Nanos National Poll - Strengths and Weaknesses of the Liberal Party

"Beyond the leader, the Conservative brand has a greater tendency to be driven by performance factors such as managing the economy, being consistent and well organized."

Proof the party strengths are not supplied by Harper.

"For the Conservatives, many of their brand weaknesses relate to their style of politics..."

Proof the weaknesses are supplied by Harper. Pedophile disgrace ads another case in point.

Sellout, failure Harper is tanking the CPC.

New leader, better CPC.

[updated Fri Jul 03 01:15:28 EDT 2009]

The negativity towards the Tories can be measured by the fact Generalissimo Harpo is not even trying to woo 100% of Canadian voters. Therefore the attack ads,plus other nefarious and unethical behaviour trends toward the 40% of voters he will never ever win over and therefore are open sores to him and his party.

His ads and style are all directed so that his base support will like the ads with the hope those ads directed at the opposition can sway enough left wing voters to get him over the top. He simply plays the greater fool theory.

Iggy, however, is continuing to broaden his appeal nationally which will in turn hopefully soften the cons vote in western Canada (and there are results starting to show there) which is why Iggy really wanted more time this summer to rebuild the Liberal alliance of the soft left and center voters. Ontario is more solidly red right now but needs more confidence that Iggy can help them out economically and once that has found roots,which it is, he will be on his way to a majority victory.

The just visiting ads have not swayed voters however it remains to be seen what follow up nasties the tories will play as they sink further in the polls. They will not come even close to the level of character assassination that they did with Dion w/o a full war. Iggy has more weapons at his disposal and has his own ads ready to use should he need them.

[updated Fri Jul 03 01:47:16 EDT 2009]

Dirty Tory stuff...the gift that keeps on giving to the next election campaign.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/07/02/mb-ignatieff-toews-ukrainians-manitoba.html

Manitoba Conservative MP Vic Toews has confirmed he authorized a newsletter last month that slammed Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for comments he made about Ukrainians more than a decade ago.

The newsletter highlights comments Ignatieff wrote in his 1993 book Blood and Belonging, a meditation on the positive and negative manifestations of nationalism. It quotes Ignatieff as saying Ukrainian independence reminds him of phony Cossacks, whining instruments and nasty anti-Semites.

Ignatieff said at a luncheon at the Canadian Club of Winnipeg Thursday he was writing about stereotypes that existed at the time, and he respects and honours Ukrainian people for their role in building Canada.
.................................................

TORY TIMES ARE DIRTY TIMES
TORY TIMES ARE TOUGH TIMES

[updated Fri Jul 03 01:47:49 EDT 2009]

TORY TIMES ARE DIRTY TIMES
Here is real slimey tory stuff:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tory-attack-ad-suggests-bloc-soft-on-pedophiles/article1204745/

The message, which was sent at taxpayers' expense in every single Bloc riding, features a blurry picture of a small boy leaving a park with an older man. The two are walking hand-in-hand, and a nearby kiddy swing is empty.

“Your Bloc MP has voted against the protection of children,” the tag line states.

The hard-hitting Conservative campaign aims to highlight the fact the Bloc was the only party last April that voted against a bill imposing minimum sentences for the trafficking of children, in matters such as prostitution rings.

“The Bloc prefers sweet deals for criminals. That's unacceptable,” the Conservative campaign states.

Law-and-order issues are rarely at the centre of political debate in Quebec, but the Conservatives argue that Quebeckers are as concerned as other Canadians about crimes against children.

“What we are denouncing is the fact that the Bloc is voting against the values of Quebeckers,” Conservative MP Steven Blaney said in an interview. He represents a riding just south of Quebec City.

[updated Fri Jul 03 01:50:06 EDT 2009]

Trying not to be partisan, the Conservative strength appears to be trying to make a half decent job out of a mighty mess. Their weakness has been their inability to accept they are a minority and their inability to CONSISTENTLY try for diplomacy and involvement of the opposition in governance. At times they appear to have delighted in tweeking the majority opposition noses then, for example, decry the inability of Committees to function. The Conservative STYLE does not appear to foster goodwill and that lands squarely at the feet of Harper.

The Liberal strength APPEARS that they may be a viable alternative but we do not know enough about them or their plaform---assuming they have one at this time because they surely do not want the electorate to know about what they may or may not do. Their weakness appears to be that they really do not have a political road map. The Unemployment Insurance kerfuffle, in my opinion, was an example of needing some sort of political GPS.

[updated Fri Jul 03 03:26:05 EDT 2009]

More proof that the Libs are returning to be the NGP:

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=1754129
Since Mr. Ignatieff was declared interim leader in December, and subsequently ratified by the party membership in May, impressive things have been happening over at LPC headquarters. First was the arrival of Rocco Rossi -- a longtime professional fundraiser. The second development was the election (or more accurately, acclamation) of longtime Liberal stalwart, and original member of the Ignatieff inner circle, Alfred Apps, as president of the party. Together with a leader who has seen the consequences of inaction on data collection, market segmentation, membership recruitment and fundraising, these two individuals have been able to help steer the Liberal ship away from the shoals, toward open water.

In six months, Liberal fundraising numbers have increased dramatically: In round figures, the party will raise in two quarters this year what it took in for the whole year in 2008 -- and that was an election year! Moreover, the party's new commitment to membership growth is critical. For too long, the Liberal party's members have not been donors, and our donors not members. This

is changing. By focusing on membership recruitment, and developing new and innovative ways of communicating with its base, the party could soon find itself on an equal financial footing with the Conservative party.

So darn right Liberals are feeling good about what's going on in their party-- and while Mr. Ignatieff's team members are just getting started, they are entitled to be proud, too.

And to those Conservatives out there who believe they have Canada's most successful political party on the financial ropes, a little reminder: It wasn't that long ago that you folks were the butt of these sorts of jokes. I wouldn't be laughing too hard just yet if I were you... - Jamie Carroll is a former national director of the Liberal Party of Canada,

[updated Fri Jul 03 08:54:34 EDT 2009]

Nik,

A couple of things: even though the Conservatives form the government and have a track record on which to base one's opinions, do these responses also break down into sub-categories? I would have thought that some people, even at this stage, would be Unsure of weakness.

As for weakness generally, with half of respondents saying the Liberals are weak and two-thirds that the Conservatives are also weak, it seems polling going forward will not be self-evident. Right now, we seem to be in trench warfare in "no-man's" land. Polling is basically frozen in place with no momentum since the first Liberal green shoots. To my mind, that means unless the NDP vote transfers to a considerable extent to the Liberals, the relative status quo could be the end result in the next election. Hoping the platform can do the trick.

[updated Fri Jul 03 09:25:40 EDT 2009]

Nic- I read the headline with interest thinking this would be an insightful poll. Upon reading the statistics I find the most important point of the survey not discussed.

I refer to the fact that, unlike the conservative responses, a full 49% of your respondents could not identify either a strength or a weakness in the Liberals. That should have been your flashing light. This party is disengaged from half the population if you extrapolate the numbers.

This should have been highlighted as it skews the data. It is not an even comparison as your data for the conservatives was derived from 1000 respondents and for the liberals it was 500 respondents. With such a small sample size for the liberals the margin of error goes way up and the data becomes useless. Cheers.

[updated Fri Jul 03 10:54:48 EDT 2009]

More Tory sleaze:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/660206

Let's be clear that these monies are part of Government of Canada programs funded by our tax dollars. This is not money from the Conservative party," Lucas wrote to the Star. "I think that Mr. Van Loan crossed the ethical line to maximize party promotion. Government programs should never be used to advertise for the party in power."

Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the Prime Minister, didn't comment on the appropriateness of the cheques. "We're proud that this government provided $1,275,778 in infrastructure funding to the good people of Innisfil," he said.

The Government of Canada, as a corporate entity, has strict rules about how its dollars, logo and programs can be used. It's called the Federal Identity Program and nonpartisanship is one of its guiding principles, according to the government's website.

The federal Treasury Board guards how the official "face" and "voice" of the government are presented, and has cracked down on private companies using the maple leaf logo to promote themselves.

[updated Fri Jul 03 17:07:05 EDT 2009]

"Looking at the weaknesses of the two parties, there are interesting threads of opinion. For the Conservatives, many of their brand weaknesses relate to their style of politics while for the Liberals their brand weaknesses relate to the past or organizational capabilities."

What do you mean by weaknesses (or strengths) of a political party? Physical, mental emotional or spiritual. Are just talking about the degree that they are being accepted by what percentage of the population? Or what aspects of their nature that is not being accepted.

I judge politicians by their ability to perceive what most voters want and their ability to respond to the voters problems and the intelligence and good judgement they use dealing with them and how open, honest and sincere in dealing with the voters.

By that criteria Harper approaches zero. Since he is the Conservative Party, it is near zero. That is their weakness.

The Liberal Party Is not yet Ignatieff`s party but he is moving in that direction. He is not as open and straight forward with the people as he should. He is placing too much emphasis on himself and the party and it`s welfare rather than on the country as a whole. and he has made several errors in judgement, IMO. However he has some redeeming qualities, unlike Harper. For those reasons the Liberal Party is far ahead of the Conservatives. In other words, has a lot less weaknesses.

Yesterday we buried a great man, and a great politician. He set a model, a standard for all young aspiring politicians to emulate. If we had 300 people like him in Ottawa our country would be far ahead of where it is today. And I would feel much more comfortable that my children and grandchildren would have much brighter future to look forward to.

[updated Sat Jul 04 08:00:28 EDT 2009]

What has happened to the old Michael Ignatieff? HERMAN GOODDEN

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Columnists/Goodden_Herman/2009/07/04/10023436-sun.html

After 20 years of flannel-tongued leaders -- the thuggish Jean Chretien, the hopelessly dithering Paul Martin, the gormlessly obtuse Stephane Dion -- you can see why Liberal Party managers were crying out for a leader who could actually express himself.

If they could find someone who combined reasonably good looks with a level of erudition and had the media savvy to put his ideas across, it would all hearken back to that golden era of their great philosopher king, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

The rest of the article is not so generous to the "blank slate", so I have left the link for others to ignore or read.

This Summer BBQ season will be an interesting time for all parties to rebuild.

[updated Sat Jul 04 12:14:04 EDT 2009]

When the CBC and the Liberals get it wrong!

The simple fact and distortions by them regarding the refusal of the Bloc to support legislation requiring minimum sentences is a FACT.

Does the public want criminals to face tougher sentences or do they want the same system to continue allowing judges to ignore public outrage?

In October 2008 to stop any potential for a majority the Bloc threw everything and the kitchen sink at the Conservatives.

http://www.lianmacdonald.ca/columns/post/20081016.html

Harper, who loves tactics, got played by Gilles Duceppe, the Bloc Quebecois and the Quebec media. What had been a referendum on Harper delivering the goods for Quebec and the Bloc having had its day in Ottawa was transformed within days into a referendum on Harper not sharing Quebec values and the Bloc defending them. Harper's Quebec ballot question got flipped to a ballot question on identity that Duceppe couldn't lose.

From "cultural genocide" to "universities of crime," no accusation against Harper was understated. Worse, Duceppe personally vilified him as a "liar," "cheater," "retrograde," "arrogant" and, of course, clone of George W. Bush. Duceppe made Karl Rove look like a choir boy."

"Not only did the Conservatives fail to anticipate this line of attack, they completely failed to push back. No attempt was made to refute Duceppe's allegations, or discredit him for practising the politics of personal destruction"

From a Conservative point of view, that is exactly what is wrong with this country. That the Bloc and other progressives put far too much faith in the judiciary, are too lenient with offenders and tend to forget the victims.

However, it does NOT suggest the Bloc is soft on the abuse of children — a stretch by any imagination. Yet, that is the message that the mainstream media are sending.

Listen, for example, to what Peter Mansbridge implied in last night’s National, starting at the 14.56 mark on this tape. Then read the editorial is today’s Gazette which starts off by stating (H/T National Newswatch):

“[The] Conservative ad is shameful. Sometimes political “attack ads” make a bit of sense, unsavoury though they are. But some of them are just ridiculous. Take for example a new Conservative print ad suggesting that Bloc Québécois members of Parliament are soft on sexual abuse of children.

Yes, the Bloc voted against a Conservative bill to impose minimum sentences for the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. The party did so because the Bloc objects, as do many others across Canada, to minimum-sentence provisions in general.

This ad is a shameful effort to smear an opposing party. There’s plenty wrong with the Bloc’s view of the world, but Bloc MPs are not evil, not even indifferent to child safety.

The Conservatives do things like this and then complain that the Commons atmosphere is poisoned. What’s wrong with them?“ (My underlining.)

What’s wrong with them — meaning the Conservatives? The only thing wrong about this whole issue is how far our political correctness has dragged this country down.

http://www.sandracruxblog.com/2009/07/04/why-bloc-quebecois-truth-ad-is-politically-incorrect/

[updated Sat Jul 04 16:28:23 EDT 2009]

Tory fortunes faltering in Quebec

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tory-fortunes-faltering-in-quebec/article1207235/

The Quebec scene has been disrupted by the recent arrival of Mr. Ignatieff at the Liberal helm. Largely unknown, he has forced federalists to consider a return to the party's fold, after their massive exit at the time of the sponsorship scandal.

The provincial stage also offers an illustration of the strange politics of the day. The Liberals are surviving the dire economic news, while the Parti Québécois was trounced in a by-election in the francophone riding of Rivière-du-Loup in June, despite running well-known ex-Bloc MP Paul Crête.

The result is a great fluidity and a number of marriages of convenience, leaving old assumptions about political allegiances by the wayside

[updated Sun Jul 05 20:45:32 EDT 2009]

Where Have You Gone Oh Blue Sweater!

Our Prime Minister is many things -- some good, some not. You know, one thing we can say for sure about him is that he takes this pragmatist thing pretty seriously. Who would have thought that the PM would push his own personal fashion statements to the point where he is wearing centrist shirts: did you spot the RED shirt he was wearing in Calgary on the weekend?

Personally, I think he is taking this moderate image a bit too far. Next thing you know he'll be coming out as a New Democrat!!!

Be that as it may, I want to say that when I heard Harper speak I quickly came to the conclusion that his speech marked the most frank point of his political career so far -- truer words were never spoken when he said he would appoint more Conservatives to the Senate to get his legislation through Parliament. That's one only a fool would fail to take to the bank. Aren't you glad we didn't have an election?!

[updated Mon Jul 06 09:38:28 EDT 2009]

For conservatives who are sick of what is going on and are looking for an alternative to the CPC:

http://www.national-progressive-conservative-party.com/

Join us, if you are sick of being embarrassed by the Reformers and Stephen Harper.

[updated Mon Jul 06 12:59:39 EDT 2009]

As I have been saying and repeating Tory times are tough times:
http://www.canada.com/business/fp/Raise+taxes+spending+deficit+Report/1764446/story.html

OTTAWA — The independent Parliamentary Budget Office says the federal government is now running a permanent deficit that can only be eliminated by raising taxes or cutting spending.

That contradicts the view of the federal government, which believes the deficit will naturally disappear once the economy improves.

In his latest fiscal projections, to be officially released Wednesday but parts of which were obtained by Canwest News Service, budget officer Kevin Page says the deficit will be nearly $156 billion over the next five years, much deeper than the $103.2 billion cumulative deficit that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's department has predicted.

"If Preston Manning had a grave, he'd be rolling in it right now. Are there no fiscal conservatives left in the Conservative Party? It's quite remarkable," said Liberal MP John McKay, a member of the House of Commons finance committee and one of his party's most fiscally conservative members.

"I'm a little distressed that we're going this high this quickly and I'm a little distressed that we appear to be in far greater financial difficulties than previously thought or previously communicated by Mr. Flaherty," McKay added.

Flaherty, though, predicted last month that the deficit this year will be just over $50 billion. Page comes up with a lower deficit figure for this year — $48.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters — although Page's deficits for each fiscal year between now and 2014 are larger than Flaherty's"

THE TORIES KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ECONOMICS AND EVEN LESS ABOUT ETHICS AND GOOD GOVERNANCE.

TORY TIMES ARE TOUGH TIMES

[updated Mon Jul 06 16:41:29 EDT 2009]

Unveiling more economic mismanagement and lies by Harper, one by one:

Budget office urges GST hike to curb deficit
David Akin, Canwest News Service Published: Friday, July 03, 2009
OTTAWA -- The independent Parliamentary Budget Office says the federal government is now running a PERMENENT deficit that can only be eliminated by raising taxes or cutting spending.
That contradicts the view of the federal government, which believes the deficit will naturally disappear once the economy improves.

