I have been indisposed lately so I could not write about the things that were happening in the last few months. So here are some thoughts.
The mid-term elections went pretty much how people thought they would. The Democrats won big and now we get to see what they are going to do with their newfound influence. My guess is not much. The Democrats will try to introduce some legislation and it might even get through the House but if it is too radical it will not survive the filibuster in the Senate and it will certainly not survive the presidential veto. So do not expect any great changes in the US. As well, I would bet money that the Epstein files will not be released. They probably implicate people from all parts of the US political system so the Democrats will slow walk that file. The only thing I do see happening is Congress will use its investigative powers, which should make for some dramatic hearings but will result in no real harm to administration officials. In short, not much will change.
I really do have to wonder how the Republicans allowed this to happen. The Blue wave was apparent over a year ago and the Republicans did nothing to put any distance between them and Donald Trump in order to attempt to temper that wave. It was either a massive political miscalculation by the Republicans or they were so afraid of Donald Trump that they were paralyzed. Either way it is not a good look for them.
Surprising no one the Alberta referendum on separation was soundly defeated. Why Danielle Smith went through that whole exercise still confuses me.
The Parti Quebecois won the Quebec election. They promised a separation referendum even though the appetite for separation is at an all time low in Quebec. Really the only cohort of Quebec voters that wants to separate, as a matter of principle, is the old separatists that voted for it in 1976 and 1995. Unfortunately for the PQ that cohort is dying off quickly and is not being replaced. So of course, we are going to have to endure the new Premier of Quebec taking every occasion to whine about the rest of Canada stepping on Quebecer's rights and interest as he attempt to manufacture the " winning conditions". We will see if it actually works.
David Eby pulled a David Peterson. I knew when he called the election that he would lose. He made the mistake many politicians make where they believe the unpopularity of their political opponents means they are popular. He was not and he paid the price. By the way, many on the federal Conservative side fell into the same trap. They actually believed that the apparent unpopularity of Justin Trudeau meant that they and Pierre Poilievre were popular. They learned the hard way that they were not.
So we are going to have to see if the discipline of power takes hold of the BC Conservative Party or if they collapse into infighting as different factions of the party try to take advantage of their newly won power to implement their pet policies, some of which are opposed by their own members. If it is the former the BC Conservatives could govern for eight years. If it is latter then their government could collapse in a matter of months. Stay tuned.
I think we can safely say that the enduring popularity of Mark Carney and his government is not just an extension of his political honeymoon. It is rare but sometimes the leader of the government turns out to be the exact right person for the times we are living in and it would appear this is one of those times. He is doing a good job and Canadians are realizing it. Whether his efforts bears fruit for the country is still an unknown but for now Canadians still have faith that his efforts will do some good for them and country.
All of the kerfuffle about Bill C-39 is just another example of how low politics can go. When I saw all of the hate for the bill I decided to read it. (Yes, I am a political geek.) What I found was a bill that contains amendments to already existing bills and these amendments are really just rewording or adding texts to specific sections of those existing bills without impacting the overall objective of the bill. The opponents of Bill C-39 would have you believe these amendments will lead to all sorts of negative outcomes but really if all you do is change a few lines in bill that runs to dozens of pages the overall impacts will be limited.
