Canadian Political Landscape: Whack-A-Mole 101

 

It is very interesting how the mainstream media ignore the facts in plain sight for their agenda and "gotcha" journalism. Is delivery of Healthcare a provincial, municipal file? Many of us saw this gotcha journalism unfold in the fall of 2008, the hysteria driven media campaign in painting the Federal Government as incompetent, uncaring during the H1N1 outbreak. The Federal government has a smaller advisory role as a result of substantial cutbacks in the 1990's and the Constitutional Division of Powers. Historically Quebec and Alberta have been allies in keeping the Federal Government out of its jurisdiction. The culture war has initiated a divisive debate in parliament on tax funded abortions has been on the National Agenda by the Liberals with full support of the Democrats and Separatists. Why now, is it because the Federal Government wants to restore accountability of the G8 through cost effective life saving programs and policies in Maternal Health?

If the Liberals, Democrats, Separatists were worried about this provinces funding abortions should they not be attacking the governments that have delisted the service in Canada first?

Indeed, the government of the day apparently did not intend for abortion to become an insured service: when asked if Section 251 would require provincial health plans to pay for abortions, the then Minister of Justice John Turner exclaimed, “Oh no.”(2) Provincial health plans did, however, insure “therapeutic” abortions that were approved by hospital committees in order not to risk contravening the Canada Health Act’s Requirment that all “medically necessary services” be covered. -Hansard April 28, 1969

In 1989 the federal government under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney introduced Bill C-43 as a compromise on the abortion question. It failed to pass and left Canada without any law regulating abortion. When the legislation failed, then Justice Minister Kim Campbell said that it would be up to each provincial government “to draw a distinction between abortions which are medically necessary and those which are not, and to fund only those which are medically necessary, drawing on their own criteria.”(6) 1996 Backgrounder on Public Funding For Abortion.

Justice Minister Campbell confirmed that the reasons for pro-life groups opposing Bill C-43 were entirely justified. The government is completely hypocritical when it says the bill strikes a balance between the rights of the woman and the rights of the unborn. Mrs. Campbell made it perfectly clear that the baby has no protection at all: abortion does not have to be performed for a serious reason. The government deliberately left the definition of health vague; there are no possible grounds for accusing a doctor of performing an abortion for insufficient reasons. There are grounds, in other words, for taking the life of the unborn child into account at all. -The Interim May 31, 1990.

No Abortions on P.E.I. Soil, says Premier- July 2008

Despite criticisms from pro-abortion organizations, the Chronicle Herald has reported that Premier Robert Ghiz has maintained that he has no plans of re-addressing the province's policy on abortion because of its "controversial" nature.

Abortions in Canada are provided on request and funded by Medicare, to Canadian citizens and permanent residents (as with most medical procedures) in hospitals across the country. Abortion funding for hospitals comes from the various provincial governments (their overall health expenses are however paid for in part by the federal government). One-third of hospitals perform abortions, and these perform two-thirds of abortions in the country. The remaining abortions are performed by public and private-for-profit clinics.

Janet Bagnall is an editorial writer and columnist with The Gazette. Her column appears Fridays, commenting on issues of social justice and human rights.

Pope on the ropes-If crimes have been committed, there must be an accounting. And if it takes the arrest of Benedict as the head of the church, so be it.

Janet writes in the Gazette the following:

• It took a while for Canada's abortion opponents to seize the opportunity Stephen Harper opened up..
• Suggests an impressive large number of people showed up for March For Life Rally in Ottawa, a few weeks after funding abortions for the Congo is not the highest priority by Harper.
• The Quebec's Cardinal Marc Ouellet helpfully lit a firestorm on abortion.
• According to the federal Liberals, the Harper government has cut funding to about 20 women's-rights groups. The government's decision to not include abortion in maternal health care abroad is seen as being of a piece with these cutbacks.
• The Conservatives' promise not to fund abortion services to poor women in Third World countries was a signal to its supporters..
• As a move, it was cynical, clever, and unfortunately for the government, painfully transparent.
• In fact, abortions in every age category in Canada have dropped, from an average ratio of 32 abortions per 100 live births in 2002 to 25.7 in 2006. There were 91,000 abortions performed in Canada in 2006, an estimated 90 per cent in the first trimester.
• There are no abortion services in Prince Edward Island. Prince Edward Island women - or those who can afford to - travel to New Brunswick to get an abortion. Rural women in general must travel, sometimes long distances, to have an abortion. But they can still get a safe, legal abortion.

Janet when you did your research, did you pick a specific date on purpose?

Between 1988 and 2005, almost two million babies lost their lives to abortion. The recorded total from Statistics Canada is 1,811,707, a partial record which excludes roughly 10% of the actual number of abortions performed between 2000 and 2005, due to incomplete reporting. After 1997 the number of reported abortions gradually dropped back down to 96,815 in 2005. Because the 1988 court decision also struck down reporting requirements, it is difficult to know how accurate the figures are.

