It's obvious to me that most

It's obvious to me that most Canadians don't pay attention to what our Governments are doing to this Country. It's too bad that people don't do enough critical thinking and let others do the thinking for them.

I'm voting ABC

ABC is the way to go. Strategic voting. Vote for the opposition candidate that has the best chance of winning.

Once this election is over, if Harper scores another minority, the opposition parties will need to cooperate. Jack Layton has to wake up and smell the coffee. Now is not the time to pretend Ignatieff and he are so different. All Jack does is attack Ignatieff, when he should be attacking Harper. Jack is no saint when it comes to his record of making deals with Harper so he needs to get with the program and stop being a complete opportunist.

contempt-the world is watching

Canada has lost credibility on the international stage...what will the world think if we vote in even a minority gov't under the leadership of a man found in contempt of our parliament?
Do we everyday Canadians really not give a damn about democracy?
The corporate world doesn't...by its very nature it is in contempt of democracy, in contempt of the common good, in contempt of any governmental interference in their affairs, in contempt of everything except profit. Don't expect corporate CEO's to criticize Harper-they laud his efforts, they are behind his efforts, they finance his efforts.
There are more everyday Canadians than there are CEO's. GET OUT AND VOTE-ABC-ANYBODY BUT CONSERVATIVE.
Give the rest of the world some hope.

Mr. Mair - Excellent. Do

Mr. Mair - Excellent.

Do you propose we issue our votes in the Cariboo-Prince George riding to Sangeeta Lalli?

Or, since the northern gateway was brought up... how about Kyle Warwick, Liberal Candidate for the neighbouring Skeena-Bulkely riding, one of the largest (geographically) ridings in BC. Home to hot political issues such as - Galore Creek, Red Chris, Northern Gateway, Power 37. Not to mention the extensive land titles issues. Well his boast to the riding is that he once passed through on his way to work on some Junior mineral exploration projects in the yukon. He is a Poli Sci university student, unable to campaign in his riding until the end of finals. Certainly an ideal candidate whom will provide extensive analysis from his thorough understanding of the area, having spent so much time negotiating her issues.

Or what about that little riding (how many residents??) known as Port Moddy, Westwood, Poco that the liberals must have hastily looked over when they nominated 22 year old Poli Sci student Stewart McGillivary as their candidate. He surely will dedicate insurmountable time to the cause once he as well finishes finals.

It's quite clear that the Liberal party does not give a shit about representation in BC. What a joke of a slate.

Will Harper defend Mohawks against U.S. gambling charges?

It's true. Various federal-provincial partnerships developed to promote Canada's rather successful mining industry so much in the news these days suggests our man is no friend of B.C. salmon or the rivers in which they spawn.

Is he a friend of First Nations, one wonders?

His reluctance to intercede/complete land claims driving us toward civil war in Caledonia, Ont. suggests no. While it's true his govt has continued the Liberal tradition of almost doubling annually the vast number of Indian Affairs programs along with the legions of highly-paid bureaucrats to run them, subsequent reports from Auditor General Sheila Fraser consistently reveal that these lofty-sounding initiatives mostly fail. These programs rarely, if ever, enrich their aboriginal beneficiaries.

So I'm wondering in the wake of the U.S. Justice Dept.'s shutdown of Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker this weekend whether and how Harper might react if/when the New York Southern District decides to go after Mohawks outside Montreal. Mohawks in Canada after all never signed any special deals either in Canada or the U.S. to escape the criminal consequences of hosting online gambling, and Kahnawake has continued openly to accept U.S. bets even after UIGEA in 2006 (commonly refereed to in gambling circles as Prohibition 2.0). Yes, and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Pasquantino reveals that there is no longer any finicky common-law revenue rule to prevent Sam from freezin' and seizin' what it considers to be unpaid Canadian tax revenue, either.

As U.S. extradition requests frequently before our courts reveal, Canada is quite happy to comply and send 'em south. My question is this: If Harper fails to defend Kahnawake in these circs, Would Liberals or even the NDP do it any differently?

