Gilles Duceppe Announces: “The Party That will Determine the Fate of Stephen Harper is the Bloc Quebecois”

Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, went into Harper’s track record and made the case for Quebec separation at his first visit to Dawson College in Montreal Quebec.

“It’s more obvious than has before that Quebec has no place in Canada.”
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Quebecois

While attacking Prime Minister Stephen Harper for wanting to scrap gun control, aid the oil industry and misspend more money, Duceppe made the pitch that separation is a “win-win situation” for Quebec and Canada and that “all the provinces are committed to [keeping] the six million dollars in their pockets.”
Duceppe clarified that Quebec wasn’t part of the Canadian constitution and that the “50% + 1” approval that is needed in the Quebec National Assembly exists. He also said that he wants to mimic the European Union.

“I’m not against Anglophones.”
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Quebecois

Duceppe announced that French would be the national language of a newly sovereign Quebec. This statement isn’t reassuring for the Anglophone crowd that he is trying to convince. With Bill 101 dictating how everything in Quebec is conducted, Anglophones already know what it is like to be the Francophone minority in Canada: discriminated in the workplace, left with little to no representation, and assimilated into French culture. While Duceppe claimed that Anglo-Quebecers would have “the same rights as before,” he completely opposed the concept of having a multicultural society.
After announcing a platform that would encompass Quebec separation, Duceppe concluded, “The party that will determine the fate of Stephen Harper is the Bloc Quebecois,” and “If Quebec [was] taken out of the picture, the rest of the country is Conservative.”

“The party that will determine the fate of Stephen Harper is the Bloc Quebecois.”
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Quebecois

Canada, nor Quebec, will gain from splitting up the opposition more than it already is. The Conservatives won their ridings by a narrow margin and exploited a Liberal/NDP/Bloc Quebecois vote split. Situations where Conservative candidates got 34%, Liberal opponents got 27-32%, NDP rivals got 18-27%, and the rest of the vote to minor parties mounted Conservative victory.

If the Liberal and NDP votes in a riding were merged, the candidate would have an 11-25% lead over the Conservative candidate.

Let’s not forget that 66% of the seats in the House of Commons belong to opposition MPs.

Out of the 75 seats that are up for grabs in Quebec, only 10 belong to Conservatives. If the 49 ridings that voted for the Bloc Quebecois in the last election voted Liberal, the new dynamic would see the Liberals within striking distance of a minority government, missing only 15 seats.
With the New Democrats looking desperately for ways to avoid a spring election, they prove to Canadians that they will only mimic what people scream to stay in power. The NDP won’t be able to form a government unless they capture every Liberal seat which would be impossible since the Liberals are a mature party. If people don’t want a Conservative government, the split in the opposition can only be minimized by voting Liberal.
With the media always touting the possibility of a Conservative majority, and propping up the Tories, the Bloc Quebecois are more desperate in building support for Quebec independence in an effort to save face, prove relevance, and protect their culture. Don’t forget that if Harper enacted the controversial policies that he stands for in this minority government, he wouldn’t last a day in the polls. So Harper waits and asks for a majority government, and Duceppe fears the impact on Quebec – and has every right to.
Harper doesn’t connect with Quebec for it is one of the most government subsidized and socialistic places in the world. Harper would replace all our social programs, from Medicare to Welfare, with powerful military, multi-billion dollar super prisons, and corporate tax cuts.
The provincial Parti Quebecois has destroyed the separatist movement with its never-ending rhetoric. But the biggest obstacle may be the Bloc Quebecois itself. While their ideal is to see an independent Quebec, they get their salaries and pensions from the Canadian taxpayer, which will effectively end when they are no longer Canadian. As Duceppe said, “We will do what suits our needs.”

Harper’s Message to Canadians: We will Benefit from Your Loss

Canada’s Conservative government has a knack of misspending money and making Canadians foot the bill. This is not an opinion, this is fact.

