Six Ways Harper Is Wrecking the Economy
Need evidence? Look south.
Myth of the good manager.
It's perhaps understandable that Stephen Harper is far ahead of his rivals when it comes to poll questions about who is the best at competent "economic management." Like George Bush in the U.S., Harper has deliberately framed himself as the "strict father" figure -- in charge, hard-edged, a firm guiding hand when things are increasingly uncertain.
Dion just seems inept, unable to capitalize on the Liberals' mythic record of the 1990s.
Jack Layton, despite some good economic planks in his platform (including cancelling $50 billion in corporate tax cuts), is new to the economic policy fight. In virtually all previous elections, the NDP has avoided economic policy. Tagged as irresponsible spenders for a long time, this line still gets traction for Harper.
But the record tells the story and you would be hard pressed to find a government or a prime minister who has been more inept -- or more accurately, simply absent -- in guiding an economy. It is critical to understand that Stephen Harper doesn't actually believe in a "firm hand on the economy" because he is ideologically committed to a pure form of laissez-fair economics. While he claims the "fundamentals" are strong, he can take no credit for it and has no idea about how to avoid their deterioration. He believes in the "invisible hand of the market," not the firm hand of the state.
And stunningly, Stephen Harper believes this even as he watches the economy of the country he reveres enter into a period of spectacular self-destruction.
There are at least six areas where Harper's disdain for the economic role of government does harm to Canada's economy. They are:
1. Merging Canada with the sliding United States. Harper's overarching economic policy is deep integration: tying Canada permanently to the U.S. market, an economy that is headed for permanent chaos: a financial crisis, huge government deficits, consumer demand dropping like a stone, and demand for Canadian goods (even energy) in steady decline. It will only get worse, much worse. This isn't just a financial crisis, this is the end of the 60-year era of American global leadership.
Yet Stephen Harper is so married to laissez-faire ideology he seems incapable of recognizing the reality that virtually every other world leader is now trying to come to grips with.
2. Eroding our infrastructure. Harper keeps talking about us being competitive but he is squandering any competitive advantage we might have by failing to fund the rebuilding of our crumbling economic infrastructure. In the next decade, the infrastructure deficit will become a full blown crisis but Harper's $60 billion tax cuts means the government will have no money to respond to it.
3. Destroying our surpluses. Those tax cuts harm Canada in another way. Harper has put Canada on the road to budget deficits by eliminating the healthiest surpluses the country has ever had. When Canada's export economy gets savaged, as it will in the next year, the only fall back position is the domestic economy -- potentially one of the biggest in the world. But Harper's laissez-faire ideology once again prevents his government from stimulating that domestic economy through government spending. That would mean increasing the federal money for health, education and social assistance, creating a national child care program or putting millions into much needed home care. But even if Harper changed his mind and wanted to do so, his tax cuts make such economic stimulus virtually impossible.
4. Increasing risks by deregulating. Just as the world is calling for renewed government regulation and intervention on the economy, Harper is headed in the opposite direction on several fronts. His deregulation economic agenda will affect every other aspect of Canadian life: self-regulation in food safety; self-regulation in airline safety; "harmonising" regulation with the deregulated U.S. on pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables; abandoning separate Canadian testing of new drugs and much more.
5. Giving way too much to big oil. The specific example of the total deregulation of the tar sands development demonstrates that Harper's political dedication to the Alberta oil industry is such that he is willing to see the rest of the economy completely distorted. Unwilling to press for a rational, staged development, Harper has ensured that tar sands expansion will continue to keep the value of the Canadian dollar high and make our manufactured goods uncompetitive. In addition, unfettered tar sands plant construction drives up the price of building materials making other development prohibitively expensive.
6. No planning for growth. Lastly, Harper simply has no answer at all when it comes to promoting new long term economic growth in Canada and his laissez-faire ideology means that we are falling further and further behind those countries that are actually using the power and organizing capacity of the state to create sustained, modernizing economic growth. China, India, South Korea and Brazil are the growth centres of the world because they ensure a close collaboration between capital (business), universities and the government, carefully engaging in long-term planning of industrial development. Harper has literally no industrial development strategy or policy. Instead of focussing his tax cuts on growth industries, his across-the-board cuts see most of the billions go to the oil, banking and insurance industries -- the ones least in need of tax reduction.
