from a class="b2" href="http://www.Wednesday-Night.com/Wed1424.asp" onmouseover="return overlib('click to Wednesday-Night.com/Wed1424.asp ', LEFT);" onmouseout="return nd();" target="_" > Wed1424
A footnote to this week’s federal politics that you may have missed is the poor grade that Tom Flanagan gave to his previous star pupil, Stephen Harper.
Sunday 14 June 2009 CAMBRIDGE: FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEY 4/5THs SPENT
Canada's prime minister says the federal government has spent 80 per cent of the $22.7 billion set aside to stimulate the economy. Stephen Harper also says that some 3,000 projects are underway. The prime minister says the spending is putting Canada on the path to economic recovery. Mr. Harper spoke Thursday in Cambridge, ON, where he delivered his second quarterly progress report on stimulus spending. Three-hundred-and-sixty-three-thousand Canadians have lost their jobs in the economic downturn. However, job losses have slowed considerably since December. Mr. Harper also predicted that the federal deficit will come in at $50.2 billion, a figure similar to that acknowledged in late May by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, whose January budget had offered a figure of $34 billion. Mr. Flaherty denied he was abandoning plans to eliminate the deficit in four years. The Toronto-Dominion Bank recently projected the government will take at least six years to get out of deficit, by which time it will have racked up over $172 billion in debt, twice the budget projections. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says he'll read Mr. Harper's economic progress report before deciding whether to bring down the federal minority government. Mr. Ignatieff says he could make a decision as early as Friday. Both the New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Québécois have signaled their intentions to vote against the government's efforts to stimulate a sagging economy. If all three opposition parties vote against the update on a non-confidence motion, the government would fall and a summer election ensue.
Sunday 14 June 2009 CAMBRIDGE: OTTAWA TO CHANGE EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE RULES
Speaking on another topic, Mr. Harper has acknowledged that the administration of employment insurance isn't perfect and needs some changes, which could be announced in the fall. He didn't specify what the changes will be. The opposition Liberal Party wants a national criterion of 360 hours of work for eligibility and has threatened to overthrow the minority Conservative Party government if it doesn't act. The Conservatives have ridiculed the suggestion, saying it would cost too much and is unrealistic. At present, EI eligibility depends on the unemployment rate in a given region, and the qualification period varies between 420 hours to 700 hours of work.
Thursday 14 May 2009 OTTAWA: EMPLOYMENT RELIEF COULD TRIGGER ELECTION
Canada's Prime Minister says he's willing to fight an election over employment insurance if the opposition Liberal party is up to the challenge. Stephen Harper made the threat in Parliament Wednesday. It was prompted by a recent call by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff for the Conservative government to reform the employment insurance program. Weeks ago, he said a failure to change the eligibility rules by setting a minimum threshold of 360 hours to collect benefits could force an election. Mr. Ignatieff admits that a change in the rules would cost taxpayers $1.5 billion a year, but should only be put in place during tough economic times, such as the present.
Sunday 03 May 2009 OTTAWA: NEW STUDY RECOMMENDS END TO AT-HOME MAIL DELIVERY
An independent study carried out for the federal government is recommending that Canada Post consider dropping door-to-door mail delivery. The study was chaired by Mount Allison University president Robert Campbell. It says that picking up mail at a community box is much cheaper. It says that during the recession and global economic downturn, it is necessary to economize. Canada Post is a federally owned corporation.
April 30, 2009Harper's in deep, deep trouble? -
A good leader knows when he's in trouble. And Stephen Harper, on his 50th birthday, is in deep trouble. He's in trouble in the country, especially in Quebec ...more
Saturday 02 May 2009 EDGELY: PM ADVISES OFFICIAL OPPOSITION AGAINST ELECTION
Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper has advised the opposition Liberal Party against forcing a national election, saying that the present is a time for all four parties in the House of Commons to work together. Mr. Harper offered a similar message after the last election in October produced a second Conservative minority government. The prime minister followed his offer by including a provision in the government's fall economic message that reduced public funding for the opposition parties. The Liberals have appeared set to end their pattern of voting in the House with the government in confidence votes. Conservative sources have told the Canadian Press that their strategy will be to avoid an election this year by seeking co-operation with the NDP and Bloc Québécois on ad-hoc issues, then delaying the presentation of the next budget until March. By that time, the electorate would presumably be in a tolerant mood toward the government in the afterglow of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, particularly if the recession has abated.
26 Apr 2009 Garth Turner Unplugged
Garth Turner was kicked out of the Conservative party for criticizing the Prime Minister and spilling caucus secrets. We ask the former MP: is his new book an insider's tell-all or a maverick's revenge?
Saturday 18 April 2009 OTTAWA: PM DEPARTS FOR SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has arrived in Trinidad and Tobago for this weekend's Summit of the Americas on Friday morning, accompanied by his foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, and Minister of State Peter Kent. The summit themes include energy security, environmental sustainability and democratic governance. The secretary general of the Organization of American States, José Miguel Insulza, says the occasion is an opportunity to give new life to the event. He told the Canadian Press that he hopes concrete results will emerge from the meeting, as did from the G20 summit several weeks ago, when participating nations pledged $1 trillion to help international financial institutions and to facilitate world trade. The last summit four years ago in Argentina was widely seen as a failure. The proposal by the U.S., Canada and a handful of other countries to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas collapsed and has not since be revived.
Monday 30 March 2009 NEW YORK: PRIME MINISTER STAGES AMERICAN MEDIA BLITZ
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in the United States this weekend for a series of American media interviews. He was scheduled to appear on the Fox News network as well as on CNN. Mr. Harper wants to speak with the international media about Canada's position on global issues ahead of the Group of 20 summit in London and the NATO summit in Prague next month.
Friday 27 March 2009 OTTAWA: FEDERAL BUDGET SITUATION DETERIORATES
Canada's public budget officer says the federal government is likely to fall about $9 billion further into the hole over the next two years than the budget projected in January. Kevin Page told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that the economy has deteriorated so much since the January budget that any stimulus from increased government spending will have been swamped by lower growth. Mr. Page says Ottawa will record a deficit of about $38 billion this fiscal year and $35 billion in 2010-11, about $9 billion more over the two years than Ottawa projected. As well, he says 385,000 jobs will vanish in the first half of this year. The Canadian economy shed about 212,000 jobs in the first two months of 2009.
Friday 27 March 2009 QUEBEC CITY: PM DEFENDS ECONOMIC FORECAST
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended his government's economic forecasts. Speaking near Quebec City on Thursday, Mr. Harper said the Conservatives' projections were based on a survey of the best private-sector forecasters across the country. And Mr. Harper says Canada is in a period of enormous uncertainty during which projections are changing extremely rapidly. The country's parliamentary budget officer said Wednesday that Canada's economy has deteriorated so badly since Ottawa introduced its budget that more jobs have already vanished than the $40-billion stimulus package was intended to create. Kevin Page's latest report shows an economy that entered freefall in the first quarter of this year and erased most of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's projections when he tabled the budget in January.
Sunday 15 March 2009 MONTREAL: OPPOSITION LEADER ACCUSES PRIME MINISTER OF COVERUP
The leader of the opposition Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, is accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of dishonesty when talking about unemployment and the economy. Mr. Ignatieff says that it's time that the Harper government stopped claiming that Canada is better off than the United States. Mr. Ignatieff says that for every ten jobs lost in the United States, Canada is losing 15. The latest figures show that Canada lost more than 82,000 jobs in February, increasing the jobless rate to 7.7 per cent.
