who are you going to vote for?

[Snake556]

What about the fail that was the gun registry? All it did was cost Canadians money Yet after billions spent, there is still nothing to show for it? Which was implemented by Chretien and the liberals.

Speaking of Chretien, he blew through money like it was falling off tree's

In fact if you go back even further, starting with Trudeau, the liberals are notorious for spending.

Aye sir. Don't know the value of a dollar (especially when the dollar isn't theirs)

I was going to post this, as someone said earlier in the thread that it was the conservatives calling the election, but wasn't completely sure.

I remember listening to CJOB and they were all puzzled as to why the liberals/ndp were calling for an election at this time.

I think it's more or less that they weren't in power, so they felt "Hey, let's have an election and maybe get voted in"

[Shadao]

they don't in my opinion get paid enough. If the position of PM paid $3m- $4m a year you would get someone like Dave Dodge or someone else with his abilities to run the country.

.

i have to whole heartedly disagree. they are paid WAAAAAAAY too much as it is right now... its not like they have very many personal expenses... everything they 'need' is provided for them. perhaps when they are able to do the job they say they are gonna do and things go smoothly perhaps then we can maybe vote them a bonus... and there in lies another problem, they get to vote there own wages... thats rediculous... i dont get to have people vote for how much more i will make... 100yrs ago our countries leaders held a job while being a politician, my local gov't city councilors have to work and do the job they were elected for and they only get like 1000-2000 per month for there civil service....

lets face it our 'leaders' are out of touch financially with what the rest of canada is going through... when was the last time harper, layton or mcnagtieff 'HAD' to buy mac'n'cheese and no name hot dogs so they could eat dinner? or scrounge together couch change, roll coins and pick up pop cans on the side of the road so they would have gas money? or how about deliver papers(my neighbor does this) so you have an extra $25-35 per month for food for your kids?....

do our leaders in there thousand dollar suits with there $100 hair cuts and $500 shoes walk in the same foot prints as the rest of us? of course they do, only difference is we walk in snow and mud while they get to walk on tropical sand....

if anyone of the parties we are forced to choose from were to add " pay cuts to gov't officals" to there party platform 2 things would happen.... there party would abandon them and they would get elected

[Daryl @ RightDrive]

I'm going to vote for Jean Chretien. Any Prime Minister who had the balls to grab threatening protesters by the neck and with a wife who bashes midnight intruders in their home over the head with ceramic statues gets my vote! Whatever happened to politicians with guts...

[aN4rk1]

LOL @ Darryl,
I am surprised this isn't locked yet.

[trickey1991]

Im voting for Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[our_kid]

NOTE:

ANYONE WHO FEELS THIS WAY AND CHOOSES NOT TO VOTE BECAUSE THEY HATE ALL CANDIDATES, THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO SHOW YOUR DISGUST:

Go to the polling stations and do everything as if you were going to vote. Get your ballot and instead of checking a box, PUT A BIG "X" THROUGH THE THING. This is called "spoiling the ballot." If lots of people do this, it really sends a message to the government that their **** stinks and no one running is good for the country.

AGAIN: IF YOU'RE NOT VOTING FOR ANYONE, PLEASE GO SPOIL YOUR BALLOT.

Isn't it illegal to spoil your ballot? Or is that only in an Ontario provincial election?

[RABBIT]

you guys watching this?? , NDP BRAPPPP

[M13]

cons.

they've done well considering the **** we had to deal with since 2008.

[jdms13rhd]

The reason for the massive defecit at the moment is because of all the stimulus packages that have been implemented to cushion Canada's unemployment and the effects of the recession which is a world wide recession not a canadian government problem , please do not blame the conservatives for this, and Harper also made it known that the spending would cause this deficit , it's not a surprise.

As for the backgorund of the party members , i don't give a crap what their background is along as they can do the job , and to be honest for the job they have to do , loss of personal privacy and the amount of crap that politicians get blamed for by uneducated people , they don't in my opinion get paid enough. If the position of PM paid $3m- $4m a year you would get someone like Dave Dodge or someone else with his abilities to run the country.

BUT ya know the old saying , if you pay peanuts you get monkeys!

And like others have said , forcing a general election at the moment wasn't the most optimal thing to do , and it has wasted far more money than the G20 summit. Who do you have to blame for this ? thats right , the liberals - same guys that decided to go ahead and implement HST in a way that totally screwed over the average Joe in Ontario . McGuinty is hated so much for that reason alone.

- Harper put us in deficit before the recession even began, blowing through the $16B surplus he inherited. So, he put us into deficit before the Economic Action Plan began. Furthermore, he has been reducing taxes for Big Businesses (cutting further into revenue) while increasing the government spending, and borrowing money to pay for all of this. This means the only way he will be able to reduce the deficit is to raise taxes (which he swears he won't *cough* like he did when he taxed the income trusts * cough* OR start cutting programs further -- which might sound like the better option now but it will create more long-term problems for society & Canada on a whole.