Canada has lost 300,000 industrial jobs in the two and half years of Conservative rule, and under Harper's steady hand Canada has gone backwards in terms of the technological content of its exports. We are slowly devolving back to our status as a hewer of wood and drawer of water. Harper's response last week to the loss of Canada's best jobs? "I think you have to be honest with people: the government can't go in and say 'We can guarantee your job. We can't protect your job.'" He means that he won't protect their jobs.
Where have we seen this before?
Harper's economic strategy, if it can be called that, is looking more and more like George Bush's: tax cuts and military spending. While gutting our revenue by $60 billion over five years, Harper laid out a plan to spend $490 billion (in addition to the annual defence budget) over 20 years to build up the Canadian military. This economic policy is well on its way to bankrupting the U.S. and could do the same to Canada.
We could instead bring together unions, capital, universities and provincial governments and make Canada a leader in green technologies, potentially providing hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs and literally thousands of profitable companies. But under Stephen Harper, Canada's economic ship of state just drifts.
Our economy is completely on its own, pulled this way and that, and ultimately down, by faltering corporate globalization and the catastrophic collapse of American casino capitalism.
Related Tyee stories:
- US Meltdown Puts Heat on Canada
Decades of fusing the two economies exposes us to grave risk. - Will the US market meltdown burn Canada's election?
Reported in The Hook, the new politics blog of The Tyee. - Through the Looking Glass with Jim Flaherty
On the political art of doing nothing.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Jeffrey J.
02-10-2008
Unraveling Democracy
Nary a truer word spoken, Mr. Dobbin. The cookie-cutter Harper strategy is so obviously a clone of the neocon Bush regime that it's only Canada's elites who don't see it. And that's the problem.
With Canada's media presided over by a tiny number of corporate, highly ideological owners, the public receives an increasingly biased and distorted view of the world. Thus permitting undemocratic policies to prevail.
Our remaining financial and political elites have given up all vestiges of independent thinking and courage. We have become ruled by a class of unprincipled, opportunistic managers (sadly, most of whom are men) who just want to go have lunch. Canada in many ways has mirrored the decline and fall of the US empire. Great article.
realisticman
02-10-2008
brain
"Its 40/0's, folks. 40 years, nothing down."
40 year mortgages have been canceled.
"Canada's two big mining giants Alcan and Tech Cominco (1st and 4th largest) were bought out last year through hostile foreign M & A's"
Teck Cominco is a Canadian company based in Vancouver. This week it bought Fording Coal for $14 billion.
Shannon Rupp
02-10-2008
Nonsense
Canada has nothing resembling the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. They had "ninja" mortgages -- short for no job/no income -- and then were astounded when people defaulted. They used so-called exotic mortgage products to give mortgages to people with poor credit ratings, low incomes, and little net worth. The point was to keep the housing boom going beyond the time when would have naturally levelled off.
Canadian bankers are much more conservative and default rates are the lowest they've been since 1990. Canada will be affected by the economic chaos of its largest trading partner, and our branch plant economy - such as the car industry - will suffer a downturn. But on the mortgage front, Canada has nothing in common with the U.S. and won't have any more of problem than any other international bank that bought into those bad mortgages.
Frank
02-10-2008
The Great Depression
Well, I'd be interested in hearing how reduced gov't spending got us out of the depression. Since most people studying the period think that when Bennett changed his mind part-way through his term and reduced federal spending it made things worse.
Most people running for office and their supporters are declaring we should reduce program spending as if reducing aggregate demand in the face of a recession works. Of course this is what people assume is "common sense", reduce spending so as to increase demand somehow.
In spite of the ideological rhetoric let's hope we see a combination of measures such as reduced interest rates, infrastructure spending and social program spending that will increase demand, not weaken it further.
Otherwise our refusal to spend will dig a hole so deep it'll once again take massive government intervention in the economy a la WW2 to get us out.
But then the Americans already seem intent on going ahead with some weird 21st century version of the New Deal where they write cheques to billionaires.
doggone
02-10-2008
Hitched to a dying animal
"Business as usual" will not lift anyone (including the comfortable) out of the fallout from the Bailout.
Harper's version of business is in the order of half a century old: Military spending and the consequence: war, will not produce the "booty" that used to go along with armed aggression.
Most targets have been well and thoroughly exploited long ago - including large portions of North America.
