CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

Argas: Jan 13, 2008; SRW Fanatic

DynamicSloth posted:

How many Canadian did we send off to die to in Afghanistan in order to honour our NATO Article 5 treaty obligation to the United States? That same United States, incidentally, whose new President just informed the world that said treaty is now obsolete.

Hey, that was clearly Obama's fault so

# ? Jan 16, 2017 05:59

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# ? May 14, 2024 11:43

Mad Hamish: Jun 15, 2008; WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.

Postess with the Mostest posted:

Giving you free fillings, root canals and extractions would incentivize you to not brush and floss regularly. Personal hygiene and balanced diets are under the control of the individual and he must assume responsibility for wise and prudent use of health services. And because dentists are the worst.

I myself was assuming that it was since I'm currently unemployed I deserve to be in chronic pain which will incentivize me to get a job that offers benefits.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 06:42

Albino Squirrel: Apr 25, 2003; Miosis more like meiosis

Postess with the Mostest posted:

because dentists are the worst.

If you wanna see a dentist get all frothy, suggest that dentistry should really be covered under the Canada Health Act.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:08

Jordan7hm: Feb 17, 2011; Lipstick Apathy

Millions of Crows posted:

A thought out economic policy that doesn't gently caress over the poor and middle class is something i haven't seen from the fed conservatives ever.
Chong is too decent a person to win the conservative leadership, isn't he?

Yes

Also if you can't afford dental just wait til it gets really bad and go to emergency. That is a good use of our emergency services.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:08

CLAM DOWN: Feb 13, 2007

Albino Squirrel posted:

If you wanna see a dentist get all frothy, suggest that dentistry should really be covered under the Canada Health Act.

I did to my dentist and he wholeheartedly agreed :shrug:

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:09

P.d0t: Dec 27, 2007; I released my finger from the trigger, and then it was over...

DynamicSloth posted:

How many Canadian did we send off to die to in Afghanistan in order to honour our NATO Article 5 treaty obligation to the United States? That same United States, incidentally, whose new President just informed the world that said treaty is now obsolete.

Mad Hamish posted:

Can anyone explain to me why OHIP does not cover basic dental services? I'm not even wondering about cosmetic poo poo like veneers or something, just something like checkups, fillings, root canals and extractions. Why is it that a basic health issue like this is not covered?

Mad Hamish posted:

I myself was assuming that it was since I'm currently unemployed I deserve to be in chronic pain which will incentivize me to get a job that offers benefits.

If dental stuff was covered by CHA (i.e. paid by taxes) just think of all the benefits administration jobs that would be lost!

What I'm saying is you should seek a job in benefits administration. Morneau Shepell, perhaps? :v:

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:21

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

CLAM DOWN posted:

I did to my dentist and he wholeheartedly agreed

same. But I doubt that's the majority of dentists

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:33

PittTheElder: Feb 13, 2012; Yes, it's like a lava lamp.

Mad Hamish posted:

Can anyone explain to me why OHIP does not cover basic dental services? I'm not even wondering about cosmetic poo poo like veneers or something, just something like checkups, fillings, root canals and extractions. Why is it that a basic health issue like this is not covered?

Alberta is the same (we also don't even have a price guide for dental service); there's really no sensible reason why dental, optometry, and audiology aren't covered by government insurance.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:41

Tsyni: Sep 1, 2004; Lipstick Apathy

Dental not being covered is mind-boggling and wrong.

I remember going in to look at getting a mouth guard made for myself and my dentist told me it would be around $1000(this is in BC). I went to a smaller town to a dentist my family uses and he charged me a bit over $300. Why is there such a disparity in pricing? smh...

# ? Jan 16, 2017 07:57

RBC: Nov 23, 2007; IM STILL SPENDING MONEY FROM 1888

Mad Hamish posted:

Can anyone explain to me why OHIP does not cover basic dental services? I'm not even wondering about cosmetic poo poo like veneers or something, just something like checkups, fillings, root canals and extractions. Why is it that a basic health issue like this is not covered?

the short answer is 'mike harris'

# ? Jan 16, 2017 12:11

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

RBC posted:

the short answer is 'mike harris'

I was really glad to be part of the first cohort of third-graders taking EQAO tests. I just remember my parents and my teachers bitching about them endlessly. Got me started on hating the right nice and early.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 12:28

cowofwar: Jul 30, 2002; by Athanatos

Mad Hamish posted:

Can anyone explain to me why OHIP does not cover basic dental services? I'm not even wondering about cosmetic poo poo like veneers or something, just something like checkups, fillings, root canals and extractions. Why is it that a basic health issue like this is not covered?