Let’s look at their track record:

During the G8 and G20 summits, over $1.2 billion went on heightened security and an artificial lake that was criticized by the opposition and even by France. You can read more about it here.

“I thank my Canadian friends for their contribution. I don’t know how it was organized. I can tell you we are in a hotel where the comfort is extremely sufficient and extremely reasonable. I haven’t seen anything sumptuous.

“As for the French G8/G20, even though I can’t confirm the Canadian numbers, they will be 10 times less. Exactly."

Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France

Stephen Harper is spending $16 billion on unneeded and poor quality fighter jets. These jets were found to be less than the American Military bargained for and both the Republicans and Democrats agreed. You can read more about it here.

Stephen Harper’s latest controversy is on a $6 billion tax cut for corporations who arguably have no need for tax cuts. It is also debatable whether the company will use the tax savings for the government’s intentions and if more specific sector spending would be a better solution. You can read more about it here.

There is also the tough on crime prison expansions taking place when crime rates are on the decline. These expenditures are upwards of $2 billion.

“Their whole plan is completely wrong-headed. They’re putting more people in prison claiming it to be for public safety but they’re just warehousing inmates.”

Dianne Dowling

This misspending is $25.2 billion in this list alone so far. Let’s now add $5 billion for renovations to Parliament Hill to install a ‘magnificent glass dome.’ Auditor General, Sheila Fraser warns that this bill will quickly rise.

“The glass dome for the Commons is all part of an extreme makeover of the crumbling Parliament Buildings, a rapidly growing government money pit that is already years late and more than 1,000 per cent over the initial budget of $465 million.

While the government now admits the Hill restoration could cost up to $5 billion, Auditor General Sheila Fraser recently warned the final bill could be much larger.”

CBC

Stephen Harper claims to have a plan to get us out of a record $63 billion deficit, and it is painful. With Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty steering the ship, Canada has lost its balanced books and money has been flushed. To top that, while the Conservatives treat the world and themselves to luxuries, mortgages will prove to hurt Canadians in the coming years.

In reforms to Canada’s mortgage rules, buying and holding onto a house will just be that much more difficult. The time that people have to pay back the mortgage has been reduced from 35 to 30 years. This is accompanied by a reduction of the amount of money that can be lent to obtain that mortgage. From 90% to 85%, more money will need to be paid upfront and the remaining will have to be paid 5 years earlier than before.

“We understand why [Flaherty] did what he did. But we hope when the time comes, he’ll revisit that decision. Real estate is very important to the economy, and it’s crucial that we find a balance because you don’t want to overreact to temporary market conditions.”

He said a better choice would have been to keep 35 year amortizations, but force all applicants to qualify with the assumption of a 25 year amortization.

Jim Murphy, President of Canadian Association of Mortgage Professionals

While the cost of living rises, we see no relief and no plan from the government of Canada.

The over $30 billion in spending is more than enough to fund our healthcare, education, employment insurance and several other social programs that Canadians would have greatly appreciated in this time of economic uncertainty as a safety net. But instead, they chose to spend us into the largest deficit in Canadian history.

Seeing past actions, payment transfer cuts to provinces may also be a viable method of getting Canada back into black ink, but this would severely affect our broken Medicare system. You can read more about it here.
 

Jim Flaherty gives Canadians advice on money management after generating the largest budget deficit in Canadian History.

But after 5 years of Conservative power, Flaherty understands as well as we do that,

“The key here is affordability, it is important that Canadians will not take on obligations that they cannot be able to afford as interest rates rise.”

Jim Flaherty, Conservative Finance Minister of Canada

A Gold Mine of Pending Disaster

The exploration drills have already touched the ground but Quebecers are uneasy. The Quebec government aspires for energy independence within the coming years. What is expected to be a large economic boom might very well be an environmental bust.

