More bad news for the Liberal Party of Canada

I was going to post a little roundup on the misfortunes of the LPC over the last couple of days when I came across another one to add to the list.

Stephen Taylor has some questions for Garth Turner about how he is raising money. It is a must read about how our old friend Garth might be in violation of Election Canada rules. Interesting timing since Garth and the Libs have been trying to stir up the pot over CPC practices. I will be watching this one carefully over the next little while.

The sponsorship scandal is again raising it's ugly head courtesy of former PM Jean Chretien. It looks like JC has had his lawyer busy trying to quash some the Gomery Commissions findings that placed some blame with the PMO and hurt JC's feelings. JC has never been happy about the entire sponsorship issue; in his book he stated that Martin made to much of a deal out of it and should have swept it under the rug instead of calling an inquiry. As usual, in the Liberal Party, the buck stops nowhere. H/T Christian Conservative


Some big news out of BC where the MP Blair Wilson,Liberal critic for revenue (the irony here is priceless) is in some hot water for spending allegations in the 2006 campaign. Wilson resigned today after first denying anything was improper, but it looks like someone upstairs was trying to do some damage control and Wilson's tune changed a bit. I wonder how Stephane will deal with the above mentioned Garth Turner allegations? Better keep that Press Release handy; just cross of one name and add another.

So much for the big plan of painting the conservatives as a crooked party. It was a dumb idea to begin with, but now with the Wilson story, Garth's potential troubles, and of course JC bringing up the grand daddy of all, the sponsorship scandal, the Liberals continue to look like buffoons.

This last one may not be much, but having just read the Susan Delacourt story in the Star, where everything seemed to be coming up roses for the Libs in the GTA area*; the president of the Sarnia-Lambton federal Liberal association, Anne Marie Gillis, has resigned because of the poor leadership of Dion. The Liberals are desperately hoping that the major cracks and trouble seen in Quebec wing will not pour cross over the border into their last major area of support in the country, but didn't those cracks in Quebec just start out small as well? Here's hoping.

*How could a survey of the Liberal party's 47 riding presidents in the GTA possibly be representative of anything? It would be like asking the Board of GM what type of vehicles are the best, or asking Leafs coach Paul Maurice who will win the cup. The entire story looks like a sad attempt at cheer leading that the Star, and Delacourt, should both be ashamed of.


Late update: It seems that Blair Wilson at one time was contemplating running for the LPC leadership and the entire country into the ground with his management skills. H/T KerPlonka

Liberals: " small minded, racist fear mongers."

OK, that is not the exact quote, but I only changed one word and fixed the typo. The word change was easy to justify because in this matter, both the Government and the Liberals are of the exact same opinion.

This found on the ever so tolerant left leaning Liblogs :

"The Falling Sky Saved By Tories
Ah! At last. The real Tories step forward and introduce the first piece of legislation with any real substance. And isn't it true to who they are; small minded, rascist (sic) fear mongers."

This all dealing with the proposed legislation that would require people to show their face when being identified to vote. That is all people, not just some people, but all people (sounds equal and fair to me, but I am just a knuckle dragger from Alberta) Oops, I guess the writer of the above quote is as well.

The Liberal position here. Stephane Dion said; "We disagree with the Elections Canada decision and we ask them to revisit their decision... It's important to identify the person. It may be done in a very respectful way, but it must be done."

Even Taliban Jack Agrees: "NDP Leader Jack Layton said he continues to hold out hope that Mayrand will change his position before the byelections, but is prepared to support a legislative move."If not, it appears it will be necessary to change the law to make it clear," Layton said." So do some progessive bloggers now think Jack Layton is racist as well?

So who again are these small minded, racist fear mongers?


Another Liberal has some thoughts on PM Harper Dion here.

Mayor Miller, Jim has a foolproof idea for you.

Attention Mayor David Miller.

Jim Travers from the Star has a great liberal idea that is guaranteed to solve your money problems.

