Canadian and US Amalgamation

[Taliesin]

Damn'... a name like Paul Martin sounds as much English than French.

Seriously, I didn't know Martin was also from Quebec.

I should clarify that. He is anglophone-- he was born in Windsor, Ontario. But he is fully bilingual and has stood for the Montreal riding of Lasalle-Émard since 1988.

 

[Taliesin]

On the note of Alberta, Canadian tax distribution is completely outrageous and the power of the Prime Minister, all though not usually exercised, is huge. This is all coming from the website, however, so please feel free to tell me off for wrong info

What part, specifically, of our tax distribution is outrageous?

 

[amadeus]

We've got enough people that don't speak English right here now anyway.

 

[Taliesin]

We've got enough people that don't speak English right here now anyway.

Yeah... about 300 million! Learn how to spell "colour", and then we'll talk about union!

 

[NeoDemocrat]

Sorry for maybe mixing up locales, however here is a list of complaints from people that live in Alberta

Liberal Party Alberta bashing to win votes in the East?

The Prime Minister of Canada refusing to recognize Alberta's elected Senators?

The four year Liberal elected dictatorship of Canada's highest office, the Prime Minister?

Alberta sending a substantial amount of our money East. It's a redistribution of wealth!

We are treated like colonies rather than equal partners in confederation.

The fact that Canada's elections are over at the Manitoba border?

The fact is the Eastern Liberal establishment loves our money but they don't like us Alberta rednecks!

How about all the graft and corruption?

Billions spent on a useless gun registry while police services, infastructure, education, and health services deteriorate.

 

[NeoDemocrat]

Yeah... about 300 million! Learn how to spell "colour", and then we'll talk about union!

Sorry to double post, but I find it ironic that Canadians speak with accents nearly identical to many Americans yet spell largely with British English. At least American spelling of color makes sense, something rare in any form of English

 

[Babbler]

Damn'... a name like Paul Martin sounds as much English than French.

Seriously, I didn't know Martin was also from Quebec.

He is a Franco-Ontarian, but his riding is in Laval, a suburb of Montreal in Quebec. In fact, I think the last few Prime Minister have been elected from Quebec riding.

 

[Babbler]

I should clarify that. He is anglophone-- he was born in Windsor, Ontario. But he is fully bilingual and has stood for the Montreal riding of Lasalle-Émard since 1988.

You beat me .

 

[Taliesin]

Okay, so this is mostly Albertan whining about the fact that they don't control the country. Since most of the country is not as conservative as Alberta, obviously most of the province will feel left out of the political process.
It is true that there is some corruption in the Liberal government; and the gun registry, while well-intentioned and not entirely useless, is in my opinion a misuse of funds.
The complaint about "redistribution of wealth", however, is out of line. Alberta doesn't like sharing its oil revenues with the rest of the country, true, but it was very quick to scream for help from the federal government when the BSE crisis started to demolish its beef farmers. Not that there's anything wrong with requesting assistance-- that's what the government is there for-- but it indicates hypocrisy and selfishness to the rest of the nation when Klein's government would prefer to be stingy with equalisation payments.

 

[Taliesin]

He is a Franco-Ontarian, but his riding is in Laval, a suburb of Montreal in Quebec. In fact, I think the last few Prime Minister have been elected from Quebec riding.

Yes, Martin's father, I believe, was native to Quebec.

 

[NeoDemocrat]

Okay, so this is mostly Albertan whining about the fact that they don't control the country. Since most of the country is not as conservative as Alberta, obviously most of the province will feel left out of the political process.
It is true that there is some corruption in the Liberal government; and the gun registry, while well-intentioned and not entirely useless, is in my opinion a misuse of funds.
The complaint about "redistribution of wealth", however, is out of line. Alberta doesn't like sharing its oil revenues with the rest of the country, true, but it was very quick to scream for help from the federal government when the BSE crisis started to demolish its beef farmers. Not that there's anything wrong with requesting assistance-- that's what the government is there for-- but it indicates hypocrisy and selfishness to the rest of the nation when Klein's government would prefer to be stingy with equalisation payments.

thanks for clearing that up. Coming from United North America (the website) it says that the PM has the power to:

To appoint CEO's and Chairs of crown corporations such as CBC;
To dissolve Parliament and choose the time of the next federal election (within a 5 year limit);
To run for re-election indefinitely (no term limits);
To remove Members of Parliament (MPs) from the ruling party's caucus;
To deny any MP the right to participate in Parliamentary debate or run for re-election;
To dismiss individuals or groups of representatives from serving in Parliament;
To veto (by denying royal assent to) any legislation passed in Parliament;
To ratify treaties; and
To declare war.

Not exactly balanced, is it? Further a more of an opinion question for Taliesin, would you say Canada needs to leave the commonwealth and get rid of the (unused) powers of the queen?

 

[Shadylookin]

actually our governments are not alike. The United States government has checks and balances, where as Canada is subject to the british monarch(supreme leader) and a prime minister which has too much power. I think it would be better if the Canadian providences just joined the united states government and become states.

 

[NeoDemocrat]

actually our governments are not alike. The United States government has checks and balances, where as Canada is subject to the british monarch(supreme leader) and a prime minister which has too much power. I think it would be better if the Canadian providences just joined the united states government and become states.

However as far as respects to repersentation if government, etc. they are similar.

 

[Goober]

It would not work.

