Deceiver prorogues, Iggy and Layton talk is OT here

[Urbane]

An interesting article pertinent to this subject:

Liberals mock PM for being on vacation - while Ignatieff's on holiday

Tue Jan 5, 7:08 PM

By Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press


OTTAWA - It was a lesson in why politicians in glass houses shouldn't lob stones.

The Liberal party made a light-hearted attempt Tuesday to poke fun at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to impose a three-month parliamentary vacation and wound up instead raising questions about the whereabouts of holidaying Grit Leader Michael Ignatieff.

The Liberals launched an online contest challenging Canadians to come up with brief suggestions for the automatic "out of office" reply that would explain Harper's decision to prorogue or suspend Parliament until March 3.

They offered a few samples, such as: "Hi. My pollster advised me to lay low until the Olympics bring me back into majority territory. Sorry for the inconvenience."

The contest announcement included a photo-shopped image of Harper in a loud Hawaiian shirt, with a lei draped around his neck. In the background on one side of the prime minister was the door to the House of Commons, with a "closed" sign plastered on it.

On the other side, was a picture of a beach with the slogan "Just Vacationing" superimposed over it - a riff on the Tory mantra that Ignatieff is "just visiting."

The contest immediately prompted Harper's office to point out that the prime minister is not, in fact, on vacation, whether or not Parliament is sitting. He was working in his office Monday and Tuesday and gave an interview on Tuesday afternoon. The prime minister is slated to be in Atlantic Canada later this week.

By contrast, Harper spokesperson Dimitri Soudas said: "Michael Ignatieff is still on holidays in Europe and his staff is hard as work dreaming up useless contests."

Ignatieff's office refused to say precisely where the leader is, other than to say that he's "away with his family."

Online contests have led to Liberal red faces in the past. A Liberal online contest last month invited people to submit mock photos of Harper that would explain his reluctance to attend last month's climate change summit in Copenhagen. One submission showed Harper's face photo-shopped onto the famous picture of the fatal shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

The party removed the photo and was compelled to apologize.

[emvilar]

interesting to see that a lot of people are complaining and planning rallies all over Canada.

not only the income trust folks but also other people in general.

facebook : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=227662474562



trusters :http://www.investorvillage.com/groups.asp?mb=6966&mn=31481&pt=msg&mid=8413578y

youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF6RMR7SGBc



Calgar Herald : http://communities.canada.com/calgaryhe ... 65310.aspx


What is your take on all of this ?

[Al Czervic]

What is your take on all of this ?

My take is that those who hate Harper and the Conservatives see this as the sky is falling down (yet it was perfectly ok when the unholy alliance of the separatists/socialists/Liberals were going to use parliamentary procedure to their advantage)

And those who like Harper and the Conservative’s see this for what it really is, basically a waste of time by the leftists trying to make something out nothing. But good luck to all sides on this issue.

We wouldn’t be Canadian if we didn’t have some non issue to complain about.

[RR24K]

What is your take on all of this ?

My take is that those who hate Harper and the Conservatives see this as the sky is falling down (yet it was perfectly ok when the unholy alliance of the separatists/socialists/Liberals were going to use parliamentary procedure to their advantage)

And those who like Harper and the Conservative’s see this for what it really is, basically a waste of time by the leftists trying to make something out nothing. But good luck to all sides on this issue.

We wouldn’t be Canadian if we didn’t have some non issue to complain about.

Seeing I do not fit into any of these separatists/socialists/Liberals or Conservative’s(that also includes Greens). All politicians are money grabbing a^*h*les all side are just play childish games with the taxpayers money. They should all grow-up and do the job they are being paid to do and stop BS.

[fred 2]

I agree, also during the 13 years of the last lib. rule they did it four times.

[NAB]

Ya. And I suspect this whole "non-issue" is just more Iggyotic's (and his back room duh's) idea of the only way they can get some offsetting mileage against the approximate 20 days that he otherwise would have got playing to the question period cameras (when he decides to show up for question period anyway that is).

Think about it folks, this is not a 3 month prorogue like so many seem to believe. My understanding is the normal parliamentary year end recess would have continued to January 25th or so in any event. The prorogue extended that (correct me if I am wrong) to about the first working day in March. That accounts for approximately 20 "normal" parliamentary sitting days, very few of them if any dealing with anything earthshakingly important.

During that period, the Olympics will run for two weeks. Lets not forget all those freebe tickets that were given out by Vanoc, which means many parliamentarians won't be available for work in the legislature anyway as they "work" the Olympics (and its attending media ;-) ), so lets subtract at least 6 days (perhaps more) when many MP's won't be available in Ottawa, reducing the practical time frame "lost" to the prorogue to approximately 14 days.

