Reader Brian Mallard is looking for input;
I am going to be in Ottawa this coming week. I will attend a meeting where the prime minister will take questions in an open forum. There are no media in the room. What question would you ask if you had the chance?
I would simply ask him to define his vision for Canada and to juxtapose it with his understanding of the terms ‘conservative’ and ‘limited government.’
(I really want to support PMSH but I’m finding it harder and harder to feel like he’s a conservative in any meaningful sense of the term.)
If your stimulus package was such a good idea, why did it take the threat of a coalition government to force you to do it?
Three years of fiscal discipline flushed down the toilet with one budget, the damage to the Conservative brand may be irreparable.
He could have called an election, he could have handed the keys to Dion, who would have just done pretty much the same thing Harper did, but he didn’t. Why not?
Question:
How are Alfonso Cashbagliano loan repayments coming along on his winery and will a future Liberal government mean another lawsuit by a former President of the Federal Business Development Bank?
ps Enjoy the veal.
pps Meant to drop the comment here but it also appears in another thread. Sorry for littering.
I’d ask him where he wants to take the country. I’m conservative, but right now I don’t get the message that there is a coherent goal for this party right now.
It really seems like we’re in a holding pattern right now. Maybe it’s because we’re the only right-of-centre party and have no common ground with the others, and we don’t have a majority in the House.
Maybe if there were some underlying principles I could hang my hat on I’d have a better feeling right now, but as things are nothing is inspiring. Then again, maybe that’s the nature of conservatism; hard to create an inspiring message with “we want less government”.
What has thrilled you?
What has enchanted you?
What has troubled you?
Question:
Boxers or briefs?
Why doesn’t the Government give freedom to western grain farmers by ordering the Canadian Wheat Board to issue export licences to producers in the west the same as the CWB already does now for eastern producers and allowed under the Act?
“Brad in Waterloo” (is a LibIggy troll) asks for “vision”.
Vision is a blahbword from the leftist script.
Go seek LibIggy’s “vision”; look back to Citoyen Dionky’s Dream Team for his vision which ended in the PET Cemetery.
“Not much new in Ignatieff’s vision
After the apologetics, Mr. Ignatieff begins to sketch his political vision of Canada. What’s new in Mr. Ignatieff’s new vision of liberalism? Not much. …”
http://www.ukemonde.com/novisionigy.html
“How does it feel to be the only sane adult in world full of childish, narcissistic leaders?”
I’d like to know why our ‘government bodies’ such as the ‘labour board’ are not for regular working canuks but only for ‘immigrants, visible minorities, gays, etc.’. Why?
Minimum wage earners working 2, 3 jobs have no rights nor protection in the labour force in Canada.
Thus ensuring the marginalized Canadain worker remains stuck down there, while the ‘special’ others get government help/representation.
Why should I vote. I’m not talking about the Obama vision. I am getting Liberal and Liberal Lite. I realize that you represent all Canadians but they are not limited by that reality. Explain there are things that have to be done but don’t tell me it is for my good because it isn’t. It is the result of being in a world that governments intercede in matters that should be left up to me. It is easier for me to walk away than swallow bile all the time. Maybe it is time to stand up and say you have run out of other people’s money so they have to start relying on themselves. You will not get a majority if this continues.
Is there any truth to the rumour that “Ritalin” will be introduced into the House of Commons water supply?
Why are you ignoring the policies set forth at the last convention? HRC’s ?
I agree with Sid. Ask about the HRCs and what he is going to do about them.
You have given the people of Quebec everything they ask for and they have abandoned the party. When are you going to realize they need a good kick in the arse?
When are you leaving?
Oh, and ask him if they would communicate better to the public about the accomplishments that the government has done. Canadians need to know. All the public gets is all the misinformation crap from the MSM and the opposition. The public doesn’t get the true clear picture.
Though I understand, given the rabid anti-CPC/PMSH MSM/PPG in this country, why you’re keeping a low profile (“damned if you do, damned if you don’t”), is there any way you could become more visible to Canadians, in order to let us see all of your and your government’s many accomplishments?
Your low profile isn’t particularly bothersome to those of us who are keeping informed via blogs, but what about the millions of Canadians who only get their information via TV and newspapers? Do you see any way for you and your party to become more visible in order to get your message across to more Canadians?
When can we expect the repeal of section 13 of the Human Rights Act to receive Royal Ascent?
We all realize the media are petulant babies and will not help deliver a conservative message. However, it is your job to figure out a way to connect with average Canadians. Iggy is beating your brains in right now if you didn’t realize it.
Show yourself, blow your horn, and do it!
Did you ever think that instead of just being called a bully by your opponents, that sometimes you might need to actually stand up to them, like a bully, and put them in their place?
Allowing 4 people to hammer you for an hour straight in the debates while you smiled at them did the party no favors.
Will the federal government fully fund the defense of any individual or group brought before provincial or federal human rights commissions?
Like others here want to know, when is the CPC government going to do something about the appalling state of CHRCs?
