Electoral Cooperation = frustration and likely failure

We are in the midst of a series of evolving crises, environmental, climate, democratic, public trust and you can probably see food security and poverty on the deck waiting for their turn at bat. With this in mind I find it maddening that so many partisans are either dismissive of cooperation or want it all their way.  A quick look at comments over a couple days can be summarized as



1. it’s our destiny to rule so why don’t you just step aside

2. it may have been your destiny but now its ours so stuff it.

3. We don’t really care if the system gets fixed to ensure 1 megalomania party can’t control everything because we aspire to be that party

4. Scoring points on each other over old grudges is more important/satisfying than working for the greater good.

5. We lost because you exist. Our inability to sell our message is because you suck


While I can’t see into the inner workings of other EDAs I suspect that many local organizations are far more practical or accommodating than the party chiefs. Mulcair, like Layton before him runs a party that has policy to implement PR yet it seems they are always the first party to shun cooperation with statements about how limiting voter’s choice is antidemocratic. This is true to a point but if an EDA votes to cooperate for the greater good the only voters who are disenfranchised are those who are not engaged enough to actually join the party. Honestly, if you are that concerned pay your $10 and get involved, anyone who feigns concern about not having a candidate yet don’t belong to “their” party is a fool. Also here is no inherent right to vote for a certain party, no law saying you must run candidates everywhere, besides any party that believes in Proportional Representation should be willing to negotiate, compromise and form coalitions; that’s how a PR elected parliament works. Also if denying a voter the right to choose your party is anti-democratic what would you call not demanding ALL party leaders be allowed in the debates? The prevailing rationale to avoid cooperation is very weak and self serving rather than idealism.

I also have to wonder if the NDP is actually serious about PR? I hope I’m wrong but its just human nature to grab for all you can get and with the NDP’s improving performance the brass ring is that much closer. Does the prospect of actually winning make them much more comfortable with a winner take all system? Provincially the NDP has under achieved on electoral reform when in power. I understand that PR is not cooperation but supporting one without considering the other does not seem rational, especially if cooperation is the means to your goal of PR.


The Liberals on the other hand are still smarting over the demotion to 3rd party status and are hell bent on regaining total power NOT sharing. For all his qualifications (I think pretty boy is a qualification, I just don’t know for what?), Trudeau is far from a progressive candidate and supporting PR and actually fixing the problem for the future is not going to fly with a party that feels entitled to rule unfettered. Besides the Liberal party prefers AV, a non-proportional system some think will propel them into permanent power based on their strength as peoples 2nd choice. Sure there are pro PR Liberals but since Bennett is not running for the leadership I don’t think they plan to fix the system as much as play it.


Joyce Murray’s 1 time cooperation bid is somewhat promising but what’s going to stop the Conservatives next time? No electoral reform, no point. The bigger problem is the idea of combined primaries which appears as a cynical attempt to gain an advantage, more LPC members = winning most of the primaries. It’s pretty much guaranteed no Greens would win in these joint nominations and few NDP, that’s not a formula for trust or cooperation.


I would prefer the EDA’s work it out without the “Mother Ships” interfering, that or actually do some detailed polling in 30-40 ridings and find how the votes would split depending on who wins the nomination and its not always going to be the party with the most members. In the recent Calgary election the Greens garnered a lot of Red Tory voters who could not stomach voting for a Wild Rose type Conservative or a Liberal, had a Liberal won a combined nomination much of that GPC support may have stayed Conservative for zero gain.  In some regions it might make more sense to let one party run normally while two combine forces and in others where the partisanship is really over the top between the EDA’s it might actually make sense to pick neutral Independent that all 3 parties might support, the same formula is not goint to work everywhere and if we are only doing this just once it has to be done to full effect.


