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Election 2011

Technoviking said:
I cannot hide my contempt for these neophytes, and I think it's a disgrace to the democratic system that a party would even put a placeholder into a riding, all the while extolling their virtues.  We need leaders in our governments (at all levels), not some hippy university student who said "Yeah, sure, whatever, dude" between bong hits when the local commisar offered up his or her name.  Total and utter contempt.
[/rant]

Remember that there is more to it for the party establishment than trying to get a neophyte elected, or offering up a sacrificial lamb. First, there is the talking point of running a candidate in every riding in the country. Second, and I am wearing my cynic Tshirt for this, there is the not inconsiderable matter of the roughly two bucks per vote annual payment to the party's coffers.
 
Old Sweat said:
Remember that there is more to it for the party establishment than trying to get a neophyte elected, or offering up a sacrificial lamb. First, there is the talking point of running a candidate in every riding in the country.
That's my point, and I think I made it earlier.  In fact, Mr. Layton extolled the "vast experience" his crew had.  This was during his "victory" speech on Monday night (Yes, I think he had every reason to celebrate).  I also acknowledge that the NDP is not the only party to run pylons in elections.  But for them to stand up and say "look at us!  We ran in every riding!  We ran x% women!"  ::)
Old Sweat said:
Second, and I am wearing my cynic Tshirt for this, there is the not inconsiderable matter of the roughly two bucks per vote annual payment to the party's coffers.
That funding must end.  I hope that the incoming Government scraps that dollars for votes idea...
 
Technoviking said:
I cannot hide my contempt for these neophytes, and I think it's a disgrace to the democratic system that a party would even put a placeholder into a riding, all the while extolling their virtues. 

I think it's a disgrace to our taxpayers that he gets $157,000 a year.  I'm not saying he won't have a stressful and/or difficult term in government full of meetings, functions, events and tasks that will more than fill up his calender, but I can't help but be stunned at his salary vs. that of a 1st year police officer, paramedic, firefighter, military member etc. that is also funded by taxes (although not all federally, obviously). 

I'm not complaining about the compensation that people who choose the aforementioned careers receive, I'm simply pointing out that I have a hard time reconciling the disparity between the tax funds devoted to Mr. 19-year-old-golf-club-employee-turned-MP and those devoted to emergency responders or employees of other tax-funded organizations that have a lot more experience, training and impact on the day to day lives of the people they serve.
 
Off Topic Comment

DAP:
The government contributes roughly $2.25 for ever dollar a CF member contributes
.

On my reserve pension the government profited by $0.48  per dollar contributed!
 
This was the first federal election that I voted as a pensioner. There are a lot of retired people in my neighbourhood. Almost all I spoke to said they would vote Conservative. So did I, even though I understand the political reality in my riding.: "The Conservatives were never a factor in this diverse downtown riding where the electoral dynamic was often described as a fight between the left and the “more left.” '
Globe and Mail May 03, 2011

The interesting contrast is with those still on the job. They tend to focus on issues that affect ( effect? ) the profession. 2008: "In keeping with the IAFF’s bipartisan philosophy, local affiliates were welcome to locally endorse candidates from any political party, as long as they were certain the candidate was committed to looking closely at the IAFF’s Canadian legislative agenda if elected and supporting IAFF issues in the House of Commons.":
http://www.iaff.org/canada/Updates/canada_2008_election.htm

dapaterson said:
"Gold plated pensions" applies equally to the military - if you're under older terms of service, you can retire at age 37 with 40% of your best five years as a pension for life.  (If you join today, you'll be an old, old man of 42 and get 50% instead). 

The new pension benchmark is based on the best three years of employment, at a 2.33 per cent accrual rate for each year of credited service. This brings members up to 70 per cent of pre-retirement income in 30 years with an 80 Factor.*
*The member's age + service.
This came as a result of Canada’s Income Tax Act regulations being rewritten in 2003.

