CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

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

infernal machines: Oct 11, 2012; we monitor many frequencies. we listen always. came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. it played us a mighty dub.

Risky Bisquick posted:

We are getting close to the no job cuts ~~promise~~ ~~campaign rhetoric~~ he doesn't remember saying that coming to a close. Ministry of Education is always the front line on austerity

No Cuts*

*Lots of attrition though

# ? Mar 1, 2019 16:25

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# ? May 29, 2024 04:34

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

yippee cahier posted:

gently caress. Glad I manually entered a $0 additional donation because it wasn�t a selectable option. �Our� website is the equivalent of change.org. I seriously won�t get something in the mail where I can vote internally? My gas station co-op is better than this.

Every few months you'll get a phone call where you can voice your opinions about why you're sitting on your wallet to a student hired for the latest fund raising blitz. It's something, I guess? :shrug:

# ? Mar 1, 2019 16:28

Blood Boils: Dec 27, 2006; Its not an S, on my planet it means QUIPS

And random texts for rallies days before they occur. Not like I'm super dying to go to one, but if I did I need more advanced notice! Im an adult, I got career and domestic and dungeons & dragons responsibilities

# ? Mar 1, 2019 16:52

Helsing: Aug 23, 2003; DON'T POST IN THE ELECTION THREAD UNLESS YOU JOE BIDEN

This is a fun little detail about the story that isn't getting reported enough:

The National Post posted:

The Harper government passed a measure 13 years ago to catch Liberal scandals. It worked perfectly

Literally, the first action of the new Conservative government in 2006 was to inaugurate an independent prosecutor's office to prevent future Sponsorship Scandals

As the Liberal government descends into full-blown crisis, Conservatives could take some satisfaction that this is all happening in part because of a long-ago measure they implemented precisely to catch Liberal scandals.

In 2006, one of the first actions of the new government of Stephen Harper was the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, a measure designed to prevent future occurrences of the Sponsorship Scandal. Now, that act is at the centre of events apparently showing an attempt by the government of Justin Trudeau to halt a criminal prosecution for political reasons.

�Gerry (Gerald Butts, former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) talked to me about how the statute was set up by Harper (and) that he does not like the law,� former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould said in Wednesday testimony before the House of Commons justice committee.

�I said something like �That is the law we have.��

Wilson-Raybould said she was subjected to �hounding� and then ultimately shuffled out of her job as Attorney General because she failed to stop a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, a Montreal construction and engineering firm accused of bribing the government of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Specifically, Wilson-Raybould refused to overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions, an independent office created by the 2006 act in order to prevent political interference in criminal prosecutions.

Previously, Canadian attorneys general had full discretion over which criminal cases were pursued and which were abandoned. Since the Attorney General is also a sitting cabinet member, the door was left open for easy � and quiet � political meddling in the judicial process.

The 2006 act created an independent prosecution service shielded from interference. The Attorney General can still overrule the director, but any such decision has to be publicly announced.

https://twitter.com/jkenney/status/1100971467301253120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Wilson-Raybould has done this in other cases, such as in November when she advised prosecutors to drop criminal charges in certain cases of people having sex without informing their partners of their HIV positive status. In the case of SNC-Lavalin, Wilson-Raybould decided it was �not appropriate� to overrule the director despite repeated requests to do so.

�I explained to (Trudeau) the law and what I have the ability to do and not do under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act,� Wilson-Raybould said Wednesday. �I told him that I had done my due diligence and made up my mind � that I was not going to interfere with the decision of the (director of public prosecution).�

The act was a direct response to the Sponsorship Scandal, an eight-year program in which federal monies were funnelled to Liberal-aligned contractors in exchange for little to no work. Ostensibly, the cash was being used to fund advertising in Quebec to promote the benefits of Canada and dissuade separatist sentiments.

Adding to the scandal was the sense that political interference had hampered the prosecution of those responsible. An independent prosecution service was suggested as a way to ward off future scandals.

�The reason (the Director of Public Prosecutions Act) was proposed in the last election � and I�m not afraid to say it � is that a lot of people were confused about the fact that a number of advertising agencies were pursued with legal action when one organization, which was clearly at the centre of the same scandal and benefited directly from it without any question whatsoever � was not,� Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre said in 2006.

