Note: At the east end of Blairmore along the river there are a number of lots (15) owned by the Municipality, these are occupied by single wide trailers. Which in some cases have been there prior to the Municipality being formed (1979).
Tuesday night at the G+P meeting a motion was made by Councilor Londsbury to give notice to the residents that they have 6 years to remove their homes. In the event that they sell prior to that time they will be required to remove them immediately, if there is a problem with the water line under the trailers they will be required to move them immediately.
Mayor Decoux made a friendly amendment to the motion to change the notice period to four years. This was accepted by the mover, the motion was passed by a vote of 5-2 with Councilors Gail and Gallant opposed. The motion will now go to regular council next Tuesday (May 17th) to be debated again by the same seven people.
What’s the significance of this motion?
Where do they go?
Several things it was noted by the Municipal assessor that there is nowhere for these trailers to go, the Trailer Court is full and people in R1 areas do not want trailers in there neighborhoods, especially older ones.
How do they sell there homes?
By this action Council as rendered these homes as next to worthless, who is going to purchase one knowing they have to move it immediately and have nowhere to move it.
Does the municipality have a better use for the land?
It was stated at the meeting that there is “no” plans for that land at this time.
Maybe there is somebody waiting to seize what would be a great development opportunity?
It’s a prime piece of land next to the river, would be very attractive to somebody with a few dollars to slap six or seven high end homes in there.
Didn’t this happen previously with another trailer court?
Yes, roughly ten years ago the Kananaskis Trailer Court next to the arena in Coleman was closed it was touted as providing land for possible expansion of the recreational facility down the road. For those that don’t live here it is vacant and full of weeds today with no plans for it on the books.
Isn’t there a water line that runs underneath those homes?
Yes there is and I’m sure that will become a big part of the justification to move these homes, but keep in mind some of those homes have been there for 30+ years, the water line as never been a significant issue.
Is there anything we can do?
Politicians react to public pressure, call the municipality ask for a councilors phone number call them voice your opinion.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
G + P Meeting May 10, 2011
G + P Meeting May 10, 2011
Adoption of Agenda:
Items added under Topics of Discussion
9. Municipal Office, 10. Atlas Road, 11. Community Standards 12. 13 ways to kill a community.
Motion to accept agenda with additions passed unanimously
Delegations:
1. Dan Mckim-Member of Livingston Landowners Group
Presented a lot of information on the impact of the Micrex Burmis Magnetite Mine Proposal.
Topics for Discussion:
1. Crowsnest Community Trails Bylaw:
Proposed bylaw regarding the community trails,
After some questions about hours of operation, restrictions on the use of poles, and horses not allowed on the trails. Process for cleaning the trails. Motion to recommended this bylaw to council passed unanimously
2. Agricultural Services Board Bylaw:
No discussion, Motion to recommend this bylaw to council passed unanimously.
3. Blairmore Mobile Home Sites.
The Municipality owns a numbers of mobile trailer lots along the Crowsnest River at the east end of Blairmore. Which it in turn rents out 10-12 lots to mobile trailer. Which in some cases were there prior to the Municipality being formed in 1979? A motion was moved by Councilor Londsbury to give the residents six years notice to remove their trailers, with the understanding that if the residents sold the trailers prior to that timeframe they would be forced to move the trailers and/or if the municipality needed access to the waterline that runs under the trailers they would be forced to move them. Mayor Decoux made a friendly amendment to reduce the time frame to four years, which was accepted. The question was asked if there was any specific plans for the land (No), it was also made clear that there was no trailer courts for these people to move their trailers to, and that most residents were opposed to them being placed in R1 areas.
Motion to recommend this policy to council passed by a vote of 5-2 with Councilors Gail and Gallant opposed.
