Fifty days from today shall probably show the absurdity of the rhetoric and ranting, of tall promises, made not be kept, resulting in bitterness and cynicism for the sensitive souls. The forthcoming elections reveal the new power equations, while bringing into relief the theatre of the absurd to which our systems have plunged.


Thomas Hardy called pleasure an occasional episode in the general drama of pain and our political system has evolved to be a theater of human greed and avarice, of wanton calculated payoffs and lack of any coherent policy with a rare evidence of visible ethical standards. The main protagonists in this Greek tragedy are manifestations of human traits.

If Paul Martin shows the officious prime ministerial car-nothing attitude, Jack Layton has consistently shown a weak moral fiber. He first props up the Liberal Government for his pound of flesh and then ditches it for apparently no reason. There has been no perceptible change in the situation except for the Gomery report that was quite on the expected lines.

Earlier Belinda had proved her perfidy by forsaking the mother party for the office of a Cabinet Minister. This winter election is sole responsibility of Jack Layton, who was running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. Harper is possibly donning the shining armour and ride forth like a knight-at-arms to rescue this damsel in distress- I mean the Canadian nation. The question that faces the electorate is; what happens if no party wins conclusively? All polls show that no party is likely to garner sufficient votes to have absolute majority.

Are we in for an era of coalition governments – reminiscent of Italian and Indian model? Are we in for the dismal display of horse trading a la Belinda, again reminiscent of Aya Rams , Gaya Rams of Indian political scene where the whole Cabinet of a Haryana province changed the party with the change in Federal government? Are we likely to face the same situation that was the fate of France during the Third, fourth and Fifth republic, till the advent of De Gaulle? The next question that faces the electorate is possible reversal or amendment of some laws in case the Conservatives come to power.

I am referring to laws relating to same sex marriage and other such controversial legislation. For reasons beyond normal comprehension, the immigrants have usually favored liberal government. Possibly the major influx was in the last decade or so, and they have had no exposure to rule of any other party.

Now there is sea change. The immigrants, especially from South Asia, have not taken kindly to the same sex marriage. These communities have become more concerned with the so-called cultural heritage in this country, than they were in their native countries. I have seen that the people here are more fundamentalist and restrictive than in their own homelands.

It is because they never had such freedom and it was in the interest of the liberal government to encourage them in maintaining a ghetto mentality. Thus they could easily build up their nominated representative leadership and maintain a stranglehold on their votes. For instance the nomination of Ruby Dhalla at the instance of the Prime Minister was so say the least undemocratic.

This is just one instance, where the ridings have been taken for a ride. Would the elections ensure that such unseemly actions are avoided? 1902 U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt wrote: “The government is us; we are the government, you and I.” These words have not lost their veracity. The complacency of the voters in reflected in the attitude of the political partioes in taking them for a ride.

It is the compalcency of the electorate that majority of the South Asians MPs did not think advisable to comment either on the issues relating to their voters or on issues of national and international importance. They poossibly thought that being decorative was sufficient. As a result of the these unpaplatable actions of the politicians of every variety, cynicism is a disease sweeping the nation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
hinglish zindabad

Montreal and St. John's — A week after the election writ was dropped, Conservative support in Ontario has sagged markedly, giving the Liberals a firm lead in the key battleground of the federal campaign, polling results indicate.

Nightly tracking numbers compiled by the Strategic Counsel for The Globe and Mail and CTV show that Paul Martin's Liberals have widened the five-point lead they enjoyed before the election was called to a 12-point gap.

The week before the election was called, the Liberals had 40-per-cent support in Ontario. It has remained stable and now stands at 42 per cent.

The Conservatives, however, have slipped from 35 to 30 per cent.

Advertisements





Across the country, polling numbers remain stable with the Liberals holding a four-point edge over the Conservatives.

The Conservatives have strengthened their showing in the Prairies but have slipped where the stakes are the highest, in the battle for Ontario's 106 seats in the House of Commons.

\"From an efficiency point of view, the Conservatives don't need a lot more votes out West,\" said Strategic Counsel managing partner Tim Woolstencroft.

\"If they want to form even a minority government they'll have to do better in Ontario. They have to be much closer to the Liberals.\"

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has dominated the news, dictating the agenda with promises to trim the GST, appoint an independent special prosecutor at the federal level and reopen the debate on same-sex marriage.

But Mr. Harper's announcements so far haven't dented the Liberals. The Strategic Counsel polling results show that Mr. Harper's pledges on the GST and gay marriage have found most resonance with respondents who are already converted to the Conservative creed.

