Political News

This is 2008 and we have generally, what we had in the 39th Parliament of 2006. The Conservatives will use this minority to refresh, restart and reboot their agenda.

For better or worse, if Canada won’t vote we better get used to this deadlock. The 40th Parliament is going to be highly charged with vim and vigour, bickering and partisan games. Federal-Provincial relationships will suffer and cities will find their agenda off the table amid the chaos. It is quite striking some of the regional differences that emerged – Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario (minus the City of Toronto) and Saskatchewan.

So now what? It is not as grim as it seems. There is an opportunity for our / your issues to see the light of day. But it won’t happen on its own. We will have to work together to ensure message delivery and action in this what is expected to be a relatively short 40th Parliament.

Let’s Talk Politics			October 21, 2008 Volume 3, Issue 1
Building and Construction Trades Department , Canadian Office, AFL-CIO (613) 236-0653 Government and Regulatory Affairs
Send us your feedback csmillie@buildingtrades.ca In this issue Election wrap up and a formalized summary attached Upcoming Articles Government Compass – a mini guide to where the Government of Canada is heading	CONS 143 LIBS 76 BLOC 50 NDP 37 Election wrap up
	Where did all the voters go?
	The voters have spoken (or at least 59.1% of them) and Canada is back in the same place we were six weeks ago. None of the party leaders achieved any of their objectives – Harper didn’t get his majority, Dion will not be making our economy greener and Layton did not become Prime Minister. The shining star (sort of) of the race was Gilles Duceppe, successfully convincing Quebecers he was their best choice. He only lost 1 seat. Party leaders’ objectives aside, the real losers were people that did not participate in the process. Our democracy is weaker when people don’t participate. Not since 1898 was turnout so low – a referendum held when Sir Wilfred Laurier was Prime Minister regarding PROHIBITION.	This is 2008 and we have generally, what we had in the 39th Parliament of 2006. The Conservatives will use this minority to refresh, restart and reboot their agenda. For better or worse, if Canada won’t vote we better get used to this deadlock. The 40th Parliament is going to be highly charged with vim and vigour, bickering and partisan games. Federal-Provincial relationships will suffer and cities will find their agenda off the table amid the chaos. It is quite striking some of the regional differences that emerged – Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario (minus the City of Toronto) and Saskatchewan. So now what? It is not as grim as it seems. There is an opportunity for our / your issues to see the light of day. But it won’t happen on its own. We will have to work together to ensure message delivery and action in this what is expected to be a relatively short 40th Parliament.	*Pundit Predictions* •The 40th Parliament will last approximately 18 months •All party leaders (including and especially PM Harper) will be under pressure from the inside •We will see a defacto majority rule from the Conservatives •Senate reform will be a defining issue in the coming months as PM Harper tries to concentrate power he didn’t get in the HOC • The construction industry stands to benefit from infrastructure pledges during the campaign

Let’s Talk Politics

Where did all the voters go?