…had my qualified sympathy up until the precise moment in time at which her supporters denounced Jason Kenney’s trip to Mexico as a “photo op” that would do “more harm than good”.
So, let’s get this straight.
You screamed bloody murder that Stephen Harper wasn’t doing enough to help, you splattered every Conservative minister within spitting distance of your tantrums, you bawled and threatened and cajoled, and now that someone is making a personal effort to help – you transform Brenda Martin’s cause into a political stink bomb. At about the same time as details begin to emerge that cast a little suspicion on the purity of her victimhood status.
Nice work, people.
However, I suspect the Harper government will keep doing what they can to help her – in spite of her ingratitude, and despite your complicity in tossing her to a media who views her as little more than a bit of political red meat to drag through the streets.
So, keep your petitions and spare me your guilt trip. I’m not calling my member of parliament. If Brenda Martin wanted a guarantee that the Canadian government would intervene to protect her human rights as a Canadian citizen, she should have chosen to live and work in Canada.
Update – Exhibiting the level of judgment that likely landed her in prison in the first place, Ms. Martin is now calling efforts to help her a “dog and pony show”. Decide for yourself who’s chosen to play the part of horse’s ass.
Thanks for posting this Kate. I watched her mother last night blaming Harper for this, and immediately wondered where the outrage has been for the last two years. Couple that with Ms. Martin herself stating that she would not come back to Canada just to go to jail, and this all starts to stink. Shame on CTV for not telling the whole story (again), missing the point that she willingly worked there without a visa for 10 years; personally chose the lawyer working her case; and of course assuming that she is innocent. I suspect we can now see the media searching out every person held in a foreign country and bring their tearful story to the evening news. Each individual case will be PM Harper’s fault. I noted that ex-PMPM also went to see her – how far did that little “photo-op” go to obtain her release?
Lisa la ‘inflame the situation’ was the last straw for me last nite on the Nat.news.Her absolute Cons. bashing,and comments were the point that turned me completely off.Jason Kenney asked her about where the comments re ‘photo-op’ were when Paul Martin went..she snarkily said something about ‘he isn’t in Gov’t’..dolt!
The Liberals allowed how many Canadians be tortured for years in foreign prisons.
Just like in the States when the Dems and MSM attached there little horsey to that mentally unstable Cindy Sheehan. Libs and Dippers have no shame and will use anyone and everything to further their quest for power and riches. The MSM knows that when the Libs are back in power they can all go back to sleeping for 13 years and possibly gain a nice, plumb government posting for their [lack] of effort. Maybe even Governor General….
she was in Mexico working illegally, she did not use the lawyer recommended by the Consular staff when first offered and she looks tanned and rested – jail hasn’t been a picnic I’m sure but it isn’t cause for suicide.
She and her friends have now made it very difficult for anything to happen and CTV is at their usual pathetic ambulance chasing best.
What happens is Mexico, stays in Mexico. Her “terrible two’s” level tantrums notwithstanding, she made her bed. Now STFU, enjoy your pillow and let the experts work quietly in the background to get things done.
Regardless of political stripe, in principle, the Canadian government should protect its citizens from persecution on behalf of a corrupt regime’s, such as Mexico, corrupt officials. Perhaps Mexico could be reminded that there is sunshine available in other countries that don’t mistreat Canadians or hold them for ransom. Perhaps the PMO could suggest same to Canadian vacationers. Perhaps Mexico could become a slightly better place for both Mexicans and travellers if this were to happen.
I firmly believe that this is a “manufactured” situation, and suspect that some of our pilfered tax money has been used to grease Mexican palms by those of the Liberano persuasion. What a coincidence that Paul Martin and other Liberano$ have been to Mexico and taken up the “good fight” for poor Ms Martin.
She has suddenly surfaced with all the horror stories and seems to have unfettered access to phones, media and Liberal politicians. The prison system there must be horrible and oppresive to give her so much freedom to cry the blues. The Lib$ didn’t get much traction pleading the case of the poor guy on death row in Montana for executing two people, so have had to improve the optics by enlisting the heartwrenching story of the “fragile, suicidal” Ms. Martin.
My questions are – how and why was she working in Mexico without a work permit? And after ten years, she doesn’t know the language?
