Stephen Harper: One on One with Peter Mansbridge

[Keepitsimple]

Here's a link to Peter Mansbridge's interview with Stephen Harper from December 22nd. For or against, he answers questions directly and more clearly than any Prime Minister that I have seen - and I go back to Lester Pearson. The actual interview is only 20 minutes. There are some on this board who are "afraid" of Harper/Conservatives getting a majority because he will impose his own personal agenda....Peter asks him a question relating to this - it's pretty well the last question but if you are impatient, you can move the "slider" on the video and go to the last part.

http://www.cbc.ca/mansbridge/2007/12/stephen_harper.html

Edited December 26, 2007 by Keepitsimple

[FTA Lawyer]

I don't think I saw a single "politician's answer" (i.e. answer without answering) in the whole interview. The whole scary hidden agenda thing really is dead now in my view.

Love him or hate him, no one can watch the interview and walk away wondering where Harper stands on any of the questions that were put to him by Mansbridge.

I originally voted for Harper to be leader of the CA...and then became a bit disillusioned by politics altogether. I didn't renew my party membership and while still voting in every election, had lost my desire to be affiliated with any particular party.

I have issues I'm not real happy about the Harper gov't performance on, but this interview has done quite a bit to start to woo me back.

I don't want to make this post a partisan slag (because that's really what turned me off of politics in general) but I can't help but compare the simple straight answers of Harper in this interview to the stammer that came from PM PM's mouth when asked if he was buying a Christmas wreath...

I really think people will vote for Conservatives in the next election becuase they realize now how outrageous the other parties were in their attempts to paint PM Harper as the end to Canada. I'm not saying he has saved us from all that was bad and Liberal, but how can you buy the stories of the political parties that cried wolf?

FTA

[charter.rights]

I don't think I saw a single "politician's answer" (i.e. answer without answering) in the whole interview. The whole scary hidden agenda thing really is dead now in my view.

Love him or hate him, no one can watch the interview and walk away wondering where Harper stands on any of the questions that were put to him by Mansbridge.

I originally voted for Harper to be leader of the CA...and then became a bit disillusioned by politics altogether. I didn't renew my party membership and while still voting in every election, had lost my desire to be affiliated with any particular party.

I have issues I'm not real happy about the Harper gov't performance on, but this interview has done quite a bit to start to woo me back.

I don't want to make this post a partisan slag (because that's really what turned me off of politics in general) but I can't help but compare the simple straight answers of Harper in this interview to the stammer that came from PM PM's mouth when asked if he was buying a Christmas wreath...

I really think people will vote for Conservatives in the next election becuase they realize now how outrageous the other parties were in their attempts to paint PM Harper as the end to Canada. I'm not saying he has saved us from all that was bad and Liberal, but how can you buy the stories of the political parties that cried wolf?

FTA

I think you are dreaming. The Harper Conservatives were no better than the Paul Martin Liberals - worse in some cases. Polls have suggested that Canadians won't likely give anyone a majority and Harper has done little with his minority government except to use it as an attempt to get re-elected. And that kind of abuse of the office pisses most off.

[Wild Bill]

I think you are dreaming. The Harper Conservatives were no better than the Paul Martin Liberals - worse in some cases. Polls have suggested that Canadians won't likely give anyone a majority and Harper has done little with his minority government except to use it as an attempt to get re-elected. And that kind of abuse of the office pisses most off.

Well, it seems to me that FTA is more objective in his predictions than you are! He stated clearly that he didn't agree with everything that came from Harper.

Your posts have clearly implied that you'd never vote for him anyway! That's your right, of course. However, if you assume that the majority of citizens agree with you I'd need more than a vague reference to the poll snapshot of today and your opinion of Harper's handling of a minority government before I'd cover any of your bets.

I think I'll start cutting and pasting some of these predictions to review after the next election. The proof is in the pudding, after all.

[Keepitsimple]

I think you are dreaming. The Harper Conservatives were no better than the Paul Martin Liberals - worse in some cases. Polls have suggested that Canadians won't likely give anyone a majority and Harper has done little with his minority government except to use it as an attempt to get re-elected. And that kind of abuse of the office pisses most off.

