hiti

Before posting your opinion, it may be advisable to read the whole article.

Ah but there was no Armed Forces seal on it, or the RCMP,or the OPP, or CSIS, on the box. And where did Angry get a picture of the delivery slip? Did Mark Holland allow him into his office? What was left behind proves that this "new" government cannot be trusted.

Don Martin, National Post Published: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 It was all an act. The shock and horror displayed by MPs after whistle-blowers implicated RCMP brass in an alleged pension fund scandal last week was indignation faked for the cameras. It’s incredible and inexplicable why a government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which wraps itself in the uniform of aggressive law and order, would vote repeatedly to deny RCMP officers access to the spotlight when they were willing to risk their careers telling the disquieting truth. But all committee members were hand-delivered the evidence by RCMP whistle-blowers last fall, carefully indexed and the most damning evidence red-flagged, and even after they were given a preview of their testimony, MPs still stonewalled the push to bring the RCMP scandal out of the shadows. "Every colleague I spoke to said, ‘Are you sure we want to go there? Remember, this is the RCMP’,” says Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj “At every key point when the committee voted to deal with the issue, they [Conservatives] blocked it or tried to block it.” The second-term Etobicoke MP is credited by RCMP whiste-blowers for doggedly pursuing the file and leading the charge to secure their hearing. Mr. Wrzesnewskyj demanded reports used by the Auditor-General be brought forward last December. His motion was rejected by all five Conservative members. He asked to take the matter behind closed doors. He was voted down again. http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.h...34f20c9362a&k=0 I have to agree with James Travers "Because at the very centre of Harper's political persona is an enigma wrapped in an illusion. This prime minister's swift growth into a demanding job is best measured not by his determination to impose preferred policies but by his willingness to break promises." Lie, cheat, cover up.... Steve's creed seems to be that the end (his end) justifies the means. And all the good widdle doggies better bark when their chains are pulled.

Wait until a majority until we see the true fiscal conservatism come out. Was that a joke? Paul Martin and Jean Chretien were fiscal conservatives... Mulroney, Steve and Flim Flam are big republican spenders just like Dubya Bush.

Harper is not a L(l)iberal, nor is this a Liberal budget. Steve has spent the entire surplus in pre-election goodies to buy votes. His budget as presented by Flim Flam is on the brink of exhausting its budget surplus with politically motivated pre-election tax-cut and spending promises. Steve may soon find himself having to choose between putting the nation back into deficit or slashing programs. And this budget does not address the needs of ordinary Canadians. It is a budget for the rich. Just as the cancellation of the Liberal Eco Fit program was for poor and lower income Canadians and was canceled by Steve and replaced with his own version that benefits the rich. My income tax rose by a quarter percentage point last year and again this year. My personal exemptions were lowered last year and the measly $250 times 15.5% or $38.75 does not make up for the hundreds that Steve has stolen from me and fro mthe majority of Canadian taxpayers. And Steve still is keeping $51 billion in EI surplus that he ranted and raged against the Liberals about. At least Paul Martin did decrease the EI premiums year after year. This budget and it's projections have used up all the surplus for the next three years with nothing left over for the needs of ordinary Canadians... no tax cuts for the working, no early childhood development programs, no affordable housing, no help for First Nations, no equality for women, literacy programs gone, no help to ease students debt load... and the list goes on. No way, no how is this "new" government even remotely comparable to the previous Liberal governments. I agree with Cupe that this budget is just a bag of tricks. http://www.cupe.ca/bagoftricks

Hear that Emerson is trying to run as a Liberal in the next election. heh, heh

Harper's conservatives are not C©onservatives. Underneath they are still Reform/Republican. They have lost or are covering up the social conservative side and by that I mean -caring about low income earners, First Nations, equality of women, court challenges accessible for all, literacy, early childhood development, secondary education high debt, affordable housing, etc. ( not abortions, gay marriages, etc. which are moral issues) These Harper conservatives are not fiscal conservatives. Steve is the biggest spender in history. They have spent the huge surplus in potential vote buying and they have spent the surplus for the next three years. Tax cuts and another GST cut is not affordable in the future without doing some drastic cutting....... like Paul Martin had to do after Mulroney got turfed. So no, this "new" government is definitely not like a Liberal government. Not even close. The best comparison is with Bush's budgets and his performance. We can say our government is Republican with a monarchy.

