Breaking platform promises: the series - VIII

The Conservatives and Stephen Harper believe that the current Senate must be either
reformed or abolished. An unelected Senate should not be able to block the will of the
elected House in the 21st century.

As a minimum, a re-elected Conservative Government will reintroduce legislation to
allow for nominees to the Senate to be selected by voters, to provide for Senators to serve
fixed terms of not longer than eight years, and for the Senate to be covered by the same
ethics rules as the House of Commons.

Sure. Can't run a decent government with a bunch of partisan appointments - unelected Senators stacking the Senate!

Unless, of course, it is to stack it in your favour.

Harper most likely made the appointments as well to show he knows how to reward biased journalists, and party fundraisers, knowing he will need many more this upcoming year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper filled all 18 vacant Senate seats on Monday, a move he was expected to make some time before Christmas...Several Conservative party stalwarts got the nod, including Michael MacDonald, the vice-president of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Irving Gerstein, a Toronto businessman who is known as a top Tory fundraiser.

n making the lengthy list of appointments, Harper has deviated from his long-held belief that senators should be elected, not appointed.

Breaking platform promises: the series - VII

A re-elected Conservative Government will proceed with an impartial third-party
investigation of the recent listeriosis outbreak.

The Harper government now says it hopes to name in the next few weeks a head investigator- likely a health-care expert to assess the deaths of 20 people. That timeline would leave less than two months to deliver a food-safety report and recommendations originally due March 15.

''It's a joke,'' said Rick Holley, a professor of food safety and food microbiology at the University of Manitoba. ''The government should use the folks that they're already paying to have the expertise and knowledge and understanding of what's wrong with the food system in this country, put them in a room together and get a solution,'' he said. ''It can't be a political appointee.''

Breaking platform promises: the series - VI

We will increase funding for the current Targeted Initiative for Older Workers to $50 million per year through 2012. We will continue to work with provinces and territories, businesses and others to help older workers get the skills they need to find new jobs.

By "shelving" a report on how Employment Insurance and other programs could be reformed to help older workers, the Conservatives are overlooking a tool to help the economy rebound after the current turmoil, says a member of the panel that produced the report.

The (Expert Panel on Older Workers) spent most of 2007 studying how to improve the job prospects of older workers, and how public policy could help displaced older workers.

Their 110-page report was quietly released by then-Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Monte Solberg in late July, months after it was submitted to him.

Solberg turned down Cohen's repeated requests to hold a news conference to unveil the report.

Six of the panel's recommendations focused on aspects of Employment Insurance, including a call for a wholesale review of the program.

National labour groups and some opposition MPs have expressed concerns this week that EI will not be a strong enough safety net for workers when a recession hits.

(Solberg’s) successor as minister is Diane Finley, whose press secretary could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Breaking platform promises: the series - V

This one should really have been #1 in the series since it took Stevo less than 24 hours after being re-elected to break it.

The Conservatives and Stephen Harper believe that the current Senate must be either reformed or abolished. An unelected Senate should not be able to block the will of the elected House in the 21st century.

As a minimum, a re-elected Conservative Government will reintroduce legislation to allow for nominees to the Senate to be selected by voters, to provide for Senators to serve fixed terms of not longer than eight years, and for the Senate to be covered by the same ethics rules as the House of Commons.

Steve woke up the day after the election (having thought about the inconvenience of having to actually pass Bills through a democratic vote while holding a minority of seats, perhaps) and lets us know what he thinks of platform promises, honesty, and democracy -

"We … have been very clear in our platform that we don't believe an unelected body should in any way be blocking an elected body," (Harper) said.

"I have held off for a very long time in naming senators," Harper said. "That said, I do not believe it is justified that the Senate would continue to be dominated by a party that did not win two consecutive elections."

Harper said he would be willing to appoint senators himself if his push for reform does not succeed.

“Very clear...” Let’s see...appointing Senators is bad because they block an elected body, but it’s just fine if you appoint ones who won’t block you. Is that it?

