Not a whole lot going on around here this weekend. Had a few people over tonight and it was nice. We tried something new in the kitchen and it worked out well.
I have a job interview tomorrow, i hope it goes well. I am in need of a job. This particular job that I have applied for looks like it could be a good fit, but i'm still a bit nervous. Even more so because it's a bilingual interview and I haven't been speaking much French lately. I just hope it goes well even if I don't get the job.
I've only really had one bad interview and it was a while ago and not for a position I really wanted. So hopefully that can continue.
Actually for some odd reason the person who phoned me, gave me the names of the three people who will be interviewing me. I did what most people my age probably would think to do with that info, I googled them. I could only find two out of three but it was pretty interesting. I got a photo of one of them to turn up.
May 07, 2006
May 03, 2006
Budget
Well this is my first political post in a while.
Essentially I want to talk about the fiscal imbalance. I think it's a bit ridiculous for the provinces to complain about money. They are the ones that created this problem by cutting taxes so much in the 1990s. Yes federal coffers are bulging, however this was the plan, they decided to balance the books, and have done a really good job managing the federal treasury. Yes they did this in part by screwing the provinces.
However the real problem with Canadian federal provincial squabbling is about jurisdiction. The federal government has a lot of money, the issues that Canadians care about are mostly in provincial jurisdiction. Thats the cruz of the problem.
Harper has a solution, and I must say I like it better that Martin's plan (if he even had one). Essentially Harper is going to cut taxes at the federal level, reducing the pot of money the provinces complain about, and he is also going to reduce federal intrusion into the provincial jurisdiction. Essentially he is making the provinces more responsible. A lot of people complain about decentralization, but there is already a large degree of it in health care and education. The federal government has not been able to get any concessions out of the provinces in return for holding the purse strings anyways.
I think it will actually make for better federal provincial relations, especially if the provinces start working together (like Alberta and BC seem to be doing) on issues of mutual concern. The one thing it will also do is force provinces to be more accountable, they won't be able to bitch that Ottawa isn't helping them enough as much( though i know they'll still complain). I'm really curious to see what the full effect will be if he follows through in the way I think he will
Will it transform federal politics?, damn straight it will. Will it be bad for Canada? Well allI have to say about that is that, nothing Harper will do can be any worse than the ridiculous lack of focused policy of Paul Martin's Liberals.
I have to say that I believe that Paul Martin was the worst Prime Minister since I've been alive. (I admit freely however that there haven't been many PMs..)
Essentially I want to talk about the fiscal imbalance. I think it's a bit ridiculous for the provinces to complain about money. They are the ones that created this problem by cutting taxes so much in the 1990s. Yes federal coffers are bulging, however this was the plan, they decided to balance the books, and have done a really good job managing the federal treasury. Yes they did this in part by screwing the provinces.
However the real problem with Canadian federal provincial squabbling is about jurisdiction. The federal government has a lot of money, the issues that Canadians care about are mostly in provincial jurisdiction. Thats the cruz of the problem.
Harper has a solution, and I must say I like it better that Martin's plan (if he even had one). Essentially Harper is going to cut taxes at the federal level, reducing the pot of money the provinces complain about, and he is also going to reduce federal intrusion into the provincial jurisdiction. Essentially he is making the provinces more responsible. A lot of people complain about decentralization, but there is already a large degree of it in health care and education. The federal government has not been able to get any concessions out of the provinces in return for holding the purse strings anyways.
I think it will actually make for better federal provincial relations, especially if the provinces start working together (like Alberta and BC seem to be doing) on issues of mutual concern. The one thing it will also do is force provinces to be more accountable, they won't be able to bitch that Ottawa isn't helping them enough as much( though i know they'll still complain). I'm really curious to see what the full effect will be if he follows through in the way I think he will
Will it transform federal politics?, damn straight it will. Will it be bad for Canada? Well allI have to say about that is that, nothing Harper will do can be any worse than the ridiculous lack of focused policy of Paul Martin's Liberals.
I have to say that I believe that Paul Martin was the worst Prime Minister since I've been alive. (I admit freely however that there haven't been many PMs..)
May 02, 2006
Wedding Weekend and a trip to Niagara Falls
I had never been to Niagara Falls before last weekend. The end of the weekend consisted of an early morning trip to Niagara, because we were so close and a few of us had never been there before.
I have to say I was a lot less impressed than I thought I would be. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was also neat to see how close it was to the U.S border. Ultimately though i'd classify it as one of those things you have to do once in your life.
The wedding itself was a really really nice event. Perfect setting for the reception. It looks like i'll be in some of the wedding pics, they had a professional photographer and everything so i'm looking forward to seeing those.
All in all a really good weekend.
It's nice to be able to relax now though. I have nothing going on until the 18th when I head back to Regina, so it's a nice feeling. Things are also looking up on the job front, I found a few jobs to apply for so hopefully (crossed fingers) something will turn up soon
I have to say I was a lot less impressed than I thought I would be. I enjoyed it, and I thought it was also neat to see how close it was to the U.S border. Ultimately though i'd classify it as one of those things you have to do once in your life.
The wedding itself was a really really nice event. Perfect setting for the reception. It looks like i'll be in some of the wedding pics, they had a professional photographer and everything so i'm looking forward to seeing those.
All in all a really good weekend.
It's nice to be able to relax now though. I have nothing going on until the 18th when I head back to Regina, so it's a nice feeling. Things are also looking up on the job front, I found a few jobs to apply for so hopefully (crossed fingers) something will turn up soon
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