Nanos-Policy Options National Poll - Third Annual "Mood of Canada" Poll

Conservatives are headed for a majority, all things being equal, the Liberals are headed for a leadership convention and, don't laugh, the NDP may be headed for the position of Official Opposition. This poll was taken before the HST fiasco which will hurt the Liberals in Ontario and BC and strengthen the NDP in those areas while allowing the Conservatives possibly to pretend to be neutral, innocent, bowing to provincial wishes as expressed by their Premiers, who are out of step with their electorate, etc., etc., etc. Such is Canadian politics.

[updated Wed Dec 09 05:23:58 EST 2009]

Where is the bear, as I have a question for him? It would appear that his big question that he cannot let go of is not resonating with Canadians at all as Mr. Harper is riding higher than ever and who would have thought certainly not the bear...

"When was the last time the Prime Minister held a public press conference where journalists or the public could ask questions?"

...is not playing with the Canadian public"

I had my fun so now on to a serious note, with the Liberals throwing every piece of dirt and trash that they can manufacture at the Mr. Harper and the Conservatives over the past month the Conservatives are now polling well above the Liberals and Mr. Ignatieff.

Right Direction Question: Right Direction: 64.3% (+10.7%), Wrong Direction: 33.2% (+1.1%) and Unsure: 2.5% (-11.7%).

This result is the most troubling to the Liberals as the unsure has dropped 11.7% to almost zero and that would indicate that voters are firming their support for Mr. Harper and the Conservatives and although the Liberals supporters saw a small marginal increase in the wrong direction (1.1%) the Conservatives saw a huge increase in approval of 10.7%.

Performance of Stephen Harper Question: Very good: 6.8%, somewhat good: 26.3%, Average: 35.8%, somewhat poor: 15.5%, Very poor: 9.7% and Undecided/unsure: 5.9%.

This result can be considered troubling as well to the Liberals; although the unsure is higher in this result it is still very low at 5.9%, couple in the very poor result you have only 15.6% of Canadians indicating no view or a very negative impression of the Conservatives.

The Conservatives are seeing their numbers increase in" the very good, somewhat good and average" and are now at an accumulated 68.9% and that would indicate that voters are firming their support for Mr. Harper and that the results are crossing party lines and that cannot be good for the Liberals.

And as Mr. Nano`s notes,

" The third annual Nanos-Policy Options Mood of Canada poll finds that nearly two Canadians in three (64.3 percent) think the country is moving in the right direction, up from just over half (53.6 percent) who thought so a year ago after the stock market crashed and the country plunged into the deepest recession since the Second World War."

After one of the one of the worst years in Canadian history and the all the Liberal and media mud raking, the Conservatives are up 10.7% over last year and that is not good for the Liberals as they move further and further away from the Canadian main stream with only their policy of "we oppose" as their option to Canadians.

[updated Wed Dec 09 07:54:30 EST 2009]

This is an easy poll to respond to.
1. We are going in the wrong direction.
2. I don't believe we have an improved federal/provincial relationship.
3. The performance of Harper is very poor.

Harper is a disaster in international affairs. He has diminished the image of Canada. The same on the environment file. He has done nothing to reform the judiciary, security and policing are deplorable. He has shown no desire to connect with Canadians with truth, openness and honesty. He doesn't believe in democracy.
The only recent plus is re HST. It would be even a greater disaster if he were to get a majority. But doing right is more important than any political consideration and have a national consumer tax system is the right thing to do.

[updated Wed Dec 09 08:06:21 EST 2009]

And why are the Conservatives moving upward in the minds of Canadians, well here is one of the many reasons and I wonder how much play this will get.

Canada a 'constructive negotiator' at climate talks, Kelly Cryderman, Canwest News Service, Published: Wednesday, December 09, 2009.

COPENHAGEN --

The UN climate chief says Canada is leaving a difficult past behind and is a constructive negotiator in the current process to find a new global climate change pact.

When asked whether Canada has been hindering an agreement, as domestic and international critics have charged, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), said no.

"Canada has been negotiating very constructively in this process," Mr. de Boer said Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2320315#ixzz0ZDGg2JJQ
The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

[updated Wed Dec 09 12:20:52 EST 2009]

Looks as though Harper has peaked. The next step is a down trend.

[updated Wed Dec 09 13:38:41 EST 2009]

I missed this on the CBC, CTV, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, National Post can anyone provide me with a link from these media outlets as it would appear that one more Liberal media types missed posting it for some reason.

This shows that the Liberals and their hand picked head of the commission was as stated by the Governments Lawyers outside their mandate and this has been confirmed by the Federal Courts.

One more Liberal attack gone done in flames.

http://www.canadaeast.com/news/article/879322

Court affirms limits on the military police watchdog's probe on Afghan prisoners

Published Friday December 4th, 2009, Murray Brewster, THE CANADIAN PRESS,

OTTAWA -

A court has confirmed that a watchdog agency can investigate only what military police knew - or should have known - about the controversy over Canada's handling of Afghan detainees.

The Military Police Complaints Commission lost its bid to overturn an earlier ruling restricting its probe.

The Federal Court of Appeal denied the commission's appeal Friday, saying it's in the interests of justice to avoid clogging the courts with lawsuits over the agency's jurisdiction.

The decision raises the possibility that the Conservative government could be facing two, concurrent public investigations into alleged Afghan prisoners issue.

A special House of Commons committee is conducting its own wide-ranging probe of the controversy, and has already heard from many of the witnesses that the commission had planned to call.

Revelations from the special committee, including the testimony of intelligence officer and former diplomat Richard Richard Colvin, has rocked the Commons for more than two weeks, with opposition parties demanding a full-fledged public inquiry.

The commission suspended its public inquiry in October to launch the court appeal.

[updated Wed Dec 09 17:06:04 EST 2009]

In Politics, You Win Some, You Lose Some...

You know how the old trite saying goes: for every door that shuts, a window opens! That's what I'm admiring now on the Afghan detainee file -- that splendid Natynczyk bay window. Nothing quite like a bay window. It lets in so much light, sunshine and transparency.

Got the admire the CDS for coming clean this morning. This is a soldier who upholds the finest traditions of the Canadian military. Too bad his political masters haven't yet developed the habit to be as equally forthcoming...

My advice for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence is to think of themselves as coffee grounds. All they have to do is stand back and wait for the boiling water to drain right through them. Just call it the Harper Percolator!

You know what they say about the drip, drip theory. One drip too many and you get burned. Think again, Prime Minister. Hark back to what Nixon said. Your government can still wiggle comfortably off the hook but only if you allow the filtering process to go ahead.

If there is nothing to hide, prove it. Call a public inquiry and let the evidence fall where it may.

[updated Wed Dec 09 21:26:35 EST 2009]

Why MacKay Is Going Nowhere.

I almost feel like breaking out into a rendition of The Star Spangled Banner what with all the bombs bursting in air -- day in and day out. So much for the politics of containment.

In any event, Peter MacKay has one ace up his sleeve -- and this Prime Minister knows it. MacKay happens not to be Gordon O'Connor and that my friends will keep him in his present job.

Poor O'Connor was shuffled out of Defence, in August 2007, when embattled became a household word to describe the condition of the minister. O'Connor sinned when he unintentionally misled the House of Commons and was forced to apologize.

MacKay, on the otherhand, is a horse of a different colour. He comes off as credible thanks to plausible deniability. A minister can't be held responsible if no one in his department sends the apparently damning information into the In Box of ministerial accountability. Unless the opposition can prove otherwise, MacKay stays in the job.

The PM know this all too well. Barring any other unforeseen consequences, Harper is unlikely to have to do another cabinet shuffle anytime soon.

[updated Wed Dec 09 23:11:06 EST 2009]

Brusmit,

Something tells me that you can really relate to the following:

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Good for you! After all, it's excellent for the heart, mind and body.

[updated Wed Dec 09 23:34:06 EST 2009]

Why is the Chinese Community in Canada not being held accountable for not speaking up against China's Human Rights Abuses?

I have sent e-mail to Senator Poy demanding she stand up in the Senate and denounce China/Hong Kong.

Poy (Hong Kong) got into Canada by the mistake of Queen and under the Liberals, which was never afforded to any other British Citizen

We have a policy in Canada, you must put Canada first. Next on the list are members of the Chinese Community associated with and work for this much disliked Canada - China Business Council which most Canadians deem not a credible organization.

[updated Wed Dec 09 23:34:32 EST 2009]

The downfall of this government is at hand. Their complete lack of ethics and transparency has started to resonate with Canadians as they view the antics of the government on the Afgan torture scandal.

In my opinion their actions are abominable.

[updated Thu Dec 10 23:01:07 EST 2009]

The fact that some don't care about detainee abuse in Afghanistan doesn't negate the possible violations of international law. It might be inconvenient for the tories, but respecting those laws is part of Harper's responsability. Canadians now know that the conservative government's denial of detainee abuse wasn't based on the facts on the ground. So we need to know if it was simply because they honestly didn't receive any reports that would support credible mistreatment allegations or is it because they used similar tactics as the Bush administration in order to cherry pick information within the many reports they received so that they could continue with their inadequate foreign engagement policies. The public inquiery is the best way to assure that we get those questions answered in a transparent manner. It will also increase confidence in the current government and its version of the facts since 83% of canadians believe that some prisoners were tortured, according to a new EKOS poll. Governmental accountability should not be a partisan issue, but Harper's latest decisions to blame diplomats, over-redact documents or simply muddle the oppositions message, sadly demonstrates to canadians nothing but the contrary. This might be the event that prevents the conservatives from getting their coveted majority government.

[updated Fri Dec 11 08:32:12 EST 2009]

I see the Alberta Tories are sinking even faster than the Harper Tories in the polls. This will resonate on the federal tories as well.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/story.html?id=2327477

A new Angus Reid Public Opinion survey of 1,000 Albertans suggests 39% of voters would cast a ballot for Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance.

The fledgling party is pulling away from Premier Ed Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives, who were tied with David Swann's Liberals for second place with the backing of 25% of decided voters province-wide, according to the poll.
...............................

In effect the tories could drop to third place in Alberta to a party that is clearly to the left of the reform Tories. This good news for democracy in canada and bad news for tories everywhere

[updated Fri Dec 11 18:52:49 EST 2009]

Something For The Government of Canada.

Let's start off with a given -- to become a successful exporter, you usually have to start out as an importer. That brings us to Section 133 of the Customs Act which reads as follows: "Where there is contravention [...] 133.(1)(c) where the Minister considers that insufficient money or security was taken or where no money or security was received, demand such amount of money as he considers sufficient, not exceeding an amount determined under subsection (4) or (5), as the case may be."

Now that was a MEGO moment. But to put it in English, this section allows Canada Border Services Agency to penalize importers for false declarations. The Act seems to lack sufficient wiggle room to deal with innocent importers -- those who are initially unaware that an infraction has been committed because they were not the direct actor whose conduct lead to the infraction. In other words, the importers act in good faith throughout the process.

Here are some theoretical examples:

1) A orders goods from B in country C. A pays B for the actual value of goods which are then shipped. Some dummy working for B ships the goods with the wrong commercial invoice. As a result of this, upon inspection, CBSA discovers that a false declaration has been made, not by A (the Importer) but by B (the shipper). Guess who could conceivably get the penalty -- A, the importer who knows nothing of the mix up.

2) A orders goods from B in country C. A pays B for the actual value of goods which are then shipped. B tells A that the goods will ship in several stages. B tells A that goods worth X are shipped initially but some dummy working for B puts more goods really worth Y in the boxes than are declared on the invoice. Once again, A is completely in good faith and knows nothing of this. Guess again who could conceivably get the penalty...

Don't worry folks, it gets worse:

Generally, under the Customs Act, you can appeal by going to Federal Court. Unfortunately, for the good faith Importer, there's a rub. Section 135's time limit to take legal action does not cover Section 133 infractions! If you get a penalty, you only have THIRTY days to appeal.

Let's look at a judgment which bears out how one can conceivably get royally shafted. In
Samson vs. Attorney General of Canada, Mr. Justice Sean Harrington has this to say about Section 133: [4] The Customs Act is somewhat distinctive in that the issue of whether the offence was committed or not may be heard de novo through a regular action, while recourse regarding a penalty issued under the auspices of section 133 is strictly connected with an application for judicial review. All of this was clearly explained by Mr. Justice Mackay in ACL Canada Inc. v. Canada (Minister of National Revenue-M.N.R.), [1993] F.C.J. No. 1048, 68 F.T.R. 180. [...]

The judge then goes on to apply the general principles to the case before him:

ANALYSIS

[10] There are several valid reasons for excusing Mr. Samson’s failure to file the application for judicial review within the 30-day period stipulated by the Act. The department misread its own legislation by alleging the applicant’s bad faith. The applicant was confidant that he had acted in good faith. Further, Mr. Samson had been properly informed of his right to bring an action, but not of the option of applying for a judicial review of the notice of assessment of penalty.
[11] However, after the Attorney General became involved as counsel of record in the hearing before the Court, everything was rectified. [...]
[13] Mr. Samson at that time should have requested an extension of time. Now it is too late because he did not establish that he had a continuing intention to dispute the penalty and his reasonable explanations lapsed around the end of May 2007.
[14] For the reasons given above, I will dismiss the application, with costs.

---------------

Now, for those of you who are courageous enough to still be with us, the nub goes like this: it should specifically say in the Customs Act, under Section 133, that an application for judicial review of a penalty IS SUBJECT to the provisions contained in --

Subsection 18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act [which] requires that such an application be made within 30 days of the impugned decision or “within any further time that a judge of the Federal Court may fix or allow before or after the end of those 30 days.” Otherwise, importers and lawyers will be misled thinking they have 90 days to appeal the penalty under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act.

[updated Sat Dec 12 12:21:31 EST 2009]

It looks as though the Tories are still in the dark ages of fiscal responsibility and their numbers will soon reflect that fact after the opposition gets it out to the public properly and show how the governments lies . some history on the subject:

Amazing how hard it is for conservatives to learn something.

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should
be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

- Cicero - 55 BC

[updated Sat Dec 12 12:45:03 EST 2009]

Cheers For Jason.

I'm dumbfounded. Listen to all that cheering for Jason Kenney on CBC News Network. I'll bet none of it is coming from Mother Corp. headquarters, but I digress.

