Harper is a travelling man

[Topaz]

The latest report says the PM has been on 50 odd trips to sell his programs and that it cost of $500,000. Perhaps Harper should change the song 'Help from my friends" to "I'm a travelling man"! I really think this is over doing it and I think there should be a limit of how many times a PM or minister can get on the government plane and fly on taxpayers dollar. If the Tory have so much money I'm sure they can afford it. I think Sheila Fraser should really check every dollar these guys spend! http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100523/national/harper_stimulus_flights

[scribblet]

Do we have any comparisons to other PMs ? He is doing a pretty good job of raising Canada's profile favourably, travelling to help out Canada isn't all that bad.

[Topaz]

Do we have any comparisons to other PMs ? He is doing a pretty good job of raising Canada's profile favourably, travelling to help out Canada isn't all that bad.

No I don't unfortunately, but as far as helping the jobless people, there still more than 500,000 unemployed and those stimulus jobs are only short term. Canada's profile was excellent before Harper got to the PMO but now, the environmental issues are dragging them down world wise. Don't the politicans know, especially, the seating government, people are hurting, most of running out of EI and welfare is their only survival especially people over 50!!!

[Smallc]

No I don't unfortunately, but as far as helping the jobless people, there still more than 500,000 unemployed and those stimulus jobs are only short term

And we've regained almost all employment that was lost.... The sky isn't falling, and being PM involves a great deal of travel.

[margrace]

And we've regained almost all employment that was lost.... The sky isn't falling, and being PM involves a great deal of travel.

Oh no we haven't, everytime they announce an increase in jobs, especially the last go roung, half of them are part time. You also fail to mention that the jobs lost were high paying jobs a lot of the new ones are minimum wage. We need some honesty about these figures. Just come to our small towns and see the homes for sale and the people looking for work.

[Smallc]

On the other hand, just come to the city. In many, there is a shortage of workers....and yes, we have regained almost the same employment. The jobs might not yet be as good, but whether or not the Prime Minister ravels is irrelevant to that.

Edited May 23, 2010 by Smallc

[margrace]

So you believe a part time minimum wage job will support a family and pay the mortgage?

[Smallc]

So you believe a part time minimum wage job will support a family and pay the mortgage?

There is employment to be had, and high paying employment....but yes, I know people who live on near minimum wage with children. It simply means that hard, sometimes unpleasant choices need to be made......all of which is irrelevant to how much Harper travels.

I think though, you may want to actually check on some of the figures before you talk about all of the jobs being part time and for low pay:

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id38939

[Bonam]

Increased demand for aviation generates many high paying job in the aerospace sector. If anything, politicians flying around a lot is just another form of stimulus.

[Shady]

So you believe a part time minimum wage job will support a family and pay the mortgage?

Prime Ministers don't create jobs. Businesses do. Have some patience. The recession is barely over. Jobs always lag behind. Always have.

[Smallc]

Prime Ministers don't create jobs. Businesses do. Have some patience. The recession is barely over. Jobs always lag behind. Always have.

Except when Obama's in charge....then there's no excuse....

[Argus]

The latest report says the PM has been on 50 odd trips to sell his programs and that it cost of $500,000. Perhaps Harper should change the song 'Help from my friends" to "I'm a travelling man"! I really think this is over doing it and I think there should be a limit of how many times a PM or minister can get on the government plane and fly on taxpayers dollar. If the Tory have so much money I'm sure they can afford it. I think Sheila Fraser should really check every dollar these guys spend! http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100523/national/harper_stimulus_flights

Harper travels on business. As I recall, Chretien was famous, no, infamous for his international trips, very little of which had a lot to do with government business. The man took about a dozen holidays a year, and was so determined his skiing or sunbathing wouldn't be thrown behind schedule he insisted that in addition to his regular jet a backup jet travel right behind him just in case the first one had any kind of mechanical difficulties.

I bet you didn't complain about it, though.

[normanchateau]

Do we have any comparisons to other PMs ? He is doing a pretty good job of raising Canada's profile favourably, travelling to help out Canada isn't all that bad.

Raising Canada's profile favourably?

Long-term tracking of how Canada is viewed by citizens of other nations shows a decline from 2005 to 2006, a rise from 2006 to 2009, and a decline from 2009 to 2010. Canada is viewed less favourably in 2010

than it was in 2005. In 2010, Americans viewed Canada 15% less positively than they did in 2009:

http://canadasworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/why-does-the-world-view-canada-more-negatively/

[Shady]

Except when Obama's in charge....then there's no excuse....

Nope, even in Obama's case. However, he'd find things go a lot smoother when you're not suffocating the private sector. And it also helps, that if you borrow a trillion dollars to so-called stimulate the economy. Set it up properly. Oh well.

[Keepitsimple]

There will always be partisan distrust and distaste for Harper and the Conservatives - very similar to the distrust and distaste for Chretien - and Mulroney - and Trudeau. But we should never underestimate how deadly this recession has been and the extraordinary measures that had to be taken around the world - and here in Canada. When times are as tough as they have been - tougher than for generations - Canadians are looking for action, for confidence, and for hope.....and just like sports teams have local writers than build them up, cheerleaders to cheer them on, and sports pshychologists to keep their heads straight....we needed our government to build our confidence, to show us they were serious and working hard on a solution, to cheer us on - to give us hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. In many ways, that's what the Canada's Action Plan "hype" was all about - and that's what Harper's travel was largely about. I would have expected nothing less from the Liberals - and yes, they would have taken some sort of political advantage of it - and I would be complaining. But that's politics.