Apply the same standard to each of Harper's positions and vote accordingly.

Ruling through Weakness and Fear...and Only 5 Questions:

Great article, great questions, Rafe:

1)"Why would any British Columbian vote Conservative in any event?"

2)"Is this what we're going to support?"

3)"A party in contempt of Parliament?"

4)"A party that directly participates in the decimation of our wild salmon, the soul and symbol of British Columbia?"

5)"A party quite willing to sacrifice our resources so that the U.S. can have cheaper energy?"

6)"What's a Tory majority going to do for you (no need to answer if you're a big corporation) that makes you want to support them?"

Thank you, Rafe.

Here's a couple of my own:

7)Indeed, what kind of Canadian citizen would support this kind of man and this kind of party?

8)Traitors, masochists, self-serving bastards?

The real problem is never the tyrant, (weak men and women have an obsessive need to control people and things - a glaring sign in itself of major dysfunction in terms of personality, character, and world view).

The real problem is those who yield to the absolute ruler, who support and vote for him (while you still have a vote)- and those who unfailingly prop him up: the big media that represents and facilitates him and their so-called journalists that fail to investigate and question in any significant depth - as well as those who continue to slumber while others suffer.

There should be a wall to record all of their names in infamy.

Let our children and grandchildren know who exactly endorsed the misery and the suffering, the loss of human rights and freedoms.

For the rest of us, we should demand and insist a sixth question be answered, then a seventh, then an eighth....until the people of this country.... and not Mr. H, are the last ones standing.

Schemeboat - although you

Schemeboat - although you scoff at the liberals choice of Stewart McGillivray to represent them in Port Moody, Westwood, PoCo against the formidable James Moore remember that the this riding first elected Moore when he was only 24. McGillvray did an outstanding job speaking for his party. He was articulate, well informed and an excellent public speaker, able to easily handle questions and rebuttals. By contrast Moore seemed kind of old, tired and bloated. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of young Stewart. The NDP candidate Mark Ireland also did an excellent job taking Mr. Moore to task.

Why Quebec sovereignists prefer a majority conservative govern?

I will let the smart readers on the Tyee answer that one.

On the other hand I will be very happy that Québécois will not elect one single conservative riding. And that the NDP is rising, to the point that Duceppe endorsed the Libs outside of Quebec as the only party capable of forming the next government. I nearly freaked out when I heard that during the debate held in French.

I am otherwise most worried about the outcome of a majority Harper governement.

Just wondering Mr Mair

Are you by any chance drawing your conclusions from WAC Bennets majority government's behaviour?

Good Article Mr Mair

I too would agree with your story here today there is nothing good for BC in a Tory Majority. Hopefully though, voters will see this as well come election day.

BC I sure moving to the far

BC I sure moving to the far right...Whatever happened to the NDP? in 88 the NDP had 19 seats in BC, the cons 12 and Libs 1...Like what the hell happened????????

All Jack does is attack

All Jack does is attack Ignatieff, when he should be attacking Harper. Jack is no saint when it comes to his record of making deals with Harper so he needs to get with the program and stop being a complete opportunist.
==========

Iggy is a far bigger opportunist and has backed Harper almost every single time. Iggy also has been going after Jack and the NDP.

The real kicker is it is the Liberal Party and Iggy's fault that Harper is still even around. He would of been long gone if Iggy and the Libs would of gone the coalition route instead of turning it down after they dumped Dion...The cons would probably have a different leader now..

Harper was on the ropes and almost out for the count until the Liberals breathed life back into him and now because of the selfish arrogant Liberal party we are potentially on the verge of having the most dangerous government in Canadian history, thatbeing a Harper majority.

When you deal with fools

Well, Dan the socialist, Let us start by agreeing that the average voter is lazy and stupid, OK?
So what Jack is doing is telling them that voting for Iggy is bad, because he needs their votes in order to have a say in the next government.
He assumes that people voting for Harper would never consider NDP anyway, so he has to siphoon off the lazy uninformed voters who by habit votes liberal.

