The Kids Are Back from Vacation

Today kids are back on the Hill after their Christmas break.  The question is will they play nice in the sandbox like grown ups or will they resort to their usual juvenile antics?  Will they do their name calling, temper tantrums and playing their usual games for political opportunism? Or will they be responsible,act like mature adults and get some work done for the benefit of the country?

Jane Giggles Taber reported that the Liberal's own pollster has found that only 15% of Canadians pay attention to federal politics. Is it any wonder? Our MP's act  worse than four year olds sometimes, it's pathetic especially during Question Period. Canadians have contend with their own four year olds at home with their temper tantrums.  Who feels like paying attention to a bunch in Ottawa who should know better, behave like spoiled,whiny children?  Who feels like paying attention to the antics, the faux scandals etc.?  That is a turn off. 

So kids, now that you're back from vacation, please act like adults, get along and get some work done. After all that's what we pay you for. Above all don't waste our time and money on juvenile gamesmanship.   If you're not prepared to do that, then tender your resignation now so we can have an election and elect some MP's that are ready, willing,and able to work and behave like grown ups. 

I say to you juvenile MPs, grow up!  You'll gain more respect.
That's what a majority of Canadians want.  They don't want an election, they want you to work.  I don't know but I'm not holding my breath.

What A Week in Alberta Politics

Wow, who said politics in Alberta was boring?  Well it used to be until lately. It's actually starting to get quite exciting.  With the start up of the Wildrose Alliance Party with an intelligent, articulate leader in Danielle Smith already competitive with the Progressive Conservatives. 

This last week alone has been almost like a soap opera.  Monday, you had Calgary Currie MLA Dave Taylor who had left the Liberals to sit as an Independent join the new left wing Alberta Party.  Taylor had left the Liberals over leadership.  He had run for the position but lost to David Swann who he had problems with.

Tuesday Premier Ed Stelmach surprised everyone announcing he was  resigning.It spurred a flurry of rumors that the PC caucus was divided that was later downplayed and denied. 
Yesterday Finance Minister Ted Morton announced he was resigning from cabinet to be a backbencher so he that he could persue  the leadership.

What a week!  Don Braid from the Calgary Herald reported that there was turmoil in the PC caucus over the budget.
Even though the party is denying any rift within the caucus, I don't believe it.  I think there is more than the eye can see.  The timing seems for all this is bizarre to me. We will for sure have a lame duck Premier,with a lame duck government, in a lame duck legislative session this spring. Until there is a new leader, an election to clear the air, no one will really be minding the store. 

One thing you can say is Alberta politics is not boring anymore.  It's not over yet, stay tuned!

The Bloc's Blackmail

Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois has stated his price for support of the budget that federal government is to present in March. He wants $5 billion.  It's nothing more that blackmail IMHO. 

QUEBEC — The Bloc Quebecois, with 47 seats in the House of Commons, has announced its price for supporting the Conservative minority government's new budget: The BQ wants $5 billion for Quebec, including $2.2 billion to compensate the province for harmonizing its provincial sales tax with the federal goods and services tax.

I say NO. They have extorted enough from the ROC already.  They are the spoiled child of confederation and it's about time the pandering stop.  If the government gives in and gives them this money, it still won't be enough.   It's never enough. The hands will still be out.  Besides the Conservatives would lose support in the ROC especially in the west here.

It's time to impose some tough love. Don't cave and let the chips fall where they may.  If the CPC loses seats in Quebec so be it.  They'll gain else where. If they comply with Gilles demands, they will lose seats in ROC.

Please PM Harper, Minister Flaherty, Minister of State for Finance, Ted Menzies, SAY NO!  Don't give in to the Bloc's demands! Enough is enough!
Makes you wonder what the Bloc's coalition partners have promised them.

Most Canadians Agree With PM Harper On The Death Penalty

Last week PM Harper had an interview on CBC with Peter Mansbridge in which Mansbridge asked the PM questions on what he would do if he gets a  majority after next election.  One of those questions that were asked of the PM were would he bring back the death penalty.

When asked about reopening the death penalty issue, Harper said that he doesn't "see the country wanting to do that."
"I personally think there are times where capital punishment is appropriate," Harper said, but added that he has "no plans to bring that issue forward."

Well it seems that most Canadians agree with PMSH in a poll that the Sun Media had conducted after the interview.