It's a strange sound that one does not generally associate with this Conservative government. I will confess that Jason is a hard worker, even on weekends.

Too bad crowds aren't as ecstatic about this government habitually ignoring the will of an elected House of Commons...how many motions is it now? Four, five?

Doesn't exactly leave a sparkling fresh taste in the mouth of political accountability. But then again, doing as I say, not as I've done, continues to be all the rage in the Ice-Cold Capital of Ottawa.

[updated Sat Dec 12 14:29:17 EST 2009]

A F G H A N I S T A N.

Conservative types are stressed out and rather irritated over the entire mess. They've asked Santa to make it all blow over -- or even better, go away, by Christmas.

BUT IT WON'T! Why, you ask? Because this is like newly discovered rocket fuel for the opposition in general and particularly the Liberals.

It's a two-pronged attack mission that has legs: first, you knock the government off-message and then you go in for the political kill. Thus far, we have been quite successful in our first objective.

Now to the second -- knocking the Harper government off-balance, so much so that they find themselves, much to their surprise and dismay OFF TRACK and off base, unable to effectively manage their governmental and parliamentary agenda.

That remains the objective for Round Two -- post the holidays.

Granted, there will be incoming from both sides with Conservatives giving almost as good as they'll get. But in the end, victory will be ours. This government's looks are rapidly fading, one day at a time. Keep an eye on the Harper government's shelf life -- its expiry date might turn out to come up a lot sooner than was previously anticipated.

And some said politics was dull.

[updated Sat Dec 12 17:52:23 EST 2009]

Well it is good to see the tough on crime Liberals gutting a major crime bill just weeks before thay lose their majority and more bad news for Mr. Ignatieff as it once again shows that he cannot control his party and I wonder how this will [play to canadians as once again the Liberals go soft on crime as soon as the lights are off them.

Liberal Senate alters key Tory crime bill,GLORIA GALLOWAY,OTTAWA — From Thursday's Globe and Mail,Published on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009 12:00AM EST,
Last updated on Friday, Dec. 11, 2009 2:39AM EST

"Senators vote to remove mandatory minimum sentence requirements for drug offenders, weeks before Liberals lose majority"

"The Liberal-dominated Senate voted yesterday to remove the mandatory minimum sentence requirement for some drug offenders from Conservative legislation - for the first time substantially altering a key plank in the government's tough-on-crime agenda.

The amendments come six months after the bill was passed in the House of Commons with the support of Liberal MPs, but only weeks before the Liberals lose their majority in the Senate, and with it their ability to change government legislation.

"What has happened in their party that we get this disconnect between the Liberals in the House of Commons and the Liberals in the Senate?" Justice Minister Rob Nicholson asked shortly after the results of the late afternoon vote. "There's going to be a lot of people very disappointed when they hear that they are weakening the bill when it comes to pot producers."

[updated Sat Dec 12 18:52:12 EST 2009]

I'm convinced that tory numbers will be under 30% by the end of January. the scandsals are starting to grow and the opposition is emboldened. Watching Tories squirm is going to be fun. We saw Powers start the dance of losers last night on power play.

[updated Sat Dec 12 19:14:31 EST 2009]

Nighty, night Brusmit.

Try not to get this government into any further pickles over the recess, that is, if you can actually help it!

Happy holidays to you and yours,

Your opposite internet numbers who are collectively doing all that we can to make this experience warm, inviting and extremely memorable for you. Down deep, we happen to be just old softies.

[updated Sat Dec 12 21:30:44 EST 2009]

Public Works

Are Chretien and his Liberal buddies involved this Public Works scandal again?

Do these Liberals ever learn?

[updated Sun Dec 13 01:03:07 EST 2009]

Prime Minister: Please Tell Peter To Pass The Spade On To Lawrence!

I don't know about you but it suddenly dawned on me that Defence Minister Peter MacKay should really take a break for a while -- he's been at it digging that hole on behalf of this government and deserves a rest.

Here's an idea. Why doesn't he simply pass the shovel on to Lawrence -- you remember him, the Foreign Affairs Minister. Cannon can take up where MacKay left off. That's the beauty of a good dig. The lower one goes, the more one finds.

Believe it or not, these guys have been in office for almost four years now. If they keep this up, chances are that they'll eventually hit water. You know what that means - this government's future is best summarized by the expression "Jump The Shark."

The sweet irony of it all. Conservatives took great relish in filling the airwaves with countless unflattering ads for the past two years. It didn't bother them one bit screwing over one opposition leader, then another. They never lost one iota of sack time.

Well, now the tables have turned and it's your special moment under the hot sun. Keep all your wits about you because boy are you ever going to need 'em.

[updated Sun Dec 13 13:46:52 EST 2009]

Copenhagen: Tears Flowing.

Can I ever relate to all the frustration that is building over climate change in Copenhagen. Canada, once seen as a model for the world has developed quite another reputation under the benign neglect tutelage of the Harper government. No wonder Canadian delegates were advised not to display Canadian flags on their luggage. Otherwise, they might end up in some pretty sticky situations in this age of the Canadian fossil.

I thought all the dinosaurs were killed off long ago. Apparently not. Many seem to have found refuge in snowy Ottawa. We already know that this Prime Minister is rather capable when it comes to tickling the ivories but what the rest of the world wants to really find out is how well he plays the violin...

But let's keep things civilized. We don't want a repeat of the Silvio experience -- in the Danish capital.

My question is why bother going over there. It's rather obvious that nothing more than an agreement-in-principle is possible and excuse me for being skeptical, but I plan on believing that one when I see it.

Some people pray for enlightenment. Others for complete failure. It will be interesting to see what this Prime Minister will be able to accomplish when he pops in. Don't expect too much: the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance. That seems to be the "new" Canadian way.

[updated Sun Dec 13 15:05:58 EST 2009]

Obama On 60 Minutes.

[updated Sun Dec 13 19:21:55 EST 2009]

Media Who Endorsed Harper in 2006.

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:EUeDgjmw52IJ:www.thevancouverite.com/vancouver_politics/sun_province_endorse_harper/+endorse/Harper&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

The Vancouver Sun, The Province

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/003367.html

La Presse

http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061206.wasktheeditor1207/BNStory/cancer/?pageRequested=4

The Globe and Mail

http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/10/11/newspaper-endorsements/

Tories win again in newspaper endorsements
October 11, 2008 – 4:04 pm| Posted in Media, Opinion

In 2006, with the central issue of the vote being the sponsorship scandal (or at least that was what the media was telling us was the central issue), many newspapers who had previously (but begrudgingly) endorsed the Liberal Party switched sides and said the Conservatives deserve a chance to govern.

Most newspapers in the Canwest, Sun and Gesca chains backed the Tories, as did the Globe and Mail. The two main dissenters were the Toronto Star, which continued to support the Liberals, and Le Devoir, which steadfastly stood behind the Bloc Québécois.

http://newsbeat1.com/2006/01/national-post-endorses-harper.html

National Post

That's about it.

[updated Sun Dec 13 19:38:52 EST 2009]

Hey Hollinm and Lex Ludor,

Care to give us your views on my assessment of the 2006 campaign. Thank you.

For your convenience, I will cut and paste it below:

Brusmit,

[EDITED BY ORIGINAL POSTER.] You know perfectly well that we (I was part of we in 2006) got a free ride in that campaign. We were on message and well scripted with a new narrative each day. Harper was in the zone. The media treated us with great deference while crucifying Martin. Come on.

[updated Sun Dec 13 20:13:12 EST 2009]

Khalid: Canadian Press Drops A Bomb Shell.

Because this story has been specifically copyrighted, it's wise to not even cut and paste part of it.

Two things strike me: the first thing is that there is now conflicting evidence as to exactly what Canada knew about torture in Afghanistan, and allegedly by whom.

Secondly, how does this revelation affect Maxime Bernier? Many people practically stood in line to tear him apart two years later when he publicly stated that Khadlid should be replaced as Governor of Khandahar. To my mind, this will serve as a partial vindication for Max.

[updated Sun Dec 13 21:35:37 EST 2009]

Another reason Tory numbers will keep coming down:

" After skipping the HST votes, Cadman told the Surrey Leader she had been disciplined by Government Whip Gordon O'Connor for speaking out and told to "smarten up."

Democracy Tory style!!!!

[updated Mon Dec 14 07:30:45 EST 2009]

RonaldOdowd,

Here is a point to ponder.

The Conservatives go to a Federal Judge and or the SCoC to get a ruling on the Afghanistan Transferee program that the Liberals put in place and then request a ruling from the judge or Judges on the Conservative program.

To see if either meet Canadian and International law and had the correct procedures in place to ensure that there was no chances of abuse or torture occurring to detainees..

The court comes back and says, that there is nothing wrong with the program or programs and that it meets all the conditions of Canadian and International law.

Now that does seem to be somewhat unlikely as the Liberal program has been deemed to be faulty and I will invoke the name of Mr. Colvin on this occasions as my expert witness to the fact (tongue and cheek) and we have not had any feedback from the new Conservative program to date.

But assuming that the courts do rule in favour of the Liberal program, the Conservatives can point to the courts and say that they were acting within Canadian and International Law and basically take the Liberals and the coalition talking points away.

Now on the other hand, if the courts rule against the Liberal program and based on what Mr. Colvin, the media, the Liberals, NDP and Bloc are saying and I having been reading that would be the most unlikely outcome.

The Conservatives could pound the Liberals with that ruling and point to the courts as their supporting validation.

Do you think that might occur..

[updated Mon Dec 14 12:25:35 EST 2009]

More good news for the Conservatives and therefore more bad news for the Liberal on the economy.

Positive economic growth likely in 2010 and 2011, says RBC Economics
(CP) – 12 hours ago

TORONTO — After a challenging year, the economy is set for a recovery in 2010, according to a new forecast by RBC Economics.

It says although the economy contracted at an average of 2.5 per cent this year, the stage is set for positive growth in 2010. RBC predicts real gross domestic product will rise by 2.6 per cent next and will continue to expand in 2011, at a 3.9 per cent clip. The report suggests the peak of stimulus spending will occur in 2010, with improving credit conditions fuelling growth next year and in 2011.

In addition, consumer spending is projected to increase by 2.3 per cent next year before accelerating to 2.7 per cent in 2011.

However, the bank says the jobless rate is expected to remain high at about 8.7 per cent in 2010 before falling to 7.8 per cent in 2011.

"With the financial crisis behind us and the U.S. economy on the mend, Canada's economic growth is expected to rise steadily throughout the next year," said Craig Wright, RBC senior vice-president and chief economist.

"While challenges remain, a peak in stimulus and infrastructure spending across the federal, provincial and municipal governments, along with low interest rates, should result in a sustained recovery."

[updated Mon Dec 14 16:41:38 EST 2009]

RonaldODowd,

I was watching power play and they had Mr.Rocco Rossi on and it would appear that with him leaving that is all the OLO staff from last year gone.

Not taking a shot, but the new COS must be using a really big broom and it should be interesting to see how the new faces work out.

And for some strange reason Mr. Clark is beating up on the Liberals,

[updated Mon Dec 14 17:21:43 EST 2009]

Harper tries to fool Canadians again! AKA not tell the truth. He is in the back pocket of big oil, just like Bush.

Monday, December 14, 2009 | 5:06 PM ET CBC News
The Conservative government has considered abandoning some of the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in its 2007 green plan and allowing weaker targets for the oil and gas sector, documents obtained by CBC News suggest.

The draft proposal raises questions on how the Tories could cut overall greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 — a target they insist they can reach — while weakening the targets in the oil and gas sector.

[updated Mon Dec 14 17:22:51 EST 2009]

Harper's COVER UP is killing their support. If they don't call an inquiry, they are finished.

Conservative Lead Narrows as
Liberals Bounce Back

[TORONTO – Dec. 14, 2009] – The governing
Conservative Party is still leading in Canada, but
the Liberal Party has gained support, according
to the Canadian Political Pulse, conducted by
Angus Reid Public Opinion

Angus Reid is usually a good polster for the Tories too.

[updated Mon Dec 14 18:07:09 EST 2009]

One can only wonder how Canadians will react to this latest bit of business of I am entitled to my entitlements by the Liberals.

Senators quietly fatten overseas travel plan

"They offer a fascinating – and often surprisingly frank – glimpse of senators' perception of their entitlements and their awareness of the potential for a public backlash."

"For instance, during one meeting in October, Liberal Senator Paul Massicote railed against the fact that some senators habitually fly business class."

“I have personally asked several senators and they have told me that they travel economy when they are paying for the ticket themselves but business class when the taxpayers are paying,” he said.

“I am deeply offended when I think that the tickets are going to cost $7,000 when there are people in coach paying $800 or $700.”

Joan Bryden, Ottawa — The Canadian Press, Published on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 5:20PM EST, Last updated on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 5:37PM EST.

.

[updated Mon Dec 14 18:11:50 EST 2009]

Angus Reid: Conservative Lead Cut In Half
The lastest Angus Reid poll shows a pretty sizeable change over three weeks, as a 15% Con lead is reduced to 7%. Angus Reid mirrors others, with a gradual erosion in Conservative support, but it also provides a different dynamic, Liberal support up considerably. The national numbers (Nov 14-16 in brackets):

Cons 36% (38%)
Libs 29% (23%)
NDP 16% (17%)
Greens 6% (10%)

[updated Mon Dec 14 18:24:18 EST 2009]

House is coming on and that show is far more entertaining and a lot more realistic than what I have been reading from.

A member since December 09, 2009 13:35 rough and tumble, A member since December 11, 2009 06:55 Balckacadian, A member since December 13, 2009 22:51 Bradley, A member since December 14, 2009 08:58 cowgirl,A member since December 14, 2009 09:24 non partisan, A member since December 14, 2009 10:10 ElizabehWhalen, A member since December 14, 2009 17:21 AlanOntario
A member since December 14, 2009 18:19 JuandeFuca.

[updated Mon Dec 14 19:48:12 EST 2009]

Please Fire All The Losers Proposing 11% For Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Canada.

Thank you.