And, this strange situation of ‘back wages’ amounting to ten thousand dollars? How could it have happened that her employer owed her ten thousand dollars in wages? How many months work was that? What was her salary? Her costs? Has she been working for this same guy for ten years?
And instead of paying her rent or …she immediately put that ten thousand dollars back into his company? And that’s not money laundering?
And- what’s been happening for two years? Why hasn’t she said and done anything already?
Is she innocent? Because she is Canadian?
Again, as has been pointed out, she went to live and work in another country; she is subject to their laws. Yet, she seems to refuse both the laws of Mexico and Canada.
And – the MSM is using it for yet more ‘Conservative bashing’.
Two thoughts.
(1) When I received my passport it came with a booklet outlining what the Canadian Government could and could not do when it came to protecting me in the event of arrest in a foreign country. This did not include putting the foreign country’s legal system to question. It was merely watching that I was dealt with according to their laws. http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/bon_voyage_but-en.asp#2
(2) My copy of Lonely Planet Mexico is very specific that Mexico operates on a Napoleonic system of justice in which one must prove their innocence.
Ducktrapper
No one knows what has been done by PMSH. He doesn’t release to the media all his foreign contacts.
Secondly, it isn’t up to the PM to issue travel advisories to other countries. I believe it’s the job of Foreign Affairs and I doubt this situation of Brenda Martin where many mistakes have aoccured, many of her own doing unfortantly, will create a travel advisory as you seem to want. Economic blackmail, other than a complete embargo which will never happen, are essentially uneforceable. The only thing it would accomplish is create sound bites for the MSM who probably would take it out of context and accuse Harper of being mean-spirited and vincictive against a developing nation such as mexico.
Our government has bigger fish to fry and one country that comes to mind begins with the letter C and ends in a A and is hosting the olympics this summer. I want Harper condemning those actions first.
There ya go. An authentically conservative post. Plainspoken, no namby pambiness to speak of. Judgemental – this is key.
There are dozens if not hundreds of Canadian MEN, with penises and hair on their back, imprisoned under sketchier circumstances around the globe. Nobody gives a crap about them.
Remember William Sampson. Thirty Three million Canadians guilty of letting one of their own rot in a Saudi Arabian jail for years under the most bogus of charges (white economist detonating bombs???); where were the feminist MSM reporters then?
I believe this is just another “pseudo-scandal” in a VERY lonnnnggg list the liberals have compiled to attempt to smear the Harper government – along with some very helpful MSM.
So lets get this straight…
For two years now BM has been in a Mexican jail.
Suddenly, liberal MP’s are taking up her cause (and visiting her – like they did Scrieber) and blaming the Harper govt for her incarceration.
So – SH himself forced her to work in Mexico, without a visa, and take money (wages??) from a convicted criminal and he forced her to choose a scammy lawyer rather than one of the others recommended by our consulate. SH himself got the Mexicans to hold her for two years without a trial.
Stephen Harper is one powerful guy.
So now everyone is clammering for SH to phone the Mexican president and demand she come home – although she says if she does have to come home to jail she doesn’t want to come home….
So we have a so called suicidal woman being offered a hand to get out of jail and she refuses because she might have to serve time in a Canadian jail, we have an opposition party accusing the government of photo-ops after they have had their photos taken with her, we have an MSM screaming about the injustice, tracking down every sympathetic friend and family member to show them crying on TV while denigrating the SH government for not getting her out of jail, we have polls asking if we are “doing enough”.
Yikes….what’s next
Well, I am sure that once this dies down, the liberals will move onto the next pseudo scandal on the list.
What a country we live in – anything to detract from the Harper government’s success in governing this country.
This whole mess stinks. I agree with Kate. I too had some sympathy until CTV called Kenney’s visit a photo op, after making a big deal of Paul Martin’s trip. The MSM’s flagrant hypocrisy is boundless. The more they rail against Harper the more I’ll speak in his favour.
Thanks for the link, Kate!
This whole thing was gnawing at me yesterday, and so this morning I used my blog to vent.
Brenda Martin had me until she and her supporters started belittling the PM’s efforts.
As others have pointed out, her story is not as lily-white as CTV would have you believe.
Check out that Lisa La phlegme.
I tell ya her hair is bigger than Mike Duffy.
