

BTW thank you very much 905 folks for creating this mess.

[kwoldtimer]

Clement's comments come as no surprise to civil servants, nor to anyone else who has paid attention. The bills must be paid.

This issue perhaps needs a thread of its own - the cuts and their local impact will be an ongoing story.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by Cre47

And their main priority is the economy??? That kind of move would basically have a negative impact on the economy especially here. Mixed messages which is typical from the CPC. Already three weeks in and this government is already off to a very rocky start let alone the very controversial Senate nominations. I'm telling you, this is going to a long, bad and very bumpy ride for this country. This party just doesn't know the real priorities. Instead their priorities are wars, jets, jails, banks and oil companies not the average Canadian.

BTW thank you very much 905 folks for creating this mess.

You can't just blame them, since even in Parliament's front yard they were mostly elected. Most of the seats in the 613 area code outside of the Ottawa core are conservative strongholds, and tea party types at that...

I think the major job losses would hit Gatineau a LOT harder than Ottawa, since they proportionally have far more civil servants living there.

[Cre47]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

You can't just blame them, since even in Parliament's front yard they were mostly elected. Most of the seats in the 613 area code outside of the Ottawa core are conservative strongholds, and tea party types at that...

I think the major job losses would hit Gatineau a LOT harder than Ottawa, since they proportionally have far more civil servants living there.

yeah but most of their gains vs the previous Parliament was just outside of the Toronto area hence the blame on the 905 region. Actually this started in the 2008 election.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by Cre47

And their main priority is the economy??? That kind of move would basically have a negative impact on the economy especially here. Mixed messages which is typical from the CPC. Already three weeks in and this government is already off to a very rocky start let alone the very controversial Senate nominations. I'm telling you, this is going to a long, bad and very bumpy ride for this country. This party just doesn't know the real priorities. Instead their priorities are wars, jets, jails, banks and oil companies not the average Canadian.

BTW thank you very much 905 folks for creating this mess.

Its way to early to say if it will be a long bad road could it be sure but it may work out just fine.For the past 5 years the cpc party has done a good job maybe not great but good and i don't see why that would change now.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by Cre47

And their main priority is the economy??? That kind of move would basically have a negative impact on the economy especially here. Mixed messages which is typical from the CPC.

Ottawa's economy and the economy of the country as a whole are two very different things. For every dollar of government revenue, something like a $1.40 has been taken out of the economy elsewhere through both the tax itself and the reduced economic activity associated with taxation, meaning that the economy as a whole is down by $0.40 overall. So what's "good" for Ottawa is seldom good for the rest of the country.

That means there's no mixed messages regarding the economy when a government decides to reduce its own spending and by extension its tax burden. And frankly, I think the alarmism is overrated. Any of these cuts might bring us down to the level of spending we had in 2008 or 2007 or so. If they're really vicious, it'll be back to where it was when they first took office in 2006.

Already three weeks in and this government is already off to a very rocky start let alone the very controversial Senate nominations.

I hope you don't support proportional representation...

[rodionx]

The squeeze has been on for a couple of years now. There were layoffs at Industry Canada last year, and it's been ages since I've seen a consultant. They're always the first to go.

Government waxes and wanes. The faster it grows, the sooner comes the chop. You can't spend more than you bring in. Well, actually you can, but the longer you do it, the worse the reckoning. Ottawa will be fine. A lot of the people that get 'laid off' in these cuts didn't exist to begin with - they're vacant positions that were funded but not staffed, because everyone knew what was coming. Then there's the legions of people that just retire earlier and take a buyout. Technically they are cut, but they don't leave town. And some people just get fed up and take a job outside government.

I actually got laid off by B.C.'s Gordon Campbell back in 2002 (within about six months of voting for him... ) and it turned out to be a pretty good career move. The severance package was nice, too.

[kwoldtimer]

The difference now is that the last rounds of reductions eliminated the "virtual" positions, so that now bodies will need to be out the door, whether by attrition or more drastic measures. Unlike when this happened in the past, there is no talk of buy-outs. Time will tell, but government cuts that coincide with a boom in new condominium construction could mean a fall in local housing prices - it has happened before.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

Now I wonder how many people in Nepean and Kanata who voted the Conservatives in are working in jobs that could potentially be on the chopping block? That's gonna sting. I'm all for efficiency in government, but this is going to have a HUGE impact on our city in the coming years. This could be more significant than the fall of Nortel. Makes me glad I'm self-employed, but I'm getting ready for a lot of very nervous/anxious/depressed/unemployed patients coming into my office.

from www.cfra.com

No i don't think it will be more significant then nortel with that said i beleave there will be a impact but i don't think it will be huge.

[Cre47]

Nevertheless, if you are asking to tighten the belt, it is certainly not a moment to spend countless billions on fancy jets which we are not sure it will properly work. We all know we will pay the tag if a completely failure happens to those jets. This government is very risky with the tax dollars on that issue, a risk of course that will hit them in 2015 if failure.

With a price tag of at least $30-40 billion if not more, this issue will come out multiple times for sure.

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Nevertheless, if you are asking to tighten the belt, it is certainly not a moment to spend countless billions on fancy jets which we are not sure it will properly work. We all know we will pay the tag if a completely failure happens to those jets. This government is very risky with the tax dollars on that issue, a risk of course that will hit them in 2015 if failure.

With a price tag of at least $30-40 billion if not more, this issue will come out multiple times for sure.

Is there any gov thats not risky with money look at the platforms from all partys is there any one party that would be tighten the belt no they just would spend it in other ways.

[Cre47]

Originally Posted by reidjr

Is there any gov thats not risky with money look at the platforms from all partys is there any one party that would be tighten the belt no they just would spend it in other ways.

sure but $30 billion, that is probably by far the biggest money risk in Canadian politics (maybe the bailouts in 2009 might surpass that - I cannot remember the actual amount) easily pounding on the $2+ billion gun registry by the Grits

[reidjr]

Originally Posted by Cre47

sure but $30 billion, that is probably by far the biggest money risk in Canadian politics (maybe the bailouts in 2009 might surpass that - I cannot remember the actual amount) easily pounding on the $2+ billion gun registry by the Grits

Yes its a risk and i don't support it but as i said no matter the party they have there goals and no matter how you cut it harper wants planes the ndp and liberals aslo had there wish list what they wanted.

[Admiral Nelson]

Originally Posted by reidjr

Yes its a risk and i don't support it but as i said no matter the party they have there goals and no matter how you cut it harper wants planes the ndp and liberals aslo had there wish list what they wanted.

You're trivializing the difference in spending priorities. $30B fighter jets won't make secondary education more accessible or help the disadvantaged climb out of poverty. Hell, throwing that kind of money at building high-speed rail lines would provide a much bigger economic boon.