It turns out such a bill would garner more support than Harper's Conservatives currently do in the polls.
Over the weekend, Ottawa’s Abacus Data found that 66% of Canadians agree with Harper and support the death penalty “in certain circumstances,” but only 41% want the feds to bring back it back a punishment for murder.
The largest group, 41%, said they agreed with the death penalty in certain circumstances and believe the government should reinstate it, while 25% said they support the death penalty but do not believe it should be reinstated.
Total opposition to the death penalty came in at 28%, and another 7% were undecided.

Where does Iffy Waffle personally stand on this issue?  Has the great Peter Mansbridge or any so called journalist actually asked him? 

Iffy on the Wrong Side of the Issues Again?

Why is it  that Iffy and the Libs keep getting on the wrong side of the issues? He's against the corporate tax cuts that PM Harper and the Conservative government have implemented, is good for the economy and that most support.  Even his Harvard buddy President Barack Obama has seen the light and in his State of the Union speech last light talked about reducing the corporate tax rate in the US.

Since taking a pratfall at the midterm elections, Barack Obama has been making a show of moving closer to the middle ground of American politics. He’s stressed his willingness to compromise with Republican opponents, bit the bullet on demands for an extension of tax cuts, avoided opportunities to play to partisanship and generally made known that he’s not the left-wing kook he was portrayed as to great effect by his opponents.

                                            .*******************************

 One assumes Obama is acting out of necessity, having found that bashing business produces short-term approval on the left but provides little in the way of electoral support or presidential job security. That message has yet to wend its way north to Liberal headquarters in Ottawa, though, where leader Michael Ignatieff appears intent on staking a role as Canada’s resident corporate scold, outflanking Jack Layton and the NDP.

Kelly McParland  indicates that  when you listen to Iffy you can almost hear Jack Layton speak and that Jack can easily make PM Harper's case for corporate tax cuts without the PM having to actually make it himself.  Nice.

If you close your eyes and listen, you can hear Jack Layton complaining about rhetoric theft. The NDP leader can hardly open his mouth without talking about “hard-working Canadians” and the Conservatives’ passion for corporate Canada.   Perhaps the Liberals view upping the ante to “hard working families” as original thinking. But business-bashing never did much for the NDP, which has trouble breaking through 18% in the polls, well back of the Liberals. And the NDP has been making its case for years, which suggests they actually believe it, while the Liberals have just arrived at the notion that corporate cuts are evil after spending a decade or so as their eager champion.
Should there be an election, Stephen Harper won’t even have to make his case for himself, because Mr. Layton can do it for him. Just last week the NDP helpfully issued a release reminding everyone that the Liberals of Jean Chretien and Paul Martin were big fans of corporate cuts. In fact, Mr. Martin only backed down on a planned reduction when Mr. Layton demanded it as a condition for helping the Liberals stay in office a few months longer. Martin vowed to reintroduce it if he won the next election, so the Conservatives are really just carrying out that promise on behalf of the Liberals.

If Iffy Waffle is going to campaign against corporate tax cuts that Liberals once supported and even started to implement when they were in office, fine.  It'll just show the hypocrites that the Liberals are.  A party that once was a party of the center makes you wonder.  Are they trying to go further left of the NDP?  Stephane Dion took the Liberals to the left even he supported corporate tax cuts.

Update: Rolling back corporate tax cuts would rock economy, Beatty warns

Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty is warning the opposition’s plans for corporate taxes would deliver a “blind side hit” to the economy, delivering the message on the same day federal cabinet ministers are fanning out across the country in defence of lower business taxes.

Memo to Liberals: You're three years too late on the corporate tax cut vote-David Akin

CBC Exec and Liberal Senator Lunch Paid for by the Taxpayer

Aren't we generous?  CBC vice president Sylvain Lafrance and Liberal Senator Francis Fox shared a $119 lunch and put the tab on us the taxpayer    Surprised?  I thought not.

