Progressive Tory

Russia are part of NATO as per the NATO-Russia Council The 26 Allies and Russia work together as equal partners in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), which was established in 2002. The NRC provides a framework for consultation on current security issues and practical cooperation in a wide range of areas of common interest. Its agenda builds on the basis for bilateral cooperation that was set out in the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act. Russia is indeed a friend and ally, despite McKay's ridiculous and fabricated attempt to sound tough. And for China, I'm just going by the new policy of our Prime Minister Harper boosts trade ties with Americans, Chinese OTTAWA -- The Conservative government is bolstering Canada's trade ties with China as it tries to beat back the protectionist threat that could slow the flow of goods with the U.S. But as Harper worked to raise Canada's profile in the U.S., key Conservative ministers unveiled plans to open six new trade offices in China "very shortly." "We will be indeed not only increasing our presence in China, but we will also be increasing our presence in Asia," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. Trade Minister Stockwell Day is planning a trade mission to Beijing designed to open doors to new trade and build on a $2-billion investment on the Asia-Pacific Gateway. Time to upgrade ties with China China another friend and ally. Don't worry Jason Kenney is working hard at turning Great Britain away, so we'll have some new enemies soon.

It would have lasted 18 months as per the written contract. But you're right. Harper lost his last best chance at a majority, and maybe even ever forming another gov't. He would have scored more points attacking a huge deficit then having to defend one. He just didn't want to have to wait a year and half. It had nothing to do with the legitimacy of the Bloc.

I suspect that's one of the reasons why he's slipping in the polls. Once the dust settled and we learned just how hypocritical the whole thing was, he's completely lost what little integrity he had left. The West is propping him up, so his main concern at present is appeasing them. The rest of the country is clearly losing confidence in his ability to govern.

You are absolutely right. However, again the issue is why were they 'separatists' in 2008, and not in 2004, when Stephen Harper actually needed them, not to just prop up his coalition but to join it? The Bloc's mandate has not changed since 2004, or for that matter since 2000 when Stockwell Day sought them out for his coalition. Bloc part of secret coalition plot in 2000 with Canadian Alliance Then again, with the Bloc's main concern, and I agree, being what's in it for Quebec; what was in it for Quebec? What did Stephen Harper promise them? Guess we'll have to wait until Gilles Duceppe gets out of politics and writes a 'tell all' book. After Harper's hypocrital campaign to save his job, however, I don't see anyone trusting him again in even a minor agreement, let alone a coalition.

Some people are still stuck in Cold War mentality. The Russians are our friends, now. It's a good thing, because diplomacy is the only way we're going to achieve any power in the Arctic. I see a tall guy with a Russian sweater and hand on the head of a 98 pound weakling in a Canadain sweater, puching frantically, but landing nothing. This is not an issue for our military, because we really have none compared to Russia and the U.S.; the two largest competitors for the oil in the region. Sit back, shut up, and they'll look after us. Just make sure you lock Peter McKay in his room.

Has anyone perused the Conservative handbook? I've yet to find one promise kept. But then this is the new squeaky clean lying party, right?

Actually this is not anything new, though comments from many Conservatives reveal that they are not happy with the present Conservative Party in Canada, but feel they have no place else to go. I'd give it a look see, so long as they were strong on the conservative principles that I adhered to, like fiscal responsibility, accountability, smaller gov't and an elected senate. However, if they were instead just strong social conservatives, I'd have to pass. I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. I've bookmarked the site though and won't pass judgement until I read their platform or goals. Stephen Harper has been a huge disappointment.

Right now Harper is trying to distance himself from Mulroney but refused a public inquiry into the scandal until learning that his own name appeared in the court documents.

Base salary for an MP is about 155,000.00; but since he is a junior cabinet minister, he would get more. I heard him once in the House of Commons recite a poem he had written. It was very juvenile, and I was embarrassed. Just because he's disabled does not mean he isn't expected to do his job. I work with the disabled and we discussed it at a meeting. It set a very bad precedent. I lost a lot of respect for him.