Friday 13 March 2009 OTTAWA: OPPOSITION IN TURNAROUND ON FEDERAL BUDGET
The Conservative government's budget implementation bill was approved by the Liberal-dominated Senate on Thursday by a vote of 50-4 and was expected to receive royal assent in the course of the evening. Until Thursday, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff had rejected the government's demands quickly to pass the budget bill and accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government of having created an "artificial crisis" by accusing the Senate of footdragging. Mr. Ignatieff explained his change of heart by the discovery by a Liberal senator that unless the legislation were passed immediately, some recipients of employment insurance risked losing five weeks of benefits. A spokesman for the prime minister commented that either the Liberals were too incompetent to understand the budget bill or were in fact "...playing games all along."
Wednesday 11 March 2009 BRAMPTON: PM ANNOUNCES ACTION AGAINST RECESSION
Canada's prime minister says the government is acting with unprecedented speed to end the recession. Stephen Harper says that within the next three weeks, the government will be in a position to inject $20 billion into the economy. In his first major speech since the beginning of the recession in Canada, Mr. Harper called the current economic crisis an opportunity for Canadians because Canada has real advantages and real assets. He also says Canadians should not hesitate to remind investors, partners and leaders around the world of Canada's comparative strengths. He reminded his audience that Canada entered the global recession in a position of strength compared to other countries and is in a good position for economic growth when the recession ends.
Sunday 01 March 2009 TORONTO: PRIME MINISTER CALLS AFGHANISTAN A TEST FOR NATO
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is calling Afghanistan a major test for NATO. In an interview with the American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Harper warned that the failure of NATO's mission could have major ramifications for the military alliance. NATO's mission in Afghanistan is its first outside the borders of the alliance's members. Mr. Harper noted that in Afghanistan, NATO had undertaken what he called a United Nations mission. He said that the mission must succeed or the future of NATO would be in doubt. Canada has about 2,500 soldiers in southern Afghanistan on a mission that is due to end in 2011. In the same interview, Mr. Harper described the ideology of the Iranian government as evil, adding that his government was a strong supporter of Israel. He said that Iranian threats to Israel were unacceptable. Canada's relations with Iran became strained in 2003, when an Iranian-Canadian photographer, Zahra Kazemi, was arrested in Tehran and died in police custody under suspicious circumstances.
Friday 27 February 2009 BURNABY: PM WARNS OF INFLATION DANGER
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has warned that the stimulus measures taken by his government and governments around the world risk triggering inflation. The prime minister says that when governments and central banks are aggressively spending and borrowing, inflation may result when economies improve. However, he added that in Canada the risk is short- rather than long-term. Last month, Mr. Harper's government presented a budget that it predicted would cause a deficit of $62 billion over the next two years. The prime minister needs the support of at least one of the three opposition parties in the House of Commons for it to be approved and he is calling on the opposition to co-operate to get the budget passed and the money flowing.
OTTAWA: PM DEFENDS EMERGENCY
Meanwhile, Mr. Harper has defended the $3-billion stimulus fund which his government has created to accelerate spending for economic recovery, a fund which the Bloc Québécois has described as a slush fund. The fund would be drawn upon as early as April 1, almost three months sooner than the traditional moment when Parliament approves supplementary budget spending. The money isn't earmarked for any particular program but is rather a general fund into which government departments can tap to speed up projects. Both the Bloc and the New Democratic Party criticized the scheme, NDP MP Thomas Mulcair comparing it with the the sponsorship program scandal, which was created in response to the national unity crisis of the 1990s. The Conservatives retorted by accusing Mr. Mulcair of hypocrisy, the NDP having demanded for months that the government fast-track spending for infrastructure projects.
Monday 23 February 2009 NIAGARA FALLS: LARGE TURNOUT FOR ONTARIO TORY MEETING
More than one thousand people attended a three-day convention of Ontario's opposition Progressive Conservative Party, the largest number to participate in over a decade. Party members were reported to have refrained from criticizng leader John Tory, who has not held a legislature seat for 15 months. He is running in a byelection on March 5. Mr. Tory said afterward that the closed-door session was about issues, particularly Ontario's struggling economy. But party members also defeated a proposal that would have limited the amount of time that someone could remain leader without a seat in the legislature.
Monday 09 February 2009 MEXICO CITY: TWO LEADERS OPPOSE U.S. PROTECTIONISM
Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, and Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, say they will challenge any move to introduce protectionist measures in North America. The two leaders are concerned about statements made last year during the U.S. presidential election campaign by Barack Obama. Mr. Obama at the time wanted to make changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement signed in the early 1990s to ease trade restrictions. Mr. Obama said that the pact causes job losses for American workers. The Canadian prime minister and Mexican president say the best way to speed up economic recovery is by improving competitiveness. They spoke by telephone on Wednesday. U.S. president Obama will visit Canada later this month. Trade issues will be high on the agenda.
Sunday 01 February 2009 The death of the Conservative agenda There's a hilarious right-wing talking point making the rounds on talk radio to explain why the Conservatives brought in a great lumbering leviathan of a left-wing budget this week: The Liberals made them do it. You can't blame the true believers for trying. After all, Jan. 27 marked the death of the Harper agenda and the end of a 21-year quest to bring genuine conservative policy to bear on this country. john.moore@cfrb.com - John Moore is the host of the drive home show on NewsTalk 1010 CFRB. Outside of Southern Ontario he can be heard at www.cfrb.com. more
Thursday 29 January 2009 Canada’s Conservative minority government announced an expansionary federal budget involving the first fiscal deficit since 1996, together with a bigger buy-up of mortgage-backed securities, in an effort to offset the economic slowdown. Opposition parties criticised some of the details of the budget, but seemed unlikely to try to bring the government down. See article
Sun 25/01/200 OTTAWA: PRIME MINISTER DEFENDS NEED FOR FEDERAL DEFICIT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is defending the CDN$34 billion deficit that will be announced on Tuesday in the next federal budget. Mr. Harper says that major government spending is essential to restore the confidence of consumers and corporations during the global economic crisis. Mr. Harper says that his minority government is prepared for an election if the opposition parties vote against the budget.
Wednesday 07 January 2009 TORONTO: PRESSURE MOUNTS ON TORY TO FIND A SEAT
Pressure is mounting for Ontario's Progressive Conservative leader, John Tory, to either find a seat in the provincial legislature or resign. Some Conservatives say Mr. Tory's inability to find a seat since a 2007 provincial election is hurting morale. Conservatives will consider a proposal next month that would require the leader to find a seat within 18 months of an election. Mr. Tory is expected to outline his future this Friday after failing to meet a self-imposed deadline to find a riding in which he can run.
2008
Thursday 01 January 2009 Marc Garneau and Lucas Kilravey are both committed to promoting the values and the vision of the Liberal Party of Canada and that of its Leader. We want a country that is more just, more green and more prosperous. We need you to help make it happen!
