Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Opposition, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, for months the government has known about very serious allegations concerning former prime minister Brian Mulroney. It received hundreds of pages on the whole affair.
The Prime Minister even received personal letters from Mr. Schreiber and yet the government did nothing for months. Why?
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, last week I announced that as a result of a sworn affidavit that has been filed in court the government would appoint an independent third party to advise the government on how to proceed with such allegations.
Let me make clear what we will be doing. We will be asking that independent third party, whom we will be naming very shortly, to provide us with the terms of reference for a full public inquiry as well as any other course of action that the independent party deems appropriate.
Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Opposition, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the information prompting a reaction from the Prime Minister had been in his hands for months: a letter from Mr. Schreiber, marked “To the Addressee Only – For His Eyes Only”.
This from a Prime Minister obsessed with controlling everything down to the last detail, as his caucus knows all too well. The Prime Minister is hiding behind the PCO and junior staff in his own office.
Will he step up to the plate and do the right thing, that is to launch immediately a full public inquiry?
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I just answered this question about a public inquiry. The independent third party will give the government the appropriate terms of reference for such an inquiry, and such an inquiry will be launched.
Let me just speak to this issue of the letters, which the Leader of the Opposition alleges I have. Let us be very clear. I remind the Liberal leader that Karlheinz Schreiber has been the subject of extradition proceedings by the federal government for the past eight years. I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that when somebody writes about his extradition proceedings, that is not handled by the Prime Minister. That goes to appropriate government officials.
Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Opposition, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, even Mr. Mulroney is calling for a full public inquiry. The Prime Minister must be the only person who does not think it is a good idea.
Why? What is he afraid of? Will he do the right thing? Will he take on his responsibilities and call a full public inquiry now?
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Leader of the Opposition had whipped himself up into that question and has failed to listen to the previous two answers.
That is precisely what the government will be doing. Under the circumstances, the independent party that the government will be employing will be making a recommendation to the government on the appropriate terms of inquiry for a full public inquiry.
Prime Minister Harper’s first response to calls for a public inquiry was (http://tinyurl.com/2cx9yy):
“This is not a route that I want to go down, and I don’t think that if the Liberal Party thought twice about it, it is a power they would want to give me”,
But Dion wasn’t listening then either, and kept insisting, and now he’s gonna get exactly what Harper so graciously warned him about. As L. Ian Macdonald wrote in the Gazette (http://tinyurl.com/34aydq):
“Mulroney wants to add new players, “elected officials … as well as journalists.”
“Elected officials. That would be Jean Chrétien and his chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, and his senior advise,r (sic) Eddie Goldenberg, and his director of communications, Peter Donolo, and the clerk of the Privy Council, Jocelyne Bourgon, and the then-Solicitor- General Herb Gray, and the former justice minister, Allan Rock, and all their officials.”
“What did they know about the Airbus hoax, and when did they know it. What were their motives, then and later? Was it a diversion from the fact they had almost lost the country in the 1995 referendum? How about Shawinigate, the Auberge Grand Mère loan files, and the naked abuse of power by Chrétien in the case of François Beaudoin?”
So, all the dirt on the Liberals is going to come out, and Harper has insulated himself from being labelled a “bully” since he merely did what the Liberals and their MSM public relations firms asked him to do.
About Mulroney’s fate, MacDonald writes:
“In rolling the Airbus tape all the way back to Air Canada’s acquisition of the A-320s back in 1988, Mulroney knows perfectly well there is no problem in it. He was never involved in the file. And the Air Canada procurement process was transparent and clean. All the airline executives, who would have testified to that in 1997 are still alive, and would be happy to do so again.”
The nutty professor and his class of clowns have been duped again!
ET
You have got the Libranos pegged…also those slimeballs still have $40 million of OUR Adscam taxdollars…Offshore bank accounts??
Good – now Harper has appointed an impeccable advisor, a University President, David Johnston, U of Waterloo, to advise on the terms and references of a public inquiry.
