Keepitsimple

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated" - Stephen Harper

As PIK says - Harper doesn't run to the cameras......it's just not his style. Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-called-egyptian-president-about-fahmys-case-official-says/article23344506/

I doubt it. Here's the full question - and the full answer - and you can hear his exact words at 30:40 of the attached link. Link: http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/primetime-politics/episodes/30396042/

Now I see - you actually agree with the vast majority of Canadians that Niqabs should be "unveiled" during the Oath.....it's just that in this case, the court disagreed with how the "rules" were implemented. See - we're not that far apart, are we? Hint: We're not debating the technically-correct court decision anymore - we're debating the merits of the position of the overwhelming majority of Canadians....

Very interesting - can you provide a cite/link to support that?

More hand-wringing platitudes. Is that where you think the money will go? Think again. The people you speak of pay little if any tax. Trudeau is taking from the "rich" to give to the middle class - or so he says......not the truly impoverished. That element of our society is best understood and serviced by government closest to where they live - community, municipal and Provincial.

$8 million for 4 years, $2.7 million for one year. Yep, simple math......

I think that says quite a bit about you......

You're making the naïve argument that the Dairy and Auto sectors are the only sectors that are in the TPP. Of course, that's not even remotely true.... and all those other sectors now have a huge new market to play in - while our Dairy farmers are hardly affected at all. Canadians are smart enough to figure it out - except for those suffering from HDS.

Guess you missed the post that showed that Harper/Foreign Affairs actually gave MORE money to the Democratic Institute, right? Same goal of democracy - different underlying ideology. But I'm sure you have your reasons for ignoring that little factoid......

News Flash> The Toronto Star has officially endorsed Justin Trudeau. Now there's a big surprise!

If you want to learn more - take a look at the National Democratic Institute for foreign Affairs - to which the government donated $2.7 million this year.....and yes, though non-partisan, the NDI is loosely affiliated with the Democratic Party. Reading the following excerpt, you can see once again how a thread title can be so misleading. Putting partisan sniping aside, take a look at all of the grants that are made to further democracy around the world if you'd like to learn something more substantial and meaningful from this thread.... Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Institute_for_International_Affairs Link to one fiscal quarter of grants: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/contributions.nsf/vQuater-Eng?OpenView&RestrictToCategory=p3-2014-2015-Q1

Gee - they gave them $2 million a year for four years to the Republican Institute enhance multi-party democracy.......but they also gave the National Democratic Institute $2.7 million to further democracy as well. Republicans, Democrats....big conspiracy going on to further democracy. Wow. Link: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/contributions.nsf/Eng/0C194A190668148E85257D420061CEC0

Totally agree......but it's also a good idea for governments to heed the genuine concerns of the population. On Capital Punishment for example - while true that the majority feel that Capital Punishment is appropriate in certain circumstances, their real beef is that "Life in prison" should be exactly that. Does that mean we always throw away the key? No - but clearly, the public has been clamouring for keeping killers and very bad people locked away for longer periods and adjusting the lenient parole system. That's something that the Harper government has been addressing - taking some small steps towards changing sentencing.....not knee-jerk throw away the key actions - but responding in small steps to what the public sees as injustice. My point is that regardless of whether you agree with the specific changes - it's that the will of the people should not be completely ignored - and if you do, ignore it at your eventual peril.

Well now let's see.....in the first case....if he was taking the oath of citizenship, as long as we could clearly see his face, he'd be OK - even though it would be disrespectful to take a solemn oath with a hat and hoodie.....just as disrespectful if he was in a courtroom pledging an oath. In the second case, sorry - the dust mask comes off when taking an oath. Why do you have a problem with any of this? When you ignore the inherent responsibilities and respect that go with Charter "rights", you begin to nullify the small accommodations we ask newcomers to make in order to at least fulfil the gesture of integration to mainstream Canadian society. Without those gestures (removing the veil at appropriate times is a perfect example), it's no wonder the vast majority of Canadians have found the voice to say "enough is enough".

Belgium, France, The Netherlands?

Forgive the non-mainstream source but there are plenty of corroborating articles out there - but this one seemed to sum things up quite nicely. The "fear mongering" that the Harper government is accused of is hardly that - and if the media would take the time to educate Canadians, we'd all be better for it......knowledge does tend to temper the divisiveness that the opposition parties would like to propagate.... Link: http://www.therebel.media/canada_s_proposed_niqab_restrictions_mild_compared

Opposition and media fear mongering. Don't you find it rather dubious that with all the "intolerance" that the Left is accusing Canadians of - that these were the only two occurrences ever? To demonstrate how much digging they had to do to come up with those two "assaults": 1) The one in Toronto was a recent convert (who traces her roots in Canada back to the 1600's) who married a Muslim. She alleged that she was elbowed at a shopping centre. Take it with a grain of salt. 2) In Montreal, two teens, 14 and 15 - rode by on their bikes and pulled the hijab of a woman - not a niqab. A stupid prank - that was all So....talk about fear mongering.

Here's a link to the article that does not require a subscription: Link: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx

It's legislated in Quebec. I guess you think the entire Province are all a bunch of intolerant rubes?

Your initial OP was an anti-Harper rant, most of which was not even mentioned in your supporting Press Release.....and your new article clearly states that all 12 signatories are subject to the same potential impact. I guess they are all incompetent?

Maybe someone might want to take a crack at defining exactly what "progressive" means? Is it the NDP philosophy of protectionism, insularism...including Unionist/Socialist ideology that drags everyone down to the lowest common denominator? What the heck does "progressive" mean anymore? We've got healthcare, pensions, workplace protection, a Charter of Rights.....where are we "progressing" to?

Have people noticed the "Harper Shift" articles that The Star has been publishing for the past Month? Of course, there is no bias from The Star, is there? The Lefties are out in full force......

An excerpt from that Star story seems to validate the Conservative surge.....

Almost all of what you say is not in the press release. Canada is not even mentioned once - nor is the Conservative "caretaker" government, nor is Healthcare funding. Why not just stick to the facts - MSF is rightly concerned about any tightening of patent protection rules that might delay the introduction of generic drugs all over the world.