OTTAWA – What happens when a senator and CBC executive meet? You pay either way. The only question is how much.
According to documents obtained by QMI Agency through access to information, a lunch between a CBC vice president and a Liberal senator cost more than $100.
Sylvain Lafrance, the executive VP of CBC's French language services, treated Liberal Senator Francis Fox to a $119 lunch in October 2009 at Montreal's Restaurant Julien.
Details of what was consumed are not provided in the documents, but an online version of the restaurant's menu shows entrees normally cost less than $20, meaning the pair likely dined on more than just food.
Lafrance also charged taxpayers $21 for cab fare to and from the meeting.
Fox was a member of Pierre Trudeau's cabinet before he was forced to resign as solicitor-general in 1978 after it was revealed that he forged the signature of his girlfriend's husband to help her get an abortion.
Fox was appointed to the Senate by Paul Martin in 2005 and has helped Liberal election campaigns as an advisor.
Lafrance became known for his lavish spending on hospitality before he cut back, following stories by QMI Agency.

Makes you wonder what they had for lunch for the price of that receipt.  Oh well, what do they care, stupid's paying anyway. I'm guessing this probably isn't the only instance where Liberals and someone from mother corp have dined together on our dime. It's just that QMI have been able to obtain documents for this one case.   

Liberals and the CBC, birds of a feather, liberal elites that like to suck off the public teat with no regards for the lowly taxpayer.  Time to shut old mother corp down and time to elect our senators and bring Liberals down another notch or two.

BTW. Brian Lilley has been doing an awesome job exposing the CBC and the lack of accountability.  If you haven't go and read some of his previous articles on the issue in the Sun papers. He's been exploring this since last fall.

Charles Adler's Take on the CBC, PM Harper and the "Hidden Agenda" Re-Capital Punishment

When Liberals and their minions in the media have nothing else they trot out the old tired "hidden agenda thing."
The other night the CBC chief anchor Peter Mansbridge interviewed PM Harper and asked him about some of those "hidden agenda" issues and what he would do about them  when he gets a majority. Mansbridge was clearly setting a  trap that PM Harper so cleverly did not step into. Here is the exchange on the "controversial" capital punishment.

PM: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?
PMSH: I don't see the country wanting to do that. You know...
PM: YOU DON'T SOUND AS FIRM AS...
PMSH: Well, I personally think there are times where capital punishment is appropriate. But I've also committed that I'm not, you know, in the next Parliament I'm not... no plans to bring that issue forward.

How much clearer must the PM be? PM Harper  is NOT bring that issue forward in Parliament.  Nothing controversial here.   Charles Adler thinks so too.  Here's his take:

The latest exhuming of that corpse had to do with the prime minister “revealing” to our mortician-in-chief, Peter Mansbridge, that he, Stephen Harper, is a mainstream Canadian. The PM told “Morty” that “there are times where capital punishment is appropriate.”
I watched this and couldn’t figure out why any normal human being would take this as a controversial remark. Let’s take the CBC trophy sound bite to a place where all Canadian issues need to be aired to see if they pass the sniff test. (If you start sniffing gas, just stop me). Let’s take the issue to Tim Hortons.
Coffee talk
You and I are having a double-double and the conversation turns to crime. At some point you blurt out, “You know what, Chuck. I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep if they fried that freak Russell Williams.”
My response would be, “Who would?”
My response would NOT be to go into the Corus radio studio the following day and turn on a private-sector national microphone to say: “Folks, you are going to have a hard time believing this, but a friend of mine shocked me yesterday at Timmy’s. He told me, and I hope you’ve got your emotional seatbelt fastened, but he told me he wouldn’t lose any sleep over the idea of this country putting Russell Williams to death.
“Can you believe any decent person with Canadian values saying that? I thought I knew my friend. But I guess you just never really know for sure what the strange thoughts go through the minds of human beings. I never thought my friend could ever feel this way. I guess he’s been hiding this from me. You might call it his hidden agenda.”
Of course this scenario is preposterous. The purpose of my show is not to find ways of condescending and sneering at my neighbours, the people of Canada. I don’t work for the CBC. The PM thinks there are times when capital punishment is appropriate. Can you find me even one person at the coffee shop you go to who would find that strange or frightening.
To some of the PM’s political and media opponents, Russell Williams is just a misguided person. They think Stephen Harper is the freak. To the rest of us, the PM is just the rest of us. He’s able to see through the increasingly transparent agenda of his media and political foes. They want us to be embarrassed about what we think about life and death and justice.
In my Canada, a prime minister would look the Canadian camera in the eye and say, “In a just society, Russell Williams would hang.”

