Apropos with the Harper plagiarism scandal this morning, here's a new micro site from the Liberal Party: www.bushharper.com. I like the logo. And in addition to the Harpernomics and Bush ad released this morning, there's another ad on foreign policy too:
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bush and Harper, the same on foreign policy
It's Patrick, he took out life insurance
There's a TV on my desk, and for 10 hours or so a day I'm fed a steady diet of CBC Newsworld and CTV Newsnet. Thankfully, the life insurance and alpaca ads that used to dominate Newsworld seem to now be out of the rotation.
This ad for the Discovery Channel is in heavy rotation on Newsnet though, and I have to say it has really grown on me. It's a pretty good commercial, and very catchy.
Liberal ad -- Harpernomics and Bush
The "Always there for you line" is an interesting addition. I like that rather than just ending on the negative message (Harper bad), we're now linking it with what we'll do, and why people should vote Liberal. A good improvement from past ads.
Harper a plagarizer?
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae held a press conference in Toronto this morning where he laid out how, in his speech in support of George W. Bush's Iraq War, a war that Jean Chretien and the Liberal government of the day rightly stayed out of, then opposition leader Stephen Harper appears to have lifted much of his speech verbatim from Australia's John Howard.
Watch the video and decide for yourself. On the bright side, at least we're not copying our foreign policy from the Americans. At least not directly...
UPDATE: Looks like they've found their fall-guy. With Lippert and Ryan Sparrow gone, Ezra Levant will have to work extra hard.
Monday, September 29, 2008
You had a choice, sir!
Brian Mulroney would be proud:
Harper government opened patronage doors before electionRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
By Tim Naumetz, THE CANADIAN PRESS
2008-09-29
OTTAWA - The Harper government approved 148 appointments to federal boards and agencies, long used as rewards for supporters of the party in power, as the election neared, The Canadian Press has learned.
Cabinet handed out the pots in three rounds, the first only two days before Parliament recessed for the summer, the second on July 30, at peak holiday time for politicians and political journalists, and the third less than a week before Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the election for Oct. 14.
Harper, who railed against Liberal patronage in the 2006 election, later failed to deliver on a campaign pledge to put an independent commission in charge of vetting cabinet appointments. He angrily shelved the idea after opposition MPs refused to ratify his nomination of Gwyn Morgan, a Calgary oil baron who is also a friend of the prime minister, as the commission chair.
It's difficult to determine exactly how many of the recent appointments went to members of the federal Conservative party or to provincial Progressive Conservative parties.
Many have had no comment on their new jobs, but interviews and public records outlining the backgrounds of others suggest Harper was courting the party faithful in a number of cases.
(more)
Conservative rhetoric vs. Conservative reality: Kids culture edition
First, the Conservative rhetoric:
In an apparent attempt to win back vital ground in Quebec, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced Monday he would provide a $150-million tax credit to help get kids interested in the arts.
Speaking in Ottawa, Harper said the credit would be designed to help defray the costs for parents who want to enroll their kids in arts programs that could inspire them to pursue a career in the field.
Sounds nice. But then there’s the Conservative reality. Last week, organizers of the acclaimed Vancouver International Children’s Festival told supporters they had lost all their federal funding because of the Conservative cuts to cultural programs:
In an “Important Message” sent to supporters this week, the festival addresses Harper’s assertion that the arts are “not something that ordinary Canadians can relate to” and warns that the Conservative cuts could impact prices and programming.
Try as they might, the Conservatives can’t run from their record. What should we believe, their promises (which they have a history of breaking) or their actions? Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Crowd of 800 greets Dion at UBC
A video report from the Ubyssey on Stephane Dion's very successful event earlier this week at UBC (h/t Braeden):
Media beginning to speak the carbon truth
Some of the media seem to be starting to actually cast a critical eye on the NDP and Conservative attacks on the Liberal Green Shift, and looking at their so-called plans for the environment too. And it's about time.
The Globe's Jeffrey Simpson:
The Conservatives have distorted the carbon tax idea and scared people.
The economy would be "wrecked," Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.
Funny then that Demark, with a carbon tax for a while now, had higher
per capita growth than Canada from 1990 to 2006: 36 to 32 per cent.
The political demolition job from the Conservative-NDP alliance against
the carbon tax shift, coupled with its arrival on the political scene at
a time of higher world oil prices and slower growth, killed a national
carbon tax.
What, therefore, remains? Policy incoherence across Canada, and
Conservative and NDP plans that won't get the job done. Mr. Harper has
not spoken in the election about his "plan," except to say he has one.
What is it?
And in the Toronto Sun of all places, and Lorrie Goldstein of all people:
Hey, have you heard about Stephen Harper's plan to fight global warmingRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
by raising the cost of everything?
Because he does have one and he's been getting a free ride on it in this
election, simply by incessantly charging Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's
Green Shift will increase the price of everything. Back in the real
world, Harper promises to put a price on emitting carbon just like Dion.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NDP the Gas-X of politics?
My favourite headline of the election campaign to date comes from the Canadian Press:
Layton promises to ease B.C.'s gas pains
Remember, Jack. He who smellt it, dealt it!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
OMG, I agree with Colby Cosh on something?
I never thought I'd see the day. And yet, I do today.
Recommend this Post on Progressive BloggersWell I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate
Nice to know that Greens watch The Simpsons too. From a CP story on Elizabeth May's whistle-stop tour:
It's a good thing for Green supporters, too, 40 of whom were waiting at the Saskatoon station for one of May's nocturnal rallies. They held signs that read: "I choo-choo choose Elizabeth May."
Go ahead. Throw your vote away!
PS. Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos last week.
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Harper's Island horror
From CP:
Harper's Island horrorRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. _ Liberal Leader Stephane Dion found himself in a
make-believe world Tuesday, but couldn't escape his main opponent,
Stephen Harper.
He was touring the set of a CBS show being shot at North Shore studios
in Brooksbank, North Vancouver. Its title? Harper's Island.
The hour-long horror-drama revolves around friends and family gathering
for a wedding on an eerie island which, years before, was the haunt of a
serial killer. The mystery opens as the guests begin to disappear in
what a website calls ``Scream meets 10 Little Indians.''
Dion couldn't resist the imagery.
``I'm told that it's a scary movie,'' he said. ``Mr. Harper lives on an
island and it's time to kick him off the island.''
Monday, September 22, 2008
Liberals in BC launch radio, tv ads
This morning the Liberal campaign in British Columbia released two "Made in BC" ads, one for radio and one for TV, that will soon be airing on media across BC. The ads are part of the Liberal party's Made in BC campaign, which also includes a BC-specific policy agenda. The policy agenda is being rolled-out in three planks. The first, Building a Just Society for British Columbians, focuses on social justice and was released last week.
TV:
Radio:
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Ken Dryden is awesome
And he even references Seinfeld. The text of a recent Ken Dryden campaign speech (h/t):
We’re now about a third of the way through this election campaign. What’s been happening up until now? Where does it all seem to be going?Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Stephane Dion has been talking about our economy - our economy now and in a very changing world; about the environment; about poverty, what it does to people, to kids, and the need to engage that fight now.
But really, up to this point, Mr. Harper has controlled the message of this election. Yet, this message has often been odd and surprising.
Like their slogan: “We’re better off with Harper.” This is their slogan; their ad - “We’re better off - with Harper” - like saying “taking everything into consideration, despite all this or that, on the whole, really, probably we’d have to say, (“we’re better off with Harper”). Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Nothing energizing about it, nothing exciting. Nothing that makes you want to wake up in the morning and race into the possibilities of your day. Yet this is their message. Even in their dreams they can’t quite express anything stirring, anything big. Is this what being a Prime Minister is about? What Canada is about?
Then there’s the blue vest, the “Mr. Nice Guy” ads. Ad firms are paid millions to tell the story their client wants told. It’s much easier for them when it’s a new “product” or a new “person” launch. When the information they provide is the only information - when the public knows nothing else. The problem for Mr. Harper is that the public does know something else. They’ve been watching him for 2 ½ years and Stephen Harper, they know, may be lots of things, but he’s not a “nice guy.” He’s not.
Nice guys don’t cut literacy programs. Nice guys don’t cut funding to women’s groups, aboriginal groups, health and childcare and poverty and disability groups. Toying with them month after month, teasing them with silence and desperate hope. If, they say to themselves, if I don’t say anything, if I just go quiet, maybe I might get something. Please. Then crumbs, or nothing.
