“I very, very much wanted to be here, but … in a minority Parliament — when you take a look at the discussions we just had over the budget bills and other such legislation — it was absolutely impossible to be here,” Martin said. “This is the first possible opportunity that I had to be here.”
Candace became very very interested in whether that was actually the case….
June 7, 2005 – High River declares a state of local emergency, hundreds evacuated.
June 8, 2005 – Calgary readies for possible flooding. PMPM has a cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
June 9, 2005 – The river peaked at High River. PMPM did nothing noteworthy according to his site.
June 10, 2005 – Stephen Harper views flood damage (yes, it’s his home city, so what? He’s running the Opposition in a minority gov’t so has just as lame an excuse if he wanted one.) Notice I had to link to a blog – I guess either this wasn’t considered “news” by anybody, including the Conservative Party of Canada. And they wonder why people don’t see the ‘kinder, gentler’ side of him? PMPM reaffirmed his commitment to fixing healthcare in Canada. And he had to do that in Ontario because that IS Canada. Maybe he was relaxing after an exhausting week of running a minority government. Maybe his jet needed servicing.
June 11/12, 2005 – PMPM did nothing noteworthy again, according to his news tab.
June 13, 2005 – PMPM repeats his commitment to fixing healtcare, still in Ontario.
June 14, 2005 – PMPM buys more time in office (still in Ontario).
June 15, 2005 – PMPM has another cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
June 16, 2005 – High River braces for another onslaught of rain. PMPM hangs out with a major political leader of a really important country and makes very very important plans for the weekend.
June 17, 2005 – PMPM buys more votes in Ontario
June 18, 2005 – High River begins lifting evacuation orders, in time for Calgary to get hit
June 19, 2005 – PMPM hangs at an Ontario resort with European PMs
I thought the folks out west were supposed to be the strong, independent types who don’t need the PM to come to town and hold their hands during every crisis. Paul Martin is not God you know — he couldn’t have stopped the floods… maybe Trudeau could have though…
Yup, plus – we can figure out when we’re being lied to.
What’s your point?
Update:
Captain CSL Adscam Martin visits Ottawa’s Rideau Canal (historic) with the Librano$$$$$$$$$$$ China-built (funded by CIDA) yacht, christened (sorry, Jesus,) “Screw the West”, aka as f— the rest, (suckers).
Greeted by SSM/MSM/MSN cheer-leaders, AdScam promised a picnic (funded by G-G and Saul).
The picnic/picnique will feature Western beef/bouefs shipped in by Premier Keind of Oil-rich Alberta via Omaha.
Saddam sends his regrets.
Rumours in Ottawa have it (by Janie Lickspittle of the G&M) that Payola chief Gagliano
will pour grappa for free. (BYOBE): Bring your own brown envelopes. (Librano$$$$$$ tax-deductible receipts issued for amounts over $10,000 ($US preferred)).
Have a good day. (Those words are a fave of Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$)
Thanks, Kate!
I see a fatal flaw in PMPM’s logic: since the House does not sit on weekends, he cannot claim that going to Alberta sooner was impossible. Why the hell couldn’t he do his job on Saturday or Sunday when he didn’t have to be in the House to save his party’s ass?
What an ass! He thinks no one will figure that out… but he cannot fool me! Anyone else see how lame his argument is?
‘Course, perhaps he was just saying whatever Scott Reid told him to… in which case that makes a dual-assed Liberal monstrosity!
Hmmm… I went over the chronology of events again and saw entries for weekends in which PMPM did nothing really important. I’m sure most readers of this, my favorite blog, noticed that as well.
Do forgive me for using the word “ass” so much in my previous comment, but those damn Libby bastards really annoy the crap out of me (no pun intended).
The same reasoning worked with Canadians when Paul Martin couldn’t make it to Holland for a 60th Anniversary with Canadian vets.
Suckers!
Kate,
This is a terrific post.
But didn’t you forget that the flood victims should have been more grateful for Paul’s gesture since he was forced to give up precious time to attend St Jean Baptiste Day ceremonies in Quebec?
More proof that anyone or anything west of the great lakes has no import or interest to the LIBERANO scumbags. Since coming out to Calgary for any reason will not get him any votes he just didnt bother. I guess the booing he got when the queen was in town may have given him a clue. But, more likely it gave a clue to one of his handlers since I dont thing he even knows what a clue is.
Like Lester B Pearson said
“If you cant censor the truth,
you shoot the messenger.
Failing that you label him inept,
Failing that you commence to make up stories.
All in a days work for a SOCIALIST.”
Walking Eagle, I wasn’t fooled by PMPM when he dithered too long on going to Holland and finally went too late then, also.
I witnessed the same pattern of manipulation, deception, lies, bullshitting, bullying, dictating, stealing, etc. etc. during the Chretien years. The two men may not have been great chums, but they are certainly birds of a feather when it comes to being an absolute ass…
Date: 6 Dec. 2004 Today’s Agenda:
Address: To TO’s busy men/women> Wear red tie (gift from David Peterson, Ontario ex)> matching socks> practice my best unctous, oily demeanour> take the Challenger to Pearson> speechify >leave early> return to Office for briefing from Murphy, Reid & associates re AdScam ( that d judge)> brush grimace off face> review tomorrow’s QP talking points with Scotty> then home to bed.
Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin at the Canada-China Business Council 2004 Gala Dinner and AGM
Toronto, Ontario
December 6, 2004: Prime Minister Paul Martin delivers a speech at the Canada-China Business Council Gala Dinner in Toronto. Photo by Dave Chan – PMO.
Check against delivery
It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to meet with the CCBC — members of the business community who provide such an important link between Canada and China, and who have been partners with us in setting up several offices in key commercial centres across the world�s most populous nation.
This evening, I�d like to speak primarily about the future of our economic relationship with China. But let me emphasize at the outset that our connection with China is far more comprehensive than that. It comprises not just economic pursuits but also the global political agenda, public health, environmental issues, human rights, and culture. It is a relationship that has always been complex, and a relationship that has never been more important.
And that is why I�ll be travelling to China in January, to meet with President Hu, Premier Wen and other senior leaders — to engage them in discussions about our bilateral and multilateral relations, to talk about our partnership as nations and how it can grow and be enriched on all levels. I look forward to seeing many of you there, and meeting more members, when I attend a dinner held by the CCBC in Beijing.
blah, blah, blah… from:
http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp?id=353
Right, Maz2. PMPM just goes blahblahblah without saying anything meaningful.
President Hu, Premier Wen… are the “other senior leaders'” names Wat, Wer and Wi?
Don’t mind me. Just being silly.
And we mustn’t forget the $2-billion in gas tax PMPM just gave to Ontario and Quebec. Wonder if that made the $4.5-billion more palatable to Duceppe, a man I was convinced couldn’t be bought. Wonder what the cost of the photo-op was to have Dithers in Alta? He managed to get to Ireland too, hoping it would play well among Indo-Canadians who are anti-SSM. Still say he does not look a happy guy these days. Perhaps internal revolt beginning to grow, the result of SSM?
CBC’s broadcast of our supreme leader’s speech regarding the Air India terrorist act was very revealing. My sense was that I was looking at a hollow man. All surface, no depth. All image, no substance, a drama queen with no soul.
His refusal to show up in Alberta until after the floods is just another bullet in the chamber.
Shifting gears…. maybe what needs to happen is for a book to be written about what the Grinding Grits have been upto for the past 12 years. It could be a best seller. Even to the point of funding the next Tory Election campaign. Invest in Canada’s future, buy the book, help save Canada from the Grinding Grits. Imagine a best seller exposing the Con-artist Grits for what they really are. It wouldn’t even be fiction.
Truthsayer, I have for years been looking for conservative books that I know are out there, but the major bookstores in Saint John NEVER have them. They only carry lefty or politically neutral books! That is the truth-honest! Is Indigo a Liberal supporter?
I know there’s a book of the sort you’re talking about. I believe the title is like: “Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal” I forget on which site I saw it, but someone else may remember and mention it.
BTW, don’t count on Stevie Cameron to write,
“For Me, I Ham on da Take”: Crime, Corruption and Greed during the Chretien/Martin Years”.
She’s part of the problem herself! Uh-oh, I just looked out the window. There’s a bunch of guys in suits coming up the walkway with baseball bats and brass knuckles… Just joshin’!:-)
I think it was Shakespeare who best described Paul Martin’s speeches:
“Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more… It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…”
Comments on politics, the culture, economics and religion by Paul Tuns — in short, everything about the human endeavour from a non-hyphenated conservative perspective. I am Toronto-based writer and editor, whose articles, columns and reviews have appeared in more than 35 publications. I am editor-in-chief of The Interim, Canada’s life and family newspaper, author of Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal and a regular contributor to the book pages of the Halifax Herald.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Paul Tuns: Jean Chretien: a Legacy of Scandal.
soberingthoughts.blogspot.com
The reason that Martin is not a happy man, is that the survival tactics he has employed have not, and will not deliver him what he needs the most – a majority Liberal government next times he goes to the polls – and there is no hope for that in sight.
Another minority – either Conservative or Liberal -and the daggers already unsheathed will be put to use.
Kate, I think the same applies for Harper, don’t you? I don’t think the Tories share their leader’s intelligence or integrity in that they want to win so desperately, they might just give credence to MSM’s anti-Harperism, replacing him with somebody they think will appeal to the media. Saw Harper in Ontario today, 31 degrees and he’s buttoned-up. Got to loosen him up and get him out there doing pilates or something – anything – so he’ll look more comfortable in his own skin. But the vox pops they did run showed a more appreciative group than the media would have us believe.
Iron Lady, I suspect (but cannot prove) that the “misgivings” and “unrest” in the CPC ranks are the construct of the MSM vs. reality. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
Look at some of the blogs, and the comments. Someone on a comment at mine said “I hold Harper responsible for …” (essentially not having an election). What? He should have foreseen Belinda’s betrayal? When his Deputy, who was sleeping with her, didn’t? ad nauseum.
Harper has two choices. Stick it out and eventually win (assuming elections ever happen again in Canada) OR resign, return to Alberta and get us the hell out of Dodge.