Greens have proven we can draw quality candidates and be competitive in selective ridings. Depending on the region this means we can win, be the spoiler or draw Red Tory votes that other parties may not have the potential to do. We are more than willing to cooperate to defeat Harper and I don’t see that a little respect and a voting system that represents all Canadian voices as too much to ask. From the vast number of comments I’ve seen this is not going to happen because the NDP see blood in the water and want the Liberals destroyed while the Liberals hold on to their old arrogant sense of destiny and refuse to endorse a truly fair voting system. We Greens who have the least bargaining power need to show we’ve won something for our cooperation and PR is the only prize we’ll accept.


My riding is a crappy candidate for cooperation so I must sit back and watch the opportunity slip away; it’s all very frustrating and may well drive me from this game altogether.   Perhaps I'll start blogging pro CHP just to split the right wing vote and toy with the looniesRecommend this Post

These Targeted Conservative Propaganda Letters are getting to be a little much

Friends

Last Friday night after a couple tall boys at Barbarella’s Diamond’s Cabaret my colleague , Tony Clement spoke in great detail about all that really complicated sciencey stuff and the Government's need to connect to those who think Star Trek is better than Star Wars. Minister Clement has made similar statements in most gentlemen’s clubs throughout the Ottawa area and several foreign capitals in this Government's continued support of Star Trek over Star Wars. I find myself admiring Star Trek a great deal after seeing Tony’s collection of action figures and those photos of Orion Slave girls; they are much hotter than Carrie Fisher in a bikini.


As Minster of Industry, Science and Technology I believe Canada needs Mudd’s robot women, replicators, synthahol and phasers, provided we stop wasting all that money on archaeology and palaeontology, Geez a million year old planet what kind of crap is that?, everyone in MY ministry knows its only 6000 years old because I told them so.


We in the Harper Government are proud of our support for obedient cybernetic wives and advanced energy weapons and will encourage the space channel to offer more Star Trek reruns, perhaps with bonus Ezra Levant commentary



Sincerely,

Hon Gary Goodyear, PC, MP

  Ok,  I made it up, but I didn't make this up and really the implications should concern us all.

.Recommend this Post

An Excellent video from Dan Gilbert on why we don't act on Global Warming

Recommend this Post

Shelob Lives

That is all!

. Recommend this Post

Doing the Math on Peter Penashue’s stolen election.

Peter Penashue spent about $88,000 ($4000 too much) on this election to the riding of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 meaning he spent about $21 for each vote he received. In theory that additional $4000 at $21 per vote could have generated an additional 190 votes which was 3x his margin of victory. Would it not be reasonable to think that the illegal $4000 in spending bought Penashue’s victory?


Not scientific I agree, but still it leaves you wondering how this extra money changed the vote in such a close race. This margin is far lower than many of the elections currently being challenged in the Supreme Court of Canada over robo call allegations.

It also has me questioning the lax penalties of $1000 and/or 3 months in gaol. I would suggest that both the party, the EDA and the Candidate should be fined 10x the amount of overspending. This would force the Candidate to ensure his books were right, ensure the EDA reigned in the campaign team and maintained oversight, and it would make the Party pay closer attention to what the EDAs were doing.

As it is $1000 and/or 3 months in gaol are simply the costs of doing business and will defer few zealots from breaking the rules considering the prize.

Also an issue in Penashue’s campaign was the apparent borrowing of money from a First Nations community fund to run his election after they started bouncing cheques. It starts sounding really shady when you find out this fund was run by his brother-in-law and is supposed to be used to boost economic activity not be used as a family savings and loan.

Another ethically challenged Conservative MP with a questionable claim to his seat, must be Tuesday... er.. or Wednesday, maybe Friday.  When will it stop?

Recommend this Post

Al Jazerra doing the kind of journalism main stream networks shun

Kudos to Al Jazerra English.Recommend this Post

Canada’s Road to Interventionism

At no time during the 2011 election did I notice a promise from the Conservative party to base more troops abroad and interfere in other Nation’s business and yet today I see Canada is looking for 7 additional foreign bases/staging areas. While they claim this is for humanitarian relief and “just in case”, I believe this signals our graduation from occasional lackey to full time minion of the U.S. war machine.

