Conference kaosws::canada

    Derek,
    	What's there to analyze.
    
    Chretien w/ a majority and BQ in the opposition.
    
    Imagine, the 2 prominent 'leaders' in the house will be Quebecois...
    talk about irony.
    
    Andy

    According to the Ottawa Sun (Tuesday Oct 26)
    
    Liberals 177
    PC         2 (yes, two)
    NDP        9
    Reform    53
    Bloc      53
    
    Which means a Liberal majority, the PC's and the NDP loose party status
    in Canada (PC will loose $2M and the NDP $700K, money doled out to 
    parties for offices, research etc. by the Canadian taxpayer).
    
    However, according to the news driving in this morning, they called 
    178 Liberals, Bloc 58 and Reform 53, so the Bloc becomes the official 
    opposition.
    
    But, Benedict Bouchard won't move into Stornoway, prefering to live in
    Hull.  
    
    Chretien won his seat, Kim Campbell lost hers, Audrie McLaughlin won
    hers, Manning won his and Bouchard won his.
    
    There were no Bloc winners on the Hull side of the river, rather a
    Liberal sweep.  Ontario was almost a Liberal landslide, 98 out of 99.
    
    Provincial results:
    
    Newfoundland - 7 Liberal
    Nova Scotia - 11 Liberal
    New Brunswick - 9 Liberal, 1 PC
    Quebec - 53 Bloc, 20 Liberal, 1 PC, 1 Independent
    Ontario - 98 Liberal, 1 Other
    Manitoba - 12 Liberal, 1 Reform, 1 NDP
    Saskatchewan - 5 Liberal, 5 NDP, 4 Reform
    Alberta - 23 reform, 3 Liberal
    BC - 24 reform, 6 Liberal, 2 NDP
    Yukon - 1 NDP
    NWT - 2 Liberal
    
    Give or take a few changes overnight. Feel free to update the numbers.
    
    The shredders will be doing overtime on the hill today!
    

    Nice to see so many new faces in the unemployment lines this morning.
    
    I just hope they too can't find jobs......but of course they'll have
    that great gov't pension to rely on.
    
    Election results were simply staggering. The big red machine just kept
    on rolling.  Chretian might have problems with all those bodies - who's
    going to do what. I guess his first make work project will be adding
    more seats to the gov't side of the House of Commons.
    
    I wonder how Campbell's enormous ego is this morning. Not only did she
    lose, her party got eliminated, and rival Jean Charest wins one of 2
    seats. How ironic.
    It's too bad Audrey the walking skeleton didn't join the unemployment
    ranks as well. 
    
    Lucie B will now be house hunting in Hull - a definate Liberal
    stronghold. I wonder if the Canadian public will be paying for this or
    the good old Canadian taxpayers will. Interesting to hear him speak
    about his 2 Nation theory already. 
    
    Didn't hear much from the west. 
    
    Let's wait and see........4 years of Chretian.
    
    Terry

    WOW ! Two seats !!!   Glad Cherest (SP?) got one of them. If he wins the
    leadership (which should come after a major defeat like this) there
    will be THREE prominent Quebecers in Parliment. Not bad for a people
    who are being opressed.
    
    
    							Derek

I noticed during Bouchard's acceptance speech in Alma, there were not too 
many Quebec flags flying around and there was some but not resounding 
applause whenever he mentioned the word sovereignty.

Bouchard did want to re-assure the ROC that his party will act responsably in 
Parliement stressing job creation and defecit reduction.  I don't know if 
responsably means his still only vote on issues that affect Quebec.

Radio news mentioned this morning that Parizeau said that Quebec had voted 
2/3 for sovereignty.  Don't know where he got that number from.  I'm glad 
he's in power and I can't wait to see him defeated in the next provincial 
election.  I think that will put a bit of a damper on the BQ win from 
yesterday.  There will be even more of a damper if he wins the next 
provincial election but loses to his *once in for all* referendum.

/Mario

    Numbers I heard on the radio this morning:
    
    Liberals	177
    BQ		 54
    Reform	 52
    NDP		  8
    PC		  2
    Ind.	  1
    
    with 1 seat in Winnipeg still to be decided, for a total of 295.
    
