This past Sunday I was watching the TV when I came across CTV's Question Period, a Canadian political talk show. On the show was outgoing Liberal MP Dave Anderson who discussed his long political career with host Mike Duffy. During the interview, Mr. Anderson raised two concerns: 1. That Prime Minister Paul Martin was giving too much power to the provinces; and 2. That the federal government is listening to the demands of the provincial governments instead of listening to the MP's that represent the constituents within that province. Mr. Anderson went on to state that if such power trends continue, that it would not be long before the federal government would only exist to serve the needs and desires of the provincial legislatures.

The fact that Mr. Anderson and the hosts of Question Period can't see the reason why such a shift of power within the Canadian federal political system is ocurring is beyond me. Here we have the Liberals who have ruled for the past 13 years as if all that existed to Canada was Upper and Lower Canada, and therefore completely ignoring the West and Maritimes. Finally, because of the failure of the West being represented in federal politics, either through the Liberals or through the regionalist party, the Conservatives, people in the West are beginning to question the authority or right of the Liberals to govern them. And this is why the Liberals are starting to see this shift in the demands of power by the provinces. If the federal government is not going to listen to the Western provinces and therefore govern them fairly, than the provincial governments will step up and assume this role. With the Western provincial governments assuming this position (Alberta especially), they essentially end up demanding and/or assuming more power from the federal government. We can see this happening in the ever-increasing amount of heated conflicts and disagreements that both Alberta and Newfoundland have had with the federal government.

Such a power shift is likely to continue until ultimately separation from the rest of the country becomes the ultimate desire. Now I know what you might be thinking - that I am dreaming a little bit here - but I do see Alberta at least attempting to separate from Canada within the next ten years. The fact is that the various regions in Canada are too different and that there is nothing left that unifies us as a country. In an article found in the Western Standard called Imagined Nation, David Warren argues that there is nothing left holding us together. "Anything that was particular about the country- not about regions but about the country as a whole- has been obviated by government legislation, or put quite purposely into disuse. We are no longer a Dominion; we have a Queen only on paper; our system of Crown-in-Parliament has been negated by the quasi-presidential rule of a succession of 'federaste' prime ministers from Quebec. Our history is no longer taught in schools." I would also have to add to his list that those who fought for our country in World War 1 and 2 are now getting old and dying. Canada is becoming what Mr. Warren calls an "African state, with diverse tribes, and no memory of what...[we]...are doing together." Yet this lack of unifying force is but only one push in the direction of separatism.

What will cause the eventual separatism of Alberta and the West from Canada will be the continuing Liberal governance of our country. Now the truth is that most of Quebec and the West absolutely despise the Liberals. As a result Quebecors are going to heavily support their regionalist party the Bloc de Quebecois in the next federal election. The West also has their own regionalist party, the Conservatives with whom Westerners have thrown their support to in the last election and are going to continue to support in the next election. It is my view that the Conservatives are a regionalist party because that is exactly how they are viewed in the West and in Ontario. Westerners feel that because the Liberals won't pay attention to them and the NDP just isn't "strong" enough (as our electoral system of first-past-the-post favours a two party system and essentially belittles any third party) and therefore put their trust in the Conservatives to represent their interests in the federal parliament. As a result, Ontarians will never accept the Conservatives as a national party or a viable alternative to the Liberals, as they view the Western Conservatives as a threat to the status quo. This "hidden agenda" feeling that all Ontarians have with the Conservatives is caused by the fact that they are scared that if the Conservatives are elected into power, the West is going to gain all the power and the influence and therefore overrun their own wants and interests. Though this is a great exageration, Ontarians are still unwilling to give up any of the influence or attention in federal politics that they currently hoard to themselves and reluctantly give to Quebec. Ontarians literally don't care about the rest of Canada (I can say this from experience). They want to keep all the power and influence in federal politics to themselves. And since they have grown accustomed to such power and influence for the past 13 years, they will always view the Conservatives as a bunch of Westerners trying to take away their power and influence. This is what makes the Conservatives a Western regionalist party, and this is why Ontarians will never fully embrace the Conservatives. Left with no other choice, Ontarians will favour the Liberals despite all their stealing, cheating, bribing, and bullying.

