We Need an Independent Foreign Policy Again

Canada proudly punched above its weight on the world stage for decades under Liberal and Conservative governments. On foreign aid, apartheid, peace-keeping, banning use of landmines (the Ottawa Treaty), we were admired for strong principled and independent stands. We made a difference and we were respected across the world. Stephen Harper has broken that proud tradition. He has embraced an ideology far to the right of where we once stood. If anyone had any doubts about that, revelations that Harper delivered an addresss which plagiarized huge portions of John Howard's speech on going into Iraq should make it crystal clear. For those who say it was five years ago, well candidates have been dismissed in this campaign for offensive things they did or wrote more than five years ago and Conservatives called for their dismissals. They may have apologized for what they did but what was done was still not acceptable. Unless we think plagiarism is acceptable (and it certainly isn’t for students or journalists who can be expelled or fired for these things) then we can’t dismiss this act of plagiarism on the part of our current Prime Minister either. Nor did past politicians get away with it. Joe Biden had to abandon his Presidential aspirations in 1988 because he plagiarized a speech from a British politician and it took him years to recover politically from that and he still apologizes to this day for it and says how unbelievably stupid it was. Barack Obama was given quite a hard time by Conservatives (probably blogging Tories too) for using a section of Deval Patrick’s stump speech (“just words”) in his own and had to atone for that. But in the latter case he was told to do so by Patrick who was working on his campaign team and Obama fully admitted who he stole the lines from. Did John Howard directly tell Harper to use the same speech in this case? If so, it just proves the main point here.

Because the real story here and is that Canada simply does not have an independent foreign policy under a Harper administration and we have even more clear evidence of that today. We see no evidence that Harper has moderated his views on foreign policy since 2003. Harper gets his cues from elsewhere and Canada deserves a real leader, not a follower. You would think that on an issue as important as going to war Harper could articulate his own views. If he throws the blame on a staffer (UPDATE: as appears to be what he has done) the fact remains Harper couldn’t come up with an original rationale himself and put very similiar material in numerous op-eds which he signed. Not to mention he would be refusing to take responsibility for words he was proud to take credit for before.

Our past Prime Ministers led on the world stage and this one has failed to the point where our world standing has NEVER been lower. Stéphane Dion would restore our standing on the world stage and make us a real world player again.

People can say the economy is the main issue in this campaign and that’s fine, but it would be a tragedy not to have a real debate on foreign policy as well. Canadians pride themselves on our international reputation and how we comport ourselves across the globe so we need to make sure Canadians know what kind of foreign policy a Liberal versus Conservative government would undertake and what inspires those kinds of policies.

If Conservatives say we should just stick to the economy (where they’ve shown incompetent management anyway) it’s simply because they desperately want to avoid Canadians discussing their foreign policy and how far we’ve veered from our proud international record over the past 2.5 years.





Here is Bob Rae's speech today on foreign policy following up on yesterday's solid speech by Ignatieff on the economy.

UPDATE: Wonderful international press for our country, courtesy of our current PM

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Reality Check: The NDP Seat Challenge

So with Layton saying today that he believes he's the best option to "STOP HARPER" I thought it about time for a real reality check here since the press at large seems content to give Layton on free pass on all things (as at least one columnist has noted). I challenge any NDP supporter to provide a list of at least 100 ridings the NDP thinks it could win. Never mind 100 wouldn't be enough to form government, but I've set the bar low to see if ANYONE can meet the challenge. If not then we can only assume that it is IMPOSSIBLE for Layton to stop Harper from gaining another mandate and ONLY Stephane Dion can replace Stephen Harper as PM. I could give a list of well over 100 ridings that the Liberals currently hold or lost by 5% or less last time that would be in play for them, so surely if the NDP is serious they could up with a list of at least 100 no?

So Dippers, is anyone up for the challenge or is it a fact that the NDP never intended to target more than 60 ridings? That they never intended to form government and that everything over the past week is just postering to score a few more seats?

So given that's the case and you claim to want to STOP HARPER how exactly do you expect to stop him?

The reality is the only way to do so is by ensuring Stephane Dion becomes the next PM.

UPDATE: A "reader" has provided a list, though the very list defies credibility with dozens of ridings where the NDP finished 3rd and more than 20% back and will at best finish 15% back this time. It almost seemed like it was just ridings picked out of a hat. This person even thinks the NDP will win ridings where they got 2% of the vote last time and that they'll even take Stephane Dion's riding too (where he got 60% of the vote was 53% ahead of the NDP)! Is this what NDP supporters really think? This is exactly why all the seat projections show they never go above 45 seats and that's why Jack Layton's claims he can be PM are ludicrous. So how does he expect to Stop Harper then?

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Dion Leads, Harper Lags

Over the past few months and in this campaign, Harper has had many chances to show himself to be a “strong leader”, but time and again he has failed. Instead, despite the media narrative, it has been has been Stéphane Dion who has stepped in to fill the void and act as a Canadian Prime Minister should….

- Dion was the first to release the costing of his environmental platform and spell out what it would cost Canadians and what it would achieve. Still waiting for Harper to do the same….

- Dion has put forward a plan endorsed by environmentalists and economists. Meanwhile, environmentalists are ashamed of Jack Layton and surely economists are appalled by Stephen Harper.

- Dion was the first to call for an inquiry into the Mulroney-Shreiber affair. Harper railed against the idea before caving (but of course shows real leadership by stalling the inquiry until after the election).

- Dion led in Montreal to establish a 182 country consensus on post-Kyoto framework. Stephen Harper and John Baird instead obstructed an over 100 country consensus at Bali and earned us condemnations across the globe.

- Dion called for Maxime Bernier’s resignation as Foreign Affairs minister for months. Harper relented only after a dozen more embarrassments.

- Dion was the first to call for a public independent inquiry into the listeriosis outbreak. Harper still insists on a private closed door one and staunchly defends his incompetent and horribly insensitive Agriculture minister despite calls from numerous scientists and food safety representatives for strong action.

- Dion was the first to raise the troubling practices of the Conservatives relating to the In and Out scandal. Harper has stonewalled at every turn trying to prevent Canadians from having all the answers.

- Dion was the first party leader to call for the repatriation and a fair trial for Omar Khadr (as every other western leader has done for its citizens), while Harper stands essentially alone in the world in his belief that Guantanomo Bay is a place where 'justice can run its course" (not even McCain and Obama believe this).

- Dion was the first to come out in favour of having Elizabeth May in the leader’s debates. Harper waited till he stood alone before caving.

- Dion was the first to call for a Commissioner for Gender Equality and his party has fielded the highest percentage of female candidates (36.7%) in this election. Harper is dead last in his commitment to women’s issues and giving an equal voice and equal representation in the House of Commons.

- Dion has proposed economic solutions to get our economy rolling again, while Harper offers no plan and says only "don't worry, be happy" when more and more experts are saying Canada has serious troubles ahead that need to be tackled.