[updated Mon Dec 14 21:12:48 EST 2009]

Observation and not insults from the recent Harris Deciam poll and please try and keep in mind that all of the following can be validated at the following link and can be debate if any of the Liberals out there are up for it..

http://www.visioncritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009.12.14_Politics_CAN.pdf

And more bad news for the Liberals as yet another attempt at coalition will be rejected by Canadians and that they will not be able to overturn an election result as they tried previously and take power from a duly elected Government.

With 67% of Canadians not supporting the new coalition, just how long will the Liberals be able to continue working openly with the NDP and Bloc on the many files they have joined forces on.

From the Same Harris Decima poll that the Liberals have been trying to us to show Liberal dominance.

Canadian Political Pulse - UNITE THE LEFT

Question; Some people have suggested that the federal Liberal Party and the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) should work together.

Would you support or oppose each of the following ideas? - A full merger between the Liberals and the NDP

Oppose; National 53%, by party - 76% Conservatives, 44% Liberal, 44% NDP, 50% Bloc and 53% Green.

Not sure; National 14%, by party - 8% Conservatives, 6% Liberal, 6% NDP, 6% Bloc and 14% Green.

Support; national 33%, by party - 16% Conservatives, 50% Liberal, 50% NDP, 45% Bloc and 32% Green.

[updated Tue Dec 15 10:11:14 EST 2009]

Observation and not insults from the recent poll, so please try and keep in mind that all of the following can be validated at the following link and can be debate if any of the Liberals out there are up for it.

http://www.visioncritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009.12.14_Politics_CAN.pdf

Although the Liberals did show a 6% improvement, it would appear it came from the Greens who lost 4% and the NDP who lost 1% with a few votes from the Conservatives as they only dropped to 2% and as has been the case the movement in the Conservatives is well within the MOE.

It should be noted that the MOE on this poll is 3.1%, which is much higher than the Ekos poll that was recently released which was 1.4% s +/- and the Harris Decima Poll contained a much smaller sample size than Ekos.

The only other number of importance that is missing is what if an movement has there been in the undecided, has it moved up or down and if so by what degree.

And as an FYI, Mr. Harper and the Conservatives scored higher than Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberals and was in each case well outside the MOE.

1) Canadian Political Pulse - MOMENTUM

Over the course of the past month, would you say your opinion of each of the following people has improved, stayed the same or worsened? (Change since Nov. 14-16)

Mr. Ignatieff Improved 7% (+3), stayed the same 44% (+3), worsened 40% (-5), not sure 10% (=)

2) Canadian Political Pulse - APPROVAL

Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of each of the following people? (Change since Nov. 14-16)

Liberal Party and Official Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff approve 15% (+3), disapprove 53% (-3) and not sure 31% (-1)

3) Canadian Political Pulse - ISSUES

Which party best represents the needs of…?

People like you, the Liberals scored only 18%, and The middle class the Liberals only scored 24%, and Your province the Liberals scored 21% and lastly Special interests 15%.

4) Canadian Political Pulse - TRUST

How much do you trust each of the following people to do the right thing to help the economy recover?

Michael Ignatieff, Federal Leader of the Opposition Completely trust 3%, 97% of Canadians does not trust Mr. Ignatieff.

[updated Tue Dec 15 10:16:46 EST 2009]

With the Liberals currently dominating the Senate the Liberal Party, the Liberals are by proxy using that majority in the Senate to gut the bills and are rewriting the bills to conform to the Liberal policies that were rejected by Canadians in the last two general elections.

Now, one should take the time to consider the following, that all the Conservative Bills that were passed by this parliament and many of these bills were passed with full public "support" from Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal MP`s and now we find two or more bills under attack by the elected Liberal minority because they have an unelected majority in the red chamber.

Simple fact ,is that the Conservative could use a prorogation and then reintroduce the bills that are being gutted by the Liberal Senate, in the new parliament.

And as there was at the very least Liberal support on these bills, they go skip the committee stage as that has already been done and move quickly through the first second and third reading (for the same reason) and go to the new Conservative dominate senate for quick passage.

Or the Conservatives could continue to allow a unelected majority that represents an elected minority of Liberals to continue to block the bills for the coming year.

The answers are easy, prorogation and pass the bills even more quickly and this put the Liberals back into check again and their strategies will be questioned again.

From the piece that the New Liberal Rat Pack has been quoting from or referring to does support what I have written as opinion.

Now on to the "what and when" and from the same piece,

"So, even with the new appointments, the Liberal-dominated committees that have recently amended government bills – to the consternation of Conservative cabinet minis
ters – would remain exactly as they were a year ago unless there is a prorogation."

Now on to the "why" and from the same piece,

"But, the makeup of Senate committees changes only when parliamentary sessions end. " and the bills would "would remain exactly as they were a year ago unless there is a prorogation."

Now on to the "who" and from the same piece,

"The Prime Minister has promised to fill the five Senate seats that become available on Jan. 2" and " And it would help Mr. Harper take control of the Senate."

[updated Tue Dec 15 11:58:44 EST 2009]

And who said that the Liberals could not do tasteless and why did they allow it to be posted in the first place, it will be interesting to see how the media handles this and whether or not Mr. Ignatieff speaks and what words does does he use.

We have the pooping puffin that ran on every news cycle throughout the 2008 campaign or will the media and Mr. Ignatieff try and bury " the Liberals posted a graphic picture of Mr. Harper being assassinated" or will the media hold the Liberals to account for this posting and as RMR commented “Common sense and good taste mean we don’t post them." but it would seem that the Liberals do.

This morning, a senior Liberal official said the picture had been taken down. “That one slipped by and should not have been posted,” he said. “

Here is what the Liberals wanted, requested and delivered.

"The fake shot was part of a contest launched by Michael Ignatieff Liberals, poking fun at Mr. Harper for dithering about whether attending the Copenhagen climate conference. The Liberals asked supporters to have some fun by putting the Prime Minister anywhere but in Copenhagen: “Your mission, should you accept it, is to pick an image that will haunt Stephen Harper forever,” the Liberal Party website says. "

"The fake shot was part of a contest launched by Michael Ignatieff Liberals, poking fun at Mr. Harper for dithering about whether attending the Copenhagen climate conference. The Liberals asked supporters to have some fun by putting the Prime Minister anywhere but in Copenhagen: “Your mission, should you accept it, is to pick an image that will haunt Stephen Harper forever,” the Liberal Party website says.

[updated Tue Dec 15 12:56:38 EST 2009]

There are some rather interesting observations made by Mr. Don Martin of the National post and after reading his piece, I am coming to the rather obvious conclusion that the Liberal Party is putting their own short term self interests because they feel that they may gain a few points in the polls, ahead of Canada's well being.

Please see number 7, 8 and 9 as they are three of the more insightful comments I have read in some time and it would be enlightening to read what any of the Liberals out there have to say on Mr. Martin's comments.

1) But what’s happening in Copenhagen is bizarre. Canada’s worst enemy has become ... itself.

2) Quebec, Ontario and lame duck Toronto Mayor David Miller (who, if it’s true that he’s lined up a future job with an environmental cause, should be kicked out) seem determined to use the global podium to turn clean air into dirty politics.

3) The group, including ATCO President Nancy Southern, Loblaw’s Galen Weston, ambassador Gary Doer, GE Canada president Elyse Allan and television show host Mike Holmes, reacted with “dismay and horror” to the day’s developments, according to a dinner participant.

Of course, the easy response would be to rub Quebec’s nose in the $8.4-billion worth of equalization payments it received this year. Although it’s not directly from Alberta, that level of transfer could not be possible without Alberta’s perennial net contribution to the federal bottom line.

4) It would be just as easy to sneer at Ontario, whose own environment commissioner warned this month that the province has no chance of meeting its own greenhouse gas reduction targets. Gosh, maybe Albertans should be “embarrassed” by this lousy performance.

5) It’s also worth noting in passing that almost two-thirds of the gas-guzzling vehicles registered in Canada are found in Quebec and the car-manufacturing headquarters of Ontario.

6) The kicker is that neither province has legislated carbon reduction levels that are dramatically different from the federal goal and nobody complained when the feds gave them hundreds of millions for green purposes they haven’t delivered.

7) It doesn’t pay to needlessly rile up Albertans. They do not wave the separation threat easily or often.

8) But if the feds impose economically punitive caps on oil sands production to block expansion, well, easterners will be freezing in the dark while the Republic of Alberta prospers.

9) To vilify a safe and reliable energy source that emits just 0.1 per cent of global gas emissions for cheap political gains is not worth the risk of dividing a country.

Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/12/14/don-martin-canada-s-worst-enemy-at-copenhagen-is-itself.aspx#ixzz0ZmazDFbw

[updated Tue Dec 15 13:28:47 EST 2009]

Here is an interesting piece from one of my favorite writers who covers all sides of the issues and she offers some starting insights, some good and some bad.

I just am wondering what if any insights some of the bloggers on this board have to say about her grades.

1) Ms. Hébert gives Michael Ignatieff a D and warns that if he doesn't get his act together soon, he risks being “notably absent from next year's political report card.” Burn.

2) She gives the top mark – a B – to Jack Layton, who she says should win the “Teflon award” for surviving both the collapse of his party's coalition with the Liberals as well as a third of his caucus voting in favour of abolishing the gun registry.

3) Gilles Duceppe gets a modest C+ for being a “model of coherence” in the House of Commons.

But Ms. Hébert scolds Mr. Duceppe for allowing his party to become less popular than the PQ in Quebec, a development she attributes to his party's lack of “panache.”

4) And finally, a big fat F to The Green Party's Elizabeth May.

Ms. Hébert musters some faint praise for the party's relative popularity among young people, but then scolds Ms. May for her barely noticeable presence in the political landscape and for her failure to redeem herself after her poor performance in (last year's) leaders debate.

5) She gives top marks to Prime Minister Harper – a B+ for reviving the party in Quebec;

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty – a B for “reconciling with the provinces;”

Minister of Public Works Christian Paradis – a B+ for his “constructive” role in re-establishing some lines of communication between Ottawa and Quebec.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Defence Minister Peter MacKay, get Ds for being “the dunces” of the government.

Ms. Hébert scolds Mr. Prentice for “copying off Barack Obama” when it comes to his environmental policy and blames him for the “vigorous federal-provincial debate that has escalated in Canada and now in Copenhagen.”

As for Mr. MacKay, Ms. Hébert is thoroughly disappointed in his handling of the allegations of abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, lamenting that she “expected better from a minister who, after all, was the last leader of the Progressive Conservative party.”

[updated Tue Dec 15 15:01:09 EST 2009]

CON cover up gets more desperate everyday. They are frightened of the truth and Canadians know now they are corrupt despots.

Conservative boycott shuts down
Afghan detainee hearing

Ottawa — The Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 4:49PM EST

[updated Tue Dec 15 17:24:59 EST 2009]

Harper is desperate and frightened of the truth. He is shutting down our demiocracy to cover up war crimes. Desperation of a drowning government. The public smells a rat here and they will pay big time.

Gloria Galloway

Ottawa — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 9:16PM EST

Last updated on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 5:13PM EST

Rumours swirling around Ottawa suggest the Conservative government is thinking of shutting down Parliament until after the Olympics, killing some of its own bills but also ending the discussion of Afghan detainees that is nibbling away at Tory popularity.

[updated Tue Dec 15 17:26:48 EST 2009]

Its embarassing enough to have these pathetic CON's trying to pollute the world and make Canada look stupid, but now Harper's partisan mouthpiece, Soudas has put his foot in his mouth and made us look even dumber. This government is collapsing and they are desperate to run and hide.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 2:46 PM

When did Dimitri Soudas become
an ambassador?
Jane Taber

[updated Tue Dec 15 18:44:27 EST 2009]

Harper and his government are a total embarassment and they are covering up incompetence and likely war crimes. They need to go before they destroy canada.

Steven Chase and Paul Koring

OTTAWA and WASHINGTON — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 12:00AM EST

Last updated on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 4:52PM EST

Canada was faulted by military allies in Afghanistan over the secretive manner with which it handled detainees in the early months of its Kandahar mission, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Reports from the Canadian embassy in Kabul in September of 2006 reveal there was unease within the military alliance about how Canada was handling suspects it rounded up and transferred to Afghanistan's notorious intelligence service.

[updated Tue Dec 15 20:22:19 EST 2009]

No one is buying the cover up by Harper's dishonest and corrupt government. The stench of war crimes is getting stronger.

Canadian Government Rejects Transparency on Afghan Detainee Torture December 11, 2009 Blake Lambert

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are undoubtedly glad the fall session of Parliament has ended. But the question of whether government officials knew Afghan detainees in Canadian military custody would be tortured upon their transfer to Afghanistan officials remains unanswered. The primary reason for opposition party and activist interest is simple. Handing over prisoners to be tortured is a war crime. It is more than a little baffling why the Harper government is steadfast in efforts to thwart transparency on this issue, especially when it is convinced its bureaucrats and generals have acted correctly.

On Dec. 10, the opposition parties passed a motion in the House of Commons, by a vote of 145 to 143, demanding the government release thousands of uncensored documents. Their motion, reports Canadian Press, cites “undisputed privileges of Parliament under Canada’s constitution, including the absolute power to require the government to produce uncensored documents when requested.” But Ottawa said it is prepared to ignore the parliamentary vote if there is information that could harm the security of its troops and civilians in Afghanistan. Defense Minister Peter MacKay went a step further, indicating the confidential information “could be helpful to the enemy.” This smear tactic was first seen in the public attacks on Richard Colvin, who was essentially described as a shill for the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

However, brutalizing the reputation of perceived opponents such as Colvin is not necessarily helping Harper’s Conservatives. Two separate polls, taken within a two-week span of each other, suggest that the Canadian public rejects the government’s position. A CBC-EKOS poll shows a majority believes that at least some of the prisoners transferred by Canadian troops to Afghan authorities were tortured. More importantly for Harper, more than 80 percent believe than there is a strong chance that government officials were aware of that happening. In late November, a Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey suggested Canadians are twice as likely to believe Colvin’s claim of abuse and that government officials knew what was happening.

[updated Tue Dec 15 20:31:11 EST 2009]

The Harper government is disgusting most Canadians with their latest anti-democratic behaviour. Even Albertans seem to have had enough of this dictator and his crew of despots.

Red Deer Advocate
Canadians must not forget

Published: December 15, 2009 7:36 AM
In April 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said publicly that Canadian military officials do not send individuals off to be tortured. That was indeed our policy. But behind the military’s wall of secrecy, that unfortunately is exactly what we were doing.

