Harper's New Coat of Paint

Excuse my extended (near 2 week) absence from blogging, I had A LOT of catching up to do on things post-election. But hopefully I should be able to keep it up now at least a few times a week from here on in. So with my return comes a review of the new Harper cabinet (see the full list of ministers below).

The Good:
- More women in cabinet, 11 out of 37 isn’t a record but it’s a massive improvement on the 7 out of 30 when Harper first came to power.
- Gary Lunn demoted. While Harper will never admit Lunn was a terrible minister and that firing Linda Keen was a mistake, at least this is an implicit recognition of that.
- John Baird demoted. As likely the worst and most partisan environment minister in history, few will be sad to see him out of that portfolio. Not that transport is a good fit for him either (especially if he’s still taking pointers from his friend Jim “we’re not in the pothole business” Flaherty) but at least he’s been knocked down the ladder in terms of profile.
- Leona Aglukkaq as Health Minister. Few had predicted this, but it’s a good choice, she was Health Minister in the Nunavut government so she’s obviously got the background. She also makes for the first female Health Minister I believe since Diane Marleau in the Chretien government.
- Lawrence Cannon at Foreign Affairs. Not really great, but Harper didn’t exactly have a strong hand to choose from, so probably there wasn’t anybody better he could have picked and at least Cannon has cabinet experience (Quebec Liberals) beyond this government.
- Larger cabinet. Yes it does cost more money, but at this time we need competent government and while I’m obviously not so sure we’ll get that with this government, overloading a smaller cabinet with work would not have helped matters at this crucial time. If Harper doesn’t start delegating matters the country will suffer.

The Bad:
- Ontario bashing, over the top partisanship and misnagement is rewarded by Stephen Harper
- “Ontario is the last place to invest” Flaherty stays where he is after turning a $12 billion surplus into a virtually certain deficit
- “small man of Confederation” Peter Van Loan is promoted to Public Safety
- Tony Clement is given Industry which I guess depending on who you talk is either lower, about the same, or higher in health in profile, but rumours were this is what Tony wanted and after the job he did at his old post (joking about listeriosis and being AWOL during the crisis, calling doctors unethical for supporting Insite, and failing to meet promises on wait times) anything but a demotion was undeserved.
- Gerry Ritz kept at Agriculture after badly mismanaging the listeriosis crisis. He deserved to be fired before the revelations of his jokes on the matter and it’s an absolute shame that as the crisis continues to unravel that he remains at the helm. It’s friends before country for Harper as I’ve said before.
- Jason Kenney (king of smear), now manages our immigration system. With the massive powers now invested in this minister through recent immigration changes this is scary indeed.
- Stockwell Day at Trade. This will be huge important with a new U.S. administration especially if it’s Obama. Day was not the right man for this job, too partisan and it’s not clear to me what background he has for this position. Someone more middle of the road with experience in negotiation would have been more appropriate.
- Chuck Strahl keeps his post at Indian Affairs. I think it’s about time for the Harper government to put a fresh face in there with a new start with Aboriginal Peoples. Their results on this file to date (notwithstanding the extremely important and overdue residential schools apology) and the lack of any new approach offered to them by this party in the last election have been disappointing to say the least.

Overall:
With the economy being the main issue right now, I have to say it doesn’t inspire confidence to see the main economic portfolios of Finance, Industry, and Infrastructure going to the Harris crew who wrecked Ontario's finances (and are only getting started on the nation's), while Trade goes to Stockwell Day who seems ill-suited for this incredibly delicate post.

Harper said the economy will be his main focus over the next year and on that basis he’s failed in his first task in assembling a team to deal primarily with the current crisis. While there were some improvements (though the extra women in cabinet will only be meaningful if Harper actually gives them a voice and doesn't continue to run a one-man show), I have to say on the whole this is a disappointment as Harper has been unable to recognize which ministers were doing poorly (with a couple exceptions) and instead rewarded them by keeping them in their high profile posts or even worse promoting them. Meanwhile, he has also promoted the most partisan members of his last cabinet at a time when all parties need to work togther.

The failure to learn from mistakes and to reward his loyal friends over doing what’s best for the country will ultimately be a contributor to Harper’s downfall.

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The Cabinet List:
- Jim Flaherty - Minister of Finance
- Lawrence Cannon - Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Tony Clement - Minister of Industry
- Stockwell Day - Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
- Leona Aglukkaq - Minister of Health
- Jim Prentice - Minister of the Environment
- John Baird - Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
- Robert Nicholson - Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
- Jason Kenney - Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
- Gerry Ritz - Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board - Chuck Strahl - Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and
- Peter MacKay - Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
- Peter Van Loan - Minister of Public Safety
- Christian Paradis - Minister of Public Works and Government Services
- Vic Toews - President of the Treasury Board
- Rona Ambrose - Minister of Labour
- Diane Finley - Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development
- Bev J. Oda - Minister of International Cooperation
- Josée Verner - Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister for La Francophonie
- Jay D. Hill - Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
- James Moore - Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
- Lisa Raitt - Minister of Natural Resources
- Gail Shea - Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
- Jean-Pierre Blackburn - Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State(Agriculture)
- Greg Thompson - Minister of Veterans Affairs
- Marjory LeBreton - Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister of State (Seniors)
- Gary Lunn - Minister of State (Sport)
- Gordon O’Connor - Minister of State and Chief Government Whip
- Helena Guergis - Minister of State (Status of Women)
- Diane Ablonczy - Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
- Rob Merrifield - Minister of State (Transport)
- Lynne Yelich - Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification)
- Steven Fletcher - Minister of State (Democratic Reform)
- Gary Goodyear - Minister of State (Science and Technology)
- Denis Lebel - Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)
- Keith Ashfield - Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
- Peter Kent - Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