- Dion has stood firm in casting out any candidate who have run counter to basic Liberal party principles. Neither Jack Layton nor Stephen Harper can say the same. Or do these candidates they are hanging on to actually reflect their party’s principles?

- Dion was the first major party leader to release his full platform and its costing in this election and economists, environmentalists and numerous stakeholders from across the spectrum (cities, infrastructure, education, crime, farming) have endorsed the numbers and the plans. Harper may not even have a platform, let alone a costed one. When Stockwell Day was asked for the costing of some of their proposals his response was “Doing the math on these things isn't easy.” That’s the steady hand for our economy? That’s Conservative leadership?

With Canada’s economy in trouble, our standing on the world stage never worse, and a climate crisis worsening we need a Prime Minister who leads, not lags.

A Prime Minister who would govern with convictions and purpose, not through focus groups and polls.

A Prime Minister who leads a team ready to do the heavy lifting of running a government along with him, not a one-man show.

A Prime Minister who promises serious solutions, not pie in the sky ideas that aren’t affordable and won’t work.

A Prime Minister who has a plan for the next 10 years, not just until October 14th.

Canadians deserve a lot better than the Prime Minister we have now and only Stéphane Dion is ready and able to take his place.

We just have got to be reminding Canadians who the real leader is in this race and who is the one that is obviously most prepared to get down to work on tackling this country’s challenges after all the votes are counted.

For all the talk of the media the fact remains that a large majority of Canadians do not want Stephen Harper as their next Prime Minister. I hope that majority can work to see we don’t still end up with him on October 14th, but Liberals need to keep working to ensure that more and more Canadians see over the last half of this campaign that Stéphane Dion would be a Prime Minister we could all be proud of.

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The Liberal Platform: An Action Plan for the 21st Century

I think Liberals had a lot to be proud of today with the release of the platform. The lack of Conservative response says it all. It's balanced, responsible and takes on the issues our government needs to be tackling TODAY (see here for the costing). Today Canadians have seen just how a Liberal government would compare to a Conservative government.

On Productivity:
- A Liberal government offers Canadians the LOWEST income taxes
- A Liberal government offers the LOWEST corporate taxes
- A Liberal government offers the STRONGEST plan to tackle the infrastructure deficit, help our manufacturing sector, strengthen our post-secondary education system and access for students, and foster greater R&D to bring about the ideas and technologies of the future
- A Liberal government offers the MOST support to families and the ONLY real plan to create child care spaces so parents have more freedom to fulfill their highest potential in the work force
- A Liberal government would recognize the contribution arts and culture make to our economy and support them as they should as opposed to Conservatives who seem to have an ideological loathing of them instead
- A Liberal government would finance its commitments with methods most supported by all major economists: by putting a price on pollution and finding efficiencies as past Liberal governments have done with great success.
- A Liberal government would be the MOST committed to balanced budgets by re-establishing the $3 Billion contingency fund Jim Flaherty did away with. Conservatives are prepared to bring us into deficit, in fact we may already be there. If it turns out Flaherty and Harper are lying about the nation’s finances, Liberals will phase in their promises only based on what’s available, as any prudent government should.

On Social Justice:
- A Liberal government would take on the shame of poverty with realistic goals and a comprehensive plan. You’d be like to ever hear the word poverty mentioned by Stephen Harper once this election.
- A Liberal government would take the health care crisis seriously and actually make progress in decreasing wait times by creating incentives to have more doctors and nurses, while ensuring Canadians needing catastrophic drug coverage aren’t out in the cold
- A Liberal government would fix the backlog in our immigration system and help ensure they succeed, without having to pick favourites and treat them like economic units
- A Liberal government would buid a STRONGER relationship with our Aboriginal Peoples, do more to lift them out of poverty and settle land calims along with holding a First Ministers Conference on Aboriginal issues within 6 months of assuming office and bringing back the Kelowna Accords

On the Environment:
- A Liberal government will cut income and corporate taxes and it shift to pollution as all major economists and environmentalists recommend. The Conservatives plan has been panned by everyone and at the same time Harper is afraid to reveal its real costs.
- A Liberal government would do the most to help Canadians go Green in their homes (through financial support and Green mortgages)
- A Liberal government would do the most to protect our natural resources and natural parks
- A Liberal government would take greater efforts to ensure we have cleaner air, continued fresh water supply and safe food

On the World Stage:
- A Liberal government would stand up for Canadian's rights EVERYWHERE, no exceptions.
- A Liberal government would restore our reputation as a leading voice on human rights
- A Liberal government would restore our place as active middle power in the world so we can make a real difference in major international initiatives again
- A Liberal government would take foreign aid seriously again and strongly ramp up our efforts to be in line with other developed countries.

The Conservatives have no strategy for the years ahead, they don’t understand the economy – they think all the country’s problems can be solved with tax credits and neglect investing in the areas most important to our future productivity – post-secondary education, child care, and research and innovation. Meanwhile while they’ve been moaning about the costs about the Green Shift - the costs of their environmental plan remain hidden until after the election. So now the onus is on Stephen Harper. What’s his plan for the next 4 years? How will he revive the economy? Does he have anything to say about social justice? How will his environmental plan work and how much will it cost Canadians? How will he pay for his platform?

The Liberals have laid out their cards and showed they have a bold, but responsible plan for our country. I imagine Mr. Harper doesn’t have one or is scrambling now to make one up on the fly that at least holds a candle to the Liberal platform. Let Harper try to find a single economist or environmentalist willing to line up behind his plan.

For now though hopefully Canadians see that with a Liberal government Canada would be a world leader in economic productivity, environmental sustainability, protecting human rights, delivering foreign aid, and be a major player again in many of the world’s conflicts. With a Conservative government we would continually fall farther behind on all fronts and lose more and more capital on the world stage with each year. We don’t have to choose that path and I’m hopeful that come October 14th Canadians will choose the party best prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

See here, here, and here for some other Liberal views.

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Stephen Harper: Friends Before Country

Harper’s continued refusal to do what’s right and fire Gerry Ritz is really just one more example in a long line of Harper doggedly putting the interests of his friends first. More and more voices are speaking out that not only was Ritz completely out out of line with his pale comments, but he’s badly mismanaged this crisis since the beginning. But it doesn’t matter to Harper, you can count on him to stand by his friends no matter how badly they mess up. We can’t ignore that this is a pattern…

- When Maurice Vellacott was found to have made derogatory comments about both Aboriginals and our Supreme Court Justice was he disciplined? Nope, in fact defended to be the Chair of the Aboriginal Affairs Committee. Friends first.
- When Jim Flaherty called Ontario the “last place to invest” and Peter Van Loan called McGuinty the “small man of Confederation” were they disciplined? Nope. Friends first.
- When Tom Lukiwski made extremely offensive remarks about homosexuals and evidently did virtually nothing to make amends with the gay community like he promised, was he disciplined? Nope. Friends first.
- When Pierre Poilievre gravely insulted Aboriginals by questioning whether we are getting “value for our money” was he disciplined? Nope. Friends first.
- When Tony Clement was AWOL during the Listeriosis crisis and had the nerve to make jokes about the meat he was being served was he disciplined? Nope. Friends first.
- When Tony Clement called the majority of doctors in this country unethical was he disciplined? Nope. Friends First.
- And when Gerry Ritz bungled the listeriosis crisis and joked about the deaths of Canadians and the death of his chief political critic, was he disciplined. NO! Friends first.