Don’t get too comfortable retiring with your kiddies just yet, Fortier. And I’m sure there”s a journalist or two who would be willing to help fill those empty spots in the Senate - just to help out in not blocking Steve’s elected body, of course.

Breaking platform promises: the series - IV

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will make the promotion of Canada's democratic values on the world stage a major focus of our foreign policy.

We will establish a new, non-partisan democracy promotion agency that will help emerging democracies build democratic institutions and support peaceful democratic change in repressive countries. Are these the values Steve is talking about?

After ensuring a 22-month inquiry into torture claims by three Arab-Canadians was held in secret, the government kept a 455-page tome of findings under wraps until almost the last moment. It nixed without explanation a planned lock-up to allow the three men, their lawyers, the media and other interested parties to review the hefty report by former Supreme Court judge Frank Iacobucci.

Interested parties living in Toronto and elsewhere scrambled to get to Ottawa after learning only Monday night that Iacobucci's conclusions would be out the next day. Critics blasted what they say is the latest clandestine twist by a "mean-spirited" government.

"Every step along the way, this commission has been marked by secrecy, a lack of transparency and seemingly everything possible being done to cut the three men and interested organizations out of any meaningful participation in the process.

"Any fair, decent process would have recognized how important it is to give people a reasonable advance notice as to when things are going to happen.

Such secrecy, blocking, and lack of transparency in an enquiry into torture does not promote values most Canadians embrace and it hardly presents a model for other countries to “build democratic institutions and support peaceful democratic change in repressive countries.”

Breaking platform promises: the series - III

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will make the promotion of Canada's democratic values on the world stage a major focus of our foreign policy.

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will extend our new truth in labelling guidelines for food products to consumer products, ensuring that Canadians know more about the products they purchase.

While this bit doesn't apply to products sold in Canada, it's still uncomfortably close and shows that this government does not place health and safety ahead of profit.

The federal government is taking exhaustive measures to protect MPs and staff from a substance it only considers a safe building material when sold to developing countries...The sad truth is asbestos continues to be a sacred cow to governments because the lone surviving mine with its 700 jobs is located in the one-industry Quebec town of Thetford Mines.

Stevo isn’t simply ignoring the lack of labeling, he has and is actively fighting to block other countries from limiting its use and applying warning labels.

And why the government spends millions on international sales campaigns using its diplomats and embassies to unleash one-sided positive views against widely acknowledged dangers about asbestos exposure is highly unethical behavior.

Pat Martin calls these actions "corporate welfare for corporate serial killers." and accuses Harper’s government of dispatching "teams of Department of Justice lawyers around the world like globe-trotting propagandists for the asbestos industry, not only promoting asbestos but blocking other countries from attempting to curb its use."

As for “the promotion of Canada's democratic values on the world stage,” this antediluvian view that others are not as worthy of the same standards as we are is not a value most Canadians want to advance, I believe.

The upcoming Rotterdam Convention talks aren't aimed at banning asbestos or, to use its less toxic-sounding, more lyrical name, "chrysotile." It's merely to force Canada to notify importing countries that the stuff has health risks and to take precautions. Given that some countries already package it with a skull-and-crossbones on the wrapping, the official hazardous warning label might seem unnecessary.

More of that Canada is going back, it seems, and stalling and censoring reports to do so.

The 4,000-word study was submitted to Health Canada in March for vetting. It still remains classified as confidential pending the completion of the review, even though its findings would be useful at the global conference.

But Steve can rightfully claim that Canada is a leader on the World Stage™ in this instance.

The punchline is that only one Western nation exports "chrysotile" to assist developing nations with building material it considers unfit for its own people. That makes Canada and its asbestos double standard an international joke.

The only Western country to export a deadly substance banned at home. And an international joke, as well.

Breaking platform promises: the series - II

A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue our strong support for Canada's farmers and farm communities.

