Canadian Election Watch - Day 30

One week to go and one more sleep until the Cons release their platform. It's like Xmas Eve except, this year, Santa's wearing a sweater vest and visions of sugraplums deficits are dancing in the kiddies' heads...and Santa's.

So, what is Santa Steve planning to do about the economic problems? Why do I get the feeling that either:

1) he knows and doesn't want to tell anybody

or

2) he has absolutely no idea because Bush/Paulson have been too busy to advise him.

Maybe I'm not sure because of news like this:

Earlier Monday, Harper said the government is considering "secondary" plans to stabilize the Canadian financial system. But within hours, his chief spokesman said the government wasn't planning any extraordinary measures.

Does that mean that if our economy starts dying, Steve will issue a do not resuscitate order? (Or will he page Bill Frist for a second opinion first?)

And, shouldn't we be a tad concerned that Steve's now channeling McCain and calling people "my friends" in his speeches? I'd say so.

In related news, the TSX dropped more than 1200 points and ended the day at -572 points on Monday while Harper played hide and seek with his party's policy. We're going to need more than some Santa dropping off gifts one nite of the year to fix the upcoming economic mess. A bespectacled, soft-bellied, invisible, jolly guy (who doesn't like to talk to the press) just won't cut it - and the latest polls show the Cons' support slipping. Andrew Coyne has the handy, colour-coded trend charts. It looks like there won't be a majority under Steve's tree Xmas morning.

Okay, enough of that metaphor...

The CBC has the opposition leaders' reactions to Steve's no man/country is an island day. (And can I just add that several countries actually are islands? Steve's geography grade - F)

Moving on, The Star has a great pic of the CAW "putting the boots to Flaherty" on Monday. More civil disobedience, more often!

Don Martin has a roundup of 10 incumbent MP seats that are "in deep doo doo". (Yes, he really did use those words in his headline. The story is in the National Post after all and you have to write for the intellectual capacity of your audience.)

Frankly, I think Canadians are tired of the bickering and worried about their economic futures - TD announced rate increases on Monday and the loonie and oil prices are dropping. Even if Dion hasn't sold his party's Green Shift plan, we do have a collective memory of the fact that Cons usually bring deficits at the federal level and Libs dig their way out of the mess they leave. We're not quite at that point but that may have an effect on your average voter's psyche if he or she isn't really paying attention beyond the gloom and doom economic headlines each day. And if voters are uncomfortable about the Liberals' "shift", they also have the NDP to choose from - which may explain the growing support for that party's platform. The Cons' little dribbles of inconsequential financial aid to Joe and Jane Canuck may not be enough to sustain that party's fortunes, such as they are, but leading a minority government is better than leading the opposition. And the Cons don't want to end up back in that position.

We'll see what kind of crap promises they fork over on Tuesday when they release their so-called platform full of promises they're sure to break anyway.

Related:

Why Stephen Harper is unfit to govern. (What he knew about this crisis and when he knew it.)
 
 

Write Your Own Caption

 

"I saw his nose. It growed this big!"

Photo credit: CP

Canadian Election Watch - Day 29

I'm taking the nite off. In the meantime, enjoy Air Farce's take on the economic meltdown.


And, from the irony file: Bank heist accused is investment firm VP
 

Sunday Food for Thought: Letting Go

 

So, the whole idea, you see, is that everything's falling apart, so don't try and stop it. When you're falling off a precipice, it doesn't do you any good to hang onto a rock that's falling with you. See? But everything is doing that. And so, again, this is another case of our completely wasting our energy in trying to prevent the world from falling apart. Don't do it. And then you'll be able to do something interesting with the free energy.

- Alan Watts (1915 - 1973)

Talking to the Taliban - 2008

It seems Peter MacKay now supports talking to the Taliban.

The Conservatives have softened their position on talking with the Taliban after a British general said that Western forces will never win against insurgents and negotiations may be necessary.

NDP Leader Jack Layton jumped on that Sunday, saying he was "heartened" by British Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith's comments to a London newspaper.

Later Sunday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the Conservatives would be "supportive of discussions" provided the talks were headed by the democratically elected Afghan government, and as long as the "terrorists" renounced violence.

Layton has said negotiations are necessary, but MacKay rejected that in the past. "We are not having direct discussions with terrorists. We won't, will not, that will not change," he said on May 4.

This is a complete reversal of the position the Cons have had for years.

As I noted in January, 2007:

During an October 2006 speech to the Canadian International Centre, Foreign Affairs minister Peter MacKay ridiculed NDP leader Jack Layton for suggesting talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. MacKay, spouting the popular right-wing talking point, said such talks would only embolden the terrorists. As I pointed out in this September 2006 post, NATO leaders were already holding secret talks with the Taliban in August 2006 according to the Globe and Mail.

