Merry Christmas from the Anthill

It has been one hell of a year and I would like to wish everyone, both political friends and foes, a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.


Al

You might want to check those credentials

From the Toronto Star: "He cited a letter by constitutional lawyers to the Montreal newspaper La Presse, saying that a "growing body of expert opinion suggests the Prime Minister may be violating the Constitution by making these appointments without the confidence of the House of Commons."

If ANY constitutional lawyer believes that the PM does not have the right to make these Senate appointments, they should either have their credentials reviewed and or be made to pee into a cup because they have no clue as to what they are talking about.

I do not have the time but does anyone out there have a copy of this letter with the names of these so called constitutional lawyers? Drop a link into the comments if you come across the info.

Screw GM, Ford, and Chrysler...

We need to bail out these guys. Come on Canada, lets save this Canadian institution.

Kingsford to the rescue.

I was out doing my Christmas shopping this afternoon, a few days early this year but that is another story, and as usual I had a few names on my list that were giving me some problems as to what to buy them. I had managed to find something for all of my friends and family members but could not find the right gift for some of the others on my list; the members of the proposed coalition.

So after wandering around aimlessly from store to store looking for that something special to jump out at me, I finally found the perfect gift to send to all of the members and supporters of the coalition*.


What could be a more perfect gift than coal for the coalition?

Merry Christmas everyone.

* all except for Bob Rae. I bought him some astroturf.

Jack Layton to move into Stornoway as leader of the opposition.

An AWM exclusive: Don't call the movers yet Iggy.

Having had his plans of being in a coalition cabinet thwarted by newly anointed interim Liberal leader Micheal Ignatieff; Jack Layton has made a deal with Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe that would have the NDP named as the official opposition with Layton as leader.

Similar to the failed tripartite coalition agreement the 2 parties are expected to approach the Speaker of the House of Commons with a letter of intent outlining their cooperation in forming the official opposition as their 2 parties combined have more seats than the now current official opposition Liberals.

An NDP insider said; "If Mr. Ignatieff will not honour the coalition agreement that he signed then we have no other choice but to do what Canadians have already strongly voiced with their votes in the last election." adding that "74% of Canadians voted against the Liberals being the official opposition and we are following along with the great traditions of our democracy by doing what the voters intended."

Our phone calls to the Liberal Party of Canada were not returned.

“A guy like Chrétien don’t like separatists very much, whoever they are.”

The words of former PM Jean Chretien, Nov 2007: “A guy like Chrétien don’t like separatists very much, whoever they are.”

Forget for a minute that he is eerily speaking in the third person and then think back to his role in negotiating the coalition involving the separatist Bloc Quebecois and contrast that to the above statement.

How very typical of a Liberal politician, say one thing and do another. He doesn't like separatists, even if that separatist is the Dalai Lama, but he is more that willing to overlook that and deal with Canadian separatists if that helps the Liberal Party of Canada fulfill its goal of power in this country no matter the cost.

Is anyone surprised?


Speaking of JC; it would seem that he forgot to destroy the photos of his meeting with the Dalai Lama before denying that he had met with him.

Again, is anyone really surprised?






Updated with related story links here, here, here, here, and this one comes courtesy of former Liberal MP David Kilgour , the last Liberal MP elected in Alberta.

Iggy's Favorites: Seating plan for the HoC.

Currently the seating plan for the front bench of official opposition reads like this from left to right: Kennedy, Dryden, Hall Findlay, Dion, Goodale, Brison, Bennett,Fry, Bevilacqua, Macaulay, Guarnieri, Volpe, Ignatifeff and Rae.

Aside from the obvious 2 changes of Dion and Iggy, what other changes do you see in store for the front bench of the Liberals in the House of Commons when they return in late January?

Turnabout is fair play so I would like to see Dion and Iggy just trade places myself because the vision of Rae and Dion sitting beside each other at the end of the front bench would bring joy to my heart this holiday season and would make for some good TV on CPAC.


My prediction*: Honestly I expect Dion to go about 3 rows back and sort of do a Paul Martin style disappearing act, and I do think that all of those currently sitting left of Dion, Kennedy, Dryden, and MHF , are going to be getting a different view of the HOC soon as Iggy does some shuffling of his front bench for January.

It should be fun seeing just what Ignatieff comes up with for both the seating plan and shadow cabinet roles under his helm.

Feel free to speculate in the comments.



Current Seating Plan PDF.




*Void if Iggy is dumb enough to go coalition. In that case Jack Layton can sit next to Dion.

Scott Brison: Then and Now.

Scott Brison then:

"These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general election campaign," Brison said in an interview.

However, Brison said that in nine years in politics he hasn't made as many "retractions and clarifications" as Ignatieff has made in just nine months.

Brison compared Ignatieff to Stockwell Day, who jumped from provincial politics to become leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance without any experience at the federal level.

Brison said Ignatieff is "smarter than Stockwell," now Harper's minister of public safety. But he added Ignatieff faces an even steeper learning curve, having spent almost 30 years out of the country as an academic and journalist.

Brison took Ignatieff to task for other recent so-called gaffes, including telling the Star that Canadians "live and operate in a heartless world and you need leadership that understands that."

"When you see the world as being heartless, that helps someone justify ruthless acts," such as Qana, Brison said.

He also chided Ignatieff for saying that Canada's peacekeeping tradition "died" with the genocide in Rwanda.

Brison said that remark could only come from someone who's spent 30 years outside the country and fails to appreciate how important peacekeeping is to Canadians and to Liberals in particular, who view party icon Lester Pearson as the father of peacekeeping.

He also scoffed at Ignatieff's recent admission that he's not sure he's "up to the price you have to pay" to succeed in politics.

"If you go in to have heart surgery and the surgeon says, `I think I'm ready to do this but I've never done it before,' you're probably going to look for a surgeon who's done it before," Brison said.

Scott Brison now: "Michael Ignatieff possesses an intellectual curiosity and thirst for ideas that will raise the level of debate both inside and outside the Liberal party."

Mr. Ignatieff's experiences as someone who knows the world make him uniquely qualified to strengthen Canada's role in the international community.

You can read the rest yourself here, or you can listen to a secret recording of the latest Liberal caucus meeting below.

Where is Gilles?

With the anointment of Ignatieff as the interim leader of the LPC and as he would become our PM if the tripartite coalition is successful in their underhanded bid to thwart the last election results ignoring the wishes of Canadians, I have to ask a question.

Where is Gilles Duceppe and why have we not heard his thoughts yet on the the selection of Iggy as interim leader of both the LPC and the coalition?

