See, stuff like this really makes me think Mulcair is pandering just as much as Harper. Decriminalization is slightly better than prohibition, but just legalize it already.
Perrin's testimony from today
"Perrin described to police that Wright acts on instruction from the PM. "He was explicit that the prime minister approved of proposed responses to Ms. Payne..." http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mike...198897?cmp=rss
Ms Payne was Duffy's lawyer. The responses were related to the payment by Nigel Wright. This seams pretty damning that Harper was in the loop.
See, stuff like this really makes me think Mulcair is pandering just as much as Harper. Decriminalization is slightly better than prohibition, but just legalize it already.
It's a first step. From what I understand looking into it a number of years ago, legalization would involve breaking agreements we have with the USA. Maybe with Obama in power and the legalization in some states, it wouldn't be so much of a problem today.
All that is going to happen under decriminalization is a couple of years down the road, potheads will get caught on the US side of the fence and face much steeper penalties.
The video title is over the top probably because it was uploaded by some nutjob, but the video just shows you that politicians don't always believe in what they are saying. Its really quite sad how phony these people are.
Perrin's testimony from today
"Perrin described to police that Wright acts on instruction from the PM. "He was explicit that the prime minister approved of proposed responses to Ms. Payne..." http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mike...198897?cmp=rss
Ms Payne was Duffy's lawyer. The responses were related to the payment by Nigel Wright. This seams pretty damning that Harper was in the loop.
Or that Wright was just one man lying to everyone about everything, which is what the CPC will likely say in response.
I think the most damning thing is Novak being promoted to chief of staff despite his involvement. Either
1. Harper was in the loop all along; or
2. wasn't in the loop, and chose to promote someone who admitted to keeping him out of the loop; or
3. he wasn't in the loop, and chose to promote, and continues to retain someone who kept him out of the loop and lied about it; or
4. he wasn't in the loop, and chose to hire someone without actually asking them about their role in keeping him out of the loop.
5. Perrin is lying about Novak's awareness of the payoff.
Any of those is technically possible, but to me, #1 is by far the most plausible. #5 is the least likely, because no matter what you think of lawyers, they tend to be smart enough to not commit perjury, especially when it has nothing to do with their own self-preservation.
But none of those possibilities 1 through 4 reflect well on the PM. If he's not outright complicit, he has made and continues to make very poor decisions about who he surrounds himself with.
All that is going to happen under decriminalization is a couple of years down the road, potheads will get caught on the US side of the fence and face much steeper penalties.
Quality take.
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Stop everything, the Ford brothers officially want Canadians to know about their federal political ambitions.
Rob Ford spoke to Bloomberg on Thursday, confirming his brother Doug would consider stepping into a Conservative leadership race if a minority government forms on Oct. 19, which may prompt Stephen Harper to step down, he said.
Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have racked up dozens of serious abuses of power since forming government in 2006. From scams to smears, monkey-wrenching opponents to intimidating public servants like an Orwellian gorilla, some offences are criminal, others just offend human decency.
Last week we published 59 examples in two parts, and asked our readers to suggest any we may have missed. Among the many suggestions we gratefully received, we concluded that 11 more meet the criteria for "abuses of power." Today we compile all 70 items into one omnibus of abuse by the Stephen Harper government.
Pretty comprehensive list and worth the read. These are things I'm generally speaking to when I talk about selling democracy for a paycheque.
'A majority NDP government would be no better[than Harper. On top of its right-wing economic policies and support for Canadian imperialism, the party has demonstrated whenever it has held power that it is unwavering in its defence[sic] of the ruling elite and the bourgeois order. In a series of provincial governments since the beginning of the 1990s, including Bob Rae’s in Ontario, Roy Romanow’s in Saskatchewan and Gary Dewar’s[sic] in Manitoba, the NDP has confronted the working class head on by imposing devastating austerity measures to eliminate budget deficits and attack workers’ living standards.'