Now, the Liberals, who got themselves into this quicksand, have to get themselves out. They have to fulfil their commitment to Schreiber that he not be deported; apparently, they are yelling about that in QP today. After all, Schreiber now holds the cards on them; he can blackmail them to their root canals.
AND, the Liberals now have to work very, very hard, to LIMIT the terms of the proposed inquiry! They have to keep themselves out of it!
Their original agenda was simple, was school-yard juvenile. Besmirch Harper because he’s so popular in the polls. Can’t find anything on him. Along comes Schreiber, and they, fellow travellers in corruption, fall into his trap faster than a dumb beetle to a snake’s tongue.
Simple juvenile name-calling! Besmirch Mulroney and link Mulroney to Harper!! Three cheers! We’ve done it. The thing is, the Liberals didn’t think, as they slithered down Schreiber’s snake-like gut. They didn’t think. All they wanted was to denigrate Harper by smearing Mulroney and then, linking the two. That’s all; that’s all.
They’ve got all kinds of links all ready to call out in the MSM! Civil servants who haven’t been flung off Parliament Hill but continue to work in govt. Dinners between the two. Heck, they even claim that they spoke on the phone; they want records of conversations between the two!
No inquiry. Ever. An inquiry involves searching for, and even finding, the truth. The truth about Mulroney; the truth about Harper – wasn’t any part of the agenda. The agenda of the Liberals was only to besmirch Harper’s good name.
And now, they’re in deep quicksand. They’ve got to prevent Schreiber’s deportation or he’ll extort all kinds of stuff from them. They’ve got to limit the terms of the inquiry.
Who says we have dull politics up in Canada? Heh – this is more fun than any James Bond flick.
The LIEberals are sure getting desperate. I agree with ET’s analysis, this is a whole ‘guilt by association’ tactic in spite of the fact that there is no guilt.
LIEberals have finally ‘jumped the shark’, only to realize too late, that they are the main course for dinner.
Given that KHS was an arms dealer, the axiomatic general rule of conduct should be observed:
“Be careful when in the presence of HUNS who know their way around GUNS!!”
I expect this file to go politically radioactive with Chernobyl like meltdown probability.
I would strongly recommend iodine pills to arrest political thyroid gland poisoning.
I have talked to so many people like Dion – I never know if they are deaf or just plain ole dumb, or both.
Carlyle McKenna to unseat/evict Citoyen Dion? But, Franky is a member of the same investment club as Dubya McBusHitler; the Carlyle Group.
Oh, well, as ex-Librano$ Carla Parrish said, Ya gotta love those rich Amuricans when i say so, ‘specially when it’s time for all good Liberals to come to the aid of the Party. …-
Frank McKenna’s eye on Liberal leadership?
Given SES’s recent poll showing Dion’s Prime Ministerial potential at rock bottom, is McKenna in the first stages of testing the waters for a future bid at Liberal leadership? (national newswatch)
…-
Blue Skies Over Bad Lands: Ceasfire Newsletter #3
Most Canadians don’t know that Frank McKenna is an active member of the Carlyle Group, a multi-billion-dollar Washington D.C.-based private investment firm. …
blueskiesbadlands.blogspot.com/2005/01/ceasfire-newsletter-3.html
Great analysis at 3:14 ET!
Nothing like good ol’ scripted outrage from Dion to show just how passionate he is about this certain issue. Unfortunately for him, Stephen Harper didn’t follow the template the Liberals were expecting him to.
And here I thought the Writers’ Guild was on strike!
Public Inquiry …
Lie Detectors for
Liberals
Schreiber
CBC and rest of MSM includidng
Newspaper Journalists
Save 30 Million dollars of our money.
Thank you.
We are doing this all for $300,000 of Schreiber’s misplaced money so he can stay in Canada!
Give me a break.
Get ready for a rough ride. Puffy Duffy et al are all so happy they’re almost swallowing their tongues as they talk about the Mulroney/Shreiber affair.
