Well, it was a short, boring campaign, and, uh, nothing really happened. I'm writing this before the polls have all reported in, but the Conservatives have almost certainly gained a couple dozen seats, putting them just -- just -- short of a majority government. The Liberals have run on a campaign of trying to be mildly less abusive of the planet, and will be even weaker in the 40th Parliament than they were in the 39th. This likely means a few things:
- Stéphane Dion, Liberal leader and Kyoto champion, will lose his job next spring if not sooner. I've got to say, I feel bad for him. But his party has never been kind to losers, and he came to power less because of his own popularity than because of the deep, deep divisions within the Liberals. Those divisions haven't gone away -- if anything, they'll be deeper.
- A carbon tax is probably dead in Canada for now. But hope still glimmers for cap-and-trade. Maybe.
- Canadian politics continues to be dull. Like, watching-paint-dry dull.
- Like most Canadian political junkies, I'm more excited for the results November 4th than tonight's.
- It's past 11 PM, my country will be governed by reactionaries for another few years, and I'm gonna keep drinking until the sweet embrace of night.
Children and riot police face off in Canadian “Moms” video
The violent twilight of oil and a strategy to expose it
Comments
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sindark Posted 1:28 am
15 Oct 2008
No doubt, we will be importing some new 'Made in Canada' policies from the new American administration.
a sibilant intake of breath
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noracharles Posted 4:14 am
15 Oct 2008
I feel bad for Dion because I truly supported his Green Shift, and he seemed like a man passionate about his policies and had integrity. But I've come to realize debate and really getting into issues and policy doesn't matter in an election. After all, a party was elected whose platform was released one week before voting day and was 44 pages long with giant font, and 22 of those pages were photos of the party leader. No substance. It is about superficial stuff like personal looks, sound bites, disrespect and bullying. No wonder we had an historic low voter turn out - 59%.
This is a sad day for Canada and its citizens.
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GRLCowan Posted 5:27 am
15 Oct 2008
Perhaps they were entirely appreciative of the need for more carbon money to be in their paycheques, because of the way this would affect the behaviour of those who would pay it. A very witty proposal: take from those who will be affected by the taking, give to philosopher-kings whom money, additional fossil carbon money, cannot affect.
Also, no need to present the two things in this order -- income tax reduction/carbon tax increase -- because nobody doesn't like income tax. Putting it second on the bill gave voters the hope that it might be forgotten when the time for implementation came around.
With that hope in their breast, they must have liked the green shift, insofar as they were able to understand it. Better voter education was all that was lacking.
--- G.R.L. Cowan, author of How fire can be tamed
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