The trial itself might be silly and the actual damage done by Duffy and the gang relatively inconsequential. However, the foundation of western democracy (IMO) is an ethical, accountable government.
When you look around the world, one of the factors that distinguishes Canada from a 2nd or 3rd world country is the level of corruption in government. Corruption in government is a very slippery slope. If the ethics of our government aren't consistently, thoroughly, dogmatically, relentlessly monitored and enforced it's a short trip to (for example) an American-style government, which is a short trip to an Italian-style government, which is a short trip to a Morrocan-style government, etc., etc. I'm not suggesting that Canada is in any imminent danger of becoming, like say, Somalia but it's very easy to lose what we value one tiny, incremental, almost unnoticable step at a time.
While is may seem silly, vigilance is paramount even if it seems over the top sometimes.
Pretty comprehensive list and worth the read. These are things I'm generally speaking to when I talk about selling democracy for a paycheque.
The truth of that bolded statement and those listed actions that the Harper government has taken to harm Canada's democratic political system are the two biggest reasons to vote against the Harper government. They are the reasons people need to look beyond party platforms in this election. For any Canadian, the negative long-term consequences of this style of governance should far outweigh the short-term consequences of a government whose platform they dislike but which does not undermine the system of governance.
Looking beyond party platform ideals, there is just too much evidence that the actual people who make up the leadership of the Harper government do not respect Canada's political system. The people in leadership have consciously and repeatedly taken actions to centralise power and undermine the functions of Canada's parliamentary democracy.
While of course economic, environmental, social etc. policy issues are all important for Canadians and they are very reasonable to disagree upon and sway votes under regular circumstances, it's much more important to protect a healthy democratic system. This involves voting out people who have demonstrated corruption and who have demonstrated a willingness to abuse the system.
A conservative government made up of people who support conservative ideals and who are respectful of the political and democratic system would not trouble me so much, but the Harper government is not that government. The people in leadership of the party value centralised power and reelection over a transparent and functioning Canadian parliamentary democracy. It is them that need voted out. If that aspect of the party can be cleared out then I could empathise much more with a vote for the conservative party based on party platform, but that is for another election.
I also think that it's very important for Canadians to vote out the people in leadership of the conservative party to demonstrate that respect for Canada's political process is fundamentally more important to Canadian voters than any partisan policies so that all parties are swayed from taking the same approach that leaders in the Harper government have. Continued success of the Harper government's approach to governance endorses practices that erode ethics and accountability by any party in leadership. That is bad for Canada.
The numbers involved in the Duffy investigation aren't so large, but the results coming out are emblematic of what are, to me, the key issues of this election: ethics, accountability and respect for Canada's political system.
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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
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As an NDP-loather... I offer a compromise to those who support them.
Can we all just vote Liberal? I realize Trudeau is a geeky phony nerd... but every day I'm feeling more and more as though he will screw things up the least.
EDIT: I should say "they". I don't believe Trudeau is making any real decisions.
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As an NDP-loather... I offer a compromise to those who support them.
Can we all just vote Liberal? I realize Trudeau is a geeky phony nerd... but every day I'm feeling more and more as though he will screw things up the least.
EDIT: I should say "they". I don't believe Trudeau is making any real decisions.
It annoys me to no end that Trudeau voted in favour of C-51. He doesn't do that and the Liberals likely run away with the election. Ultimately my riding is going to go NDP no matter which way I vote, although I like my MP so it's not all bad.
Speaking of getting paid back money that was stolen from us, when is Mulcair and the NDP going to pay up?
Quote:
Mulcair himself has been ordered to repay over $400,000 in inappropriate expenses. NDP opposition whip Nycole Turmel (who served as the party’s interim leader after the death of Jack Layton) owes taxpayers nearly $200,000. In total, 68 NDP MP’s (an astounding 71.6% of the NDP caucus) have been ordered to repay a total of roughly $2.75 million.