I can't see Gilles being too happy with this considering that Iggy has always had the support of the Liberals Quebec wing, but coalitions make strange bed fellows as we have seen over the last week or so.

So come on Gilles, it is time to go on the record about your new bed mate.

We the undersigned....

We the undersigned having given our 100% caucus solidarity to Stephane Dion last week and having forced him to resign this week, should never be trusted again.

----

The complete set of documents with all 77 signatures is available here.

---

I am not sure if I would want a guy who does not understand simple directions to print his name as my PM.

Dion resigns. Sorry no video available

Stephane Dion resigns with a caveat:

Statement by the Honourable Stéphane Dion

After the election on October 14 I announced I would stay on as Leader of the Liberal Party until my party could select my successor. One of my goals was to ensure an effective opposition to Stephen Harper’s government.

I believe that decision was the right one and I am proud of having forced Stephen Harper to back away from his attempt to force upon Canadians his most ideological and harmful plans in these tough economic times.

The alliance between the Liberal Party and the NDP to replace the Harper government, with the support of the Bloc Québécois, is a solid basis to give Canada a government that reflects both the aspirations of the majority of Canadians and the support of the majority of Members of Parliament. Such a government would be more stable than a minority Conservative government incapable of cooperating with opposition parties.

As the Governor General has granted a prorogation, it is a logical time for us Liberals to assess how we can best prepare our party to carry this fight forward.

There is a sense in the party, and certainly in the caucus, that given these new circumstances the new leader needs to be in place before the House resumes. I agree. I recommend this course to my party and caucus. As always, I want to do what is best for my country and my party, especially when Canadians’ jobs and pensions are at risk.

So I have decided to step aside as Leader of the Liberal Party effective as soon as my successor is duly chosen.

I will offer my unconditional and enthusiastic support to my successor in the same way I have always supported the leaders of our great party. I will work under the next leader’s direction with all my energy in order to give Canada a better government.

I wish to close by making it absolutely clear that my earlier departure does not change the facts of the situation that the Prime Minister has created in the last two weeks.

The Prime Minister and his government refused to lay out a plan to stimulate the economy. The Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the House of Commons. The Prime Minister shut down Parliament to save his job while thousands of Canadians are losing theirs. The Prime Minister has poisoned the well of trust and respect that is necessary for a minority government to work in Parliament - especially in a time of crisis.

Mr. Harper took an economic crisis and added a parliamentary crisis that he then tried to transform into a national unity crisis: this is no way for a Prime Minister of Canada to act.

It is my hope that the decision I have announced today will enhance the capacity of Parliament to function effectively for the sake of Canadians in this economic crisis.

Stéphane Dion, PC, MP.



A small problem. Dion is not the leader, he has already stepped aside and is only the interim leader, so when he speaks of his successor being duly chosen is he talking about another interim leader or an actual leader? By caucus or a leadership convention, within the LPC constitution or by some other creative method?

It is all so confusing, but I have no doubt that not having video of this was a very purposeful move by the Liberal Party of Canada as they kick Stephane to the curb.


Adieu Stephane.

Fun with advanced coalition math.

Class, simmer down. Today we are going to discuss coalition math.

The basic premise of coalition math = The Conservatives were elected with 38% of the vote therefore 62% of Canadians voted against them and the Prime Minister.

Forgetting the obvious that you do not vote against anyone but rather you vote for someone, lets look at the math in more detail.


CPC 38%

Lib 26%

NDP 18%

Bloc 10%


So 26 + 18 + 10 = 62

62? No it doesn't. It equals 54. What the hell?

Now why haven't I ever heard that number used by the coalition? Why is it always 64% ?



Time for recess while I check on my facts. Take 15 everyone.



This just in. The coalition expands to include the following political parties:

AAEV Party of Canada, CAP, Christian Heritage Party, Communist, FPNP, Green Party, Libertarian, Marxist-Leninist, neorhino, NL First Party, PC Party, PPP, Radical Marijuana, WBP, the Work Less Party, and all Independents.

That is going to be one ugly caucus meeting, but I am sure that all of those that cast votes for the above parties are 100% totally in favour of their votes for something being counted as if they were votes cast against something else.

Democracy and math, coalition style.

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

So now that we understand the insane logic behind the use of the 62% number by the coalition, lets apply the same logic to their own performance in the past election.

Liberal 74% against.

NDP 82% against.

Bloc 90% against.

So class if we use the same principles and logic that the coalition uses we can clearly see that

246% of Canadians voted against the coalition.

Sorry but that is all the time we have for today. Remember that next week you will have a guest instructor in my place.

A Mr. Broadbent will be coming in to instruct you on how to infiltrate and take over a political party without their knowledge. I am advised by Mr. Broadbent that you should read Chapter 1 "Get someone on the inside" before coming to class next week.

Class dismissed.

If it is good for the Canadian Goose it is good for the....

If it is good for the Canadian goose it should be good for the LPC gander.

If the Liberals wanted to impose the coalition on the country without a vote, why would one be surprised that they would want to appoint their new leader without a vote of Liberal members.


Too funny. Each and every argument against this is an argument against the coalition, but they are so upset at their own party that they have not made the comparison and figured it out yet.


Go Bob Go.

No, Go Iggy Go.

No, Draft Manley

No wait, Stay Stephane stay.



Yehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Go liberal brain trust go.


Maybe they should just form a new party: The Backroom Deal Party of Canada.


Some Liberal opinions and some of them are not very happy about this.

What about Bob?



Wilson's comment here deserves mention: "How does it feel? Western Canadians feel your pain."

This time the Canadian Press has gone too far.

I know the MSM seem to lean towards Dion and his left wing buddies but this is ridiculous!

Edmonton's Rally for Canada

I just got back from the Rally for Canada Edmonton edition held today at the Alberta Legislature. It looks like the attendance was around 400 people. (397 against the coalition 3 for it)

Not a bad turnout considering the weather and the amount of snowfall we had overnight which has now turned to freezing rain that made the trek on the roads and sidewalk a bit of an adventure.

Good speeches, a very enthusiastic crowd including many who were not normally political but felt the need to come out in support of Canada, and some very creative signs were in amongst the crowd. Local MPs Tim Uppal, Brent Rathgeber, and Laurie Hawn were in attendance along with former MP Deborah Grey.