The persistence of Ontario to vote Liberal in the next election will only allow the sores to fester. Though Liberal support has plunged in Quebec, it is likely that the next election will result in another Liberal minority government. Yet this time, I think we can expect the Liberals to lose a number of seats. In the previous election the Liberals won 21 seats in Quebec. Considering that Montreal is solidly Liberal, we could at least expect a couple lost seats. Even just the loss of two or three seats would allow the Bloc and the Conservatives to ally themselves together and actually defeat any bill that faces the House or collapse the government (even with the NDP and Independents voting with the Liberals). Even more so, with the release of the Gomery Report fresh in the minds of the public and politicians, it may be possible (but highly improbable) that we may see a Conservative minority government after the next election. If such an outcome were to occur, I feel that a Conservative minority government would collapse within a year. I argue this because the alliance between the Conservatives and the Bloc seems to be weak and only exists out of a common hatred towards the Liberals. After helping keep the Conservatives in power for a little while, the Bloc and Quebecors will decide that they liked it better with the Liberals and collapse the Conservative minority government. By that time the wound caused by the sponsorship scandal will be healed, and the separatist movement in Quebec will probably die down once again. It would then soon seem probable that the Liberals would win a majority or at least a strong minority government in the next couple elections.

But even if the Conservatives were to form a minority government, it may cause a bigger push towards separatism in the West. If the Conservatives were to have their minority government collapsed and the Liberals gain a majority or a strong minority government and continue ingnoring the West as they have for the past 13 years, I feel that such a glimpse of power and influence on the federal political scence and then a quick retraction would only leave Westerners feeling bitterness and hatred towards the rest of Canada and the Liberals. It seems to me that such a rejection may provide enough fuel for Alberta to push for separatism. Of course, if the Conservatives never do form a minority government, than it is likely that the push for separatism may not be so soon.

So what if separatism becomes an option? What makes it any different from ending up like Quebec sovereignty? First of all, Quebec separtism is only temporary. Quebecors are pissed off with the Liberals at the moment. But in a year or two they will get over it and separatism will lose support in the province. The fact is that the Liberals actually listen to Quebec and either willingly or unwillingly try to satisfy them. Quebec separatism has become more of a threat to use with the Liberals to warn them that they have been doing something wrong. Westerners on the other hand don't get the attention that Quebec does from the federal Liberals. Unless things change, Westerners are going to get sick and tired of waiting and Albertans will be the first ones to raise the separatist flag. If Alberta should separate from Canada, Saskatchewan and BC would most likely leave with them. Manitoba will also leave with Alberta (either willingly or reluctantly) when faced with the option of staying with Ontario and the rest of Canada and continuing to be ignored, or leaving with Alberta and having possibilities for the future. Besides, because Manitoba is primarily agricultural and rural, it shares more common interests and needs with Saskatchewan and Alberta, than Ontario or the rest of Canada.

Could such a split have a ripple effect across Canada causing the rest of the country to split up? Would Quebec want to separate as well, cutting off the Maritimes from Ontario and therefore forcing the Maritimes to separate? In any case, I would hope that Canada would still remain - but as a European Union style of government with a similar currency, etc.

But is it to early to claim that Western separation is inevitable? Is it too late to fix the situation and prevent Albertans from wanting to separate? Though it would be a momentous task, first steps could be taken by adopting a proportional representation electoral system and possibly the reform of the Senate to make it more effective. The easiest way to change all of this would be to have the Liberals start listening to the West. Just having them acknowledge that there is more to Canada than Ontario and Quebec could do wanders.

so it has been a week or so since i last update my blog. but during this past week, nothing much new has arose in my life. so here are some randon snipits of the "exciting" things that have happened throughout the past week.