A majority government will result in 250 more. We elected Conservatives on promises of honesty, accountability, openness and transparency. But in the very first week, that was shattered. We hoped for a fresh start and new ideas. But the spending increased, and the broken promises multiplied. We anticipated populism, more democratic spirit and citizen involvement from a renewed Conservativism. Yet, the backroom boys and unelected party officials gained even more power, while MPs, sent to Ottawa to represent us, were muzzled as never before. We looked forward to ethics. We received smear, innuendo and the politics of attack. We thought we’d gain a different breed of prime minister. We got another politician. Stephen Harper’s government is 60 weeks old, as we approach Easter 2007. Here are a quick 60 reasons it should not be allowed to continue. Sixty reasons not to vote for Stephen Harper. http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2007/03/25/sixty-weeks/

Steve's conservatives are lying again............ Quote: (Harper) He has a Defence Minister, Gordon O'Connor, who for a year misled the Commons on a point that any halfway attentive minister would have had straight from the start. Mr. O'Connor said the Red Cross was monitoring the handling of prisoners whom Canada handed over to the Afghans and was informing Canada of their treatment. Even after a briefing from the president of the international Red Cross last September, he didn't change his tune. (He said Monday, implausibly, that "we did not talk about that specific issue.") Mr. Harper should explain how Mr. O'Connor's year-long lack of awareness was possible. Mr. O'Connor has offered no clue. On Monday, the House was again misled. Tory House Leader Peter Van Loan said the Canadian government has contributed $1-million to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, the body it now expects to monitor the detainees. The money, he said, "will provide . . . a lot of support to ensure that they can do their job." But the Canadian International Development Agency says the $1-million was given to a United Nations agency by the Liberal government in 2002. It's unlikely it "will" support the commission. -end quote, Globe and Mail editorial Steve should require his potted plants to show more respect for the House and the people of Canada. The offense here is Harper's Tories continuous wholesaling of false information (lies), not Liberals desire to see Taliban prisoners receive basic human rights.

Well if you are not sure that this is true, why are you repeating the lie?

So Steve flip-flopped again. And screwed the ROC in the process. And he thinks this puts him in majority? Keep on deluding yourself, Stevie and Flim Flam.

If anyone thinks that families got a break with this budget, they are dreaming in Technicolor. Just like the $100 per month for children under age six was for day care, when in fact it wasn't even enough for beer and popcorn. Families now know how much of the $100 was an actual benefit after filling out their income tax and having to pay most of that money back to the "new" government. This budget is nothing but horse pucks. Last year Steve increased my taxes and this year he gave me nothing. And that will apply to the majority of Canadians. Just as it took Paul Martin years to straighten out Mulroney's mess, the longer this "new" government is allowed to stay in office the longer it will take to clean up their financial mess. And don't anyone suggest that Steve is an economist. He took a few accounting courses and his only work experience is as a lobbyist and politician. Greg Weston has a good take on the budget here; http://winnipegsun.com/News/Canada/2007/03...788940-sun.html but Greg is wrong about one thing. The Liberals in 2000 gave tax payers $100 billion in tax cuts right across the board and in 2005, Ralph Goodale cut the lowest tax rate from 16% to 15% and raised the personal exemption by $500 which make a welcome difference in everybody's pay cheque. George W. Harper and Flim Flam Flaherty canceled those tax breaks and lowered the GST so their rich buddies could save money on high ticket items while the middle class and low income tax payer paid again. Just as this budget is for the stay at home moms but the majority of moms who have to go to work get screwed. This crappy "new" government doesn't even make a good "Liberal lite."

Let's see 'em then, or at least a reputable link indicating these things exist. I call bullshit. Try your insiders in the environment department. They wouldn't give me a copy but I'll bet you can get one. I see many comments about the cost of Dion's carbon reduction plan being passed onto the consumer. At least Dion is making industry pay whereas I'll bet Steve takes taxpayers money and spends it.

Name a politician who isn't just concerned about Canada I don't recall, during the entire time in office of the Liberals, that they evidenced any care about anything but their own well-being. Whenever it came to a question of what was good for Canada, as opposed to what was good for the Liberals, well, there was just no question. Screw Canada. They did what was good for themselves. If that were true.... how come Steve has been touring the country re-announcing Liberal spending programs? Doesn't this make Steve the biggest flip-flopper? Anyone wondering why those Liberal programs were never implemented... it's because Steve cut them as soon as he was elected as the "new" government. (Everytime I type or hear "new" I have to laugh) He cut billions of dollars in programs, only to reintroduce them a year later while lying about who created them. This make Steve the biggest hypocrite ever. Actually this is something to whisper in Steve's ear.... Canadians want honest government.

