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Canadian Federal Elections 2011 - Official Thread (pg. 12)
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| I heard Harper ate a baby right after the debate. |
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| daves |
The way Harper almost never turned away from staring at the Camera, it both looked like disrespect towards the others as well as seeming like his responses were coming from a teleprompter.
I think Bob Rae would have been better the Ignatieff, but I imagine too much fear of backlash in Ontario.
The fact that Harper keeps saying they didn't want an election while at the same time they have had Iggy attack ads running since December or so is yet more example of the hypocrisy.
The Conservatives need to burn until the Harper culture/faction disappears. |
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| ~C~ |
| quote: | Originally posted by Tordan
Harper's fake calmness freaks me out. He's like a void where passion has gone to die. At least Iggy is making an effort to show some emotion and is doing a lot better than when he first started. |
I agree.
I was watching the debate online, and every time Harper was talking, I had to minimize the window. I couldn't even watch him. I don't know if it's smugness, or what, but just looking at him makes me squeamish. He def. shows little to no emotion when he speaks. He just comes across as insincere and indifferent.
I thought Iggy did quite well! The Liberals still have my vote. I usually vote Green (my dad used to be a member of the Green Party), but I'm terrified of a Conservative majority, and I think the best way to stop that from happening is to vote Liberal, or NDP. After that debate, I have more confidence in Iggy, he handled himself really well imo. |
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| Yohan |
Man, Iggy sounds like a boring prof
Though I'm amazed at the sheer hatred some of you have towards the party leaders. It's like they personally took a shat on your face
Wish the Rhino party or the Pirate Party had a candidate in my riding :( |
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| daves |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
I'm amazed at the sheer hatred some of you have towards the party leaders. It's like they personally took a shat on your face
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I don't like Iggy all that much - but Harper looks downright dangerous for this country... and comes across as soulless.
They spent months with this garbagy "Ignatieff - he isn't in it for you." attack ads which were totally uncalled for, well before the election was triggered.
Iggy isn't all that bad.
Not yet convinced that he is the ideal leader, but definitely a far cry from the ideologue Harper conservative faction, which scares the out of me in terms of what they would do with a majority.
He showed some emotion tonight, like he actually gives a ... that sort of thing can be coached of course, but for god's sake he didn't look like his responses to everything were teleprompter drivel! |
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| Moral Hazard |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
I don't know if deflecting questions is the best way to win a debate....which is basically all harper did. |
It's front runner strategy. When you're leading the best thing to do is say as little of substance as you can so that you don't trip yourself up. Just stick to the easily acceptable and television news friendly platitudes that everyone has already grown acustom to hearing. This is what Ford did in Toronto (gravey train, gravey train, gravey train) and it works great. When you're winning your best bet is to hold onto the votes you have... the best way to do that is not say something stupid. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jer
I'm offended that I'm being told that a vote going anywhere other than the Liberals or Conservatives is a waste.
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If you are an undecided voter then the reality is a vote for anyone other then the liberals or conservatives is pretty much a waste. The NDP doesn't stand a chance of gaining enough seats. If someone truly wants to stop this continuation of minority governments then one needs to choose from the big two. |
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| nacarter |
Generally, it's pretty hard for the PM to win one of these debates because you know they're going to spend the whole night on defence. I think you could argue that Harper "won" last night because nobody hit a home run. Harper looked absolutely brutal dodging the scandals that have plagued the party in the last couple of months. It totally comes across as "scandals only matter when they happen to the opposition". The big loss for the opposition leaders was not hammering Harper when he tried to assert that the "experts" have verified all of his numbers. Sorry, but a large number of experts think your numbers on the F-35 program are low-balled for the purpose of an election campaign.