It’s got bloody well nothing to do with this new incarnation of Conservatives and our current PM.
Not to worry, Dion, Layton and of course the Blocheads are all excited about the chance they will have to take down the Harper government. It’s not about truth or justice, for those hypocrites and rat’s arses it’s all about power. Nothing about what’s best for Canada.
If the voters of this country are so bloody out of the loop and brain dead enough to believe these weasels and also jailbird Shreiber over Mulroney. we’ll have a country not worth defending.
Everybody – enough talk – it’s time for action
Shouldn’t we be out confiscating and burning degenerate art and literature, forcing layabouts and generally lazy good for nothings work or prison, busting unions, arresting and deporting the enclaves of useless immigrants,while were at it round up all the perverts, homos, intellectuals -ie. marxists, human rights lawyers and the rest of the leftist scum, and make singing the anthem and saluting the flag everyday manditory for all citizens and if they refuse we know they nothing but traitor commies! Could I get elected with this platform? Who’s with me? Andrew? Later we can go smash the windows of muslim owned businesses!!
Jack. No.
Hey Dion open your ears up maybe you might hear what the Prime Minister is saying.
Man what a dork Dion is.
Some good ideas there. Lefties would whine, not much else.
What a f’n idiot.
I want to find a deeper retort, but there is none. The thing speaks for itself.
Heh – the Liberals are starting to get scared. Their only agenda was to besmirch Harper. They didn’t see that they would be involved.
Now, Duffy and Newman, faithful Liberals both, are starting to back off of an inquiry.
They start off with – ‘The cost, the cost, the cost’!!
And -“well, inquiries really don’t solve anything; you really can’t get to the bottom of an issue”.
And – “well, who would conduct such an inquiry; there aren’t any judges available”
And – “well, it really shouldn’t be too broad; it should just be about the 300,000”
And – “well, you know Schreiber; he changes his sworn testimony every day; he just wants to stay in Canada rather than face German jail”
And – “Humph, Mulroney wants an inquiry as broad as possible; he’s just after blood, he’s just..
And – “This will take forever…
And – “Harper shouldn’t have called an inquiry; he doesn’t know what he’s doing…
Heh. They are waking up. The next few days and weeks are going to see them hysterical about preventing an inquiry or limiting its scope.
What about Schreiber? I hope he’s deported; he can be interviewed by video from his cell in Germany.
But, the Liberals have probably made a pact with him; they’ve got to keep him here, or, he’ll spill everything.
Meanwhile, the Liberals are continuing their slime against Harper. Saying things like – We have to see who contributed to Harper’s campaign (it’s all public anyway)..and one twit on Newman’s show saying that, possibly, ‘Marc Lalonde had contributed’. Newman said -what??
Lalonde is a Liberal and most certainly did not contribute to the CPC or to Harper. But, that’s what she suggested.
I’m beginning to wonder – have the Opposition Parties switched to marijuana? Are they high on something?
Do they care about Canada? Or just their own personal power.
A new Strategic Council poll claims 50% believe Harper covered it up.
Based on the lies and innuendo purveyed by the pimps of propoganda – the Star, CBC, etc – who wouldn’t?
Meanwhile, Jack and the socialists are sitting back smuggly pointing fingers at both the Liberals and Conservatives.
I think Jack needs a scandal all his own. For example, the public at large doesn’t know about Tommy Douglas’ thesis.
ET: Do the Liberals care about Canada? Not one bloody iota. They care about POWER and the perks and all they can skim off for their themselves and their friends. Why else would anyone think they’ve been able to survive so long in power? The media is also in their pockets, they’ve been wined and dined beyond their means for years at the expense of the taxpayers.
Waterloo president to review Mulroney affair
By Bruce Cheadle, THE CANADIAN PRESS
“OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named a former university hockey star with old ties to Brian Mulroney …” [Cheadle: wink-wink-nudge-nudge] …
Farther in the Cheadle report is this: “Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, who called Johnston “a brilliant legal mind.”