It's a good thing history is recorded and filed away for all to see, or we would have to start believing all this liberal garbage on how our mission changed when the CPC took power. Remember operation Anaconda, our first big operation in Afgan, just for some of you liberals who believe all that liberal preaching Operation Anaconda involved a large portion of the PPCLI Battle group, thier mission was to hunt down taliban groups not to offer humanitarian , diplomatic, financial or legislative aid, but to instead, relocate taliban elements from this planet so they could sit by allah's side with those virgins he's promised... Problem is, people like to re write history then present it as fact. What part of history did I rewrite? Or were you referring to someone else. This history was not rewritten. It's in picture form so it's easy to understand. http://www.george-w-harper.com/index.htm

Far from it. Harper has done more in the last year on climate change than the Liberals did in 13 years. Intensity based emissions reductions is the way to go. Hard caps kill growth. If the Liberals had only had the gumption to put a realistic plan into place, rather than signing Kyoto with no intention of implementing it, then we wouldn't be in this mess today. More unrealistic and economy killing plans that will never be implemented are not the answer. Actually the reason that Dion has rejected intensity targets because he knows through experience that they don't work. Canada’s greenhouse gas intensity decreased by 14 per cent between 1990 and 2004 while in absolute terms, greenhouse gas emission have increased 27 per cent. http://www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/ghg/ghg_home_e.cfm The Harper government is spreading misinformation (lying) about the Liberal environmental record. It’s time to clear the air. Myth The Liberals signed the Kyoto Protocol and then spent a decade doing nothing to reduce greenhouse gases or protect Canada’s environment. Facts Canada formally ratified the Kyoto Protocol on December 17, 2002. Since that time the Liberal government took a number of measures to meet our Kyoto targets. •Even before Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol, the Liberal government was addressing the issue of climate change. Budget 2000 included $625 million for programs to accelerate climate change research and science and reduce Canada's GHG emissions. In 2000, the Liberal government announced its five-year Action Plan with some $500 million towards concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gases by about 65 megatonnes each year. •In 2002, the Liberal government introduced Canada’s first climate change strategy, reflecting the principles proposed by Canada’s environment and energy ministers and responding to key concerns raised by industry and business. •Budget 2003 allocated $3 billion in new funding for environmental priorities, including $2 billion in new climate change funding over five years to enable the government to implement the Climate Change Plan for Canada. •Budget 2004 committed $15 million over two years to develop and report on better environmental indicators on clean air, water and greenhouse gas emissions. In March 2004, it became mandatory for Canada’s large emitters to report their GHG emissions. •Budget 2005 was the greenest budget in Canadian history, combining smart economic policy with smart environmental policy. It introduced new market mechanisms, tax measures and incentives for business to spur innovation in Canada to create a more environmentally sustainable economy. •Budget 2005 invested in initiatives to clean up the environment, protect wildlife and natural habitats, improve our National Parks and conserve our resources. It also advanced the development of environmental technologies and the use of greener practices and technologies such as renewable energies. •Budget 2005 also allocated the transfer of $5 billion in gas tax revenue to municipalities, in addition to the $800 million from Bill C-48, to support environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects. •In April 2005, Stéphane Dion launched Project Green, an innovative plan for a healthy environment and a competitive economy. The plan harnessed the power of the market to integrate climate change considerations into the day-to-day decisions of Canadians. It also safeguarded our health by cutting emissions of smog-creating pollutants, making our communities greener, protecting wild spaces and boosting our economic competitiveness. •Under Stéphane Dion’s leadership at the UN Conference on Climate Change in 2005, the global community broke five years of absolute deadlock, and finally agreed on the Montreal Action Plan to facilitate the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement committed to holding a dialogue on approaches for long-term, global action on climate change and was a huge achievement in terms of welcoming all countries back into the tent. Another Steve/Baird lie is that the Liberals had the worst environment record. In fact, when comparable figures are used, pollution in Canada in 2002 actually decreased 13 per cent from 1998 levels. Emissions of sulphur oxides, which cause acid rain and smog decreased by 50 per cent. Emissions from toxic substances lead, mercury, cadmium and dioxins and furans dropped by 65 to 75 per cent from 1990 to 2003. In the chemical sector, annual releases of toxic substances have been reduced by two thirds since 1992, down to 1,100 tonnes from 3,400 tonnes. Since the 1970s Canada has reduced its mercury release by 90 per cent and more reductions are expected. According to internal government documents, had the Conservatives not scrapped Project Green, Canada would have met 80 per cent of its Kyoto targets two years before the deadline.