Nice guys don’t decide there’s only one voice in this country that matters. Not these voices of our communities. Not those of his own Cabinet or Caucus. Not voices in the arts who get their programs cut because they say things that might make us squirm. Not any voice competent and professional who disagrees - Linda Keen, Adrian Measner, Jean-Guy Fleury - who then feel the pulverizing weight of a Government machine come down on them just so they know: you don’t mess with “the vest”.
Arts groups, literacy and poverty and childcare groups - it’s the same story. Nice guys don’t make the weak weaker and the vulnerable more vulnerable.
Nice guys don’t act like there are Canadians and not-quite Canadians. Those who fit Mr. Harper’s understanding of how life is supposed to be lived, and those, Canadians too - single mothers, addicts, gays and lesbians - who don’t.
And nice guys don’t take someone else’s person, as he did Monsieur Dion, they don’t take their personality, their character, their life, what they’ve worked hard to build, what is decent and substantial and good. What they’ve earned. They don’t take that, twist it, stretch it, caricature and distort it. They don’t buy air time and in front of millions of people, assassinate it. And pretend, ahh, that’s just politics.
Oh, and the puffin and the poop - oops, sorry. Didn’t mean it. Just like I don’t mean all the other just-as-new ads on the Conservatives’ website, that reach tens of thousands just like the Mr. Nice Guy ads on TV, that are just as abusive as the others in the pre-Mr. Nice Guy time.
If it quacks like a duck, put a blue vest on it, it’s still a duck.
But who says you need a “nice guy” to be a Prime Minister? It’s a tough, often disagreeable job. As they say about war - with the enemy all around, who do you want in that foxhole next to you. In politics, in sports and business, some not-so-nice guys are good leaders and win, and some nice guys are good leaders and win too. And some nice guys and not-so-nice guys fail. Being a good leader isn’t about that. It’s something more.
From these first 13 days, it is clear that Mr. Harper has decided this election is about him. He’s saying to Canadians: I’m a leader. I know what I want - I’m decisive - I deliver. And that, he says, is leadership. And in uncertain economic and global times, he says, Canadians need that and want that. But what Mr. Harper confuses is the posture of leadership, and the substance of leadership. Leadership is . . . leading - getting others to follow. But critically, fundamentally, leadership is direction. It is going . . . somewhere. The question is “where”? Leadership matters because the “where” matters, and it’s the job of a Prime Minister to know better than anyone else what the best “where” is. For the country. For your life and my life. That’s real leadership.
As a golfer, I can hit the ball a long way. The problem is I can’t hit it in the right direction. And a ball hit - decisively, competently - in the wrong direction is a ball that goes further and further and further into the woods. History is filled with leaders who have competently, decisively gone in the wrong direction with disastrous results.
Where is Mr. Harper’s “where”?
He doesn’t seem to want to talk about that. In making this election all about him, he is doing his best to make this election about nothing. It’s his “Seinfeld campaign.” But in 2008, how can that be? This is a time when the cost of carbon economically and environmentally is forcing the world’s countries to re-imagine the future. To reward the constructive and punish the destructive. To act. To change. To create the hard-won possibilities to compete in the economy ahead.
It’s a time when the gap between rich and poor is growing. When too many Canadians live the way no Canadians should have to live. When too many don’t have a real chance at a real future.
It’s a time when our children need more and better opportunities to learn - when they’re young and need a good start; later in college and university. A time when aboriginal peoples finally and forever need the chance of a full Canadian life.
It’s a time when, as Canadians, we need to think about ourselves differently. We are 33 million people - one of the world’s largest economies; one of the world’s richest nations; with a land mass so big and abundant amidst a world of countries that have neither. We are safe, secure and stable; we can count on tomorrow, plan for tomorrow, imagine and build tomorrow, when just about everyone else cannot. With our French and English past, with our present where people from almost everywhere live within our borders - we are a country which has learned to live with difference, accept difference, learn from difference; live the global world of the future, when to much of the rest of the world difference still means guns and blood.
Countries come and go, prominent at one time, pushed to the sidelines in another. History is a long time. And undeniably, whatever Canada has been in the past we will be far more in the future. The world knows that. We need to know that too. And our leaders need to know that, and embody it and act that way in everything they do.
There is more to us, more to Canada, than tax breaks as the answer for everything. More to Canada than life as pieces and parts - East; West. Quebec; the Rest of Canada - firewalls everywhere. More to us than Mr. Harper’s small, pinched vision of ourselves and our future.
“Better off with Harper”?
NO.
We are more than this.
This election is about something.
Stephane Dion may get a lot of criticism, but he is trying to make this campaign about something. Mr. Harper is not.
Leadership, real leadership, is first of all, most of all, knowing what’s important - then focusing on it, sharing it with others, then determinedly, relentlessly, together, getting there.
I don’t believe in “hidden agendas.” I find arguments like that just too easy. I just want to know where Mr. Harper’s going. Tell me. Tell us. What is your vision of this country? How should it work? What should it be? What is the best “US” now and for the future? How does Canada become what Canada can be? Tell us. We need to know. Tell us how, person to person, we, as Canadians, should relate to each other? What we can expect of others, and what others can expect of us? Tell us what role government should play, and shouldn’t? Tell us about families, in busy, complicated real, not fanciful lives, how as parents we give ourselves and our kids a real chance at all that’s in us to be. Families are not just card games with kids - tell us. We need to know.
And once you’ve told us that, tell us why you’re not saying to Canadians that to realize this vision, one you believe so important to our present and future, so unbelievably exciting to you and to all of us, that you need us, all of us, that you need a majority to do it? Say it, say it, why wouldn’t you? Shout it from the rooftops - - after you’ve told us your vision of the country, and for the country. After you’ve decided this campaign is not about nothing.
Mr. Harper wants this campaign to be about nothing because on all those things the campaign needs to be about, he has nothing to offer.
This campaign is NOT about Mr. Harper. It is NOT about him. It is about our present and future economy, about climate change, poverty and learning. It is about all Canadians having a real chance. It’s about encouraging, allowing, seeking out voices different from our own, that make us smarter; that bring us to our best and keep us from our worst. It’s about our understanding of ourselves as a country, about the importance of Canada in the world of our future. This is a campaign about BIG, IMPORTANT things.
In an election about nothing, Mr. Harper will win. In an election about something, we will win. We have 23 days.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT HIM. THIS IS NOT ABOUT NOTHING.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Second NDP candidate in BC resigns
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
NDP denies deal with pot activist Marc Emery
CTV.ca News Staff
The NDP is denying they made an informal deal with marijuana activist Marc Emery.
Emery alleges he and NDP Leader Jack Layton had an agreement to bring Marijuana Party members to the New Democrats. In exchange, Emery claims the NDP said they would continue efforts to decriminalize pot.
(more)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Can I call you Steve?
Chretien jogs Harper's memory: Liberals - not Tories - balanced the booksRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
2008-09-18
OTTAWA - Jean Chretien says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is conveniently ignoring the fact that Liberals - not Conservatives - did all the heavy lifting required to elminate the federal deficit.
"We balanced the books . . . and they forget to mention that," the former Liberal prime minister said in a brief interview Thursday.
Through the opening two weeks of the federal election campaign, Harper has repeatedly warned that the Liberals would drive the country back into a deficit with billions in unaffordable, reckless spending promises. He reiterated the theme Thursday in response to Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's promise to invest $70 billion over 10 years in infrastructure.
By contrast, Harper has painted himself and the Conservatives as models of fiscal rectitude.
But Chretien suggested Harper has got it backwards.
(read more)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Stephen Harper, worst economist ever?
The latest entry from my War Room blog at TeamBC.ca:
I know our legions of War Room readers have been hungry to know: one week into the campaign, what is your crack War Room staff eating? Is it still Subway every day?Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Well, it’s funny. Last week, I asked our War Room blog readers for restaurant suggestions in the downtown Vancouver area. A Greek restaurant in Yaletown was recommended, and tonight, we decided, was the night to try it out. They don’t deliver and its not within walking distance, but we were prepared to drive over and pick it up as a public service to you, our Team BC War Room readers.