There is a difference between just saying things and inciting hatred through public rallies and graphic literature. I can say (just don't tell Jason Kenney) that Israel is wrong to try to lay claim to Gaza and are engaged in terrorist activities against the children of Palestine. However, if I stand on a street corner and hand out graphic images of dead Palestinian children, wave my fist in the air and incite the crowd against Israel, I should be arrested. That is not freedom of speech. It is inciting hatred. Two thousand leaflets attacking gays and lesbians have put a Christian activist in western Canada under investigation by Edmonton police for hate crimes. The flyers by Bill Whatcott of Regina refer to gay marriage as "sodomite marriage" and use graphic language to describe the alleged sex practices of homosexuals. They were stuffed into mailboxes, not offered on the street where you could refuse to take them. I read his bio and I think if Ezra Levant really cared about this man he would get him some psychiatric help. ...spent his youth in a number of foster homes, where he reports having been physically and mentally abused. At the age of 14 he went to live on the street. By the age of 18 he had an addiction to sniffing glue and supported himself through theft and work as a gay prostitute By age 18 he reports having found God, and transformed his life. He has just changed one addiction for another. That's the trouble with so-called 'Born Again Christians'. Often it is just a drug of choice, but as soon as you suggest that it is just fluffed off...'what's wrong with a littleGod in his life'? Not a thing if he doesn't lose touch with reality and devotes his life to 'hatred'. He needs help before he turns that hatred into 'opening fire'.

The Bloc was part of Harper's coalition in 2004. They only propped up the 2008 coalition, but were never officially a part of it. I don't know what Stephen Harper promised Gilles Duceppe in 2004, but it must have been huge for the Bloc to join the Conservatives. Harper proposed coalition with Bloc Quebecois in 2004 Once, When Not PM, Mr. Harper Was A Coalition Man As leaders of the opposition parties, we are well aware that, given the Liberal minority government, you could be asked by the Prime Minister to dissolve the 38th Parliament at any time should the House of Commons fail to support some part of the government’s program. We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority. Your attention to this matter is appreciated. From a letter to then-Governor General Adrienne Clarkson signed by all three opposition leaders: Gilles Duceppe, Jack Layton and Stephen Harper (September 9, 2004) Jack Layton got burned by Harper already. He won't make another deal with the devil anytime soon.

Exactly. In fact the Liberals were often criticized for allowing the EI to go into a large surplus. However, that being said, once more it's about hypocrisy. When in opposition Harper howled about using EI funds, and then when he got the key to the cashbox, it was another story.

Exactly, and the average age of the population at home is 39.4 years. Our people are aging at about 4 times the birthrate. Recruitment is down. We can't depend on a larger army, no way, no how.

We have a small and aging population. Besides you still have to get people to join up. Military's recruiting efforts fall short

Besides the fact that the recent purchases are sitting in mothballs and the ones we have are in disrepair? Rollout date for tanks uncertain The Defence Department has known about the shortage of Leopard 2 spare parts since at least the fall of 2007 — even though the Office of the Assistant Deputy Minister of Materiel claimed there were no problems. Military officers quietly briefed industry representatives about a shortage of Leopard 2 parts at a November 2007 meeting. But in a Dec. 5, 2007, e-mail to the Ottawa Citizen, the Defence Department claimed there were no problems.

Have you considered the age of that population? The median age of Canadians is now 39.4; hardly ready at 40 to consider enlisting in the military. 1/3 of our population are baby boomers and we make up the largest generation. 4,563,000 Canadians are over 65. We are an aging population who will hardly swell the muster rolls. And don't forget that polls still show that the majority of Canadians do not support war in general and recruitment is difficult at best. Demand for soldiers outpaces supply despite recessionary job woes While the rest of the country trembles in fear of layoffs and unemployment numbers soar, the demand for soldiers, technicians and other specialists in the Canadian Forces outpaced actual growth for yet another year, the Department of National Defence said in an annual report to Parliament. If we can't even get 65,000 how can we get 125,000? Are you suggesting conscription?

There are several problems with your suggestion. First off, did you forget Harper's campaign against the 'socialists'? He's barely clinging to his base now, so by his own admission is returning to the 'faith, family, freedom' ideology. We know he used Jack Layton (and Gilles Duceppe) in 2004, when he formed his coalition to topple Paul Martin, but has since denied it; despite the fact that the letter and tape prove otherwise. This 'coup' would probably just drive conservative supporters, especially red tories, to the Liberals. Besides that, Jack Layton hates Stephen Harper. It would never happen. At the very least, we could see the NDP and Liberals unite, but the Conservatives and NDP? Not very likely.