It is called : "strategy", got it?

Dan the socialist wrote:

"BC I sure moving to the far right...Whatever happened to the NDP? in 88 the NDP had 19 seats in BC, the cons 12 and Libs 1...Like what the hell happened????????"

The NDP won handily federally for many years in our coastal electoral district, until the power-that-be widely 'redistributed' our coastal riding by deciding to include a big city with big business interests, and thus giving them and their much higher population base the electoral advantage over our small town values.

The riding now makes little sense in terms of fair representation of our rural coastal small town interests....as we are clearly outnumbered by those West Vancouver voters who continue to both prefer and support corruption in government.

Which, of course, was the point all along of gerrymandering our smaller but once-upon-a-time much more representative electoral district.

DEMOCRACY

The closest thing to democracy that we will ever see without major electoral reform, is a minority or coalition government. We need only look at how King Campbell and his band of merry yes men, have run B.C's. treasury into the poor house. Should we give Harper a majority he will feed the U.S. Military industrial complex billions of our tax dollars by buying obsolete war planes. Because that is what majorities do.

What Harper Means on Economy

When Harper says he is working on the economy - he means he is writing cheques for the super rich and pink slips for everyone else.

A Harper majority will severely damage the economy of everyday Canadians.

And the small business people who vote Harper are not voting in their self interest, because if people are too poor - then no one is buying - so there goes small business. Some one should let Jimmy Patterson know while his tax rates are going down, his car sales are going to drop like a stone, if Harper gets in; he can't have it both ways.

Minority government

I'm 100% in support of Rafe's contention that a PM with a minority "... must ask for the money and face a commons that has the power to amend or even refuse..." That IS a good thing. Why? Because we desire democracy and the country voted for each MP that sits in the house. A PM with a majority can safely ignore the wishes of millions of Canadians and there's not a thing we can do. Actually, under the present system, he can also ignore his own backbenchers who represent millions more. This is because party discipline requires MPs to vote with the government or risk losing the party name which got them elected. In a minority government EVERY MP is important. Sorry for shouting, but they damn well ought to be important or we're sliding towards dictatorship.
A telling moment in the debate was when Harper said the party with the most seats has the right to form the government. Wrong! Check our constitution. After the MPs are elected from around the country the Governor General asks a party leader if he/she can form a government. The key here is whether the government will have the confidence of the house. There is no recognition in Canadian law of which party has more seats. Even more troubling - Ignatieff agreed with Harper! These guys are very arrogant. If we wanted to be ruled by one person we could just have a President. The US is usually slightly more democratic than we are because Obama does have to ask congress for money. Even in a Democratic dominated Congress he would still have to ask and they could say no.
One last point. Harper DID have a majority, kind of, because the Liberals propped him up all the way for 5 years. You could say we had a coalition all along. The true opposition in Canada was, and still is, the NDP.

King Stephen the Harpless

If we do give him the majority...that is a horrible concept to contemplate...we will pay dearly for it...and possibly never recover from what he will do with a majority... everyone should have to read Tom Flanagan's 'ten commandments' to a conservative majority before voting...

Harper is the worst news for Canada!

Bill C-36 is the reason nobody should vote for Harper.
Unfortunately none of the other parties did anything to prevent this tragedy either, so, what is one to do?
For openers attend political meetings and don't be shy to have your voice heard.
When you get calls for lawn signs, tell them what you think and will do.
Try to pick a candidate (not conservative!), who has personal integrity, usually a younger, uncorrupted, outspoken person; not one trying to make a carriere of the political life!
Make them all aware, that they are, after all YOUR representative and not the other way around.
Tell them, that you WILL hold them accountable for their actions, or in-actions, whatever the situations require.
Most of all consider to join an action group, that WILL withhold taxes = TAXSTRIKE!

The big lie

"In any event, are we truly going to overlook this and vote for a disgraced leader and party anyway?"

Of course we are. We've done it for about 40 years, by my count, and probably a lot longer by others'.