(read more)
Monday, September 15, 2008
War Room Blog: In search of a soundtrack
From my TeamBC.ca War Room blog:
Sure, Stéphane Dion just wrapped a very successful tour of British Columbia. Media are even calling it a “love-in.” And the greatest tour in the history of democracy. Huge, cheering crowds greeted the leader when he announced a home retrofit program in Burnaby, promised a proper apology for the Komagata Maru incident in Surrey, combated Green Shift myths in Victoria and launched an immigration platform in Richmond. And he mingled with approximately 10 million per cent more BCers than Stephen Harper did during his BC visit. That’s actually only 75 per cent as impressive as it sounds, as Harper only met with two people.Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
(more)
Fact is, I invented kissing. It was during World War I and they were looking for a new way to spread germs...
Jack Layton continues twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom by channeling Grampa Simpson...
(H/T Red)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Fixed Afghan withdrawal date...fool me once
A thought occurs on Stephen Harper’s climb-down on Afghanistan with the announcement earlier this week of 2011 as a firm end-date for Canada’s military involvement:
Canada's war in Afghanistan will come to end in 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared in the kind of unequivocal statement he's resisted making for over two and a half years.You know, the last time Stephen Harper made a promise on fixed-dates it was regarding a fixed-election date for 2009, and we all know how that one turned-out. Don’t get me wrong, I welcome Harper moving closer to the Liberal position. But if we couldn’t believe the Conservatives on fixed election dates, can we really believe them on fixed withdrawal dates.
Harper said that 10 years' of war in the desert wastelands and mountains is enough.
``You have to put an end date on these things,'' Harper said during a breakfast briefing Wednesday.
``We intend to end it.''
This is the same prime minister who famously intoned that Canada would not ``cut and run'' as long as he's in charge, and who had steadfastly refused to declare a firm exit date until he was forced to do so by an independent panel that reviewed the mission.
They may well have their fingers crossed this time too. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Friday, September 12, 2008
In his own words
"Mr. Dion should address the tone of his campaign."
-- Stephen Harper in Halifax, September 12, 2008
Really? Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Video: Steve and Jack, no longer so happy together
A hard-hitting video from the Liberal campaign in BC:
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Another day off message for the Conservatives
First it was the Puffin thing, then the May debate exclusion and reversal. Now it looks like the Conservatives are about to lose their message for perhaps the third day in a row, thrown off track by another stupid mistake in their CPC War Bunker in suburban Ottawa:
MONTREAL — Senior Conservative Party spokesman Ryan Sparrow has been suspended from the campaign after suggesting the father of a slain soldier who criticized Stephen Harper today was a Liberal.Disgusting comments by Ryan Sparrow. Punting him far, far away from the CPC campaign was not only the expedient thing to do, it was the right thing to do.Mr. Sparrow sent an email to CTV News today suggesting that Jim Davis, the soldier's dad, is a supporter of Liberal Michael Ignatieff.
He has also been ordered to call Mr. Davis and apologize for his comments.
Let me say one thing though. I've been watching the media spin on this, and the puffin thing, and dropping the candidate in Halifax with a criminal record. Rhey're all saying how great it is that the Harper campaign is taking such fast action on these screw-ups, cutting their loses and apologizing, instead of sticking it out, like they did in 2004 when Harper refused to apologize for a release claiming that Paul Martin supported child pornography.
Well, that's one way of looking at it, I suppose. But let's make one thing clear: neither of these were isolated incidents. Neither of these were overzealous junior staffers lacking supervision. Both incidents reflect the attitude and modus operandi of the Conservative campaign, from Stephen Harper and Doug Finley on down.
The puffin thing is tame compared to the crap that the Conservatives have been putting on the Web for two years at least. This wasn't some guy freelancing, he/she was working within the well laid-out boundaries of Conservative web strategy.
And Ryan Sparrow is not some junior volunteer. He has been one of the senior Conservative spokespeople for at least a year now. He was the CPC's director of communications for crying out loud. And as disgusting as his comments were, they're not surprising to anyone who has been paying any attention to this Conservative Party for these last three years. Stephen Harper called the Liberals Taliban sympathizers. Peter Van Loan said only Conservatives are real Canadians. Kory Teneycke is an accident wating to happen. Sparrow was merely displaying the same level of dismissive arrogance and politicization that has always characterized Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
The story here is that the carefully controlled and scripted Conservative campaign is starting to come a little unglued, and Canadians are starting to get a look at the true nature of the Harper party. The Cons can keep quickly apologizing all they want; Canadians are seeing them for what they really are.
And from a strategy point of view, once again today Harper is going to be answering questions about a staffer mis-step controversy instead of getting his message out. If he keeps having days like that, well, it won't be good for him. No matter how much they say they're sorry.
P.S.: Really Stephen, attacking Stephane Dion on national unity? Really? Good luck with that one buddy. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
A study in contrasts: 44% female candidates in BC
On a day when NDP leader Jack Layton, under attack from the YWCA and feminists such as Judy Rebick for his since hastily abandoned refusal to let Elizabeth May participate in the leaders debates, in British Columbia the Liberal Party was announcing 16 of its 36 confirmed candidates in the province are women. That's 44 per cent, exceeding Stephane Dion's target of 33 per cent.
It's also worth noting, of course, that unlike Jack Layton, who only capitulated to allowing May to debate in the face of fierce opposition, an inability to get his message out, and 75 per cent opposition within his own party, from the start Stephane Dion put democracy ahead of politics in insisting May had to be included.
Doing the right thing from the start is always much easier.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
From the War Room: Harper's BC visit
My first blog entry from inside the War Room of the Liberal campaign in BC is now online at TeamBC.ca:
War Room Blog: Stephen Harper misses the BC experienceRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
I’m told on good authority Vancouver is a beautiful city. Alas, as my time outside our War Room at an undisclosed downtown location (Dick Cheney’s undisclosed location is around the corner) has passed mainly in the darkened hours, I’m unable to confirm the beauty of fair Vancity.
(more)
NDP Trick or treat?
Here’s one way to get a good crowd out to a rally with your politician: invite a bunch of unemployed mill workers, and tell them it’s a union meeting about their severance and employment insurance. Apparently it really fills a hall:
A handful of unemployed mill workers in northern Ontario say they were tricked into showing up for a town hall meeting Tuesday night featuring NDP leader Jack Layton.
The Canadian Energy and Paperworkers Union in Thunder Bay apparently sent an email to its members advising them of a 6 p.m. gathering in Thunder Bay, but made no mention that it was a political rally, said several workers who didn't want to be named.
Showing up at the local Ukrainian centre, they were surprised to see a campaign bus parked outside.
"I got an email from the union stating that it concerned our severance and (employment insurance) and I thought it was maybe some training issues,"said one former sawmill worker as he sipped a coffee and gawked at the lights and television cameras.
For the record, the NDP says it totally wasn’t their fault. Much like Puffin-gate was the fault of an overzealous staffer, this, says the NDP, the invite snafu was the fault of an errant union member.
Nevertheless, the incident sent the NDP into damage control, prompting a statement that blamed the affair on "a local union member" who sent an invitation to a few of his buddies.
"The email apparently failed to mention that it was a partisan event, and a handful of people showed up unaware of the nature of the event," said Karl Belanger, the NDP's campaign spokesman.
"Even though we had no part in sending this invitation, we are sorry for any inconvenience it may have caused."
That's probably pretty close to the truth. I doubt Jack Layton gathered the team and said let's hoodwink some unemployed mill workers. Maybe some mid or low-level organizer got a little overzealous. The puffin thing though: The Conservatives have been pulling that, well, crap on their Web site for years now. It wasn't an overzealous staffer: it's a philosophy. They just finally got called on it.
The common trend for Tuesday though seems to be, from bird-pooping video artists to union-organizing stealth partisans, it’s just so hard to find good help these days. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Mayencourt and Insite: You be the judge
Following-up on my post from on Tuesday on the video of Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Centre Lorne Mayencourt refusing to get pinned-down to a position on the Insite safe injection site, later in the day Mayencourt was a little more forthcoming with Public Eye Online’s Sean Holman, having apparently received the talking points from Stephen Harper and Tony Clement: never mind what you supported as a member of the Campbell government last week; you’re a Harper Conservative now, so Insite bad.
Mayencourt also claimed, bizarrely, that the Young Liberals’ video was “disingenuous” and cherry-picked clips. Yes Lorne, it’s called editing. He seemed to be implying things were taken out of context though. So, the Liberals released the full, unedited interview so people could judge for themselves.
