Diane Francis: Tories are well placed to win.

I am not quite sure how the concentration upon the economy and energy in the United States election is supposed to be so great for Harper's election chances but Francis notes that Harper can say that our economy is OK due to the boom in energy production and commodity production. She even says that manufacturing output has spread across the country. She seems not to have noticed that in Ontario manufacturing especially in auto manufacturing is in a big slump! Anyway our economy is not doing all that well and the slump in the U.S. will have the effect of slowing demand for all that boom that Francis talks about in the energy and commodities sector. Perhaps Francis should take a look at the Toronto stock market last week that lost almost 1,000 points!
Of course there is a relationship between that circus with two competing rings that fascinates Francis and the Canadian election. Harper is a great admirer of the U.S. and is ready and willing to serve as a junior partner in U.S. hegemonic designs in Afghanistan and to provide a secure and cheap source of energy for the U.S. Of course with an F grade on the environment from the Sierra Club Harper is a good comrade in arms to fight the battle for clean air with Bush et al.
Dion is said to be totally out of sync with the U.S. election situation according to Francis. We also have her saying that our economy is OK thank you and then afterwards notes that Dion is also out of sync with the fragile economy. One minute the economy is OK thank you and a sentence later it is fragile. Duh!
Dion is out of sync apparently in not going along with-or not enthusiastically enough--the desires of US imperialism to exploit our resources. Nothing must stop the development of the oil sands etc. or pipelines from the north. Apparently Francis is not aware that in the U.S. itself there is a move to reject buying dirty oil. Francis has nothing to say about environmental issues and the pipelines or oil sands development. Her environmental stance is pure crapola that would probably not even make an F on the Sierra Club scale.
As for her predictions about the Conservatives chances that remains to be seen. However Francis is probably right that those who are able to cash in on our unique position as a first choice by the US for cheap energy supplies in terms of gas and oil and also minerals should probably vote for Harper. Harper will move us forward as a supplier of natural resources to satisfy U.S. needs and in the process some will make big bucks but most of us wont and we would be limiting our economic development to fit in with another country's needs.
This is from the National Post.

Saturday, September 06, 2008
Tories are well placed to win
Diane Francis, Financial Post Published: Saturday, September 06, 2008
Looks like Canadians will be voting in the middle of the noisy, fascinating U. S. election. The timing for Canada's Conservative Party couldn't be better.
The advantage is because the rumpus south of the border will focus on two main issues: United States' economic problems (articulated by Democrats) and the need for energy security of supply (vocalized by both Democrats and Republicans).
For Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, and his Tories, this is good news: They can fairly say Canada's economy is OK, thank you very much, mostly due to our boom in energy and commodities production out west, which has spread across the country in the form of manufacturing outputs, higher farm prices and brawn power.
Is this enough to give a majority to Harper who, with the exception of the stupid income trust move, has done a credible job?
It's possible, but a Tory majority is possible only if the party sweeps the West and picks up a bunch of the seats where they finished in second place in Quebec. Jean Charest, Quebec's premier, is a buddy of Harper's and has gained in popularity there, which may bode well.
Meanwhile, Stephane Dion is totally out of sync with the U. S. election situation, the geopolitical realities and the economy's fragile performance.
Besides that, nothing will, or should, stop development of Alberta's massive oil sands or the boom in the mining sector across Canada.
Here's what is in store for the resource sector in Canada: The next President of the United States, no matter which party, will finally agree, after 25 years of dickering, to subsidize the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline. This will lead to construction of Canada's Mackenzie Line or the blending of the two by linking the gas fields at the top of the world, come what may.
Fixing the environment is only possible through global diplomacy and technological advance. Dion's Green Shift is political suicide: It imposes an untried and questionable carbon tax on businesses, farmers and manufacturers across the country as well as Western Canada's energy industry.
The environment is a critical issue, but the Green Shift centrepiece flunks because it will transgress existing international agreements. (Always a good idea for Canada and its workers, who are more dependent upon trade than any others in the world.)
The Liberals have been back-biting in committees, disrupting governance, without much success. By so doing, they have asked for an election they are poorly positioned to wage.
As for the environment, Harper has in place his smartest and most talented cabinet minister -- John Baird. And the Tories have been well advised to push the Green Party's participation in the upcoming debates to spoil and split the Grit and NDP vote.
Canadian business voters, and those concerned about geopolitics as well as about Canada continuing to cash in on its unique competitive advantages at this point in time, have no choice but to vote Tory.
My guess is that the Harper government will be returned by voters, but fall short of a majority.
dfrancis@nationalpost.com
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