Photo Credit: Seeker401

Magna International, (TSX:MG.A) in joint partnership with the National Research Council, is opening a new $7.2M research and development facility in Concord, Ontario with the help of the federal government. This facility will focus on the development of lightweight, low cost, environmentally friendly, safer and more durable car parts for future cars designed with reduced fuel consumption needs in mind. The Magna-NRC Composite Centre of Excellence will be fitted with state of the art moulding equipment for thermoplastic compounds such as direct long fibre and sheet moulding compound.

Bob Brownlee, President of Magna Exteriors and Interiors, stated that “the Magna-NRC Composite Centre of Excellence will help reinforce Magna’s position as a supplier of lightweight, cost-effective composite solutions to the global automotive market.” Although this may not create a substantial amount of new jobs, Canadian Auto Workers union economist Jim Stanford says “It’s very important for Canada to develop our made-in-Canada expertise in the auto industry. For too long we relied on foreign companies to bring the technology, the machinery and the products to us and then we would manufacture them.” Soon the world will be looking to Canada for automotive parts and the technology to build them. Global fuel concerns make this project an exciting endeavor. Reduced weight equates to reduced consumption.
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"You Can't Sink A Howe"

Martin Seligman is a leader in the positive psychology movement. Basically, this movement holds that optimism and other positive emotions help people lead healthier and better lives. Dr. Seligman has used these ideas to forecast the success of medical patients’ recovery, job candidates in the workplace, teams in sporting events, and the success of candidates in political elections.

C.D. Howe was a top political leader in Canada during the 1940s and 1950s and was known as the “Minister of Everything”. During the early part of the Second World War, his ship was sunk by a submarine, but he managed to climb aboard a lifeboat. When rescued by a passing boat, he told his rescuers, “You can’t sink a Howe”.

C.D. Howe’s comment when rescued is interesting. In those days during World War Two, it was usually too dangerous to rescue victims of a ship sunk by a U-boat. In fact, the discovery of the lifeboat in the choppy waters was only by chance, and the tramp steamer that rescued him had disobeyed a direct order not to try to retrieve survivors. Given that the policy of non-rescue was well known, and given that he still had the presence of mind to take command of the lifeboat and express bold macho comments when rescued unexpectedly, this suggests he was a person possessing extreme self-confidence. Does this mean that Martin Seligman’s theories are accurate? After all, C.D. Howe was a successful businessman and politician who sometimes succeeded against all odds.
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Once upon a time, many years ago, Canada was a leader when it came to human rights. We helped create the UN, the Geneva Accords, and even adapted many of those accords into our own legislation. We took pride in being the protector, the one who stood up for the little guy, damning the consequences. However, this recent torture debacle involving our military has my recent suspicions that Canada is in a bit of an image crisis confirmed. Like a teenager that has emerged from puberty a little different, Canada is not the peace-loving, torture-hating nation we all thought it was. Between the adjusting of our voice and the ridding of our pimples, we changed.

Torture has always been a no-no. But we all know it happens. It happens in Guantanamo, it happens in Iraq and it sure as hell happens in Afghanistan. At the very least, our job is to not take part in it, and certainly not solicit and most definitely not condone it. Handing over a detainee when one knows he/she will be tortured is not doing our job correctly. Now I know that in the atrocities of war, worse things have happened. However, this begs the question: is this the only time something like this has happened? Because chances are, it isn’t. War makes many people do things they would not do under normal circumstances, no one is questioning or berating that. We have been putting our military on such a pedestal from past peacekeeping accomplishments we thought our soldiers were immune to such cruel behavioural traits, but clearly they are not. They are after all, only human.
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As parliament nears its end for the current session, some reflection on the most recent sitting is in order. What better way to start than with the release of today’s EKOS Research poll where we find, yet again, stagnation in voting opinions across the country. The breakdown is as follows with the numbers in brackets indicating the percentage of support from the last federal election: Conservatives- 36.5% (37.65%), Liberals- 26.5% (26.6%), New Democratic Party- 16.7% (18.18%), The Bloc Quebecois (in Quebec only) – 39.8% (38.1%), The Green Party- 11.3% (6.78%) and undecided were in the 14.6% range. These figures show what many political analysts have known for some time, and that is that the electorate is not as volatile as it has been in the past. The biggest change is the rise in support for the Green Party, which jumped almost 6% from the time of the last election. It should be noted that the Green Party always tends to garner more support in a non-election year than it does during an election. The NDP’s numbers are down a bit too, but are actually trending upwards in recent months as a result of their stance on the Harmonized Sales Tax.  All the other numbers are relatively unchanged.  So what does this mean in real terms?
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Our parliamentary system is constituted in such a way that the government must maintain a majority of support in the house to pass legislation. This is not a problem when one political party wins a majority of the seats in the house, i.e. the Chretien Era. In this capacity, the government can pass all the legislation it wants with minimal or no responsibility to the opposition parties in the house. In the case of minority parliaments, of which we have seen for most of the past decade now, the government needs the support of at least one other party. Should it not obtain this support, the government must call an election. So far, the Harper government has managed to be defeated in the house without losing the confidence to govern the country. Sound confusing? Actually, the government can only be forced to call an election if it is defeated in a motion of confidence. This can simply be a motion that states that the members of the house have lost confidence in the government, or it can come with the defeat of monetary bills, tax bills, or budget implementation bills.
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The Copenhagen summit is a hot topic for conversation. Recent polls show that a broad spectrum of Canadians are calling for decisive action on climate change. One wonders why Stephen Harper, who is on a quest for a majority government, continues to ignore an issue that speaks to so many Canadians.

