Canadian Election -- The platforms

Here are some of the promises made to date by the main parties during the course of the campaign for the January 23rd federal election compiled by The Canadian Press:
Taxes
Liberals

• No corporate tax cuts.
• $17.5 billion in tax cuts for lower-income Canadians, small-and medium sized businesses.

Conservatives

• Cut GST to 5%.
• Double non-taxable pension income.
• $250 million in credits for new day-care centres.
• Scrap capital gains tax on fishing assets.
• Raise small-business tax threshold to $400,000.
• $1,200 annual child care allowance.
• Up to $500 tax break for child's sports fees.

New Democrats

• $20.1 billion over five years on tax breaks for low-income earners.
• $1,000 increase in child tax credit over four years.
• Raise gas transfer tax to cities to five cents a litre.
• $16 billion over four years for child care and child tax benefits.

Green Party

• Cut income taxes.
• raise lifetime capital gains tax exemption to $750,000.

Social

Liberals

• $11 billion to provinces over ll years for daycare.
• Ban handguns.
• $325 million for RCMP anti-gang squad, community safety.
• Eliminate $975 immigrant landing fee.
• Two months of EI benefits for unpaid caregivers who leave work to care for a sick relative.
• Lower interest costs on reverse mortgages.
• Eliminate power to override Charter of Rights.

Conservatives

• Free Commons vote on same-sex marriage.
• Independent prosecutor for federal crimes.
• National seniors council.
• Halve $975 immigrant landing fee, further reduce it to $100 within mandate.
• Shut down federal gun registry.
• Raise the age of sexual consent to 16.
• Allow 14 year olds to be tried in adult court for serious crime or repeat offenders.

New Democrats

• Federal appointments on merit.
• $1 billion home-care plan.
• 40,000 long-term care spaces over four years.
• $1.8 billion for day care in first year.
• Worker charter of rights.
• Push settlement aboriginal land claims, residential schools abuse.
• Try youths as young as 16 charged with firearms offences as adults.

Green Party

• Let corporations pool pension funds.

Environment

Liberals

• $1 billion over 10 years to clean up the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
• Weather study centre for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Conservatives

• Bring in clean air act.
• Require average 5% renewable fuel content by 2010.

New Democrats

• $11.2 billion on environment over five years.
• Cut greenhouse gases 25% by 2050.
• Bring in clean air act.

Green Party

• End federal seal hunt support.
• Halt oil, gas subsidies.
• Add environmental rights to Charter of Rights.
• Ban the use of cosmetic pesticides.

Health

Liberals

• Wait-times guarantee.
• Hire 1,000 more family doctors.
• Mobility fund to transport patients on long wait lists for treatment elsewhere in Canada.
• National cancer strategy.
• New mental-health commission.

Conservatives

• Wait-times guarantee.
• No private, parallel system.
• National cancer strategy.
• Speed up accreditation of foreign doctors.

New Democrats

• No public money for private care.
• Billion-dollar-a-year prescription drug plan.

Green Party

• End private health care.
• Press for a national cancer strategy.

Education

Liberals

• Pay half of first and last year's tuition for college and university students to a maximum of $3,000 each year.

Conservatives

• up to $500 tax deduction for trades tools.
• $1,000 trades apprenticeship incentive grant.
• Apprenticeship job creation tax credit.
• Up to $500 tax deduction for text books.
• Tax exemption on first $10,000 scholarship, bursary income.

New Democrats

• $4 billion for post-secondary education.

Green Party -- none.

Economy

Liberals

• Overhaul farm support system.

Conservatives

• $2 billion in new funding for municipalities.
• Voluntary farmer participation in Canadian Wheat Board.
• New farm income stabilization program.
• Add $500 million a year in farm support.

New Democrats

• $1 billion extra this year on farm-income stabilization.
• Aid auto industry.
• $250 million to fix border crossings.
• $600 million over four years on arts.

Green Party -- none.

Defence

Liberals -- none.

Conservatives

• $1.8 billion more for defence by 2010.
• New 650-member airborne battalion.
• Double the size of the DART.
• Buy at least three heavy-lift planes.
• Three new armed naval heavy icebreakers.
• Deep-water port neat Iqaluit.
• Arctic national sensor system to monitor subs, ships.
• Recruit 500 more Canadian Rangers.
• New Arctic army training centre near Cambridge Bay.
• Set up new separate foreign spy agency.

New Democrats -- none.

Green Party -- none.

There's still ten days left before the election. I'm sure there are still more promises going to be made before such time. Don't forget to vote. It's nice to have that right. There are many countries in the world with no elections at all. Make up your own decsion who to vote for. Good luck.