— Richard Colvin, November 2009

Propaganda. Character assassination. Censorship.

The tools of dictators and despots have been pressed into service by the Conservatives since a special parliamentary committee began investigating what they knew and when about allegations of Canadian complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees in 2006-07.

The primary target of the Conservative’s smear campaign has been Richard Colvin, Canada’s No. 2 diplomat in Afghanistan at that time.

He was summoned to appear before the committee in November after federal lawyers blocked him from appearing before the Military Police Complaints Commission inquiry, which was also attempting to examine the detainee issue.

Colvin testified that Canada’s detainee practices in Afghanistan were “unCanadian, counterproductive and probably illegal,” under the Geneva Conventions.

It defines transfer to torture as a war crime.

Since Colvin’s appearance, the Conservatives have rallied MPs, military officials, senior diplomats and columnists to demonize the 15-year veteran of the foreign service. Rather than address the issues raised by Colvin’s testimony, the Conservatives and their allies have cast Colvin in the role of the enemy, an unpatriotic patsy of the Taliban intent on spreading ludicrous allegations about the conduct of Canadian troops.

Those attacks prompted unprecedented backlash from 95 former Canadian ambassadors. They signed an open letter warning the affair risked “creating a climate in which officers may be more inclined to report what they believe headquarters wants to hear, rather than facts and perceptions deemed unpalatable.”

Not content to destroy Colvin’s reputation, the Conservatives sought to demonize the opposition parties by suggesting that their investigation was tantamount to accusing Canadian soldiers of committing war crimes.

The Tories mix of flag-waving and claims of intentional sabotage by the opposition parties is particularly insulting since it’s coming from Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself.

Stories of bloody beatings with frayed power cables, extrajudicial killings and disappearances would shock and anger Canadians if they were not so commonplace in this post-Sept. 11 world.

We are already familiar with the allegations levelled by Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, Muayyed Nureddin and Abousfian Abdelrazik upon their return to Canadian soil.

The detainee issue appears to be Canadian complicity on an entirely different scale.

The Conservatives, in keeping with their penchant for the selective presentation of facts, have declined to say how many detainees were transferred to Afghan authorities. But a report in Maclean’s suggests the figure could be as high as 600.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the Conservative’s repeated claims that “there is not a single, proven allegation” of detainee abuse prior to 2007 with the mounting evidence to the contrary trickling out of the committee’s hearings.

That includes the Conservative government’s use of censorship and national security legislation to bar opposition parties from accessing thousand of pages of documents related to the detainee controversy; warnings from the International Red Cross, which made a point of raising the issue of detainee treatment with Canadian officials even though its mandate prohibits such interference; and now testimony from the country’s top general.

Gen. Walt Natynczyk’s about-face on the detention, transfer and beating of a detainee by Afghan police in June 2006 shredded whatever credibility the Conservatives had left on the detainee issue.

The Conservatives have been resisting calls for a public inquiry into the detainee issue, but Natynczyk’s testimony leaves them with little choice but to call one to salvage Canada’s values and its reputation abroad.

The Conservatives are counting on Canadians to forget about the committee’s investigation during the Christmas break.

For our sake ­­— and the sake of up to 600 detainees who may have been abused or tortured — Canadians must prove them wrong.

Cameron Kennedy is an Advocate editor.

[updated Tue Dec 15 20:42:56 EST 2009]

There was a piece in the national Post Mr. Martin who is fasting becoming one of my favortie writers as he offers up the year in review, the good the bad and the ugly and there are a number of interesting comments both pro and con for both parties..

Don Martin: Ignatieff's surrender is the dawning of a de facto majority rule. Part one

It didn’t quite work out the way he intended, but a reckless one-sentence ultimatum from Michael Ignatieff defined the person, the party and ultimately his popularity for the entire fall session of Parliament.

1) “After four years of drift, four years of denial, four years of division and discord — Mr. Harper, your time is up,” the Liberal leader harrumphed on Sept. 1. After four months of discussion, rarely has a political statement proven to be so laughingly wrong.

2) By making the declaration without the approval of his MPs, he was shown to be a self-absorbed leader. By sending the country careening toward its second election in less than a year, Mr. Ignatieff defined himself as a shameless opportunist.

3) By not advancing a compelling reason to justify a snap vote, Mr. Ignatieff portrayed himself as an empty alternative.

4) The public response was not surprising. Since he had disappeared for the entire summer, their first impression of Mr. Ignatieff was entirely negative. His polling numbers went into a free-fall from an approximate tie with the Conservatives to a basement below the approval level for hapless former leader Stéphane Dion.

4) That’s when the wheels really started falling off. After taking it on the chin with a blitzkrieg of attack ads paid for by the Conservatives, Mr. Ignatieff limply responded with his own commercials, portraying himself as a policy wonk in casual clothes against a forest backdrop that turned out to be located in Metro Toronto.

5) Stung by the media-christened nickname of Iffy, he played leadership hardball in arbitrating a Quebec riding nomination decision, only to lose Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre in a reactionary huff, who went down while declaring his leader brainwashed by too many Torontonians.

6) After denying any such thing, Mr. Ignatieff cleaned out all the loyalists who brought him back from his nomadic globe-trotting and they all returned to, um, Toronto.

7) Amplifying the damage caused by those developments, Mr. Ignatieff endured a scathing Facebook-posted analysis of his party’s fickle behaviour by Mr. Dion’s spouse.

8) There was talk of defections, the mutter of mutiny and a series of discouraging byelection results to shrug off.

9) At any point Mr. Ignatieff could have been forgiven for writing off the Liberal leadership as a failed academic exercise and returning to the ivory tower. He has wisely decided to surrender instead.

10) The undeniable ascendancy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is more than just a matter of enhanced personal popularity played out to the tinkle of piano keys while singing a Beatles classic.

[updated Tue Dec 15 21:35:04 EST 2009]

Just why is the Liberal Senate out to get Mr. Ignatieff and what did he do to them to get them so mad, because this plays right into the Conservatives hand and makes Mr. Ignatieff attempt to return the Liberals to Government that much more difficult..

Senate votes to weaken product safety bill

MPs unanimously approved the unamended legislation in June after concluding the bill gave Health Canada inspectors the necessary powers to get unsafe toys and other consumer goods off the market quickly.

During the Senate proceedings, Ignatieff said he wouldn't pressure Liberal senators to get behind the bill.

Instead of becoming law, the amended bill will now be sent back to the House of Commons for consideration, putting federal Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff in a tough spot because it pits Liberal senators against Liberal MPs.

[updated Tue Dec 15 21:51:55 EST 2009]

Harper Cover up of war crimes? Definitely a poke in the eye to Canadians. Dishonesty and deceit to canadians is all you get from Harper.

Steven Chase

Ottawa — The Globe and Mail
Published on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 4:49PM EST

Last updated on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 9:05PM EST

The Harper government has effectively suspended parliamentary hearings on allegations that Afghan detainees were transferred to torture – boycotting attempts by opposition MPs to continue a Commons probe of the matter.

The move ensures for the time being that there are no more hearings to enflame a controversy that's set the government back on its heels and begun to cost it support.

It comes amid speculation the Conservatives are preparing to shut down Parliament itself until after the Olympics.

[updated Tue Dec 15 22:26:08 EST 2009]

CBC poll says 80% do not want parliament prorogued. Harper is getting pummelled on this because he will not allow the truth to come out and is blocking it at every turn. CTV's Robert Fyfe says that the Conservatives must be hiding something really bad to do something this bad and anger Canadians.

[updated Tue Dec 15 22:30:35 EST 2009]

What a disgrace! The committee chair calls the meeting and doesn't even show up. harper and his government are hiding something really bad. This country will not put up with this kind of dictatorship behaviour of deceit and dishonesty. This is the most dishonest and corrupt government ever.

Conservatives a no-show at Afghan abuse committee meeting
Richard Brennan
Ottawa bureau Published On Tue Dec 15 2009Email Print Republish Add to Favourites

Conservative members refused to show up Tuesday for a parliamentary committee looking into allegations of prisoner abuse in Afghanistan.

Since the committee must have a government member to have quorum the committee could not continue.

"Where the hell are the (Conservative) members?" said NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) asked reporters.

The opposition MPs on the special committee probing the handling on Canadian detainees were visibly angry at the Conservative no-show.

"This is a sad day," said Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh told his fellow committee members.

"I am actually embarrassed we have such a government as this in our country," he said.

The opposition members had asked for the meeting to talk about having further meetings during the parliamentary recess, which ends Jan. 25

The committee chair MP Rick Casson called the meeting but even he didn't show.

Bloc Quebecois MP Claude Bachand said the Conservatives no-show was indicative of the government's refusal to get to the bottom of detainee issue.

[updated Tue Dec 15 22:39:14 EST 2009]

Propaganda. Character assassination. Censorship. Cover up.

Worth reposting

Red Deer Advocate
Canadians must not forget

Published: December 15, 2009 7:36 AM
In April 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said publicly that Canadian military officials do not send individuals off to be tortured. That was indeed our policy. But behind the military’s wall of secrecy, that unfortunately is exactly what we were doing.

— Richard Colvin, November 2009

Propaganda. Character assassination. Censorship.

The tools of dictators and despots have been pressed into service by the Conservatives since a special parliamentary committee began investigating what they knew and when about allegations of Canadian complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees in 2006-07.

The primary target of the Conservative’s smear campaign has been Richard Colvin, Canada’s No. 2 diplomat in Afghanistan at that time.

He was summoned to appear before the committee in November after federal lawyers blocked him from appearing before the Military Police Complaints Commission inquiry, which was also attempting to examine the detainee issue.

Colvin testified that Canada’s detainee practices in Afghanistan were “unCanadian, counterproductive and probably illegal,” under the Geneva Conventions.

It defines transfer to torture as a war crime.

Since Colvin’s appearance, the Conservatives have rallied MPs, military officials, senior diplomats and columnists to demonize the 15-year veteran of the foreign service. Rather than address the issues raised by Colvin’s testimony, the Conservatives and their allies have cast Colvin in the role of the enemy, an unpatriotic patsy of the Taliban intent on spreading ludicrous allegations about the conduct of Canadian troops.

Those attacks prompted unprecedented backlash from 95 former Canadian ambassadors. They signed an open letter warning the affair risked “creating a climate in which officers may be more inclined to report what they believe headquarters wants to hear, rather than facts and perceptions deemed unpalatable.”

Not content to destroy Colvin’s reputation, the Conservatives sought to demonize the opposition parties by suggesting that their investigation was tantamount to accusing Canadian soldiers of committing war crimes.

The Tories mix of flag-waving and claims of intentional sabotage by the opposition parties is particularly insulting since it’s coming from Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself.

Stories of bloody beatings with frayed power cables, extrajudicial killings and disappearances would shock and anger Canadians if they were not so commonplace in this post-Sept. 11 world.

We are already familiar with the allegations levelled by Maher Arar, Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, Muayyed Nureddin and Abousfian Abdelrazik upon their return to Canadian soil.

The detainee issue appears to be Canadian complicity on an entirely different scale.

The Conservatives, in keeping with their penchant for the selective presentation of facts, have declined to say how many detainees were transferred to Afghan authorities. But a report in Maclean’s suggests the figure could be as high as 600.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile the Conservative’s repeated claims that “there is not a single, proven allegation” of detainee abuse prior to 2007 with the mounting evidence to the contrary trickling out of the committee’s hearings.

That includes the Conservative government’s use of censorship and national security legislation to bar opposition parties from accessing thousand of pages of documents related to the detainee controversy; warnings from the International Red Cross, which made a point of raising the issue of detainee treatment with Canadian officials even though its mandate prohibits such interference; and now testimony from the country’s top general.

Gen. Walt Natynczyk’s about-face on the detention, transfer and beating of a detainee by Afghan police in June 2006 shredded whatever credibility the Conservatives had left on the detainee issue.

The Conservatives have been resisting calls for a public inquiry into the detainee issue, but Natynczyk’s testimony leaves them with little choice but to call one to salvage Canada’s values and its reputation abroad.

The Conservatives are counting on Canadians to forget about the committee’s investigation during the Christmas break.

For our sake ­­— and the sake of up to 600 detainees who may have been abused or tortured — Canadians must prove them wrong.

Cameron Kennedy is an Advocate editor.

[updated Tue Dec 15 22:52:28 EST 2009]

More good news for the Conservatives and therefore more bad news for the Liberals as the deficit just got smaller or the Conservatives just found some election money to spread around, either way all good.

GM to repay US$8.1-billion loan by the end of June 2010

General Motors Corp. will move much quicker than originally planned to repay loans it received from the governments of the United States, Canada and Ontario during its bankruptcy restructuring, saying Tuesday it will repay the entire US$8.1-billion sum by the end of June 2010.

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2344691#ixzz0ZpQr6QB8

[updated Wed Dec 16 01:00:18 EST 2009]

Reputed Columnist shows how Harper is going down the Tubes unles he governs like a Liberal:

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/739375

Since the Conservatives first came to power, they have mostly been preoccupied by three major files: climate change, the Afghan deployment and, more recently, the recession.

"Taken together, they make up a pattern that shows the Conservatives doing best politically when they govern with (and like) the Liberals and worst when they follow their own counsel"
.............................................
"In Copenhagen this week, Canada is incurring one of its worst international beatings ever. The federal-provincial divisions that the government declined to address at home are also on full display, raising questions as to Harper's management of the federation.

At year's end, environment and defence ministers Jim Prentice and Peter MacKay are the walking wounded of the cabinet. As the two leading voices of the former Progressive Conservative party within the government, they are anything but disposable.

For the first time, serious ministerial damage extends deep inside the first tier of Harper's cabinet. At the same time, the bills the government ran up to deal with the recession are about to come in.

The latest Liberal thinking on election timing involves allowing more time for Conservative chickens to come home to roost. Making a virtue of the necessity of patience may yet pay off for the opposition."

[updated Wed Dec 16 07:29:43 EST 2009]

http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/08/canada-mexico-nafta-colombia-opinions-sneak-peek-10-elisabeth-eaves.html#readerComments

The Watch List

Michael Ignatieff. After decades in Britain and the U.S., the professional intellectual returned to his native Canada and became head of the Liberal party. If a federal election is called in 2010, he could become the next prime minister, and the Canadian head of state with the biggest international profile since Pierre Trudeau.