Harper's days are numbered as he clearly knows it. That is why he is pulling out the desperate and creepy pedophile ads. Disgraceful and embarassing behaviour for a PM. Shame.

[updated Mon Jul 06 18:19:55 EDT 2009]

Strategic Counsel: Time To Push For A Fall Election.

Liberal momentum has ended and so has the honeymoon. Ask yourself why? Some will argue it is because Michael brought us to the brink and then backed away. These people will say his mistake WAS bringing us to the edge knowing that the public was in no way receptive to a federal election.

Call that the conventional wisdom. I've never been one for conventional wisdom. My take is different: in order to gain increased support with voters, you have to show them precisely what you're made of -- and that means pulling the plug when the political stars have alligned right even if your numbers are soft or your organization not completely in place.

Translation: we have to go this fall. To fail to do so will mean inheriting the Mr. Dithers crown...and that could be fatal to Michael's leadership.

I want this Prime Minister out of office and I want it yesterday. How it makes me cringe when I see the PM manoevering for time and political advantage. Has anyone spotted the new trend? He consolidates and picks up momentum while we drop. Enough of this already.

Stephen Harper believes that like Stéphane Dion, that Michael will never form a Liberal government...I want the guy to eat those words...I can't help but wish I had more company.

The numbers: Conservatives 34, Liberals 33, NDP 15;

Ontario: C 43, L 39, N 11.

[updated Tue Jul 07 09:29:42 EDT 2009]

Canada ranked last in G8 on climate action
---------------
If you think the US mortgage repackaging Ponzi Scheme was BIG wait for the next one, featuring Climate Warming, Cap & Trade. Insurance Companies and Banks are looking forward for the next big tax transfer of wealth.
-----------------------

http://www.squamishchief.com/article/GB/20090706/CP07/307069880/-1/SQUAMISH/economic-climate-change-and-tectonic-aftershocks-await-g8-leaders-in&template=cpart

http://wwf.ca/newsroom/?4000

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http://www.global100.org/what.asp

[updated Tue Jul 07 11:04:09 EDT 2009]

Harper and his MPs talking out of both sides of their mouths. They funded the gay pride parade but when the religious right complained, said they hadn't meant to. Harper will say and do anything to stay in power and often this means saying whatever he thinks will work.

MP slams junior cabinet minister over Gay Pride support
David Akin, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, July 07, 2009

OTTAWA -- A Conservative MP is telling reporters in his Saskatchewan riding that cabinet colleague Diane Ablonczy has been relieved of the tourism portfolio for signing off on a $400,000 grant for Toronto's Gay Pride parade.

Mr. Trost's claim that Ms. Ablonczy had been fired for giving money to fund a parade which celebrates homosexual, bisexual, and transgendered culture and routinely attracts tens of thousands of tourists was made in a report on an anti-abortion website. LifeSiteNews.com quoted Mr. Trost saying funding approval for the parade "was a very isolated decision"and "was not supported . . . by a large majority of the MPs."

"The pro-life and the pro-family community should know and understand that the tourism funding money that went to the gay pride parade in Toronto was not government policy," Mr. Trost told LifeSiteNews.com. "Canadian taxpayers, even non-social conservative ones, don't want their tax dollars to go to events that are polarizing or events that are more political than touristic in nature."

[updated Tue Jul 07 13:51:19 EDT 2009]

Either Harper and Flaherty are lying or they are disasters as financial managers.

Don Martin: Save Kevin Page
Posted: July 07, 2009, 4:37 PM by NP Editor

Economic growth will be lower, unemployment higher and deficits bigger than the government expected, with overspending now so deeply ingrained into unbalanced sheets that he concludes the projected $155-billion deficit over the next four years cannot be simply swallowed by future economic growth.

In other words, unless this government is willing to impose a suicidal slash on program spending, a firesale of Crown assets or a sharp cut to transfer payments in the next three years, the only way back to the black is by hiking the GST or income taxes in a full-frontal breach of fundamental Conservative promises.

[updated Tue Jul 07 17:04:43 EDT 2009]

Praying For A Harper-Brown Bilateral!

We get it. Gordon Brown is a bit tiffed at Stephen Harper. (And I thought Brown already had his hands full, "domestically" speaking.)

Anywho. It seems the British PM will be exchanging frank words with our Prime Minister on African development aid and climate change.

This is like manna from heaven. Please O Noble Lord, please, please, make it a bilateral. And better yet, how about a joint press conference to contain...uh, uh, I mean, paper-over the chasm of differences.

This may not be as good as Silvio's frolicking but hey, it ain't too shabby nonetheless.

[updated Tue Jul 07 21:21:26 EDT 2009]

When criticizing Ignatieff for having no platform, Canadians ought to remember that Harper released his platform about a week prior to election day. Also, can someone tell me what is the Conservative plan?

They are in power and it is quite hard to understand their motives. Especially the funding for the Gay Pride parade in Toronto, where the PMO was shocked when they learned they had approved it. They seem to be spending all their efforts on attack ads and campaigning and are letting the country go adrift, which also can be seen in their folly and inept management of the economy, outlined in the G&M today.

[updated Tue Jul 07 21:26:33 EDT 2009]

Westerner,
MRM,

Just in case Informed1 doesn't make it back, I hope one of you guys will be back to spar with us Liberals. You know, it won't be quite the same just talking amongst ourselves. (If I want an echo chamber, I'll head for the can!)

We'd all be much obliged if you would take up the challenge -- as soon as you get back from the Stampede, that is.

[updated Tue Jul 07 22:22:46 EDT 2009]

Is Harper stupid or what? That is a total insult to Catholics, the Host is extremely important to them. To a Catholic it symbolizes that Harper put the body of Christ in his pocket to be disposed of later. You are supposed to refuse it, not stick it in your pocket. What a jacka$$.

July 08, 2009 Susan Delacourt on Politics torstar

Good icebreaker for conversation with the Pope
From today's Telegraph-Journal, this little story:

A senior New Brunswick Roman Catholic priest is demanding the Prime Minister's Office explain what happened to the sacramental communion wafer Stephen Harper was given at Roméo LeBlanc's funeral mass.

During communion at the solemn and dignified service held last Friday in Memramcook for the former governor general, the prime minister slipped the thin wafer that Catholics call "the host" into his jacket pocket.

And here's the video, courtesy of YouTube. Watch at the 30-second mark or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTH9b6YJ6mc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fthestar%2Eblogs%2Ecom%2Fpolitics%2F2009%2F07%2Fgood%2Dicebreaker%2Dfor%2Dconversation%2Dwith%2Dthe%2Dpope%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded

[updated Wed Jul 08 10:29:29 EDT 2009]

Interesting opinion column found in today's Chronicle Herald, it's a must read.

More generous EI will increase unemployment
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1131296.html

Thu Jul 09, 06:09:00 AM

OVER the summer, the newly minted Employment Insurance Working Group, consisting of three members selected by Canada’s Conservative government and three by the Opposition Liberals, will examine various options to reform the employment insurance program, including the proposal by Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals to significantly shorten the qualification period for eligibility.

While proposals like that of the Liberals are well-intended, they are ultimately misguided. Previous changes to Canada’s EI program have shown that making the program more generous will lead to a permanent increase in unemployment rates and longer spells of unemployment. In addition, making it easier to claim benefits will require even larger federal deficits that will saddle Canadians with higher taxes in the future to repay what the government borrows. While the employment insurance system needs reform, dramatically reducing qualification period is not the solution.

Currently, most Canadians need to work between 420 and 700 hours in the past year to qualify for employment insurance. The precise number of hours depends on the unemployment rate in the region where the worker resides — workers in high unemployment areas (13 per cent or greater) are at the low end of the range, while workers in low unemployment regions (six per cent or less) are at the upper end. EI benefits can then be collected for up to a year, depending again on the unemployment rate in the region and the number of "insurable hours" worked over the past year.

Pressure to reduce the qualification period for EI eligibility has resulted largely from the grossly exaggerated claims about the number of unemployed workers who are ineligible for employment insurance. For instance, the Liberal party suggests that "over 60 per cent of unemployed Canadians … do not qualify for it (employment insurance)."

However, a recent TD Economics report highlighted that approximately 30 per cent of unemployed were ineligible for EI because they did not contribute to the program (i.e., those who are self-employed or unemployed for more than 12 months) and another 16 per cent did not qualify because they left their job for "invalid" reasons (i.e., voluntarily quit). The reality is that about 80 per cent of those who are "potentially eligible" receive EI benefits. And the number reaches 90 per cent for those who had worked full time prior to becoming unemployed.

That said, Ignatieff’s Liberals continue to push for a dramatically reduced EI qualification period of 360 hours, or nine weeks, regardless of the unemployment rate in the region. Unfortunately, the Liberals do not seem to understand that people actually do respond to incentives. Providing 50 weeks of benefits after nine weeks of work will encourage some Canadians to collect EI rather than continue to work. In addition, the changes will increase the number of Canadians in the labour force for the sole purpose of working just long enough to collect benefits. The end result will be a significant and permanent increase in Canada’s unemployment rate.

To get an idea of the ultimate effects of such a change in employment insurance policy, the Employment Insurance Working Group would do well to consider the results from a recent study on unemployment differences in New Brunswick and the U.S. state of Maine.

Long-Term Effects of Generous Unemployment Insurance: Case Study of New Brunswick and Maine,1940-1991, authored by economics professors Peter Kuhn and Chris Riddell, compared employment insurance systems in New Brunswick to that in Maine — two relatively homogenous jurisdictions, socially and economically.

Continued on next post

[updated Thu Jul 09 08:44:23 EDT 2009]

G8 Regret.

I can't help but feel that the G8 leaders will leave L'Aquila, Italy with at least one regret: too bad Hans-Rudolf Merz, President of the Swiss Confederation wasn't invited. What a blunder, in hindsight.

After all, no other leader could be more reliably counted upon to adequately address the summit's most pressing issue of our time: handing Stephen Harper a Rolex!

[updated Thu Jul 09 21:18:50 EDT 2009]

Harpo's lies and hypocrisy continue:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/664436

L'AQUILA, Italy–Prime Minister Stephen Harper has scrapped his government's controversial promise to stop running annual budget deficits in five years.

For the first time, Harper said today that keeping the government's pledge to balance Ottawa's books by 2013-14 will depend on how quickly Canada's economy recovers.

"We will allow the deficit to persist if necessary," Harper said. "We will not, in order to meet some timetable, start raising taxes and cutting programs."

Until today, the Conservatives had insisted they had a timetable to end deficit financing. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty had brushed aside critics who said the government's spending initiatives and massive tax cuts would make it impossible to return to budget surpluses by 2013-14.

But Harper told reporters after the G8 summit in Italy that the government won't be bound by that promise.

He said a recovery in the Canadian economy will be "well under way" by early 2011, which will result in higher tax revenues and lower expenses for Ottawa.

But "if the recession turns out to be longer than that, for example, or the recovery turns out to be shallower, then that will change the pattern of the recovery from the current deficit," Harper said.

The Prime Minister was responding to comments earlier this week by Kevin Page, the independent parliamentary budget officer, who said the government's budget deficits are so large that Harper could only balance Ottawa's books in five years by raising taxes or slashing programs.

The Prime Minister insisted that, even if government revenues are slower to recover than predicted, he would not hike taxes or cut programs. "That's a very dumb policy," Harper told reporters.

and this dandy from our worst PM ever:
" He criticized Page, whose fiscal projections he said were more "pessimistic" than most."

[updated Sat Jul 11 00:14:41 EDT 2009]

Here's one that the Libs should save for the next camapign:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-thinks-that-canada-can-show-us-how-to-slash-public-debt-is-he-right-1741920.html

So it is that the Tories are obsessing about another North American political success story, that of the Canadian Liberal Party, which swept to power in 1993 and proceeded to implement the biggest reduction in government spending in the country's history, eliminating a crippling C$42bn (£22bn) budget deficit in just four years. The international acclaim was raucous: The Wall Street Journal had proclaimed Canada "an honorary member of the Third World" in 1993, when its national debt was heading towards a peak of 72 per cent of the size of the economy; in 1998, Paul Martin, the finance minister, was heralded by Business Week magazine for having produced "a maple leaf miracle". The centrist Liberal Party went on to further electoral success – and Mr Martin inherited the prime minister's office. No wonder the Conservatives are salivating.

[updated Sat Jul 11 07:38:20 EDT 2009]

Dimitri Soudas.

This hasn't exactly been one of the best weeks for Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister's Press Secretary. No need to go into it all over again...

As one who has pointedly and frequently gone out of my way the criticize the PMO and its officials, I want to take a step back here and acknowledge that all human beings, including this writer, have fumbled the ball on more than one occasion.

It's easy to take a shot but less so to carry the can. I want to point out that Soudas issued two apologies. The man took responsibility and apologized with class. I want to put that on the record.

Whether he should stay or go is open to debate but I think the answer lies with Dimitri Soudas himself. He will know whether he should continue in the job or move on to something else.

[updated Sat Jul 11 11:01:35 EDT 2009]

Angus Reid: Conservatives Hold Six Point Lead.

An Angus Reid Strategies poll shows the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals with 36% support. Liberals have fallen to 30% while New Democrats and the Bloc are also down, coming in at 16 and 10% respectively. The Greens are unchanged at 7%.

In the last three months, Conservatives are up 3 points, Liberals down by the same margin while the NDP is one point higher.

[updated Sat Jul 11 11:58:58 EDT 2009]

Keeping Your Head When All Those Around You Are Losing Theirs...

Time for a little generic advice as we approach the September apex: so far it's been a war of intense mutual dislike and graphic body language. Trust me, it shows.

Guts are quite literally on fire internally, clouding and colouring one's perceptions and capacity to respond both effectively and in a deliberate manner.

Time to purge all of this from the political equation. The future of Canada stands in the balance. Rise to the occasion -- play fair and hit 'em hard, right where they live.

Keep your cool. Rise above it, when necessary. But hone the strategy, focus it like a laser beam and then get out there and win.

Consign the continually distracting mind games and political pettiness to the ash heap.

Don't let it get personal. Show us your thoroughbred qualities and the rest will take care of itself.

[updated Sat Jul 11 12:26:29 EDT 2009]

The Resignation...That Wasn't.

Wow, Stephen Harper is still Prime Minister of Canada. Boy, that was a close one! I guess that blurb in Quebec that the PM was heading out the door this week was nothing more than fanciful thinking. How does the song go? "Dream, though you're feeling blue, dream, that's the thing to do..."

In any event, regular readers will recall how I've consistently bored you with my often repeated prediction that Harper will go down fighting in the next election.

Need further proof he is going nowhere? Just look at the Conservative patronage system in ridings that they presently hold: each regional minister has their own patronage committee where longstanding and distinguished Conservatives sift through the piles of resumes. Each committee has the power to make recommendations but not to effect appointments.

Only the PMO and cabinet can let fly the manna from heaven. What I'm hearing is that the present state of affairs resembles the room where the guy needs to haul out the Liquid Plumber. Pipe congestion reigns.

If our Prime Minister was about to leave, or more credibly, was convinced he couldn't win next time, out would come the One Second Plumber with a vengeance!

Meanwhile, potential appointees are left to fret, fuss, obsess and worry. To quote that politically savvy prime minister -- what a bunch of "nervous Nellies".

FULL DISCLOSURE: Yours truly was blocked by the PMO for two potential OIC appointments when I had a CPC membership.

[updated Sun Jul 12 18:01:29 EDT 2009]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/have-the-liberals-gone-soft-why-are-they-upset-over-attack-ads/article1214605/
This article defends the attack ads of the reformatories but one commentator of the column hit the nail on the head about the Tories stupidity:

"I think Flanagan misses the point entirely. It's not that the Conservatives use attack ads, it's that that's all they use. They hide their policies and put out pointless websites showing birds pooping on their opponents. It's one thing to criticize your opponent's voting record, it's another to insult the intelligence of the voting public with puerile displays of partisan garbage propaganda.

As for the issue of Jerimiah Wright in the U.S., I think that's exactly the kind of non-issue that the Republicans love to focus on, but this time it backfired, along with the outrageous accusations of "socialism" and the usual "un-Americaness" levelled at "liberals". It might have worked again, but with the economy melting down around them and people losing their jobs and going bankrupt, people stopped listening to stupid and opted for some relevance in their politics again. The more strident the Repubs got, the more they dropped in the polls.