The 3 counter protesters were of the nasty sort and thought nothing of yelling down or cursing out anyone who questioned them. I was personally called a Nazi when I informed one of them that it was Her Excellency the Governor General that made the decision to shut down Parliament. I guess he must have been upset that his sign was wrong after spending an entire 5 minutes making it. Oh well.

Some pictures of the event to follow once I warm up and get them downloaded.


A couple of signs that I thought deserved mention.

I thought Dion said that he was going to concentrate on fundraising

Stephane Dion: "We have to bring our fund raising machinery into the 21st century, or the Liberal Party will be at a permanent political disadvantage. This work has to start now and must be successful in the coming months."





"I recently announced that my remaining time as Liberal Leader would be largely dedicated to fund raising,” said Mr. Dion.



I guess the fund raising was going so well that Stephane felt he had the time to form the most hated political movement this country has ever seen.


My cheque is in the mail and so are a few others.

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

Off to the rally for Canada. I hope to see you there.

My challenge to the union leaders who are organizing the pro coalition rallies.

Poll your own members, all of them, and ask them if #1 they support this coalition idea, and #2 if they want their dues going towards this or any kind of political activities.


I cannot expect much from this challenge considering the unions are the ones organizing rallies in favor of an unelected change in our government, but it would be nice if they would show the balls to actually find out what the opinions are of those that they are well paid to represent before they run off and spend their members money on such folly.

I know, I know, it is too much to ask but it is getting close to (the seasons celebratory season*).






* I should say Christmas but it has been edited to suit the sensibilities of the far left and the unions of which they belong, oh and Quebec too. I hear from the MSM that they are very sensitive to almost anything said on any topic and you can't be too careful nowadays.

Watch out Iggy

Be careful Michael; because if this guy tosses his hat into the ring your are going to have a fight on your hands.

John Manley on dumping Dion and getting the Liberal Party back into fighting shape. With a good dose of common sense thrown in for the entire country.

The coalitions last gasp

I would think with the polls coming out overwhelmingly against the coalition idea that this beast would be dead, but there seems to be a little hope left among the left that by getting rid of Dion and installing someone else as leader that there still might be a chance this could work.

Yes, because installing another temporary interim leader, who in the election 7 weeks ago received no votes or endorsement to lead us and was not even considered by voter for the roll of PM , would be enough to fool Canadians to change their minds.



Keep playing politics with this Liberals. After all it has worked so well for you up to this point.

I know you are all busy but...

Hurry; only 20 days left to destroy your party's brand before Christmas.

Thanks Jack

Anyone remember this? It made it onto more than a couple of Liberal friendly websites. I wonder if they will make him a new one for his role in the coalition.






Jack will also be proud of this decision.

You see Ma'am this is your problem right here.

You see Ma'am; this is your problem right here.

Just got rid of it, take about a year off and you should be good to go again.

Caution: Do not get caught in the stampede...

of coalition supporters running away from the following query and offer of a generation*.

"If anyone can make a coherent argument as to why the rise of a coalition government was a grassroots victory and not a backroom political deal, I will give that person a unicorn. An honest-to-god unicorn." source

ht UA




Avoiding questions seems to be a common trait among New Liberal Bloc Party members.

Here are a few of my own:


When did Jack Layton first approach the Bloc?

" " the Libs?

When are we going to see your economic plans?

Why are you refusing to go back to the people of Canada before changing the direction of our current government led by the people who kicked Dion's ass?

When did Canada enter this recession I keep hearing about and why are you not waiting to see what the Obama administration does before going off half cocked screaming into the wilderness on the economy?

Why are you ignoring the parliamentary tradition of calling an election within 6 months?

Is it possible for Jack Layton to be PM in this coalition?

If you do not have the balls to go to an election on this why not make the confidence vote a free vote? ( My personal favorite)



A few more from CCT

and a few more from the National Post.


Feel free to ad more of your own questions for the coalition in the comments.

The Canadian people need answers before you get to, as your leader said in that messed up video, called our house.


* apologies to Paul Martin

Dion late for the show....

Stephane Dion was late for the show, looked kind of red faced, and seemed to be getting a couple of bucks for the bankrupt Liberal Party for the product placement of a book entitled, and I kid you not, "Hot Air".

(Updated with added pic of our future overlord and his in focus bookshelf.)


So what happened next?

Jack Layton, a guy who signed away any ability to be a spokesman for the coalition goes ahead and muscles in to have his say outshining his new boss Dion in the process, then he goes on by inviting the entire NDP caucus to drop by the GG house for some kind of meet and greet.

I wonder if the media will give Dion another do over and only show newer and yet to be delivered copies of that video in the future? Any wagers?

How bizarre. The coalition is already a cluster F*&$.


Where is the Kids in the Hall guy when you need him to squeeze Dion's giant head.



A couple of other things to get off my chest. First off Canada is NOT in a recession so all this bluster about a crisis is just that, bluster. Yes there will be tough times ahead but the polices of the present government have already made us better off than almost any other country in the world. We are in no immediate need of expensive measures to deal with a problem that has not hit us yet and before our rather large and powerful neighbor to the south changes their government and announces their plans. Doing things too early is just as bad as doing nothing at all. The fake claims of the immediacy of the crisis is just more socialist bullshit.

And if I hear one more time that the government does not have the confidence of the house I might just slap someone. They DO have the confidence of the house until a vote is taken and that vote has yet to be held. Sorry coalition, but you haven't won that vote yet and there are many many MP s out there that know that they are betting their political careers on this vote. It is by far not yet a done deal.

Pesky facts I know, but they are at the time of writing, the truth.

Speaking of Parliamentary Tradition....

There is a lot of yapping that is coming from the other side about parliamentary tradition and what not in their power hungry attempt to unethically take control of the Government of Canada until mid 2011, but the left conveniently seem to have forgotten about one parliamentary tradition when doing so.

Our parliamentary tradition is that newly appointed Prime Ministers seek electoral sanction within six months. Louis St. Laurent, the former Liberal Prime Minister, holds the record for the longest period between his appointment (November 15, 1948) and his election (June 27th, 1949) but at least his party already had the endorsement of Canadian voters.(NP)

So how does this tradition fit in with the tripartite pact signed by Dion, Duceppe, and Layton?

I await your spin.

Justin Trudeau Papa would be so proud.

It kind of speaks for itself.




Courtesy of ParlVu and CTV. Thank you for keeping Canadians informed.

My apologies for the bad sound on certain parts of the clip.

Fight the New Liberal Bloc Party Coalition.

What can the Liberals really expect to gain from the coalition?

Other than a backdoor chance at a return to power, I got nothing. Anyone?