1. Driving - Don't you ever wish you had a digital message displayer on your back windshield to display messages to those behind you? Well, I am pretty sure that Winnipeg drivers are the worst in the world. all i have to say is that just because you are going 2 km over the speed limit it doesn't mean that you have automatic rights to use the left or FAST lane. also, when someone faster is coming up behind you, common courtesy would be to move into the slower lane to let them pass. yet to my amazement and great frustration manitoba drivers fail in trying to exhibit any competence in the field of driving. If i had my little digital message displayer i would write sayings like "if im passing you in the slow lane, get off the road!" or "you, ya you, learn how to drive or get off the road", etcetera. Yet the frustration from this does not even come close to that caused when two vehicles are going the same speed down the highway right beside one another while 4 other cars and myself are trying to get passed. to deal with such a situation i usually have a series of remedies which i employ to solve the situation. firstly, i ride the bumper of the most persuadable driver. this means minivans, cars, and some trucks. semis and hauling trucks don't work. they don't see you and your car will continually be pegged with loose content flying out of the back of the vehicle. secondly, i lay on the horn. i figure that people should know if they are in the way. it may be rood but hey, they should learn how to drive. thirdly, if all other attempts fail in getting one or the other vehicles to pass the other, than i pass on the shoulder. yes it is quite unconventional and dangerous but sometimes situations become desperate. i warn that such an event tends to cause older people to almost have heart attacks and almost swerve off the road. most people can't believe their eyes really. but hey. the shock affect will do them good.
2. Suicidal birds - while on the topic of driving, i would like to announce that this past week, i created roadkill for the first time as a driver. i was driving to the city to work at roughly 6am at 150km/hour when a bird decides to land on the road ahead of me. instead of flying the one foot to the left to freedom, the bird decides to fly the 4 feet to the right when he was three meters ahead of me. lets just say i clobbered him with my license plate. as i looked back in my review mirror i could see him stumble onto the shoulder and die. and everyday i pass him on the way to work, and i think about how stupid birds are. the next day i was driving home from work and a bird flew right into the passenger window of the vehicle in front of me. i couldn't believe my eyes; feathers were everywhere. and i thought that the whole feathers flying thing was only an idea from the cartoons. after such events i started to notice the number of birds lying along the highway. i counted 10 - two of which were only 2 feet apart from eachother and the same kind. they were probably brother and sister. now i don't know whats causing all the birds to go crazy and become suicidal but i think there is something in the air and the government is keeping it a secret.
3. West nile - now the high populations of mosquitoes may be a reason for the crazy birds. according to the records, manitoba has never seen this many mosquitoes in recent memory. according to winnipeg mosquito trap numbers, we had roughly 560 mosquitoes/night a week ago. only 1994 comes close when roughly 500 mosquitoes were found. with all the excess water and flooding, i think that we pretty much are facing a plague. i feel that i have a glimpse of what the egyptians had to deal with when they received the plague of gnats. yet all this time i kept on reading that most people who have been bitten alot since a child were probably immune to the west nile virus, which is carried via mosquitoes. but the other day as i listened to the radio, the announcer said that only 3% of the population were immune, while the majority of the rest don't show any symptoms of the virus if they do have it. still a small few do show symptoms, and a few even die. that is a comforting thought. i just killed three mosquitoes since i began writing the last sentance.
4. Morning talk shows - another thing about what i love about manitoba is the radio talk shows in the morning. only in manitoba have i been able to listen to talk shows and find them hilarious enough to continue to listen to them. radio morning shows in ontario are in no way funny or good. but the ace burpee show on hot 103 and wheeler and hal on power 97 are hilarious. they seriously have my laughing my ass off all the way to work from 5:50 - 7:00 in the morning.
5. Work - work at premier this year is alright. i get a pay raise to $9/hour which is good. yet alot of things are messed up in the shipping world, and so i spend more time just organizing stuff so i can do my job, than doing my job at all. it has been very frustrating and stressful as some of the workers there can tell by the look on my face as i run around the plant as more and more things get added to my list of things to do (usually all needing to be done at the same time- as in right now), things going wrong everywhere, and the frustrated people that i have to deal with. you would think that since my assistant no longer has to do any work in the trailers and actually is fully helping me in everything i do this year, that i should have less work than any other years. yet surprisingly, i am busier than ever, having my helper do my regular work while i try to organize and keep things going otherwise. i definitely don't think im being paid enough for my job.
6. My assistant - speaking of my helper, this year i received a new assistant. after two years, dustin a.k.a. haroo or benji, has been promoted to working on the colater (the machine that assembles the different parts of the agenda) and is now working on the other shift. i guess once someone enters university it is probably better to give them something more than the dirty work. anyways, with his departure i have received a new fresh 15 year old helper to assist me in my work. he is a really cool guy and im sure we will have a great time working together this summer. now as many of you know i have a tradition of naming my helper (last year - haroo - from a dream i had, two years ago - benji), yet this year i seem to have a hard time with this one. so any suggestions please leave a comment. also my assistant has a little problem with b.o. and when your in the shipping world and sweating all day for 10 hours straight it gets bad. but i don't know how to tell him to wear deodorant. so if you have any suggestions, please, please leave a comment.
7. The Carman Parade - so another year has passed and another carman parade has come. this year's parade has left me with mixed feelings. as the biggest social event of the year, the parade has always been a highlight for the entire town and region around us. this year had a few surprises. i definately enjoyed the local rock group exhibiting their talent on the back of a float, something not done for years. as well, i liked seeing our mayor in a bright yellow ford mustang rented from the local dealership. it was a proud movement. my favourite part was probably the tractors pulling a series of "cars" (made out of plastic bins cut in half with kids in each one making a train) advertising the new daycare opening in town. it was great as the lady driving the tractor was constantly telling the kids to sit down and not reach out of the cars, while other kids balled their eyes out not wanting to be in them. yet such highlights were tainted with floats/entrances that didn't even look like they belonged in the parade. random semis don't do anything to a parade. i don't' get it! also, miss winkler, morden and true value were really disappointing this year. im pretty sure none of those girls on the floats should be qualified to enter a beauty pageant, no offense or anything. also disappointing was the lack of candy. even though i have outgrown the age of receiving any candy from those handing them out, i have to say that the actual quantity of candy being thrown out has been steadily decreasing over the last 8 or so years. i used to come home with a grocery bag full of candy. kids these days will be lucky if they come home with a sandwich sized ziploc bag. finally, even the rock bands performance was tainted by the p.o.s. speakers which the muffled and lost lyrics came out of. i still think that the organizers should move the parade back to saturday mornings right after the town breakfast at the community hall. it's just better at that time. some things shouldn't be changed. period. so as you can see, this past years parade has been left me with mixed emotions and cautiously optimistic for next year. i give 2.3 stars out of 5.
8. Church - church is great. i love church. yet when it is 32 degrees out and the humidity makes it feel like 43 degrees and your stuck in a church with no air conditioning and no moving air current, the weather tends to hamper the service and experience. i mean, when the elder reading the sermon off the pulpit is sweating profusely in his sunday suit with sweat stains that pretty much cover his entire shirt, which causes him to be uncomfortable, making him read faster in order to get out of the building, than i think that is a problem. also, the heat causes a lot of people to feel tired and fall asleep, and those who manage to stay awake are sweating so bad and feel so sticky that all they can do is think about how much they want to get out of the building. as we are renting the church from our sister church in carman east for $1000 a month, i say if they refuse to invest some money in an air conditioning system, than we should stop renting the church and start renting out the town's meat market freezer. i mean, if God doesn't care exactly where we worship Him, than lets make sure that the weather is not preventing us from getting the most out of the church service.