Conservative attack ads are specifically designed to appeal to people who are generally ignorant about politics - the undecided - who don't have the knowledge-base to analyze the distortions and lies. That's why they tend to take on the character of playground mud-slinging, like accusations that The Bloc supports child rapists, for example.

But don't worry, with the Conservative ideology in tatters and their intellectual credibility in the garbage, brace yourself for an all-stupid, all-the-time election campaign a la Karl Rove next election, as stupid is all the Conservatives have left.

And Flanagan knows it. He's bracing you for it."

[updated Mon Jul 13 05:56:21 EDT 2009]

Driving In Those Wedges, Sacred Or Otherwise.

Let's start it off by quoting the Prime Minister:

According to the PM, those responsible for this are "[...] people who want to cause embarrassment in religion and [wait for it] drive a wedge between Protestants and Catholics."

Now ain't that one rich coming from the Supremo of Pile Driving. Let me counter with a little of Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better --

Nobody does it better.
Makes me feel sad for the rest.
Nobody does it half as good as you.
Baby, you're the best.

Those winds, they are a changing...

[updated Wed Jul 15 18:19:11 EDT 2009]

British Tories look to Canadian Liberals for a lesson on the economy
Posted: July 12, 2009, 2:00 PM by NP Editor

The world looks to the Liberals for economic sound management. Not Harper the economic failure.

[updated Wed Jul 15 18:35:47 EDT 2009]

MacLeans: "What the Tories need to do in Quebec".

That's the headline. The answer: practice crying.

The Prime Minister for better or worse, is on his own. He won't have any prominent local centerpieces because the bench strength has proven itself not to be solid enough. The list of ministers and occasions where the ball was badly fumbled is simply too long. That is the reality the PM is faced with in Quebec.

Political embarrassment walks in abundance in the CPC Quebec caucus. As for a power sharing agreement with a political equal -- please, let's get real here. Harper would need to, at the very least, coax a provincial cabinet minister and that won't happen in my lifetime. In short, he's stuck with what he's got and that my friends is nothing worth writing home about.

[updated Wed Jul 15 19:45:36 EDT 2009]

When The Run Of The One-Man Show Is Finally Up.

It's not easy being a one-man show: I can think of several notable ones we've had in Quebec but I want to focus on the election results of June 5th, 1966. Premier Jean Lesage never saw it coming and neither did anyone else. I remember my father telling me how he went to the Quebec City airport to clear a shipment through Customs and told the Air Canada agents that Daniel Johnson of the Union Nationale was about to take power. To put it politely, they laughed in his face. Reality set in a few days later as the election results rolled in. My Dad, always a reliable Conservative, had a big smile on his face that night, or so I'm told.

All of this to bring us to the Harris/Decima poll for The Canadian Press: 64% of Canadians and 63% of Quebecers want to elect a majority government in the next election. Even a majority of Bloc supporters expressed the same desire!

Does this mean that we've arrived at a political watershed moment? Will we see a bandwagon effect that will not be represented in the polls as respondents hedge their answers in identifying their eventual voter preference? In short, are we heading into the political season of little white lies?

In other words, will voters say one thing while doing another at the ballot box? Somewhere out there, the ghosts of Jean Lesage and Daniel Johnson are paying rapt attention.

[updated Thu Jul 16 10:46:42 EDT 2009]

More proof of Harper's mismanagement and falsehoods.

Ottawa stuck with deficit until 2019, as slump, baby-boomer effect hits treasury
THE CANADIAN PRESS
July 16, 2009

OTTAWA - A new report says Ottawa will need a full decade of economic growth to eliminate the deficit, six years longer than the government currently projects.
Toronto-based Dale Orr Economic Insight says the federal government's current plan to grow out of the deficit by fiscal year 2013-14 is no longer tenable.

In a dispute between the government and Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page, economist Orr sides with Page in predicting that in the year when the government says it will balance the books, the deficit will still be in the $17 billion range.

Orr says the problem is that growing out of the deficit will take until 2019-20, assuming everything goes right. And it says the government needs to table a new plan to eliminate the deficit, or admit it won't happen for another 10 years.

Harper ADMIT he is wrong??? He will drive the party and the country into the ground before that happens.

New leader, new winning CPC

[updated Thu Jul 16 13:04:31 EDT 2009]

Harper's failure as an economist and a conservative and his dishonesty about it, is ruining the country. Time to rid ourselves of this massive failure and bogus conservative leader.

PM weaving another fiscal fantasy

Jul 18, 2009 04:30 AM
James Travers

OTTAWA

Just last fall, fooling enough of the people, enough of the time was pretty easy. With an assist from political rivals, Stephen Harper kept economic reality at bay until after federal ballots were counted.

Now the Prime Minister is engaged in the much more difficult project of persuading history to repeat. He wants voters in the next election to believe the ballooning deficit, the one a recession-proof Canadian economy was so certain to evade, will fix itself.

Fantasy is the free lunch of politics. Eventually, this generation or another will have to pay the price of feasting at the groaning board of stimulus spending.

Worse still, that tab, tallied in more taxes, fewer programs or both, will land on the public table at a most inconvenient moment. About the time Ottawa forecasts its budget will be back into the black, the first swollen cohorts of baby boomers will flee the office for the golf course and medical clinic.

Realism wasn't central to Conservative strategy in the last election; it's apparently not what they have in mind for the next. Hoping voters will suspend their disbelief a second time, the ruling party is again dangling the prospect of a pain-free future.

Splendid if true, the Conservative chiaroscuro rings false. Along with begging Canadians to forgive being misled last autumn, it asks a lot by murmuring "just trust us" to better manage the economy.

In effect, Harper and friends want to wipe clean the slate listing the compound errors that were pushing the federal government toward deficit even before the recession: successive GST cuts and profligate spending. They want enough voters to believe for just long enough that a prime minister and a party that got it wrong so often now have it right.

[updated Sat Jul 18 11:19:02 EDT 2009]

Ekos: Conservatives Slightly Ahead.

An Ekos poll released on Thursday shows the Conservatives and Liberals virtually neck and neck with 34.1% of respondents backing the CPC and 32.4% the LPC. The NDP has 15.2% support with the Greens coming in at 9.6% and the Bloc at 8.7%.

Somewhat disquieting for yours truly is that fact that when asked whether the Government of Canada was going in the right direction, 49% approved. Other interesting tidbits: Conservatives are ahead in all four western provinces, the Liberals in Ontario and the Atlantic region and the BQ in Quebec.

Males favour the Conservatives while Females back the Liberals. The 18-44 voter subset shows a Liberal lead while the 45 and up group ranks the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals.

Liberals lead in Toronto and Montreal and are tied with the Conservatives in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are in front in Calgary and Ottawa.

High School and College attendees go Conservative while Liberals are ahead with those who went to University.

And finally, my personal favourite: more Quebec women back the Liberals than the Bloc.

[updated Sat Jul 18 11:29:35 EDT 2009]

Raising The Old Profile One Notch At A Time.

Personally, I happen to like Monday morning quarterbacks. Nothing like the benefit of hindsight and previous experience...I don't know about you but I find it mildly amusing to watch as we are being systematically re-introduced to a previously rising star.

I can't help but take note of the number of recent reasonably thoughtful and honorable interventions. The sense of humour is also entertaining.

Are these the first moves in another interesting game of advanced chess? And if so, who is he really gunning for?

No choice but to just sit back and take it all in -- one political frame at a time.

[updated Sat Jul 18 12:09:32 EDT 2009]

Angus Reid: Conservatives Drop Three Points.

Conservatives are supported by 33% of respondents and lead the Liberals by three points. The NDP is backed by 18% (up two points) while 11% support the Bloc. The Greens come in at 6%.

The real story to my mind is the Dexter effect: Liberal fortunes are suffering to some extent across the board as the NDP make inroads -- particular in Atlantic Canada where the New Democrats are now in second place behind the Conservatives. The Liberals are also third in Manitoba. Ouch.

As per usual, the Conservatives own the West, the Liberals have a slight lead in Ontario and the Bloc has a nine point advance over the Liberals in Quebec.

This puts Liberals in a bit of a box: do you continue to hug the middle to cut off as many voters from supporting the Conservatives or do you move left to stem the recent tide to the NDP? Either scenario has both its positives and negatives...remember, in politics, "perception is nine-tenths of the law"! In my book that means moving away from being perceived as center-right and firmly occupying the healthy middle but with occasional left tinges. To my mind, that is the road to take to bring people home following what I expect to be a passing flirtation with the NDP.

But hey, last time I checked I wasn't the leader. That job is above my pay grade. So let Michael wrestle with it and see how it all comes out. One thing seems clear however. The old two-party political dynamic will not be the main engine driving the next campaign.

[updated Sun Jul 19 13:33:54 EDT 2009]

"Out Of Touch": Is This The Liberal Wedge?

No news to any of us that politicians are arrogant -- or at least perceived as such. Hell, even this humble human being has regrettably on occasion shown signs of that trait on this board. For that, I apologize.

Now back to the most interesting number in the Angus Reid poll: 41% of respondents ranked the Prime Minister as out of touch (a six point lead over Michael that Harper would probably prefer not to enjoy!) when it came to understanding the everyday reality of the typical Canadian. When I read that, I couldn't help but think bingo. There sits the Liberals' golden nugget. All they have to do is pick it up and run with it. Just pile on the layers of whipping cream to further demonstrate the point.

If the Harper reality is not the Canadian reality -- or at least a true reflection of the desired reality, economic or otherwise, then perhaps poll respondents are on to something.

Our Prime Minister has made much of his groundless allegations that Michael is nothing more than an accidental tourist in his own land visiting on a temporary layover. Would it not be ironic indeed if the guy who spent the last fifty years in Canada was shown to be clueless when it comes to effectively relating to and solving the problems most preoccupying everyday Canadians. And they claimed Michael was the one living in an ivory tower.

[updated Sun Jul 19 18:04:18 EDT 2009]

Sellout and failure Harper is blowing it. The only reason he is hanging on is because the left is split. If enough NDP decide to vote Liberal to get rid of Harper, the CPC is toast. As the electorate tires of minorities, this is the only possible outcome due to Harper's other massive failure in Quebec.

The Hill Times, July 20, 2009

By Harris MacLeod

"Presented with only the Conservatives and Liberals as options for forming the next government, 44 per cent preferred the Liberals, while 33 per cent chose the Tories.

Mr. Walker said the increased appetite for a majority could benefit the Liberals because they are the second choice of many NDP and Green Party voters, but it will really depend on the political climate at the time an election is called, and how each party fares during the campaign."

New leader, new winning CPC.

[updated Mon Jul 20 12:00:37 EDT 2009]

Are The Communications People Dropping The Ball?

Let's keep it simple. All the parties are looking for that breakout issue -- the one that will generate national momentum to help propel that party past its competitors. Summertime is by necessity lull time but it doesn't have to be that way if leaders get out in front with material worthy of national media coverage.

Most of the press is already so bored by now they are just about ready to cover anything semi-substantive as long as it's national in scope. Naturally, this puts the government at an advantage since it has the resources to pull any number of rabbits out of the hat.

But the opposition is not exactly without their own platform provided each party is smart enough to use it effectively. This is an excellent time for well thought out trial balloons or position papers -- anything to generate a favourable buzz that could quite conceivably catch fire with an almost comatose electorate.

In other words, think generating a news cycle. The barbecue circuit is all very well but it isn't the right venue to initiate sustained political momentum.

This isn't exactly rocket science -- being front and centre means exactly that -- being front and centre: think all "x", all of the time.

[updated Mon Jul 20 15:10:19 EDT 2009]

Stephen "I will not raid seniors hard earned savings" Harper gets pummeled in Quebec again. How long will it take for the last 32% of Canadians notice what a failure Harper is as a PM?

Kalli Anderson

Special to The Globe and Mail
Last updated on Monday, Jul. 20, 2009 04:13PM EDT

The Harper government won itself a new round of scorn in the Quebec press last week with its announcement of new visa requirements for Czech and Mexican visitors to Canada. While some pundits agreed with the intention behind the new requirements, no one had anything good to say about the timing or details of the changes.

[updated Mon Jul 20 21:26:26 EDT 2009]

Self-Employed: Will Half A Loaf Be Enough?

The Harper government seems ready to provide maternity and parental benefits for self-employed workers within some form of undefined framework under the EI program . But that's as good as it gets -- that isn't only a starting position in negotiations that begin on Thursday, it's also the bedrock position.

On the Liberal side, they will push for extending EI benefits to the self-employed. That is their bottom line and they will not move off of it.

What fun we will see as the Blue Ribbon Panel begins its work: Liberals expecting a government proposal as a basis for negotiation and Conservatives counting on the lack of a Liberal written alternative.

To put it another way, the train hasn't even left the station yet but at the end of the tunnel one can clearly see a lit up sign bearing the words "Train Wreck ahead."...expect posturing galore but precious little in the way of results.

In other words, see you all on the campaign trail!

[updated Wed Jul 22 19:07:21 EDT 2009]

Here Comes The Plan!

Must be tough getting up in the morning only to find out how indifferent you are to the plight of the self-employed. Where's the guy's compassion for this large group of Canadians who are having tremendous difficulty treading water...can one man be so "out of touch"?

Apparently so. Does this mean that we have a prime minister who should be known as Johnny-come-lately in connection with this issue? Is this the time to be dismissing the need for critical EI reform as unemployment continues to rise?

In Quebec, we have a ministry dedicated to social solidarity which plays an indispensable role during tough economic times. Too bad that idea doesn't seem to be on the verge of catching on in slumbering Ottawa...

[updated Thu Jul 23 18:26:29 EDT 2009]

Here's How To Make A Fortune Without Really Trying.

Invent a political bullshit detector...from what I'm hearing, the run on it would be out of this world. It would make Viagra and more recently, Tamiflu, look like pathetic also-rans.

Get ready for the BS to be spread as thick as a good coat of manure. In one camp, playing people for complete fools is likely to be the order of the day. After all, desperate time do tend to call for desperate measures: it has worked before but then again, once you've seen this movie you've got a pretty good idea where it's heading.

Nothing quite like politics based on the lowest common denominator. But as the well worn saying goes: "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me". Sounds like something a good Scot campaign manager might recognize.

[updated Thu Jul 23 20:10:47 EDT 2009]

A Message For Jack.

I don't know about the rest of you but I can't wait to get Jack's take on recent events. I sure hope he will be getting back to us in short order.

His colourful perspective always puts a smile on my otherwise downcast face as I repeatedly contemplate the sad state of the weather in Eastern Canada...

[updated Thu Jul 23 20:46:41 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harper, conservative sellout and financial mismanager and failure as PM is now an embarassment on the world stage:

Stephen Harper Diminishes Canada On The International Stage

It is becoming evidently clear that Canadians need to ditch Stephen Harper as the representative of our great nation at the international level. He is an embarrassment now and it is only getting worse.

"Canwest News reporter David Akin said that when he follows the prime minister to such summits, the Canadian leader is so poorly known that photographers are constantly asking who Mr. Harper is.

Mr. Akin recalled that at the prime minister's first G8 Summit in St. Petersburg in 2006, Mr. Harper avoided the press for three entire days, even as every other G8 leader loudly trumpeted their messages to the international press gathered on site.

"He was so uncomfortable he was invisible, he physically looked smaller in that '06 summit...he seemed really out of his element," Mr. Akin said. "When you're travelling with him, there's never enough information about his activities, about who he's speaking to. The read-outs that we get from the PMO communications when he meets with other leaders are frustratingly bland and vague."

Journalist and author Andrew Cohen suggests Mr. Harper's performance and press coverage from the G8 may reflect Canada's diminished role in the world. Mr. Cohen questions what international issue Mr. Harper has associated himself and Canada with, and said it is not clear what it is that Canada is contributing.

"What struck me about this is that he was relentlessly and unnecessarily partisan," Mr. Cohen said. "And you wonder why he did it; it doesn't help him internationally and it doesn't help him at home...so why did he do it? Maybe because he just can't help himself."

[updated Thu Jul 23 21:39:53 EDT 2009]

Those Dreadful "Second" Choice Blues.

A CBC Ekos poll released yesterday confirms that Canadians are looking for a majority government, while the race remains neck and neck between the Conservatives and Liberals.