1. Let's give Janet the benefit of doubt  after all we don't have proof you are cynical or clever in selecting her date range, it might have been accidental ommission.
2. The position of the Catholic Church is abortion is consistent. They are old school Janet, nothing has changed.
3. Liberals say CPC are anti-women, the 20 NGO groups cut is proof  they hate women narrative.  Hey Janey did you miss this:  they were told this week by Status of Women Minister Bev Oda that they would no longer be able to receive funding for projects that involved advocacy work, lobbying of the government or general research, as part of new terms and conditions for grants. or this?

This government has been reviewing, making priorities that affect funding of advocacy groups as have previous governments in the past. Do you think it is reasonable to expect NGO's obtain funding indefinately, If not why suggest the defunding is ideologically driven without conclusive proof or reference of opposition political parties opinions the proof?

I understand Jean Chretien also had an interesting take on Proof. Did you subscribe to the same school of logic?

CIDA's Canada Making a difference in the World: A Policy Statement on Strengthening Aid Effectiveness
CCIC’s Summary Highlights and Implications September 2002 

There is no acknowledgment of strongly dissenting civil society and southern government views on the efficacy of these policies to contribute to poverty-reducing paths to development. New approaches arising from the donor consensus remain linked to conditionalities and pressure for trade and investment liberalization as well as to strict accountability regimes to donor-prescribed policies of privatization, good governance etc.

My last observation on those poor rural women in PEI having to travel long distances.
Are you kidding me!

Having traveled throughout many provinces Prince Edward Island. is not only the smallest province but with the addition of the Confederation Bridge your statement of far is just plain silly. I used Charlottetown as the starting point.

Driving directions to Morgentaler Clinic at Fredericton, New Brunswick 334 km – about 4 hours 5 mins. Halifax, Nova Scotia is same time. A few more minutes I found the service available in Moncton, New Brunswick 127 min 165 km.

Janet  fees are around $ 600 - $ 800 and available in  130 minutes 165 kilometers. Is this long distance? Should we regulate 30 minutes or free next?

Will the Quebec Liberal Premier Jean Charest ask for a boycott in the National Assembly against PEI potatoes until the Liberal Premier allows tax funded abortions?

Mr. Charest's stunt is emblematic of the juvenile sloganeering that substitutes for debate about abortion in this country. Shame on the Premier. And shame on those who voted with him

I get it, Quebec Liberal Premier is having some problems at home regarding corruption and beating up on the Prime Minister makes sense. It is a pity Janet you, the Gazette can't remove those rose coloured glasses long enough to see your own hypocrisy.

The matter is not settled.

In an Angus Reid poll conducted in January, 31% of Quebec respondents thought abortion should remain legal but subject to greater restrictions than currently exist; 17% thought abortion should only be permitted in the case of rape or incest, or to save a woman's life; while 3% thought abortion should be outlawed completely.

Free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly is a part of the right the social justice advocates repeatedly ignore in our democracy. Only their voice is allowed or respected.

Jane this is not Africa and I am not Tarzan.

Oh Snap: Canadian Pro-abortion lobbyists lose another battle.

Great news on for those interested in the business of actually saving lives. Canada's partners in the G8 have endorsed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan to focus the foreign aid of rich nations on saving the lives of new mothers and their young children in the developing world.

Foreign aid to poor countries has come under fire from a range of academics and economists in recent years who say too much aid is wasted by humanitarian bureaucracies, misused by corrupt local governments, and funnelled into ineffective programs.- The Vancouver Sun April 28, 2010

Demand better accountability for the money sent overseas is a change from previous governments . Canadians have demostrated a willingness to help.

Many of us understood the political games in Ottawa were not about saving lives, it was about dividing parliament and destructive politics. A large number of us have been calling for a priority on real measurable targets. Will the opposition continue to play games or will they help in resolving issues around maternal health.
Clean drinking water, food security. CanadianSense April 14, 2010.

Cultural Class War Continues: Policy Debate?

In his penetrating analysis, Lyle Rossiter, M.D., reveals modern liberalism's assaults on:

The freedom of adults to make good lives for themselves by cooperating with others. The ability of families to raise children to be self-reliant and mutual .The morals, rights and laws that protect our freedoms

More information  here.

The loyalty of leader of the Liberals is proud of belonging to the "political class".  Invoking a cultural war? The class war has been never stopped,  divisive Politics has always been deployed.

The intolerance of the left has always been on display and invoked as routine politics. Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, Stephen Harper have been prime targets for divisive politics. Today buzz words of choice in question period "culture of deceit".