The Sponsorship Scandal had a major role in the 2006 victory of a Conservative minority government, particularly given the Tories� campaign promise to clean up political corruption. �Bend the rules, you will be punished; break the law, you will be charged; abuse the public trust, you will go to prison,� Stephen Harper said at the time.

Thanks Steve!

# ? Mar 1, 2019 17:24

Cat Wings: Oct 12, 2012

Arivia posted:

It's all just whispers right now but they seem to have already pulled funding for trans surgery.

I can't find any sources on this, where are you hearing it?

# ? Mar 1, 2019 18:13

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Cat Wings posted:

I can't find any sources on this, where are you hearing it?

That�s what I mean by all whispers. In our Ontario trans community circles, no one seems to have received approval from OHIP for surgery since October. It�s nothing official, nothing picked up by the press, but it is something we�ve noticed from talking among ourselves.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 18:25

Cat Wings: Oct 12, 2012

Arivia posted:

That’s what I mean by all whispers. In our Ontario trans community circles, no one seems to have received approval from OHIP for surgery since October. It’s nothing official, nothing picked up by the press, but it is something we’ve noticed from talking among ourselves.

Well gently caress.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 18:27

Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

Helsing posted:

This is a fun little detail about the story that isn't getting reported enough:

Thanks Steve!

gently caress sakes so it's a trap they knew was there but they couldn't help themselves.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 18:36

supersnowman: Oct 3, 2012

Ron Paul Atreides posted:

gently caress sakes so it's a trap they knew was there but they couldn't help themselves.

Them sweet sweet Quebec seats man.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 18:55

Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

supersnowman posted:

Them sweet sweet Quebec seats man.

I don't for a second believe that's what motivated it. SNC going down for loving up with their bribery wouldn't have been hung on the Liberals, who would spin that in a way that doesn't immediately reflect badly back? No, this is Butts, Morneau and probably big T himself all being part of the money havers club and knowing SNC stockholders and execs.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 19:07

Maneck: Sep 11, 2011

Ron Paul Atreides posted:

gently caress sakes so it's a trap they knew was there but they couldn't help themselves.

Note quite. The Act governs the relationship between the Attorney General and the Public Prosecution Service. Whereas this scandal relates to the interaction between the Attorney General/Minister of Justice and Cabinet.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:15

vincentpricesboner: Sep 3, 2006; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Arivia posted:

That�s what I mean by all whispers. In our Ontario trans community circles, no one seems to have received approval from OHIP for surgery since October. It�s nothing official, nothing picked up by the press, but it is something we�ve noticed from talking among ourselves.

I wonder if it isn't just the bean counters being preemptively scared about smaller budgets. I haven't heard Ford talk about trans people period (support or hatred) . But I know a few different government agencies are freezing hiring because they are scared about cuts coming, even though technically they don't have to pause hiring immediately.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:26

DynamicSloth: Jul 30, 2006; "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

Maneck posted:

Note quite. The Act governs the relationship between the Attorney General and the Public Prosecution Service. Whereas this scandal relates to the interaction between the Attorney General/Minister of Justice and Cabinet.

The interaction was them trying to induce the AG to violate the Act, just because she refused doesn't absolve them of obstruction charges.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:32

Jan: Feb 27, 2008; The disruptive powers of excessive national fecundity may have played a greater part in bursting the bonds of convention than either the power of ideas or the errors of autocracy.

zapplez posted:

I wonder if it isn't just the bean counters being preemptively scared about smaller budgets. I haven't heard Ford talk about trans people period (support or hatred) .

Please.

Minorities of any kind are always the first victim of conservative policies, whether from the blatant hostility of social conservatives or the thin veneer of fiscal responsibility of fiscal conservatives. The immediate cancellation of the sex ed curriculum said all there is to say about the OPC's agenda. They'll try to hide it behind "not enough taxpayer dollars for those expensive surgeries!" when we all know they really mean "my Catholic sensibilities cannot stand those morally corrupt trannies!".

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:44

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

Jan posted:

Please.