The point of this posting was not to praise or criticize the Conservative party but as I said - love him or hate him - he answers questions directly and you know where he stands. I kind of doubt that you even watched the interview.

[FTA Lawyer]

I think you are dreaming. The Harper Conservatives were no better than the Paul Martin Liberals - worse in some cases. Polls have suggested that Canadians won't likely give anyone a majority and Harper has done little with his minority government except to use it as an attempt to get re-elected. And that kind of abuse of the office pisses most off.

The thing is, I don't look for perfection in a politician or a particular party or a government or the House of Commons as a whole. It's not realistic.

But when a PM can answer a direct question (that he didn't have the opportunity to prepare an answer to in advance) with a direct answer...he or she will likely get my vote, even if I don't like all of the answers.

I watched intently the fist Mansbridge interview with PM PM after he took over from Cretien...because I was seriously considering voting Liberal at that time (I guess largely becuase I respected what he had done as Finance Minister) and within that interview, I saw everything I needed to decide I would never give PM PM my support. Non-answers to direct questions tell you plenty about what the real answer would have been.

If Harper had answered evasively, I'd be just as disillusioned with him and his chances of getting my vote would have dropped dramatically.

FTA

[sharkman]

FTA, at first I didn't get your PM PMing, I thought it was a typo, but now realize you meant Paul Martin. I missed the interview with Harper and am glad his quality to talk straight came through.

I concur with your remark, agree or disagree with the man, a politician who answers questions directly instead of evading is a rare thing.

[Keepitsimple]

FTA, at first I didn't get your PM PMing, I thought it was a typo, but now realize you meant Paul Martin. I missed the interview with Harper and am glad his quality to talk straight came through.

I concur with your remark, agree or disagree with the man, a politician who answers questions directly instead of evading is a rare thing.

Just in case you still haven't watched the interview, the link to the interview is still available in the first post of this thread.

[DrGreenthumb]

FTA Lawyer, I would assume from your handle that you represent the free to air satelite community or are a part of it in some way. I would advise you to take a closer look at the MLAT treaty and ask yourself how much protection you think the Conservatives would give to Canadians who get charged with FTA offences south of the border. I want to see the conservatives booted because I do not think they will protect Canadian interests when it comes to requests from Harper's buddies in the US.

For example, Marc Emery was operating a mail order Cannabis seed business in Canada for more than 10 years very openly with little to no hassle from the Canadian police or government. He sent every MP a copy of his magazine and seed catalogue, every issue. He paid nearly $500 000 in income tax and claimed "marijuana seed vendor" on his income tax forms. Health Canada refered their medical marijuana patients to Marc Emery's seed catalogue to get seed stock for their legal grows. The harshest punishment anyone in canada has ever gotten for selling pot seeds is a 200 dollar fine. Three years ago at the request of the DEA Marc Emery was arrested and is facing extradition to the USA where he has been labeled a "drug kingpin" solely for selling Cannabis seeds. If convicted he will likely get 30 years to life spending the rest of his life in a foreign prison. The consevatives are just fine with this kind of justice. They don't think our justice system deals with this "supposed" crime harshly enough so they are more than happy to see Marc rot in a US jail for the rest of his life. I think that if Marc has committed anything that we as Canadians deem worth prosecuting then we should try him ourselves in our own courts with a jury of his fellow CANADIAN citizens.

If we allow the conservatives to extradite Marc Emery who's next? Could it be Canadians who download music, or movies? Maybe the states will want to extradite folks with a viewsat, coolsat, sonicview etc that has been updated with a bin file capable of recieving a dishnetwork signal? In fact if we want to make the comparison more exact, lets say a Canadian is running a website in Canada, and posting these FTA fles on his or her website. So if an American downloads the file and illegally uses it to recieve a bellexpressvu or dishnetwork satelite signal, what party do you think is most likely to allow the US to extradite that website owning Canadian?

Should we allow our government to send our citizens away to foriegn lands where they face a much stiffer punishment than they would in their homeland? In the age of the internet and the global market should vendors be required to know and obey the laws of all other countries that may place an order with them, or should it be up the the person ordering the product or service to know and obey the laws of their own country?

We need to get rid of the conservatives, and protect our citizens from over reaching American Law.

