Harper Gets It Done

The Conservative government reached an agreement with their American counterparts over the decades-long softwood lumber issue this week. The deal, which includes the return of 80% of the duties collected by the United States and no quotas, was hammered out by officials from both countries. Ending almost twenty years of the trade dispute, the deal is best described as the 'best compromise for both sides'.

The reaction to the announcement was mostly positive. Canadian industry leaders spoke out in favor, saying that this deal will finally make the dispute a dead issue. Even the Liberal premiers of Canada's top lumber producing provinces support the agreement. B.C.'s Gordon Campbell, Quebec chief Jean Charest, and (most surprisingly) Ontario leader Dalton McGuinty said that Harper had 'gotten the job done'. The only major dissenting voice to the deal was coming from - surprise, surprise - temporary federal Liberal leader Bill Graham, which proclaimed that the deal was good for the 'American industry', but was damaging to the Canadian workers. This negative spin by Graham and his Liberal cohorts was to be expected, considering it was the Liberals who were in power for most of the life of the dispute. The former Liberal government could not get a deal done, and by refusing to sit down and negotiate made many trade lawyers rich. Quite simply, the Conservatives took a position of negotiation and were successful. The former Liberal government wanted the deal to be resolved on their unrealistic terms, and failed.

Did we win or lose? True, we did not receive the entire $5 Billion in duties that were taken by the American government. We did, however, get $4 Billion back along with a fresh agreement that will end any dispute for years to come. We got more access and a higher share of the American market for our softwood lumber - and no quotas. By all accounts, it is a solid compromise for both nations. We both win. No wonder Bill Graham isn't happy.

Have One for Me on the Red Mile!

Wouldn't you love to see a Calgary / Edmonton playoff series?

Rant Bouquets

I'm pleased to introduce to all of you a new segment from the Moderate Separatist. The Rant Bouquet will be given to those public individuals who have got above and beyond the level of mere idiocy. They must have sunk to a new low of sleeze, misinformation, and more than anything else, must show a deft ability to use their industry or beliefs as a vehicle to spread their own agenda. The first two winners are:


1) Pseudo-journalist Eric Margolis. Well respected in his field, Margolis is never one to pass up the opportunity to spout off on international affairs. Whether it is on CNN or my local paper, he constantly ignores the idea of 'unbiased journalism' in favor of spewing his own opinions. In spite of his lengthy experience in Middle East affairs, Margolis consistently attacks the Western world's war on terror. Borderline sympathetic to the terrorists, Margolis seems to have been in a coma on September 11, 2001. Against the war in Iraq, many agreed with him in his opposition. On that, he just may have an argument. When it comes to other hot spots such as Afghanistan, he has been quoted as saying that Canadian soldiers shouldn't be there because a foreign force might offend the locals. Better to allow more terror attacks on our own soil than offend an Afghani, I guess.



2) Christian fundamentalist and all-around nutjob Bill Whatcott. Leader of a shadowy group calling itself the Christian Truth Activists, Whatcott is the worst of what Christianity has to offer. He uses his interpretation of the Bible to justify his hatred towards all homosexuals, going so far as to commonly use such colorful words such as 'sodomites' when discussing his target. When he and his followers aren't standing on street corners handing out flyers displaying pictures of an aborted fetus, you can usually find him in court or in front of a Human Rights tribunal attempting to explain how his particular form of hate crime isn't really hate, since it is (in his own little mind) the will of God. Even the vast majority of Christians I've spoken with say that while they somewhat agree with the message, the way Whatcott is delivering it is counterproductive and not the 'Christian way'. The question of whether being gay is genetic or a choice, or both, isn't an issue with Whatcott. To him, it is a choice that makes you the object of his obsession. So much so, that one of his publicity stunts was to jump in front of a gay pride parade carrying a sign blasting gays. When it comes to Bill Whatcott, it's hard to tell if he is just doing this for the press coverage, or if he truly believes in his discriminatory actions. It's strange how he never misses an opportunity to be seen with a large group of gay men. Hmmm....his closet door seems to be stuck...

Dinning Unsure About 3rd Way

Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Jim Dinning gave an interview to Canadian Press recently in which he commented on his views about health care, emphasizing the importance of publicly funded, quality healthcare available to all Albertans.

