You don't know Jack

...so I will try to tell you who he was.

An amazing man who believed in Canada, he fought for the greater good and a better society.

I respected him as a politician and a decent human being.

Leader of the Opposition in our Federal Government, our social conscience, he was always an optimist. Watch the first 2 minutes of this video - his life in a nutshell:



Just a couple months ago, he took a leave from politics for cancer treatment:



Jack Layton passed away this morning at age 61 from this new cancer.

Two days before he passed away he wrote a letter to all Canadians and ended it with this:

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

He had a great sense of humor:







He was voted the politician that Canadians would most want to sit down and have a beer with.



His life truly was a life well lived.

Inside Job

WARNING: Political rant

Just finished watching this on Netflix. (Yes I know I am behind the times!)



Honestly, if the story has any bit of truth to it - I fear for America....and I fear for us in Canada too....because what affects the USA will eventually affect us.

So far Canada has been only affected in a small way by the events in the last few years .

Because our banking system is different - we didn't run into the same problems as  south of the border.



Why were the same people that caused the problem allowed to step into a position of responsibility again? Why wasn't anyone prosecuted for the criminal activity that rose from their greed?

Make no mistake, there are corrupt activities by officials going on in Canada - we are not exempt.

As an average citizen, we vote and do due diligence to the best of our ability to make the right choices and put those people in power that we perceive to be honest and that we believe will make the best decisions for our country.....but what do we do when the actual truth is covered up and we are lied to?
The tax payers of the USA paid dearly for the criminal acts of Wall street and no one is going after them or even keeping them in check.

Sadly, history is bound to repeat itself because it seems that a lesson wasn't learned.

The Vote Compass



Conservative-Liberal-
NewDemocrat-BlocQ

 For you Canadians out there:

Where do you stand?   Take the quiz.  It may help you decide which party's policies are in line with yours if you haven't already decided which way you will vote. (if you are from elsewhere, you can see in what direction you might vote!!)

Some who have taken the quiz are quite surprised with where they sit on the political compass.  Not what they would expect.

For the Americans out there:

This is our fourth federal election in seven years.   There was a non-confidence vote March 26th,  forcing another election.   Most Canadians didn't want it.  But there it is.

The election date? May 2, 2011.

A little over a month of campaigning and it's all over with, which may baffle Americans who are used to drawn out election campaigns......but that's the politics here.  Don't drag it out. Just keep repeating it over and over again.


As for William and Kate's wedding:  Our prime minister has had to decline the invitation because he will be too busy with campaigning.

The Hockey Stick Effect

the old school emblem of the
Vancouver Canucks

Hockey. (and here you thought this post was about graphs!)

It's a sport dear to most Canadians' hearts.

So much so, that during the Olympics hockey game USA vs CANADA - an Air Canada flight was delayed by passengers ignoring final boarding calls and refusing to board because of the heart pounding, nail biting overtime finish of The Game - USA vs CANADA -  they were watching on the Airport TV screens.  (Canada won!)


Recently, once again, something else even bigger challenged  Hockey - and lost.

Politics.

There were two Federal  Political Debates scheduled - one in English, the other in French.  Apparently, the Français debate was initially scheduled for the same evening as the Montreal/Boston hockey game - going into the FINALS.

An informal poll taken by The Globe and Mail indicates that 62% of the responders felt that the date should be changed.

The organizers of the debate and the politicians recognized the conflict as problematic and realized where Canadians' obsessions lie...... and they switched the date.

Both the NDP and the Bloc Quebec leaders admitted Canadians would choose to watch hockey over the Federal election debate.


Hockey is truly a force to be reckoned with. 

Everyone and everything else revolves around this National Sport.

Truly. 

In Canada, the world stops for Hockey.

My American husband is getting into the Hockey frenzy, and he now realizes that the Hockey Puck given to him by my friend Jan's husband one Christmas past - is NOT *just* a coaster.......



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Do You Vote?

Canada has a Federal election on May 2nd, which, incidentally and ironically, happens to fall on the last day that we can, as Canadians, submit our Income Tax.

It seems, according to statistics, that students don't vote.

I thought back to when I was a student....and it's true. I didn't think of voting. I knew what was going on...but I didn't do anything about it. I was too busy with the other things going on in my life.

And, after all - what difference could it make -  to me?

Rick Mercer is the Canadian equivalent of Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart - delivering political satire to Canadians. He has a popular TV show: The Rick Mercer Report.


A challenge was sent out:




Watch this: "Voting 101" for Students, by Rick Mercer - on his show:






And amazingly enough, Students responded:



The movement - "Vote Mob" at the universities across the country started in Guelph. You can find quite a few different videos made by the students at different University across the country.

The message is all the same: It doesn't matter how you vote...just get out and VOTE.

It's your right.