Perhaps the parties should take a page out of Whitney Houston's book when she sings Run to You:

I know that when you look at me
There's so much that you just don't see
But if you would only take the time
I know in my heart you'd find
A girl who's scared sometimes
Who isn't always strong
Can't you see the hurt in me?
I feel so all alone

I wanna run to you (oooh)
I wanna run to you (oooh)
Won't you hold me in your arms
And keep me safe from harm
I wanna run to you (oooh)
But if I come to you (oooh)
Tell me, will you stay or will you run away

Each day, each day I play the role
Of someone always in control
But at night I come home and turn the key
There's nobody there, no one cares for me
What's the sense of trying hard to find your dreams
Without someone to share it with
Tell me what does it mean?

[chorus]

I need you here
I need you here to wipe away my tears
To kiss away my fears
If you only knew how much...

[chorus]

The poll confirms that Conservatives are in fourth place when it comes to a second choice. They were backed by 13.2% -- the Greens got 14.1%, the New Democrats 19.7% with the Liberals coming in first supported by 22.1%. However, 26.8% said they had no second choice.

As for the standings: CPC 32.8%, LPC 32.5%, NDP 14.8%, GP 11.5% and BQ 8.4%.

26% of respondents want a Liberal majority while 25% support a Conservative majority!
Fifteen percent are hoping for a Liberal minority while nine per cent back a Conservative minority.

In short, 41% prefer a Liberal government while 34% would rather see the Conservative government continuing in office.

[updated Fri Jul 24 17:00:31 EDT 2009]

Well .. well ... well .. what with Carney @ the BOC reporting that we are back in the growth phase and the recession will be a thing of the past last in and first jout just as Stevie predicted -> then Iggy just saying he wants a second round of stimulus (he phoned it in from europe) ROFL LMAO - poor frustrated Harper haters are sweet out of luck! I love it as canadians are the ficklest of voters one day this way the next another if anyone out there seriously believes there will be a fall election now they simply have not been paying attention. Harper has outplayed, outmanouvered and outfoxed all comers so far and i don't see that changing any time soon - I love watching him play whack a mole with opposition leaders.

[updated Fri Jul 24 18:09:58 EDT 2009]

My Election Prediction: Goodbye Stephen.

I've decided to come out with my election prediction. I'm betting that with the chaos of minority governments past that voters will coalesce around the Liberal Party of Canada.

I'm calling for the Harper government to be defeated in the House of Commons this fall. If that doesn't happen before the end of the session, yours truly will be retiring from following politics -- never to be heard from again.

Since Conservatives are convinced that Michael will back away again, they should be thrilled with this post. Finally some of them will get their wish if my posting on this board suddenly comes to an abrupt halt.

[updated Sat Jul 25 15:43:04 EDT 2009]

Here's a great wedge issue for the libs to use against the bigotry of reformatory control of the Tories:

Its amazing that no one from team reformatory posted this article on that bigotry:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1134143.html

" This angered evangelist preacher and activist Charles McVety, a longtime crusader against same-sex marriage, abortion and homosexuality. Mr. McVety launched a campaign on the Institute for Canadian Values website, under the headline Conservatives Announce New Program to Fund Sex Parades.

"While many parents are losing their jobs, trying to make ends meet and pay their taxes, the Government is taking their hard-earned money and giving cash towards anti-family activities that ultimately endanger our children!" said the site, urging supporters to contact the prime minister’s office and their local MP to express their opposition.

The campaign worked."
..............................................

"So the Conservatives sent one message to the social conservatives that are a key part of their electoral base, and a different message to the general public"

.................................................

"On July 8, the Conservatives got some support from Suzanne Girard, the director of Divers/Cité, a Montreal gay and lesbian festival headlined by disco act Sister Sledge, who was to perform their hit We Are Family in front of thousands of dancing gays and lesbians.

Ms. Girard defended the Tories and said she didn’t believe her organization would be cut off.

"We live in a great country in that we can do this, even if it is a Conservative government," she said."

On July 22, five days before the festival was to begin, Divers/Cité learned that it would not get funding under the program, although officials had been optimistic until Industry Minister Tony Clement took the file from Ms. Ablonczy."

.................................................................
"Mr. Harper’s people have made a political calculation. Socially conservative Christians form the core of the Conservative base, as they formed the core of the Reform Party’s base, and they must be cultivated. Mr. Harper’s team wants them to exercise their influence quietly, though, and he was likely displeased that Mr. Trost signalled openly that they had been heard.

The Conservatives, naturally enough, want to have their cake and eat it too — heeding Mr. McVety and his supporters while not letting other Canadians know that they are doing so.

But money talks, and the decision to not fund Divers/Cité makes it plain that they would rather anger gays and lesbians — who mostly won’t vote for them anyway — than Mr. McVety and his supporters, who do vote Tory.

Appropriately enough, Divers/Cité had to cancel Sister Sledge."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now please tell me this is not a party controlled by right wing bigots and hypocrites. The article goes on to say there is one closeted cabinet minister in reformatory ranks.
If that is your idea of an open democratic party then I would even prefer communism over that. Shame shame.

By the way I am very hetrosexual.

[updated Sun Jul 26 04:24:55 EDT 2009]

More documented proof of Harpo's ideology:

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/Entertainment/?cid=61924
New book labels Harper a neo-con

By Jodi Lundmark, tbnewswatch

Thomas W. Joseph believes he has a message every Canadian needs to hear before they vote in the next federal election.

Through his fourth politically themed book, 8 Days of Crisis on the Hill: Political Blip…Or Stephen Harper’s Revolution Derailed?, Joseph explores the events that occurred on the Hill in November and December when the prime minister asked the Governor General to dissolve parliament. By doing that, Harper thwarted an attempt by then opposition party leaders to form a possible coalition government.

"Those events got to me and I decided to explore them further and that led me into an examination of political leadership of the prime minister and the Conservative government," Joseph said at his book launch at Chapters Friday afternoon.

The book lands at the conclusion that Harper has a hidden agenda, said Joseph, adding he lays out the evidence supporting his claim.

He also said that anybody that considers themselves progressive, whether it be Liberal, NDP or progressive conservative, should be concerned.

The prime minster’s intent, his political ideology, leads him to believe that many of the social programs, many of the economic policies that have been developed since the Great Depression of the 1930s are wrong," Joseph said.

He goes on to accuse Harper of looking at more so-called neo-conservative policies like those of Ronald Regan or Margaret Thatcher, which helped bring on the economic crisis the world is currently struggling with.

"I think he’s a threat to the country," he said. "As a progressive, I find it an alarming situation."

It took Joseph four months to write 8 Days of Crisis on the Hill and he hopes any Canadians with an interest in the country’s political situation will consider his message.

"I’m hoping that Canadians will find the conclusions I’ve drawn with the evidence I’ve provided something to give serious though to before they go to the ballot," he said.

Joseph’s book can be found online on Amazon, Indigo and Barnes & Noble’s websites. It can also be found locally at Chapters.

[updated Sun Jul 26 04:44:42 EDT 2009]

Perplexed Conservatives?

Nice to see them playing defence. Not too sure which way to turn or what strategy to follow. One upping the Liberals is quite suddenly no longer a "given" as had been previously assumed.

Keep Conservatives guessing. Let the mist come in to further confuse them. Don't betray a hint of the action plan. Just stick to our knitting and persevere.

Steady as she goes -- even on VIA Rail!

[updated Sun Jul 26 12:11:08 EDT 2009]

A Conservative Weather Forecast.

Courtesy of the Weather Doctor, here's a weather update on the premature but nonetheless not totally unexpected arrival of an Alberta Clipper:

"When an Alberta Clipper passes, it often ushers in bitter outbreaks of polar air, which continue the storm's wrath for days after the low itself has moved off."

Truer words were never spoken. Watch for a weather system intensification as soon as the snow flies!

[updated Sun Jul 26 18:22:18 EDT 2009]

Well Knock Me Over With A Feather!

That can't be right. Stephen Harper, a partisan first and foremost. Nah. Those ungrateful senators must have him confused with George W., or someone else...tyranny of the majority courtesy of a government that can't even command the confidence of the House of Commons?

They're dreaming! Remember, our Prime Minister is that great self-proclaimed political centrist. You know, the guy who can move mountains, one inch at a time...

So what if a bunch of hacks are about to descend on Ottawa for a good long drink at the trough. After all, what was sometimes good for Liberals is certainly good ENOUGH for Conservatives.

Wait until January and then ram those damned bills right up the Senate's...

Like every plan made in the ivory tower, oh sorry, the PMO, there is one possible fly in the ointment: that pesky Michael Ignatieff. Imagine the unmitigated gall of the man -- pushing for a possible election just because Harper won't even be able to pass this year's Christmas wish list.

Forget about a vote. Simply change the name of the place to bottleneck central. Don't worry, be happy.

Cast your eyes fondly as the new believers hit Ottawa. Ruffling other people's feathers ain't their style. They have a mallet that does the job quite nicely for them, thank you very much...

[updated Mon Jul 27 21:10:00 EDT 2009]

Conservative Caucus Meeting.

Nice to see that you are once again of one mind about the possibility of an election.

You have no idea how interesting it was to hear that. That means concessions in negotiations are coming before the fall.

Making this Parliament work seems to have suddenly caught on.

[updated Tue Jul 28 14:36:54 EDT 2009]

Time To Move On.

One thing we can agree on -- we all love this country and want what is best for Canada, its citizens and residents.

For my part, I'm dropping the host thing. We have more serious problems to worry about and continuing down this track will only discredit all those involved in future skirmishes...look, everyone has an opinion of what the Prime Minister did or did not do with the host.

Time to move on, especially since the apology, and give the PM the benefit of the doubt. This should in the final analysis have nothing to do with what any of us might think of Stephen Harper.

Let's give it a rest and concentrate like a laser beam on what should be our first priority:giving self-employed workers a much needed fair shake.

[updated Wed Jul 29 09:18:47 EDT 2009]

What? Still No Report From The Conservative Caucus?

I'm kind of disappointed. Here the braintrust of the Conservative Party has been in action these past three days and still nothing from the powers that be, or their surrogates, on this board.

Aren't you guys supposed to outfox us and avoid the people's verdict (sorry Foxer!) -- or better yet, from your perspective, grind us to dust if there's an election?

Shouldn't you be telling us how peppy you all are and what brilliant strategizing is being brought forth from Foggy Bottom! Political fun and frolic for all. But then again, perhaps this time your hearts are really not in it. No wonder you're scared of a possible election.

That brings us back to the Blue Ribbon Panel. Should make for several weeks of unusually accommodating Conservatives! Good on you.

[updated Wed Jul 29 11:42:00 EDT 2009]

CPC implosion begins:

PMO: Kory Teneycke steps down after one year
Harper's spokesperson announces resignation
Kathleen Harris
Sun Media National Bureau
July 29, 2009

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokesperson is stepping down after just one year on the job.

"It's a personal choice -- many reasons," he said. "I'll say it's a popular decision at home."

I'll bet his family is happy to rid themselves of the shame factory connection.

[updated Wed Jul 29 15:20:10 EDT 2009]

The lady doeth protest too much, methinks.

Or, if you prefer:

Cucullus non facit monachum.

[updated Wed Jul 29 16:52:14 EDT 2009]

More Tory implosion, it is a farce:

The Hill Times, July 27, 2009

Tories plan party to mark '84 victory, unclear if Harper Cabinet ministers will show up

[updated Wed Jul 29 16:55:42 EDT 2009]

Harper disaster as financial manager has no clue as financial mismanagement continues. CPC Imploding as financial managers.

Tories under fire for mixed messages on economy
Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service
Published: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

[updated Wed Jul 29 18:18:05 EDT 2009]

CPC in disarray. Scrambling to stop the hemmoraging. Can't manage the economy and it shows.

The Hill Times, July 27, 2009

PMO shuffles top-ranking Cabinet staffers
Cabinet ministers' chiefs of staff to hold a retreat at Wilson House to prepare for drama-filled Parliamentary session.

[updated Wed Jul 29 18:22:06 EDT 2009]

Qui non est hodie cras minus aptus erit?

"..according to the Liberal Party constitution, Ignatieff has a veto on any policy resolutions"

Michael Ignatieff bashful about platform planks
POLICY SHY / Liberals won't tell us what they think about key issues.
Dale Smith / Ottawa / Tuesday, July 28, 2009

It's more than six months into his reign as Liberal leader, but Michael Ignatieff is still short on details when it comes to policy prescriptions.

There has been a shroud of mystery surrounding the Liberal platform since Ignatieff became interim leader in December and his leadership was affirmed in May. Nevertheless, red flags have been raised in some quarters.

"We've been disappointed with the positions they've been taking," says David Eby, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association. Eby cites Liberal support for Bill C-15 — mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offences — as an example.

"I've not looked in detail at that Private Members' Bill," Ignatieff said at the time. "We've not taken a public position, but I don't want to stand against any measure that enhances the rights of the trans community."

Another Liberal source says the party is having trouble costing their platform promises. Anxious to sound fiscally responsible, the Liberals are waiting to see how the budget updates develop over the summer and the fall to gauge what campaign promises are economically viable.

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Michael_Ignatieff_bashful_about_platform_planks-7180.aspx

[updated Wed Jul 29 18:54:33 EDT 2009]

Keeping Track Of Those Ministers...

Joe Clark had three that went AWOL from the House when the going got tough and rather sticky.

Makes me wonder how many Stephen Harper might have!

As they say in the news biz: "Stay tuned for future developments."

[updated Wed Jul 29 19:33:33 EDT 2009]

Harper the dictator. Please stand and salute the master. Please give him a majority. Then he can ram policy down your throat that he knows you would never vote for. That is why he has no platform. If he told you his platform, you would never vote for him.

[updated Wed Jul 29 21:05:04 EDT 2009]

Diane Finley: Drives The Bus Into The Wall.

Better start bolting down those chairs! When the boss got wind of this, I doubt he was pleased. This is how The Globe and Mail described her remarks:

Ms. Finley accused the Liberals of changing position from week to week, leaving little room for a compromise between the bipartisan committee created to look at ways of improving the EI program.

“One can get dizzy keeping up with their position on this,” she said. “Mr. Ignatieff is going to have to come forward with specific, detailed, financially responsible ideas that won't raise taxes for Canadians who can least afford it at this point in time.”

The only thing the Minister forgot to do was to get out the red flag and wave it at the Liberal bull!

You think she might have pissed off Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition just a tad? Watch this space!

[updated Wed Jul 29 22:42:15 EDT 2009]

Angus Reid: Liberals Up By One.

A Toronto Star Angus Reid poll has the Liberals in the lead, albeit barely:

Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA–The political rhetoric is still flying, but are Canadians listening?

A survey by Angus Reid Strategies for the Toronto Star shows the federal Liberals with 34 per cent support and the Conservatives with 33 per cent – a statistical dead heat. The result is a warning for any party thinking of plunging into a fall election: No wind of change is blowing across Canada.

Conducted Monday and Tuesday, it shows public approval for the opposition Liberals stands at 34 per cent – an increase of four points from two weeks earlier.

The governing Conservatives' support held at the same level as two weeks ago at 33 per cent. The poll of 1,012 people has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, which means the two parties are in a virtual tie.

The NDP was at 16 per cent support, down two points. The Bloc Québécois was at 10 per cent and the Green party 7 per cent.

[updated Thu Jul 30 10:12:31 EDT 2009]

Here's why Harper must go ASAP:

Canada's Economy Contracted More-Than-Expected
By Alexandre Deslongchamps

(Bloomberg) -- Canada's economy contracted for a 10th month in May because of falling manufacturing output, and declines in the mining and energy industries.

Gross domestic product declined 0.5 percent during the month, compared with the median estimate for a 0.3 percent drop in a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists. The economy shrank 0.2 percent in April, Statistics Canada also said, revising its original estimate of a 0.1 percent decline.

The economy contracted 3.5 percent in May from the year-ago month, the biggest drop since October 1982, Statistics Canada said. The report adds to evidence the world's eighth-largest economy extended its contraction in the second quarter as the global slump saps orders for Canadian exports.

Output shrank at a 5.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the biggest drop since 1991, and will shrink at a 3 percent pace in the second quarter, according to a separate Bloomberg survey.

[updated Fri Jul 31 11:34:33 EDT 2009]

Here's Why We Need An Election: In TWO Sentences!

1. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is dead set against an election;

2. Without an election, the Conservatives remain as the government and with each passing day and week, incremental conservatism gives the rest of us a repeated rectal examination...

[updated Fri Jul 31 16:54:47 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harper: Massive failure as PM.

When one looks at his Premiership they see partisanship, arrogance but more than any other negative quality they see: failure. However, this is exactly what Stephen Harper and his Conservative/Reform/Alliance party wants. Let's take a look some at Stephen Harper's Conservative Government's most recent failures:

The Deficit: It is estimated that Canada will have a long-term deficit of $155.9-billion. When elected Stephen Harper chose a man famous for his $6 billion deficit from his tenure as finance minister of Ontario to be finance minister of Canada. For months the recession hurt many Canadians who lost their jobs. Stephen Harper ignored the recession. During the 2008 election the issue of the economy was barely touched upon by the CPC and they didn't release a platform until a week to voting.

The Isotope Crisis: Months before Chalk River was shut down, Linda Keen, the nuclear regulatory watchdog, tells the government that they need to fix the problem now or it will be much worse later. She is promptly dismissed.

Infrastructure: The Conservatives repeatedly dragged their feet on infrastructure spending, this ensured that many projects did not get underway this summer during construction season. Canada continues to export raw materials but the government has done nothing to encourage innovation (even after a billion dollar GM bailout.)

Health Care: This is not a recent failure but one overarching one. In 2004 and 2006 the CPC campaigned on reducing waiting times and improving the health-care system in Canada (what would Andrew Coynes say?) But they have done nothing to fulfill either of those promises. In 2008 the Fraser Institute had a Student Video Contest where they attacked the system in Canada, saying how health-care was failing.

Foreign policy:
- During the G8 conference Mr. Harper was obstructionist and two-faced on Climate change.
- Prime Minister Harper did not attend the Beijing Olympics.
- A free-trade deal with the EU has been risked over Mexico/Czech visas.
- During the 2008 Democratic Primary the Prime Minister's office leaked information in an attempt to hurt Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
- The Conservative government has done nothing on the issue of softwood lumber.
- Lawrence Cannon ignore African diplomats who wanted to know what Canada cut aid to African countries in favour of South American ones.
- Stockwell Day has to lobby and lobby before Prime Minister Harper would change his Cold-War era policy towards China. Canada is now engaging China much later than other Western countries.
- PM Harper was silent on Iran.
- In 2008 the Harper Government refused to recognize the existence of Kosovo. The United States of America did, many European countries did. This drew attention to the Canadian national unity issue and make a huge stink that noone cared about.

The Environment: Thanks to the Green Party, the Conservatives have done nothing to address climate change or encourage green industry.

[updated Fri Jul 31 22:21:14 EDT 2009]

Why Stephen Harper is an untrustworthy and a deceitful charlatan? He is still hoping no one is paying attention so he can do what no one wants him to do.

Stephen Harper became Prime Minister when no one was paying attention. The Liberals were in power for 14 years and what brought them down was scandal and ever opposition party attacking them at the same time. The spectacle ensured that all eyes were on Paul Martin. Stephen Harper was very much a blank slate, his policies during the 2006 election were shallow and as a blank slate Stephen Harper decided to remodel himself. Many articles were written calling him a "new Conservative" and an "incrementalist." Before he was a politician, which is a short period of time as the tax-payers have been providing his paycheck since 1997, Mr. Harper headed a staunchly right-wing anti-tax group and regularly/vehemently attacked the "welfare state." Down to his core, Stephen Harper hates the government and believes that anything it touches will fail, but he lives on its paycheck.

During the Prorogation of Parliament Stephen Harper gave a speech that was full of lies about Canada's parliamentary system. He misinformed Canadians (whom surveys showed did not have a good knowledge of Canadian civics) by telling that the Canadians directly elected the Prime Minister and that a coalition government (the definition of democratic cooperation) was dictatorial and unjust and undemocratic.

The flood of falsehoods continues. Anything is better than this snake. Anything.

[updated Fri Jul 31 22:40:51 EDT 2009]

Here is more of the never ending deceit from Harper:

Minister's slip reveals deceit
By GREG WESTON
Friday, 31 July, 2009

Further proof this is a government that doesn't let the truth get in the way of public opinion is to be found in the contents of Raitt's lost briefing book.
For instance, taxpayers learn for the first time that the Harper government has pumped a staggering $1.7 billion into Atomic Energy just in the past three years -- most of it up in smoke if the Chalk River reactor remains beyond repair.
Even if the reactor had remained working, Raitt's briefing documents say Canadian taxpayers would have had to shell out $72 million this year to produce medical isotopes, 90% of which go to U.S. hospitals.
The documents openly admit the financial truth about Chalk River was deliberately hidden in the last federal budget.
But nowhere have Harper and his ministers been caught tripping over their outstretched noses more than in their handling of the growing medical isotope crisis caused by the Chalk River shutdown.
Sixteen months ago, the Harper government ordered the reactor restarted after a shutdown for safety reasons, saying cancer and heart patients would die without an immediate isotope supply.
At that time, the shutdown lasted four weeks and the world's other four isotope reactors were operating.
This time, the situation is far worse -- Chalk River is out of order indefinitely and two of the other reactors are also down.
Yet, Raitt testified at a Commons committee this week there is nothing to panic about.
Either the Harper government lied to Canadians 16 months ago, or it is lying today.
Either way, government deceit is a far bigger issue than lost documents.

[updated Fri Jul 31 22:49:52 EDT 2009]

Right-wing is fighting amongst themselves and blaming Harper for selling out his conservative principles. Power at all costs, including selling out your ouwn if necessary.

... Harper is terribly confused, muddled, and, well, just plain wrong. Is Harper under the impression that individual liberty will lead to a mass abandonment of churches, a mass disintegration of society, the end of the nuclear family? Does he believe that we need government programs to ensure warm bodies in pews, the continuation of two parent families and so on? What does it say about certain institutions if they can't make it without government support? And what does it tell us about Harper's support for "Faith" and "Family"?

Conservaives are angry with Harper because he hasn't made the government smaller, hasn't cut taxes aggressively enough, and has seen fit to spend a boatload of money on a "stimulus" package that conservatives in the U.S. are decrying. In short, he has sold out everything he has stood for. Conservatives have been angry with Harper for the same reasons that fiscal conservatives have been angry with Harper. Why single out the conservatives? Why not just say, "the modern Conservative Party does not have room for fiscal conservatives who prefer Hayek and Friedman to John Maynard Keynes"?

Andrew Coyne was right. We have very good reason to despise politics, and to hate what it does to people who become politicians. Stephen Harper used to be a conservative. But, without explanation, he's decided he isn't one any longer, and he's decided to pick a fight with conservatives. So be it, I guess. But, at the very least, we can ask Harper to get conservatism right, rather than attack the strawman he's set up for himself.

[updated Sat Aug 01 11:14:18 EDT 2009]

What we know about Harper isn't nice.

How much do we know about Stephen Harper?

We know he is smart and ambitious. We know he rode to Ottawa on a wave of western alienation, first with the Reform party, then with the Canadian Alliance and ultimately with the Conservative party. We know he is lucky -- his rise coincided with the self-destruction of the once mighty Progressive Conservative party, creating the vacuum that made a Harper government possible. (The ''Reform/Alliance government," as marginalized moderate Tories call it.)

We know he is certifiably charisma-free; after more than three years as prime minister, he still seems ill at ease in his own skin. We know he is ideological, but not all the time.

But we don't really know what makes him tick.

He reveals less of his inner self than any prime minister since Pierre Trudeau. But Trudeau was articulate, well-read, widely travelled with a knowledge of the world, an easy familiarity with the classics, an understanding of political philosophies and a broad range of interests (plus an instinct for manipulating the media). By comparison, Harper is one-dimensional -- a young man who burrowed into politics and stayed there, learning to use the system to get where he wanted to go.

Now that he's gotten there, he continues to surprise. There have been several examples in the past week or so. I'm not thinking of "Wafergate" (although that mini-non-scandal takes the cake, so to speak). Nor am I thinking of his turning up late, again, for a group photo with world leaders (rude though that was).

Nor, lastly, am I thinking of the way his government cut Tourism Minister Diane Ablonczy adrift after she approved a routine tourism grant to Toronto's gay pride week (the Reform/Alliance wing will never be comfortable with gays).

I'm thinking mainly of his strange performance at the closing press conference at the G8 summit in Italy on Friday. These summits are a big deal. World leaders gather to try to resolve world issues -- the economy and environment led the list in Italy.

They are occasions for statesmanship -- not for partisanship, for attacks on opponents back home nor for displays of petty vindictiveness. But that's what Harper did when he, inexplicably and without prompting from any journalist present, launched into an attack on the patriotism of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for allegedly suggesting that Canada might become irrelevant at global summits.

Ignatieff, of course, said no such thing. The misattribution may have been the result of shoddy staff work. Dimitri Soudas, Harper's press secretary, was sent out to take the fall. That doesn't matter. Harper's use of an international forum for a mean-spirited attack on a political rival is inappropriate. It is an embarrassment to Canada as well to Harper and his government.

Blaming the staff doesn't wash. The staff is a reflection of the leader. If they think the leader expects a constant supply of fresh ammunition to use against his opponents, they will scour speeches, news wires and the internet for that ammunition.

The loss of civility in the politics of the Harper era is startling. There's no excuse for the campaign the Conservatives are running in Quebec accusing the Bloc Québécois of being soft on pedophiles because that party does not support the government's crime legislation. Going back to 2004, there was no excuse for the Conservatives' campaign allegation that then-prime minister Paul Martin was soft on child pornography. That was outrageous and untrue, but Harper never apologized for it.

Similarly, there is no excuse for the current "Just Visiting" attacks on Ignatieff. The Liberal leader was out in the world, studying, travelling, writing, teaching and broadcasting while Harper was at home building firewalls around Alberta. This makes Ignatieff a bad Canadian?

Liberal Bob Rae got it right the other day when he described Harper as the "smallest man on the world stage . . . He never misses an opportunity to stoop. Not to conquer, just to throw mud."

[updated Sat Aug 01 12:33:49 EDT 2009]

An Example Of Why Harper Is Not To Be Underestimated.

Internal party strategy can often be just as important as political strategy vis-à-vis the opposition parties. This Prime Minister knows that everyday Conservatives basically fall into three categories: a) the enthusiastic "true-believers" who worship the sidewalk the man walks on (part of cabinet, some of the caucus and most of the PMO); b) the "team-players" (most of cabinet, at least half of caucus and some in the PMO) who are quietly or even silently grumbling over the political direction of the government; and finally c) the outright critics who are almost exclusively on the "outside": isolated membership cases, political pundits and self-identified right wingers.

The PM knows that as far as internal party dynamics are concerned that he has played his chess pieces CORRECTLY. His base is solidly on board, albeit grudgingly, and will run the table for him when the election comes.

Now, here comes la cerise sur le sundae as we say in French: Harper has turned out to be his own Little Dutch Boy having found an incredibly effective way of plugging even potential holes to the Conservative dike.

The answer: it's called Regional Ministers. Each patronage, or should I say patronize committee is now burning up the telephone wires and REQUESTING curriculum vitaes from the solid four posts of the CPC in each riding. A masterful stroke, if I do say so myself.

Nothing keeps people in line and more than eagerly working on behalf of candidates! Those poor saps will be busting their collective asses in the next campaign only to discover that if the Harper government is re-elected, there will be absolutely no en masse patronage pig out.

In short, this guy is more than a worthy opponent. He knows exactly what he is doing. Make damned sure that we are a cut above this PM, strategically speaking, otherwise he might win again.

[updated Sat Aug 01 12:52:07 EDT 2009]

Harper isdeceitful to Canadians:

THE LIE
"Michael Ignatieff:

Spent 34 years living in America and Europe
Returned to Canada to run for Prime Minister
Will go back to US if not elected
That’s not leadership. That’s just visiting."

from a Conservative Party leaflet

THE TRUTH
Michael Ignatieff:

Spent 36 years living in America and Europe
As a child, lived in New York, Washington, Belgrade and London while his father was posted there as a diplomat
Obtained a PhD in history from Harvard
Taught at King’s College, Cambridge
Worked as a writer and broadcaster based in London
Taught at Harvard

Returned to Canada to teach at the University of Toronto and run for MP, not PM
Succeeded in being elected to the Etobicoke—Lakeshore riding

Did not go back to US when he failed to win his party’s leadership in 2006
Lost his leadership bid in 2006 to Stephane Dion, but persisted with the Liberal Party and stayed in Canada

Of note, current Conservative MPs born outside Canada:

Nina Grewal, born in Japan, educated in India, worked in Liberia before moving to Canada at age 23
Alice Wong, born in Hong Kong and moved to Canada at age 32
Devinder Shory, born and educated in India, moved to Canada in his 20’s
Inky Mark, born in China, immigrated to Canada at age 7, educated in part in Seattle
Peter Kent, born in England to Canadian parents, spent 40 years of his adult life as a journalist and broadcaster in Canada and abroad
Moved to Canada as children:
Daniel Petit, born in Belgium
Tony Clement, born in England
Vic Toews, born in Paraguay
Steven Fletcher, born in Brazil to Canadian parents
The Conservative Party does not question—nor should it, nor anyone else—the commitment of these parliamentarians to serve Canada on the basis of their birthplace, race, or time abroad. All not fit to be PM in Harper's eyes?

Also notable: US President Obama’s life abroad

Resided in Indonesia from ages six to ten
US President Clinton’s life abroad

Studied on a Rhodes Scholarship at University College, Oxford
Number of Canadian citizens currently living abroad: 3 million
Proportion of Canadians in a recent poll who thought this was “generally a good thing”: 67%
Proportion of Canadians who did not vote for the Conservative Party in the last election: 62%

Or the narrow-minded provincial Harper, who never owned a passport even for a vacation. Now that is pathetic.

[updated Sat Aug 01 13:11:41 EDT 2009]

First Jack, now Gilles.

Rather significant, wouldn't you say?

And I thought if I wanted a whopper, I had to go to Burger King.

So much for let's make a deal with the Conservatives.

[updated Sat Aug 01 14:04:34 EDT 2009]

Why 90% of the casualties have been under Harper's watch in Afghanistan in a shorter time period tthan the Liberals had troops in Afghanistan. Warmonger Harper.

Opposition blames 'militarizing' Afghanistan mission for soldier deaths

Fewer Canadian soldiers would be killed or injured in Afghanistan if Prime Minister Stephen Harper stopped forcing troops into a combat role in that country.

The Conservative government has ''militarized'' Canada's mission in Afghanistan, which has turned citizens against soldiers that were originally sent to focus on humanitarian and reconstruction work, and it's endangering their lives.

The focus of the mission is seen to be and is combat.

As long as Canada continues to fight a combat war instead of focusing on diplomacy and development, casualties will continue to mount, opposition parties said on Thursday.

Federal Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor reiterated that the government is planning to stay the course on the mission.

Harper complains the military is under equipt and then he plunges them into a combat role. Its one thing to underequipt the military, its another more serious horror to send the military in harms way knowing they are not equipt. This is a National disgrace.

[updated Sat Aug 01 17:07:14 EDT 2009]

An Open Letter.

Dear National Securities Regulator,

Once you begin operations (on a opt-in basis) what will be your mandate? It's one thing to serve as a national regulator, such as it is, but quite another to act as a watchdog.

It seems every time I turn around we find another mysterious case of a so-called financial adviser who took the money and then did not run...what does that say IN SPADES about our provincial regulators? Are they systematically checking the credentials of advisers? Nope. Are they ACTING on complaints when they are occasionally received? APPARENTLY NOT.

Hey regulators, provincial or otherwise: are you guys asleep at the switch? Who is doing the due diligence that is vital to maintain the confidence of investors?

How about some answers. I, for one, am more than willing to pay with my taxes to let the future federal regulator do the job -- if that's necessary.

Just call this my contribution to securities regulation wedge politics!

[updated Sat Aug 01 18:08:18 EDT 2009]

Nirvana: Conservative-style!

Everyone knows that Stephen Harper had a good relationship with a soulmate: then Australian prime minister John Howard. Talk about barking up the wrong tree.