Minorities of any kind are always the first victim of conservative policies, whether from the blatant hostility of social conservatives or the thin veneer of fiscal responsibility of fiscal conservatives. The immediate cancellation of the sex ed curriculum said all there is to say about the OPC's agenda. They'll try to hide it behind "not enough taxpayer dollars for those expensive surgeries!" when we all know they really mean "my Catholic sensibilities cannot stand those morally corrupt trannies!".

Well not always, often the conservatives micro-target specific minorities to let them know they'll be specifically loving over those OTHER minorities. Like throwing trans and gay folk under the bus to make chinese and other conservative minority groups happy.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:47

DynamicSloth: Jul 30, 2006; "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

https://twitter.com/georgiastraight/status/1101546446745227264?s=19

May is looking very competent this week, Scheer (and Singh) should've been smart enough to identify Wernick as the correct next domino that needs to fall.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:48

DariusLikewise: Oct 4, 2008; You wore that on Halloween?

Scheer is too busy calling for Trudeau to resign, Singh is doing the right thing and asking for a full inquiry.

Trudeau is still busy trying to close the DPA for SNC-Lavalin still

# ? Mar 1, 2019 20:51

Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

DariusLikewise posted:

Scheer is too busy calling for Trudeau to resign, Singh is doing the right thing and asking for a full inquiry.

Trudeau is still busy trying to close the DPA for SNC-Lavalin still

Inquiries are pointless theatre

# ? Mar 1, 2019 21:25

Postess with the Mostest: Apr 4, 2007; Arabian nights
'neath Arabian moons
A fool off his guard
could fall and fall hard
out there on the dunes

DariusLikewise posted:

Scheer is too busy calling for Trudeau to resign, Singh is doing the right thing and asking for a full inquiry.

Trudeau is still busy trying to close the DPA for SNC-Lavalin still

Inquiry is better, keeps it in the news for way longer. Resignation gets you dalton mcguinty oh god don't let kathleen wynne enter federal politics

# ? Mar 1, 2019 21:35

DynamicSloth: Jul 30, 2006; "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

This thing will eventually end up with an inquiry, but not until the Liberals try and line up an army of op-eds to sell the risible claim that the ethics watch dog is the appropriate avenue of investigation.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 21:37

Arabian Jesus: Feb 15, 2008; We've got the American Jesus
Bolstering national faith

We've got the American Jesus
Overwhelming millions every day

CTV reporting Nathan Cullen isn't seeking re-election :smith:

# ? Mar 1, 2019 22:06

PhilippAchtel: May 31, 2011

infernal machines posted:

Welp. Hiring freeze in education ahead of new contract negotiations. Hope y'all child havers are ready for some labour action.

I'll be out there marching with them.

# ? Mar 1, 2019 22:46

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

DynamicSloth posted:

https://twitter.com/georgiastraight/status/1101546446745227264?s=19

May is looking very competent this week, Scheer (and Singh) should've been smart enough to identify Wernick as the correct next domino that needs to fall.

oh yeah, there were like 3 goon idiots in here defending that guy just a few days ago remember that lmao

# ? Mar 1, 2019 22:53

RealityWarCriminal: Aug 10, 2016

Ron Paul Atreides posted:

Inquiries are pointless theatre

Those are good in election years

# ? Mar 1, 2019 23:51

Ham Cheeks: Nov 18, 2012; Feeling hammy

Okay, so I live in Saskatoon and Brad Wall�s 2017 budget hosed around with everything. Like our public libraries. HE hosed EVERYTHING ALL UP and this matters because libraries own, their unions own, they get all the best movies and books. But what more can you expect from Brad �Grant Devine was my finance Buddha� Wall?

A reporter once asked me how the city could resolve our transit system problems. I mentioned some policy options, including taxation, and know what happened? I ended up on the radio and everything I said was mentioned. Except taxing rich people, of course they excluded it.

What I�m trying to say is some of you terrible posters deserve to live in Saskatoon, but under no circumstances should any SK conservative be elected to any political office or hold any power whatsoever.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 01:31

Math You: Oct 27, 2010; So put your faith
in more than steel

I just had to explain marginal tax rates to a man who describes himself as a single issue voter for "fiscal responsibility".
I was literally laughing my rear end off about how people complain about getting too large a raise, when he piped up in the smallest voice "wait... You don't get taxed the higher rate on your entire income?"

