Any follower of professional poker knows that Stephen Harper just went “all in” by proroguing Parliament. It’s because he now holds all four aces.

Ace number one is an opposition in disarray. Iggy is nowhere to be seen or heard. Gilles is emailing-in his commentary. And Jack is basking in the knowledge that eighteen percent of Canadians would vote NDP even if he were a mustachioed blow-up doll.

Ace number two is a reluctant but growing acknowledgment by the national media of Harper’s management of the country relative to the rest of the sinking world, H1N1, his piano playing and yes, Afghanistan. They, like he, know that the majority of Canadians don’t give a rat’s ass what the Afghans do to each other if it means finding and eliminating those who are building the roadside bombs that kill our selfless troops.
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As H1N1 sweeps across the nation, Liberal poll numbers sputter and Prime Minister Harper sashays in Bollywood while the federal Liberal brain trust is slumped on Donolo’s bench gulping much needed oxygen between periods.

The Conservative’s India inroads must be particularly galling given the long tradition of Indo-Canadians voting en masse for Liberals – particularly when it came to needing quick votes at candidate nomination meetings.

The Liberals must be working overtime to come up with a platform that rings true with voters. Meanwhile Mr. Harper systematically and strategically chips away at their storied franchise.

But Harper has chinks in his armour. Not the least of which is the ire that he inspires in long-time, loyal Liberals. Even my close Liberal friends still summarize their entire re-election strategy as “I hate Harper.” You can mobilize loyalists on hate. But the majority of Canadian voters are another story altogether.
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So Denis Coderre is the latest casualty in the internecine wars between the Chretien and Martin camps. Apparently the Martinites have come out ahead again despite the party faithful’s best efforts to circumvent both camps by electing Stephane Dion at the last real leadership convention. Alas, Stephane just couldn’t get it together and is rumoured to be contemplating a quiet withdrawal from the ongoing Liberal knife fight – now that his campaign debts are likely paid off.

What oh what are generations of loyal grass roots Liberals to do?

Iggy is floundering like a professor out of college. The Quebec wing is in theatric disarray and there isn’t a safe Liberal seat west of Barrie.
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Kudos to Michael Ignatieff for recognizing that the key to success in Canada is to appeal to book lovers with “True Patriot Love.” It doesn’t matter if the book is good, bad or indifferent. The fact remains that if you are an author you will receive glowing admiration from Canadians. It gets even better if you are a Harvard scholar and a quick learner of current Canadian culture and its’ gracious, government-subsidized underpinnings. I’m just curious to know whether or not his book/media/political tour is ultimately being funded by the Canada Council for the Arts via his publisher?

But he’s no Prime Minister for the times in my view.
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Remember when you used to trade marbles? Or baseball cards? Or whatever else you had that someone else saw value in.

How about carbon credits?

Bartering is still going on between countries though you don’t hear much about it. Probably because it falls outside the realm of the global financial order i.e. the IMF, OPEC, and other oligopolies and their various taxing authorities. They probably would not be amused at the growth of the bartering concept.

Recently I was speaking to some college students. We were talking about global bartering as a possible solution to unlocking the stuck banking system that is fueling the recession. After all, a small business can barter just about any product or service on the internet now. Why not countries?
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Remember when you used to trade marbles? Or baseball cards? Or whatever else you had that someone else saw value in.

How about carbon credits?
Bartering is still going on between countries though you don’t hear much about it. Probably because it falls outside the realm of the global financial order i.e. the IMF, OPEC, and other oligopolies and their various taxing authorities. They probably would not be amused at the growth of the bartering concept.

Recently I was speaking to some college students. We were talking about global bartering as a possible solution to unlocking the stuck banking system that is fueling the recession. After all, a small business can barter just about any product or service on the internet now. Why not countries?

One of the students is Venezuelan. He pointed out that their notorious leader Mr. Chavez was already well into the international barter game. Apparently his country’s oil barters Cuba’s advanced medical services along with a few other key necessities from other South and Central American countries. Makes sense to me.
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As a marketer, I am constantly amazed by the exploding power of web-based information transfer – especially the news. Within minutes of Obama’s visit to Ottawa, I received an email from a friend of a friend who happened to be outside the pastry shop where the President bought his beaver tail. Some up close and personal pictures like you’d never get on your favourite news channel – just because they were not there at that exact place. And no dulcet-toned announcer commentary.

So much for the traditional, packaged media coverage brought to you by Peter Mansbridge and his nightly crew. What a tiresome bunch they have become. Especially Rex Murphy. I say stuff a sock in him and send him back to make sand castles and debate politics with Danny Williams on their next beach vacation together. Now wouldn’t that be a lovely down home postcard.
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Now that President Obama has signed his massive stimulus package into law, many Americans are breathing a sigh of relief. But not necessarily the entrepreneurs.

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of running into a former client who I had not seen for about five years. He is a Canadian who made the decision to move to the USA for business reasons i.e. he wanted to make some real money. When I first met him, he was all optimism – buoyed by the fact that he had indeed made more money in his first three years in the US than his previous ten in government-dependent Canada. He enjoyed an upscale lifestyle in Boston with his New York born wife – also in business. And chirped “I’m never looking back to Canada.”
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I’m confused.

After years of experiencing the slow, muddling governments of Ontario and the swashbuckling antics of British Columbia politicians, I’m baffled by the laissez-faire provincial ministrations in Quebec. Mind you, I’ve only lived here since 2001. I’m part of the first wave of a growing English migration moving into the province – for futures sake.

Let me say straight off, as a writer, that moving to Montreal has been one of the better decisions of my life. This is a truly wonderful, welcoming and creative city – with a brightening future. This despite being about two generations behind the rest of Canada in some ways – thanks to previous political upheavals.

As a new arrival in sexy Montreal, you are handed a medical card, drug card, a cheap rent apartment and access to numerous free access socialized services like swimming pools, skating rinks and libraries. And you don’t even have to speak French all that much any more. Certainly less than 2001. Though it sure helps if you want a real job.
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So now that Lord Ig has wisely and graciously bowed out of an immediate election scrap, all thoughts shall turn to the next main stage tussle. But first a word on the current state of the political nation. To use the Professor’s own criminal analogy; if the Conservatives are “on probation”, the Liberal’s have a “suspended sentence”, the NDP are suffering from a “hung jury” and the Bloc will once again be relegated to “solitary confinement.”

So where does it all lead? I’m guessing a Spring 2010 federal election. Forget about the Liberal budget amendment for quarterly parliamentary updates triggering a snap confidence vote and election. Not going to happen. Because we still have to go through “double secret probation”, “electronic monitoring probation” and “parole” stages before the Liberals are anywhere near capable of fighting an election. And Harper won’t call it for fear of being branded an opportunist. Again.

So all eyes will now turn to the upcoming 2009 BC spring election where the right wing, privatizing, carbon taxing, big Owe, Olympic Liberal government will be put to the test by a kinder, gentler (but still the same old beast) provincial NDP party. Will Gordon Campbell live to see another term? I’m betting yes – despite a rapidly deteriorating economy. If only so he can take his debt-laden bow at the Olympics – along with the PM. Their one saving grace being that CTV is covering the games this year.
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