[Keepitsimple]

FTA Lawyer, I would assume from your handle that you represent the free to air satelite community or are a part of it in some way. I would advise you to take a closer look at the MLAT treaty and ask yourself how much protection you think the Conservatives would give to Canadians who get charged with FTA offences south of the border. I want to see the conservatives booted because I do not think they will protect Canadian interests when it comes to requests from Harper's buddies in the US.

For example, Marc Emery was operating a mail order Cannabis seed business in Canada for more than 10 years very openly with little to no hassle from the Canadian police or government. He sent every MP a copy of his magazine and seed catalogue, every issue. He paid nearly $500 000 in income tax and claimed "marijuana seed vendor" on his income tax forms. Health Canada refered their medical marijuana patients to Marc Emery's seed catalogue to get seed stock for their legal grows. The harshest punishment anyone in canada has ever gotten for selling pot seeds is a 200 dollar fine. Three years ago at the request of the DEA Marc Emery was arrested and is facing extradition to the USA where he has been labeled a "drug kingpin" solely for selling Cannabis seeds. If convicted he will likely get 30 years to life spending the rest of his life in a foreign prison. The consevatives are just fine with this kind of justice. They don't think our justice system deals with this "supposed" crime harshly enough so they are more than happy to see Marc rot in a US jail for the rest of his life. I think that if Marc has committed anything that we as Canadians deem worth prosecuting then we should try him ourselves in our own courts with a jury of his fellow CANADIAN citizens.

If we allow the conservatives to extradite Marc Emery who's next? Could it be Canadians who download music, or movies? Maybe the states will want to extradite folks with a viewsat, coolsat, sonicview etc that has been updated with a bin file capable of recieving a dishnetwork signal? In fact if we want to make the comparison more exact, lets say a Canadian is running a website in Canada, and posting these FTA fles on his or her website. So if an American downloads the file and illegally uses it to recieve a bellexpressvu or dishnetwork satelite signal, what party do you think is most likely to allow the US to extradite that website owning Canadian?

Should we allow our government to send our citizens away to foriegn lands where they face a much stiffer punishment than they would in their homeland? In the age of the internet and the global market should vendors be required to know and obey the laws of all other countries that may place an order with them, or should it be up the the person ordering the product or service to know and obey the laws of their own country?

We need to get rid of the conservatives, and protect our citizens from over reaching American Law.

Dr. Greenthumb, you have obviously been drinking some of the Liberals' "Scary, Scary" cool-aid. First of all, Marc Emery was arrested when the Liberals were in power - so I guess by your logic the DEA were Paul Martin's "buddies"......but more importantly, extradition is done under the scrutiny of the Canadian Courts - and can be appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. Remember all the ka-fuffle about Karlheinz Schrieiber and how the Conservatives would not interfere with the courts with rergards to his extradition? Well, it's the same here - the courts will determine whether the extradition request from the US is reasonable. For your information, the extradition hearing is scheduled to start on January 21st so stay tuned. It would appear to me that the Courts may very well rule that he would face cruel and unusual punishment for something that was deemed legal in Canada. Now....having said all this, I hope you watched the entire Mansbridge interview that I originally posted - the intent of this thread was to give people a first-hand, unedited look at how directly Harper answers questions - what you see is what you get.

Here is a link to a description of the Extradition process: http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/fs/2003/doc_30902.html

Edited January 13, 2008 by Keepitsimple

[Michael Bluth]

I missed the interview with Harper and am glad his quality to talk straight came through.

I concur with your remark, agree or disagree with the man, a politician who answers questions directly instead of evading is a rare thing.

It isn't easy to answer a question with a direct answer while ensuring you get across the message you want to get a cross and portraying yourself in the best possible light.

Some politicians are naturally gifted at this: Brian Mulroney, Pierre Trudeau, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan.

Some aren't naturally gifted but learn the necessary skills: Stephen Harper, Jean Chretien, Richard Nixon.

Some aren't naturally gifted, never learn the necessary skills and are failures as a result: Stock Day, Kim Campbell, Al Gore.

Stephane Dion is not naturally gifted at communicating and hasn't learned the skills yet. If he can change his style enough to win the next election he can move up to the second level. Only time will tell...

