Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

'The Canada you deserve'

by Aaron Wherry on Sunday, April 3, 2011 5:33pm - 81 Comments

The latest spot from the Liberal side.

A French ad is here.

Tags: advertising, education, election, Election 2011, learning passport, liberals

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Anon

No open shirt … I guess this is the Prime Ministerial look now, building on their Big-Mo.

Watch Harper counter with the bow tie, Celtic kilt and high-heeled boots.

BCer in Mtl

I hoping for a bolo and leather vest

frobisher

Speaking of wardrobes, whose bright idea was it for Harper to wear a jersey with #64 on it for that road hockey photo-op?

This&that

As someone who paid their own way through 3 years of college, struggling to pay without help from the parents, I must say I would have loved this. We have so many bright young people for whom this could mean saying yes to education. There are still so many people who don't go "because it's so expensive".
DBM

These ads get posted on youtube by the parties themselves. I can't help but notice that when you finish watching one, a bunch of 'related videos' come up.

I wonder what (if anything) parties are doing to control what comes up in those post-video windows?

Insert Real Name

I believe "related videos" depend on the relative popularity of videos with keywords identical or similar to the one you are watching. It's all driven automatically, as far as I know, there is no way of buying a position in the search results.

DBM

Well, if that ever becomes a revenue stream for Youtube, I hearby assert my patent.

Richard_S_Argent

I must say, I love this policy. It's a damn fine idea and the kind of thing we should have been doing for a long time. It also is the sort of thing that will almost invariably get expanded in the future.

One thing I'd like to see is a change in the interest rates charged on student loans (like OSAP in Ontario). It seems crazy to me that we're hamstringing recent graduates with very high interest rates on their student loans. These are precisely the kind of people who would be spending that money on other things, like cars, if they didn't have to put away a couple hundred bucks a month paying their loans. There must be an interest level that will pay for the operation of the program without being too onerous on the payee. This probably shouldn't be a money making enterprise.

(and yes, I realize that this has nothing to do with the federal campaign, but it has bugged me for years :)
John D

Personally I think *I* deserve a Canada made of chocolate

Just Joe

You can't afford it.

burlivespipe

It was but Harper ate it. He said it didn't support the troops, but tasted sweet.

OriginalEmily1

Exactly the kind of thing we need going into the knowledge economy!

I don't know why we're suddenly blessed with a leap into modernity….but I'm delighted!

brooster2

Emily…I usually agree with your insightful comments but, honestly, I liked you better when you weren't shilling effusively for the Liberals. A little circumspection would be much more becoming !-)

OriginalEmily1

Kindly pay attention

I am not a member of ANY political party.

I AM pro-knowledge economy, and pro-future.

I am not interested in being anything as sexist as 'becoming'. Shame on you.

Haven't you got anything better to do with your time?

brooster2

OK, chill out there. And don't chastise me for being sexist. If you don't like "becoming" (I didn't realize it was "sexist"), try compelling or persuasive.

And, no, I don't have anything better to do with my time.

Most of the time, I'm in total agreement with your contribution to these boards. I just get suspicious with anyone who seems to gush uncritically over a particular party's platform.

Call me cynical.

jonatwitan

"And, no, I don't have anything better to do with my time."

Well played!
OriginalEmily1

You wouldn't tell a guy to behave in a more 'becoming' way, so don't do it with me.

'Gushing' is also sexist btw. I don't 'gush'.

I have been a globalist, pro-future, pro-progress, 21st century type since I came on here so naturally I'd be pleased with policies meant to promote the knowledge economy.

If you have nothing better to do with your time than voice suspicions over progress and the future, one has to ask why not.
brooster2

OK, so now that I've been schooled in the proper use of the English language, perhaps you can get over your brittle defensiveness and focus your energy on those who disagree politically with both of us.

I'll try not to poke the hornets' nest in future.
OriginalEmily1

Jeebus, now I have a 'brittle defensiveness'!

Several men on here, INCLUDING YOURSELF, have been enthusiastic about this policy….you didn't decide to chastise THEM….but when *I* am enthusiastic about something I've promoted for years, I get called names!

