The fact that this page was made a while back does not change the fact that too many Canadians are dissatisfied with the status quo political parties, the Cons and the Lieberals included, I do not blame them for it too, and Canadians now still do want a decent, better governments, not ones that lie, break their own political promises, spin the facts, clearly do not care about the voters except at election times. http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/there-is-no-new-thing-under-the-sun/
For all those distorters who NOW DO make this big deal about the conservatives having THE 30 percent support, they need to be reminded that 70 percent do not support the conservatives firstly, and that also these same minority federal conservatives are a minority government who never had, and never will have a majority government, something that really ticks off Stephen Harper. Secondly neither will the Liberals have a majority government if all they can do is bash the Conservatives and do nothing else good.
Con man PM Stephen Harper just can not make a majority government and that really frustrates him that he does not deserve one always.
New Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has been a great dissapointment, he is seen as just another no different, uncaring Con man by many too.
June election likley cause Liberals believe they can get a majority government.. PM Harper is afraid of this.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Canada’s Liberal Party, which has been climbing in recent opinion polls, is also regaining its financial footing and the political unity it needs to fight a new election, leader Michael Ignatieff said on Thursday. But Ignatieff added he was still in no rush to force an election so soon after last October’s vote, and told party activists they still had hard work to do to regain the Liberals’ standing as a “national institution” that could elect candidates in all parts of the country.. “We have a unified party. We have a party out of debt. And we have a party basically ready to fight an election,” he told reporters in Vancouver at the start of the Liberal’s Party national convention.
Key Liberal policy resolutions under consideration by Canadian Liberal party riding presidents, members Canada wide..
- A carbon tax proposal. One resolution, proposed by the Quebec wing of the party, calls on a Liberal government to unconditionally commit to meeting the Kyoto Protocol targets, enacting legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that would include “establishing a carbon tax, a cap and trade system or a combination of both.” Another, proposed by the British Columbia wing of the party, calls on a Liberal government to consider “all mechanisms of investment, incentive and taxation” to combat global warming and stimulate sustainable economic growth. Ignatieff, the leader has already signalled he wants no part of a carbon tax, no matter what delegates have to say on the subject. Ignatieff has disavowed the concept since taking over the helm of the party last December. “We took the carbon tax to the public and the public didn’t think it was such a good idea,” he said last month. “I’m trying to get myself elected here and if the public, after mature consideration, think that’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard then I’ve got to listen.”-And another one calls on a Liberal government to ensure “equitable sharing of natural resources.” Provinces, particularly resource-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan, have always jealously guarded their natural resources, which are strictly under provincial jurisdiction, from federal intrusions.
-Another one also from Quebec, urges a Liberal government to expand the mandate of the Canadian Human Rights Commission to include citizenship status and socio-economic class as prohibited grounds of discrimination.
-Another priority resolution under consideration is calling on a Liberal government to adopt a plan to reduce poverty by 30 per cent over five years and child poverty by 50 per cent over the same period.
Other resolutions would commit the party to spending billions should Liberals regain power. They include calls for:
-A national, publicly funded child care program
-Increased maternity and parental leave benefits, which would be extended to part-time and self-employed workers.
-Expanded medicare to include publicly funded home care, dental and vision and mental health care.
-Endorsement of the principles of the $5-billion Kelowna Accord to improve the lot of aboriginal peoples.
-Development of a national electrical power grid.
-Enforceable national clean water standards and binding legislation prohibiting bulk water exports.
-An “aggressive” affordable housing program.
-Expansion of passenger rail “in every possible way across Canada.”
-A guaranteed living standard for all full-time adult workers, above the poverty line in each region.
Riding presidents have already passed over a number of resolutions that likely would have generated definate controversy. Among those that will not not make it to the convention were resolutions calling for the legalization of assisted suicide, elimination of the monarchy and financial penalties for provinces that refuse to provide abortions.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090410/national/liberals_policy
Quebec’s population is aging faster than that of any other province, except perhaps Newfoundland and Labrador. Its economy also grew more slowly than that of any other province during the good times. Hence, in many ways, the real urgency for economic reform is in Quebec, not Ontario.