I’m so mad I cant speak! Here’s a woman that aided and abeted criminals that scamed 60 million dollars from the elderly and gullible while living in Mexico to be immune from Canadian law and now she wants the Canadian govt to help? Keep her there,let her rot,maybe others will think before they try it again.
Fdsaf/Andrew cuts right to his hobby horse once again: misogyny.
Nice to know a banned leopard doesn’t change its spots.
Given his usual M.O. this means he’ll post as someone else to slam me or anyone else who thinks he’s a tool.
Yeah, he’s cutting pretty close to the one click search & delete function.
If she turns out to be guilty this will be terribly embarrassing to the Liberals. However the Liberal spin doctors will attempt to blame others.
Is anything uglier than leftist do-gooders in action?
They cry you a river, then when you take the bait, they call you names and belittle you for not helping for the “right reasons” or not doing enough fast enough.
If anyone has a name for those kinds of people I would like to hear it.
As a Canadian citizen, has she been reporting her world-wide income to the Canadian government and paying Canadian taxes, or had she abandoned Canadian residency and the protections and services it affords?
Exactly!!! Well put!!!!
JW … the name is Liberals !
Kate …. my sentiments to a “T” thank you.
“They cry you a river, then when you take the bait, they call you names and belittle you for not helping for the “right reasons” or not doing enough fast enough.”
I am beginning to think that this is another “manufactured” story by the Liberals and their MSM friends.
Seems that whenever a Liberal MP “takes on a case” we find out they have visited prior to it becoming “news”.
Then we have the main player “dramatically” demanding, crying, threatening suicide, blaming the government, etc. etc. etc. (a-la Schrieber, Cadman, Montana murderer, and now Martin).
Things just seem a little too over the top and timely for it to be real.
If things are sooooo archaic and torturous in the Mexican jail, how come she makes regular phone calls and is allowed photo ops with opposition government members.
Just some thoughts going through my common sense mind.
There are (at least) two issues here.
1. The Brenda Martin case, which is being thoroughly dissected here.
2. All the OTHER Mexican injustices directed at Canadian tourists. They’ve been thoroughly covered/exposed over the last few years.
The short story is Mexico is NOT a safe fun-in-the-sun destination. If you’re not clear on what criminal actions have been visited on Canadian tourists in Mexico, then you need to do some research before booking your flight.
(There are a lot of Carribean islands who would be delighted to share their sun and sand with you while treating you with respect.
http://www.st-maarten.com/ )
Regardless of the alternative reality propoganda spit out by the CBC/Liberal/NDP axis of evil, Martin is more than likely a criminal and Khadr is definitely a terrorist.
With the constant media emphasis on her mother, Martin is being positioned as an innocent child, wrongly convicted, even though she’s 51.
The 21 year old Khadr is as well. They only show one photo of him from when he was 14.
Pathetic liars, the lot of them.
I wonder if we should start a contest–a guessing game, I suppose: what will be the next pseudo-scandal cooked up by the Libs and compliant MSM to try to smear the Conservatives?
So far, they’ve tried (and failed) with Mulroney-Schreiber, Cadman, NAFTA, … the list goes on.
Note to Liberals: scandals won’t actually become stick unless they’re real. Stop manufacturing smear garbage and get on with your jobs. Sheesh.
’tis true, there’s more to this story than the media are letting on. I lost sympathy as soon as PMPM went down there and there was no cries of “photo op!” but as soon as a Conservative went there….
I’m clear that all this was ever about was putting the Harper government in a Catch-22 situation: darned if they do, darned if they don’t.
The fact that she is “unstable,” as her best friend continually asserted, means that anything Brenda Martin says is, basically, suspect, anyway.
I’d love to know who cooked this one up. It has all the earmarkings of the Librano-Scandal-Mongers.
On CPAC last night, Prime Minister Harper made it abundantly clear that if a Mexican citizen was in a Canadian jail and the Mexican President called him to ask him to intervene, he would not have the jurisdiction to interfere with the Canadian judiciary. By extension, neither can PMSH interfere in the Mexican judicial system.
Who do these people think they are: Martin, her friends, the MSM, to cast aspersions on the CPC and PMSH.
Just another attempt to tar and feather the Conservatives. This is going way over the top.
Note to Brenda; Dr Kovorkian is looking for work.