You see this is all starting to make sense now; the F35 with its stealth ability can be based out of Singapore integrated with U.S. air power including the AWACS and in air refuelling needed to make these planes function properly. We would support the U.S. on a number of missions including the containment of China. If Israel doesn't snap and do the job itself we could eventually base Canadian F35s in Kuwait to threaten Iran. 5 more bases, 5 more areas of possible foreign entanglement.

It seems obvious now that his plane with its stealth strike ability, short range and slow speed was never intended to defend our north but to bolster our strike capability abroad. The F35 cannot properly fulfill its domestic role therefore the government is either incompetent (quite possible) or lying about the plane’s true purpose.

My bet; a couple years into the F35 deliveries, long after it’s too late to kill the first contract, we will suddenly learn we need a second plane for the far north. Of course the Americans who are pushing our new agenda in the first place will magnanimously offer up their delivery slots for the second plane which can begin deliveries immediately.

Ok, so maybe I'm getting a tad paranoid about this government but when you start buying planes with no practical domestic mission and then start looking for foreign bases you have to stop and wonder what’s really going on.

.Recommend this Post

BlackOutSpeakOut

In reality I've been blacked out for some time simply because I find it hard to write about our political situation without it turning into a hateful expletive filled rant. I did however attend my local c-38 protest this last weekend and will endeavour to raise my voice in every way I can to save Canadian democracy.Recommend this Post

Labelling radicals or creating them?

When the NDP members went to Washington to lobby against Tar Sands their actions were labeled treacherous by our Environment Minster Peter Kent. Funny that, protecting the environment is supposed to be his job, not defending industry.

This week Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural resources accuses everyone opposed to the Northern Gateway pipeline of belonging to “environmental and other radical groups”

In both cases government members dismiss the democratic right of opposition, in the first instance MPs were basically told they should stay at home and STFU about important issues and in the second case that the public should be considered radical if they disagree with government or care more about the world we live in than the profits of oil companies.

Sure we have procedures to voice our concerns and ask questions about these mega projects but Oliver sweeps these aside as fraught with loopholes and illegitimate “stacked” hearings that actually allow citizens to speak on the issues. Have no doubt that just like the debate in the HOC last fall the Northern Gateway hearings will be cut short limiting public input, data, and circumventing the proper procedures. Rather than have hearings “stacked” with real people with legitimate concerns the majority of voices heard will be those supporting dirty oil and the pipeline project.

The "Harper" government is continuing its old trick of demonizing anyone who speaks against it. No longer however are they content to prey on senior diplomats, appointees and bureaucrats, now it is forbidden for any Canadian citizen or group to have an opposing view to the ruling Junta. Those that speak out are quickly labeled as treacherous radical enemies of the state not worthy of a voice at the table.

Take a group of people, almost any group will do and belittle their beliefs, tell them their voices don’t matter and destroy those things they care about with no recourse and you’ve got a great recipe for creating REAL radicals. This is essentially what the Conservatives are doing to the environmental movement.

Now I will never believe that putting long term human survival and proper stewardship of the environment before profit is radical but blowing stuff up to achieve these ends IS.

I WOULD NEVER endorse such actions but it would not surprise me if the Conservative methodology (even more so than their agenda) will create new versions of the Earth Liberation Front, more Wiebo Ludwigs, or some devotee of Derrick Jensen will take this quote and reinterpret it. "Every morning when I awake I ask myself whether I should write or blow up a dam. I tell myself I should keep writing, though I'm not sure that's right".

Harper wants to label and silence “environmental radicals” but in hindsight I think we’ll agree he did more to create them than silence them.

I hope Canadians will rise up politically before someone takes this path
.Recommend this Post

Who owns our MPPs? Ontario has an ethical problem

Disinterested, despondent, fed up. All of these can be used describe my feelings at various points in this election. The NDP are pretending they are not socialists, the Conservatives are pretending they aren't evil(and doing a crappy job), the Liberals are pretending they've done a good job the last 8 years and my Greens after being shut out of 98% of all media coverage are pretending they have a chance.. all in all very sad indeed.