Bingo! Another one out of the ballpark from Adler again. PM Harper was just voicing his opinion not a Conservative or a government policy.  Thank you Mr. Adler for stating what the most of us are feeling and thinking.


Related:
I think PM Harper has always been consistent on this issue.  Here from the transcript is the exchange  on abortion, another item the Libs and their media cheerleaders drag out from time to time. I don't why they keep bring this up but anyway.

PM: WOULD YOU RE-OPEN THE ABORTION ISSUE?
PMSH: No, no. Look, Peter, I have spent my political career trying to stay out of that issue. It's one on which people, including in my own party, have passionate views. They're all over the map. And you know, what I say to people, as you know, many people I know are pro-life. What I say to people, if you want to diminish the number of abortions, you've got to change hearts and not laws. And I'm not interested in having a debate over abortion law.

What caught my attention here was what I highlighted. That is if you want a change in the abortion rate, hearts and minds have to be changed.  PMSH  is exactly right. You can't change anything if you can't change the hearts and minds.

Ruby Dhalla's Campaign Team Crumbling

Looks like key members of IRuby's team are deserting her. 

Brampton-Springdale MP Liberal Ruby Dhalla’s campaign suffered a major setback yesterday when several of her core team members crossed the floor to join Conservative candidate Parm Gill’s growing camp of dedicated and loyal supporters.

Looks like they're leaving the sinking ship much like the latest star Liberal candidate for Halton, now held by
Conservative MP and Minister of Labour, Lisa Raitt.

Wanna trigger an election now, Iffy?  Go ahead!

THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!

Here is a journalist who should be fired toot sweet.  For this:
Cannon and Baird next in line, if Harper were to die  written by Postmedia's Glen Mcgregor.  He has totally crossed the line in journalistic integrity IMHO.  Is there nothing better to write about? This from a couple a few commenters on the article.

Parkland Parent

1:21 AM on January 19, 2011

Wow. Slow news day or wishful thinking?

 Kanadia

1:23 AM on January 19, 2011

I am a reader that frequents this site. After reading this article, I will be taking my reading elsewhere.

This article is appalling.

righton42

12:14 AM on January 19, 2011

I AM DISGUSTED AND SHOCKED AT THE SUGGESTIVE
CONNOTATIONS OF THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE BUT NOT SURPRISED AFTER ALL THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE IS THE SAME NATIONALITY AS THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE WHO FREED THE LOCKERBIE BOMBER A F-----G SCOT S----R.

Gabby in QC

11:40 PM on January 18, 2011

The media often wails and wrings its collective hands at the lack of civility in our political discourse.

In the wake of the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords, one would think that responsible media people would shy away from allusions to politicians' death.

I guess we really do need an election, because it appears journalists have nothing better to do than write tripe like this column.

Bruce 2

10:31 PM on January 18, 2011

This story is as bad and inflammatory as Scott Reid's "kill him, kill him dead" that was published in the Globe and Mail some time back.

The media and in this instance Glen Mcgregor and Postmedia News should be admonished for this tripe.

Irresponsible, to say the least.

How about informing the public about  all the accomplishments that have been made in the five years of PM Harper at the helm instead of this garbage? The media can't do that it might put the PM in a positive light. Can't have that you know, gotta keep it hidden.  The MSM in this country seems to be  getting worse and worse in it's blatant anti-Harper,anti-conservative reporting and they want  readers, listeners, and viewers to pay attention to them? This kind of garbage like this doesn't help.

Be Careful of What You Wish For Iffy

Iffy thinks he has the perfect ballot question that he thinks he can win on which is really poached from  former US President Ronald Reagan.  The question is "Are you better off than you were 5 years ago?"   L Ian MacDonald states  that the Liberal leader is no Ronald Reagan. and that it was a much different ball game in the US then than we have now in Canada.

Ignatieff is no Ronald Reagan, but leaving that aside, his question needs context.
For example, the Wall Street Journal recently ran a comparative chart on its front page on the Canadian and U.S. housing sectors. Between 2005 and 2010, the price of housing in six major Canadian cities increased by 44 per cent. Over the same period, the home index in the U.S. fell by 18 per cent, and is projected by the New York Times to fall a further five per cent this year. Six million American families have lost their homes. Noted the Journal: "One difference: Canada never embraced sub-prime mortgages."
Canada has done much better than the U.S. in two other key measurements -fiscal frameworks and the health of our financial-services industry, rated the best in the world by the World Economic Forum for the last three years. While Wall St. needed a $700-billion bailout from Washington to get through the 2008-09 financial crisis, Canadian banks never drew down a nickel of $150 billion of standby credit in the 2009 budget. And while U.S. banks have shrunk in both market capitalization and asset value, four of the Big Five Canadian banks now rank in the Top 10 in North America.

