Canadian Politics

[Jedi Council]

What's with top Conservative politicians and LGBT issues? Scheer once called the LGBT community "dogs."

It's as if Canadian homophobes tend to gravitate towards the Tories.

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

[Outer Sparta]

It's as if Canadian homophobes tend to gravitate towards the Tories.

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

The NDP candidate there, Svend Robinson, was the first MP to come out as gay while in office.

[Jedi Council]

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

The NDP candidate there, Svend Robinson, was the first MP to come out as gay while in office.

Yes, he was, and was quite the character. 2019 was his attempted comeback into politics after a scandal involving him stealing an expensive ring back in 2004.

[Outer Sparta]

The NDP candidate there, Svend Robinson, was the first MP to come out as gay while in office.

Yes, he was, and was quite the character. 2019 was his attempted comeback into politics after a scandal involving him stealing an expensive ring back in 2004.

A quick Wikipedia search of him also has the detail where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which might have had a role in the ring theft.

[Luziyca]

It's as if Canadian homophobes tend to gravitate towards the Tories.

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

Wow. Bet that was enough to split the Tory vote.

[Outer Sparta]

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

Wow. Bet that was enough to split the Tory vote.

The only other candidate ideologically similar to her was the PPC candidate who got a measly 1000 votes.

[Jedi Council]

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

Wow. Bet that was enough to split the Tory vote.

She only lost about 8% points off of the previous Tory candidate, Mike Little, who was popular enough to be elected Mayor of North Vancouver (District) shortly after the 2015 election.

So I am not sure where that 8% went, but it definitely did not go to the Liberals or NDP

[Dresderstan]

They do.

Meet Heather Leung, a truly reprehensible woman who tried to run in Burnaby-North Seymour, the riding directly next to mine. She claimed that Homosexuality was a "perverted" lifestyle, that homosexuals "recruit" other peoples children to be homosexual since they cannot reproduce on their own, and that there was a serum that you could be injected with to turn you gay.

It took the Tories weeks to remove her as an official candidate, even though these statements had been circulating for years. When they finally did, she refused to remove her signs or anything because it was so late in the campaign that she would still appear as the Conservative candidate on the ballot paper.

She still got about 20% of the vote in her riding.

Wow. Bet that was enough to split the Tory vote.

The Tories weren't realistically gonna win anyway even after they dropped her, now it's become more a NDP/Liberal marginal than anything.

[Dresderstan]

Wow. Bet that was enough to split the Tory vote.

She only lost about 8% points off of the previous Tory candidate, Mike Little, who was popular enough to be elected Mayor of North Vancouver (District) shortly after the 2015 election.

So I am not sure where that 8% went, but it definitely did not go to the Liberals or NDP

They most likely either voted a different party or not vote at all.

[Jedi Council]

She only lost about 8% points off of the previous Tory candidate, Mike Little, who was popular enough to be elected Mayor of North Vancouver (District) shortly after the 2015 election.

So I am not sure where that 8% went, but it definitely did not go to the Liberals or NDP

They most likely either voted a different party or not vote at all.

The PPC gained 2.2% so I would wager you are right for the remaining 5.8%

[Jedi Council]

Primer for the CPC Leadership French Debate tonight.

Given that none of the candidates are fluent, and only MacKay and, to a lesser extent, O'Toole, are conversant with the language, I expect the Quebec media to have a field day with the entire affair.

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

That being said, the result was closer than expected.

- Norway received 130 votes
- Ireland received 128
- Canada received 108

Considering you need 128 to have won a seat, everyone was pretty close to the threshold.

[Shrillland]

Primer for the CPC Leadership French Debate tonight.

Given that none of the candidates are fluent, and only MacKay and, to a lesser extent, O'Toole, are conversant with the language, I expect the Quebec media to have a field day with the entire affair.

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

[Jedi Council]

Primer for the CPC Leadership French Debate tonight.

Given that none of the candidates are fluent, and only MacKay and, to a lesser extent, O'Toole, are conversant with the language, I expect the Quebec media to have a field day with the entire affair.

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

MacKay has the best French, so I hear, though, he was still roundly criticized in January when launching his campaign for how shoddy he was with the language. Having been in politics since 1997, and an exceedingly high profile Minister for almost a decade, MacKay had access to free French lessons, which, apparently, he never accepted. The fact he never bothered to learn really pissed off the Quebec media.

O'Toole has a better excuse; he has only been in politics since 2012, never really served in any senior posts, aside from a few months as Veterans Affairs Minister in 2015 in the waning days of the Harper Government. Though, given he clearly had leadership aspirations after losing to Scheer in 2017, one would have assumed mastering the language should have been a priority.