While the Greens have campaigned on killing corporate and union funding of political parties the issue has gained no purchase despite this report from Democracy Watch which clearly shows we have a problem

Unions can't vote or hold a seat in government and Businesses cannot not vote or run for Premier yet they both supply a good deal of the funding to parties in Ontario which in my opinion is legalized influence buying.

When corporations and Unions, not individuals fund political parties you have to ask, who's agenda are the parties working to further?

Before you vote consider this fact

Corporations provide about 50% of donated money to Ontario Liberal Party, and 43% to Conservative Party, and unions about 28% to NDP -- 99% of Green Party donors are individuals.

Recommend this Post

Turmel, No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished

I can't know what went on in Turmel's head, was it simple opportunism to jump ship at this time?, Did she have an epiphany and learn to love Canada? Is her story of supporting a friend true?

I don't know and it doesn't matter!

While I applaud her for leaving the Bloc the NDP leadership blew this big time, they should have known of her previous status and they should have realized how it would play out in the media, no fault on her.

Did no one ask about her previous status? Did no one think it would matter or play badly in the press? Did they think they could keep it a secret?
The NDP has helped fan the flames on enough scandals over the years they should have researched Trumel more thoroughly and they should have know how unsavvy this decision was. That it came at Jack's suggestion might be dismissed because he's sick and preoccupied, I get that, but the caucus supported the decision making it their own.

I'm sure some would even say there has to be a trade off between attracting and rewarding quality people, and making them pay their dues. Is a 2-3 month rookie a suitable interim leader? I doubt she knows the workings of Parliament yet, the entire workings of her own party, or the dynamics within caucus.
Had Turmel served a whole term as MP to prove herself and distance herself from the Bloc this might not have been an issue.

I suppose the other option would have been to sell Turmel as a coup on the Bloc rather than let this come out after the fact. The open and reformed ex sovereigntist story would have shone compared to the dirty little secret story out now.

"It's not a bug, it's a feature!"

The NDP is likely to have a number of sovereignty issues while digesting this new cadre of MPs. I'm not gloating, I wish we had such a daunting problem, but they need to find these issues NOW, deal with them and not give the media these gotcha moments. They've been around long enough to know better.

Turmel did nothing wrong, in fact she did a very good thing and now she's getting tarred and feathered for the party's naivete.
Ferengi rule of acquisition number 285 No good deed ever goes unpunished

To be honest if a Bloc member renounced sovereignty and joined the Greens or even better crossed the floor I'd welcome them like a conquering hero. I'm not against people changing their beliefs, its a healthy part of personal growth. I wouldn't however expect them to immediately jump the into the leadership even if only an interim position, nor would I be comfortable with it.

.Recommend this Post

Newmarket Debate review #elxn41

Last night was the Newmarket Chamber of commerce all candidates debate, well not quite all candidates as the NDP Candidate was unable to attend and the Animal Alliance Candidate was present but unable to debate.

At the big table we had Lois Brown (Con MP), Vanessa Long (Green), Kyle Peterson (Lib) and Dorian Baxter (PC)
Some one please email me a picture, my Camera was not charged.

For the most part the candidates were largely respectful, that is if you don’t consider lying to be disrespectful. It is after all the new norm in politics where facts are not facts, experts are not experts, quotes are not quotes and there is no shame in lying.

I’m not going to detail all the minutia of the debate but I will say that it was not entirely what I expected. Brown as always was frustratingly calm and totally shameless in not answering the question or robotically repeating her programmed talking points. I was rather annoyed that when asked about proportional representation she went onto a tirade about seat division which in my opinion is no where near as important as insuring seats are proportional to popular vote. I don’t get it, why not just say you’re against PR rather go on about conservative attempts at gerrymandering?

She also made a false claim that it takes a constitutional change to alter the voting system. As I understand it how we vote in not detailed within the constitution but simply decided in the House of Commons. It doesn't even require a referendum, referendums are simply ways of confusing the issue so much you can make sure it won't pass, as we saw in BC and Ontario.

