30 06 2004
So of course the big Canadian news this week is obvious…
…”Double-double” has officially been added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. However, the more I read about it, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary is more like a Canadian Encyclopedia… with entries for politicians like Paul Martin and braying animals like Northern Dancer and Izzy Asper.
In other news, the Liberals won a minority government. And I owe John a beer. Dammit. Actually, it’s a really weird setup: With 308 seats up for grabs, anyone needs 155 to form a majority. However, the Liberals + NDP = 154, and the Conservitives + Bloc + the 1 former-PC-now-Independant = 154. That’s probably the biggest reason that Martin is claiming that there will be no ‘coallition’ between parties… he doesn’t want to rule anyone out. But if he votes with the Bloc, I’m staging a Coup.
In more other news, the Green party now qualifies for federal funding. By getting at least 2% of the National vote, they’ve earned $1.75 for every vote cast in their favour. With around 565,000 votes, they will receive just over $1 million in funding. Maybe they’ll be able to pay me to do a documentary during the next federal election… which might not be too far off with the 308 seats split right down the middle.
Another interesting story is the Manitoba MP who will need Parliament rules changed to accomodate his disability. Being a quadripoligic doesn’t excuse the extreme right wing views that he’s got, but I have a perverse entertainment out of how he came to sit in a wheelchair. It just seems like one of the Top 5 Most Canadian ways to become crippled… When he was 23, he was driving home one night from his job as a Mining Engineer in Northern Manitoba when a moose went through his windshield.
Now, that last paragraph may indeed have been in bad taste. However, you have to agree that there are few ways more Canadian than his story to lose your arms and legs.
And one final note before I take off for Canada Day… “We’re gonna see lions. Way down in Kenya”
