Kliege

Liberal support has slipped in every election since 1974. What would make anyone think after 11 years and many many scandels that it would go up again. Harper isn't Stockwell Day and im sure nothing like what happen today will happen again, the MPs and candidates are on a tight leach. What you need to worry about is what "Martin Team" starts to do and say because when all those Liberals MPs in Ontario start to realize that their ridings aren't safe anymore shit is going to hit the fan

Canada Liberals-37% CPC- 30.4% NDP-18% Bloc-10.7% Ontario Liberals-40% CPC-35% NDP-22% Quebec Liberals-36% Bloc-45% That means the liberals are 20 points behind the bloc in the french dominated ridings British Columbia Liberals 29% CPC-37% NPD-30% Alberta Liberals-31% CPC-29% Sask/Man Liberals-36% CPC-38% NDP-23% Altantic Liberals- 61% And this is just the first week.

Martin headed for minority government, Star's poll numbers show Gap closing in Ontario as Liberal support falls Canadians witnessing `remarkable turn of affairs:' Pollster SUSAN DELACOURT OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF The federal Liberals are headed toward minority government, according to a Toronto Star poll released today. **Post removed due to copyright infringment** Please read the rules and guidelines for more information. Greg Admin

Im sure the Liberals will try to make an issue out of anything they can get there hands on. The way the Liberal campaign and Paul Martin run this week is weak and just a sign of things to come. The CPC isn't a factor in Quebec in this election, plus the areas in northern Ontario were there are high french population such as Ottawa-Vanier, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell and Ottawa-Orléans are already strong liberal ridings. Plus the only place outside Quebec were this would matter is in the western part of New Brunswick and Saint Bonifance. Reid as resign his post the story will be dead by sunday.

I agree most of the support that the CPC would need in Quebec are Bloc voters and as long as the Bloc is around the CPC will not be able to have a foothold in Quebec. So this story isn't big. On the National it was the third story and it didn't even get the opening headline. Guess what did? Jack Layton big mouth and Paul Martin being sued. When the CBC thinks its a low end story then you know its much to about nothing. After today its old news. Friday Paul Martin is going to announce deal on gas tax sharing I wonder why Martin couldn't do this four weeks ago.

I don't see why this would hurt the Conservaties the only places it would matter is in Quebec and the CPC is in the low double digits there. With Martin being sued and Jack layton running his mouth this should be old news by Sunday. As long Harper stays clear of any problems this will go the way of Goodales comments. The story in the papers will be Martin being sued and Jack Laytons big mouth.

Layton criticized for homeless comments Last Updated Thu, 27 May 2004 19:27:56 TORONTO - NDP Leader Jack Layton came under fire on Thursday for comments he made blaming Paul Martin for the deaths of homeless people in Toronto. Jack Layton and Olivia Chow Layton was speaking at the nomination meeting for his wife Olivia Chow on Wednesday in Toronto when he launched an attack on the Liberal leader. **post removed due to copyright infringment** Please review the rules and guidelines for more information Greg Admin

Im just looking at the events of the last week. Those numbers will change if Paul Martin and the Liberal keep the aimless campaign they have been running for the last week. Right now its a weak Liberal minority government with the Bloc holding all the cards and thats just in the first week.

