The Reformed Home Schooler

Canada's Prime Ministers #18 Martin "Brian" Mulroney Dec. 11, 2007

Canada's 18th Prime Minister Brian  Mulroney

Brian Mulroney has been in the news lately as he has been falsely implicated by a deperate criminal / former arms dealer who is trying to save his own hide from being extradited to Germany where he faces Fraud and Corruption charges and where he will most likely live out the rest of his life.  It is with great sadness that I see a desperate Opposition trying to bring up an old Scandal that he was already exghonerated for in an effort to tar our current government.  Likewise I am sad to see our Canadian Left Wing Biased Media up to it's old tactics of character assasinations

I believe he is innocent of these charges and I believe he will probably be be looked at in History as one of our greatest Prime Ministers, he ended much of teh Liberal corruption and tax and spend policies of Trudeau, he was able to get a constitutional concensus of all 10 Premiers only to have it later rejected.  Things he is sometimes criticized were in fact some of his best public policy initiatives in Canadian History, he got rid of a hidden Manufactures tax which the government could raise without being noticed and replaced it with the GST a Value Added tax that was visible and governments could be held accountable for raising.  He brought about North American Free Trade, he strengthened our Relationship with The US and the UK only to have his successor Jean Chretien ruin these relationships with our most important allies, he re-established 3 seperate branches of our armed forces reversing the intergration that Trudeau had forced upon our Military, he was the greenest Prime Minister ever when it comes to environmental policy.  He was a no nonsense business man which is why he rubbed peopel the wrong way. But he also lead the Largest Majority ever in Canadian Parliament and he was re-elected despite the fierce left wing media opposition to his forward thinking policies.

Brian Mulroney is the reason I am a Conservative, and in away though he's not a Christian himself, he is important in my Christian walk, the reshaping of my political ideologies lead me to rethink much of what I believe about religion and made me more open to Christianity.

The following is a from the Canadian Encyclodedia's Article on Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, lawyer, politician, prime minister of Canada (b at Baie-Comeau, Qué 20 Mar 1939). The son of Irish immigrants, Mulroney's father was an electrician, anxious that his children escape the paper mill that dominated Baie-Comeau. Brian attended the private St Thomas High School in Chatham, New Brunswick, and then St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where he studied political science, joined the campus Conservative club, and was prime minister in the Combined Atlantic Universities Parliament. He worked for John DIEFENBAKER's successful leadership campaign in 1956. Smooth beyond his years, fluently bilingual and gregarious, Mulroney returned to Québec in 1961, receiving a law degree at Laval. He joined a major Montréal law firm (now Ogilvy-Renault) in 1964, soon specializing in labour negotiations for concerns such as Iron Ore Company of Canada and Power Corporation of Canada. His father died in 1965, and Mulroney took on heavy family responsibilities. Later, in 1973, he married Mila Pivnicki.

In 1974-75 Mulroney won public attention as an articulate and hard-hitting member of the Cliche Commission on violence and corruption in the construction industry in Québec. By now he was the leading Conservative organizer and fund-raiser in the province. Despite never having run for office, he was a strong candidate for the leadership of the federal party in 1976, finally being eliminated on the third ballot. He became VP of Iron Ore Company in 1976; as president 1977-83 he emphasized management-labour relations and was able, at the end of his term, to close the company's operation in Schefferville, Québec, without serious political repercussions. Mulroney again ran for the PC leadership in 1983, a low-key effort in response to charges that his 1976 campaign had been too slick and showy. He beat Joe CLARK on the final ballot: 1584 votes to 1325.