4. Bylaw Implementation Report:
Concerns about the efforts of the bylaw office being communicated to council and the public. Motion made that a report regarding this issue will be presented to council on a quarterly basis. Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
5. Practices and Procedures review.
Council desires to see a process put in place where every department would review all of its practices and procedures on a rotational basis every five years. After some debate between council and administration about the vagueness of the request and the lack of funds within the budget process to carry this out it was agreed that it would begin in the early part of 2012 beginning with the public works department. With discussion during the next budget, process to allow for any costs incurred. Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
6. Sustainability Review.
Administration informed council that they are two thirds of the way through this process that they will be bringing it back to council in 2-3 weeks.
7. Budget Format.
Mayor Decoux spoke about the difficulty of a new council dealing with a budget shortly after being elected and the large amount of time involved with dealing with it. Suggested that the budget should be done on a three-year basis. The CAO stated that they are already working on this and will be bringing back to council at the next G+P meeting.
8. Council agenda:
Mayor Decoux felt that councils have become to dependent on Administration to set agenda’s for council meetings. He believes that the agenda is no longer reflective of the issues that concern the community. Feels that a new committee needs to put in to place that would meet once or twice a week as required comprised of a number of councilors and administrators to put together a Council agenda. At this point, the strangest thing happened Mayor Decoux turned to Councilor Mitchell and said go ahead and make the motion, Councilor Mitchell responded with isn’t Councilor Gail making this motion. (????? Maybe I missed something?????) Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
9. Municipal Office.
Mayor Decoux raised the issue of the present building not providing sufficient space for the present staff plus new additions, as heard that one department is considering moving out of the office. He made it clear that council would like to see Administration bring in outside assistance to help with a reconfiguration of the office that would allow all departments to be fitted into the existing office. A motion was made to bring this back to the next G+P meeting, which passed unanimously.
10. Atlas Road.
In a meeting with Spray Lakes the concern was raised about maintaining the Atlas Road, Spray Lakes logging operations in that area are coming to an end, they are looking for assistance as to who is going to maintain the road, or as to if SRD will force them to return what is a very popular road to its original condition. A motion was made to send a letter to SRD and the local MLA requesting that the municipality become a stakeholder in that process. Motion was passed unanimously.
11. Community Standards.
Discussion regarding the enhancement of the community and the continued enforcement by the municipality. Council felt that the community as been given a year to clean up. Council is going to work on this issue at the next policy committee meeting, which all of council will be invited to, but Councilor Mitchell stated it would not be open to the media or the public. Councilor Saindon made a Motion that the municipality must clean up all of its properties of any derelict or obsolete vehicles or equipment within the next thirty days. This motion was passed unanimously.
12. 13 ways to kill a community:
Councilor Gail spoke about a presentation he attended in Pincher Creek, put on by the Chamber of commerce regarding Doug Griffths and his book 13 ways to kill a community. Felt the presentation was very good and would be valuable to work with the Chamber in the Pass to do the same presentation. The rest of Council agree with this and asked administration to contact the Chamber to look at this.
In Camera: None
Motion to adjourn: Passed unanimously.
Adoption of Agenda:
Items added under Topics of Discussion
9. Municipal Office, 10. Atlas Road, 11. Community Standards 12. 13 ways to kill a community.
Motion to accept agenda with additions passed unanimously
Delegations:
1. Dan Mckim-Member of Livingston Landowners Group
Presented a lot of information on the impact of the Micrex Burmis Magnetite Mine Proposal.
Topics for Discussion:
1. Crowsnest Community Trails Bylaw:
Proposed bylaw regarding the community trails,
After some questions about hours of operation, restrictions on the use of poles, and horses not allowed on the trails. Process for cleaning the trails. Motion to recommended this bylaw to council passed unanimously
2. Agricultural Services Board Bylaw:
No discussion, Motion to recommend this bylaw to council passed unanimously.
3. Blairmore Mobile Home Sites.
The Municipality owns a numbers of mobile trailer lots along the Crowsnest River at the east end of Blairmore. Which it in turn rents out 10-12 lots to mobile trailer. Which in some cases were there prior to the Municipality being formed in 1979? A motion was moved by Councilor Londsbury to give the residents six years notice to remove their trailers, with the understanding that if the residents sold the trailers prior to that timeframe they would be forced to move the trailers and/or if the municipality needed access to the waterline that runs under the trailers they would be forced to move them. Mayor Decoux made a friendly amendment to reduce the time frame to four years, which was accepted. The question was asked if there was any specific plans for the land (No), it was also made clear that there was no trailer courts for these people to move their trailers to, and that most residents were opposed to them being placed in R1 areas.