# ? Mar 2, 2019 03:34

BGrifter: Mar 16, 2007; Winner of Something Awful PS5 thread's Posting Excellence Award June 2022

Congratulations!

Math You posted:

I just had to explain marginal tax rates to a man who describes himself as a single issue voter for "fiscal responsibility".
I was literally laughing my rear end off about how people complain about getting too large a raise, when he piped up in the smallest voice "wait... You don't get taxed the higher rate on your entire income?"

In his defense, for generations Conservatives and many Liberals have been outright lying about this. I�d be surprised if 50% of Canadians understand they only get taxed the higher rate for the amount in the higher bracket.

It�s dumb as hell, but a kind of dumb actively cultivated by two major political parties.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 03:48

The Cheshire Cat: Jun 10, 2008; Fun Shoe

BGrifter posted:

In his defense, for generations Conservatives and many Liberals have been outright lying about this. I�d be surprised if 50% of Canadians understand they only get taxed the higher rate for the amount in the higher bracket.

It�s dumb as hell, but a kind of dumb actively cultivated by two major political parties.

Yeah this is how it was explained to me when I was a kid as well and for a long time I had no reason to question it because why would I? That's how everyone else seems to think it works.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 04:02

tagesschau: Sep 1, 2006; D&D: HASBARA SQUAD
THE SPEECH SUPPRESSOR

Remember: it's "antisemitic" to protest genocide as long as the targets are brown.

vyelkin posted:

The "but fringe wackos will be represented in Parliament!" line is what PR's opponents use to demonize it. And, as you say, it's actually a terrible attack if you think about it for more than two seconds and realize just how many examples we have of the fringe wackos taking over a big tent party and the rest of the big tent holding their nose and electing a lunatic to be the leader of a country or province.

How is it a terrible attack when the current state of the Bundestag proves the truth of that argument? Close to a quarter of the house is fringe wackos, it took the non-crazy parties five months to form a government, and perfectly reasonable and competent chancellor had to fall on her sword for no good reason. The Knesset is in even worse shape and has been for longer.

Drewjitsu posted:

Who the gently caress advocates for PR in this fashion? That's usually the detractors (read: cons) who use that as a bludgeon to shut down discussion on PR, and keep the quiet part of "fringe elements are already in the party," quiet.

The one advantage, if you want to call it that, would be that you'd find out how many people really want to vote for Bernier but will hold their noses and vote for Scheer. The bad news is that they will actually do it. It might end up with Bernier extracting huge concessions from a larger party to stop him from bringing the government down, but that's just a risk we'll have to take, right?

vyelkin posted:

Or, in other words, if you voted conservative your vote was worth about 2/3 of a Liberal vote. If you voted NDP, your vote was worth about half a Liberal vote. If you voted for the Bloc, your vote was worth less than half a Liberal vote. And if you were unfortunate enough to vote for the Greens, your vote was worth about 6% of a Liberal vote. So on a national scale, if you and 16 of your friends all joined forces and voted for the Greens, you got cancelled out by one person voting Liberal.

Usually, your analysis is pretty considered, but this here is some Monsef-level arithmetic.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 05:13

Jordan7hm: Feb 17, 2011; Lipstick Apathy

If you want your vote to count the most, vote Liberal.

Checks out.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 05:30

Jan: Feb 27, 2008; The disruptive powers of excessive national fecundity may have played a greater part in bursting the bonds of convention than either the power of ideas or the errors of autocracy.

The Cheshire Cat posted:

Yeah this is how it was explained to me when I was a kid as well and for a long time I had no reason to question it because why would I? That's how everyone else seems to think it works.

Because most Canadians are too loving dumb to do a single cross multiplication, let alone a series of them summed together.

Cognitive bias, the simple scary thing you can understand but is completely false seems more likely than the slightly more complicated considerably less scary thing that is true. Also why all these fake news outlets are thriving.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 06:51

Toalpaz: Mar 20, 2012; Peace through overwhelming determination

Thats not exactly what it means. It means that every vote you put towards a seat that doesn't 'win' is lost in our system and doesn't affect the rest of the election.

