For months I been saying privately what Mike De Souza writes about in today's Edmonton Sun.
What I have been saying is that there is not going to be an election because one in five Members of Parliament need to stay put until July of next year to qualify for their pensions. The amount of money at stake is not huge but it is hugeish, to wit, if the 74 affected members [36 Conservatives, 16 Bloc Quebecois MPs, 14 Liberals and eight New Democrats] stay put for another ten months or so they will qualify for a 25,000 dollar annual pension. If they don't and they go down, no pension.
New Democrat Nathan Cullen, who finds himself in the category of members with less than six years of experience, suggested the issue of pensions might be a concern for some of the older politicians. He added, however, that he doubts it is a major factor that could determine whether they try to force or prevent an election.
Interestingly Jack Layton is one of the MPs that needs to build time to get his pension. I would posit that his seat is a safe one but he has seven fellow Dips who also need to build time and at least one, Dennis Bevington from the Western Arctic, is looking at a tough fight to hold his seat and if he loses, no pension. This has to be weighing on his and many other MPs minds.
It all factors in.
WFDS
Showing posts with label Mike De Souza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike De Souza. Show all posts
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
349...We Love To Talk In Canada
Talk.
And talk.
And talk some more.
In my town, Ottawa, we have been talking about moving the Central Canada Exhibition, The Ex, since the middle of World War Two. Still at Lansdowne Park. We have been talking about building rapid transit, a subway, something something, in this town since, minimum, the 1974 mayoralty eleciton. Still no rapid transit.
Parliament Hill is in my town and on the Hill they have been talking about buliding a superfast supertrain from Quebec City to Windsor as long as I can remember and I can remember back into the 1960's.
Here we go again.
Mike De Souza of Canwest News Services writes this morning that Joe Volpe, the Liberal Party transportation critic, says that now is the time for such a train and that it would aid in nation building. Even though they are separatists, the BQ follows the Canadian way and to that end the Bloc Quebecois transportation critic, Mario Laframboise dit "no way", unless of course, the nation you are talking about is Quebec and then what do we need a train for anyhow?
Oy f'ing vey.
Do something already.
WFDS
And talk.
And talk some more.
In my town, Ottawa, we have been talking about moving the Central Canada Exhibition, The Ex, since the middle of World War Two. Still at Lansdowne Park. We have been talking about building rapid transit, a subway, something something, in this town since, minimum, the 1974 mayoralty eleciton. Still no rapid transit.
Parliament Hill is in my town and on the Hill they have been talking about buliding a superfast supertrain from Quebec City to Windsor as long as I can remember and I can remember back into the 1960's.
Here we go again.
Mike De Souza of Canwest News Services writes this morning that Joe Volpe, the Liberal Party transportation critic, says that now is the time for such a train and that it would aid in nation building. Even though they are separatists, the BQ follows the Canadian way and to that end the Bloc Quebecois transportation critic, Mario Laframboise dit "no way", unless of course, the nation you are talking about is Quebec and then what do we need a train for anyhow?
Oy f'ing vey.
Do something already.
WFDS
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