In his never-ending quest to eliminate the Canadian Wheat Board, Steve has removed third-party spending limits for the CWB elections. Larry Hill, chair of the Canadian Wheat Board explains why this threatens farmers -

This fall, farmers across Western Canada will elect five representatives to the CWB board of directors. Electing directors is an important way for farmers to exercise control over our marketing organization. Our votes are the democratic expression of farmers' voice. It is crucial that these elections be fair, with all candidates competing for votes on a level field.

The outcome of these elections must reflect our wishes as grain farmers, not serve the interests of corporations, political parties or special interest groups. Without spending limits, whoever has the most money can potentially have a disproportionate influence on election results -- and they're unlikely to be farmers.

Steve says he “will continue (his government’s) strong support for Canada's farmers and farm communities.” However, removing third-party spending limits is not what farmers want. It would allow a few well-funded groups whose goals may not match those of farmers to overrun debates with messages of their own. It places an unfair advantage on groups with outside interests when the election of board members representing farmers should listen to those farmers before special interest groups.

In fact, farmers and farm groups are unanimously opposed to this change. It is therefore unclear why the government enacted it, especially so close to the elections themselves. Third-party spending has never been raised as an issue of priority or concern. An independent panel that reviewed the CWB election process in 2005 actually recommended against such a change, stating that there was no consensus to change the third-party limits (now at $10,000).

We need a process in place that inspires the full confidence of grain producers. Undue interference in the CWB elections by non-farmers and special interest groups is certainly not consistent with the principle of farmer control, which was the purpose behind amendments to the Canadian Wheat Board Act made in 1998.

Breaking platform promises: the series - I

A re-elected Conservative Government will do more to strengthen the safety and security of our justice system.

For a justice system to be safe and secure, the laws need to be clear and applied as they were designed to be applied.

Laws must also be applied equally, not on an arbitrary, case by case basis at the whim of one man.

Especially not this man -
We have seen Steve’s Government for the select few deny rights to a child soldier, to Canadians on death row abroad, and now this -

(Emphasis mine)

Two British Columbians serving time for drug offences in the U.S. have filed a lawsuit against Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day for blocking their transfers to Canadian prisons. In Federal Court documents filed earlier this month, B.C. lawyer John Conroy said Day's decisions in the separate cases of Steve Czinege and Winnie Lam were "incorrect in law and unreasonable in fact."

Day cited national security as a reason for blocking the transfers, and there’s the problem. Even pinko-commie-leftists-bleeding-heart-liberals want drug dealers off the streets. That’s why we support laws to incarcerate them.

However, we also understand the importance of applying laws equally, and as they were intended, or what we end up with is a wild-west approach where there is the risk that whatever sheriff is in charge will dole out unequal justice based on his own ideals and prejudices.

The documents allege Day has no lawful jurisdiction to deny, refuse or postpone Czinege and Lam's entry into Canada and that neither constitutes a threat to the country's security.

"I've never seen that [security threat] label placed on anybody before this minister," Conroy said. "It's usually used in the context of terrorism and things like that. He's using it as a threat." Conroy said Day's logic makes little sense.

Well, most of us suspected that when he affirmed his belief that dinosaurs walked the planet at the same time as humans.

And other choice quotes.

Playing loose with the law -

This case by case method is not new with Steve’s government of the few and privileged. Day has attempted to use it before.

In late August, Federal Court Justice Michael Kelen criticized Day for citing national security as a reason to stop the transfer of convicted child molester Arend Getkate from a U.S. prison to a Canadian facility. Kelen said Day's use of the term national security risk in that case was "wholly unreasonable" and quashed the decision, which the government did not appeal.

Again, we pinkos don’t want convicted child molesters walking around, but existing laws to deal with them need be applied. To abuse legislation meant for terrorism clouds both criminal law and laws applying to terrorism which will undermine the integrity of our justice and security systems.

Added Day bonus: we Canadians get to pay for Day’s defense of this case in which he is clearly wrong. Sued by drug dealers. You might not want to put that one on your resume, Doris.

Steve’s 2008 platform - how is he doing?

Here is the blue sweater dude’s platform.

This blog will post broken promises.

Bonus posts will be devoted to his lies.