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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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Stephen Harper is NOT on YOUR Side

So the Cons are exploiting our elections laws by running an ad the week before Harper officially calls an election. The ad is false on so many levels, but honestly it’s a well done ad to be tailored to an audience that they are hoping has never actually seen Stephen Harper in action over the past 2.5 years. I guess the Cons just hope people watching this ad haven’t seen the Stephen Harper who talks about everyone being screwed and who insinuates his opponents support terrorists. But if you watch CTV they are ALREADY completely swallowing the ad’s spin, so Liberals should be careful not to dismiss this and instead fight back. So what’s wrong with this ad? Well essentially every line. But it appears the Liberal media has struck again so it’s left up to others to do the real analysis. So let’s cover each of these “ordinary Canadians”…

“Stephen Harper knows where he stands, he’s a straight up guy”
- Should we be saying that about a guy who’s broken upwards of a hundred promises from the last election, from income trusts, to accountability, to his own fixed election law? Does “knowing where you stand” and being “straight up” mean lying to Canadians to get more votes or changing where you stand based on political convenience? Or lying repeatedly in the House of Commons?

“He’s doing a good job”
- Seriously? How’s the economy these days? How’s our standing on the world stage?

“He’s the steady hand we need when the world’s economy is so uncertain”
- Even more ridiculous. They spent the cupboard bare and put us back into deficit. Meanwhile Harper has NO economic plan to put us back on track. Is that the hand we want?

“I like the fact that he’s lowered taxes for all of us”
- Except NO ONE thinks they were the right taxes to lower and the GST cuts are what put us back in deficit (yes I know we are not currently in deficit, but we were quite recently and would be again with another Harper mandate)

“I appreciate the support for our troops”
- Yes, like cancelling crucial contracts for the Navy

“Finally someone has toughened up our justice system”
- Yes because building more prisons, following the U.S. mold and putting 10 years olds in prison is the way of the future

“I’ve never been more proud to be a Canadian”
- I would be shocked to learn this guy didn’t either work for the party or was a paid actor (well maybe all of these “ordinary Canadians” are but especially this guy). But I’d love to know what makes this guy so proud – is it our “leadership” on the environment? Human rights? Foreign aid? At the last G8 Summit? Personally I’m not proud that we’ve become an international pariah.

“I like the idea that he’s a family man with young children”
- Apparently Stephane Dion can’t be trusted because he’s a family man with an older child!

“He’s in it for the right reasons”
- Yes just as Tom Flanagan says, I’m sure that’s what this girl meant.

Proud guy again: “He’s on the right track”
- If you count having no plan for the environment or the economy the right track sure.

Picture of Harper with slogan: “Stephen Harper: Strong Leadership On Your Side”
- If they were really gonna go all out his cat is missing from the picture, I think that really might have sealed the deal. More on the slogan below.

“I’ll be voting for the first time and I’ll be voting for Stephen Harper”
I hope that girl lives in Calgary Southwest or she might have some trouble doing that... Newsflash to Conservatives: we don’t have a Presidential system as much you might wish we did.

But back to the slogan “On Your Side”, how can anyone who has paid any attention (I’m looking at you media) hear that without laughing? Is he on YOUR side when his government is busy meeting with oil executives, pandering to to his base, and mocking a serious health crisis that is the ultimate result of his “leave it to the market” ideology? When his government attacks provinces, doctors and anyone else who challenges them even when all the evidence says the CONSERVATIVES are the ones that are wrong?

Stephen Harper is NOT on your side unless you are in one of his key target demographics that he is hoping gets him enough votes to eek out a majority so he can do whatever he wants. Even then Harper would surely throw any group that helped him win under the bus if what he promised them didn't fit his ideological vision. It's very telling I think that the ad features mostly men and the main woman featured just speaks of tax cuts and crime - makes the picture very clear that Harper's record on the major women's issues and advancing gender equality has been abysmal and that he doesn't even care to put on a front that he's a friend of women (as we know the rest of the ad was full of enough fabrications).

Liberals must get the message through in this election that only they want to govern for ALL Canadians and I’m sure when both the Conservative and Liberal platforms are released it will be clear who has more Canadians’ interests at heart. Stephane Dion has shown consistently that he will put his country before his party and Stephen Harper has consistently shown he will do the opposite.

So who’s really on YOUR side?

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Ideology Over Saving Lives

This is shameful. So after dithering and refusing to show leadership on the issue of Insite for so long the Conservatives have come off the fence and made it clear that they fully oppose its continued operation by their decision to waste taxpayer money to appeal the decision of the BC Supreme Court that will leave Insite open for another year. In the meantime the program everyone knows works will continue to operate thankfully but this government’s serious disregard for science and what’s morally right is extremely troubling. Did Canadians vote for a party that would put ideology before saving lives?

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