Update link dumps: all thing coup.

adding links for posterity: Original story BTF Another BTF .

Ipsos and Compass Ekos Leger PTBC poll roundup.

Joanne has rally mania.

Hey, this option is legal too.

The confidence vote happens and the Government loses. Dion starts to hear from upset people all across Canada and after being pushed by frightened leadership candidates he begins to realize that the coalition may not be that great of an idea and backs away.

Layton infuriated by this goes to the GG with Gilles Duceppe and offers up a NDP/Bloc coalition be allowed to form government with Gilles Duceppe as PM since the Bloc has more seats than the NDP.

The GG appoints the duly elected MP from Laurier—Sainte-Marie as PM.


As pointed out by coalition trolls everywhere this scenario would not only be legal & would fit with parliamentary tradition, it would also be the correct thing for the GG to do, and opposing it would make you undemocratic.

Think about that for awhile the next time a coalition troll or party pundit is making the case for this coalition that does not have the balls to put their unholy alliance to a vote before the Canadian people.

BTW, it will be these same 'if it's legal' eagles to be the first to scream if PM Stephen Harper exercises his legal authority and fills the empty seats in the Senate.

Any takers on whether or not the next election will get out more than 59% of the voters?

The election 7 weeks ago had the lowest voter turnout in Canadian electoral history with just 59.1% of the electorate turning up to cast their ballot.

Any takers on whether or not the next election will get out more than 59% of the voters?

I am placing my wager on the affirmative.

The unholy coalition with all of their bluster have just woken up this country's many complacent slumbering conservatives and changed the minds of many more Canadians who would not normally vote conservative to do so in the next election.

The fools have no idea what they have actually done.

Bob Rae files his papers and is officially in the race for PM.

Link:

THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - "Bob Rae has officially entered the race to replace Liberal Leader Stephane Dion."

Let the speculation begin.

To myself it is looking like we are now witnessing a merger of the 'so called' left of Canadian politics.

One question though. If Jack Layton figures this highjack of the Canadian Government will last for 2 years or more, and the LPC leadership convention is in March. Does Layton and the NDP now have some influence on who the LPC choose as leader (and possibly PM) ?

Is there a deadline to run for the LPC leadership ?

Because if Stephane Dion becomes PM through some bizarre and lets face it undemocratic circumstances, could he drop his name into the hat?


Think about that for awhile you Iggy or Rae fans.

Could Dion successfully whip a Liberal vote?

Think about this for a minute. Does out going Liberal leader Stephane Dion have the clout to whip a confidence vote and ask Liberal MPs, including those running or supporting others who are going to run for his job and put the party in a new direction, to vote a certain way?

It makes no sense to assume that Dion has close to enough support left to pull the strings to get it done.

Why would anyone listen to him?


I think out of the 77 Liberals there could be 9 that could easily be persuaded* not to show up for such a vote.


* I never said who would be doing the persuading did I.

coughiggyraecoughcough.

We need "our" money...

Opposition political parties: We need our $1.75 per vote subsidy and we are willing to spend an additional 300 million of your tax dollars for another election during a time of financial downturn to do so.


Sounds like a winning election strategy to me.

Kinsella Barking at the Moon

Expect to see some howling coming to the Canadian blogosphere soon as University of Windsor law professor Richard Moon's report on the CHRC suggests section 13 be repealed.

Colour me surprised.

Hidden Intelligence Update

I am sorry to say that, for this guy at least, the intelligence remains hidden or perhaps may not even exist at all.

Tired old lines from a tired old party hack who jumps on and off the bandwagon when he sees it as a benefit, not for the party, but for himself.

Pathetic yes, but a perfect fit with the ideals of the Liberal Party and his boy Iggy.

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

BTW, do you honestly think even WK believes it when he writes crap like this: " Message to Canadian women: if they get a majority, they plan to take away your right to choose. Period. " ?

IMHO, it says a lot about what he thinks of the intelligence of his own readership.

The case for mandatory drug testing for political pundits.

Sheila Copps writes:" OTTAWA—With the paucity of Liberal candidates and looming economic troubles, there are some Liberal insiders dreaming of a Paul Martin return to power. With a series of speeches planned to promote his recent book, the former prime minister plans to spend the next few weeks telling Canadians how to survive the world meltdown.



Some Grits think Martin's Bay Street cred is just what the country needs in uncertain times, and they are quietly exploring a "Draft Martin" movement...."




Please pee into the cup; thanks.

April 24, 2008. Iggy goes for the LPC leadership

Just a little reminder to WK and the other Iggy supporters out there of just what your choice for leader was doing for himself back in April rather than supporting the then current leader Stephane Dion.

A sample form from The National Post Full Comment (April 25, 2008, 2:11 PM by Dan Goldbloom)

"Some 600 people attended, including more than 20 MPs and Senators from across the country. As such, it was the showiest Liberal box social since the 2006 leadership convention. To the amazement of many but the surprise of none, the man who now holds the title of leader was not present — neither in person nor in spirit. Dion's name was uttered from behind the speaker's podium only a handful of times."

"Speaker Alfred Apps introduced the next clip with a wry grin. "This is not an insurrection," he said, but "an exercise in pure nostalgia." What followed was the very Ignatieff promo clip shown on the convention floor in 2006: an uninterrupted stream of endorsements from politicians and campaign workers reminding us that Iggy was "the one man" who could improve Canada and take on Stephen Harper. Audacious, deliberate and engaging, it stopped only short of calling for Dion's resignation. "


With' team players' such as Ignatieff on board and perhaps as their leader, the Liberals are destined for the continued greatness they have shown in opposition.

Mike Lake, Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Industry

Mike Lake, MP for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont, today was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Industry.

Congratulations Mike. It is not that easy to be recognized when you are an Alberta Conservative MP and this is really quite the accomplishment, and if I may say so, a well deserved one.

Ex Green Party Candidate sues GP for some green

The former Green Party of Canada candidate in Newton-North Delta, John Shavluk, is suing the party and its leader, Elizabeth May, for libel, claiming he was wrongly accused of anti-Semitism.

Read the entire story here.


Update:There is more green than meets the eye at The Province as for some reason they have included the following at the end of the above linked story on John Shavluk. (screenshot)



"Aldergrove.'fortified' barn burns to ground

A barn in Aldergrove that firefighters say was used as a marijuana grow-operation burned to the ground in an early-morning blaze yesterday.

The fire started in the electrical system of the two-storey barn that was divided into several rooms, said Langley's assistant fire chief Bruce Ferguson.

