The Canadian English Debate

I watched the Canadian English debate yesterday. There wasn't a lot of substance to the whole debate and Harper held his own. However, I find him quite patronizing and a bully. He did not have many new ideas, but rather stayed on course with the economy and what he had done in the past. Ignatieff, unlike a TrudeauJust Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: 1968-2000 does not have the charisma of the former. I found that he held his own and raised some important issues. He raised such issues as the funding for university students. I think that may have been a tactic to get the youth vote. He also made an interesting point of the proposal to augment jails. He said that it would be better for at youth risk to attend and finish high school and then have some money for university. Ignatieff Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry: (University Center for Human Values) is a teacher and you could feel that he did not feel that comfortable in the debate. He was, after all, the rookie. Jack Layton also raised some interesting issues, such as violence against women and the role of women in politics. He did say that he had the most women representatives of all the parties. He also raised the aboriginal issue and the end of the war in Afghanistan. Both the Tories and the Liberals wanted to prolong the war. Layton had some good ideas when it came to the health system as well. He wanted to make more doctors, as there are 5 million Canadians without doctors. Gilles Duceppe, unlike his predecessor Lucien BouchardThe Antagonist : A Biography of Lucien Bouchard does not have his charisma or the whole of Quebec behind him. He raised some interesting issues in regards to the forestry industry in Quebec and the role of the government in provincial health care. However, he is a seperatist and his points revolved around Quebec. The debate was not a debate of issues, but rather an accusation of one party against the other. Harper held his ground, in his demeaning way and the others tried to put in their two cents. How do you say, another brick in the wall.