Quebec Residents affected by Shale Gas Drilling

Marcellus Shale rocks are black rocks that contain a trapped reservoir of natural gas. This new supply would serve to increase independence from foreign oil and gas once it is extracted.

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation of New York (DEC), Marcellus shale is situated between 2,000 feet to 7,000 feet below ground level. Ground water supplies are found several feet above the layer of Marcellus Shale. (See Image Left)
“In 2006 and 2007, oil and gas companies began doing exploratory shale gas work in Quebec in a formation called the Utica shale.”

The Gazette 

From this period of time, 28 wells have been dug and hydraulic fracturing has been used in 15 of them. The natural gas industry said that its early results show a large amount of shale gas is available in Quebec. The Natural Resources Department estimates that there is enough natural gas in this supply to meet all of Quebec's energy needs for 200 years.

Shale gas can be found in a region that stretches across the eastern St-Lawrence River and south eastern Quebec between the Yamaska Fault and Logan’s line which can be found as an area on the southeastern edge of the St-Laurence River and stretching down into the United States. (See Image Right)

This region is filled with agricultural land that is responsible for food production. If a disaster were to ever occur, the underground water source would be the first part of the area to get contaminated. Animals and plants that rely on it would be contaminated. Since the gas drilling would take place in agricultural areas, the food supply of the effected region would be contaminated as a result.

“The government of Quebec should look to Pennsylvania, and monitor how it is dealing with its problems with shale gas”

Robert Howarth, Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Cornell University.

“A growing chorus of scientists is arguing that not enough is known about the effect widespread gas drilling will have on water supplies, air quality and human health to justify the intensive development of the resource already taking place.”

The Times Tribune

In More Detail: The Process of Extracting Natural Gas from Shale Rocks

The plan for shale gas in Quebec is similar to that of Pennsylvania.

Shale gas will be extracted from shale rocks that are from two to seven kilometers below the ground level using a drill and a high pressure of water.

60 Minutes gives an in-depth look at the impact of shale gas in the United States

Once the drill has reached the shale gas, it will start to drill at an angle until reaching the core of the supply where the rock will be drilled horizontally. Once the pathway has been built, water will be pumped into the newly formed tunnel at high pressure and will capture the gas and bring it back to the surface where it will be stored in silos until its purchase or relocation.

Once the drill has been built, the site that the drill takes up is reduced and restored.
Here are some videos that demonstrate the drilling process.

A Look at Drilling Shale Gas

The Result of Frac Pressure Release

How the Drilling of Shale will Effect Economics and People’s Wallets

The Capacity of Shale Gas

“In the last few years, we have discovered the equivalent of two Saudi Arabia’s of oil in the form of natural gas in the United States.”

Aubrey K. McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy

In Quebec, The Calgary Herald reported in April 2008 that Forest Oil Corp. said shale rocks in the St. Lawrence lowlands alone could contain as much as 4.1 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas reserves.

Quebec currently consumes about 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, almost all of it imported from Alberta.

Forest Oil Corp. told The Calgary Herald, the individual vertical wells could produce about one million cubic feet per day with comparable horizontal wells that are capable of producing four to five times as much daily.

A New Job Sector


According to an article in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Ziff Energy’s Director of Gas Consulting Edward Kallio said the ongoing project is expected to create 10,000 new jobs in Quebec over the next few years. He also said that local gas production would increase revenue from royalties and taxes while allowing Quebec’s independence from western Canadian shipments to flourish.

The Quebec Government has been planning this drill for some time.

“We want to create a fiscal and legal framework that can make a company decide to invest in Quebec rather than Pennsylvania.” 

Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier

Hydro Quebec is currently responsible for 95% of Quebec’s energy needs while gas is used primarily for heating and industrial purposes. Electric heating is always an option. With a new shale gas extraction, it is possible that shale gas will collaborate or even compete with hydroelectricity in an attempt to get more cost-effective energy for businesses and homes.

