Liberals choose Dion as new leader

In Montreal, fellow federal Liberal delegates who were voting on the future of the Liberal Party of Canada chose their new leader, former Environment Minister Stephane Dion.

It was a bit of a surprise that Dion ended up winning over Michael Ignatieff, since Ignatieff was thought to be the front-runner in the race since when he announced he was running many months ago. Dion won with 2,521 (or 54% of the vote) versus Ignatieff with 2,084 (46% of the vote) in the 4th ballot. Where will the party go from here?

Will we see a new era in the Liberal Party? Where corruption is no longer an issue? Where Canada will be united from sea to sea to sea? Only time will tell. Since Dion is from Quebec, he will not be popular in Western Canada, since Westerners want an anglo-Canadian who can relate with their issues.

As said in a previous blog article I wrote, I met Dion at a meet & greet back in June. I found Dion to be very knowledgeable of the issues he addressed, and very open to ideas from regular Canadians, as well as wanting to see farmers have a bigger role in Canada as a whole. I believe that Dion may be one of the best leaders that the party may ever see, but who knows if this will be enough to have a Liberal voice in representation in Alberta in the next election. Either way, he is a much better choice than Bob Rae is, many "Liberals" are turned off with a former NDP Member of Parliament and Premier "changing his colours" by running as the leader of the federal Liberals, I know that in Ontario he is still not well liked.

Stephane Dion's campaign website

Québec Liberal Party adopts idea of Québec as a "nation"

So recently the Québec Liberal Party had a general meeting, and one of the policies voted on during the meeting was if the Liberal Party of Québec should support the term "Québec as a nation".

The party agreed to the idea, but this will only cause separation within the party. There's the Québec "Liberals" who are federalists and believe in Canada an entirety, while there's others who want Québec to have more power than the rest of the provinces, or in some cases, even separation.

I believe the francophones in Québec deserve to have the socio-cultural anthropology definition of nation as a group of people who live in an area who have different characteristics than another culture, but not in the political sense. At the same time, the francomanitobains in Saint Boniface could also be concidered a "nation", same with hutterite/mennonite people on the prairies.. etc.

If these people want a degree of separation in Québec, why aren't they in either the Parti Québecois or the Québec Solidaire Party? They're both sovereignist parties.

The whole idea of "Québec as a nation" will cause some tension at the upcoming Federal Liberal Party leadership convention.

If this continues, the ADQ has a chance of picking up a large chunk of seats in the National Assembly since there will be many people who will want an alternative to Charest's Liberals and the Parti Québecois, and they seem to be more of a nationalist party than Parti Québecois will ever be. Quebec is a changing province, it's becoming more and more accepting towards Canada over time, although in some communities the French language is starting to die.

Link: Parti Liberal du Québec

Saskatchewan to lower PST to 5%

Saskatchewan, the land of Tommy Douglas, Great Western Brewery, and being famous for being that "rectangle" province is planning on lowering the PST rate to 5%.

This is pretty big news, in my opinion, since Saskatchewan will now have the second lowest PST rate in Canada, after Alberta with 0%.

The PST cut is planned to take effect tonight at midnight, usually there would be a specific time frame for this sort of tax cut, but it seems like the NDP party in Saskatchewan may be doing this for an attempt to attract voters to the party when Saskatchewan has an election next year.

However, here in Manitoba, there are no plans for a tax decrease, for the whole fact that the NDP government here caused a big deficit in the last few years, cutting hospitals, yadda yadda yadda..

There may be an election in Manitoba by next summer, so we will see what the Liberals or the Progressive Conservatives have planned for the future of Manitoba's economy, I'm not too pleased myself with the Manitoban economy.

Links: Sask cuts PST
Manitoba will not

Garth Turner Kicked out of Conservative Caucus

So it looks like Garth Turner, MP for the Conservative party was kicked out of the Conservative party for his blog that he maintains, on his blog he openly criticizes his own party when he disagrees with policies of the party.

Turner made a recent return to politics, since he was an MP for the Progressive Conservatives in the early 90s, he was also the Minister of National Revenue for Kim Campbell.

