rumbleph1$h Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Torontonians look at corruption and shrug By PAUL STANWAY TORONTO -- Welcome to the land of the "Belinda Bounce" and the GTA. This may not yet be the belly of the beast, but it has surely become the navel of the nation. The days are long gone since a visiting Albertan could rail against the political absurdity of all Ontarians. Or even all residents of southern Ontario. The source of our frustrations can now be distilled, refined, to a much tighter geographical area - the GTA. The initials bring to mind a supercharged gas-guzzler from one's youth. Ah, if only. They actually refer to something called the Greater Toronto Area, the tail that wags the Canadian dog. It has been Belinda Stronach Week here in the GTA, with the defecting Tory MP for Newmarket-Aurora being all the news all of the time. The car-parts heiress has managed to fire the previously undisturbed political interest of GTA residents. Adscam revelations and the Gomery inquiry have quietly drifted to the back of the Toronto papers. No one cares. Fuelled by half a dozen giant lattes a day, the average resident of the Canadian navel has the attention span of a gnat, and that really doesn't lend itself to thoughtful political analysis. But Belinda's defection and a crushed Peter MacKay planting potatoes with his dad? Now that's the sort of dramatic non-confidence vote folks here can understand. You would, however, be mistaken if you assumed this translated into political capital for MacKay's Tory party. Far from it. An opinion poll conducted by EKOS Research for the Toronto Star discovered something called the "Belinda Bounce." The number of Canadians who now believe the Grits will win the next election jumped an incredible 11 percentage points (to 58%), and in the GTA the response was off the dial. I doubt any of those respondents could explain why they believe that, but this is how shallow and illogical Canadian politics has become. The Star poll found that fully 45% of Ontarians are now willing to overlook the federal Grits' record and support the party. It gets worse. Among women and university graduates, and across all age groups, the Liberals are the preferred party among GTA residents. And if you imagined that some corner of Bay Street still clung to its traditional support for the Conservatives, forget it. The Liberals are the preferred party for Torontonians making more than $100,000 a year. About the only bad news for the Grits in Toronto is that former city councillor Jack Layton is accounted the most trustworthy and statesmanlike national leader. No, seriously. Thirty percent named him their main man, compared to 30% for Paul Martin and 26% for Stephen Harper. EKOS president Frank Graves says that, considering the latest poll numbers, he can't understand why Harper and the Tories want a election. How about the need to punish a seriously corrupted governing party that's hanging on to power at all costs? Nah, says Graves. "It would just be deja vu all over again (another Liberal minority)," assumes the pollster. "And who wants that?" Apparently folks here like the way Ottawa has been functioning (if that's the right word). "When people look about and see what sorts of alliances make sense, by far the most plausible, acceptable alliance is NDP and Liberal, particularly in Ontario," says Graves. It's enough to make an Albertan take a one-way stroll into Lake Ontario - but not quite everyone here is nuts. While Alberta Conservative MLA Tony Abbott apologized for suggesting Belinda was "whoring herself" to the federal Liberals, Ontario provincial Tory Bob Runciman manfully refused to withdraw his description of her as a "dipstick." "Like a lot of people, I was hurt by her decision (to join the Martin government)," he said. Well, that's the problem, Bob. Those people are a tad thin on the ground in the navel of Canada. The majority clearly take the Belinda approach: If the price is right, they can overlook corruption and spendthrift incompetence and embrace the Martin Liberals. Better the status quo and the devil you know than a leader and party with a clean record but roots in the West? Enough of this navel-gazing. I'm going home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axon Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 Care to cite a source? Sounds like the National Post to me. Canadians aren't overlooking the 'sponsorhsip' scadal at all. They are just smart enough to not be swayed by media rhetoric. The sponsorship scandal was not Martin's organization. It was Chreitan, besides, most Ontarians are scared of Harper, as they should be, the guy's a nutbar. I'd hardly take anything from this article. Its nothing but an attack, with very little real reporting. -Ax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted May 24, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 24, 2005 Care to cite a source?Sounds like the National Post to me. Canadians aren't overlooking the 'sponsorhsip' scadal at all. They are just smart enough to not be swayed by media rhetoric. The sponsorship scandal was not Martin's organization. It was Chreitan, besides, most Ontarians are scared of Harper, as they should be, the guy's a nutbar. I'd hardly take anything from this article. Its nothing but an attack, with very little real reporting. -Ax 585963752[/snapback] The National Post would be aimed at a higher grade level. It is from the Edmonton Sun, part of the Canoe.ca network that includes the Toronto Sun. The paper probably has a half-naked page three girl (I know the Toronto Sun does). It is a typical example of western alienation, though. In Toronto, we are just pragmatists on issues like this. Quebec has been receiving bribes for political support since confederation. Calling Newmarket/Aurora part of the GTA is also a bit of a stretch for convenience. It is about an hour north of Toronto on the 404 and there is plenty of undeveloped space in between (I guess it depends where the boundries are drawn). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSoul Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 hahah toronto sun, the NY post of canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreAming in DigITal Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 hahah toronto sun, the NY post of canada 585964976[/snapback] NY post is more like a tabloid :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Derf Veteran Posted May 24, 2005 Veteran Share Posted May 24, 2005 NY post is more like a tabloid :rofl: 585965310[/snapback] Hence the comparison to the Toronto Sun (and by proxy, the Edmonton Sun, which I haven't read but I gather it is similar since it is published by the same people). The Toronto Sun is written for an audience with a grade 4 education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreAming in DigITal Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 /\ haha yea I understood the comparison...I was just throwing in my 2 cents worth :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axon Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Luckily the Vancouver Sun is owned by Canwest. Actually everything in BC is either owned by Canwest or Jimmy Pattison :p. I'm surprised someone from Toronto is aware of western alienation :laugh: -Ax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neowin_hipster Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 Toronto blows. You know what it feels like having a few cooks from the east in power? It feels like it does having the US tell us what to do. You guys may act like the states and pretend there's no problem... but there is. I see it everyday from port security to our massive beaurocracy and regulations. We're a highly regulated society and guess where the policies and stuff come from? Ottawa and the east is like the moscow of canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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