Iffy Too Late to the Party

On the heels of the GG's visit to China and the G8/G20 meetings in which PM Harper made progress  promoting trade even signed a deal where China would once again accept our beef, Iffy is courting China. Wants to get closer saying there should be more trade. Gee, Iffy's a little late out of the gate. PM Harper is already getting those very things done with China. 

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promoted an enhanced trading partnership at a state dinner in Ottawa with Chinese President Hu Jintao. And this week, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is touring China saying the ties between the two nations should be taken to a new level.

Chinese companies are about to invest billions in our oil and gas industry.

Chinese companies are set to spend billions more on Canadian oil and gas properties in coming years, as the resource-hungry nation scours the world for energy, the executive in charge of Canadian operations for one of China’s major state-owned oil firms says.

President Hu Jintao says China  also wants to double trade with Canada to the tune of $60 billion by 2015.

China, the world's biggest exporting nation, wants to double its trade with Canada to $60 billion by 2015, President Hu Jintao said on Thursday.

 

Hu made his remarks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservative government is trying hard to boost ties with Beijing.

"I have agreed with Prime Minister Harper that we should take active measures to make our countries' two-way trade volume reach a target of $60 billion by 2015," said Hu, who noted that bilateral trade last year totaled $29 billion.

They also opened up their border to Canadian beef again after the BSE crisis.

Agriculture - China has reopened its borders to Canadian beef, seven years after mad cow disease was found in an Alberta animal.

  One hopes Iffy doesn't ruin the progress that has been made by PM Harper's government and the GG. 
Meantime,  Quebec MP Denis Coderre wants to bring the World Cup to Canada. Good luck to him!

La Presse says it has learned that Mr. Coderre would like to revisit the concept once the current World Cup has ended

Canadians Have Reason To Brag and Celebrate!

As Canadians we should count our blessings each day for the great country we have. People around the world want to be Canadians.
Is  it perfect?   Heck no,we have our problems but if you look around, it sure is a lot better than other places in the world.  We live in a peaceful, prosperous, friendly nation.  We are being noticed by the world again, thanks to the best Prime Minister in my lifetime, PM Stephen Harper and his government who has been taking the lead on so many fronts.

Our athletes shine on the worlds stage, look at the resounding success that the Vancouver Olympics turned out to be hosting the world and  where we won an unprecedented number of gold medals for a host nation. We really did own the podium! 

Our men and women in uniform are some of the best in the world and are doing a spectacular job with their mission in Afghanistan. My utmost thanks goes to them.

Michael Den Tandt expresses that we should celebrate our country.  We have come a long way baby!
As is stated the column our economy is doing much better than others thanks to our present Conservative government.

We now have an economy that, thanks to some sensible management by the Conservatives (though with an opposition gun to their heads), is once again beginning to motor. Our national deficit is higher than it should be but, relative to other G8 countries, still relatively benign. Our banking system is the envy of the world.

Theo Caldwell states that we are the envy of others.

But within this maelstrom, Canada stands tall, distinguishing itself in military and moral conflict, maintaining an economy and financial markets that are the envy of all.

He then goes on talk about how we now have garnered the respect of other nations because of  our economy and how they want to replicate it.

Canada’s hosting of the recent G8 and G20 conferences, which came just as other parts of the world began to observe this country’s economic strength, may do something to scratch this itch.
Over so many years, in any photo of international heads of government, Canada’s prime ministers would wear hopeful smiles that invariably went unrecognized. They seemed like good-natured hangers-on, in the company of well-known statesmen from seemingly more important parts of the world.
Owing to reasons perfectly in keeping with the national character — caution and circumspection — Canada’s economy has finally brought the country the respect it craved.

So to all the naysayers and whiners, look around where would you rather live right now?  A country where they have  dire economic troubles like Greece for instance or another country where they have political turmoil?   God has truly blessed us, we have it good!  Never forget that.

Canada's 143rd, Happy Birthday Canada!

Today is July 1st, Canada's birthday.  As we celebrate with family and friends barbecuing, picnicking, festivals,and fireworks, we need to remember a little history. Canada Day what we call it now was originally called "Dominion Day."  Our Fathers of Confederation when drafting the British North America Act were deciding what to call the new union.  One of our founding Fathers,Sir Leonard Tilley had suggested it be named the "Dominion of Canada."  Here's a little back round of how he came up with it:

In December 1866, the Westminister Conference finalized the details of the British North America Act, which Tilley helped to write. Tilley’s best-known contribution, though, came when discussing a name for the new union. A letter written by Tilley’s son describes how the Dominion of Canada came into being:

When the fathers of Confederation were assembled discussing the terms and conditions of Confederation and the drafting of the British North America Act there had been considerable discussion the day before and many suggestions as to what the new United Canada should be called, and no conclusion had been reached. The discussion on the name stood over until the next day. The next morning, as was Sir Leonard’s custom, he read a chapter from the Bible, and that particular morning he read Psalm Seventy-two. When reading verse eight of the said Psalm—He shall have Dominion also from sea to sea—the thought occurred to him, what a splendid name to give Canada. When he went back to the sitting of the convention that morning he suggested the word “Dominion,” which was agreed to, and Canada was called the “Dominion of Canada.”

