Desperation From 4th Place has Paid Off Before…

Lapierre (Lib) 35%

Leonard (BQ) 29%

Lauzon (NDP) 17%

Fournier (CPC) 13%

So the Conservative candidate kicked off his campaign in Outremont by taking the old attack on Paul Martin and replacing the name with Stephane Dion.

First it was the finance minister not knowing where money was spent…

Now another former minister from Quebec, this time the unity minister, who had no idea there was a unity fund run out of the PMO. This story is getting old. If the Tories are looking to pick up Liberal votes on the sponsorship scandal, the pickings will be slim this time around.

Jean Lapierre had Ginette Pellerin and a well-oiled machine working in Outremont, with 50 volunteers in the office at the time. Lapierre was Quebec Lieutenant, and was able to benefit from staff members taking leaves of absence to work for him. Lapierre also had the Jewish community (10% of the riding, but they only vote 33% of the time).

The NDP will have to make up a lot of ground to win. The Tories are another long shot. Coulon comes in with the advantage, but with vote splitting in Montreal being the way it is these days, anybody can win. The winner will pick up only about 30% of the vote.

The BQ candidate is a nobody and also has no organization. The BQ will be more worried about holding on to the other two ridings (ridings they have held since 1993)

Polls have shown that BQ votes tend to bleed to the NDP and the Tories in Quebec. While that may help those two parties, Coulon could be the big winner if that scenario unfolds.

We will see if the Liberals do bleed votes. They will not be able to get out the vote like they did. (extremely important in a by-election) I still expect Coulon to hold on…by a whisker. The media here is setting him up, calling him the HEAVY favorite. If it was a general election, I would agree, but it is a by-election so a low turnout means whoever gets their vote out will win.

If the NDP can get the students in Outremont for U de M and those in the McGill Ghetto they will win, but relying on the student vote is like relying on Bob Gainey to sign the big free agents…

The Tories can keep attacking on old news. Desperate attacks from 4th place have paid off for some people before, but unfortunately for Mr. Duguay, it’s a one-ballot vote…

Top 5 Things Pissing Me Off Tonight

1) The Emo-Crats Giving Lessons on Feminism

Seriously, Cheri Di Novo should take it easy on Warren Kinsella and check her own party before she spouts off. Warren Kinsella said a woman in a picture (who looked so much like Betty Crocker that the company should sue) would rather be baking cookies instead of listening to Randy Hillier. Dock him points for being corny and make him sleep on the couch for a night but this whole gong show is a little over the top.

I have a personal no-emo policy when it comes to politics but taking lessons from a group of people who think 66 bodies is not worth the cost of 20 million burqas have nothing to teach me about women’s rights. The NDP: Bring the soldiers home! Bring the Burqas back!

2) People Saying I Am Not Bilingual Enough

To the moron named Fred who insists I am dishonoring Pierre Trudeau by not typing my posts in French, I need to remind him that the point of bilingualism is the choice of which language to speak. The reason we want the public service to be bilingual is so people can get their services in the language of their choice.

I am still allowed to be against people who think not being able to communicate with a quarter of the country still allows them to be a viable candidate for Prime Minister. It is common sense. If you want people to vote for you, you have to understand what they are saying…sounds simple to me.

Ask me something in French, and I will write back to you in French. Until then, I choose to write in the language that I know best, which is English… so go Fuddle Duddle yourself…

3) My Friends Who Think Watching Hairspray Means They Are Gay

Shame on all of you! It is like the best movie ever. I promise that I won’t sing along with the cast members but seriously, watching movies doesn’t make people gay (watching Brokeback Mountain made me less gay…no joke). Stop being Saint Leonard stubborn and just learn that you can’t stop the beat…

On a side note, Michelle Pfeiffer is still a fox and Amanda Bynes is le awesome, and I will watch it again and again…