Motion to recommend this policy to council passed by a vote of 5-2 with Councilors Gail and Gallant opposed.
4. Bylaw Implementation Report:
Concerns about the efforts of the bylaw office being communicated to council and the public. Motion made that a report regarding this issue will be presented to council on a quarterly basis. Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
5. Practices and Procedures review.
Council desires to see a process put in place where every department would review all of its practices and procedures on a rotational basis every five years. After some debate between council and administration about the vagueness of the request and the lack of funds within the budget process to carry this out it was agreed that it would begin in the early part of 2012 beginning with the public works department. With discussion during the next budget, process to allow for any costs incurred. Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
6. Sustainability Review.
Administration informed council that they are two thirds of the way through this process that they will be bringing it back to council in 2-3 weeks.
7. Budget Format.
Mayor Decoux spoke about the difficulty of a new council dealing with a budget shortly after being elected and the large amount of time involved with dealing with it. Suggested that the budget should be done on a three-year basis. The CAO stated that they are already working on this and will be bringing back to council at the next G+P meeting.
8. Council agenda:
Mayor Decoux felt that councils have become to dependent on Administration to set agenda’s for council meetings. He believes that the agenda is no longer reflective of the issues that concern the community. Feels that a new committee needs to put in to place that would meet once or twice a week as required comprised of a number of councilors and administrators to put together a Council agenda. At this point, the strangest thing happened Mayor Decoux turned to Councilor Mitchell and said go ahead and make the motion, Councilor Mitchell responded with isn’t Councilor Gail making this motion. (????? Maybe I missed something?????) Motion to recommended this policy to council passed unanimously
9. Municipal Office.
Mayor Decoux raised the issue of the present building not providing sufficient space for the present staff plus new additions, as heard that one department is considering moving out of the office. He made it clear that council would like to see Administration bring in outside assistance to help with a reconfiguration of the office that would allow all departments to be fitted into the existing office. A motion was made to bring this back to the next G+P meeting, which passed unanimously.
10. Atlas Road.
In a meeting with Spray Lakes the concern was raised about maintaining the Atlas Road, Spray Lakes logging operations in that area are coming to an end, they are looking for assistance as to who is going to maintain the road, or as to if SRD will force them to return what is a very popular road to its original condition. A motion was made to send a letter to SRD and the local MLA requesting that the municipality become a stakeholder in that process. Motion was passed unanimously.
11. Community Standards.
Discussion regarding the enhancement of the community and the continued enforcement by the municipality. Council felt that the community as been given a year to clean up. Council is going to work on this issue at the next policy committee meeting, which all of council will be invited to, but Councilor Mitchell stated it would not be open to the media or the public. Councilor Saindon made a Motion that the municipality must clean up all of its properties of any derelict or obsolete vehicles or equipment within the next thirty days. This motion was passed unanimously.
12. 13 ways to kill a community:
Councilor Gail spoke about a presentation he attended in Pincher Creek, put on by the Chamber of commerce regarding Doug Griffths and his book 13 ways to kill a community. Felt the presentation was very good and would be valuable to work with the Chamber in the Pass to do the same presentation. The rest of Council agree with this and asked administration to contact the Chamber to look at this.
In Camera: None
Motion to adjourn: Passed unanimously.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Teck/Fording River accept contract
Untied Steel workers @ Teck's Fording River operation accept deal by 87%
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Council Meeting of May 3, 2011 Crowsnest Pass
Council Meeting of May 3, 2011
Adoption of Agenda:
Mayor Decoux added two items under other business, rescheduling retreat and Prosperous Places, Councilor Saje added one item under other business the Bellevue Campground and one Land item under In Camera, Councilor Gail added one Land item under In camera, and Councilor Saindon added two personnel items under In camera.