I’m sure there are many more, people can feel free to add their own.

Taking strong disciplinary action would have sent a signal that Stephen Harper will stand up all groups in this great country. It strengthens the fabric of this country to know that no matter which group to which you belong, or no matter what province you are from, your Prime Minister will go to bat for you just as strongly, but we haven’t seen that with this PM. It is good for the country if a minister badly bungles and mocks a public health crisis that he/she be relieved of his/her duties, but we haven’t seen that from this PM.

This is sharp contrast to Stéphane Dion who has always put his country first. Even those on the far right realize that. Take this quote from the Toronto Sun from the time of leadership: “Which brings us to Stephane Dion, our choice for leader because he was willing to fight for Canadian unity when it counted, despite the fact most of his academic peers in Quebec were separatists, who made his life hell. That took courage. While we think he's out to lunch in his support of the pie-in-the-sky Kyoto accord, we also think he's smart enough and tough enough to be a leader. And that's rare these days”(h/t)

Stephane Dion was out fighting for his country while Stephen Harper was off writing about firewalls in Alberta and slagging Canada is almost all his writings.

When someone steps of line in Stéphane Dion’s party he takes the appropriate action, he’s shown that already with the candidates he’s dismissed in this election. We won’t see similar leadership from Stephen Harper. His own people have even admitted that Ryan Sparrow will be welcomed back to the fold after the election. That’s real leadership?

On October 14th, I hope Canadians come to think of who has the best of interests of the country at heart, because when comes to comparing Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion on that front there’s really never been any contest. I want a Prime Minister who will put the interests of his country before his friends, not the other way around.

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Day 12 Recap: The Choice on Infrastructure and Cities

Yesterday at an excellent event showcasing Stéphane Dion and the Liberal team, the Liberals released an extremely bold plan for infrastructure, investing in our cities and public transit to deal with the massive infrastructure deficit this country faces. We need to start tackling this issue now and not it leave it for future generations to pick up the pieces and I’m glad to see the liberals are up for the job. Below are the details of the plan.

• The Liberal long-term infrastructure plan will:

o create a 10-year plan to invest $70 billion in much-needed infrastructure;
o devote all unanticipated annual budget surplus funds beyond a $3-billion contingency reserve to infrastructure;
o create an Infrastructure Bank to make available to each level of government low-cost financing for major infrastructure projects such as regional energy grids or high-speed rail.

• As part of the $70-billion plan, the Liberals will honour all existing framework agreements that have been signed with the provinces

• Liberal priorities for the $70-billion commitment over 10 years will include:
o at least $10 billion of strategic infrastructure, particularly green infrastructure such as water and sewage treatment, and clean energy grids;
o at least $8 billion for a National Transit Strategy to enable cities to expand their transit systems and green their transit fleets;
o at least $3 billion for a dedicated Small Communities Fund;
o at least $4.5 billion for our country’s gateways, corridors and borders; and
o at least $3 billion for sports and recreational facilities
• In addition the 10-year plan includes the transfer of almost $25 billion to the municipalities through the gas tax transfer. This transfer would be indexed to nominal GDP growth so that municipalities have the funding certainty they need to keep up with economic growth.
• For the first time, the Liberals will also establish a policy to devote any unanticipated surplus- over and above a $3-billion contingency fund to ensure fiscal prudence - to investment in infrastructure. This would have represented $7 billion in 2007-08 alone, and nearly $75 billion if this approach had been taken over the last ten years. The top priority will be investment in sustainable infrastructure: public transit, water systems, green energy, waste management and contaminated sites.
• A new Liberal government will also develop an Infrastructure Bank as an additional tool to finance infrastructure investment. This bank will provide low-cost financing for all orders of government that choose to borrow from it. It will also help finance long-term infrastructure projects such as regional energy grids or high-speed rail.
• Through the Infrastructure Bank, Canadians across the country would have the opportunity to participate in the Bank’s projects through the purchase of tax-free Green Bonds, which would be similar to Canada Savings Bonds, but with the money directed toward investments in renewable energy infrastructure or other investments that will clean up our environment and strengthen our economy. The returns on their investment through these Green Bonds would be tax free.
• Through these commitments, a Liberal government would be a willing partner for mega projects like an East-West energy grid, an Atlantic Energy Corridor, a carbon
capture and sequestration pipeline between Alberta and Saskatchewan and
high-speed rail links in Canada’s busiest commuter corridors.

It’s no wonder such a comprehensive plan has been lauded by the Federal of Canadian Municipalities and mayors across the country.

This in stark contrast to the Conservative attitude of saying they aren’t in the “pot-hole business” and calling municipal leaders “whiners” for caring about their cities’ needs. The Conservatives have no plan for public transit or our cities, don’t care about the environment, and are content with the belief that targeted tax credits are all we need to solve the problems of the future.

The reality though is infrastructure is another issue that cannot wait. Just as was noted in McGuinty's MoveOntario 2020 infrastructure plan, it will cost far more to wait a decade to fix our infrastructure problems than to fix them now. We can put our heads in the sands and watch our cities and municipalities crumble further, watch gridlock get worse and worse and do little to improve our public transportation systems, but really that is a recipe for disaster. It is yet one more reason why the Conservatives can’t be trusted to manage our economy, they don’t understand it and they aren’t willing to tackle the challenges now that will create a better country for tomorrow.

Yet one more reason to vote Liberal.

UPDATE: Day 13: A Liberal plan for farmers and rural Canada Vs. “'Cold cuts' crack still haunting Harper”

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Day 11 Recap: The Choice on Child Care and Education

Notwithstanding the recent Tory troubles...I'd still hope it wouldn't completely overshadow the excellent Liberal policies that the Liberals put forth. Education and child care are two major issues where there is a stark difference betweens Cons and Liberals.

EDUCATION
I was very impressed with the Liberal Post-Secondary Education plan. I believe it is the strongest we've ever seen proposed. Students will be far better off. Currently, most students don’t earn enough money to take advantage of education tax credits, I know I have experienced that. The Liberals would make the tax system simpler and fairer for all students, ensuring they receive up front support throughout the school year adding up to approximately $1000 per student combined with the GST rebate, instead of only receiving that money as tax credits after they've graduated and have a full time job. Students who work while in school would receive another $250 (as outlined in the Green Shift plan). The Liberals would also improve student aid so that no matter how much money you or your parents make, you can get financial support. The education plan would also provide 200,000 bursaries of up to $3500 a year and 100,000 access grants for disadvantaged groups of up to $4000 a year (by the 4th year of the plan). The plan would further make all students (regardless of parental income) eligible for guaranteed student loans of $5000, reduce interest rates on loans, and extend the grace period to two years for repaying them.