L Ian Macdonald says if you ask a question like that, you may not like the answer.

Ask a question and you get an answer, though not necessarily the one you want.

Like this answer from  a survey taken last fall by Farm Credit Canada that asked that same question to farmers.

While we await results from the rest of the country and a possible election, farmers have already spoken. An annual survey of farmers for Farm Credit Canada, a government agency, asked farmers whether they are better off now than they were five years ago and whether they will be better off in five years.
The answer is yes on both counts and the numbers are increasing.
67% of respondents believe that they are better off now than they were five years ago. This is a significant shift from last year (2009: 60%).
55% of producers are planning to expand and/or diversify their farm or business in the next five years.
76% of respondents said that their farm will be better off in five years time.
The online panel survey of nearly 4,900 farmers was conducted last fall.

If farmers are better off, I'm willing to bet most other Canadians are better off too than they were 5 years ago.  Go ahead Iffy, ask that question, you may not like the results! 

Entitled to Their Entitilements

I was so pleased the other day when PM Harper said that the next election campaign whenever that may be one of the Conservative platform planks would be to eliminate the $2 a vote taxpayer subsidy,(a tax is what I call it).

As you expect the Libs and Dippers have come out whining and bawling and squawling not to take their entitlements away.  Boo Hoo Hoo!

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s opponents say his plan to campaign on killing direct financing for political parties is irresponsible, arguing the current subsidies are good for democracy.

The Liberals and New Democrats made it clear Thursday they have no intention of agreeing to repeal the subsidies introduced in the past decade, saying they ensure the ideas of voters are represented by vibrant political parties that no longer have to rely on “big money” from the business community.

So they claim to take away their entitlements is not good for democracy, well Tasha Kherriddin disagrees.

The result is not more democracy, as the opposition claims, but less. Taxpayers are forced to subsidize parties for whom they would not vote. They also subsidize incumbency, as parties with the most votes are favoured over parties with the fewest. And the restrictions don’t stamp out business or union influence; corporations in particular end-run them by having their executives make individual donations.

I believe that if enough people like a certain party, what they represent and  support a it with their wallets, that's the way it should be.  If a party can't raise funds on their own then may be that party is not resonating. Thus let the chips fall where they may.  It should certainly not be forced donations like we have now.  We should not be forced to donate to parties we don't like. 

If the PM campaigns on killing this tax, I think it will resonate.  Right now in a time of restraint in our own households, taxpayers expect our politicians and political parties should be doing the same.

So how will the opposition parties campaign on the why they should still be receiving their entitlements?  They're going to have a hard time explaining.  Just the  thought alone of being forced to donate to a party that's hell bent on breaking up the country, voters will agree that entitlement should go.

Parties should raise their own funds and not rely on the taxpayer. If they can't, the public is not interested in them, so they shouldn't exist, just plain and simple. At least one young Liberal agrees.

And while we're at it, let's end that irritating $2 per vote subsidy for political parties. If the Liberal party wants me to fork over some dough, it should have the grit to ask me personally.

Pre-Election Election

It feels like an election campaign without the writ being dropped with the Waffle already on another one of his tours and Jack Layton on a tour too,    Gillies Duceppe starts his today.  The opposition coalition  leaders with their chests puffed out talking tough making their demands on the budget or they'll vote it down. 

Fine then. PM Harper has made it perfectly clear the Conservatives will not bow down to the demands of any of the coalition partners yesterday in an interview with the National Post and when there is an election they will campaign on killing the $2 a vote political party subsidy.  Amen!

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he will campaign in the next election to kill direct public financing for political parties, which last year cost taxpayers $27-million.
In an exclusive interview with Postmedia News on Wednesday, Mr. Harper also warned he will not bend to opposition demands to back down on corporate tax cuts, which he said are essential for the Canadian economy.
“I won’t kid you, and I think it’s one of the reasons why I don’t think a minority will go on forever — this government will not make compromises that it believes are damaging to the Canadian economy,” Mr. Harper said.
“We have made it a fundamental principle of our government since we got into office that we would have a competitive tax structure for job creators, for employers in this country.”

