Harper Afraid of TV Debate? Someone Might Ask Him a Question
Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 11:38 amIs Harper Afraid of TV Debate? Someone Might Ask Him a Question!
[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/05/16/Ha ... ign=180515 ]
PM won't answer to Conservative failures with 10 million watching.
By Michael Harris, 16 May 2015, iPolitics
EXCERPT:
There are a lot of things Steve might not want to be confronted with in a well-watched, well-researched television debate. Despite balanced budgets, low unemployment and a booming commodity export market under the Liberals, corruption and accountability dominated the 2006 election. The defining moment of the 2006 debate came when Stephen Harper said: ''Will you tell us Mr. Martin, how many criminal investigations are going on in your government?''
Martin was defeated by the ad sponsorship scandal, an elaborate kickback scheme that saw public money directed back to the Liberal party. Martin wore it even though he wasn't involved. To his credit, and for all the right reasons, he assembled his own firing squad in the form of the Gomery Commission.
For all the wrong reasons, Steve never called an inquiry into the robocalls scandal. Trust me -- you will never see a boomerang leave Steve's hands if he can help it.
History repeated
At the time Steve asked Martin that question about criminal investigations in 2006, the correct answer would have been ''two.'' If someone were to ask Steve the same question during the 2015 debate, he wouldn't have enough fingers on both hands to compute the response. By my count, the Harper team has been the subject of at least 15 investigations. The stable he was supposed to muck out has become a pigsty on his watch.
The Conservatives cheated in the 2006 election. Criminal charges of improper election spending were dropped in March 2012 as part of a plea deal. The CPC pleaded guilty to exceeding election spending limits and submitting fraudulent election records. They chequebooked their way out of the slime -- paying a $52,000 fine and then repaying a further $230,198.
The PM's former parliamentary secretary, Dean Del Mastro, has been convicted on three counts of election fraud arising out of the 2008 election. He is now facing the possibility of jail time. His cousin, David Del Mastro, is also facing charges related to the 2008 election.
What about the conviction of Guelph Conservative party worker Michael Sona? Although the robocall case has faded from view, it remains an unsolved crime -- because although the existence of a conspiracy was acknowledged by two judges, the conspirators themselves remain unknown. Now that Elections Canada has been castrated by the Fair Elections Act, their identities probably will never be known.
Peter Penashue, former minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, had to step down after it was alleged that corporations had made illegal contributions to his 2011 campaign. He paid back $47,000 to Elections Canada.
When Penashue resigned, Stephen Harper stood in the House and described him as ''the best Member of Parliament Labrador ever had.'' Which was astounding. Has a Canadian prime minister ever made a clearer statement condoning cheating?
Although Penashue set up the website for his byelection campaign before he even announced his resignation, he lost to the Liberals -- the PM's bankrupt endorsement notwithstanding. Earlier this month, Penashue's official agent in the 2011 campaign, Reg Bowers, was charged with three counts under the Canada Elections Act.
Harper's 'Nightmare Team'
And then there's the little matter of Harper's Senate appointments. Senator Mike Duffy has been charged with 31 offences related to Senate spending. If convicted he faces financial ruin, probably jail time. The prime minister is on record saying he knew nothing about the secret $90,000 payment from his chief of staff to Duffy. Is there anyone beyond his immediate family (and possibly Paul Calandra) who still believes that?
MORE:
[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/05/16/Ha ... ign=180515 ]
[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/05/16/Ha ... ign=180515 ]
PM won't answer to Conservative failures with 10 million watching.
By Michael Harris, 16 May 2015, iPolitics
EXCERPT:
There are a lot of things Steve might not want to be confronted with in a well-watched, well-researched television debate. Despite balanced budgets, low unemployment and a booming commodity export market under the Liberals, corruption and accountability dominated the 2006 election. The defining moment of the 2006 debate came when Stephen Harper said: ''Will you tell us Mr. Martin, how many criminal investigations are going on in your government?''
Martin was defeated by the ad sponsorship scandal, an elaborate kickback scheme that saw public money directed back to the Liberal party. Martin wore it even though he wasn't involved. To his credit, and for all the right reasons, he assembled his own firing squad in the form of the Gomery Commission.
For all the wrong reasons, Steve never called an inquiry into the robocalls scandal. Trust me -- you will never see a boomerang leave Steve's hands if he can help it.
History repeated
At the time Steve asked Martin that question about criminal investigations in 2006, the correct answer would have been ''two.'' If someone were to ask Steve the same question during the 2015 debate, he wouldn't have enough fingers on both hands to compute the response. By my count, the Harper team has been the subject of at least 15 investigations. The stable he was supposed to muck out has become a pigsty on his watch.
The Conservatives cheated in the 2006 election. Criminal charges of improper election spending were dropped in March 2012 as part of a plea deal. The CPC pleaded guilty to exceeding election spending limits and submitting fraudulent election records. They chequebooked their way out of the slime -- paying a $52,000 fine and then repaying a further $230,198.
The PM's former parliamentary secretary, Dean Del Mastro, has been convicted on three counts of election fraud arising out of the 2008 election. He is now facing the possibility of jail time. His cousin, David Del Mastro, is also facing charges related to the 2008 election.
What about the conviction of Guelph Conservative party worker Michael Sona? Although the robocall case has faded from view, it remains an unsolved crime -- because although the existence of a conspiracy was acknowledged by two judges, the conspirators themselves remain unknown. Now that Elections Canada has been castrated by the Fair Elections Act, their identities probably will never be known.
Peter Penashue, former minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, had to step down after it was alleged that corporations had made illegal contributions to his 2011 campaign. He paid back $47,000 to Elections Canada.
When Penashue resigned, Stephen Harper stood in the House and described him as ''the best Member of Parliament Labrador ever had.'' Which was astounding. Has a Canadian prime minister ever made a clearer statement condoning cheating?
Although Penashue set up the website for his byelection campaign before he even announced his resignation, he lost to the Liberals -- the PM's bankrupt endorsement notwithstanding. Earlier this month, Penashue's official agent in the 2011 campaign, Reg Bowers, was charged with three counts under the Canada Elections Act.
Harper's 'Nightmare Team'
And then there's the little matter of Harper's Senate appointments. Senator Mike Duffy has been charged with 31 offences related to Senate spending. If convicted he faces financial ruin, probably jail time. The prime minister is on record saying he knew nothing about the secret $90,000 payment from his chief of staff to Duffy. Is there anyone beyond his immediate family (and possibly Paul Calandra) who still believes that?
MORE:
[ http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/05/16/Ha ... ign=180515 ]