[updated Wed Dec 16 07:51:11 EST 2009]

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/739272--canada-s-a-joke-at-climate-talks

A series of embarrassing spoofs – complete with convincing press releases that pledged Ottawa would double its targets for curbing carbon – have cast Canada as the villain in a theatre of the absurd. But the publicity stunts were not the cause of Canada's woes, merely a symptom. The inaction of the governing Conservatives has provided ample material for mockery in the run-up to the Copenhagen summit.

By sticking to his script and saying as little as possible about his environmental plans beyond pledging to ape the Americans, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has abdicated the field to the other players. Sensing an absence of leadership, premiers and mayors have moved into the vacuum to proclaim their own often rival policies – a uniquely Canadian spectacle of governments working at cross-purposes.

This cacophony is no mere sideshow. Documents leaked to the CBC appear to bear out what Ontario and Quebec have long suspected – that Harper's Alberta-focused government is planning to give the tar sands special concessions in any targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while other industrial sectors will have to bear the burden of more onerous reductions.

[updated Wed Dec 16 07:56:58 EST 2009]

Even long time conservatives can smell a cover up. The conservatives are in real trouble and even conservatives know it.

Norman Spector
A detainee inquiry would be the smart call

Published on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 5:43PM EST

As soon as Richard Colvin had finished testifying before a parliamentary committee, it was clear only a judicial inquiry could get to the bottom of allegations of Canadian complicity in the torture of Afghan prisoners.

As in the matter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney's dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber, an inquiry would provide the opportunity for rigorous cross-examination of all the key players. And after former chief of the defence staff Rick Hillier appeared before the committee to paint Mr. Colvin as naive and his testimony as “ludicrous,” we were reminded that getting to the truth will also require unravelling interdepartmental and interpersonal rivalries.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is refusing to go this route – which suggests the Conservatives have something to hide. If Mr. Harper's concern were truly the disclosure of sensitive material, he could give a broad mandate to someone with the highest security clearance to look into the allegations behind closed doors, following the model of Frank Iacobucci's inquiry into the detention of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.

Shame on the Harper government for its corrupt and deceitful ways.

[updated Wed Dec 16 08:12:48 EST 2009]

The wheels are falling off the bus and Harper can't stop it. If he prorogues Canadians will punish him in the polls. If he doesn't -the Hague.

Harper Tories are own worst enemiesComment on this story »

By Chantal Hébert
National Columnist Published On Wed Dec 16 2009

At year's end, environment and defence ministers Jim Prentice and Peter MacKay are the walking wounded of the cabinet. As the two leading voices of the former Progressive Conservative party within the government, they are anything but disposable.

For the first time, serious ministerial damage extends deep inside the first tier of Harper's cabinet. At the same time, the bills the government ran up to deal with the recession are about to come in.

The latest Liberal thinking on election timing involves allowing more time for Conservative chickens to come home to roost. Making a virtue of the necessity of patience may yet pay off for the opposition.

[updated Wed Dec 16 08:19:44 EST 2009]

It seems Stephen Harper knew all along about the war crimes being committed by Canadian Forces (handing over prisoners, knowing that they would be tortured), and not only did nothing to stop it, but began, instead, a propaganda campaign to hide the truth.

Now to prorogue parliament, he will tell all Canadians he is guilty and will go to any length to cover it up. Any conservative who wants a party left after Harper falls better get with Norman Spector and call an inquiry. If the CPC does not do so, the party will be anihilated.

[updated Wed Dec 16 08:53:26 EST 2009]

True Friendships Are Harder Than Diamonds.

God knows in this business it's hard enough to strike up a genuine friendship with people in your own party -- not to mention across the aisle. But once in a while you manage to make such a friendship, one that stands the test of time having weathered both the considerable ups and downs...

In recent times, we witnessed one such friendship that has been -- for lack of a better phrase, sorely tested. I have a few well chosen words of advice for these two people. You both know that we have more than our share of rats, hyprocrites, backstabbers and yes, just plain unvarnished assholes in politics. That seems to be the nature of much of the beast.

To you guys I say, put the past behind you. Disregard the recent mutual recriminations, keep those large egos in check (look who's talking, but I digress) and fight to keep it solid.

Take the trouble to meet in the same city and then go out and have a drink. We're in the holidays. No time like the present.

[updated Wed Dec 16 09:01:51 EST 2009]

Why would they deny such allegations and attempt to hide the truth all these years, rather than take the bull by the horns and actually address the problem?
As these allegations were brought to the surface in 2006 by Colvin and others, the Harper government -- brand new to governing at that point -- could have puffed out its chest and directly faced the allegations and put a stop to either the torture, or bring to an end Canada's involvement in Afghanistan. Taking on such an explosive issue in a very public way would elevate the newly minted minority government in the eyes of Canadians and delivered much needed political capital for use in the next election.

this was the titanic issue for Prime Minister Harper and that every single statement that went out needed to be cleared by him personally
But Harper didn't walk that path. Instead he personally took charge of the propaganda campaign to hide these inconvenient truths - that Canada was complicit in the torture of thousands of people in Afghanistan - from the public. Why?

There were very clear instructions for a blanket denial.
Cold political calculation is the only logical answer. Whatever the eventual outcome in Afghanistan - win, lose or draw - remaining heavily involved in the Afghanistan war is far too attractive a political tool for our cold-blooded political animal of a Prime Minister to pass up and thus we shall continue to learn that Stephen Harper was willing to become an accomplice in war crimes in order to further his long term political objectives back at home.

What does a dusty, arguably un-winnable, foreign war offer of value to Stephen Harper? The answer is: war is a weapon Harper aims at the folks back home. The objective: none other than the permanent realignment of so-called Canadian values towards a set of mores which are more conservative friendly in nature. Stephen Joseph Harper is willing to aid and abet war criminals and in doing so become their accomplice in war crimes, all in the name of long term domestic political considerations. Stephen Joseph Harper is willing to spend our treasury and the blood of our citizens, and of many others, to further his mission to re-engineer the social and ideological fabric of our country.

Torture in Afghanistan is routine. It is matter-of-fact... To pretend otherwise is a fantasy narrative.
In a recent article, A record of conservative achievement, Adam Daifallah (National Post) also asserts that Harper has been working to re-engineer the Canadian psyche since he first formed government in 2006. Among the so-called grand strategist's primary objectives he would list no less than the rebirth (some may rightly argue a birth, not a renaissance) of a militaristic culture in Canada. A country with this blue blood coursing through its veins is fertile land on which arch-conservatives may enjoy planting electoral seeds.

It is medieval, horrific. It is what they do to exercise power and control.

"It was highly unusual. I was told this was the titanic issue for Prime Minister Harper and that every single statement that went out needed to be cleared by him personally," said the former official, who is not Canadian.

"The lines were, 'We have no evidence' of coercive treatment being used against detainees handed over to the Afghans. There were very clear instructions for a blanket denial. The pressure to hold to that line was channelled via Canadian military and diplomatic personnel in Kabul. But it was made clear to us that this was coming from the Prime Minister's Office, which was running the public affairs aspect of Canadian engagement in Afghanistan with a 6,000-mile screwdriver."
a circa 2006 NATO public affairs officer (Toronto Star)

Stephen Harper made his own personal deal with the devil but sold our country's soul in the process. It isn't too late to pluck Canada from the abyss, but we must act fast and to that end citizens of the country should demand the immediate resignation of Stephen Harper and call for a criminal investigation into his complicity in war crimes.

Furthermore should the government or legal system of this country fail to act, when charges of such a serious nature are levelled at the government and the prime minister himself, now is the time when a minority government should be brought down by Her Majesties Loyal Opposition. That's what they are there for.

[updated Wed Dec 16 09:04:50 EST 2009]

More proof of lies and cover up. No wonder they are so desperate to make this go away. They are afraid what we will find out. The ship is sinking. No one believes them anymore. Too much deceit, cover ups and treating Canadians like they are stupid.

Hillier, O'Connor should have been aware of beaten Afghan detainee

Federal Court testimony shows former CDS Rick Hillier and former defence minister Gordon O'Connor should have known two years ago.

By TIM NAUMETZ
Published December 14, 2009 View story Email Comments To the Editor

A transcript of Federal Court testimony shows former chief of defence staff Rick Hillier and former defence minister Gordon O'Connor should have been aware two years ago of what the current chief of defence staff first denied and then confirmed only last week—that a detainee Canadian troops handed over to Afghan National Police in 2006 was subsequently beaten.

And, as the Commons adjourned for the Christmas recess, a new public opinion poll by Ekos Research suggested 61 per cent of Canadians believe Afghan prisoners were tortured by the Afghan security forces and 83 per cent of those respondents believed the Canadian government knew there was a strong possibility of prisoner abuse.

"The government's position is clearly not being bought by most people," said Ekos president Frank Graves. "They are not winning this battle, they are losing it so far, and it seems to have more traction than some of the previous issues that have failed to really inflict any damage. The public have been really focused on Afghanistan, perhaps more than any other issue on the national agenda over the past five years. Afghanistan has dominated the public consciousness."

[updated Wed Dec 16 10:17:28 EST 2009]

Just So You Know...

Dear Tony,

The rest of us aren't exactly thrilled...we know this is an arms length relationship but some of us are concerned with even the perception of a possible conflict of interest.

After all, we all know who the overseer is. We hope the government studies this very carefully.
---------------
Livingston International Income Fund announces increased cash offer of $9.50 per unit from CPP Investment Board and Sterling Partners

17:39 EST Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Unitholders representing approximately 60% have committed or voted to support the offer

TORONTO, Dec. 15 /CNW/ - Livingston International Income Fund (TSX: LIV.UN) ("Livingston"), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ("CPPIB") and Sterling Partners announced today that they have agreed to amend the acquisition agreement dated October 7, 2009 to increase the amount of consideration to be received by unitholders from $8.00 to $9.50 in cash per unit (less any amounts withheld from non-resident unitholders on account of taxes, as applicable).

CPPIB and Sterling Partners have advised Livingston that unitholders representing 20,379,669 units, or approximately 59.7% of the total outstanding units, including 10 large institutional unitholders representing 19,531,621 units, or approximately 57.2% of the total outstanding units, have voted for the existing offer or committed to support the amended offer, provided that no superior offer is made. In the case of committed unitholders representing 33.6% of the total units, a superior offer is defined as one under which Livingston unitholders would receive more than $10.10 per unit.

[updated Wed Dec 16 10:47:36 EST 2009]

The Harper government was too busy planning Iggy attacks to worry about war crimes and now they are covering all this up. Inquiry now.

Steven Chase

Ottawa — The Globe and Mail
Published on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 11:07AM EST

Last updated on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 11:08AM EST

Diplomat Richard Colvin has broken weeks of silence to refute government dismissals of his allegations that Canada turned a blind eye to the torture of Afghan detainees, providing a point-by-point rebuttal that suggests Ottawa had ample warnings in 2006.

The Canadian government was warned repeatedly - in six separate reports - of problems with the handling of Afghan prisoners, including the fact that “torture” is rife in Afghanistan jails, he writes in a 16-page letter sent to a parliamentary committee probing the matter.

Mr. Colvin said Ottawa had no interest in what he had to say, recounting how the military even stopped recording his warnings about Afghanistan’s notorious National Directorate of Security (NDS) in a March 2007 meeting. He said he urged them to stop transfers.

“I informed an interagency meeting ... that ‘The NDS tortures people, that’s what they do, and if we don’t want our detainees tortured, we shouldn’t give them to the NDS,’” the letter says.

The response, Mr. Colvin writes, was that the military note-taker proceeded to “stop writing and put down her pen.”

Mr. Colvin is the foreign-service officer who in mid-November re-ignited the long-simmering controversy about whether Canada transferred suspects rounded up in Afghanistan to abuse at the hands of that intelligence service.

More to come

[updated Wed Dec 16 11:14:26 EST 2009]

Tories force shutdown of hearing on torture
Opposition blasts boycott as whistleblower readies rebuttal to Ottawa today
Richard J. Brennan

Richard Colvin has said his warnings about detainee transfers were ignored.

OTTAWA–Seven Conservative MPs boycotted a special sitting of the committee probing allegations of detainee abuse, forcing its cancellation and leaving the opposition fuming at the government's "dismissive" attitude to Parliament.
The no-show on Tuesday came as diplomat Richard Colvin prepared to break his silence Wednesday in a 20-page rebuttal of the federal government's claims it received no "credible allegations" of torture of prisoners handed over to Afghan authorities until late 2007.

Colvin's letter, to be submitted to the committee looking into the controversy, is certain to increase the pressure on the Conservative government to comply with a parliamentary resolution ordering it to produce uncensored documents related to the detainee issue.

Although the House of Commons is in recess until after the Christmas break, the opposition party members of the committee are fighting to keep delving into the allegations that detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan authorities faced torture.

Visibly angry opposition MPs said the boycott was further proof the government is intent on blocking efforts to get to the bottom of the issue. "This government is actually interfering with the privileges of members of Parliament and, in so doing, is making Parliament dysfunctional in being able to go about its job," said NDP MP Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre).

The opposition members had asked for the meeting to talk about having further sessions during the parliamentary recess, which ends Jan. 25.

The committee chair, Conservative MP Rick Casson (Lethbridge), called the meeting but he didn't show.

"We're simply not going to play their partisan political games on this. There's absolutely no urgency to do this before Christmas," Conservative MP Laurie Hawn, a member of the committee and parliamentary secretary to Defence Minister Peter MacKay, told CTV from Edmonton.

Bloc Québécois MP Claude Bachand said the boycott was indicative of the government's "dismissive" attitude towards Parliament. "It is also additional evidence that this government is not interested in getting to the bottom of the issue," Bachand said.

A source said Colvin, who was a senior official in the Canadian embassy in Afghanistan in 2006-07, feels it is his "duty to correct the record and provide a complete and detailed record before the committee."

Colvin will address the claims, both in testimony and in public statements, made by three cabinet ministers, three generals and former top civil servants involved in overseeing the mission in Afghanistan. The source said the statements include: "nobody told us there was a problem"; the claim that as soon as the government was informed they fixed the problems; and that there were no credible allegations of the torture of Afghan detainees until late 2007.

