06.21.2019 06:31 PM

Don’t mess with Lilley and Denley: Dean French is gone

After the influential conservative writers Brian Lilley and Randy Denley wrote what they wrote, the writing (as it were) was on the wall. The Premier didn’t have much choice.

 

46 Comments

  1. I can only speak about my experience with federal GIC appointments — and a lot of them were quite simply, a joke. You had in many cases to so stretch the word “qualified” that silly putty became one of its synonyms in the dictionary.

    Full disclosure: I was talked into applying twice by the regional organizer. He said they might give it to me, just to get rid of the head shit disturber in my riding. What a waste of time that was. (I’ve changed parties but I haven’t changed.) LOL.

    • jeanbatte says:

      Unfortunately, I don’t see any daylight between the Libs, Dippers, and Greens. When you try to stand for everything, you stand for nothing. Who can be trusted? The last ‘real’ Liberal PM was Lester Pearson.

    • Ronald O'Dowd says:

      Right now, post JWR and JP, I’m going NDP. But if a demonstrable trend in favour of the Greens manifests itself in Quebec, I will flip and follow your advice.

      • Vic says:

        Ronald, the Liberals have a great economy going and the best job creation in decades. Families are being helped as never before and the environment is getting some attention. I attribute a lot of this to the many women in the Trudeau government. Let’s not screw up a good thing.

        • Ronald O'Dowd says:

          Vic,

          JWR and JP was a litmus test for I won’t say many but some of us. That’s why the PM hesitated for so long — before caving in to caucus demands for a clear path to full pension access. It was naked greed, pure selfishness and self-interest that motivated caucus and the PM foolishly fell for that.

          A lot of Liberals think he can turn it around in the campaign. I don’t. The PM could have chosen the right path, one of testifying and admitting collossal errors. He deliberately didn’t and must now live with the likely political consequences.

          This entire sorry episode has killed my future support for Freeland, or for anyone else, who did not have the ethics and courage that both JWR and JP exhibited. The next leader better come from outside the present cabinet otherwise we are done as dinner for many political cycles to come.

        • Ronald O'Dowd says:

          And for the record, I DON’T mean another political neophyte and pretend savior like Carney.

        • Fred from BC says:

          “the Liberals have a great economy going and the best job creation in decades. ”

          No, the Republicans have a great economy going and the best job creation in decades. Canada is just along for the ride, *despite* Justin Trudeau, not because of him…

  2. jeanbatte says:

    Bullshit! Stephen Harper navigated this country through a tough economic downturn. I did not come out of it any poorer.

    • Vic says:

      The controls on banking put in place by Chretien saved Canada from the fate suffered by other countries. Harper denied a recession was even coming. Sorry to burst your bubble.

        • Ronald O'Dowd says:

          In my book, both are right. True, Harper never saw the recession coming but after listening widely, he navigated it well. Harper could have chosen his usual and typical strategy of my way or the highway on the recession…thankfully for Canada, he listened to us on the outside, especially and crucially on the auto bailout.

        • In the fall Harper denied the recession was coming even when it was already obvious there would be one (I assume he was lying, not stupid). He was then forced to stimulate the economy under threat of losing power.

      • Ronald O'Dowd says:

        True, but Chrétien has to share the credit with Martin.

        I vividly remember Martin’s very public warning to the banks when they wanted to get on the insurance gravy train.

        • Vic says:

          Ronald, go Head and vote np and then say hello to PM Scheer. Please keep the big picture in mind.

        • Vic says:

          Sorry for typos. Should be go ahead and ndp

        • Walter says:

          If people try to say that the Chretien/Martin banking policies helped Harper through the recession – then they should also give credit to Mulroney for the deficit elimination by Chretien.

        • Vic,

          Because I’m in a charitable mood today, I will give my party one strategic hint: get the PM to reinforce the concept of an independent Senate by promising to bring in legislation backed by two-thirds of the provinces, rep 50% pop., to elect senators at the first opportunity (Senate Election Bill = senatorial election right after this general election) post-election. That will box in Scheer — not to mention several provinces — forcing Scheer to publicly renounce his intention of returning to government-appointed (read: Conservative Senators) should he win government.