The polls and the campiagn that make it abundantly clear that we are in first epic election since 1988. I've been predicting a Liberal minority for quite some time but I'm now feeling more and more like Stephen Harper will win the next election. Even though they're going into the election in front, the "hidden" numbers have got to be absolutely petrifying for the Liberals. Just so you can follow along at home, the numbers I'm quoting are pulled from either the COMPASS or the Ipsos-Reid polls. Let's start with the Compass poll: 1) The Liberals once again sit at 39% in this poll which is consistent with every other poll we've seen. However, the Conservatives are now at 31%. This should be extremely scary for the Liberals since it will only take a 4% swing in vote to leave the two parties in a dead heat. And since polling has existed, the incumbent party has dropped an average of 7% during elections. And the absolute scariest number is this one: In Ontario the Liberals lead 42% to 39%. That translates into 40 Conservative seats by my count. Given that there's no way the Tories get under 60 seats in the West and that translates to an opposition party with over 100 seats for the first time since 1980. 2) An interesting part of this poll is the "issue section". They ask respondents how they'd vote if the election were decided on certain issues. On "Health and Education" which are the Liberal strong points, they have a very modest 38-29-24 lead on the Cons and NDP. The Liberals also do very well on the economy, terrorism, leadership and separatism. However, I can't see any of these issues, except perhaps leadership taking a dominant role in the campaign. What I can see being a major issue is the sponsorship scandal, which actually puts the Torries in front 37-30. The Torries also take the lead on "change" (wouldn't they have to by definition?). 3) The poll found that the Liberals had little chance to make gains by attacking Harper on tax cuts, or the fact that he's from Alberta or the fact that the Conservatives are full of "religious fanatics". Considering the Liberals appear hell bent on "demonizing" him and attacking him on tax cuts...well...I think the results may be closer to the anti-Chretien gameplan of '93 than the anti-Day gameplan of '00. 4) 76% say there was "much corruption" in the scandal and the Liberals "helped their friends". 71% think Martin was in the loop. And in a very telling number, 40% feel they are worse off than they were four years ago, compared to 27% who feel they are better off. Now we move on to Ipsos, who have the Liberals with a healthier lead but with absolutely scary peripherals. Consider, 1) 61% of Canadians believe the Liberal Party is corrupt. And that number is at 70% in Quebec. When I first saw this, it occurred to me that this means the Liberals won't do anything unless people are willing to vote for a corrupt party. Well, it looks like they are. 35% of Liberal voters feel the Liberal party is corrupt. Eek! 2) 58% of Canadians believe Martin is "too friendly with big business". Remember the CSL fiasco that hit the week before the sponsorship scandal? My prediction is the NDP will capitalize on this massively. I heard a report the NDP was planning to go to the Barbados for one day during the campaign to play up the offshore flags angle but backed out. Regardless, you'll have the NDP attacking on CSL, the Bloc on Sponsorship and Harper on money management. It's going to get ugly. 3) "only 23 per cent of Conservatives say they might change their minds, whereas 29 per cent of Liberals say they could." Uh-oh. Guess who has more growth pottential? 4) 2 in 3 Conservatives say they will definitely vote this election. That compares to 56% for the Liberals. That 10% swing means the Liberals will lose about 3% of their lead on voter turn-out alone. 5) And finally, we get to the absolutely scary stuff. 47% of Liberal voters feel the country is better off with a minority government. Unbelievable. 36% of Canadians feel the Liberal Party deserves to be re-elected under "the new leadership of Paul Martin". wow. They question was even phrased to favour "Team Martin" and they could only get 36%. How on earth do you get over 36% when only 36% of Canadians feel you deserve to be re-elected. Not surprisingly, 60% of Canadians feel it's time for another political party to be given a chance to govern. Putting all of this together and we see that the Liberals cannot win a majority unless: -People who feel they are corrupt vote for them -People who feel they don't deserve to be re-elected vote for them Now, as I mentioned before, with the exception of 1974, the incumbent party has lost support during the campaign since modern polling came into being. Given that the Liberals have the weakest support, the voters least likely to vote, and the pottential to lose an election fought on the sponsorship scandal and I don't see how they can reverse history. This party has to drop at least 5% during the campaign, which leaves Harper dangerously close to them. I still think Martin will eek out a minority since some NDP vote might bleed to the Liberals but I would not be surprised to see the Conservatives on top. And despite this, Herle and co are set to drop the writ this Sunday. I don't know what the Earnscliffe focus groups are telling them but if it's anything like these two polls, it's a mind-boggling decision to go right now.