"The idea is essentially to set the record straight," said the source. "And to provide the evidence and transparency the public's been calling for and the committee's been calling for on this issue."

The letter will be sent to committee members and is expected to be released to the public.

Colvin, based in Washington, D.C., as a senior intelligence officer in the Canadian embassy, testified last month that prisoners handed over by Canadians to Afghan authorities were all likely tortured, and that his warnings to military and government officials were ignored.

[updated Wed Dec 16 11:18:40 EST 2009]

How to engineer a harper cover up posted in the Toronto Star today:

TALKING POINTS': WHAT THE GOVERNMENT TOLD ITS MPS TO SAY

Government members of the special committee on Afghanistan refused to participate in the opposition's attempts to play partisan games on the backs of our men and women in uniform.

We did not think the matter at hand qualified for an urgent meeting, as the events in question happened over three years ago and have been thoroughly aired many times.

We have no intention of being part of the partisan games the opposition continues to play on the backs of our troops and the mission.

During the Christmas season, we should be applauding the work of our troops who are serving overseas. Not trying to imply they are war criminals.

Opposition members were given the option of a teleconference to discuss future business but they turned it down. The notice for this meeting was sent out by the clerk as required under the standing orders.

Conservative committee members are back in their ridings this week meeting with constituents.

They are dealing with the issues that matter to their constituents such as the economy, which remains our government's top priority.

[updated Wed Dec 16 11:20:18 EST 2009]

And let the games begin as the show down between the Government and three opposition parties is starting to look as if this will be a no mercy, no prisoners and no quarter open warfare between the four parties.

Mr. Spector as is usually the case makes some very telling agreements on both sides of the issue as he describes what may or may not occur with this latest posturing by all the parties on this file.

As Mr. Spector brings forward a solution, very similar that I had presented to RonaldODowd some time back as a solution to this impasse.

I will declare my conflict of interest and say I believe that it is the best solution for all parties, that they leave the political posturing behind and allow a Federal Judge to review the file, each party should agree to this unless there is a political agenda being played here and that does include all parties...

What is the solution?

1) If Mr. Harper's concern were truly the disclosure of sensitive material, he could give a broad mandate to someone with the highest security clearance to look into the allegations behind closed doors, following the model of Frank Iacobucci's inquiry into the detention of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.

What is the background and Canadian History on this?

1) This is not the first time serious allegations have been made against members of the Canadian Forces.

2) Indeed, in the Somalia affair of 1993, it was alleged that Canadian soldiers themselves had beaten civilians and were directly responsible for the death of a teenager.

3) And, as we recall, Jean Chrétien shut down the commission of inquiry before it could complete its hearings.

4) See MPCC head Mr. Tinsley as he was the chief mover of shutting down that inquiry.

Here are some of the proposed rules of engagement, by the parties.

1) Some opposition MPs are now talking about summoning a minister before the bar of the House to demand the documents, and ultimately declaring the government in contempt of Parliament.

2) Opposition MPs insist, in the name of parliamentary privilege, that these procedures don't apply to them.

3) The government maintains that the parliamentary committee doesn't have the power to demand uncensored documents, and that its recourse is to report the matter to the House of Commons.

4) The government says that redactions are carried out by public servants and that the proper recourse is for the House to appeal to the courts under the procedures set out in the Canada Evidence Act

What are the stakes in this new game of political chicken between the Parties?

1) Absent a public inquiry and with the government's refusal to hand over unredacted documents, what's shaping up is a replay of last fall's coalition crisis.

2) This time, however, no one is suggesting the opposition parties can defeat the government and avoid a trip to the polls through a request to the Governor-General.

3) Since Canadians have the absolute right to elect MPs of dubious loyalty and probity, the government may be on more solid political and legal ground.

4) In this regard, don't be surprised if it reminds MPs who's really supreme by asking that court for an opinion on the boundaries of parliamentary privilege.

So how does it end?

Well it will all depends on how the polling shows how strong the various parties position is with Canadians and not human Rights, or abuse, or detainees, or privilege, or the truth/lies, or whether are not there is a cover up and that is really the sad part of this exercise by all parties as it is all about politics.

1) No doubt, all parties will be polling to see if the confrontation between Parliament and the PM can be ridden to electoral success.

2) While it appears the government is losing some support, enough to dislodge it from majority territory, Mr. Harper's advisers will be mindful that the Conservatives have never been as high as they were during the coalition crisis and its aftermath.

3) On the other hand, the opposition parties may conclude they have a better issue this time.

[updated Wed Dec 16 13:54:28 EST 2009]

Comments/Blogs/watercooler talk are all negative (except for CONbots spinning lies). Everyone is outraged at harper's behaviour on this. No one blames the military for anythig, but they blame the government for incompetence and a deceitful cover up. This government is about to take a nose dive.
Too much dishonesty and treating Canadians like idiots.

Diplomat fires back on Afghan prisoner abuseRichard Colvin offers new revelations in letter to Parliamentary committee

Tonda MacCharles Toronto Star
Ottawa Bureau Published 1 hour 4 minutes

OTTAWA – The diplomat has dropped the diplomacy.

Richard Colvin provided new details Wednesday of his warnings to Ottawa about the risks of torture facing detainees handed over to Afghan authorities by Canadian soldiers.

In a written submission to a parliamentary committee probing allegations of abuse, Colvin confirms that he — and his military and RCMP colleagues in Kandahar — passed on warnings from the International Red Cross Committee that it could not track Canada's transferred detainees early in the spring of 2006, a full year before the government acted to improve protections.

Details in Colvin's 16-page letter to the committee stand in sharp contrast to the version of events given by three cabinet ministers, three generals and senior bureaucrats like David Mulroney, who steered the Afghan task force in Ottawa.

Contrary to the government's claims that Colvin's was a lone voice, and did not provide specific evidence or explicitly warn that "torture" was an issue, Colvin's letter spells out that his concerns were shared back in 2006 by Kandahar-based personnel, as well as by Canada's military allies in the International Security Assistance Force or ISAF.

Colvin also counters claims by Gen. Rick Hillier and Defence Minister Peter MacKay that he should have flagged concerns directly to them when they travelled to Afghanistan.

Colvin says he had only been in Afghanistan for 10 days when MacKay arrived on May 8, 2006. Colvin organized MacKay's visit, but had had no meetings on detainee handling practices or information to convey.

He sets out a chronology of increasingly sharper warnings.

By September 2006, when Colvin was at the embassy in Kabul, he reported "even blunter complaints from ISAF about Canada's detainee transfers."

By Dec. 4, 2006, Colvin's letter cites an embassy report that conveyed "allies' concerns that detainees may 'vanish from sight' after being transferred to Afghan custody as well as the risk that they were 'tortured.'"

By the end of December 2006, Colvin's letter states the embassy's annual human rights report warned "torture" is rife in Afghan jails, as are "extrajudicial executions and disappearances." The report used the word "torture" repeatedly, according to Colvin's letter.

Colvin says he delivered verbal warnings too, particularly in March 2007.

"The NDS tortures people, that's what they do, and if we don't want our detainees tortured, we shouldn't give them to the NDS," Colvin quotes himself at the meeting.

The letter cites two 2006 reports by the U.S. State Department report (March 8, 2006) and a UN report by Secretary General Kofi Annan of March 7, 2006.

Both explicitly cited torture as documented practice in Afghan prisons. The U.S. reported secret or unofficial prisons to which the International Red Cross had no access.

Colvin's letter says that assertions to the committee by other witnesses that the first "credible claims of torture" only arose in November 2007 "are therefore inaccurate."

Colvin's letter says Canada's decision not to directly monitor its detainees — unlike such NATO allies as the Dutch — and its slow system of notifying Red Cross field investigators was a real problem.
Colvin says despite a new deal that was struck in May 2007, it wasn't until five months later that a Canadian monitor was sent into the Afghan prisons.

In late October 2007, he says, a monitor "quickly found conclusive evidence of torture" and only then were transfers halted — a 17-month period since the earliest warnings from the Kandahar PRT personnel.

"I am a loyal public servant of the Crown who did his job in Afghanistan to the best of his abilities, working through internal and authorized channels."

"I feel it is my duty as a public servant when commanded to appear before the parliamentary committee to give evidence that is full, frank and fair. I feel duty bound to be frank and thorough in responding to the committee's inquiries."

NDP critic Jack Harris said Wednesday after Colvin's letter was released that it proves that there should be an independent "fact-finding" inquiry into the whole affair.

"This is not going away."

[updated Wed Dec 16 15:43:05 EST 2009]

Interesting point has been made " Witnesses can't be granted parliamentary protection for testifying unless they're appearing before an official committee meeting" as the "The absence of even a single government MP means the committee can't officially meet and investigate allegations" I have to wonder if Mr. Colvin`s Liberal, NDP and Bloc handlers advised him of that fact.

The question now to be asked is did Mr. Colvin presented his 16 page report to the committee when there were in fact no Conservatives sitting at the Committee and if there was no Conservatives there can this meeting be considered official .

The next question, is Mr, Colvin now aware that as a result of his presentation before a group of MP`s who have meet without standing or consensus, that he may well not have the privilege of parliamentary protection that he had when he made his previous allegations and that his writings and allegations may well no fall under Canadian Law.

What I have picked up from The Globe and mail piece is the new testimony occurred

December 16, 2009

Further Evidence of Richard Colvin to the Special Committee on Afghanistan

"Following my testimony to the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, a number of other witnesses have testified before the Committee."

"Some of their evidence, with respect, was inaccurate or incomplete. This supplementary written evidence to the Committee aims to clarify some of these issues."

RonaldODowd can I ask you view on this, can he be held accountable for his words and allegations that he has now made against the seven individuals without that protection

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:08:14 EST 2009]

One Canada is eager to forge realistic targets for CO2 reductions, while the other scores cheap political points by attacking the federal government and other regions on the world stage.

The biggest villain of all, according to Ontario and Quebec's environment ministers, is Alberta's oilsands, responsible for a measly 5% of Canada's emissions.

Getting too far ahead of the U.S. on emissions targets would put our manufacturing sector -- mostly situated in Ontario and Quebec -- at a severe disadvantage and place thousands of jobs at risk.

Alberta's "embarrassing" energy output has contributed $117 billion in taxes to the federal treasury in the last decade.

Alberta's contribution to equalization per capita is three times higher than Ontario.

Quebec, on the other hand, was the recipient of $8.4 billion of those equalization dollars last year alone.

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:21:14 EST 2009]

More evidence the Harper government is covering up a huge scandal. Don Martin is right that Colvin is anihilating the Tories on this one

Don Martin: Richard Colvin winning detainee war with Tories
Posted: December 16, 2009, 4:45 PM by Scott Maniquet
Don Martin, afghanistan

Richard Colvin, the reluctant whistleblower whose reputation as a factual Canadian observer of Afghan detainee abuse was publicly trashed by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, unleashed unfriendly fire against his government masters on Wednesday.

What could’ve been papered over as a difference of opinion, had it been handled more diplomatically at the onset by Mr. MacKay, has now become a raging battle of words between the government and a mild-mannered Colvin backed by a large cheerleading contingent of former diplomats.

His 16-page rebuttal, running up against a Conservative boycott of a committee probing the Afghan detainee controversy and curt ‘no comment required’ from the minister’s office, suggests a Richard Colvin public relations victory is possible, if not probable.

Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/12/16/don-martin-richard-colvin-winning-detainee-war-with-tories.aspx#ixzz0ZuCOJMCI
The National Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:32:37 EST 2009]

More truth from Don Martin. And a big disaster for the Harper CON's.

The public relations problem was never on the Kandahar battle field, where soldiers were only following orders to rush detainees into notorious Afghan prisons with inexplicable haste. There is little voter sympathy for the apprehension and rough treatment afforded Taliban insurgents planting mines designed to kill or maim our soldiers.

The greater difficulty is how the government of Canada appeared to plug its ears and shield its eyes to obvious and credible warnings of Afghan torture for more than a year before it acted. All of Afghanistan and its global partners seemed aware of the problem, yet detainee transfers continued in apparent contravention of war conventions.

It’s important to remember that the oft-promoted Mr. Colvin did not seek nor want the spotlight foisted on him after news of his detainee torture concerns seeped out. He was subpoenaed by a military police commission probing the allegations and reluctantly responded to a summons by a parliamentary committee studying the issue.

But keep in mind a recent Ekos poll put public opinion solidly on Mr. Colvin’s side with his believability index dwarfing the government’s shaky story line.

So watch the government’s behaviour in the months to come. If it keeps obstructing documentation, boycotting committees or even even proroguing Parliament, those will be the sure signs Richard Colvin’s one-man battle to free the truth is triumphing over a government coverup.

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:39:19 EST 2009]

More climate hypocrisy and incompetence.

Feds have yet to pass any climate change legislation
Canada needs its own made-in-Canada policy, and it shouldn't follow the U.S., says former Grit environment minister David Anderson.
By HARRIS MACLEOD
Published December 14, 2009 View story Email Comments To the Editor

Canada's longest-serving environment minister says the federal government's decision to mirror the U.S.'s approach to climate change is "the height of irony," because at one time Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the loudest voice calling for a "made-in-Canada" solution.

Canada is now in this business of following the American lead, which is Mr. Harper's approach. This is the height of irony because Mr. Harper quite incorrectly accused the measures that we were proposing at the turn of the millennium as being not made-in-Canada. He is the man who insisted that we had to have a made-in-Canada policy. Ironically, we did then, and now he's saying we're not going to have a made-in-Canada policy at all, we're just going to do what the Americans want. He's a man who's been marvelous at switching positions, but this is one that's not been noted.

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:43:38 EST 2009]

More CON's under investigation. They are more corrupt than even the Liberals. At least the Liberals didn't cover up war crimes.

Tory research group produces controversial attack flyers, says MP Goldring
Rules governing flyers should be amended to moderate overtly political tone creeping in over the past few years.

By TIM NAUMETZ
Published December 14, 2009 View story Email Comments To the Editor

The Conservative caucus research group, with a Commons budget of $2.6-million, coordinates and produces the controversial attack flyers now under investigation by the Commons Procedure and House affairs committee, a veteran Conservative MP says.