There’s a fundamental difference between Harper and Martin.
Harper’s reasons for wanting to become Prime Minister weren’t motivated by personal ambition, but by a long time involvement in taxpayer’s interests, and a conservative vision that Canada can be a stronger nation with less regulation and bloated social programs, with open support for our allies and a military that is meaningful.
Paul Martin believes the office was his birthright and has since he was a young man, that it was owed to him as a result of his father’s failure to attain it – and anything less than achieving that and sustaining it is personal failure. He is ambition personified, and he chooses his allies, tailers Canadian policy and takes on whatever personal “beliefs” are necessary to achieve that singular goal.
That’s why he’s dangerous and that’s why Canada is rudderless.
Agenda: First day as PM PM. Thank you, Daddy for your patience. Your advice on dumping Jean worked. Heh, Heh.
Got your flag here, Daddy; kissing the flag as you advised.
Daddy, when Canadians realize I am phony, will you be there to guide/assist me? You will? ‘kay .
Have to go, Daddy: calls from Maurice & Paul to answer. Say hello to Lester and Pierre for me.
Now, let me see… what is this red button for?
Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Ambition realized
Best known for his part in slashing the national deficit (“come hell or high water”) as finance minister in the 1990s, the 65-year-old Martin took over leadership of the Liberal Party in an overwhelming victory last month.
As finance minister, Martin stood beside Chretien during the Liberals’ deficit-slashing campaign of the mid-90s.
But the legacy of a hard-fought leadership race that left Martin as an also-ran never dissipated. In June 2002, the tensions boiled over when Chretien, upset with Martin openly campaigning for his job, relegated his rival to the backbenches.
Two months later, the tables were turned when Chretien was compelled to announce he would quit by February 2004.
So for Martin, his claim on the title of prime minister fulfills an ambition that dates back at least 13 years. And some say his political destiny was forged much earlier than that.
His father, Paul Martin Sr., tried and failed three times to become Liberal leader — prompting many to suggest Martin’s motivation was born of a need to do what his father could not.
That memory, at least, was with the prime minister on Friday. When he arrived at Rideau Hall, Martin was clutching the Canadian flag that flew at half-staff on Parliament Hill the day his father died.
Agenda of change
But as he takes the keys to the Prime Minister’s Office, Martin says he’s moving in with his eye keenly focused on the future. Strengthening social foundations, fostering economic growth and promoting Canada internationally are topping that agenda.
In his first statement as prime minister, Martin underscored his commitments.
“As prime minister, I look forward to the opportunity to rally Canadians toward a new sense of national purpose and around a new agenda of change and achievement,” he said in a statement.
“We are going to change the way things work in Ottawa in order to re-engage Canadians in the political process and achieve demonstrable progress on our priorities.”
He got the transformative ball rolling with his cabinet lineup, dropping 23 of the 38 members of Chretien’s cabinet.
Martin’s new-look cabinet will give western Canada a higher profile on Parliament Hill, led by the appointment of two of Martin’s closest allies to the most senior portfolios.
Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale takes the job of finance minister. And Alberta MP Anne McLellan trades the health portfolio for the title of deputy prime minister. She is also minister of a new public safety portfolio.
The new Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Department won’t be based on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Instead, it will be focused on borders and terrorism, as well as public-health functions and disaster response.
As for government accountability, he has promised a thorough examination of Canada’s finances as soon as he takes office, saying government waste was not an inevitability.
“We will review every single existing government expenditure and on an ongoing basis we will continually review government programs to make sure they are doing the job they were meant to do,” Martin said at a Liberal fundraising dinner earlier in the week.
Martin’s lieutenant in Quebec, Pierre Pettigrew, will be charged with handling the intergovernmental affairs portfolio, alongside his new role as health minister.
Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
This is hilarious stuff………. “government waste” “as soon as he takes office” > Windbag AdScam Martin.
Day:Monday, 27 June, 2005.
From PM to PM.
Red River Alert!
Put Challengers I & II on Red Alert. Be sure Gov’t Can cheques are pre-signed; brown envelopes filled; $20’s only, untraceable.
Declare emergency: Golden Boy in peril.
Bring best smile, best boys, no. 1&2 grips, sound biters; spin physicians are on notice now.
Q: Where does Red River flow into? South or north?
And don’t forget to brush. Which riding is Lloyd in?
Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Flood watch issued for Manitoba
WINNIPEG (CP) – Residents of southeastern Manitoba were put on alert Sunday to watch out for possible flooding from anticipated heavy rains.
Officials from Manitoba’s Water Stewardship Ministry and Emergency Measures Organization said up to 50 millimeters of rain could fall Sunday night in an area east of Winnipeg running down to the U.S.-Canada border.
Much of the area falls within the flood-prone Red river basin, said Alf Warkentin, the ministry’s senior river forecaster.
“Generally speaking, people should look out for low areas and try to stay away from them because water could rise rapidly,” he said.
Kate, your statement above is absolutely correct. Paul Martin refuses to steer Canada anywhere but straight at a ‘berg, full speed ahead, ’cause he thinks that direction is where the people want him to take them. What a moron he is!
Gotta go to work now…