4) Public Health Care in Quebec…

So after waiting 90 minutes to see a doctor today, I asked for them to do an immediate strep test cuz I don’t like waiting three days for the results. The test is 20$ and I would prefer being healthy faster and pay the money…but the clinic and the doctor refused to allow me to pay for the faster test. WTF! Thanks for letting your communist ways make me sick for two more days. I am not saying privatize the whole thing, but if 90% of the clinics on the island offer the option, just make the person healthy, that is your job…

5) Canadian Phone Companies and the IPhone

So apparently, getting unlimited downloads on your phone costs 10 Euros a month and in Canada, the service is not yet available. I don’t know why Canadian companies insist on staying in the Stone Age when it comes to mobile phones, but something tells me Maxime Bernier is going to have to open up competition soon. I just don’t understand how we have the technology to put two arms in space but yet cannot figure out how to give people unlimited internet access on their cell phones. Hopefully, this IPhone rage will get the Starbucks Socialists in the NDP angry enough to call a press conference and demand that banks use ATM fees to pay cell phone companies to make things cheaper. They have done more crazy things before…

Oi Vey – Am I having Flashbacks?

It is summer in Montreal.

The sun is out.

The festivals are under way.

Liberals’ comments on Israel are being taken out of context.

So it seems the B’nai Brith needed to earn their paycheques and decided the target “du jour” would be Liberal candidate Jocelyn Coulon, who stated, correctly I may add, that isolating Hamas would lead to bad things happening.

People forget that although they are a terrorist organization, Hamas was democratically elected, and efforts by the West to isolate the Palestinian Authority would only lead the Palestinian people to distrust the West even more. Mr Coulon pointed out that withdrawing our support from the Palestinian authority would damage Canada’s position as a broker of peace.

Mr. Coulon’s view is also the mainstream view in Quebec. While we remain a strong ally to Israel, disrespecting the democratic will of the Palestinian people would not help achieve a solution. Efforts should be placed on breaking the hold Hamas has on the Palestinian society through the social safety net it provides.

Not many outside the Jewish community in Montreal (and even not too many within it) take the B’nai Brith seriously anyway. They are a group of lobbyists who have a vested interest and need to earn their paycheques. What is really sad about their over-reaction to everything is it takes away from the serious racial incidents that occur like the firebombing of the Talmud Torah school.

It is their job to cry wolf. I am surprised it took them this long to actually do it.

On a side note, I do find it entertaining that some Liberals are surprised that an academic’s comments can be taken out of context for political gain. I was awaiting Scott Brison’s press conference but I guess it is a reflex by now.

The mock outrage is rather funny though. Some people have such short memories…

Reason # 28463 Montreal Should Have Hosted the U-20 Final

Our police do not pepper spray and taser a group of unarmed teenagers…

A capacity filled 20 000 fans witnessed a great game yesterday between Argentina and the Czech Republic. Some scratched their heads when they first learned that a 20 000 seat stadium would host the final when the Big O has regularly hosted up to 40 000 spectators for the games played in Montreal. There are many other factors which make Montreal the international city that it is, and after the semi-final a few days ago, the Toronto police force effectively pepper sprayed the good image that Canada had portrayed during the FIFA event.

A week after Canada’s Prime Minister visited Chile for the first time in decades to celebrate the relationship between the two countries, the Toronto police show the Chileans some very un-Canadian hospitality.

When we host a tournament of this magnitude, the police are supposed to protect the players, not attack them. If an Argentinian fan provoked a Chilean player, get the fan out of the way and case closed.

Will Vancouver police taser athletes in 2010 if they get into a dispute with a fan?

Toronto will likely not host a major international sporting event for a long time. By defending the moronic actions of their police force, they have proven they are unable to provide the security necessary for the athletes to feel completely safe.

Hopefully, this indiscretion will not punish the other Canadian cities vying to host international sporting events.

Thanks Toronto!

Montreal Gazette Hires Psychic?

Montreal Gazette Hires Psychic?