You see, and the statistics do not lie, because the crime rate is down there is no real need to worry about crime in general, and subsequently there will be no need for Toronto to have such a large and costly police force. You could cut about 25% right off the top, and save the city MILLIONS of those badly needed dollars.

Simple, and how can it fail? A great liberal idea, carried out by a liberal mayor; a dynamite combination for success if there ever was one.

It could get even better once this country wakes up to Harper's secret agenda and we return the Liberals to their rightful place in power. With the Libs back in power it is obvious that an even greater drop in the crime rate will be sure to follow, and the police force could again be easily cut to a size of about half of what exists today.

Just think what you could do if you had 50% of that police budget to do the things that really matter.

Marc Garneau pulls a Dion

Former astronaut and failed Liberal candidate Marc Garneau is expected to be parachuted in by Dion as the Liberal candidate in the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie, one of the 'so called' safest Grit bastions in the land.

Garneau said just a few weeks ago that he is closing the door on politics and he said he was discouraged that Dion was going to hand pick the Liberal candidate for the Quebec riding in which he was interested and he seemed to rule out a comeback any time soon, saying: "I've gone into the private sector now for as long as I can see in the future.''


He should fit right into the Dion led Liberal Party, where what they say does not matter and Liberal self interest seems to trump everything else.

In case anyone has forgotten, this is some of what Stephane Dion had to say on Liberal support for the thrown speech :

"There's no chance ... Liberal MPs would rise in support of a Throne Speech that we judged was going against the best interests of Canadians and the honour of our country" (National Post, August 27, 2007)

"Never, as leader of this party, will I recommend to my caucus to support a bad Throne Speech or a bad budget bill," Dion said (Montreal Gazette, August 28, 2007)

"We want this Parliament to work,'' he told reporters on his way into a Liberal caucus retreat to plot strategy for the fall. Still, if the Tories insist on proroguing Parliament and starting a new session with a speech from the throne, Dion said Liberals won't hesitate to vote against it if it doesn't include a firm February, 2009, end date for Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan and a comprehensive climate change plan. (CP, August 29, 2007)

Yup, he will be right at home in the Liberal Party of Canada.

Can't Stop the Bleeding

It is hard to imagine how things could get much worse for Stephane Dion, but with the upcoming thrown speech and now the release of Jean Chretien's book "My Years as Prime Minister," I think the embattled Liberal leader is going to wish that he had went back to teaching instead of taking the helm of the LPC.

Chretien reportedly takes plenty of shots at Paul Martin in the book, bringing again to light the bitter feud and bad feelings that occurred within the party, and there is NO WAY the MSM is going to ignore the obvious comparisons to what is going on today under the Dion led LPC.

What could turn out much worse for Dion is that Chretien fully blames Paul Martin for not doing anything to achieve the targets set out within the Kyoto Protocol. In case anyone forgot, Stephane Dion was Martin's minister of the environment while nothing was done on the Kyoto file. The saying "We didn't get it done" will again fall into the lap of Dion and he is going to have to pick sides between the man who first brought him into politics, and the man who he served as environment minister for 2 years, and their respective versions of events.

More negative press from the MSM who now are almost in a shark like feeding frenzy over the blood in Liberal waters.

Even when Dion tried to do what looked like a good idea and cut the corporate income tax rate, he was over shadowed in the news cycle by his green pal Al Gore winning a Nobel Prize, and the announcement of the formation of a blue ribbon panel on Afghanistan, a move that more than a few in the press labeled as "brilliant" on the part of Prime Minister Harper. I used the term 'looked like a good idea' above because I have wisely learned to be very wary of Liberal math. In this case a 4 % cut will be more than offset by the excess costs and carbon taxes that the Libs will slap on business if they ever return to power.

By the way, who the hell is this idea supposed to appeal to? With Dion taking the party hard left, this is probably not the best way to get your base support up amongst those on that side of the political spectrum.