He can help you.
“I lost sympathy as soon as PMPM went down there and there was no cries of “photo op!”
I’m just impressed that Paul Martin was sighted. I guess he must have just got paid for not showing up for work and representing his constituents so he thought he would get more concerned about this lady then his constitutionally mandated duties as a sitting MP. Hmmm, yep, looks like a photo-op to me when Mr Dithers actually takes a stand on something without changing his position 45 times.
“There are dozens if not hundreds of Canadian MEN, with penises and hair on their back …”
So THAT’s why there are so many misses at the urinals.
I’m going to Mexico for the fifth straight time in 2 weeks. Can’t wait.
I am currently applying for work overseas and intercontinental in the energy sector. I have traveled a little in the states and once went to Mexico. We had some some talks with the Mexican people where ever we went in Cancun. These people seemed very intelligent and have a very good drive to own their own businesses.
They work in Canada and USA on the tourist down time and everyone we talked to got work visas to work in Canada and USA. They said they did not have any problem with the system that was in place because of labour shortage. They also said that the Mexican government supported this idea because it meant money that could be taxed when sent home and when these people started the businesses.
They also stated that there is the cop crime of taking bribes. This they stated will not be fixed in their lifetime but when their kids are 18yrs old it will be a lot better and when their grand children reach 18yrs old that the system should be fixed and the old system will be weeded out.
My point is that if you are working in a country, you have to have work visa. Have a country contact for the Canadian consulate, follow the rules just as we expect them to follow the rules. We did not party so hard that we fell off balconies, get beat up, work illegally, buy drugs to party harder and we still had a good time.
BM; I do not know why you feel that you have a right to our best lawyers, politicians and our worst MSM to promote your cause of getting out of jail free. You have not paid taxes, supported any of our programs for betterment of society between of Canada and Mexico. So you took the chance of embarrassing the Canadian Prime Minister in power to help you with the cry “I will kill myself” if i do not get out of jail. Maybe the MSM should carry the news of what you have been doing for the last 10 years that you have worked in that country, how much taxes you have paid to their country, but they would not, it is not in the best interests of embarrassing the Conservative Government. Merle Underwood.
Here is one fact that the Liberal media is “conveniently” omitting from their Brenda Martin Conservative bash fest: The Mexican government said that when Brenda was arrested on January 19, 2006 the Canadian consul could have had her released within 72 hours BEFORE her charges were officially laid.
Think hard – which government was in charge on January 19th, 2006. Hint: Liberals/Martin.
So WHO really dropped the ball right from the beginning? Liberals.
Also, PM Harper said yesterday that there have been upwards of 100 Canada/Mexico exchanges in relation to this case over the past two years . For Brenda Martin’s OWN privacy reasons these are confidential.
Now the Liberals are breaking all confidentiality rules by broadcasting everything they can dig up about a private citizen’s plight and feeding it to the media and goading her on.
I am disgusted. How many of us woulod want a personal issue broadcast everywhere for political reasons? Brenda Martin did some bad things. She is not “innocent”. As noted, she chose Mexico and worked there illegally for 10 yers without a green card. She claims to not know the language – how did she survive in Mexico for 10 years without knowing the language?
So – Liberal media – check your calendars – the Liberal government let Brenda down in January 2006. The Conservatives are trying to fix the mess.
Period.
There are more questions.
Apparently, Paul Martin was down in Mexico on business; he didn’t go down to specifically visit her. Oh, and he’s still getting an MP’s salary even though 95% of his time is dealing with is personal business interests.
My further questions. Brenda Martin was apparently working in Mexico without a work visa. What was her legal status there? Isn’t this akin to an ‘illegal alien’?
Was she doing this to get out of paying taxes? Or was she paying them to Canada?..and therefore, justified in asking for Canadian help.
Apparently, she only work for her boss for ten months. What was she doing there for the other nine years? Who was she working for?
Again, I don’t understand her being paid ten thousand dollars in ‘back wages’ (for ten months?) and then, rather than using it for her own needs, she immediately handed it all, not some but all, back to him to ‘invest’. Isn’t that money laundering?
And – what was she doing for the other nine years?
Oh, and why hasn’t the adoring MSM investigated these rather basic questions?