I have heard nothing in the current Canadian Election rhetoric that actually acknowledges the tangible "meltdown" of world finance systems.
Guess we will simply be very surprised when Harper announces that Canada can not afford to honour his election promises due to "unforeseen" economic turmoil in the rest of the world (except for the military spending).
Maybe I could write his speech for the "State of the Onion" in a few weeks
jbray213
02-10-2008
Technicality but...
Off topic, but it drives me nuts every time. It's oil sands, not tar sands. There is no tar in the oil sands, as tar is produced from petroleum. But in all reality, most tar is a byproduct of coal production. So in reality, tar doesn't have much to do with the oil sands. But i guess it paints a better picture so it is the favored term of the left and the uninformed.
seth
02-10-2008
stopping harper
In Canada despite having 2/3 progressive voters, progressive vote splitting in our antiquated electoral system could give us a majority neocon government that would as Dobbin points out be a mirror image of George Bushes with almost no checks or balances.
Whats new in this election is a group called voteforenvironment.ca that is coordinating strategic voting for Canadians in an effort to avoid the black horror of a Harper majority. The group gathers the most up to date polling for all Canadian ridings then suggests the liberal green or ndp candidate most likely to beat the muzzled neocon stooge the cons have put out for that riding. Check out voteforenvironment.ca's suggestion for your own area and Pass it on!!!!
Budd Campbell
02-10-2008
What happens if Vancouver housing prices really fall?
"Canada has nothing resembling the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis."
Shannon, you're probably right that the Canadian mortgage situation is by no means as shakey as the US one. At least on paper, and in theory.
But nearly every consumer net worth statement relies heavily on two things. The equity in one's home and the debt in one's home. It's one thing to keep paying if net worth is negative, but equity is positive. It's another thing to just keep on paying, and paying, and paying, when both are below zero.
I understand the Vancouver average housing market price has fallen about 4% compared to Sept 2007. If that keeps going, and the decrease becomes 8%, 12%, 16% or more, most people who bought in the last two years would be in a zero or negative equity situation. They would have little incentive to keep paying and every reason to abandon the property.
If banks and credit unions end up owning large amounts of real estate in Greater Vancouver that they cannot efficiently and effectively manage, their bad debt situation could soon become serious. If there's any spec builders left looking for project financing once prices have fallen by a significant amount, the financial institutions will be reluctant to lend to them given what they're holding already. That would mean a sharp dropoff in B.C. housing starts, back to the 1990s low point of just 14,000 starts or even less. The resulting employment and income reductions, coming on top of forestry layoffs, would accelerate the downturn in housing prices.
I think the notion that it cannot happen here, because we're Canadian, is really pretty naive.
Shannon Rupp
02-10-2008
Nothing happens
Budd, it has nothing to with the magic of our Canadian passports, it's the conservative nature of our bankers that prevents a U.S. style meltdown.
They don't give mortgages to borrowers who are a bad risk, unlike the U.S. lenders. Home values are not artificially inflated in Canada the way they are in the U.S. Prices reflect real economic growth and increased housing demands.
So what if prices drop in the next two years: home owners expect to live in a house at least five years to build equity since they're not paying much more than interest in the first year or two anyway. Those with 40 year mortgages (most of which are really 32 year mortgages since the majority make bi-weekly payments) plan to stay longer. Generally, those borrowers qualify for shorter mortgages, but opt for longer amortization to improve their cash flow -- they're not over-extended.
The U.S. is Canada's major trading partner so their economic woes have an impact on us. But it's just hysterical nonsense to keep insisting that Canadians are in the same position as Americans.
G West
03-10-2008
I read Budd's posts
He's not posting hysterical nonsense Shannon - I think you need to read that submission again.
As for using home ownership to build equity, if housing prices in Vancouver do start to fall and I think they will, there are a lot of people with big mortgage obligations who are also over-extended in terms of consumer credit. It's not going to be pretty.
Average real incomes haven't increased in the past couple of decades and a lot of families are going to find themselves in REAL difficulties in the next year or so. Plenty of them are over extended now.
Nothing hysterical about that.
It's not the house of cards the Americans have, but, if you know anyone who lives in Ontario you might want to give them a call for a little confirmation.
Frank
03-10-2008
The economy
As for the major banks, I'm sure they'll make it through this but really that isn't much of an indicator of anything since they made it through the Depression too. In the 1930's Bennett and King often went on, just like Harper now, that our banking system was sound as a rock and the fundamentals were good. And yet Canada suffered terribly, moreso than the Americans.