All this and later this week Dion has to handle the Liberal response to the throne speech all under the spotlight of increased media attention. It is almost enough to make me feel sorry for ol' Stephane. Almost.

Al

I just have to comment on some of those that PM Harper selected to be on the panel looking at our UN/ NATO mission in Afghanistan and the future. Mr. Manley is already being labeled a traitor, a non Liberal, and even a fool for taking on this responsibility, and he deserves kudos for doing so. I also must congratulate our future Governor General* Pamela Wallen for also taking up this challenge on such an important issue.


* I do not know this to be fact, but she does seem to have all the credentials of the previous 2.

The Mounties always get their man.

Canada's most wanted man, Emrah Bulatci, who is charged with the first-degree murder of a N.W.T. Mountie, was captured about an hour ago in a home in west Edmonton.

This arrest followed the killing of RCMP Const. Christopher Worden, 30, who was found shot to death Saturday morning after he responded to a call in the town of Hay River, N.W.T.

The Mounties get their man, a dangerous fugitive is now behind bars, and a family as well as a nation continues to grieve. Meanwhile the judges and lawyers that let scum like this out on the streets will continue on in their little dream world, not seeming to care what the results of their actions are.

"On Feb. 7, Emrah Bulatci was arrested in Edmonton on six charges, including possessing a restricted weapon, breaching a firearm ban and possessing proceeds of a crime exceeding $5,000.

The next morning, he was released on $20,000 bail."

"The man accused of gunning down an RCMP officer in the Northwest Territories accumulated at least 25 criminal charges across Alberta in the last three years." source

Only 25 charges? Maybe Jack Layton can nominate him for citizen of the year.

Al

Dion sees his shadow. No election for 6 months.

So, the very absent from any recent public events, Stephane Dion came out of hiding today to shuffle around the bones of the Liberal Party of Canada.

He named our old friend Garth Turner as a "special" advisor. I wonder if Garth's special talents will be used to help Dion with the clean campaign that he is eventually planning to run; because we all know Garth is never in the muck. ( I almost chocked typing that)

Dion also named, in what I consider a very bizarre choice, the infamous Bob Rae as the LPC's foreign affairs critic. The unelected Rae, who hit single digits in his popularity as former Premier of Ontario, was also a challenger of Dion's at the leadership convention late last year, and remains hungry for Dion's job. I say bizarre choice because even though everyone is blaming Iggy for a lot of the knife play as of late in the LPC, I have yet to see Rae make any of the 'support Dion' type of speeches Iggy has made.

Think about this; in who's best interests is it to have all of Dion's and the LPC troubles be front and center in the MSM for all to see, and have these leaks blamed on the #2 choice at the convention, Iggy? Ignatieff supporters may indeed be responsible for much of the backroom antics that are going on, but I doubt it could be considered a benefit to their guy to be blamed publicly for either the antics or the leaks. Maybe it is a case of keeping your enemies close, but judging by Dions lack of leadership skills and political smarts, I doubt it.

Dion who had earlier in the day spoken about how his party was or would not be obstructionist in Parliament, also named Pablo Rodriguez as critic for the Economic Development Agency (Quebec). We all remember Pablo as the sponsor of the private members' bill that appears to make the government comply with Kyoto, while in reality might just be the textbook definition of obstructionism, as well as a colossal waste of taxpayer paid time. Perhaps Pablo could help Stephane out with the current Jamie Carroll problem; as Pablo has called for him to be fired even after Dion publicly stated his support for Carroll. One big happy family.


Oh, and Dion did see his shadow today, so according to Wiarton Willies guide to Liberal politics, that means no election for at least 6 more months. Hey, taking advice from a groundhog might just be a good thing for the Liberals, heaven knows they are not getting any leadership from anywhere else.

Al

Another Quebec Liberal 'Star' Candidate says no to Dion

This kind of sums up the week for the leaderless LPC.

"Paul Leduc, a three-term mayor of a large Montreal suburb, says that he's changed his mind about running for the Liberals and that one of the party's household names provided him with phone numbers for journalists and urged him to go public with his story." Source .