According to the Quebec government, natural gas already accounts for 13% of Quebec’s energy consumption in comparison to oil that accounts for 38%. According to BusinessWeek, the energy generated from gas is used for heating and by industry.

The government has the intentions of expanding this usage. 

“If we are able to start producing gas, I can see a day when it will play a bigger role than oil in meeting our energy needs.”

Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Deputy Premier

This would also suggest greater competition between hydro and gas as the main energy sources in Quebec.
However, operating new drills in an expansion process won’t be cheap. According to an article in The Globe and Mail, Michael Binnion, chief executive officer of Questerre, a Calgary-based oil company that plans to drill in Quebec’s shale gas boom said that the cost of building each well would be upwards of $15-million, two to three times the operating cost of wells outside of Quebec. He said the reason for the price difference is the lack of maturity in the gas market in Quebec and the fact that the tools that are required for the drill rigs will have to be imported from elsewhere.

In order for Quebec to be able to bring down gas prices, the Quebec government would have to invest $500-million in 50 wells, Binnion said to The Globe and Mail.

The Personal Financial Aspect of Shale Gas

“It won’t affect our wallets in the short term. Thirty to 40 years ago, oil was the cheapest option for heating houses. Five years ago, it was cheaper for me to heat my house with oil but the price of oil has since went up, so it’s now cheaper to heat the house with electricity.

We don’t need natural gas, but as a customer it is better for us to have choices and if we depend on other countries to have enough oil to answer our needs - we don’t decide the oil price, we only pay it. As a citizen it is better to have choices and beat prices with different energy strategies.

The main benefit for the consumer is more choices. Prices will never go down, but the rate at which they increase will stabilize and become lower in the long term.

We can live a happy life with only oil and electricity, but if we think as a community, the need for natural gas is higher.” 

Jacques Des Groseilliers, a Management Consultant who has worked for large companies such as Hydro Quebec, Rio Tinto, Domtar and Radio Canada

Natural Gas Consequences at a Glance

“If you look at the issue with an environmentalist point of view, it is evident that the cleanest way of making energy is to make electricity. We don’t really know if the production of natural gas is clean enough, but we will know that in a few years. Those who produce it say it is safe. Remember that in US, they said that with the oil catastrophe.”

Jacques Des Groseilliers, a Management Consultant who has worked for large companies such as Hydro Quebec, Rio Tinto, Domtar and Radio Canada

It is always a good idea to learn from other people’s mistakes – something that will make or break the shale gas project. Philadelphia has been a very good model to look at considering their experiences with it. Within these observations and events, we learn that shale gas and natural gas in general isn’t the safest energy source.

An Explosive Danger

On Wednesday Feb. 9, a natural gas plant in Philadelphia was responsible for five deaths after it exploded.

“The fiery blast was latest natural-gas disaster to raise questions about the safety of the U.S.'s aging, 2.5-million-mile network of gas and liquid pipelines.” 

MSNBC

"Everything falling and crashing, glass, just a nightmare. There was no odor, there was no smell. Then it was like all hell broke loose." 

Dorothy Yanett

From explosions to flammable water, shale gas is consistently leaving a mark on society. From the enrichment that it brings comes environmental risks that directly affect those around it.

Water Contamination that can be Flammable

“Quebec should go slow and wait until these problems are solved before choosing a messy and dirty process that contaminates the air and water.” 

Robert Howarth, Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Cornell University.

In 2008, Andrew Burger from Triple Pundit reported that 4.5 million gallons of water is used in order to pump out the gas in each constructed well. The contaminated water was then trucked to disposal areas where the water would disappear. Documented reports of contaminated well water are growing in the Fort Worth area where this drill was taking place.

Shale gas to blame for flammable water.

The Times Tribune reported in June that groundwater pollution isn’t quick or easy to alleviate.

“Everyone assumed in 1992” that the oil from the spill was “going to disappear. Yet it is still there. That is the problem with groundwater pollution. It doesn’t go away fast.” 

