NO NO NO NONONONONOOOOOoooo...
Jan. 13th, 2006 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojGod, please tell me we're not stupid enough to elect this man.
This is so damn depressing. And it keeps getting worse. The Conservatives are within 3 points of a majority government, and they keep gaining with every poll.
::shudder::
Harper opens door to missile defence; Layton defends using private clinic
MARTIN O'HANLON Thu Jan 12, 10:14 PM ET
OTTAWA (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is saying "No" to Kyoto, "Maybe" to missile defence, and "Sort of" to aboriginals.
And that has Liberals shouting: "We told you so." Harper signalled Thursday that he would turn his back on the Kyoto climate-change accord and renegotiate a recent $5-billion federal-provincial deal with natives. And he left the door open to joining the controversial U.S. missile defence system, while promising to hold a free vote in Parliament before signing on.
The Liberals, who have been painting Harper as a pro-American, right-wing extremist, jumped on his statements.
Environment Minister Stephane Dion said abandoning Kyoto would be a "tragedy" that would undermine the global effort to curb climate change.
"We will send a signal to the forces of progress that Canada is not with them anymore, we are with the resistance," he said.
Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott said Harper's election would mean a step backward for aboriginals and destroy 18 months of work.
Harper, speaking in Halifax, said he'd abandon Kyoto because its emission-reduction targets can't be met and he'd set Canadian-made targets instead.
He said he supports the principles of the November native agreement, which included big-money pledges for housing, education and health care. And he said he will honour a $2-billion compensation plan for decades of abuse in residential schools.
"But in terms of details and budgets, we're going to want to develop our own plans in consultation with the provinces and with native organizations."
On missile defence, Harper told Radio Canada that he would wait for a formal, written offer from the Americans before deciding whether Canada should participate.
"If the Americans propose such an arrangement, and if we come to the conclusion that it's in the country's best interests, it's my intention to turn this treaty over to Parliament for a free vote," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Harper moved to staunch a controversy involving a Conservative candidate in B.C.
Derek Zeisman has been charged with trying to smuggle a car and 112 containers of alcohol into Canada - not exactly the kind of news the leader of a law-order party wit a big lead in the polls likes to hear.
Harper announced that Zeisman will not be allowed to sit as a Conservative MP if elected. But he added that it's "too late in the campaign legally for me to withdraw the candidate or change the candidate."
Harper said the party didn't know of the charges until this week, but Zeisman insisted in a newspaper interview that officials did know.
NDP Leader Jack Layton, who is campaigning as the defender of public health care, was facing a controversy of his own after it was revealed to The Canadian Press that he had surgery in the mid-1990s at a private clinic.
Layton said he wasn't aware the Shouldice Hospital north of Toronto was private when he went for his hernia surgery, and he emphasized that the treatment was covered by the public health system.
"It's just part of the system," he said in Port Hardy, B.C. "The doctor says, 'Go there.' You pay with your (Ontario health) card. It never occurred to me (to be) anything other than medicare, which it is."
He stressed that the Shouldice clinic is a not-for-profit facility that was grandfathered into the Ontario medical system when medicare began.
The controversies provided a bit of breathing room for
Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has been under fire over a now-infamous attack ad that slams Harper for wanting to station troops in cities.
The ad outraged some military personnel who felt it suggested they would be a threat to democracy.
Martin said the ad wasn't aimed at soldiers.
"I support our military," he said. "I've probably put more money into the military than almost any prime minister . . . (The ads have) nothing to do with soldiers."
Liberal MP Keith Martin, who represents a B.C. riding that includes CFB Esquimalt, went further. He apologized to Canadians and blamed the ad on an "idiot" who released it by mistake.
Still, the Liberals appeared undaunted by the criticism over the ad and stepped up their efforts to characterize Harper as an extremist.
They sent out a news release Thursday saying Harper spoke last March in Richmond, B.C., at a fundraising dinner for a far-right group that speaks out against gay marriage and abortion.
The party also said the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association published a caricature on the cover of its July/August issue which portrayed Paul Martin as a Nazi receiving an award from Adolf Hitler for "the destruction of Canada's foundational institution (family)."
There was actually a bit of policy among the politics Thursday.
-Harper announced that a Conservative government would spend $200 million on "experimental" tax incentives to encourage builders to create more affordable housing.
-Martin was in the Toronto suburb of Markham promising to invest $180 million to create four institutes in different fields of study to bring together companies and university researchers to spur innovation.
-Layton pressed on with his message that he would create 40,000 more long-term care spaces for seniors, spend $1 billion a year to improve home-care services, and set up a national prescription drug insurance plan.
Link to the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060113/ca_pr_on_na/fedelxn
This is so damn depressing. And it keeps getting worse. The Conservatives are within 3 points of a majority government, and they keep gaining with every poll.
::shudder::
Harper opens door to missile defence; Layton defends using private clinic
MARTIN O'HANLON Thu Jan 12, 10:14 PM ET
OTTAWA (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is saying "No" to Kyoto, "Maybe" to missile defence, and "Sort of" to aboriginals.
And that has Liberals shouting: "We told you so." Harper signalled Thursday that he would turn his back on the Kyoto climate-change accord and renegotiate a recent $5-billion federal-provincial deal with natives. And he left the door open to joining the controversial U.S. missile defence system, while promising to hold a free vote in Parliament before signing on.