It's no wonder this policy has been fully endorsed by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations fully endorsed it:"CASA believes the measures proposed by the Liberal party will help students and families cope with the accelerated costs of education," said Zach Churchill, national director of the alliance. "The proposed plan, if implemented, can significantly enhance access to post-secondary education system, by providing funding to students who need it the most, while helping to lower the epidemic growth of student debt in this country."

The plan does not only focus on making PSE more affordable though, but also in helping to drive the ideas of tomorrow through support to Research and Development. Research funding has given us cures for diseases and technological innovations such as the Blackberry, but to be a world leader in the knowledge economy we need to go much farther. Liberals understand that. The Liberals would bolster funding for the indirect costs of research by 60%, increase support to Canada’s research granting councils by 34% (which would help graduate students and faculty alike), fund greater support for interdisciplinary research, and extend the tax credit for private sector R&D.

It’s about time we had a party willing to take the reforms necessary on education. The Conservatives by contrast offer no plan on education except to give students less than $10 a month for textbooks, I think we know who cares more about our post-secondary education system. Conservatives seem to think we don't need universities as they mock all those who attend and teach at them. Well the Liberals understand that the knowledge economy will crucially depend on a well educated population and well funded research. We know how to manage the economy and our education system, Conservatives don't.

EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE
The Liberals are also taking us in the right direction on child care. The Liberals remain committed to a national high quality early learning and child care system. By the 4th year of the plan the Liberals would spend $1.25 billion annually. This would be in addition to maintaining the $100-a-month cheques that have children six and under (as many have come to rely on these) and the new refundable $350 child tax benefit for every child under 18 (mentioned in the Green Shift plan) . The Liberal plan would also make federal maternity and parental leave programs more flexible for parents by providing them with the choice of taking a shorter leave with higher benefits, or a longer leave (up to 18 months) with lower benefits. Finally, the Liberals would provide up to an additional $1, 225 to low-income families with children under 18 as part of a new Guaranteed Family Supplement.

The contrast with the Conservatives could not be more clear. They offer $1200 a month to some parents, but this hardly creates "choice in child care" since without spaces there is no choice and the Conservatives haven't created any child care spaces. The Liberal plan gives MORE money to parents, particularly those with low income and will create well over a hundred thousand child care spaces. That's the system families in this country need. Without a national child care system, families continue to have to choose between work and family and that's not fair to families or our economy, yet the Conservatives just don't seem to realize. That's why they can't be trusted with the economy during troubled times: they don't understand it.

The Liberal plans will be carried out with prudent budgeting, with the entire platform including the $3 billion surplus cushion Mr. Flaherty DID AWAY WITH in his last budget. Liberals would never put us in deficit, but I'm quite concerned Mr. Flaherty already has though, just as the Harris/Eves government did (of which he was Finance Minister) when they claimed they balanced the books when there was really a $5.6 billion deficit. Mr. Flaherty's budgetary projections have been far off in the past, the Conservatives simply have no credibility to be preaching about fiscal responsibility. It's completely obvious which party has the better record on protecting public finances.

So on education, child care, and yes certainly fiscal responsibility, there's just plainly no competition. The choice is clear: The Liberal Party once again has the best plan.

UPDATE: Day 12: Strong plan for infrastructure for the Liberals Vs. “Controversy dogs Tories.” More later….

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Elections Laws and Listeriosis: A Party Run Amuck

On two fronts, the dark face of the Conservative Party and the people that run the show has been on full display in the last 48 hours. First there was the new revelations in the In and Out scandal. Conservative top brass bellittling candidates who wanted to RESPECT THE LAW, calling them idiots, "turds", and saying that the "fear of God" has to be put into them and they should "send some heavies down from Ottawa to come down like a ton of bricks". What kind of party operates like this? Intimitadation of those wanting to make sure they are following the rules? When the Conservatives have admited they were national ads? This is the law and order party?

Then there is the listeriosis crisis. The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published an editorial saying that "government policy errors helped bring about this epidemic" and that the government response of a watered down inquiry is weaker than what's been done for any serious public health crisis in the past, such as SARS. Harper's response? Apparently impugn the credibility of the one person who he thought wrote it. Except it was penned by seven people, almost all of them doctors. I think Canadians deserve a more serious response from our Prime Minister to a serious public health crisis don't you? Shouldn't the media demand a more serious response?

But maybe now we have an idea why Harper may have preferred a watered down inquiry, as his Agriculture minister seemed to be most worried about government fallout over this above all else. Not only was Gerry Ritz' priorities in the wrong place, his heart seemed to be too. He was already an appalling minister who should have resigned before, but joking about the deaths of Canadians and your chief political critic (Wayne Easter) is beyond the pale. Ritz should have resigned before all this, he definitely should now (and this isn't the first time for this party either: Clement is also guilty of making appalling jokes on this matter). Conservatives have to ask themselves is the kind of character they want carrying the party banner? If they are fine with that, what does that say about the Conservative Party of today?

Belittling elections laws, questioning the credibility of fathers of dead soldiers and doctors concerned over a public health crisis, linking your opponents to terrorists, joking about dead Canadians, constant lies about your official opposition. Have we ever had a government like this? This is a party run amuck.

But the media have a job to do too. While I grant that they are covering the Ritz story, the CMAJ editorial and the In and Out revelations have been buried. These are serious issues, a lot more important than polls and lights going out in a plane, and the media are letting us down. In this election the choices made will have a major impact on then next few years, is it too much to ask that the media cover the real issues of this campaign and the real record of its politicians? Must horse race coverage dominate every day?

At least some commentators at the Globe get it. Nonetheless, with each day more stories are coming to show that Stephen Harper and his party are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing.

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Day 10 Recap: The Choice on Health Care

Yesterday’s announced Liberal policies for catastrophic drug coverage for the seriously ill and to help hire more doctors and nurses serve to further sharpen the contrast between Conservatives and Liberals. Stephen Harper promised wait times guarantees in 5 areas and he completely broke that promise. I’m sure he’ll be promising even less this campaign and likely wouldn’t even meet whatever standard he set. The man has no credibility on the economy or health care. Protecting the most vulnerable in society is just not a priority for him.

Liberals can be trusted to protect and improve our health care system and manage the country’s finances properly. We are the ones who brought in the 10 year health care accords and who repaired our economy. While the economy looms larger in this election, health care remains in the top 3 issues for most Canadians so I hope Dion re-visit the health care issue again later in this campaign and highlights these policies again. For those who thought the Liberals wouldn’t have a solid platform ready to go for this campaign, I think they’ve been proven wrong.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the Liberals will be offering on Day 11....

UPDATE: I was not disappointed. Very impressive announcements on education today. Strong child care plan too! Great day for Liberal policy! More later….

