Like dipping a single toe into the lake from the dock before jumping in, Ruth-Ellen Brosseau robocalled her constituents yesterday. It was the first thing she has done to earn their trust as their MP since filling out (in whole or part) of her nomination papers. For many on Pro
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Right of Center Ice: Confessions of an Election Hawk and Red Tory
I’ll confess it. I’ll admit it and put it on my sleeve. I was one of the election hawks in March. I did not get the government I voted for, nor the representative, but I got the men and women I deserve. A right wing neoconservative majority that effectively and
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: He’d throw Canada under the bus too
He ordered the ejection of Bill Casey. Garth Turner. Helena Guergis. He sent Shelly Glover to throw Tom Flanagan under the bus. Pat Strogan, fired. Munir Sheikh, resigned on principle. Students ejected by the RCMP on CPC orders from Harper rallies after being Facebook checked. *** If you thought for
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: G&M on Ignatieff: Energy and urgency. He was hot.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was fiery on tonight’s national leaders debate. He covered every topic under the sun and reminded Canadians exactly why we are having this election. There were a few stumbles, these debates are never perfect. But he was on point when he needed to be and nailed
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: A Letter to Mr. Ignatieff: It’s time to get personal against attack ads
Mr. Ignatieff, On the Liberal campaign trail in Winnipeg there is one thing that we are hearing consistently: Canadians are sick and tired of attack ads. They hate them. It disrupts governance, creates an atmosphere of constant electioneering, and is just plain un-Canadian. And yet, they persist through this election.
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Harper Party announces 2011 platform release date
For 2015-2016 if the budget is balanced. Maybe. Meanwhile, Michael Ignatieff and his Liberal team have put together a platform for families that aims to strengthen Canada through investment, education, and responsible government. Meanwhile in Winnipeg South Centre, Harper Party candidate Joyce Bateman has decided to bite the hand that
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: I cannot choose my coworkers…
And neither could Stephen Harper when the polls closed back in 2008. The parliament that was elected in 08 was the group he was given to work with. Many Conservatives joined him, but not so many that he didn’t need a little help from the other parties to get anything
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: 10 headlines capturing the "work" of the Harper Regime
The Globe and Mail has released a photo slide show titled “A look back at the biggest headlines from Canada’s 40th parliament” with 8 of the 10 headlines either critiquing or outright slamming the Harper Regime’s path of governance. The two exceptions? The first was the state of Jack Layton’s
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Would Harper prorogue parliament again?
A thought for progressives to discuss: Layton has two votes this week with one potentially mattering significantly more than the other. If Layton supports the budget on Thursday can he really vote alongside the expected Liberal non-confidence motion on Friday? He could certainly vote against an Opposition Day non-confidence motion,
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Attn Peter McKay: It’s too late to hype your "morals"
From the CBC — “Libyan mission a ‘moral duty,’ McKay says.” Well, that’s a relief. Just when I thought the Harper Government was devoid of morals, they put a mic in front of Progressive Conservative turncoat, Peter McKay, to talk about the morality of Canada’s decision to help enforce the
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Will the LPC respond?
Parliament resumes and the “we don’t want an election” rhetoric seems to have been dialed down as the NDP and CPC both release campaign-style ads aimed at convincing Canadians they have what it takes to lead this country. Meanwhile at Stornoway, crickets chirp. I’d like to think that the LPC
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Gun registry, bad. Kayak registry, good?
Hypocrisy, thy name is the Harper Party. The Transport Canada regulations, brought in last fall, will require everyone from professional outfitters to people leading recreational boat trips to fill out five separate forms, measure their boat and pay a $50 fee. Wow. If the long gun registry is rarely used,
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Corking popped CPC Champagne: EKOS reports reality
A week ago CPC drones were celebrating tantalizing poll numbers that put the Harper Party close to majority territory. Today, EKOS reports what I believe to be the reality on the ground. How does one party go from a 13 point lead to just under 5? Was it the shameful
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: How convenient…
Foreign hackers attack Canadian government websites. I seriously question the timing of this piece and the ReformaTory spokespeople who are at the forefront of this breaking news. A cyber attack on the very department that is “hard at work” on the up coming budget. If we go into a spring
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Liberal Party of Canada: it’s not about him
For all intents and purposes, my Saturday was supposed to be about relaxation. And it started out that way. I went out for breakfast, read the paper, got a haircut, came home around noon only to have it all go to hell. What happened? I logged onto Far and Wide.
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Mr. Speaker, a question for the honourable member…
…What does it cost? The Harper Party rebuttal: law and order is priceless! The logical follow up: Is knowing the price-tag on policies to incarcerate people for non-violent offences too much to ask for these days? The Harper Party rejoinder: YOU’RE SOFT ON CRIME!
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Private Bills from the gov’t that are not Government bills
We saw this tactic months ago when Candice Hoeppner tried to kill the long-gun registry through her “private member’s bill.” Since it worked so well, Harper is going to try it again. This time, with the Canadian Wheat Board. Bruce Stanton, MP for Simcoe North in southern Ontario, introduced a
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Of what value is Bernier to Harper?
Maybe Harper really is the master tactician that Flanagan and Levant swoon about. Maybe. After all, I cannot for the life of me figure out the value Bernier has to Harper and the CPC caucus in Quebec. Well, that’s not true, I have a loose hypothesis but I’m not really
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: He actually did what?!: Energizing politics and other unacceptable antics
Do not adjust your television set. We are firmly in pre-election mode. The majority of CPC talking-boxes may reject this claim (even though their own fund raising material say otherwise) but Peter MacKay isn’t going to dance to the party tune. Today while speaking to the media in Winnipeg, MacKay
Continue readingRight of Center Ice: Jack saw the high road and said, "Nah."
Today’s Winnipeg Free Press continued to follow the latest insanity rising from the Bloc Quebecois. Sidenote: Someone should pass a memo to Gilles reminding him that he represents the majority of Quebecois about as much as Harper represents the rest of Canada (38.1% and 37.6% respectively). My favourite part of
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