    Elsie Wayne in Saint John and Charest in Sherbrooke the only Tories
    elected.
    
    This is an astnishing result.  
    
    The speeches of Bouchard and Chretien last night were interesting: 
    Bouchard opened by quoting L�vesque's "� la prochaine" the nightof the
    1980 referendum, went over the whole history of the constitutional
    failures of the Mulroney period, and promised that sovereignty was just
    around the corner; Chretien said that jobs had to be the priority, and
    urged that constitutional problems be left in the "frigidaire."   

    Th only problems with the results are that the Liberals were too strong
    in the West and the Reform was too weak in the East - if the Reform had
    taken a couple of seats in Ontario and the Liberals dropped a couple in
    the East, there'd be no BQ as the (dis)Loyal Opposition.
    
    Have to give Kimmie full marks for a good speech, even though I don't
    think her or Charest have smelled the coffee yet - there still talking
    as if they can rebuild from 2 seats.
    
    Good speech by Preston.  I was impressed by the number of times he used
    the word "federalist" - looks like he's trying to shake the "regional
    party" label.
    
    As far as Bouchard the Traitor goes, he still put sovereignty as his
    first priority, so sc*** him!
    
    
    Anyone want to bet Reform is the Opposition before the end of this
    parliament - a couple of well placed by-elections and the balance
    shifts.
    
    Garry 

    Who the heck is this "ind." Could s/he join with the PCs and Reform to
    become opposition ?
    
    							Derek.

    The independent is a former tory in Quebec, in trouble with the law.

    So, Benedict Bouchard won't move into Stornoway.  Probably because he 
    realizes he will never get the chance so why not act defiant.  Somehow
    through manipulation, byelection or what ever, the Reform will be the
    official opposition.  
    
    Even so, with the Liberal majority, 53 seats makes the 'official
    opposition' an honorary title.      

    Interesting vote,  if you look at the map you can almost see who
    benefits the most from being in power: the atlantic provinces and
    Ontario.  The atlantic provinces because without federal dole, they
    would be up s*** creek and Ontario with all these lucrative federal
    institutions AND a coast to coast market for all their products.
    
    You can see that the western provinces don't beleive any of the bull
    coming from parliament hill, the same holds true for the french
    speaking population of Qu�bec.  In Montr�al, the anglophone and
    allophone population can readily be identified by the colors in the map
    presented in today's La Presse.
    
    FWIW, Canada has been led by someone from qu�bec since 1966 with the
    exception of Joe Who and Kimmie for a very very short time.  Why is it
    (anglo)Canadians beleive more in politicians from Qu�bec than ones
    coming from other provinces?
    
    Jean
    

    Can someone tell who and what the Bloc party stand for?

	Does anyone know what the rules are about coalitions and alliances
	in the House? I know that a party in power can create a coalition
	with another but is an opposition party aloud to do so? Gary, you
	touched on this a little can you elaborate somewhat on your last
	comment?

	Ben

    re .12
    
    The Bloc Qu�b�cois, led by Lucien Bouchard, stand for Quebec
    "sovereignty."  

According to Lucie B the official opposition is not allowed to be formed by 
the merger of members from different parties.

/Mario

Doesn't the BQ stand for *protecting Quebec's interests* in the federal 
parliement.  They are all sovereignists but don't have the power to initiate 
the soverignty plan in Quebec.  Only the provincial government have that 
power.

/Mario

    Seems to me the only reason the Bloc exists is to promote sovereignty. 
    Sure, it's questionable what they can do in the federal Parliament,
    besides obstructionist grandstanding and efforts to discredit the
    institution.  But "protecting Quebec's interests" in the federal
    parliament has never required separatists...
    
    -Stephen

    The reason our leaders have been comming from Quebec are two fold.
    
    1. Quebec has many seats, if you take it and have a reasonable showing
    in the rest of the country you can win. Since Quebec votes (usually)
    for one of it's own over all others the parties see it as an advantage
    to have a leader from Quebec.
    