CANADA WINS GOLD

Canada successfully defended its world junior gold medal, capping a stunning run at the 2006 tournament last night with a 5-0 win over Russia before a packed GM Place.
"We came out and played our game," goaltender Justin Pogge told TSN.
"We're in Canada, the gold stays here in Canada."
Pogge, a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect who plays for the Calgary Hitmen, was brilliant in stopping 35 shots -- his busiest night of the championship -- and set a tournament record with his third shutout.
This Canadian team was supposed to be up against a big challenge to win gold for the second year in a row but instead will join past Canadian clubs in a group that dominated like few others.
With 12 players eligible to return for the 2007 tournament in Sweden, Canada was seen by many as being a tad young to earn gold. Yet it did just that, allowing only six goals to set a record for fewest against in the tournament.
Canada, which posted a 6-0 record, has won back-to-back gold medals for the first time since winning five in a row from 1993-97.
But teens such as Pogge, who made nearly all of his stops look easy, Marc Staal and Ryan Parent, the defence pair who relished every assignment of shutting down the top opposition forwards, and forwards Downie and Dustin Boyd, who checked and scored when it was needed, are Canada's new hockey heroes.
With Steve Downie scoring the first goal. Blake Comeau got his own rebound, after a nice feed from defenceman Cam Barker, to make it 2-0 at the end of the first. Then some shenanigans happened in the second period. On what looked like a save from Justin Pogge, further review showed the Russians did sneak one past Pogge. But, unfortunately for the Rusians, play continued and because of the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) rules the goal did not count. Which will give the Russians something to complain about. Even if that goal did count I don't think it would of changed Team Canada's game plan. Instead we'd all be celebrating a glorious 5-1 Canada win.
Russian forward, Evgeni Malkin, who inexplicably was voted tournament MVP by the media, was a shadow last night. Staal, Parent, Downie and Boyd had their way with him, rendering him fairly useless. Pogge made a nice glove save on Malkin early on and after that the talented Russian did not get a sniff.
Malkin had said if Russia played to its ability, it would "easily" beat Canada. But the Russians never got the chance.
Head coach Brent Sutter, who could get an NHL coaching job if he wanted it, said he is not looking ahead to next season yet. But Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson reiterated after the game Sutter will be offered the job of coaching Canada's juniors for an unprecedented third consecutive season.
Sutter, 12-0, is the only coach to win consecutive gold medals.
Canada worked harder and was more willing to pay the physical price around the Russian net than the Russians were in defending it, and Pogge was better than Russian goalie Anton Khudobin, who showed poor technique on Canada's first two goals.
It was the first time since 1995 in Red Deer that Canada won gold on home soil after losing one-goal heartbreakers to Russia in the finals in Winnipeg in 1999 and Halifax in 2003.
When the players stood on the blue-line with their arms around each other to sing the national anthem, they had more than 18,000 people in GM Place to sing it with them. Then the celebration began.
Attendance at games in Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops, B.C., shattered the previous record of 242,173 in Halifax in 2003. Actual attendance was listed at 325,138 although total ticket sales were said to be over 400,000.
Spectators at both Pacific Coliseum and GM Place in Vancouver were loud as expected throughout the tournament.
In addition to cheering for Canada, they adopted whichever country played the United States, particularly when they cheered for Russia in the semifinal between the two countries.
But the chanting of a few spectators became boorish with "U.S. sucks" in the semifinal and "over-rated" chants in the bronze-medal game.
The 2007 tournament will be held in Leksand and Mora, Sweden.
The good news for the Canadian team will be that there are 12 players eligible to return. The bad news is that some of them will be playing in the NHL and unavailable to represent their country again at the international under-20 level.

Happy Birthday Tiger

Tiger Woods turns 30 today. He's arguably the best golfer to ever play the sport and he's only thirty. He holds many records, too many to name. I'm definately a fan of his, but I wasn't always. When he first started he was winning so much it wasn't fun to watch because he would be so far ahead of everyone before the final round. So it was more of a race to see who finished second.
However, he's looked more human in the last 5 years. Struggling at times; while Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickleson have been giving him a run for his money. Of course it's not about the money, he has a shit load. I guess he just bought a $40 million dollar home, nice. Anyways check out Tiger Woods official website. Or if you're not a fan of Tiger Woods, but a fan of golf check out the PGA website.
Good luck to all golfers out there. Good or bad it doesn't matter. As long as you have fun, that's all that counts.
P.S. keep your eye on the ball, no peaking.

Merry Christmas!

I would just like to wish everyone in Canada, and around the world, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Tis the season of holiday cheer and good times. For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas; Happy Holidays and goodwill toward man and woman. From the Clawmonkey family, to all of yours, have a joyous Noel and all the best in 2006. Peace on earth. NOW LET'S GET PISSED!! WOOHOO

Good News

Alberta will follow the lead of the other Prairie provinces by limiting access to a group of cold remedies used to make crystal meth.
Effective immediately, pharmacists must restrict the sale of products made primarily with pseudoephedrine by moving them behind the counter.
The restriction does not apply to many popular cold remedies that have additional ingredients besides pseudophedrine.
"That means a pharmicist will have to agree to the sale of that product," said Alberta Health Minister Iris Evans. "Let's remove that drug from people who just come in and scoop it up for illicit purposes."
Alberta's move follows announcements in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. B.C. and Ontario are considering similar restrictions. I'm sure Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. , New foundland and Labrador, will follow along.
Alberta's Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko said the decision will have a major impact on the production of the highly addictive drug by choking off the supply of key ingredients used by illegal drug labs. "This is a significant move towards preventing young kids and adults in becoming addicted to crystal meth," said Cenaiko.
As for the 3 territiories, (Nunavut Territory, Northwest Territory and Yukon Territory) I wonder if they will follow this. I don't know if they're having a meth problem like the rest of the country. It might be too damn cold. But the idea makes common sense.

Hear ye, hear ye!

I'm pleased to announce the beginning of The Kingdom of Clawmonkey. The Kingdom is located in the beautiful Spoot region. Reserved for only the best nations, good or bad. We don't discriminate. To learn more about the Kingdom of Clawmonkey and the Spoot region. You can click the Kingdom of Clawmonkey link or start your own at www.nationstates.net.

We live in Canada

So much for San Diego. My last post included how warm it was in Calgary and all the high temperature records we we're making. Well, so much for that.
Currently we're under an intense arctic air front. Which is making things extremely cold, with highs around -15 degrees Celcius and lows around -22 degrees. With the windchill it makes it about -20 degrees as a high and -30 to -35 degrees. Too damn cold. Not to mention it's been lightly snowing for the last few days too. yikes!
Unfortunately this weather is here to stay for at least another week before we see any improvement. In the form of a chinook.... shitty. Oh well it comes with the territory. What ever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. right! It just means we get to drink more baileys in our coffee and more hot tautties. I love Canada. yeah