Michel Boufadel, an engineering professor at Temple University

The contaminants in the water that is brought to the water treatment facility would sink below a measureable point in the aquifer and not be measured – this is the same phenomena with groundwater monitoring wells. This means that contaminants go unnoticed because they aren’t accessible due to its chemical properties.

The Answer Lies in the Mist


With the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on shale gas to be released no sooner than 2012, experts advise a slowdown in exploration and exploitation of shale gas.

“A growing chorus of scientists is arguing that not enough is known about the effect widespread gas drilling will have on water supplies, air quality and human health to justify the intensive development of the resource already taking place.” 

The Times Tribune

“Quebec should go slow and wait until these problems are solved before choosing, what is now, a messy and dirty process that contaminates the air and the water.” 

Robert Howarth, Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Cornell University.

With the lack of decisiveness and the seriousness of the consequences, a wrong move could lead to disaster. However, if we knew that shale gas would have no effect on the quality of life, then it would serve as a major economic boom.

“We don’t know the consequences because nor does the gas industry or government tell us enough information. Exploiting natural gas is too new for us, there aren’t many reliable studies. We should stop developing the exploitation until we have information. But if we can exploit shale gas safely for the environment and population, we should go in that business because we will diminish the need of foreign oil and if we have surplus, we can sell it to Canada and United States.” 

Jacques Des Groseilliers, a Management Consultant who has worked for large companies such as Hydro Quebec, Rio Tinto, Domtar and Radio Canada

The CRTC Betrays the Canadians it’s Suppose to Protect

Like browsing the internet? If the CRTC had their way, you would be paying more for it. As if Canadians don’t already have enough expenses and raising prices and not to mention that 80% price gap with the United States… Don’t we all just love it when the rich play a monopoly on the powerless?


The Liberal Party of Canada, being in attack-mode against the Conservatives, were the first on their website to denounce the ruling that would favor big internet corporations such as Bell and Rogers in their quest to make us pay big bucks for their signals. The regulation would allow them to scrap unlimited internet deals and reduce the bandwidth allowance that they give for the same price.
Therefore, if you had Bell’s Internet Essentials Plus package for $33 per month,  (Including the added fees – modem rental, taxes) which includes free wireless home networking, 2 to 7 MB upload and download speed and 20GB of free upload and download before a $2/GB charge incurred every month, would now see a package for the same price, with the same speed, but would only have 5GB per month before the rate occurs. Realistically, no one who needs the internet regularly can have a usage cap at 5GB and not go over. Every web page, every document on the web, every video costs Bandwidth. This would imply that if Bell wasn’t considerate to give the extra 40GB per month to existing customers who have an average usage above 5GB per month, people would pay up to $30 extra per month to have the same internet usage as before.
After the Liberals screamed that they would stand up for Canadians to rescue them from their protection, Harper, in fear of giving the Liberals more ammunition to use in an election campaign decided to over-turn the ruling which would send the CRTC back to the drawing board.

“Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper ordered a review of the CRTC ruling on Tuesday, a day after the opposition Liberals said they would raise the issue in Parliament. The left-leaning New Democratic Party also complained.”
Reuters

Americans don’t have this problem. Their providers are very generous with their clients. For $30 in the US, a customer would receive infinite usage with a ranked speed increase per price increase. The cost for this kind of deal in Canada at one point, required close to double the cost.

“A typical Internet package with Bell costs C$32 ($31.70) a month for 25 gigabytes. If a user exceeds that amount they are charged C$2 for each additional gigabyte.
“By comparison, Verizon's landline Internet plans in the United States are all unlimited, and priced between $30 and $55 based on download speed.”
Reuters

For users who are already with Bell or any other affected provider who already has a cap system in place, just be sure to fight to keep the same plan for the years to come and the bulk of this ruling won’t really affect you. However, when our ISP watchdog decides to take sides with the big guys, there is plenty of room created to be concerned.