Yes, many similarities between our countries exist, generally, we are fairly similar, in many ways, but we also have our differences. For one thing, Canada is much more Liberal then the USA. Making Canada and the USA join would put us fairly Liberal Canadians at extreme odds with your extreme-right-wing Evangelical Christians. Here, we are close to legalizing Same-Sex marriage. There, you guys just strongly voted against it last election. Our political systems are very different, our history, it just wouldn't work.

I would agree to our countries working closer on the subjects of economy, defense, and the like, but that is all. I could not stomach the social policies of the USA being implemented here.

Another thought - health Care. God, that would be a royal pain in the arse to change either system to the other system.

 

[NeoDemocrat]

It would not work.

Yes, many similarities between our countries exist, generally, we are fairly similar, in many ways, but we also have our differences. For one thing, Canada is much more Liberal then the USA. Making Canada and the USA join would put us fairly Liberal Canadians at extreme odds with your extreme-right-wing Evangelical Christians. Here, we are close to legalizing Same-Sex marriage. There, you guys just strongly voted against it last election. Our political systems are very different, our history, it just wouldn't work.

I would agree to our countries working closer on the subjects of economy, defense, and the like, but that is all. I could not stomach the social policies of the USA being implemented here.

Another thought - health Care. God, that would be a royal pain in the arse to change either system to the other system.

Very true. I'd really like to see a shared money system, however, at the least. And the US health care system would be a benefit for Canada... imagine having to wait in a line to get your hip replaced

 

[Goober]

Very true. I'd really like to see a shared money system, however, at the least. And the US health care system would be a benefit for Canada... imagine having to wait in a line to get your hip replaced

The US HealthCare system, being a benefit for our country? I am sorry, but that it totally wrong. Both systems have too many fundamental errors to count. Our system involves spending untold billions on it, yours involves insurance, and the poor not having equal access.

Neither system is good. I would like to see a mix of the systems, actually, private HealthCare for those that wanna pay, and public for everybody else. That would be a good system. Currently, we are neighbours with one thing in common when it comes to HealthCare: both of our systems are fundamentally flawed.

 

[Taliesin]

thanks for clearing that up. Coming from United North America (the website) it says that the PM has the power to:

1.To appoint CEO's and Chairs of crown corporations such as CBC;
2.To dissolve Parliament and choose the time of the next federal election (within a 5 year limit);
3.To run for re-election indefinitely (no term limits);
4.To remove Members of Parliament (MPs) from the ruling party's caucus;
5.To deny any MP the right to participate in Parliamentary debate or run for re-election;
6.To dismiss individuals or groups of representatives from serving in Parliament;
7.To veto (by denying royal assent to) any legislation passed in Parliament;
8.To ratify treaties; and
9.To declare war.

Not exactly balanced, is it? Further a more of an opinion question for Taliesin, would you say Canada needs to leave the commonwealth and get rid of the (unused) powers of the queen?

Yes, those powers all rest with the PM in practice. However, the Governor General (the executive branch, technically) is the one with the authority to do most of these things. I'll go through them point by point.
1. That is so. One major complaint from all sides is that these tend to be patronage appointments. Okay, 1 point for the website.
2. The G-G is the one who dissolves Parliament. Nowadays, the PM generally requests it and the G-G does it, but he/she has the power to refuse or to dissolve it whenever he/she sees fit. In fact, the G-G also has the power to choose the ruling party; in one instance (in the 1920s, I believe), the G-G of the day invited the minority Liberals to form the government instead of the Conservatives.
3. Yes. The PM is the head of the party with the most seats, and there should be no law to restrict the number of times one can run for office. That being said, the G-G can prevent a PM's return to power.
4. Yes. This just means those MPs are no longer members of that party, but they still represent their riding and can join another party if they wish.
5. Only true if they wish to remain in the PM's party. The MP can run as an independent or with another party.
6. Untrue.
7. The G-G, not the PM, has this power.
8. Yes, this is a sticking point. The PM can ratify treaties without Parliament's consent, which is causing some worries over the ABM treaty. Martin is in favour of signing onto the defence system, and could do so without debate.
9. Yes, but the G-G's authority and Parliament's consent are required.

As you can see, the G-G represents a formidable check on the PM's power, though her power would be exercised only in drastic circumstances. I therefore support the monarchy. For example, the G-G's intervention is about the only thing that could legally stop a popular fascist Prime Minister, if he held a majority and could enforce his will on his MPs.

 

[NeoDemocrat]

The US HealthCare system, being a benefit for our country? I am sorry, but that it totally wrong. Both systems have too many fundamental errors to count. Our system involves spending untold billions on it, yours involves insurance, and the poor not having equal access.

Neither system is good. I would like to see a mix of the systems, actually, private HealthCare for those that wanna pay, and public for everybody else. That would be a good system. Currently, we are neighbours with one thing in common when it comes to HealthCare: both of our systems are fundamentally flawed.

And for the vast majority of both populations; one thinks the other is wrong

Seriously though, can you imagine thousands of poor, non-English speaking people pouring into our hospitals? Free clinics for them, and for the priviliged the priviliges . Unfair, but realistic. The long waits for necessary surgeries in Canada is inhumane for those who could afford to buy insurance had they been American

 

[MarineCorps]

Someone told me recently that there in a poll something like 80% of Americans thought we should annex Canada. I find fault with that through. As I doubt 80% of Americans know where Canada is.

 

[punkbass2000]

I should clarify that. He is anglophone-- he was born in Windsor, Ontario. But he is fully bilingual and has stood for the Montreal riding of Lasalle-Émard since 1988.

Of course he's fully bilingual... it's a requirement for being PM.