let's talk politics (federal)

[joel]

[se7entse7en]

[geForce]

[joel]

The thing is if a party leader and the other MPs that he/she would put into cabinet are out Ontario/Quebec and they decide the policy for the party how much say will the MP from BC that is part of their party get a say into those matters

[geForce]

[joel]

so then is it better to vote more based on the party more than the individual candidate?

[geForce]

That's my personal feeling towards it... that's if you don't have any preference in the first place.
I think we would benefit from a majority government more than any one party over the other.

[tyson]

for the big issues it's better to vote party.
for the smaller issues it's better to vote for mp.

on all the big issues all MPs tow the party line. if they don't, it typically causes some kind of fallout
but there are lots of issues related to your area that your MP can have a significant impact on. in my area, funding for evergreen line is a prime example.

[joel]

so what are the parties platforms...

is conservative party the pushing more military spending?
is the liberal party pushing more government spending?
is the bloc party pushing separatism?
is the ndp pushing more medical care spending?

what issues are important to everyone? what issues should be important that certain parties are not focusing enough on?

[geForce]

So all the propaganda signs are up now trying to tell you who to elect. What I've noticed is - most of the people up for election are either Chinese or East Indian. I'm sure they're picking MP's based on ethnicity in order to draw in that specific demographic's votes, but is that a wise thing to do? If we're picking MP's just based on their ethnicity, then I'm guessing they're throwing qualifications out the door.

[se7entse7en]

Conservatives:
"The children's fitness tax credit would be bumped to $1,000 from $500 and a new $500 fitness tax credit for adults would be introduced once the budget is balanced, which is expected to occur around 2015." -

2015!!! Good grief. How many elections will we have between now and then??

[joel]

[geForce]

Fluent English at least, haha.
I've heard a couple of the Chinese MP's speak on the radio before, and they have honger english.

[joel]

so one platform issue I have come across is the Tory plan to buy F35 stealth jets... see article:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-defence-expe ... 7-195.html

what are your guys thoughts on this subject? Does Canada need new jets and does that justify the military spending proposed?

I am a little torn on this issue myself... while for the most part I am thinking why does Canada need these planes. We aren't a military super power by any means. On the other hand, if we can purchase these jets and still be fiscally responsible with the rest of the budget(reduce the deficit) I guess that's still a good thing. After all, while we don't plan on waging any war or being waged against by any other nation, I can see some prudence to being prepared rather than not?

Where do you stand on tory military spending?

[geForce]

I don't believe in spending more on our military. Like you said, we're not in dire need to protect ourselves and we aren't going to wage war against anyone anytime soon. Even if we can buy the jets and still reduce the deficit, there are a lot of other places that money could be better used.