Because rich people

# ? Jan 16, 2017 13:26

cowofwar: Jul 30, 2002; by Athanatos

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oxfam-davos-report-canadians-wealth-1.3937073

11 million people is a lot of people.

cowofwar fucked around with this message at 23:07 on Jan 25, 2017

# ? Jan 16, 2017 14:57

Fried Watermelon: Dec 29, 2008

Take care of your teeth, you can die from an infected tooth

# ? Jan 16, 2017 15:26

Tan Dumplord: Mar 9, 2005; by FactsAreUseless

Fried Watermelon posted:

Take care of your teeth, you can die from an infected tooth

But that's not really a health problem. -- Government of Ontario

# ? Jan 16, 2017 15:55

Lain Iwakura: Aug 5, 2004; The body exists only to verify one's own existence.; Taco Defender

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/world/canada/british-columbia-christy-clark.html?_r=0&referer

quote:

British Columbia: The �Wild West� of Canadian Political Cash
By DAN LEVIN
JANUARY 13, 2017

VANCOUVER, British Columbia � As the premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark is on the public payroll, pulling down a salary of 195,000 Canadian dollars in taxpayer money. But if that were not enough, she also gets an annual stipend of up to 50,000 Canadian dollars � nearly $40,000 � from her party, financed by political contributions.

Personal enrichment from the handouts of wealthy donors, some of whom have paid tens of thousands of dollars to meet with her at private party fund-raisers? No conflict of interest here, according to a pair of rulings last year by the province�s conflict-of-interest commissioner � whose son works for Ms. Clark.

�B.C. is the wild west,� said Duff Conacher, a founder of Democracy Watch, a Canadian civic organization that has petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia to void the commissioner�s decision. The group argues that there is a �reasonable apprehension of bias� because the commissioner�s son is a deputy minister in Ms. Clark�s cabinet. The court heard arguments in the case on Friday.

Ethics in politics is a hot topic right now in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has faced criticism for attending exclusive fund-raisers, and other Canadian provinces are tightening the reins on political contributions. Against that backdrop, the case in British Columbia stands out for the unabashedly cozy relationship between private interests and government officials in the province, a political state of affairs that will be tested at the ballot box in May.

Unlike many other provinces in Canada, British Columbia has no limits on political donations. Wealthy individuals, corporations, unions and even foreigners are allowed to donate large amounts to political parties there. Critics of the premier and her party, the conservative British Columbia Liberal Party, say the provincial government has been transformed into a lucrative business, dominated by special interests that trade donations for political favors, undermining Canada�s reputation for functional, consensus-driven democracy.

�What it says to people is money talks and votes don�t,� said Dermod Travis, the executive director of IntegrityBC, a nonpartisan political watchdog group based in Victoria, the provincial capital. �When anyone anywhere in the world can donate as much as they want to the system, you have an even bigger threat to the system.�

Much of what is considered business as usual in British Columbia is illegal elsewhere in Canada. The federal government bars unions, corporations and foreigners from donating to candidates for federal office, and donations by individual citizens are limited to 1,525 Canadian dollars, about $1,150, a year. Those limits were imposed after a fund-raising scandal in the 1990s.

Provincial ethics rules are a patchwork of restrictions and loopholes. Corporate and union donations are banned in Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta and, since Jan. 1, in Ontario. Ontario provincial officials, their staff members and party leaders are also barred from attending fund-raisers. Quebec goes even further, limiting party donations to 100 Canadian dollars, roughly $76 a year, and only by individual citizens.

British Columbia is not the only province to refuse to impose such tight limits, but democracy advocates say the large amounts of money flowing there are a particular cause for concern.

Critics say that big donors to Ms. Clark�s party often appear to have benefited financially from their political generosity. These include banks, Chinese real estate developers, and companies like Imperial Metals, the owner of a mine tailings pond that spilled billions of gallons of toxic debris in 2014, and was then permitted to operate an even larger mine. Imperial Metals did not respond to a request for comment.

On Thursday, Ms. Clark�s government approved the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain oil pipeline project, after opposing the proposal at hearings last January. Political donation records show that Kinder Morgan and other oil industry supporters of the project had donated more than 718,000 Canadian dollars, about $546,000, to the BC Liberal party through March 2016.