\"Out West, the Conservatives have consolidated their support. But clearly Ontario is the key one, given how many seats are involved,\" Mr. Woolstencroft said.

In the West, the Conservatives remain strong. In the Prairies, they soared from 50 to 59 per cent, while the Liberals dropped from 27 to 25 per cent. In British Columbia, the Conservatives also rose, from 30 to 34 per cent, while the Liberals slipped from 35 to 31 per cent.

In Quebec, Liberal support is softening to 26 per cent from 30 per cent in the pre-election phase, leaving the field to the Bloc, which enjoyed an eye-popping 30-point lead.

Liberal strategists were not that surprised last night with their increased fortunes in Ontario, where they say their message is one of \"restraint.\"

The Liberal's national director, Steven MacKinnon, said what is resonating with Ontario voters is the Liberals' message of \"fiscal management\" combined with its \"social programs.\"

But they are pacing themselves at this early stage of the two-month campaign. Mr. Martin is participating in about two events a day, and so far taking the weekends off.

\"The campaign pace is important in an eight-week campaign,\" said Mr. MacKinnon, who is travelling on the Martin tour.

They flew to St. John's last night. And Mr. MacKinnon suggested that it is far too early in the campaign to take anything for granted.

Still, the Liberals view Ontario with its 106 seats as a land of opportunity, and hope to increase their 74-seat count with wins in several eastern Ontario ridings, including Cornwall, Ottawa Centre and in Belleville.

They are also looking to make gains in Southwestern Ontario, around the Windsor area. The endorsement by Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove last week has given what the Martin Liberals believe is a boost in that area.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Windsor on Thursday, after campaigning in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Quebec.

But Liberal strategists indicated last night that they are saving their real fire for the three crucial weeks of campaigning after Christmas.

\"I think it's safe to assume this is a two-phase campaign,\" Mr. MacKinnon said.

Another Liberal strategist said that policy announcements by the Liberals will \"ramp up as we come around the corner.\"

The corner being referred to is the election period that comes after Christmas.

Meanwhile, the strategy in Ontario for the Liberals right now is \"steady as she goes,\" said the strategist.

\"We will continue to let Harper [talk and make announcements]. The more he [talks], the more people do not feel comfortable with him,\" the strategist said. \"He reeks with insincerity.\"

In fact, Mr. MacKinnon said they are quite \"comfortable\" with all that.

He stifled a fake yawn as he said that, indicating that the announcements seemed to be having no effect on the Liberals.

\"No one is paying attention,\" Mr. MacKinnnon said.

So far, Mr. Martin has kept a low profile and focused his message on national unity and stoking concerns about another referendum on sovereignty.

The 12-percentage-point gap is sizable, even when taking the smaller provincial sample size into account, Mr. Woolstencroft said. \"More importantly, it's been over the last five days that we've seen this gap.\"

The survey is based on a nightly rolling poll of Canadians of voting age.

The latest results were collected from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, with a sample size of 1,550 respondents, producing results that are accurate within 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The regional error margin for Ontario was 4.1 per cent

-----------------------------------------------------------------
hinglish zindabad

for the posts, but can you quote the authors? (unless they are your quotes...)
hiren

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by meghal

I believe there is much more in Canada than just moaning about your mistake in immigrating to Canada. I have passed through the same phase, and I am sympathetic with other immigrants who pass through same hardship. I had made a decision of going back to India, had I not made it in Canada. I had not immigrated to Canada to do a labour job or change my field of expertise. And I did not - I sticked to my stance.

Just my thoughts though...............

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Are you there?

Trans..

Whats the point of all the newspaper articles??

I don't get it, the poster requested YOUR opinion. Are you trying to throw off the discussion as usual?

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Are you there?

Quote:

---

Orginally posted by meghal
I wonder why this entire discussion is centred only on the plight of professional immigrants? Even though I tend to be one of them, I believe that once you are settled in Canada, there are numerous other issues to be taken care of

---

-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Progress comes from deviation".

On a side note if anybody finds my comments or posts offensive or irritating please ignore it and if that still bothers you; please write to me and I will demonstrate.

The liberals, preoccupied in the past two years with health-care reform and federal-provincial revenue sharing, neglected to develop a comprehensive industrial growth plan. That was a craven oversight. After all, while the economy has created 220,000 jobs in the past year, Canada lost 129,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs in that time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?"
"I always ask that of all my prey."
"I just like the sound of it."