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Jack Layton: All Things to All People

I won't be talking much about Layton this campaign, but since he did do an online discussion this past afternoon with the Globe I thought it was worth covering (see here for the transcript). I'll do the same if/when other leaders follow suit. Overall, I think Jack got some pretty easy questions and handled them well, but a couple answers really grabbed my attention just because they get to one major problem I have with Layton: he seems to want to try to tie himself to anything that he thinks is popular (e.g., Obama) regardless of how it fits with his supposed principles or reality. It's quite the contrast with Stéphane Dion who even Layton admits is a man of principle who has consistently taken bold stands on many issues regardless of their popularity at the time.

For instance in the forum when Layton was asked about how the NDP could be trusted with the public purse he shockingly started claiming "his party" has the best record on balanced budgets. Of course he's referring to provincial NDP governments that for the most part governed much farther to the right than the current federal NDP platform. But still I would think it quite odd if Dion started taking credit for Dalton McGuinty or Gordon Campbell’s accomplishments. Though if Jack wants to claim credit for the successes of past NDP provincial governments, surely he's willing to wear their failures too then?

Even more galling though was Jack trying to tie himself directly again with Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba. He implied again he'd manage the economy just like Premier Doer if he were actually Canadian Prime Minister. Now I remember last November Jack Layton actually literally said "Doer's policies are the same as ours". Well as I recounted at the time, Doer is someone who CUT corporate taxes, opposes legislation to ban replacement workers, supports a continued troop presence in Afghanistan, supports the Clarity Act (which Layton wanted to repeal), and has been a strong supporter of the "Third Way" (public-private partnerships) and the right wing Tony Blair in particular.

So which is it Jack? Would you be like Gary Doer and cut corporate taxes and reverse many of your other positions? I thought you were gonna take on the board rooms though? Or are you just trying to dupe people into thinking you are more centrist than you really are?

Who are you trying to fool, your own base, or the rest of Canadians?

Again Jack wants to be all things to all people. But that's the joy I guess of being a permanent opposition party: you'll never have to make any tough choices, be held accountable, or take a real stand on anything. Just promise the world and say you’ll be just like whoever you think your audience wants you to be, knowing you'll never have to deliver. Must be nice...

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Harper Cozying Up to the ADQ Again

It would seem Harper is content to play footsie again with a very regressive party now in distant last place in Quebec

Mr. Dumont's right-hand man in the National Assembly, MNA and House Leader Sébastien Proulx, is scheduled to announce on Wednesday that he is behind the Conservative candidate in his provincial riding of Trois-Rivières.....There were a number of prominent ADQ members in Saint-Eustache when Mr. Harper announced that the city's mayor and long-time ADQ supporter, Claude Carignan, was running for the party in that riding on Oct. 14.

I note there is no mention of provincial Liberal involvement helping Conservatives, I wonder what Charest thinks of all this? Why is Harper associating with a party who will likely be trounced by Charest in the next Quebec election?

Given that the ADQ numbers are in the low teens in Quebec in the last few polls I've seen, I don't see the harm in the Liberals making more of the Harper-ADQ association. After all, the ADQ's stands on immigration and women are pretty appalling and Harper seems to have no problems working closely with them nonetheless.

We'll see what the Liberals do, but for now, if Harper hasn't realized Dumont and his party's ship has sailed yet in Quebec that's fine by me.

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Harper Unfazed by Market Crisis

The headline really says it all. TSX and DOW both down OVER 500 points, but he's not fazed? Just what does faze Stephen Harper? I guess just like he didn't seem to care about the millions of dollars in savings that were lost because people believed his income trust promise, it doesn't faze him when other regular Canadians see their savings go up in smoke as many of them may have experienced today. Someone who isn't fazed by this is NOT the steady hand we need for these troubled economic times. “U.S. experts were ominously calling the events its worst financial crisis since the 1929 crash which ushered in the Great Depression.” And Harper is not fazed? His economic credibility is in tatters. There are obviously serious warning signals on the horizon and Harper's approach is "don''t worry, trust me things will be fine." Well Mr. Harper your word is worth so little these days and you've shown terrible economic management so Canadians have zero reason to trust you to manage the economy any longer. Harper has no plan for the economy or to deal with the challenges ahead so he deceives (even when his own government reports contradict him), spins, and scare mongers about his opponents non-stop.

Enough. Canada needs a NEW Prime Minister, Harpernomics isn't working for regular Canadians.

The Liberals gave us the best economy we've ever had and Harper has utterly squandered what he was given, so we need to remind Canadians that WE are the ones best equipped to manage the economy. This ad out today is definitely a good start.



Good to see others like the message too: here, here, here, and here

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Week 1 Recap: A Stark Contrast on Display

This past week we saw two different visions and philosophies on display. The contrast between Liberals and Conservatives was made very clear. From the first week we know Canadians will be choosing between:
- A bold economic and environmental plan that will meaningfully endorse our greenhouse gas reductions and move our economy forward (as all the major economists and environmentalists agree) and an excellent plan to help Canadians retrofit their homes versus a weak environmental plan panned by every major independent group (see here, here, here, here) along with a proposal that encourages more greenhouse gas production and won’t save Canadians money..
- Responsible economic management to clean up the financial mess left behind by Conservatives versus reckless spending to the brink of the deficit and no plan to deal with the current troubles of our economy.
- Modernizing our immigration system our immigration system while keeping it fair and accessible to immigrants across the world more versus a Conservative plan that picks favourites among immigrants and treats them as economic units while giving unprecedented power to a single minister.
- Responsibly following a recommendation of the coroner's report on the Dawson’s College tragedy by banning military assault weapons versus needlessly leaving them available even though these weapons would never be used for hunting.
- Helping to protect the rights of minority groups versus gleefully cutting funding to programs that help them.
- Standing up for Aboriginal rights versus opposing an international treaty to recognize them.
- Improving our food safety system versus a government whose Health Minister mocked the Listorosis crisis from abroad while the crisis was ongoing.
- A real plan to deal with the rising price of gas by restoring the federal Office of Petroleum Price Information and strengthen the enforcement tools in the Competition Bureau to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour versus no meaningful Conservative plan.
- Standing up for gender equality with a Commissioner of Gender Equality, increased funding to Status of Women and walking the walk on running female candidates versus a party that doesn’t care about having more women in power and has cut funding and weakened status of women
- Standing up to ensure all the major party leaders to be heard in the debates versus opposing it until you are left standing alone.
- A party that wages a campaign based on facts and proposing a positive vision versus a party whose is campaign is based on lies and childish attacks.

There will be much more in weeks to come, but we must continue to work harder to get this message through to Canadians. We have the plan, the leader, and the team to provide a government Canadians would be proud of. By contrast, Stephen Harper’s conduct as Prime Minister and in this campaign gives us little to have much pride about. A dishonest man with no plan to tackle the challenges this country faces does not deserve another term and only one leader can replace him on October 14th. This upcoming week we will need to step up that message so Canadians come to realize before Election Day that the Liberal Party is clearly the best choice to move this country forward and govern on behalf of all Canadians.