I'm not interested in the 'politics' of it, I'm interested in the future of the country….promoting this kind of thing is vital.

Perhaps you should read the trilogy that ends with The Girl Who Kicked Over The Hornet's Nest.
brooster2

I didn't call you names. I try not to do that. I merely questioned your motives. I hasten to add that we're usually on the same side in most of these discussions.

So, yes, you're coming across as brittle and defensive.
OriginalEmily1

'I didn't call you names'…..'you're coming across as brittle and defensive'???

We are discussing policy, not 'my motives'….anymore than you've discussed anyone else's motives.

I'm enthusiastic about these futuristic policies.

So give over with the paranoia fer cryin' out loud.
brooster2

Paranoia? This is all stupid. Let's just quit like a couple of adults.
OriginalEmily1

Yes, it's stupid. That's what I said.
Cats

Wow. You totally and utterly damaged yourself with this conversation Emily.

It reflected so very poorly on you as a person. I can't believe it!

Cats!
OriginalEmily1

Cats belong in a box.

E. Schrödinger
brooster2

"Yes, it's stupid. That's what I said."

Forgive me. I missed that. Where?
OriginalEmily1

My first post to you:

Kindly pay attention

I am not a member of ANY political party.

I AM pro-knowledge economy, and pro-future.

I am not interested in being anything as sexist as 'becoming'. Shame on you.

Haven't you got anything better to do with your time?
brooster2

I see. So I was supposed to anticipate that the entire subsequent thread would be stupid based on our very first exchange. Fabulous logic.

You were right in one respect: I do have better things to do.
OriginalEmily1

Your first comment was stupid, and your subsequent comments were worse.

When you want to discuss the actual topic of education, let me know.
brooster2

My first comment was intended to be somewhat light-hearted and my subsequent comments were in self-defense. I didn't realize I was about to engage in an exchange with someone who is, surprisingly, ernest to the point of being humorless.

Having been involved in post-secondary education for more than two decades, I'd be delighted to engage in a discussion of "the actual topic of education" with someone who isn't brittle, defensive, and hyper-sensitive about the use of language.

You, disappointingly for me, don't fit that bill.
OriginalEmily1

Still can't manage anything past rude, eh?

Off to bed with you then.

Danny

A Canada without THIEVING Liberals

KeithBram

A Canada without theiving, lying Conservatives. A Canada where the name of the country tn the government's official title isn't supplanted by the name of the megalomaniac running it.

burlivespipe

A Canada where giant novelty cheques is the only way your government shows it cares — well, as long as there's a photographer available to catch the moment…

Thwim

But thieving Conservatives are fine?

chet

So the Liberals snuck in Cap n Trade.

A hard cap on emissions.

Our economy is driven…literally, on energy. A hard cap on energy is essentially a cap on growth.

For those who fetishize about putting our Western way of life back to the more "natural" way, just ask a few folks from a developing nation what it's like to live in a world where energy is scarce.

Here's a hint: there's a lot more poor people, and those who are poor aren't just "I can't have all my cable channels" poor, but "about to die" poor.

Wreckless ecosocialists will happily pave a road to hell with good intentions.

All those getting "free" education courtesy of Iggy won't be worth squat, with a jobless "green" economy.

Matlock

http://www3.thestar.com/static/obama/obama_and_ha…

"Recently, the Conservatives have suggested Canada and the U.S. adopt a common cap-and-trade system."

Thanks for playing, chiff, but Harper's for cap-and-trade too.

For the record, I disagree with both the Liberals and Tories on this one. Carbon tax along with a revenue-neutral income tax reduction is the smarter way to go.

OriginalEmily1

We had our chance to do that, and blew it…. so this is what's on offer now

brooster2

Keep up the fearmongering, chet. It keeps the guys in your corner harmlessly preoccuppied.
KeithBram

Harper was promoting the Lower Churchill as a way to reduce greenhouse gases. He even uttered the words… are you ready, chet? … CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

chet? You OK? Should I charge up the defibrillator?

chet

Iggy plans to tax us back to the stone ages….for our own good….to save the planet and all that.

