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.
 

Liberal Party: Failure To Make Priorties

Was Robert Fowler fair in Montreal condemning every political party pandering to the ethnic vote or special interest?

In my opinion a private members Bill introduced by two Liberals Bill C-302 Italian-Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act is just another example of the weakness of the Liberal party. Is this pandering to ethnic vote a desperation to save their seats because they believe they can't win in 2010? The  Liberals waited until the dying days of the Martin led-Liberals to offer $ 12.5 million regarding Italian-Canadian Recognition. They did the same with the Kelowna Accord and National Daycare.

Why did it take seven Liberal Prime Ministers to bring this matter forward?
Background

Canada resorted to the War Measures Act during and after three periods of its history – World War I, World War II, and the October 1970 crisis.  The Act was in force between 4 August 1914 and 10 January 1920, the date of the end of the war with Germany, as declared by Imperial Order-in-Council.  The occasion of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 was the cause of the passage of a number of regulations and orders under which membership in certain organizations was proscribed and individuals were interned.  The Act was next in force from 25 August 1939 until 1945, after which the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act was in force until 31 March 1947.  In 1947, the Constitution of Transitional Measures Act was enacted, maintaining certain wartime orders and regulations, and stayed in place until 30 April 1951.  Although the War Measures Act was not invoked during the Korean War, certain more limited powers were granted to Cabinet under the Emergency Powers Act between March 1951 and May 1954. - Government of Canada

Key Facts:

• Liberal PM Mackenzie King 1940 ordered the arrest hundreds of Canadians citizens of Italian origin.
• No charges laid and communication was restricted including family.
• Loss of reputation, property, careers in their community.
• Liberal 1935-1957
• PC's 1957- 1962
• Liberal 1963-1979
• Joe Clark (lasted less than 9 months)
• Liberal  1980-1984
• PC's 1984-1993
• Liberals 1993-2006

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."

At that point, while they were in opposition, we saw the first Liberal flip-flop. They criticized the Mulroney government, saying it had not offered enough. "We want an apology in the Parliament, not in a banquet hall," said then Liberal MP Sergio Marchi. Marchi also intervened in Ottawa by asking the Conservative government to deal "urgently and efficiently" with this "injustice" and give financial compensation, as it had in the case of Japanese Canadians.

There was another flip-flop when the Liberals were back in power. The new minister of multiculturalism, Sheila Finestone, replying to the demands of the Chinese, Italian, Ukrainian, Jewish and German Canadian communities, said on Dec. 14, 1994, that "we wish we could rewrite history. We wish we could relive the past. We cannot ... Therefore, the government will not grant financial compensation for the requests made."

The Liberals maintained this position all the time that they were in government. In 1997, they said "the issue is closed." I don't even want to talk about the farce performed by Paul Martin when, a few weeks before the 2006 federal election which it was clear the Liberals were going to lose, he agreed to requests for money and an apology, once again trying to buy votes.- Shameless Liberals Shop Ethnic Vote January 31, 2010, The Toronto Star

This story has been ignored for decades. Do we have the political will to treat this matter in an adult manner.
Haunted by history: Ukrainians, Italians and Chinese seek redress for historical ill-treatment by Ottawa Written by Tom Philip  Alberta Report

17 December 1990 After years of inaction, recent weeks have seen a marked change in the government's attitude towards righting historical wrongs. Speaking in Toronto in November, Prime Minister Mulroney offered an "unqualified" apology to Italian Canadians interned during the Second World War. Two weeks ago Mr. Weiner met with representatives of the Chinese Canadian National Council, which is seeking compensation for $23 million in "head taxes" paid by Chinese immigrants to Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And on November 13 the prime minister met in Edmonton with UCC president Dmytro Cipywnyk and other members of the Ukrainian community.

Reports of what was agreed upon at the meeting conflict. UCC officials claim that the prime minister pledged support in principle for a Ukrainian cultural endowment fund; Mr. Mulroney said later that compensation was not discussed. But, at the very least, the government appears prepared to acknowledge that a wrong was done, not only in the case of the Ukrainians, but to other groups as well. "There's two schools of thought," said Mr. Mulroney. "You ignore these things and say they never happened because if you acknowledge one then you have to deal with another. Or you deal with them in the belief that a strong nation is capable of looking at its past and resolving injustices when they occur, and that's what we're in the process of doing."

To say there are "two schools of thought" on the issue of acknowledgement and redress for Ukrainian Canadians and others is something of an understatement. By all accounts, Mr. Mulroney's government is deeply divided on the issue. "This whole redress thing is most unpopular in the caucus," says Douglas Fisher, a columnist for the Toronto Sun newspaper group and a former New Democratic Party MP. "They blame it on the fact that the PM is a small-l liberal and is trying to win the ethnic vote." Among those opposed to compensation for Ukrainian Canadians is Don Blenkarn, Tory MP for Mississauga South. "An acknowledgement would be one thing," says Mr. Blenkarn. "But to tie a dollar figure to it - no bloody way. Claims that go back to the Dark Ages are just unacceptable."

Where were the Liberals and their passion to redress the loss of respect, careers, property? Why did they wait until the dying days of Paul Martin's government to raise this issue?

Is this another highly divisive debate that will be used to create wedges in our parliament?

Liberal Party of Canada: Reinforce Negative Frame

Ekos Poll show every demographic over 25 voting with their "wallets" and choosing the CPC during a period of Economic difficulty.

The elusive Female Vote has moved away from the Liberals.  The Liberals love to produce papers and reports and hold meeting to demostrate they care about the female vote.

