I await the cheesy CBC movie in 20 years.
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Jack Layton Wants To Make Sure You See Him Celebrating That Goal! from Torontoist on Vimeo.
82% of Canadians, 64% of Britons and 62% of Americans say the Vancouver Winter Olympics have been run “well” or “very well”
Catergorizing the perceived threat of global warming:
20% seriously exaggerated
44% consistent with the level of risk
31% seriously underestimated
4% dont know
Approval rating – Harper:
¤ 33% approve
¤ 52% disapprove
¤ 15% do not know/no response
• Approval rating – Ignatieff:
¤ 22% approve
¤ 48% disapprove
¤ 30% do not know/no response
"My position is that we should be cautious instead of ambitious when tackling this issue. That’s why I totally support my government, which has shown caution even if it brought us criticism and condemnations from environmental activists."
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is “hopeful” the opposition parties will agree to reinstate 14 crime bills that died with Parliament's prorogation late last year.
“What would their motives be not to agree? If a piece of legislation is good for Canadians ... why wouldn’t they give us their complete support?” Nicholson said Tuesday.
The 14 government-sponsored justice bills that died include imposing mandatory minimum sentencing for marijuana grow-ops of between five and 200 plants, increasing sentences for “white collar” fraud, tougher sentencing for auto thefts, and eliminating the “faint hope” parole clause for convicts serving life sentences, among others.
“To say, oh, they don’t like prorogation so they’re going to start opposing bills that better protect Canadian victims and law-abiding Canadians ...
That’s a bad reason,” Nicholson said. “I’ve got questions for them if they are just going to hold this up because they’re in a snit about something.” Nicholson made his appeal Tuesday while celebrating Bill C-25, which came into effect Tuesday and eliminates the courts’ practice of awarding prisoners a two-for-one - sometimes even three-for-one - credit for time served in pre-trial custody.
With friends like Kennedy, McGuinty needs no enemies
It was only a matter of time.
Even when he's in your caucus, it's hard to keep Gerard Kennedy on message. Michael Ignatieff, who recently watched the Member of Parliament for Parkdale-High Park call for a debate on raising the GST, could attest to that much.
So it was all but inevitable that Mr. Kennedy would eventually run afoul of his former colleagues in Dalton McGuinty's provincial government, where he served for three years as education minister. And he's now done so in fairly spectacular fashion - stepping all over the Liberals' signature transportation policy.
Like manna from heaven for the Liberal Leader, Mr. Ignatieff has seized on Mr. Bouchard’s remarks to lay out the Liberal vision for Quebec in Canada, where Quebeckers participate in every aspect of the country’s culture and decision-making.
“Mr. Bouchard had the courage to say what many have been thinking deep down,” Mr. Ignatieff wrote in a letter distributed by his office this afternoon. “Instead of passively waiting for a so-called ‘historic night’ [a yes vote in a referendum], it is crucial that Quebeckers actively participate in the changes happening within Canada.”
Mr. Ignatieff writes that Mr. Bouchard, who is not known for “mincing his words,” has made comments that “are far more important for advancing the debate on the nature of our country and the role Quebec should play in it.”
Indeed, the debate provoked by Mr. Bouchard’s comments, Mr. Ignatieff argues, will resonate more than the debate over the lack of French at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony.
“His statements will surely prompt further discussion on whether sovereignty is attainable or not,” Mr. Ignatieff writes.
In the meantime, however, the Liberal Leader says that the “new dream Quebeckers should be part of is a dream shared with their fellow citizens in other parts of Canada.”
Conservatives: 31.2 (+0.2)
Liberals: 29.0 (-)
NDP: 16.5 (+1.0)
Bloc Quebecois: 8.8 (-1.5) (In Quebec: 35.9 (-5.8))
Green: 11.8 (+0.5)
Other: 2.7 (-0.1)
Ontario (MoE 2.84)
Liberals: 35.0 (-1.2)
Conservatives: 34.6 (+3.6)
NDP: 15.4 (-1.3)
Green: 12.0 (-1.6)
Other: 3.0 (+0.6)
Michael Ignatieff is complaining that every time Stephen Harper gets near a tank, helicopter or a destroyer, he can’t resist firing at the Liberals. This time, in using earthquake-ravaged Haiti as the backdrop, the Prime Minister took partisanship too far, he says.