A letter signed by John A. MacDonald explained to Queen Victoria that the name was “a tribute to the principles they earnestly desired to uphold.”

The British North America Act came into force by royal proclamation on July 1, 1867.  From there on in you had the "Dominion of Canada" therefore every July 1 we celebrated "Dominion Day" until it was changed in 1982. How did the name get changed? Here is a  brief history.

At 4 p.m. on a Friday - July 9, 1982 -the House of Commons met with only one item on the agenda: Bill C-201, a private member's bill to change the name of the July 1 holiday from "Dominion Day" to "Canada Day."
About a dozen of the 282 members the House showed up for work, which presented a procedural problem: A quorum of at least 20 members is required to conduct business, so, officially, no bills could be passed. Nevertheless, Bill C-201 was given second and third reading. At 4:05 p.m., our hard-working representatives called it a day.

Some want to change it back to Dominion Day such as this Facebook group, even though I don't think there is much of an appetite.  I personally prefer Dominion Day over Canada Day because it's a remembrance and  celebration of our  history much like the Americans and their July 4, Independence Day, it's their  history.  It remembers and celebrates the day they gained their independence from England and became a republic. 
  Enough with the history lesson, in any case,what's most important, is that we live in the greatest country on the planet.  For that, let's count our blessings! 
God Bless our Prime Minister and God Bless Canada!  Happy Birthday Canada!

BTW. Bluelikeyou has the PM's annual Canada Day message, enjoy!

Iffy's Problems Just Won't End

Iffy's woes just won't end. With everything else, now Iffy is having candidate problems.  A few days ago the Liberal Candidate in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke quit, I think that made it about the 6th in a short time.
Now we have this Liberal candidate bombshell     BTW.  I don't see many members of MSM reporting on this, another example of covering for the Libs.  A CPC candidate on the other hand it would be plastered all over the place.   

A city councillor and federal Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent, Ont., has been charged with forcible confinement, assault and four counts of uttering threats.Chatham-Kent police arrested Steven Pickard, 40, on Monday afternoon. 

What will Iffy do with?  I would say he has no choice but to let him go and search for another but then again what has he done with Pablo Rodriguez.  After Pablo  was charged with  refusing a breathalyzer test, Iffy has been more or less silent and has done nothing about his member.

Iffy has had a lot of problems. Candidate problems is just one example of a litany of woes the Liberal leader has, it's a party that has unity problems  mainly the Bob Rae camp breathing down his neck,  a party that has trouble raising funds, no policy, and don't know what they stand for, "coalition if necessary but not necessarily a coalition,"

Mr. Iffy can't get any traction with voters.  He will once , spend the summer touring the country this time in a bus to introduce himself once again and to try to connect with Joe and Mary sixpack.  I think Joe and Mary have pretty well made up their mind. 

While Iffy is floundering  trying to rectify his problems, PM Harper is doing very well. He just concluded a successful G8/G20 summits hosting world leaders, and now hosting the Queen and her husband Prince Philip. Yes PM Harper is class act and is getting things done for Canada.  We are in good hands!  I think Joe and Mary can see that and in due time they will get to make a choice.

Summits Put Nation Sovereignty Back In Style

These summits were a win for the PM. It seems that nation sovereignty is back in style. The UN could very well be loosing it's influence. Thanks to PM Stephen Harper ,with his competence,statesmanship and common sense, has been able to influence world leaders to see  that one size does not fit all. Each country should tailor their responses to the different challenges they face according to their resources and needs.They all agreed to deficit and debt reduction but to do it in their own way.
Another example is the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.  There was no consensus, each country went away more or less to cut their so called emissions in their own way voluntarily.

The Globe and Mail. talks about how the nation-state is back in the light of the G8/G20 summits. 

The nation-state is back, or rather, it never really went away. In the context of the G8 and G20 summits, sovereign states have now clearly resurfaced in a new form, with numerous complex groupings and linkages among states. The International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization will continue to furnish particular services, but large, unwieldy, all-inclusive multilateral bodies on the United Nations model will not be the way forward.
It was notable at the Toronto summit, for example, that the United States and South Korea strengthened their bilateral trade and military relationships, and that Canada and India entered into a nuclear agreement. By contrast, the schedule for the completion of the international Doha Round trade negotiation was left open-ended.

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The middle-power theory of Canada was a concept of the comparatively idealistic Pearsonian period. But it may apply even better in the more perplexing multipolar world in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper has shown some deftness in positioning Canada.

Canada is no longer a country with little or no influence. We have been punching above our weight and are being noticed again.  PM Stephen Harper is in large part responsible for that and we should be proud.. We are no longer moving in concert with what the UN (Israel, global warming etc), or special interest  dictates. We are all sovereign nations and it should stay that way. 
These summits were clearly a win, win for everyone. That's what makes all the socialist, one world lefties all in a tizzy.  They are losing.  The losing on global warming.  They losing on one world wealth distribution.  They're losing on providing abortions for everyone.
That suits me quite fine.