These kangaroo courts have been the agents of serious miscarriages of justice for a considerable number of Canadians who’ve been targeted by them, all in the name of “human rights.” When will these travesties of (in)justice be dealt with by your government?
batb, frmgrl – I think those are good points. I’ve been concerned about the refusal of our MSM to publicize the many, many accomplishments of this Harper government.
On the foreign scene, Harper is considered one, if not THE, most impressive leader of the West. I mean that – his intelligence, his thoughtful response to questions (no teleprompter, no ahhs and awws, no quick transition into emotional hyperbole to evade answers..)..his knowledge of the issues – have led OTHERS to call him impressive. But in Canada? Our MSM derides and sneers at him.
Furthermore, the govt web sites that list these accomplishments are profoundly ‘user-unfriendly’. You have to go from link to link to link to get any information on the thousands of federal projects all over the country, in large and small cities.
Last year, I made a list of some of these projects, for Ontario only. It covered 40 pages and involved areas not only in taxation cuts, but assistance in developing clean water, better water and sewer plants, cleaning up the Great Lakes, rapid transit projects, clean energy, road development, the focus on the North..on and on. I put them on ‘Information Flyers’ – one page two-sided brief points.
Handed them out to people – who were stunned. I mean that. They said they had never heard of these projects, never realized what the Harper govt was doing.
What I feel should be done is what I call the ‘drip’ method, where you distribute these Flyers on a monthly basis, whether by post or as ads in LOCAL newspapers…This ‘drip’ of information will build up, gradually, to outline what this govt is doing.
The current federal political scene in Ottawa is silence – except at election time, when suddenly, the political parties expect the voter to make a choice, in six weeks, based only on the verbiage screamed at them by the MSM in those six weeks.
But, over the months and months before, our MSM has been busy swooning over The Image of the Liberal/NDP party – and totally, utterly, keeping silent about the actual facts – the accomplishments of the Harper government.
So, what has to be done, is the drip method. If the WiseBoys in Ottawa won’t do it, then each and every Electoral District CPC office ought to do it on their own. Inform their district what the Harper govt has done – for their district, for their town, their province,..and their country.
Don’t ask PMSH a question, tell him what he should be doing. For example, tell him to go after Iggy as follows:
Last week on National TV, Iggy’s Chief of Staff Paul Zed stated that:
1. Iggy won’t raise taxes
2. Iggy won’t run a deficit
3. Iggy will make up the current deficit by “Program Reviews” . . . aka cutting Federal government programs for “Paul” t o pay “Peter”
So Canadians have a right to know what is Iggy’s secret Program Review agenda. How is he going to Program Review/Cut the $35ish Billion current deficit.
Will he cut:
Transfers to Provinces ?
Foreign Aid ?
National Defense ?
Support for the Arts ?
Funds for Arctc Sovereignty ?
Atlantic Canada job creation ?
Iggy’s hidden agenda is a LPC vulnerability that should be exploited by the CPC and must be addressed by the MSM.
What ya gonna cut Iggy ?
What is your secret agenda ?
When can we expect:
the repeal of section 13 of the Human Rights Act?
the defunding of the the CBC?
the closing of the CWB, the CHC and the gun registry?
the enshrining of property rights?
the fixing of the senate? (you know making them elected)
setting term limits to all?
I will let you know if I think of any more.
GR-8 idea, ET, putting out flyers on a monthly basis listing PMSH’s and the CPC’s accomplishments. I totally agree with you, that trying on one’s own to access the government’s initiatives is totally user-unfriendly. Most people don’t have either the know-how or patience to ferret out what the CPC has done, is doing, and is in the process of doing to benefit all Canadians.
But, you specialize in research: ‘Any chance you could “publish” your flyers here at SDA, so that we could all make flyers up for our friends, family members, and acquaintances?
‘Talk about a grassroots movement: Flyer Footsoldiers for Democracy!
oops CHC should read CHRC
Chalk up another vote for HRC reform or abolition
As someone who helped found Reform I feel that the principals of that movement have been abandoned by the CPC. The residual goodwill towars the existing leadership still exists in the West but for how long? I appreciate that there are ‘conservative’ values which might have to be put on the back burner for political reasons. But as another poster asked “What is the vision for the country”? If the committment to the grassroots and thusly the riding associations still existed within the party then that question might not have to be asked.
Re: Harper accomplishments – Sandy at COTM did a great job listing the ones before Jan. 27/09, which are still available at my blog on a separate page.
Did you get a tingle up your leg when you met Obama?
Ask him for reassurance that he’s got a game plan to ensure the dangerous, Extreme-Left-Wing Liberals don’t return to power, and that he won’t pull his punches like the Republicans did when they threw in the towel and lost to Obama and the Extreme Left.
With the US rapidly descending into massive statism, where government will control more and more of the lives of its citizens, can Canada, which often follows the US lead, escape that sorry fate, and how?