And the prime minister’s line of attack against Michael Ignatieff in Moncton this week was a little over the top and a little intriguing. Here’s what Harper said, as quoted by the Globe and Mail: “Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal party, when this matter (the Brian Mulroney-Karlheinz Schreiber inquiry) first broke, were practically demanding that I throw Mr. Mulroney in prison without a trial. Now they’re out there pretending that somehow they’re his best friends and they don’t agree with any of this. I think that what Canadians will see is when it comes to a very difficult issue of government conduct and government ethics, the government has behaved responsibly and the other party, the other leader, has absolutely no moral compass.” No moral compass? Interesting.
Harper was a founding member of the Reform party. In the early 1990s Reform didn’t care much for government. It despised the notion of special status for Quebec. And it absolutely couldn’t abide deficits. Reform campaigned against Mulroney’s big-spending ways, his forelock-tugging to Quebec soft nationalists and his central Canadian bias. The Reform party didn’t believe there could be such a thing as a gay marriage. As recently as the early 2000s Harper didn’t believe in climate change. He thought it was a fad dreamed up by eco nuts.
Flash forward to today. Harper heads a government that has blown the doors off public spending in each of its three years in power. It formally declared “the Quebecois” — a distinct ethnic sub group within the province of Quebec — a nation within Canada. His government has repeatedly turned its back on calls from the Christian right for a ban on gay marriage. His government proposes a strict North America-wide regime to curb greenhouse gas emissions. And his government is hurriedly undoing the results of 13 years of painful fiscal discipline, which began with the Paul Martin deficit-breaking budget in 1995.
Harper’s overtures to the centre have been well documented. He’s trying to win a majority, for which he needs broad support. But his policy shifts present an obvious risk, particularly as he accuses Ignatieff — or anyone else — of moral shilly-shallying. All this because the Liberal leader telephoned a former prime minister to wish him a happy 70th birthday? The risk/reward doesn’t stack up. Unless maybe there’s something else at work.
In a speech to Conservative partisans in Ottawa recently, Harper defined the core values of conservatism as “freedom, faith and the family.” No doubt that made some western conservative jaws drop. The new Harper is all about big government and state intervention. Since when do the Harper Conservatives officially care about faith? The family, in any traditional sense? Ditto.
Harper must be hearing from the people who first sent him to Ottawa — fiscally and socially conservative Albertans — that they don’t care for his centrist playbook. It cost them core ideas without delivering majority power. So, why bother?
If this is true — if Harper’s recent references to faith and morals are part of a new strategy to play the social conservative card — then one conclusion comes into focus. The Conservatives are more rattled by recent events than they’ve let on, to the point where they’re contemplating abandoning eastern Canada and any hopes of a majority and retreating to their western stronghold. http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/2009/04/10/9074636-sun.html
“ Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s otherwise inexplicable public attack on Russia earlier this year for daring to fly a military plane in international air space near Canada.Even U.S. military officials found MacKay’s tirade unwarranted.Some have suggested that MacKay did this as part of his failed bid to become NATO secretary-general. If so, it was a doomed gesture. The more logical explanation is that MacKay, like Cannon and Kenney, was acting under orders to appease the Conservative base and allow control-conscious Harper to reassert his grip.”
Meanwhile Conservative International Trade Minister Stockwell Day MP last week delivered another speech with an ardent defence of Israel, lauded Canada’s relative good position in the world economic crisis, and pledged Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unwavering commitment to upholding human rights. Day talked about how the Conservative Party – both in opposition and in power – has not wavered in its support of Israel and when he spoke about the Tory stance against anti-Semitism, as well as for the government’s United Nations voting record and its position on terrorism. It was the Tories who pledged to reverse decades of Canadian voting at the United Nations that either supported or abstained from resolutions critical of Israel, Day said. “We said then, ‘If the government ever changes, that will, too,’” Day said. The Conservatives under Harper have lived up to the promise by supporting Israel at the UN and refusing to attend “Durban 2” (the followup to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, at which Israel was singled out as racist), he said.
Calgary West Conservatives battle for leadership April 09, 2009 Two-thirds of Alberta’s cardholding Conservatives have to send in a ballot before a race will be held. After weeks of jockeying, the fate of the Conservative nomination in the Calgary West riding now rests in the hands of the party’s voters. Ballots were mailed out to Conservative Party members across Canada asking whether they want their sitting Member of Parliament to be automatically named the party’s nominee or if a nomination contest should be held. Two Conservatives who will be paying close attention to the vote are sitting Calgary West MP Rob Anders and Donna Kennedy-Glans. Kennedy-Glans has been spearheading the Our Calgary West campaign since early this year with the goal of running against Anders for the party’s nomination in the next federal election. The two-thirds threshold for a nomination race was introduced by the Conservative Party’s national council last month. University of Calgary political science professor Dr. Lisa Young felt that the rule change gives incumbents a distinct advantage in nomination challenges, Nomination ballots are due in Ottawa by April 30. According to party policies, any resultant nomination processes would begin within 90 days. http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/story/13505
These perverse Conservative leaders supsend real deomcracy, instead of counting all real votes, they will now count all votes not mailed in as being a no vote instead of being a yes vote.. so what is new they have been fixing voting results for ages in Alberta.
