The 2011 - 12 Federal Budget

[Al Czervic]

I just heard Layton saber rattling a moment ago that “Harper” was not willing to change the “Harper Government Budget” to accommodate any NDP spending requests. This strikes me as yet another sign we are headed to the polls…..

[FreeRights]

I just heard Layton saber rattling a moment ago that “Harper” was not willing to change the “Harper Government Budget” to accommodate any NDP spending requests. This strikes me as yet another sign we are headed to the polls…..

I think it's a good time to go to an election. Nobody trusts the government.

[NAB]

OTTAWA — Canadians are not keen on opposition parties defeating the Harper government over next week's budget and strongly believe the fiscal blueprint should include spending for seniors, health care and pensions, results of a new poll indicate.


And ironically, although it appears there is strong support for social program initiatives being touted by the opposition, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's governing Tories maintain a strong lead over their rivals in public favour as parties prepare for a possible election that could occur as early as May 2.


Results of the nationwide survey, conducted exclusively for Postmedia News and Global National, also suggest that most Canadians: want "aggressive" spending cuts to reduce the deficit; oppose corporate tax cuts; and would not look kindly on the Conservative government giving billions of dollars to Quebec to compensate it for harmonizing its taxes with the HST.


The Ipsos Reid poll found that only 27 per cent of Canadians believe the opposition parties should vote against the budget.


A further 17 per cent believe the opposition should wait to see what's in the budget before deciding what to do, while 40 per cent say the budget should be supported. Sixteen per cent had no opinion.


If an election is triggered by the defeat of the Tories in the wake of budget, Canadians are evenly split over whether the government or the opposition parties would be to blame.



Read more: http://www.canada.com/business/Canadian ... z1GjPAQDXz

[Urbane]

Given the polls it's really hard to imagine the opposition parties defeating the government and forcing an election. But it sure looks like that's what's going to happen. Ignatieff thinks there'll be an election and that's why he's offering to throw taxpayers' money into a hockey arena in Quebec City. If you're interested I posted a column about that in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=28857&start=15

Anyway, I doubt that the budget will contain the things that the opposition have been asking for and so if they don't force an election they'll look foolish. If they do force an election they will look opportunistic. The result might just be a Conservative majority but we'll see what happens during the campaign, if there is one.

[Al Czervic]

I couldn’t believe when I heard Iggy was promising taxpayer dollars for a sports arena as part of his “cultural campaign” It shows a level of desperation from Iggy that I did not expect. He should have promised that if he were the PM he would deny entry to Charra next time the Bruins visit. That would save taxdollars and win Iggy a ton of votes in Montreal as well for a lot less money…..

[NAB]

Harper's version of "Families First"? Premier Clark must be one helluva a salesperson LOL.

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Families who enroll their children in art activities will get a break on their taxes, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday during a speech to business leaders west of Toronto.

Details about the new tax credit will be unveiled in next week's federal budget.

"The family is a basic building block of Canadian society," Harper said in a statement shortly before the 30-minute speech sponsored by the Brampton-Mississauga Board of Trade

Read more: http://www.canada.com/health/unveils+br ... z1GsXg6YeO

Nab

[Al Czervic]

Interesting that this “targeted” tax break is for arts programs…..given the arts community generally detests the Canadian Government (oooppps I meant the Harper Government) this policy seems somewhat politically motivated as well. Good thing a Federal election is not JUST around the corner.


And by the way….did I not predict that Harper would start “leaking” goodies from his budget in order to try and prevent Iggy and Jack O’Layton from bringing down the “Harper” Government PRIOR to the BUDGET ? Now Harper can say that the “evil” alliance is trying to prevent support for kids in arts programs. Once again smart politics by Harper….

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Families who enroll their children in art activities will get a break on their taxes, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday during a speech to business leaders west of Toronto.


Details about the new tax credit will be unveiled in next week's federal budget.


http://www.canada.com/health/unveils+br ... z1GsXg6YeO

[NAB]

Sometimes IggyOtic cannot win for losing LOL. Perhaps he should have spent more of his life inside Canada learning how our system works before aspiring to the top job, instead of that in the USA.

OTTAWA — Opposition MPs were blocked Thursday in an attempt to declare the minority Conservative government in contempt of Parliament for allegedly failing to provide information about spending on its anti-crime policies and legislation.

Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/Opposition+d ... z1Guh1JqcO

[grammafreddy]

Harper's version of "Families First"? Premier Clark must be one helluva a salesperson LOL.

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Families who enroll their children in art activities will get a break on their taxes, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday during a speech to business leaders west of Toronto.

Details about the new tax credit will be unveiled in next week's federal budget.

"The family is a basic building block of Canadian society," Harper said in a statement shortly before the 30-minute speech sponsored by the Brampton-Mississauga Board of Trade

Read more: http://www.canada.com/health/unveils+br ... z1GsXg6YeO

Nab

This is the kind of thing that gets my knickers twisted.

[NAB]

This is, in fact, a variation on the Greater Fool theory, which relates to trading in the stock market. The Greater Fool theory argues that some people make investments not because they believe the investment is worth it, but because they believe they will be able to find someone to buy it from them for more money, no matter how lousy the investment. In other words, there’s always a bigger fool out there somewhere with money to burn.

In this case it’s not clear yet who is the greater fool: the Liberals for thinking they can overcome a 10-13 point Conservative lead in the polls, or the Conservatives for assuming their current lead will hold once an election is called. (Or the NDP for getting involved in the first place when they have little if anything to gain).

Dan Arnold at CalgaryGrit offers another explanation: three times since 1984, parties that were leading going into an election ended up getting defeated. So it could happen again.