He also made it clear the coalition will rear it's ugly face again should the Conservatives be returned with a minority.

Mr. Harper also said he is convinced that if he wins the next election with a minority, the three main opposition parties will move “the next day” to form a coalition government to replace him.

I do think he's right. If voters don't for a Conservative majority, the coalition will rise and try and take power.  I believe they are that power hungry. I can see it happening again.  We must not and cannot allow that to happen. PM Harper and his government eventhough not perfect has done a darn good job governing the last five years when you consider all the obstacles they've had to face.  A minority government with a hostile opposition, a hostile media, all the faux scandals, an economic downturn that was the worst in decades, they've done pretty well. Just think if they what they could accomplish  if they didn't have all that to face and had a majority.  They certainly deserve one that's for sure.

If it's allowed to happen the coalition would undo all the good PM Harper has done, put our recovery in jeopardy, and would be chaotic to say the least.  If the coalition wants  vote against the budget and trigger an election, bring it on.  You know what they say, "Be careful of what you wish for."  

You can watch the  the PM Post Media interview here.

What is Bob Rae Thinking?

I guess Bob Rae has taken it upon himself to take a trip to the UAE to meddle in the spat over the issue of the UAE wanting more landing flights to our airports. What in the heck is he thinking? He's caught the ire of the PMO  and now Air Canada as well.

Is Bob acting without his party's approval? He seems to be at odds with at least Liberal Senator Colin Kenny who says that we should "drop the gloves" and calls the UAE "pompous thugs."

Why would I want to drop the gloves in dealing with the UAE? Because I think they're essentially a bunch of pompous thugs behaving like Canadians need them. We don't, and somebody should show them they can't treat us like the second-class citizens they hire to do virtually all the work in their seven fiefdoms.

How does his leader the Waffle feel?  We haven't heard boo from him.Where does he stand? Does he agree with the Senator or does he approve of Bob's approach? Did Bob get the OK from the Waffle to do this or his going rogue?  All you cracker jack investigative journalists out there, track the Waffle down and ask him. You would if the shoe was on the other foot.  You'd be howling that the opposition shouldn't be interfering directly in  government foreign affairs and crowing about divisions within  the Tory party.
Anyway, all what Bob is doing is making matters worse. It's going to be all the harder now for the government to deal with the UAE and find a solution to this problem.  Not only that but he's not helping out his party either.

One Young Liberal Sees the Writing on The Wall

John Lennard, a McGill law student and Young Liberal activist writing a piece in the National Post giving the Waffle seems to see the writing on the wall.

While watching coverage of the United States congressional race last fall, a friend asked if the Republicans' momentum would affect progressives north of the border.
"Two words", I answered: "Rob Ford."
And the rest, as they say, is history -- or will be for Canadian Liberals, unless we pay attention to what these elections (as well as Dalton McGuinty and Michael Ignatieff's dismal poll numbers) are telling us.
Quite simply, in 2011, voters aren't buying the goods so-called "progressives" are selling.
As a federal Liberal (and a young one, to boot), I take this lesson to heart. Putting a new coat of paint on old policy planks won't cut it. It's time for Liberals to get back to the basics.
We've plugged plenty of "feel-good" spending projects over the years. Subsidies for this, strategic investments in that. But all of these programs have costs, and they're getting heavier by the day. Burdening my generation with debt is no way to build a just society.

I agree with most everything  except  this part. I disagree. Those are not the Prime Minister's priorities.  The economy, jobs and keeping us safe are his priorities.

Planes, prisons, fake lakes and billboards. That sums up Prime Minister Stephen Harper's priorities.

I agree fully agree with him on this. He wants to get rid of the $2 voter tax.

And while we're at it, let's end that irritating $2 per vote subsidy for political parties. If the Liberal party wants me to fork over some dough, it should have the grit to ask me personally.

Amen,but if he remembers, the PM and Minister Flaherty tried to get rid of this tax shortly after the election in 2008 in their fiscal update but it almost caused a constitutional crisis with the troika of the stooges that included his party and his leader's signature on the coalition document that included the Bloc.

