Is this British Parliamentary System working for Us?

The media all seemed to get on the, "Is democracy broken?" question the same week with the McLean's/CPAC round table in Toronto, the CBC's Sunday Edition town hall meeting in Ottawa and with Dale Goldhawk's call in show all asking the same kind of question.

Of course Canada's media have memories like goldfish and have now have moved on to other matters. Have they moved on a bit too quickly. I think so.

Canadians should take a good look at our system of government and ask why it isn't working. Think about it.

First the first past the post electoral system only works in a two party system and then, only marginally. When, in any given riding, there might be four or five good candidates and a couple of more marginal ones, it hardly works at all. And that is just for starters.

We have to start to ask ourselves why should the party with the largest minority of supporters, call the all shots.

• The Prime Minister is a bully who won't recognize that he is leading a minority.

• The Governor General is a wimp who is afraid to stand up to him. Until that changes, we are doomed to fail.

Why should every bloody bit if legislation, including omnibus bills, turn into confidence votes.

What if it worked more like this. If the party in power can't get a bill passed, they should go back and rewrite the damn thing again, and perhaps again until they get it right. The defeat of a bill in a confidence motion, should not necessarily mean that we are going to the polls. If the government thinks that they are not capable of governing, then it is up to the Prime Minister to go the the Governor General and say, "This isn't working."

The Governor general should then ask, "Ok you guys, does anyone else over there on the Hill think they can form government?" A few discussions could take place to see if anyone else figures they could make it work. If no one believes they could form a functional government, then call an election.

In other words, Michaëlle Jean should say, "Ok Stevie, it is up to you to make it work, if you can't, I'll find a leadership combination which can."

Can you Spell Hypocrites

I noticed in this morning's Globe & Mail that the Television honchos and the Cable/Satellite guys are in competition to see who can spend the most money trying to influence the CRTC.

The issue is trying to decide if the distribution companies should have to actually pay for the content they distribute or, should they simply be able to help themselves for free, the way they have been doing for years. Why this is becoming an issue now after all these years is a mystery to all of us but, after about 40 years of helping themselves, the cable companies are a bit miffed.

On the upside, I am all for seeing the corporate media guys helping to subsidize the G & M to the tune of $150,000 or so every time both sides decide to take out adds.

The cable guys might be the more honest than the TV execs in their ads. If the CRTC rules that the distribution companies have to pay into the programming fund, they will simply pass all of that extra cost on to the consumer. The fact that in Canada we already pay more than most people do for cable won't be a big deal. For most Canadians, no price is too high to be able to have unfettered access to Fox-News, CNN and NBC.

What gets under my skin is the absolute hypocrisy of the television companies spinning this as a threat to Local programming. What a load of bull. The Television corporations, including the CBC gave up on local programming years ago. To now characterize the completely inadequate local news coverage they now give to communities as "local programming" is beyond the pale.

On behalf of all the journalists, producers, writers and technicians who used to work in the Canadian television industry, producing local programming, before these guys cut it to the bone. Let's call a spade a spade. They are hypocrites. It makes me feel ill.

Surely I misread that

Like most Canadians, for me this has been a less than stellar summer. In the spring we were warned to brace ourselves. The summer, we were told, was going to be hot and dry but promises by the weather office are not the kind you can take to the bank. They are more like, "The cheques in the mail" and those other hollow promises.

Saskatchewan is usually pretty hot anyway. Most summers we wait for our lawns to turn brown to we don't have to bother cutting the grass any more.

So we waited for that hot dry weather through June, July and August but, much to our chagrin, it was a no show. OK, so it got hot for a few days in September. Whop-dee-do.

So here it is October. It is cold, rainy and windy. In most of Canada when winds pick up to 90 km they talk about close to hurricane force winds. Here on the prairies we say, "Bit of a breeze out there eh"

I can take the wind out there but I must tell you, I was more than a bit pissed about that snow icon that turned up this morning in the corner of Leader Post's weather page.

It looks like the beginning of a long hard winter. At least things seem to be back to normal.