Looking at the Polls and the way the campiagn is going this is the outlook Liberals- 34% CPC- 31% NDP-19% Bloc-12% Other-4% Canada Lib: 122 Con: 101 NDP: 30 BQ: 55 Atlantic Lib: 18 Con: 9 NDP: 5 Quebec Lib: 20 BQ: 55 Ontario Lib: 68 Con: 30 NDP: 8 Man/Sask Lib: 8 Con: 12 NDP: 8 Alberta Lib: 0 Con: 28 BC Lib: 6 Con: 22 NDP: 8 North Lib: 2 NDP: 1

The news just keep getting worst for Paul Martin

Nah this is a one day story thanks to your guy Jack Layton this will be way down on the news list. Martins outrage will be on the front pages of all the newspapers across Canada not this Maple. Plus this election will be decided in Ontario, not Quebec the Bloc as locked that province up.

1. Harper; 2. Martin; 3. Layton I just lost a nice big old post because of some server error involving upstream downstream something or other. So in my frustration I will resume in bullet points. Martin is surrounded by banana peels. All the other parties need to do is wait. His campaign is chaired by rookies and it is only a matter of time before his last resort - the campaign - suffers the same fate as his term in office - paralysis by indecision by committee. Despite a reputation as a "media whore", Jack Layton appears wooden and awkward in his campaign speeches so far. Possibly the jitters. Beware the cheezy over-staged events. And don't give us too much Olivia - the husband and wife team shows well, but as candidates? Not so sure. Harper's coming across as fiery and articulate. I think he has it in him to clean Martin's clock in a debate. Watch for it. He should avoid staged events, his clips and quips are playing well behind a podium in small rooms. Duceppe. Well, despite my linguistic leanings, I have nothing to say about the Bloc, so I will only rarely acknowledge his campaign. Mostly because it is a quasi-policy of mine to not acknowledge regional parties. So I'll only bother when it is of consequence to the real national parties. My guess: this campaign will be won or lost in the debate. The 30 per cent or so undecided are not disillusioned - they are waiting for a silhouette to form out of the political and rhetorical fog. I feel that way myself. 35 days will be insufficient to get to know the candidates, so we will form of confirm our opinions when we see them side by side. Some heat and a lot of light from the debate could have dramatic effects for any party

Jack Layton blasted Paul Martin yesterday, saying that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of homeless people in Toronto and across Canada as a result of cuts he made while he was the Minister of Finance. "I believe that when Paul cancelled affordable housing across this country it produced a dramatic rise in homelessness and death due to homelessness. I've always said I hold him responsible for that." I was shocked when I heard about it last night, but it looked like the national media were going to let it pass. I guess not. Don't get me wrong, I'm not shocked that Layton believes that. I'm shocked that he said it. There's no doubt in my mind that Layton really feels that way. It's not a remark that's going to win him any votes--in fact it's certain to cost him some. There's no tactical benefit to saying something that inflammatory. This certainly fits Michael Kinsley's definition of a gaffe as being "when a politician accidentally tells the truth".

Gagliano launches $4.5 million suit against PM Last Updated Thu, 27 May 2004 17:17:22 EDT OTTAWA - Former Public Works Minister Alfonso Gagliano launched a $4.5 million suit Thursday against the federal government and Prime Minister Paul Martin over the Liberal government's handling of the sponsorship scandal. **Post Removed Due to Copyright Infringment** Admin