Motion to accept the Agenda as amended was passed unanimously
Adoption of previous minutes:
Minutes of the Council Meeting of April 19, 2011, with some slight corrections. Motion to accept was passed unanimously
Delegations: None
Administrative and Agency Reports: None
Business arising from the Minutes:
1. Motion Review 2004-2010 17 motions that were passed during council of those times that are still in the process of being dealt with by administration, (six of which are Land and will we dealt with In Camera), Motion made to schedule a Special Meeting to deal with these, passed by a vote of 6-1 (Councilor Gallant opposed)
Correspondence: None
Committee Reports:
1. Minutes of April 12, 2011 G+P Committee, Motion to accept passed unanimously.
2. Minutes of March 27, 2011 Subdivision and Development Authority, Motion to accept passed unanimously.
Bylaws: None
Notices of Motion: None
Other Business:
1. Crowsnest Lions Club- Multi year lease Blairmore Seniors Building, After much debate about the condition of this building and the merits of keeping it, fixing it up or getting rid of it, in addition to placing the group in another venue. Administration was directed to bring this issue back to council with more information. Motion passed unanimously
2. FCSS Board Appointments, Leslie McCallum, Val Danielson, and Rose Farfus appointed for three-year terms unanimously.
3. Full Moon Adventure Company-Waiver of Bylaw #722, Councilor Gallant excused himself at this point, Motion to accept was passed unanimously.
4. Budget Update, BDO presented 2010 Financial Audits. Head of Finance Marion Vanoni made the following comments:
Municipality increased its assets by $910,000 in 2010.
The financial report shows that there is $2.8 million in cash but $2.1 million in liabilities and accounts payable.
There are property tax issues with some developers
This was the second year of clear audits (some previous audits were qualified due to reporting issues with the Crowsnest Centre, can read on the Municipal web site).
Property taxes showed for 2011 at $6.7 million when actual will only be $6.5 million some taxes are anticipated to be uncollectible.
Mayor Decoux wished to know does administration review licensing fees on a regular basis. ($$$)
After some debate regarding the timeliness of not receiving the report prior to the meeting Motion to accept was passed 5-2 (Mitchell and Saje opposed)
5. Crowsnest Pass/Elk Valley elected officials meeting June 22, 2011 in Elkford. Councilor Saje wanted to know if he could attempt to set up a round of golf with all the various groups prior to the meeting. Motion to accept passed unanimously.
6. Amendments to the Septage Bylaw 823, further research was done by administration after the bylaw was passed, it was found that the proposed rate was too high compared to other municipalities, administration recommended a lower rate. Motion to accept passed Unanimously
7. North Area Structure Plan- Regarding the development of an Area Structure Plan for the area north of the high school, after some debate about the cost ($15000) of using ORRSC to undertake this work. Motion of council to accept this process passed unanimously.
8. Equipment Purchase- Administration as determined that a new trailer is needed to transport the new track hoe to various locations ($25,000) Motion of council passed by a vote of 5-2 (Gallant and Saindon opposed)
9. Equipment Replacement Policy- This policy as come in front of council previously very detailed policy that requires $408,000 per year to be placed in reserves to meet the municipalities needs, the following comments were made:
What will be the impact on the residents tax bill, Administration stated that it could be significant but that will be determined during the budget process by council.
Concern about doing this policy in isolation when council knows that other reserves will also have to be addressed including overall reserves, Buildings, Infrastructure in addition to the Equipment policy.
Councilor Mitchell stated that the community must accepted that more dollars are going to have to be brought in from the taxpayers, the municipality cannot continue at zero tax increases.
Councilor Saindon stated that these types of costs must and will be covered off by reductions in operating costs, getting rid of inefficiencies, duplication of services, etc.
Motion to pass the policy carried unanimously
10. Reschedule Retreat to May 10. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Prosperous Places presentation to be put on in Fort Macleod, Motion to send Mayor Decoux, Councilors Saje and Gail passed unanimously.