If he wants to see those solutions that he advocates he's better off supporting PM Harper and the Conservatives where he's more likely to see them come to pass especially the elimination of the  $2 voter tax if voters give them a majority next election.

 

He doubts whether the Waffle will follow his advise.

The only question is whether he has the courage to do it. 

 To me this young man seems bright and perceptive and sees what is most likely coming down the pipe. I looks to me like he's trying to save his leader and his party  before the ship goes down. I don't think his leader is going to listen to him though either.
 Kudo's to this young Liberal for presenting some common sense.  It's almost as rare as hen's teeth anymore.

Good News for Canada, Bad News for Liberals

The top priority for Canadians right now is jobs and the economy and that is logical. Well there was good news last month,even though the economy remains shaky and fragile, 22,000 more Canadians went back to work last month. That's an increase in jobs for the last three months in row and our unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%.  In fact the job creation was better than expected which is good news for Canada and bad news for Liberals.

OTTAWA — Canada's job market performed somewhat better than expected last month, with gains concentrated in full-time, private-sector employment, in industrial sectors and for those younger than 25.
There were 22,000 additional people working in Canada last month, Statistics Canada said Friday. That slightly exceeded economists' expectations for gains of 20,000.
Most experts anticipated a surge in people looking for work would cause the unemployment rate to rise to 7.7 per cent, but it remained steady at 7.6 per cent.

 The corporate tax cuts have just kicked in which should provide even more jobs which will help plus the new Minister of State for Finance,Ted Menzies( who is my MP by the way) announced the other day funding to help create about 3500 summer jobs for students.

When people are working it's good for the economy but the Liberals apparently don't agree.They say they will freeze corporate tax cuts and spend the money on big government social welfare programs. I don't see how that will create jobs. Infact John Ivison points out that a stronger economy actually weakens the Liberalsbecause the lower corporate tax rates are working.

It must all make for grim reading for the Liberals, who are keen to freeze corporate tax rates. When he unveiled his plan to cancel the planned $6-billion in corporate tax cuts last March, Michael Ignatieff pledged to "create fiscal room to realize some dreams" -- that is, finance his own spending plans such as the $1-billion home-care support package.

Even the Americans are noticing.

Now, instead of expanding Canada's welfare state, the conservative government led by Mr. Harper is intent upon building the nation's global competitiveness. Our friends in the Great White North cut their corporate tax rate to 16.5 percent on Jan. 1 and will see it drop to 15 percent next year. That compares to the current U.S.Canada the lowest corporate tax rate among the G-7 nations and an eye-popping advantage for businesses wondering whether to locate on the U.S. or Canadian side of the border.

This indeed is bad new for the Liberals as they were hoping the Canadian economy would just keep spiraling down, down,down and the public would turn on the Conservative government and they would swoop in and take reins of power.  It hasn't turned out that way.  With every piece of good news like this one today, Iffy and the Libs will have a hard time convincing Canadians they are the right ones to create jobs and prosperity. 
The PM and his team have done a good job handling the economy and the public has no appetite to "kick the bums out."

Can the Voter Tax

Do you know how much you gave to the various political parties through the forced contribution voter tax last quarter?  Yup, you've donated $27 million.   That's just last quarter.

 OTTAWA — Canadians have paid more than $27 million in allowance to the country's main political parties, under a public financing system Prime Minister Stephen Harper unsuccessfully tried to eliminate in 2008.

 Elections Canada released fourth-quarter numbers Wednesday, illustrating how Canadian tax dollars continued to tell the story of the federal election held more than two years ago.

Fourth-Quarter    payments:
Bloc Quebecois
$691,289
Conservative Party of Canada
$2,609,418
Green Party of Canada
$469,686
Liberal Party of Canada
$1,819,999
New Democratic Party
$1,260,002

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister tried to eliminate this tax in their fall update shortly after the election in 2008 in which the opposition had a hissy fit and the coalition of the three stooges were exposed and tried to overthrow a recently duly elected government that got more seats than they. Where the separatist party would have had a major say in what goes on in the ROC.  

Kevin Gaudet from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is perfectly right.

"We totally supported Harper when he tried to get rid of it," said Kevin Gaudet, national director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "None of them should get one red cent. Political parties ought to be raising money on their own."
The problems with the allowance run deep, he said, noting that some voters end up giving funds to parties they don't support. All taxpayers subsidize the allowance, but only registered parties that meet voting thresholds qualify to receive funding.
Another longtime source of contention concerning the subsidies involves the "disproportionate amount" of funding the Bloc receives, said Gaudet.