After years of dodging, will Brian Mulroney finally be charged and be forced to reimburse Canadians for the payout he received under false pretences? Perjury? Mulroney-Schreiber inquiry set to begin The evidence is certainly mounting and this Airbus scandal could be even larger than we once thought. The inquiry into the cash that Mr. Mulroney took from German-Canadian lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber kicks off today, and over the next two months will hear from many witnesses who will shed light on the extent of Mr. Schreiber's mysterious reach into the Prime Minister's Office in the 1980s and early 1990s. For more than a decade, the former prime minister has deftly swatted away questions about Mr. Schreiber from government lawyers, journalists and the majority of the MPs who more than a year ago called him to explain the cash payments before the House of Commons ethics committee. But now, things have changed. First, there are many more established facts that are much more difficult for Mr. Mulroney to dodge: cash, safety deposit boxes and two substantial omissions on his 1993 and 1994 tax returns. Second, the questions put to him won't be disjointed and divided up amongst a group of mostly partisan politicians whose primary objective is to score points. But a third, significant change is the individual asking the questions - a mild-mannered father of two who is known for spending days and nights ahead of examinations honing his calm, deliberate approach. A new kid in town may finally be able to get the answers Canadians have been looking for. ... There are numerous nagging questions that he has yet to clear up - What did he do with the cash after he received it? Why did he wait six years to report it to the Canada Revenue Agency? - but the most fundamental one looms large: What service did he provide for the payments? Mr. Mulroney's only explanation so far, which he gave in front of the Commons ethics committee, is that Mr. Schreiber hired him to promote armoured vehicles to the governments of China, Russia and France. However, numerous experts in the arms trade, as well as a former Mulroney-appointed diplomat, have questioned how such lobbying could have taken place given some of the weapons trade embargoes at that time - one of which was imposed on China by Mr. Mulroney. The former prime minister's explanation is also inconsistent with the words of a former executive from Thyssen AG, the company that manufactured those tanks; the German arms giant had no desire to sell weapons to countries such as China or Russia at the end of the Cold War, Winfried Haastert told The Globe and Mail and CBC in interviews. Mr. Schreiber and Mr. Mulroney don't agree on much, but the one thing they consistently veer from is the more than $20-million in secret commissions that European manufacturers paid Mr. Schreiber during Mr. Mulroney's tenure as prime minister. The fortune was funnelled to Mr. Schreiber's Swiss bank accounts as compensation for his efforts in negotiating government contracts for clients such as Thyssen, airplane-maker Airbus Industrie and helicopter-manufacturer Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. Those commissions have nothing to do with the cash handouts, both men have argued. Should be interesting how this will play out.

Very well put. Most of the outcry from the Conservatives regarding freedom of speech, becomes about the persecution of Christians. This is nonsense. They will fight to the death for the freedom to bash homosexuals and Muslims, but then on the flipside, try to censor anything that shows them in a bad light. MPs assail CBC for 'sacrilege' OTTAWA -- TWO Conservative Members of Parliament will seek to have the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) answer to a House of Commons committee for a television program the Catholic Civil Rights League has described as blasphemous. Freedom of speech is freedom of speech. It can't be selective.

I'm with you all the way. Military spending is one thing, but it has to be effective. The tank boondoggle is turning into an embarrassment, and the knock-off knives from China, a disgrace. However, there is another factor that needs to be considered. I have been studying the impact of the 'baby boomers' and when we consider the economy, I'm concerned that this gov't is not planning for the massive drain on our resources as this group is now reaching the age when they will start to draw on services like CPP and Old Age Pension, while enjoying all the extra tax credits that come with reaching 65. Someone suggested that with a larger population we should have a larger military, but we need to break that population down. According to the 2008 census, there are more than four and a half million people over 65 and 1/3 of our population is between the ages of 59 and 64. Seniors are growing at a rate of 11% a year, while our birthrate is a mere 2.5 % Where are we going to get the soldiers? We can't think in terms of a larger army, but a better equipped one. We simply don't have the population.

Exactly. Remember Harper's platform last election? He waited until the very last possible moment to unveil it, not giving his opposition a chance to break it down. With the Conservatives looking for something to base attack ads on, the Liberals have to keep some things under wraps until they have dotted all the 'i's and crossed all the 't's. Look what they did to the Green Shift. I'm not really expecting policy until an election campaign. Right now all levels of gov't should be focusing on the economic crisis.

Oh but didn't he just launch a campaign of lies to make us believe that he would die for federalism? Surely he wouldn't support separatism.

He certainly hates Canadian institutions. He's become our Richard Nixon and has proven since coming to office that he has no desire to govern, but instead to just tear down existing government structure. (The exact opposite of a Tory by the way) He's scrapping those he can, and suing those he can't. Hate is a fair assumption.

Could you please provide a list of Liberals who hate the West? It's a myth.

It's very easy for us to blame the HRC for trampling on our freedom of speech by citing high profile cases, but to me their aim is not to stop us from simply speaking our minds. They are called upon when individuals abuse their freedom of speech to incite hatred against an individual or a group of individuals. There is a big difference. I might ask Ezra Levant how he feels about our freedom when Jason Kenney banned the British MP Galloway from entering the country, because of his ideas. Or how about making any criticism of Israel's role in the conflict in Gaza as anti-Semitism. Isn't that trampling on our freedom of speech or freedom to listen to ideas? The Conservatives can't have it both ways. You either believe in freedom or you don't.