“Cotler said Johnston probably has links to every living Canadian prime minister.” [more]
New Democrat MP Pat Martin gave a sneak preview Wednesday of the political rat’s nest that awaits any probe into Schreiber’s affairs.
Martin pointed to a $10,000 donation to the Liberal party made by a Schreiber-backed enterprise as worthy of a long look by any inquiry.
“We want it to be broad and expansive enough to include these other logical questions that follow . . . This whole sordid mess, I don’t think it’s limited to the Conservative party in my own opinion.”
When Liberal Leader Stephane Dion demanded in the Commons that any inquiry should examine Harper, “his office, his government and his minister of justice,” the prime minister shot right back.
“Sooner or later it will dawn even on the leader of the Opposition that the events in question did not occur under this government but some of them did in fact occur under the government of which he was a member,” responded Harper. […]
Even Liberal critics baying for blood can’t agree on the exact nature of the inquiry exercise.
Liberal Robert Thibault said the inquiry should be far-reaching – no matter the cost.
“Justice has no price,” Thibault said prior to Johnston’s appointment. “I want a full, open inquiry that goes where it leads, nothing hidden.”
But fellow Liberal Bob Rae [not an MP] is suggesting a focused probe, based on his experience advising the government on the Air India inquiry.
“I’m not being asked on my advice on this by anybody,” said Rae, the party’s foreign affairs critic. “But from my experience it always helps if you have specific questions.” …-
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/10/31/4621426-cp.html
[Boob wants specific questions? OK. How’s yer Uncle Mao, Boob? Is he in Beijing, Boob? How many egg loll he eat?]
The Liberals have gone too far in their attempt to besmirch Harper. They are starting to back off.
The Toronto Star/Canada Press, which are both firmly Liberal and anti-Harper, is denigrating David Johnston, picked by Harper to advise the govt on on inquiry. The Star/CP says:
“OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named a former university hockey star with old ties to Brian Mulroney to stickhandle the terms of reference for a potentially explosive public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.”
The fact that David Johnston is a University president, an esteemed lawyer, political moderate, and has been on numerous commissions, is deemed irrelevant.
Again, my opinion is that the Liberals simply wanted to befoul Harper; they used Schreiber, and Schreiber used them. The Liberals simply didn’t think.
Now, the Liberals are, as they say, ‘between a rock and a hard place’. The rock is Mulroney insisting on a full inquiry that would include the Liberals and their journalist friends. The hard place is Schreiber, a pathological liar, whose sole agenda is to sit in Canada rather than face a German court and jail.
As for the SES poll, that’s ridiculous. If Canadians make decisions based on one day of spurious hysteric gossip, rather than hard facts, then, we are a nation of idiots. Why, we wouldn’t even be able to hold a job if we had such hysterical reactive personalities.
Sure – some of us are idiots, and some of us are readily manipulated by the Liberal MSM, but the majority are basic, decent hardworking people, and they aren’t amenable to the type of manipulation engaged in by the Liberals.
ET ,
You saw the poll with 40% wanting J. Trudeau as Dion’s replacement ? Never , and I mean ever , underestimate the stupidity of Canadian voters , or the influence of the MSM on said voters .
Maybe in the LPC backrooms this whole affair is designed to be the exploding shit cigar award finally for Citoyen Dijon and end his stint once and for all, LPC strategy, no? yes?
“Liberal Robert Thibault said the inquiry should be far-reaching – no matter the cost.
‘Justice has no price,’ Thibault said prior to Johnston’s appointment. ‘I want a full, open inquiry that goes where it leads, nothing hidden.”
OK. One of the first things that should be investigated is Thibault’s relationship with KHS, his lunch dates and planning sessions. The justice critic is negotiating, ex-parte, with a criminal awaiting extradition, who has given wildly different versions of events in past sworn testimony.
Liberals have opened themselves to disrepute on this one, and Harper has deked them out again; but this one was easy, given that none of events discussed happened on his party’s watch, just the Liberal’s.
