Vancouver Secrets

Garth Is Too Much

From Garth’s blog:

Apparently I am too much. Too much for a successful career in Canadian politics, anyway. As you may have heard, last night I lost my seat in Parliament in the first elections in the world to be held in the immediate wake of the financial and economic mess enveloping us.

Being Canada’s only blogging MP (my political site played a key role in having my butt kicked out of the Conservative party) was bad enough. But being with a political party which seemed to offer people no better safe harbour in this storm was likely the kiss of death. I’d urged my leader to adopt an immediate policy of guaranteeing all private bank savings, but that commitment was blown.

In any case, my own damn fault. If you want to know more, you can buy my book (the new one). More on that in future days.

Garth is too much…

When Defeat Is Certain - Sue

photo credit: LordKhan

Democracy Watch, which said it’s a non-profit, non-partisan
group that advocates government accountability, filed suit today
in federal court in Ottawa. A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow
on the group’s request that a federal judge rule the Sept. 7
dissolution of parliament illegal.

According to most recent opinion polls, the Conservatives
are close to winning a majority of the seats in the Oct. 14 vote.

“Democracy Watch is filing this case not only to challenge
the calling of the current election, but also to win a ruling
that will prohibit future prime ministers from calling
elections” without having been forced to by a vote of non-
confidence in the legislature, the group said in a statement.

Too little, too late.

Why is it that there is no information on this group on the web, other than links to its site on a very far left web directory?

The suit sounds very suspicious - and comes when the Conservatives probably have a majority in the making.

You’d think with all the scandals the Liberal party has given Canada, they would have been more active in the past.

They may be for actual democracy - but their website makes me question their motives…

Any insight?

Another Lie: Funding Cuts To The Arts

photo credit: kk+

The issue of the day, brought to you by the NDP and Liberals, that’s an outright lie.

From the National Post:

For the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2009, Parliament has voted to spend more than $4 billion on cultural programs, including the CBC, the Canada Arts Council, the National Gallery of Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage. That amount is $660 million or 19.7 per cent more than was spent in fiscal 2006, the last year when the Liberals controlled the purse strings.

Overall program spending during that same period is up 18.6 per cent. In other words, Conservatives have boosted spending on arts programs faster than they have boosted overall government spending.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, for example, will receive $1.1 billion from the Tories this year, an increase of $133 million or 13.5 per cent compared to the last year under the Liberals.

Kory Teneycke, the top spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, explains:

“The public reaction out there - you’d think we’d shut down the arts. That’s not the case,” said Teneycke. “This was not about less money for the arts. It about having government programs that are meeting their objectives. We’re committed to cancelling programs that are boondoggles.”

Now that the issue has been brought to the voter’s attention, it’s about time someone looked into the funding of groups that are questionable at best - and maybe question why arts funding has increased.

Stephane Dion Drops 50%

photo credit: lovestruck.

Early election polls show Stephen Harper should get 183 seats in the 308-seat parliament, up from 127 seats won in the last election.

42% of voters feel Harper would make a better prime minister, while only 15% felt Dion would do a good job, well behind even Jack Layton of the New Democrats.

Stephane Dion calls Harper’s government “the most conservative government in our history”… he’s trying out the “I Hate Bush” strategy (one that will cost the Democrats the election in the US).

Harper has lowered taxes, lengthened mandatory criminal sentences and actually allocated money for family child care (something the left has been crying for for as long as I can remember). Considering that he has managed to fulfill the promises he made last election despite a hostile parliament… not a bad job.

Thanks to Stephane Dion’s attempt to make himself into Al Gore of the north, it should be a cake walk.

Stephane’s carbon tax plans makes you wonder who he is reaching out to. Even NDP Layton starting the week of campaigning attacking the oil sands - probably one of Canada’s biggest sources of future wealth. Real smart stuff.

The “silent majority” will decide this election - we’ve had enough of the Liberal and NDP strategy of environmental/carbon tax terrorism through taxation.

And just in time.

We’re facing a challenging economy is the very near future - hopefully Harper will promise even lower taxes to help us through it.