I don’t know if it was simply an error or the sign of a new police state but Brown clearly stated that she supported police demands for funding that would bring give us 1 law enforcement personal for every 7 people in the country. WTF? Not only that but Peterson the Liberal supported the number unaware it was wrong or insane, lest he be seen as less tough on crime.

Other items I found distasteful from Brown were the claims that the Conservatives were making good progress on greenhouse gases and claiming the Copenhagen climate meetings were successful. Yes so successful that Canada received numerous Fossil awards for their lack of progress internally and our interference with progress internationally.

Dorian Baxter, the President and one of only 9 remaining Progressive Canadians candidates left was his predictable bombastic self attacking the Conservative party and Brown when ever he could. As a perceived fringe candidate he could make blunt and aggressive attacks on issues like government trust, lying and the contempt of parliament charge leaving Long and Peterson to look reasonable and stately which was a good place for them to be. On one public question about Canada’s changing role from peace keeping to regime change he called out the Liberals and Conservatives for involving us in unnecessary foreign conflicts, while they defended our foreign entanglements as just and necessary.

The biggest disappointment of the night was Kyle Peterson whose nervous speed talking, occasional stammers and obvious lack of policy depth left him the weakest of the 4 candidates on the stage. Peterson’s only “on his game moment” was a slam at Brown about Conservatives attempting to steal Guelph ballot boxes. Peterson does not seem to be the candidate that can bring Newmarket-Aurora back into the Liberal fold. I don’t know if anyone short of “star” quality candidate like Belinda could revitalize a local party that was desperately searching for a good candidate last fall, it would appeared from this debate they failed.


I won’t fixate too much on my Candidate Vanessa Long, she started a little nervous but with Peterson next to her turning beet red most people never noticed. Her answers were spontaneous and thoughtful rather than stale and rehearsed and the crowd, despite being well stuffed with Liberal and Conservative faithful seemed to respond well. Vanessa was strong on the environment, did a great job of explaining the mechanics and benefits of a carbon tax, the need for local strong economies, and electoral reform. She made a great closing statement and her “ask” for the vote was certainly the best of the night.

From the audience response and supportive comments Vanessa received, it’s obvious that when strong Green candidates get to talk about their long term vision it will resonate with many people. Whether that’s enough to break decades and sometimes generations of habitual voting we’ll have to see.

I hope I’ll be able to get some edited video to add to this post later in the week.

For those of you with Cable, the Rogers debate was recorded today so check your schedule.
The Aurora debate will be held at Aurora Town Hall Wed April 20 7:30

.Recommend this Post

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada?

Considering we now have an AAEVPC candidate running for Parliament in Newmarket Aurora I figured we should have a quick look at them. First of all they need to come up with a shorter version of their name, AAE perhaps?

A quick look at their platform shows that every policy item is about the protection of an animal species not the environment as a whole. The environment is about balance and protecting entire ecosystems, plants and animals. This party seems more like the “we like animals party” (WLAP, that’s slightly better), which is all fine and dandy but it’s not a big picture environmental party.

I don’t want to delve into each issue but it would appear they disagree with many government sanctioned culls of such species as coyote’s, elk, moose and cormorants. I’m not a specialist in wild animal populations but I would suspect that the reduction in numbers of many high end predators in Canada (entirely our fault) requires that we occasional cull populations that are no longer fully controlled, especially those that are endangering people like the moose on highways in Labrador, and those destroying other species or their environment.

I’ve seen the damage a cormorant population can do and can’t help to wonder what original populations were like, size and destructiveness, and how their damage impacts other species. We’ve limited the range and populations of many species and because of that we have to limit their impact on each other up to and including the occasion culls.