Then it doesn't mean "government" comes to a halt. PM Harper and his cabinet will be working throughout dealing with day to day "government" issues in any case (while saving some time from attending the legislature and to legislative non-issues that can be spent preparing for more vital and pressing issues, such as managing the economy and preparing for guiding it through the coming year by focusing extra attention as to preparing the upcoming budget).

Put bluntly, I honestly don't see what all the fuss being generated is about - it's a peanut in the scheme of things. Other than of course Iggyotic and his back room blunderers need to generate some excuse to try to seem relevant when it gets increasingly clear that they no longer are.

What it all means to me is we get some hoped for (but all too brief IMO ) respite from all the Liberals nonsense and politicking. I'm grateful for that.

Edit to add: By the way, how come I don't hear people screaming their fool heads off here in BC when Gordo and gang keep the lights in the provincial legislature turned off for a huge percentage of the year???? Calling it back into session only when their majority government decides to force some back room Liberal generated legislation through the process.

Nab

[steven lloyd]

By the way, how come I don't hear people screaming their fool heads off here in BC when Gordo and gang keep the lights in the provincial legislature turned off for a huge percentage of the year???? Calling it back into session only when their majority government decides to force some back room Liberal generated legislation through the process.

Nab

[Fritzthecat]

....

Edit to add: By the way, how come I don't hear people screaming their fool heads off here in BC when Gordo and gang keep the lights in the provincial legislature turned off for a huge percentage of the year???? Calling it back into session only when their majority government decides to force some back room Liberal generated legislation through the process.

Nab

49% voter turn out at last years election.

[Urbane]

As is the norm in politics, there's a lot of hypocrisy re the prorogation issue. Here's some historical perspective from Rex Murphy:

Rex Murphy: Crocodile tears for the "dignity" of Parliament
Posted: January 09, 2010, 8:00 AM by NP Editor
Rex Murphy
Stephen Harper’s recent interview with Peter Mansbridge has spiked the prorogation debate, a lot of its fury hinging on the disrespect for the “dignity of Parliament” that the abrupt prorogation apparently conveys.

But the debate is not as unclouded as dedicated opponents of Mr. Harper would like. The Liberals, in particular, on neither the matter of setting parliamentary timetables according to partisan whim, nor on the wider matter of Parliament’s dignity, hardly enter the lists untainted.

I can easily recall when Jean Chrétien, for example, laughably called an election — ended an entire Parliament, not just a single session of it — because Stockwell Day, then barely a couple of days out of his wet suit and into the job of opposition leader, allegedly “dared” Mr. Chrétien to do it. The prime minister occasioned, by every account, a totally unnecessary election, just because it was tactically convenient.

Liberals, in power, have danced on the conventions of Parliament and called for “madder music and stronger wine” while doing so. Convenience, tactical advantage or just plain “gotcha,” as with the Stockwell Day example, not respect for the “dignity of Parliament,” have been their cues when doing so.

Similarly, on the matter of the current prorogation offering the Conservatives a tactical shield against further revelations into the Afghan detainee issue, the Liberals enter the outrage corral unarmed, once again because of their own example.

When in the early ’90s, a Somali teenager, Shidane Arone, was ferociously beaten by members of the Canadian Forces peacekeeping mission to that sad country, news of the matter shocked and disgusted all of Canada. A full, judicial inquiry was set up. I stress “judicial” because such an inquiry is both more sober and less inflected by partisan grandstanding than the looser deliberations of parliamentary investigatory committees or commissions. And recall, the Somalia inquiry was into the actual doings — the actions — of our own military, not the torments by proxy of the Afghanistan prison system, which is at the heart of the current issue.

That searing inquiry into Arone’s brutal death was called off by straight fiat of the Chrétien government — stopped in its tracks — because (according to one newspaper account at the time) it “regularly unearthed incidents embarrassing to the Liberals.” Harper’s prorogation has, by contrast, interrupted or temporarily stayed the parliamentary investigation into the current controversy. This is not something he can or should boast about — but neither is it as “final” as the previous, full termination in the somewhat parallel case.

Now, I offer these examples not to moderate the current outrage (whatever its contested degree) against the Prime Minister. Tu quoque may be good Latin, but it’s bad argument. An early, or precedent, hypocrisy doesn’t make a current one more palatable.

I point to them for a larger reason. Both parties — both — seem sublimely uninhibited when it comes to walking around, suspending or flouting parliamentary (or other) conventions when political advantage is at stake. And both, in large and small matters — from the squawks of Question Period to the unfailing partisan intemperance of most parliamentary committees — seem to have little to zero regard for “Parliament’s reputation” when a Parliament is actually in session.