So Canada’s Least Accountable Minister (CLAM) Michael Fortier was haging around in Saint Jean yesterday announcing the re-opening of the RMC College, which will soon host a 2-year CEGEP program.

I do believe the military does need a little bit more positive exposure in Quebec anyway, and all around, this is just your usual summer spending spree.

The Montreal Gazette, however, in the caption under their photo covering the story, referred to our CLAM as MP Michael Fortier. Mr. Fortier is an unelected Senator, and will be running in the next federal election. I believe the Gazette has hired a psychic of their own if they boldly predict Mr. Fortier will one day become an MP.

To sum up…

Gazette needs fact checkers…

Michael Fortier still the same CLAM as he was before

Coulon Carries Burden for Dion

Noted academic Jocelyn Coulon will carry the Liberal banner in the upcoming Outremont by-election. He was chosen after Marc Garneau (first Canadian in space) withdrew his candidacy and former mayor Jerome Unterberg decided to pass.

While other candidates had submitted CVs to Mr. Dion, he has decided to run Mr. Coulon. An expert on human rights and foreign affairs, Coulon could bring some intellectual weight to the party, necessary after the departure of Bill Graham and Stephen Owen. (No I was not going to put intellectual and heavyweight in a sentence with Jean Lapierre).

Dion himself was a handpicked academic 10 years ago recruited to bring the Liberals some intellectual punch in their fight against the sovereigntists.

As Elizabeth Thompson reported this morning, some in the party (I have also heard this) are calling the Outremont by-election a litmus test for Dion’s leadership. There some very unhappy campers in the Quebec wing of the Liberal party and many are looking to the by-election to make some noise if the Liberals come up short.

The Liberals have a good shot at retaining the riding. Coulon will siphon some of the soft sovereigntist vote because he is a respected academic. With support for sovereignty on the island of Montreal nearing 20%, it will be difficult to imagine Jean-Paul Gilson rallying the Bloc forces. My sources within the Bloc tell me he won’t have the student groups Farouk Karim had nor the organization star candidate Jacques Leonard had in 2006.

The Tories, who finished 5th here in 2006, plan on running a campaign where they will spend the maximum. The goal here will be to embarrass the Liberals. As many Jewish organizers here on the island have bolted to the Tories, a high profile Jew may be enough to steal away some valuable Liberal votes to help the wild card in this equation, Thom Mulclair, squeak through.

The NEP, or the Emo-crats, have a chance to win this riding. With staff being mobilized from all corners of the province (they really need to go to all corners) and even some coming in from Ottawa, Jack and friends will put all they have into winning this by-election. If the NDP can get the usual Bloc student vote and a chunk of the Green vote to vote for Mulclair, who is very popular in that constituency, he has a very good chance at getting elected. The McGill ghetto, also partially in the riding, will be key to the NDP votes as well.

It will be something to watch this fall, depending when Steve drops the writ. But for now, this academic will have to carry the entire weight of Dion’s leadership on his shoulders. Bonne Chance M. Coulon…

Poll Shows Quebec Trend Emerging

Warning LOLOLOL moment incoming….

Jack “Emo” Layton is the most popular leader in the Liberal Fort Knox of Montreal…

Emo 24 Harper 19 Duceppe 16 Dion 12 in Montreal…

While seeing Emo at the top of the list was rather intriguing, leader numbers are always good for a laugh. The voting intention numbers of the Environics poll are what interested me most. There are two trends emerging, and the big winner is Stephen Harper.

In 1997 and 2000, Jean Chretien was successful in rallying the federalist vote to defeat the Bloc Quebecois. As the Tories became viable again in Quebec, the Liberal fortress of Montreal held strong. In 2006, on the heels of Gomery, Conservative votes on the island of Montreal reaching 15% cost Eleni Bakopanos, Pierre Pettigrew, Jacques Saada, and Liza Frulla their seats. Jean Lapierre, Pablo Rodriguez and Denis Coderre held on for dear life. Montreal was no longer safe Liberal territory.