Ignatieff was doing alright until Layton blasted him on his attendance in parliament. It was a fair shot, and Ignatieff was completely unprepared. The opposition leaders as a whole are right: This election is about a choice in priorities. Anybody who believes Harper when he says you can have a little bit of everything should not be allowed anywhere near other people's money. The cash for tax breaks is going to have to come from somewhere, and if there isn't going to cuts to the military or prisons, what does that leave? Immigration services, education, health care... you know, those things that Canadians use on a daily basis. Bush tried the same philosophy for 8 years, and we've seen how well that worked out. |
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| SPANIARD |
"I don't know why we need to open up new jails when the crook is happy in the senate."
Game,set,match to Mr.Layton. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by SPANIARD
"I don't know why we need to open up new jails when the crook is happy in the senate."
Game,set,match to Mr.Layton. |
Layton did have some good one liners |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Conservatives fattened salaries of aides: report
The Canadian Press
Posted: Apr 12, 2011 5:55 PM ET
Last Updated: Apr 12, 2011 11:55 PM ET
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Newly released documents suggest the Conservative government fattened the pay of some political staffers while the country was tackling an economic crisis in 2009.
In one case, a senior aide's salary was raised to $190,000 — $35,000 more than the maximum rate.
News of those bonuses comes two days after The Canadian Press revealed that, in the future, more staffers will become eligible for an increase in salary and separation benefits thanks to guidelines enacted this month.
The Treasury Board Secretariat, which oversees federal human-resources management, says in its guidelines for political staff that paying more than the maximum in a salary range should be a rare occurrence.
Two years ago, those maximum rates were $121,000 for chiefs of staff to ministers of state, and $155,600 for a chief of staff to a full-fledged minister.
"As a general rule, the maximum salary range is reserved for employees with a relevant professional qualification, 10 or more years' relevant prior employment experience, or extraordinary skills and qualifications," reads the document.
Paying someone more than the maximum would be an "exceptional circumstance," says the Treasury Board, and can only happen after consultation with the Prime Minister's Office.
But documents obtained under Access to Information legislation suggest it happened frequently.
After receiving a tip about the issue, The Canadian Press asked the Treasury Board to provide a summary of all instances where senior staff were paid more than the maximum salary rate.
The request specifically noted that names could be withheld, and did not ask for any additional documents.
The agency responded seven months later by withholding 50 pages of the summary, citing privacy issues and cabinet secrecy.
Following a complaint to the Information Commissioner, Treasury Board released the headings to one page of a summary table. But all other details were kept secret.
Only two salaries have been revealed from those documents: one for $190,000 and the other for $124,000.
At the time those salary exceptions were being made, the government was churning out a stimulus program to help get Canada through the economic downturn.
A spokesman for Treasury Board President Stockwell Day echoed the department's guidelines on the matter, but did not answer specific questions about the salary bumps.
"Exemptions to salary maximums are only granted in exceptional circumstances," said Michael Mueller.
"All salary exemptions are approved by the Treasury Board in accordance with the Policies and Guidelines for Ministers' Offices."
Last week, the maximum salaries for political staff were increased.
That means a chief of staff to a senior minister can now earn up to $168,000 without an exception. A press secretary can make up to $102,000.
Since political staffers' salaries are to be tied to those of public servants, all those at the various AS-levels are in line for a wage increase of 1.75 per cent this year, 1.5 per cent in 2012 and two per cent in 2013 — in accordance with a new collective agreement for the civil service.
The Harper government also approved a 50 per cent increase in the maximum separation pay political aides can receive -- up to six months from four. That's on top of severance pay.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has warned of more belt tightening within the federal government, as it seeks $4 billion-a-year in savings in order to balance the budget by 2014-15. |
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| hardcore trancer |
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...r-photo-op?bn=1
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Conservative candidate asks for ‘ethnic costumes’ for Harper photo op
A Conservative candidate in the GTA is at the centre of a growing controversy after his office asked multicultural groups in the riding if they would like to wear “ethnic costumes” to a photo op with Stephen Harper.