As leader of the Opposition and MP for Central Nova in 1983-84, he proved a skilful manager, concentrating on healing party wounds and building a solid electoral machine. Moderate and conciliatory by nature, he called for a strengthened private sector and less government intervention in the economy, minority French-language rights, and closer Canadian-American and federal-provincial relations. In the general election of 1984 he ran an almost flawless campaign against PM John Turner's Liberals and won 211 seats, the largest number in Canadian history. Mulroney, who had always emphasized the importance of Québec to the Conservatives, captured the seat of Manicouagan, his home riding. His pledge to bring Quebec to the Constitution "with honour and enthusiasm" was decisive in persuading many Quebec nationalists to support the Conservatives. The party took 58 of its seats in the province, the breakthrough that Mulroney had promised would take place under his leadership. He was sworn in as the 18th prime minister on 17 September 1984.

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Over 1600 Dead - Read More Dec. 6, 2007

On December 6, 1917, the wartime port of Halifax was shattered by the most powerful man-made explosion before the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945.

If you have never heard about the Halifax Explosion I implore you to read up about it.. Follow the links I've provided search more on google.  It's a tragic story.  Anybody who's family was in Halifax during that time has stories about it.  It's a story of devastation, triumph and survival, there have been some bad movies made for Canadian TV I'm surprised a US Studio hasn't done a major motion picture of it.

The Following was taken from the Nova Scotia Archives website on the Halifax Explosion

December 6, 1917 is a day indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of the citizens of Halifax and Dartmouth. On that Thursday the Norwegian vessel SS Imo, carrying Belgian relief supplies, and the French freighter SS Mont Blanc, carrying munitions, collided in Halifax Harbour, thereby creating what was then considered to be the worst man-made disaster in the world's history.

A few seconds before 9:05 a.m., the Mont Blanc, carrying 2500 tons of high explosives and with a deck-load of monochlorobenzene, blew up, shattering the 3000-ton vessel and spewing destruction over 325 acres. The explosion killed more than 1600 people instantly and injured over 9000 others, in a metropolitan area of 65,000 people. More Nova Scotians were killed in the explosion than were killed in World War I. The catastrophe resulted in over $35,000,000 damage.

Schools, churches, factories and private homes were swept away by the force of the explosion. Then hot furnaces and upset stoves ignited the wreckage and large areas were reduced to charred ruins. The principal Halifax district to suffer damage was Richmond. No maps, plans or descriptions have been identified that precisely define this area. For the purposes of this exhibit, the boundaries have been defined as Bedford Basin, Halifax Harbour, Russell Street, Robie Street and Kempt Road. The area destroyed and damaged was, however, considerably larger than the area known as Richmond, and included the rest of north-end Halifax as well as isolated damage to buildings farther south. In Dartmouth, the thinly-populated north end was severely damaged, while central portions of the town sustained isolated damage as well.

Links

http://www.collectionscanada.ca/education/firstworldwar/05180202/0518020203_e.html

http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he7_teachers/index.html

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-971/disasters_tragedies/halifax_explosion/

http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/explosion/

http://www.halifaxexplosion.org/

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Canada's Prime Ministers #1 Sir. John A. MacDonald Nov. 16, 2007

Canada's First Prime Minister Sir. John A. MacDonald

Born: January 11, 1815 Glasgow Scotland
Died: June 6, 1891 of heart failure while still in office. Buried in Cataraqui Cemetery near  Kingston ON)
Educated: Royal Grammar, Kingston, Upper Canada; Oxford University
Private Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Conservative (formerly Liberal-Conservative)
Term of Office: July 1, 1867 - November 5, 1873; October 17, 1878 - June 6, 1891
Other Ministries: Pre-confederation Legislative Assembly; Receiver-General 1847-48; Attorney-General 1854-56, 1862.
Married: September 1, 1843 to Isabella Clark (1811-56); February 16, 1867 to Susan Agnes Bernard (1836-1920)