[scribblet]

Canada has weathered the recession better than most countries, we are in a much better stronger position also.

Some people's partisan and ideological hatred for Harper destroys their vision, to say the least.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/126116/canada-places-first-image-contest-iran-last.aspx

Canada retained its top position in Gallup's annual country ratings.

http://www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-05-06/huge-international-bbc-poll-has-israel-19-favorable-opinion-germany-most-beloved-country/

According to the poll, the most favorable viewed countries are Germany (59%), Japan (53%), Britain (52%), Canada (51%), and France (49%).

[normanchateau]

http://www.israeli-occupation.org/2010-05-06/huge-international-bbc-poll-has-israel-19-favorable-opinion-germany-most-beloved-country/

According to the poll, the most favorable viewed countries are Germany (59%), Japan (53%), Britain (52%), Canada (51%), and France (49%).

The above is a 2010 BBC poll. It's exactly the same poll below that showed a significant decline of 15% from 2009 to 2010 in how Canada is viewed by the international community.

http://canadasworld.wordpress.com/2010/04/24/why-does-the-world-view-canada-more-negatively/

I challenge you to solve the following mathematical problem. If Canada had a 15% decline in favourability from 2009 to 2010 and has a 51% favourability score in 2010, what was the % favourability in 2009?

[Topaz]

And we've regained almost all employment that was lost.... The sky isn't falling, and being PM involves a great deal of travel.

Sorry and can't agree with you and the people whose EI is coming to end won't either. Perhaps the province of Manitoba is doing well, but here in Ontario it isn't and there are parts of the province worse than others.

[Topaz]

Prime Ministers don't create jobs. Businesses do. Have some patience. The recession is barely over. Jobs always lag behind. Always have.

You say PM's don't create jobs but isn't that the reason Harper is flying around? I do know that PM's and government do take away jobs by their actions or non-actions and I can see the same thing is going to happpen in Canada as in the US with the tea partyers. There a lot of people hurting and we see waste at every level of governments and we see these politicans going off spending our tax dollars. These politicans never have to worry about making ends meet, never have to worry about about being able to bury their spouse or themselves. We should all become politicans and share the wealth.

[Topaz]

Harper travels on business. As I recall, Chretien was famous, no, infamous for his international trips, very little of which had a lot to do with government business. The man took about a dozen holidays a year, and was so determined his skiing or sunbathing wouldn't be thrown behind schedule he insisted that in addition to his regular jet a backup jet travel right behind him just in case the first one had any kind of mechanical difficulties.

I bet you didn't complain about it, though.

That was then and this is now and two wrongs don't make a right!I have always complained about spending by government but I wasn't on this forum then, so how would you know if I did or not?

[normanchateau]

That was then and this is now and two wrongs don't make a right!

If you're a Harper supporter, two wrongs do make a right as long as Harper is responsible for one of the wrongs.

In 2006, 2007 and 2008, before we were even into the global recession, Harper increased government spending more than any Prime Minister in the history of Canada. Apparently spending like a drunken sailor can be justified by Conservatives since it was Harper who did it. Ironically, Harper supporters even give him credit for how well Canada has done relative to other G-8 nations, conveniently forgetting that Harper inherited a balanced budget.

I wonder how many of them remember where Canada stood relative to other G-8 nations before Harper was elected:

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/10605/art-2-chart-a.gif

[dre]

What does the fact that the recession didnt hit us as hard as it hit some others have to do with Harper?

Canada was not hit as hard because we have had better banking practices for nearly 30 years, and most of the institutions that do investment banking in Canada have other activities to fall back on, and there isnt anywhere near as many dangerous credit products in our financial system.

If there had been companies like CountryWide up here giving 400 000 thousand dollar mortgages to people that make $15 bux an hour we be up to our necks in shit too!

[normanchateau]

What does the fact that the recession didn't hit us as hard as it hit some others have to do with Harper?

Absolutely nothing! I suspect that even Harper and his more intelligent supporters know this. However, they are counting on the media, increasingly in the hands of Conservative supporters, to send out to ill-informed voters the blatant lie that Harper is responsible for Canada's economic standing. When was the last time that you heard the media remind Canadians that Canada lead all G-8 nations on economic indices in 2005? 2000-2004?

[Smallc]

Sorry and can't agree with you and the people whose EI is coming to end won't either. Perhaps the province of Manitoba is doing well, but here in Ontario it isn't and there are parts of the province worse than others.

Ontario is in fact doing very well, and will grow above the national average this year. Manitoba will grow below the national average, but is still doing well.

[margrace]

Ontario is in fact doing very well, and will grow above the national average this year. Manitoba will grow below the national average, but is still doing well.

And of course that is why the use of food banks has increased substantially. Ours went up nearly 30%, no jobs.