In the past month Canada's TSX has declined more than twice as much as the DOW. That won't affect us immediately but its only a matter of time before the losses on Bay Street impacts the rest of us. I have nothing in the stock market and normally couldn't care less but other people do. Market losses, a decline in home equity, huge personal debt and a economic decline from making things to providing raw materials is a bigger indicator of what we're facing than the bottom line of our major banks.
The lessons of the past dictate an activist government in troubled times, a rerun of Bennett will produce the same result it did the first time.
Cynic
03-10-2008
"...his tax cuts make such
"...his tax cuts make such economic stimulus virtually impossible."
Only in the minds of those who don't understand money and banking. I've said it before and I'll never stop saying it, the only answer is money reform. As long as the private banks are allowed to print our money and issue it as debt with interest attached we will lurch from one stupid crisis to another, accompanied by uninformed articles and inane commentary, and the rich will get richer.
Where did the economic stimulus come from for Canada's WW2 war effort? Why did we have such good economic times up to the mid-70s? And then what happened? Know your money, people.
Bobb999
03-10-2008
Libs gaining on Cons -Nanos poll
Nanos Research's polling data last election under their old name SES turned out to be the most accurate.
Nanos' latest daily poll out today has the Libs closing the gap and are now within 5 points of Cons. Voter reactions to 2 debates
must have hurt Harper and helped Dion, while not affecting the other parties a whole lot one way or the other.
http://www.nanosresearch.com/election/CPAC-Nanos-October-3-2008E.pdf
-Cons 35%
-Libs 30%
-NDP 18%
-Bloc 10%
-Green 9%
Michael
03-10-2008
Republicans and NDP share economic policies
Remember that a key plank in past NDP economic platforms, going all the way back to Broadbent, was lowering interest rates to kick start the economy and give the poor a leg up. Bush supported aids to the poor as well, easing mortgage conditions to the disadvantaged to help develop an ownership society.
There a lot of pieces that make up the current economic mess we are in, but a key piece is cheap credit and encouraging people to buy homes that they couldn't afford.
clubofrome
03-10-2008
Hysterical Nonsense!
That's when simple math like growth and doubling times is ignored or not understood. Simple math tells us that wealth creation is temporary and puts the future at risk, for everybody! You can forget borders when the famines hit here in North America. That usually comes with the great depression. No, the coming shift must be to surrender the market economic model and start looking at the community model. This whole Globalization thing is hogwash, based on control of the wealth by the elites with enough trickledown to keep you assholes voting liberal and conservative right up til it's too late. Give your head a shake...
Michael
03-10-2008
Brain and consolidation
Although Brain wants to stand on a pile of undeveloped rock and sing Oh Canada, I am pleased as punch that some foreign entity bought shares in the major miners at the height of the market. They lost, but it gave my RRSPs a good kick. (It probably did wonders for the teacher's pension plans as well.)
Take the oil sands. There is a lot of criticism you can level at the oil sands environmentally and socially, but as far as job creation and tax revenues go, it's been a winner. Still, some shut their ears and look to countries like Mexico that have nationalized their natural resources as some type of model for all our natural resources. Pray tell, why? It's been a disaster for that country, job-wise and revenue-wise.
Frank
03-10-2008
Bobb999
"Voter reactions to 2 debates"
Actually, as "Nik on the Numbers" says, its the first night to include the French debate. And of course its only 1 night of their multi-day rolling poll. The english debate numbers will be in tomorrows but it will take a few days till all the numbers are post-debates.
Frank
03-10-2008
Michael
To say the NDP and the Republicans have the same socio-economic policies is a real stretch, to put it mildly.
As for Mexico, I didn't realize they were so prosperous before the nationalization. That's news to me.
Most countries have nationalized at least part of their oil industry, its all about the being masters-in-your-own-house thing.
clubofrome
03-10-2008
War Economy
As Cynic suggests reform is required. And perhaps a little research into just how much has been spent on defence budgets since WWII. I beleive congress just passed a one trillion dollar defence budget while everyone was distracted by the financial crises. Quite simply the numbers, the money trail, don't lie. Without a war culture the US has no economy. Of course it's all wrapped up a a nice neat freedom, democratic, liberty for all package, complete with pretty ribbons and bows. It's Christmas every day of the year for the Pentagon and Halliburton! Opposition to this way of life will get you assassinated if you dare try to run for real change.
