Liberals Swan Song: 2011

The Liberals, traditionally most reliant on corporate and wealthy individual donors, are still struggling to adjust to their own reforms.- CTV

In February 2010 Ekos did a poll and thirty per cent of opposition party supporters wanted the Conservatives to have a full term ----> 2012 before another general election. The Liberal executive have not been successful in closing the gap in donors and grass roots support for their platform. 

The CBC is now joining the opposition parties for ideas, regulations how to level the playing field to limit the Conservative Party of Canada. Anyone else have a problem with a national broadcaster taking sides?

Does anyone remember in 1997-2004 the CBC airing television shows: "level the playing field" or limit the dominance of the Liberal party? Is the CBC out of touch with the mainstream on the issues that matter most?

30% of opposition voters want Full term before election: Ekos 02-10

Is the continued rhetoric of the Federal Liberals talking down the  work of our civil servants, our military, our Federal government responsible for their inability to break and hold 30% of popular support in 2010?

Liberal Media Ignore Canadian Success Stories: Opposition Party meme

What about the economy and the issues that matter to Canadians?

The Liberals have spent years pushing every story as a crisis of democracy and inept government. The Federal Liberals failed to offer a credible alternative since losing power in 2006. Changing leader every two years and demanding an election won't cut it. Ignatieff has begun to offer an alternative that includes asking for all the other voters to re-join the Liberal party to end the Conservative government. So far Ignatieff has managed to lose ground in by elections, volunteers and donations. If you can't get Canadians to return to the Liberal party what gives you the gravitas to seek a general election before the full term in 2012? Are you an opportunist, trying to avoid a messy convention in Ottawa that may challenge your leadership?

The issues and problems of the Liberals in Alberta remind me of the Federal Liberals. Both are unable to capitalize on the mistakes of the incumbent. Other political parties have gained at their expense.

• Lack of effective policy?
• Weak leadership?
• Poor organization?
• Out of touch with the mainstream beliefs and values?
• Separatist leader Gilles Duceppe is polling higher than current leader on truthfulness, sincerity, competence, honesty and charisma.

Liberal Policy Vane?

What are the consequences of Liberals Bob Rae, Denis Coderre, Nancy Charest, John Manley, Colin Kenney, Romeo Dallaire, Warren Kinsella, Ken Dryden not being involved in any way, making critical comments about your policy, leadership or direction?

Michael Ignatieff may feel he has done enough rebuilding of the Liberal Party. The metrics don't support that analysis in my opinion.  I don't see an improvement of one or two points from the historical lows of 2008 as proof of an upswing.Is Michael Ignatieff tired or worn out trying to keep the Liberal party afloat and relevant?

Ignatieff, Layton, Duceppe: Public Sector Champions

Reports from the U.S. indicate employment is stabilizing with the addition of jobs in the government. Thousands are being hired to conduct a Census. After this contract expires will the private sector step in or is the current numbers of growth of jobs in the U.S. unsustainable? How will this affect us in Canada if unemployment in the U.S. remains above remains higher. 

In Canada we have seen concerns raised from some groups about the need to restrict the growth of government.

Since 2000 the trend has been reversed and the average number of government employees has been increasing. After a decade of steady increases an examination or review has been launched by the Conservative led government which took office in 2006.  It has been over four years and many of think this is long overdue.

The Federal Government has begun a review and has already earned some negative feedback from the opposition and media pundits. I have heard this statement repeatedly used against the CPC led Federal government. It does not believe in government, it is idealogical, it has been hollowing out the departments and role of government. They are weaking our country. Are they making this stuff up? I can't find proof of government shrinking it's payroll beyond some cosmetic changes. 

...we will conduct a comprehensive review of administrative functions and overhead costs. Our goal is to eliminate any redundant spending and find savings wherever they may exist. The review will look at external and internal service operations, business processes, and administration.

Just this week, I announced the elimination of 245 federal appointment positions across government. By streamlining these organizations, we are ensuring that resources are put to the best possible use for Canadians.

Reality vs Perception (Public Sector Employment)
 
The fourth-quarter increase was spread among all government sectors. The major contributors were educational institutions, with an increase of 29,000 employees, or 2.8%, over the fourth quarter of 2006. This growth was mainly concentrated in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.
General government employment amounted to just over 1.1 million, a gain of 2.4%, or 27,000. All three levels of general government contributed to this increase. Since 2000, however, federal and local government employment growth has outpaced that of the provincial and territorial governments.
Strong growth in the provincial administrations of Alberta and British Columbia was partly offset by a decrease in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Employment in health and social service institutions increased by 25,000, or 3.2%. Alberta accounted for over one-quarter of this growth.
Total public sector wages and salaries in the fourth quarter of 2007 were 3.3% higher than they were a year earlier. -The Daily

Population growth has been shifting for years in Canada. Democratic reform has included an additional 30 seats in parliament that mirrors a rebalancing of jobs in the private and public sector as well.