Not only are potential stars walking and or running away from Dion, they are being encouraged to go to the Canadian media with it!

Those knives that many have been secretly sharpening over the last 20 months are out big time as everybody in the country watches. Canadians get to see the leadership of Dion and the mess his party is in. Quebec is almost in open revolt, and even amongst the die hard loyalists, there is trouble as Libloggers are openly calling for Dion to step down, and others call for him to fire his long time advisor Jamie Carrol. All this and much more will be brought to the Canadian people by the MSM, who enjoy the smell of political blood even more than they enjoy tormenting the conservatives.

Makes you wonder why so many Liberals want a fall election? Or does it?



Al

And in the meantime PM Harper continues to demonstrate to Canadians just who the better leader is.

Did Dalton lie trying to cover up an earlier lie?

I didn't want to post much about the Ontario election as I do not live there, but after reading tonight about the debate and how Dalton McGuinty came out and addressed his broken promise about raising taxes, even making a video/commercial about it, I had a question.

McGuinty, in trying to cover and justify his lie with the reasons why he raised taxes, said this:

"I got there and ahh, discovered that there was no money"

Now my question; Is that really true? Did McGuinty not know while he was the leader of the opposition and before he took over the big chair, that the Eves government was running a deficit? Was the news of an Ontario deficit some big secret that no one was aware of, or is this an example of a Liberal using one lie to cover for another?

I think the MSM might have a question or 2 that they may want to ask Dalton about this. Over to you MSM.

Signed, uninformed about Ontario politics in Alberta.

It isn't paranoia if 'they' really are out to get you.

I was trying to guess what poor Stephane Dion must be thinking about since the disastrous showing by the Liberals in the vote this past Monday. It really was not that hard to do, even with me being a non academic and all, because after about 1 minute I realized that there are very few people that he can trust inside his own party.

The poor guy; he has Liberals who want him gone now, he has a few Liberals that will stick with him to an election, but a large portion of this group will be pushing for an election quickly just to get rid of him, and of course a small group of Liberals who really believe in Dion as leader. But how does he really know who to trust, or even whose advice he should listen to amongst the high paid help that surrounds him, many of whom were likely supporting a different candidate at the LPC convention last year? It is not like he ever has been Mr. Popularity among Liberals to begin with, and with what happened on Monday, it will take more than wishful thinking or even an Extreme Makeover Ottawa edition to help with the problems in the LPC, and of course with the perceptions of the Canadian voter who is watching this mess unfold.

Canadian Dollar on par with the US Greenback

As of 1250hrs local time the Canadian dollar reached par with the US dollar.

It has been a long time since anyone has seen this.


Al

A few thoughts on Outremont

This result is not really a surprise to anyone but a few deluded Liberals who thought everyone else was wrong and they would pull it off in the end.

How can some claim that the Bloc losing support is an ominous sign for their future, but the Liberals losing support is just some kind of weird anomaly?

BTW, Thank you PM Harper for setting the conditions for the demise of the Bloc.

Hey Stephane, do you still think the fiscal imbalance never really existed in the minds of Quebecois?

How can Dion not be blamed for this as he hand picked the candidate and parachuted him into the riding? The same thing he wants to do to women all over Canada against every principle of grass roots democracy; all because it is the 'pc' thing to do and he thinks he knows better.

Would J. Trudeau have faired better? Or perhaps another candidate chosen by the local Libs?

Does anyone else think that the Liberals are going to find a way to like the next thrown speech a lot more now?

It is a good thing that Lizzy didn't pull the Green Party candidate, or else the NDP would have only won by 16 percent instead of nearly 20.

How do some Liberals figure that bad mouthing Iggy and using him as a scapegoat will make him more of a team player?

And while I am on the subject of Iggy, I wonder if he favours the Ginsu over the trusty butcher knife? Only time will tell.