Sloan and Lewis are both practically unknowns, so no surprises there. As far as I am aware, they do not know even conversational French, through I am sure they will have something prepared for tonight.

And who do you mean when referring to the non-fluent Liberal? Stephane Dion?

[Outer Sparta]

Primer for the CPC Leadership French Debate tonight.

Given that none of the candidates are fluent, and only MacKay and, to a lesser extent, O'Toole, are conversant with the language, I expect the Quebec media to have a field day with the entire affair.

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

They've had somebodies in Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff once.

[Shrillland]

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

MacKay has the best French, so I hear, though, he was still roundly criticized in January when launching his campaign for how shoddy he was with the language. Having been in politics since 1997, and an exceedingly high profile Minister for almost a decade, MacKay had access to free French lessons, which, apparently, he never accepted. The fact he never bothered to learn really pissed off the Quebec media.

O'Toole has a better excuse; he has only been in politics since 2012, never really served in any senior posts, aside from a few months as Veterans Affairs Minister in 2015 in the waning days of the Harper Government. Though, given he clearly had leadership aspirations after losing to Scheer in 2017, one would have assumed mastering the language should have been a priority.

Sloan and Lewis are both practically unknowns, so no surprises there. As far as I am aware, they do not know even conversational French, through I am sure they will have something prepared for tonight.

And who do you mean when referring to the non-fluent Liberal? Stephane Dion?

I do indeed mean Dion, I remember that he wasn't particularly good at English(though I also know he's dyslexic so I don't fault him).

[Jedi Council]

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

They've had somebodies in Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff once.

Ignatieff could speak fluent French, though, apparently given his long residence in Europe, it was the Parisian dialect rather than Quebecois, which was widely mocked in Quebec.

Stephane Dion was obviously fluent in French since it wa his first language, but everyone I've spoken to from Quebec, and really anyone who speaks French, has said that Dion's English was about as intelligible as Harpers French, which is supremely ironic.

[Jedi Council]

MacKay has the best French, so I hear, though, he was still roundly criticized in January when launching his campaign for how shoddy he was with the language. Having been in politics since 1997, and an exceedingly high profile Minister for almost a decade, MacKay had access to free French lessons, which, apparently, he never accepted. The fact he never bothered to learn really pissed off the Quebec media.

O'Toole has a better excuse; he has only been in politics since 2012, never really served in any senior posts, aside from a few months as Veterans Affairs Minister in 2015 in the waning days of the Harper Government. Though, given he clearly had leadership aspirations after losing to Scheer in 2017, one would have assumed mastering the language should have been a priority.

Sloan and Lewis are both practically unknowns, so no surprises there. As far as I am aware, they do not know even conversational French, through I am sure they will have something prepared for tonight.

And who do you mean when referring to the non-fluent Liberal? Stephane Dion?

I do indeed mean Dion, I remember that he wasn't particularly good at English(though I also know he's dyslexic so I don't fault him).

Dion's English was heavily accented, but I think he was fine conversationally.

As I said in my above post, most people I've spoke to who speak both languages say Dion spoke English about as well as Harper spoke French.

Which again, is not saying much, given that Harper was not what one would consider fully fluent.

[Dresderstan]

Primer for the CPC Leadership French Debate tonight.

Given that none of the candidates are fluent, and only MacKay and, to a lesser extent, O'Toole, are conversant with the language, I expect the Quebec media to have a field day with the entire affair.

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

You forget, the Tories have and can win with little to almost no Quebec support, especially with how incredibly safe their Western seats are. I don't see the Tories falling to third or less until we get a scenario mirroring '93, which the PPC tried, and failed massively to replicate.

[Outer Sparta]

They've had somebodies in Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff once.

Ignatieff could speak fluent French, though, apparently given his long residence in Europe, it was the Parisian dialect rather than Quebecois, which was widely mocked in Quebec.

Stephane Dion was obviously fluent in French since it wa his first language, but everyone I've spoken to from Quebec, and really anyone who speaks French, has said that Dion's English was about as intelligible as Harpers French, which is supremely ironic.

Lol I wonder if having a Parisian dialect would cost you polling points in Quebec.

[Jedi Council]

Ignatieff could speak fluent French, though, apparently given his long residence in Europe, it was the Parisian dialect rather than Quebecois, which was widely mocked in Quebec.

Stephane Dion was obviously fluent in French since it wa his first language, but everyone I've spoken to from Quebec, and really anyone who speaks French, has said that Dion's English was about as intelligible as Harpers French, which is supremely ironic.

Lol I wonder if having a Parisian dialect would cost you polling points in Quebec.

It certainly did not help Ignatieff; the man is an incredibly intelligent academic but a lousy politician, something he freely admits in his memoir "Fire and Ashes," which I would recommend to anyone interested in Canadian politics between 2006-2011.