- Furthermore, the election was caused by Stephen Harper. His government was found in contempt of parliament by the Speaker of the House of Commons & brought down on a vote of non-confidence. This happened because the Cons refused to provide documents to Parliament, even when ordered by the Speaker. This is breaking parliamentary law and therefore lead to Harper losing confidence in the house. So, in other words, we could have avoided an election if Harper just cooperated with the rest of our elected representatives in the house, as a Minority govt, he is legally obliged to do.

He claims he was defeated on the budget, but the budget wasn't actually even officially voted on. Why? Because he fell on the contempt charge first. Technicalities were never Stephen's sharp point, I guess. Plus, it helps his cause in the quest for a majority if he tells you all it's not hiiiis fault. And you eat it up, without looking into it: this is what he wants.

- G20 cost over 1 Billion dollars. The election costs 300,000-400,000 Million, so it technically hasn't "wasted more money". (Plus the fact is if this election kicks Harper to the curb we will be saving drastically MORE money over the long run, by stopping his govt spending-spree on crime bills & cronyism).

- And your HST? We have it too here in BC, hate it. But you can thank Mr.Harper & Jim Flaherty for that: it was at their insistence that the HST would "help businesses & the province do their part". Provinces were outwardly "left to their own decision" (aka left to take the fall) but the Conservatives encouraged it. They even promised another billion if we did it.

Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against small "c" conservatives. A lot of their ideologies I do agree with: smaller govt, fiscally conservative, less controls.. but Harper's Conservatives are none of that. Their entire history is full of deceit, disrespect for policy & procedure -- they have perverted the "conservative" name. They are neocons... And they get away with it by lying to your face, telling you the opposite is true. blowing millions of your tax payer dollars on flashy tv ads & billboards, scripting heavily-edited press releases, restricting (& threatening) media, muzzling scientists & running smear campaigns on anyone who dares to speak out against his rule.

I realize this sounds a little fatalistic but it's all documented & really has happened in Harper's Canada. And rewarding this behaviour tells him we agree with his actions -- giving power to someone already showing these qualities is not a wise thing to do. This is what is important to realize.

Since our media is heavily restricted (and cbc has been threatened with getting defunded) they are very gentle with him. But sometimes as Canadians we can't see the forest from the trees. Here's a view from the UK on Harper's systematic attack on our government institutions
And here's a great recap of some of Harper's most democratic acheivements, as seen from Australia.
Since both of these countries have the same govt system as us they can see that Harper is becoming a problem. Hopefully we can, too.

For more: www.100reasons.ca or www.unseatharper.ca

[jdms13rhd]

And spoiling your ballot doesn't send a message. Maybe if there was an election law that said "if any election has over x% of ballots spoiled, we will reform the system!!!!" then, maybe. But instead it just gets you more of the same old, same old. And the "same old" guys are happy you're handing them what they want. There are something like 75 parties in Canada, is there really nothing you can stand behind? This is our future; the battle doesn't end because you choose not to fight.

[CelicaKidd_205]

I'm thinking of rejecting my ballot as well, but to be honest I think the NDP have a huge opportunity to form the opposition. I tend to agree with Layton on a lot of major issues and given his positive attitude even when going through his cancer treatment is a big plus for me. Of all the party leaders I find he has the best charisma and overall vibe that a good politician should have. Although some things he's come up with are a bit puzzling.

On the other hand in my local riding our Conservative representative Rob Nicholson was put into office as Justice Minister, and has represented out community very well. Even to the point of helping my church get through some red tape to help a Columbian family escape persecution by immigrating here, BIG plus points for me.

So you can probably understand my dilemma on this one

[cortexx]

Well vote for me :-

I'll bring in the following :-

Hanging for all pedophiles , drug traffickers , rapists and murderers.

Abolition of the welfare system , work or starve - if you cant find a job you'll work for your local city picking up litter etc .

Reform of the immigration system and an end to the green card lottery that allows 50,000 families free entry into canada each year from the middle east that cant speak a word of english or french (they get a free handout out of up to $40,000 on landing to help buy a house , start a business , buy a minivan , free healthcare etc).

1 year mandatory ban for DUI , lifetime ban for second offence.

Mandatory prison time for violent crimes.

drop tax on Gasoline , double Tax on cigarettes .

Make people that are obese because of retarded eating habits pay more for their healthcare , same for smokers and alcoholics.

Bring back corporate punishment in schools for disrespectful little punks . (6 whacks from the cane didnt do me any harm but it sure taught me to be careful how to speak to my teacher lol).

Mandatory 5 years prison for carrying an illegal firearm in a public place

Maybe mandatory 2 years national service when you leave school , UNLESS you graduate and go to either college or university!

and thats just for s start

[CelicaKidd_205]

^ Sounds good, now can you run in Niagara?

