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Further to my post about changes done to EI and transfer payments,; Martin also changed the accounting practices, such that the huge EI surplus flowed into General Revenues to be used for other purposes. So one could indeed accurately say that he balanced the books on the backs of the taxpayers and the provinces.

From today's Sun - some explanation about the vitrolic, over-the top-opposition to anything Harper does or says. Not to mention the double standards they apply as they bash Stephen Harper for his alleged "made-in-America" policies, but invite American Democrat Howard Dean to speak at their leadership convention. http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commenta...21/2431810.html Many Sun readers wonder why Stephen Harper got so much grief from other Canadian media last week when he rightly raised with China's president the issue of China's secret detention of a Canadian citizen. Or why what strikes many people as a logical proposal by Justice Minister Vic Toews to give the police some input into the appointment of judges, is greeted by our legal community with hysteria. Or why, on almost any issue he tackles -- child care, foreign policy, the environment -- Harper is met by a tsunami of vitriolic, sneering, over-the-top opposition. Globe and Mail Ottawa columnist John Ibbitson has helped to answer those questions in a remarkably blunt column last Friday. Headlined "Bob Rae and the China syndrome" Ibbitson said the fears of many westerners (and other conservatives) that Canada is run by an eastern liberal elite are valid. This is, he said: "A governing class of senior public servants, academics, artists, journalists, lawyers and judges (that) belongs to a community of common interest physically and intellectually centred in downtown Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa." These liberal elites, Ibbitson writes, are "very displeased" with Harper, viewing him as "a wrecker: a cold-blooded leader of a band of vulgar ideologues that, with every action, destabilizes the liberal consensus that has dominated our federal government for generations." They also "despise" frontrunning Liberal leadership contender Michael Ignatieff for working abroad for so long and then presuming he can return here and be handed the Liberal leadership. Thus, says Ibbitson, "the Liberal consensus is rallying around Bob Rae" whom it sees as "One of Us," even if he once "strayed" into the NDP. It has chosen him "to replace that awful man in the Prime Minister's Office" and is now doing all it can to help. To which we at the Sun can only respond ... yeah. -snip- Link to G & M article http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...y/National/home

Not a bad plan, as apparantly Canada has a shortage of skilled workers. The only problem I have is that we need more help for unemployed or underemployed Canadians. Rather than keep people on welfare we should be paying to retrain and upgrade skillls. It is very difficult for someone to get an apprenticeship, and or go for apprenticehip/skills training unless they live at home or have some other method of financing it. http://tinyurl.com/y48pld Toronto Star Tory unveils plan to cut barriers for immigrants Homa Nikmanesh came to Toronto from Iran expecting to be a chemistry teacher but spent a decade as a cleaner, bakery worker and receptionist instead. "I thought: That's Canada ... you go through everything, then you pull yourself out," said Nikmanesh, 58. Eventually, she and her husband, a mechanical engineer who also spent years working as an unskilled labourer, managed to get on their feet and open a chain of optical stores. Yesterday, Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory unveiled his party's plan to do away with barriers that keep skilled immigrants like Nikmanesh underemployed so long. A key proposal includes working with universities, colleges and regulatory bodies to prepare and accredit workers in their homelands while they wait for permission to move here, a process that can take years....

I guess we have 'embedded' flamers on here LOL It will be interesting to see how far the Canadian Muslim women get with this, if any one of them has the integrity and courage of Dr. Sultan, it would be worthwhile.

"The price paid by Canada for that "healthy relationship" would be to stand idly by while China's Communist government abuses the rights of its citizens. That Mr. Harper refuses to pay that price is a testament to his commitment to human rights. In the end, Mr. Harper did have an informal meeting with China's President at the APEC summit, during which both trade and human rights were discussed. Whatever Mr. Harper told Mr. Hu at that meeting, it was secondary to the larger message he'd already sent -- that our commitment to human rights will not be turned on and off according to the preferences of Beijing's Communist government." It wouldn't matter what Harper did or said, the culture of opposition, generally of a malicious nature, is too embedded.