Liberals plunge to 33% in Ontario Fallout from Ontario budget still hurting Martin: survey Lee Greenberg, With Files From Bruce Garvey And Anne Dawson The Ottawa Citizen Thursday, May 27, 2004 TORONTO -- Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's budget continues to damage federal Liberal hopes in the province, according to a poll obtained by the Citizen that shows only 33 per cent of Ontario voters will support a Liberal candidate in the coming election. The Decima/Navigator survey provides the first glimpse of voter intentions in the province since the federal election call on Sunday. Last Wednesday's budget introduced a health premium that could cost individuals as much as $900 a year. The budget also raised cigarette and alcohol taxes. Both federal and provincial Liberal support is at historic lows according the poll, which began tracking data in April 2000. Ontarians' support for Paul Martin's Liberals has dropped from 56 per cent in January to 33 per cent -- a 23-point slide in just four months. Since April, support has fallen seven points, according to the poll. Conservatives are up to 26-per-cent support, a six-point rise over the same period. The NDP has risen seven points and now enjoys 20-per-cent voter support. The drop in support is partly attributed to last Wednesday's budget, in which Mr. McGuinty broke a highly publicized campaign promise to hold the line on taxes. "Part of the problem is definitely the provincial budget, but it is only part of the problem," pollsters write in an e-mail explaining the results. "Just 28 per cent say the federal Liberals deserve to be re-elected while a whopping 57 per cent say it is time for a change." An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between May 18 (the day of the Liberal budget) and May 20, had Liberal support at 42 per cent, compared to Conservatives at 28 per cent and the NDP at five per cent. Meanwhile, a day after downplaying Prime Minister Paul Martin's $9-billion medicare package as a "campaign promise" made in the heat of battle, Mr. McGuinty abruptly changed course yesterday and declared himself "very, very" open to the plan. "I have every confidence that the prime minister is making the right decision with respect to the financing of his health care plan," Mr. McGuinty said at a Kitchener school, where he continued to tout investments in education and health in a post-budget blitz. However, Mr. Martin shot back at Mr. McGuinty yesterday, saying he would not have reneged on a promise of no tax hikes and furthermore declined to say whether he would be seen in public with the Ontario premier during the federal election campaign. Mr. Martin was on the defensive yesterday over his prescription to save medicare after several premiers, health care professionals and opposition leaders harshly criticized his plan and in Mr. McGuinty's case, brushed it off as just "a promise made in the thick of a campaign." On Tuesday, Mr. McGuinty said he would not be rushed into an endorsement of Mr. Martin's medicare package as a matter of political expediency. But in doing so, he unintentionally drew attention to the fact that it was an election promise. As for Mr. McGuinty joining him on the campaign trail, Mr. Martin ducked: "I'm not going to play that game." Pollsters suggest the federal race mimics last October's Ontario election, in which the governing Tories lost power after eight years in office. "The opposition party is running a 'time for a change' campaign while the governing party is attempting to rebrand itself with a relatively popular new leader," the e-mail says. "Can Paul Martin escape Ernie Eves's fate? Can Stephen Harper repeat Dalton McGuinty's success?" The survey of 600 Ontarians was conducted between May 19 to 23 and is considered accurate within four percentage points. The data is contained in Ontario this Month, a syndicated monthly study for private clients. Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara told the Citizen editorial board that he didn't expect widespread criticism of the health premium to rebound on to the federal Liberal campaign in the province and hurt Mr. Martin's electoral chances. He said he expected voters "to understand why the provincial Liberal government needed to raise revenues." In Ontario, the provincial Tories and Liberals are locked in a virtual dead heat. Mr. McGuinty's Liberals have 32-per-cent voter support compared to the Conservative party's 29 per cent. For the Liberals, that means a 20-point drop in popularity in just five months. The NDP, which received a huge boost when it won a recent byelection in Hamilton East, is the main beneficiary of the Liberal slide. They are up to 21 per cent, according to the survey.