Liberals think nothing of dividing Canadians, it started with Trudeau giving the west the finger and the NEP, it carried on with Chretian ignoring the west and the military for over 10 years, and Iggy seems to be carrying on the ignore the west theme with the "whipping" of his MP's to vote against scrapping the gun registry. He is pandering to the feminists and anti-war crowd.- Hunter

I believe this strategy has always existed and each party taps into their strengths. The problem is going too far and damaging the country with bad policy.

Frank Graves on CBC here .

In his advice, Mr. Graves could hardly have been more blunt. “I told them that they should invoke a culture war. Cosmopolitanism versus parochialism, secularism versus moralism, Obama versus Palin, tolerance versus racism and homophobia, democracy versus autocracy. If the cranky old men in Alberta don’t like it, too bad. Go south and vote for Palin.” - Lawrence Martin 

Ignatieff brand new mistake on gun registry Ignatieff’s plan won’t make a single Canadian safer. It will make the dysfunctional, obsolete registry more expensive while simultaneously making it weaker. The registry has already failed and permanently alienated large swaths of voters from the Liberal party. Why is Ignatieff the last person to realize this?- Matt Gurney

He's doing it. Ignatieff is actually implementing the Graves Strategy: divide Canadians against each other, to conquer them politically. -Ezra Levant

Private Members Bill: Bilingual Supreme Court by the Bloc, NDP, Liberals fallout. "Stupid," "scary," "ill-conceived" and "pandering" are just some of the adjectives used to describe New Brunswick MP Yvon Godin's proposal -- and those come from lawyers and jurists who believe the bill is actually well-intentioned.

Policy Debate and a failure to make priorities -For almost 30 years the issue was forgotten but it resurfaced in the 1970s when some Italian Canadian community leaders started talking about an apology and financial compensation. But prime minister Pierre Trudeau, another Liberal, said the issue was closed. He told the House Commons that he didn't believe "in attempting to rewrite history in this way."- Angleo Perischilli

Bev Shipley had commented on the conflict of interest of Frank Graves pollster of record, donor to the Liberal Party  the CBC.  Is an inquiry needed to investigate any other relationship with the Liberal Party? We had an example of failed oversight regarding an H1N1 flu clinic.

The CBC code of ethics is now embroiled and a letter to the CBC ombudsman has been sent.“Why is a pollster who conducts polling for Canada’s national broadcaster, the CBC, also giving partisan advice to the Liberal Party of Canada?” Walsh writes in a letter obtained exclusively by the Sun. “Is the CBC aware they were sharing resources with the Liberal Party of Canada, if so, how long have they been aware? Can the CBC assure us that data collected at the expense of taxpayers is not shared with the Liberal Party of Canada?- Frank Walsh

Perhaps we will get a little more adult conversation, policy debate in Question Period without the need of protection of parliamentary privilege by the opposition .

Contrast how the PMO is expanding his office in community outreach:

Much of the ethnic media's audience is in the suburbs of Metropolitan Toronto and Vancouver, areas where the Tories seem to be making gains with newer Canadians who embrace fiscal and social conservatism.

In the 2008 election, the Conservatives' share of the popular vote in B.C. reached 44.5 per cent, up from 37.3 per cent in 2006. In Ontario, they out-polled the Liberals after finishing behind them in 2006, though in Quebec they lost ground. - Canadian Press

The writing is on the wall.

Update: Ekos Statement Frank Graves

Statement From Frank Graves (April 23)
Update II:
Globe & Mail Round II by Bill Curry does the opposite.

“I do believe, and this gets more subtle, that there is a higher incidence of people who are less tolerant to homosexuals and more wary of other races, within the Conservative Party. I can demonstrate that empirically."

Sometimes those words we choose can be taken out context, this does look like we have a serious problem. A tribute to the politically incorrect.
 

PM Attends Memorial in Mississauga

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be in Mississauga Thursday night to attend a funeral mass where the local Polish community will mourn the loss of Poland's president and 95 others who perished in Saturday's plane crash in Russia.

Harper has declared Thursday a national day of mourning to recognize the loss of many of Poland's political, government and military leaders who were killed in the air accident.

 

The mass at 6 p.m., organized by the Conference of Polish Priests for Eastern Canada and Ciesielczuk is at the St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Mississauga, 4260 Cawthra Rd.

The main celebrant will be Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto.

"On behalf of the government of Canada and people of Canada, I want to express the profound sorrow all Canadians feel in the wake of the plane crash at Smolensk," Harper told the crowd of mourners from the Polish Canadian community gathered at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church. "When Poland grieves, Canada grieves."

Members of the Liberal Party will also be at this memorial. Any bets Ignatieff won't be getting words of support?

In light of the many positive contributions that Canada can make to the improvement of maternal and child health, it is astonishing that the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Michael Ignatieff, has issued an official statement advocating contraception and abortion as fundamental elements in addressing this important issue.

The Prime Minister, Conservatives have been attacked for their religious views and efforts to reach out to each community as pandering.