Only MacKay is conversant to a major degree? Oh dear...that changes things for the Tories. Last time the Liberals had a non-fluent leader, it started them down the path to third place...among other issues of course.

You forget, the Tories have and can win with little to almost no Quebec support, especially with how incredibly safe their Western seats are. I don't see the Tories falling to third or less until we get a scenario mirroring '93, which the PPC tried, and failed massively to replicate.

Ironically, the Tories have a chance in Quebec among soft-nationalists and social conservatives, but they continually pick leadership candidates who do not appeal to these groups.

Scheer was actually gaining ground in Quebec in 2019, given his own opinions on social issues, staunch support for the Quebec dairy industry and willingness to leave Quebec alone on cultural issues like the religious symbols ban. His horrid debate performance though, which everyone should have seen coming since both Trudeau and Blanchet are excellent French speakers, stalled his momentum, which largely shifted over to the Bloc.

[Bienenhalde]

O'Toole in more hot water as leaked video shows him hesitant to ban Gay Conversion therapy, announces plans to vote against expansion of medically assisted dying.

Clearly a play for Sloan/Lewis voters; he actively asks to be their second choice in this video.

Primary issue will likely be his comments around Gay Conversion therapy, especially claiming that such a proposal would infringe on a Priests relationship with their flock.

Might help him among the social conservatives, but it would be easy fodder in the general for the Liberals.

I don't personally support Gay Conversion therapy, but if the person in question is a grown adult and they are aware of the fact that the treatment is unproven and likely not to work and they still are willing to pay for it anyway, why should the government stop them?

[Jedi Council]

O'Toole in more hot water as leaked video shows him hesitant to ban Gay Conversion therapy, announces plans to vote against expansion of medically assisted dying.

Clearly a play for Sloan/Lewis voters; he actively asks to be their second choice in this video.

Primary issue will likely be his comments around Gay Conversion therapy, especially claiming that such a proposal would infringe on a Priests relationship with their flock.

Might help him among the social conservatives, but it would be easy fodder in the general for the Liberals.

I don't personally support Gay Conversion therapy, but if the person in question is a grown adult and they are aware of the fact that the treatment is unproven and likely not to work and they still are willing to pay for it anyway, why should the government stop them?

Because it is not just about ones willingness to go, or ability to pay.

Gay conversion therapy has been proven to by harmful to participants, not just to those forced into it.

The American Psychiatric Association says the following:

The potential risks of “reparative therapy” are great and include depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. Many patients who have undergone “reparative therapy” relate that they were inaccurately told that homosexuals are lonely, unhappy individuals who never achieve acceptance or satisfaction. The possibility that the person might achieve happiness and satisfying interpersonal relationships as a gay man or lesbian are not presented, nor are alternative approaches to dealing with the effects of societal stigmatization discussed...

Therefore, APA opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy, that is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or is based on the a priori assumption that the patient should change his or her homosexual orientation.

Add in the possibility, and probability, of abuse, then, I don't think there is a reasonable argument for why it should remain legal.

[Jedi Council]

So I tuned in to the French debate for a little while, and it was a mess.

O'Toole has worse French than I realized, while Sloan wasnt even trying to speak with the correct accent and was primarily reading off cards. MacKay, to someone like myself who admittedly has poor french skills, sounded decent.

That being said, it appeared to be a bit of a dogpile, they were all yelling and arguing except for Lewis.

[Luziyca]

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

That being said, the result was closer than expected.

- Norway received 130 votes
- Ireland received 128
- Canada received 108

Considering you need 128 to have won a seat, everyone was pretty close to the threshold.

In 2010 though, Canada got 114 votes. This time round, we only got 108.

I think that personally, Canada will never return to the Security Council so long as we remain lapdogs of the United States.

[Jedi Council]

Meanwhile...

Canada loses it's bid to rejoin the UN Security Council after a spirited campaign.

Not entirely surprising; Canada only joined the campaign three years ago, while its two rivals (Ireland and Norway) both announced their candidacy over a year ago. Harper's term really damaged relations with the UN, and Trudeau, while trying to rebuild Canada's previous position on the international stage, has oftentimes failed to match his soaring rhetoric with actions.

That being said, the result was closer than expected.

- Norway received 130 votes
- Ireland received 128
- Canada received 108

Considering you need 128 to have won a seat, everyone was pretty close to the threshold.

In 2010 though, Canada got 114 votes. This time round, we only got 108.

I think that personally, Canada will never return to the Security Council so long as we remain lapdogs of the United States.

Relations with the US are at their most tense in decades, I highly doubt the reason we lost was because we are viewed as American proxies.

It's much more likely that Norway and Ireland, who both contribute much more to the UN than we do, got the drop on us.