Since we have to go into an austerity period it would be a perfect time to end this tax. Why should we be forced to contribute our tax dollars to political parties that we don't like? The elimination of this tax would hurt all the opposition parties but the hardest hit would be the separatist Bloc and the Liberals the most.   The Bloc is just a regional party that runs candidates in only one province whose one objective is to break up the country. Rest of Canada should not be subsidizing a party like that. It's just not right.

Should it be a part of the up coming budget?  I say yes. The opposition wouldn't like it, they'd defeat the government and off we'd go to the polls.  If not part of the budget, it should at least be a major part of the CPC election platform plank in the next election. How would the other parties explain at the doors why taxpayers should be forced to fund parties they don't like?

Liberal Brand Suffers Severe Damage

A new poll just out has suggested that the Liberal party is suffering severe damage to it's brand. Very few respondents in the poll had few positive things to say about the party.

Based on first mentions, it is clear that the Liberal Party brand is severely damaged and the negativity associated with the party extends beyond Michael Ignatieff’s leadership.
These results suggest that the Sponsorship Scandal continues to hurt the Liberal brand and the residual effect is a lasting association with corruption, arrogance, and dishonesty.
Most troubling for the Liberal Party is that very few respondents mentioned positive phrases or words about the Liberal Party. Instead, comments described the party as having weak leadership, being dishonest and corrupt, and divided.

That is not good if Iffy wants to defeat the government and take us into in an election this spring. On the other hand the same poll also shows the Conservatives and the NDP are in much better shape.

A new Abacus Data National Poll finds that relatively speaking, the Conservative and NDP brands are in a better position heading into a possible spring federal election than the Liberal brand.
Respondents were asked to identify what first came to their minds when they think about each major national party.  The results are displayed in word clouds found below or in the detailed report found here.
“Stephen Harper and Jack Layton dominate their respective brands,” said Abacus Data CEO, Dr. David Coletto.  “The popularity of each party is heavily influenced by how Canadians view the Conservative and NDP leaders.”
While high recognition rates can be a positive factor, dominance by a single leader can also produce problems.
“The good news for the Conservative Party is that many Canadians associate the party with the economic recovery and low taxes,” said Coletto.  “Despite the fact that Canadians continue to worry about the economy and their jobs, the opposition has not been able to dislodge the Conservative advantage on the economy.”
The opposition Liberal Party had the bleakest results.  Very few Canadians mentioned anything positive about the party, with most comments describing the party as lacking good leadership, being corrupt or dishonest.
“Canadians seem to still identify the Liberal party by its past wrongs, perhaps as a result of a lack of direction, internal division, and weaker leadership over the past few years,” said Coletto.  “Weak leadership and internal division is the Liberal brand as they enter 2011.”
Finally, the NDP continues to be a conflicted brand.  The NDP and its leader Jack Layton are well regarded by Canadians but only one in five said would vote for it in Abacus Data’s poll released in early December.
“The NDP is very much a function of Jack Layton,” said Coletto.  “The NDP is seen by Canadians as a caring party that defends the interests of working people but its policies are considered unrealistic my many.”

I think the Liberals should think hard and long before they defeat the government  If they want to go into an election fine but they'll  also suffer the consequences. They badly lost the trust of Canadians and have a long way to go gain it back again and it's not just changing leaders.  It goes way deeper than that.

Probably the best thing for Liberals maybe is an election result with a Conservative majority and NDP as official opposition.  They would then have at least four years to figure out who they are,what they stand for and rebuild from the bottom up. Maybe just maybe there too wouldn't be so much muck raking and making up faux scandals that they would actually work at developing some credible policy and act like an official opposition and government in waiting.  Then maybe they could earn back the public's trust again. Look how long it took Conservatives. It took years before we actually figured things out and got our act together. Thank God we finally did.  The country is better off for it.   It will take Liberals at least that long if not more.

This related from WK 

Far and Wide: Steve V. calls for a cultural change in the Liberal Party, bottom to top.  He says that’s the only thing that’ll make it relevant.  He’s right, of course.  It will also never happen.  Carry on as you were.