Excerpts from the story: "You've got to make sure that the 1 and 1/4 million citizens who live outside of Edmonton and Calgary have access to a high quality of health care." Dinning said. "Anything that undermines that, we're not going to let that go ahead."

Dinning also spoke out against allowing patients to pay cash for some procedures, including joint replacements, in order to get faster treatment - a move critics say would create a two-tiered health care system.He said only about 6,000 joint replacements are done in Alberta each year, costing roughly $100 million, and that's a relatively paltry sum in a health-care system that costs more than $10 billion a year. "To think that we're going to somehow put the whole system at risk by doing that," he said. "We shouldn't put the system at risk."....

Dinning was formerly chairman of the Calgary Health Region, Alberta's largest. He'd like the government to give the nine regions more power to make changes to improve health care delivery, rather than relying solely on systemic changes in the Third Way plan. "There's so many things that.... regional administrators want to do," said the former provincial treasurer. "Let's just let them get on with it." The Third Way plan does include some valuable components that will help strengthen and streamline Alberta's health system, said Dinning. "Primary health care, children's mental health, electronic health records - all essential elements to create an Alberta health-care system," he said. "I think up until now, a lot of the component parts are not clicked into place."

- Special thanks to Brent Shervey

The Usual Gang of Idiots

Liberal of the Month - The Leadership Candidates

The opportunity to lead a sinking political party that is stuck in debt and is suffering from the ghosts of corruption has brought forth some interesting characters. The first to announce her candidacy was Toronto lawyer Martha Hall-Findlay. Don't worry - I have no idea, either. Born-again Canadian Michael Ignatieff, fresh from decades out of the Northern political scene while stationed at Harvard, declared his intentions soon after. Ignatieff, who some Liberal insiders consider the second-coming of Trudeau, has intellectual appeal for the GTA latte crowd, but his public speaking skills leave much to be desired. That he has voiced support for the war on terror, mixed with his image as being 'too American', could work against him with the Party rank and file.



Bob Rae, once known as the Ontario NDP Premier who ran his province into the ground, has emerged as a strong contender. Rae being in charge of the country's finances isn't a thought that I'd like to entertain. Goalie-cum-politician Ken Dryden's possible run at the Big Chair proves that you can insult a nation's worth of stay at home parents and still be regarded highly enough by Liberals to lead the Party.



Stephane Dion, with a history of questionable ideas regarding the West, could be loved in the East for that very reason. Some Liberal insiders believe that darkhorse candidate Gerard Kennedy might come out of Ontario provincial politics to lead the Party back to legitimacy.

Only 19% of respondents in a recent poll indicated that they have a definite choice for the next Liberal leader. Given the list, I wonder how many had Ashley MacIssac in mind.

Back for One More?

Is it going to be 'out with the old, in with the older'? After the rejection of Premier Klein's retirement schedule by the P.C. Party faithful, and Klein's subsequent announcement of his revised plan that will see him step down this fall, the buzz has been growing about a possible run at the leadership by none other than Preston Manning. The former Reform Party creator, who has achieved iconic status throughout the conservative community, has stated that he would consider running for the top job if a number of wrinkles were worked out.

Manning, son of Alberta's longest-serving Premier Ernest Manning, has already lived his own political lifetime. From the previously unthought of accomplishments with his Reform (and later Canadian Alliance) Party, to the changing of national political perceptions, Manning has proven to be a winner wherever he has gone. He is one of those all-too-rare public figures who receives respect and admiration from those whose political beliefs are far from his own. A major benefit to his inclusion in the upcoming race would be the massive spotlight it would put on the campaign. If the race needed a 'big name' candidate, you would be hard pressed to find one bigger than Manning.

On the downside, some believe that his time has passed. His legacy is that of breaking some of the barriers to Western inclusion on the federal scene. If it weren't for Manning and his gang back in the late 1980's, Stephen Harper wouldn't be sitting in the Prime Minister's chair today. But Manning has already achieved great things. His resurrection into politics might be seen as akin to an aging boxer who wants to give it just one more fight. The qualities that define a good politician include knowing when it is over. The P.C. Party had to tell Ralph when to go. The Party might also tell Manning not to come back.