This just might be the final nail in Dion’s coffin. I hear Frank McKenna is floating trial balloon about his possible LPC leadership run.
Interesting how quiet the Lib bloggers are about this whole matter. Most don’t even mention it and those that do mention it seem almost hesitant to support it.
I think the biggest issue Dion is going to face is gathering people willing to work for him and his party in the next election. This whole attempt at dragging dead political corpses from the historical graveyard instead of dealing with the concerns of today is going to be very demoralizing for the Lib troops.
“Interesting how quiet the Lib bloggers are about this whole matter”
I noticed that as well Joe. The windmill story got them going, but the links and comments on this garbage has the leftards avoiding it like the plaque. Isn’t it amazing that these fools will recognize a wrongdoing, but not critique it. Leftards will bypass this event because PM SH is evil, Bush like and has to be toppled at all cost.
Idiots.
Breaking from Glob-Pail/MSM: Mulroney has a round table under his watch. He found it on the links next to the Full Inquiry caddy.
…-
Here it is, right on cue from the MSM: Smear the judge, er, the messenger, er the “probe chief”. Judge Gomery was an independent Liberal judge, right? Gomery was appointed by Louis St. Somebody in 1947. Right? Wrong.
Then, as usual, the MSM spinners wheel out the Authority, aka the bought EggHead, bought by the MSM/Liberal Party, to spin their message/smear on behalf of the MSM/Liberal Party: “says University of Ottawa law professor Ed Ratushny.”
Amazing. How many Canadians are on the Librano$ payroll? Hundreds? 1,000s? 10,000? 150,000? ??? Who wrote this script for the MSM? Was it STOPIGGY, the Puffin EggHead? Boob Rae? Karlheinz?
This line is a beaut: “The inquiry is ostensibly to clear the air of allegations”.
But ,,,”Mr. Ratushny met Mr. Johnston years ago when the two crossed paths in the same legal circles.” But ,,, ” “Everything I’ve heard about him is he’s a person of high standards and reputation. Superficially, it looks like a very good appointment.””
[But, here is the clincher:] “But his past connection to Mr. Mulroney could raise questions, he added.”
But, here is Citoyen Full Inquiry Dion and Himself:
“Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion didn’t seem at all concerned when asked about Mr. Johnston’s appointment to the round table under Mr. Mulroney’s watch.”
[But] ““I have no problem with Mr. Johnston,” he said outside the Commons. “I would have a problem if we don’t have a full inquiry. We don’t want anything less than a full inquiry.””
…-
Probe chief had links to Mulroney
SUE BAILEY AND JIM BRONSKILL
Canadian Press
November 14, 2007 at 6:20 PM EST
OTTAWA — The man who will advise terms of reference for a public probe into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair once worked with and reported directly to Brian Mulroney on environmental issues.
That raises questions about whether David Johnston can be seen as a wholly impartial adviser, says University of Ottawa law professor Ed Ratushny….-
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071114.wmulroneyupdate1114/BNStory/National/home
I just found this,I’ll have to leave it to the analysts here to assess.
It seems to me the blogger has a point.
“Flaws of logic in Schreiber Affidavit hint to possible Mulroney defence strategy”
http://www.danbaril.com/Blog%20-%2007-11-14.htm
Poll? who cares about the poll. If it gives the Liberals confidence to push the conservatives into an election I would be thrilled.
Next Liberal campaign will be way worse than Martin’s, including not having the money to pay for the fuel on the aircraft.
When it comes out that teh fifth estate has spent in 8 figures chasing Canadians will wonder why the vendetta.
HE is the man Canadians love to hate, but if he is inncoeent he is.
As I have said before why would the PMO get a letter from a crank, duffy gets it. And how come the Liberal story changes, Dion got it 2 weeks ago and reported it to the RCMP right away but said nothing? Or was the story last night that he got it 2 weeks ago and turned it over recently.
Shoot the NDP admitted the didnt pay much attention to it.