Bobb999
03-10-2008
Frank - Nanos/ Harper's NCC agenda
Re. Nanos poll:
Well,I'd have thought at least some respondents might have been phoned last night after seeing some of the English debate, as phone rooms doing surveys probably phone 4pm or 5pm until 9pm local time ("dinner time", as people like complaining about! Which would overlap with the English debate time). You're correct that since it's a rolling poll, of I'm guessing perhaps 3 days worth of polling data each time, we're only seeing partial data from respondents exposed to debates.
Still, the latest trend so far looks promising!
---------------------------
"Harper [sic] real secret agenda is to burn the world and melt all the ice"
-No, but as Ms. May especially pointed out Thurs., Harper when with National Citizens Coalition not long ago did argue strongly for agendas most Canadians would not like,
such as dismantling the medical system as we know it to make it a largely privatized system. Or privatizing the CBC in whole or in large part.
-And in case someone wants to trot out the canard claiming most Canadians don't support the CBC anyway, here's a new poll suggesting the opposite is true:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=61f32c3f-f65b-4dc9-b395-3e1ef762bcc7
QUOTE:
"Most voters support public funding for CBC, poll finds
Arts and culture, traditionally invisible topics during Canadian federal election campaigns, bounced back onto the campaign agenda again yesterday, fuelled by ongoing fears that a majority Conservative government would slash funding to cultural programs and institutions.
A new poll released by the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting suggests that almost two-thirds of Canadian voters consider the $1.1 billion the federal government spends on CBC's English and French services to be a good use of taxpayers' money..."
Frank
03-10-2008
Bobb999
"Still, the latest trend so far looks promising!"
For Liberal supporters its very promising. They've suddenly closed to within 5% of the Cons and opened up a 12% lead over the NDP.
Jeffrey Simpson must be giggling but for NDP supporters like me I find the poll very disappointing. I guess after 141 years its still too early to hope that Canadian politics won't always be dominated by the two big corporate parties.
Still, its good for you Liberals so congrats, if it holds.
emulatenorway
04-10-2008
Fiscal Responsibility is Needed
"He believes in the "invisible hand of the market," not the firm hand of the state."
Why is it then that Harper recently had a bill passed that would allow the Bank of Canada to loan those Corporate theives on Wall St. over $10 Billion dollars?
The Canadian Pension Plan has only made money from increasing our payments in the last 6 quaters, that's a year and half! The Investment Houses that the CPP board has managing our retirement funds has been trading in derivatives. These are oil hedges, copper hedges, grains, meat, everything that has forced inflation beyond what the government says is the actual inflation rate.
If you have any idea how risky derivatives are look at Wall St. right now. Warren Buffet hasn't used derivatives because he doesn't understand them. They are simply too risky for him. Why are we allowing this?
Do any of you people really understand why oil went so high? It's a result of Hege funds which really became popular after 1998. In 1998 I lost my job because the oil patch was having to deal with $12 a barrel oil. Folks, that's 10 years ago.
Hedge Funds ought to be banned, especially since they have started purchasing food commodities. There are food riots happening in over 50 nations so far.
Sound Fiscal policy starts with keeping inflation down any way you can, and this isn't by giving industry $50 billion dollars in welfare.
Whoever proposes making Hedge Funds illegal is the person that I will vote for.
G West
04-10-2008
And, just for you realisticman -
About those wonderful Canadian mortgage companies....
You think Mr LaFleur is the only guy in this predicament?
realisticman
04-10-2008
More hysterical options
Also, in today's Globe & Mail is a story about ex-PM Paul Martin actively campaigning for Stéphan Dion. We read that; "Mr. Martin has been advising Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion on economic issues...", and, "Yesterday, he reminded voters about the Liberal record of turning surpluses, overseeing economic growth and investing in Canada's future.". This is a gem, "The Green Shift is a very large tax cut for Canadians and it's going to put a lot more money into Canadians' pockets and Stéphane has laid out all of the numbers and I think that in fact, giving Canadians a tax cut and the way it's being done is the right way to go," he explained.".
Is that the alternative, Liberal Dion, guided by Paul Martin?