Friday 26 December 2008 OTTAWA: PM LOOKS ON BRIGHT SIDE
In his Christmas message, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has advised Canadians that 2009 will be a difficult year but that they should nonetheless be optimistic. Mr. Harper mentioned several historical milestones of this year, including Quebec City's 450th birthday, British Columbia's 150th and the 90th anniversary of the end of World War One, events which he said should remind Canadians how fortunate they are to live in Canada. Mr. Harper also encouraged his compatriots to think of Canadians serving abroad who couldn't be home for Christmas. The prime minister didn't mention the economic crisis that has gripped the country nor the political crisis in Parliament which could result in a dissolution when it resumes next year. The opposition Liberal Party leader, Michael Ignatieff, for his part urged Canadians to be mindless of those less fortunate, hoping for "...a new year of kindness and compassion toward others."
Wednesday 24 December 2008 OTTAWA: SENATE GETS NEW SENATORS
Eighteen people were named to Canada's Senate on Monday, including skiing champion Nancy Greene, former newscaster Pamela Wallin and television political analyst Mike Duffy. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his choices in Ottawa. The latest appointees will raise the number of Mr. Harper's Conservative Party supporters in the upper chamber of Canada's parliament, where Liberal Party appointees predominate. Canadian senators receive a generous annual salary and pension. Mr. Harper has proposed to have senators elected rather than appointed by the prime minister. [at least not Cline Dion]
Tuesday 16 December 2008 OTTAWA: FINANCE MINISTER CONSULTS OPPOSITION ON BUDGET
Conservative Party Finance Minister had consultations on his forthcoming budget with two opposition Liberal Party Members of Parliament on Monday. Jim Flaherty described his meeting with Scott Brison and John McCallum as "businesslike and worthwhile." Afterwards, the MPs said the minister conceded that his relatively optimistic projections in his Nov. 27 fiscal update were too rosy considering the economic deterioration since then. Mr. Flaherty had predicted a slim budget surplus and economic growth of .3 per cent next year. But since then, economic indicators have been grim, with the loss of 70,600 jobs in November. Last week, the Liberals demanded in a letter to the minister "honest budget numbers," details of a possible sale of government assets and an economic stimulus package. The Liberals also requested an answer by Dec. 19, saying that otherwise the party together with the New Democratic Party supported by the Bloc Québécois would overthrow the minority Conservative government. Several weeks ago, the Liberals and NDP formed an an alliance with the express purpose of achieving that, but the government avoided a confidence vote in the House of Commons by obtaining its suspension until Jan 26. Mr. Flaherty's budget is due on Jan. 27.
Friday 12 December 2008 OTTAWA: CONSERVATIVES TO NAME SLEW OF SENATORS
The Canadian Press reports that Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper intends to appoint 18 senators sympathetic to his political party before Christmas, while Parliament is suspended and Mr. Harper's minority government is threatened with a no-confidence vote at the end of January. CP received confirmation of the news from the prime minister's office. The prime minister has for years denounced a so-called unelected, undemocratic and unaccountable upper body of Parliament. His officials says Mr. Harper hasn't abandoned his commitment to fix terms for senators and the nomination of democratically chosen senators but one official explained that the present Liberal Party-dominated Senate has no taste for reform of any kind. He added that the prime minister will take advantage of the present situation to name the senators in light of the ongoing attempt of the Liberals and NDP supported by the Bloc Québécois to overthrow his government. The Senate has said it will consent to constitutional changes concerning itself only when the government gets a legal opinion from the Supreme Court of Canada. Liberal Sen. Serge Joyal says the Conservatives' real problem with Senate reform is the constitutional objections of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Wednesday 10 December 2008 OTTAWA: PM SEEKS TO SPLIT PROPOSED OPPOSITION COALITION
Conservative Party Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he wants to sit down with the new Liberal Party leader because the "big national parties" must work together in times of economic crisis. The Liberals and left-leaning New Democratic Party responded to the Conservatives "economic update" two weeks ago with an attempt to overthrow the government through a coalition supported by the separatist Bloc Québécois. The update contained provisions to end public financing of political parties and a temporary ban on public service strikes, the opposition complaining as well that it lacked an economic stimulus package. Mr. Harper's government averted defeat in a confidence vote in the House of Commons by obtaining a suspension of its session until Jan. 27, when a new budget will be presented.
Friday 05 December 2008 Canada halts parliament amid row
Canadian PM Stephen Harper secures a suspension of parliament, saving him from defeat in a confidence vote.
Thursday 04 December 2008 Canada PM vows to stop opposition
Canadian PM Stephen Harper says he will use "every legal means" to block an opposition plan to topple his government.
Wednesday 03 December 2008 OTTAWA: CONSERVATIVES WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT
The governing Conservative Party has pledged to fight for its existence against an attempt by the three opposition parties represented in the House of Commons to form a government. A senior Conservative official said on Tuesday that the party will use every legal means at its disposal to prevent the minority government from being overthrown. The opposition Liberal and New Democratic parties say they'll attempt to form their own minority government, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, which favours political independence for Quebec. A confidence vote on the government's fiscal update last week could take place on Dec. 8. Before then, Prime Minister Stephen Harper could ask the governor general, the Queen's representative, to suspend Parliament until the end of January, when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty could present a new budget. Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean could also choose to allow the Liberal and NDP form a government, or she could dissolve Parliament and allow another national election. Only six weeks ago, voters gave the Conservatives a reinforced minority.
Tuesday 02 December 2008 OTTAWA: CONSERVATIVES STUDYING ALL OPTIONS
Meanwhile, the Conservatives say they'll consider "all options" to prevent the opposition from ending their government. Prime Minister Stephen Harper delegated his environment minister, Jim Prentice, to speak for the government on the situation. Mr. Prentice has called the opposition agreement to overthrow the government "irresponsible and undemocratic," suggesting everyone "take a step back." The minister refused to rule out the government's option to prorogue Parliament, that is, to discontinue its session without formally ending it.
Sunday 30 November 2008 OTTAWA: HARPER GOVERNMENT REVERSES POSITION TO AVOID NON-CONFIDENCE VOTE
Facing threats from opposition parties and widespread media criticism, the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Saturday abandoned a plan to end government subsidies for political parties. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced the plan in his fiscal update on Thursday. Opposition parties said that they need the subsidies to conduct their operations. They threatened to vote against the plan next week, a move that would lead either to an election or to a coalition government of opposition parties. Kory Teneycke, Mr. Harper's communications director, said that the subsidy issue is not worth holding an election or risking a constitutional crisis. The Conservative Party won a minority government in a federal election in October. But the Conservative Party remains threatened. Parliamentarians of the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party might still go ahead and form a coalition if the government fails to propose a major economic stimulus package.
Friday 28 November 2008 OTTAWA: BUDGETARY VOTE COULD LEAD TO NEW ELECTION
The three opposition parties in Canada's House of Commons say they'll vote against the minority Conservative government's fiscal update presented on Thursday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, a development that would lead to another national election. The Liberal and New Democratic parties and the Bloc Québécois say they won't support Mr. Flaherty's measures because it offers no stimulus package to help cope with the economic slump. The fiscal update is a confidence measure that must pass a vote in the House or the government will fall and another election ensue. The last election took place only on Oct. 14. Mr. Flaherty acknowledged in his statement that the economy will shrink by one per cent in the fourth quarter and .4 per cent in the first quarter of next year before resuming growth but that the government will nonetheless have a budget surplus of $.8 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. The minister said that the government will study any additional actions needed to stimulate the economy beyond its recent tax cuts, but warns that any such could indeed lead to a deficit. His statement also eliminated a $1.95-per-vote federal subsidy for federal political parties.