The media smells blood, and that blood is Dion's. This story is not going to die and will linger much longer than any Liberal would like it to; all due to the MSM.

Does anyone else think that somewhere out there Frank McKenna and John Manley are laughing hysterically right now?

Al

It is good not to be the king.

It is good not to be the King, or at least Stephane Dion appears to think so.

Take a look at this story from the National Post which in my opinion sums up Stephane Dion's political strategy perfectly.

"Stephane Dion appears to believe that the job of the official Opposition is to oppose everything, even if it means proposing things you know you would never enact as prime minister."

That's pretty much it for the way Dion has operated; well except for the tired old Harper is scary stuff the Libs like to toss around, but I can forgive them for that as old habits die hard.

The above UN declaration, Afghanistan, income trusts, anti-terror legislation, softwood lumber, and the Atlantic Accords are just a few examples of how Dion has changed the Liberal position and alienated long time Liberal supporters along the way.

Pretty brave for a guy who was the 4th choice for leader of the Liberal delegates at their convention. Those waiting for him to fail must be smiling with glee watching this Ph.D run the Liberal Party of Canada into the ground so they can ride in to save it. Long live the King.

Busted: CTV Bias

Just a little example of media bias from CTV.

Courtesy of SDA


Wow, CTV uses the CPC logo in their story and includes the line "A Conservative party supporter could theoretically donate more than $60,000 over the legal limit under a recently discovered loophole, according to a newspaper report."

FYI here is a bit from the newspaper story (Globe and Mail Article) referred to in the CTV piece. Please note where it says ANY Canadian.

Loophole tears lid off political donations

Gap allows for contributions more than $60,000 over limit

DANIEL LEBLANC

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

August 1, 2007 at 4:05 AM EDT

OTTAWA — Any Canadian could exceed by more than $60,000 the legal donation to a political party under a loophole discovered by The Globe and Mail.

Elections Canada confirmed yesterday that an individual could theoretically contribute $199.99 to each of the party's 308 riding associations across the country - a total of $61,596.92 - without attracting anyone's attention.

That's because parties are required to inform Elections Canada only of individual donations of $200 or more. Smaller donations to riding associations are lumped together, with no breakdown for cross-checking.

Under the government's showpiece Accountability Act, passed last year, individuals can donate a maximum of $1,100 to a political party.

So why did CTV decide to single out the CPC in their story, when even the original G&M story rightfully pointed out that the loophole could be used by any Canadian?

I would like to see the answer to that, but I won't be holding my breath waiting.

Gone Fishing!

I should have posted this weeks ago, but I was holding out hope that I would be able to find the time to keep up with this blog. However, reality being what it is makes finding free time impossible and I will be taking the summer off to enjoy the weather along with some of the other great things this country offers during the short summer season rather than be indoors on the computer.



See you in September or perhaps in a post or 2 in between now and then.

Al, aka The Alberta Ardvark

2 people charged in 2005 murder of 4 RCMP Officers

RCMP announced Sunday that after 28 months of investigation — including an undercover operation that Dennis Keegan Rodney Cheesman, 23, and Shawn William Hennesey, 28, both of Barrhead were each charged with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the infamous 2005 incident where constables Peter Schiemann, Tony Gordon, Brock Myrol and Leo Johnston were gunned down at a farm and marijuana grow op near Mayerthorpe Alberta. CBC Coverage here

While not on the property at the time of the murders, the 2 men are accused of being a party to the offence for aiding and abetting gunman James Roszko.

Doctors who want to kill you

2 of the 7 so far arrested for the terror attacks in the UK are said to be medical doctors.


Not alienated youth, not poor Arabs, but practicing doctors who seem to have not taken their oath seriously and tried to kill hundreds of innocent people.

The common denominator again is the same, but will anymore people wake up and see it.


Al

Leadership, Dion Style

It would seem that Stephane Dion wants the PM to "Clarify" what he meant when he said Quebec is a nation, even though Dion voted in favour of the House Motion back in November.