Some pooled donations have ended up in the pockets of the premier, following a longstanding practice by her political party. Ms. Clark has received more than 277,000 Canadian dollars, or $210,000, from the BC Liberal Party since 2011, according to Canadian news media reports. No other party in British Columbia pays its leader a stipend, and only one other Canadian premier, in Saskatchewan, receives such funds; the practice has largely vanished elsewhere as the provinces have tightened their political finance rules.

Ms. Clark�s office declined to answer specific questions about her conduct and her relationship with the conflict-of-interest commissioner and his son. Instead, British Columbia�s minister of justice, Suzanne Anton, who is also its attorney general, sent a statement saying that the province�s standards �should give the public confidence in the electoral system.�

In an email, the B.C. Liberal Party said its leader�s stipend was a longstanding tradition that previous conflict-of-interest commissioners had found acceptable.

Last April, Ms. Clark�s stipend was challenged by David Eby, a member of the provincial legislative assembly from the B.C. New Democratic Party. He filed complaints with the conflict-of-interest commissioner about the stipend and about Ms. Clark�s attendance at fund-raisers where donors paid thousands of dollars to meet with her privately.

�In practice, it means that if you�re part of a coterie of high-net-worth donors, your private interests get priority over what�s best for the province,� Mr. Eby said.

In nine years as British Columbia�s conflict of interest commissioner, Paul Fraser said he has never found any government official to be in violation of the province�s Conflict of Interest Act. Mr. Fraser has donated to Ms. Clark�s political party, and so has his son, John Paul Fraser, who worked on Ms. Clark�s election campaign and now serves in her cabinet as the deputy minister for government communications and public engagement.

The elder Mr. Fraser ruled in May that his son�s boss did not violate the act by accepting tens of thousands of dollars from her party while attending exclusive party fund-raisers, despite the law prohibiting actions by officials that may create even the �reasonable perception� that they might be affected by private interests.

Democracy Watch asked the provincial Supreme Court in October to overturn the ruling, arguing that the commissioner should have recused himself, as he did in a 2012 case against Ms. Clark.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Fraser rejected accusations of bias over his son�s job. �The issue, I guess, is, should people�s children and their career aspirations trump other considerations,� he said. He added that his 2012 recusal was a special case, because his son had been in business with the premier�s ex-husband.

Mr. Fraser�s lawyers have tried to get the case dismissed by arguing that the commissioner�s opinions are immune to judicial review.

Best place on Earth!

The comments from the Global Facebook page have some gems:
https://www.facebook.com/GlobalBC/posts/10154848226807808

quote:

Sticking up for Trump are they ? Or that upset over their own political idiocy ? Yes maybe Canadian politicians are paid too much since they seem to have lost touch with lower income people.

quote:

The NY Times is a nauseating leftist rag which uses its bully pulpit to dictate the opinion of the public. As far as news organizations go the NYT is a shoddy ideological piece of refuse.

quote:

This is really old news. Its just being brought up again because of the upcoming election.

quote:

What business does the New York Times have in BC politics?

We're doomed (as usual).

Lain Iwakura fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Jan 16, 2017

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:31

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Only $195K for the premier of BC? I'd have guessed a fair bit higher.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:33

JohnnyCanuck: May 28, 2004; Strong And/Or Free

Jim Watson is the country's most popular big-city mayor. Take that, John Tory-ailures!

Sorry about your terrible mayor, Vancouver.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:46

McGavin: Sep 18, 2012

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Sorry about your terrible mayor, Vancouver.

It's okay. He pairs up nicely with our terrible premier.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:50

Dreylad: Jun 19, 2001

I'm not sure that 62% approval for Montreal is actual approval or just "we give up"

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:51

JohnnyCanuck: May 28, 2004; Strong And/Or Free

Dreylad posted:

I'm not sure that 62% approval for Montreal is actual approval or just "we give up"

I am not emptyquoting this.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 16:51

Lobok: Jul 13, 2006; Say Watt?

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Jim Watson is the country's most popular big-city mayor. Take that, John Tory-ailures!

Sorry about your terrible mayor, Vancouver.

Tory-ailures may like him enough to put him at #6 but he's #9 if we rank him on disapprovals.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:00

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Jim Watson is the country's most popular big-city mayor. Take that, John Tory-ailures!