On a two-day trip to Haiti to survey relief efforts, Mr. Harper took a shot at the Liberals, insisting they never understood how Canada needs “hard power” military equipment like the huge C-17 cargo planes that allowed the Forces to land major relief shipments two days after the January earthquake.
“Every time Mr. Harper gets within a mile of Canadian military equipment, he takes a swipe at the Liberal Party. It’s like Pavlov’s dog,” Mr. Ignatieff told reporters in Ottawa today. “A prime minister should be the prime minister of all Canadians. It’s inappropriate to use Haiti, to use a Canadian military base, to make an attack on a political party.”
Canadians and all political parties came together to support efforts to help Haiti, so it’s the wrong stage for the Prime Minister to use the disaster for partisan attacks, he said. “But that’s the way he is,” the Liberal Leader added.
Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberals have been trying hard to portray Mr. Harper as “hyper-partisan,”
Cons 34% (+1)
Libs 30% (+1)
NDP 18% (-1)
Greens 8% (+1)
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey gives the Tories a slight edge at 32 per cent to the Liberals' 30 per cent. The NDP were at 16 per cent and the Greens at 10 per cent while the Bloc Quebecois was dominant in Quebec with 41 per cent.
The results suggest Tory support has stabilized while the Liberals have dipped two points since the end of January.
The telephone survey of just over 4,000 Canadians was conducted Feb. 4-14 as is considered accurate within 1.5 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has made relief and reconstruction for Haiti a major cause for his government, will travel to the earthquake-ravaged nation on Monday to see the recovery efforts firsthand.
His visit comes as international efforts to aid Haiti, still struggling to provide basics like food and shelter and sweep rubble from roads, increasingly look ahead to the task of rebuilding the poorest nation in the Americas almost from scratch.
Mr. Harper will not be the first foreign leader to visit Haiti since the earthquake
The federal government has refused to release to the public briefing books prepared for the minister tasked with making the government more accountable...
In February, the Winnipeg Free Press made a request for the briefing books prepared to help Fletcher learn his new portfolio. After a six-month delay, the newspaper was told it wouldn't be given even a single page.
"It has been determined that the information you requested may not be disclosed," came the letter from the Privy Council Office, dated Aug. 20.
A complaint to the federal information commissioner was made in September. This week, the Free Press learned that, because the Privy Council Office denied the information as advice to cabinet, even the information commissioner cannot request to see the documents in order to determine if the refusal was appropriate...
Duff Connacher, founder and co-ordinator of Democracy Watch, was astounded by the denial.
"It's deeply ironic and hypocritical to keep the briefing book for the minister of democratic reform a secret," said Connacher. "It just shows the cult and culture of excessive secrecy of this government."
Canadian aid groups told to keep quiet on policy issues
Aid groups say the federal government is casting a chill over advocacy work that takes positions on policy or political issues – and one claims a senior Conservative aide warned them against such activities.
An official with a mainstream non-governmental aid group said that Keith Fountain, policy director for International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda, gave a verbal warning that the organization's policy positions were under scrutiny: “Be careful about your advocacy.”
The official did not want to be identified out of concern that it might jeopardize funding for the group's aid projects from the Canadian International Development Agency, or CIDA.
That's a concern voiced by some other NGO leaders, who said they have received hints the government dislikes their policy advocacy or criticisms of the government policies, but did not want to be identified.
Last week at a conference in Florida, TD Bank CEO Ed Clark said Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn't listening to the overwhelming view of Canadian CEOs that tax increases are the best way to reduce a record deficit.
He told the conference that almost every person at a recent meeting of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives said “raise my taxes” to erase it.
The Conservatives then fired off an internal e-mail titled “Millionaire Ignatieff Economic Czar Calls for Higher Taxes.”
It suggested that because Mr. Clark was among senior economic thinkers who met with Mr. Ignatieff last May, the Opposition Leader must secretly share the banker's view.
