CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

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CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

THC posted:

�I spent two weeks being called a baby-killer�: Chris Alexander QQs about the campaign that cost him his job (w/ video)

�We�re still the party that sees reality as it is, doesn�t want to go on some hippy-trippy jaunt down memory lane and put marijuana in the windows of every store,� he said in an interview Tuesday on Ottawa�s Sparks Street.

�We�re trying to deal with the real issues that Canadians are facing. And we�ll continue to do that.�

The Liberals have promised to legalize and regulate pot but haven�t actually said it would be in the windows of every store.

And Alexander takes issue with the way his opponents characterized the Tories� stance on immigrants and refugees, especially in the wake of a photo of three-year-old Syrian boy Alan Kurdi lifeless on a Turkish beach, which focused the world�s attention on a refugee crisis many feel Canada and other countries have failed to act on with urgency.

This scrutiny only increased when Kurdi�s Canadian aunt said she�d tried to get members of his family to Canada only to have them refused.

�I spent two weeks being called a baby-killer by other MPs and by people in the media. That was not pleasant.�

The Liberals and NDP took citizenship, immigration and refugee issues for �pretty unpleasant purposes,� Alexander charged.

�That�s the story that people insist on telling, that we are cold-hearted Conservatives, that we�ve never done the right thing. And it�s wrong,� said Alexander.

�We started bringing Syrian refugees to Canada on a large scale in January,� he said. �But nobody covered it. Somehow it became divisive that we hadn�t brought them all, by the middle of the campaign.�

Canada has resettled 2,500 Syrian refugees since 2013. Global News and other media organizations have been covering the issue extensively over the past two years.

Alexander predicts Liberal leader Justin Trudeau will have trouble following through on his promise to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year.

�Nothing�s impossible, but cost, safety, the operational standards for which Canada is renowned, are all issues,� he said.

�We have the best record in the world for refugee resettlement because we do it well. We meet certain standards. We check out who people are. We make sure human smugglers aren�t involved. We make sure identity theft isn�t involved. We make sure people are who they say they are. We make sure criminals don�t benefit from Canada�s generous refugee policies. When you start moving large numbers of people in short periods of time, all of that can be compromised.�

As Global News has reported, Canada doesn�t have the best record in the world on refugees, although we have taken in more than the United States. Advocates have argued there�s no reason Canada couldn�t bring in more people while maintaining security standards.

Alexander also takes issue with the campaign�s focus on new laws that gave him the authority to unilaterally strip dual citizens of their Canadian citizenship if they were found guilty of terrorism.

The Conservatives were accused of making it an election issue when they announced during the campaign their intention to strip the citizenship of people arrested on terror charges almost a decade ago. Justin Trudeau kept the issue in the headlines, repeating �a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian� in his speeches and saying that the Conservative change was creating two classes of citizens � something that Alexander believes was a mischaracterization.

�Suddenly we ended up in a campaign talking about second-class citizens? That concept does not exist in Canadian law. It should not exist in public debate. We did not introduce it to the debate. When it was introduced by the party that�s now won the election, we didn�t counter it enough,� he said.

�We don�t have room in this country for poison like that and people deserve in an election to know what the law actually says, the protections they enjoy in this country, what opportunities they enjoy in this country compared to virtually every country in the world. But that failed to be communicated.�

Growing Ironicat.gif is needed.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2015 20:46

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 23:01

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

McGavin posted:

How will they rebuild their truck equity if you don't donate?

Just make sure they don't take no government handouts. Can't let them stoop that low.

# ¿ May 5, 2016 18:37

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

McGavin posted:

I'm sure they can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. No need for government handouts.

Surely all that oil money will buoy them.

# ¿ May 5, 2016 18:59

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Gorewar posted:

The fire in Fort MacMurray is worthy of addition to a SimCity2000 disaster scenario expansion

Meanwhile, after cutting funding to the Forestry Service...

# ¿ May 6, 2016 02:36

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

CLAM DOWN posted:

0:54

1:25

This is what I imagined climate change to look like.

# ¿ May 6, 2016 18:30

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Hal_2005 posted:

edit: Oddly enough, I agree with /pol. When a friend of mine ran a bar up there, every person on staff down to the line cooks had WHMIS and Fire training. During the summers, most would night-shift and they would work on Horizon or Aurora 2. I can't say the same for your average Laval or St. John's NFLD bedroom community of equal sq. KM.

Yeah, um, most fire training comprises of: If its small enough, handle it, if its bigger, leave and let professionals handle it.

# ¿ May 7, 2016 17:57

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

PT6A posted:

I don't think safety training made or broke the evacuation effort, but my guess is that people who have jobs where they're frequently/always in some degree of danger probably reacted better than those who don't, because making good (and quick) decisions in the face of danger is not a naturally-occurring skill.

Still, doubt this because really, proper emergency services made more of a difference as well as evacuation orders.

# ¿ May 7, 2016 18:29

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

McGavin posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTlGFsP4JeQ

Hope those $33 Million dollar cuts to fire fighting was wort it.

# ¿ May 7, 2016 20:57

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Terex posted:

Apparently the MP from Fort Mac tried to get through the RCMP blockade to check on his house.

https://twitter.com/evandyercbc/status/729076707487948800

I mean, I understand pandering to your base, but holy crap that's really absurd.

# ¿ May 8, 2016 02:38

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

leftist heap posted:

The US has also hosed with Venezuela a ton tho.

And Venezuala largely hosed themselves with poor leadership held up with a cult of personality.

# ¿ May 9, 2016 02:52

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

PT6A posted:

Why not just take the loving help, Jesus loving Christ, Trudeau?

"I'll buy your cab home."

"No thanksh, I'm pretty sure I'm okay to drive *hic*"

They are trying to do you a favour and it's a favour you could really use! I'm sure the Canadian firefighters could use a rest, even if we currently have adequate capacity.

Probably has something to do with it being Russia....but hey.

# ¿ May 9, 2016 22:15

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

PT6A posted:

Maybe we should try being friends with Russia, it's not like being dicks to them has done a single good thing for us so far. They treat their friends well, you can do war-crimes and they'll still stand by you!

Unless you are their neighbors and they need a buffer zone :shrug:

# ¿ May 9, 2016 22:43

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

PT6A posted:

To be fair, that's mainly because Ukraine decided to pull away from Moscow's influence in the first place. Like the US wouldn't do the same thing to us in a heartbeat if we tried to seek a new patron...

Oh come on now.....

# ¿ May 9, 2016 22:50

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

JawKnee posted:

Why on earth would America want to take on the burden of an enormous northern state when we're already their largest trading partner, and we practically fire-sale our resources to them?

We need a buffer zone to protect us from those dastardly Eskimos.

# ¿ May 9, 2016 23:20