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: : : : Just to follow up, the only federal small-c : : conservative party in Canada is on track to : : dissolve itself before the end of next year. : : The Reform Party, Canada's Official Opposition : : to the Liberal government, is debating its very : : future. http://www.reform.ca : : A campaign called the United Alternative : : http://www.unitedalt.org spearheaded by the : : Reform Party's leader Preston Manning and his : : devoted followers is encouraging all Reformers : : this month (May, 1999) to endorse by a party-wide : : referendum a motion to hold a convention later : : this year or next spring to create a new party. : : Another referendum to accept or reject the : : principles of the new party and dissolve the : : Reform Party would be held soon after. : : If this new party went ahead, it would probably : : ignore the more controversial stands of the : : Reform Party like our proposals to scrap Canada's : : Official Multiculturalism and Official Bilingualsim : : Acts, Ministry of Canadian Heritage, and making : : our Senate elected, effective, and with equal : : representation from the provinces (like the 2 : : elected American Senators per state). The new : : party would still be committed to responsible : : fiscal spending but I think it would still : : protect government-owned "crown corporations". : : On socialized health care the Reform Party : : supported mixing public and privately services, : : with "essential services" deemed freely : : accessible to all. A new United Alternative : : based party will be hard-pressed to resist : : calls for supporting government control of : : health care and, as a sop to conservatives, : : devolve more power from the federal to the : : provincial level. : : Overall, your point about Canada as a : : Valhalla for liberals is absolutely correct. : : Many conservatives left and right are pointing : : to the United Alternative as a means of : : uniting Progressive Conservatives and : : Reformers to defeat the Liberals and bring back : : a conservative government. Unfortunately the : : rhetoric coming out of the United Alternative : : reminds me of the vague, phoney promises we : : heard from Brian Mulroney in the 1984 election : : which he proceeded to win the second-greatest : : majority government in Canadian history. But : : he fall flat within a few years, scandal after : : big spending scandal dogged him, taxes and : : spending rose, he failed : : twice to solve Quebec separatism and his party : : was rejected quite handily in 1993 electing : : just two seats. : : Conservatism is limping in Canada like : : a wounded, sick dog. The gr is most : : definitely greener on the southern side : : of the fence and I'll probably move down : : to the States within five years.

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