Don't "sweety" me little girl.Does your logic then mean I can post topics about the CANADIAN tire catalogue? Use your head please. Sure little man, try using yours sometime - sweety.

Because sweety, it was from the annual CANADIAN council of Muslim Women......

For those who are not from Ontario, socialist Bob Rae was the leader of the Ontario NDP, maybe that should be former socialist Bob Rae. Maybe his left wing stance at that time was one of opportunism The NDP gov't had a fiscal problem, so BoB Rae brought in a program that raised taxes and cut spending by reducing the payroll in the public sector, through a social contract.. He cut the payroll by giving employees 12 unpaid days off a year, better than laying them off actually. Part of the fiscal problem was the huge pay hike previously given to civil servants, the ramifcations of which Bob Rae apparantly didn't foresee. That part for the unions was bad enough but IMO it was opening the public sector contracts without the getting the union agreement. that really did him in. Actually, he did what he thought best under the circumstances, but the unions thought otherwise. He banned the use of strike breakers and pioneered the employment equity act (didn't pass third reading in new gov't), but abandoned public auto insurance, which if I remember correctly was a campaign pledge. Rae has a book now, Canada in the Balance; he writes that one of the reasons he left the NDP was that it was 'bogged down in a culture of opposition' . I think that is a fair statement, and in fact, would apply it to most parties in opposition, they seem to concentration on opposing simply for the sake of opposing, strictly for polemic purposes. Destructive criticism rather than constructive. We can only hope that he will do for the Liberals what he did for the Ontario NDP

Right, sure. Just like I said, those on the left so hate Harper that if it was him or Satan they'd choose Satan. What? I think he's saying that no matter what Harper did, the left would disagree. He could walk on water and they'd find something wrong with it, their ideology and hatred blinds them to any non partisan dialogue.

Agree with this for sure, I wish them luck. http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national...6b6&rfp=dta "it is time for the Muslim community to start looking in the mirror" The 24th annual conference of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women convened in Gatineau on Saturday to discuss the image of Islam in the media. "I'm tired of all our complaints about the media," she said, smiling. (Pazira works for CBC's The National.) "We do not make it easy for the media to cover us." Besides being silenced by fears regarding their portrayal, the Muslim community has also, ironically, hobbled its own image by its emphasis on careers in science leaving too few representatives in the social sciences. -snip- Will this Council of Muslim Women be able to change the course of history? Who knows - it's worth a shot.

Martin is responsible for cutting back the transfer payments to the tune of 6.3 billion and cutting EI benefits while raising premiums. His surplus was achieved on the back of the taxpayers and left the health care system hugely underfunded. One of the major issues Mike Harris had to contend with, but later on managed to increase Ontario funding. I agree with Kimmy, I expected more from him as PM, a definite example of the Peter Principle.

We can't afford Bob Rae, personally I'm counting on Ontario to remember him. If Bob Rae gets in, we can count on the NDP to support him, and maybe even a future merger of the two parties.

I didn't know convicts hated Paul Martin, I don't, I kinda feel sorry for him. After all his political dealings to get rid of Chretien and be the PM, he was a big disappointment, he looked more like a windmill flapping around in a breeze.

This is a hoot, Andrew Coyne in the National Post asks, Who is Bob Rae? I know who Bob Rae is. Bob Rae is the Power Corp Proxy and he is going to win the Liberal leadership because the Power Corp Proxy always wins. The leadership race will be great theatre. It has to be. Nobody wants a frickin' boring coronation like the previous Liberal leadership race. However, like all theatre, the end of the script is known. http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2...andra.html#more read some of the comments, they are a hoot The Desmarais/Liberal cartel) are getting their knickers in a knot because Harper is a principled stand on their human rights atrocities....they need a Powercor PM in the PMO to save their business investments. "I'm sure that Bob Rae will be ready, willing and able to do to Canada what Mugabe did to Zimbabwe. But in fact, he'll merely do for the West what King George III did for the Americans."

