Thursday 28 June 2012

WATCHING HARPER: HOW LOW CAN HE GO?

Do we still celebrate Canada Day or has Harper hijacked that on top of the Canadian Government? 
Or is it Happy Harper Day now? 

YAYA CANADA
June 6, 2012

I know it has not been quite a week since the last Harper Watch but I have already found nine stunning pieces of news and three excellent commentary articles.  

It’s risky for journalists to be aggressive ...  Journalists need access to the Prime Minister’s Office and they realize that if they are seen as too negative, they will be cut off. 
Canadians should be deeply concerned about the real reason why the Harper government has stymied and insulted the PBO on an increasing number of occasions including on the real costs of the omnibus crime bill, the real costs of the F-35 fighter jets and now to deny the office the most basic information on departmental savings in the budget. 
This next one is from the Ottawa Citizen, a former Canwest paper (what a refreshing change!):
let’s not get sidetracked into whether C-38 is wise or not. That’s not the issue here. The government thinks it’s all good stuff, so, for the sake of argument, let’s assume it is. But is it perfect? Is every sentence pristine? Is every clause exquisite? Is every comma exactly where it should be? It would seem so. Because the government quashed every single amendment proposed by the opposition. 
 
NEWS

This first one is a must, must read (also see Ed Note at foot of page):
 
"When you walk in the door, all you see are pictures of Stephen Harper," said Ms. May.  "I'd say between every window, in every available space of the wall, at eye level, every available space has a photo of Stephen Harper."
The use of the term "at last" in this next headline is interesting to say the least considering we are three years away from an election. Perhaps it just shows how low expectations have sunk in regards to the Harper Regime – as if we should have been expecting attack ads sooner.

The Conservatives have launched a fresh series of Internet ads in which they denounce the environmental policies of Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair and his New Democrats as being “risky” and “dangerous.”
Antonovic said that her contacts in the Canadian Embassy in Croatia quoted a senior official saying things like: “Who was the idiot who approved an art show by that woman, Franke James?” and “Don’t you know this lady speaks against the Canadian government?"

As the 30th anniversary of the federal Access to Information Act approaches, Canada finds itself tied for 51st in the world on a list of freedom-of-information rankings, languishing behind Angola, Colombia and Niger.
Twenty years ago, newspapers were filled with stories about an event called the Earth Summit..... Canada ... played a key role in an exercise that captured the world’s imagination.  Canada’s role this time was to act as a spoiler and saboteur.
With the complex and politically-charged robocalls investigation still under way, Commissioner of Canada Elections William Corbett has retired and been replaced a former justice department bureaucrat.
 
DEL MASTRO CAMPAIGN WORKERS KNEW ABOUT ELECTIONS CANADA PROBE: COURT DOCUMENTS 
Newly filed court documents cast doubt on Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro's repeated assertion that he was not aware he is being investigated by Elections Canada. An affidavit filed by Elections Canada investigator Thomas Ritchie says he was told in December that Del Mastro had promised a Conservative volunteer in Peterborough, Ont., the MP would personally "handle the matter."
The day before National Aboriginal Day, Aboriginal non-profit agencies across BC have been left reeling by the unexpected news of a $3 million funding freeze to a long-standing and highly successful youth services program called Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth ... The Federal Government tells us they have to cut this funding because it doesn t promote job creation, says an outraged Paul Lacerte, Executive Director of the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, and yet that is exactly what CCAY does.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay has told the chairman of a federal inquiry probing the suicide of Afghan war veteran Stuart Langridge not to contact him directly again.  The defence minister was under fire in the House of Commons last week for refusing to waive his solicitor-client confidentiality and release military police papers.
Ed Note: I'll bet THIS PHOTO wasn't included in the Harper Gallery.

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