It's a good thing history is recorded and filed away for all to see, or we would have to start believing all this liberal garbage on how our mission changed when the CPC took power. Remember operation Anaconda, our first big operation in Afgan, just for some of you liberals who believe all that liberal preaching Operation Anaconda involved a large portion of the PPCLI Battle group, thier mission was to hunt down taliban groups not to offer humanitarian , diplomatic, financial or legislative aid, but to instead, relocate taliban elements from this planet so they could sit by allah's side with those virgins he's promised...PPCLI did this liberal tasking with honor, infact setting world records for sniping,and being awarded US bravery medals, bronze and silver stars...OH wait there is more the decission to move into southern Afgan was made before the CPC took office, which begs the question did Mr. Harper really have that much influence in the liberal cabinet, or was he really just caring on with a program already written by the liberals. So who really set the tone for this mission, was it really Mr. Harper, or was it those teflon liberals. OH OH Alex ...Who is the liberal party.... Operation APOLLO came first. Of the 2,000 soldiers participating in operations, about half were Afghan while the other half consisted of approximately 800-900 U.S. conventional and Special Operating Forces, as well as an additional 200 coalition Special Operating Forces. Minister of National Defence Art Eggleton authorized more than 100 CF members serving on military exchange programs in the U.S. and other allied nations to participate in operations conducted by their host units in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Next was... Deployment of the 3 PPCLI Battle Group In mid-November 2001, the U.S. asked its coalition partners (including Canada) to provide ground troops for a stabilization force to be deployed in areas secured by the Northern Alliance to facilitate distribution of humanitarian relief and supplies to the people of Afghanistan. Canada immediately placed 1,000 members of the Immediate Reaction Force (Land) (IRF(L)) on 48 hours' notice to deploy. At that time, it was drawn mostly from the Edmonton and Winnipeg-based battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. -end quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_APOLLO Note: "to facilitate distribution of humanitarian relief and supplies." We all can check history and we all know that members of the 3 PPCLI Battle Group, comprised of 16 soldiers, including six snipers, joined Operation Anaconda. I was very proud of our Canadian snipers. They were superb. So yes, Canada did send small battle groups who participated with allied nations but their main mission was "military humanitarian, diplomatic, financial, legislative and domestic security initiatives purpose" until Steve was elected and then it was "boots on the ground" and military photo-ops. http://mapleleafweb.com/education/spotligh...3/timeline.html In July 2006, Canadian Forces launched Operation Medusa and Canada was at war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._invasion_of_Afghanistan

Well it seems that in Willowdale no other candidates came forward. But that was not the case in Calgary where candidates wanted to run against Anders but were not allowed the opportunity.

Topic already covered here: http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=8395