Edit





 
dapaterson said:
Well, if it's that easy you can do it yourself.  But if you're unwilling to take that risk, it's hardly fitting to denigrate those who do.
I've taken greater risks than those neophytes, and I'm not the only one of this group.  So I think it's actually rather fitting that I denigrate those who pay such lip service for an institution for which I, and many others, have risked life and limb.
 
dapaterson said:
Well, if it's that easy you can do it yourself.  But if you're unwilling to take that risk, it's hardly fitting to denigrate those who do.

Well, it sounds like I could of without much difficulty from Las Vegas, but as TV says, I'm serving in a different capacity.  Just because somebody made the effort to run for office does not put them, or their salary, beyond reproach.  Mine is the same, but I'll justify it with belonging to a profession, years of training and unlimited liability.

dapaterson said:
Many MPs may get little face time in Parliament but provide their constituents with a link to government services, and smooth their interactions with the bureaucracy - how do we measure that?

A decent paycheck, which I stated above they were entitled to?

Oldgateboatdriver said:
It is not an easy job.

Old Sweat said:
It is a gruelling work load and his personal life has taken a couple of hits because of it.

...and being an MLA/MP is the only "gruelling" job out there?  I figured living in the dirt and bringing 40 Canadians back to their families was pretty gruelling to.

The point I'm making is not that public service as a Representative is not a dishonourable calling, nor that they not be entitled to decent compensation.  What I do oppose is a golden ticket - a respectable pension - so fast for something that, while potentially demanding much of someone (like so many other professions and trades), demands very little in the way of qualification and is more often than not tied to a small degree of demagoguery and simply picking the team with the right guy at the national debate.
 
I worked 24.5 years for a pension and its nowhere near what an MP receives after just six.
 
dapaterson said:
Yes.  MP pension plans include the CPP reduction at age 65.

Good thing they didn't invest too much time into it then.
 
Looks like some questions are being asked about one of Layton's star Quebec MP's. Reproduced under the usual caveats of the Fair Dealings section of the Copyright Act.

May 4, 2011

Questions raised about rookie NDP MP's papers

By CBC News

CBC News

Two people whose names appear on the nomination papers for Ruth Ellen Brosseau, elected as an NDP MP Monday, say they aren't sure how they ended up there.

Two people whose names appear on the nomination papers for the NDP's newly elected MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau say they never provided their signatures to support her candidacy.

Radio-Canada reported Wednesday that the signatures of René Young and his wife are on Brosseau's papers, but the couple doesn't remember agreeing to endorse her.

Young says the signature looks like his, but he has no recollection of being asked to support Brosseau's nomination as a candidate in the Quebec riding of Berthier-Maskinongé. He said his wife's name is also on the list but the signature bears no resemblance to hers.

"I'm really surprised and am having a hard time understanding ... I have no recollection of that. The signature looks like mine, but not my wife's," Young told Radio-Canada. "We're always together. I don't see how I would have signed it and she did not, and it's not even the same pen."

The report raises questions about the validity of Brosseau's candidacy, which was approved by the local returning officer for the Quebec riding that Brosseau won in Monday's federal election. She won the seat, formerly held by the Bloc Québécois, by more than 5,000 votes.
Vegas vacation raised eyebrows

Brosseau was one of the candidates who made headlines during the campaign, when it was discovered she took a vacation to Vegas and continued living and working in Ottawa, several hours away from the riding she is now elected to represent, instead of campaigning full time.

A spokesperson for the NDP said all of the rules were followed in Brosseau's nomination process. "All the signatures were collected according to the rules and they were approved by the returning officer. Ms. Brosseau thanks the people of Berthier-Maskinongé for the support they gave her and which allowed her to be elected," Marc-André Viau said in a statement.

Elections Canada told CBC News it was informed about the issue through calls from the media. A spokesperson for the agency said officials are looking into it.

To be considered a candidate, nomination papers must include the signatures of 100 people who live in the riding. Once the signatures are collected and all of the other paperwork is complete, the nomination form is given to the local returning officer.