    2. The rest of the country foolishly thinks Quebec will stay if they
    are represented at the highest levels of government. 
    
    
     So it all boils down to kissing-butt in Quebec. That of course goes
    along with the Space Agency, prisons.....
    
     							Derek.

    If this bothers you Derek then it makes me happy.
    
    ;-)

    re: forming the Oppostion.
    
    I don't know what the rules are, if any.  Bouchard the Traitor might be
    right about parties not being allowed to form opposition coallitions,
    but I did not hear any observers (media, pundits) say this last night.  I
    wouldn't take Bouchard the Traitor's word for it - he hardly has a
    distinguished career in Canadian politics (Just ask Brian!).
    
    I'd bet that if a member, of say the PCs or an Independent, decided to
    leave their current party and become a Reform member that there's no
    rule against that.  Bouchard the Traitor would have to support the
    members right to switch parties or he would be denying his own past. 
    Parties getting together might be a different matter though...
    
    My comment about Reform becoming the Opposition before the end of this
    session was in regard to by-elections that are held when an MP resigns,
    for whatever reason.  If a couple of Liberals resigned and the Reform
    won the by-elections, the Reform could become the Opposition.  It's not
    likely that Liberals will voluntarily cross the floor, but you can
    expect one or two of them to resign or die over the next few years.
    
    Regards,
    
    Garry
    
    

    
    
    
    	Which party carried Yellowknife??
    
    KMP

RE .4

Yes, and isn't it interesting that the "opressed" people have almost as
many seats in our parliment as the four western provinces combined....

A coalition cannot form the "Official Opposition" ... but this is as much
as anything , a technicality.  It does not stop the opposition parties
forming coalitions ... it just will not be officially recognized as such,
so the official opposition party becomes the mouthpiece for any such
coalition.

sb

	RE: .21

	Liberals.

	Ben

    The PC's and the NDP are not 'official parties' anymore.  Nothing is
    stopping elected MP's from joining the Reform if they want to.
    
    As far as 'Anglais' Canadians voting for a 'Francais' PM, this must 
    show that 'Anglais' Canadians look past race, colour, creed, culture, 
    nationality and language when judging an individual.  
    
    Something others seem to have trouble with.
    

    
    	RE: .24
    
    		Thanx, it was important to me who carried Yellowknife!
    
    KMP

    From my understanding the formal Oppossition party gets a large amount
    of $$$. What this means is the Bloc now has dollars to throw into 
    pushing their real agenda within Quebec.
    
    Just how long is it going to be before there are commercials in Quebec
    ;paid for by my tax dollars, that preach separation ad neasium.
    
    
    As for Reform ,,,I'm a happy guy. They now have enough seats to at
    least show the rest of the country what their position REALLY is.
    If they are as bigotted as the PC's and NDP where claiming then they
    wont be around for the next election. But in reallity I think that
    they are the new PC party and they are here to stay. 
    
    
    	Brian V
    
    : )
    

    POLAR::RICHARDSON
    
     Don't worry, Be happy. With my blessing.
    
    								Derek

Could someone explain what 'Official Party Status' means?

Last night there was alot of talk as to which partys would get it, but 
nowhere did I hear what the implications were (other than you needed 12 
seats).

Do only offical partys get freebies (offices, staff allowances etc) or 
something like that?

    Official party status means that the party gets some funding for staff
    and research, the amount of funding is proportional to the number of
    seats held (provided the minimum of 12 is reached) in the last
    parliment I believe the numbers were ~2M$ for the liberals and 700K$
    for the NDP.

Also means they get Party Political broadcasts on TV ... and get to take
part in the TV debates when the next election rolls around (Preston should
be happy now !)