"The building was heavily fortified. Its windows were boarded up with plywood," he said. "We confirmed it was a grow-op."

It took fire trucks from three fire halls five hours to control the blaze in the 400-block 256 Street, he said.

No one was injured.

The owner of the house on the property told firefighters she rented out the barn and had no knowledge of the grow-op, said Ferguson."

Just what is The Province insinuating here?

In Mayor Miller's Utopia.

In Mayor Miller's Utopia : No plastic lids on take out coffee cups for those that want them, but a million sheets of propaganda given to those that did not ask for them.

And guess which of the above two gets paid for by the taxpayer?

Unnamed sources and spreading smear.

From the MSM who are always hot on the trail of real news we get this story in the aftermath of Barneygate.

White House sources who did not want to be identified are denying the rumour that Vice President Dick Chaney has been secretly training Barney for the last month by holding up pictures of Wolf Blitzer and poking Barney with a stick. Another anonymous source commented that Sarah Palin was supposed to do the training but declined because she did not know how to speak Scottish to Barney, a Scottish Terrier.



Hey, my story is about as credible as this nonsense, but yet this story garners 4000* stories in the MSM. (* Google search)

We really are in trouble when anonymous smears get this kind of coverage by the MSM.

When is that asteroid arriving anyway?

A member of the Bush family gets revenge on the media

With a little over 70 days left in the Whitehouse, it is no holds barred in the battle with the media.

Watch the video. (external link here)



.

It has been awhile since I have made a new blog entry..

I think I have been suffering from a bad case of campaign withdrawal and because of this it has been awhile since I have made a new blog entry; did I miss anything?

---

Congratulations to President Elect Obama. I wish him the best with the difficult job he has ahead of him, and a reminder that the clock starts now on when we will be seeing some of that "Change we can believe in". Good luck and nice hat!

----

Back to Canada and an interesting reality with our local Liberals. 'Their candidate' Obama got elected and now they can rejoice, but with it they have lost the use of the Bush/Republican card against the Conservatives and now they have to find a way to hide or at least disguise that rabid anti-Americanism that Liberals are famous for.

It will take some time but I think the glow will fall off Obama for the Liberals when the realities of what an American President has to do for his country and his roll as commander in chief becomes clear.

It will be fun watching them squirm when the hawkish side of Obama comes to light and the soon to follow Harper= Obama comparisons eventually surface, because no matter how much lefties try, they all end up with a hate on for the POTUS and Obama will be no different.

Is Paul Martin trying to rewrite history?

From the Star:(highlighting mine) Martin also writes that under the Conservatives, the military "bit off more than we can chew," by expanding its mission in Kandahar. As a result, reconstruction efforts were all but abandoned during the first year of the mission there. "We never envisaged a broad military campaign that would make reconstruction efforts more difficult."

"Under the Conservatives"?? Give me a break.

DND News release May 2005

CBC Time line.

CTV Story July 2005

The road to Kandahar.

Bill Graham on the Liberal plan.

John Manley on Martin sending our troops to Kandahar.

All the above found in about 2 minutes with a simple Google search.

Conservative Reporter has a much more detailed timeline here. Thanks =)


Is it like some kind of disease that Liberals get where they cannot ever take responsibility for their own actions and blame others, or do they just think Canadians are stupid and will believe anything they say?

Back to the Future with CTV and Dion

"Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2008" At least CTV got the year right in their 'updated' story.

Who will be the first Liberal to declare?

Who will be the first Liberal to declare their candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada? Take the poll on the sidebar and for added fun leave a comment as to the date that you think your pick will announce.

How can Dion expect to lead the opposition

How can Dion expect to lead the opposition when every word coming out of his mouth will be questioned as to whether it is his own policy/position, official Liberal policy, or maybe even one of the leadership candidates policies? Surely the man cannot be that deluded to believe that he still speaks for the Liberal Party on policy matters when he knows that Iggy and Rae among others have very different ideas about policy and which way to lead the party.

Perhaps Dion should leave policy alone and concentrate more on fund raising for his cash strapped party. After the great job he has done on this file since being elected leader in Dec 2006 his ideas are guaranteed to be winners and the cash will flow in.



His decision today to remain on as leader will turn very ugly, very soon.

What I would like to see Dion say today

Dion's Press Conference: Contrary to what those in the press have been claiming, I will not be resigning today but instead will put my fate in the hands of the grass roots of the Liberal party at the May convention. It is their decision and not the decision of some so called senior Liberals or insiders.

I have accepted the choice of Canadians in the election, and I would hope that my fellow Liberals can accept the choice of the Liberal delegates that selected me as leader. I look forward to working with the Harper government to make this parliament work for the good of our economy and the good of our country.

I am also here to announce that Joe Volpe has been kicked out of the Liberal caucus effective immediately, and will not think twice about adding a few more names if circumstances dictate.

Thank you, merci.


Do this Stephane and you will NEVER again have to face the "not a leader" label.

An insider here, a leaked memo there.....

It starts with an insider here, and a leaked memo there; next thing you know there will be potential leadership candidates selling memberships.

Come Monday, it will be alright, come Monday......


Update:
File this one under vanity but Liberal blogger James Curran has a brilliant post up at his place.

For the record I think Dion is getting treated like dirt by the Liberal Party and it is not going to help them in any way. Help bloggers like me, yes, but it will do nothing positive for their party.

They spent 30 days building him up, and it took less than 30 hours to start to tear him down.

Great incite as to the truthfulness of Liberals during the campaign when they all kept repeating that Dion would be a good PM and had their support.

From the comments "3 days ago every Liberal in the country was telling us that Dion was the best choice and deserved our votes. Today they are saying that he is not even fit to lead the Liberal party."

Volpe Speaks. Say it aint so Joe, say it aint so.

Re elected Liberal MP Joe Volpe has asked Stephane Dion to "signal his intentions" on whether he will step down as the leader of the LPC. Volpe being the diplomat he is did not outright call on Dion to quit but when questioned, Volpe had this to say "Dion has earned the right to stay on probably as an interim leader."

You really can't be much clearer than that, at least for a Liberal politician that is. source


Of interest: Joe Volpe was a candidate for the Liberal leadership in 2006 along with eventual winner Stephane Dion. Volpe dropped out after the first ballot results and threw his support behind Bob Rae.

Bob Rae huh, very interesting indeed.

The Gears of Liberal Party Leadership Machine

The gears of the Liberal Party of Canada's leadership machine meets the monkey wrench.



Coming May 2009 to a political party near you.