• British Columbia's population rose by 14,300, or 0.32%, to just over 4,494,200. It was the second consecutive quarter in which the province recorded the fastest population increase among the provinces.
• Ontario, the population rose by 0.12% to 13,134,500, the fastest fourth-quarter increase since 2003. Alberta's population increased 0.21% to just over 3,711,800.. - The Daily

I don't see the massive cuts, erosion in public services in education, or health as alleged by the opposition, where do they get their facts from?

Is the opposition, pundits being balanced in their criticism of this Federal government as "idealogical"  while ignoring the increase of Public Sector jobs?

Bloc Benefits From Liberal Political Subsidy: Nearly $ 300 million in welfare

The four opposition Political Parties are "entitled" to their entitlements!

Follow the money to see who Canadians are supporting with donations through membership to their political party.

On the surface, it would appear Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives have the most to lose if subsidies were cut because they garnered the most votes in the October election. The Conservatives earned $10 million in subsidies, compared to $7.7 million for the Liberals, $4.9 million for the NDP, $2.6 million for the Bloc Québécois and $1.8 million for the Greens.
But because the Conservatives have such a strong fundraising base, their subsidy represents only 37 per cent of the party's total revenues.
By comparison, the subsidy amounts to 63 per cent of the Liberals' funding, 86 per cent of the Bloc's, 57 per cent of the NDP's and 65 per cent of the Greens'. - CBC November 2008

 

Between 2004 and 2008, Canadians will have spent $290 million on subsidies to federal political parties. If subsidies continue, either because of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s reversal on the matter, or if a Liberal-NDP-Bloc Quebecois coalition takes power, Canadians will pay out another $260 million to parties between 2009 and 2013. That’s almost the price tag on another federal election fight between Ottawa’s warring forces.- Frontier Centre
..The BQ continues to depend on state subsidies like no other party: over 80% of the party's revenue comes from the annual subsidy. The Liberals are the only other party that gets a majority of its money from the state (though well behind the BQ at about 60% in 2008).
The fact that the Liberals and Michael Ignatieff essentially hold the balance of power in Parliament (the NDP and BQ have signaled that they will always vote against the government) means that it is unlikely that the Conservatives will reintroduce the measure to remove the subsidy. Unless, however, Stephen Harper wants to provoke an election ... but that likely won't be for a while. But it is imperative for the Liberals to learn how to thrive under this new regime. By my estimates, Conservative revenue is up about 60% since the 2004 changes to party finance. The Liberals are down 12%. Righting that balance has to be one of Michael Ignatieff's biggest priorities as Liberal leader.- Mapleleaf Web
The Conservative government nearly blew itself out of the water last November when it tried to cut off $27-million a year in federal allowances to political parties. Although polls showed the idea was popular with the public, the commentariat generally panned it as a low blow against competing parties, because they are more dependent on the subsidies than the Conservatives are. The opposition parties formed their famous coalition and threatened to vote non-confidence against the Conservatives, who quickly retracted the proposal. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, however, has vowed to bring it back as part of his campaign platform in the next election.-Globe & Mail
 
I don’t care what their motivations are: it’s the right thing to do. The public subsidy came in with the Chretien campaign finance reforms in 2003. But it was entirely contrary in spirit. The point of the restrictions on corporate and union donations was that elections should be a matter between the candidates and the voters. Corporations and unions don’t get extra votes in the ballot box, and shouldn’t get extra voice in the fund-raising contest. Nor should corporate and union leaders be able to donate other people’s money on their behalf. Whether to contribute to a political party, and how much, and to whom, should be a private, personal matter — voluntary, individual decisions.-Andrew Coyne
H/T to Pundits' Guide (Great Site for non-partisan information on Canadian Federal Politics)

The party raised $208,455.07 in the last three months of 2009 from 1,936 contributors, for an average donation size of $107.67. This yielded an annual take of some $621.5K, the Bloc's best ever non-election year since quarterly numbers were first reported in 2005, and the new party finance regime took effect.-Pundits Guide