I agree some culls have no purpose others however attempt to restore balance we’ve destroyed. I’m sensing they do not support any culls and I’m not ready to accept every cull is wrong,


AAE advocates better treatment of farm animals,

I’m good with that, we Greens support localization of our agriculture and believe feedlots and factory farms are unhealthy for us, create hard to deal with pollutions/runoff problems and are generally cruel and unethical. Greens want food to be smaller, local, organic and ethical.

Anti seal hunt, I believe we already have that one covered too.

Stopping the use of shelter animals for surgeries by vet students where the result is death, rather they should be kept after surgery, healed and adopted out.

I see that they want to be nice to animals but what about the problem that the shelters exist and are full most of the time? Where is the support for puppy and kiteeh family planning?
Where is the policy on
Transgenic species?
Invasive species?
Fish farms?

I’d say the AAEVPC is certainly more of an advocacy group than a political party but the paper work is done and Yvonne MacKie , one of seven candidates running in this election will be on your Newmarket-Aurora ballot..

7 Candidates is actually only 2 less that Dorian’s Progressive Canadians. I expect my next post to deal with the slow death of the PC party.

.Recommend this Post

Newmarket-Aurora, the NDP sham continues v2011

I’ve often said that strategic voting is a mistake; I’ve also stated that no vote is ever wasted. I was wrong.

I still believe that people should vote their conscience even if there is no chance of winning but what I cannot condone is voting for a candidate that simply does not try.

In 2008 I blogged about the NDP and their local sham campaign and while I did hear a little second hand outrage about the post after the fact it does not seem to have to inspired them to do better.
The fact that this post is the top google result for the search "NDP Newmarket-Aurora" shows how quiet and ineffective the local party is.

This year's election is not much different, Kassandra Bidarian the NDP Candidate is not campaigning, there are no signs, no web site, no twitter account and only the slightest mention on her Facebook page that she’s even running. Last election the NDP had a late nomination but did eventually get some activity going, this time they’ve had a candidate for some time but she’s just not trying.

Errata, when I first checked web site was basically a place holder, its now a functioning site
I totaly missed the facebook page because Vote KB for NDP was not personalize enough to be caught in the search I did, I'd respectfully suggest she use her full name for visability.

I don’t even blame Kassandra, It’s the party and its disrespect for local voters that so angers me. IF you cannot find a truly local candidate (she currently lives in Toronto), someone who is willing to put some effort into the campaign and someone who can invigorate your local base you should not be running a Candidate.

A vote for someone who doesn’t try, someone whose own party lacks the confidece in them to run a real campaign is truly a wasted vote

I wasn’t planning to make this an issue again but people are asking me “where the hell are the NDP?” Apparently contempt for voters is also a local issue.

added after original posting

James Morton shows us that you can respect your opponent if they really try

.Recommend this Post

Lessons from Japan

We haven't seen the total death numbers yet, we don't know the long term economic impacts and we don't know the true story about Japan's nuclear reactors but we can already make a few observations about these disasters and how they relates to us.

1. Nuclear power will never be 100% safe. Sure you can engineer things to the nth degree but humans can't make any building that nature can't take apart be it by erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes or tsunami. We are also incapable of building reactors which can withstand human malice, stupidity and error, it simply cannot be done. Ontario for example has a pile of reactors many of which have had small leaks over the years as the tritium levels in lake Ontario prove. None of our reactors are built to withstand a direct airplane strike, none have adequate on the ground security and none could withstand a real attack by motivated terrorists.

We have never devised a way to store nuclear waste that will keep it safe for the 1000s of years required and no one ever includes these long term commitments in the final price tag when building these monstrosities

Today in Ontario both Liberals and the Conservatives support the construction of new nuclear reactors. Considering what's happening in Japan its very likely that nuclear will be taken off the table at least until the election is over but be assured both of these parties will scurry back to this unsafe and costly idea once the story has died down. Only the Green Party of Ontario has been consistent and clear in their opposition to more reactors, if what's happening in Japan is scary consider it happening at Pickering or Darlington.