First comes the endorsment, now comes the call for him to be replaced

The Toronto Star.

Then and Now


update:
The Star has changed their headline as it turns out they were wrong, again.

Proportional Representation

With the election over we again hear calls for proportional representation, mostly from those that didn't get anyone elected, but here is something Elizabeth May or anyone else always fail to mention in their PR pr.

If we adopt some form of PR in Canada we would NEVER again have an independent elected to Parliament.

Think about that for a moment.

Think about last night and both André Arthur and Bill Casey.

Think back to 2004 and Chuck Cadman.

Think about an average person never again being able to run for Parliament unless they were members of some national political party .



That would not be a step forward for democracy, it would be a step backwards.

Campaign to keep Dion as LPC leader.

Today I am lending my voice to all those out there who want Stephane Dion to remain leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I support this move and would like to remind Liberals everywhere that if John Turner was allowed 2 kicks at the cat; IMHO Dion deserves the same.

Come on LPC. Give the leader another chance. If CTV can give him a redo on an interview the very least you can do for Mr.Dion is give him a redo on his chance to be PM.

It is what we Liberals do.

Late night post election thoughts.

Call Ripley's : The electoral record of the Green Party of Canada now sits at negative 1 after having lost the seat that they never won in the first place.

Dion is in trouble as leader, but his party is going to be in it even worse. A blogging goldmine I tells ya.

Garth Turner gets tossed in a big way. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Some other notable Liberal losses: Dan Boudria, Karen Redman, Omar Alghabra, Robert Thibault, Paul Zed, Ken Boshcoff.

Cherniak is leaving blogging to go behind the scenes with the LPC.

Dion is not a big fan of CTV. "The last one I want to speak first is CTV. Understand that?" Note how tough guy Dion gives CTV reporter Roger Smith a little push after Dion's security has already made the point.

PM Harper in his speech tonight commented that he has been elected 4 times in the last 6 years. It will take some large stones on the part of the 3 leaders of the opposition parties to bring this government down anytime soon.

Locally Mike Lake was re elected in Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont with over 60% of the vote. Meanwhile in the parking lot of his campaign office some mysterious woman was taking pictures of people leaving the party ???

Rahim Jaffer losses to Linda Duncan of the NDP in Edmonton. Someone representing a party that wants to shut down the oil sands. Hey, Edmonton Strathcona voters; any guesses as to where the funding for that world class hospital and large university campus in the center of your riding comes from?

Tomorrow we start taking down the signs.

It will take all 3 opposition parties to bring the government down.

Congratulations to PM Harper, and all those out there who worked so hard to get a de facto majority government.


It is going to take all 3 opposition parties voting together to bring down the new government and cause our fifth election in as little as six years. I do not see this happening for at least 3 more years, or possibly longer.

The Original "I am" Speech.

"I am a Canadian,
a free Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship God in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,
free to oppose what I believe wrong,
free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold
for myself and for all mankind."

Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker, from the House of Commons, Debates (on the Canadian Bill of Rights), July 1, 1960.


h/t Nick and Kathy,


Do not forget to vote.

Comments have been disabled on the blog due to archaic election laws.

Stephane Dion calls it a lie, but really who is the one doing the nose stretcher here?

Stephane Dion has been calling the PM a liar for the last couple of days because he does not like the way that his carbon tax has been treated by the Conservatives. It all boils down to the fact that Conservatives are not talking about the tax breaks that are going to be offered up by Dion's plan and Mr. Dion is not happy.

Well there is a good reason for that Stephane, because in the policy you are proposing, in this case it might be better referred to as bait and shift, those tax cuts are not going to even come close to the costs that the average taxpayer is going to have to shell out because of this twisted piece of bad policy.

The cost of EVERYTHING is going to go up, and if you want to talk truth why are you not telling Canadians that little fact about the fallout of your carbon tax?


Look at the following example with the results from the Liberal Green Shift calculator.

Joe makes 50K a year, lives in Alberta, is single and inherited his home.

He will get back $337 a year from those touted tax breaks under Dion's carbon tax. ( if he lived in Quebec he would only get back $282!! I wonder how many people in Quebec are aware of that little fact).

According to the Liberals: Joe is going to have to pay about $250 more to heat his home next year due to direct increases from the carbon tax leaving $87 dollars left over. But don't go out celebrating and buy up all that beer and popcorn just yet Joe, because you have not yet figured out how much more your electricity bill will be going up and the Liberal DO NOT even have an estimate for that. Any wagers that it will be well over the $87 dollars that Joe has left over?

A safe guess would be that the increase would be approaching that of his natural gas bill at around the $250 dollar mark*

So Joe gets hit with a $500 increase to his utility bills and now is $163 in the red. (The official colour of the Liberal Party of Canada BTW).

But we cannot stop there, oh no, because now Joe is going to be faced with cost increases from all over.

His property taxes are going to go up, estimate another $200 as municipalities try to recover their own massive cost increases for both heat and power. Damn city; do we really need public transit, those street lights on all night, our pools and facility buildings heated, roads plowed in winter or even to have our police or sanitation workers driving around in those costly vehicles? It is insane I tell you.

Provincial taxes would go up for many of the same reasons outlined above as well as a few more as the schools, universities, and hospitals come running to them to cover their carbon tax related cost increases.

The costs on food and consumer goods will go up as their shipping and manufacturing costs increase and the stores themselves pass on their own utility increases on to the consumer. This is already a given, but there is another reason that we can expect to see the price of everything increase and for that look to what happens to Joe next.

So poor Joe, who believed Dion and voted Liberal is now so far into the hole on this that he has to go to his boss and ask for a raise, as do all those others who work beside him. Joe's boss gives him and his fellow employees that raise, but now has to pass on these new added wage costs along with the direct cost increases that he is already paying on carbon tax to his customers causing his prices to raise.

Out of control inflation anyone?

It is a good thing Joe has a job. Imagine what this will do to the real poor in this country who can least afford it.



Mr. Dion; the next time that you speak about how those mean Conservatives do not talk about your tax cuts, please be honest with Canadians and tell them the real lie that those tax cuts are not even going to cover the known cost increases caused by your carbon tax, and certainly will not be enough to cover the many yet unknown cost increases that are sure to follow.


Poor Joe, poor Canada; and all for an environment plan that will DO NOTHING to reduce our GHG emissions.





