And the beat goes on

World powers agree to fund Libyan opposition

			Representatives from 22 countries and six international organizations meeting in Rome have agreed to set up a special fund to help finance Libyan rebels. The cash-strapped rebels had requested financial support. [more]

Who sits where?

Voter turnout amazing, I think. 

• 65% our riding (LFLA)
• 75% Elizabeth May's riding, Saanich-Gulf Islands. A brand new Green Party MP.
• 61.4% nationwide turnout

The secret tweets have stopped. Although some were redacted! (One cannot tell the west coast how the east coast did, before the polls close. According to ancient legislation!)

The previous election result (2008)

We have some new Members of Parliament. 

Not, as yet, appointed.

The Prime Minister Stephen Harper (PM) went off to the Governor General to ask to form the government today. He said, yes. (Surprise!) I remember how ticked we all were when he asked them to prorogue parliament. Now he is happy. A majority. I was explaining all this to a young friend. How he has the majority of seats. Any MP can table a bill within the guidelines, but most will vote according to the party leader's direction. It will be smooth sailing for a year. Maybe.

Photo: Wiki user:
Makaristos

The PM now has to create a cabinet, with various members responsible for portfolios: foreign affairs, health, justice, treasury board, etc.

They all have assigned seats. How do they determine that? Hubby set off to his computer after dishes. It took a bit of digging!

We discussed this at dinner. Two choices: protocol and precedence, or some law somewhere handed down from the great kings and queens of England. In fact, they sit opposite one another, with the seats being three sword lengths apart. They sit on cushy chairs, with translation apparatus, quite cushy. In England they have benches. To discourage long speechifying?!

The governing party sits to the right of the Speaker. You can see the lovely throne and the gallery above in the photo.

With 308 seats, I asked, presumably there are 154 per side, 167 Conservatives, 102 NDP, 34 Liberals, and 4 BLOC MPs, it won't work out!

Never fear.

The party whip assigns seats, mostly based on protocol. The Prime Minister sits either in the 11th or 13th seat from the Speaker. (This was confusing and had both versions!)

His Cabinet is on either side of the PM. Front row for all.

The rest are placed according to seniority.
Then it is alphabetical, if they were elected in the same year. The newbies are in the back rows! Remember, we have these MPs on TV, and all must be placed to look their best!

Peace Tower
(My photo!)

However, it is like the Grammys. When MPs are away, they like to fill the seats. You'll notice that there are several women and minorities in the camera view behind the PM! The famous, 'dress in ethnic clothes' party demand.

WIKIPEDIA

Now, you might ask, what happens with the NDP? They are the Official Opposition.

The Opposition Leader (Jack Layton) sits directly opposite the Prime Minister. This helps when they are generally doing their ranting and supplementary questions.

The Opposition Leader's shadow cabinet sits on either side. Shadow Cabinet is an alternative cabinet to the government who shadows and provides critical opposition on policy matters to the government's position, e.g., foreign affairs, energy, health, finances, small business.

Here is the Green Party's list. This list will likely not change, which is why I place it here. In the government's case, and the official opposition, there are many who have either lost or gained seats in parliament, and changes are in the offing for both the CPC and the NDP!

Facebook virus

New Facebook virus: looks like this. Do not click on it. Change your password. Apologize to your friends! :-)

Moose are in season!

This being the season for capturing moose in photos, I feature these photos.

It was last year that we took some trips through our incredible Algonquin Park to hunt for moose, in between helping the children with the new baby.

I am against those hunting for sport, illegal in the park.

Many use moose to supplement family nutrition. This makes sense.

Cottage season is about to begin. The citiots will soon return to the open waters of our fair province.

For more information, a blog friend sent me data.

The election, with the Conservative Party of Canada rising to a majority, and the New Democratic Party now being the official opposition, I wonder what will happen to our Canada.

I respect that families are as diverse as the population of our country.
I value cities and rural areas. This makes Canada interesting.

I value our farmers, but wonder about the right to bear arms, clear cut the land, or run cows by rivers. We must value farmland, water ways and forests.









My first moose sighting, May 7, 2010, a year ago. It was the day my daughter phoned us in the morning, celebrating our 2nd granddaughter's birth! We left the house around 7 a.m., and hightailed it to see them.

Flights of fancy

After a startling election result, I am back to birding. It has been a dark, rainy few days. Not good for photos!

Flicker

Vultures circle

what a cutie

lovely song!

Wouldn't stay still!

Fly-by shooting!

Guess what is landing?

Nuthatch

flycatcher, phoebe?

White throated sparrow
Thanks, Red, for pointing it out!

Festival of the Maples in Perth, ON

tiger princess

first pony ride

Today the lawn needs cutting, but yesterday we played at the Festival of the Maples.

Delights for the kids. We met a lot of Green Party members. People who have worked on my son-in-law's campaign! The kids miss him, but one more day and we're done Election 41.

Antique cars and kilts!

Face painting, volunteer firefighters, police equipment, Sparky,  sheep shearing, antique cars, young people having fun (not needing rescue: Elastic Games!), my granddaughter's first pony ride, a balloon launch, clowns making balloon animals, dancing to the music of the Nepean Panharmonic Steel Band.

Rescue, anyone?! Elastic Games

sheep shearing

dancing Jofee, Nepean Panharmonic Steel Band

Slide show of photos...

Giant leap for feline kind

This bird feeder is deceptive. I cannot peek in, and I am 5'4". It doesn't hold much seed, as there is only a small ledge. My cat insists on getting up in it.

The Royal Wedding

My late mom and dad, 1945

What a delightful escape. A virtual trip to escape reality, the election, healthcare issues. And we didn't have to pay too much for it!

The pageantry was amazing. Nary a hitch. A fairy tale fit for a princess. And the fascinators. Even the little boys who got up early loved the uniforms. Nice to see the men all dressed up, swords belted firmly.

The wedding guests varied from traditional hats, to modern hats and gowns. Guests from all around the world.

2002 wedding by the lake

I pulled out my wedding photos, and my daughter's wedding photos, and we will reminisce about those affairs! We have some 2nd hand hats, dress ups, and my late mother's wedding gown to view. We will watch the ceremony tonight, over a glass of wine, and enjoy it.

Traditions are a thing of the past. If you don't honour the past, and understand where you have come from, you will not understand the present and have a vision for the future.

The ladies fascinators are a visible demonstration of the British sense of humour. They take life seriously but take themselves with a sense of humour.

I wore my wedding dress again!

With a loved one running for office, it was a sensible moment to take a break and time off.

Many in the US and Canada have suffered from this latest storm, but this is a brief moment to reflect, to breath deeply, and sigh at the sheer joy of 1 million Brits cheering happily for their Royal Family!