20 November 2008 OTTAWA: GOVT. SETS OUT LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Canada's governor-general, Michaëlle Jean, has delivered a five-point plan to help Canada deal with the global financial crisis. In her Speech From the Throne on behalf of the governing Conservative Party, Miss Jean promised sound budgeting to ensure the country avoids continuing deficits. However, the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper does not rule out a deficit in the short term. The government promises to give more support to the automobile and aerospace industries, and to make the way it conducts business more efficient. The Throne Speech put forward a government promise to work with international partners to examine to and revise global financial rules. The Harper government also promised to focus on the environment, to help Canadians buying their first home and to ensure that Canadians are safe by taking tough action against crime and improving the administration of justice.
Wednesday 19 November 2008 OTTAWA: PARLIAMENT BACK
The House of Commons began its fall session on Tuesday by re-electing a Member of Parliament for the opposition Liberal Party as Speaker. Peter Milliken, who has held the job since 2001, retained his position after five ballots against seven challengers from three of the four parties represented in the House. After his re-election, Mr. Milliken expressed the wish that MPs will behave in a more orderly and polite fashion during the coming session. The House's daily question period is often the scene of great vituperation, rancour and contumely. All those who spoke on Tuesday expressed the hope of more serene exchanges among MPs. In addition to overseeing question period, the Speaker administers many of Parliament's functions. On Wednesday, MPs will hear Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean read the Speech From the Throne which will outline the government's legislative priorities.
MONTREAL: MP WANTS PM TO INTERVENE FOR CONDEMNED CANADIAN AT G-20
Member of Parliament Dan McTeague wants Mr. Harper to intervene with Saudi King Abdullah when he encounters him at the G-20 summit on behalf of a 23-year-old Canadian who has been condemned for murder. Mr. McTeague says this is a "golden opportunity" to show the Saudis that Canada takes the lives of Mohamed Kohail and his 18-year-old brother Sultan seriously. Both brothers have been found guilty of murder in a schoolyard brawl, the older brother facing beheading. The younger was condemned to 200 lashes and a year in jail, but he is to be retried in adult court and could therefore also be condemned to death. Amnesty International Canada has written to the Saudi ambassador in Ottawa asking him to intervene in the case.
WINNIPEG: TORIES HOLD NATIONAL CONGRESS
Some 2,000 federal Conservative Party militants are meeting in Winnipeg, MA, for their first national convention since the party won election in January 2006. The delegates are meeting behind closed doors to debate dozens of resolutions presented by all ridings, some bearing on such major subjects as fetus rights and criminal justice. Mr. Harper had indicated before the convention began that he wouldn't feel bound by resolution which it adopts and would give priority to the electoral platform written for the Oct. 14 election. Mr. Harper left the convention on Friday to fly to Washington. The convention ends on Saturday evening.
Friday 14 November 2008 OTTAWA: OTTAWA ADVISED TO SPEND TO STIMULATE ECONOMY
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will represent his country at the emergency meeting of heads of government of the G-20 grouping of states on Friday. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has issued its latest report on the state of the world economy in anticipation of the event. The OECD says that countries like Canada that have kept their fiscal house in order during good times are in the best position to increase stimulative spending. The report says that most of the world's wealthy nations are already in recession and will remain so for most of 2009. According to the OECD, the U.S. will suffer the most, with an economic contraction of .9 per cent. No figure was given for Canada. In an article in Thursday edition of the Financial Times, Mr. Flaherty explained that Canada will suggest to the G-20 leaders that his country's regulatory system of financial practices has buffered taxpayers from the commotions experienced elsewhere and deserve emulation.
WINNIPEG: OTTAWA CONSIDERS ASSET SALE
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says the Conservative government is weighing the sale of some of its assets to avoid a budget deficit. Mr. Flaherty did not say which ones but did mention the government stake in the CN Tower in Toronto and ruled out selling the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, which has a budget of about $1 billion a year. The minister made the remarks after coming out of the Conservative caucus meeting in Winnipeg, MA, and offered the grim assessment that financial conditions around the world are likely to get worse.
Sunday 09 November 2008 TORONTO: CANADA TO OPPOSE PROTECTIONISM AT G-20 SUMMIT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he'll propose selective but not massive improvements in international economic policy when he attends the G-20 summit in Washington next week. The prime minister says he'll argue against protectionist solutions to the current world financial crisis. Earlier in the week, Mr. Harper's officials said that he'll promote an international review of domestic measures aimed at alleviating the crisis. The prime minister was attending an economic seminar in Toronto on Thursday. He said afterwards that economists advised him not to be afraid of deficit spending if that's in the economy's best interest. Mr. Harper reiterated that there will be a budget surplus this year, but that the prospects for future years are uncertain. Mr. Harper will hold a brief meeting with the provincial premiers on Monday to prepare himself for the G-20 meeting. He has written them a letter inviting them to a more formal encounter at the beginning of next year to discuss the economic situation.
Thursday 06 November 2008 OTTAWA: PM CONGRATULATES U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has congratulated U.S. Democratic Party President-elect Barack Obama on his victory in the Nov. 4 election, saying he's looking forward to meeting him. Mr. Harper says his officials will be meeting with Mr. Obama's transition team and that it's important that both nations co-operate to ride out the deepening world economic crisis.
Tuesday 04 November 2008 OTTAWA: G-20 SUMMIT TO SEND 'CLEAR SIGNAL'
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh agreed on Monday that the next G-20 summit must show "unity" and send "a clear signal to international markets." The two leaders spoke by telephone to prepare the summit in Washington on Nov. 15 at which the leaders of 20 developed and emerging will gather. Last week, Mr. Harper discussed the world financial crisis and possible remedies with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Friday 31 October 2008 OTTAWA: NEW CABINET PRESENTED
Two weeks after winning a second consecutive Conservative Party minority government, Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, has announced a new enlarged cabinet. Thirty-eight ministers were sworn in on Thursday, seven more than in the previous cabinet. Among them are 11 women, including Gail Shea, the first Conservative Party member of parliament in Prince Edward Island in almost 25 years, who was appointed as fisheries minister. Some changes were made to major portfolios. The new foreign affairs minister is Lawrence Canon. Other new ministers are Stockwell Day in international trade, Jim Prentice in environment and Jason Kenny in immigration. Ministers who retained their portfolios are Peter MacKay in defence and Jim Flaherty in finance.
24 October 2008 'Chrétien left a time bomb'
Prime MPaulMartin inister Stephen Harper's decision to cut taxes to garner short-term political gain could make...
Monday 20 October 2008 Headlines
Canada makes pledge to developing nations at Francophone Summit.
Provincial premiers to discuss economic problems at meeting.
Speculation intensfies over future of Liberal Party leader.
