Most outrageous Harper Conservative moments of 2012

18 posts / 0 new

Mon, 2012-12-10 23:03

Catchfire

Hullo!

babbler denizens, help rabble.ca craft an end-of-year feature. What, in your opinion, were the most outrageous gaffes, slip-ups, turnabouts and embarrassments committed by Harper's Conservatives in 2012?

Yes, we may be contributing to the "gaffe" political culture so deleterious to serious sociopolitical discourse. Yes, there are probably serious things like Enbridge and more omnibusses than in a Virginia Woolf novel. Yes, you can mention those if you make them funny. You won't get money, prizes or even more fame than you've already got, but it could be fun.

I will get you started:

Bev Oda once ordered a $16 orange juice. Discuss.

What else?

Issues Pages:

Politics in Canada

Regions:

Mon, 2012-12-10 23:11

mmphosis

I don't know if this is related, but here it is anyways...

Harper, staged conflicts and the path to victory (dogwoodinitiative.org)

Mon, 2012-12-10 23:18

mmphosis

RCMP bring two armoured vehicles for Stephen Harper’s India visit (thestar.com)

Tue, 2012-12-11 06:31

felixr

Canada overreacted to news the UN made Robert Mugabe its tourism ambassador

This reads like the Canadian government fell for a story from The Onion. We now share membership with an exclusive club of government idiots that includes Iran and North Korea. link

Tue, 2012-12-11 14:29

Catchfire

Ha! Two great ones, mmphosis and felixr. I didn't even know about the Mugabe hoax. Hilarious.

Tue, 2012-12-11 15:14

labourforward

There is no bad job, the only bad job is not having a job.'

—Finance Minister Jim Flaherty

Tue, 2012-12-11 16:25

Unionist

Vic Toews, in a George Bush moment, declares that critics "can either stand with us or with the child pornographers".

ETA: Not quite 2012, but too important to miss. [url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=FFE36B6D-1&news=6B04014B-54FC-... Kent[/url] proclaims on Dec. 12, 2011 that:

Quote:
As we said from the outset, the Kyoto Protocol did not represent the path forward for Canada.

Tue, 2012-12-11 17:11

felixr

In 2012, we lost track of Vic Toew's mistresses and scandals

Tue, 2012-12-11 17:17

felixr

Dec 2011, but I've never gotten over it ^

Stuff like this 2012 death of a 14 year old boy is what makes Peter McKay's use of search and rescue helicopters on his NFLD vacation fishing trip so reprehensible. McKay also transfered the search and rescue call centre out of NFLD and put it closer to his constituency in Nova Scotia in 2012.

Tue, 2012-12-11 17:18

#10

felixr

Bev Oda paid $16 for orange juice, canceled hotel reservations and broke Canadian laws so she could continue to smoke.

Tue, 2012-12-11 17:31

#11

felixr

Harper goes after the heart throb vote

Tue, 2012-12-11 17:40

#12

felixr

In 2012, the Conservative government failed at or cut almost every military procurement exercise it initiated, culminating in the failure to replace army trucks (deemed the highest of priorities since the beginning of the Harper government) after 6 years of trying. link

Sun, 2012-12-16 06:27

#13

felixr

felixr wrote:

Dec 2011, but I've never gotten over it ^

Stuff like this 2012 death of a 14 year old boy is what makes Peter McKay's use of search and rescue helicopters on his NFLD vacation fishing trip so reprehensible. McKay also transfered the search and rescue call centre out of NFLD and put it closer to his constituency in Nova Scotia in 2012.

<a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/12/14/qa-thomas-mulcair/">Tom Mulcair</a> wrote:
they’re cutting back on maritime search-and-rescue both on the west coast and the east coast. People in Newfoundland who have been in distress have been transferred to a call centre in Italy.

I SO want to see Peter McKay defeated. Maybe Alexis Macdonald or another credible candidate can be enticed to run against him.

Sun, 2012-12-16 15:59

#14

Catchfire

bump!

Sun, 2012-12-16 18:54

#15

felixr

"Pierre Poutine" and the robocalls scandal broke

Sun, 2012-12-16 18:58

#16

mmphosis

OMNIBUS BUDGET BILL PASSES

Government of Canada no longer in the business of protecting Canadian environment (water.ca)

12/12/12 by Mark Mattson, Krysten Tully, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Quote:
The federal government no longer prevents environmental damage from happening.

Mon, 2012-12-17 05:13

#17

felixr

Social conservative and homophobe Jason Kenney began courting the gay vote. I believe he was the one that during the gay marriage debate said that gays could marry and pointed to Libby Davies (openly gay) previous male partner (passed away from cancer) as evidence.

link

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby_Davies#Federal_politics">wikipedia</a> wrote:
In 2005, during the parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage in Canada, Conservative MP Jason Kenney cited Davies' prior relationship with Eriksen as proof that marriage law doesn't discriminate against LGBT individuals, since a gay person can marry a member of the opposite sex. Davies, who was never formally married to Eriksen, joined other commentators in criticizing Kenney for playing politics with other parliamentarians' personal lives.

He also appeared to remove gay rights language for the new 2012 Canadian citizenship guide as part of a larger attempt at social conservative re-engineering. Gays continued to see their asylum claims denied and were returned to countries where they could face persecution because of their sexual orientation.

ETA: For those unaware, Jason Kenney is 44-year old, never-been-married eligible bachelor.

Fri, 2013-02-01 00:03

#18

epaulo13

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=419900324746303&set=a.1449122789...