[Pliny]

FTA Lawyer, I would assume from your handle that you represent the free to air satelite community or are a part of it in some way. I would advise you to take a closer look at the MLAT treaty and ask yourself how much protection you think the Conservatives would give to Canadians who get charged with FTA offences south of the border. I want to see the conservatives booted because I do not think they will protect Canadian interests when it comes to requests from Harper's buddies in the US.

For example, Marc Emery was operating a mail order Cannabis seed business in Canada for more than 10 years very openly with little to no hassle from the Canadian police or government. He sent every MP a copy of his magazine and seed catalogue, every issue. He paid nearly $500 000 in income tax and claimed "marijuana seed vendor" on his income tax forms. Health Canada refered their medical marijuana patients to Marc Emery's seed catalogue to get seed stock for their legal grows. The harshest punishment anyone in canada has ever gotten for selling pot seeds is a 200 dollar fine. Three years ago at the request of the DEA Marc Emery was arrested and is facing extradition to the USA where he has been labeled a "drug kingpin" solely for selling Cannabis seeds. If convicted he will likely get 30 years to life spending the rest of his life in a foreign prison. The consevatives are just fine with this kind of justice. They don't think our justice system deals with this "supposed" crime harshly enough so they are more than happy to see Marc rot in a US jail for the rest of his life. I think that if Marc has committed anything that we as Canadians deem worth prosecuting then we should try him ourselves in our own courts with a jury of his fellow CANADIAN citizens.

If we allow the conservatives to extradite Marc Emery who's next? Could it be Canadians who download music, or movies? Maybe the states will want to extradite folks with a viewsat, coolsat, sonicview etc that has been updated with a bin file capable of recieving a dishnetwork signal? In fact if we want to make the comparison more exact, lets say a Canadian is running a website in Canada, and posting these FTA fles on his or her website. So if an American downloads the file and illegally uses it to recieve a bellexpressvu or dishnetwork satelite signal, what party do you think is most likely to allow the US to extradite that website owning Canadian?

Should we allow our government to send our citizens away to foriegn lands where they face a much stiffer punishment than they would in their homeland? In the age of the internet and the global market should vendors be required to know and obey the laws of all other countries that may place an order with them, or should it be up the the person ordering the product or service to know and obey the laws of their own country?

We need to get rid of the conservatives, and protect our citizens from over reaching American Law.

So....you're telling me you didn't get a Christmas Wreath?

[capricorn]

Stephane Dion is not naturally gifted at communicating and hasn't learned the skills yet. If he can change his style enough to win the next election he can move up to the second level. Only time will tell...

I am a French speaking bilingual Canadian. When Dion speaks English I can barely make out what he is trying to say. When he speaks French, I don't feel he is communicating his ideas in a manner for the common people to grasp. Add to this that he appears professorial and the result is disastrous from a public relations viewpoint. So in my view, at this time he has problems communicating in both French and English.

It takes a lifetime to be able to communicate in English and in French comfortably. I think in hindsight he probably wished he had taken all his studies in Canada. The influence of his years of education in France is coming through to his disadvantage.

[FTA Lawyer]

FTA Lawyer, I would assume from your handle that you represent the free to air satelite community or are a part of it in some way. I would advise you to take a closer look at the MLAT treaty and ask yourself how much protection you think the Conservatives would give to Canadians who get charged with FTA offences south of the border. I want to see the conservatives booted because I do not think they will protect Canadian interests when it comes to requests from Harper's buddies in the US.

For example, Marc Emery was operating a mail order Cannabis seed business in Canada for more than 10 years very openly with little to no hassle from the Canadian police or government. He sent every MP a copy of his magazine and seed catalogue, every issue. He paid nearly $500 000 in income tax and claimed "marijuana seed vendor" on his income tax forms. Health Canada refered their medical marijuana patients to Marc Emery's seed catalogue to get seed stock for their legal grows. The harshest punishment anyone in canada has ever gotten for selling pot seeds is a 200 dollar fine. Three years ago at the request of the DEA Marc Emery was arrested and is facing extradition to the USA where he has been labeled a "drug kingpin" solely for selling Cannabis seeds. If convicted he will likely get 30 years to life spending the rest of his life in a foreign prison. The consevatives are just fine with this kind of justice. They don't think our justice system deals with this "supposed" crime harshly enough so they are more than happy to see Marc rot in a US jail for the rest of his life. I think that if Marc has committed anything that we as Canadians deem worth prosecuting then we should try him ourselves in our own courts with a jury of his fellow CANADIAN citizens.