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Some Perspective: Where Were We At This Point Last Time?

While the press are out making all sorts of predictions, I thought it might be a good time for some responsible reporting about the race as it stands compared to last time. Below are a sample of poll numbers from all firms from the last election. Amazingly the SES/NANOS numbers are EXACTLY reversed, Liberals were up 38-30 at the exact same point in the race. They even took a 15 point lead 3 days later. Though I don't remember seeing a single media outlet saying the only possibilities were a Liberal minority or majority, in fact I remember blogging Tories and the National Post columnists remained quite confident of an impending Conservative victory. Why is the media coverage so radically different this time? The Conservatives didn’t close the gap on the Liberals in a single poll until 3 weeks into the campaign (which was actually before the income trust bombshell after which the Liberals never had the lead again) and the media never counted them out, so why the bias this time? Why are polls instead of issues dominating campaign coverage? It would be nice to see at least some major reporters address this.

It's obviously not debatable that the Conservatives are ahead now, but there are 30 days left in this campaign. I agree with Paul Wells, campaigns matter and getting all riled up by polls this far out is a needless distraction. It will take hard work to win this thing, but it is far too soon to start making predictions about the outcome about the outcome. Stéphane Dion and his team need to do everything they can to make sure they get their message out loud and clear of the stark choice faced in this election, why we cannot afford another term with Harper as PM, and why he and the Liberal Party will provide real leadership we can be proud of. But every week they must learn the lessons from the last. The rest of us Liberals need to do all we can to help from the ground and spread our party's message.

But let's not worry about the media coverage, for whatever reason the press seem to want Harper to win and are constructing the narrative accordingly. But the media won't decide this election - there's a lot of hearts and minds out there still to win and they can be won. Despite what Harper says, the majority of Canadians' views are far more in line with the Liberal party than his - Canadians want a fiscally responsible and socially progressive government, not a fiscally reckless and socially regressive one like we have today. It's a long road, but with hard work and focus we can pull ahead and give Canadians a government they can be proud of.

Be back soon with my week 1 recap (here).

UPDATED: Two good reality checks: On the polls and on why Harper would start criticizing the NDP (hint: it’s not because he believes Layton will ever crack 20% in the polls).

POLLS - 2006 CANADIAN ELECTION

SES/NANOS DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/03/06 DAY 37	36	33	15	13	4	±3.1	-
12/30/05 DAY 33	35	35	14	13	4	±3.1	-
12/29/05 DAY 32	34	35	14	13	5	±3.1	-
12/28/05 DAY 31	32	38	14	13	4	±3.1	-
12/22/05 DAY 25	29	39	15	12	5	±3.2	-
12/08/05 DAY 11	26	41	18	11	4	±3.2	-
12/07/05 DAY 10	26	40	18	11	4	±3.2	-
12/06/05 DAY 9	28	40	17	11	4	±3.2	-
12/05/05 DAY 8	30	38	16	11	4	±3.2
STRATEGIC COUNSEL DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/04/06 DAY 38	32	32	17	13	6	±2.5	-
12/31/05 DAY 34	31	33	17	14	6	±3.1	-
12/22/05 DAY 25	30	33	18	14	5	±2.5	-
12/08/05 DAY 11	30	36	15	14	5	±2.5	-
12/07/05 DAY 10	29	35	16	13	6	±2.5	-
12/06/05 DAY 9	29	35	16	14	6	±2.5	-
12/05/05 DAY 8	29	35	16	14	6	±2.3	-
IPSOS-REID DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/05/06 DAY 39	35	31	18	10	5	±2.2	-
12/31/05 DAY 34	33	32	18	12	5	±3.1	-
12/22/05 DAY 25	32	33	16	13	5	±3.1	-
12/12/05 DAY 15	27	36	17	14	5	±3.1	-
12/08/05 DAY 11	30	34	16	14	5	±3.1	-
12/03/05 DAY 6	31	33	17	14	5	±2.0	-
EKOS DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/03/06 DAY 39	35.5	32.0	19.1	9.7	3.1	-
12/03/05 DAY 6	27.4	34.1	18.4	14.0	6.0	±2.7
LEGER DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/04/06 DAY 38	34	32	16	11	5	±2.5
12/21/05 DAY 24	28	36	17	12	5	±3.1
12/07/05 DAY 10	27	39	16	12	5	±2.2
DECIMA DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
01/08/05 DAY 42	36	27	20	11	-	±3.1
12/31/05 DAY 34	30	32	18	14	-	±3.1
12/09/05 DAY 12	27	36	20	13	4	±1.5
12/06/05 DAY 9	26	34	20	14	-	±1.5
POLLARA DATE	CON	LIB	NDP	BQ	GREEN	MOE	-
12/19/05 DAY 22	34	37	17	10	-	-
12/11/05 DAY 11	30	38	15	12	-	-

Source: nodice.ca

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Stéphane Dion Portrays Positive Vision for the Country in English AND French Ads

NOTE: This was up for a few minutes last night until I realized none of the videos were working properly.

Most people have focused on the English ad, but The Libereals released a number of French ads as well. This one above on Arts and Culture is the most hard hitting and this may prove to be a sleeper issue in Quebec. I can't claim to be an expert on Quebec politics, but I think if any of these French ads will get people talking it's this one.

I've embedded the other French ads and the English ad below. I think they are all pretty well done. The English ad hammers home the main benefits of the Green Shift very succinctly. You will never sell it to people who don't believe in climate change but I think the ad would score well with at least 50-60% of the population, if not more. Dion CAN sell the Green Shift well outside of Quebec and this is a good start.

The French ads go into more detail beyond the Green Shift so that's good because the Green Shift is already most popular in Quebec and Harper is much more vulnerable on poverty, culture, and foreign policy there. All of those issues get covered in the different French ads which also feature different Quebec candidates in each ad along with Rae and Ignatieff in addition to Dion. Despite the names of the ads, each of the ones below cover more than one topic. I'm glad to see the party is putting a heavy focus on picking up seats in la Belle Province. I'm curious what kind of grade other Liberals would give to these French ads (Calgary Grit, will you include these in your ad series? :))

Ad: Emplois


Ad: Pauvreté


Ad: Fiscalité


Ad: Le Canada et le Monde


Ad: The Green Shift

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Canada NEEDS a NEW Prime Minister