Sorry about your terrible mayor, Vancouver.

I find it amusing that Nenshi has the lowest percentage of people who are unsure how they feel about him. That pretty much sums up Calgary.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:01

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

The difference between 6th and 10th is likely the margin of error

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:11

MA-Horus: Dec 3, 2006; I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.

cowofwar posted:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oxfam-davos-report-canadians-wealth-1.3937073

11 million people is a lot of people, shouldn't be that hard to put together enough people to loot and burn some Loblaws stores.

I don't get this. Loblaws is a success story if I've ever heard it.

TL;DR, an English grocer moves to Canada, works for a failing grocery chain, helps to turn it around with good advertising (including Captain Goddamn Kirk) and good optics on a budget, turns it into a success. Instead of shuttering very low performing stores, an entirely new chain is created out of them (No Frills) which consumers flock to. When a few limited house-brand items start selling more than anything else in the store (President's choice gourmet coffee literally outsold everything else in the store) they started the PC brand and it's been very successful.

Ok yeah dude is loving rich but it's not like he got rich by snorting coke off a hooker's asscrack and making a few stock trades.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:13

Nine of Eight: Apr 28, 2011; LICK IT OFF, AND PUT IT BACK IN; Dinosaur Gum

Dreylad posted:

I'm not sure that 62% approval for Montreal is actual approval or just "we give up"

Can you imagine the scandals we could be having if Joly had won?

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:18

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Was one of those original PC products their chocolate chip cookies? They always talk about those things like the second coming of Jesus and I've never figured out why.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:18

Furnaceface: Oct 21, 2004

MA-Horus posted:

I don't get this. Loblaws is a success story if I've ever heard it.

TL;DR, an English grocer moves to Canada, works for a failing grocery chain, helps to turn it around with good advertising (including Captain Goddamn Kirk) and good optics on a budget, turns it into a success. Instead of shuttering very low performing stores, an entirely new chain is created out of them (No Frills) which consumers flock to. When a few limited house-brand items start selling more than anything else in the store (President's choice gourmet coffee literally outsold everything else in the store) they started the PC brand and it's been very successful.

Ok yeah dude is loving rich but it's not like he got rich by snorting coke off a hooker's asscrack and making a few stock trades.

They engage in a lot of shady practices to drive down wages and drive out unions.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:32

Lobok: Jul 13, 2006; Say Watt?

MA-Horus posted:

snorting coke off a hooker's asscrack

"Ah, enjoying yourself, m'boy? This is how it's done."
"You got that right. This is what I always wanted: the decadent lifestyle."

*both of them stop, look at each other with wide eyes, then look down at a sheet of paper with "Cookie Name Ideas" scrawled on it*

Arivia posted:

Was one of those original PC products their chocolate chip cookies? They always talk about those things like the second coming of Jesus and I've never figured out why.

lol, didn't see this post before I wrote mine.

The whole thing with Decadent cookies is that they came out at a time when they actually were different. The chips in Decadent cookies are bigger and more plentiful. Store-bought cookies were/are usually much more dough than chip. Also, maybe I'm imagining things but the chocolate in Decadent cookies tastes darker and less like conventional milk chocolate chips.

Lobok fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Jan 16, 2017

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:35

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

MA-Horus posted:

I don't get this. Loblaws is a success story if I've ever heard it.

TL;DR, an English grocer moves to Canada, works for a failing grocery chain, helps to turn it around with good advertising (including Captain Goddamn Kirk) and good optics on a budget, turns it into a success. Instead of shuttering very low performing stores, an entirely new chain is created out of them (No Frills) which consumers flock to. When a few limited house-brand items start selling more than anything else in the store (President's choice gourmet coffee literally outsold everything else in the store) they started the PC brand and it's been very successful.

Ok yeah dude is loving rich but it's not like he got rich by snorting coke off a hooker's asscrack and making a few stock trades.

They were also very early on retail environmentalism, like phosphate-free detergents and recycled-material paper products and reusable bags.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:38

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Furnaceface posted:

They engage in a lot of shady practices to drive down wages and drive out unions.

Please elaborate!

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:39

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

MA-Horus posted:

I don't get this. Loblaws is a success story if I've ever heard it.

TL;DR, an English grocer moves to Canada, works for a failing grocery chain, helps to turn it around with good advertising (including Captain Goddamn Kirk) and good optics on a budget, turns it into a success. Instead of shuttering very low performing stores, an entirely new chain is created out of them (No Frills) which consumers flock to. When a few limited house-brand items start selling more than anything else in the store (President's choice gourmet coffee literally outsold everything else in the store) they started the PC brand and it's been very successful.