[jdms13rhd]

I'm thinking of rejecting my ballot as well, but to be honest I think the NDP have a huge opportunity to form the opposition. I tend to agree with Layton on a lot of major issues and given his positive attitude even when going through his cancer treatment is a big plus for me. Of all the party leaders I find he has the best charisma and overall vibe that a good politician should have. Although some things he's come up with are a bit puzzling.

On the other hand in my local riding our Conservative representative Rob Nicholson was put into office as Justice Minister, and has represented out community very well. Even to the point of helping my church get through some red tape to help a Columbian family escape persecution by immigrating here, BIG plus points for me.

So you can probably understand my dilemma on this one

And if you still really want to spoil your ballot, I'd encourage you to at least wait until the next election to do that. This election, every ballot cast sends $2 to the party you vote for. Harper promises if he gets his majority that he'll scrap this funding -- so your ballot will really be worthless from that point on (unless you happen to vote for the winning candidate). Why does he want to do this? He says we shouldn't "be forced to pay for parties we don't vote for", which is a complete cop-out, since technically you're only paying for parties you don't vote for if you don't vote at all. But doing this will stifle the opposition, as Harper's Cons have always been able to raise more money in fundrasing than any other party (or all the other parties combined, if you want to look at it that way), because of the kickbacks he offers Big Oil & the support he has in the Churches. This should be a big red flag for any democracy-loving Canadian.

Which ties in nicely to your next point, about immigration: your community is lucky that he pulled through for that Columbian family. Under Harper's rule, family reunification is actually down (in his 2011 budget he cut family visas in HALF!) & instead, short-term lone immigrated workers is up big time. So literally, he's giving jobs away to new immigrants, who have no chance of bringing their families to meet them... which doesn't help our communities (and in most cases results in the money leaving Canada, as it's being sent back home). Although, if you watched the debates, you would have witnessed him lying pointblank about this, which I found incredibly presumptuous, especially since I've seen the actual numbers.

And don't get me started on Nicholson's ignorant view on crime: the con's "tough on crime" strict sentencing does nothing beneficial at all. Crime is down in Canada; it's been dropping since the 70's and is today at the lowest point it's been in 10 years. We do not need more prisons & stricter laws! All this will do is put more non-violent, firsttime offenders in jail, & keep everyone else in there longer. Did you know Harper wants to impose more mandatory taxpayer-funded drugtests on inmates in jail? Mandatory drug tests before they are released on parole, and if they fail? They don't get out. Now, this might sound good, but keep in mind that Harper has also cut funding for drug treatment programs in jail, and for harm reduction programs. And there's no plans to deal with the main issue: how the drugs are getting in to a high security jail in the first place (hint: the guards)

Even more ridiculous, all the studies in the world show that longer sentences = more recidivism (the likelihood to reoffend once being released), and more violent recidivism. Jails & prisons are crime schools. And now with the fund cuts for prison programs, this ensures that the transfer from spending x months in jail to being released is not going to produce inmates capable of easy integration back into society. And how will all these extra criminal records help our society? They won't -- they will lead to more crime, more violence, more people incarcerated at taxpayer cost. How much does it cost to keep one inmate in jail? Well, back in 2004/2005 it cost $52,000-$80,000 depending on provincial/federal. Harper says his govt will budget 2Billion a year for stricter sentences, but govt budget watchdogs & the corrections system itself say that the real costs will be much higher. Harper says anything over his budget must be covered by the individual provinces, aka us. Believe me, taxes will go up.

I could go on, but the best examples are often the easiest: look at the US & their failed drug & crime wars. Harper wants to import that failed policy here. Do we need to go down this route?

In the end, vote for who you want. But this election more than ever, it's important to cast an informed vote! We have a lot to lose.

[jdms13rhd]

Well vote for me :-

I'll bring in the following :-

Hanging for all pedophiles , drug traffickers , rapists and murderers.

Abolition of the welfare system , work or starve - if you cant find a job you'll work for your local city picking up litter etc .

Reform of the immigration system and an end to the green card lottery that allows 50,000 families free entry into canada each year from the middle east that cant speak a word of english or french (they get a free handout out of up to $40,000 on landing to help buy a house , start a business , buy a minivan , free healthcare etc).

1 year mandatory ban for DUI , lifetime ban for second offence.

Mandatory prison time for violent crimes.

drop tax on Gasoline , double Tax on cigarettes .

Make people that are obese because of retarded eating habits pay more for their healthcare , same for smokers and alcoholics.

Bring back corporate punishment in schools for disrespectful little punks . (6 whacks from the cane didnt do me any harm but it sure taught me to be careful how to speak to my teacher lol).

Mandatory 5 years prison for carrying an illegal firearm in a public place

Maybe mandatory 2 years national service when you leave school , UNLESS you graduate and go to either college or university!

and thats just for s start

And raise tax 60% to pay for all those extra prison cells, right?