One of the fundamental issues in this campaign is trust. Stéphane Dion has been a man of integrity throughout his career and ALL the party leaders have attested to this. Stephen Harper by contrast has been one of the most deceitful Prime Ministers in history. So it should be no problem for all of us to go along with this request and remind Canadians today about all the reasons we can’t trust Stephen Harper. Here is just a small list:
- The gutting of their own Accountability Act and breaking his promises on Access to Information.
- His continued misleading of Canadians with regard to the Afghan detainee torture scandal and repeated attempts to block any investigation of this file that.
- Saying he would listen to the experts in informing his policy and instead censoring Government scientists to ensure only the “party line” gets heard.
- Saying he could "take a punch" and instead firing independent regulators (like Linda Keen) for doing their jobs. Critics of Harper's policies have a hard time staying employed under his watch.
- Saying Canada would be “second to none” on human rights under his watch but instead he endorsed the Death penalty and Canada has gone from a leader to a pariah on human rights.
- Saying he would put out a real environmental plan, but instead releasing one that was slammed by every independent group. See here, here, here, here.
- Saying he would fight for our forestry workers and get back the $5 billion they were owed, but instead caving to the Americans for a weak deal that broke his promise.
- Saying he was against Prime Minister's calling elections for their own partisan benefit and even passing legslation to enshrine that principle, only to turn around and spit on his own legislation when it suited him.
- Saying he cared about women’s issues, but instead slashed funding to Status of Women, weakened their mandate and has shown an APPALLING commitment to running female candidates.
- Saying he would safeguard taxpayer's money and instead squandered a massive surplus and put us in deficit for the first two months of this year.
- Saying he would help the plight of Aboriginals, but he tore up Kelowna and failed to institute a meaningful replacement.
- Saying he wanted Parliament to work and instead creating a manual manual on how to disrupt committees which Conservatives used to block any investigation of the Cadman affair (where Conservatives stand accused of bribing an MP) and the “In and Out” scandal (where Conservatives stand accused of breaking elections law). It won’t stop those two scandals from coming up in the campaign I’m afraid Mr. Harper.

And THIS is the just the short-list! Conservatives don’t want Canadians to remember their promises from the last election, so all links to their platform have disappeared from their website, but you can still get it right HERE. There are probably at least 100 broken promises to be found!

Stephen Harper says we would get certainty by re-electing him and I guess he's right we'd certainly get more broken promises, complete economic mismanagement and dozens more disappointments at home and abroad. The media definitely won’t do its job in this election so it will be up to progressives (yes that includes the Greens and NDP) to get the message out about how this man CANNOT be trusted with another mandate.

Too much is at stake, we need a Prime Minister that you can trust and that cares about progressive issues NOW! Thankfully we have that in Stéphane Dion.

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Harper's Message to Canadians Today

So here we go! Two weeks ago I said if Stephen Harper called an election before the by-elections took place, it would signify several things to the Canadian people. Today, I don't think anyone would disagree that this was Harper's message with today's election call:
A) He knew his party was going to lose badly in all 4 by-elections
B) He knew the Liberals were going to win all 4 by-elections and get strong momentum out of them
C) He has NO regard for the views of the people in the ridings where by-elections were scheduled. I'm still waiting to hear a single justification for why he called that by-election in Don Valley West, not to mention waited till the VERY last minute to call the general election. Surely we should ask a PM to have made up his mind about an election call sooner though I guess it’s not easy for Harper to make priorities.
D) He has NO regard for taxpayer money whatsoever. MILLIONS of dollars wasted on four by-elections. not to mention all the money that went into drafting and passing Harper's own fixed elections bill that he will be showing to have been useless. In such tough economic times Harper would be showing he could care less about wasting taxpayer funds. No matter that the money could have gone to crucial priorities - all that matters is serving his partisan interests. This is NOT someone who should be in charge of our economy any longer.
E) He is fine with going into an election with his word meaning ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Harper specifically promised to take away the advantages of the PM to call an election at a time of his/her choosing and leave the decision of whether to go before 4 years up to Parliament. Add to that to the incredibly long list of other lies Harper has told, but this one would DEFINITELY be an election issue Harper would have to answer for. How can he trusted with ANY of his promises in a campaign when he has broken others so blatantly? Dion certainly doesn't have that kind of reputation (even Layton has praised him as an honest principled man) so it will be a great contrast.

The last two will be will definitely be lasting issues in this campaign that Harper can't escape from. In the end it's Harper's choice to give these messages to Canadians.

By contrast, the Liberals have the leader, the team and the vision to bring Canada in the right direction and we'll get that message across well between now and October 14th. Harper will be resorting to scare tactics and deception throughout, but if all Liberals work hard during this campaign we can give Canadians a richer, greener and fairer Canada that they deserve!

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Gut Check Time for Progressives: We Need a PM that Cares about Progressive Issues NOW!

Liberal and NDP supporters have a lot in common in terms of what kind of policies we’d like to see at the national level, but for that reason I just can’t understand why so many NDP supporters seem perfectly content to have Stephen Harper remain Prime Minister. If Jack Layton can’t be PM, and he can’t, then one would think NDP supporters would want a Liberal minority with the NDP holding the balance of power and be working to make that happen. For all those NDP supporters who will claim that it doesn’t matter if Stephen Harper gets to stay PM – I wonder how they’d answer the following questions.

1. Who would work better with Jack Layton in a minority government context Stéphane Dion or Stephen Harper?

2. When has more progressive policy passed, with a Liberal minority or a Conservative minority government? Forced to choose between the two isn’t it obvious which one has been better for progressives?

3. What does Jack have to show for his “opposition” to Stephen Harper this term? Did he elicit a single concession? Did a single piece of progressive policy pass since Harper has become PM? Why would another Harper minority be any different?

4. Having to choose between a Conservative minority government with an NDP gain of 5 seats over a Liberal minority government with an NDP loss of 5 seats which would you choose?

5. Which of those two options would lead to more progressive legislation being passed?

6. Does anyone believe any of the following would EVER be undertaken with Stephen Harper as PM?
- a real plan to combat poverty
- a real national child care plan
- a real plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- re-introduction of the Kelowna Accords
- meaningful increases in foreign aid
- fighting against the death penalty everywhere
- advocation against Guantanomo Bay
- re-instatement of the Court Challenges Program
- re-instatement of funding and mandate to Status of Women
- a Commissioner for Gender Equality

Yet we all know all those things in 6. would happen with Stephane Dion as PM - even Jack Layton acknowledged Dion to be a “man of principle and conviction” who you can trust. But every year more Stephen Harper is PM, more people suffer. Even so, Jack is unfortunately pursuing a strategy (by saying Stéphane Dion can’t be PM) that helps Stephen Harper who will never be a friend of progressives.

No matter what Jack says the evidence is clear - the race to be PM is between Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion and pretending otherwise in no way helps progressives. It’s right in Tom Flanagan’s book – the Conservatives love the NDP because they’ve been instrumental to helping the Conservatives win ridings that were essentially two-way fights between Liberals and Conservatives.

Why is it so hard for NDPers to admit that Stéphane Dion would be a much more progressive PM than Harper? Did the Liberals and NDP not vote together on numerous private member's bills that Harper ended up ignoring? Why must NDP supporters resort to the same arguments that Ralph Nader supporters make in the U.S.? (While ironically backing Obama at the same time who makes the same arguments the Liberals do about how the stakes are too high to flock to a third party)

NDP supporters always seem to dodge the questions above, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised if none of them honestly answer them, or instead just take one snippet and ignore the rest as they usually do.