The last Liberal bastion stronghold has been the Large Urban Centres.  Many immigrants who arrived under the Federal Liberal Governments are no longer holding to support them.

The CPC have done the heavy lifting and have been listening for years in tackling the problems facing this community. The dividends have been slowly paying off. Many Liberals simply don't get it, they are stuck on the scary Harper narrative. These voting blocks have slowly been moving away from the Liberal Party. The internet can produce many reasons why the voters are turning away in larger numbers from the Liberal Party.

                                                     CPC           LIB          NDP          GRN           BLOC       Sample             MOE

October 2008

http://www.ekospolitics.com/index.php/2008/10/snapshot-of-metropolitan-canada-october-13-2008/

The damage wrought by the sponsorship scandal was not confined to the 2004 election. In
2006, the probability of voting Liberal was 35 points lower among voters who were very angry
about the scandal, believed that there had been a lot of corruption under the Chrétien Liberals,
judged Martin’s handling of the scandal negatively and lacked confidence in his ability to
prevent future scandals. This was even stronger than the effect registered in 2004, but luckily for
the Liberals, judgments were not as harsh as they had been two years earlier. Still, but for the
scandal, the Liberal vote would have been over three points higher in 2006, enough to make the
difference between a bare plurality and defeat.

Understanding the problems faced by the Liberal Party is deeper than changing leaders or filming Ads in Narnia.

Will the Liberal Party reconnect with the grassroots and the public before the election?

Political Parties make strategic mistakes and reinforce 
a negative frame

The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship"or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. The program was originally established as an effort to raise awareness of the Government of Canada's contributions to Quebec industries and other activities in order to counter the actions of the Parti Québécois government of the province that worked to promote Quebec independence.
The program ran from 1996 until 2004, when broad corruption was discovered in its operations and the program was discontinued. Illicit and even illegal activities within the administration of the program were revealed, involving misuse and misdirection of public funds intended for government advertising in Quebec. Such misdirections included sponsorship money awarded to ad firms in return for little or no work, which firms maintained Liberal organizers or fundraisers on their payrolls or donated back part of the money to the Liberal Party. The resulting investigations and scandal affected the Liberal Party of Canada and the then government of Prime Minister Paul Martin. It was an ongoing affair for years, but rose to national prominence in early 2004 after the program was examined by Sheila Fraser, the federal auditor general. Her revelations led to the government establishing the Gomery Commission to conduct a public inquiry and file a report on the matter.
In the national spotlight, the scandal became a significant factor in the lead-up to the 2006 federal electionLiberals were defeated by the Conservatives, who formed a minority government that was sworn in February 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponsorship_scandal

 The opposition parties have begun to attempt to frame the CPC in a negative frame by invoking ADSCAM. Is that a smart move or another mistake by the Liberal Party. The story of ADSCAM is still in the News especially in QC with on going trials.


The sponsorship program, designed to enhance the federal government's profile, funnelled millions of tax dollars to Liberal Party-friendly advertising firms for little or no work. The adscam was instrumental in virtually wiping out the Liberal Party in Quebec, driving the Grits out of power in the 2006 federal election. www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/10/21/quebec-sponsorship-scandal-scoc-globe-appeal.html

Does it make sense for the Liberal Party to ask voters to compare EAP to Adscam?

 Framing

Language always comes with what is called "framing." Every word is defined relative to a conceptual framework. If you have something like "revolt," that implies a population that is being ruled unfairly, or assumes it is being ruled unfairly, and that they are throwing off their rulers, which would be considered a good thing. That's a frame.

If you then add the word "voter" in front of "revolt," you get a metaphorical meaning saying that the voters are the oppressed people, the governor is the oppressive ruler, that they have ousted him and this is a good thing and all things are good now. All of that comes up when you see a headline like "voter revolt" — something that most people read and never notice. But these things can be affected by reporters and very often, by the campaign people themselves. ming.tv/flemming2.php/__show_article/_a000010-001361.htm

Does it make sense for the Liberal Party

to scream scandal every other week?

This WEEK in the NEWS......October 24, 2009

Silence on corruption in Quebec must end: investigator

A group of about 40 investigators, prosecutors and civilian employees from government organizations like Quebec's construction commission will join an integrated squad put together after months of media reports alleging corruption involving construction companies and municipal governments, making it the dominant issue in elections in Montreal and other cities.www.ottawacitizen.com/news/todays-paper/Silence+corruption+Quebec+must+investigator/2140148/story.html

The former head of the Liberal Party of Canada's Quebec wing will find out in a few weeks whether Quebec Court Judge Suzanne Coupal bought the remorse card when she sentences Corbeil Dec. 4.2009

The defence is asking for an absolute discharge, while the Crown wants Corbeil to spend between 18 and 24 months behind bars and pay back the people he defrauded.

Corbeil, 45, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of influence-peddling and fraud. He accepted $50,000 from Réal Ouimet, owner of a quarry and paving company, to help him buy land belonging to the federal government. He also signed six false invoices amounting to $117,300. The money came out of the Liberal Party's bank account and into the hands of Giuseppe Morselli, a Liberal fundraiser. www.montrealgazette.com/news/Complete+discharge+could+follow+Corbeil+tearful+apology/2140866/story.html


 Since 2006 the Liberals and the opposition have been alleging alleging scandals, abuse, scary Harper almost without fail.  Has the public finally had enough of the opposition "crying wolf"?

On a much brighter note Global Warming might help our tourism