Question Period is a verbal equivalent of the World Wrestling Federation, all hype and confected theatrics. Members have as little regard for their own dignity, or for that of their opponents, as is possible to conceive. They dance with half-truths when it serves their purpose, launch reckless attacks on the first hint of scandal, play act to the cameras in and out of the House, manoeuvre and scheme and work the ropes at every opportunity. Rarely does a member, a minister, or a prime minister save his or her best efforts for actual presentation in the nation’s highest democratic chamber. They’re off to some photo-op background for the big announcements, save the “important” speeches for partisan gatherings, and strain to be out of Parliament when what they have to say or do really counts.

In other words, by their behaviour within the chamber, and by what they choose to showcase outside of it, they have given us the real reading on their “respect for Parliament.” Their actions show how little they are really concerned about its precious dignity.

So if the opposition wants to jam Stephen Harper for terminating this session of Parliament, they should content themselves with simply naming what he has done: He has seen an advantage to ending this session now, and for tactical and partisan reasons he has acted to end it. He has played the mirror to their own practice.

A larger politician would not have done so. A politician with a deeper regard for Parliament than Mr. Harper has, would not have done so. Respect for Parliament, however, is not a standard either party has earned the right to raise. In the current debate, it is merely a tattered flag of convenience for them both.

[NAB]

Well, you would certainly think James and her NDP would be yelling about it like Iggyiotic is federally. But I suspect they prefer the lazy route and not have to do any serious opposition work in the Legislature either. Better to just sit back, stay quiet ,pretend you are developing a positive plan, oh, and pick up your paycheck and expenses reimbursement regularly.

But I suspect that is direct deposited hence requires no effort to collect either ;-)

Nab

[lynnz]

Is there anyone out there that could motivate people to vote Liberal instead of wasting their vote on the NDP and the other alternates. Harper is trying to get a majority government and I personally see the eyes of the Devil when I look at him. Isnt he going over to England or has been,to beg the Queen or has he did it already ?So deceitful ....Heres an idea, why doesnt that arogant Jack cross over to the Liberal party ...hey,dont get me wrong,I came from a long line of NDPer's and they have did alot of good but we cant get rid of Harper and his party dreaming about what once was forget about loyality, its now about taking the power back and getting rid of whats his face,getting out of Afganistan and setting a great example on the world stage as peaceful,environmentally aware people that help those in need of food around the world, starting right here in Canada.

[Urbane]

I'm not a natural Conservative and have voted Liberal in most elections. However, I don't think that the Liberals should simply have a lock on government and I am concerned with Ignatieff's slurs against Canada when he was living south of the border and positioning himself as an American. He has now returned to Canada to show us how things should be done but here is a man who was in favour of the Iraq invasion, in favour of torture, and dismissive of Canada's peacekeeping missions over the years. As one who has voted Liberal more often than not in the past I will vote for the Conservatives to keep Iggy out of office.

[Fritzthecat]

Is there anyone out there that could motivate people to vote Liberal instead of wasting their vote on the NDP and the other alternates. Harper is trying to get a majority government and I personally see the eyes of the Devil when I look at him. Isnt he going over to England or has been,to beg the Queen or has he did it already ?So deceitful ....Heres an idea, why doesnt that arogant Jack cross over to the Liberal party ...hey,dont get me wrong,I came from a long line of NDPer's and they have did alot of good but we cant get rid of Harper and his party dreaming about what once was forget about loyality, its now about taking the power back and getting rid of whats his face,getting out of Afganistan and setting a great example on the world stage as peaceful,environmentally aware people that help those in need of food around the world, starting right here in Canada.

Why doesn't Iggy cross to become NDP?

[steven lloyd]

Is there anyone out there that could motivate people to vote Liberal instead of wasting their vote on the NDP and the other alternates.

Iggy could help by stepping down and calling another leadership convention. I personally wouldn't even consider voting Liberal unless that happenned and depending on what replaced him.

[NAB]

Is there anyone out there that could motivate people to vote Liberal instead of wasting their vote on the NDP and the other alternates. Harper is trying to get a majority government and I personally see the eyes of the Devil when I look at him. Isnt he going over to England or has been,to beg the Queen or has he did it already ?So deceitful ....Heres an idea, why doesnt that arogant Jack cross over to the Liberal party ...hey,dont get me wrong,I came from a long line of NDPer's and they have did alot of good but we cant get rid of Harper and his party dreaming about what once was forget about loyality, its now about taking the power back and getting rid of whats his face,getting out of Afganistan and setting a great example on the world stage as peaceful,environmentally aware people that help those in need of food around the world, starting right here in Canada.

Why doesn't Iggy cross to become NDP?

he might be better qualified among the Conservative ranks as a back bencher ;-)