Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Government

(Top picture: Harper and Flaherty; Center picture from L to R: Layton, Dion, Duceppe; Bottom picture: Michael Ignatieff)

Stephen Harper, the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada, has been in power since January 2006, though he didn't win a majority government. He is the leader of the Conservative Party and he defeated the Liberal Party after they were in power for 12 consecutive years. In 2008 he called an early election, because the opposition parties (formed by the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois) were not cooperating with him and he hoped to win a majority government. He won a slightly larger minority in October 2008, but a majority government eluded him again.

Harper enraged the opposition after presenting the Federal Budget, as there were parts included in the budget that would hurt the standing of the opposition parties. The NDP (led by Jack Layton) and the Bloc Quebecois (led by Gilles Duceppe) along with the Liberal Party (led by Stephan Dion) decided to form a coalition to bring down Harper's government, even when these three parties were not exactly sharing views and policies. This forced Stephen Harper to prorogue Parliament in order to save his government from being defeated. Parliament would return on January 26th, 2009.

In the meantime, the Coalition tried hard to stick together in order to still defeat the Conservatives in January. But by the end of December it was clear that the Coalition wouldn't last, as Canadians were not happy with the idea of the separatist party, the Bloc Quebecois, being part of the government if the Coalition were to take over. Canadians were also not comfortable with Stephan Dion (the Liberal Party being the leading opposition party) being the Prime Minister, if the Coalition were to replace Harper. Stephan Dion was rejected as a leader by many Canadians, so the Liberal Party decided to replace him as quickly as possible, hoping to win more support for the Coalition if a new leader was chosen. That's when Michael Ignatieff took over the leadership of the Liberals. However, Michael Ignatieff was not too keen on the Coalition.

Parliament returned on January 26th, 2009. The new budget was presented on January 27th, and this time the Liberals supported the budget, even as the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois flat out rejected it, without even giving it a chance. Thankfully Harper's government remains in power, and I for one am very relieved. I really don't think that, in this global economic recession, the Liberals would have handled it better than the Conservatives. As a Prime Minsiter, Harper is really handling it relatively well, so in my opinion Canadians should be grateful, for he's doing his best to keep Canada out of trouble as much as he can. Of course he doesn't have control over the global economic recession, but at least Canada is doing better compared to other countries, and the Canadian banks are not falling apart. In fact the Canadian banking system has been ranked the healthiest by the World Economic Forum, and it has also been praised recently in the Newsweek by Fareed Zakaria: http://www.newsweek.com/id/183670

Ignatieff has made it clear that the Liberals will not call another election this year. He seems like a sensible man, and I'm glad that he became the leader of the Liberals, but I'd rather have Stephen Harper as the Prime Minister in these troubled times. In fact, if it were up to me, I wouldn't mind if the Conservatives would win a majority at the next election, unless Harper decides to step down as the leader of the Conservative Party. I'd decide on my vote, depending on who the next leader would be. A leader like Stephan Dion would be a disaster. The man himself seems like a good guy, but he's not Prime Minister material.

Thank You, Canada!

In my first post on this blog, I would like to express my gratitude to Canada for accepting me and my family as permanent residents, at a time when we felt totally displaced after spending fifteen years in the States and being denied permanent resident status.

In another few months we can apply for our citizenship and become Canadians! I already feel so proud to be part of this wonderful country. It's climate is cold, but it's people are warm and friendly. We have traveled from Toronto all the way to Saskatoon by car, and after settling in Saskatoon, we also drove to the shores of British Columbia. The views are simply breathtaking! And the amount of wildlife you see on such road trips is awe-inspiring. One of my dreams is to own an RV one day, so that we can take many road trips in a more comfortable way.

Another big dream I have, is to settle in a city not too far away from Vancouver in B.C. After seeing Vancouver during our short visit to B.C. in 2007, I was not too pleased with the crowded city, but I'd like to be close to its variety of restaurants, and all the other amenities that a big city has to offer. However, I'd like to rest my head on a pillow in a house quite a bit away from its hustle and bustle. A house amidst the majestic mountains and the beautiful shores of the Pacific ocean, amongst the beautiful swans and geese, whales and sea lions, deer and bears... (brr!) ...all of which you can find in British Columbia!

Even though I may not be too crazy about Saskatoon, where we live at the moment, it still has its own charm. The prairie skies are amazing! The sunsets here are beautiful, and when there is a full moon, it looks pretty huge! At night you can see a sea of lights from the city, when we drive home to the suburbs. We have even been lucky to watch the magical display of an Aurora... twice already! However, eventually I want to move away from this city, because it gets very cold here, and also because I don't like the food here as much. The biggest reason I want to move, is because I can't watch my beloved Bollywood movies in a theater here, and there is also no big store where you can buy them on DVD. There is a small store, but aside from selling only pirated copies, it doesn't have a large selection. That's why we sometimes make special trips to Edmonton or Calgary once in a while, whenever a good movie is coming up, and then we take that chance to do some Bollywood DVD shopping as well.

Speaking of Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta; this is another Western province in Canada, which is between Saskatchewan (Saskatoon is one of the two largest cities in SK, the other one being Regina, the capitol city) and British Columbia. I like Calgary better than Edmonton. I wouldn't mind living in Calgary either. Banff is a short distance from Calgary, and is a very picturesque town amongst the Canadian Rockies. We have already visited Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, Banff once. One day I'd like to visit Jasper National Park, the other side of the Canadian Rockies bordering BC and Alberta.

The beautiful scenery of Canada is never ending. The cultural hotchpotch here provides a great variety of food, and it's lovely to mingle with people from all over the world, without feeling unaccepted or out of place. The people are laid-back, and life is generally less hurried here as compared to in the States. In short, I have found my perfect paradise!

Thank you, Canada! And thank you USA, for denying us legal status. If that hadn't happened, we probably would not have discovered the beauty of Canada, at least maybe not as residents. That incident has proven to be a blessing in disguise...