What has Steve said: “What has happened in the past five years? Let me start with the positive side... Universality has been severely reduced: it is virtually dead as a concept in most areas of public policy. The family allowance program has been eliminated and unemployment insurance has been seriously cut back…" “[T]he breakdown of the consensus that once governed the country is a significant advance.... These achievements are due in part to the Reform Party of Canada and in part to groups like the National Citizens’ Coalition. I think that we have some reason to be hopeful when you look at those things over the past five years.” On June 14, 1996, Harper used his allocated time in the House of Commons to celebrate the NCC’s successful court challenge to attempt to limit third party spending. He told the House of Commons "we can thank the National Citizens’ Coalition for what is indeed a great victory for freedom in Canada." Harper continued to use his position as MP to advance policy goals highlighted by the NCC. The July 1995 issue of NCC’s Overview quoted extensively from Harper’s speech in the House on MP pensions and commented "Reform MP Stephen Harper (Calgary West) has been a leading and vocal opponent of the gold-plated MP pension plans ever since the NCC made it an issue." Some other positions he took in the House that reflected NCC policy include: • claiming that “market-based or conservative solutions” should be applied to the delivery of postal services in Canada, so that rural services would no longer be subsidized; • describing the demonstrations and other actions taken in opposition to the Harris government in Ontario as “general thuggery;” • denouncing efforts to reform election spending rules as "gag" laws; • calling for smaller government, particularly in the area of social programs; “Our position generally has been to recognize the need for reduction in the areas of federal transfers and specifically in the area of welfare.” • demanding an elected Senate; “We believe the Senate should be elected… it should have full veto powers over legislation and it should be equal. It should have equal representation from every province.” • denouncing social programs; “Recently, the Ministry of Finance released a document that showed our unemployment insurance program to be one of the most generous in the world. This can create serious disincentives to upgrade skills, to work and to move to find work.” • reducing provincial transfer payments; “…equalization payments should be reduced by about 10 per cent.” But after only four years in office, on January 14, 1997, Harper decided to take an executive role with the NCC. At the news conference announcing his new position with the NCC, Harper was asked why he would give up the influence he had as "a prominent member of the political party" for a job at the NCC? Harper responded by saying: "Partisan politics is a difficult endeavor and frankly I'm looking forward to being in a position where I can speak much more independently than I'm able to do as a member of Parliament, I'm looking for an opportunity where I'm not bound by a party line." Upon taking the position with NCC, Harper stated clearly he had ties with the NCC and it was influential during his tenure as MP. “I have been an active supporter of the National Citizens’ Coalition for a number of years. This has never been a secret, I’m a strong supporter of the things that it stands for – political and economic freedoms,” he said. “I think I’ve been a spokesperson for those kinds of things during my time in Parliament.” In 1997, Harper described in more detail the interconnected relationship between himself, the NCC, and the Reform Party: "At the news conference which announced my appointment as vice-president of The National Citizens’ Coalition, I was asked whether the NCC was really just a branch of The Reform Party. This is a curious question. For 30 years now the NCC has been active in political debate. The Reform Party has been in existence for only the last 10 of those years. It would have been more logical to ask if the Reform Party were a branch of the NCC!…The agenda of the NCC was a guide to me as the founding policy director of Reform…Elected officials are constrained by the need for popularity every four to five years. The average one is consumed by the monthly opinion polls. The really bad ones worry about the approval of every group coming through their offices looking for a handout. Working with you in the NCC provides me with an opportunity to do much more – to fight for basic conservative values of free markets and free elections, whether fashionable at that moment or not…The battle for political and economic freedom will have its victories and its setbacks, as it has in the past. It will never end…and we shall never surrender." “GLORIA MACARENKO: Stephen Harper, what do you think of a parallel private health care system in Canada? STEPHEN HARPER / V.P, NATIONAL CITIZENS' COALITION: “Well I think it would be a good idea. I think we're headed in that direction anyway. We're alone among O.E.C.D countries in deciding that we'll have a two-tier system but our second tier will be outside the country where only the very rich and powerful can access it and will be of absolutely no benefit to the Canadian health care system. So I think this has been the wrong way to go. And clearly we're moving in another direction.”” With respect to child poverty, Harper said: “These proposals included cries for billions of new money for social assistance in the name of “child poverty” and for more business subsidies in the name of “cultural identity”. In both cases I was sought out as a rare public figure to oppose such projects.” Concerning bilingualism: “After all, enforced national bilingualism in this country isn’t mere policy. It has attained the status of a religion. It’s a dogma which one is supposed to accept without question. … [M]ake no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country. In fact it is less bilingual today than it has ever been...As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It has led to no fairness, produced no unity, and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions.” On federal-provincial relations: “If Ottawa giveth, then Ottawa can taketh away… This is one more reason why Westerners, but Albertans in particular, need to think hard about their future in this country. After sober reflection, Albertans should decide that it is time to seek a new relationship with Canada. …Having hit a wall, the next logical step is not to bang our heads against it. It is to take the bricks and begin building another home – a stronger and much more autonomous Alberta. It is time to look at Quebec and to learn. What Albertans should take from this example is to become “maitres chez nous” . And to clarify Harper later added: “It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta, to limit the extent to which an aggressive and hostile federal government can encroach upon legitimate provincial jurisdiction.” Regarding protection of human rights: "Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society…It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff." On partisan politics: "You join a political party if you want to work for a politician; you join the NCC if you want the politician to work for you…The press could have gone one better though. They could have quoted me directly. I have been consistent and unequivocal for a long time now - I have zero interest in leading this new entity or any existing party…I like my job as President of the National Citizens’ Coalition. I think it's important to have an organization dedicated to the NCC's principles and not subject to the pressures of partisan politics. Before the NCC, I spent over 10 years of my life pursuing those principles in partisan politics, including a number of years as the first policy officer of the Reform Party. While I don't regret that at all, I have no desire to do it over again. In fact, there is almost nothing I would rather do less." The origin of the NCC.... http://www.nupge.ca/news_2004/n08no02a.htm