Lovely.

Just Joe

@chet,

Here's something to ponder — no it's not from some left-wing think tank:

[ http://www.international-economy.com/TIE_W11_Verl... ]
Just Joe

@chet,

And this from the Cato Institute:

[ http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/03/07/c-bradley-... ]
brooster2

Attaboy there, chet. Fearmongering 2.0: the Sequel

OriginalEmily1

LOL Cons have such a distorted view of Canada and the world.

Comes from a settin' on their back porch, and babbling cracker barrel philosophy from a century ago.

chet

There's a reason every other country has abandoned the notion of hard caps on emissions.

It has something to do with the fact that our economies are driven by fuel. And a hard cap of fuel is economic suicide.

Nice to see Iggy's on the farthest fringes of eco socialism.

OriginalEmily1

Actually it's what Europe uses, and what the US is instituting…it's global in fact

And no, our economies are not driven by fuel

You really need to get out more

chet

I forgot, our delivery trucks run on pixie dust, our factories are powered by elves on treadmills, and our offices are heated by happy heating fairies.

No, Emily you are correct. Energy isn't the principle input into our economy. MAGIC is!!

OriginalEmily1

Well, YOU run on pixie dust, the rest of us live in the real world.

I dunno what it is with Albertans, but everytime the price of oil goes up, for whatever cause….they get to thinking they rule the world

Course when it goes bust again….the whining is deafening.
burlivespipe

Chet continues to like to forgive Harper for his own cap-n-trade dalliance… I guess when you're hiding the '2004 coalition' nut under one shell, you've got to get the crowd to look at the ringtoss…
OriginalEmily1

Yes, all this rhetoric means there isn't a lot of thinking going on…..Just distractions and pom-pom waving.

chet

I deserve a Canada where a hard cap on emissions destroys our economy…but we can feel good about the fact that our economic shut down will have a .000000025 percent reduction in a gas (about a few days worth of China's output) that science isn't even sure causes the climate to change.

We're not in Kansas any more Toto.

OriginalEmily1

Actually, YOU are in Kansas….nobody else is though
Jan

Your boy Harper disagrees with you – at least when he's in Newfoundland. He rationalized the loan guarantee because it will reduce green house gas emissions and help fight global warming. How do you stand his backstabbing you on this?
BGLong

"Kansas is for the farmer … it stands behind the little man" ( Randy Newman )

Actually your kinda place, chet/biff/kody …
http://www.tcfrank.com/books/whats-the-matter-wit…

another of life's little mysteries ..
Thwim

You probably do. Fortunately for the rest of us, that's not what you're going to get no matter which party gets elected.

http://www.TennisVagabond.com Big Dave S

Am I wrong in understanding that Canada and the provinces each already offer a variety of grants, loans and tax credits for studies? So is this really just a tweaking exercise and the differences between our major parties is just down to different options on administrative efficiency?
Kind of like the stimulus: yeah we would have done the same thing, but differently. Or fighter jets: we'd buy them too, but better…
Is our political system so sclerotic that we are just voting for comptrollers?

Mike T.

It can seem that way sometimes, doesn't it? We're howling over a 1.5% corporate tax difference like it's the end of the world/not the end of the world.

That underlines the contempt of parliament and Canadians that Harper has a problem with, though – Harper's anti-democratic attuitude may be the biggest gap between Iggy and Harper.
brooster2

As an old fart who was the first child on either side of my extended family ever to attend post-secondary education, I remain profoundly grateful for the fact that student loans/grants became available about 2 years before I graduated from high school. The opportunity shaped my life for the better, ever afterward.

I later taught in college for over two decades and saw multitudes of students struggling to deal with mounting debt.

I, for one, support any initiative that facilitates post-seconary education for those who have the ability, initiative, and motivation.

I mean, what's the downside?

http://www.TennisVagabond.com Big Dave S

Or corporate tax cuts: we also believe in low corporate tax rates! But just 1% or so different from yours, yeah, THAT's the sweet spot. The differences in our vision couldn't be clearer!

