So Stephen Harper Can't Be Trusted According to Iffy

PM Harper calls the RCMP immediately upon hearing of allegations that a former aid might have been involved in influence peddling after the aid left the PMO and Iffy says he can't be trusted. Huh?  

The influence peddling allegations against a former senior staffer in the Prime Minister's Office raises serious questions about whether Prime Minister Stephen Harper can be trusted, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Thursday.
Harper's office called the RCMP Wednesday after hearing aide Bruce Carson allegedly promised First Nations bands and companies access to the prime minister in exchange for money.

Iffy should think before he engages mouth.What he says doesn't make sense.  Is PM Stephen Harper perfect? No of course not, nobody is.  Are these allegations serious?  Yes, that's why he right away upon learning of these allegations and remember these are only allegations did the right thing. He called the police to sort out the matter. That's what he should have done. He didn't try to hide it. He didn't send this former aid off to be an ambassador to some small obscure country far away.  It means he has no tolerance for such things and will not put up with them. Can PM Harper be trusted?By taking these actions, I think so!
If you read the comments under the article I have referred to above you will see most of them not very favorable to Iffy.  He will have a hard time trying to convince the public in my opinion.  Iffy should be careful, the Liberal record doesn't help his argument.  Canadians have not forgotten Adscam and other not so kosher activities by the Liberals.

The Prime Minister's Remarks Taken Out of Context

Oh the howls of outrage from the usual suspects again. This time a  remark that PM Stephen Harper made during a press conference in Surrey B.C. David McGuinty, Liberal MP, attacked the PM accusing him of using the Japan tragedy for "cheap partisan purposes."

His remarks Tuesday were immediately blasted by a senior Liberal MP, who accused the prime minister of using the Japanese tragedy for “cheap, partisan purposes” and that the disaster has nothing to do with the decision Canadian MPs will soon make over whether voters should go to the polls.

The thing is McQuinty took the remark out of context. PM Harper was responding to a question from a reporter on how the tragedy in Japan could possibly affect our economy.  Here is what the PM actually said.

“Well, we’re obviously looking at all those things very carefully,” he said. “Our first concern, in fairness, is with all of those people who have lost their lives, and obviously all of their families and literally at this point, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who are homeless.
“So our first concern as a government is anything we can do to help Japanese authorities with this crisis.”
As for the wider implications of the disaster, Harper said the global economic impact remains unknown. He said he didn’t think there would be any “immediate economic impacts” on Canada, although he noted that the stock market took a hit.
“All of these things should remind everybody, should remind everybody in Canada and should remind all the parties in Parliament that the global economy remains extremely fragile,” said Harper.
“It does not take very much to make us all — not just in Canada, the United States all around the world — to make everybody very worried about what’s coming next in the economy.
“We’ve been through a difficult time. It’s getting better. It’s still quite fragile. So I don’t want to predict how that’s going to unfold. I think the Japanese will find their way of coping, but the fact of the matter is this should be a wake-up that we cannot afford to take our focus off the economy and get into a bunch of unnecessary political games. Or, as I said, an opportunistic, unnecessary election that nobody is asking for.”

 Turn this around. Who is using the PM's remarks for "cheap partisan purposes?"  David McQuinty, listen to yourself!  Aren't you being partisan?

If We're Going to Have an Election, Let's Get It Over With

We may know for sure within the next couple of weeks whether or not we will be going to the polls.  I don't see what  the Liberals or the NDP for that matter have to gain from going now.  Both are not doing that well in the polls.  There is no Iggymania sweeping the land. His approval ratings have been lower than the previous Liberal leader.  Jack Layton has been having health issues.

The last few few weeks the opposition have hammering the government on faux scandals that that public doesn't really care about. According to a former Liberal strategist if the Liberals think they'll gain traction campaigning on ethics they should think again. In fact the economy is foremost on Canadians minds.

One, the top-of-mind issue for Canadians is the economy. It always is. I consequently don’t see how we Liberals can ignore the economy in a 36-day campaign. I understand the desire to avoid talking about an issue that is a Conservative strength. But the economy is the 600-pound gorilla in the room. Ignore it at your peril.

Is the Conservative government perfect?  Heck no!  But the mistakes they've made may be stupid but not worth going to the polls over.
 
Why not wait a few days for the budget?  Liberals probably know that it will be a relatively good news budget and don't want Canadians to hear it.   So that leaves Jack Layton.  He's  in a conundrum.  What will he do?  The NDP have been on the government's case over so called "ethics" issues too but on the other hand what if the Minister Jim Flaherty has put in help for low income seniors that Jack has been asking for.  Will he end up saving Iffy?

There has been so much acrimony in parliament since the Christmas break maybe a spring election might be what the doctor ordered.  Now is a good chance for a Conservative majority. A majority government is always more stable and that is what is needed to make some of the hard decisions that are going to have to be made in the near future. 

If we're to go to the polls, bring it on! 


 

The Toxic Atmosphere on Parliament Hill

I like many  have been appalled lately at the behavior of  MPs on the Hill who are supposed to be "Honorable Members." Well they haven't been so honorable the last few weeks.  It has developed into what L.Ian Macdonald describes as toxic.and it's mostly over procedural stuff that most Canadians outside the Ottawa bubble care little about.  Yes the government needs to be held accountable but the focus should be on the issues that affect the everyday lives of regular Canadians.

The Conservatives are no angels either. Please pay attention! Yes even though so far none of this muck has stuck and the polls look good, it's no time for the Conservatives to go into stupid mode and get arrogant and cocky.because you never know what may happen.  A little bit of humility might be in order.  The public responds more positively to humility.  Arrogance turns people off. 

What to about it?  Well maybe an election would be the solution to sort things out, I don't know but it has to be a majority either way. Either a Conservative majority or a majority with the Lib/Dipper/Bloc coalition. 

BTW. These goings on in Ottawa pales in significance compared to what's going on in Japan today with horrific earthquake and tsunami. My heart and prayers are with the Japanese people today. 

While Jack is Away, Two of His MPs Go Ballistic

WOW!!!  While NDP leader Jack Layton is in the hospital recovering from major hip surgery, two of his MPs go ballistic.  Are these two guys trying emulate Charlie Sheen or what? First you have Pat Martin having a meltdown while bullying a female Conservative MP.  Candice Hoeppner did great job standing up to him by the way. She conducted herself very classy.  Just imagine if it were a Conservative white male acting like this towards an NDP  or a Liberal woman. On the eve of International Women's Day to boot.  That's  even more disgraceful. Pat Martin needs to publicly apologize to Candice Hoeppner for his unacceptable behavior.

Then you have Thomas Mulcair losing it when being interviewed by QMI journalist Brian Lilley. Lilley was asking him if he was after the bosses job.  Jack better watch his back.


What are these two thinking?  It's not the way you would want an "honorable member" to act. They are a disgrace to Parliament.

Just imagine if it were a Conservatives  acting like this.  Well, there would be hell to pay and rightly so.  It would be the lead story in every news outlet as well with cries for resignations.  Both these MPs are in serious need of professional help for anger management in my opinion. We can only hope they will hear an earful from their constituents and their leader.