A review of Dobbin's book, 'Paul Martin: CEO for Canada?' is written: "What Dobbin reports is often surprising. Martin's actions reflect a man deeply committed to an agenda of less government, expansion of the private sector at the expense of public services, tax cuts favouring those already well off, and closer relations to the U.S."
It can only be described as cute when one now reads this from the writer DAWN WALTON, "Mr. Martin told a Liberal rally that it became clear to him watching Thursday night's debate that the Conservative Leader thinks Canadians are concerned only about their stock market investments, not about the security of their homes and jobs.".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.ELECTIONMARTIN04//TPStory/National
The review goes on; "For Canadians who want Ottawa to do more in health care, education, social services and culture, Martin's accession may mark a significant step backwards."...
Vote for Dion and expect more Martin.
realisticman
04-10-2008
Mortgages
As the CBC reported, "About 20 per cent of all U.S. mortgages are of the subprime variety in 2007. That compares to just five per cent in Canada, according to industry figures.".
So that's a quarter of a market that is a tenth the size. What's a quarter of a tenth? .025 as a decimal. Not enough to bring this house down.
Funny but I was recently in conversation with a friend who is considering moving to Windsor because of the attractive house prices.
realisticman
04-10-2008
Fly them to the Moon
Don't spare the horses Jack. Zoom through that ozone. Boost the military and hold your ground against Russia.
"Canwest News Service/Global National
Published: Friday, October 03, 2008
IQALUIT, Nunavut - NDP Leader Jack Layton pledged Friday to beef up Canada's presence in the Arctic in order to protect Canadian sovereignty near the North Pole as he unveiled new elements of his party's plan for the region.
The proposal would include an increase in the number of northern surveillance flights and an expansion in emergency exercises for several government bodies and departments, such as the Canadian Coast Guard, Environment Canada and the Canadian Forces."
Frank
04-10-2008
Bobb999
I'm in the "Anyone Against Poverty" camp this election. Which consists of only the NDP.
The two big parties think corporations don't have enough money and the poor have too much.
The Greens under May appear to be in a separate camp altogether.
Bobb999
04-10-2008
poverty
oops...my prior post should read "I'm LEFT of center", not "I'm of center"...typo.
On some issues, I support the NDP's positions over any other party's. Despite the goofy embarrassments about the pro-pot candidates on video, and Layton's (imo)poor response, I think the NDP have the sanest approach to illegal drugs. They seem most likely to ramp up harm reduction measures for hard drug users, for instance, which I'd like to see more of.
As for poverty, 3rd world conditions on native reserves have been left shamefully
unaddressed. But as far as I know, all opposition parties + Premiers supported
a $5-Bill. initiative to address this problem. I don't know that the Libs would want to do less than the NDP. So, I don't know why you say only the NDP are "against poverty".
doggone
04-10-2008
4% ain't too bad
But this thing hasn't even started yet. As west coast dwellers on North America we wake up later than those closer to the west side of the international date line and this habit tends to affect our business sense as well.
The recent "Build to Burn" solution won't work for long - it's sort of derived from the older "Build to Sell" mentality and obviously illegal.
Two retired Canadians chatting in Florida some years ago:
Retiree #1:
So how did you succeed in Canada so you could make it to "Paradice Towers" here?"
Retiree #2:
Actually it's kind of Sad but I borrowed a lot of money, built an huge hotel and just before it was completed (the economy had just crashed a few weeks before this) the whole place went up in flames! Lucky for me the place was well insured and I cashed out and left the country.
What's your story?
Ret#1:
Fairly similar to yours: The family farm was handed down to me and it was some good land in a flood plain. A couple of years ago the River flooded and wiped out the whole place. I was fully insured and decided to retire too.
Ret#2:
(thinks deeply for a while then says)
How the hell do you start a flood?
Frank
05-10-2008
Bobb999
The NDP has planks in their platform to address the problem of poverty in almost every household.
The Liberals don't. Their "anti-poverty" measures depend on cutting taxes and then letting trickle-down economics take its course.
But their economics has a record, it didn't work in the 1990s when poverty increased, its not going to work now.
realisticman
05-10-2008
Planks worldwide
Jack makes news abroad and plays the Increase Immigration card, and at the same time, by implication, doubles Canada's Official Languages count to four.
I wonder how Thomas Mulcair is parsing this to his new congregation.