The Liberals, who have been painting Harper as a pro-American, right-wing extremist, jumped on his statements.
Environment Minister Stephane Dion said abandoning Kyoto would be a "tragedy" that would undermine the global effort to curb climate change.
"We will send a signal to the forces of progress that Canada is not with them anymore, we are with the resistance," he said.
Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott said Harper's election would mean a step backward for aboriginals and destroy 18 months of work.
Harper, speaking in Halifax, said he'd abandon Kyoto because its emission-reduction targets can't be met and he'd set Canadian-made targets instead.
He said he supports the principles of the November native agreement, which included big-money pledges for housing, education and health care. And he said he will honour a $2-billion compensation plan for decades of abuse in residential schools.
"But in terms of details and budgets, we're going to want to develop our own plans in consultation with the provinces and with native organizations."
On missile defence, Harper told Radio Canada that he would wait for a formal, written offer from the Americans before deciding whether Canada should participate.
"If the Americans propose such an arrangement, and if we come to the conclusion that it's in the country's best interests, it's my intention to turn this treaty over to Parliament for a free vote," he said.
Earlier Thursday, Harper moved to staunch a controversy involving a Conservative candidate in B.C.
Derek Zeisman has been charged with trying to smuggle a car and 112 containers of alcohol into Canada - not exactly the kind of news the leader of a law-order party wit a big lead in the polls likes to hear.
Harper announced that Zeisman will not be allowed to sit as a Conservative MP if elected. But he added that it's "too late in the campaign legally for me to withdraw the candidate or change the candidate."
Harper said the party didn't know of the charges until this week, but Zeisman insisted in a newspaper interview that officials did know.
NDP Leader Jack Layton, who is campaigning as the defender of public health care, was facing a controversy of his own after it was revealed to The Canadian Press that he had surgery in the mid-1990s at a private clinic.
Layton said he wasn't aware the Shouldice Hospital north of Toronto was private when he went for his hernia surgery, and he emphasized that the treatment was covered by the public health system.
"It's just part of the system," he said in Port Hardy, B.C. "The doctor says, 'Go there.' You pay with your (Ontario health) card. It never occurred to me (to be) anything other than medicare, which it is."
He stressed that the Shouldice clinic is a not-for-profit facility that was grandfathered into the Ontario medical system when medicare began.
The controversies provided a bit of breathing room for
Prime Minister Paul Martin, who has been under fire over a now-infamous attack ad that slams Harper for wanting to station troops in cities.
The ad outraged some military personnel who felt it suggested they would be a threat to democracy.
Martin said the ad wasn't aimed at soldiers.
"I support our military," he said. "I've probably put more money into the military than almost any prime minister . . . (The ads have) nothing to do with soldiers."
Liberal MP Keith Martin, who represents a B.C. riding that includes CFB Esquimalt, went further. He apologized to Canadians and blamed the ad on an "idiot" who released it by mistake.
Still, the Liberals appeared undaunted by the criticism over the ad and stepped up their efforts to characterize Harper as an extremist.
They sent out a news release Thursday saying Harper spoke last March in Richmond, B.C., at a fundraising dinner for a far-right group that speaks out against gay marriage and abortion.
The party also said the Canadian Alliance for Social Justice and Family Values Association published a caricature on the cover of its July/August issue which portrayed Paul Martin as a Nazi receiving an award from Adolf Hitler for "the destruction of Canada's foundational institution (family)."
There was actually a bit of policy among the politics Thursday.
-Harper announced that a Conservative government would spend $200 million on "experimental" tax incentives to encourage builders to create more affordable housing.
-Martin was in the Toronto suburb of Markham promising to invest $180 million to create four institutes in different fields of study to bring together companies and university researchers to spur innovation.
-Layton pressed on with his message that he would create 40,000 more long-term care spaces for seniors, spend $1 billion a year to improve home-care services, and set up a national prescription drug insurance plan.
Link to the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060113/ca_pr_on_na/fedelxn
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 06:40 pm (UTC)::sigh::
I'm crossing my fingers for you guys that this nutjob doesn't get elected. But can I just say how disheartening it is to see my country (justifiably) aligned with right-wing whack jobs? Blah.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-14 12:00 am (UTC)Yeah, I kinda winced at that one too. "Pro-American" and "right-wing extremist" are two terms that should not be synonymous.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 07:21 pm (UTC)We liberals "south of the border" here? We feel your pain.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 11:29 pm (UTC)I like Harper about as much as you do, but Canada needs to get over itself in so many ways.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 11:38 pm (UTC)To me, it's just not wise for Canada to have a holier-than-thou attitude towards America. That might well be the case, but Canada depends too much on America economically and is so poorly equipped militarily that it'll be up to America to help if anything ever happens.
1 But to Harper, pro-American probably *does* mean pro-Bush. That's what's freaking scary.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 11:58 pm (UTC)Yeah, that's the thing. I don't think pro-American should be a dirty word either, but right now, to me, it kind of is. Because pro-American, right now, does not mean pro-free speech, pro-separation of church and state, pro-democracy, pro-individual choice, etc. Right now it means a lot of stuff that's quite horrifying, and is pretty much exactly the opposite of what (IMHO) America is supposed to be all about.