Earlier this week Harper declared Thursday a national day of mourning for Canadians to stand in solidarity with the people of Poland and the Polish-Canadian community as they deal with the loss.

“It’s a symbolic gesture but a very important one for Polish Canadians and all Canadians,” said Rev. Pawel Ratajczak, director of Catholic Youth Studio.

“It’s a day to mourn but also a day to be thankful.”

The Prime Minister has made an effort to pay his respects to this tragic event, cultural traditions. Some will criticize him for his participation and attendance in support of our Polish Community.

There are clear cultural, diplomatic and economic advantages to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's current trip to India.

But there could also be a big political payoff in several ridings in Mississauga and the G.T.A. when South Asian Canadians go to the polls in several ridings in Mississauga and the G.T.A. in the next federal election, observers say.

"The Liberal party took us for granted and is now paying the price," Gill says.
 

Maternal Health: Abortion Stunt Fails

Two liberal MP's showed up to vote against their party. Some were missing. How did they vote link here.

The debate had many opposition MP's talking about the importance of funding abortion for the third world.

Liberals Games Continue Flip Flop on Exporting Asbestos To Third World.

The NDP take a position and stick to it?  Some call them core values, others opportunism.



Pat Martin has been fighting for years on this file and I don't think it reeks of opportunism. The NDP do not have any seat to lose or gain in the ridings that would be affected by the decision to cut this line item or exports.

Liberal candidates and lies on asbestos-Great expose on Liberals playing games on Asbestos files.

Bloc, CPC, Liberals MP's leave committee to eliminate quorum ending the speech of Pat Martin. Is this how we expect the MP's to act when listening to information they don't like?

Liberal natural resources critic Geoff Regan said even with Liberal support, the motion would die because the Bloc won't support it. Besides, he said, even if the budget committee removed the line item, the government could put it back in, and call for a confidence vote on the budget, which could lead to an election, something Liberals clearly do not want right now.
"We don't want to play those games," Regan said.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has made it clear that "he believes chrysotile asbestos poses serious health risks." He said Liberals would rather see the $250,000 go toward economic diversification in asbestos mining towns like Asbestos and Thetford Mines, and toward retraining asbestos miners for other jobs. Montreal Gazette

Michael Ignatieff is for asbestos when he's not against it

 
The Liberals continue to play games in Ottawa, as they did on support for the HST, fearmongering on H1N1, Isotopes, anti-American sentiments , citing "brown skinned" Canadians have less protection now, Carbon Tax for Global Warming,  Employment Insurance in September 2009.

Michael Ignatieff citing "idealogy" and politics of division. What are they doing?

“We believe that this measure falls radically short of serious employment insurance reform.  “Let’s get it through and get to the motion of non-confidence which we will bring forward in due time.”-Michael Ignatieff

“We have been pushing the government relentlessly to improve the EI program and it appears that they are starting to get the message. The government’s proposed changes will help a group of mostly older workers and we’re pleased about that.” – CLC President Ken Georgetti, CLC Release, September 16, 2009 - Press Release NDP

And that was exactly my point Jonathan. Michael Ignatieff only offered to support a Bill he doesn’t approve of, and not only support it, but fast-track it so that it won’t be an interfering influence when he decides to call his no-confidence motion in October. And by saying “interfering influence” I mean he’s trying to ensure that Jack Layton has no grounds to stand on when he votes to avoid an election.
He is aiming to make Jack Layton and the NDP look bad for supporting the government while having no reason to do so, and he want’s to have that ammunition to use against them. As such, he is trying to orchestrate a situation where he can have that. It has nothing to do with honestly supporting the Bill, because he already said he doesn’t.
To me, that’s game playing, and when the issue and time is as critical as it is, and being in the position of trying to call an unpopular election, Michael Ignatieff is either clearly insane, or out to punish the NDP. - Sean Calder

 The Liberals refuse to introduce any alternatives in parliament that might lead to an election.  Liberals did NOT follow their September declaration, in October, November, December. In March 4, 2010, 29 Liberal MP's refused to return to work and defeat the government.

The Liberals are back to playing games of dividing Canadians and demanding the government provide funding in the third world for Abortions. Is this the job and duty of a loyal opposition?

I Recommend you read this post. It is a balanced post.

Michael Ignatieff:  A Very, Very Bad Man

Long gone are the days of anyone believing the Liberal lies and scare tactics about the Conservatives seeking to outlaw abortion, so, now, desperate to try and find something to create relevance for the Liberal Party of Canada, Michael Ignatieff continues to make a fool of himself and betray the complete absense of any Liberal "plan" to try and play on his apparent belief that Canadians are truly stupid. 

Send a message, please.
We aren't that stupid, Michael, and, frankly, you are scum. - R.G. Harvie

I could not agree more. Send a message.