Voting Conservative in Canada

I have to run, so I don’t have time to comment on this in depth but make sure you read this piece on the recent voting in Canada’s House of Commons:

The second, vote 631, was of tremendous direct importance to the entire country. The vote was to assert the government’s belief that scientific research is fundamental to sound public policy-making. Now, it’s not terribly surprising to me that this motion was defeated, since it was being used as a pretext to renew funding for a fresh water research laboratory in Northern Ontario which Harper, for some reason, seems hell-bent-for-leather on killing. But what really stood out to me on this one was how it broke down on partisan lines. When asked to stand-up for the principle that public policy should be informed by real world data, every single Tory MP said no.

Every. Single. One.

This is something that everyone should really bear in mind the next time a federal election rolls around.

If anybody can comment on this in any way, please do. I’ve let my understanding of Canadian politics slip for a while, so this complete and utter pig-headedness seems very confusing to me.

This is the text of the bill in question:

That, in the opinion of the House: (a) public science, basic research and the free and open exchange of scientific information are essential to evidence-based policy-making; (b) federal government scientists must be enabled to discuss openly their findings with their colleagues and the public; and (c) the federal government should maintain support for its basic scientific capacity across Canada, including immediately extending funding, until a new operator is found, to the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area Research Facility to pursue its unique research program.

How can anybody with a brain – even a stupid little one – be against this? I mean, every single Tory? Why? They must have some reason. Does anybody know?

33 thoughts on “Voting Conservative in Canada

  1. “But what really stood out to me on this one was how it broke down on partisan lines. When asked to stand-up for the principle that public policy should be informed by real world data, every single Tory MP said no.

    Every. Single. One.”

    Whoever wrote this is blisteringly ignorant of Canadian politics. Canadian parliament is a Westminster system; almost every vote (except a small minority of what are called “free votes”) in the Canada parliament falls along partisan lines. It is an exceedingly rare occurrence for someone to break party lines on any vote other that is not a free vote.

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  2. “Whoever wrote this is blisteringly ignorant of Canadian politics. Canadian parliament is a Westminster system; almost every vote (except a small minority of what are called “free votes”) in the Canada parliament falls along partisan lines. It is an exceedingly rare occurrence for someone to break party lines on any vote other that is not a free vote.”

    So…your defense is that Tory MPs couldn’t have opposed this because they’re all such cowards as to be unwilling to stand-up to their leader in support of what’s clearly best for the country.

    I don’t think this defense is very good…

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    1. “So…your defense is that Tory MPs couldn’t have opposed this because they’re all such cowards as to be unwilling to stand-up to their leader in support of what’s clearly best for the country.”

      They’re not coward, they work for their personal interests.

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      1. @thevenerablecorvex

        Your post is very interesting. Even though I support the women’s right to have sex-segregated spaces, I’m against transgender discrimination.

        In this article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/transgendered-rights-bill-headed-for-defeat-in-tory-held-senate/article1902266/

        Some idiot said: “Bill C-389 is a danger to our children, If ‘gender identity’ is enshrined in the Criminal Code of Canada, any male at any time will be permitted in girls’ bathrooms, showers and change rooms as long as they have an ‘innate feeling’ of being female.”

        I do agree with some of his affirmation, of course, BUT this is not a justification to support ALL transgender discrimination. And as I pointed this week, it’s possible to have no transgender discrimination AND enforce sex-segregated spaces.

        Did Jacques Demers and Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu have voted against this bill?

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        1. All of these shared showers and change rooms are a barbarity that needs to go as soon as possible. Let’s stop pretending like the civilization will end without them. One reason why I stopped going to a fitness center that I actually liked (which is a miracle already) was because I felt extremely uncomfortable with all the naked people. I like my privacy and I really hate it when this forced form of intimacy is thrust upon me.

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      2. A summary of my position on the “twanzphobia issue”.

        1) Women have the right to have sex-segregated spaces, like women sports, women schools, women bathrooms, women fitness centres, women prisons, women locker rooms, women changing rooms, women sororities, YWCAs and non-women should not invade these spaces.

        2) But I support wholeheartly the idea that we don’t need sex-segregated places, but women don’t seem to agree with me in general. I hope that someday, humans would have enough respect for themselves to not have those sex-segregated spaces anymore. But we’re not there now, unfortunately.

        Oh, and I agree that shared showers and shared changed rooms are a barbarity. This is horrendous.

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  3. Speaking as a conservative intellectual, Harper is probably looking at the blatant liberal bias in academia and fears the perversion of science for liberal political purposes. (Global Warming, anyone?)

    Secondly, we can no longer trust the product of the universities. Where we used to get trained critical thinkers, we are getting papered morons being taught by other papered morons today. They tend to be biggotted and intolerant progressives – and we have suffered at their hands long enough already.

    Thirdly – at best this would just be pork for eastern d-bags and would come at the cost of the productive western provinces. It would likely divide the nation even more than it is now. Virtually the entire nation hates quebec with a passion, and 2/3rds of the nation hates Ontario as well. They are viewed with the same contempt that America views New York, Washington DC and Massehussets.

    Hey – don’t get mad at me chickie….you asked.

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      1. In these past two days, I’m getting very disappointed with Canadians. I don’t remember this vicious anti-intellectual trend in Canada when I was still living there. Is this a contagious wind from across the border?

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    1. “blatant liberal bias in academia”

      What are you talking about?

      “fears the perversion of science for liberal political purposes. (Global Warming, anyone?)”

      This is not perversion of science, this is not science, this is liberal politics. The problem is not science, nor scientifics, it’s politicians. And con-serv-haters like you need the support of creationist religious faggots who are against science because science is against the creationist myth.

      “Secondly, we can no longer trust the product of the universities.”

      First, why do you say that? Second, I fear WAY MORE anti-intelligence ideologist retards who are very common in con-serv-hater circles than university academia.

      “Where we used to get trained critical thinkers, we are getting papered morons being taught by other papered morons today.”

      Critical thinkers are silenced by con-serv-haters who hate them frantically. They are very common in the universities today, but con-serv-haters don’t like them because they’re not in their ideologist mob gang.

      “They tend to be biggotted and intolerant progressives – and we have suffered at their hands long enough already.”

      Please name those bigoted progressives. And, yes, I have no problem when liberals are intolerant against religious faggotry and woman-hating sexist propaganda.

      “at best this would just be pork for eastern d-bags and would come at the cost of the productive western provinces.”

      So, why don’t you kick the Québec’s ass and let them separate?

      “It would likely divide the nation even more than it is now.”

      That’s exacty what Québec separatists want. That’s a good thing!

      “Virtually the entire nation hates quebec with a passion”

      This is almost the only intelligent thing you said. You just confirmed what I know for long.

      Die of a generalized cancer as fast as possible, dickie! Our world doesn’t need fucktards parroting the right-capitalo-statist elite like you.

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  4. I know nothing of Canadian politics, but couldn’t they support parts 1 and 2 of the statement but vote against it because they didn’t support part 3?

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