Softwood Deal

Could someone please fill me in on the US-Canada softwood deal? I just read something in the paper and it sounds like the deal could be dead. Boy, that didn’t take long. In any event, was it a good deal for Canada? I’ve mostly heard positive things about it.

While we’re at it, let’s spare a minute and take stock of Harper’s accomplishments to date. 1. upset a lot of Canadians and fellow caucus members with his questionable cabinet appointments and seemingly double-standard when dealing with floor-crossers. 2. doesn’t talk to the media 3. struck a softwood lumber deal which now appears to be dead 4. introduced another debate/challenge to the “traditional definition of marriage” 5. dismissed Canada’s involvement in Kyoto 6. pushed forward with their ridiculous child care program*

So in others words, Harper and his government have done almost nothing. If you can think of something positive that they have brought forward, let me know.

* once again, here’s how stupid their plan is. They give cash to families with kids. They say it’s for childcare. Any family worth its salt will have already put childcare money into their budget since it is a mandatory expense. Extra money given to families will therefore be allocated to discretionary spending. This budgeting/spending pattern will almost certainly exist, whether or not the family purposely sets up a budget. The end result is that the money will not be spent on child care, but on more discretionary things such as cell phones, cable tv, beer, etc. Cash is cash, calling it “child care money” doesn’t change what it is. The government could have given the money to families with kids, called it “gas relief money”, and families would be screaming for child care programs when in fact the reality between this scenario and the current Conservative plan is exactly the same.