continued from here
The hold that Stephen Harper has - Part 2
Wed, 2009-09-30 07:04
#1
Diogenes
The hold that Stephen Harper has - Part 2
Wed, 2009-09-30 07:08
#2
Lard Tunderin Jeezus
I was hoping that thread had come to its natural end.
Wed, 2009-09-30 07:56
#3
Diogenes
I was hoping that thread had come to its natural end.
I'm hoping the natural end is when Harper is the leader of one of the the opposition parties.
Wed, 2009-09-30 08:09
#4
Diogenes
Oops - It is actually called the Tim Hortons Innovation Centre (roll-the-eyes emoticon needed here).
A most fitting replacement for Nortel, don't you think. Gives all those laid off workers something to do as then scan the help wanted ads.
More on Harper's donut diplomacy.
Wed, 2009-09-30 08:12
#5
Diogenes
It's NOT the economy stupid!
The only hold Harper has on Canada is the stupidiy and incompetance of those in the opposition parties. They should be eating him and his government for lunch in Question Period. Instead they serve him tea and cream puffs.
Macleans has a section of their web site devoted to postings on Question Period in the House of Commons. It can be quite revealing. For instance, a recent news story was Abdelrazik suing Ottawa and Lawrence Cannon for $27 million. The behavior of Lawrence Cannon has been so outrageous that even some writers at the National Post are hoping Abdelrazik wins.
So what happens in the Question Period? Any questions about what the government is doing help Abdelrazik get off the bullshit "1267" list. No.
Any demands for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release details of its investigation on why it took 3 months to recognize Suaad Mohamud as a Canadian? No. Any demands from the opposition that Lawrence Cannon resign or be fired? No.
Instead they ask questions about the economy, about infrastructure stimulus spending, about OECD and Royal Bank forecasts. They ask questions about why pictures of Harper have disappeared from a government web site. Good Grief! Do these people read any news beyond their own press releases?
If Canada's EI scheme was run as a private corporation (I am not suggesting this), it would have been the most profitable company in Canada, if not the world, pulling in $7 billion a year in profit for 7 years running. Many people have complained of this over the last decade. The auditor-general and Canada's actuaries long ago pointed out that this EI surplus was "notional" (the surplus was already spent - it really did not exist).
What are they doing to ensure this travesty does not happen again? Nothing! Instead they rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, tweaking elibility rules. The whole EI system is a fraud, a subsidy for seasonal businesses and a regressive tax for Canadian employees. We paid for insurance that does not exist, absolving employers of social responsibility.
The protection and regulation of Canada's pension systems is also a joke. When Nortel declares bankruptcy, the workers who were due to get their severance payments in December are stiffed, certain executives get 'retaining bonuses' to sell off the assets to the highest bidder, and pensioners are hoping to get 70 cents on the dollar from their pension plan. Oh, and those on long term disability get nothing because Nortel was self insured and is now bankrupt.
Only in Canada you say. What a pity!
The purpose of a government is to govern, to make and uphold laws that protect all Canadians. Is this happening now? There is precious little evidence that it is. The Harper government is breaking more laws than it is making. Our opposition leaders say almost nothing.
The picture of Harper appearing at a Tim Horton's "test facility" (whatever the hell that is) to "mark the company's reorganization as a Canadian company" should have provided great cannon fodder for the opposition. Here is a man who witnessed the bankruptcy of one of Canada's great technological innovators, Nortel, broken up and sold off to foreign interests, while former employees and pensioners are left to twist in the wind.
But we still have Tim Hortons eh, with it's candied coffee and half baked microwave donuts, where workers can be fired for giving away a timbit to a crying toddler.
Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee?
Sun, 2009-10-04 11:11
#6
Diogenes
Overcoming the embarassment of starting yet another thread that nobody wants to discuss, this intrepid poster carries on ...
So what happens in the Question Period? Any questions about what the government is doing help Abdelrazik get off the bullshit "1267" list. No.
Any demands for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to release details of its investigation on why it took 3 months to recognize Suaad Mohamud as a Canadian? No. Any demands from the opposition that Lawrence Cannon resign or be fired? No.
Instead they ask questions about the economy, about infrastructure stimulus spending, about OECD and Royal Bank forecasts. They ask questions about why pictures of Harper have disappeared from a government web site. Good Grief! Do these people read any news beyond their own press releases?
Scouring the Hansard debates since parliament began its current session, we learn that on Friday Oct 2, questions are finally asked of the Suaad Mohamud scandal.
Hon. Ralph Goodale (Wascana, Lib.):Mr. Speaker, according to internal government documents obtained by the media, it would appear that in the case of Suaad Mohamud, the government made a gross error in labelling her an impostor and then proceeded in a massive cover-up to hide its mistake and have her incarcerated in a Kenyan jail.
Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell Canadians today the exact date when he first learned about this case?
Mr. Dave MacKenzie (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, this matter has been before the courts. CBSA has filed documents with the court. The documents are available for the public to view and they do speak for themselves. The information is all public at this time.
Hon. Ralph Goodale (Wascana, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, on June 2, the hon. member for Eglinton-Lawrence discussed Suaad Mohamud's situation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. A letter followed on June 18. Detained at the request of the Conservatives, Suaad Mohamud had to submit to DNA testing before the government would agree to bring her back to Canada.
Why did the minister not personally intervene in this case in June? When will his department's investigation be made public?
Mr. Dave MacKenzie (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, documents were recently filed by the CBSA in Federal Court. The documents are available for the public to read and do speak for themselves. The facts are all public knowledge at this time.
Hon. Ralph Goodale (Wascana, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, a troubling pattern has developed through several cases where the Conservative government has failed to come to the assistance of Canadian citizens overseas. Canadians need to know how far this attitude extends.
Who else on the government side was complicit in the case of Suaad Mohamud? Specifically, what was the Prime Minister's role? When did he first become aware of the plight of Suaad Mohamud? What date, exactly, did the Prime Minister know?
Mr. Dave MacKenzie (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, documents were filed by the CBSA in Federal Court. The documents are available for the public to read and do speak for themselves. These facts are all public knowledge at this time.
I would like to see these documents that "speak for themselves", since Lawrence Cannon seems unable or unwilling to speak for himself. Can anybody help with this?
I suppose this is a beginning.
When is someone going to ask Stephen Harper when Lawrence Cannon is going to resign? When is someone going to demand that Lawrence Cannon resign? How incompetent does one have to be?