Canadian Politics Quotes

Quotations are selected from this pool (and other quotation pools) in a pseudorandom way every hour and inserted at the top and bottom of some of the major pages on this website. Feel free to copy any of these quotes and paste them for whatever purpose you please, including on your own website, blog, social media page or forum debate posts.

A Preposterous Lie

We are looking for a more timely and predictable processes for issuing permits for projects, but we are not lowering the standards of any of environmental protection requirements.
~ Dan Albas (1976-12-01 age:41) Conservative Member of Parliament
This is a preposterous lie. If it were true, there would be least one environmentalist is Canada supporting it.

Disenfranchising Natives

No proposition could be more decisively or clearly consistently established than this, that the Indians (not being enfranchised) had no rights to the land, other than occupation at the will of the Crown.
~ Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie (1819-05-09 1894-06-11 age:75) Chief Justice of British Columbia, aka the hanging judge.
To my city, Victoria’s shame, we have a street named after this racist bastard, as does Vancouver, New Westminster, Nanaimo and Kelowna.

Conditions for Business

Enbridge has many important questions to answer if it wants to do business in the province.
~ Christy Clark (1965-10-29 age:52) on 2012-07-11, Premier of BC

Old Cow = Canada

Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Québec milk it. And you can well imagine what it’s doing in the Maritimes.
~ Tommy Douglas (1904-10-20 1986-02-24 age:81)

Joe Oliver, Asshole Extraordinaire

The [Canadian] federal minister of natural resources, Joe Oliver, has attacked environmental and other radical groups working to stop tar sands exports. He has focused particular ire on groups getting money from outside Canada, implying that they’re acting as a fifth column for left-wing foreign interests. At a time of widespread federal budget cuts, the Conservatives have given Canada’s tax agency extra resources to audit registered charities. It’s widely assumed that environmental groups opposing the tar sands are a main target.
~ Thomas Homer-Dixon (1956 age:61) in The Tar Sands Disaster

Petro-State

There is a less obvious but no less important reason many Canadians want the [tar sands] industry stopped: it is relentlessly twisting our society into something we don’t like. Canada is beginning to exhibit the economic and political characteristics of a petro-state.

Countries with huge reserves of valuable natural resources often suffer from economic imbalances and boom-bust cycles. They also tend to have low-innovation economies because lucrative resource extraction makes them fat and happy, at least when resource prices are high.
~ Thomas Homer-Dixon (1956 age:61) in The Tar Sands Disaster

Politician Climate Deniers

Both the [Canadian] cabinet and the Conservative parliamentary caucus are heavily populated by politicians who deny mainstream climate science. The Conservatives have slashed financing for climate science, closed facilities that do research on climate change, told federal government climate scientists not to speak publicly about their work without approval and tried, unsuccessfully, to portray the tar sands industry as environmentally benign.
~ Thomas Homer-Dixon (1956 age:61) in The Tar Sands Disaster

Tar Sands and Democracy

But more alarming [than the economic deterioration caused by reliance on tar sands] is the way the tar sands industry is undermining Canadian democracy. By suggesting that anyone who questions the industry is unpatriotic, tar sands interest groups have made the industry the third rail of Canadian politics.
~ Thomas Homer-Dixon (1956 age:61) in The Tar Sands Disaster

Canada Money
How well do you know Canada?
Statistics about Canada
Statistics about Canada

% statistic % statistic

0 percent improvement in child poverty since 1989. 56 percent drop in foreign aid since 1975.

0 percent increase in middle class income, inflation-adjusted income since 1980. 76 percentage of print and TV media in Vancouver BC owned by one company.

0.75 percent of Canadians who donated to any political party in 2006. 80 percent of Canadians who have never belonged to any political party.

2.4 percent of direct foreign investment that created new jobs, 97.6% was for takeover of existing companies which diverted the profits to offshore tax havens. 100 percent increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) since 1989.

21 percent of jobs that are paid too low to provide food, shelter and heat. 8-12% is typical in Europe. 400 percent increase in share of the economic pie by taken by investors at the expense of workers since 1992.

55 percent foreign takeovers financed by Canadian banks.
~ Mel Hurtig (1932-06-24 2016-08-03 age:84), stats from The Truth about Canada: Some Important, Some Astonishing and Some Truly Appalling Things All Canadians Should Know About Our Country

Statistics about Canada
Statistics about Canada
0	percent improvement in child poverty since 1989.	56	percent drop in foreign aid since 1975.
0	percent increase in middle class income, inflation-adjusted income since 1980.	76	percentage of print and TV media in Vancouver BC owned by one company.
0.75	percent of Canadians who donated to any political party in 2006.	80	percent of Canadians who have never belonged to any political party.
2.4	percent of direct foreign investment that created new jobs, 97.6% was for takeover of existing companies which diverted the profits to offshore tax havens.	100	percent increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) since 1989.
21	percent of jobs that are paid too low to provide food, shelter and heat. 8-12% is typical in Europe.	400	percent increase in share of the economic pie by taken by investors at the expense of workers since 1992.
55	percent foreign takeovers financed by Canadian banks.