[updated Wed Dec 16 20:45:34 EST 2009]

Here is a column that finally explains the complete lack of transparency and unethical government we are getting fromt he Tory thugs. Lawrence Martin has hit it dead on.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/democracy-canadian-style-how-do-you-like-it-so-far/article1403148/

" A key facet of a downgrading democracy campaign has got to be cutting off access to information – so much so that you leave the Information Commissioner appalled, especially with the stonewalling at the Privy Council Office. Some sensitive documents are going to get out no matter how hard you try. So the strategy is to use national security as a cover to black out all potentially incriminating paragraphs. You may also wish to eliminate a huge government information registry (the Co-ordination of Access to Information Requests System) because the fewer the tracks, the better. You may also wish to prevent the publishing of departmental studies, especially ones that don't reflect well on your law-and-order proclivities.

It is said that a hallmark of democracy is the toleration of dissent. Best leave that one in the church pew. Exceptional measures need be used to crush the opposition. Stuff such as taking the unprecedented step of launching personal attack ads between election campaigns. Or trying to push through a measure that would effectively cut off financing to the opposition.

A heavy dose of demagoguery also can go a long way. Play on simple prejudices by accusing opponents of not supporting the troops or of being anti-Israel. If nothing's working, if the going gets really tough, don't hesitate to bring out the heavy timber. Just after Parliament has reopened, have it shut down.

If your campaign is waged effectively, you will enfeeble the checks and balances in the system and give the d-word a good clubbing, emerging very much in control."

[updated Thu Dec 17 08:12:26 EST 2009]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/our-soldiers-could-teach-mps-a-thing-or-two-about-duty-and-honour/article1398233/

Christie Blatchford, Published on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009 12:00AM EST, Last updated on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009 2:25AM.
The other side of the story

This is another example of the perceived case of Liberal Friendly Media bias against the Conservatives that really has not gotten any play with the media and I wonder why the various politic shows who always manage to find the LFMB type from the Globe and Mail never spoke to her. (just Kidding)

The piece was written not by a needy civil servant who is working to his own political agenda for the new coalition (tongue and cheek mostly) but by an individual who (and this can be vetted and confirmed) was not hiding behind the wire (just kidding) and offers up a Canadian view of the abuse that the Coalition is levelling against the Military.

This is a interesting read for anyone who has an open mind and can think beyond the partistan politics of the Ottawa Bubble.

Ms. Blatchford starts with "I confess my biases right now" which in itself is refreshing as I cannot recall one of the Liberal Media Friendly types making that statement. (Just kidding)

"I spent a good part of 2006 in Kandahar - three tours of between four to six weeks each in about 10 months, with another tour in '07 - as an embedded reporter, which means I travelled with Canadian troops. I counted on them to keep my ass safe, and they did. I liked them hugely. The experience was one of the most significant of my life (if not on a par with the drama of being, say, in a budget lockup) and I treasure every minute of it. made some lifelong friends, and I love some of these men."

She then writes about the issue that has gripped the Liberal Media, Liberals, NDP and Bloc coalition for weeks now and she brings the issue into a true Canadian perspective (just kidding) and with keeping with my search for the truth as I do know that it is out there.

Here is Ms. Blatchford piece.

"I hold no particular brief for the Stephen Harper government, or any of its ministers, or the institution that is the military. I think they have all handled the detainee file clumsily, and that what they needed to say, ages ago, was that the detainee agreement wasn't very good to start with, and that they muddled along for the first year, finally fixing it in 2007."

So far so good on the bias side of the argument.

"What happened, I have been told by an army source, is this."

"On June 14, 2006, a Canadian Military Police officer who was working with the Afghan National Police was on the scene when the ANP stopped a van leaving a battle. The ANP said one of the three men inside was definitely a Taliban. The MP photographed the man and wrote his name down, but agreed to let him travel with the ANP back to Patrol Base Wilson. It was a 15-minute trip. Back at the base, the MP dutifully checked on the fellow and found the ANP beating him with their shoes. The MP then took the man back and made him an official detainee."

"The event was reported, but was considered by everyone to be a minor, low-level battlefield incident. The ANP unit in question had had one of their own killed just the day before. This is not to justify what they did to the fellow, but torture, to my mind, it was not."

"So that's one thing."

"Secondly, the MP didn't photograph the man purely to show he was in good condition when he got into the ANP truck. Canadians were routinely photographing every prisoner they detained, in part because most Afghans don't carry identification and sometimes have only one given name, but also so that international monitors, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, had solid evidence of who was who."

"Thirdly, it would be helpful if politicians on all sides of the House remembered to make the distinction between the conduct of Canadian soldiers - who by every account behaved exactly as Canadians would want them to behave - and the detainee issue."

[updated Thu Dec 17 14:21:11 EST 2009]

Fair warning this is a word trap, intented to trap unwary Liberals.

With the TD declaring the recession is over, is it now time to start considering how to deal with the deficit and what are the options available - I came across this piece and thought I would share some of the possible solutions that it offered.

A credible budget will have to include tax increases

1) The coming budget must address the structural deficit. Moreover, the global and domestic economies will not behave nicely, and there will be unexpected policy pressures. The budget, therefore, should include a contingency reserve of 0.5 per cent of GDP. In total, the budget would need to find about $30-billion by 2014-15.

2) Measures should be phased in, so as not to threaten the early years of recovery. Indeed, a credible budget, one that would eliminate the deficit, pay down debt and allow for policy and economic uncertainties, would create confidence and reduce risk premiums on long-term bonds. This would strengthen investment and the recovery.

3) Based on our experience, we estimate that the amount of program expenses that realistically could be subject to restraint is $55-billion, or 25 per cent of total program expenses. A 5-per-cent reduction to this base should be achievable but would yield under $3-billion in annual savings.

4) Any credible budget will have to include tax increases. The answer lies in taxing consumption. Simply phasing in a two-percentage-point increase in the GST would eliminate most of the structural deficit. This could be combined with an increase in the high-income tax rate, resulting in a more progressive tax system.

5) On the corporate side, our tax rate is already below the U.S. rate. It would be reasonable to freeze the corporate tax rate at 18 per cent. Finally, the number of “special interest” tax credits introduced since the 2006 budget should be re-evaluated.

6) This budget would eliminate the structural deficit and begin to pay down the federal debt. Program expenses and federal tax revenues, as a share of the economy, would remain well below their historical averages. The income tax system would be more progressive and supportive of economic growth.

7) We believe that the principles of realism, responsibility and prudence that underlie our budget should be used to judge the credibility of the government's coming budget.

[updated Thu Dec 17 15:45:38 EST 2009]

EKOS poll today:

"Finally, as far as the bonus question -- "All things considered, would you say the Government of Canada is moving in the right direction or the wrong direction?" -- it seems that Right is still winning out over Wrong, although really, not by much -- 44.5 to 43.9 is not exactly what I'd call a sweeping endorsement. It does suggest, however, that the government has yet to recover from the rather precipitous drop that it experienced following Richard Colvin's committee appearance."

And Colvin has just further dented their credibility and showed what liars the tories really are. Slip slidin away.....as the song says.

[updated Thu Dec 17 21:05:35 EST 2009]

Why Can't This Board Go Silent???!!!

Seesh. I can't believe I have to bring this up so close to Christmas. Why don't you guys put a damned cork in it for the next two weeks...how about a truce? Call it a draw for heaven's sake.

The world won't end if we put this to bed for the holidays. Clue in. I already have.

Happy Holidays to one and all.

Ron

[updated Fri Dec 18 16:26:01 EST 2009]

The year ends with Harper and his thugs on the ropes.

A "supposedly" very weak opposition has 65% or more of the voter intentions and Harper, for all his fancy footwork and higher profile, can't build on his numbers. In fact the more exposure he gets the more his party numbers seem to go down as does his approval rating for handling the country's affairs.

Weak and getting weaker..the Tories are slip sliding away with their incompetence showing even more than Brusimits (all versions and aliases of her nonsense). Even the olympic show and tell won't help these thugs.

In fact the olympics will show us why Canadians don't want thugs like that running our proud Country.

GO IGGY GO!!!!

[updated Sat Dec 19 09:21:07 EST 2009]

It is interesting to see what the unintended consquences might be for a politican that is in his third term in Quebec and most likely would be looking to go home for a visit after the next Quebec election.

I bring this up as Mr. Spector made the following comment in a recent piece and I found that it was an interesting observation.

"Oh, and one more thing.

Jean Charest will now be persona non grata among Conservatives in large swaths of western Canada. Any hopes he or his well-heeled supporters had to succeed Stephen Harper as leader of the Conservative party now lie in the ash bin of history."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/spector-vision/harper-smiling-charest-the-big-loser/article1406468/

[updated Sat Dec 19 15:28:36 EST 2009]

This is another issue that will take Harpercrite down:

The year of governing secretly. Stephen Harper promised accountability, but instead conducts the business of the state behind closed doors

1. The lies and secrecy on the Afghan prisoner file.
2. The accountability for spending on the stimulus projects
3. Restriction of "access to information" data.
4. Lies lies and more lies about budget deficits.

[updated Sat Dec 19 21:26:23 EST 2009]

Here comes the secret agenda back again. It shows the MSM is somewhat awake and it shows the democractic deficit is alive and well. Positions like these key ones should be vetted and appoved by parliament.

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/740337--boom-times-for-pmo-s-god-squad

Darrel Reid used to shoot from the lip.

Few Canadian evangelists can match his record for the controversial quote, whether accusing single moms of using welfare to have babies or likening hate crime laws protecting gays and lesbians to Nazi tyranny.

Nowadays, not so much.

In 2006, with the advent of a Conservative minority, Reid, once a catalyst for the evangelical movement in Canada, began to go stealth. He became chief of staff to former environment minister Rona Ambrose, then moved to the Prime Minister's Office as an adviser.

Last February, he dove further below the radar, apparently gaining more influence with Stephen Harper. He's not up there with Laureen, mind you, but arguably more important than many warm bodies around the cabinet table.

[updated Sun Dec 20 04:51:06 EST 2009]

HARPER'S LEGACY SHAPING UP
Dear Prime Minister:
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/741656

So you think you can dance? Around climate change?

You're clearly chuffed about flying to Copenhagen while staying under the radar – undetected and uncommitted. But if you ask me (and I know you don't bother anymore) you shouldn't be so pleased with yourself.

Even my son Ben and his MuchMusic fans and Canadian Idol groupies expect better of you. That's why I'm sending this note via the back-channel.

I know you think internationalism is never a vote winner – unless you find a wedge issue like Israel that plays in swing ridings.

And I suppose you're determined to do things differently than all those Liberal phonies – Chrétien and Kyoto, Trudeau and his travels to Cuba and China, Pearson and his Nobel Peace Prize.

But Copenhagen was a new low for Canada. Not because of what you did or (mostly) didn't do. Or didn't say. Or didn't stand for.

No, what really p----d me off – sorry, peeved me (okay, I'm working on cleaning up my language) – is the way you've turned your back on Canada's history of international engagement:

Honest broker, middle power, peacekeeper or responsible ally – take your pick, but at least take a stand. Turn your back on the world and the world will pass us by.

That's what we saw in Copenhagen on Friday when Canada found itself the forgotten nation.

There was Barack Obama charging in to save the day. And there you were, hiding under his skirt, mumbling feebly that you would do exactly what the Americans did on greenhouse gas emissions.

Canadians understand the pressures of harmonization, although I took a lot of heat for it in my day. But we were always players – and the Americans were at least interested in what we had to say.

Where were you in Copenhagen when Obama summoned 19 other world leaders for a pivotal meeting to thrash out the framework for a deal? It's one thing to miss the "family photo" at a G8 summit because you're in the bathroom. But to not even rate an invitation to a consultation – while Australia is seated at the table wearing the mantle of middle power? Nothing against those Aussies, but they are a smaller economy and population.

So why was their PM, Kevin Rudd, being asked for his advice by Obama while you were cooling your heels? And you're supposed to be the host of next year's G8 and G20 meetings here!

Listen, your staff is too timid to tell you this, and Jim Prentice is too cowed by Alberta ranchers and the oil patch to speak truth to power, so I will: You're not doing the right thing on the environment. And you're not doing anything on the global stage.

It wasn't just Liberals who gave a fig for foreign policy. I cared about Canada and the world. I lobbied for sanctions against South Africa and stood up to Margaret Thatcher. I reached out to China without selling out on human rights. And I forged a partnership with Ronald Reagan on acid rain.

When George H.W. Bush stitched together a coalition to evict Saddam Hussein's troops from Kuwait, he was on the phone to me constantly seeking advice. When Europe was worrying about German reunification and how the Soviets would react, Bush called me for consultations. And we fished together at Kennebunkport.

Okay, I admit it – I loved getting a phone call from the White House switchboard. And it bugs me that you never place a call.

But now, you don't even rate a phone call from Obama when he's giving our allies the heads up on his new Afghanistan surge. You got Joe Biden calling to say that his boss was too busy calling up everyone else that matters.

My point is that the Liberals aren't the only good guys on foreign policy. Progressive Conservatives were internationalists – not just me, but Diefenbaker too when he sold wheat to China and spoke out passionately against apartheid when you were just a baby.

Listen, you've been PM four years now. Remind me, what's your legacy going to be? Cutting the GST by two points? It's not just what voters say, but the verdict of historians that you will have to live with.

Who do you think was chosen Canada's most environmentally conscious PM a couple of years ago? That's because I was ahead of my time, which is not exactly something you can boast about.

Which recent Tory PM won two consecutive majorities? Exactly.

You can do better. Try a little harder on global warming – and statecraft. You never know when voters will start holding you to account on the environment, or start wondering why you can't be a bit more worldly.

Yours in alacrity,

Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney

[updated Tue Dec 22 06:33:17 EST 2009]

Another Liberal lie is once again being put to rest as the truth is starting to come out as reported by the CBC,

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/12/22/afghan-mistreatment-claims.html

Detainee abuse claims unfounded: military police

The military police said it received about a dozen allegations of mistreatment of Afghan detainees in Canadian custody in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, which were turned over to its investigative arm, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

"Examples of the allegations received include complaints from detainees of having been forced to adopt a new religion, of not having been afforded the time to go to the washroom or the ability to perform ablutions for religious rituals," the statement said.

It said investigations into three allegations in 2006 and 2007 determined that they were unfounded.