And, who can forget when Veterans Affairs minister Greg Thompson called Layton "Taliban Jack"?

It is no secret that in military circles the leader of the NDP--and I have a base in my riding as members well know, Camp Gagetown, and I have met many of the military types across the country--is referred to as “Taliban Jack”. That tells it all. The NDP does not support our men and women in uniform and they know it. The NDP record is deplorable. Those members should be ashamed of themselves.

Call we call MacKay "Taliban Pete" now?

Related:

Afghan victory hopes played down

The UK's commander in Helmand has said Britain should not expect a "decisive military victory" in Afghanistan.

Brig Mark Carleton-Smith told the Sunday Times the aim of the mission was to ensure the Afghan army was able to manage the country on its own.

He said this could involve discussing security with the Taleban.

 

Canadian Election Watch - Day 28

Day 28 and no candidates from any of the parties have shown up at my door yet. The only flier in the mailbox so far was left by Conservative Deepak Obhrai's campaign. He'll win, no doubt, but can the other party candidates at least pretend that they're running against him? Can they at least try to be a bit more enthusiastic than my pathetic fellow Albertan voters?

Alrighty then. Getting on with it...

Steve, on Saturday:

The campaign is still "fluid," said Harper, although he declined to say why he believed that is so, whether economic developments have caused a volatility. He would say only it is because of the way "some of other parties are conducting their campaigns."

Nailing Jello™ - to the wall - again.

Harper admitted he had learned lessons from the 2004 and 2006 campaign, but wouldn't go into detail.

"Look, the biggest myth about '06 was that we did everything right, because we won, right. But we did some things wrong, but on that one, if you guys didn't figure them out, I'm not going to share them with you."

He said that "all wisdom" will emerge after it's over, but cautioned that myths based on factual inaccuracies about those campaigns have also "become entrenched."

"all wisdom"...I can't wait! (Is he forecasting Armageddon there or am I just being paranoid? Not to worry since I'll be Left Behind anyway and could use a car since I don't have one..."all wisdom"...how exciting...vote for Steve, The Oracle.)

Oh and apparently, according to Steve, Elizabeth May has had a sex change operation:

He said there will be lots he'll miss about politics. "I'll miss all of you, just as I've missed you this week," he said about the week where the debates interrupted the constant campaign tour. "Although I must say I enjoyed having those four guys yell at me this week."

I won't miss you one bit, Steve, so don't lose any sleep over that.

Moving right along, a fourth NDP candidate, Andrew McKeever, bites the dust. What a gem he was:

The Durham, Ont., candidate posted comments on Facebook calling one war activist a "fascist bitch" and threatening to beat up another person.
[...]
McKeever wrote comments peppered with expletives and calling the operators of a war-resister website "Nazis."
[...]
"I like the part in Schindler's List when the guard starts waxing the prisoners," he wrote.

Yet, when his writings were exposed last week, Layton kept him on. Why, exactly?

Stephane, Stephane, Stephane...

MISCOUCHE, P.E.I. — Stephane Dion is portraying Jack Layton as a far-left socialist as some polls show the NDP leader is on the verge of overtaking Mr. Dion's Liberals.

You're looking desperate...

Are we there yet?
 

Write Your Own Caption

 
One of these tools is not like the others...
 

Canadian Election Watch - Day 27

So, I kind of forgot last nite's election watch roundup since I had a busy nite watching the US and Canadian debates. Whoops.

As far as our debate went, stylistically, I think Layton - although he got in a few good zingers - really needs to learn how not to look like he's constantly starring in a teevee commercial. His posing for the camera was annoying. Gilles was Gilles. Elizabeth May was aggressive but held her own. Dion's English was okay. Having been raised in a household with 2 Quebecois parents, I have an easy time deciphering the h'accent (which I'm also fond of) so I can't judge how an average English-speaking canuck might have heard his performance. Steve - well, once again he had bad posture, tried to pretend he was Mr Low Key Non-threatening Guy and managed to control his temper (mostly).

Substance-wise, I think Steve was hammered on basically all of the issues by the rest of the leaders. His lack of a released platform left him with the basic Con talking points ie. tough on crime (jail the kids), trust us on the economy (even though it's tanking), we love teh public health care system (yeah, right), intensity targets good (grunt and a wink to his corporate petro-buddies) and nobody loves you like the Cons do (daddy Steve will save you all from the evil socialists and separatists).

All in all, it was a draw. But at least I understand the Green Shift better now so that's a plus for Dion (and May).

(I don't know what these wankers were watching.)