First, the edited clip:
And now the full interview:
I think you’ll agree the full interview shows nothing was taken our of context or edited unfairly. It also shows many other answers to other questions by Mayencourt, where he demonstrates an unfortunate lack of understanding of just what Insite is about, what it’s accomplishing (property crime is down), and of the community support (business groups once opposed are now onside).
The Globe had a pretty good hit on this later in the day:
Hedy Fry, Liberal MP in Vancouver Centre, is challenging her expected Tory rival to explain whether or not he supports attacks that Health Minister Tony Clement has levelled on the Insite safe-injection facility in the Downtown Eastside.
Lorne Mayencourt, a Liberal MLA in a riding that overlaps Vancouver Centre, is expected to nab the Tory nomination in the riding. As a member of the B.C. legislature, he sat with a government that has been strongly supportive of Insite, located in an adjoining riding but an issue that affects all of the downtown.
In recent weeks, however, Mr. Clement has suggested that doctors who permit or encourage patients to shoot up at Insite lack medical ethics. In August, he told the annual gathering of the Canadian Medical Association that Insite has created a “slippery slope” for physicians, wondering aloud whether it was “unethical” for them to support the administration of drugs that cannot otherwise be legally used. “This is a profound moral issue and when Canadians are fully informed of it, I believe they will reject it on principle,” he has said.
During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Fry said Mr. Mayencourt should take a stand on Mr. Clement's views.
Insite needs to be a bigger issue in this campaign, and not just in BC – Insite is a national test site. This is an issue that speaks to the fundamental differences in approach between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives: we favour a comprehensive approach from cracking down on crime to harm reduction and treatment, they just want the tough on crime part.
That’s not the Canadian way, and it just doesn’t work anyways. Mayencourt can’t run from the issue, and neither can the rest of his new party. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Video: Conservative MP running away from Harper and Clement
The Conservatives have recruited a candidate of some profile to carry their banner against Hedy Fry in Vancouver-Centre: Lorne Mayencourt, who resigned as the MLA for Vancouver-Burard and was nominated as the Conservative candidate last night.
As an MLA, Lorne Mayencourt was a member of a B.C. government that supported Insite. Lorne’s former boss (as in a few days ago), Premier Gordon Campbell, has been calling on Stephen Harper (Lorne’s new boss) to keep Insite open:
Premier Gordon Campbell urged the federal Conservative government Monday not to close Insite, the controversial supervised injection facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
"It's part of the solution," Campbell told reporters, when asked about speculation that the Harper government's new anti-drug strategy, to be unveiled this week, won't renew the federal exemption allowing the site to operate.
Harper, of course, and by Health Minister Tony Clement, has been extremely anti-Insite:
The World Health Organization has strongly endorsed safe injection sites like Vancouver's Insite as one of the “priority interventions” that countries should implement to slow the spread of HIV-AIDS, a view that was swiftly and firmly rejected by Canada's Health Minister.
“Allowing and/or encouraging people to inject heroin into their veins is not harm reduction, it is the opposite. … We believe it is a form of harm addition,” Tony Clement said Tuesday in Mexico City, where he is attending the XVII International AIDS Conference.
So, two polar extremes from Lorne’s old party and his new one. Where will Mr. Mayencourt come down on the issue? As you'll see from this video interview with Lorne and some Liberal youth recorded last night after his nomination meeting, no where at all...
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Monday, September 08, 2008
Stephen Harper: Wanted in BC on charges of Promise Breaking
I’m not the only one that’s B.C.-bound today. Stephen Harper flew into Lotus Land last night, where I’m told he has a scant one event on the agenda for the day before leaving the province in the evening: a tightly-controlled meeting with a pre-selected, pre-screened “real family.”
Were British Columbians to actually get a chance to talk to the Prime Minister though, they may want to ask him about this Web site: www.PromiseBreakers.ca.
Launched this morning by the Liberal campaign in BC, the Promise Breakers site contains an extensive audit of the Conservative Party’s 2006 platform for BC and details the lengthily list of promises be broke to British Columbians, from fixed election dates and government accountability to leaky condos. All with supporting background and links to back-up the Harper failures.
For example, on softwood (one of many broken promises by Harper on this vital BC issue):
What Stephen Harper promised…
Platform: Work to return more than $5 billion in illegal softwood lumber tariffs to Canadian producers.What Stephen Harper delivered…
Harper forfeited $1 billion in illegal U.S. duties in the agreement, despite NAFTA rulings in Canada’s favour, breaking his promise to British Columbians.
Trade Minister David Emerson: “The agreement…puts more than US $4 billion back into the pockets of Canadian exporters.”
Harper moved the goalposts: “The return of most of the duties collected on softwood lumber.”
BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Stephen Atkinson: “Why would you give 22 per cent to your competition? This money belongs to the companies and their shareholders, and the Canadian government is giving it away.”
No wonder Stephen Harper is avoiding any unscripted interaction with un-screened British Columbians. He has a lot to answer for. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
A BCer in BC once more
With the election campaign underway, this afternoon I'll be beginning a five-week leave from my day job and flying back to my homeland of Beautiful British Columbia this evening for the duration of the election team.
I'll be joining the communications team of the Liberal campaign in B.C. where, in addition to helping with our out-reach to the online community, I'll be writing an "Inside the War Room" blog for the TeamBC.ca Web site, a behind the scenes look at the communications strategy and the campaign across BC during the election.
Think of something similar to what Scott Feschuk did in the last campaign, but with slightly less references to vague 1980s television sitcoms. But only slightly less.
I hope to cross-post those posts here and to remain as active as possible here blogging throughout the campaign.
However it goes without saying, of course, that anything I write on this blog does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Liberal Party, Stephane Dion, my Mom, or any other group or organization I may be associated with, have been associated with, or may be associated with in the future.
Less than 10 hours till the ocean, salt air and the mountains. Can't wait…
Sunday, September 07, 2008
First Liberal TV ad debuts
The Liberal Party has debuted its first TV ads, one in english and one en francais. Have a look:
It's on the Green Shift. Clean, simple, clear ad, good message. I like the fact they're leading with the economic argument: jobs, investment, lower taxes, economist approval. This is the tack we need to lead with when selling the Green Shift. Good ad.
If all you're seeing is a black screen, you either don't have the latest version of Adobe Flash, or you're using a 64-bit browser. I've been having the same problem with Firefox. I was able to get it to work in the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer, which you should have even if you're running the 64-bit edition of Windows Vista. I'm told the LPC is aware of, and working on the issue. If you're unable to view the embed, you can still view it on the site.
Why is Stephen Harper scared of Elizabeth May?
The leaders debates will be October 1st and 2nd in Ottawa, reports the Globe. Or will they...
There are concerns that Ms. May could throw her support behind the Liberals toward the end of the election, and the Conservative Party and the NDP have expressed strong reservations about her participation in the debate.
While the Liberals agree with inviting Ms. May, it's not clear that the Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will agree to appear if she is on the set.
Stephen, I've met Elizabeth, and she's really very nice. There's absolutely no need to run from the set in fright if you see her standing there.
Seriously. She won't bite. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Video: Stepane Dion on the campaign launch
Here's Stephane Dion's speech in the foyer of the House of Commons this morning, following the launch of the federal election campaign.
Also, be sure to check out the impressively re-designed Liberal Web site, which launched this morning with lots of video, content, and social networking features.
Launching this morning as well is the new Web site for the Liberal campaign in B.C., be sure to check it out too.
And we're off to the races
And so with the writ dropped this morning, we're off to the races. At long last the seemingly never-ending phony-war is over, and it's time to get down to brass tacks. This one's for all the marbles. The team that executes their game plan, sticks to fundamentals, gets the breaks, and gives 110% will come-out on top.
OK, enough with the cliches.
I'm just glad the election is underway. Because now everyone has a chance to either sink or swim.
For the Greens, we'll see if they can finally transition their support, and their temporary MP, into elected members.
For the BQ, with sovereignty on the wain, no sponsorship bogeyman and the resurgent Conservatives in rural Quebec, will they redefine themselves or become a rump?
For the NDP, will their bigger budget and aggressive strategy translate into seats, and a Quebec breakthrough, or was Thomas Mulcair a fluke, and will the Liberal Green Shift help or squeeze them?
For the Conservatives, are Canadians ready to trust Stephen Harper with more power or is his growth potential tapped-out, and will he be able to keep his anger in-check and caucus on message?