• Introduced to politics in 1843 when he served as city alderman in Kingston, Ontario.
• Constituencies: Kingston, Ontario, 1867-1878, 1887-1891; Victoria, British Columbia, 1878-1882; Carleton, Ontario, 1882-1887.
• Elected Conservative representative for Kingston in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1844.
• Receiver General for the Province of Canada, 1847-1848.
• Attorney General for Canada West, 1854-1858, 1858-1862, 1864-1867.
• Joint Premier with Etienne-Paschal Tache for the Province of Canada, 1856-1857.
• Joint Premier with George-Etienne Cartier for the Province of Canada, 1857-1858, 1858-1862.
• Minister of Militia Affairs, 1861-1862, 1865-1867.
• Co-leader of the Great Coalition with George-Etienne Cartied and George Brown, 1864-1865; Co-leader with George-Etienne Cartier, 1865-1867,
• Minister of Justice and Attorney General, 1867-1873.
•  Father of Confederation, 1867.

Did You Know? The Fathers of Confederation originally wanted to name their new country 'The Kingdom of Canada'. However, the United States still harboured ill-feelings toward the word 'kingdom' following their battle for independence against King George III and 'The Dominion of Canada' was selected instead.

• Worked throughout the 1860's to promote Confederation.
  • Attended a conference held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on September 1, 1864.
    • Provinces were dealing with their own 'anti-Confederation' forces.
    • Newfoundland rejected union outright.
    • Prosperous Maritime provinces feared that Confederation would weaken their autonomy.
    • Canada East (Quebec) feared that Confederation would dilute French-Canadian interests.
  • The American Civil War, and the Fenian Raids of 1866 and an aggressive American foreign policy caused concern about the future of the colony.
    • Allied with his political rival and Opposition leader, George Brown, to finalize Confederation.
    • Drafted the British North American Act which defined the federal system by which Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were united into the Dominion of Canada. BNA signed on May 8, 1867 and became effective July 1, 1867.
    • Appointed Prime Minister of Canada and won the first federal election one month later.
• Liberal-Conservative Party Leader (forerunner of the Conservative Party), 1867-1891.
• To unite the new nation, Macdonald began the Intercolonial Railway which ran from Halifax to the Pacific coast and included Canada's two newest provinces, British Columbia and Manitoba, and the North-West Territories in 1871.
• Initiated tariffs protecting Canadian products from foreign imports, especially from the United States, to boost Canadian economy.
• Created the North West Mounted Police in 1873.
• Questionable deals between the Conservatives and the railway syndicate lead to the Pacific Scandal in 1873. Macdonald was forced to resign and lost the election in 1874.
• Leader of the Opposition, 1873-1878.
• Re-elected in 1878.
• Minister of the Interior, 1878-1883.
• Superintendant General of Indian Affairs, 1878-1887,
• Created Canada's first national park at Banff, Alberta, in 1885.
• Poorly-handled North-West Rebellion in 1885 and the execution of Louis Riel outraged French-Canadians. Antagonism between French- and English- Canadians lasted for years.
• Minister of Railways and Canals, 1889-1891.
• Won 4'th consecutive election in March 1891 and died 3 months later on June 6, 1891, while still in office.

Did You Know? Macdonald's political career was marred by a well-publicized drinking problem. He would often drink throughout meetings and often forgot the proceedings of the day. The Hon. George Brown, founder of The Globe  newspaper, was Macdonald's arch enemy and, whenever Macdonald went on a binge, Brown printed a 'sick' notice in his paper.

I used many websites including http://www3.sympatico.ca/goweezer/canada/macdonald.htm where I got the bulk of my detail and the Did You Know Boxes.  I added many links and to various sources.  One source I found which would be a great resource for homeschooling and finding out about Confederation is The Canadian Archives Collections Confederation for Kids  the Canadian Archives Site is a great resource I use thier Genealogy Centre and they have a great section for Educators

If you would be interested in finding more sources on the web or books about Canada, it's History People and Politics let me know.

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Confederation Bridge Oct. 23, 2007

So this is the part of the week when I talk about something Canadian again.

Last week I talked about the Throne speech this week I think I'll tackle something a little closer to home, literally closer to home about 10 minutes from my house.

 The Confederation Bridge

What is the Confederation Bridge you might ask?

