ab1 | Voted

Conservative pundits have repeatedly come to the defence of prime minister Stephen Harper's gradual approach to tax reductions. In a country like Canada where conservative ideas must be applied carefully and slowly, they say, Mr. Harper has no other choice.

That's not correct at all. As was explained recently, the idea of low taxes is a Canadian, not American one. Nor does it have anything to do with conservatism per se -- having low taxes simply makes common sense. Even with much lower taxes, Canada could still be generous about its health-care system, education and a range of other government services -- but it would require a leaner government that operates from a business point of view. This would be accompanied by much improved fiscal responsibility.

Our American friends south of the border had better pay close attention if they want to avoid the pitfalls Canada finds itself in now.

The other day, the National Post printed an excellent op-ed piece about our universal health-care system and what we should do to cut those insanely long wait times:

In 2007, waiting times for access to health care in Canada reached a new historical high: 18.3 weeks averaged across 12 medical specialties. While many politicians will respond to this recently announced news by pointing to costly new government programs, few will ask the important question: Why are Canadians waiting at all? Wait lists for medically necessary health care are Canada's shame.

[...]

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg and Switzerland provide what many Canadians might see as the impossible ...

In his Speech from the Throne, Stephen Harper said that he would come down hard on crime. Canadians are rejoicing. While Liberals, who are eternally soft on crime, continue to bleat about the rights of criminals, the majority of Canadians are more concerned about victims' rights and those of the general public.

After decades of Liberal appointments of judges (bleeding hearts who coddle criminals and add to the suffering of victims), people have had enough. Decent people, that is, like the new chief of police in Calgary:

Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson said the legal system is beginning to favour the rights of accused over protecting society at large.

Hanson advocates minimum sentences for gun crimes and stricter bail conditions for suspects a...

Gordon Brown is about to make a colossal mistake: to disregard the will of the people.

The Prime Minister is ready to defy the British people by refusing them a vote on the EU Reform Treaty despite a new poll for The Daily Telegraph showing almost seven out of ten want a referendum.

But Britain is not alone when it comes to opposition to the EU treaty:

The YouGov findings were supported by another poll which found that 76 per cent of Germans, 72 per cent of Italians, 65 per cent of Spanish and 63 per cent of French wanted a referendum.

To this, one can also add Austria, where anti-EU sentiment is running at anywhere from 80 to 90 per cent.

The treaty was already rejected by voters across in the EU, most notably in France, and its curre...

For some reason, the Canadian media reporting that the Conservatives are re-introducing the Tackling Violent Crime Act but demanding that it be passed without amendments.

Shame on Stephen Harper! He has no respect for democracy! cry the Liberals and their supporters.

Except that it isn't true. The Conservatives are demanding no additional substantial amendments. The bill being introduced is the bill as it was amended at the end of the last session of parliament, as agreed upon by the government and the opposition parties.

That's a significant difference, but people don't seem to be getting it. At least CTV is reporting on it, and making a point to focus on the confusion.

Technorati tags: Stephane Dion, Liberal Party, Step...

I have been saying it for over twenty years: Canada is not a real country and never has been. It is held together artificially when it really should be allowed to fall apart into at least two parts: Eastern and Western Canada.

This blog post by a conservative in Ontario has brought all this home again. Even among conservatives, there is a clear split between East and West, with one group not being able to understand the other and one group (the Eastern one) overstating the importance and weight of its main province (Ontario).

It is true that Ontario will achieve "have-not" status soon. Economists predicted it about two or three years ago (for 2008-09), and for all we know, Ontario may already be a have-not province (and Toronto is on the verge of bankruptcy -- ...

I have been very critical of Alberta Liberal leader Kevin Taft, but for fairness' sake, I also have to point it out when he does or says something at least halfway decent.

Taft, unlike his federal Liberal cousins, doesn't believe in a strong federal government. When it comes to more autonomy and protection for Alberta, he is an Albertan first, and a Liberal only second.

Let's take a look:

Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft today outlined a new vision for Alberta’s economic future, in the form of inter-provincial cooperation that could “forever change the place of Alberta in Canada.”

“Today, I am proposing a complete rethink,” said Taft in a speech to Calgary’s Downtown Rotary Club. “I’m proposing a policy to transform western Canada into a Western Tiger, with Alberta...

Right to Life in New Zealand is challenging the abortion laws in that country, claiming the committee that oversees abortions isn't doing enough to protect the rights of unborn children.

RTL is also challenging the Common Law notion that a baby only has rights once he is "born alive".

In the High Court in Wellington this month, Justice Simon France rejected the [abortion] committee's bid to rule out expert medical evidence, produced by Right to Life, about the viability of foetuses being removed for medical treatment and returned to the womb.

The judge said Right to Life's claim included questioning the definition of when the law deemed someone to be alive and thus had human rights under the New Zealand Bill of Rights.

New Zealand adheres to the common law "born alive" principle, where a child has no rights until it is born alive.

"Right to Life sees the `b

The idea of having a high-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton is catching on fast, as a new poll shows:

If a bullet train pulled into Calgary today, almost three-quarters of Albertans say they'd be up for a ride.

A new poll done exclusively for the Herald shows 70 per cent of Albertans would ride high-speed rail if it were to become a reasonably priced reality in the supercharged corridor from Calgary to Edmonton.

While the province awaits a feasibility study on high-speed rail, this Leger Marketing survey also reveals two-thirds of Albertans support investing taxpayers' dollars in a bullet train.

To break down the ...

I just noticed, for the first time, that one well-known blogging aggregator has started advertising on Google Ads: the Blogging Tories.

Why would they have to advertise on Google Ads? They're already the most established aggregator in the Canadian political blogosphere.

Who would be paying for the cost of advertising? Members of Blogging Tories? Stephen Taylor? Or, perhap...