I think the Election is Off

Canadians have a government led by that nerd we all hated in high school run a cabinet filled with Mike Harris Conservatives and Reformers. And still they lead in the polls. I like to think it isn't that Canadians are stupid. It is,simply put, because the opposition parties are unraveling at the seams and are offering us no meaningful alternatives.

The NDP are just where the government wants them, doing well enough to cause the Liberals considerable damage by splitting the centre - left vote, but low enough in the polls not to worry about. Try as he might Jack Layton simply cannot win over the hearts and minds of Canadians. It is more than the mustache. People just don't like him. Nobody is listening to Jack any more.

The Federal Liberals must be scratching their heads and asking themselves some pretty tough questions. Have you seen the polls? How could they screw up so badly? What the hell went wrong?

It isn't so much what went wrong as it is that those guys just can't seem to get it right. The once "natural ruling party" can't seem to pick a real leader. Lets face it, Dion was a disaster. You think they would learn from that. But no, instead of picking Bob Rae who actually has the ability to connect with Canadians they choose Micheal Ignatieff who, lets face it is a bit of a cold fish.

Canadians are a hard bunch to please and truth be told, a bit hypocritical about it all as well. We mumble on about how Ignatieff once supported the invasion of Iraq as a reason why they won't vote for the Liberals under Ignatieff's leadership all the while supporting a Prime Minister who, had he been in power at the time would have sure as hell sent Canadians into Iraq, no ands, ifs or buts.

The Coderre affair isn't doing Michael Ignatieff much good either. Already in trouble after a lackluster performance over the summer he didn't need problems in Quebec. Denis Coderre claims he is speaking out for the good of the party. "Hold still Michael while I slip this knife in." Codarre's hissy fit has caused the Liberal real aggravation. Michael claims he isn't taking this personally but a brief visit to Coderre's website shows that it has be wiped clean of everything but a riding map and a brief biography.

So here we sit. We have a right wing Prime Minister with a mean spirited, bullying style, changing what it means to be Canadian bit by bit.

Election talk is off. We don't have to opposition party strong enough to give Harper a run for his money so, here we are between a rock and a hard place.

Some days I despair.

Cell Phone Robber Barons

I see that Brad Wall's telecommunications company SaskTel is at it again. Canadians already pay some of the highest cellular telephone charges in the world and we were told by SaskTel this morning that rates are going up again. This time by about $8.00 a month.

This announcement which was on page D1 in the Regina Leader Post and which was ignored by most media, comes the day after SaskEnergy announced to much fanfare, a $5.00 monthly reduction in natural gas rates. So Saskatchewan residents' Crown Corporation costs come out as a net loss.

What is missing from even the minimal reporting this story got was a comparison of what Canadians pay for cell phone service as compared to other countries.

This summer we flew top the UK. We bought a cell phone from Cell Phone Warehouse in Edinburgh. One of our many choices along Princess Street. The phone, plus £10.00 worth of air time cost us $27.00 and change. We called Canada about 8 or 10 times and there is still a £6.00 credit on the phone and it hasn't cost us another cent.

Go figure.

I pay more than that every month and on a recent drive to Ontario and Quebec the service was so bad I wondered why I actually pay SaskTel anything.

It is kind of funny to read SaskTel President and CEO, Robert Watson's excuses. He claims all in all that Saskatchewan customers still get a good deal. I think not Robert. You are hosing consumers.

How do you spell robber baron Brad?

What about all this Election Talk?

Ok, who really wants an election?

Jack Layton obviously doesn't. He has no where to go but down and with the Liberals talking tough, Jack has had the tables turned on him. He can't afford to risk an election so now he has to prop up Little Stevie, taking his turn to look like a hypocrite. As a further incentive he must know that the next election is most likely his last as party leader. He wants to stay put.

The saber rattling in the Liberal camp has reached a frenzy but it a pretty fair bet to suggest that Micheal most likely doesn't really want to go to the polls either. Try as he might over the summer to capture the hearts and minds of voters. Canadians just haven't jumped on the Liberal bandwagon. All the posturing is about taking his turn at bringing the government to the brink. He can't back down and be viewed as soft like Dion so he has to bet on Jack folding and supporting the right wingers.

It is a high stakes game.

