Long-form census – one year when I was at Queen’s I acted as a friendly-neighbourhood census taker. I used to hate having to deal with recalcitrants who refused to fill out the long form when their lucky number came up. Things usually quietened down after I showed them my census ID badge though.
Recalcitrants. Yeah, Kinsella, that means you.
badges, I don't need no stinking badges.
ReplyDeleteWhy do Liberals always seem to expend a great deal of energy on issues that don't matter to most Canadians?
Wafers, Jaffer, Prorogue, a reflective pool etc..
National Daycare in 2009. Anything else from the new Redbook?
Canadian Nonsense, why is it you have to sound like a Libertarian?
ReplyDeleteCanadian Nonsense... Why can't you stay on topic? Why must you always prattle one with such weak topics?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you expend a great deal of energy on such biased viewpoints and then wonder why noone wants to enter a "let's discuss how Im right" argument with you.
Why do you continue to wank with both hands providing nothing but bitter arguments or if we provoke you enough, a nonsensical rant about John Nunziata.
Still, its good to see the Conservative party switched you over to their new Libertarian talking points. Guess wingnut religion and conspiracy theories just dont seem like your type of wank material
Prorogation doesn't matter to Canadians???
ReplyDeleteI don't think even Stephen Harper would argue that.
Why must CS always misrepresent reality?
because CS does not exist in reality.
ReplyDeleteAh, the sweet taste of power...
ReplyDeleteAnd if Warman's enumerator badge didn't get the census malcontents to wise up pronto, threat of imprisonment usually did.
ReplyDeletePrivacy as a human right? You're kidding, no?
What I can't understand is why Kinsella is goingb to war on this issue
ReplyDeleteI think it is because Kinsella is more interested in bringing Ignatieff down at the moment than he is about anything else.
ReplyDeleteWhy did he start mouthing off about LPC/NDP mergers, and even go so far as to swear out an affidavit (which made him just look pathetic)?
And then, after releasing this "big" story to the media, making the failing liberal fortunes the big story, again, he then starts complaining about how the LPC still were not polling well despite the G20 mass arrests - as if the fact his little story brought more negative attention to the LPC had nothing to do with it.
I don't know. He seems to be on a mission.
Gayle said...
ReplyDeleteI think it is because Kinsella is more interested in bringing Ignatieff down at the moment than he is about anything else.
No. It's because he is a lawyer, and understands the law a little better than you do. The government is just about to lose a disputed prosecution for non-compliance on the issue, and they're going to lose it on the basis of the Charter of Rights. The long form census, you see, IS too intrusive according to the Charter.
All these Liberal bloggers who are moaning and wailing about this issue are going to end up looking pretty stupid, I'm afraid. The public has responded with a collective 'yawn', and the more you try to generate enough faux outrage to make this an election issue, the more embarrassing your climbdown will be.
(..but hey, what do I know? Go ahead and defeat the government at your earliest opportunity. Please...;)
"It's because he is a lawyer, and understands the law a little better than you do. The government is just about to lose a disputed prosecution for non-compliance on the issue, and they're going to lose it on the basis of the Charter of Rights."
ReplyDeleteActually, I believe he has a law degree, but I was unaware he is a practicing lawyer. Can you tell me what firm he works for? Because I thought he ran a public relations firm. In any event, all that matters in this particular discussion is that I understand the law better than you do, and I do.
As for that case, can you please link to it? I ask, because I am simply amazed at your powers of prediction, so I was wondering if you were having a casual conversation with the judge and that judge told you what he or she is about to rule.
See, here is the thing about the Charter (this is the part where I demonstrate I know more about the law than you). It has provisions that limit your rights. RIghts are limited in the interest of the greater good. So, it is possible a court may rule the mandatory long form breaches your rights, however the courts must also consider whether that breach is justified.
I will not be so very stupid as to predict what the court will rule, because again, I know more about the law than you do, and I know that to assume a judge will rule in your favour is really really dumb. I do know, however, that the ruling will probably be appealed, and if it is not, it will not be binding on anyone.
But that was a real super duper nice try Fred. Better luck next time.
CanadianSense said...
ReplyDelete"Why do Liberals always seem to expend a great deal of energy on issues that don't matter to most Canadians?"
First off, the Fake Lake story was broken by Greg Weston of the Sun chain; a guy who should be a hero to the right for all the Liberals he's skewered over the years. Sucks when it's your own guys who spend money like the NDP ...eh CanadianNumbskull? The media drove this more than the opposition - something to do with stories dealing with spending scandals and hypocrisy helping to boost viewership & sell papers. And government misspending doesn't matter to Canadians? How stupid do you think they are? It's precisely that they do care which helped Harper get elected in the first place.
As for Canadians not caring about prorogation ...that statement's been proven as bullshit quite convincingly. Remember Harper dropping 10 points (and majority territory) within 2 weeks?
As for the census not mattering to most Canadians, well I'll agree with you on that. The problem is the people who's opinions really matter to the Conservatives don't really like this one bit. That would be the business sector and the various Chambers of Commerce who've been contacting their local MP's and asking WTF??? They rely on this free information to know where to expand their businesses depending on StatCan's demographic data derived from the long-form.
But hey, if Harper wants to listen to crazy, conspiracy-theory, loonie libertarians ...as opposed to listening to people who run our economy ...well that's his prerogative.
I believe that Charter challenge is not complaining about the long form, but is about letting the American firm Lockheed Martin do work for StatsCanada and thus having an American firm get at our information, which they are then required by US law to provide to the US government if asked.
ReplyDeleteLockheed Martin, the company producing those fighter jets which I bet we do not need... I wonder if there is any connection between the fighter jets and Harper's stupid decision about the census.
Holly Stick said...
ReplyDelete"Lockheed Martin, the company producing those fighter jets which I bet we do not need..."
Of course they are unneeded, at least for the job these single-engine stealth fighters were designed for. Back when the cold war was going on and the USSR had bombers regularly flying over the Arctic along our border, yes we needed interceptors. That threat doesn't exist with Russia; now it's their Arctic oil & gas exploration that should concern us.
What we should be looking at to replace the CF-18 Hornets are likewise some twin-engine jets that can be used for troop support in Afghan-style missions, or to patrol our shores and/or for search and rescue missions. Interceptors are now as much an anachronism to our air force as battleships are to the navy.
As for a link between the two, I don't see it - though it sounds suspicious that their name is involved with both issues.