        • Vic says:

          Ronald, l like the Senate as it is. Sober second thought, not ultimate power which they would eventually achieve if elected. The pendulum swings slowly surely. Think of it as slow and peaceful. Everyone is too amped up like this Fred dude from BC. Everyone needs to mellow out. Life is good.

      • jeanbatte says:

        Perhaps, and Chretien’s balanced budgets were enabled by the previous Mulroney government’s fiscal policies. The point is, new administrations build upon the previous admins positive policies. And, really, ‘the Liberals have a great economy going’???? Then why are they running multi-billion dollar deficits? So, Vic, you can blame Harper for everything that ails this country, and keep wearing those rose colored glasses when looking at the present administration. Ain’t no bubble burst here, Dude!

        • They are running a multi-billion dollar deficit because Trudeau’s government is built upon Harper’s tax cuts.

        • Vic says:

          I dont recall blaming Harper for anything. Lowest unemployment in ages , lots of jobs, family support, environmental conscience all add up to what the world recognises as one or the best economies going.
          You have to remove your partisan glasses and recognize the truth.

        • The Doctor says:

          Fiscal responsibility and especially balanced budgets seem to have again gone out of fashion recently. But really the Liberals deserve to be crucified this coming federal election campaign for the baldfaced lies they told back in 2015 about balancing the budget. They lied their faces off, and the sad thing is that they probably won’t pay any price for it. Certainly nobody on the political left seems to care at all.

        • jeanbatte says:

          Darwin O’Connor: So Harper lowered taxes (gst from 7% to 5%) and that was a terrible thing in your mind. Trudeau shoves a carbon tax down our throats, and that’s a good thing? Maybe Harper should have given Canadians the option of paying either 7% or 5% at the cashier so people with your way of thinking could opt for the 7% (TFIC)

        • – People aren’t worried about the deficit because the terrible consequences of a high deficit they said would occour have never happened.

          – The carbon tax is one of the least forced taxes ever. Provinces where given the option of designing thier own system.

        • jeanbatte says:

          Darwin O’Connor: So, according to your logic, deficits are inconsequential, so, therefore, Canadians need not pay any taxes at all, as governments could and should operate on borrowed money alone. But, on the other hand, you criticize evil Harper for lowering taxes. And, Trudeau did not ‘force’ his carbon tax on Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. I suppose you are partly right, he could not force these four provinces to shove their own carbon tax down their peoples’ throats. So, he shoved his own! Too funny!

        • Yes, that that Modern Monetary Theory says. I don’t mind the debt, I was just arguing it was as much Harper’s doing as Trudeau’s.

          You can also avoid the carbon tax by not buying large amounts of oil andg gas. It’s one of the most avoidable taxes that isn’t for the rich.

      • Fred from BC says:

        “The controls on banking put in place by Chretien saved Canada ”

        Many would argue that Brian Mulroney’s changes to the Bank Act did that.

        “Harper denied a recession was even coming.”

        Yes, even though he made made reference to a “coming US economic slowdown” more than a year before that. The reason is obvious: the fastest way to bring about an economic recession is to use the word “recession” in public. Do that, and everyone stops spending: instant recession.

        Everyone also seems to forget the Liberals and NDP demanding that Harper spend nearly twice as much as he did in “stimulus” spending. He refused, even under the threat of an end to his minority government. Canada came out of it in better financial shape than any other G20 nation, so he must have done something right, huh?

  3. Nick says:

    It’s ideas, insight and systems theory intelligence that makes for progress, not the simple naive movement of money around!

  4. Nick says:

    The Greens, perhaps the best choice, in my view still also don’t see the big picture.

    Our crippling healthcare, financial and environmental crises are primarily generated by our predilection for animal based products.

    Up to 80% of chronic degenerative diseases can be prevented, halted and even reversed and longevity significantly increased if we all adopted a whole plant based no oil dietary lifestyle thereby essentially eliminating our healthcare crisis and pumping billions of dollars back into our economy. This would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 50% allowing us to meet 50% of our Paris Accord quota by 2020!

    Yet, I’ve tried numerous times to contact all federal, as well as our provincial, parties about this and all I get is deafening silence.