QUEBEC CITY: CANADA MAKES PLEDGE TO DEVELOPING NATIONS AT FRANCOPHONE SUMMIT
Canada will give CDN$100 million to developing countries to fight climate change. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that developed countries such as Canada are in a position to help poorer nations. He spoke on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the francophone summit in Quebec City. Canada's pledge will go especially to countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Delegates from more than 60 nations attended the three-day summit of francophone countries. Developing nations expressed concern about a drop in world demand for their natural resources. The president of the Republic of the Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, told delegates that the global financial crisis will clearly damage his country and other developing nations that are reliant on commodities exports. However, others that rely on energy imports welcomed the recent drop in world oil prices. The president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, said that the global financial crisis primarily affects developed nations. At the start of the three-day summit on Friday, both the Francophonie Secretary General, Abdou Diouf, and Prime Minister Harper urged world leaders to be conscious of the impact of the crisis on poor nations. The next summit of francophone nations is in Madagascar in 2010.
Monday 13 October 2008 ST. TITE: POLITICAL LEADERS MAKING FINAL PITCHES BEFORE ELECTION
On Sunday, two days before the federal election on October 14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper suspended all news conferences apparently until after the vote. During the previous five weeks of the election campaign, Mr. Harper held a regular morning news conference. But campaigning in St. Tite, Quebec, on Sunday morning, he stopped the practice and instead spoke with a group of enthusiasts from Quebec's country-music capital. Opinion polls predict that his Conservative Party will win another minority-party government. On the same day, the Liberal Party leader, Stephane Dion, said that he will remain as party leader whether the Liberals form the next government or not. The New Democratic Party leader, Jack Layton, urged voters to give his party a chance. He campaigned through Ontario through seven communities and 12 ridings where the manufacturing sector has lost thousands of jobs. Gilles Duceppe, the Bloc Quebecois leader, campaigned in a Quebec City riding. His party has made recent voter gains in Quebec, where the Conservative Party had hoped to pick up enough extra seats to form a majority government. Elizabeth May of the Green Party told voters in Halifax that she profoundly disagrees with Stephane Dion's assertion that Green party voters across the country should switch to the Liberals. Ms. May said that she could see Green supporters switching their votes only in tight races.
Thursday 09 October 2008 TORONTO: TORIES FINALLY OFFER PLATFORM
The governing Conservative Party has presented its party platform, just six days before the Oct. 14 election, the four other main parties having already done so. The cost of the pledges in the platform would be $8.7 billion over four years. The document promises $200 million for the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative, a program that encourages strategic research and development to enhance the competitiveness of Canadian aerospace, defence, space and security companies; and a further $200 million for the Automotive Innovation Fund. The Conservatives also pledge the elimination of tariffs on a range of imported equipment, a measure which they say would save manufacturers $345 million a year. The platform promises as well to have the Senate "reformed or abolished." And in a gesture to the arts community, the Conservatives promise to abandon a controversial tax-credit eligibility change that artists claimed would give the government power to determine what films and television shows could be subsidized.
VANCOUVER: DION, LAYTON DERIDE TORY PLATFORM
Both Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and NDP leader Jack Layton dismissed the Conservative platform. Speaking in Vancouver, Mr. Dion said the proposal to help industry is "too little, too late." Mr. Dion has promised if elected to put an economic recovery plan in place within a month and to accelerate infrastructure spending to create jobs. Also in Vancouver, Mr. Layton said that the Conservatives' last-minute platform would offer nothing to Canadian families worried about pensions, savings and jobs. The NDP leader added that the $400 million promised to manufacturers are nothing in comparison with the $50 billion in tax breaks which Mr. Harper's government has offered the country's biggest corporations. Mr. Layton says an NDP government would freeze corporate taxes at 2007 levels and use the extra money to improve services for ordinary families.
TROIS RIVIÈRES: BLOC CHIEF TOO SCORNS TORY PROGRAM
Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe was equally scornful of the Tory platform as in his view an improvised product of political desperation. Mr. Duceppe says the measures announced would do little to help people in the reeling manufacturing and forestry sectors. The Bloc leader announced his own measures to ease the crisis, including refundable tax credits and interest-free loans for manufacturers and lumber firms. Mr. Duceppe also called for the abolition of tax benefits for big oil companies and the restoration of the cultural programs which the Conservatives cut last summer, a suggestion which the Conservatives have apparently already accepted.
Wednesday 01 October 2008 TORONTO: PM'S SPEECH WRITER ACKNOWLEDGES PLAGIARISM
The federal Conservatives are downplaying a charge of plagiarism being levelled against their leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Liberals' foreign affairs critic, Bob Rae, accused Mr.Harper of "lifting" a 2003 speech from Australian Prime Minister John Howard in support of the war in Iraq. Mr. Rae played a tape of a speech that Mr. Harper gave two days later in the House of Commons, alongside Mr.Howard's speech, which used similar phrases. Later today, a Conservative campaign worker took the blame and resigned for plagiarizing the speech. The speech writer apologized and resigned from the campaigning, explaining that he had been pressed for time and overzealous in copying segments from Mr. Howard's speech word for word. He said nobody had been aware that he had done so.
Tuesday 30 September 2008 TORONTO: LIBERALS RIP TORIES' ECONOMIC POLICIES
Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff says that if the Conservatives are able to carry out their economic program, the country will become unrecognizable. He told the Economic Club of Canada on Monday morning that the Conservatives are obsessed with shrinking the government's economic role while pushing Canada to "the brink of deficit." The deputy leader says that Canadians are vulnerable at a time of crisis that entails a "looming deficit, a credit crunch, an American economy in recession, surging energy prices, rising inflation and falling productivity." Mr. Ignatieff predicts that the Conservatives will cut health care, pensions and other areas that would devastate the middle class. Mr. Ignatieff also accused the NDP of being stuck in a outmoded socialist ideology of the early 20th century.
Tuesday 23 September 2008 OTTAWA: CONSERVATIVES WOULD MOVE AGAINST YOUTH CRIME
The governing Conservative Party has promised a crackdown on violent youth crime if re-elected. Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that a new Conservative government would change the law so that youths would receive maximum life sentences for first- and second-degree murder. Lesser violent crimes by such offenders would entail 14-year sentences. The current Youth Criminal Justice Act sets a maximum sentence of 10 years for murder. Adolescents older than 14 would be named publicly, whereas existing law protects the identities of most young offenders. The Conservatives acknowledge that crimes rates for many types of offenses have fallen in recent years, but noted that violent crime by young offenders rose 30 per cent between 1991 and 2006.
Sunday 21 September 2008 OTTAWA: POLL SHOWS LARGE LEAD FOR CONSERVATIVE PARTY
A new opinion poll shows the Conservative Party has a large lead over the opposition Liberal Party and stands a good chance of winning a Parliamentary majority on October 14. The Ipsos Reid survey for CanWest News Service gives the Conservatives 40 per cent of voter support, two per centage points higher than in a poll by the same company a week ago. The Liberals dropped two points to 27 per cent, while the left-leaning New Democratic Party climbed two points to 15 per cent. The Conservatives came to power with a minority government in January 2006, ending 13 years of Liberal Party government.
Saturday 20 September 2008 FARNHAM: OTTAWA WON'T BAIL OUT BANKS
On another matter, Mr. Harper says the federal government won't engage in any rescue of the country's financial institutions. While campaigning in the national election campaign in Quebec, he said that the finances of the banks and insurance companies are solid, rendering government aid unneeded. Mr. Harper spoke after the U.S. government said it would expend billions of dollars to acquire weak assets of American financial institutions. The prime minister says that although credit has become tighter in Canada, he doesn't expect any crisis and therefore consumers shouldn't panic.