All the while, he should have been meeting with UK Conservative Leader David Cameron! Look what The Telegraph is reporting:

By Patrick Hennessy, Political editor
Published: 8:30PM BST 01 Aug 2009

Gordon Brown has suffered a fresh blow with a new poll obtained by The Sunday Telegraph showing the Conservatives have a 24-point lead in battleground constituencies.
Gordon Brown will face an even tougher fight in marginal constituencies than in the country as a whole, a poll suggests.

The survey, conducted in 30 of the most marginal seats in the country, is evidence that David Cameron's party is doing even better in vital "swing" constituencies than it is in the country as a whole.

The Crosby/Textor/Pepper poll, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, puts the Tories on 44 per cent – well ahead of Labour on 20 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats on 18 per cent.

[updated Sat Aug 01 20:29:54 EDT 2009]

"I recently found out that you won't come to a riding unless they can raise a minimum of $40-$50K while you are there"-Lori Kidwell Vancouver, BC, Canada

Saturday, July 18, 2009 (edited for length)
Disgruntled Liberal Female (cc: letter I sent a few moments ago)

Mr. Michael Ignatieff
Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Ignatieff:

I'm writing to you today to tell you why I am disgruntled.
.............................................

I'm not impressed Mr. Ignatieff. I'm afraid, make that terrified, that you are leading this party into another Paul Martin-style meltdown. The rules have changed, and for the party that had the most advance warning of those changes, we've done a piss-poor job of adapting to the new reality.

Your Liberal fundraisers have never had to do more than call up their five favourite CEOs and ask them for half a million dollars. I have been informed by people who know that it is easier to do this than to ask 5000 for $1000. I've never been in that position, so I wouldn't know. I have been in a position to ask 1000 people for $100 each and did quite well. I offered my help to the LPC here in Vancouver but my services were declined.

I recently found out that you won't come to a riding unless they can raise a minimum of $40-$50K while you are there. That's unfortunate, because it sends a signal that the man who wants to be Prime Minister of Canada will only make himself available to people who can afford to meet him. This stuff gets around, Mr. Ignatieff. Anyone who cares about the LPC already knows this.
................................................

Does she have any validity in her criticism?

[updated Sun Aug 02 14:32:58 EDT 2009]

Normally I wouldn't print blog statements. Since others are, how about this valid point.

Harper’s Rising Fascism
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/429906

"I don’t understand how there are people out there who assume the monarchy prevents abuses of power when in reality nothing has been done about Harper’s fascist ambitions. This is the problem with a foreign head of state, non-Canadian, un-chosen, succeeded by blood and intolerant (Catholics cannot ascend the throne anyway, or the position of GG), and has no power. Harper’s increasing secrecy around parliament is not the only thing to worry about.

It is an impossible to describe the monstrosity of the abuse of power Harper is doing, acting like a monarch. He is doing more harm than good, appealing to friends and the powerful, defecating on our civil liberties, abusing the system through smoke and mirror tactics, and concentrating more and more power on himself and cabinet.

In recent history, it seems that none in either the media or the public sphere are raising as much hell against our fair and dear leader as the American people are against Bush or Mugabe, or as much as judge Gomery, the maligned judge that presided in the hearings and investigation, and who help rightfully bring down the Chretien government. Canadians are left in the dark, ignorant and scared of raising a voice because of the way this country has been set up from the start, where authority is “respected” and unquestioned. We’ve had a police state from the start, with our Criminal Code predating the Charter itself, both backward rags which are an affront to reason and progress.

Steven Harper is nothing more than an enemy of democracy and liberty. Of course, he’s Conservative. Cons always despise progress and nationalism, taking reactionary steps to stalemate and stagnate the fate of this country from the hands of its people through theatrics."

At least this guy quotes a newspaper to show where he gets his views from. His valid points are much more credible than others that have been posted.

[updated Sun Aug 02 19:15:43 EDT 2009]

Blundering Harper alienates some of his conservative base and they are eyeing up the Liberals! This could be big trouble.

Gerry Nicholls: On friendship between libertarians and liberals
Posted: August 02, 2009, 4:51 PM by NP Editor
Gerry Nicholls

Internal infighting is starting to show.

[updated Sun Aug 02 19:47:51 EDT 2009]

In Light Of Fast-Moving Developments...

Keep a sharp eye out for low flying bricks! Something tells me there on the way.

[updated Sun Aug 02 20:31:48 EDT 2009]

Thursday's The Day!

It may not be as enjoyable as a root canal at the dentist -- but God bless 'em, the EI panel is going to go ahead anyway and have another meeting. Since it's quite obvious that this train is going nowhere fast, how about listening to The Mamas And The Papas before getting down to brass tacks -- or should I say brass knuckles:

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how you could leave and not take me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, ...

[updated Sun Aug 02 21:08:40 EDT 2009]

Just Throwing It Out There.

There are a lot of unanswered questions in the universe. Personally, one of my favourites was asked on CBC Television...too bad we never REALLY got an answer from either of the persons involved in the exchange.

So here it goes:

Do you like handcuffs?

Your assignment for today. Discuss. Thank you.

[updated Sun Aug 02 21:17:58 EDT 2009]

Here's why the reformatories will ultimatley fail:
In his latest appeal, Mr. Finley accuses the Liberals of an “unprincipled attack,” alleging they leaked incorrect information to a New Brunswick newspaper that resulted in a story about Stephen Harper pocketing a communion wafer at the state funeral of former governor-general Romeo LeBlanc.

Last week, the newspaper issued a front-page apology, and both the editor and publisher left the paper.

“What's worse, the Liberals have refused to deny that they were behind the manufactured story,” writes Mr. Finley in his letter that was sent last Friday. He adds that there is “no respite” from the Liberals' “attempts to smear Stephen Harper.”

“This controversy demonstrates that the Liberals will do anything to get back into power … we need to have the resources necessary to fight back and defend both our Prime Minister and our record in government,” he writes.
................................................................................
Late last week, the parties posted their second-quarter fundraising results. For the first time in several years, the Liberals and the Tories are basically tied – the Harper Tories raised $3.9-million; the Liberals raised $4-million. However, the Tories had 35,217 donors compared with only 19,487 for the Liberals.

The Tories won the first quarter, raising $4.3-million from 39,432 donors compared with $1.8-million from 15,230 donors for the Liberals.

Liberal Party president Alf Apps conceded that the Liberals do not have the legions of donors of the Tories, but he said that to be competitive now, with the “best fundraising machine that Canada has ever seen,” is “an amazing thing.”
............................................................................
Late last week, the parties posted their second-quarter fundraising results. For the first time in several years, the Liberals and the Tories are basically tied – the Harper Tories raised $3.9-million; the Liberals raised $4-million. However, the Tories had 35,217 donors compared with only 19,487 for the Liberals.

The Tories won the first quarter, raising $4.3-million from 39,432 donors compared with $1.8-million from 15,230 donors for the Liberals.

Liberal Party president Alf Apps conceded that the Liberals do not have the legions of donors of the Tories, but he said that to be competitive now, with the “best fundraising machine that Canada has ever seen,” is “an amazing thing.”

Liberal fundraising has improved considerably since Mr. Ignatieff took over as leader last December. Mr. Apps said, too, that membership has increased in six months from 36,000 to 90,000, which makes for a healthier party financially.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So here is the Christian right campaigning on harper's lies and falsehoods with an attack dog strategy while the Liberals go after the voters who want change and better government. Guess who will prevail in the end and it won't be the harpercrites.

[updated Mon Aug 03 05:42:20 EDT 2009]

From Academic Fantasyland to Creative Accounting.

Are Liberals are using 2008 as a REFERENCE for Comparison?

When you have very BAD NUMBERS the perception of the increase in vastly inflated.

What does Calgary Grit say and where does she get her Research?
=================================
I'm curious to see where the parties are at on the number of donors, since if this has come mostly from maxing out the big fish early, it will be harder to sustain these kind of numbers throughout the year.

But this is still excellent news.

UPDATE: Pundits Guide has the breakdown by donation size. Even though the Liberals and Tories were close in total donations, the Tories had 81% more donors than the Liberals, who relied mostly on large donations.-Calgary Grit
========================
The Liberals are in SERIOUS trouble because they will not be able to have invite the same BIG FISH lawyers and ad executives for those $ 500.00 dinners to meet Iggy in Q3 Q4.

Why have the middle class refused to join the Iggy liberals?
==========================
"The Liberals' second quarter includes funds raised at some large dinners, including the April 1 dinner in Toronto, the Montréal dinner several weeks later, and the May convention whose fees must be reported as political contributions. Thus, when you look at the breakdown by contribution range, Liberals raised far more money than the Conservative Party in the category of contributions over $200 ($3.08M vs. $1.25M), but significantly less in the $200 and under category ($791K vs. $2.7M, or less than a third). In fact it remains the only party to draw most of its contributions from large donors, although Liberals have seen a year-over-year improvement in 2nd quarter fundraising in the small donor category percentage-wise as well."-Pundits Guide
=======================

The Party of Big Money and Big Business fits well?

2008 was a very bad, very very bad. That explains why they were desperate and were forced to join the Bloc and NDP into signing THE ACCORD.

It also explains why the only item not introduced for continued Liberals support has been the Political Pay subsidy.

[updated Mon Aug 03 08:01:19 EDT 2009]

Here's why the reformatories will ultimatley fail and fail sooner than later:
In his latest appeal, Mr. Finley accuses the Liberals of an “unprincipled attack,” alleging they leaked incorrect information to a New Brunswick newspaper that resulted in a story about Stephen Harper pocketing a communion wafer at the state funeral of former governor-general Romeo LeBlanc.

Last week, the newspaper issued a front-page apology, and both the editor and publisher left the paper.

“What's worse, the Liberals have refused to deny that they were behind the manufactured story,” writes Mr. Finley in his letter that was sent last Friday. He adds that there is “no respite” from the Liberals' “attempts to smear Stephen Harper.”

“This controversy demonstrates that the Liberals will do anything to get back into power … we need to have the resources necessary to fight back and defend both our Prime Minister and our record in government,” he writes.
................................................................................
Late last week, the parties posted their second-quarter fundraising results. For the first time in several years, the Liberals and the Tories are basically tied – the Harper Tories raised $3.9-million; the Liberals raised $4-million. However, the Tories had 35,217 donors compared with only 19,487 for the Liberals.

The Tories won the first quarter, raising $4.3-million from 39,432 donors compared with $1.8-million from 15,230 donors for the Liberals.

Liberal Party president Alf Apps conceded that the Liberals do not have the legions of donors of the Tories, but he said that to be competitive now, with the “best fundraising machine that Canada has ever seen,” is “an amazing thing.”
............................................................................
Late last week, the parties posted their second-quarter fundraising results. For the first time in several years, the Liberals and the Tories are basically tied – the Harper Tories raised $3.9-million; the Liberals raised $4-million. However, the Tories had 35,217 donors compared with only 19,487 for the Liberals.

The Tories won the first quarter, raising $4.3-million from 39,432 donors compared with $1.8-million from 15,230 donors for the Liberals.

Liberal Party president Alf Apps conceded that the Liberals do not have the legions of donors of the Tories, but he said that to be competitive now, with the “best fundraising machine that Canada has ever seen,” is “an amazing thing.”

Liberal fundraising has improved considerably since Mr. Ignatieff took over as leader last December. Mr. Apps said, too, that membership has increased in six months from 36,000 to 90,000, which makes for a healthier party financially.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So here is the Christian right campaigning on harper's lies and falsehoods with an attack dog strategy while the Liberals go after the voters who want change and better government. Guess who will prevail in the end and it won't be the harpercrites

[updated Mon Aug 03 08:52:29 EDT 2009]

The last Ekos poll suggested that Liberal supporters are more likely to be university-educated, whereas Conservative supporters are more likely to be college-educated. All parties have their constituencies (base) and there's nothing wrong with that. The Conservatives, though, seem to like to appeal to angry, disgruntled people. Or, perhaps it's just the outreach that is angry and disgruntled. The Conservatives are angry and disgruntled.

Go to the CPC website - Mr. Ignatieff's so-called "me" personality is ridiculed. Go to the LPC website - Mr. Harper's policies and performance are the focus. None of the materials I receive from the Liberal Party ridicule Mr. Harper personally. All of the materials I receive from the CPC ridicule or misrepresent Mr. Ignatieff. It's plain as day. Can't attack him as a bad fpolitician, so attack his personality because you have nothing else.

CPC is morally and politically bankrupt and it is showing now more than ever. Time to rid Canada of this creep and move on to the more civil country we had before he showed his face.

[updated Mon Aug 03 15:40:56 EDT 2009]

Liberal Party Strengths Question: Thinking of the Liberal Party of Canada, what do you think its main strength is? Defined strength 35% No strength 15% Unsure of strength 51%

65% None or unsure of the Liberal Party Strengths.

Garth Turner was loyal to Dion? Dion loyalists being purged? No room for open nominations or democratic races months before a campaign?
How many ridings will the Kinsella-Iggy Liberals "steam-roll" and rehash the old candidates from 2008?

Why was Garth Turner or a local person from Halton not allowed to run against Raitt?

The Liberal Party is well within their rights to stop the grassroots and Canadians from any democratic participation in selection of the candidates for the Liberal Party.

What were the excuses for the termination of the leadership race? Shortage of time? What is the excuse for Halton? No interested local candidates?

The Dion purge has already begun in earnest and anyone who remained loyal to Dion is unwelcomed? The Big Tent just became alot smaller.

[updated Tue Aug 04 16:07:58 EDT 2009]

Conservative Candidates.

I had no idea that Conservative candidates are susceptible to a possible sudden flush down the dumper! Who, them? Nah, not possible from the collective consciousness of true political enlightenment.

All those countless other times, in previous elections, were merely unforeseen hiccups -- bumps in the road. Not going to happen this time. They'll be so tightly scripted they won't even need belts to hold up their pants.

So come on worry warts, chill out. Don't you know that all things CPC can never fail to impress...

Forget the internet. Just steer the herd toward the sufficiently compliant "local" channels and hey, the rest will take care of itself.

[updated Tue Aug 04 18:51:09 EDT 2009]

Tories to toast scandal-plagued former PM

By Mike De Souza, Canwest News ServiceJuly 29, 2009

The Prime Minister's Office is praising an upcoming tribute for former prime minister Brian Mulroney, but it won't say whether Stephen Harper plans to attend the event to be held in Montreal on Sept. 18.

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister's Office is praising an upcoming tribute for former prime minister Brian Mulroney, but it won't say whether Stephen Harper plans to attend the event to be held in Montreal on Sept. 18.

"That's a long way out," said Harper's spokesman Andrew MacDougall on Wednesday. "We generally don't comment on the prime minister's schedule anyway."

Harper wants to wait and see if the public remebers how bad this was, before he is photographed with his arm around him again. Also, it depends on whether Mulroney will help the PMO in Quebec. This is sleeze in the first degree. Harper is a user and a hypocrite.

[updated Tue Aug 04 21:23:58 EDT 2009]

Why is the MSM losing their patience with their "chosen one"?

"He can't keep doing this. He looks like, well, Stéphane Dion."

Ignatieff has to tell us who he is and where he's going

Liberal leader can't keep threatening to defeat government, and then retreat

By L. IAN MacDONALD August 5, 2009

"Ignatieff will have only one chance. Nobody gets three campaign strikes anymore. Getting it right, starting with defeating the Conservative minority government at the right moment, will determine either his destiny or his fate. Winners make their own destinies, whereas fate befalls losers."

And then there's the Hamlet-like role of whether or not to defeat the government on EI reform in the fall, or bide his time until next year.

Nobody wants an election in the fall, least of all over EI, an issue nobody really understands, though there is no doubt the Liberals can rally the NDP and Bloc to lowering qualifications for benefits

===========================
Kudos for the Iggy Liberals to tap out the BIG FISH to max their donation. Now the 3rd and 4th quarter will be a SERIOUS problem. Why was Dion unable to get the Big Fish to donate in his campaign? Did Iggy not work hard along Dion in filling the party coffers?

What has been promised to those Big Fish for their donations? According to the Liberal Website, MSM, Nik Nanos Poll, we don't have anything of substance to date besides extending EI. (The 71 Trudeau Plan that actually increased unemployment by 2%)

Are these Big Fish the unemployed who attended those $ 500 per plate dinners in Montreal and Toronto? Are these Big Fish Bay Street professionals, lawyers, ad executives? What did the Liberals under Iggy promise that Dion would not?