With Obama taking the US into extreme debt, with the US banking system a mess, and with US taxes escalating, and with a carbon tax program that will significantly raise US energy costs, what will Harper do to:
A. Make Canada the country of choice for North American entrepreneurs and business.
B. De-couple the Canadian and American economies.
C. Open significant trade avenues to India and China where growth and economic expansion are forecast.
D. Attract head offices of US companies looking for a lower tax region.
E. Defend NAFTA against US predatory tariffs and tariffs masquerading as environmental protection.
F. Consider the option of setting a Made in Canada carbon strategy which consists of demanding to see the proof of global warming before entering into any tax, regulation or regime that restricts economic development.
Why did you declare Quebec a “nation”?
Why did you declare Quebec a “nation”?
Ask him if he agrees with Don Martin (of all people, a media type !) that
“Obama is proving to be a dangerous man for Canada”
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/05/01/don-martin-obama-is-proving-a-dangerous-man-for-canada.aspx
Joanne’s site and Jack NewsWatch all have Sandy’s Accomplishments of the Harper Government which originated at her Crux of the Matter site.
ET’s idea of drip drip driping the Accomplishment information into the busy minds of voters is the way to overcome the left wing media’s constant attempts to misinform the voters. ET is correct, when voters get that information in a flyer they are “stunned” … even Liberals say “Gosh, I had no idea this was being done for public transportation in Toronto by the Feds and that blah blah blah….”
If I were allowed to ask PMSH a question it would be:
How much of GDP do you think all three levels of government should manage? (Currently around 40%). In other words, do you think we should shrink government or grow it?
Henri, PMSH did not declare Quebec a nation. Quebec is the geography , he only declared the people , the Quebecois, a nation and that the Quebecois are a nation within Canada. There is a big difference.
My quesstion, are you prepared to turn off the taps to the USA if O continues his protectionism against Canada. Will you encourage american businesses to relocate their business and money and maybe themselves to come to Canada where democracy is still practiced.
henri bourassa – he didn’t declare Quebec a nation.
He declared the Quebecois a nation. The PEOPLE not the geographic territory. There is an important difference. Declaring a people a ‘national identity’ is a valid 19th c concept and it has NOTHING to do with linking them to a geographic sovereignty. WHY?
Because the Great Michael Ignatieff introdued a Motion in Parliament to call QUEBEC (not Quebecois) a nation. He did that for purely political gain, for cynical manipulation of the Quebec people.
Of course, the NDP and Liberals jumped for it, both of them trapped within This Will Get Me Quebec Votes.
And then, Duceppe, who had to save his own face, intervened and said it had to be a Bloc Motion, and so, he introduced it..with QUEBEC as a nation.
With ALL three Opposition parties geared to vote for this, Harper saved the situation by introducing a motion changing it from a geographic domain (Quebec) to a population identity (les Quebecois).
So kindly get your facts straight…and understand just how malicious and power hungry the Liberals, NDP and Bloc are.
I have three major concerns.
1. Why haven’t you pulled the plug on CBC funding and turned it into a PBS style network requiring private financial support?
2. Why haven’t you moved to reform the Human Rights Commission, despite a strong mandate to do so from party members?
3. Why are we moving to a larger, more expensive government, with bailouts of private corporations and hugely increased spending, when you were elected with a mandate to do the opposite?
When will there be an a forensic audit and inquiry into the $9 Billion dollars Chretien put into the, so called, Private Foundations, out of reach of the Auditor General?
When will there be an a forensic audit and inquiry into the $162 Million taxpayer dollars that went to former Finance Minister and former PMPM’s CSL while he was in government?
And what about an inquiry into the $1.2 Billion deal, that was sealed as a state secret by Trudeau, when Petro Canada bought out Petro Fina Canada? How many corrupt and still living Liberals illegally profited from that scam that was engineered by Maurice Strong?
When Trudeau was repeated asked in the House of Commons for details of that transaction he told the House, “it’s none of your business.”
I can see why Iggy is such a fan of Trudeau.
I think it is time to REOPEN Adscam & Shawinagate, Canadians deserve an answer. Its time to get answer’s before the Crook from Quebec gets Monies for building a Resort in Vietnam.
Since the Liberal Party has become so flush with monies are we going to see Re-Payment?
Ya know there is another question The liberals flush, At max of what $1100 man thats alot of support to get to the black
Have they been recieving More then the Legal Amount?
Sub-urban, the Conservatives need a majority to do those things.
PM Harper, your government has officially apologized to Residential School survivors, implemented measures to provide clean water, passed Specific Claims legislation and repealed section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, amongst other measures aimed at improving the lives of First Nation people across Canada.
However, First Nations continue to live under the Indian Act which provides virtually none of the rights, protections and accountabilities found in even the most basic municipality act, makes it impossible for individuals living on reserve obtain mortgages or loans (due to land title held by the Crown) which, in turn, inhibits home ownership and business development; thereby placing this authority almost exclusively in the hands of Band Councils, and, at the same time, concentrates all government powers and programs in the hands of local Band Councils.
When will your government begin to address this underlying flaw which fundamentally undermines all other efforts aimed at improving the lives of this segment of the Canadian population?
JC Kelan
Kate puts up a post – advice/questions for PMSH.
In an instant – more thoughtful comments on how to run a country than the MSM provides in a decade.
I like your idea, Bruce.
Thank you Jema54