Stuart

              <<< KAOSWS::$1$DUA3:[NOTES$LIBRARY]CANADA.NOTE;1 >>>
                         -< True North Strong & Free >-
================================================================================
Note 754.25                 Election results/analisys                   25 of 31
KAOOA::SLADE                                          9 lines  26-OCT-1993 13:34
                              -< No kissing here >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  |  The PC's and the NDP are not 'official parties' anymore.  Nothing is |
  |  stopping elected MP's from joining the Reform if they want to.       |
  |                                                                       |
  |  As far as 'Anglais' Canadians voting for a 'Francais' PM, this must  |
  |             ^^^^^^^                          ^^^^^^^^                 |
  |  show that 'Anglais' Canadians look past race, colour, creed, culture,| 
  |             ^^^^^^^                                                   |  
  |  nationality and language when judging an individual.  
    
   ******<<<< Something others seem to have trouble with.>>>>***************
                        ^^^^^^    

   Well done. Nobody could have said it better. Bravo Bill,vewy,vewy nice.
    

    Well, we federalist bilingual liberal West Quebec folks don't want
    Lucien Bouchard living here!!!  Speaking for myself, of course :-)
    
    Throw the traitor and all like him out of the country!  Or as the
    Newfies are supposedly saying, let Quebec separate, then Newfoundland
    can float right in next to Ontario... :-)
    
    Otto.

    Jeff and Jim (CHEZ-FM morning show in Ottawa) have decided on their
    Halloween costumes -- they're going to dress up as the Progressive
    Conservative party.

Jean Charest decided to take his party to a restaurant to discuss strategy in 
the House of Commons.

When they asked for how many people, he said:

Party of 2!

    Heard on CBC Radio last night:
    
    What's the difference between a car and the PCs?
    
    A car has more seats!
    
    I think we're in for many months of bad jokes...

Cartoon in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph this morining showing
a horizontal Canadian Flag, without the maple leaf.  The leaf is gently
floating down to it from above ... The next frame shows the maple leaf
floating down THROUGH the middle of the flag ... The next, an onlooker
asks "What happened"  In the last, another says "No middle ground anymore"!

Looked quite appropiate.

There was an editorial in the paper about the election too ... It was far
more concerned about the replacement of the Conservatives (middle right)
with Liberals (middle left) and the loss of seats by the NDP (far left).
There was absolutely no mention of the BQ forming the official opposition.
There was also some mention of the Liberals' desire to renegotiate parts
of the free trade deal ... how it has cost Canada jobs ... and what impact
this might have on NAFTA.

I was surprised, since for the G.T., the world comprises the area around
Colo Spr ... the politicos in Denver ... and the politicos in Washington.
It is a paper with a very narrow focus.  So to see an article on Canada
is rare, let alone see an editorial!  Presumably, the reason is the
election of, in their words, 'a middle left' government and a big fear
of "bleeding heart liberals".

Stuart

    People that want to run in an election have to put up $$$ to have their
    name entered on the ballot. (this also is suppose to reduce the number
    of people running that are not really serious about it.)
    
    It is my understanding that the candidate has to get a certain % of
    the vote in order to get their money back.
    
    Soooo the PC and NDP parties may no longer have enough funds to run
    as many candidates in the next election.
    
    This is partially the same reason that the reform party didn't run 
    candidate across all of Canada in the last 2 elections.
    
    
    Brian V
    

    Will the Bloc form the opposition?  The Ottawa Citizen (a well known
    non-bias newspaper had an interesting article today)
    
    It is by tradition that the second place party become the official
    opposition.  According to the rules of government, the party prepared
    to form the next government should the elected government be forced to
    resign is the offical opposition.  By definition, the Bloc does not
    qualify to be called the official opposition despite having the second
    number of highest votes.  There is no way the Bloc could form a
    government since it does not represent 'Canadian' interests'..
    
    Of course the same arguement can be held against the Reform party since
    it has no elected members representing Quebec.
    
    To me, it looks like five possibilities:
    
    a) The Bloc forms the opposition according to tradition. 
    
    b) The Reform bands with another party to form the Oppostion. (This may
    solve Bouchards problem but play into his hands)
    
    c) Parliament votes on who will form the oppostion. (consequences if
    Benedict and the boys of the Bloc get bounced by a vote)
    
    d) Through the re-count process, the Reform gains enough seats. (But
    again, Reform as the Bloc does not represent all of Canada)
    
    e) The Bloc forms the official opposition but gets displaced by Reform
    through by elections or defections.
    