12. Bellevue Campground Councilor Saje reported that somebody appears to be squatting in the Bellevue Campground, point was made that the property is owned by the Alberta transportation department, administration to check out and bring back to council.
Council Member reports: None
Public Input: None
Motion to go In Camera: Passed Unanimously
Adoption of Agenda:
Mayor Decoux added two items under other business, rescheduling retreat and Prosperous Places, Councilor Saje added one item under other business the Bellevue Campground and one Land item under In Camera, Councilor Gail added one Land item under In camera, and Councilor Saindon added two personnel items under In camera.
Motion to accept the Agenda as amended was passed unanimously
Adoption of previous minutes:
Minutes of the Council Meeting of April 19, 2011, with some slight corrections. Motion to accept was passed unanimously
Delegations: None
Administrative and Agency Reports: None
Business arising from the Minutes:
1. Motion Review 2004-2010 17 motions that were passed during council of those times that are still in the process of being dealt with by administration, (six of which are Land and will we dealt with In Camera), Motion made to schedule a Special Meeting to deal with these, passed by a vote of 6-1 (Councilor Gallant opposed)
Correspondence: None
Committee Reports:
1. Minutes of April 12, 2011 G+P Committee, Motion to accept passed unanimously.
2. Minutes of March 27, 2011 Subdivision and Development Authority, Motion to accept passed unanimously.
Bylaws: None
Notices of Motion: None
Other Business:
1. Crowsnest Lions Club- Multi year lease Blairmore Seniors Building, After much debate about the condition of this building and the merits of keeping it, fixing it up or getting rid of it, in addition to placing the group in another venue. Administration was directed to bring this issue back to council with more information. Motion passed unanimously
2. FCSS Board Appointments, Leslie McCallum, Val Danielson, and Rose Farfus appointed for three-year terms unanimously.
3. Full Moon Adventure Company-Waiver of Bylaw #722, Councilor Gallant excused himself at this point, Motion to accept was passed unanimously.
4. Budget Update, BDO presented 2010 Financial Audits. Head of Finance Marion Vanoni made the following comments:
Municipality increased its assets by $910,000 in 2010.
The financial report shows that there is $2.8 million in cash but $2.1 million in liabilities and accounts payable.
There are property tax issues with some developers
This was the second year of clear audits (some previous audits were qualified due to reporting issues with the Crowsnest Centre, can read on the Municipal web site).
Property taxes showed for 2011 at $6.7 million when actual will only be $6.5 million some taxes are anticipated to be uncollectible.
Mayor Decoux wished to know does administration review licensing fees on a regular basis. ($$$)
After some debate regarding the timeliness of not receiving the report prior to the meeting Motion to accept was passed 5-2 (Mitchell and Saje opposed)
5. Crowsnest Pass/Elk Valley elected officials meeting June 22, 2011 in Elkford. Councilor Saje wanted to know if he could attempt to set up a round of golf with all the various groups prior to the meeting. Motion to accept passed unanimously.
6. Amendments to the Septage Bylaw 823, further research was done by administration after the bylaw was passed, it was found that the proposed rate was too high compared to other municipalities, administration recommended a lower rate. Motion to accept passed Unanimously
7. North Area Structure Plan- Regarding the development of an Area Structure Plan for the area north of the high school, after some debate about the cost ($15000) of using ORRSC to undertake this work. Motion of council to accept this process passed unanimously.
8. Equipment Purchase- Administration as determined that a new trailer is needed to transport the new track hoe to various locations ($25,000) Motion of council passed by a vote of 5-2 (Gallant and Saindon opposed)
9. Equipment Replacement Policy- This policy as come in front of council previously very detailed policy that requires $408,000 per year to be placed in reserves to meet the municipalities needs, the following comments were made:
What will be the impact on the residents tax bill, Administration stated that it could be significant but that will be determined during the budget process by council.
Concern about doing this policy in isolation when council knows that other reserves will also have to be addressed including overall reserves, Buildings, Infrastructure in addition to the Equipment policy.