*By taking only the top 7 electric generation facilities in Alberta with their 2004 CO2 emission numbers and multiplying that by $40.00/tonne you get a low estimate of the real cost to Alberta facilities coming out at over 4 billion dollars. With a population of 3.5 million people that comes out to $1200 per Albertan! So I figure $250 is a reasonable and realistic number for calculating on a per home basis what the average power bill would raise under Dion's carbon tax. The Liberals haven't even bothered to try and figure this number out, or at least they are not telling us about it if they did.

Liberal candidate Bob Friesen joins Martha Hall Findlay

Liberal candidate Bob Friesen joins Martha Hall Findlay and even leader Stephane Dion in admitting that the Liberals have no idea if the Green Shift will reduce CO2 emissions.

From the Winnipeg Sun: "It might not change behaviour," Friesen acknowledged during the debate.

Well, if it's not going to change behaviour, then it's just a straight tax grab."

Paid for by the Official Agent of the Liberal Party of Canada

Paid for by the Official Agent of the Liberal Party of Canada. Ok maybe not, but after reading the following, and only endorsement that I have seen for Dion, I think it should have the above disclaimer written across the page. You want your Liberal talking points, please read the following.

From the Toronto Star (big surprise) I was going to Fisk the entire thing but it is so full of holes and out right lies that it isn't even worth the effort; other than to comment that if the Star thinks that imposing a carbon tax on Ontario's manufacturing sector would be a good thing, then they are truly too partisan to be taken seriously and should be considered as nothing but an extension of the Liberal Party of Canada. Take note advertisers, the Star wants to destroy the Ontario economy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has run a government that has put partisanship and ideology ahead of the public interest.

In fiscal policy, Harper has pursued a neo-conservative strategy to cut the GST – not, as economists had recommended, income taxes – in order to reduce dramatically the role of government. He inherited a $12 billion surplus from the previous Liberal government (under Paul Martin) and has squandered almost all of it. His moves have left the government with little room to manoeuvre in the current crisis.

In foreign affairs, Harper has diminished Canada's reputation as an independent voice and aligned his government with George Bush's White House on a range of issues, from the Middle East to the "war on terror." He has also worsened relations with China, the world's biggest emerging economy, and fallen behind other Western countries in developing ties with India, the second biggest.

Taking a cue from the Ontario Conservative government under Mike Harris, Harper has pursued policies of deregulation. He has either allowed sectors to be self-regulating (food, for example), or he has fired the regulator (Linda Keen at the nuclear safety commission).

On the environment, Harper scrapped the Kyoto accord and came up with a new plan that allows greenhouse gas emissions to continue to grow, especially in his home province of Alberta.

In federal-provincial relations, he has spent 33 months in power without once holding a conference of first ministers. And he has managed the neat trick of alienating the governments of both Quebec and Ontario. Even Pierre Trudeau didn't do that. Furthermore, his finance minister, Jim Flaherty, has unapologetically dissed Ontario as the "last place" to invest in Canada.

On the cities front, there have been some grudging moves by Harper's government to help municipalities cope with the enormous infrastructure challenges they face. But the federal Conservative attitude toward cities was best summed up by the aforementioned finance minister, who said dismissively that Ottawa is not in the business of "fixing potholes."

On the aboriginal file, while Harper extended a meaningful apology over residential schools, he also ripped up the Kelowna accord, thereby dealing a severe blow to relations with native communities.

And having castigated the Liberals for being anti-democratic when he was in opposition, Harper ran a government that was secretive and controlling to an astonishing degree. Independent voices in the Conservative caucus were expelled, ministers prohibited from saying anything much, and the media frozen out (until the election neared).

To top it all off, in calling this election Harper broke his own law fixing the election date for 2009.

Harper did all that with a minority. If he got a majority, there are very real concerns that he would go much further and pave the way for two-tier medicare, pursue more military adventures with the Americans, scrap the gun registry, and introduce more Bush-like tax cuts that would hamper any future government's ability to govern.

Harper's campaign has been no less mean-spirited than his government. It has been dominated by attack ads that ridicule his chief rival (Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion) and misrepresent the key plank in his platform (the "Green Shift"). The Conservatives have also pursued wedge issues such as youth crime and funding cuts for the arts.

Latterly, during the market meltdown, with Canadians fearful for their jobs and their savings, Harper sounded more like a broker than a prime minister with his message that "some good buying opportunities are opening up." And when Dion, who has a hearing problem, stumbled in a television interview because he had trouble comprehending a question, Harper absurdly seized on this as proof that the Liberals "really don't know what they would do on the economy."

For all these reasons, Harper and the Conservatives do not deserve to be re-elected on Tuesday.

We prefer Dion and the Liberals.

Dion, to be sure, has his faults. His communications skills are wanting, his approach can be somewhat academic, and he did not do his job as leader to make sure his party was fully prepared for this election. Mid-campaign, it appeared Dion might be leading the Liberals to a defeat of historic proportions.

But Dion has shown growth in this campaign and appeared finally to be connecting with voters at the end. He has also demonstrated strength of character in withstanding a withering negative ad campaign that would have brought lesser leaders to their knees.

Dion's intelligence is beyond question, as is his love of country.

As well, the Liberal team is definitely stronger, with candidates in the GTA like Bob Rae, Michael Ignatieff, Ken Dryden, Gerard Kennedy, Martha Hall Findlay, Navdeep Bains and Ruby Dhalla. Tellingly, Harper and the Conservatives failed to attract any name candidates to their local banner in this election.

Finally, the Liberal platform has much in it to like, including an emphasis on building infrastructure, fighting poverty, expanding child care and working with the provinces (especially Ontario).

The Green Shift, so ridiculed by the Conservatives, may seem complicated to the average voter. But it is actually simpler and more transparent than the Conservatives' own cap-and-trade plan, with "intensity-based" targets. The Conservative plan would also involve higher costs for consumers, but they would be hidden.

The New Democrats have an attractive leader in Jack Layton – articulate and knowledgeable. And the NDP platform is very similar to the Liberals', with one notable exception: its reliance on hiking corporate taxes by $50 billion. That could scare business away from Canada and is at odds with the direction taken by other liberal and social democratic governments.

As well, in Ontario at least, a ballot cast for the NDP would split the opposition vote and allow the Conservatives to go up the middle to victory – except, that is, in ridings the NDP already holds.

As for the Greens, their leader, Elizabeth May, has brought a feisty new presence to the campaign trail. But in this province, where the Greens are trailing well behind, a vote for them will clearly be wasted. It would be tantamount to voting for Ralph Nader, the Green candidate for U.S. president in 2000, who drew just enough votes away from Al Gore to allow the climate-change- denying Bush to win.