And, for my Liberal Party, it's finally a chance for Stephane Dion to put it on the line, and show if he has what it takes. Before you can implement all these great policy ideas, you need to form a government. Can he kick it into gear and prove himself an able campaigner, or will he fulfill the Conservative propaganda against him? Will the low expectations that have been created help or hinder?
In one way or another, by the evening of October 14th we'll have answers to all the questions we armchair observers and bloggers have been obsessing over for the past few years.
On the expectations side, it varies, but each of the leaders has a lot on the line, and many of them could be on their way out, depending on the results.
For the Greens, Elizabeth May has bet a lot both on getting into the debates, and her psuedo-alliance with the Liberals. If she doesn't get results for her efforts, she may not last.
Gilles Duceppe nearly left the BQ last year, he's been in the job forever, if they drop a chunk of seats to the Conservatives he may call it quits, by choice or not.
The NDP is betting big and spending big. Jack Layton has steadily increased his seat count in each election. He needs to continue that forward momentum, and by more than a handful given their budget and expectation level. Otherwise, it may be time to pass the baton to the next generation.
For the Conservatives, the goal obviously needs to be a majority. After one of the lengthier minorities in memory, constant attack ads, an opponent they mock and ridicule as weak and ineffective, and a taxpayer-funded spending spree that would make Paris Hilton blush, if Harper can't deliver a majority now, he probably never will. That said, I think he would survive with an increased minority. Anything less though, and the writing would be on the wall.
And then there's my Liberals. Barring an apocalypse or something, I don't see a majority as possible. However, I do believe a Liberal minority is achievable, and that's likely the goal for Stephane Dion. Could he survive with anything less? That's debatable. Certainly, with a Liberal minority his position is secure. What if he holds the Conservatives to a tigher minority though, increases our seat count? I don't know. Part of me says Liberal leaders historicically always can two election shots, but all of me also knows the Liberal Party. So I'll just say this: get a Liberal minority, and we don't need to worry about it.
I suppose this is the point where I make some predictions. Well, I feel safe in saying this: no one will get a majority. Looking at the swing ridings and the vote distribution, I don't think the Conservatives have the growth potential to get there.
So, a minority for who then? As I said, I think my Liberals can form a minority. Were I a betting man, I'd put our odds at around 50/50. Which is actually better than you'll get at most Vegas casino games.
So I'll go out a small limb, unsurprisingly, and predict a Liberal minority. It's achievable if we run a smart, disciplined campaign. It's achievable if Stephane Dion performs as the campaigner I know he can be. And, of course, like in Vegas we'll need a little luck.
I feel, though, that we have the leader, the team, and the plan that Canadians will respond to. If we do our jobs, we can make it happen. It won't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. I look forward to the challenge.
CNN: Canadian PM employs loophole in potential power grab
Didn't Stephen Harper just say something about improving Canada's standing in the eyes of the world?
Well, Canada's Back, baby! What a headline from CNN...
Canadian PM employs loophole in potential power grabRecommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
TORONTO, Canada (AP) -- Canada's prime minister dissolved Parliament on Sunday and called an early election for next month in hopes of strengthening his Conservative minority government's hold on power.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party needs an additional 28 seats to have a majority in Parliament. Although he has downplayed that possibility, polls in recent days indicate his right wing party has a chance to do so.
The October 14 election will be Canada's third ballot in four years.
(more)
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Petition to protest Harper's cuts to the arts
The Professional Association of Canadian Theaters is circulating a petition “Canada supports the arts” to protest the ideologically-driven slashing of arts funding by the Stephen Harper Conservative government.
It's worth noting that, according to Statistics Canada, for every $1.00 that the government invests in arts and cultural activities and programs, another $5.00 is created in both spinoffs and matching corporate investments. That makes the $48 million cut by the Conservatives more like removing $240,000,000 of economic activity from the Canadian economy
The goal is 10,000 signatures, they're at just over 3700 today. Here's the petition letter, and you can sign here:
Canadians depend on our artists and their work to tell Canadian stories. Government investment is a crucial element of cultural diplomacy in every developed nation including Canada. The arts contribute to GDP, enhance Canada's international reputation, and make Canada a more innovate and creative country.Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
The loss of $48.8 million in arts and culture funding is a loss to all Canadians.
We call on the Government of Canada to partner with the arts and culture sector to create new innovative policies and programs, to refine and enhance existing policies and programs and as a minimum commitment to make significant ongoing investments in arts and culture at 2008.2009 levels, through the Canada Council for the Arts, the departments of Canadian Heritage, Finance and Foreign Affairs and International Trade, for the benefit of Canada and Canadians.
Caption contest: Emerson and Solberg
I haven't had a caption contest in what seems like forever. But with the news that both David Emerson and Monte Solberg are leaving the Harper government, this picture is just dying for captions.
And on Monte, I'm genuinely sad to see him go. Partisan disagreements aside, he seemed like a pretty good guy, a sincere guy, and a competent minister that did his job diligently. In opposition, he was a solid, capable opposition performer that caught my eye as a student on the hill in the late 90s, and an early pioneer of political blogging in Canada. He's still a young guy so it's odd to see him leave, particularly given it's a fairly safe seat. Still, I wish him well.
Anyway, caption away!
Harper's $8.8 billion spending spree
As the Canadian Press reports, Stephen Harper's Conservative government is on a pre-election speding-spree. The Canadian Taxpayer's Federation tallies the running total at some $8.8 billion, with 2 days to go:
The Conservative government, which is on the verge of launching a national election campaign, has pledged $8.8-billion as part of 293 announcements in the last three months, according to figures released Friday by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
...
Over the last number of weeks, the government has issued a myriad spending announcements - such as $80-million to help revive a mothballed auto engine plant in Windsor, Ont.; $2.9-million aimed at helping organic spinach farmers; and $2,000 for a festival in Shag Harbour, N.S., to commemorate a 1967 UFO sighting. Those announcements continue today and are expected to continue up until Sunday morning.
"I wouldn't want to be a government bookkeeper when the waves of spending receipts from July and August crash into the finance department," Mr. Williamson said. "Of course, taxpayers will be even more distraught, and some livid, since they are responsible for paying the government's bills."
Now, of course all governments do this sort of thing. I recall Paul Martin rang-up a hefty bill in 2005 that was one for the record books. He said at the time this was all stuff already in the pipe, and with the opposition forcing an election they had to rush it out. Partly true, I'm sure, and partly pure electioneering. And the Conservatives say now much the same thing, that all this spending was booked in the last budget, although the CTF seems concerned this may slide us unto deficit.
Anyway, pre-election spending sprees are to governments as coffee is to Tim Horton's. Nevertheless, as it often is with the Conservative Party, the issue here is really the difference between their rhetoric and their reality. They were vehemently opposed to this kind of thing before. They'd never do it, they said:
"The Liberal party thinks public money is a party election fund," said Harper.
He said it's hard to take the government seriously when it promises billions of new dollars for everything from residential school compensation to new planes for the air force.
"Since most of these announcements aren't funded in any of the three budgets the Liberals tabled this year, why should anyone believe these promises?" Harper said.
That was 2005, though. Things have changed.
Now they held the pursestrings.
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Friday, September 05, 2008
David Emerson: Conservative Party has no vision or strategy
Interesting news today that David Emerson, the turncoat Liberal turned Conservative cabinet minister that decided not to let the public pass judgment on his floor-crossing by seeking re-election, has been named one of the Conservative campaign co-chairs, along with one-time Conservative bright light Bernard Lord.
The less than dynamic duo follow in the footsteps of an even less inspiring pair, John Reynolds and Michael Fortier. Reynolds, of course, went onto be a non-lobbyist and Fortier was infamously called-up to the Senate, where he remains today at last check.
I have to confess to being a little surprised at the Emerson appointment. He's always seemed more an executive than a politician...indeed, he always seemed to eschew the whole political game.
He could get into it from time to time, though. Such as the speech he gave to the convention of the Liberal Party of Canada (British Columbia) in November of 2004 (which the Vancouver Sun has handily posted on its Web site), the fall after he was first elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal MP.
For those Conservatives just getting to know Emerson the politician, the speech is informative reading.
For example, he sees the Conservatives as vulnerable in BC:
There should be no assumption of Conservative dominance in the future.
And what does David think of the Conservative Party?