Here are the Montreal results today…

Bloc 31 PLC 20 New Emo-crats 19 PC 17 Greens 14

Close enough for you (eat your hearts out Lower Mainland British Columbia)

The sample size was small (217) and we do not know how the vote is spread out, but this is a trend we never saw in other polls.

Outside Montreal, the federalist vote is rallying once again as it was in 1997 and 2000. Except now it is rallying in favor of the Conservatives. (283 respondents)

PC 37 Bloc 31 PLC 15 New Emo-crats 7

The world has really turned upside down here in Quebec in a very short time.

I think other polls should be done to see if this trend does hold true. If it does, we could be in for a very interesting election…

Why The Europeans Love Government...

The Next Liberal Ad

Lib: Hey PC what are you up to?

PC: Just making myself some money.

Lib: I am busy developing Dion Green Plan XIV. I think this one will be on recycled paper.

PC: We raised 5 million dollars. It was boring, but it is 5 million dollars.

Lib: But you’re a nerd.

PC: who raised 4.5 million dollars than you.

Lib: Well, at least I am cooler.

PC: Remember that story parents told their nerdy kids about them growing up and making 10 times more money than you…

Lib: I was too busy cheerleading sorry

PC: I think I will even write a book “How to Outraise a Liberal in 10 Days.” And then a second one called “How Many Ads About How Uncool Your Opponent Is Can You Run With 5 Million Dollars?” That title is still a work in progress.

Lib: Whatevs PC, I will leave in my Toyota Camry hybrid powered by vegetable oil.

PC: I got a helicopter to catch too dude. Seeya Later.

Canada Belongs to All of Us

Canada Day. Or as it is known in Montreal…Double Time and a Half Day, or Moving Day, depending on your situation. Every year, we hear horror stories about how Canadians wouldn’t pass a citizenship test, or how they know nothing about Canadian history. In a very Canadian way, we seem to be much harder on ourselves then we are on others.

Maybe people no longer know what the national policy was, or that Dominion Day was created by Dief the Chief to strengthen our ties to the old country. Canadian culture has changed. I bet everybody knows who Wayne Gretzky is. I bet they also know what a double double is, when we wear toques, or that we call our Dollar and two-Dollar coins Loonie and Two-nie respectively.

Canada belongs to all of us in our own individual way. We associate many things to Canada, each in our own way. Everybody defines Canadian identity differently, which is partly what makes it so great. That is why it upsets me when political parties try to assign parts of their platform as Canadian, implicitly stating not adhering to it is “un-Canadian”. Nobody was more notorious for doing this than Paul Martin’s band of merry men.

The famous “shoot me in the face” ad of 2004 highlighted that the Conservatives, if put into power, would change Canada so much, it would not be the Canada we all knew. Liberals were actually saying that the Tories were making Canada un-Canadian.

This brings me to the “Take Back Canada” stunt the YLC pulled across the country today. I teased my good friend Justin when I first saw the initiative. Did Stephen Harper hide Canada somewhere? I couldn’t celebrate Canada today because I needed to take it back? It made me smile. Seems the Young Liberals have adopted the old Earnscliffe adage of appropriating Canadian values to Canadian citizens.

What do YOU associate with Canada? Hockey, Tim Hortons, politeness. I am not saying all Canadians believe this. I am saying that these would be the more common answers. Where on the list do Canadians rank government run 9-5 daycare centers, having a different environmental approach than the Liberal one, and fiscal policy regarding income trusts?

Truth is Canada has not changed much at all since Stephen Harper took over. Provincial governments are still bitching. Our economy keeps chugging along. The Stanley Cup remains in the United States, and French Canadian players keep turning down more money rather than playing in Montreal.

So the Tories did not take Canada away. They took Liberal policies away. Does it suck? Yes. Does it mean that Canada itself has fundamentally changed? It will take a lot more than that to change Canada.

Happy Canada Day!