PUCAPAB: The Liberals Have a Sense of Humor as a Spring Election seems Imminent

Over the course of the next few weeks as Canada approaches the vote on the budget that is expected to be defeated, the Liberals and Conservatives will be bashing each others heads into the wall. While the Conservatives go all out with Republican style ads, the Liberals mock Harper and create a Facebook page to fuel their Quebec wing of their campaign.

A Francophone ad that mocks Stephen Harper’s record

There is no doubt that the Liberals want an election, and after 5 years, we aren’t so well off, we must admit that they’re right on that. With corporate tax cuts on the up coming budget, Liberals use it as an opportunity to attack Harper on his lack of family support and use it to discredit the NDP who have long made their campaigns and priorities focused around families. If the NDP pass the budget because they aren’t ready for an election, they lose all credibility – based on recent polls, Jack Layton will not fair well in an election, and quite frankly, those who want to get rid of Harper will have to choose to scrap either the Liberals or NDP, and based on the numbers, it may be easier for them to leave the NDP behind.

The Liberals actually have a strategy this time!

But the NDP aren’t going to give up, they feel they still have relevance, and so they beg for help that would ultimately allow Stephen Harper to split the middle even more with his 33% minority of the country behind him.

In the end of the day, the Bloc Quebecois may be the deciding factor and with several bribes for money for Quebec on the table, if the Conservatives want to bail – as they usually do – the Bloc Quebecois may be open for business. Let us hope that the Bloc Quebecois remember that they represent the interests of Quebec and Quebec doesn’t favor Corporate tax cuts… just saying.

If there is an election campaign this spring, it may very well be an interesting one to follow.

They’ll go Negative

It did not take too long for the Conservative Party of Canada to come out with more attacks, attacks which take Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff out of context and force an unfair manipulation tactic.

“Among other things, the ads were slammed as dishonest, unethical, "a clumsy hatchet job," and the work of "drunken frat boys."
City TV

Finally, Canadians stood up and said these ads were disgusting, and within 24 hours, the Harper Conservatives had to take them off the air. However, seeing as how the truth would hurt their momentum in the polls, the Tories claimed the ads as a 24 hour deal and for no longer than 24 hours.

“A party official said the ads were always intended to be "a one-day web posting" and there were never any plans to pay to air them on television.”
City TV

While one party official tried to save face, another tried to make face claiming that the clearly ‘photoshop-ed’ ads were accurate and gave a clear picture to Canadians.

“On the other hand, Greenberg said the Tories may have felt the ads accomplished their mission of mobilizing the Conservative base and drawing attention to Ignatieff's overheated oratory.”
City TV

Luckily, these ads were preserved on YouTube by other outraged people who are fed up of political mind games - since the Conservatives will only let you see what they want you to see. It remains a shame that there is no political party in the Canadian political scene that surely deserves the vote -  but if one thing is for sure, a party who bases its business on intimidation and unruly gestures does not represent the character of Canadians – at least, I would hope.
The Conservatives wanted you to see the following videos in hopes that it would help them sell their boogey-man picture of Michael Ignatieff. Funny enough, it is usually the person that makes us fear change and opposition that is to be feared the most.

The notion of an election gets attacked first.

Conservatives become defensive over corporate tax cut.

Speaking of the Conservative corporate tax cut, you can read more about it here. Now that the Conservatives’ desperate plea has been shown, let us see what Michael Ignatieff really said.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff came under fire for trying to boost moral and spirit in his party at a party rally, here is what he actually said.

Stephen Harper and his Conservatives attacked Paul Martin’s Liberals for the same type of attack ads back in 2006.

Conservatives promise a positive future.

The Conservatives promised a fresh way of politics, but instead, they have copied the tactics used in the past that they claimed were wrong, and stole a page from the American Republican attack guide. Can we trust a party that goes back on their word?