I personally feel that it took quite a bit of guts to do what he did, but the problem was that he was elected as a Conservative and people expect him to win as a Conservative, but he believes to represent his constituents first, his party second, which is what each MP should do. Rumour has it he will make the move to the Green Party, be the first MP they've ever had.. who knows? We'll see.

Linky: Here
His Blog: Here

Conservative Party support declining

I haven`t been here at all for the last month or so, since I`m still in Quebec, although I will be returning home on the 5th. So far I`ve had lots of fun here, although oddly enough the only people who I have enjoyed talking to are American.

The support for the Conservative Party is declining over the war in the Middle East between Lebanon and Israel. Support has in some points gotten to the point where the Liberal Party support is starting to slowly return to pre-election stats. The Liberal Party seems to slowly regaining support in Quebec to the point that the Liberals have just about more support than the Conservatives do in the region. In Ontario, the Liberals have 42% support, versus 33% with the Tories.

Link: Click Here

From what it looks like, I don`t expect an election for quite a while from this, although we almost ended up with a call for another election back in June over Rona Ambrose`s job as Environment Minister. The only way Liberal support can suffer right now is if the Conservatives are able to take control of the Middle East situation to make it seem as if both sides are being supported, and if one of the 100 Liberal MPs makes outrageous dumbass remarks towards the Conservative Party again, ie `Stephen Harper eats babies`, although I don`t think it will happen. What the Liberals need to do is elect a leader who is competant, who can represent all of Canada, and sadly, someone who is from Quebec, as much as some people are tired of Quebec-based leaders, the next federal election will depend on Quebec, so French fluency is a requirement, although from what it looks like, Ignatieff will probably end up winning, if not Ignatieff, probably Volpe... which is pretty bizarre, there are much better candidates then either.

Liberal Leadership

Here I am, typing away near 5 in the morning with nothing to do.

I haven't posted much here lately, mainly since I have been pretty apathetic lately. I've gotten so fed up with politics in the last few months. Actually, the second school is finished for me, I stop paying attention to politics (or French for that matter) until the first day of school again.

I'm very confused over what party I'm a supporter of. I'm a Red Tory I'll admit, I've been a Red Tory ever since Kim Campbell became the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and Jean Charest fueled my interest even more. From this period of time until 2004, I would not even dare thinking about supporting any other party, I grew up with supporting this party, and it was a party that grew to support my ideologies, it was a fairly Liberal political party, and I'm a fairly Liberal person, being from rural Manitoba.

Then in 2004 the Progressive Conservative Party merged with the Canadian Alliance, I was automatically displaced, I didn't know what I was anymore, I still didn't like the Liberals since they had a tarnished image in my part of Canada, I was not a fan of the NDP since the NDP focused mostly on the elderly and poor and Kyoto, yet I was not a fan of the newly-formed Conservative Party of Canada, since their views don't align with my views. Also, I'm not too fond on Harper, I'm a Western Canadian but his views are just too right wing for me as I've said, although it's nice to see my riding being supported by the governing party for the first time in 13 years.

For about two years, I've been pretty neutral politically, I've supported both the NDP and the Liberals in elections, the first election I ever voted in (federally), I voted for Liberal, yet this election I voted NDP. It has gotten to the point in time my party stance is back to being concrete.

I'm now supporting the Liberal Party, I believe they can do some good, although their past was tarnished by a few bad apples. I renewed my Liberal membership for a second year just a month ago, so I'll have the opportunity to vote for the new leader.

Back in February, I had a concrete view who I was going to support, Scott Brison or Belinda Stronach (if either had ran), Brison because he was a former Progressive Conservative MP, he could interest former PC supporters to support the Liberal Party for the first time, heck he even gave up his seat to Joe Clark in '97 for a few months. Stronach because she's a successful business woman, better looking than most female MPs (not that it matters), but has potential. Later on Stronach decided not to run, so I decided in Brison or Dryden, since we need someone who knows his hockey, but over time I was questioning my thoughts on who to vote for.