2. Within close proximity to an earthquake there is very little you can do to prepare for, or escape from a Tsunami. Even with advanced warning you can only save lives not stop the massive property damage.
Has enough been done in BC to strengthen building codes and retrofit old buildings? How good are our emergency warning systems? Are we ready for a total collapse of the insurance industry when it gets brought down by the increasing number of natural disasters?

Additionally, recent articles claim that global warming will cause more earthquakes as the weight of shifting ice and fresh melted water redistribute pressure on the planets crust. Old faults frozen by the massive weight of ice will begin to move again and we can expect higher levels of geological movement in the north Atlantic especially as the crust around Iceland and Greenland begin to rebound after the ice melts. We also need to realize as seas rise more of the worlds coast become susceptible to tsunami damage all thanks to man made climate change, we need to move on this issue now.

3. A friend tweeted last night that his family in Japan was safe but that the supply network had collapsed and there was no food in the grocery stores. This is the result of the just in time delivery supply chain prevalent in all western nations. We need to realize that our supply network is just as fragile as Japan's and any breakdown that disrupts roads, fuel supplies, electrical power etc means the average grocery store has no more than 3 days supplies, if it can even be opened without power. In the third world, even many of the poorest people don't need to shop daily, they get a bag of rice, one of beans, a can of cooking oil and make it last as long as they can. In our affluent west we believe the stores never close. We believe we can go buy what ever we want whenever we want. We believe our overly complex and largely invisible supply lines can never be cut. We are wrong!

Complex systems are only as robust as their weakest link, no fuel, no hydro, or shredded roads and our ability to feed ourselves disappears.



The Japanese disasters shows us we need to invest in emergency preparedness but not necessarily in just big helicopters, warning systems and DART units but making our communities more robust and more resilient. We need safe, renewable and widely distributed power production and distribution systems, we need better local food systems including more local food storage, more local food production and a local distribution systems. We need to get off our asses and be ready to take care of ourselves in our own communities because from Haiti, to Japan, to New Orleans its obvious that governments can't or won't do the job alone.

How many of you have built your government recommended 72 hour emergency kit? How many of you have the food, water and medicine you need in the house at all times?

I don't claim that our situation is the same as Japan's but there are always risks of some kind and our society is not ready for them. Analyzing the risks and discussing how to mitigate them should be our focus rather than wallowing in CNN's 24 hour disaster porn marathon.Recommend this Post

Holy Shit

There are any number of reasons to say Holy Shit! these days, be it social upheaval in the middle east; dumb ass ethically bankrupt Conservative ads or the coming wave of food inflation, but in this case Holy Shit: Managing Manure To Save Mankind is a new book all my gardener, farmer and wannabe farmer friends should check out.




And before someone else brings it up. Yes, I agree, this was a shitty post.Recommend this Post

NDP Endorses Green Candidate

Can someone tell me why the press is ignoring the fact that Kevin Bordian, the NDP Candidate in Vaughan endorsed the Green Candidate last night

Maybe if Progressives of all flavours supported the best Candidate in each riding we could crush Harper and force the issue on PR

.Recommend this Post

Voting Green in Newmarket-Aurora

What a great little program to build animated videos

Oh and here's the FB links mentioned in video, and here

.Recommend this Post

An evening with Adriane Carr and Georges Laraque

The Newmarket-Aurora Federal Green Party Association is hosting an evening with Green Party Deputy leaders Adriane Carr and George Laraque, Nov 16 at the Wellington Gallery in Aurora, 7:00pm -10:00


Come out and enjoy a great event surrounded by great local art, music, and fellow greens while hearing from Adriane Carr and candidate Vanessa Long. Fresh from the carnage known as the Battle of the Blades I'm sure we can coax a story or two out Georges as well.

There will also be a short pledge auction in preparation of the next federal election and a raffle for some wonderful local art.

I even hear they will have appetizers and a bar..... That's all I need to hear ;)

You can reserve an e-ticket here and check out the google map to the gallery.

.Recommend this Post

Democracy fail: Where are the local opposition Candidates?