Tuesday 16 September 2008 OTTAWA: HARPER MAKES OVERTURE TO THE SELF-EMPLOYED
Addressing an electoral subject, Mr. Harper has offered a campaign promise to self-employed Canadians concerning extended parental leave. The prime minister says it's unfair that the successful self-employed must pay employment insurance premiums for their employees yet are ineligible to collect them themselves. Mr. Harper says it's unjust that self-employed Canadians sometimes must choose between starting a business or a family and promises that a new Conservative government would make available $150 million a year to extend coverage to them. Of the 2.6 million people who would qualify, one million would be women.
Promise watch
A regular look at the spending promises made by the parties during the 2008 federal election: Conservatives $600 million annually: the cost to cut the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel to two cents a litre from four.
$50 million annually: the cost to restore the veterans' allowance for veterans from Commonwealth countries or Second World War allies who have lived in Canada at least 10 years.
$220 million over four years: the cost to raise the threshold for qualifying for the small business tax rate from $400,000 in income to $500,000.
The Big Seven unleashed their election-hungry scribes earlier this week, and the daily rotation continues. The Globe’s John Barber is convinced that Toronto won’t vote for the Tories’ current strategy, the Post’s John Ivison and Don Martin entered the fray, and the Globe’s Lawrence Martin chronicles the campaign that he says will be led by “low-watt personalities.” The Star’s Richard Brennan laments Harper’s spin on fixed election dates several days after it made headlines, and the Star also runs an interview with the apparently quirky former Ontario premier, David Peterson, who blew a long-term stint as premier by prematurely calling an election in 1990 that he lost by a massive proportion. Another Star columnist urged Dion to go negative, and the paper ran an editorial that was supremely skeptical of Harper’s commitment to Ontario’s manufacturing sector. It was all predictable coverage until the Citizen raised the issue of female candidates – about 30 percent of those currently nominated are women, including 40 percent of the NDP and 37 percent of Liberals. La Presse runs a story on the re-branded Conservative website and Harper’s drive for nationalist support in Quebec. Even the latter story, largely uncovered by the rest of the Big Seven in recent days, isn’t extraordinarily original. Tired ideas and rehashed columns are creeping into newspapers. Perhaps, as the election campaigns unfold, the Big Seven will find something new to offer.
Wednesday 03 September 2008 OTTAWA: TORIES TO ANNOUNCE FUNDING FOR FORD PLANT
Canada's Conservative government is expected to announce millions in federal funding Wednesday to help reopen an auto plant in southwestern Ontario. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be joined by his industry minister and a local MP at Ford's Essex plant. Ford threw 900 people out of work when it shut the plant last year, but has been hoping to reopen it and produce environmentally friendly V8 engines. While the Ontario government has already contributed $17 million to the project, the federal Conservatives have been critical of government subsidies for business. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who will not be there for the announcement, has described Ontario's economic policy as a recipe for disaster and urged the province to cut taxes instead. The announcement in the key electoral battleground of southern Ontario is one of more than a dozen spending commitments being made in the runup to an election call.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Harper top choice of 50 %
Stephen Harper heads into the federal election as the country's preferred choice as prime minister,
Friday 29 August 2008 OTTAWA: POLL SHOWS CONSERVATIVES, LIBERALS IN DEAD HEAT
A new poll shows the two biggest federal parties running neck-and-neck, as the next election looms. The Canadian Press/Harris-Decima survey shows the Liberals with the support of 34 per cent of voters and the Conservatives with 33 per cent. The New Democratic Party stands at 15 per cent, the Green Party 11 per cent and the Bloc Québécois at nine per cent. The poll says that although 55 per cent find the country heading in the right direction, 47 per cent say it would be best served by a new government. [why call a vote?]
Wednesday 20 August 2008 HAMILTON: PM IN REFLECTION ABOUT ELECTION
Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he'll spend the next several weeks reflecting whether his minority Conservative Party government will be able to govern effectively when the fall session of Parliament starts, or whether it would be better to call an election. Mr. Harper blames Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion for the deadlock in the House of Commons. The prime minister says Mr. Dion is irresponsible to insist on the one hand that the minority government must fall, while at the same time refusing to overthrow it for fear of unfavourable consequences in a national election. Mr. Harper says he'll evaluate the situation in coming weeks to ensure that "one way or the other" there will be a productive Parliament in the autumn.
Saturday 16 August 2008 OTTAWA: GOVT. AXES MORE CULTURE PROGRAMS
The Globe and Mail newspaper reports that Heritage Canada will cut five more arts and culture programs over the next two years. One of them is the Stabilization Projects, which provides financial and administrative supports to arts organizations. Last week, the government announced the end of two programs which help artists exports their works and also travel abroad. Heritage Minister Joseé Verner defended the cuts on the grounds that the programs had failed to show their effectiveness, but that nonetheless the government remains committed to the promotion of Canadian culture. [good let those that want them pay!]
Friday 15 August 2008 CUPIDS, MACTAQUAC: PM HINTS AT ELECTION
The Prime Minister, Mr. Harper, has suggested that his governing minority Cosnervatives may engineer its own defeat in the House of Commons to end the "chaos" prevailing there by provoking an election. Speaking in Newfoundland, he blamed the opposition Liberals for the "dysfunctional" situation, adding that a quick resolution is needed. Mr. Harper says the government will have to make a decision "in the next little while" as to whether Parliament can function productively. Speaking later in New Brunswick, he warned Atlantic Canada that the "carbon tax" plan put forward by the opposition Liberal Party of Stéphane Dion would be harmful to the region. The prime minister noted that the Liberals failed to mention the plan when their Atlantic caucus met last week, the reason being that they know it would hurt families and industries. The Liberals have proposed stiff financial penalties for major industrial polluters, along with offsetting income- and business-tax breaks. Mr. Harper made his remarks before his own Atlantic caucus.
Wednesday 06 August 2008 LAKE LOUISE: OTTAWA FUNDS HUGE HIGHWAY PROJECT
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced a $100-million paving project in Banff National Park in Western Canada. The project will add two extra lanes to a 14-kilometre stretch of the TransCanada High between the park and the B.C. border. Numerous fatal accidents have occurred on the rocky single-land highway. Adding two extra lanes to the highway has been a work in progress for many year, 50 kilometres having been completed. The project is part of a larger federal infrastructure program that also involves rebuilding bridges and waterfront facilities. Mr. Harper says the project will make travelling on the Trans-Canada Highway near the resort of Lake Louise safer and more efficient, and will boost trade between the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Banff National Park is the country's most visit national park.
OTTAWA: COMMONS COMMITTEE ISSUES SUMMONSES IN CONSERVATIVE CAMPAIGN SPENDING AFFAIR
The House of Commons ethics committee has issued 31 summones to force reluctant witnesses to testify in the investigation of the governing Conservative Party's campaign spending prior to the 2006 national election. One dozen Conservative officials received the summones, including two top aids to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The Liberal Party committee chairman, MP Paul Szabo, explained that he obtained the summones after it became known that some witnesses would refuse to be heard voluntarily. Elections Canada claims that the Conservatives transferred money intended for the party's general campaign to individual candidates to get around the legal national spending limit in violation of electoral law, an accusation which the Conservatives deny.
