The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Political Answers Questions arise in politics, and the answers all depend on who is doing the talking. Take the so-called housing crisis, not much of a factor in Canada because of our wise regulations, which more or less prevent those who can't afford a mortgage from getting one, and also require those who make a small down payment to get insurance to cover a foreclosure. This makes it very difficult for someone to just walk away from a mortgage and stick the lender with the loss. This is not the case in the U.S., which is continuing to suffer a housing crisis that has spread beyond those with bad credit and subprime mortgages to those with supposedly safe fixed rate mortgages. Millions of Americans who got these unconventional mortgages, without even proving they had a job, are due to have them reset by 2011. They are in danger of losing their homes, joining the four million who are in foreclosure or have been missing payments. This means a huge drop in housing prices in most parts of the U.S. Ð as much as 50 per cent in some cities. Adding to the anguish is that these homeowners are unable to sell their homes for enough money to pay off the banks. This gives those with jobs and money an opportunity to buy a home much cheaper. Many Canadians are purchasing houses and property in the southern U.S., especially the snowbirds. Aren't you happy to be a Canadian? The issue of mistreatment of prisoners in Afghan prisons has been simmering for some time. But it broke out in the Commons when a Canadian diplomat said he warned bureaucrats and the military about the mistreatment several times only to see nothing done. He also claimed that Canadian soldiers and the government knew about beatings and torture and did nothing. The opposition parties leaped on the issue and demanded an independent inquiry, which the government quickly denied. Defence Minister Peter MacKay referred to the diplomat in disparaging terms, pointing out that Richard Colvin had not seen one act of torture but was merely going on second and third hand information. It should be noted that it was the Chrtien government that got Canada into the war, and it was the Martin government that signed the agreement to hand over the prisoners, deciding they would be much better off than being sent to Gitmo or somewhere else. The prisoners were not poor peasants and farmers, but in most cases Taliban warriors. Military leaders like General Hillier, who was in charge at the time, have denied any knowledge of protests from Colvin or others. Probably there was mistreatment in Afghan prisons, as there are many horror stories from similar Third World countries and their prison system. Interestingly, in 2007, Canada rewrote the prisoner agreement and insisted on following up on the prisoners to see they were not being tortured. The Harper government is firmly behind the military, and this has not emerged as a big issue with the public. Ontario's economy took a huge hit in the recession. Now faced with a deficit of nearly $25 billion, the province is frantically looking at either increasing taxes or trimming the budgets of the big-spending departments of Health and Education. Don't look to Premier Dalton McGuinty to raise taxes, a sure loser in the next election. In education, it would mean a war with the teachers. That leaves health care, where spending has been growing at a yearly rate of well over six per cent. What McGuinty he do? Best guess is very little, as any of his options may be unacceptable to the public. His adoption of the HST integrated tax is not going to save any money and is bound to be unpopular. Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger saw adoption of the HST as a threat and has put the issue off. It has been said that when things go bad in politics, they get worse. This has happened to Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who is now hovering around Stephanie Dion numbers in polls, and with good reason. The EI issue, the attempted forcing of an election, and huge problems in Quebec continue to trouble him. Political experts see the situation deteriorating even further unless the party redefines itself, develops believable policies, and really rebuilds. Many think the present leader is not the person for the job, including a lot of Liberals. Roger's Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
