The Pros and Cons of our Canadian Political Parties (Post-Election)

   Conservatives   - Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Pros:

 - Harper is a good leader.

 - They have finally brought Canada a stable majority government, representing Canadians across the country.
 - During the 2011 election, the Conservatives showed that they were proud to be Canadian.
 - I really like their promise to forgive a portion of student loans for doctors and nurses in under-served rural communities.
 - They have brought our country out of a recession and strengthened the Canadian dollar (It's hard to do both).
 - They have withdrawn from our combat role in Afghanistan and emphasized the defence of our own country instead.

Cons:

 - They want to get rid of the per-vote party subsidy, which helps gives individual votes more impact.
 - They want to abolish the useful long gun registry, which keeps gun owners accountable for their weapons. (For more information, see my post The Long Gun Registry)
 - Update: I am worried by the extensive spending cuts introduced in the 2012 federal budget, which will inevitably result in less effective government services. Less government is not always better!

   New Democratic Party (NDP)   - Thomas Mulcair

Pros:

 - During the 2011 election, they made a special effort to show they were proud to be Canadian.
 - They want to keep the long gun registry and per-vote subsidies.

Cons:
 - With over half of their MPs now from Quebec, they are stuck having to serve that province's interests. 

 - They are anti-oilsands, even though the oilsands are a very important part of Canada's economy.

 - They support the flawed "Proportional Representation" electoral reform.

 - They would increase funding for abortion. The party also vigorously opposes any debate related to the criminalization of abortion.

   Liberals   - Bob Rae (interim leader)

Pros: 

 - They also promised loan forgiveness and benefits for doctors and nurses going to rural communities.
 - The party wants to keep the long gun registry and per-vote subsidies.
 - Update: They recently decided to endorse the legalization of marijuana (probably in an attempt to regain support from young Canadians). Of course, this move could be a "pro" or "con" depending on your view of marijuana.

Cons:

 - Their leadership problem is very serious. The party has been plagued with unpopular leadership lately, and it appears that they still are unable to find a good leader. They need someone who can re-establish the identity of the party and inspire people to support them after Canada rejected them in the 2011 election.

   Bloc Québécois   - Daniel Paillé

Pros: Um... I can't think of any.

Cons:

 - They are anti-Canadian and want Quebec to separate.

 - They only run in the province of Quebec and only support that province's interests.

 - They seem to be against multiculturalism.
 - The Bloc was decimated in the 2011 election and lost their strong leader Duceppe. Their future looks bleak.

   Green Party   - Elizabeth May

Pros:

 - Elizabeth May claims she wants to make Canadian politics less partisan and more respectful.
 - The party wants to legalise marijuana (again, this could be a good or bad thing depending on whether or not you think the drug should be legal).

Cons:

 - They are strongly anti-oilsands.

 - They want a carbon tax, which is highly impractical. 

 - They promote global warming alarmism. I quote from their website:

"It is estimated that climate change now claims the lives of over 315,000 people annually and is expected to create 700 million environmental refugees by mid-century."

"It’s important that we all pitch in to avert a climate catastrophe."

(Note: The average global temperature has changed less than one degree in the last hundred years. The estimates quoted are mere speculation on what would happen if the temperature changed dramatically, which is why I call it alarmism.)

Ancient Words

    The Bible is comprised of 66 books written thousands of years ago, in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). Christians (like me!) believe it is God's word - essentially God talking to us! Unfortunately, many people think the Bible isn't relevant today, in our modern world. But just because something is old, it doesn't mean it's irrelevant. We don't abandon seniors just because they're past their prime. Classic books written hundreds or even thousands of years ago are still read for the wisdom written inside that transcends time. The thoughts of ancient writers like Plato and Socrates are still very relevant and influential.

    But what does the Bible have to say about its own relevancy? Since it is the foundation for my life, the backbone of my worldview (set of beliefs), and the air I breathe, I can't help but ask this question. I like the let the Bible speak for itself, so let's take a look...

*  "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." - Isaiah 40:8

*  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." - Matthew 24:35 (Jesus speaking)

*  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

    I think the answer is pretty clear. But even if it still is relevant, why should we place our faith in it? What's so special about the Bible?

*  "And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times." - Psalm 12:6

*  "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." - John 17:17 (Jesus speaking)

*  "May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous." - Psalm 119:172

*  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

    The Bible is pure, true and righteous. It reveals God to us - His greatness, His justice and love, His plan for all of humanity, and His plan for you. He is better and greater than anything we could imagine.