[updated Wed Aug 05 08:57:22 EDT 2009]

"Do not doubt for a minute that the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois will get together once again any time - any time they think they can get away with it," Harper said on Tuesday.-Harper (Harper Warns of Coalition Josh Pringle Wednesday, August 5, 2009)

The framing continues and the outrage will rise or will of Canadians decide the Liberals deserve a chance of governing with another general election held 10 months ago?

Did the Liberals lose momentum or terminate their honeymoon with grandstanding in June?

Did the Liberals promise to release Policies/Platform in June?

Did the Liberals reinforce the "framing" of Where's Waldo this summer?

Will this campaign be framed "SUCCESSFULLY" of the Government vs the Coalition in the minds of Canadians who will seek another unwanted election to regain power?

or

Will the Liberals be able to 'Capitalize' with a "Top Secret" ambitious Platform from a Rookie Party Leader untested, unproven who has had some success in muzzling his MP's and donations from Big Fish?

If I was a betting man the desperation of playing the "short term" game will not end well for the Liberal Party.

[updated Wed Aug 05 09:47:22 EDT 2009]

ABANDON SHIP! The ship to nowhere conservative. They're dropping like flies. Don't want to go down with the ship. Gettin' while the gettin' is good.

STEVEN CHASE

OTTAWA — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 05, 2009 08:54AM EDT

"Another high-profile member of Stephen Harper's inner circle is leaving the Prime Minister's Office as the minority Conservative government readies for a possible fall election.

Nevertheless, the Tories are heading into choppy political waters and will require a full complement of veteran staffers. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, sounding hawkish last week, gave every indication he wants to bring down the Harper government this fall.

One disincentive for Conservative political staff to stay on the job is the uncertainty of minority government and the relatively weak prospects for any change in this situation.

Polls currently suggest that the Tories have little hope of winning anything beyond a third minority government, an unstable situation that forces aides to be in a constant state of election readiness."

[updated Wed Aug 05 12:46:49 EDT 2009]

THE HARPER LIE
"The only way there is going to be a recession is if [the Liberal Party is] elected, and that's why they're not going to be elected."
from the CBC, reporting on the campaign trail on September 28, 2008

THE TRUTH
Let the record show that Stephen Harper is an economist, so the inaccuracy of his rosy prediction reveals either incompetence or a lie.

[updated Wed Aug 05 20:52:30 EDT 2009]

Countdown To Doing Things The "Old-Fashioned" Way.

Some people go to bed and when restless start to count sheep. Not Conservatives. The chosen few spend their moments of insomnia salivating after their pending Senate appointments.

It won't be long now. Personally, I'm expecting it next week. This government may not be all that keen on the Mulroney years (or pending parties!) but expect to see Mulroney ministers joining the select club.

[updated Wed Aug 05 20:56:04 EDT 2009]

5 UNTRUTHS IN ONE QUESTION PERIOD EXCHANGE. PATHOLOGICAL.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made several misleading statements about EI in the House of Commons yesterday.

“It is simply a proposal... to raise payroll taxes to the roof in perpetuity for workers in small business.”

Fact: There is absolutely no requirement to raise payroll taxes in order to increase EI eligibility. The Liberal plan for EI eligibility does not include any increase in revenue collection. Payroll taxes are frozen and Liberals support leaving them that way.

“The Liberal Leader... is making the proposal that a Canadian could work 45 days and collect employment insurance for a year and that would be the system in every region in perpetuity.”

Fact: You can only receive EI if you’ve paid into the system and been laid off through no choice and no fault of your own. EI is not, in Diane Finley’s words, “lucrative for (laid-off Canadians) to stay home and get paid for it.” The government’s EI policy allows for a variable length of eligibility by region – ranging from 19 to 50 weeks – and the Liberal proposal doesn’t change that. Liberals are making proposals that reflect the reality of the recession while Conservatives remain oblivious to the growing crisis.

“The proposal... would do nothing for the economy, for the recession today.”

Fact: Laid-off workers are those most likely to spend 100 percent of their benefits to provide for their immediate day-to-day needs – things like food, rent and transportation – providing direct economic stimulus to some of the hardest-hit regions in the country. For every $1 spent by laid-off workers, local economies benefit from $1.60 in economic spin-offs.

“Over 80 percent of those who are paying into (Employment Insurance) are receiving benefits.”

Fact: Under the current rules, less than 60 percent of unemployed Canadians who have paid into EI receive benefits. 150,000 more people would be eligible for EI under our proposal – which would provide fairness for nearly half of the over 300,000 people laid off under your watch since last October.

“We have an EI system that responds to market needs. When we have difficulties as we have now, the system responds – benefits increase, eligibility increases as well.”

Fact: EI only adjusts after the unemployment rate has risen dramatically – cold comfort for those who lose their job without EI benefits before the unemployment number skyrockets. EI was not designed to react quickly to the massive, nationwide job losses experienced under this Conservative government.

Five misrepresentations in one Question Period exchange leaves us with one question: why does he constantly lie?

[updated Wed Aug 05 21:00:23 EDT 2009]

Stimulus Spending
THE LIE
“Today, I am here to announce that only 10 weeks into this fiscal year, fully 80 percent of our Plan's funding has been committed and is being implemented across this country!”
from a transcript of Harper's speech of June 11, 2009

THE TRUTH
Though there is federal approval for stimulus spending, it is a lie to describe 80 percent of the stimulus plan’s funding as being implemented. Most shovel-ready projects have yet to break ground. And the ones that aren't shovel ready are still clogged in the planning phase.

[updated Wed Aug 05 21:01:40 EDT 2009]

Child Care Benefits
THE LIE
“We promised to take money that was going to lobbyists, researchers and bureaucrats and to give it instead to families, parents, and children. And we have done so. Now every parent of every pre-school child is receiving $100 a month from our government!”
from a speech delivered in Quebec, July 2008

THE TRUTH
The Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) program issues a taxable $100 monthly payment to families for each child under the age of six to help cover the cost of child care. After applying a marginal tax rate of 40%, each family—not each parent—gets to keep $720 a year for child care. On average, that amount won't be enough to pay for your child's care beyond February. You're on the hook for the rest of the year.

Oh yeah, and about taking money from greedy "researchers" to put it in the hands of "families, parents, and children": science and technology "spending has increased every year since 2006" and Canada's Economic Action Plan "announced $5.1 billion in new spending in the areas of S&T infrastructure, research, people and commercialization." This is, of course, the right thing to do, but that doesn't prevent Harper from lying about these government grants when it suits his audience.

[updated Wed Aug 05 21:02:20 EDT 2009]

Elected Senates
THE LIE
"We believe that wherever the people of a province or territory by democratic election choose persons qualified to be appointed to the Senate, the government should continue the practice it started in the 39th Parliament of filling any vacancy in the Senate for that province or territory from among those elected persons."
from the Conservative Party of Canada Policy Declaration, November 15, 2008

THE TRUTH
On Monday, December 22, 2008, barely six weeks after the above principle was reaffirmed at a party national convention, Stephen Harper stuffed the Senate with a slate of 18 unelected appointees, including broadcaster Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.

Duffy has since become infamous for his comment about Premiers Danny Williams (NL) and Robert Ghiz (PEI): "You know what happened, what a grotesque scene that is. You know what happens when two politicians climb into bed together. One of them comes out on top and I'm afraid when you're in bed with Danny Williams, he's going to be on top." He has also been accused of baldfaced partisanship while hosting a show on CTV that featured Stephane Dion false-starting an interview three times during the lead-up to last fall's election. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that Duffy was not "fair, balanced, or even-handed," and that his rebroadcast of the miscues were in breach of industry code.

[updated Wed Aug 05 21:02:56 EDT 2009]

More BAD NEWS for those Kinsella Liberals.

Remember those Pesky AD the Liberals suggested were inappropriate regarding the Bloc vote regarding minimum sentences? What did those Kinsella Liberals repeat on this forum and on the air?

Looks like those framing the Iggy as a visitor and those framing the Bloc as "soft" on criminals is ACTUALLY WORKING.

Could it be at CPC HQ they actually use research and screen their content? No matter the damage is done to 2/3 of the coalition in preparation of the EI NDP 360 Plan this FALL.

Finally, Ekos analyzed these results by the language respondents chose to take the poll questions. French-speaking respondents were markedly likelier to support longer jail terms (38.1% vs. 31.6%) and markedly less likely to support a social response (29.4% vs. 33.5%) than English-speaking respondents.

I have never seen a poll on public attitudes toward crime that did not produce similar results in Quebec, and I have been following the polling data on attitudes toward crime for more than a decade, beginning when Allan Rock was the justice minister and he was trying to resist a panicky get-tough attitude by the Bloc Québécois during the worst of the Quebec biker wars. You’ll note that when Colleague Phil wanted to demonstrate a “chasm between Tories and Quebecers” on crime in the post I link above, he linked to an article from last autumn’s election that quotes only Quebecers who teach criminology at universities or write editorials for newspapers. Polling data consistently demonstrates that on perceptions of the appropriate response to crime, the most easily demonstrable chasm is between Quebecers who write editorials for a living and Quebecers who don’t.

What’s it all mean? The Conservatives still have a tough row to hoe in Quebec. I would discourage them from counting on major seat gains there in the next election, although I suspect they don’t need me to tell them that.
================================
"But the last Ekos poll before they started letter-bombing Bloc ridings with their mailers was released on June 18. It showed the Conservatives at 14.8% in Quebec, the Liberals at 31.2%, the NDP at 9.6% and the Bloc at 35.6%. Today’s Ekos shows the Conservatives up 4.6 points at 19.4%, the Liberals steady at 31.0%, the NDP up 4.4 points at 14.0%, and the Bloc down 5.7 points at 29.9%. That puts the Conservatives back close to the score that allowed them to hold 10 Quebec seats last October, after months of truly dismal support. It also puts the Bloc well below the lowest level of support they have received in any federal election since 1993."
Those tough-on-crime Quebecers Aug 6, 2009 by Paul Wells

[updated Thu Aug 06 15:40:34 EDT 2009]

Another Lesson to be learned. When the Liberal threaten an election they lose support. More Bad News for the Kinsella Liberals who are pushing for a September showdown.

From 1-3% drop in support occurs. I have read in many forums of life long liberals who admit if their party forces another election for the first time in their life they will be staying at home.

========================================

OTTAWA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Canada's governing Conservatives have regained a narrow lead in public opinion over the main opposition Liberals, but would struggle to win an election now, according to a weekly poll released on Thursday.

The Ekos survey for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp put the Conservatives at 34.9 percent support, up from 32.5 percent last week. The Liberals were at 31.9 percent, down from 34.1 percent.

The poll is the latest in a series of surveys showing the two main parties virtually deadlocked.

The Liberals are threatening to present a motion of non-confidence in the government when Parliament returns in late September but would stand little chance of victory even as a minority government in the ensuing election, the survey indicates.

[updated Thu Aug 06 15:48:55 EDT 2009]

THE HARPER LIE
“Canada's New Government has an ambitious and extensive legislative plan to strengthen accountability in government through democratic reform.

First, we are eliminating the influence of big money in the political process by regulating the financing of political parties.
Second, we've introduced legislation to modernize the Senate to make it more democratic, more accountable, and more effective.
Third, we are enhancing our electoral system to make it more responsive, fair and effective.
While we have accomplished a lot to date, we will continue to move forward with our plan to strengthen accountability through democratic reform.”
Technically, not a Harper quote. Cited from the Ministry of Democratic Reform website

THE TRUTH
We’ve covered some of this already, but to recap:

Harper threatened to remove the Government grant to political parties in December 2008, an action viewed by some as the precipitant to the threat of a coalition between the Liberals and NDP.
Harper crammed the Senate with his appointees in December 2008.
Harper broke his own law and called an early election.

[updated Thu Aug 06 17:22:59 EDT 2009]

Fixed Election Dates
THE LIE
“The Government’s position is clear: we brought in legislation modeled on those of the provinces to set elections every four years to set the next election for October 19, 2009." […] "The Government is clear it will not be seeking an early election. Of course, at any time, Parliament can defeat the Government and provoke an early election if that’s what the Opposition irresponsibly chooses to do.”
In Question Period, May 30, 2006, while speaking on Bill C-16 amending the Canada Elections Act
Hansard entries for first and second statements

THE TRUTH
Harper’s Government set an election for October 14, 2008, at its sole discretion. This is despite the preamble of his Government’s amendment to the Canada Elections Act pointing out that

“fixed election dates would remove an unfair advantage that the government possesses in being able to decide on the date for an election. It would create a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process, by removing the uncertainty and perceived bias in favour of the governing party. This would facilitate planning for election officials, as well as political parties and candidates. It is also argued that, indirectly, fixed election dates would help relax party discipline and allow freer votes, as the Prime Minister and cabinet would no longer be able to use the threat of an election to keep their caucus in line. At the same time, by ensuring that an election could be held earlier in the event that the government clearly did not have the support of the majority of the House of Commons, the concept of confidence that underlies the parliamentary system of government would be preserved.”

[updated Thu Aug 06 17:25:18 EDT 2009]

65% of Canadians could not indentify a major strength in the Liberal Party June 2009-Nik Nanos

Did being away for 34 years cloud his judgement?

In the early seventies Pierre Trudeau made it possible to receive benefits after working "just" eight weeks. At the very moment that Trudeau made this new entitlement available, hundreds of thousands of people "just somehow" became unemployed. Talk about a "just" society!

NATIONAL DREAM?

Perhaps Ignatieff's retro proposal for Employment Insurance benefits after nine weeks is his social policy version of a National Dream.

Perhaps he would bind this vast land not with rails, but with sections and clauses of the Employment Insurance Act. It might be his dream, but to many of us it has the markings of a terrifying hallucination, and it will certainly be a nightmare for Liberal candidates.-Monte Solberg

TD estimates the Iffy 1971 Plan around $ 1 Billion.

[updated Thu Aug 06 18:38:36 EDT 2009]

Following Stephen Harper's record of lies
By Myles Higgins
Today I nearly fell off my chair after visiting the federal Conservative website and reading a press release issued this week. The funniest part of the whole site (funny in a rather sad way) has to be the verbal diarrhea they espouse on regular basis.

I have to admit to visiting various party sites on a somewhat regular basis. Not only is it good research into what these guys are up to but it helps solidify my personal opinion of the total lack of credibility these guys have and the political crap they heap on the public with apparent glee.

[updated Thu Aug 06 18:48:19 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harper Lies to Canada Like Bush does to America

George on the Hour points out Stephen Harper Lies to Canada Like Bush or at least thinks we are as stupid as the people that believe that empty rhetoric.

We all no Harper wasn't talking to the intelligent people, they see through it but millions of morons believe in the war on words.

Words like drugs, poverty, terrorism, we will hunt the sarcastic down no matter where they hide, bring it on More..sarcastic.

The problem is that millions hear it, store it, and then buy it. Just like an unprotected computer taking in information and saving it, viruses and all. Lies cannot be easily undone. First impressions are everything.

[updated Thu Aug 06 18:50:34 EDT 2009]

More lies today from Harper team.

Joan Bryden

Ottawa — The Canadian Press
Last updated on Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009 08:14PM EDT

Cost has become the latest flashpoint between Conservatives and Liberals in their potentially election-provoking squabble over employment insurance reform.

Federal officials charge Thursday that a Liberal proposal to ease access to jobless benefits would cost more than $4-billion a year to implement.

But Liberals charged the governing Tories have “grossly inflated” the number of unemployed who'd be eligible for EI under their plan, thereby producing “astronomical costs” to justify their flat rejection of the proposal.

“I'm incredibly disappointed that they're out [in public] taking information that they have fabricated and distorted and taking it out of our meeting for political purposes,” Liberal MP Mike Savage said.

“Their numbers are an absolute and complete distortion of the truth … They've virtually quadrupled the cost of our proposal.”

I quote the resident Harper muppett:
"TD estimates the Iffy 1971 Plan around $ 1 Billion."

Thanks for proving Liberals are right and Harper et. al. are deceitful liars.

[updated Thu Aug 06 21:52:33 EDT 2009]

Harper also lied about an environmental plan and about food safety.

On the environment Harper trotted out what he would like us to believe is an environmental plan. He says that he wants to increase the fines for "the most serious environmental crimes to $6 million for corporations and $1 million for individuals."