Tuesday 05 August 2008 OTTAWA: PM SALUTES RUSSIAN WRITER
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has saluted the memory of Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsn, who died overnight Sunday at the age of 89. The prime minister says Mr. Solzhenitsn rendered an "extremely precious service" in revealing all the brutality of Soviet communism. According to the prime minister, the writer demonstrated that communism wasn't only a different system which failed but a fundamentally cruel experiment. Mr. Harper added that Mr. Solzhenitsn impelled millions of people living under the communist yoke to denounce their oppressors to attain freedom.
Thursday 26 June 2008 13:14 OTTAWA:PM SHUFFLES CABINET
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made several changes to his cabinet. Interim Foreign Minister David Emerson will assume the post on a permanent basis. He replaces Maxime Bernier, who was forced to resign last month because of a personal indiscretion. The prime minister also moved a junior minister, Christian Paradis, into the major portfolio of the public works department. Sen. Michael Fortier has been moved from the latter department to replace Mr. Emerson as minister of international trade.
LITTLE SHUFFLE WINS BIG PRAISE
The Globe and the Post front, while The National, CTV News, the Star, La Presse, and the Citizen go inside with what the Globe’s Jeffery Simpson describes as a cabinet shuffle “too large to be ignored, but too small to be consequential.” Yesterday’s mini-shuffle of the Conservative cabinet went just as predicted: Former Liberal David Emerson was appointed to the Foreign Affairs portfolio, which he had been filling since Maxime Bernier’s embarrassing departure from the job, while Senator Michael Fortier was moved into Emerson’s old spot at International Trade, junior minister Christian Paradis took Fortier’s former job at Public Works, and James Moore, a thirty-two-year-old parliamentary secretary from British Columbia, was promoted to secretary of state for official languages, the Asia-Pacific gateway and the Vancouver Olympics. The swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall was a far more staid affair, according to Jane Taber in the Globe, than was the previous such event, during which Bernier was accompanied by then-girlfriend Julie Couillard in a notably low-cut dress. No such controversy this time; each new minister was accompanied only by fully clad family members.
Big Seven reviews of the shuffle are, on balance, positive. Simpson paints Emerson as a “reserved, cerebral” policy wonk ideally suited to the Foreign Affairs post - an assessment seconded by James Travers in the Star, as well as an editorial in the Globe, which deems the appointment of a “steady hand” as Canada’s top diplomat a “wise decision.” An editorial in the Star describes Emerson as a “competent” figure amid a “weak Conservative bench,” and proposes that it will take all of his skill to overhaul the Tories’ “thin” foreign policy. The paper suggests that the Conservatives are “inert on climate change, inactive on disarmament and inconsistent on human rights,” and urges Emerson to focus on building bridges with China and taking a more active interest in retrieving Omar Khadr from Guantanamo Bay. Meanwhile, Harper’s naked attempt to appeal to Quebec voters by filling the void left by Bernier’s departure with the appointment of two ministers from the province - in particular that of the inexperienced Paradis to the large Public Works department - has the Globe worrying that the PM has “placed geography first,” perhaps forgetting “the reasons behind the necessity for this cabinet shuffle in the first place.”
Monday Jun 23, 2008 Harper missed an opportunity by ducking meeting with McCain
John McCain can go on a fact-finding tour of the Middle East, and everyone agrees it's a smart move by a candidate who has just clinched his party's nomination for the presidency of the United States.
Friday 20 June 2008 OTTAWA: CANADA TO HOST G8 SUMMIT
On another subject, Mr. Harper says that Canada will host the G8 summit for the fifth time in 2010. The event will take place at the resort of Huntsville, ON, a remote location of lakes and wilderness north of Toronto. Mr. Harper says the themes of the summit will be free trade, global warming and human rights.
Sunday 25 May 2008 OTTAWA: QUEBEC REJECTS ELECTED SENATE
Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Benoît Pelletier says his province is prepared to go to court to thwart the federal Conservative Party government's plan to transform the Senate into an elected body. At present, members of the upper house of Parliament are named by the prime minister. Billl C-20 would create a process by which senators would be elected. The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintains that this is possible with Parliament's approval. But Quebec contends such a move would be unconstitutional and that such a radical change to the country's political institutions requires a constitutional amendment approved by at least seven provinces representing 50 per cent of the population. Mr. Pelletier says Quebec still hopes that Mr. Harper will refer the matter to the Supreme Court of Canada, which he has refused to do. The minister says the Quebec government is considering referring the question itself to Quebec Appeal Court.
Wed1365
At the political level, the redistribution of wealth among the provinces, devolutionist philosophy of Stephen Harper, lack of “executive federalism” (not a new problem) and absence of a vision for the country combine to create a real reason to worry about the future of Canada.
Sunday 04 May 2008 OTTAWA: OPPOSITION PARTY DESCRIES LOSS OF FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The federal opposition New Democratic party is criticizing a decision by the Conservative Party government to shut down Canada's freedom-of-information registry. The registry gave researchers, reporters and ordinary citizens access to millions of pages of once-secret government documents. The federal Treasury Board says that the registry is no longer viable. But the New Democrats say that the move is another example of the Conservative government trying to avoid accountability.
April 23, 2008 (Runs 3:41) Rex Murphy Harper's PR.
The Prime Minister's efforts to "manage" the RCMP/Elections Canada investigation in the media shows how wrong his political instincts can be, says Rex
Sunday 27 April 2008 WASHINGTON: U.S. ECONOMIST CRITICIZES CANADIAN FOREIGN AID
A key adviser to the United Nations says that Canada is abandoning its global leadership role in foreign development. U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs says that the Conservative Party government has essentially done nothing on crucial international matters such as poverty, hunger, disease, climate change, and foreign assistance. Mr. Sachs adds that his pleas for Canada to take a special role in the global food crisis have been ignored since the former Liberal Party government.
Sunday 27 April 2008 Harper's blinkered view
Last Thursday, as Mark Carney of the Bank of Canada was telling Canadians that the economy had stalled and that growth will remain sluggish until 2010, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a different story for a business audience in Quebec. "I believe the reason we continue to govern is quite straightforward, because despite these uncertain economic times, the Canadian economy is strong." more
March 27, 2008 (Runs 3:47) Rex Murphy The Tories' Attack on OntarioIf the federal Conservatives think they can win votes in Ontario by brow-beating the ruling Liberals, well, that strategy isn't working, says Rex.
HER WORD AGAINST HIS by Daniel Casey February 29, 2008
Back when the balance of power in Parliament was more delicate,
and the opposition wasn’t quite as desperate to forestall an
election, getting a budget passed (or defeated) took some doing. The
emerging details about the Conservatives’ alleged offer to the late
independent MP Chuck Cadman don’t make the process sound pretty.
British Columbia journalist and Cadman biographer Tom Zytaruk originally
reported that unnamed “representatives” of the Conservative
party met with the independent MP, who was dying of malignant melanoma, to
offer him an uncontested Conservative nomination and a $1 million life
insurance policy. Today, the
Globe reports that the “representatives” were no mere
messengers: Doug Finley and Tom Flanagan are the chief ideologues and
strategists of the merged Conservative party, firm Stephen Harper
loyalists who engineered his ascent to the top of the Canadian Alliance.