In summary, the re-election of Stephen Harper and the Conservatives would be bad for Toronto, bad for Ontario, and bad for Canada. Stéphane Dion and the Liberals are the best alternative.

Harpernomics

Most stable banking system in the world.

Record job creation for September.

Canada will lead G7 for GDP growth for 2009.


If this is Harpernomics; Ill take a few more years please.

Would Dion have pulled the plug?

With the current world wide financial problems and if the PM would not have pulled the plug on his government a little over 30 days ago, would Stephane Dion have finally got up enough nerve to vote non confidence in the government forcing an election?


I say would say that yes he would have and we would be heading into an election for the middle of November rather than this upcoming Tuesday.


What say you?

Drop off a comment or vote in the poll on the side bar.

Dion with Mansbridge . I call BS.

Stephane Dion: "I never broke my word and uh my record is there. When I say something I don't over commit and I deliver."


Do I really need to give examples of how this statement is pure BS.

Dr. Dion's prescription for an ailing economy.

Take this green pill* and call me in 30 days.

------

*Pharmaceutical Monograph:

NOTE: Not recommended for use in bad economic times or to help the poor.

Side effects:

Will pull 40 billion dollars out of the pockets of Canadians.

May not harmonize with existing carbon taxes.

Will harm the auto and manufacturing sectors.

Will cause inflation.

Will not actually reduce CO2 or come close to meeting Kyoto targets.

Will not be revenue neutral.

Will put an unfair burden on Canadian business.

Will cause trading partners great discomfort and possibly spark a trade war.

Will cause the price of EVERYTHING to go up.

Will not create jobs and may in fact eliminate jobs.

Will increase the cost of gasoline.

May cause stock prices to tumble.

Will create much increased regional discomfort and possible spontaneous amputation of same.

Will not really do anything at all to help the economy, but will raise money for Liberal spending schemes.

Will harm those that can least afford it. (The poor and those on fixed incomes or pensions)

What the....?

No, I am not talking about the recent drop in the polls, but rather the piss poor job the MSM are doing in this country covering the election. It truly is pathetic. The MSM seem to accept whatever comes out of the mouths of the leaders as fact and do not bother challenging anything or even asking the simplest of questions.

I refer to a couple of points in the MSM's coverage of Stephane Dion as examples. The first was during the last debate where Dion stated about his carbon tax that " The Premiers support our plan as a good one,". A statement that is pure hogwash. Dion lies and the media stays quiet. Aside from a post on this blog has anyone seen this mentioned anywhere else?

There are even more implications for this as Dion keeps telling us everyday about his 30 day action plan where he is going to meet with everyone and their dog to fix the economy. Are the Premiers going to be included in these meetings? Will Dion listen to them and their almost unanimous disdain for his carbon tax or will he just ignore them? Important questions, basic simple questions that are not being asked by those tasked with covering the election for their own news organizations and Canadians. h/t Jack Layton.


Even on the Liberal platform the MSM are falling flat. The Liberals plan calls for them to cut 12 billion dollars from current government spending to fund their platform, but does anyone know just where these cuts are going to take place and where this money is going to be coming from? The Conservatives cut a few million from some arts programs and the media are falling all over themselves covering it, but the Liberals proposed cutting of 12 billion out of the current budget gets completely ignored.

You need more? Has anyone in the MSM asked Dion about any details on how he would harmonize his carbon tax with that of B.C? I thought not.



As I said earlier; a pathetic job and a disservice to Canadians who rely on you to do your damn jobs and ask the important questions on our behalf.


Steve Jenke, not a member of the MSM, also finds a question that needs to be asked.

The Green Party owes Jennifer Wright some money

Earlier tonight at an all candidates radio/cable tv debate local Green Party candidate for Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont, David Allan Hrushka, tonight called the GP policy on the environment said

Since Jennifer Wright is the rightful owner of the Green Shift name, and the Liberal Party of Canada has, only through threats of legal action, come to a financial agreement to license this name, shouldn't the Green Party have to pay up for using it as well?

I feel an invoice coming your way soon Liz.

Oh and where in the Green Party platform can I find out more about those "municipal registered retirement savings plans" that your candidate mentioned tonight?

Awesome job Greens, awesome.

Nose Stretchers from Stephane Dion at the English Debate.

One big whopper from Stephane Dion tonight during the English debate and a couple of other shady claims that openly contradict his previously stated policies.

Dion's big lie was his claim about the Green Shift that 'The Premiers support our plan as a good one, so you are inventing something' (note: quotes on the fly so accuracy not 100%)

Wow! There is no way that this claim is even close to being true and there is no way that Dion does not already know this unless Rae or Iggy jumped the gun and whacked him on the head with something really heavy. Please, oh please Liberal spin meisters, try to defend this totally fictitious claim by your leader to Canadians.


Some more tall tales from Dion.

Claiming that the Kelowna Accord and the '2006' Liberal childcare plan would be brought back by the Liberals. In fact Dion made the audacious claim that it would happen October 14th if they won the election.

Where to start. On October 14th, even if you could con enough of Canadians into voting FOR the LPC rather than against the CPC, Dion would not be the PM or be in any position to do anything until he was actually sworn in. Duh! If he doesn't get this he has no business being our PM; kind of like Elizabeth May on the Canada Health Act.

Much more shady is Dion's claim that he is bringing these programs back while his own platform does NOT provide the funds for either of these plans. Yes there is partial funding for these in Dion's platform but not anywhere near the levels that were promised by Paul Martin and rejected in 2006 by Canadians.

On infrastructure: Dion first claimed that the Liberals would spend more on infrastructure when in reality their platform only copies the existing Conservative spending and will NOT be an increase at all. Later he made the claim the the Liberals would 'speed up' this already existing spending. Just where in that Liberal platform does this unfunded sped up money come from because Dion made it painfully clear that the 70 Billion of already existing spending commitments, and the timing of those commitments as written by the Harper Government could not be included in costing the Liberal platform.

It just doesn't add up, but that is what you get when you make up policy on the fly.



On healthcare: Dion said that "We saved healthcare." Too damn funny. Was that when Chretien cut billions of dollars in transfer payments from the provinces messing up healthcare to this day, or when the instigator of those cuts, Paul Martin, later fixed healthcare for a generation?


There are more but I think you all get the idea. From carbon taxes, to not going negative in the campaign, or not changing a single comma in a platform that has already been altered on the fly a few times already; Dion cannot be trusted on anything he says and certainly can not be trusted to be our PM.