Chrétien loyalists sidelined By DREW FAGAN From Thursday's Globe and Mail The Martin government's prospects of victory have been threatened by deep Liberal divisions that are not abating during the election campaign as Chretien loyalists remain on the sidelines, sources say. The bitterness is so acute that the Liberals are in danger of losing many of the 15 or more ridings in which fierce nomination battles were fought, senior party members say. "This election could be won or lost in those seats. They could easily represent the difference between a majority and a minority," a veteran Liberal MP said. Senior Liberals criticized the Martin camp yesterday for failing, even on the eve of the election call, to reach out sufficiently to disaffected veterans of previous Liberal campaigns who remain willing to take a role. "You keep hearing, 'I'm doing what I've been asked to do,' and in a lot of cases that's nothing," said one Liberal. "You have a lot of people feeling they are not wanted. . . . At the end of the day, we are all Liberals and the party is bigger than the leader. People would be willing to take part." The Martin camp, they say, has been remarkably reticent to approach former cabinet ministers who might be willing to pitch in -- including John Manley, Jane Stewart, Robert Nault, Herb Dhaliwal and Sheila Copps. "I believe that if the Prime Minister called them and asked them to do this or that, they probably would," said a long-time party activist. "But it's a hard call to make." In some instances, said another senior Liberal, former activists sought to get involved -- despite the differences in recent months between the Chrétien and Martin camps -- and were rebuffed. Some members of the Chrétien government say they are unsurprised by their own circumstances. The change of leaders naturally led to a change among those taking senior campaign positions. But others suggested yesterday that little effort has been made to use their expertise beyond ensuring that senior party members are kept in the loop on the so-called "message-of-the-day" as the campaign unfolds. "The split remains real and it is deep," another former government official said. "The divisions at the national level are now being reproduced at the local level." A lack of enthusiasm about the Liberal campaign was evident Tuesday night at a rally in a Toronto suburb, where about 1,000 people turned out to hear Mr. Martin and his team of local candidates. That was 30 or so people for each of the 36 ridings represented in what was billed as the party's major Greater Toronto campaign event. "You want to show strength," a rally organizer said. "I don't know how much these events accomplish, but you do want to establish momentum." While some MPs at the rally suggested that enthusiasm among their volunteers is greater than during the 2000 campaign, others appear worried about a reduction in workers and less commitment among some who have come out. The Liberals' biggest problem may be in the 15 or so ridings where bitter nomination battles or controversies over Mr. Martin's decision to appoint candidates are hurting Liberal prospects. One candidate who has managed to unite his local forces, numerous Liberals said, is Richard Mahoney in Ottawa Centre, although he is still widely expected to lose to NDP candidate Ed Broadbent. The problem ridings, Liberals said yesterday, include a handful in the Toronto area such as Davenport and Brampton-Springdale, and some in British Columbia's Lower Mainland, where Mr. Martin appointed candidates. "The difficulties regarding the riding nomination process will continue to have an impact. There's no question," said Ms. Copps, who lost a rancorous nomination battle to Transportation Minister Tony Valeri. She plans to campaign for a few candidates, including Agriculture Minister Bob Speller. The most acrimonious situation may be in Mr. Chrétien's former riding of Saint-Maurice-Champlain, where 25-year-old Marie-Eve Bilodeau received the nomination after former Chrétien press secretary Steven Hogue was pushed aside despite wide local support. "A lot of Liberals are talking about staying home," one riding member said. Mr. Chrétien is expected to stay well away from politics when he gives a speech at Queen's University today after accepting an honorary degree. Many of his acolytes, the riding member said, seem prepared to stay away from politics for the next five weeks.

SES CPAC Poll was taken before the election was called that is why the Liberals seem to be at 42%, which does not reflect other polls which show the liberal at 35% to 37% and looking at recent history they will only go down more as the election gets closer and there is a huge number of undecide voters. Plus the numbers of those who feel there needs to be a changein the country are above 50% The liberals ads are not that effective, one way you can tell this is that the Liberals and Paul Martin keep changing there message and the reactions of Liberal party leaders Goodale,Lapierre and McGuinty. There is always signs that the civil war within the party between Martin and the old team under Jean have not healed and will cost them dearly come the election. There is no doubt about it, the Liberals are running scared. The wheels on this train are finally coming off.

No worries here, all you do is have to look at what the liberals are already saying. First Goodale, now the Outremont lap dog Lapierre damn I can't wait for Parrish to open up hear big mouth. As the weeks in the election go by this criminal enterprize that is the Liberal Party will fall apart. Just you wait.

Why would the NDP do better then they did when Alexa was Leader?

