A survey by Allan Gregg of Harris-Decima and Carleton University’s Professor André Turcotte concludes that while a majority of Canadians identify with the “centre” position on the political ideology scale, this centre is increasingly embracing “traditionally conservative values.”
The poll says a plurality – or 47 per cent – of those respondents who consider themselves political “centrists” voted for the Conservatives in 2008. By comparison, back in 1997, 41 per cent of those self-identified as centrists voted Liberal.
“What is most surprising about these results is how mainstream conservative the political centre has become,” Mr. Turcotte said.
The survey found a majority of Canadians strongly agreed with traditionally conservative value statements on the morality of abortion, the definition of marriage as “between a man and a woman” and the supremacy of the family.
And:
Separately, the polling identified significant support for Tory government’s handling of issues like the long-gun registry and global warming.
The poll says six in 10 respondents back the Harper government’s decision to abolish the long-gun registry. It found half of respondents back the Tory go-slow approach to fighting climate change. And six in 10 said the Conservative government is doing “just enough” to deal with the economic recession.
Mr. Turcotte said Canadians also appear to be losing confidence in government ability’s to use social engineering to fix economic inequality in Canada.
Only 31 per cent of respondents felt government action is the best way to solve economic problems.
You can read a nice comparison of the US and Canadian economies from the libertarian Cato Institute.
I know I have a fair number of Canadian readers, especially the regular ones from Winkler, Morden, Coquitlam and Calgary (yes, I saw you all in the live traffic feed – why don’t you e-mail me ever? I’m not going bite you!). Please leave me a comment about where the best place to live is in Canada, in case I ever have to move there at some point to find a job.
The Conservative government sketched out on Thursday its initial plans to return to budget balance, by targeting cuts in the public service, a freeze on foreign aid, limited growth in military spending and higher EI premiums.
The spending restraint, outlined in its 2010 budget, would net $17.6-billion in savings over five years and bring the deficit down from a high of $53.8-billion this fiscal year, ending March 31, to a low of $1.8-billion by 2015.
Before the cuts kick in, however, the Conservative government said it was committed to spend $19-billion as part of year two of the two-year $47-billion stimulus package aimed at resuscitating the economy after the global financial crisis.
The 451-page budget sets out how the Conservatives plan to meet all its goals — of creating jobs and bolstering Canada’s long-term competitiveness, while at the same time returning to surplus without tax increases, nor cuts to transfers to provinces and individuals. The government also said it would go through with cuts to corporate income taxes, from 19% to 15% by 2012, despite calls from opposition politicians to cancel them and use the money to help seniors and the poor.
“We are building Canada’s reputation as an investment-friendly country,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in his budget speech. “A country committed to free and open trade, unburdened by massive debts and [the] higher taxes of our competitors.”
[…]Even though Canada’s economy is recovering at a rather robust clip of late — 5% growth was recorded in the final quarter of 2009 — Mr. Flaherty said following through with more stimuli is the right thing to do as the global recovery is in its nascent stages.
Measures linked with the stimulus plan will expire as of March next year, and with it comes a plan to return to budget balance.
It’s like their entire country is being run by grown-ups! Why can’t we have that here?
The Ministry [of Education] put out its new Health and Physical Education curriculum for grades 1 to 8 in January, and a spokesperson has confirmed to LifeSiteNews (LSN) that the new curriculum will be mandatory for all schools, Catholic and public, in September 2010. The high school curriculum will be released this spring, and will be mandatory as of September 2011. At this point, it is unclear, however, whether Catholic schools are to be forced into teaching elements that violate Catholic teaching.
The new curriculum, replacing a previous version from 1998, aligns with the Ministry’s campaign to promote “equity and inclusive education” in Ontario’s schools, which includes the advancement of homosexualism and transgenderism. A notable aspect of the curriculum’s revision is the attempt to instil a sense that homosexuality and transgenderism are perfectly normal.
[…]Students begin to explore “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in grade 3, as part of an expectation to appreciate “invisible differences” in others. A desired response has the eight-year-old student recognizing that “some [families] have two mothers or two fathers.”
In grade 5, a student is expected to recognize that “things I cannot control include … personal characteristics such as … my gender identity [and] sexual orientation.”
Grade 7s are expected to be taught about “using condoms consistently if and when a person becomes sexually active.”
One of main reasons why I want to get married is so that I can raise children to have a relationship with God and to make a difference in the world for him. I have had that view since I started working in my teens, often working multiple jobs at the same time – and I mean white collar jobs in the private and public sectors, right through undergraduate university. And all this so that I could buy my wife and children everything that would help them to serve God as much as they wanted to, e.g. – if my wife wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and to homeschool, no problem.
Now suppose a law like that is passed here in the United States and applies to public and private schools. How would I then look on the viability of marriage and child-raising then? My children, (all children, really), would be taught anti-Christian views of sex for a good deal of their academic life before going to college where drunken hook-up sex abounds. And this indoctrination would be at my expense, since public school teachers are paid out of taxes I have to pay. And early sexual activity would predispose my children away from Christian faith.
Do you think that news stories like this affect my plans to marry? They certainly do. I think liberal voters need to get serious about asking themselves exactly what makes men interested in marriage and parenting in the first place. Speaking for myself, I want to raise children who share my values and worldview and who serve God effectively when I am gone. When government forces its anti-Christian views on impressionable young children, that’s a disincentive for responsible men to marry.
By the way, Jennifer Roback Morse recently had a scary post about even worse laws governing schools in Quebec.
Excerpt:
The news from Quebec is not encouraging for those who love liberty. In their new Quebec Policy Against Homophobia: Moving Together toward social equality, Provincial government of Quebec just gave itself permission to take all necessary steps to wipe out, not just “homophobia,” but also “heterosexism.”
In response to a case filed with the Human Rights Tribunal in 1999 by gay couple Murray and Peter Corren, the BC government decided last year to introduce new curricula from Kindergarten to Grade 12 that would be “inclusive” and homosexual-friendly. The pro-gay courses may become mandatory with provisions for barring parents from opting out or opting for an alternative course (see http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06060101.html).
Today, the BC Ministry of Education released the draft overview for the new Grade 12 Social Justice pilot course, which is the first course to come out of the agreement with Murray and Peter Corren.
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WINTERY KNIGHT 