The Star obtained an email sent by a campaign worker for Etobicoke Centre candidate Ted Opitz in which community groups are told Harper’s visit to the riding Thursday night creates a photo opportunity.
“We … are trying to create a photo-op about all the multicultural groups that support Ted Opitz our local Conservative candidate and the Prime Minister,” reads the email sent Tuesday night by Zeljko “Zed” Zidaric with the subject line: “Opportunity – Thursday night with the Prime Minister.”
“The opportunity is to have up to 20 people in national folklore costumes which represent their ethnic backgrounds. These people will sit in front row behind the PM – great TV photo op (sic).”
The email continues: “We are seeking representation from the Arab community. Do you have any cultural groups that would like to participate by having someone at the event in an ethnic costume? We are seeking one or two people from your community.”
In an email to the Star, Opitz said the message was sent by a campaign staffer without his knowledge.
“I do not support its characterization or intent,” Opitz said.
A spokesperson for the Conservative Party of Canada characterized the email as a “mistake.”
“It was a mistake sent out by a local campaign staff person,” said Ryan Sparrow. “The national campaign does not endorse this email and it is completely inappropriate.”
Opitz, a lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian military, is the senior regional advisor to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
It’s unknown how many recipients the email had, but it has already elicited reaction in ethnic communities.
Sukhminder Hansra, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Punjabi Daily newspaper, said he feels the email suggests the Conservatives are attempting to use different ethnic communities for political gain.
“If they’re going as far as bringing people in, asking them to dress certain ways for photo opportunities, that’s going a little bit too far,” Hansra told The Star. “It’s a major concern. The community is not there to be used for political gain. It’s as simple as that.”
Ironically, one of the recipients of the email was the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), a group singled out by Kenney in 2009 for what he called its “hateful sentiments” toward Israel and Jews. The immigration minister subsequently cut $1.2 million in funding for the Federation’s language and job search workshops for newcomers.
“To parade people from ethnic communities in traditional costumes is such a superficial way for the prime minister to serve his own interests without looking seriously at the issues which concern these communities,” said CAF president Khaled Mouammar. “It’s disgusting actually.”
Liberal Party multiculturalism critic Rob Oliphant characterized the email as an extension of the Conservatives’ “very ethnic” ridings strategy.
In early March, a funding request from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office detailing the party’s plan to target minorities through advertising in local media made headlines for its description of 10 ethnically diverse ridings — five of which are in the GTA. The document, entitled Breaking Through, Building the Conservative Brand, was written on Kenney’s MP letterhead and sought $200,000 in donations to target “very ethnic” ridings. The letter was made public after it was accidentally sent to NDP MP Linda Duncan. Kenney’s office apparently confused her with Conservative MP John Duncan.
Kenney later apologized, while the staffer responsible for the letter resigned.
“There is a kind of amateurish naivety to what the Conservatives are doing,” Oliphant said. “When I read this email from Optiz’s office, it sounded like a costume party. It sounded closer to Halloween than to a federal election. People don’t wear costumes, they wear clothes.”
“For someone to be inviting people to dress up for the prime minister in an ethnic costume for a photo op is the height of patronizing, pandering and belittling the contributions of new Canadians.”
But the email isn’t the first time during the election the Conservatives’ tactics to court votes has raised the ire of opposition parties.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff chastised Harper for referring to immigrants as “you people, you people who come from other lands” during a rally in Mississauga, Ont., last month.
“What an unbelievable way to talk about the Canadian people,” Ignatieff told a crowd of Liberal supporters during a campaign event in Toronto. “We have got to put an end to the language of divisions.”
Hansra said it is too early to judge how publicity surrounding the controversial email from Opitz’s office would affect Conservative support in Toronto’s South Asian community. He said Harper’s three visits to Brampton since the writ was dropped have helped the party brand.
“We just have to see how the campaign unfolds,” he said.
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Keep up the good work Conservatives.:rolleyes: |
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