Manatee and Gnomes

Three and a half years ago, I grumbled about Stephen Harper’s dismissive and insulting attitude towards members of other parties. Not much has changed since then. Harper has repeatedly, and ever increasingly, shown himself to be belligerently divisive and utterly disrespectful towards any elected Member of Parliament not from his party, as well as to the Canadians who did not vote for his party. In a minority Parliament, this has proven damaging to the country and possibly fatal to his government.

In his mental construction of our constitutional framework, Harper was elected the President of Canada on the 14th of October. His opponents had been defeated: the soon-to-be leaderless Liberals greatly reduced in their seat count, the NDP making only modest gains, and the Bloc – as separatists – dismissed out of hand as always. To his binary world view, all that mattered in the end was that he had defeated them.  A land in turmoil cried out for a hero. He was Harper, a mighty warrior economist forged in the heat of the Commons.

So when Harper’s attempts to ram the most extreme and partisan elements of his policy through the new Parliament met with genuine resistance, it is quite natural for him to claim (as he truly believes) that the opposition are overriding the results of the election. They lost. He won.

Except he didn’t.

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At the recommendation of several people, I dined at a nearby restaurant last week. The positive reviews of the place were not based on the menu – the choices were, to say the least, uninspiring – but rather on the fact that it was locally owned and operated. I was supporting the community by going, they said.

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Well its that time again. Two weeks from today all Canadians (or at least 65%… I hope?) will partake, in what has become a Canadian bi-annual tradition, yet another Federal Election.With the impending election Manatee and Gnomes will keep its tradition going with the latest installment of the M&G Election Pool.

The rules are simple: each member of Manatee and Gnomes will submit their prediction for the party seat counts by the end of today (Sept 30th) and, come election day, the member with the most correct distributions will be declared the winner. Good luck Guys!

~O’Smiley

2008 Election Predictions

“By the time it was known he was running, it was too late to do anything about it.”

Just when I thought that we had heard the last from Ken Epp before his impending retirement, he delivers a final quote for the ages.  Epp, of course, is maintaining neutrality in the bitter dispute over the nomination of Edmonton-Sherwood Park Conservative candidate Tim Uppal (head on over to Gauntlet.ca for details, but in short, some disgruntled Conservatives have rallied around independent candidate James Ford).  Neutrality, however, doesn’t mean Epp is above sandbagging his successor on the way out.

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This report from the Pembina Institute, in great detail, explains the potential pitfalls and roadblocks of the consultative process on which Alberta Environment relies when deciding policies related to Alberta’s oil sands. According to the report, Alberta Environment “does not set royalty rates, issue oil sands leases, or have the final say about whether a given oil sands project is in the public interest.” I guess this lack of power should come as no surprise. While not surprising, the subservient relationship of Alberta Environment to other ministries has resulted in Alberta Environment negotiating with First-Nations and conservationists, developing policies to protect an area of land at the very moment when another Ministry is issuing a lease develop the same land. This seems dishonest, even for the Alberta Government.

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First Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, now AIG. Although details are just becoming available, it seems todays buyout of the beleaguered insurance company by the US government is, if nothing else, acknowledgment from the highest levels of the global capitalist elite that markets are incapable of self-policing. Potentially, this bale out will lead to much more than the nationalization of AIG, and regulations to prevent what might have been a “financial crisis worldwide.” Potentially, this bale out will trigger a public examination of all the failings of a market so widely and blindly believed to be the most efficient means of running an economy. Potentially, law makers will examine the increasing reliance on the market to educate and re-train workers, build infrastructure, feed the hungry, and protect the environment. Potentially, the public will discover that unfettered markets have led to an increased gap between rich and poor, in Canada, North America, and around the world. Potentially, Canadian voters will question whether the leader who reminded Canadians Friday that he leads “a party of free enterprise, free markets and free trade” is fit to continue to lead Canada in a time of economic crisis. Potentially, the Left will seize this opportunity and come up with a coherent alternative to what clearly hasn’t been working.

~Manatee