Gordon Lambert, vice-president for sustainable development at Suncor, said his company has already made investments to green its operations and improve efficiency without any devastating consequences. "We don't predict job losses or impact on the economy (because) of meeting Kyoto," Lambert said, after appearing at a Commons committee studying the government's environmental legislation. "We're focussed on what we can do as a company about the problem." Under the plan, companies in the oilsands could meet the Kyoto targets at a cost of between 58 cents US and $1.16 US per barrel, said Matthew Bramley, climate-change director at the Pembina Institute, an Alberta-based environmental think-tank. "The folks from the oil and gas industry today had ample opportunity to contest that number, and did not do so," said Bramley. "It's a reliable number." -end quote http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.ht...ec-3293d071340d Steve's warnings that meeting the Kyoto targets will devastate our economy is being contradicted by oil executives. It is a well known fact in the industry that Kyoto targets can be met through existing technologies that are available now and country's are doing just that. In 2005 the federal government adopted a plan that envisioned spending about $10 billion to meet the Kyoto target to cut emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. Steve canceled all these programs just so he could say he was right and Canada would not meet the Kyoto targets. The US developed a sulfur dioxide trading system which allows companies to buy and sell sulfur dioxide reduction credits to meet clean air requirements under the Acid Rain agreement with steady reductions being achieved since 1985 . The same policies can be used for carbon trading.

Dion did not announce a carbon tax. According to the Harper Cons.... if I get caught speeding and get pulled over and issued a ticket... the fine would be a tax. Hmmmmmmmmmm And why are these people in "new" government?

Did you also read how the riding took a vote and were unanimous in asking Stephan Dion to appoint Finlay as their candidate? Would this not count as a nomination meeting? Wasn't Andres in Calgary Centre also nominated by his riding without an election or selection committee? And now the judge has ruled that Harper's Cons broke their own rules when they would not allow a nomination meeting. So scriblett, why don't you take Finlay's riding to court and force them to have a nomination meeting.

Garth is all about Garth. Just like the Liberals thought they 'won' when they poached Dvaid Kilgour the poaching of Garth is equally a pyrrhic victory. The Liberals poached Garth? In what universe? Sooooooooo..... no longer can women strive for equality and freedom from violence under Harper's Conservative paternal system. Here is what some of those changes will mean. Quote-Women’s equality, social justice, political and legal participation of women are examples of the language which has been erased from the T&Cs. There is general agreement that there is a need for increased funding to women’s shelters, however, if current divorce laws continue to fail to take into account spousal and family violence we are not really addressing the issue of violence against women. The new T&Cs allow funding for shelters but not for work related to questioning, challenging and changing the laws. The current T&Cs aim to provide “direct” and “local” assistance. This is very much based on a charity model which ignores the systemic issues behind the problem at hand. Instead of providing analysis and aiming for legal change the current approach privileges a case by case basis, almost as if women’s poverty and violence against women were exceptions, aberrations to the norm. This approach is not meant to result in any significant change and does not challenge the status quo. For example, when considering women’s poverty, the charity model approach is about ensuring that women can find a donated business suit which will allow them to access a minimum wage job. -end quote This idiotic crapola just makes me angry and I can't use all them bad words here. Harper is nothing but the worse kind of liar, just plain pond scum. Bev Oda...shame. Quote-During the federal election campaign in January 2006, Stephen Harper agreed “that Canada has more to do to meet its international obligations to women's equality.” He also publicly stated that: “If elected, I will take concrete and immediate measures, as recommended by the United Nations, to ensure that Canada fully upholds its commitments to women in Canada." (January 18, 2006, http://www.fafia-afai.org/en/node/68). http://www.fafia-afai.org/en/node/381#tc

Our troops were sent to Afghanistan for "military humanitarian, diplomatic, financial, legislative and domestic security initiatives purpose." It is Steve who turned this mission into a war to appease Bush.