Personal honour never had a big draw, but one could count on a measure of shame pervading the body politic when a man (as it usually was) was caught behaving like a cad, lying outright in a situation where there was no reason to do so.

There was no reason for Harper to lie. There was no reason for Oda to lie. That both did so and got away with it (but for only a bit of tut-tutting from a few of the Fourth Estate paid to write about such things and dissect nuance for those such as myself who imagine themselves above such canards) speaks not only to how far the body politic has fallen in its ability to sincerely consider its self-interest.

And I still place the blame for that squarely on our Fourth Estate itself, now having hewed to the corporate line for some four decades now. And now I'm going to bring it closer to home, Rafe.

What was your part in this degradation of the dialogue we all complain about? What champion of the underdog were you in your years in the Ledge? What standards of forceful, yet respectful opinion were you heir to on your radio show? What legislation did you write, who did you influence, what corporate titan did you restrain from asking for the sun, moon and stars in your public life, and your life in the practice of law?

Though I may enjoy your opinions from time to time, my everlasting memory of you is as one complicit in the degradation of the spirit of those of us who work hard for a living without public glory; one who insisted that equality of opportunity in this "great nation of English-founded peoples" was axiomatic, and that the only reason some were poor was they were lazy; one who stood alongside your colleagues as they placed new definitions of "scoundrel" and "prevaricator" in the dictionaries...

I'm sorry, I simply can't read your words without a shudder, despite the truth in them.

Margaret Atwood wrote about danger of Harper majority in 2008

She wrote:

Anybody who follows her on Twitter knows that she still thinks the same way about Harper et al.

"…It really is Anything But a Harper Majority Time….Nobody can really predict the future – there are too many curve balls – but we can make informed guesses. Today’s informed guess is this. Dear fellow Canadians: If you give the Harper neo-cons a majority government, you’ll lose much that you cherish, you’ll gain nothing worth having, and you’ll never, never forgive yourselves."
—The Globe and Mail, “Anything but a Harper majority,” Margaret Atwood, October 6, 2008

So, please vote!--@Rolf_Auer

trust harper,NOT

non illegitimi carborundum,we as canadians deserve better.integrity ,accountability,afghan issue!We are not mushrooms

minority

i tend to like the idea of minority govt - by law.

even if a majority of seats are won, the winners may only control the votes of 50%, less one, in order that they never have the only say on any issue.

to pass anything, they would have to convince one member, who is not in their party, to vote with them.

this would tend to give rise to more independents, and erode party politics, all for the good of canadians.

and end the chance of the rise to power of wannabe dictators like the very evil stephen harper.

Tory Majority

Rafe Mair's article above is a classic case of mindless political fear mongering! Why is he so afraid of a tory majority? Anyone with a little common sense should be able to see through that one. Stephen Harper is the most level headed leader Canada has ever had, and only wants to establish and uphold values that you and I cherish: ie the family, justice, and a stable economy. Canada has suffered through liberal majorities for years, and we're all still alive! Get a hold of yourself Rafe, you have acutally duped yourself into believeing that by throwing dirt, you will gain some ground, when in fact the exact opposite is true.

Harper majority would severely destroy the economy

I don't think Canadians have to wait for the economy to tank. It is already on full speed ahead with the price of gas putting the breaks on production as the costs keep climbing. Inflation was supposed to be kept down by the high dollar but the only thing it is doing is discouraging trade.
Canadians have a high dollar because of Oil but it is not proving to be good for the economy as speculators drive up the price of gas. Americans are buckling under their deficit as US receives a poor credit rating despite being number one. So Mr. Big Shot Harper what are you going to do about that, or perhaps Harper already has opened a Swiss Bank Account when checking the accounts out. I bet that would be the kinda advise Carson would give Harper, as the prime minister's former top aide and fraudster on 5 counts, put yourself first.

Harper holds up justice

[UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS REMOVED. -MODERATOR.] The RCMP are constantly under the gun for their lack of proper training and for not having enough officers to really do the job. I don't care what the con man has to say but rather what he has done.