The Conservative Party and NDP have a lot in common. They are both trapped and confined by ideology, an ideology that precludes many of middle-of-the-road, moderate solutions to the challenges Canada faces today. Their narrow focus shrinks their political base. They are drawn to policy extremes that divide, rather than unify. I look at the Conservative Party, and the way they have exploited negative sentiments in BC. There has been no positive vision or strategy.Wow. Anything to add about the Conservatives, David?
Are BC’s issues top of mind in Ottawa because of all those Conservative MPs? No.
Clearly, despite their numbers from BC, the leadership of the Conservative Party is more focused on Eastern Canada than ever before. ...we have a Conservative Party without a social heart...narrow, extreme, and out of step with mainstream British Columbians.
What do the Liberals stand for, and why are, er, were you one?
They want dependable health care.
They want environmental protection.
They want a good education for their kids.
They want secure jobs, and they want a local future for their kids. They want fair-minded and balanced government, that will bring people together, whether to pursue economic development or address key social concerns.
They want prudence and integrity in the way government manages taxpayers’ hard-earned money. They want us to balance the budget. They want us to invest surpluses wisely.
They have a sense of compassion for those in society who are vulnerable, through circumstances out of their control. British Columbians do not want people left behind.
They believe in equality – equality of opportunity, equality of treatment, equality under the law… they believe in social justice.
These are widely held beliefs, here in BC, and across Canada. I’m an optimistic Liberal because those are my beliefs.
And I am Liberal because those are Liberal beliefs.
Couldn't have put it better myself David.
Mr. Emerson, what did the Liberal Party do for BC?
The RAV Line, 2010 Olympics, the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Kicking Horse Pass highway upgrade, the Port of Prince Rupert… these are important priorities we are delivering on.
We have delivered on returning the GST to BC communities. And the balance of the “New Deal for Cities and Communities” will provide for positive, environmentally sustainable on our transformation where people live.
Yes, he's David Emerson, your Conservative campaign co-chair. And he's still Stephen Harper's worst nightmare.
UPDATE: Forgive me for missing this comment by David on Friday...
"I was never a Liberal," he told CBC News on Friday, during an interview in which he explained why he chose not to run again in the riding of Vancouver-Kingsway.
...which makes his comments highlighted above...
"I am Liberal because those are Liberal beliefs"
...all the more interesting.
A man can change his mind, of course. But can he re-write history, even if it was all the way back in 2004?
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Jack Layton's NDP concedes the election before it even begins
I probably won’t be saying this much, so take note as I’m saying it now. I actually agree with Jack Layton on something: I think he’d be a great opposition leader.
All full of righteous anger, much sound and fury signifying nothing, lots of feet-stomping, the freedom to attack without the responsibility to actually do anything... isn't that the perfect job for Jack Layton?
NDP strategist Lavigne: "We want to get the message across that we are better at taking on Harper than Dion is."I invite Jack Layton (who seems to be conceding a Harper victory in his election, perhaps a majority if he gets lucky) to by all means carry-on with his plan to turn this campaign into a 30+-day job application for Opposition.
While we wouldn't be betting the farm on a Liberal meltdown and Layton's becoming official opposition leader, the stars certainly aren't aligning for Dion so far.
As Lavigne says: "The entire campaign as it now stands comes down to one word: Leadership."
In the mean time, Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party are going to talk with Canadians about why we actually want to lead this country, and why Stephane Dion should be the next Prime Minister of Canada.
Layton can talk about why he’s the best to oppose Harper. The Liberals will talk about why we’re the best to replace Harper.
Layton can talk about how he’ll try to curb the Harper agenda. The Liberals will talk about our own agenda for Canada.
Let Layton explain why he can best keep Harper in check. The Liberals will be explaining why our plans on climate change, on poverty, on health care and on infrastructure are the best choice for Canadians.
Layton can talk about what he’s going to oppose. Dion and the Liberals will be talking about what we’re going to do.
We’re not electing an opposition Jack, we’re electing a government. You can set your eyes on Stornaway if you want, but we’re looking at 24 Sussex.
P.S. We've heard from the NDP and the Cons that Elizabeth May shouldn't be in the debates because she thinks Dion should be the next Prime Minister. Since Layton is only running for opposition leader, does that mean we can exclude him too?
UPDATE: Liberal MP Ujal Dosanjh, a former NDP Premier of B.C., weighs-in:
“I believe that the next election is about the future of
Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Setting the record straight on Blair Wilson
When West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Blair Wilson joined the Green Party after the Liberal Party repeatedly refused to accept him back due to ethical concerns and questions about his business history, Wilson and May set about downplaying the circumstances that led to his being asked to leave the Liberal caucus, and then now being allowed back.
They both stuck to the line that he had been “largely” cleared of “major” wrongdoing by Elections Canada (actually, he admitted to three violations of the Elections Act, which doesn’t generally divide rules between must-follow and follow if you feel like it), glossing over the fact that it was his legal and business history, and the fact that he didn’t disclose a lot of pertinent information (including 23 lawsuits) during the nomination process, that led to his parting from the Liberals.
Here’s what he said in a statement:
The party's provincial "Green Light Committee", which vets all candidates, had earlier rejected Mr. Wilson candidacy based on personal information that was inaccurate and untested. He was not given an opportunity to defend himself before the committee and there was no appeal process.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. In a letter to the North Shore News yesterday two members of that Green Light Committee, Dean Crawford and Martin MacLachlans, set the record straight on the process around the vetting of Wilson and his disqualification as a Liberal candidate:
Our searches revealed that Wilson, or companies of which he was an officer or director, had been involved in as many as 23 legal proceedings that he had not disclosed on his nomination forms or at any time afterward. Based on our review, we concluded that Wilson was required to disclose most, if not all, of these proceedings on the nomination forms he filed with the Liberal Party but had failed to do so.
…
By failing to disclose those proceedings, however, Wilson denied the green light committee the opportunity to thoroughly assess his suitability as a candidate. Instead, we learned of a number of these proceedings when the general public learned of them -- by reading the newspaper.
And Wilson’s claim that “He was not given an opportunity to defend himself before the committee” appears to be false as well:
We provided Wilson a draft of our report and initially requested a response within two days, but offered an extension of time to respond if he needed it. Wilson did take the extra time and had nearly three weeks to comment on the draft report. He ultimately did make submissions to us through his lawyer, Jay Straith, and those submissions were taken into account before we completed the report.
The whole column is really worth reading as it brings some needed facts to the Wilson saga and puts the whole affair into context.
Wilson’s lack of forthrightness on the circumstances of his departure from the Liberal Party actually seems appropriate, though, as it’s indicative of the behaviour that led to his being asked to leave to leave the party in the first place. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Green shifting forward
In other green shift news, the Liberal Party added yet another high-profile candidate Wednesday:
Stephane Dion fine tuned his carbon-tax plan to make it more palatable to farmers, loggers, truckers and fishers Wednesday as he snagged Canada's highest-profile farmer as a Liberal election candidate.Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Canadian Federation of Agriculture President Bob Friesen is the Liberal candidate for Charleswood-St. James, the Grits third attempt to wrest the riding from Tory control.
The announcement came this afternoon as Liberal Leader Stephane Dion rallied his caucus in Winnipeg with two huge tweaks to his Green Shift plan to help farmers and truckers cope with extra taxes on fuel.
...
Friesen, who has sold his farm near Wawanesa and is planning to buy a home in Winnipeg’s western suburb, said farmers will embrace the changes to the Green Shift plan.
Friesen will take on Steven Fletcher, who has bested former Winnipeg Mayor Glen Murray and former MLA John Loewen in the riding.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Has consultation become a foreign word in Stephen Harper's Ottawa?
Here’s how the online edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines consultation:
Main Entry: con•sul•ta•tion
Pronunciation:\ˌkän(t)-səl-ˈtā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1: council, conference; specifically : a deliberation between physicians on a case or its treatment
2: the act of consulting or conferring
Most of us learned the word back in grade school but vocabulary must be one of those use it or lose it type things, because the Ottawa press corps seems to have forgotten what it means:
Caucus pressure drives Dion to make green-plan concessions
JANE TABER
SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER
September 3, 2008
WINNIPEG -- Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is changing his controversial carbon tax plan on the eve of an expected election campaign amid pressure from his caucus members.
The policy will now incorporate breaks for farmers, truckers and fishermen in the form of subsidies to help buy equipment to reduce use of diesel fuel.