    Interesting times.
    
    Throughout this, all I hope is that we keep a spirit of non-violence.
                                      

    Does anybody have the final talley and breakdown by Province?
    
    Glenn

	Total	Nfld  PEI  NS  NB  Que  Ont  Man  Sask  Alta  BC  Yukon/NWT	

Liberal  177       7    4  11   9   19   98   12    5     4    6      2
BQ        54       0    0   0   0   54    0    0    0     0    0      0
Reform    52       0    0   0   0    0    1    1    4    22   24      0
NDP        9       0    0   0   0    0    0    1    5     0    2      1
PC         2       0    0   0   1    1    0    0    0     0    0      0
Ind.       1       0    0   0   0    1    0    0    0     0    0      0

Total    295       7    4  11  10   75   99   14   14    26   32      3

    
     In the last day or so I've done some analysis of L.Bouchard's
    speeches and I get the distinct feeling that he has placed
    himself in a very akward situation. To have won the number
    of seats that the BQ has in Quebec, he had to cater very much to
    Parti Quebecois followers and ideologies, as noticed in the glee
    expressed by M.Parizeau at the outcome.
    
     The akward position is that he has to demonstrate that as an effective
    opposition leader he must support debate on Federal policies which
    obviously involve all of Canada or at the least , regions outside
    of Quebec. How is he supposed to do this and at the same time, 
    "cater to left wing separatists in Quebec".
     I would not want to be in the situation he is in, and I am convinced
    he is in an unenviable position from a political standpoint.
    
     I think he never expected to get this far and therefore did not mind
    promising everything to everyone. Now he must perform, so expect a
    lot of talking from both sides of the mouth. 
     He already seems to be watering down the "separatist" rhetoric, but I
    am sure this is not what the Quebec people are hearing.
    
     I think his ultimate goal is to become president/prime minister of
    his own sovereign nation, being Quebec.
    
     As someone wrote in the Citizen today, L.Bouchard will probably not
    have much credibility in government as the official Opposition
    leader, since everyone knows his true colors.
     It also stated that the media will slowly ignore him over time.
    
    

    
     I laughed yesterday when they had a small insert about
    quotes from prominent people in power at the sight of the
    PC party losing so badly.
    
    The called John Crosbie in to Tory headquarters to
    do some commentary about the election after the polls closed.
    I guess at some point late in the evening when it was very
    apparent that the PC party was losing catastrophicaly,
    John quipped, after agreeing to the incredible loss,
    
    " I don't know why you invited me here to witness this, I feel
      like a turkey invited to a Christmas dinner"
    
     
     Other prominent PC politicians were quoted as calling the defeat
     a setback, when one reporter replied that its' more like
     a cataclysm.
    
    
    Norm
    
    

    Thanks Stephen!

�     Other prominent PC politicians were quoted as calling the defeat
�     a setback, when one reporter replied that its' more like
�     a cataclysm.

	Actually it was during the election coverage. The PC analyst
	described the situation befalling the PC's as a 'minor set back'
	wereupon the rest of the panel started to laugh. The NDP analyst
	(on the PC's back all night) quipped,

	 "it's the first time I've had heard a cataclysm or an apocalypse
	described as a 'minor setback'".

	This even received more of a laugh...

	Charlie
 

    How are the PC's going to recover.  The news today mentioned that they
    are bankrupt and deeply in debt.  With no taxpayers $$$ coming in, no
    political clout so no business $$$ coming in, good grief, their
    UNEMPLOYED.  Is this the end of the PC legacy!

	I understand that Kimmy is a major investor in the Grand Canal
	and since last weeks doubling of that stock, the PC's should
	be able to sell off a couple lots to pay the bills.

	Mr. Twirly Hurl

    A similar situation occured here in B.C. two years ago when the Social
    Credit Party got their sorry butts kicked off the face of the B.C.
    political map.  IMHO, their biggest error, as with the P.C.s, was
    ignoring the opinion polls and the voices of the people.  Bill
    Vanderzalm, as with Lyin' Brian, was the most unpopular leader in 40
    years of politics.  Still the party didn't turf him until less than a
    year before the next election.  Aside from the fact that the new leader
    was an  even bigger twit than the old one, she didn't have enough time
    to clean up the image of the party.  Some might argue the same thing
    happened to the liberals when Truedeau (sp) left.