Harper Majority

I agree with Rafe.
The American notion of Manifest Destiny is still prevalent today through Business and right wing Religious Associations infiltrating Canadian Society with such groups as the National Citizens Coalition, Civitas, the Evangelical Association, and NRA. Steven Harper previously of the Reform Party is member of these groups. Steven Harper has systematically made his way quickly through the ranks and changed the political climate today by coalition of the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives into the Harper Conservative Government. He has had a lot of American support of funds the amount of which has never been disclosed and changed the law to curtail the amount donated to other political parties in order to weaken his opponents. What has happened in the US budget debacle is the same tactics that the Steven Harper Conservatives are doing to Parliament in Canada. They would not discuss the budget with the Opposition Parties and an election was called because they did not get their way. Harper Government has held us hostage again at the tax payers expense. Wake up Canada! Harper must not get a Majority Government. Hopefully his track record is done for elections and he will be asked to step down if he cannot work with Parliament.

Tory Majority

Reply to walreu69
If you did any research into Harper online there is plenty. What Harper says and what he actually does are not the same. Lots of sweet talk and not much action. The family values is church talk and yet you would vote for a Party that is in Contempt of Parliament, has Fraud charges, RCMP raids, sounds like you have your priorities mixed up. Liberals pulled us through a Recession, SARS, Mad Cow, Trade embargo, Oil embargo, Trade Duties, and still had a fiscally responsible government. Leaving a tidy 13B for Harper to squander and put us in the biggest deficit in history. Where are these jobs? As far as family values - first thing Harper did was scrap the National Child Care Program bill that would have helped families a lot more than $500 a month. Open your mind to the real facts not political rhetoric. Wikipedia good source.

We are smarter and more sensitive than polls reveal

We know how hard it is to build community, to maintain a job, to care for family and friends. We know that you need more insight than a hockey match or a reality TV show. We can see that a minority in our population can bring in a government we don't want and that our future is under the thumb of gated interests who will never be blamed for their destructive practices. We know that power as it governs this globe is anti-life even though millions of dollars are spent to prop up its lies. That is why it is easier to watch the hockey game than to think about what really matters.

We never seen it coming?

I am just listening to the financial news about how no one in the financial markets, even the top economists had not predicted what was going to happen with inflation at 3.3% but yet I did.
It didn't take much to see the direction Canada was headed or the global markets for that matter. Corporate Greed is good is the message that is getting out but unfortunately it is never something to count on because in its design someone has to go without. All we hear about is how good the economy is and how the recession is over, get out and shop until you drop, or your credit runs out. The marketing is intense without any thought to anything but profits must go up at any cost. Corporations are running this country not Canadians as media keeps the public where they need them at, busy shopping getting deeper in debt. I don't know about you but when the going gets tough shopping is usually something to cut back on as well as credit but what do I know.

Oh and 6 billion dollars in tax breaks

To major coporations something Canadians can ill afford as corporations would happily take Canadians Social Health Care and encourage government to get rid of it for good. Leaving more of Canadians tax dollars for them. That is what lobbyist will be busy trying to do before the Health Accord persauding the extreme right prime minister not to sign another Accord. Something to fear or just a matter of fact if Harper gets a majority Canadians Health Care will be no more.

As long as you don't ask me to vote strategically!

Will not vote Conservative; but don't try and tell me to vote Liberal strategically!

One more reason

One more reason not to vote conservative. All Conservative senators recently voted against the revised bill that facilitated Canada shipping generic drugs to countries like Africa that cannot afford the big Pharma drugs. Game over, the bill was defeated. Since the original bill in 2005, a total of one shipment was completed.
This is not my Canada!

Conservative senators

Are there any not facing charges? Seriously, I want to know.

Snicker

"Conservative senators

Are there any not facing charges? Seriously, I want to know."

Yes - the ones still on winter furlough in Mexico. One can only wonder how much at home they must feel among the drug-lords and crooked cops of their second home...