I’ve been to Mexico many times and have never feared for my safety,then again I’m not a criminal nor do I get drunk and diss the local authorities.
“Bring me back” she says. I don’t want to come back if I have to go to jail.. ” Bring us back” says the Leb/Canadians . But when the danger passes don’t expect me to remain living, working, and paying taxes in Canada. “Take us back” say Mama and Omahr Kadar but don’t dare expect us to support your disgusting country. I THINK IT IS WAY PAST TIME TO PUT A CAP ON THIS CRAP.
As I said, regardless of political stripe and well, just regardless. Sampson’s stay in Saudi comes to mind, as well. If we need to change our policy on this issue, so be it. Foreign Affairs/PMO? Nit pick then. Someone with some clout. Unlike, Saudi Arabia, Mexico depends more on Canada than the reverse. If even 100 people decide, on the advice of the Canadian government (or not), to seek sunshine elsewhere, Mexico loses. Two innocent women, here in Thunder Bay, are still afraid to travel anywhere because they are wanted in Mexico on downright goofy murder charges. I want Canada to defend the rights of its citizens whether the individual merits that concern or not. That is why it’s a principle. Some of you folks seem to be ignoring principle for the sake of small time (revengeful) politics. I don’t see this as a Conservative vs. Liberal issue. Colour me wrong if you can but I’m sticking to my version, well, unless and until I’m convinced that I’m wrong.
O.K. Now I’m really angry!!
She’s calling Jason Kenney’s visit a dog and pony show’!!!!
Candian MSM is corrupt.
CTV and the Libs are driving this one.
Both are suspect.
It’s Stephen Harper’s fault, CTV and Brenda’s mother have told us so.
Will we ever know the truth about Brenda Martin and her entanglements with a convicted telephone scam artist in Mexico?
Not from Canadian Press or any other MSM.
I vote for search and delete Kate.
Ducktrapper and a few others: let me get this straight…in Canada you have Adscam,the CWB, the gun registry,Canadian Steamships, the B. Stronick buyoff,foreign tax havens for the well connected, the persecution of Ezra Levant etc., fire bombings of Muslim homes in Calgary, corruption on the reserves, anarchy in Caledonia, gun battles in Toronto, babies freezing in the snow, immigration corruption, importing sex trade workers, and what about the revolving door for pedophiles, rapists etc. Well I think you get the idea of where I’m going with this…And you want Stephen Harper to do something about the justice system in Mexico??? Your hypocricy is shouting louder than your righteous indignation.
The answer seems to be so simple to me…stay home. But I know you won’t because it’s cheap here in Mexico and Cuba and China and Thailand and…. And you will keep buying Chinese products in WalMart because they are cheap. And you will go to China for the Olympics…And you will keep doing the same old things and complaining and criticizing other countries but doing nothing of substance because if you do it will cost you money.
When you get Canada straighted out maybe then you can help us here in Mexico.
Al in Mexico
Why should your sympathy for Brenda Martin have anything at all to do with perceived political opportunism on the part of people who on the whole don’t even know her?
Do conservative values somehow suddenly dictate that you not support her?
¿Dondé vive en México, Al?
Well said Al in Mexico,Ducktrapper said”unless I’m covinced that I’m wrong”,if you are a lefty,which from your post I assume you are,then there is no way of convincing you of anything,lefty’s minds are already set in stone,regardless of facts.
I think Al in Mexico makes a good point – especially regarding HRC’s, which like Mexico seem to presume the defendant to be guilty until proven innocent.
What happens in Guadalajara stays in Guadalajara.
h.ryan: “lefty’s minds are already set in stone, regardless of facts.”
Is there any point in discussing this statement, or is your mind made up, irrespective of arguments that might sway a more flexible thinker?
Speaking for myself, Crabgrass – my opinion isn’t a question of “conservative values”, but of reason.
I’m swayed by the facts as I know them, and the behavior of Ms.Martin and her supporters when legitimate help was offered.
Those actions undermined my confidence in their honesty and motives. The result is that I now claims about her innocence, her dire need, with a grain of salt.
Thirteen years of liberal lies and theft have jaded me into being a rigid right winger.
That Brenda Martin was threatening to kill herself rather than go to jail in Mexico leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. This reaction is typical of someone who is playing up to the media and government.