I cant believe the Liberals are picking on the 3 rd party. Its not like someone who was a former candidate was chosen. An eminent Canadian who has acheived many things. Scorched earth being used here, and early. This is the bloodsport that is being conducted, let noone mistake this for anythign less than all out and total war.
Oh no , look at what I found…
Liberal collusion…
———————————————-
As reported in the Canadian Press
OTTAWA – Former Liberal minister Marc Lalonde says he would gladly post bail again for businessman Karlheinz Schreiber, just as the Trudeau-era cabinet member has done several times over the last eight years.
Lalonde’s enduring association with Schreiber is one of the more curious twists in the long and winding tale of former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s dealings with the German-Canadian entrepreneur.
“He calls me every once in a while, and I occasionally see him either when I’m in Toronto, or sometimes he comes to see me, with his wife, and my wife in Montreal,” Lalonde said Tuesday in an interview from Havana.
“We’ve carried (on) a social relationship over the years.”
this should be very entertaining, the Librano pigs are wallowing in it now. someone should have warned Dion to be very careful of what you wish for…it just may come true
Re the Strategic Council poll re 51% not believing Harper — I think that the wording on this question was very ambiguous . . . if the report on Duffy reflects the actual question asked . . . “Do you believe Stephen Harper was engaged in a cover-up . . . or some such, quite a long question anyway. The thing to note is that the first words are “Do you believe Stephen Harper.” That I think is what some people would have been responding to. I had to read the question a couple of times to make sense of it. Just hearing it over the phone would have been additionally misleading.
One of the things not mentioned that I think Harper did right was to emphasize that the inquiry will not be designed to serve the interests of any party . . . Mulroney, Schreiber or any political party. It will be to serve the interests of the Canadian people. THAT is an important qualifier for this enquiry. If it can be quickly ascertained that there is no connection between airbus and the $300,000 . . . then I don’t think there is anything left for an inquiry to investigate. So what if Mulroney met with Schrieber two days before he left office? That does not tell us that he did anything while in office to betray the Canadian people. His plan may have been influence peddling after the fact, for which he was paid the $300,000 in advance, and that may be illegal, but I don’t think it appropriate to have a public enquiry set up to investigate Mulroney’s personal affairs afer he left office . . . and if anything is illegal (like didn’t pay the GST), the RCMP can deal with it. I think Canadian Government interests are limited to Airbus kick-backs (and given the size of the commissions that suposedly were paid out it looks like if he was involved Mulroney would have been pretty small potatoes — but I doubt he was involved in this. That is why he got $2.1 million last time (after years of investigation) and that’s why he can confidently say “bring on the inquiry.” —
I am also getting a bit sick of the opposition’s claims “The Canadian People want to know . . . etc.” Actually, I think the Canadian people have minimal interest in this, but the journalists are having a feeding frenzy. I would like to see someone — in addition to Harper — demostrate a bit of common sense about the relevance of all this. Perhaps Dr. Johnson will.
Any reason why Mr. Schrieber (who is due to be extradited tomorrow) cannot be brought in to testify from Germany via videoconference??? I should think that would be all that is needed and can see no reason for his extradition not to go ahead as planned.
If heinzboy has now sworn an affidavit that is different from his testimony at the original proceedings,should he not be charged with perjury?.It seems that KH’s credibility is going down faster than steffi’s political erection over a possible ‘scandal’.It is time for an election,just imagine the english debate,though if steffi comes down with a tummyache and his mommy says that he can’t leave the house that day,the libs might sneak in Iggy.
Nice one Helen @9:13
Quoting Marc Lalonde
“He calls me every once in a while, and I occasionally see him either when I’m in Toronto, or sometimes he comes to see me, with his wife, and my wife in Montreal,” Lalonde said Tuesday in an interview from Havana.”
