8 posts tagged “conservative party of canada”

Makes some very good points, and takes Heritage Minister James Moore to task.

Sudbury shows anger at CBC over nickel-and-diming in regions

An already cut-to-the-bone regional CBC outlet - so poor it has already lost most of its ability to travel in the north - is scheduled to lose eight of a very small staff in the cuts being ordered up to meet the broadcaster's financial shortfall.

Toronto's regional outlet, says the mayor, loses nothing by comparison.

"There's no sharing of the pain," Rodriquez says, "if that's what they have to do.

"Toronto is well served by radio stations, but up here it's what connects people from Timmins to Espanola. If there's any place in Canada that CBC is getting value for its money, it's Northern Ontario.

"But here they are, chipping away, chipping away..."

The irony has not been lost in this regional CBC operation, nor in others across the country, that the CBC is being forced to cut back services at precisely the same time that the private sector is bailing out of smaller commitments.

"And that," says Rodriguez, "is the whole point. You can't rely on the private sector. You have to have the government involved. Top management of the CBC is taking the first steps toward destroying all that the Broadcast Act stands for."

Lost in the wilderness for years, the Conservative Party of Canada's success can be largely attributed to the grass roots populist Reform movement started by Preston Manning (with a young Stephen Harper serving as the party's first formal director of policy.)

Part of this populism meant putting a lot of power into the hands of riding associations. These associations did fund raising, community activism and had virtual carte blanche to choose candidates.

Candidate races are good for attention, sometimes. They also provide an incentive for people to get involved. They also, over the years, became not much more than popularity contests: basically the candidate with the most friends would convince them all to sign up for a modest commitment of $10 or so, and in return he'd lock up the race. Great for fund raising, but not great for true involvement.

Everyone was subjected to this, current status notwithstanding. It meant that anti-choice candidates like Russ Hiebert could launch campaigns to unseat sitting MPs. These were ugly fights, and caused fissures in the party. They gave opposition candidates great fodder for critique.

It appears that Stephen Harper has abandoned his populist beliefs, and these ugly fights are no more. From now on, sitting MPs won't have to justify their seat to the local membership.

Conservative Party's plan to acclaim incumbent MPs draws criticism
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | 4:15 PM ET, CBC News

The federal Conservative Party is moving ahead with reforms to its process of nominating candidates for elections that will mean incumbent MPs won't have to fight for nominations in their ridings.

The proposal would declare incumbent MPs acclaimed as candidates in the next election unless two-thirds of members in their ridings ask for an open nomination contest.

read more...

I'm not sure when the Harper government is going to figure out that they need to have ideas instead of just taking everyone else down. This strategy--the only one Harper's strategist Doug Findlay officially opens up a clear path for Michael Ignatieff to walk to "24 Sussex Drive:google.

Ignatieff to be target of Conservative attack ads
Last Updated: Monday, March 2, 2009 | 11:29 AM ET

It appears Michael Ignatieff's brief honeymoon with the Tories is over.

The Conservatives are preparing a series of attack ads targeting the Liberal leader by going through hundreds of hours of video clips of his speeches and interviews, according to the Canadian Press.

They hope to glean more fodder for their campaign by mining a lifetime of Ignatieff's musings from his career as a public intellectual.

You can draw your own conclusions:

"PMO pressure contractor to remove 'xenophobic' jokes"http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080922.wbcsupplier22/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080922.wbcsupplier22
Military equipment supplier's website mocked Muslims, women, bilingualism
JOAN BRYDEN, The Canadian Press
September 22, 2008 at 4:49 AM EDT

OTTAWA -- A company that supplies knives, flashlights and other equipment to the Canadian Forces referred to Muslims as "rag-headed, heathen, bastards" on its website as recently as yesterday when the federal government complained.

Gear Up Motors' website was replete with other jabs at women and Liberals and mocked official bilingualism and concerns about global warming.

But with Canadian troops risking their lives in Afghanistan, the passage about Muslims was the most likely to raise alarm.

"Jihad? I'll give you a Jihad you miserable, rag-headed, heathen, bastard!" said a caption posted over a photograph of a rifle-toting John Wayne.

Stephen Harper went for a walk this morning, and came back with a writ of election from the figurehead Governor General.

Scott Shipway won't be voting for Stephen Harper's Conservatives and it's my suspicion that fewer Canadians than he suspects will.

Another Conservative majority government, a new Liberal leader (hopefully Michael Ignatieff,) a Conservative party in disarray due to a fear of choosing a new leader after what can only be called an electoral failure, Jack Layton remaining in place, if only because of the NDP's acceptance of failure.

That's what I think October 15th is going to look like, but I'm sitting this one out anyway.

When the Vancouver-Quadra electoral association of the Conservative Party of Canada refused to grant David Emerson a nomination, it was no surprise that this news was next.

Emerson won't run again: sources
STEVEN CHASE
Globe and Mail Update
September 2, 2008 at 11:19 PM EDT
OTTAWA -- Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, who defected to the Harper Conservatives 2½ years ago, will retire from politics instead of running again in the looming federal election, sources say.

Mr. Emerson's departure will be a blow for the party.

I'm not so sure about the blow. A bright, but extremely arrogant man, Emerson could hardly be called a team player. With no hope of winning, he has taken the safe option and jumped out of the pool.

It's well known, by now, that the media smells an election in the air. Stephen Harper is making his wish to go the polls the worst kept secret in Canada.

Another sure sign is the sheer number of email messages I'm getting from people who haven't contacted me in four years. It happens every season. It's not a good smell.

Don't let Harper fool you, by the way. He promised fixed election dates, and passed the legislation. That he's now weaseling out of a date he committed to is tantamount to a lie. If he hadn't made the commitment, it wouldn't be an issue.

Is anybody falling for this?

Bernier quits cabinet post over security breach
Foreign affairs minister departs ahead of ex-girlfriend's TV interview
Last Updated: Monday, May 26, 2008 | 11:04 PM ET CBC News

Embattled Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has resigned from cabinet over a security breach involving classified documents, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters on Monday.