issue 12 / volume 41

Yop ea aca ae

early federal election}

» Harper has until next fall to drop the ron

 

Patrick Vaillancourt
Senior Columnist

he next national general

election is scheduled for
October 2015, thanks to the
fixed-elections provisions
Prime Minister Stephen
Harper’s government passed
in 2007; that said, the leader
of our national government
has the power to request the
dissolution of Parliament
at any time. Harper himself
broke the very law he passed
in calling the 2008 federal
election, which would
return him to power with a
second consecutive minority
government mandate.

In short, Harper could
call an election any time
before next October, and
constitutional term limits
would allow him to stay in
power until well-into 2016.

It seems pundits are

: suggesting that an early election :
: could work in Harper’s favour
: given the bump in the polls

: he received in the aftermath

: of the attack on Parliament

: Hill, which coincides with

: Canada’s newfound military

: involvement in Iraq. These

: issues, considered alone,

: make for terrible points of

: interest in the guessing game
: surrounding the next federal

: election, particularly because
: those most concerned with

: issues of national defence are
: already solidly in Harper’s

: vote column—that’s the

: Conservative Party’s base.

Also, it would be illogical

: for the prime minister to call

: an early election, when the

: fixed-elections provisions in

: the Canada Elections Act came
: precisely to prevent incumbent
: prime ministers from calling

: snap elections. In calling

: the election in 2008, Harper
rationalized it by saying that

“Parliament had become too

: dysfunctional.” He would not

: be able to get away with that

: now, as the leader of a majority
: government.

Some suggest that the

: timing of an early election

: may have to do with external

: legal matters. Suspended

: Senator Patrick Brazeau will

: be particularly busy next year
: in court, defending himself

: against sexual assault charges
: as well as breach of trust

: allegations in two separate

: trials. Senator Mike Duffy

: is also expected to have his

: day in court on bribery and

: breach of trust charges next

: spring. It’s been suggested that
: Harper will call an election in
: advance of these cases coming
: before a judge. The problem

: is that much of the damage

: on that front has already been
: done—having these cases

: heard will not make anyone
less inclined to vote for the

: Conservatives. It’s clear that

: the Conservative base can be
: revved up to unseat a corrupt
: government of another political :
: stripe (see: the Liberal Party

: and the sponsorship scandal),
: but will likely turn out to vote
: Conservative in the face of

: their own party’s misgivings.

: Given the Conservatives’

: rather healthy war chest,

: I’m certain they can afford a

: well-coordinated campaign

: in October, without worrying
: about the Brazeau/Duffy legal
: drama.

: and for the last 20 months,

: Harper has trailed the Liberals.
: The attack ads so effective in

: destroying previous Liberal

: leaders have failed. Harper's

: best bet is to wait and let Justin :
: Trudeau trip up, which will
: be easy as soon as Trudeau’s
: autobiography comes out.

: Harper will have some fodder to :
play with in creating new attack :

a

The wild card is polls,

opinions // 19

: ads, and place the young Liberal
: leader on the defensive. This
: strategy requires time, which

brings us back to the October

: election date.

Finally, a February budget

: forecast projects a return to

: surplus for the first time in a

: number of years. Harper will

: want the opportunity to pass

: the budget and give Canadians

: the goodies: adult fitness tax

: credits, doubling of the tax-free
: savings account maximum,

: income splitting measures, and
: expanding his child care tax

: credit. All bundled together,

: it makes Harper look like

: he’s doing a good job, and

: Canadians will remember this

: over the scandals that took

: place on his watch.

Harper may not stick to the

October 19, 2015 fixed-election
: date, but I’m putting my money
: ona “back to school” fall 2015

election.

 

Pizza Hut’s avant garde menu will top it off

» Construct your own meal is the future of dining

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
NM opinions
@theotherpress.ca

 

here was a time when

I was rewarded for my
minor accomplishments
with a trip to Pizza Hut. My
parents would gather my good
company together to enjoy an
evening at a restaurant that
served primarily pizza. Today,
the dine-in culture of pizza is
gone. Cheap and convenient
pizza joints such as Fresh Slice,
Megabite Pizza, and Pizza
Garden have multiplied over
the years, lowering the margin
for big-name pizza franchises.

On November 19, Pizza

? Hut will do what their low-key
counterparts have been doing

: since their inception by offering
: a diverse new menu. One

: appealing factor of the smaller
: pizza places is their ability to

: improvise. A customer can

: look through the sneeze guard
: and see the variety—that’s the

: demand. And with a declining

: market of dine-in customers,

: Pizza Hut will have to do more
: than pepperoni and meat lover.

Pizza Hut’s new menu

: will offer innovative flavours

: including Sweet Sriracha

: Dynamite, Buffalo State of

: Mind, Old-Fashioned Meat

: Brawl, and more. Offering

: specialty dishes is nothing new
: in the restaurant industry and

: many culinary innovators are
: using traditional food asa blank :
: canvas, creating what some are:
: calling “frankenfood.”

: Sushi restaurants, especially
: in Vancouver, have been some
: of the most adventurous

: eateries in the world. Almost

: every sushi menu has a

: page dedicated to specialty

: sushi, some exclusive to the

: restaurant. Having unique

: dishes allows the company to

: drive up the price, and if the

: dish attracts a cult following,

: then ina way, the business will
: never die.

Pizza, like sushi, comes

: with a plethora of flavours,
: and customers now have an
: acquired taste within the food

: genre. It’s more than being

: class” pizza restaurant, but it
: can no longer survive with that :
: persona. The public has become :
: acclimatized to the quick-serve
: pizza joints and place customer
: service at the bottom of their
: pizza experience needs. They
: can eat pizza off a plate or they
: can eat it while sitting on the

daring. Anybody who had

; tasted the poutine pizza could
: tell you that; it’s about giving

the market what they want.

Pizza Hut was once a “high

: curb, it doesn’t matter. What
: matters is the taste.

Premium dishes with

unique ingredient combinations
; make eating fun. And with so

: People are sick of the pepperoni :
: pizzas and the California rolls.
: Competition in the food and

: beverage industry is a battle,

: and more menu options is the
: key to victory.

many dining choices around the

: block, executives need to find
: ways to separate their menu

: from others. When people

: consider ordering pizza they

: often don't have a preference;

: whichever delivers fastest,

: whichever is closest, and

: whichever has the best recipes

will win the pizza war in the end.
Pizza Hut’s new initiative is

: far from revolutionary, but it’s

: necessary. And for other failing
: food chains in the red, Pizza

: Hut’s renaissance should act as
: an inspiration.