The returning officer has 48 hours upon receipt to review the nomination paper and to confirm that the nominating electors listed on the form are entitled to vote in that riding. It is up to the returning officer to accept or reject a nomination.

The official elections agent for the Liberal candidate in the race, Francine Gaudet, says some people who signed the paper were told they were signing a petition, according to the Radio-Canada report.

Brosseau works as an assistant manager at Oliver's pub, on the campus of Carleton University in Ottawa. In her candidate profile on the NDP website Brosseau is described as a "dedicated community activist and volunteer" whose passions include rescuing and rehabilitating injured animals. She holds a diploma in advertising and marketing from St. Lawrence College in Kingston.

The young woman doesn't speak French well but is now the MP for a mainly francophone riding.

NDP Leader Jack Layton took several questions about Brosseau and his other young and inexperienced candidates during his first press conference as the new opposition leader Tuesday.

He defended the MPs, saying their new and fresh faces in politics should be viewed as a good thing, and that the choices of voters in their ridings should be respected. Layton said his team will work with Brosseau to help her improve her French so that she is able to serve her constituents.

Article Link
 
Retired AF Guy said:
Looks like some questions are being asked about one of Layton's star Quebec MP's. Reproduced under the usual caveats of the Fair Dealings section of the Copyright Act.

Article Link

Well this could save her from having to go to French language school for six months and for us to have to pay for it.

 
Layton said his team will work with Brosseau to help her improve her French so that she is able to serve her constituents.


I rest my case.  Mr. Layton made a mockery of democracy by planting non-qualified pylons in these ridings.
 
How ironic that the party that championed extension of Bill 101 to federally regulated workplaces has a uni-lingual anglophone representing a french riding... that she doesn't even live in.
 
Technoviking said:
I rest my case.  Mr. Layton made a mockery of democracy by planting non-qualified pylons in these ridings.

These candidates were decided on long before the Orange Surge enveloped Quebec. How can you possibly fault Layton for putting pylons in ridings where before the election the thought of an NDP MP was unfathomable? Are you also going to say that Mr. Harper made a mockery out of democracy as well by putting pylons in Quebec?

On further thought, I believe this is just how it works. With the amount of parties and ridings it is inevitable that parties will have to place unqualified candidates in areas they believe to have no chance in. There just aren't enough qualified candidates for all parties to run in every riding.

In this case the NDP can hardly be blamed for these candidates and if anything the constituents who voted for said candidates should be held at fault, which I'm sure some of them might feel with these inexperienced and under-qualified MPs representing them.
 
Technoviking said:
I rest my case.  Mr. Layton made a mockery of democracy by planting non-qualified pylons in these ridings.

Hardly a strong argument on the bringing down of democracy which seems to be the talking point of the year (against all parties) despite no one really breaching the core principles of democracy.  An attempt to gain the most of the per vote subsidy if status quo emerged from the election is more my bet than any attempt to subvert our democratic principles.
 
Gimpy said:
These candidates were decided on long before the Orange Surge enveloped Quebec. How can you possibly fault Layton for putting pylons in ridings where before the election the thought of an NDP MP was unfathomable? Are you also going to say that Mr. Harper made a mockery out of democracy as well by putting pylons in Quebec?

On further thought, I believe this is just how it works. With the amount of parties and ridings it is inevitable that parties will have to place unqualified candidates in areas they believe to have no chance in. There just aren't enough qualified candidates for all parties to run in every riding.

In this case the NDP can hardly be blamed for these candidates and if anything the constituents who voted for said candidates should be held at fault, which I'm sure some of them might feel with these inexperienced and under-qualified MPs representing them.
To be fair, I don't blame just the NDP for this.  ANY party that does this is, IMHO, guilty of making a mockery of the system.  How on earth can anyone even fathom putting an unqualified person into a riding, and THEN, after the thought, try to teach them the bloody language of their bloody constituents? 

And those who voted so blindly, they also make a mockery of democracy.
 
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