While Harper adamantly denies that the offer went any further than a deal
for Cadman to rejoin the Conservative party, Zytaruk
has Harper on tape saying that he didn’t “know the
details,” but that the Conservative emissaries (he does not
specifically name Finley and Flanagan) were “legitimately
representing the party,” and goes on to make a vague reference to an
offer “only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to
an election.”
At the time, Chuck Cadman denied
that the deal went beyond a welcome back into the Conservative caucus, but
Dona Cadman and
her daughter Jodi assert that it did. Cadman family friend and Liberal
MP Ujjal Dosanjh told the
Citizen that he believes Dona Cadman’s version to be “the
‘death-bed’ truth from a terminally ill man to his
wife.” Two
reports in the
Post raise a further complicating issue: A man receiving chemotherapy
for malignant melanoma would be essentially unable to get a life insurance
policy. One insurance broker stated that for a dying man, “the only
way to buy a million-dollar life insurance policy is to pay a
million-dollar premium,” and likened such an arrangement to a
“money-laundering scheme.” The
Citizen runs a confusing report about the conditions of the
Parliamentary life insurance plan, including some potential ways in which
Cadman could have upped his insurance benefits by rolling over to a
private insurance plan and paying a higher premium, but there’s no
evidence that Cadman did so or that this was somehow part of the alleged
Conservative offer. The details are tricky and the allegations are as
explosive as it gets—there is some serious reporting to be done on
this, and the Big Seven’s Ottawa bureaux should be gearing up for a
fierce race to get the full story. Start your engines.
Saturday 23 February 2008 LONDON, OTTAWA: SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL CRITICIZES CANADA
One of the most respected scientific publications in the world has criticized Canada's Conservative Party government for supposedly showing contempt for science. An editorial in "Nature" affirms that although Canadian scientists are among the world's best, the same cannot be said for the federal government's attitude toward science and research. The editorial entitled "Science in Retreat" claims that science has struggled for a long time to be recognized in Canada, but that the struggle has become tougher with the election of the Conservatives in 2006. The text refers to the scepticism of the Conservatives concerning climate change and the decision to abandon the emissions reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. Industry Minister Jim Prentice responded in an open letter that Canada is determined to support world-class research and that the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper considers climate change one of the biggest threats which the world faces.
Friday Feb 8, 2008 Tories set on effecting spring vote Crime bill becomes third potential trigger
Looking more and more like it is bent on an election in the spring, the Harper government set another potential trap for the Liberals yesterday, introducing a motion urging the Senate to pass the government's violent-crime bill by the start of next month.
Thursday 07 February 2008
HUSTINGS ON THE HORIZON by Josh Ginsberg It looks like Stephen Harper’s penchant for political
showdown has finally gotten the better of him. After months of election
speculation, the government has finally laid a series of booby traps that
the Liberals might not be able to tiptoe around, any one of which could
trigger a spring vote. The
Post says it will come down to Afghanistan, while CTV
News figures it will happen over the budget, although the government
could also be taken down if the Senate fails to pass the Tories’
latest crime
bill. But whatever the catalyst, it will almost certainly be on
Harper’s terms. With a series of confidence votes over the budget,
extending the mission in Afghanistan, and a crime bill that the government
wants passed immediately, the prime minister has given the opposition three
choices for how, if at all, they want to send Canadians to the polls. With
the Star
agreeing with CTV News that the budget will most likely make the axe fall
on the two-year minority government, it seems that parliament will likely
be dissolved in early March, before the House has a chance to vote on the
future of the mission in Afghanistan. The
Globe quotes an unnamed Tory source who, reeking of the late-night oil
undoubtedly burning in the Conservative spin room, says that the PM
doesn’t want an election, but is “drawing a line in the
sand” on important issues. For his part, Liberal leader Stéphane
Dion is sounding
the bell of compromise on the Afghan issue, but a mutual understanding
is unlikely on the main point of contention—whether to support the
combat mission beyond 2009. Of course, if the government falls on the
budget before the Afghan question is considered, it would mean a
significant delay in furnishing a response to NATO on the future of
Canada’s commitment.
Since we’re likely going to the polls over the budget, it is
unfortunate that today’s coverage gives little insight into what the
document is likely to contain. The only thing we know for certain is that,
due to the economic hard times, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty won’t
be rolling out big tax cuts. The Star quotes a Liberal source as saying
that the party would rather fight an election on the budget than on
Afghanistan, but it’s not clear if the substance of the budget will
have any effect on their decision. In an editorial, the
Post says it likes the two most likely outcomes of Harper’s
Afghan gamble: an election that the government would enter with strength,
or an extension of the mission. Still, the Post would have preferred that
the government wait to table its motion until after this week’s NATO
meeting to see if the organization actually comes up with the 1,000 troops
considered a prerequisite for continuing in Afghanistan. The editorial
seems to want to spare Harper the embarrassment that would come with
pressing a motion to continue a mission that he acknowledges is untenable
without more help. If the election is fought on Afghanistan, James Travers
in the Star notes, it comes with certain risks for the Tories, yet would
also expose the Liberals to attacks on an issue on which they are deeply
divided. He says Dion should have used the Manley report to galvanize the
party around a solid position, rather than risking defeat due to disarray.
Certainly, Dion has work to do in order to close his ranks before Harper
charges.
OTTAWA: ELECTION LOOMS OVER AFGHAN MISSION
The Conservative Party government has said it will introduce a motion in the House of Commons by Friday to extend Canada's military mission in Afghanistan beyond the February 2009 deadline approved by the House. There would be a vote on the motion at the end of next month. The decision seems aimed at either obtaining an extension or provoking a national election. On Tuesday, opposition Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the issue on Tuesday and says he was told that the vote on the motion would be a question of confidence. In that case, opposition by the Liberals, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois would overthrow the government and elections would ensue. The NDP and Bloc oppose extension. However, a spokeswoman for the prime minister says he has not yet declared the vote a confidence matter. She said the motion will be based on the recommendations of an independent committee that called for an extension of the mission provided that the 2,500 Canadian troops in southern Afghanistan receive 1,000 NATO reinforcements and helicopters.
OTTAWA: CRIME BILL ALSO COULD LEAD TO VOTE
Meanwhile, it seems that an entire different issue in Parliament could also provoke an election. Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has urged the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs to do "whatever it takes" to pass Bill C-2, the Tackling Violent Crime Act, failing which he'll advise Mr. Harper to make it a confidence measure. If the Senate, where the Liberals enjoy a majority, fails to pass Bill C-2, the minority government would fall. Bill C-2 consists of five bills that were reintroduced in the fall after the government cut the previous session short. It deals with issues such as violent and gun crimes, dangerous offenders and the age of sexual consent. The crime legislation would likely be a more attractive election issue for the Conservatives than the Afghanistan war or the federal budget.
OTTAWA: HOUSE APPROVES NEW ANTI-TERROR LEGISLATION
Canada's parliament has passed legislation to deport foreign-born terrorist suspects. The bill was accepted by a vote of 196 to 71. Liberal Members of Parliament supported the legislation presented by the Conservative government, the New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois opposing it. Last year, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down several federal laws that allow the indefinite detention and deportation of a suspect based on secret evidence presented at closed-door hearings. The new bill improves bail procedures and allows special, security-cleared lawyers to attend the secret hearings, to challenge government evidence and to protect the rights of the accused. Critics say the new law will likely spark new legal challenges.
Andy Nulman 
Bloomberg
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