Conservative Cancer is Killing Canada

Most Canadians have no idea of how very important this year's election really is. If the corrupt and power hungry "Harper Government" gets its majority, this cancer will metastasis and destroy Canada.

Canada's international reputation has dwindled and foreign commentators are wondering why we Canadians are so apathetic about the erosion of our democratic institutions.

Did you know that every Conservative candidate has to sign a loyalty oath to the Party? Just like Nazis and Communists! Candidates must always do what the Party tells them to regardless of what the voters demand, therefore Tory MPs only work for Harper and NOT YOU. Not only is this ethically and morally wrong, but it also attracts low quality, substandard candidates. It's part of the reason why Harper (besides his being a control freak) keeps such a tight leash on his MPs, not allowing them to speak without an official script. Most of these people have shown themselves to be incompetent twits prone to sticking their feet in their mouths and stirring up controversy.

Two thirds of Canadians do not and will not support the Conservatives. This is why Harper is hell bent on eliminating the opposition parties and establishing himself as the unopposed leader (dictator) of Canada.

This is why Harper is horrified of a coalition government succeeding his, not because they're incompetent, but because the new Prime Minister might (and should) be compelled to investigate Conservative activities. This will likely result in criminal charges against Harper and his henchmen. Dangerous indeed... but only for him!

Stephen Harper hates his country and should be considered a traitor. Having been found in contempt of Parliament he should have been removed from office, much less allowed running for it again.

Thank you for you time.
Turf Out The Tories
NOW

If Harper has a Majority - Patterns of Appointments an Indicator

There is a lot of speculation of what Steve Harper will do with a majority. One indicator of the ideology with which Stephen Harper may govern with a majority, or a with continued minority, is the preferences in appointments to the Senate, the Judicial Advisory Committees, and other bodies, the preferences of which have been off the radar screen but which will have a long term impact on the governance of this country.

Many people think part of his strategy has been to not do anything too controversial, keep a tight rein on and tightly script public comments, and keep the opposition off balance, which will hopefully be enough to remain either as a minority government or attain a majority, meanwhile quietly and off the radar screen go about appointments to the Senate etc that either way will leave a long term influence on governance.

Such questions should be asked during this campaign as there are some indications that an preference has been for people with track records of prolife, anti same sex marriage, “pro-family” activism and views, as well as members of evangelical faiths or ultraconservative groups such as Opus Dei. There is some evidence of that, consider the appointments of Nicole Eaton, Doug Finley, Suzanne Fortin Duplessis, Don Meredith, Don Plett, and Bob Runciman to the Senate and Gerry Chipeur to the Alberta Judicial Advisory Committee. And many members of the Party openly talk about the value of appointing people of this profile to the Senate and the Courts in order to leave a lasting legacy.

If these indications are in fact part of a definitive pattern, voters should know that in order to make better informed voting decisions, in particular since these views and ways of being do not represent even the majority of conservative or Tory opinion in this country much less Canadians in general, but could significantly change the manner in which Canada is governed.

Anyone have additional information to share? Suggest going to the Government of Canada Senate website, obtaining a list of senators appointed by Harper (38 of them I believe), and contributing to these comments by adding whatever you may know or can find out about the senators that have been appointed. And the same for the Judicial Selection Committees. Digging out information to confirm these patterns of preference and publishing would be of tremendous benefit to Canadians when making decisions of how to vote.

BC Voters should be paying more attention

The naivity of the BC voter is astounding and very troubling. Too many are punishing the Federal Liberal party because they are very angry at the policies and betrayal of the BC/Campbell Liberals. They do not realize that the local version is closer in ideology of the federal Conservatives and have been in lock step with them on the road to selling out the province and the country.
Recent polls suggest a left swing from the federal Liberals in BC to the federal NDP in BC. Logic suggests that this creep to the left should also be evident from Conservative to Liberal but it is not. I understand a traditional conservative voter is very unlikely to vote NDP, but that conservative voter, wary of a Harper majority, could vote Federal Liberal. Is that not happening because the name "Liberal" is so tainted by the BC version?