So in other words, even though Dion had no idea what the House Motion really meant, he just went along and voted for it.

Now that is what I call leadership.

NASCAR, Sponsorship and the Left.

Unbelievable.

The left seems to be under the impression that the Canadian public actually gives a rat's ass about how the Conservative Party of Canada spends it's own money.

NEWSFLASH!!! They don't, and all of this feigned outrage from the Liberals and NDP is only making themselves look foolish to those whose votes they covet. Get over it. The cost of this is not covered by government money, but your wages are, so speaking as a taxpayer please stop wasting time on a non issue. If you still are that upset over this, than please send in your 10 bucks and become a member of the CPC to have your say. (Come and join in with the many thousands of other Canadians who already have signed up to the CPC, you will be glad you did)


Speaking of sponsoring racing in general; does anyone else find it strange that the Liberals are even talking about this? I seem to remember the last time the Liberals were involved in auto racing that a rather large amount of Government money was (mis)spent in Quebec on placing large Canada signs at various events. Many Liberals like to refer to this period as "The Happy Times", but now prefer to forget it ever occurred or that anyone in government was responsible. A strange strategy indeed.

Is anyone really surprised by this?

Dion, in typical Liberal fashion, was against the Atlantic Accord before he was for it. The arrogance of the Liberals continues to amaze me as they treat the citizens of this great country as idiots who will believe anything that is told to them.

Today Liberal leader Stéphane Dion pretends to care about the Atlantic Accord. However, Dion’s record was clear – he fought tooth and nail AGAINST Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador receiving any benefits at all from their offshore resources. How does Dion explain his record?:

The facts:

- Stéphane Dion and the Liberals have always denied that the fiscal imbalance even exists

- Dion voted AGAINST the implementation of the Atlantic Accord on November 15, 2004

- The federal government says it no longer wants to talk about Nova Scotia's so-called "campaign for fairness". Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Premier John Hamm yesterday, and told reporters the campaign is over. Dion says it's only fair that as provinces take in more money on their own, they receive less in equalization transfers. (BN, May 15, 2002)

- Premier John Hamm's Campaign for Fairness on offshore royalties was flawed from the start, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said Tuesday. "I suggested to stop arguing about the past," Dion said after meeting with Hamm for more than an hour. "It's a mistake to link (the offshore) to equalization payments, because then other provinces want to be part of it." (The Daily News (Truro), May 15, 2002)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says Ottawa has had enough of Nova Scotia's campaign for fairness. The province wants to keep equalization payments, even as it takes in new revenues from offshore development. Dion told reporters yesterday that wouldn't be fair to other provinces. (BN, May 15, 2002)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says he's fed up arguing about Premier John Hamm's ``campaign for fairness,'' (Halifax Daily News, May 15, 2002)

- Dion said he doesn't like the name of Hamm's campaign, or its insistence that Nova Scotia got a raw deal in the past. (Halifax Daily News, May 15, 2002)

- Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion, who stated the federal Liberals see no need to amend the equalization formula to accommodate the Atlantic premiers' wish to keep all their oil and gas booty (Report Magazine, August 20, 2001, quoting Globe and Mail op-ed by Dion)

- “Look, we have received two requests from some premiers. Premier Hamm has requested to not take into account his offshore revenue in the equalization payment formula. We have explained why it would be unfair for the provinces.” (CBC Radio, The House, August 4, 2001)

- Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said last week that ``goes against the whole idea of equalization'' and could cause resentment among the ``have'' provinces, such as Alberta, that pay into the fund. (Edmonton Journal, April 18, 2001)

- Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion argued recently that it would be unfair to allow provinces such as Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to hang on to both equalization payments and their oil and gas revenues if that gives them fiscal capacities surpassing those of British Columbia or Ontario (Ottawa Citizen, July 19, 2001)


When you have no ideas of your own and base your policy on the opposite of what the Harper Government does, is it any surprise to anyone that Dion would now try to play the hero in the face of his own record?