Councilor Mitchell stated that the community must accepted that more dollars are going to have to be brought in from the taxpayers, the municipality cannot continue at zero tax increases.
Councilor Saindon stated that these types of costs must and will be covered off by reductions in operating costs, getting rid of inefficiencies, duplication of services, etc.
Motion to pass the policy carried unanimously
10. Reschedule Retreat to May 10. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Prosperous Places presentation to be put on in Fort Macleod, Motion to send Mayor Decoux, Councilors Saje and Gail passed unanimously.
12. Bellevue Campground Councilor Saje reported that somebody appears to be squatting in the Bellevue Campground, point was made that the property is owned by the Alberta transportation department, administration to check out and bring back to council.
Council Member reports: None
Public Input: None
Motion to go In Camera: Passed Unanimously
Alberta Venture Magazine Crowsnest Pass Development
Story from May's addition of the Alberta Venture Magazine very well written by Joni MacFarlane from the Crowsnest Pass.
Troubled Waters: The Rough Side of Real Estate Investing in Alberta
A pair of salesmen told an Alberta coal mining town that it could be a resort destination. Six years later, the scenic Crowsnest Pass is still learning a tough lesson about easy money and the business of real estate
http://albertaventure.com/2011/05/troubled-waters/
Troubled Waters: The Rough Side of Real Estate Investing in Alberta
A pair of salesmen told an Alberta coal mining town that it could be a resort destination. Six years later, the scenic Crowsnest Pass is still learning a tough lesson about easy money and the business of real estate
http://albertaventure.com/2011/05/troubled-waters/
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Teck tentative agreement at Fording River
Good news for the local economy Teck and the Steelworkers at Fording River have reached a tentative agreement, the Memorandum of agreement is available at http://www.usw7884.com/Final%20Draft%20of%20MOA.pdf
Election night the Canadian people spoke.
Well finally some sanity as returned to Canadian Politics.
Minority governments do not work the largest party as to dance with the devil to get their agenda through.
I still can't believe that some people think its acceptable to jump into bed with a party that wants to break the country up.
What happened last night I think the largest group of Canadians accepted that the economy is the issue.
Yes Layton did well thanks to the folks in Quebec who have voted Liberal or BQ for the last twenty years and switched their vote to the NDP to punish those parties, they could not stomach going all the way over to the right.
The Liberals are in total disarray interesting listening to Bob Rae's comments last night certainly hinted to me that after only appealing to less than 19% of Canadians they were open to discussions (Code to merge with the NDP, remember where Rae started).
I turn on my TV this morning to see that in a huge surprise Ignatieff as resigned.
The NDP Jack Layton has it made for the next four years, big enough to be the opposition, in a position where he can stand up for every cause in the world, knowing full well that he will never have to deliver on anything. He will enjoy his four years as being Mr popular, but he needs to remember those 60% of his seats that came from the protest vote in Quebec will evaporate on him come next election when the Quebec voters see how ineffective he is.
The Bloc good riddance to a party that as spent twenty years saying to the rest of Canada give us what we want or we will leave.
The Green Party Elizabeth May, I was going to do a comment about whack jobs but thanks to her one seat the only thing she will achieve is being invited to the next debates.
The Conservatives, Stephen Harper I will admit not the most exciting or dynamic person in the world. But he was right the economy was and is the issue. You can be critical of his fiscal policies but I ask how much of that was driven by the fact he had to do that to keep the minority government in power.
Now the great debate begins about Harper ruling with 60% of Canadians opposed to him and his party. Well anybody that knows me knows I am a man of numbers. Since World War II Canada has gone through twenty two elections out of those the governing party as had 50% or more of the vote four times, twice with exactly 50% once with 50.1% and once with 53.7%. On the average the governing party as won with 42% of the vote and held 54% of the seats not much unlike this government who won with 39.6% of the vote and 54.2% of the seats.
Lets also not lose sight of the fact that of those 22 elections where the government was put in place 18 times with the minority support of the Canadian voters, eleven of those government were Liberal.