So Martin says that the central issue, the only issue in his words, will be Canadian Values. We agree. The only problem is that embezzlement, fraud, theft, corruption, cronyism, patronage, waste, lies and broken promises are not in Martin's "Value Vocabulary". Or in Dalton McGuinty's, a fellow Liberal. This election is all about values, ethics, honesty and good governance. It is also perhaps the last chance that Canadians have to stop the Liberals before they completely corrupt the political process and steal the remaining money in the Treasury. Who knows, stealing from the Canada Pension Plan may be their next move. Honesty: The cornerstone of "values" is honesty … the comfort of believing a politician when they make a promise. We demand it of our ourselves, our civil servants, our police and our courts. Why should Martin and the Liberals be allowed to lie consistently, just so that they can get re-elected? Ethics: Is it ethical for Martin and the Liberals to say they want to "fix" health care, when the current sorry situation is a result of Martin personally cutting the federal share of funding from 50% in 1993, to 13% in 2003? Is it ethical to say, in his 2000 budget speech: "… $1 billion will be invested in much-needed medical equipment, such as MRIs and CAT scanners and $21.1 billion will be added to the Canada Health and Social Transfer; this so that the provinces and territories can accelerate the changes necessary to ensure that Canadians receive the high quality health care they deserve; to increase the number of doctors and nurses, to shorten waiting lists, and to reduce the time spent in emergency rooms." (source: http://www.fin.gc.ca/ec2000/speeche.htm) Needless to say, we never saw that money nor the MRIs either. But here we are in May 2004 and he's promising exactly the same thing again? Martin also promised when he took over that the Ethics Commissioner would report directly to Parliament, rather than to the Prime Minister's office. Needless to say, Martin "forgot" this pledge. This isn't ethical, it's downright deceptive and outright lying. So much for Martin's ethics. Fraud: If creating false invoices, and paying Liberal-friendly advertising firms hundreds of millions of dollars for doing nothing but carry a cheque across the street isn't fraud, then we need a new definition for fraud. As for "getting to the bottom of this before an election is called", that statement was fraudulent too. Theft: Chuck Guité and a Groupe Action executive have been charged, so there's a good start. But the Auditor-General's report on the "probity" of government payments to Canada Steamship Lines will be only tabled after the election, so there could be more to come, less if the Liberals are returned to power to be able to suppress the truth again. Effective Whistle-Blower legislation would have enabled government corruption to come to light. But after introducing a watered-down version of what was needed, Martin and the Liberals let the proposed Bill die when he called this election. We could go on and on, but you get the point. If you want crooks, elect Martin and his Liberal brethren. Because at stake here is good governance … the knowledge that the books are balanced, that there's no slush funds for embezzlement to take root, that Parliament has authorized programs and expenditures, and that the proper management controls are in place and functioning. Martin and the Liberals fail in every category. 28 Scandals, 36 on-going police investigations, Canada Steamship Lines, HRDC boondoggles, Gun Registry, Sponsorship Scandal … you name it, they've done it: embezzlement, fraud, theft, corruption, etc. It's not isolated, but systemic and continuing to this very minute. How can we expect good government if we elect crooks to run the bank for us? Canada could use some fresh ideas, presented to the public for consideration and discussion. Name one vision of substance articulated by Paul Martin since he became Prime Minister: "Overcoming the Democratic Deficit"? After mouthing this fine-sounding objective, he tramples over Liberal riding associations and members to appoint his own candidates (9 times), ensuring democracy is laid waste in the Liberal Party. "More representation from Women"? Sorry, there are fewer female candidates in this election. "Proper representation for each voter in Parliament and the Senate?" Sorry, Alberta, BC and Ontario have been under-represented for decades in these legislative bodies. The Maritimes and Quebec are over-represented, however … wonder why that is? No, if we want to stop these crooks in their tracks, we have to take action now. If not for us, then for our children and the new immigrants that will arrive in Canada expecting to find an honest, fair, and ethical government. That's not the Liberals. Choose Change. Canadians deserve better.