“It’s been six weeks since President Barack Obama arrived in Canada where he wowed crowds, bought baked goods for the kids, supped on a mouth-watering lunch and met Prime Minister Harper, several cabinet ministers and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. But being a good host has its price. So, how much did Obama’s visit cost Canadian taxpayers? (INCLUDE THE COST OF THE RCMP SECURITY) Well, I really can’t tell you — because government officials say they can’t tell me. Just over a month ago, I filed an Access to Information Request with the Privy Council office. It read, “I am looking for a fulsome breakdown of all costs associated with the visit, but not limited to security, transportation, hospitality, hotels/lodging (for staff, police, etc.), food, per diem, etc.” I received an official answer today. It is comprised of three pieces of paper. As far as I can tell, it is the title page of a caterer’s proposal for the luncheon. It contains no information. It is followed by a piece of paper telling me pages two and three are exempted pursuant to sections 20(1)(c) of the Access to Information Act. For those of you who don’t live and breathe this stuff, that section relates to information that could result in material financial loss or gain to a third party. It costs $5 to file an Access to Information Request. ” AND YOU TEND TO GET NOTHING IN RETURN.. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/politicalbytes/2009/04/and_the_cost_is.html
“Yes, the Conservatives have strengthened accountability in the federal government in 21 ways, and tried to strengthen it is another six ways, mainly through their Federal Accountability Act. However, the Conservatives have weakened accountability in eight ways, and failed to keep 27 democratic reform promises. This is a very similar record as the Liberals under Jean Chretien from 1994 to 2003. Breaking so many election promises, especially promises to increase government accountability, is one of the most cynicism-breeding things a government can do. Very unfortunately, the Harper Conservatives and Chretien Liberals went even further, both misleading voters by claiming they had kept promises they had actually broken. As a result, overall Democracy Watch’s report card gives the Conservatives’ an E — the same failing grade the Chretien Liberals received. Another Accountability Act containing the more than 30 measures left out by the Conservatives, as well as a few dozen other key measures, is needed to actually clean up the federal government. If they want increased voter support to help them win elections, all MPs have to do is start supporting each other, instead of serving their party leaders, and respond to voters’ concerns and frustrations by making these key democratizing changes. Duff Conacher, Coordinator Democracy Watch Ottawa”
Hypocritical, lying Tories want watchdog for Senate, while they themselves still have often failed to keep their own past promises. The Harper government wants an Ethics Act for senators today cannot live up to it’s own promised ethics, accountability, and transparency. It’s at subjecting senators to oversight from the same ethics officer who monitors the conduct of Members of Parliament is unacceptable, a power hungry PM is clearly control mongering again. Conservative and Liberal senators have rightfully said a separate Senate ethics watchdog should be created in order to keep the upper chamber independent. Conservatives intend to reintroduce bills by the end of the month that would impose an eight-year limit on senators’ terms and require future senators to be elected. These Bills have no chance of passing through a Liberal dominated senate but makes a great diversions from the negative realities PM Stephen Harper is facing, and are a good basis for more monetary donation appeals to the Albertan who want them implemented. Harper is worried about a possible June federal election. Canadian priority rather rightfully still is unemployment, job creation, EI benefits, dealing with the swine flu and crooked cops.
NDP vows to abandon gas tax, increase BC deficit Globe and Mail - VANCOUVER — New Democratic Party Leader Carole James unveiled her election platform yesterday, vowing to scrap what she calls “Gordon Campbell’s gas tax” and run a bigger deficit in a bid to kick-start a flagging provincial economy.
Now with both provincial and federal elections becoming often now a possibility serious policy changes are being discussed by Liberals, New Democrats now as well.
Does anyone believe a federal election will make a difference, or in truth just another wasteful stalemate, especially when the bad Conservatives are mostly just as bad as the bad Liberals.
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