OriginalEmily1

Course if you actually read it, you wouldn't need to ask silly questions
http://www.liberal.ca/platform/

chet

I deserve a Canada where the most radical aspect to the the government's platform,

and one that will kill the Western economic goose that laid the golden eggs for the rest of Canada,

is buried on PAGE 46 of the Liberal platform.

Oh, I also deserve a Canada where the corrupt liberal press…taking the cue that it's on page 46 for a reason….will dutifully comply with Iggy's tacit request not to "go there" and let that horrible sleeping giant lie until the election is over.

OriginalEmily1

Page 46 isn't 'buried' chet….it comes right after page 45….and is before all the rest of the pages.

DO stop whining.
DBM

So you were all ready to vote Liberal until you got to page 46?
chet

That's right. If you buy a prescription and it says in bold letters right at the top that the side effects are likely heart attack, that's the same as saying it in tiny print on page forty six.

In order to defend Iggy,

the "progressives" here are literally denying the existance of the commonly accepted term of "burying" something in a document.

When you have to deny basic aspects of life to make a point, chances are you're not doing very well.
brooster2

I'll bite. What exactly terrifies you on page 36? Is it something we should hide from our children?

jonatwitan

If you let your children anywhere near page 46, I'm calling social services post-haste!

chet

Then again, perhaps the alternative is true. That the notion of destroying the Western economy (and a good part of the rest) is so unimportant to Iggy, that the policy affecting it wasn't worth mentioning until p. 46.

Yikes.

brooster2

"the notion of destroying the Western economy'

WTF?

Take your meds and get back to us with the specificity of your consternation.
frobisher

Perhaps this "notion of destroying the Western economy (and a good part of the rest)" is so pressing it deserves a one-on-one debate.

KeithBram

OK chet; I had a look. The worst thing i saw in there for Alberta was the ending of a tax break for oil companies – one the CPC is also ending. The difference is that the Liberals are cutting it out right away, whereas the CPC is phasing it out over four years (assuming this isn't another wink! wink! nudge, nudge deal). They counter this with incentives to develop clean technologies to make oil sands fuel extraction less harmful to the environment.

Let me guess: you're in favour of the unfettered raping of the land and the poisoning of the waters to ensure maximum profit for the oil companies? And just which ones do you own a piece of?

Get real, chet! You can work for the future or get steamrolled by it. We're going to need Alberta oil for a long time yet – but that doesn't mean we need to ignore the pollution the extraction process generates; just the reverse.
BGLong

Poor chet is just upset that the dastardly Liberals are a-hemming another
proposal from his NDP buddies.
Thwim

Have you considered Xanax?

JSC

Considering China already owns $1.9 Billion of the Oil Sands, you Albertans won’t own it for much longer anyway. But that’s Right-wing Republican Pro-Corporate, Pro-Globalization for you.
Susan

THE KIND OF CANADA I WANT INCLUDES OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES SHOWING UP FOR WORK….

ATTENDANCE IN PARLIAMENT (Or lack-of)
Although senators' attendance records in the upper chamber are made public, the attendance records of Members of Parliament are kept strictly confidential.
1. But according to the website HowdTheyVote.ca, 29 MPs missed more than 50 days of the current session of Parliament, all but nine of them Liberals.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff was absent 135 times, the top absentee MP according to the non-partisan website, while Bloc Quebecois member Francine Lalonde missed 113 days and Liberal backbencher Keith Martin 102.

KeithBram

I notice you neglected to mention Harper's 82 absences…

chet

And don't you just love the "transparency".

A policy which will literally have devastating implications on all of us….buried deep inside their platform.
OriginalEmily1

Actually it's right on the front pages
brooster2

"devastating implications on all of us….buried deep inside their platform"

Hordes of graduates, better educated than you. The thought must be chilling!
burlivespipe

I suppose he's just worried about future layoffs at the giant novelty cheque factory…
Thwim

Not sure why it would be any more chilling now in particular.