05-31-2013 07:32 AM
Just 13 per cent of Canadians believe Prime Minister Stephen Harper is telling the truth when he says he had no knowledge of Nigel Wright’s $90,000-bailout of Sen. Mike Duffy, according to a new poll.
The CTV News Ipsos Reid poll also found that 44 per cent were “not sure whether or not the prime minister had any knowledge of the monetary gift made by Mr. Wright at the time,” and 42 per cent said they are “convinced that the prime minister would have known about the monetary gift by Mr. Wright at the time.”
In a sign of how politically damaging the scandal could be, the survey also found that 66 per cent of respondents considered the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office a “serious ethical breach.”
06-02-2013 10:32 PM
The Conservatives have a majority and can pass any law they want.
Sounds similiar in regards to the policies eBay enacts.
06-02-2013 10:47 PM
Harper's days are numbered. He 'might'........'might'........get elected again.......but his days of a majority government are over. (unless Trudeau makes a major mistake)
Harper would be a fool to use his previous attack ad strategy although he has already tried but even some of his CON members don't want to see them anymore. Harper will have to stick to the facts and his record and that's but one area of several he will falter in.
06-02-2013 11:01 PM
I think Harper will make it through the next election, majority government would be doubtful though.
Lets wait a bit & see what the kid can do.
Fresh blood may be in order.
06-03-2013 06:48 AM
Harper's days are numbered. He 'might'........'might'........get elected again.......but his days of a majority government are over. (unless Trudeau makes a major mistake)
I remember similar comments when he ran against the visiting professor.
06-03-2013 07:53 AM
06-03-2013 10:39 AM
I take it that you don't believe that Mulcair can beat Harper?
06-03-2013 11:23 AM
06-03-2013 11:23 AM
"Dear" leader? I think it is more like 'Herr' leader.
No doubt a combination of both.:-) (By "Dear Leader" I was referring to how the North Koreans refer to their dictator). I was being more than a little sarcastic I'm afraid, although it would be an interesting case study to see how far an apparently democratically-elected leader can push the boundaries into dictatorship. I suspect it's easier to do in Canada than it would be in the U.S. It certainly was easier in 1930's Germany than many believed.
I had a mischievous (and admittedly borrowed) fantasy: imagine if everyone in Canada with a birthday today blew out a candle on a cake and made a wish: No one in government could tell a lie for 24 hours, the "Liar, Liar" scenario. Imagine Question Period à la Jim Carrey. How refreshing it would be to actually, finally, hear a simple "Yes" or "No" coming out of the mouths of politicians, whether or not their suits were torn to shreds and they beat themselve up in the process.
06-03-2013 11:32 AM
06-03-2013 11:45 AM
What concerns me most about the current mess is that it appears to go beyond the usual sense of entitlement to goodies and the fudging of numbers - the snout-in-the-trough attitude of old guard politicians, of the sort that got the Liberals into trouble the last time around.
No, this smacks of direct interference and obstruction of judicial (or legislative) inquiry, not to mention a rather brazen attempt to muzzle (or at least censure) the RCMP. You can only shut up so many people before the truth is ultimately outed -- the lid will not stay on the boiling pot forever. I would not be surprised to see our very own "Deep Throat" appear on the scene soon.
This is a different and dangerous species of scandal from what we've seen before, rightly deserving of public outrage. It's the type that leads down the road to suppression of rights and freedoms.
Probably the best thing worried citizens can do at the moment is to keep those cards and letters coming -- especially if you live in a riding with an elected Conservative MP. The public backlash might be just sufficient to cause a revolt within the ranks that could tip the status quo.
06-03-2013 12:39 PM
This is yet another example of the "transparency of the Harper Gov't"...what a joke!!!
Harper conservatives are all muzzled and ONLY express the party line, which is dictated to the by their "Supreme Leader". Nothing is ever done without Harpers approval or within him dictated parameters.
This party is becoming so similar to the Tea Party/Conservatives in the US. They keep saying the same thing (factually incorrect...but facts don't matter) over and over again until it becomes truth. They're a joke of a party who gets absolutely nothing accomplished and blame the Democrats and Obama for everything....lol
Here we get or don't get info...example ...who knew that the Cdn banks were bailed out during the financial crisis??? The Cdn public were not told..Flarety said in a senate hearing...it wasn't significant....so I guess it is better to lie and say that out banks and strong....
Then of course where the 2 billion....that sort of disappeared???
People need to get up and start voting and get theses Conservatives out.
I`d rather know what the true issues are then be lied to
06-03-2013 12:39 PM
They have too much f aunppointing political friends like the three senators in trouble for milking the public purse through their inflated expense accounts
WHEN was mac Harb Appointed by Harper and WHEN did he switch from LIBERAL???
06-03-2013 12:58 PM
" three senators in trouble for milking the public purse through their inflated expense accounts"
THREE conservative senators appointed by Harper.
You guys can try spinning the story to blame others from a different era, it does not change the simple fact that Harper promised to reform the Senate, avoid patronage appointments and we now have three senators appointed by Harper now in trouble for milking the public purse.
Can you at least honestly admit these three Conservative senators were wrong? - without trying to dilute the problem by bringing in other stuff.
06-03-2013 01:09 PM
Can you at least honestly admit these three Conservative senators were wrong? - without trying to dilute the problem by bringing in other stuff.
Only 3 senators have been asked to repay money!!
1 being Mac Harp a LIBERAL
who else has been found GULITY and been asked to REPAY money??
06-03-2013 01:39 PM
I just do not understand how you guys can spin the facts so badly. NOBODY has been found "guilty" of anything yet.
Three conservative senators are in trouble over expenses they have claimed, money they received from the Canadian taxpayers, and have later been asked to reimburse the government or have already fully or partly done so.
If you are missing a third conservative senator, maybe you should take a look at:
More specifically:
Insiders told Fife that Wallin repaid $25,000 before the forensic audit began. She has since returned about $15,000 more to taxpayers, but sources say she will likely have to give more money back.
06-03-2013 01:58 PM
Only 3 senators have been asked to repay money!!
1 being Mac Harp a LIBERAL
As Pierre points out, there are actually 4 senators in hot water (so far).
However, as disgusting as this entitlement behaviour is, it's no longer the most serious concern. The real issue now is the ham-fisted attempt at the highest levels (PM/PMO) to shut down, interfere with and/or obstruct the proper process of uncovering these fiscal abuses and dealing with the perpetrators. It's the issue of "what did the PM know and exactly when did he know it" that is of ultimate importance now. Senators with their fingers in the pie are no longer the biggest problem the government has.
As many reporters have noted, the very fact of Nigel Wright's involvement raises far more questions than it answers, and most of those questions lead directly back to Harper.
Interestingly I hear today that Harper plans to shuffle his cabinet. What a great way to keep backbenchers in line -- if any of them have dreams of becoming government ministers, are they going to upset the apple cart now?
06-03-2013 02:09 PM
Would they have been caught at all if the liberals were in charge?
06-03-2013 02:13 PM
Spin... spin... spin...
The fact it the three Conservative senators were appointed by Harper, the Prime Minister who campaigned on a platform of Senate reform, away from the patronage seen previously by both the Liberals and the Conservatives (do you remember those Mulroney appointments?)..
06-03-2013 02:14 PM
06-03-2013 02:20 PM
We should have a new law in Canada...........any politician who makes a promise during an election has to say when making that promise at what point he will accomplish it. If he doesn't give a timeline then he or she can't run for office. Also, if they make a promise but do not keep it....they're out, gone, adios, bye!
I suppose the only problem would be.......we would have few people running for political office in any area.