    The Bible has also been accurately preserved and passed down to us. For example, The Case for Christ, a great book written by former-atheist (now Christian) journalist Lee Strobel, points out that "the modern New Testament is 99.5 percent free of textual discrepancies, with no major Christian doctrines in doubt." We have eye-witness accounts of Jesus' life and death, with far better reliability than most ancient documents. It was those accounts which led Strobel to a faith in Jesus Christ.

All Bible verses are from the NIV, copyright 1984.

Fail

Stanley Cup Count:


Les Canadiens de Montréal - 24


Toronto Maple Leafs - 13


Ottawa Senators - 11


Edmonton Oilers - 5


Calgary Flames - 1


Vancouver Canucks - 0

Only one Canadian NHL team has failed to win a Stanley Cup. Enough said.

My Trusted News Sources

   The news sources that you trust to bring you fair and accurate information and analysis on the world around you are very important to your worldview. They're the ones who tell you what's going on, and can influence you in many ways. Choose wisely! Here are some of the sources that I go to for news:

BBC News is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and one of the most trusted sources of news on the globe. They have very extensive coverage of international news, both on TV and online.

By TV and online CBC News is an excellent source for Canadian and international news.

The Globe and Mail is well known as Canada's national newspaper. I don't get to read it often because I don't have a subscription. However, I do make good use of their website, which has fair, extensive, and thoughtful content.

The Edmonton radio station 630CHED has news updates every half-hour all day, so I can stay up-to-the-minute on what's happening in Alberta, Canada, and beyond. They also broadcast some good talk shows, including the very good Rutherford show in the morning.

CTV is Canada's largest private broadcaster. Their website is also a good source of Canadian and international news.

Note: I am not endorsed by any of these news services.

D-Day is 2-Day!

June 6th, 1944 was D-Day Normandy, the biggest turning point of World War Two, which ultimately led to the defeat of Hitler and the Nazi empire. Over 130,000 Canadian, American, and British troops stormed the occupied French coast from the English Channel and established beachheads from which they would liberate France a couple months later.

Animated Map of D-Day Landings - BBC

The World War II Blog

Parliament Takes Off!

Picture from the Globe and Mail

    Parliament is now in full swing - the seating was announced for the House of Commons, Harper announced his cabinet, the MPs elected Canada's youngest Speaker of the House (even though 32 isn't that young, in my mind), and then our wonderful Governor General David Johnston read the speech from the throne, outlining the Conservatives' no-surprises plan.

    I try to stay non-partisan, but I must say that the Conservatives seem on track to really help Canada. I don't agree with everything the Conservatives are proposing - for example, I think that the long gun registry does a good job keeping gun owners accountable and the per-vote subsidy is useful because it gives individual votes more weight - but overall the Conservatives seem like the party to bring us out of the recession and strengthen Canada.

Picture from CBC News

    This page broke the House of Commons rules by protesting with her "stop Harper" sign in the middle of the throne speech. She also called for Canadians to engage in acts of civil disobedience against the Harper government.

    I think this incident signifies what's wrong with Canadian politics lately - both the lack of respect between all parties, and the opposition parties' (mostly the Liberals) lack of respect for what Canadians vote for.  We have one of the best election systems in the world, and Canadians elected a Conservative majority government. I know that lots of people don't like Harper, but Canadians elected a Conservative majority government. I know that some people try to paint him as an extremist, but Canadian voters elected Stephen Harper as the Prime Minister of Canada and gave him a majority government. We live in a democracy, so you need to respect the citizens' choices. The citizens chose Harper.

    If Bob Rae was elected Prime Minister (yes, I know that would never happen), I wouldn't start protesting that we don't live in a democracy anymore and run a big smear campaign against him. I would respect the choice of Canadian voters, and understand that Canada would probably remain the best country in the world anyways, even with a Prime Minister I don't like.

    For a multi-cultural country which emphasises respecting those who are different than you and those who you disagree with, our politics is nasty and lacks civility. On the bright side, MPs are saying they'll tone down the heckling and personal attacks in Parliament. However, party supporters need to do the same if we want to turn our political scene from one of pointless quarrelling into one of constructive debate.

   Here's a good post by a Globe and Mail commentator about the page: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/silver-powers/the-rogue-senate-page-and-the-absurdity-of-canadas-arab-spring/article2047880/