NDP-Liberal coalition

The president of the young Liberals said he wants the parties to unite and defeat Harper. Now is this Coalition actually realistic? Penny Collentte thinks not.

Penny Collenette, a former advisor to prime minister Jean Chrétien, told CTV News Channel's Power Play that talking about a coalition or formal merger before an election is not a realistic possibility.

I think she brings up a good point. Talks will only hurt the Liberals. Unless they actually have a coalition. Then we have a different problem, the government would have a majority, but Michael Ignatieff might have some problems proposing bills that all three of them will agree with.

A recent Angus Reid Poll said the Conservatives would defeat a coalition headed by Ignatieff.

So this is not even popular. I think that the Liberal party should not have a coalition. Because first, this coalition could not hold up. With the NDP leader Jack Layton having a much more different platform than Mr. Ignatieff the coalition could have many cracks. If you think of the U.K. election as an example of a coalition that is working "good eye". In the U.K the conservatives had a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Now, unlike Canada, they have a third party that's platform is very center of the road, so this idea of Jack Layton having a coalition is not so possible here. I support coalition governments when the party in power can form a stable majority government, or when the opposition parties think that they can come together to form a stable government. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20100601/politics-coalition-100601/

Tough-on-Crime Bill Illegal

According to the Child Welfare League of Canada, one of the Tories' tough on crime bills violates a UN convention on the rights of minors. This is yet another barrier preventing the bill from passing. Good. Not only does the Conservatives' stance not work, it's illegal. Studies have proven that shutting someone in jail for an extended period of time doesn't work. In fact, they have also proven that these tough-on-crime bills will just make criminals more likely to commit the crime. There is still one funny thing about this bill. It ensures that judges will have to consider protecting the public as a "primary goal." That would go against the tough-on-crime stance as to protect the public, it would be better to not lock someone up for a long time.

OTTAWA - The government's plans to get tough on young offenders violates a United Nations convention and will exacerbate an already racist criminal justice system, critics warn. 

Bill C-4 - dubbed Sebastien's Law which was reintroduced in March - would force courts to make protecting the public a "primary goal" of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Read more at the London Free Press.

Obama did not go to Arlington Cemetery

Barack Obama now joins a list of three presidents who do did not go to the Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans day. The list consist of Bush (the son) who went to Maine. He did of course go to a memorial in Maine. Ronald Regan did not go because he was at an international meeting. Obama now joins the list. He went to Illinois. He did of course went to a memorial service, but there was a storm. Now you might be thinking: what is the diffrence if he does not go to Arlington. The thing is that Obama is the President of the U.S he should be at Arlington grieving with the nation as has almost every presdent.

First Priority: the Environment

Harper's government is not going to make the environment a priority any time soon. However, most Canadians said that climate change should be the priority for the G8 and the G20 meetings according to the polls conducted by Nanos. Interestingly, it beats the economy by about 7% support. (33.7% - 27.3%) Harper did just the opposite. Even under pressure from the UN and many other countries, climate change is not going to be on the agenda. This just goes to show that Canadians want the opposite of what Harper is doing. Many Conservative bloggers would say that they are high up in the polls and therefore, this one doesn't matter. But, is all they care about support? How about responding to what the people want and doing what is best for Canada and the future of Canada? Obviously, Canadians know the environment is extremely important, maybe even more important than the economy as demonstrated by this poll. I know most Canadians are looking for ways to cut down on their environmental footprint and I cheer them on. Harper should let them save the environment and make it easier for us to do so.

Invités à établir l'ordre des priorités pour les rencontres des leaders internationaux, un tiers des répondants (33,7%) ont mis tout en haut de la liste les changements climatiques, contre 27,3% qui estiment que l'enjeu de la reprise économique est le plus important. Les droits de la personne, la liberté et la démocratie arrivent au troisième rang (14,3%), devant la santé maternelle et infantile dans les pays en développement (10,9%), le libre-échange et l'ouverture des marchés (6,1%) et la sécurité nucléaire (4,6%).

Read more at Cyberpresse.ca.

Fire Away!

An MP from Calgary wrote on a card for Canadian troops, "When in doubt, pull the trigger." What a good attitude to the war in Afghanistan. The Conservative MP says that this expression is common in military use and means keep safe and to defend yourself. I actually believe him. However, I do think he could have used different words to express what he means. There is no need to offend people for no reason. He might need to make a few apologies, and that is fine. This MP wished well for the troops just as we all do. This should nevertheless be a lesson to others. Think before speaking, writing or expressing yourself in public.

Controversial Calgary West member of Parliament Rob Anders is coming under fire for a well-wishing note he left for Canadian troops that says: "When in doubt, pull the trigger."

A Christian group, El Shafie Ministries, asked if a large "Support Our Troops" card could be placed in the House of Commons lobbies for MPs to sign in Ottawa -- a request agreed to by the Conservatives and opposition parties.

Read more at the National Post.