So, who wants the government brought down? My bet is that a majority of Canadians would like to see Harper and his gang out of there, after he only got about 30% of the popular vote last time around. Canadians don't want an election unless it is pretty certain that Stevie and his gang are going to be shuffled off stage. After all, what is the point in having an election to give us the status quo? That is simply a wasted opportunity.

My bet is that the only one who really wants to go to the polls is Stephen Harper. At this point, he is likely to win another minority. In the worst case scenario he might take 40% and win a majority. The odds must look good from where he stands.

It is the proverbial rock and the hard place. Collectively, 65% of Canadians don't support this government but we are stuck with it because no other party can dredge up enough support to take over.

First we need a working coalition, then we have to change the system.

Are you fed up with the State of our Democracy?

At the risk of overstating what Canadians think, it is clear to me that most of us are fed up with the state of democracy in Canada. If I have overstated it, I know that at the very least most of my friends are.

On September 23, Maclean's and CPAC hosted a round table discussion entitled our “Democracy is Broken: How do we fix it?” at Toronto's St Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

The round table was moderated by Peter Van Dusen and featured Maclean’s Andrew Coyne and Paul Wells. They were joined by a guest panel made up of former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former prime minister's chief of staff Eddie Goldenberg, author John Ralston Saul and conservative commentator Rick Anderson.

It was an interesting discussion, a must for political junkies.

It was turned into a television program and you can find it by following this link to CPAC.

Earlier this week, Sunday Edition's Michael Enright moderated a public forum entitled "Canada's Dysfunctional Politics", is There a Cure For Our Failing Democracy" . Sunday Edition hosted the town hall type meeting at St. Paul's University in Ottawa to discuss the issues. It was broadcast September 27 and will soon be available on podcast.

The panelists were:

Jane Taber ,senior parliamentary writer for The Globe and Mail, and co-host of CTV's Question Period.

Duff Connacher , founder and co-ordinator of Democracy Watch

.Charlotte Gray, is one of Canada's best known non fiction writers, and adjunct professor in the department of history at Carlton University.

William Johnson, the author of five books on politics in French and English including "The Future of Canada" and a biography of Stephen Harper.

Manon Conellier, political columnist for Le Devoir.

Elly Alboim, former CBC journalist and current head of Strategic Communications for Earnscliffe Strategy Group.

And

As well on September 27, on CPAC's Goldhawk Live, the topic is Dysfunctional Democracy. They will be taking live calls from viewers. Political scientist and media commentator John Trent, who is on FVC's National Advisory Board, will be a studio guest.

The program should also be available on-line at the CPAC site if you miss it.

What is it about Dilbert?

We live in a world where business and business leader rank far above the rest of us. They are courted by politicians, so their opinions can be sought out before government leaders make any significant decisions. These new sages have garnered respect from the ruling classes far above what they deserve. The economic meltdown proved that.

So, before we all bow down to the gods of big business I think we have to take a few minutes and ask ourselves why the Dilbert comic strip resonates with so many of us.

What About This Election Idea?

As election talk increases our newspapers are full of opinions by political pundits telling us that Canadians don’t want an election. They think that Ottawa should simply get down to work even if it means letting Little Stevie run roughshod over our already bruised Canadian psyche.

As much as Stephen Harper drones on about his legitimately elected government, only about 30% of Canadians voted for those guys in the last election. A majority of Canadians don’t want this Harper government in power. That much has been clear from the outset.

I used to support the idea of minority governments. Historically, they have worked but in this age of fuck you politics, they are an appalling failure.

So ask yourself, what have we got?

• We have a bullying style of leadership from the Prime Minister, a style of leadership so mean spirited that it undermines respect for the office he holds.
  
• We have a right-wing government that is bit by bit changing what it means to be a Canadian for the rest of us.

The result is that as a people, Canadians who have a reputation for finding the workable compromise, are being led by a “my way or the highway” government. It is a situation few of us are comfortable with.

The real question is do we want to exchange a Conservative lead government for Liberal government with the same lackluster support now held by Harper and his gang? Why bother.

In the short term what we need is a real coalition government that can team up together and make parliament work. Not some temporary soft Conservative/Bloc/NDP coalition like we are working with now in the short term, but a formal Liberal/NDP deal. Any reasonable government with a social conscious would be supported by the Bloc. A good coalition would easily go full term.