If we allow the conservatives to extradite Marc Emery who's next? Could it be Canadians who download music, or movies? Maybe the states will want to extradite folks with a viewsat, coolsat, sonicview etc that has been updated with a bin file capable of recieving a dishnetwork signal? In fact if we want to make the comparison more exact, lets say a Canadian is running a website in Canada, and posting these FTA fles on his or her website. So if an American downloads the file and illegally uses it to recieve a bellexpressvu or dishnetwork satelite signal, what party do you think is most likely to allow the US to extradite that website owning Canadian?

Should we allow our government to send our citizens away to foriegn lands where they face a much stiffer punishment than they would in their homeland? In the age of the internet and the global market should vendors be required to know and obey the laws of all other countries that may place an order with them, or should it be up the the person ordering the product or service to know and obey the laws of their own country?

We need to get rid of the conservatives, and protect our citizens from over reaching American Law.

FTA = Fair Trading Act...Alberta consumer protection legislation. I have no clue about satellite treaties.

What does this and Marc Emery have to do with this thread anyway?

FTA

[Pliny]

FTA = Fair Trading Act...Alberta consumer protection legislation. I have no clue about satellite treaties.

What does this and Marc Emery have to do with this thread anyway?

FTA

He is telling you he didn't get a Christmas wreath, I think?

[sideshow]

I didn't watch the video (couldn't be bothered) but I think Harper is a bit more of an up front kind of politician then some. I'm not a conservative fan for the most part, but you have to give kudos to Harper for keeping the minority government together this long, both his own camp (which seems to be harder for the parties then anything else) and the other camps.

I personally hope the minority government stays the way it is till oct. 09, and if we had another minority just like this one, i would be extremely happy. Because I think that the parties are making parliament work very well at the moment, and I like the things that I am seeing.

[DrGreenthumb]

I won't be happy until every one of these conservatives is sent packin back to the stone age, they'll be happier there anyway, that's where all their ideas come from.

[FTA Lawyer]

I won't be happy until every one of these conservatives is sent packin back to the stone age, they'll be happier there anyway, that's where all their ideas come from.

If you want to make a point that is even remotely valid, pull one quote from the Prime Minister during his interview with Mr. Mansbridge and explain here how it is representative of an idea from the stone-age.

Maybe you can, but I won't hold my breath for your intellectual and analytical post.

FTA

[Cameron]

DrGreenThumb. You are the one that is living the the stone age with comments like that. I'm a conservative member and you don't even know me, so how the hell do you know what my ideas and value are?

Edited January 16, 2008 by Cameron

[August1991]

FTA = Fair Trading Act...Alberta consumer protection legislation. I have no clue about satellite treaties.

And all this time, I thought your sobriquet referred to the Free Trade Agreement (although what that had to do with an Albertan lawyer was never clear to me... )

Fair Trading Act? Consumer legislation? Isn't that a (Canadian) step away from ambulance chasing? I mean, does such legislation really protect consumers? I can argue that it merely creates a barrier to entry, gives existing businesses an advantage, provides a wasteful prize for the litigious, makes lawyers rich and ultimately impoverishes us all by making innovation difficult. Consumer protection legislation is every thing wrong with modern government. It provides a short term solution and the illusion of protection. In the long run, it's a disaster.

Consumer protection legislation is like human rights legislation. They are both products of the 1960s and they won't last beyond this century, if the next decade or two.

----

Sorry for the hijacking. Back to the thread topic.

I watched the start of the video but stopped about half way in. In fact, I dozed off in front of the monitor. He may be honest but Harper is as boring as Mansbridge. Harper's not *scary*. He's *soporific*.

Edited January 16, 2008 by August1991

[DrGreenthumb]

DrGreenThumb. You are the one that is living the the stone age with comments like that. I'm a conservative member and you don't even know me, so how the hell do you know what my ideas and value are?

You have just self-identified as a conservative. Now if you also admit to likeing Harper, that puts you in the "father knows best", authoritarian conservative mindset, and your ideas are stone age. Don't worry, if you are conservative you probably don't even believe in the stone age. The world is only 6000 years old and God created it it 7 days exactly how it is remember? Are you forgetting your sunday school classes? Maybe pastor stockwell can refresh your memory.