But the simple answer there was a time up until the end of World War I where governing parties on a regular basis had a majority of Canadian voters supporting them, up until that point Canada had similar to the USA a two party system. How is any party going to get a majority of votes with five parties running in the election the Bloc and the Greens took 10% of the vote between themselves then you have the three main parties to fight over 90% of the vote, maybe it will change if Mr Rae convinces the few Liberals that are left to merge with the NDP.
If the two left wing parties want to keep splitting their vote that's a decision they will have to make. Can you picture now the Liberal Democratic Party of Canada led by Jack Layton with Bob Rae as his loyal second in command.
Note: I assumed the largest majority of the people that read my blog live in Alberta. On my poll 67% of my readers voted for the Conservatives they received 67% of the vote in Alberta?. Surprisingly I did not realize I had a bit of a following in Quebec, 15% of the people that participated in my poll choose the BQ a little bit of the mark considering they only received 5% of the vote.
Minority governments do not work the largest party as to dance with the devil to get their agenda through.
I still can't believe that some people think its acceptable to jump into bed with a party that wants to break the country up.
What happened last night I think the largest group of Canadians accepted that the economy is the issue.
Yes Layton did well thanks to the folks in Quebec who have voted Liberal or BQ for the last twenty years and switched their vote to the NDP to punish those parties, they could not stomach going all the way over to the right.
The Liberals are in total disarray interesting listening to Bob Rae's comments last night certainly hinted to me that after only appealing to less than 19% of Canadians they were open to discussions (Code to merge with the NDP, remember where Rae started).
I turn on my TV this morning to see that in a huge surprise Ignatieff as resigned.
The NDP Jack Layton has it made for the next four years, big enough to be the opposition, in a position where he can stand up for every cause in the world, knowing full well that he will never have to deliver on anything. He will enjoy his four years as being Mr popular, but he needs to remember those 60% of his seats that came from the protest vote in Quebec will evaporate on him come next election when the Quebec voters see how ineffective he is.
The Bloc good riddance to a party that as spent twenty years saying to the rest of Canada give us what we want or we will leave.
The Green Party Elizabeth May, I was going to do a comment about whack jobs but thanks to her one seat the only thing she will achieve is being invited to the next debates.
The Conservatives, Stephen Harper I will admit not the most exciting or dynamic person in the world. But he was right the economy was and is the issue. You can be critical of his fiscal policies but I ask how much of that was driven by the fact he had to do that to keep the minority government in power.
Now the great debate begins about Harper ruling with 60% of Canadians opposed to him and his party. Well anybody that knows me knows I am a man of numbers. Since World War II Canada has gone through twenty two elections out of those the governing party as had 50% or more of the vote four times, twice with exactly 50% once with 50.1% and once with 53.7%. On the average the governing party as won with 42% of the vote and held 54% of the seats not much unlike this government who won with 39.6% of the vote and 54.2% of the seats.
Lets also not lose sight of the fact that of those 22 elections where the government was put in place 18 times with the minority support of the Canadian voters, eleven of those government were Liberal.
But the simple answer there was a time up until the end of World War I where governing parties on a regular basis had a majority of Canadian voters supporting them, up until that point Canada had similar to the USA a two party system. How is any party going to get a majority of votes with five parties running in the election the Bloc and the Greens took 10% of the vote between themselves then you have the three main parties to fight over 90% of the vote, maybe it will change if Mr Rae convinces the few Liberals that are left to merge with the NDP.
If the two left wing parties want to keep splitting their vote that's a decision they will have to make. Can you picture now the Liberal Democratic Party of Canada led by Jack Layton with Bob Rae as his loyal second in command.
Note: I assumed the largest majority of the people that read my blog live in Alberta. On my poll 67% of my readers voted for the Conservatives they received 67% of the vote in Alberta?. Surprisingly I did not realize I had a bit of a following in Quebec, 15% of the people that participated in my poll choose the BQ a little bit of the mark considering they only received 5% of the vote.
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