The only thing standing in the way of that happening is hubris and there are few things more powerful.

In the long term, Canadians have to begin to realize that democracy as we know it in this country is a sham.

• When 30% can bring any party to power in Ottawa.
  
• When 40% support can win a government a majority.
  
• When Mulroney’s 50.03% win in 1984 is being described as a landslide

We need to change the electoral system.

Canada is one of the few remaining major democracies still using the “first past the post” system. Most major democracies scrapped this "winner take all" system some time ago. Winner take all systems subvert the core principles of representative democracy.

So, wake up Canada and reclaim your country while you can still recognize it.

Good to be Home

After almost three weeks in the road and 8230 km later it is good to be back in Regina. I am a bit tired from all the driving but I feel rejuvenated as well. I look forward to getting back to what I enjoy about this blog. Focusing on the ironic, political stupidity and what ever controversy grabs my attention

Ottawa is moving into the silly season, the Liberals want an election desperately, Harper has moved into a soft coalition with the people he so recently described as Separatists and Socialists and the American public seems to have lost their collective minds.

It looks like it is going to be a good fall for bloggers. I look forward to it.

So, where the hell is the beach?

There is nothing like a trip to Europe to remind Canadians about where so many of our place name came from.

We have London, Keswick and Paris in Ontario. Halifax and New Glasgow in Nova Scotia and New Westminster in B.C.

The prairies are no different, here in Saskatchewan we have town named after Stornoway, Stockholm and Runnymede and Manitoba has Killarney and Norway House but don't you think that Miami Manitoba is pushing it a bit far. No beach, no alligators, no CSI.

What were they thinking?

The Nanton of Manitoba

I always think of the drive from Kenora to Winnipeg as a short hop so I was a bit surprised that a side trip to Morden to visit friends seemed to take longer than I thought it would. And, to be honest the drive, down from the Trans-Canada Highway through Steinback and across country isn't the prettiest.

Morden though is a bit of a jewel on the prairie with lots of tall trees and stately old homes. It has a character many communities around here don't possess. It is a pretty little town.

I don't understand much about agriculture but something about the Morden's climate makes it great for sweet corn and apples so like Nanton in Alberta, Morden Manitoba is known for producing the sweetest corn around. "Better that Nanton" swears Vance. I am not sure I'd go that far but, it is at least as good.

Many Canadians tend to think of the Canadian prairies as one huge homogeneous climate zone but we couldn't be more wrong about that. The prairies are full of micro-climates and while any given community may be having a bumper crop while 20 km away, the crops are drying up in parched fields. I don't understand why but, despite how tough it is to produce corn in much of flat land country, Morden produces does a hell of a job at it. Not "as high as an elephant's eye" but sweet none the less.

Thinking of Kenora as the Flat Land

Yesterday I got a good start leaving Wawa and drove right through to Kenora, about 950 km. The last time through here I drove on to Winnipeg but that seemed a bit excessive yesterday.

I settled into the same hotel Chris and I stayed at on the way down. I was pretty relaxed but, when the time came for a beer and supper - my plan was to head for Casey's just across the parking lot - I noticed my left rear tire was flat.

I tried to change it but after getting three nuts off the others started to slip and I was smoothing out the edges of the wheel lugs. I called CAA. A small young woman and a very big truck finally turned up and we wrestled the wheel off and put on the spare..

I guess it is Canadian Tire first thing this morning.

So much for an early start.

Wawa

It would be going too far to say that Wawa is my least favorite north of Superior town on the highway but, not very much too far. Every time I drive by I remember that old Crowbar song, Stuck on the Road in Wawa Ontario and I am afraid it might happen to me. I know, few of you remember the old Canadian blues band Crowbar.

Anyone who has passed by however would remember the goose. It is one of those roadside attractions Canada is famous or. A Canada Goose. there are now two other huge goose statues in town - if that is what we call those things, You just can't get too much of a good thing.

So, here I am in yet another Wawa motel. Just down the road from the big Canada goose

The drive from Manitoulin Island to here was slow. Too many small towns.Tough to make time

For what it is worth. The pizza at the North of 17 Restaurant is pretty good. So, if you spend the night here. Take my advice, chose pizza over Chinese. I've tried them both and pizza wins hands down.