Now go back to talking about the mansbridge interview and how "non-scarey" your authoritarian dictator is, ok? I only came into this thread because I mistakenly thought FTA lawyer was a "Free To Air" Lawyer, and wanted his opinion on how the Emery case could affect other possible extraditions in the future.

[White Doors]

You have just self-identified as a conservative. Now if you also admit to likeing Harper, that puts you in the "father knows best", authoritarian conservative mindset, and your ideas are stone age. Don't worry, if you are conservative you probably don't even believe in the stone age. The world is only 6000 years old and God created it it 7 days exactly how it is remember? Are you forgetting your sunday school classes? Maybe pastor stockwell can refresh your memory.

Wow. Did your conservative parents abuse you too?

Why the hatred for all things conservative?

[DrGreenthumb]

My parents were "progressive' conservatives, and wonderful people, who raised me with a profound sense of justice. When the progressive conservatives disapeared and were replaced by the authoritarian party now calling themselves the conservative party, none of us had any use for them anymore. My dad was good friends with a Polish immigrant who had tatoos given to him in the nazi prison camps. We are probably more sensitive than some to the signs of a fascist government bent on imposing their moral views on the rest of society. It is very easy for us to draw paralells between this government's policies and those of pre-war nazi Germany. People should not fear their government, the government should fear the people. The conservatives are liars and hypocrites, not that unusual for politicians, but when combined with an authoritarian agenda, it makes them the worst choice for freedom loving Canadians.

[White Doors]

My parents were "progressive' conservatives, and wonderful people, who raised me with a profound sense of justice. When the progressive conservatives disapeared and were replaced by the authoritarian party now calling themselves the conservative party, none of us had any use for them anymore. My dad was good friends with a Polish immigrant who had tatoos given to him in the nazi prison camps. We are probably more sensitive than some to the signs of a fascist government bent on imposing their moral views on the rest of society. It is very easy for us to draw paralells between this government's policies and those of pre-war nazi Germany. People should not fear their government, the government should fear the people. The conservatives are liars and hypocrites, not that unusual for politicians, but when combined with an authoritarian agenda, it makes them the worst choice for freedom loving Canadians.

I see.. Kind of ironic that the jewish vote is leaving the liberals and going to the conservatives if this were actually true, don't you think?

I think the jews would have a better idea of what pre-war Germany was like.

If you want to see that kind of anti-semitism though, one need to travel to today's middle east.

The same place that your 'progressive' masters would have us cower to and 'negotiate' with.

Isn't it Ironic? - Allanis Morisette

[FTA Lawyer]

And all this time, I thought your sobriquet referred to the Free Trade Agreement (although what that had to do with an Albertan lawyer was never clear to me... )

Fair Trading Act? Consumer legislation? Isn't that a (Canadian) step away from ambulance chasing? I mean, does such legislation really protect consumers? I can argue that it merely creates a barrier to entry, gives existing businesses an advantage, provides a wasteful prize for the litigious, makes lawyers rich and ultimately impoverishes us all by making innovation difficult. Consumer protection legislation is every thing wrong with modern government. It provides a short term solution and the illusion of protection. In the long run, it's a disaster.

Consumer protection legislation is like human rights legislation. They are both products of the 1960s and they won't last beyond this century, if the next decade or two.

----

Sorry for the hijacking. Back to the thread topic.

I watched the start of the video but stopped about half way in. In fact, I dozed off in front of the monitor. He may be honest but Harper is as boring as Mansbridge. Harper's not *scary*. He's *soporific*.

Lucky for me, I defend people and companies that have been charged with offences under the FTA...and I tend to agree with your analysis of the legislation. I tried to build a blog about the act as a marketing tool, but there was simply little business generated by it, so I stopped spending time on it. When I signed up to this board, I was still actively posting on the blog, so I just picked FTA Lawyer as my handle...and wouldn't want to change my identity now!

For a look at how critical I was of the Alberta Government re: the FTA check out the blog site...it still exists:

FTA Blog

FTA

P.S. I never claimed Harper's interview was entertaining...