And can I just add my 2 cents about what an ugly, distracting table that was?



Anyway, another day, another plagiarism charge against Harper. (Who the hell would want to steal anything from Mike Harris??)

Paul Martin was in Calgary on Friday bravely going where (almost) no Liberal would dare to go by predicting, 'We will elect a Liberal government'. Who's this "we", Paul? Do you have worms?

It looks like Steve's majority may not be on the march according to a new Ipsos-Reid poll. I guess fewer Quebecois have chosen to greet him with flowers and candy so it looks like it won't be Mission Accomplished there. But polls are polls so stay tuned for new ones next week. This is almost over. 10 more days to go...
 

Quotes du Jour: The Canadian Economy

From the Toronto Star:

Today marked the end of a horrendous week for Canadian investors, who watched Toronto's benchmark index fall a total of 1,322.64 points or 11 per cent over five days of frantic trading.

And, if that isn't enough to prove that our economy is teetering, how about this news?

Investors pull billions from funds

Canadian investors, rattled by sinking stock markets and worried about the safety of their money market investments, yanked a whopping $4.6-billion from their mutual funds in September.

It marked the biggest month for net redemptions suffered by the domestic industry since the Investment Funds Institute of Canada began collecting data in 1990.
[...]
“A bubble has burst,” and investors fear that they are going to see a further deterioration of their savings, independent fund analyst Peter Loach said in an interview.

More on that bursting bubble:

Mortgage defaults on the increase

Real estate downturn hits homeowners and investors

Colette Derworiz, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, October 02, 2008

For years, bankruptcy trustees and credit counsellors in Calgary haven't had enough work.

But in the past couple of months, the workload has picked up as some Calgarians fall behind on their mounting debts and mortgage payments.

"We are seeing people now who are going into bankruptcy, walking away from properties that in the last . . . four years in Calgary has been very, very, very rare," said David Smith, a trustee in bankruptcy at Bromwich & Smith Inc. "Now it's becoming more common."

Here's further proof that all is not well in Texas North - the land of milk and honey oil.

So, what does Steve have to say about all of this?

Well...

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's prime minister accused the United States on Friday of panicking over the financial crisis and tried to assure nervous voters ahead of the Oct 14 general election there that is no need to worry about Canada's economy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose opponents regularly accuse him of being too close to President George W. Bush, said his Conservative government had avoided the mistakes made in the United States.

"If we don't panic here, we stick on course, we keep taking additional actions, make sure everything we do is affordable, we will emerge from this as strong as ever," he told a televised news conference in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Why does that remind me of you-know-who's "stay the course"?

I guess that's all we can know about the Conservative party's platform considering the fact that they haven't even released one yet. (As Jack Layton asked Steve during the debate last nite, Where's your platform, Mr Harper? Under your sweater?).

Apparently, there is a platform on the way next week (from Bush...or John Howard...or maybe Karl Rove). Maybe they'll pull a Hank Paulson and only make it 3 pages long (exceptionally arrogant power grabs included).

But, as Don Martin reminds Canadians:

Of course, no platform promise comes with a guaranteed delivery. An analysis of the 2006 Conservative platform showed barely half their promises were kept and, as a party holding a major policy convention next month to chart its future, everything they propose now seems subject to change by party members.

As he writes, these platforms are "usually not worth the paper they're written on". True, but we still expect them to thoroughly outline their lies before each election anyway.

Meanwhile, Flaherty is out there right now lying. (Maybe that is their platform since it so obviously was the last time around.)

Flaherty says bailout needed in U.S., not in Canada

He said Canada's banks are well-capitalized and within their statutory requirements, and households are "in much better shape" than their American counterparts.

Speaking in London, Ontario, he said Canadians are able to afford their mortgages, and he repeated assurances by Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney that there are few signs that banks are restricting credit to households and that there is no evidence that companies are facing unusual credit restrictions.

That's interesting, considering the Bank of Canada just pumped $12 billion into the system today.

In one swoop, Canada's central bank shoved another $12 billion into the country's financial system Friday, an increase of 150 per cent from previous injections.

The move means the Bank of Canada has boosted the extra dollars it has pumped into the Canadian economy from $8 billion to $20 billion.

"In light of persistent pressures in these markets, the bank announces additional steps to provide term liquidity through term purchase and resale agreements," said the central bank in a press release.

Then there's this: CIBC to use $1B Cerberus cash to stop mortgage writedowns. And this: Week ahead: Canada's labour market in for a body check.

You get the drift.

Pay no attention to the smiling man behind the sweater vest.

He and Flaherty - The Bubble Won't Burst Twins - don't want to be disturbed. They have an election to win.
 

Friday Fun: Steve & the ATM Baby