    The 2 most important decisions that can expedite this are:

    A) Require that all medical schools teach this lifestyle medicine to future doctors, nurses, dieticians as well as have current practicing physicians and other healthcare workers update their knowledge base. This is already happening in the USA and in Europe but Canada remains firmly stuck in the dark ages.

    B) Gradually shift federal subsidies away from animal and dairy agriculture to plant agriculture.

    So simple and relatively inexpensive that it boggles the mind. But will it ever happen?

    It’s more likely we will just continue to be distracted by non-issues largely for political ends ‘while Rome burns’.

    • Fred from BC says:

      Umm …that’s interesting, but humans are omnivores, and are biologically designed to for both a plant *and* animal diet. This big brain we have is the result of the high-protein diet provided by meat.

      • Nick says:

        Actually the protein myth has been marketed to you by the agrifood industry to serve their bottom line not you. There has been a mountain of peer reviewed medical research over the last 40-50 years showing that a whole plant based lifestyle is the optimal diet for human beings in terms of health, longevity as well as athletic ( not to mention sexual) performance. The healthiest and longest lived populations in the history of the world ate and thrived on this diet (before McDonald’s) but now they are witnessing an epidemic of obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc….(welcome to western culture!) You may wish to watch Forks Over Knives and The Game Changers and perhaps read The China Study as a start.

      • Walter says:

        Is the converse of this that Vegetarians and Vegans have small brains.
        Many would agree with this.

        • Nick says:

          One false belief backed up by another false belief does not make the truth. But believe what you want, it’s your health at stake.

        • Fred from BC says:

          “Many would agree with this.”

          I’m starting to. I had thought that everyone knew about modern man evolving at the same time as the discovery of fire, which allowed us to cook and consume meat and thus develop the large brain that we enjoy today. I had also thought that biology, not politics, is what determined the intended diet of human beings (given that we have both the teeth and digestive system of an omnivore), but I guess I was wrong about that too.

          • Nick says:

            Actually, we have the teeth and digestive system of herbivores. And it’s not politics that should have a bearing on our diet but unequivocal peer reviewed evidence based medical/nutritional research which is what I am presenting here. Hope that’s clear.

        • Nick says:

          I forgot to add; those eating the standard America diet (Meat, dairy, etc…) have a 900% higher risk of getting Alzheimer’s than those who follow a whole plant based no oil diet. So if you want to protect your prized brain and not become a burden to your family and the Canadian taxpayer you have been forewarned. Good luck!

          • The Doctor says:

            Yes, everyone knows that only Americans eat meat. And that Americans invented eating meat.

            They’re so silly.

      • Nick says:

        Regarding your meat/big brain hypothesis actually research suggests that it was the co-evolution of our salivary/pancreatic enzymes and the ability to cook starches, thereby making them more bio available to an energy hungry brain that was the rate limiting step for human brain development.

        This is also the reason many primates have smaller brains as they are unable to assimilate enough starch from raw plant foods.

        A whole plant based human diet that relies almost (80-90% on cooked starches) exclusively provides optimal energy for brain and body while helping to avoid 80% of chronic diseases and extending longevity.

    • Jason Quinn says:

      I went to medical school and we learned plenty about healthy lifestyles/diets/etc. Preventative medicine is a major focus for med school curriculum in Canada.
      Getting people to adopt them in our culture is a completely different issue. You can only lead a horse to water.
      I sympathize with the greens, and am also disappointed with the JRW/JP issue. But, the disease is worse than the cure for that. It’s liberals or conservatives, and I am not ready to make the perfect the enemy of the good. There has been real progress.

      • Nick says:

        As a retired physician with over 30 years experience I can tell you the majority of Canadian physicians are totally ignorant of the impacts of diet and lifestyle on health.

        On the other note if you can get someone to have their chest split open one or more times for a coronary bypass, have them take 10-15 medications with an unlimited number of (many life threatening) side effects with absolutely no hope for improved health and a substantially increased risk of premature death then I agree with you simply asking someone to change their diet ( thus avoiding the surgery, the medications, the extra cost , the illnesses etc…) will be next to impossible!

  5. Derek Pearce says:

    I for one am sad to see French go. He was the best thing the Lib and NDP had going for them lol.

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