But now I've made my mind, finally, me making up my mind for once. I've decided to support Stephane Dion, who is the former Environment Minister for the Liberal Party when they were in power. In my opinion he seems to be the strongest candidate at this point. His english isn't as good as Brison or Dryden's but he's the most bilingual of any candidate oddly enough. He has some very good ideas that are very well thought up. The next election will be about who can win the support of Quebec, if we have someone such as Bennett or Brison leading the Liberal Party, they may lose the Quebec vote, since a huge portion of the Quebec vote depends on who can communicate to the population the best. That's where Dion has everyone beat. Dion's expertise of being a Politcal Science professor gives him an advantage, he knows the ins and outs of politics (as does Ignatieff), I've looked over some of Dion's platforms and he has really thought up his policies. He's thought up plans for helping out the agricultural industry by increasing bio-diesel production, which is a very good idea, as well as finding ways to protect the small farmer against the multinational/mass production corporations. He has a willingness to listen to the public, he seems to be very interested in receiving feedback from the public, to help improve ideas for Parliament bills and Government projects, which is a good idea. I am hoping to go to Montreal this fall to the leadership convention, but we will see when the time comes. I will be watching highlights of it on TV if not.

Well I should get going, it's almost 5 in the morning, and I leave for l'Universite Laval in Quebec City in one week, and I will be there for just over a month.

Have Fun.

Sleeman Breweries may be sold off

For farking sakes... This is exactly what I hate about the Canadian beer companies, the whole monopolistic approach, there's only TWO breweries in Canada that actually make a difference, and both of them took up so much of the market that NO OTHER brewing company had a chance, and then Sleeman comes in, and they do something rare and become the 3rd largest brewery in Canada in a snap of a finger, with offering almost every possible type of beer, from a cheap person's beer to high quality porter. Everyone knew that as soon as Sleeman bought Unibroue, they were a threat and it was only a matter of time, now Inbev SA (ala Labatt) is looking to buy out Sleeman just because Sleeman is getting to big. This is just a farking disgrace, if Sleeman stays independent and does not get bought out by Inbev, it keep their nice image, an image of true Canadianness, for 100% Canadian owned breweries, theres only a few that actually have support nation wide, Big Rock is one, but they have no where near the support that Sleeman does, and then there's Moosehead, and that's about it.

From CBC:
Sleeman's shares jumped 15 per cent Friday before being halted, closing up $1.75 to $13.40 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Earlier in the day, speculation swirled that brewer InBev SA - the maker of Stella Artois, Labatt and Beck's beers - may be eyeing the company as a possible takeover target.

In a statement after markets closed, the Guelph-based brewer confirmed it had hired BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. as a financial adviser and was exploring "strategic options."

Usually, such reviews mean the company is examining a variety of alternatives, including the streamlining of operations, a merger or a possible sale.

Sleeman said the options included offers to acquire shares or assets of the company, a recapitalization review or business combination.

"There can be no assurance that the review will result in any specific strategic or financial transaction and no timetable has been set for its completion," the firm stated.

"Sleeman stands at a critical point in its evolution," CEO and founder John Sleeman added in a statement Friday.

"It makes sense for us at this time to evaluate all of the different ways in which we can capitalize on the opportunities that benefit shareholders, utilize the experience of our employees, provide the best possible capital structure and allow Sleeman to be more competitive in the premium beer category."

He said the company's board had decided it was appropriate to undertake a comprehensive review of all of the company's strategic and financial options.

"We are and have been enhancing our ability to support (our) growth through numerous cost saving operational initiatives and now Sleeman has a unique opportunity to leverage these assets to further build the business and deliver long term shareholder value," the CEO said.

The company has been fighting a tough battle in the ongoing Canadian beer price wars, and has cut 80 jobs since last August. It now has about 700 employees left at locations across Canada.

It is Canada's No. 3 brewer, but has struggled as consumers turn increasingly to discount beers.

Hamilton upstart Lakeport Brewing (TSX:TFR.UN), for instance, been benefiting from the increased popularity in the "value segment" - basically the cheapest beers on the market - with its buck-a-bottle strategy.