“We can be pretty sure that in the coming months he will use the statements from his well-heeled economic advisers to justify his plans for massive new tax hikes on working- and middle-class Canadians,” stated the e-mail, adding that Mr. Clark earned $11-million in 2009. “He can afford higher taxes. Can you?”
“ I was shocked to read that Prime Minister Harper has again attacked a private citizen for expressing views on public policy that are perceived to be at odds with his government's agenda. ”
— Michael Ignatieff, Liberal Leader
No detainee committee, no deal on break weeks, Liberals say
The immediate recall of the all-party committee investigating the Afghan detainee scandal is the price the Liberals are exacting from the Tories for their support to sit through two break weeks this spring.
There are other demands, too.
The Liberals want a guarantee that all ministers will be “fully available” whenever requested. They want all other Commons committees to be reconstituted within the first three sitting days so they can deal with government estimates. (It usually takes a week to 10 days for committees to get up to speed after a prorogation.) And they want four designated opposition days during March.
Liberal Whip Rodger Cuzner laid out these demands in a letter to his Tory counterpart, Gordon O’Connor. It says these criteria must be met in order for the Tories to “repair some of the damage” caused by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to shut down Parliament until after the Olympic Games.
Mr. Cuzner noted that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff quickly said his caucus would agree to sitting the two weeks requested by the Tories. Clearly, Mr. Ignatieff’s agreement does not come without a price.
Conservatives: 31.0 (-)
Liberals: 29.0 (-2.9)
NDP: 15.5 (+0.1)
Bloc Quebecois: 10.3 (+1.9)
Green: 11.3 (+0.4)
Other: 2.8 (+0.4)
Ontario (MoE 3.08)
Liberals: 36.2 (-4.4)
Conservatives: 31.0 (-1.4)
NDP: 16.7 (+2.7)
Green: 13.6 (+3.1)
Other: 2.4 (-)
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2010
Message from Michael Ignatieff to Members of the BC Legislature
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff sent the following message today to all Members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
I am writing to you as fellow Parliamentarians... to ask you a favour.
Prime Minister Harper will be addressing your legislature tomorrow. We think that having the Prime Minister of Canada address the BC Legislature is a commendable way to mark the Winter Olympics coming to British Columbia. So I want to congratulate you on this important event.
Here in Ottawa, we haven’t been quite so lucky. Not only can we not get Mr. Harper inside our legislature these days, but he’s actually gone to the extreme of shutting down Parliament altogether.
While he has put forward a series of excuses to justify his actions, we in the opposition actually think Mr. Harper shut down Parliament to avoid some uncomfortable questions about his government’s performance.
And that’s where the favour comes in. Since we in the House of Commons can’t ask Mr. Harper any questions, and since you’ll have him in the BC Legislature, maybe you could try and get some answers from him. Here are some of the questions we’d like you to ask Mr. Harper on our behalf and on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who have spoken out and rallied against prorogation:
1. Millions of hard working Canadians can’t “prorogue” themselves a break from their jobs or their obligations. They want and expect the issues they care about to be discussed in a democratic way in the Parliament of Canada. So, will Mr. Harper apologize to Canadians for shutting down Parliament?
2. Mr. Harper’s government has gained a reputation for bullying and strong-arming independent watchdogs that serve the public interest, like the Nuclear Safety Commission, the RCMP Complaints Commission and Military Police Complaints Commission. All of these abuses of power are dangerous in a democracy. When will he show the respect for these watchdogs by strengthening them instead of attacking and undermining them?
3. This past month, my party has put forward cost-effective proposals to create new, well-paying jobs for Canadians of all ages and backgrounds.
These proposals would:
- provide hard-hit Canadian manufacturers with a cash advance for new equipment;
- give incentives to businesses to hire young Canadians who have been burdened by mounting job losses; and
- encourage Canadian investors, through either tax credits or incentives, to give to Canadian entrepreneurs and start-ups
Will Mr. Harper include these concrete proposals in his March budget and immediately stimulate job creation and help Canadian workers and businesses alike?