With FTP it's like if we had 100 ridings with 51 votes to win in each. If liberals won 100% of the ridings with 51 votes in each, they would appear to have 100% of the country's support with 100% liberal seats, but the total votes they would have would only be 51%, with 5,100 out of 10,000.

The other 4,900 votes don't result in any seats, and don't result in any political power.

This is an extreme example but it shows how lots of people can vote for a party across many ridings (like the greens) but win very little political power because their votes aren't located in a single particular place.

I'm sorry if you two were being ironic or something, but that's what people mean when they say the vote is 'worth less', because with FPT this kind of thing happens.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 06:58

BGrifter: Mar 16, 2007; Winner of Something Awful PS5 thread's Posting Excellence Award June 2022

Congratulations!

Gonna guess it was a crack about that "natural ruling party" bullshit arrogant Libs like to spout.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 07:09

MikeSevigny: Aug 6, 2002; Habs 2006: Cristobal Persuasion

Arabian Jesus posted:

CTV reporting Nathan Cullen isn't seeking re-election

Awful news for the NDP, because BC is their base of support now and Skeena isn't a guaranteed hold if Cullen's not running there. Murray Rankin's not running in Victoria either, and that's an easier seat to hold (unless the Greens run hard and the NDP puts up a weak candidate). It's not encouraging if the five or six safe MPs Jagmeet has left don't want to run anymore.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 08:14

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

Won't really be sad at the loss of Murray Rankin. He was one of the most outspoken zionists within the NDP and did everything he could to block anything that might aid Palestine in any way. Laurel Collins is poised to run and if I recall she's quite involved with the local BDS movement which would be quite the change.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 08:19

vincentpricesboner: Sep 3, 2006; by LITERALLY AN ADMIN

Math You posted:

I just had to explain marginal tax rates to a man who describes himself as a single issue voter for "fiscal responsibility".
I was literally laughing my rear end off about how people complain about getting too large a raise, when he piped up in the smallest voice "wait... You don't get taxed the higher rate on your entire income?"

Hell, my high school civics / finance teacher taught us the wrong way about tax and he was a literal card carrying commie.

Most people get this stuff very wrong.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 13:30

bunnyofdoom: Mar 29, 2008; I've been here the whole time, and you're not my real Dad!

https://twitter.com/stephenlautens/status/1101702618206822400?s=19

Jagmeet what are you doing

# ? Mar 2, 2019 14:20

DynamicSloth: Jul 30, 2006; "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."

bunnyofdoom posted:

https://twitter.com/stephenlautens/status/1101702618206822400?s=19

Jagmeet what are you doing

Holding a manifestly corrupt government to account, did you not see JWR's testimony?

Scheer calling for Trudeau's resignation so quickly was a dumb tactic (as probably is this), but it wasn't wrong substantively.

# ? Mar 2, 2019 14:40

Ron Paul Atreides: Apr 19, 2012; Uyghurs situation in Xinjiang? Just a police action, do not fret. Not ongoing genocide like in EVIL Canada.

I am definitely not a tankie.

DynamicSloth posted:

Holding a manifestly corrupt government to account, did you not see JWR's testimony?

Scheer calling for Trudeau's resignation so quickly was a dumb tactic (as probably is this), but it wasn't wrong substantively.

Jagmeet believes the system works. What a rube

# ? Mar 2, 2019 15:59

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# ? May 29, 2024 04:34

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

MikeSevigny posted:

Awful news for the NDP, because BC is their base of support now and Skeena isn't a guaranteed hold if Cullen's not running there. Murray Rankin's not running in Victoria either, and that's an easier seat to hold (unless the Greens run hard and the NDP puts up a weak candidate). It's not encouraging if the five or six safe MPs Jagmeet has left don't want to run anymore.

it kind of seems like they're fleeing a sinking ship doesnt it

since jagmeet became leader their fundraising has also completely tanked and apparently they took out a huge $10 million mortgage on their headquarters

# ? Mar 2, 2019 16:13

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