Mr. Dion will announce the changes in his plan regarding the farming sector today in Winnipeg, where he is attending his national caucus summer retreat. The subsidies to the other sectors will be announced later, sources said.
The Conservatives are trying to frame this as some kind of embarrassing climb-down for Stephane Dion, like he’s being forced into making concessions by Green Shift opponents. And a gullible media is playing along.
It's nonsense.
Maybe it really does seem like that to journalists have political observers who have had their minds warped by Stephen Harper’s control-freak Ottawa, a town where Harper and Doug Finley decide what selected demographic population segments want to hear, talking-points are dispatched to those MPs allowed to appear in public and anyone that meanders off-script gets whacked. That may be the new Ottawa normal, but it wasn’t always so.
It may seem weird and strange when contrasted with The Harper Way, but what’s happening with The Green Shift is exactly how policy is supposed to be developed. Policy is put out there, MPs talk to their constituents and gather feedback, bring those concerns back to the party, and the policy is tweaked as appropriate.
Not only is that how policy is supposed to be developed, not only is it an important facet of the functioning of a truly democratic party, but it also just plain makes for better policy. As a Canadian from a ruralish area, even if I do now reside in Hogtown, I was concerned that the Green Shift might not have done enough to address the realities of life of non-urban Canadians, so I’m pleased there will be some tweaks.
And this process serves to underline the diversity of the Liberal caucus. We’ve got people that can speak to the concerns of farmers, to the concerns of rural and Northern residents, to the concerns of urbanites. Getting all their input, and adjusting the Green Shift plan to recognize their constituencies’ legitimate concerns, make this a better policy. And no matter how Stephen Harper may define it, in my view listening, consultation and dialogue is how I would to define leadership.
When contrasted with the authoritarian command and control of Harper, I’ll choose Dion’s open and consultative style any day of the week. When presented with the contrast and the choice, I think Canadians will too.
UPDATE: Jason has some thoughts and so does BCL. And Danielle too. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Conservative cabinet ministers jumping ship: Emerson, Hearn head for the lifeboats
From coast to coast, Conservative cabinet ministers are jumping-off the floundering ship of state that is Stephen Harper's cabinet. OK, it's only two ministers, but they're on opposite sides of the country so it's still an accurate statement. I hear Ryan Sparrow says they're leaving because they hate The Green Shift.First, on the right coast (if only geographically) we can say goodbye to fisheries minister Loyola Hearn of Newfoundland, who is expected to shortly announce his retirement and his intention not to run in the imminent election:
Hearn is retiring after spending decades in politics as a Newfoundland provincial cabinet minister and later as a federal Tory MP and cabinet minister.
He served as education minister in the province before joining the federal Progressive Conservative party. He then became the first House leader for the new Conservative party.
In the last year, Hearn defended Newfoundland and Labrador's seal hunters after the European Union threatened a possible ban on seal products from Canada.
Hearn also weathered several attacks from Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams over Ottawa's equalization formula for the provinces. Williams has said he will do everything in his power to defeat the federal Tories.
Has Danny claimed his first casualty in his war on the Harper Conservatives before the election is even underway? Just days ago, Loyola was full of piss and vinegar, sticking-it to Danny-boy hard and looking ready to go down fighting:
In his statement, Mr. Hearn took a swipe at the government led by Mr. Williams on a number of issues, including the quality of drinking water in the province after a series of boil water advisories were issued.Maybe someone pointed-out to Loyola that attacking someone over boil-water advisories when your government is under fire to having advocated lower listeria and food safety standards just before a major public health crisis that has now claimed at least 12 lives is kind of a bad idea.
It also appeared to dismiss Mr. Williams as a threat to the federal Tories.
“Voters will make up their own minds as to how they will vote in the upcoming federal election, whenever it will be, based on what's best for their families, their communities and their wallets,” Mr. Hearn said.
Hearn always seemed like a decent guy, so I wish him well in his twilight years. One can't help but wonder though if he's getting while the getting is good. With Danny on the war-path and Harper's broken equalization promises, the Conservatives could be facing a wipe-out in Newfoundland and Labrador.
And is this a sudden decision on Loyola's part? Generally, if a minister doesn't intend to seek re-election, they inform the PM before the last cabinet shuffle so some fresh talent can get a shot at the cabinet table. Then again, looking at the weak Harper front bench, Hearn probably had to stay on.
Emerson de-elects himself
Meanwhile, back out on the left coast, the best coast, Harper is losing the only B.C minister he had that had demonstrated any competence (OK, Stockwell Day hasn't jet-skied anywhere, but that's grading on a curve) with David Emerson's apparent decision to call it quits:Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, one of the bright stars in the Conservative cabinet, will not be running in the election expected to be called on Sunday, CTV News has learned.
Emerson won the riding of Vancouver Kingsway in the last election and switched to the Tories when Stephen Harper formed a government.
He was unlikely to win this working class riding as a Conservative although the party was prepared to find him a safer riding.
But sources say Emerson decided he didn't want to make the lengthy commute back and forth to the capital.
Emerson is considered to be one of the most experienced cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government. As the minister of international trade, he managed to reach a softwood lumber agreement with the United States, ending a long-simmering trade dispute.
By reach a softwood lumber agreement, they mean surrender a billion dollars in fines illegally collected by the U.S. from our cash-strapped lumber producers and turn it over to their competition in the States to launch more legal attacks on our industry. A real victory for Canada, that was.
This isn't really a surprising decision by Emerson. He never really liked politics or campaigning. Being a cabinet minister, he liked though. I'm almost sad to see him not run again just to see, if he won re-election and the Liberals formed a government, if he'd try to cross back over again. Perhaps he's already been told not going to happen?
He likely wouldn't have won re-election anyway, not as a Conservative, but it's still good news for Wendy Yuan, our Liberal candidate in Vancouver-Kingsway who has been working hard on the ground for some time now to re-claim this riding for the Liberals. Good news also for Liberal MP Joyce Murray in Vancouver Quadra, another riding where Emerson was rumoured to be landing.
And across the country, it's not looking good for Harper ministers. Emerson and Hearn, gone voluntarily before they could lose at the polls. Tony “foot in mouth” Clement in trouble, and both John "you can't see our green plan but trust me its super-awesome" Baird and Jim “I hate my province” Flaherty will be in real fights. Even poor Senator Michael Fortier has to actually run for something now. And Peter McKay better hope Elizabeth May gets kept out of the leader's debates.
Hopefully the last one out will turn off the lights.
New Liberal candidate
Meanwhile, in Liberal-land, we're actually gaining candidates:REGINA - Former Regina City Police Chief Calvin Johnston will be the Liberal candidate for Palliser, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced today.
“I am proud that Calvin Johnston has decided to run as the Liberal candidate for the riding of Palliser,” said Mr. Dion at a press conference in Regina. “As former Chief of Police of Regina, Mr. Johnston understands that the most effective way to tackle crime is not simply through tougher prison sentences, but it is also about addressing the root causes of crime. This is why Mr. Johnston was so successful in making Regina a safer place.”
Born and raised in Regina, Mr. Johnston became Chief of the Regina Police Service in September, 1998, after serving in the Calgary Police Service for 18 years.
With the retirement of incumbent David Batters (who has been dealing with health issues and who I wish well), Johnston running for the Liberals makes Palliser an interesting race. A former police chief coming on board also makes it harder for the Conservatives to attack the Liberals on law and order issues, although I have every confidence my Conservative friends will rise to the occasion, so to speak.
UPDATE: The news that launched a thousand ship sinking metaphors. Or at least three. But it's still early. Give us time. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
All's not well in Conservativeland
For a guy that's such a leader, Stephen Harper seems to be having a good deal of trouble keeping his fellow Conservatives on message and on the team. And the campaign hasn't even started yet.
You'll recall that last week, an election looming, Harper's justice minister Rob Nicholson hastily convened a last-minute press conference to announce, minus any actual legislation, research or supporting materials, that he was killing Conservative backbencher Ken Epp's Bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Act and replacing it with his own legislation.
"We've heard the criticism from across the country, including representatives from the medical community, that Mr. Epp's bill could be interpreted as instilling fetal right," Nicholson said.
He said the new bill was specifically worded to avoid that interpretation.
"This bill will be very clear and straightforward, and the bill will not be misinterpreted," he said, noting that Epp had not yet been informed that another bill was being introduced to replace his.
This hasty decision coming after many, many months of Harper and this very Conservative government insisting that they had no problem with Epp's bill, nothing to do with abortion, we'll have a free-vote, nothing to see here.
