Hey Mr Harper !!??

This morning on cbc.ca I perused the article: "Gov. General set to arrive in Ottawa to face political crisis." and found the line - The Tories have characterized the agreement as an undemocratic coalition beholden to a separatist party - interesting ...

Mr Harper is engaging in fear-mongering. Using tired old adages and worn out rhetoric, he is trying to force the Parliament to support his Government, when clearly the House of Commons has lost confidence in the Conservatives ...

The Bloq may well be a "separatist party", but they sit as Members of the CANADIAN Parliament, and until they formally leave confederation, Mr Duceppe and his caucus remain CANADIAN citizens, duly elected to represent the interests of their Ridings AND the interests of the NATION. They are no more seperatists than the founding members of the Reform Party who pushed for Western Separation not that long ago - members who remarkably form the core basis of support for today's Conservative Party of Canada in the west ...

Politics in Canada is many things, but today BORING ain't one of the descriptors that could be applied ... Fear mongering based on a slanted interpretation has no place in Politics or LIFE ...

On the verge of history ...

On the eve of the last Federal Election - on September 24th to be exact - I wished:

If we can avoid a Conservative Government in the upcoming election,
but can't have a LIBERAL Majority,
the next best thing would be a Liberal Minority,
with a strong showing by the NDP
who partner in a coalition Government.

Now it would appear my wish may well come true:

The Liberals and New Democrats signed an agreement on Monday to form an unprecedented coalition government, with a written pledge of support from the Bloc Québécois, if they are successful in ousting the minority Conservative government in a coming confidence vote.

The accord between parties led by Stéphane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe came just hours after Liberal caucus members agreed unanimously that Dion would stay on to lead the Liberal-NDP coalition, with support in the House of Commons from Bloc MPs.

To read the complete CBC.CA story on this historic moment in Parlimentary Tradition (Liberals, NDP, Bloc sign deal on proposed coalition) - click here

To read what I had to say back on the 24th of September ... words that seem to be coming true - click here.

Oh, and for those who fail to grasp the wonder that is the Canadian Parliamentary system at its finest - do not lose sight of the simple face that only 5.2 MILLION voters voted for a Conservative, while 8.6 MILLION voted for someone else, AND 10 Million simply didn't vote at all ... The Liberal-NDP-Bloq alliance simple gives the MAJORITY of Canadians what they wanted in the first place !!! (check it out here)

History is in the making ... and I wouldn't want to miss it for the world !!!

Still Think FREE Trade is a good idea????

They were ubiquitous on the roads of Southern Ontario growing up ... Champion Road Graders, manufactured in Goderich Ontario were standard fare for almost every heavy equipment operation in Ontario. Afterall, in buying and using a Champion Grader, you were helping the economy of a local community that needed the economic impact that a major equipment manufacturer represented.

This was in an era when almost EVERY city and town in Southern Ontario had furniture manufacturing plants - known in our day as FACTORIES !!! Stratford, where I grew up had no less than five MAJOR factories churning out high quality furniture for the world ... and the Auto Pact kept not only car assembly plants, but dozens and dozens of parts manufacturing plants operating across Southern Ontario too !!! Stratford had more parts plants than I can shake a stick at ...

Today though, I read the discouraging news that the former Champion Road Grader manunfacturing plant in Goderich Ontario is following the Free Trade Lead of dozens of other plants and factories before it, and heading south ...

Now owned by Volvo, a large multi-national conglomerate, the Champion plant is simply another cog in the wheel of internation trade ... trade that seems to keep chewing up Canadian plants and spitting the jobs elsewhere ...

From Canoe.ca: Volvo shuts down road grader operation in Goderich, Ont.

From CBC.CA: Volvo to cut 500 jobs in Ontario plant

I remember well the debates over Free Trade back in the 80's when those in the Ontario Manufacturing sector warned that we would witness massive job losses as the plants and factories headed south ...

"Not to worry," counselled then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a fierce advocate for Free Trade, "Canadian jobs are secure." He and his conservative hordes assured us that our nation would remain competative, and the loss of things like the Auto Pact, that assured Canadian assembly and Canadian Content of vehicles sold in Canada would not adversely affect either the Canadian economy, or the location of good paying jobs ...

Hmmmm ... looking back I can't help but wonder if Mulroney really knew what he was talking about, of was he too enamoured with his duet with Ronnie, to care a whit about the average Canadian at all ...

Methinks Brian has lived up to the moniker - "Lying Brian"

As 500 more jobs are lost to the Ontario economy, and we seemed poised to put a Conservative Government BACK in Ottawa, I can't help but wonder ... who is going to buy all these lovely good manufactured elsewhere ??? If the average Canadian isn't working how can they buy ANYTHING????