There were six allegations of detainee mistreatment in 2008. In five of the cases, it was determined they were unfounded and one investigation is still ongoing.

"With respect to the ongoing investigation, [Canadian Forces] members have been cleared regarding mistreatment of detainees; however the investigation is still examining other remaining allegations," it said.

So far in 2009, investigations into three allegations of detainee mistreatment have determined they were all unfounded.

[updated Tue Dec 22 08:27:55 EST 2009]

One more Liberal "issue" has been put to rest once again they are found to have been wrong about the facts.

Headline Toronto Star;

Lost gold? Turns out the mint can't countTop brass lose bonuses, as probe solves mystery.

Rumours of a sophisticated heist were rampant this summer after an external audit ruled out sloppy bookkeeping as the reason there was 17,500 troy ounces more gold in the mint's 2008 records than was actually found in its inventory.

The Crown corporation released the results of three third-party reviews Monday that management says fully account for the discrepancy. The reviews showed more than $3 million worth of the government-owned gold had been unintentionally sold off as slag – gold by-products – to U.S. refineries while the rest was miscounted and never left the building.

[updated Tue Dec 22 08:30:52 EST 2009]

Another Liberal lie is once again being put to rest as the truth is starting to come out as reported by the CTV and what is thye impact to the Liberal brand as each of their partistan arttacks is proven to be wrong and is it possible for Mr. Ignatieff to go below 3% in the trust.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091221/housakos_senate_091221/20091221?hub=Canada

The Canadian Press

Date: Monday Dec. 21, 2009 8:55 PM ET

OTTAWA — Conservative Senator Leo Housakos did not break any ethics rules while working within an engineering firm that landed a federal stimulus contract, a Senate watchdog said Monday.

The Canadian Press reported this fall that Housakos was on the payroll of Groupe BPR Inc., last September when it was awarded $1.5 million as part of a consortium studying the aging Champlain Bridge.

Headline;

Conservative senator cleared by ethics officer

[updated Tue Dec 22 08:39:31 EST 2009]

What is on the top of the Liberal radar now that the detainee issue is going the way of H1N1, EI and all those other great Liberal issues that they pick up and drop almost weekly.

Why it is and I am sure that this will be front and center for Canadians and well worth having an election over as it does seem to be the one big issue that they seem to have.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/urgent-need-to-regulate-sex-toys-mp-says/article1404702/

Headline;

'Urgent need' to regulate sex toys, MP says Carolyn Bennett writes Canada's Health Minister asking her to look into the materials used to make vibrators and other adult items.

“These unbelievably committed young women sent me this letter,” recalls Dr. Bennett. “I thought, ‘well I know nothing about this'…I went to meet with them at their store.”

“I frankly didn't know about international orgasm day,” says Dr. Bennett. (The small, relatively unknown celebration falls this Monday, one day after the MP's birthday).

[updated Tue Dec 22 08:45:05 EST 2009]

What would happen to the Liberals in the rest of Canada, if the Conservatives in Alberta turn off the money tap and Canadians realize that their free ride is over all because of the Liberals, well if one looks at the numbers it would not be very good, if Alberta took their money ball and decided not to play with Canada..

I rather doubt that the ROC would like to see all of their programs go down the Liberal toilet bowel as they can no doubt recall the impact of the Mr. Martin Transfer cuts had and the impact of losing all that Alberta money would be much worse and this is not even factoring in the SK and BC loss in revenue.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091217/Oil_Cash_091217/20091217?hub=QPeriod

The Canadian Press, Date: Thursday Dec. 17, 2009 5:45 PM ET

1) In 2006, Mansell said he calculated that Quebec was a net beneficiary of $217.1 billion (in 2004 dollars) from the equalization program between 1961 to 2002.

That has represented $767 per year for every Quebec man, woman and child, he said.

2) Over the same period, Alberta paid out $243.6 billion and Ontario paid $314.5 billion, he said.

That has cost $2,510 for every Alberta resident every year and $758 for every Ontarian.

3) Alberta's premier says his province's oil-rich economy provides the rest of the country with about $21 billion -- which, by way of comparison, is more than Canada's entire $18-billion defence budget, and about half of what Ontario spends on health care.

It is also a key driving force behind the federal equalization program, which transfers more than $8 billion a year to Quebec.

4) That $8 billion equalization cheque is equivalent to five years' funding for Quebec's cherished $7-a-day daycare program, and is almost twice the sum Quebec has slapped on the table to buy New Brunswick's power utility.

5) Many contend that curbing Alberta's oil production would siphon much-needed cash from the bank accounts of the so-called "have-not" provinces.

6) "The costs to these provinces might be a lot larger than they imagine," warned Robert Mansell, an economist and equalization expert from the University of Calgary.

7) "It's been the one thing that's brought a lot of money into the country and spread it around fairly widely."

8) Six provinces are set to receive about $14.2 billion in equalization payments this year. For 2009, the formula will funnel about $8.4 billion to Quebec, $2.1 billion to Manitoba, $1.7 billion to New Brunswick, $1.6 billion to Nova Scotia, $347 million to Ontario and $340 million to Prince Edward Island.

[updated Tue Dec 22 09:45:23 EST 2009]

What the Conservatives were doing for the last year on this file, while the Liberals were preoccupied with sex toys and other great and troubling issues..

The Canadian Press, Date: Sat. Dec. 19 2009 7:56 AM ET

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091219/Pension_reform_091219/20091219?hub=QPeriod

Headline; Pension reform decisions expected by spring

OTTAWA — Ottawa and the provinces have agreed to take the first steps toward reforming the country's retirement savings system, forging a consensus that was enough to keep Western finance ministers at the negotiating table.

The federal and provincial ministers wrapped up a day and a half of meetings in Whitehorse Friday, centred around making sure Canadians are saving enough for their retirement -- especially as the population ages and government resources are strained.

They agreed that after months of researching pensions and retirement income, they now have enough information to start negotiating on actual reforms that would put the seniors of the future on a more stable financial footing.

[updated Tue Dec 22 09:48:01 EST 2009]

Here's more on the tory thugs and their attempt to destroy democracy in this country:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/12/21/parliament-will-fight/
But whatever controversy might thus have been aroused would have been nothing like the firestorm in which the Conservatives now find themselves, owing entirely to their refusal to allow the evidence to come out—a policy that, whatever its motives, has only fed suspicions of wrongdoing. If the government has nothing to hide, it sure seems determined to hide it.

It is not only Parliament, we should recall, that the government has been stonewalling. Colvin’s sensational appearance before the Commons special committee on Afghanistan only came about after the chairman of the military police complaints commission, Peter Tinsley, discontinued hearings into the treatment of Afghan detainees in the face of the government’s persistent refusal to release the relevant documents to the commission.

Obstructing the work of a quasi-judicial commission is one thing—regrettably, hardly unusual in this country, where the shutdown of the Somalia inquiry caused barely a ripple. But refusing a Commons committee’s demand for the documents—and, more remarkably, last week’s vote of the full House—is another thing again.

[updated Tue Dec 22 09:52:58 EST 2009]

Another Liberal lie is once again being put to rest as the truth is starting to come out as reported by the National Post and what is the impact to the Liberal brand as each of their partistan arttacks is proven to be wrong and is it possible for Mr. Ignatieff to go below 3% in the trust.

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2370326

Headline; Numbers on jobless benefits continue to decline

Financial Post Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009,

OTTAWA - The number of people receiving employment insurance benefits declined in October, continuing a downward trend that began in July, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

Regular EI beneficiaries were down 0.5% from September to 809,600, the federal agency said. Still, beneficiaries were up 61.8%, or 309,300, from a year earlier.

"The number of regular EI beneficiaries peaked in June at 829,300. Since then, it has declined slightly," it said. "This is in contrast with the trend from October 2008 to June 2009, when monthly increases averaged 41,100 people."

Meanwhile, the number of initial and renewal claims received in October totalled 270,300, down by 7,000 or 2.5%, the agency said, noting the biggest decline was in Ontario.

"The number of EI claims received has been on a downward trend since the most recent peak in May 2009."

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2370326#ixzz0aQh0tmKu
The Financial Post is now on Facebook. Join our fan community today.

[updated Tue Dec 22 09:55:23 EST 2009]

More proof the world is starting to zero in on the incomeptent tory thugs:
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/741656

Dear Prime Minister:

So you think you can dance? Around climate change?

You're clearly chuffed about flying to Copenhagen while staying under the radar – undetected and uncommitted. But if you ask me (and I know you don't bother anymore) you shouldn't be so pleased with yourself.

Even my son Ben and his MuchMusic fans and Canadian Idol groupies expect better of you. That's why I'm sending this note via the back-channel.

I know you think internationalism is never a vote winner – unless you find a wedge issue like Israel that plays in swing ridings.

And I suppose you're determined to do things differently than all those Liberal phonies – Chrétien and Kyoto, Trudeau and his travels to Cuba and China, Pearson and his Nobel Peace Prize.

But Copenhagen was a new low for Canada. Not because of what you did or (mostly) didn't do. Or didn't say. Or didn't stand for.

No, what really p----d me off – sorry, peeved me (okay, I'm working on cleaning up my language) – is the way you've turned your back on Canada's history of international engagement:

Honest broker, middle power, peacekeeper or responsible ally – take your pick, but at least take a stand. Turn your back on the world and the world will pass us by.

That's what we saw in Copenhagen on Friday when Canada found itself the forgotten nation.

There was Barack Obama charging in to save the day. And there you were, hiding under his skirt, mumbling feebly that you would do exactly what the Americans did on greenhouse gas emissions.

Canadians understand the pressures of harmonization, although I took a lot of heat for it in my day. But we were always players – and the Americans were at least interested in what we had to say.

Where were you in Copenhagen when Obama summoned 19 other world leaders for a pivotal meeting to thrash out the framework for a deal? It's one thing to miss the "family photo" at a G8 summit because you're in the bathroom. But to not even rate an invitation to a consultation – while Australia is seated at the table wearing the mantle of middle power? Nothing against those Aussies, but they are a smaller economy and population.

So why was their PM, Kevin Rudd, being asked for his advice by Obama while you were cooling your heels? And you're supposed to be the host of next year's G8 and G20 meetings here!

Listen, your staff is too timid to tell you this, and Jim Prentice is too cowed by Alberta ranchers and the oil patch to speak truth to power, so I will: You're not doing the right thing on the environment. And you're not doing anything on the global stage.

It wasn't just Liberals who gave a fig for foreign policy. I cared about Canada and the world. I lobbied for sanctions against South Africa and stood up to Margaret Thatcher. I reached out to China without selling out on human rights. And I forged a partnership with Ronald Reagan on acid rain.

When George H.W. Bush stitched together a coalition to evict Saddam Hussein's troops from Kuwait, he was on the phone to me constantly seeking advice. When Europe was worrying about German reunification and how the Soviets would react, Bush called me for consultations. And we fished together at Kennebunkport.

Okay, I admit it – I loved getting a phone call from the White House switchboard. And it bugs me that you never place a call.

But now, you don't even rate a phone call from Obama when he's giving our allies the heads up on his new Afghanistan surge. You got Joe Biden calling to say that his boss was too busy calling up everyone else that matters.

My point is that the Liberals aren't the only good guys on foreign policy. Progressive Conservatives were internationalists – not just me, but Diefenbaker too when he sold wheat to China and spoke out passionately against apartheid when you were just a baby.

Listen, you've been PM four years now. Remind me, what's your legacy going to be? Cutting the GST by two points? It's not just what voters say, but the verdict of historians that you will have to live with.

Who do you think was chosen Canada's most environmentally conscious PM a couple of years ago? That's because I was ahead of my time, which is not exactly something you can boast about.

Which recent Tory PM won two consecutive majorities? Exactly.

You can do better. Try a little harder on global warming – and statecraft. You never know when voters will start holding you to account on the environment, or start wondering why you can't be a bit more worldly.

Yours in alacrity,

Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney

Martin Regg Cohn, the Star's deputy editorial page editor, writes Tuesday

[updated Tue Dec 22 10:14:21 EST 2009]

More bad news for the Liberals,

Economy grows for second month

Montreal housing for sale. For The Globe and Mail Sharp rebound in housing drives GDP expansion of 0.2 per cent in October.

Jeremy TorobinOttawa — Globe and Mail Update Published on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 8:34AM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 8:42AM EST.

The Canadian economy grew in October for the second straight month, expanding 0.2 per cent as the housing sector and utilities pushed the country further out of recession.

[updated Wed Dec 23 08:46:17 EST 2009]

One more reason as to why the Liberals are in trouble as Mr. Ignatieff polls 2% above being nobody.

Voting totals for 2009's Newsmaker of the Year from The Canadian Press (CP) – 2 hours ago

Stephen Harper: 24 per cent, Jim Balsillie: 19 per cent, Tori Stafford, David Butler-Jones: 11 per cent, Guy Laliberte, John Furlong, Evan Frustaglio: 5 per cent, Michaelle Jean, Darrell Dexter, Raymond Lahey, Omar Khadr, Earl Jones:Leona Aglukkaq, Michael Ignatieff: 3 per cent, 2 per cent, Antonio Accurso, Paul Kennedy, Gerald Tremblay, Richard Colvin, Suaad Hagi Mohamud, "Nobody": fewer than one per cent.

[updated Wed Dec 23 17:41:03 EST 2009]

ABC Partytime writes,[updated Mon Dec 28 18:21:21 EST 2009]

"Obviously you do not know the rules."

As far as i can determine, the only guideline is

Nik on the Numbers is about polling, politics and public policy in Canada and is an open dialogue space for me to post the latest Nanos polls and for you to comment on those results and our political landscape. In this dialogue space, stats, analysis and the views of Canadians intersect.

and

Ask me a question - post a comment - rate and comment on the views of others (don’t be shy…but please remain respectful) .

So it would appear that I understand the rules. while you continue to struggle.

"Ridiculous comments after this one will only be addressed once."

I do not write ridiculous comments, I leave the writing of ridiculous comments to you.

"If you can't remember if you have already sent it, check your comment history."

I remember what I send and I will not be told by you as to what I may or may not send.

"There is no need to send it twice."

Most of your posts are not worth the effort to construct a new post to deal with what you write. so I just repost sections of posts that I had made earlier.

[updated Mon Dec 28 18:38:25 EST 2009]