Of course, we'll never see Nicholson's bill. And Epp's bill will die on the order paper along with this parliament. The press conference was just a PR exercise to make the Harper gang seem more palatable to mainstream Canada going into an election.
Unfortunately for Harper, Epp refused to go quietly into that sweet goodnight:
Epp, an Edmonton Tory, said he was given no warning of the pending government legislation.
"I definitely will not be withdrawing my bill," Epp told Sun Media. "They're quite different. I don't intend to let up."
Epp's retiring, so there's little Harper can do to him. But he's not the only one raging against the phony dying of the socially-conservative light:
The list of MPs who have pledged their continued support for C-484 are:
David Anderson, MP, Cypress Hills-Grasslands
Rod Bruinooge, MP, Winnipeg South
Royal Galipeau, MP, Ottawa-Orléans
Colin Mayes, MP, Okanagan-Shuswap
Myron Thompson, MP, Wild Rose
Brad Trost, MP, Saskatoon-Humboldt
Maurice Vellacott, MP, Saskatoon-Wanuskewin
Chris Warkentin, MP, Peace River
That's eight members of the Conservative caucus defying the will of the PMO and continuing to loudly and publicly support a bill Harper wants to kill. And their defiance is all the more interesting, given that the election will kill the bill anyway. So they don't really have to speak-up, except to preserve their so-con creds. One wonders though how The Dear Leader feels about eight of his MPs telling him to stick it?
Maybe not so bad, if Nicholson's press conference was just for show and Harper really doesn't want to kill Epp's bill after all (h/t BCL):
I called my MP's office (Dean Allison) for clarification regarding the apparent Conservative abandonment of Bill C-484...The Conservatives are not abandoning or distancing themselves from Bill C-484 or abortion. In fact, it is a mistake to view Nicholson's recently proposed alternative as such.
Or in other words, don't pay attention to a word Nicholson said, that was just meant for the ears of mushy centrist voters, we're still totally cool. Either Harper's justice minister is full of hot air, or he has eight MPs giving him the finger. Which is it Steve?
Meanwhile, out in Newfoundland, the province's Conservative premier is gearing-up to go to war with Stephen Harper's very Conservative government, and will even be making a cameo appearance in Ontario:
Premier Danny Williams is poised to take his campaign against Stephen Harper on to the national stage when a federal election is called, pushing his argument that the Prime Minister betrayed Newfoundland and Labrador.
He'll be taking it to them back in Newfoundland too, and has already been engaged in a nasty war of words with his federal cousins. It seems Harper's culture cuts aren't playing too well in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Williams government plans to make-up the cuts to its artists from provincial funds.
You'd think that the Harper Conservatives wouldn't care how a province spends money in its own domain, after all, I hear the Cons are big on provincial rights and separation of powers. Not when it embarrasses them though:
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, the federal minister responsible for the province, accused Mr. Williams on Friday of trying to score political points that are not supported by the facts.
Really? Has Loyola visited his party's Web site lately? But I digress.
In his statement, Mr. Hearn took a swipe at the government led by Mr. Williams on a number of issues, including the quality of drinking water in the province after a series of boil water advisories were issued.
It also appeared to dismiss Mr. Williams as a threat to the federal Tories.
“Voters will make up their own minds as to how they will vote in the upcoming federal election, whenever it will be, based on what's best for their families, their communities and their wallets,” Mr. Hearn said.
Boil water advisories, Loyola. Do you really want to go there?
I don't think Danny's campaign will have much impact in Ontario, but if I were a Conservative MP in Newfoundland and Labrador I'd be updating my resume. I think Hearn's fright is showing. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Monday, September 01, 2008
Harper and Dion reach detente, peace in our time!
OK, not really. Stephane Dion did meet with Stephen Harper today in Ottawa, if for no other reason than to see if there's any way he'll be able to jimmy his couch in through the front door next month, or if they'll need to take off the legs first.
The meeting went exactly as you'd think. Stephen Harper asked Dion to pinky-swear the Liberals will never, ever defeat him. Dion said we can't do that, we'll look at each bill you present on its merits. That wasn't good enough for Harper, naturally, so it's likely to an election we go.
Besides making the point quite well that Harper's demand for a blank check is “a joke” and defining what some of the election issues will be, I thought Dion make a good point on the by-elections. He made the point that Harper only had to call three by-elections, he had lots of time before he had to call Don Valley West:
Sunday he called a fourth (by-election) in Don Valley West, and then on Monday he started talking about a general election. I asked him what happened during that night to ask supporters to work a whole summer, to use the taxpayers' money, for nothing. But I didn't get an answer.
What did suddenly change? Did Parliament suddenly stop functioning overnight? Is there a reason why Harper wanted tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a by-election he didn't have to call when he knew he would be pre-empting it with a general election?
Actually, there is. He doesn't care about wasting taxpayer dollars. Not if he can force the Liberals to expend financial resources on a by-election that will never happen. It's all part of his plan to destroy us and what not, just ask Tom Flanagan. But that's another post.
So, by this time next week we'll be in an election. Let the games begin. I'm looking forward to it, and I like our chances. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
Passing sentence on the Conservative Party
Even with Stephen Harper's mad, frightened dash to get into an election before the house of cards that is his alleged reputation for “leadership and competence” comes tumbling down, there are still a some interesting time-bombs that could blow-up in his face mid-campaign.
Just off hand, there's Julie Couillard's tell-all book, telling her life story from cavorting with biker gang members to canoodling with former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier and his classified briefs. It's release date is Oct. 14, but count on some juicy excerpts being released to the hungry media hordes mid-campaign to maximize publicity.
The catalog says the book will cover Couillard's life from her upbringing in a modest Montreal suburb through her relationships with men embroiled in the world of Montreal's criminal biker gangs through to her experiences in the corridors of power on the arm of former Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier where she met a number of world leaders including U.S. President George W. Bush.
Moreover, it looks like Couillard is going to use the book to set the record straight and settle more than a few scores. "In this profoundly human autobiography, she responds to the multiple lies, half-truths and speculation that has been written about her over the course of the last few months," reads the catalog.
Then there's Stephen Harper's lawsuit against the Liberal Party for libel relating to the Chuck Cadman affair and the allegations the Conservatives offered a $1 million life insurance policy to the dying MP if he voted with the Conservatives in a confidence vote. Speaking of which, Harper still has yet to explain just what he meant by “financial considerations”, just who supposedly doctored the recording of him talking about it, why they'd do that, how any editing would change the meaning of what he said...basically, he's offered no credible explanation for the affair or his role in it.
Anyway, the lawsuit is proceeding and the next hearing should take place during the campaign:
But Mr. Dearden revealed that the next hearing in the case — a potentially explosive court drama that could take place in the midst of an expected federal election campaign — may now have to be postponed.
Postpone, now why would Harper's lawyer want to do that? I thought he wanted this case to proceed expeditiously, to hold those dastardly Liberals to account for their libelous libels? I guess that takes back-seat to headlines mid-campaign reminding us of allegations of the Conservatives trying to buy off MPs. But doesn't he want his personality back before the election?
Lastly for our campaign calendar, there's a federal court hearing relating to the death penalty, always a meaty campaign topic. You may recall that shortly coming to power, Harper and Stockwell Day decided they didn't really care anymore if Canadians got executed abroad, ending a long-running policy of seeking clemency for Canadians facing the death penalty in other countries.
The widely expected mid-October federal election would see one of the Conservative government's most controversial decisions -- its refusal to seek clemency for a Canadian on death row in the United States -- put on trial at the height of the campaign.
The Federal Court of Canada has scheduled a two-day judicial review of Canada's new policy on the death penalty to begin Sept. 29 in Toronto.
A legal team representing Alberta-born murderer Ronald Smith, 50, and government lawyers will present opposing arguments about the October 2007 policy change, which ended a long-standing federal practice of automatically seeking clemency for any Canadian facing execution in a foreign country.
This should generate some interesting debate mid-campaign. Canadians have firmly rejected the death penalty as morally unconscionable and unacceptable to our legal system. The Conservatives are going to have to explain to Canadians why they are doing an end-run around that consensus, and explain whether or not this is the beginning of a plan to re-introduce capital punishment in Canada. If we won't accept capital punishment here, we shouldn't abandon our citizens to it overseas, no matter how heinous their crimes. Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers
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