So Martin says that the central issue, the only issue in his words, will be Canadian Values. We agree. The only problem is that embezzlement, fraud, theft, corruption, cronyism, patronage, waste, lies and broken promises are not in Martin's "Value Vocabulary". Or in Dalton McGuinty's, a fellow Liberal. This election is all about values, ethics, honesty and good governance. It is also perhaps the last chance that Canadians have to stop the Liberals before they completely corrupt the political process and steal the remaining money in the Treasury. Who knows, stealing from the Canada Pension Plan may be their next move. Honesty: The cornerstone of "values" is honesty … the comfort of believing a politician when they make a promise. We demand it of our ourselves, our civil servants, our police and our courts. Why should Martin and the Liberals be allowed to lie consistently, just so that they can get re-elected? Ethics: Is it ethical for Martin and the Liberals to say they want to "fix" health care, when the current sorry situation is a result of Martin personally cutting the federal share of funding from 50% in 1993, to 13% in 2003? Is it ethical to say, in his 2000 budget speech: "… $1 billion will be invested in much-needed medical equipment, such as MRIs and CAT scanners and $21.1 billion will be added to the Canada Health and Social Transfer; this so that the provinces and territories can accelerate the changes necessary to ensure that Canadians receive the high quality health care they deserve; to increase the number of doctors and nurses, to shorten waiting lists, and to reduce the time spent in emergency rooms." (source: http://www.fin.gc.ca/ec2000/speeche.htm) Needless to say, we never saw that money nor the MRIs either. But here we are in May 2004 and he's promising exactly the same thing again? Martin also promised when he took over that the Ethics Commissioner would report directly to Parliament, rather than to the Prime Minister's office. Needless to say, Martin "forgot" this pledge. This isn't ethical, it's downright deceptive and outright lying. So much for Martin's ethics. Fraud: If creating false invoices, and paying Liberal-friendly advertising firms hundreds of millions of dollars for doing nothing but carry a cheque across the street isn't fraud, then we need a new definition for fraud. As for "getting to the bottom of this before an election is called", that statement was fraudulent too. Theft: Chuck Guité and a Groupe Action executive have been charged, so there's a good start. But the Auditor-General's report on the "probity" of government payments to Canada Steamship Lines will be only tabled after the election, so there could be more to come, less if the Liberals are returned to power to be able to suppress the truth again. Effective Whistle-Blower legislation would have enabled government corruption to come to light. But after introducing a watered-down version of what was needed, Martin and the Liberals let the proposed Bill die when he called this election. We could go on and on, but you get the point. If you want crooks, elect Martin and his Liberal brethren. Because at stake here is good governance … the knowledge that the books are balanced, that there's no slush funds for embezzlement to take root, that Parliament has authorized programs and expenditures, and that the proper management controls are in place and functioning. Martin and the Liberals fail in every category. 28 Scandals, 36 on-going police investigations, Canada Steamship Lines, HRDC boondoggles, Gun Registry, Sponsorship Scandal … you name it, they've done it: embezzlement, fraud, theft, corruption, etc. It's not isolated, but systemic and continuing to this very minute. How can we expect good government if we elect crooks to run the bank for us? Canada could use some fresh ideas, presented to the public for consideration and discussion. Name one vision of substance articulated by Paul Martin since he became Prime Minister: "Overcoming the Democratic Deficit"? After mouthing this fine-sounding objective, he tramples over Liberal riding associations and members to appoint his own candidates (9 times), ensuring democracy is laid waste in the Liberal Party. "More representation from Women"? Sorry, there are fewer female candidates in this election. "Proper representation for each voter in Parliament and the Senate?" Sorry, Alberta, BC and Ontario have been under-represented for decades in these legislative bodies. The Maritimes and Quebec are over-represented, however … wonder why that is? No, if we want to stop these crooks in their tracks, we have to take action now. If not for us, then for our children and the new immigrants that will arrive in Canada expecting to find an honest, fair, and ethical government. That's not the Liberals. Choose Change. Canadians deserve better.

When people feel they have no other way to speak out, then they act out in other ways such as separatistism.

Mr. Bricker said the electorate is so volatile he hesitates to talk about how Red Tories or any other group is going to vote. "There's very little loyalty to any of the parties," he said. "People look at these things as though they are buying cereal. "It's not the same as 'I'm a dyed-in- the-wool lifetime Conservative,' or 'I'm a dyed-in-the-wool lifetime Liberal.' People are quite willing to to move to any of the parties right now depending on the dynamics of the campaign." That is what matters Maple

Will 2004 be another 1984 for the Liberals? Some many similarities between the two elections?