Canada’s Ranking
How well do you know Canada? You might imagine it is an overtaxed, innovative, prosperous, generous, socialised, well-educated country. Here is how it rates relative to other countries.
Canada’s international ranking
Canada’s International Ranking

rank criterion rank criterion

17 foreign aid as a percentage of GNP (Gross National Product). Half of what it was in 1980. 27 corporate taxes.

20 per capita investment in new equipment. 30 patents.

21 per capita taxation. 40 income equality.

22 elimination of poverty. 54 U.N. peacekeeping.

22 per capita financial aid to the unemployed. 54 doctors per capita.

25 per capita social services spending. 57 per capita spending on education.

25 research and development investment.
~ Mel Hurtig (1932-06-24 2016-08-03 age:84), stats from The Truth about Canada: Some Important, Some Astonishing and Some Truly Appalling Things All Canadians Should Know About Our Country

Canada’s international ranking
Canada’s International Ranking
17	foreign aid as a percentage of GNP (Gross National Product). Half of what it was in 1980.	27	corporate taxes.
20	per capita investment in new equipment.	30	patents.
21	per capita taxation.	40	income equality.
22	elimination of poverty.	54	U.N. peacekeeping.
22	per capita financial aid to the unemployed.	54	doctors per capita.
25	per capita social services spending.	57	per capita spending on education.
25	research and development investment.

Blessing Assassination

We need to make sure that assassinations don’t do more harm than good.
~ Michael Ignatieff (1947-05-12 age:70), Leader of the Liberal party in Canada.
If you become as evil as your enemy, he has already won.

Goodies for Serial Killers

We will pay all your post secondary education if you served your country.
~ Michael Ignatieff (1947-05-12 age:70) 2011-04-09 leader of the Liberal party of Canada.
This is sick! These soldiers are war criminals who aided and abetted an illegal aggressive (first strike) war. They did not serve Canada, they served their own base instincts. Legally they should face life imprisonment or hanging, not rewards! Canada was in no danger.

Justifying Evil

To defeat evil, we may have to traffic in evils; indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, targeted assassinations, even pre-emptive war.
~ Michael Ignatieff (1947-05-12 age:70), Leader of the Liberal party in Canada.
Somebody send a Star Wars DVD (Digital Video Disc) set to Michael. He needs to understand the dangers of dabbling in the dark side of the Force. If you become as evil as your enemy, he has already won. Michael has forgotten just what he is protecting with his evil — a tradition of justice, fair play and the rule of law.

Political Theatre

Nothing is personal in politics because politics is theatre. It is part of the job to pretend to have emotions that you do not actually feel.
~ Michael Ignatieff (1947-05-12 age:70), Leader of the Liberal party in Canada.

Sewage is Hot

Sewage and solid waste are the bread and butter issues across Canada.
~ Raymond Louie (1965-01-16 age:53) Deputy Mayor of Vancouver, BC Canada
Nummy!

Canada Characterised

Canada: a thuggish petrostate.
~ George Monbiot (1963-01-27 age:55)

PM’s Powers

The powers of the Prime Minister [of Canada], are greater than any other national leader in the industrialized nations.
~ Jeffrey Simpson (1949-02-17 age:69) in The Friendly Dictatorship

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Statistics about Canada
%	statistic	%	statistic
0	percent improvement in child poverty since 1989.	56	percent drop in foreign aid since 1975.
0	percent increase in middle class income, inflation-adjusted income since 1980.	76	percentage of print and TV media in Vancouver BC owned by one company.
0.75	percent of Canadians who donated to any political party in 2006.	80	percent of Canadians who have never belonged to any political party.
2.4	percent of direct foreign investment that created new jobs, 97.6% was for takeover of existing companies which diverted the profits to offshore tax havens.	100	percent increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) since 1989.
21	percent of jobs that are paid too low to provide food, shelter and heat. 8-12% is typical in Europe.	400	percent increase in share of the economic pie by taken by investors at the expense of workers since 1992.
55	percent foreign takeovers financed by Canadian banks.

Canada’s International Ranking
rank	criterion	rank	criterion
17	foreign aid as a percentage of GNP (Gross National Product). Half of what it was in 1980.	27	corporate taxes.
20	per capita investment in new equipment.	30	patents.
21	per capita taxation.	40	income equality.
22	elimination of poverty.	54	U.N. peacekeeping.
22	per capita financial aid to the unemployed.	54	doctors per capita.
25	per capita social services spending.	57	per capita spending on education.
25	research and development investment.