It’s a valid point, but fails to take account of the specific circumstances of each election.

1984: Canadians had long been fed up with Pierre Trudeau and were looking for a change. John Turner had some residual glamour from his term as blue-eyed Finance Minister, but no one realized yet how badly out of date he had become in the decade since his departure. Once they got a look at him they stampeded in the other direction.

1993: Almost an exact replay of 1984, but from the opposite direction. Nine years of Brian Mulroney had been more than enough for voters. Kim Campbell may have provided a brief diversion, but it wore off quickly and Canadians quickly reverted to their desire to change the Progressive Conservative party into toast.

2005: Paul Martin might have eked out another minority if the RCMP hadn’t intruded and reminded everyone how much they disliked and distrusted the Liberals. Once again, the strong desire for change was an overwhelming factor.

In all three cases there was a clear longing among voters, well before the vote was called, to dump the ruling party of the day. That doesn’t appear to exist this time: Canadians may not like Harper personally, but there is no sign they’re desperate to see the back of him, as they were after the Trudeau and Mulroney years. The most pertinent comparison might be with Paul Martin, who was done in by an unforeseen (and unforeseeable) mid-campaign disaster. Given the Conservatives’ cockiness and tendency towards self-immolation, it’s entirely possible they could do something stupid to sink their own chances.

If that’s all the Liberals have to put their hopes on, though, it’s a bit thin. And unlike Turner and Campbell, who were relatively fresh on the scene and had novelty value, the country has had plenty of time to assess Michael Ignatieff and form a (negative) opinion. Not only will he have to defeat the Tories, he’ll have to reverse that opinion in the process.

National Post

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... ater-fool/

[Al Czervic]

For the Opposition parties I think it has become increasingly more difficult to force an election. Just looking at the recent situations in Japan and Libya really puts into perspective how petty our “problems” are in the global context. Not to mention now that Canada may possibly be participating in enforcing a no fly zone over Libya to help prevent an insane mentally ill dictator from murdering his own people does in part justify why, for example, The “Harper” Government believes it is important that our brave men and women in the Royal Canadian Air Force have access to the latest technology in fighter aircraft, which of course the debate on the cost of said aircraft is potentially ONE of the reasons why the Opposition is attempting to force an election. Although last week I was leaning towards a Federal election, this week I am leaning away from believing an election will be called. This simply illustrates how much can change in the space of a few weeks and just how fragile world affairs are right now. I for one remain happy to be a Canadian represented by a “Harper” Government.

[NAB]

Well, I'm leaning more to the "yes there will be an election" side right now Al. That said, IMO it is still up to PM Harper to decide whether there will or there won't, not IggyOtic. Iggy's common sense went "south" long ago, and I'm afraid he has now lost control totally. The walking brain dead are now in charge of that party, not Iggy any more, (if he ever really was), and they smell blood. I doubt they will back off on trying to bring down the government now, like they have in the past when common sense got the better of them at the last minute. There appear to be no sane people in that party any more. God help us all if they ever got to govern and Iggy became PM.

Edit: It wouldn't appear that the budget is going in a direction that would give them a reason to bring down the "Harper" government over it, so if there is an election in the wind it will come down to them trying to fight it on their perception of "Ethics" rather than the economy in dangerous times. Somehow, unlike "them" I cannot see the ethics thing capturing the mood of the electorate as very important right now, so he is walking on very risky ground. Best case scenario would be a minority government, worst case would be a huge loss for the Liberals, a majority for the Conservatives, ....and the end of Iggy forever more. Jack Layton holds the keys, and I personally will hold him responsible if the Government falls. His NDP (and those who support it) have everything to gain if the government continues, ....and everything to lose if it does not. (IMO)

Nab

[NAB]

Today, I'm leaning toward.... no election this year in spite of all the Liberal sabre rattling.

Apparently, PM Harper called the opposition leaders to discuss his desire to contribute air support to the UN sponsored Libyan no-fly and protect civilians there effort. The leaders apparently agreed, with the stipulations that it could not be more than three months in length, and would require a full debate in Parliament before Harper could extend it beyond that. What's more, no "boots were to be put on the ground", and a full parliamentary debate had if that were ever contemplated. Apparently Harper agreed with that too.

That doesn't sound like the type of conversation amongst a group hell bent on having an election, even though the CBC and a few Liberal *bleep* disturbers seem to still be stirrin for one.. Perhaps those with some common sense will prevail after all, and there seems to be little leaking about the upcoming budget that indicates anything there that could be used as an excuse to bring the government down. Expect a "stay the course" budget with nothing significant in the form of new spending, taxes, or cut backs.

Nab

[NAB]

Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News · Mar. 20, 2011 | Last Updated: Mar. 20, 2011 8:34 PM ET

Excerpt:

OTTAWA — Canadians believe political honesty should trump economic recovery as the main issue in the next election but — in a major blow to the Liberals — voters rank the Tories as the best party to deliver a government they can trust.

Moreover, while the Liberals are hoping to make political ethics a main theme of the election, they are the last of the three main parties — ranking behind the NDP — that are trusted by Canadians in this area.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted March 11-15 exclusively for Postmedia News and Global National.

The results are a political bombshell, as MPs begin a historic week of intrigue on Parliament Hill that will be marked by major developments including a budget, an unprecedented vote on whether the government is in contempt of Parliament and a vote late in the week that could lead to the defeat of the government and a spring campaign that ends with a May 2 election.

Read More: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada ... story.html

[NAB]

Well, it's down to the wire, and as suspected - if we are going to the polls in a federal election, it will be Jack Layton who sends us there. Think it through carefully Jack. You may just hand PM Harper the majority government he has long aspired to.

Nab