English Language Canadian Debates

Here are some thoughts about last night's debate between The Fickle Five: The Joust at the Round Table.

The leaders sat at an oddly shaped table. All they were missing were sweaters and hot chocolate from Tim Horton's and they were set. You couldn't get more Canadian - Duceppe excluded. I have no idea where he's from with those Arctic eyes. A friend of mine remarked, "does he ever blink?"

Stephane "I have a plan, I have a dream" Dion and his hard luck, aw shucks, professorial image probably secured the vote of people who love puppy eyes. Dion performed relatively well. The Liberals still suck. They had their time in the sun. They should sit out another term. They claim to be "centrist" but they're way too willing to intrude on the lives of people. They further claim to be visionaries. To me, they swing back and forth with trends to swindle votes.

Elizabeth May was there. She really was. She looked more comfortable than in the French debates - naturally. I must admit the concept of shifting taxes from personal income to taxing pollution is interesting. However, they lose points when they claim Sweden is such a model for environmental issues. Sweden has all kinds of problems with its welfare state these days.

Gilles Duceppe is an old pro at this. Too bad he bats for the other side because he does have decent ideas on some issues. The Bloc anti-gang law was impressive. Canada and Quebec would be richer if the talent in the Bloc actually served to strengthen our country. But they're a destructive force that serves no purpose in the bigger picture.

Jack Layton is one passionate, consistent dude. Not since Ed Broadbent have the NDP been a legitimate party. I disagree with just about everything the party espouses but they defend their positions skillfully. One thing Layton said I agreed with was with regards to the economy. Specifically, the fact that Canada remains mired in a bizarre mercantilist economic vortex. We pretty much still sell our resources abroad and buy back finished products from other nations. Why not develop and manufacture here? Layton had the best line of the night when he asked if Harper was keeping his economic plan under his sweater. A shot at the Christmas cards he sends out. But he's being reckless and outrageous, just like Dion, about this "pending economic crisis" business.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was gangbanged. But that comes with the territory right? Provincial Premiers always gang up on the Prime Minister so consider it a natural flow of Canadian politics.

Harper kept cool and exudes a Prime Ministerial image. A couple of things the other parties were wrong about in their hawkish attacks.

First up, the arts. What I find unfair is that they all know the budget for the arts is actually up. The Conservatives basically cut out dead weight organizations. That was prudent policy - even though right now the Conservatives have been so-so on the economic front. By that I don't mean the "pending economic crisis" the other parties keep harping about. Subsidizing the arts doesn't enhance our cultural heritage nor does it make it any more artistic. If anything, it waters it down as it discourages competition.

At this time, Harper is right, the fundamentals of th Canadian economy, while far from perfect, are decent if not sound. It's obvious we may end up feeling the pinch of the U.S. economy but we should deal with this when it happens. It makes little sense for government to involve itself to try and preempt an economic crisis. They'll only make things worse. Let the economy flow freely. So, the Liberals are talking drivel and the NDP nonsense (as I alluded to earlier) when it comes to needless economic interventionism.

Another issue the NDP tackled was the notion of "$50 billion" worth of tax cuts for corporations. What Layton seems to be deaf to, and Harper mentioned this, is that this fact was part of an overall $200 billion tax plan. It wasn't only corporations who got them but families as well. Personally, I feel Harper should cut income taxes. Anyway, the Conservatives actually send cheques out to families. I know I get them and I duly invest it in an RESP for my daughter. One last point, it's not necessarily a bad thing to provide tax cut to companies during an economic downturn. It keeps them competitive and may encourage them to keep hiring. It's basic stuff. Hundreds of thousands of people work for corporations so if companies are healthy so are people - ironic, eh Jack?

Harper shouldn't brag about his undisclosed economic plan. There's no "crisis" and if they keep talking about it, it may just become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

However, during the debates Harper showed he's the best candidate overall.