    Anyways, back to the question: How are the PC's going to recover?  They
    will probably do what the Socreds did after their thrashing.  After the
    party has a chance to get their s**t back together, all the loyal party
    members will get a 6 or 8 page letter in the mail.  In it, will be
    serman of how the last 10 years of politics have changed, all the
    wonderful things the party has done with "your", the loyal party
    member's, support and how the latest loss is really just a minor
    setback to the party.  Close to the end will be a small paragraph
    mentioning that the party kitty is far into the red.   On the last page
    will be a request to make a donation to help clean up the debt and get
    the party back on thier feet. I believe the Socreds asked for $100 to
    $1200, I can image what the P.C.s will be asking for.

    Cheers,
    Dave_keeping_a_tight_hold_on_my_wallet-
    to_pay_the_upcoming_tax_increase_YIKES!!!!!

    Heard on CBC (french) radio yesterday.
    
    The opposition should be formed by the conservatives because in the
    parliament THEY have the greatest number of seats, counting both house
    of commons seats and senate seats.  
    
    Jean
    

    Interesting article in this mornings's Ottawa Sun.
    
    The Tories ran their party's finances in the same manner as they
    managed the country's.
    They are in debt to the tune of $3 million, but are quite certain it
    can be managed. 
    
    Where have we heard that line before.
    
    Terry

    Re: Tory's debt -
    
    It's even more interesting than that - the $3 million is all that
    they're admitting at this time.  Other reports put their election
    deficit at 7 to 10 million.
    
    Garry

    Wonder who they owe this money to?  The bank must be cringing.
    
    Read that the Publishers are taking a bath.  They had four books
    on hold or out about the rise of Kim Campbell, printed and ready
    for the bookshelf.  Paperback edition to follow.
    
    Look for it in the dollar bin.

Also in the Ottawa Citizen today:

An article on the few prominent BQ elected members including their 
educational, professional, and *other* background.

It seems a re-elected BQ member is charged with trying to hire a prostitute a 
few blocks from Parliement Hill.  The trial is set to begin Nov. 15.

Makes me wonder about the morals and ethics of the BQ and the people who 
voted for him in his riding.

I know for a fact that this member wouldn't have been allowed to represent 
the Liberals of PC's in the election, with such a charge against him.

/Mario

    Mario,
    
    You forgot the smiley's right!
    
    I know for a fact a Liberal did run with an outstanding charge against
    him.  He was a candidate for one of the Calgary ridings.
    
    OK, OK!  I know Chretien found out about the charge after he signed the
    guy's nominations papers and said he wouldn't be a caucus member (if
    elected) until after he was cleared.
    
    Lockyer
        

Sorry Garry, forgot my smiley face.  Thanks for correcting me.

I wonder when Lucien did find out about the prostitute issue.

I'm not a BQ basher, just open-minded...

/Mario

    FWIW, I'd rather have an MP looking for prostitutes than one looking to
    get money out of my pocket or peddling influence (Sinclair Steven).
    
    Jean
    

    re -.1
    
     Immorality in both cases, but you of course can forgive the BQ because
    it only involves immorality regarding women. Just don't touch your
    sacred pocketbook.
    
     Saw today thet Lucy wants to scap the helocopters (good for may parts
    of Canada) as long as the FEDERAL government pumps 1 BILLION dollars of
    the savings into Quebec to make up for the lost revenues the project
    would have brought to Quebec. So much for (1) the claim of fiscal
    responsibility, and (2) who was saying Quebec gets less than it's fair
    share ? Is the the kind of "me first" crap we can expect from
    these idiots ? I say give Quebec exactly what they contribute, not a
    cent more, and let them see what an independant Quebec will be like. 
    
     Also saw one of the BQ members was a political exile from Chile.
    Prominent banker I believe. Yeah, I look forward to the policy
    decisions from this third world, rich take it all, let the poor eat dirt
    perspective. I'll keep my Canadian passport thank you.
    