The results of the last election led to a trashed child care plan, Kelowna abandoned, Court Challenges program eliminated, and massive backtracking on human rights, the environment and foreign aid. If you are progressive and you want actual progressive policies passed by a principled PM there’s only one party poised to do that in government and that’s the Liberals. There is too much at stake to have this election be 1988 all over again, I would hope the NDP realizes that.

UPDATE - 4:15 PM: Credit where credit is due, this is a well-done ad by the NDP. Though it does make the case well why we need Stéphane Dion as Prime Minister. Still waiting on the FIRST commenter to answer the questions asked above. I guess we all agree on the answers then :).

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NDP Image Make-Over Destined to Fail

So I guess Stéphane Dion is the only major party leader who wants to present a genuine picture of himself that is consistent with how he’s been as a politician. Meanwhile, Jack Layton is following Stephen Harper’s lead in presenting a completely new image, despite this also being his 3rd election as party leader. Both he and Harper must really think Canadians have short memories. But I’m real curious what NDP supporters think about Layton trying to portray himself as being like Barack Obama when Obama is to the RIGHT of the Liberals. Maybe Jack Layton doesn’t realize this, but Obama staunchly backs Afghanistan, is against same-sex marriage and is all for private health care. Is that the direction Jack Layton is hoping to go in too? Jack Layton actually said he has the EXACT same environmental plan as Barack Obama who DOES NOT use a 1990 target for his 80% reductions target and who didn’t support Kyoto. What do his supporters think about this? Obama is definitely the best option in the U.S. but his policies are certainly not extremely progressive by Canadian standards. So where is Jack going with this new “hope” angle? The only hope Jack Layton offers this election is that of another Stephen Harper government. No one believes Jack can be PM so he really offers no change, no hope. Therefore, in the end, this image make-over will fail.

I predict Jack’s dreams of being PM on Obama’s coattails will fade about a week into the election period as he’ll fail to break 20% in the polls. Then he’ll be right back to bashing the Liberals. Ultimately, Jack’s strategy has always been about one thing a bigger caucus above all else. His goal is to be opposition leader, not Prime Minister. As the leader of the NDP I’m sure he prefers Stephen Harper as PM, because he knows a Liberal government will get the job done and he’ll no longer ever be able to use the “13 years” line ever again. The NDP would slowly disappear with Dion as PM so I know when it comes down to it Jack will do everything he can this time around to ensure Stephen Harper continues to be PM. No matter all the moaning he’ll do this time about how bad a PM Harper is, Harper suits Jack’s interests just fine - after all I remember Jack acting as if it was a "great day for Canadians" when Stephen Harper won in 2006.

You really want to “oppose” Stephen Harper Jack? Then work to defeat him this election instead of playing exactly in to Tom Flanagan’s strategy of making this election 1988 all over again.

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New Con Ads' Underlying Message

Pay NO attention to my record as Prime Minister! I sound nice in scripted television ads, isn't that all that matters to being a good PM?

CG gives his review here and Jeff has a version that for some reason never made it air.

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Harper Skirts Spending Limits as His “Team” Grows Weaker

This story if true is quite telling. It says Harper will wait until Sunday to call the election, wasting the maximum of TAXPAYER’S money so he can spend the maximum of his PARTY’S money before an election call. Will the media call him on this? Doubt it. It’s not illegal of course, but it is a gross abuse of power and definitely unethical. How can Harper go into an election saying he’ll be the steady hand for the economy when he has such reckless disregard for taxpayer’s money. Even if Harper called the election today this concern would remain. With Stephen Harper every time it is party before country – he simply can’t be trusted to have the best interests of Canadians in mind.

Then there’s the other story of some of the stronger members of his team heading for the exits. Emerson was no doubt the biggest fish in a small pond, while Hearn was the only member of the team from Newfoundland deemed cabinet worthy. So the weakest bench in generations would be even weaker if re-elected – Can Canadians really afford that in tough economic times? There will be a big contrast between the Liberal TEAM and the Conservative lack of a team in this up coming election for sure. Not to mention Stéphane Dion’s integrity and positive vision will compare favourably against Stephen Harper’s constant deception and his appalling record. . I like how we stack up.

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The Green Shift Carries On As Planned

So I know the media like sensational stories and all, but really the new benefits for farmers, truckers, and fishermen are exactly in line with Dion said he was going to do - he said he would consult with Canadians over the summer. In fact before publishing such stories perhaps members of the media could look at the plan itself and see that these benefits are actually allowed for right in the ORIGINAL DOCUMENT. It says on p.38-39:
Contingency offset
We will set aside $1 billion over four years ($100 million in the first year growing to $400 million in the fourth year) which will be reserved for tax cuts designed to off-set the impact of the carbon tax on groups such as not-for-profit organizations and charities. This contingency offset will also be used to design tax relief to address unanticipated and unavoidable costs associated with the new price on carbon for the most vulnerable in society.

So the plan remains just as solid as before, backed by environmentalists on the left and economists on the right – any sensible analysis says it is the approach we need for the environment and the economy. And the plan has been improved based on consultations with Canadians. That IS the leadership we need for Canada.

UPDATE: Jason, Jeff, and Big City Lib also have thoughts on this

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Conservative Image Make-Over Won’t Fly

So the Conservatives have re-modeled their website so it’s no longer all negative-all the time. I guess they thought it was about time they started talking about the guy they wanted re-elected as PM. They've done their best to make Harper into such a nice, friendly, middle of the road guy, but unfortunately for them, everything he has done on record as PM is exactly the opposite of what they are trying to portray. This would be a good website if Stephen Harper were running the first time, but sorry this is not the Stephen Harper we all know. Will the “Liberal media” swallow it though? I know Warren has argued in the past that the media is itching for its revenge on Stephen Harper but so far I’ve seen NO evidence of that, in fact the opposite – when there are 4 polls out there this past week, with 3 favouring a Liberal victory, the media focuses on which one? Maybe they like having fights with Stephen Harper as PM and don't want a more open PM in Dion? We shall see once the writ drops how the coverage goes but if I had to bet now I’d say the media will be much more friendly to the Conservatives than the Liberals in the upcoming campaign.

At the least though I don’t think it’s too much to ask that media newspapers DO NOT accept letters to the editor that you can plug in for them that come directly from the new conservative.ca. I guess if the other parties do the same thing during the writ it’s fair game, but so far I haven’t seen that, so I would hope newspapers would do the ethical thing here and not accept letters submitted directly from the Conservative website. I wonder if a single media outlet will report on this tactic of the Conservatives though. Regardless, in this election it will be up to Liberals to get the real story about the Conservatives through – Stephen Harper is NOT on your side. I know we will and the image make-over the Conservatives are trying to pull off just won't fly.

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