The Chi-Cheemaun

I was in the ferry line-up in Tobermoray at 7:00 this morning and they started to load the ferry Chi-Cheemaun about 1/2 hour before her 9:00 sailing time. It is a fair sized, the largest ferry on the great Lakes at 365 ft long and able to hold about 143 standard American cars.

The ferry runs between Tobermoray on the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island to the north. For those who are geographically challenged, it is on the edge of Georgian Bay. Music fans will remember Gordon Lightfoot's song Christian Island which is on also Georgian Bay but, alas nowhere near my route.

The first part of the trip is through the Fathom Five National Marine Park, a regular Parks Canada park, except underwater so, no camping sites or picnic tables. I couldn't see much, it was, you know, underwater.

The sailing was fun. as an old navy guy I just like ships but when we got to Manitoulin Island the crew followed that old ferry load-unload rule - first on, last off and I got stuck behind a number of American RVs.

Tobermoray

I left Wolfe Island this morning on the 7:45 ferry intending to make it a short day by stopping in Owen Sound.

At first glance it seemed like a pretty small town - the home of Billy Bishop - but after a dreadful meal at a Chinese restaurant for lunch I decided prospects for supper looked pretty thin so I moved on.

I will spend the night in Tobermoray on the Bruce Peninsula and take the ferry to Manitolin Island in the morning. I haven't looked at the map closely so I am not sure where I'll spend tomorrow night

Wind Power

It has been a couple of years since I have been to visit my brother on Wolfe Island. Since I was last there a massive wind farm has been installed. I had heard something of the proposal but, had never imagined the size of the project.

Unless you happen to have land where the company wanted to put one of the 86 windmills, I can’t imagine you’d be very happy about it. The project has significantly changed the landscape of the island and even if you were all for green power, the installation is more than a bit imposing.

On the upside it has allowed Ontario to close one of their coal generated power plants but, it ain’t subtle.

I always liked Ottawa

We wrapped things up in Lennoxville and I headed to Ottawa arriving in enough time to check into my hotel then pick Morgan up at the airport at 6:00.

We spent the last couple of days running errands to help get Morgan's accomodations set up. She is in a great location, close to the University, a couple of blocks from a grocery store, a short walk from the Bytown market and she has the pick of several exotic restaurants within a short walk.

Ottawa is growing on me. I nevery really wanted to leave, truth be told, but I am having fun remembering what I like about the place. The canal, the bike trains and just the feel of the place. I'd move back here, given the opportunity.

Rouyn to Lennoxville

From Rouyn we drove south to a spot in the Laurentions where my mother has a cabin. No one has been up in over a year so we were a bit concerned. Last winter there was a good deal of snow and we wonder at times how long the roof is going to last.

We found everything in good shape and after some repairs to the chimney and some of the screening everything was fine.

Did I mention we saw a bear on the drive in. Very cool.

Chris and I took the canoe out after super as it was getting dark, and the moon was rising. Very pretty.

This morning early. a pair of mature loons and a young one swam no morethan 30 feed from where I was standing. It was a beautiful, misty morning.

We drove out early this morning, dropped off in Ste Anne de Bellevue for a quick visit then were off the Lennoxville and got Chris moved in.

This is a lovely small university town. Chris will have a great bike ride to class but a bit of an uphill climb home

Well it turned out it wasn't Crickets.

After breakfast at our favorite Petro-Canada restaurant in Marathon we noticed a kind of chirp from the engine. We investigated but couldn't figure it out.

By Wawa is was worse but seemly manageble. By Timmins (Shania Twain's home town) it was like lying in a bed of crickets. After a quick lunch and a further investigation we decided that perhaps the Chrysler dealership would be the best bet.

So, 3 hours and $340.00 later we had another serpentine belt and a new tension thingy and we were on our way again.

We quit in Rouyn-Noranda and grabbed a room at the east end of town, tired and hungry. We drove back into downtown and had a good pizza and a beer at Pizzadelic.Good to be back in Quebec.

Tomorrow we are off to the cabin.