At that company's annual meeting last month, shareholders went as far as to jokingly ask the company if it was directly responsible for the layoffs at Sleeman.

The premium market, for its part, is getting squeezed by new brands and a greater interest in imports.

The landscape is also extremely competitive in Quebec, with aggressive pricing by Molson Coors (TSX:TAP.NV) and Labatt Brewing Co., as those two brewers try to regain their share of the market in the wake of takeovers by Coors Brewers Ltd. and Belgian-based giant Interbrew.

Labatt was fined $250,000 last November, after pleading guilty to a charge of illegally influencing discount beer prices in that province.

On Thursday, it reported a first-quarter loss of $813,000 Thursday, compared to a profit of $1.6 million the year before. Revenue edged up two per cent to $40.6 million from a year-ago $39.7 million.

In addition to Sleeman's own brands, the company brews, owns or distributes many others, including Okanagan Spring, Upper Canada, Unibroue, Guinness, Grolsch, Samuel Adams, Scottish & Newcastle, Sapporo and Pilsner Urquell.

Minhas Creek to lower prices

As a poor university student in Manitoba, sometimes I don't have the money to drink any type of alcohol, but just over one year ago a small beer company called "Minhas Creek Craft Brewing Company" which was a company that produced very inexpensive beer to the masses, they were able to do this by outsourcing the beer production to American based beer company Joseph Huber Brewing Co., they sold their beer for under $7/6 pack (after taxes/deposit), which was much cheaper than the cheapest beer at the time. Then a few months later Molson lowered the price of its popular beer Molson Dry, and undercut Minhas Creek (price wise) by approx 4c/6-pack, and then Labatt came in and did the same thing with their Labatt Lucky Lager, after these two companies took over the control of the cheap beer market, Minhas Creek upped the price of their popular beer. But during this period of time, I was glad to be a beer drinker, with the ability to buy beer for so cheap, but after Minhas Creek increased the price of their beer, so did Labatt and Molson, since they had control over the cheap beer market, and now the price of a 6-pack is 30 cents more than it was 2 months earlier.

Now Minhas Creek is back and wants to take over the market again, they are planning to bring their beer price back to what it was a year ago, thus having a more affordable beer than Molson/Labatt do now, the price after it gets set in the beginning of May should be approx $6.90 after taxes, versus $7.25, I'm excited to see this happen again, with a full-on beer war starting up again!

Story: Link

Polygamist group not welcome in Saskatchewan

As many of you know, there is a group of polygamists in Utah/Arizona who are wanting to avoid criminal charges in the US who are wanting to set up a settlement in rural Saskatchewan to avoid the charges. Concidering how much we make fun of Saskatchewan for being a "backwards" province, government officials are not welcoming the Mormon polygamist groups to move to Saskatchewan.

If they were allowed to move to Saskatchewan, this wouldn't be the first Mormon polygamist group in Canada, in a town in BC there's Mormon polygamists there. They are concidering to move to Saskatchewan because of the amount of farmland that Saskatchewan offers. Who knows if the Saskatchewan government will allow them to move to the province.

Story: Click Here

The Throne Speech

The main points of the throne speech from the CBC:

-Legislation to "clean up government," with new rules on lobbying and campaign donations.

-A one-point cut in the goods and services tax, to six per cent, with a possible cut to five per cent later.

-"Direct financial support" for child care, with no mention of the dollar figure cited in the campaign, $1,200 a year for each child under six.

-Tougher sentences for violent and repeat offenders, particularly those convicted of gun crimes, and more police on the street.

-More elbow-room for "a strong and dynamic Quebec" within Canada, including a role for Quebec in UNESCO, the United Nations agency.

-A formal apology for the Chinese "head tax" charged to Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923.

First day of the new session

Today had the "throne speech" from the new government of Canada, I'll write more about it later, since right now I don't have much information about what went on, but Peter Millikin was re-elected as speaker of the throne, which was a bit interesting in my opinion, I didn't think that a Liberal would be elected as the speaker when it's a Conservative government.