And at this point unemployment and the extinction of the Middle Class seems inevitable as plant after plant after plant closes ... and still we think about re-electing the Conservatives ... I guess the lesson of the 80's remains lost on the average Canadian ... The Conservatives aren't really interested in the average Canadian, just in preserving the profitability of business, and look what THAT got the United States !!!

Be afraid fellow Canadians - be very very very afraid !!!

The Woman who SHOULD be our next Prime Minister!!

--

She's funny.

She's intelligent.

She's flamboyant.

She's bold and brassy.

She calls it like she sees it.

and

She's NOT afraid of offending ANYONE.

Is it just me,

or would

Mary Walsh

and her alter-ego

Marg Delahunty

(complete with the princess warrior garb)

make a

BETTER

Prime Minister

than the current field of possibilities ???

---

Reading the piece on CBC about

her protest against the current PM

just reinforced my

appreciation of Mary and her abilities.

--

So, who's with me ??

Mary Walsh for PM !!??

--

Wouldn't that be FUN ???

We'd have a government that is honest,

cheeky, outspoken, and

completely,

utterly

irreverent.

And there's be NO sweater vest

in sight !!

--

I see NO down side!!

--

GO MARY GO !!!

Everything Old Becomes New Again ...

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Dear Mr Harper:

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Today, while getting caught up on the news online, I found the same story at both the CTV and CBC news sites ... It noted that you have made no less than 148 patronage appointments to people with ties to the Conservative party just prior to your election call.

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The CBC story - Harper government opened patronage doors before election, records show

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The CTV story - Tories opened patronage doors before election

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While I applaud you for ensuring that the vacant posts on various committees, boards and other government bodies are filled to better serve all of us, I have to wonder how you, as one who was so firmly opposed to such patronage appointments by the previous Liberal Governments could have such an oversight. Surely you haven't abandoned the HIGH moral ground you once claimed by so blatantly resorting to patronage appointments to thank and reward the party faithful.

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I would not like to think that Stephen Harper would resort to such pork-barrelling after so many years of protesting against it ... has the memory of Chretien's Liberals and the Sponsorship scandal slipped away THAT quickly ???

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ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT political patronage appointments??!!

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I could call this a coincidence if it was a dozen or so. BUT, Mr Harper, 148 stretches it a wee bit too much. This smacks of political pork barrelling, the very thing you promised repeatedly would NOT be part of your party's legacy. Surely, you don't want to be likened to Mr Chretien for such petty politicking.

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However, as one who has not voted Conservative nor Reform in my life, I would like to assure you that I am more than ready and willing to serve the people of Canada in any capacity that might be available. The prospect of sitting on a Committee that pays 80 to 100 000 per year plus expenses has a definite appeal to one who has often struggled from pay cheque to pay cheque.

.

I have my CV, and references ready to send to you, should you choose to consider me for any current or future vacancies. I have a background in public service, and of late have worked closely with a number of community groups and government bodies addressing the issues of poverty, hungery, housing and homelessness in the City of Brandon. I am also working on my Masters in Rural Development, and am familiar with a wide breathe of academic issues ranging from Social Capital to Asset Mapping and numerous others. I am adaptable, a quick learner and have a very high IQ.

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I feel I would be able to serve the people of Canada well, and if recieving such an appointment requires voting for the Conservative Party, well, I would happily vote for Mr Tweed in my current riding. He's done a fine job and has represented Brandon well, and no doubt will serve Canada in the future in whatever appointment you bestow upon him when he retires from politics.

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Mr Harper, please consider this letter my application for any vacant position in the Government Service sector. I wrote you previously with the same offer, but you must have been so busy that you didn't have the chance to respond. I would suggest to you that one way of countering the media's contention that you have in this current round of appointment, engaged in political patronage, would be by offering a position to a radical, out-spoken, left leaning person like myself. They couldn't possibly say that you are rewarding one of your cronies.

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If you would like to discuss this further, I would gladly pay for the coffee, wine or beer - your choice. I know you're busy, but taking a quick break from the stresses of the campaign trail, kicking back and relaxing would be a good thing. Give me a call - I'm sure my number is one file. .

If it wasn't previously, I'm pretty sure it is NOW!!

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In the meantime, good luck in the election and happy campaigning. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Oh, and as one father to another: give your damned kids a hug in public once in a while ... slapping on a sweater vest and pretending to be all warm and friendly in an ad on tv is one thing, but patting your daughter on the shoulder when she heads off for school ??? Mr Harper open those arms and hug the girl !!!??? We didn't really buy it when you claimed that YOU bought Maple Leaf cold cuts like the rest of us, now THIS really doesn't help much either ...

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Yours respectfully,

Me!