Canadian leader backs visa office in Mumbai, official status for Punjabi
September 29th, 2008 - 1:32 pm ICT by IANS -
"Toronto, Sep 29 (IANS) Canadian opposition leader Jack Layton has promised support for a new visa office in Mumbai and official status for the Punjabi language in Canada if he becomes prime minister after the Oct 14 polls.Jack, whose New Democratic Party (NDP) has fielded a record 14 Indian Canadian candidates to woo the million-strong community, said his party will also roll back a newly passed immigration bill that the community finds discriminatory.
Layton replied in the affirmative when asked whether he would support demands that Punjabi, which the latest census says is the fastest growing language in Canada, be given official status.
"We are aware of the growing number of Punjabi-speaking Canadians and appreciate their rich legacy to Canadian history. We are committed to having their valuable contribution recognized by Canada.
"This includes ensuring services in Punjabi, recognizing it as being the fourth most spoken language in Canada. Already, we have seen some cities and municipalities putting up street signs and store signs in Punjabi. There is also a rise in the number of public schools and universities offering courses in Punjabi. We welcome it and will encourage more such initiatives," Layton said."
Frank
05-10-2008
realisticman
"Peter Kent, an executive official of an extremist anti-Muslim organization, Canadian Coalition for Democracies. His colleagues there have called for bombing Iran and wiping Islam from the face of the earth. “Muslims,” declares his CCD President, Alastair Gordon, have “small minds” and “no humanity.”"
And then of course the Libs follow suit
"“In front of a split audience in the sanctuary of the Beth Emeth synagogue on Wilmington…Ken Dryden's eyes hardened as he advocated no truck or trade with the ‘terrorists’ in the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza.
“Then he offered this shocker: ‘Stop all aid that flows into Gaza. While that may seem a harsh measure that will hurt Palestinian civilians… it is the right thing to do at this time.’”"
realisticman
05-10-2008
Meanwhile; across town, another Peter Kent's...
...heartbeat rises noticeably.
"October 1, 2008
An Open Letter to the Residents of Thornhill.
I have been a Liberal ever since I arrived in Canada as a refugee from South Africa's dreaded apartheid regulations in 1962. I served the Liberal Party as a Director of Communications to a Liberal Leader of the Opposition and I¹ve known Peter Kent for decades. Today, I believe it is time for a change and I am urging fellow-Liberals in Thornhill to put their party affiliation aside and vote for Peter Kent on October 14.
I am doing this because I believe that Canada's Parliament and our Government desperately need Peter¹s creative insights and a powerful voice on national and international issues in this time of terrorist peril and the realignment of international loyalties. Canada and all other democracies are under seige; its defenders must not only have the will to fight back, to be armed with a precise knowledge of what the contest is about, and how it can be won.
If ever there was a candidate who deserved to be elected on merit, that person is Peter Kent. In his 40-year-career as a broadcast journalist, Peter, while working for the CBC, NBC and Global, gained profound knowledge of the politics of North America, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. He has met and come to know some of the most influential statesmen and opinion-makers in the world arena, and it is often in the inter-play between connected statesmen that real progress is achieved. He is thus uniquely equipped to help make Canada, a nation rich in human diversity and a bounty of natural resources, a considerably more significant participant in resolving the global issues of peace and security.
To be specific, unlike his Liberal opponent, the incumbent M.P., Susan Kadis, Peter Kent does not equivocate when it comes to supporting strong laws to deal with terrorism. I say this as a Liberal who was appalled when Ms. Kadis and other Liberals flip flopped in 2007 and refused to endorse a Government plan to make terrorism laws more effective even though it was a previous Liberal government that introduced these measures in the first place. I also share Peter's views that the State of Israel is a beacon of democracy in a sea of tyranny that needs Canada's outspoken support. Voting Liberal out of loyalty to Ms. Kadis is a logic that is stuck in the past. Doing so could result in an outcome where Thornhill, its residents and interests, will have no voice in Ottawa which is a scenario that is risky and clearly unacceptable.
In sum, if you vote for Peter Kent and send him to Ottawa, the people of this riding, indeed all Canadians, will have a new champion of justice -- justice at home and justice abroad, who will base his proposals for new solutions to old problems not on hearsay and anecdote but on real-life experience which was earned in the fields of combat in conflicts on three continents.
This is Peter¹s most important battle and I urge you leave the Liberals and support him with your vote.
Raymond Heard "