A Conservative prime minister adopting an aggressively environmental platform seems ludicrous, but the political map of Canada is changing. Liberal strongholds are disappearing faster than the polar ice caps. Conservative candidates are beginning to see that environmental action is about saving the economy, not crippling it. It could be that the shortest road to a majority is for Stephen Harper to redefine the Conservative stance on climate change.
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Literacy is critical to the transmission of the ideas that shape our world.

Some people might wonder what an article about literacy is doing on a political blog, but a literate population is crucial to a fully-functioning, informed democracy. According to ABC Canada, “Greater understanding of social and political issues means a more informed opinion at the ballot box, better understanding of issues, and greater confidence in discussing them. This, in turn, encourages leadership and engagement in public debate.” Poor literacy is a huge challenge for those who wish to keep the public informed on prominent issues and what their politicians are up to. Although many of us find power and information in the written word, others may find only confusion.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper conversed with Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao on Thursday.

Premier Wen Jiaobao of China delivered a rebuke to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday. According to Premier Wen, one of the country’s most popular and senior politicians, Harper’s visit to China has been tardy, and diplomatic meetings between the leaders of the two countries have been too infrequent. The proverbial slap on the wrist may have been an innocuous chiding. But it speaks to the tenuous nature of Canada’s diplomatic relationship with the People’s Republic.

Although Harper and Chinese President Hu Jintao conversed a fortnight ago at the APEC conference, President Hu has not visited Canada in nearly five years. Harper, who has declined opportunities to venture to China in the past, is making his first ever visit.
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Your cabinet will meet around this oval table

Sir John A. MacDonald once inscribed his occupation as cabinet maker in a guest book. When people would criticize his cabinet ministers, Sir John A would tell them to send him better wood. Crafting the cabinet is an essential but difficult task for any Prime Minister or Premier, and it is a job that does not permit a lot of flexibility.

The importance of the cabinet in Canadian politics is reflected by some of the problems facing governments. Stephen Harper has struggled in the past with unnecessary and embarrassing scandals due at least in part to weak or inexperienced cabinet ministers. He has also struggled to find appropriate appointments for important ministries, also for the same reasons. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has had some strong ministers in his cabinet. However, he may face future problems because the Tories are now led by the plucky and aggressive Tim Hudak, and most of his talented ministers have left or will soon leave the cabinet. The difficulties faced by the Prime Minister or by a Provincial Premier are magnified by the regional nature of the country and the provinces: the government leader must, to the best of his ability, ensure that there is adequate representation in the cabinet from all the regions within his jurisdiction.
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has never courted China, despite its economic powerhouse status, and suggestions that he is now doing so in order to secure the Chinese-Canadian vote are ludicrous. It is perfectly evident that people do not emigrate from China to Canada on account of the weather. As such, it is naive to believe that Chinese-Canadians, en masse, wish for positive relations between their country of origin and their adopted homeland. This is not to mention the host of Asian Canadians, Tibetans, for instance, who may observe Canada’s diplomatic relations with China with suspicion.

With entirely opposing political cultures, China and Canada have no reason to maintain good relations besides for economics, and in this time of fiscal crisis, our Prime Minister has bit the bullet. In 2006, with regards to his stand on China, Harper famously noted that he would not “sell out” human rights in favour of economic gain. This is a course he has not diverged from, until now. For the first time since his election, Harper has paid an official visit to China.
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