In an interview from Havana??? Maybe he’s vacationing with Sacha Trudeau
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/aug/06081504.html
ET I think you have connected all the dots. Thank-you. The MSM are getting pretty nervous – I was watching Puffy today and Ian McDonald told him about Mulroney’s wish to investigate all journalists, CBC, all politicians….he said Mulroney was a a furious opponent when insulted..he said he would not take a knife to a gunfight if he were in this mess…then he said ‘it should be fun’ Puffy looked like he swallowed a burnt marshmallow right off the fire. McDonald was smirking and I was laughing – good entertainment indeed.
– The PM has forwarned the Opposition last week: “Watch what you wish for…”
– Ian L. Macdonald (Very knowledgeable on the whole affair and our MSM mainman to get our cleanest info from) made Duffy check his pacemaker when he dropped his prediction bomb yesterday: “CBC, Libranos watch out, it’s payback time” (Not in those words but you get the jist of it)
– Average Canuck?: (Excerpt from CTV):
When respondents were asked whether they supported examining the allegations, 67 per cent said yes and 22 per cent no.
Among Conservative members, 57 per cent wanted the matter investigated, while 32 per cent were against the idea. Liberals were slightly higher than the national average, with 74 per cent in support and 17 per cent against.
Harper has named David Lloyd Johnston, the president of the University of Waterloo, to probe the Mulroney-Schreiber affair and decide on a mandate for a full public inquiry.
The poll suggests a total of 51 per cent of Canadians believe Harper has done a “good job” of handling the matter:
Total good job: 51 per cent
Very good job: 8 per cent
Good job: 43 per cent
Poor job: 23 per cent
Very poor job: 8 per cent
Total poor job: 30 per cent
However, slightly more than half of respondents believe Harper may have covered up what he knew about the Schreiber’s claims:
Total believe: 51 per cent
Strongly believe: 17 per cent
Somewhat believe: 34 per cent
Somewhat disbelieve: 19 per cent
Strongly disbelieve: 14 per cent
Total disbelieve: 34 per cent
Donolo said the results show Harper has not fully succeeded in distancing himself from the affair, despite repeated statements he has never personally dealt with Schreiber. The prime minister has also said he never received a copy of a letter addressed to Mulroney that Schreiber sent him.
“It means he hasn’t got an infinite amount of rope on this issue,” said Donolo. “Canadians are willing to trust him but only so far on this issue.”
During question period Wednesday, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion asked if Harper would “commit to a full public inquiry that includes himself, his government and his minister of justice.”
Harper shot back that “sooner or later it will dawn on even the leader of the Liberal party that the events didn’t occur under this government.”
– Already Peter Mansbridge showed signs of being nervous last night…IMO: The CBC is the ultimate prize of the whole affair: How much time and cash has been spent going after BM? Who in the PMO was pulling strings/also directing RCMP?
Also, CTV (Duffy) RedStar reporter was already starting to change the tune last night when the fact Liberals might be exposed: “Well, can we really trust Shreiber…”
I am also stocking up on beer and popcorn…This is going to fun.
(Forget the popcorn…I get “Scott Reid” stomach ache, change that to Doritos)
My spouse had on The Agenda with Steve Paikin this evening. I tried to ignore it, as I enjoyed my PC. Something aroused a feeling of deja vu though. There was a Mr Bliss and a Mr Kelly, also Ms Copps and someone else. One should hold a prejudgement of Ms Copps if possible.
Again and again, I heard the phrase “The Canadian public want…. The Canadian public are tired… The Canadian public are…..” This went on and was splattered toward the end of The Agenda.
Not satisfied with that and indeed some murky association of Mulroney with present day affairs this gem was offered. The personalities of Harper and Mulroney were introduced. Words such as distant, cold, arrogant and remote from the average Canadian were spewed forth.
“People like Le pittit gars…..(little guy) Chretien, people do not like Mulroney”. Blanket statements, crude generalities etc. Only Sheila Copps seemed to give a reasoned and studied view of affairs. I was surprised and I would like to see and hear more of Copps. Liberal though she is.
Oh, the deja vu? On the left hand column of this website. (chuckle)