Ok yeah dude is loving rich but it's not like he got rich by snorting coke off a hooker's asscrack and making a few stock trades.

His success may be well deserved but the fact that even that level of success entitles someone to riches so beyond belief that they are left in a position where they could have essentially anything on this earth and not notice the monetary cost while an extremely large and ever growing chunk of our population is barely scraping by is evidence that there's systemic issues in our society.

Good work should be rewarded. Successful entrepreneurship should be rewarded. Nobody's arguing against that, but what we're seeing now is absurd Our current political and economic environment is evidence that if we as a people aren't forced to redistribute at least some the wealth generated individual success it harms everyone in the long run.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:41

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

EvilJoven posted:

if we as a people aren't forced to redistribute at least some the wealth generated individual success it harms everyone in the long run.

I'm not tax abolitionist, but people in Canada at least do generally redistribute some of the generated wealth. People (including myself) just think it should be a bigger "some".

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:42

Furnaceface: Oct 21, 2004

Subjunctive posted:

Please elaborate!

Close down a store with high labour costs due to a lot of long term employees to rebrand it as another one of their stores then force people to reapply for their jobs at lower wages, reset all benefits, and not guarantee previous hours.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:45

Subjunctive: Sep 12, 2006; ✨sparkle and shine✨

Furnaceface posted:

Close down a store with high labour costs due to a lot of long term employees to rebrand it as another one of their stores then force people to reapply for their jobs at lower wages, reset all benefits, and not guarantee previous hours.

Hmm, I hadn't heard of them doing that. I can't recall noticing a Loblaws closing, though. I might dig into that -- any good places to start?

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:46

flakeloaf: Feb 26, 2003; Still better than android clock

Lobok posted:

The whole thing with Decadent cookies is that they came out at a time when they actually were different. The chips in Decadent cookies are bigger and more plentiful. Store-bought cookies were/are usually much more dough than chip. Also, maybe I'm imagining things but the chocolate in Decadent cookies tastes darker and less like conventional milk chocolate chips.

They're also something like half oil half butter, which helps with the whole "cookies as crack" idea.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:49

Lobok: Jul 13, 2006; Say Watt?

flakeloaf posted:

They're also something like half oil half butter, which helps with the whole "cookies as crack" idea.

Which I agree with. I'd rather have indulgent, properly made, classic recipe baked goods less often than tame, less flavourful, "healthier" baked goods more often.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:56

Hexigrammus: May 22, 2006; Cheech Wizard stories are clean, wholesome, reflective truths that go great with the marijuana munchies and a blow job.

cowofwar posted:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/oxfam-davos-report-canadians-wealth-1.3937073

11 million people is a lot of people, shouldn't be that hard to put together enough people to loot and burn some Loblaws stores.

Oh look, it's another Oxfam report on how the super-rich are loving the rest of us over. I can see why HarperCo singled them out for special treatment from the attack auditors.

Nothing against someone becoming stinking rich through smart business practices. I seriously object to these characters using their wealth to influence the political process and ensure they contribute as little as possible to society, unless it's a vanity charity project to put up another piece of university concrete with their name on it. See: B.C. Political Funding. That, and the aforementioned shady practices making sure workers get as little as possible.

I should be careful with the "smart business practices" term. According to the leader of the 1% coup going on down south not paying taxes is a smart business practice.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 17:56

Femtosecond: Aug 2, 2003

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Jim Watson is the country's most popular big-city mayor. Take that, John Tory-ailures!

Sorry about your terrible mayor, Vancouver.

I bet if you polled most of the Robertson disapprovers you'd hear a lot of complaints about how he isn't doing anything about housing affordability, even though this is not actually an issue he really has the powers to solve. I think his biggest problem on that file has been that he hasn't been a good strong advocate to push governments that do have the power to fix the problem for changes and he's flipped flopped between saying there's a problem and dismissing that there's any problem at all. Additionally it seems like he's spent a lot of time pushing back against the Trans Mountain pipeline, and I don't think there are as many people out there that care about that issue as he thinks there are.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 18:00

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# ? May 14, 2024 11:43

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

I wonder if he got any money from his executed criminal mother in law.

# ? Jan 16, 2017 18:31

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