The school year is practically over, for next school year, I have plans to get out of the school's political science club, I don't feel welcome in the club and there's a few people I know that hate me, I can try being as nice as I can but what's the use of being in a club where there are only a few people who make you feel welcome. I lost the election of secretary in the club a week ago, I don't mind it, I'm just leaving the club because I'm tired of all the tension between members, some people won't even talk to me, and ever since this school year started, I felt sort of not welcome, but anywho I'm planning on volunteering for BUSU possibly, and who knows what else yet.

Sit Tight.

Ashley MacIsaac running for the Liberals

I just found out a few days ago that famous Canadian dancin' fiddler Ashley MacIsaac is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

I'm wondering if the leadership race will be the Canadian equivalent to the election candidate farce back in California 2-3 years back where a boat-load of celebrities ran for governor of California.

So now we (possibly) have.. 1 retired hockey player, 1 dancin' fiddler (who oddly enough is a rocker now), two former Conservatives, a former NDPer, and an American, what next, an astronaut (Marc Garneau) and a TV star who played a cop (Tina Keeper)?

Should be interesting how the leadership turns out, if he wins, he could possibly get the "youth vote", although lots of "homophobic Liberal supporters" will vote Conservative.

Link: Click Here

Manitobans welcome to idea of North-Western Ontario annexation

For the last year or so there have been lots of talks from Northern Ontario politicians of the region separating from Ontario and joining Manitoba, due to lower hydro costs, better chance for the "lumber industry to be saved" and many other financial related ideas that would save themselves money.

It looks like a majority of Manitobans who were polled on the idea are interested on the idea themselves, including myself, approx 75% of the people polled said they were interested in the idea of North-West Ontario (Kenora, Thunder Bay) joining Manitoba.

Story: Link

Canadian families prefer national daycare over payout

This is a huge contradiction over what I kept hearing around the election period. There was a study done by the YWCA over national daycare vs payment for preferred daycare, and it looks as if people prefer national daycare more than a payout.

Link: Click

"Knee in my package"

I'm a regular viewer of the Mercer Report and just found a video that's so true and funny titled "Knee in my package". This is a spoof of the Capital One "Hands in my Pocket" commercial.

Link: HERE

Corruption in municipal politics

There's a local municipality in this part of Manitoba that doesn't seem to be holding fair elections, mainly over "fair boundaries", where areas that have more support to the current governing municipal groups are may have much different sized boundaries than areas that have less support. This municipality (RM of Strathcona) is getting complained to by local citizens to the provincial board of municipalities, but who knows what will be done about it at this time.

Read: CBC.ca

Ralph Klein to retire in 2007/2008

Ralph Klein will be retiring as leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party, and premier of Alberta in 2007 since there's a bit of a push by his own party to get in new blood within the party. He's planning on retiring sometime between late 2007 or early 2008, depending on party needs, and maybe earlier if the party is pushing for it.

Read: CTV.ca

Funny Rip-off of Wikipedia

I'm sure everyone here is familiar with Wikipedia, which is the world's largest online encyclopedia, which is based on users' submissions of data.

There's now a satirical take on Wikipedia named Uncyclopedia.org, which is like an encyclopedia version of The Onion, full of satire. I really like checking out the articles there but lots of people don't like it when people edit their satire articles, like as if they "own" the article.

But anywho, check it out if you want to.

Bob Rae to possibly run for the Liberal Party

It looks like Bob Rae, who's well known to people in Ontario as that premier from 1990-1995 who screwed over the province big time with his NDP government that surprisingly got into office.

Now Bob Rae is thinking about running for the leadership of the national Liberal Party... good luck.. he'll need it. The party will lose all their "remaining" support in Ontario if he's selected as leader.

Story: National Post

My first post here

Hey, it's my first blog post here.

My name's Cody, I'm 20 years old and a 3rd year Political Science major at Brandon University.

I'm involved with the Political Science club here at school and this blog is basically about my drunken ramblings and news that catches my eye.