4. On the environment, Mr. Harper has refused to show leadership, insisting instead of hiding behind the excuse that he is waiting for the American government to act so he can follow. Canadians don’t want their government to follow orders from Washington on this or any issue. Will Mr. Harper give us a made-in-Canada environmental policy – not one that’s made in Washington?
I know this is a long shot. Mr. Harper absolutely refuses to answer questions that make him uncomfortable, especially when they come from the media or from his fellow elected officials. But given the unprecedented situation, I’m sure you will agree that it is worth the try.
Many thanks for your help on this.
Sincerely,
Michael Ignatieff
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
It's easy to argue that this government clutches information even tighter to its chest than its predecessors. This is an ongoing disappointment. But this week, the non-disclosure instinct produced farce.
Cons 35.6% (39.5%)
Libs 33.9% (30.2%)
NDP 16.4% (18.7%)
Greens 5.6% (7.7%)
In Quebec, the Bloc Quebecois would reap 33.2% of the vote against 29.3% for the Liberals and the Conservatives at 22.2%. The NDP Jack Layton would receive 10.5%
The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey indicates 39 per cent of respondents believed the government had been not at all active or hardworking since Harper prorogued Parliament, which is not due back until March 3.
That's more than triple the 12 per cent who said the government has been very active and hardworking.
Another 37 per cent said the government has been somewhat active.
Two-thirds of Canadians believe Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a hypocrite for appointing five new senators, a new Angus Reid poll says.
Despite Harper's longtime promise not to appoint senators, but rather to focus on Senate reform, there are now 33 Harper appointees in the upper chamber. Last month's appointments give the Conservatives control of the Senate.
The survey released Thursday found 65 per cent of respondents see the appointments as hypocritical.
Judging from this statement from Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale, his party's response to the government's modest proposal to cancel the March and April break weeks would seem to be a slightly less cheerleader-chick-flick-reminiscent variation of Bring It On:
"This is truly a sad and pathetic scramble by the Conservatives to save face after the backlash against them for shutting down Parliament. Their demand for more time in the House now directly contradicts their argument for prorogation. Liberals are here in Ottawa, today - just as we have been every day since January 25th - doing what Canadians elected us to do. It's the Conservatives who have been taking an extended holiday. Liberals will always be ready to work, including in March and April. The flip flop by the Conservatives will not camouflage their illegitimate padlocking of parliament since December."
Libs 31.9% (31.6)
Cons 31% (31.1)
NDP 15.4% (14.6)
Greens 10.9% (11)
Libs 40.6%
Cons 32.4%
NDP 14%
Greens 10.5%
Government sets trap for opposition, who must approve request to cancel two break weeks once House resumes sitting
Facing an outpouring of anger and criticism over prorogation, the Conservatives are cancelling March break on Parliament Hill and one other off week scheduled for mid-April.
The Harper government is misleading Canadians by claiming Ottawa’s budget deficit can be eliminated without the pain of higher taxes or slashed social programs, says Scott Clark, a former top finance department official.
Clark, who as deputy minister of finance in the 1990s helped then-finance minister Paul Martin put Canada’s financial house in order, is co-author of a study on Ottawa’s fiscal options. It shows that most of the $208 billion annual federal budget cannot be slashed because it goes to pay for transfers to the provinces or individuals or untouchable programs such as Atlantic offshore revenue payments, running the Employment Insurance system, air security and similar federal commitments.
Because the Conservatives are not laying out the real choices for Canadians, “they will not deliver a credible budget in 2010,” Clark said during a panel debate entitled: “Budget 2010: Time to Cut or Continue Pump Priming?”
Libs 32%
Cons 31%
NDP 15%
Greens 9%
In Ontario, the Liberals have moved in front of the Conservatives for the first time in months. Here the Liberals are at 40%, the Conservatives 35%, the NDP 14% and the Greens 10%.
In Quebec, the BQ remains in front, but the Liberals are distancing themselves from the Conservatives. The BQ stands at 38%, the Liberals 28%, the Conservatives 13%, the NDP 11%, and the Greens 8%.
In BC, the Conservatives and Liberals are neck and neck. Here, the Conservatives stand at 32%, followed by the Liberals with 30%, the NDP 24%, and the Greens 12%.