We’ve been under the threat of a federal election for well over a year yet I see that many ridings are unprepared having few of their candidate’s selected, mine is no exception.


I’d prefer that candidates were chosen very early on so we have more time to learn more about them, talk to them, judge them and see how seriously they intend to run their campaigns. I want to see dedicated candidates that actually work at making local connections, communicating their ideas and listening to ours all year, not candidates that get pulled out of thin air right after the writ is dropped, do a 5 week campaign blitz and then disappear back into obscurity should they lose.


In the current municipal elections we’ve seen some great examples of hungry engaged candidates who’ve been active in the community long before the election started. Some contenders have been working towards their goal for the entire interval between elections showing a great deal of dedication and determination. These are the kind of people I want to see in ALL parties vying for the opportunity of representing us federally. I don’t want last minute municipal candidates who come out of nowhere and file their papers on the last day nor do I want federal candidates who refuse to state their intention and be scrutinized well before an election is called.

So my question is where are these tireless federal candidates in Newmarket-Aurora?

Naturally the Conservative incumbent Lois Brown is visible as she should be, it’s her fulltime paid job. She may be a 3rd string, lack luster MP but she is available.

Vanessa Long of the Green Party has been nominated for 9 months and has been increasingly active engaging the public through a variety of local community and business organizations. Here she is speaking at the prorogation rally in Newmarket just days after her nomination.

From what I can see the NDP continues their history of being the stealth party with little visible EDA activity and certainly no proactive nominations. To be fair their president and previous candidate did take part in last winter’s prorogation protests but they generally don’t make the effort to be seen, have never tried to run a credible campaign and have been trending down over the last 3 elections.

The biggest surprise however is the total lack of activity by the Liberal party who nominated and then lost candidate Margaret Black all within a 4 month period in late 2009 Not only did Black bail on the nomination but she wasn’t even a resident of the Newmarket- Aurora riding, her full time gig is Mayor of King City. This alone might not seem like much until you see this recent letter sent out by the Young Liberals of Newmarket-Aurora to their followers on facebook. My snide commentary is in the brackets

Hi Everyone,

It's unfortunately been a quieter summer than we anticipated. However, the house about to resume for the fall session so things are about to get exciting once more. (Iggy’s bus tour was a bore and we did no organizing; I hope the this session is more interesting)
As some of you may or may not be aware, the Newmarket-Aurora riding is currently without a Liberal candidate. (because she bailed on us after 4 stinking months)

As a member of the candidate search committee, we have been looking around Aurora for people who qualified to represent the riding and a desire to make a difference in the community. (Yet morally flexible enough to run Liberal)(P.S. Why just Aurora? Newmarket not good enough for ya?)

The committee has done some good work, however, further input by party members is desired. As a result, I'm asking the members of the Young Liberal group here if they know anyone who would be interested in seeking the nomination. (We’ve spend all summer looking for good a good candidate yet we came up dry and really need you to find a new sacrificial lamb)

If anyone has any specific names of who they would think make a fitting candidate, please forward them to me.

I hope to hear from you all soon. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Nick (Nick Kelly)

I don’t know about you but I interpret this letter as an admission that after a wasted summer they found that no one of quality wants the job. Margret Black took the nomination in August 09 and then backed away when polls weakened for the Liberals at the end of the year, a Mayoral position in the hand is apparently worth a lost cause in the bush. The Liberals seem to be struggling in Newmarket-Aurora; unable to find “good” local candidates unless a win is guaranteed. Currently it looks uncertain and no one seems willing to be stuck with the Liberal label.

As I said before I want to see a quality selection of candidates representing all the flavours of the Canadian spectrum, I don’t want 5 week wonders or cardboard cut outs filling space on the ballot. I also don’t want parachutes candidates arriving because parties are too week to generate good local talent.

What I want to see are engaged candidates on the ground today listening to citizens. In Newmarket Aurora the Conservatives and the Greens are the only two parties who actually appear willing to work for the job of representing us and that’s not too encouraging.

.Recommend this Post