Anyways, so that is just a glimpse of my life this past week. i could go on, but i think it is long enough for now. i hope that you all have a good week, as i officially start night shift tomorrow night and plan to go to chad's cabin on saturday after work for the day. anyways, take care, peace. out.

Paul Martin turns bartender in Ireland, wins cheers from locals

GLENCULLEN, Ireland (CP) - Paul Martin might face some tough election battles in Canada, but he would surely win
hands down in the tiny Irish mountain village Glencullen.

The prime minister won some devoted new fans during his trip to Ireland on Tuesday by dropping into the local
pub to take over as bartender. Martin slipped behind the beer taps at Johnnie Fox's to pour a few pints of Guinness - the thick black beer dear to Irish hearts.
He won cheers and rave reviews from locals more than happy to accept a free pint, even if he did spill a bit.
"It's not everyday a prime minister pours you a pint," said one lucky drinker clearly pleased with his good fortune.
But how did the real bartender rate Martin's performance?
"Not bad for 30 seconds training," he said.
Guinness marked the start and the end of Martin's visit to his ancestral homeland.
On Sunday night, he kicked off his trip by treating journalists to a meal and tipping back one or two pints himself.
He's off to Scotland early Wednesday for the G8 meeting.

See, why doesn't he do this stuff in Canada? pssh. anyways in other news:

Penticton gallery provides temporary home for 40 pilfered gnomes

PENTICTON, B.C. (CP) - It was a crime of miniature proportions.

A collection of 40 stolen garden gnomes appeared Tuesday in a traffic circle outside the South Okanagan Art
Gallery.
The gallery has come to their rescue.
"We're setting up a gnome reclamation centre," curator Kurtis Collins said Wednesday.
The stolen gnomes occupied the same place where a nude male statue was erected and then removed after it was
vandalized.
Penticton is about 300 kilometres east of Vancouver.

Here is the logo for the newly created National Democractic Reform Block. Manifesto still to come.... 

So today we celebrate the 138th birthday of our great nation of Canada. Yet while I sing the national anthem I reflect on the past year in politics. And as I reflect, the anthem becomes more like a prayer and a haunting memory of how far our country has strayed. In hindsight I really feel that this past minority government has done nothing at all for Canadians. Within the past year especially, politics has dengenerated into a powerstruggle between oligarchist parties which have ultimately lost the interests of Canadians. There is no active peaceful concilation of different interests, as Bernard Crick calls politics. We see parties do whatever they can to stay in power: laundering money, stealing, and bribing/buying MP votes. I feel that the past couple of weeks have evidently shown that politics in Canada is officially dead. It is now obvious that politicians in Canada are not qualified and competent to be making decisions in the interests of the Canadian people, especially when they do not listen to them. I feel that the widespread alienation and distate found within almost all Canadians towards federal politics is a testimony to that.

And it is with this reason that I announce the formation of the federal National Democratic Reform Block. Though only in its grassroots stages, the NDR Block is for the peaceful return of Politics to the people of Canada. I have decided to name the group a "block" because I feel that the party system has been a contributing factor to the degeneration of politics that we have now come to realize. As a result, the NDR will stand for the end of political parties within federal politics. As a block, the NDR will work within the federal level to gain support to reform the parliamentary system in Canada to include a federal parliamentary system under the supervision of one or two philosopher-kings/queens. As philosopher-king, I will act as a voice of unbiased reason and infinite wisdom within the federal government, ensuring that the interests of Canadians are met.

Anyways, that is is it for now. I hope to meet with a number of people to find support and soon come out with a logo and manifesto. Until then, out.