Didn't Heddy Fry make that comment, like, ten years ago? Is this really what we want the rest of the province to think of us? That we're so close-minded that we can't accept the woman's apologies? I have decided to suck it up and move on. No one here is going to vote for her, but damn, let's stop sounding so shrill.

Also, Rafe? You live in Vancouver, hundreds of miles away. It's definitely time for YOU to move on.

She rose in the Commons and stated that she was sorry that her burning crosses comment was in error. That was it.

She did not specifically issue an apology, nor did she explain why she had claimed to have a letter from the Mayor of Prince George confirming that there had been a cross burning problem here.

The Mayor challenged her to produce the letter, but she failed to do so. So the Mayor decided to move on and "suck it up."

No one here cares anymore, except that she gave yet another example what some politicians are really all about.

Fortunately she will never run in one of our ridings here so we won't be tempted to put an X beside her name.

Rafe should forget about her "strange" utterings too; why bring it up anymore?

Rafe brings it up because he doesnt have much to talk about. Stephen Dion??? Green Party??? Kyoto???

Why would Canadians worry about Kyoto when 60% of the gas we burn each year is for recreational purposes. (Just one example)

Why would you vote for a Party that may never get into power and therefore never be able to do any of the things you would want it to do. Would you not be better off to support a party that was closer to your philosophy and then try to put pressure on them to do some of the things that require doing.?

The participants in the Liberal Leadership campaign are a sorry lot indeed, no matter who they elect they will end up with a nobody.

He had me on the first two paragraphs and then it was all down hill from there. I think politicians that purport to support the advance of democracy and human rights win elections, its just a matter of perspective as to who is genuine and who relies on spin for this purpose. The genuine are far and few between and spin is everywhere. Kyoto is spin, so is the Green Party (ie opposition to BCSTV electoral reform while calling for electoral reform), and so is Hedy Fry the worst form of spin.

Count me as one who will not just forget what Hedy Fry said and did not apologize for. Had she not said it under the protection of Parliament she would have been charged with liable. I resent that she is honoured with a ceramic mural at CNC as an ambassador against racism when she is guilty of its worst forms.

I like Ken Dryden for the Liberal leadership because he can stop pucks.

If we can get the Conservative to smarten up and start to do some of the things that need doing, then we should give them a chance. We might never again get a chance to have a Prime Minister from Western Canada, and Elected representatives in a majority Government from Western Canada. This may be a once in a lifetime chance (Since Diefenbaker) to wrest some control from the East.

Who knows????

The Liberals want to enact rules that eliminate our ability to change them. How can we support anyone who wants to make sure we can never change things that no longer work?

Look at the Senate. In it's current form, it's a joke. These positions need to be elected, not appointed.

Finally, we have a Prime Minister who is going to deal with this ineffective albatross from the dinasaur ages. And who is trying to protect the Senate as it is? The Liberals. Not much more to say.

We need to remove people who won't change laws or the way they think if they are no longer reflecting the wishes of the majority. Chester

Palopu said: "then try to put pressure on them to do some of the things that require doing"

The operative word is "try" because that is about the best that one can do and the result will be no change 99% of the time. To get "inside" a party, especially one in power, is very difficult for the average individual to do.
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Chester: "The Liberals want to enact rules that eliminate our ability to change them."

That is impossible to enforce, even if they ever succeeded in such a move.
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Chester: "Look at the Senate. In it's current form, it's a joke. These positions need to be elected, not appointed."

It is the powers and formation of the Senate which need to be changed. How Senators get to their positions really does not matter in my opinion. The Senate is the weaker of the two chambers and not of much consequence other than a chamber of second opinion as is the House of Lords in the UK.

Maybe we can simply get rid of the Senate altoghether. While we are at it, we could just knock down the Parliament Buildings and build something a bit more modern and cost effective. I mean, how long can people continue to work properly out of an archaic structure like that?

Look at Brasil. Maybe we should move the Capital City a few more hours away from the US Border to someplace like Churchill in Manitoba. It would open up the country a bit.
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Palopu: "This may be a once in a lifetime chance (Since Diefenbaker) to wrest some control from the East."

Control rests with people power and economic power. The West may have gained some economic power over the last 3 or 4 decades, but "people power" is still far behind. The four traditional "western" provinces have half the population of Ontario and Quebec. In fact, they have only about 80% of the population of Ontario. It gets worse from a population point of view if Manitoba is included with "central" Canada.

Since people power in Canada also generates a considerable amount of economic power through the the manufacturing and service sectors, the populations differential will continue to hamper the West's interest in "controlling" the Country.

I came from the East a long time ago and I still do not grasp this compulsive need to be in "control". Get over it, go about your business, and enjoy the province and the lifestyle we have compared to that of Ontario.

Owl. I mean control in the sense that we can have Cabinet Ministers, and elected MPs from Western Canada. The more presence we have in Cabinet, and more elected representatives in a majority Government, then the more control, or power we have.

If you look at Western Canadian political history over the years you will see that we usually elect members to the opposition rather than to the elected Government.

For years we elected Social Credit candidates under Real Couette, and we eleced Reform, and Alliance representative under Preston Manning, and of course we elected Conservatives when the Liberals won the majority.

My point is that this may be one time that we will get a chance to elect members to represent us in a Majority Government, with a Western Prime Minister and a fair mix of representatives across the country including Quebec.

If we do then the power and control is spread more evenly across the country. Who knows it might happen. A lot will depend on how the Conservatives act in the next year or so, and on who the Liberals elect as a leader.