    
    

    Gee, at the rate things are going, we Canadians south of the border
    may end up having to claim refugee status!
    
    Stuart

    re .57
    
    Lucy also went on to say that he wanted a review of all defence spending
    and said that the GM diesel contract in London Ont (APC's) should be
    scrapped ... but of course no mention of compensation for Ontario.
    
    
    It's going to be tough listening to his BS for 4 years !!!!
    
    Brian V
    

Where's Reform in all of this?  Are they asleep or is the media ignoring 
them?

/Mario

    Mario:
    
     Reform does not get the attention because it is not "Her Majesty's
    Loyal Opposition". When they start to talk, I am sure they will sound
    just as bad, only different.
    
    							Derek.

In other words Reform is asleep.

From what I could remember when PC's were in power, Liberals AND NDP had a 
voice even though they were 3rd.

    I see in today's Globe and Mail that BQ MP Francois Langlois, who
    defeated Tory Justice Minister Pierre Blais, holds a doctorate in
    Constitutional Law from Pacific Western University, an unaccredited
    California "diploma mill."  Langlois is a lawyer and CEGEP teacher who
    tried unsuccessfully to get the Quebec education ministry to adjust his
    pay scale based on the "doctorate"...

    I have seen a number of Tories complaining that the Reform party is
    causing a split in vote on the right side of center. They say it makes
    it difficult for them to win seats as the small c conservative vote is
    split between two parties. I say, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD. In the
    last election, the one before the Tories got their butt kicked, more
    people voted against them than voted for them. The reason they won was
    because the vote was split, you got it, between two parties on the left
    side of center. Of course they didn't see it as a rejection of free
    trade, because they got all those seats. Now the shoe is on the other
    foot, and they complain. This is definatly going to be the most
    interesting session of parliment I have ever seen, and maybe the most
    interesting ever.
    
    							Derek.

    Article in today's Ottawa Sun .......
    
    There publishing a new Canadian edition of "Where's Waldo".
    
    It's going to be called "Where's the Tory"
    
    Terry
    

    Well, why start a new note as nobody seems to want to debate the
    election on Monday. I really have no idea who I'm going to vote for. 
    In the riding I'm in, the Liberal incumbent always wins, so a Liberal 
    vote is a wash, I can't vote Reform or NDP, what to do.....
    
    All I hope is that the Bloc really lose a lot of seats in Quebec.

    This is the last day it is legal to publish poll results, before the
    election.  The 2 I've seen to day are predicitng a Liberal win, with a
    asmaller majority, and a Reform opposition.
    
    The 2 polls (Southam/CTV and Globe and Mail/Environics) both have the
    Bloc in 1st place among decided voters in Quebec, with 38% and 37%
    respectively.  This amazes me, given the fact that Duceppe has run a
    completely incompetent campaign.  There must be a lot of people in
    Quebec who are completely alienated from Canada, or believe it's their
    patriotic duty to vote for the separatists, or something.  It seems to me 
    that what we are likely to see in Quebec in the next couple of years is 
    the re-election of Bouchard and the PQ followed by a win for the 
    separatists in a referendum, i.e. disaster.
    
    I also live in what appears to be a safe Liberal riding (Ottawa South,
    John Manley, Minister of Industry, M.P.)  The Liberals are the only
    party capable forming a government, but I'm not particularly keen on 
    voting for them.  still undecided myself, though I certainly won't vote
    Reform or Tory.
                     

Stephen,

One of the theories I heard on CBC last night for the BQ's rise in the
polls in the last 2 weeks despite their bad campaign, is a retaliation
against Reform's "don't vote in a PM from Quebec" adds.  When undecided
voters hear this stuff it makes them turn their votes to BQ.

As I said, it's just a theory.

/Mario

    National Standings
    ------------------
    
    Liberal	155	38.33%
    Reform	 60	19.39%
    BQ		 44	10.68%
    NDP		 21     11.06%
    PC		 20	18.86%
    OTH		  1      1.69%