As in the stereotypical Harper = Bush diatribes, the majority of these anti Harper rants are designed strictly for polemic purposes. It wouldn't matter what Harper did, it would be wrong. Black is white - up is down.

Yeah, it's called taking a vote and seeing what the people want to do. And the PCers voted massively in favour. Taking a vote - one person one vote too, minor detail best overlooked when trying to make a case.

I thought the Liberals allready curtailed that a while ago, there were big changes to EI, one of the reasons for the big surplus.

This is the type of thinking that bothers me as I get the distinct impression that some people think that those they consider 'socon' (definition of which is open to debate) or Christians even, should not have a political voice. We agree on separation of Church and State, but where is it written that only atheists or secularists are entitled to a voice in the political process. The attempts to demonize people because they are supposedly the 'religious right' are extremely transparent, and a definite form of McCarthyism. Yeah! Shame on you Argus! I wasn't referring to Argus, I was agreeing with him.

This is a proud moment for Canada and our values, finally, we have a PM willing to act instead of mouthing empty Liberal slogans about human rights and Canadian values, where revelations of Chinese spying was swept under the rug, and human rights violations were winked at. Yes trade with China has increased but we are buying from them, and we know China covets our energy and natural resources so why shouldn't we stand up to Chinese fascism. Although Paul Martin's (now son's) business and JC's Power Corp, have made a killing there. Stephen Harper fortunately for us has no personal stake in appeasing China.

This is the type of thinking that bothers me as I get the distinct impression that some people think that those they consider 'socon' (definition of which is open to debate) or Christians even, should not have a political voice. We agree on separation of Church and State, but where is it written that only atheists or secularists are entitled to a voice in the political process. The attempts to demonize people because they are supposedly the 'religious right' are extremely transparent, and a definite form of McCarthyism.

I think that remains to be seen. But it might be true. In any case, I think raising or lowering the rate that justifiably be called 'raising taxes' or 'lowering taxes'. That seems fair. I guess we won't really know for a while, however, Harper told us up front during the campaign what would happen, he never said he would keep the Liberals last minute campaign changes. Changes which they made during the campaign and rammed through parliament quickly. Too late I believe for the CPC to change their platform. The Liberals lowered taxes for 2006, not 2005, and Harper's tax changes shouldl negate, or in some cases actually exceed the slight raising of the income tax for that bracket. I believe they raised the minimum exemption for when the 15.5% rate will kick in which would be a tax cut in effect. CBC News reported Kenny saying: "We would suspend [the Liberals] future measures in order to deliver broad-based and responsible tax relief, which will ultimately save Canadians more in their taxes and will be affordable in terms of the delivery of federal services," I think most of this depends on which side of the fence you are on, and how partisan or biased one's take on the situation is.

Your posts are rude, and the use of the word 'neocon' is meant as an insult, as I suspect you really don't know what a neo con is. I suppose to you anyone who is left of centre is a 'neocon' what ever that is supposed to mean these days. Neocons were liberals who were rebelling against a leftwing drift - as Kristol said " The neocons are liberals mugged by reality."

quote: In 2005, under the Liberals, the lowest tax rate was 16% until their asses were on the line and they put in a last minute tax reduction to 15%. They actually didn't raise the tax,, they just revised a 1% decrease to a 0.5% decrease. In 2005, GST was still 7%. In 2005, working people didn’t have the $1000 annual tax credit. In 2005, parents couldn’t claim their kids sports. In 2005, trades people couldn’t claim the expense of their tools. In 2005, seniors only had a $1000 tax credit - not it’s $2000 annual tax credit. In 2005, after death bed conversion, Liberals lowered the lowest rate to 15% from 16%. Conservative kept 1/2 of the reduction. So generally speaking, overall, people will pay less tax

Well, I agree, but I also notice that the forums seem to have changed recently, not the same level of debate. They seemed to have disinegrated into nothing but malicious partisan Harper bashing just for the sake of bashing. cheers

Mind boggling isn't it - talke about an obsessive compulsive disorder.