What he doesn't say (the part that makes it a lie):

Global warming, and the pollution of our air, water and soil as well as the dwindling of many endangered species have all been caused by legal pollution, there would be no impact on most polluters just the ones that broke our rather lax environmental laws

Polluters are so heavily subsidized and otherwise taken care of that even the largest of Harper's fines wouldn't even put a dent in their Federal Subsidies. (wouldn't it be nice if Harper was as hard on polluters as he is on 14 year olds).

The Liberals, NDP, and Green Party all have an environmental plan, Stephen Harper does not. What he has proposed isn't an environmental plan it's basically just an accounting trick.

Next, Stephen Harper lashed out at past Liberal Governments for acting on food safety. While it's true that the Liberals should have acted and didn't - that Liberal government, along with it's leader and most of its Cabinet Ministers are gone. What makes it a lie is, again, what Harper didn't say. Namely that:

First Harper has been prime minister for 2.5 years and also did not act on, suggest acting on or promote action on the Liberal policies that upset him so much today.

Second the Conservatives actually cut funding for inspections and made our food less safe.

The Liberals at least had the good sense not to make fun of the victims.

Again, Stephen Harper can only win if people don't think about what he's saying.

[updated Thu Aug 06 21:58:38 EDT 2009]

Harpo's puppets lied again yesterday trying to put spin on the Libs EI proposals. The Libs and outside experts said it would cost $1BB while the lying reformatorts tries spinning a $4BB cost.

[updated Fri Aug 07 06:10:25 EDT 2009]

A lesson for being critical of "Appointments" by the Leader of the Party. It cuts both ways.

http://www.votepair.ca/tag/conservative/

“If our candidate is arbitrarily appointed by people from the Prime Minister’s Office, it plays right into Turner’s hands and confirms everything he has been saying about the lack of democratic process within our party.” – Rick Malbouef, Halton Conservative -seeking the nomination

At some point it will occur to someone: we have a democratic crisis on our hands — a crisis of legitimacy, a crisis of efficacy. We are stuck, spinning our wheels, unable to find a sense of direction. The prospect is for more hung Parliaments, more bootless elections, more stall and drift, and less and less public interest.

If this election proves anything, it is that the process by which we elect our governments is broken. We are trying to run five-party politics through a system that was designed for two parties-Andrew Coyne Oct 16,2009
===========================
Ignatieff appoints candidate
By Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group News Aug 06, 2009

The decision to forego a nomination contest didn’t sit well with well-known Liberal Gary Zemlak of Campbellville, who was one of three men who had received green lights to contend for the riding’s candidacy.

“(I’m) disappointed,” said Zemlak, who lost to Halton Conservative MPP Ted Chudleigh by less than 200 votes as the Liberal candidate in the last provincial election. “I’ve put a lot of effort and time to work in the riding.”

Zemlak admitted he was bothered by Ignatieff’s decision, though he understood the party wants to meet its target of female candidates.

“I believe the people in the riding should be represented by somebody in the riding,” he said. “I still think I would have been the best choice (to beat current Halton Conservative MP Lisa Raitt).”

Steve Savage, president of the Halton Liberal Riding Association said it was a “tough call” to bring in Gillis.

“Appointments are never easy,” said Savage. “But I think the majority of Halton Liberals will overwhelmingly support her.”
===========================

Can I look forward to the balanced and fair comment regarding the unhappy Liberals who were passed over from a person who does live or work in Halton? Probably not.

[updated Fri Aug 07 07:36:13 EDT 2009]

Has the EI TRAP been set?

Are the Premiers united behind the Iggy Liberals one sits fits all standard? Will Atlantic Canada suffer with an increas in hours required to cover ONTARIO?

Why Quebec and Manitoba including other Western Provinces have NOT agreed with lowering the standard to 360 Nationwide because it would they

"We don't want to make unreasonable demands on a federal government in terms of what it would mean a year from now or two years from now in terms of their fiscal capacity."
The EI Plan from the Liberals were taken from the NDP and the 1971 Liberals under Trudeau?

The changes ae meant to be temporary to not REPEAT the CATASTROPHE that resulted in creating a permanent SEASONAL unemployment class.

Unemployment went up 2% as a result.

The Fear of adopting this idea is to create a Permanent Seasonal Class of Unemployed in areas that NEVER existed.

"The Liberals are asking for regional fairness in a reformed employment insurance scheme, one that would create a uniform national standard and lower the number of hours required to qualify. They would like to see Canadians qualify after 360 hours of work – a temporary plan they say would be help Canadians through the recession, and cost federal coffers an additional $1.5-billion a year."

"Atlantic premiers warned at the beginning of the day that any changes must not reduce benefits for any Canadians."

".. the premiers essentially threw the EI issue back in the federal government's lap, failing to agree among themselves on how they think Ottawa should reform the system".

"The premiers called for a reduction in the number of standards, but did not suggest how many. There are 58 different standards of qualification across the country."

"The government's analysis, however, showed the Liberal plan would add about $4-billion a year to the plan – almost three times the Liberal estimate."

"Canada's premiers are split over how best to change the qualification period for employment benefits, with the nation's largest province arguing for a one-size-fits-all scheme that eliminates all regional disparities, at least during the recession."

"Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty lent support yesterday to federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's proposal to replace a myriad of regional qualification periods with one nationwide standard."
=============================

Is creating a New underclass of seasonal unemployed Canadians in REGIONS that NEVER existed to cover 150,000 for one year worth a few points in the Polls?

Some of us think the danger and lessons from 1971 are too great to ignore. The last time the Liberals tried to close the tap" they lost several high profiles MP's in Atlantic Canada.

Those LESSONS do not NEED to be learned again.

[updated Fri Aug 07 08:05:22 EDT 2009]

How will this decision be viewed by the opposition? An opportunity to develop and improve a better outcome or one more Plan to attack the government?

Prentice pledges new wastewater rules
- Steve Rennie Ottawa The Canadian Press Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009

The new rules will set performance benchmarks, timelines and monitoring and reporting requirements for the country's 4,000 wastewater facilities, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said Thursday in Saint John.

The regulations will cover all wastewater systems operated by municipalities, the provincial and federal governments, and those on federal or aboriginal lands.

“All jurisdictions will now have to maintain, update, or develop new regulatory tools to implement the Canada-wide strategy,” Mr. Prentice said, according to a copy of the speech provided by his office.

“We have the strategy. We intend to enforce it with the powers of the Fisheries Act to protect the health of Canadians and the environment.”

Facilities that can't afford the upgrades or repairs can apply to Ottawa's infrastructure fund or borrow from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., Mr. Prentice said.

More details will emerge when the government publishes draft regulations in December, which are expected to be revised and finalized next year.

[updated Fri Aug 07 08:19:32 EDT 2009]

In the 1970s, the Trudeau years, the government tried to stimulate economic growth with deficit spending. This approach ended in stagflation, rising unemployment and double-digit interest rates. In the 1980s, the Mulroney years, the government introduced pay freezes in the public service, relatively small across-the-board spending cuts and sales of federal assets. These techniques produced lower deficits but didn't begin to end them. In the 1990s, the Chrétien years, the government tried a much more radical approach.

Called program review, this approach required every deputy minister "to identify all activities of government that no longer serve a national interest or that can be delivered more efficiently through other means."

It became a line-item evaluation of every public sector dollar. The problem with setting modest spending targets, Ms. Bourgon explained, is that the target sets a ceiling on savings. With program review, she said, savings are not limited. Thus, in the actual exercise, the Department of Transport took a 50-per-cent hit in three years.
Neil Reynolds Friday, Aug. 07, 2009 Britain takes a cue from Canada's deficit slayers

Any opposition "interested" or willing to consider a SERIOUS debate in this minority Parliament regardin Program Review?

In the last 3 years from what I can see the OPPOSITION are united in NOT allowing any serious debate for Program Review or CUTS in Federal Spending.

Is a Majority Government the only form of government that is capable of getting things done without the constant threat of an election every few weeks?

[updated Fri Aug 07 08:47:51 EDT 2009]

here's the real story of Canada's unemployment issue as stated this am by a Scotia analyst:

CANADA'S JOBS REPORT WORSE ON HEADLINE AND DETAILS

Our first impression is that this is a much worse than expected report
on both headline and details. The headline July decline was worse than
expected, both full-time and part-time jobs fell, private and public
sector jobs were lost, the hit to private sector jobs was the worst
since January's massive decline, self-employment rose but discount that
at this point in the cycle, and people exited the workforce thereby
driving a decline in the labour force. Canada's job market remains
fully back on its heels.

Net change in jobs (000s) / UR (%):
Actual:................. -44.5 / 8.6%
Prior:..................... -7.4 / 8.6%
Consensus:............. -15 / 8.8%

the picture is much worse than anyone forecast. These reformatort jokers must go

[updated Fri Aug 07 09:36:59 EDT 2009]

Was Bob Rae and the Left leaning liberals duped by the promise of the Liberal Executive and Iggy he would pull the plug in January or not allow the CPC to spend another year in power?

Tue Dec. 09 2008

Rae's announcement, which marked a sudden reversal, means the Liberal party can avoid a long and potentially divisive leadership contest.

"I am not a candidate for the interim leadership, nor shall I pursue my candidacy for the party leadership at the Vancouver convention," Rae told reporters at an afternoon press conference.

Just 24 hours earlier, Rae said he wanted a democratic leadership process that involved grassroots liberals, not a coronation.

But on Tuesday, Rae said the circumstances on Parliament Hill required a different approach.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's announcement Monday that he would resign as soon as his successor was picked.
The decision by the Liberal national executive to establish a consultation with selected groups before appointing an interim leader of the party.

"In these circumstances I believe that the Liberal Party of Canada requires a new leader to be in place before Parliament returns at the end of January," Rae said.

The Liberals want to have a new leader in place before the end of the year, so they can prepare for a possible showdown with the Tories in Parliament early next year.

Rae had wanted all Liberal members to vote on the leadership. But the party's national executive decided they would have a vote that only included MPs, senators, riding association presidents, club presidents, and defeated candidates. They also decided it would be on Dec. 17 - not enough time for Rae to organize a significant challenge to Ignatieff, who already had the support of support.

"I learned how to count a while ago," Rae joked on CTV's Mike Duffy Live. "I drew a conclusion that said it was time to pack it in."

Liberal Sen. Céline Hervieux-Payette, who participated in the conference call, was reportedly furious over the process by which Ignatieff will take power, Fife said.

"This will destroy the Liberal Party, I'm devastated by what this will do to the party, they don't understand anything about democracy," she said, according to notes obtained by Fife.

Asked if they would support a coalition led by Ignatieff, 38 per cent were supportive, with 50 per cent still opposed.

The poll found that almost 70 per cent of those surveyed felt Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives should stay in power, although 41 per cent blamed them for last week's political crisis and 39 per cent said Harper should resign.

However, 51 per cent said Harper should stay on.

The poll, conducted Dec. 4-6, questioned just over 1,000 people as part of an omnibus phone survey and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

[updated Fri Aug 07 10:30:37 EDT 2009]

Harper lies like a sidewalkPosted in December 4th, 2008 by webmaster in Miscellany, Coalition for ChangeStephen Harper is amazing. Even when there is irrefutable evidence to the contrary, he is willing to lie on national TV about his unwillingness to share power with the Bloc Quebecois.

This is what Harper said last night in his broadcast to the nation:

Let me be very clear: Canada’s government cannot enter into a power-sharing coalition with a separatist party.

My how things change. This is an excerpt of a letter to then Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson signed by Stephen Harper, Jack Layton (NDP) and Gilles Duceppe (BQ) in September 2004:

As leaders of the opposition parties, we are well aware that, given the Liberal minority government, you could be asked by the prime minister to dissolve the 38th Parliament at any time should the House of Commons fail to support some part of the government’s program. We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for a dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority. Your attention to this matter is appreciated.

Maybe this is something he learned from Stockwell Day, who was evidently

[updated Fri Aug 07 11:45:23 EDT 2009]

Lies and broken promises are Stephen Harper's legacy:

Stephen Harpers Broken Promises
1) Promise Made: Mr. Harper campaigned for an elected senate and pledged that “all appointments would be made on merit-based requirements”.
Promise Broken: In his first act as Prime Minister, Harper appointed his campaign co-chair Michael Fortier as a Senator and Minister of Public Works –the largest governmental procurement department and home of the sponsorship scandal. Because Mr. Fortier is not elected, he cannot be held accountable for his actions in the House of Commons.
2) Promise Made: In Opposition, the Conservatives fought hard against floor-crossing. Days before the election, 40 Conservative MPs supported a private members’ bill banning floor crossing without a by-election.

Promise Broken: Within hours of receiving the election results, Mr. Harper dismissed the valuable contributions of many of his fellow Conservative candidates and instead sought out the Liberal Minister, David Emerson, for a key position in his cabinet.

[updated Fri Aug 07 11:51:56 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harpers Broken Promises

1) Promise Made: Prior to the election campaign, Mr. Harper unveiled his party’s Accountability Act, which aims to “crack down on the revolving door between ministers’ offices, the senior public service and the lobbying industry”.
Promise Broken: The Accountability Act apparently didn’t stop Gordon O’Connor from walking right through this revolving door into the crucial portfolio of Minister of Defense. Minister O’Connor, formerly a lobbyist for the defense industry, is now responsible for overseeing some of the largest defense contracts in Canadian history. Gordon O’Conner has since been dumped from this position.
2) Promise Made: Mr. Harper’s election platform committed to strengthening the role of the Ethics Commissioner and preventing the Prime Minister from overruling the Commissioner’s decisions in the application of ethics rules.
Promise Broken: Despite “numerous attempts” to interview Mr. Harper over a four-month period, our new Prime Minister refused to make time for the Ethics Commissioner to discuss his role in the Gurmant Grewal taping affair.

[updated Fri Aug 07 11:54:17 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harpers Broken Promises

1) Although Conservatives promised a free vote in the House of Commons on the appointment of new Supreme Court justices during the election campaign, they will now appoint an ad-hoc parliamentary committee to question the new appointee.

2) During the election campaign, the Prime Minister promised the Canadian people that he would “lead by example”. In his Federal Accountability Act, Harper went so far as to promise that he “will prevent the Prime Minister from overruling the Ethics Commissioner on whether the Prime Minister or an official is in violation of the conflict of interest code”.
“Now, Mr. Harper has admitted he has even gone so far as to try and have Dr. Shapiro replaced, showing utter contempt for the Parliamentary process by trying to unilaterally remove a duly appointed officer of Parliament – an officer seeking to carry out his duties under the law “, Mr. Easter continued.

[updated Fri Aug 07 11:55:26 EDT 2009]

Stephen Harpers Broken Promises

1) During the election campaign, the Conservatives promised to make all capital gains exempt from taxation, as long as the funds were reinvested within a six month period. The proposal was widely criticized by economists because of difficulties in implementation as well its prohibitive cost.
Two budgets later and still no exemption

2) Stephen Harper also promised to revamp the income support system, to make it more responsive to farmers’ needs, saying “A new Conservative government will scrap CAIS.” Minister Strahl is now saying he will “transform” it. The crisis on farms continues with no meaningful action.

[updated Fri Aug 07 11:56:33 EDT 2009]

Harpo is running scared. That is why they are saying desperate things about an election. "It will destroy the economy," "It is a power grab" (like the last one?). All their energy is now in telling the public how bad an election would be. Not to punish the Liberals at the polls (Steve knows that won't happen from experience), but to scare the Liberals from voting against him.

Why you say? It is a tie, it could go either way, the CPC could pull off a small minority and WIN!.

Answer:
This will be Harper's fourth election. If he does not at least get close to the 143 seats he had last time, he will be eased out and he knows it.

There hasn't been a poll since Iggy took over that has suggested anything but a big loss of seats for the CPC. His best poll shows him losing 20+ seats most show much more or even a loss. He may squeak out a tiny minority at best, but the cries for change in leadership will come in earnest if he loses that many seats. And most of them will go to the Liberals, even worse for him.

A government that weakened would not last long at all. A few months at most. His days are numbered unless Iggy is caught loving a goat at Stornaway.

Iggy can afford a small loss first time in, as Harper was afforded when he lost, Harper cannot even afford a small win. He is toast as leader if the election is called in September.

New leader, new improved CPC.

[updated Fri Aug 07 12:35:47 EDT 2009]

How much is the public paying for Harper the narcisist nutjob's 24/7 makeup and hair fluffing? This is a disgrace and we should not be footing the bill for such anal behaviour. Get her off our payroll and stop wasting our money on your rug and craters.

Canadian