It;s a marvel of modern engineering and design.   It was built opened in 1997 I would travel it some 8 years later when I relocated to Prince Edward Island. It connects spans almost 13 Kilometres and connects Prince Edward Island to the mainland (New Brunswick)

Here's a great link explaining the timeline it was built in

Prior to being built the only way to get to PEI in a car was via a ferry.  A ferry still runs today on the eastern side of the Island travelling between Pictou, NS and Wood Island PEI.

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The Throne Speech Oct. 16, 2007

Welcome to the 1st installment of Canadian Corner I'll be discussing Canadian Issues such as politics, culture, history etc.  My goal is two fold to provide a discussion forum for these issues with other Canadians on Homeschoolblogger and also provide information to my Homeschooling brethern elsewhere so they can learn a little bit about Canada, how we function, our history and our place in teh world.

Todays Topic: The Speech from the Throne

Backgorund Info:

FAQ from CBC on What is A Throne Speech
Parliament of Canada Web Site
Prime Minister of Canada's Web Site
The Actual Speech From the Throne

What this means to Canadians

Canada has a Parliamentary System of Government we have Prime Minister who is not elected at large by the Canadian Voters but rather our Prime Minister is usually a Member of Parliament (but can be a Canadian Senator) who is the Leader of the Party who has the most members in the House of Commons called MP's or Member of Parliament currently our Prime Minister is the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada  he does not hold a majority of seats that is he does not have 50% + 1 of the seats in the House of Commons but is the Leader of the Party with the most seats. This is called a Minority Government which means he needs the support of enough members from the 3 opposition parties to have 50%+1 support.  He was elected Prime Minister in 2006 and has done a Good Job in my opinion though he has been hampered by not having a Majority Government.  He is not able to pass all teh legislation he needs to further our country.  Minority Governments can be good because they can sometimes provide compromises but this current minority government is not working because the opposition parties are busy representing their self interests and not the greater Canadian Good.  The last session of Parliament was Prorogued which means it was ended but not dissolved this means that the Government is going to start working on a new agenda.  This new Agenda is called a Throne Speech and is read by our Head of State (Governor General) though written by the Prime Minister and Cabinet.   It sets out the course and framework for future legislation that will be brought forwards as well as general Government policy direction.

In the coming Days the the Speech will be voted on at several stages and on possible amendments these votes are considered confidence votes and if the Government is defeated they will submit their resignation to the Governor General who will do one of 2 things #1 dissolve Parliament and call a new election or #2 which is rare see if another party or coalition of parties is prepared to try and form a government.

The current throne speech is chalked full of things that might be unpalatable to the opposition parties but one only has to see that 2 of the 3 opposition parties have been saying for the last month they would vote against it though it was just released tonight that the opposition parties are not interested in greater good of Canada but rather their own good, in fact the opposition party with the 2nd highest number of MP's purpose is to rip apart Canada by having Quebec Separate.  (In other countries they would be tried for treason in Canada we give them Government Salaries and Perks from a Government they don't want to be a part of)  The Official Opposition Liberal's (Official Opposition is 2nd Highest Party in Parliament) haven't made up their mind.  The Conservatives are actually in a win/win situation if the Liberals support it they continue to Govern and get things done and the Liberals concede on their big issues if they defeat the Speech an election will be called and the Conservatives are high in the Polls and the Liberals are fighting internally so the Conservatives will  most likely win and possibly win a Majority which would make governing easier.

The Big Question is will The Liberals cave in on what few principles they have and support the government (They talk about a plan where some of their members will show up and vote against it but enough will stay away or abstain so it's not defeated this to me is still supporting it because they know the outcome), or will they forget about the polls and stand up for their principles, which aren't mine and probably aren't the majority of Canadians anyways.  Stephane Dion made his demands that he said needed to be met which were as unreasonable and unrealistic as the Treasonous Separatists and The Socialists  demands.

Today is good day for Stephen Harper and Yes A Good Day for all Canadians 

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