Reality Check

Democracy Crumbling in the West: Political Leaders Lie Constantly, Deceive Voters

We are misled and lied to each and every day by the leaders of governments around the world. I think they all take a course called Hypocrisy 101 as a precondition to running for office.

 

Close to home the McGuinty government is at it again with the HST legislation, which was approved by the federal Conservative government and will pass in Toronto next week.  Complicit in supporting the HST legislation was cheerleader Guy Lauzon who must think that Ontarians need an additional and unfair tax burden.

 Stephen Harper says he opposes new taxes but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stated earlier in the fall that “he wanted the HST implemented across Canada,” but Jim backed off when Harper didn’t want to be seen as supporting a new tax.  Also, Harper would prefer to keep silent about those big tax reductions going to the big corporations.

Stephen Harper's Conservative Government Attacks Liberal Opposition: Tries to Associate Michael Ignatieff with Anti-Semitism

Politics sunk into an unprecedented abyss last week in this country when the Prime Minister of Canada approved advertising that accused the official opposition, the Liberal Party of Canada, of being  associated with anti-Semitism.

 

The government flyers state: that the Liberals participated in a conference in Durban on racism in 2001;  allegedly supported terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah ; and that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused Israel of committing war crimes against the Lebanese in 2006.  Furthermore, Stephen Harper says all of the above actions are associated with anti-Semitism. The flyers target ridings with large Jewish communities.

 

The Liberal party has strenuously refuted this information as incorrect, and has denied these allegations of anti-Semitism. The party is stunned and incensed.

Stephen Harper's Conservative Government Attacks Liberal Opposition: Tries to Associate Michael Ignatieff with Anti-Semitism

Politics sunk into an unprecedented abyss last week in this country when the Prime Minister of Canada approved advertising that accused the official opposition, the Liberal Party of Canada, of being  associated with anti-Semitism.

 

The government flyers state: that the Liberals participated in a conference in Durban on racism in 2001;  allegedly supported terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah ; and that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused Israel of committing war crimes against the Lebanese in 2006.  Furthermore, Stephen Harper says all of the above actions are associated with anti-Semitism. The flyers target ridings with large Jewish communities.

 

The Liberal party has strenuously refuted this information as incorrect, and has denied these allegations of anti-Semitism. The party is stunned and incensed.

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin Betrays Canada: Says Canadians Need to Give Up Sovereignty!

In a speech last month at the University of Ottawa, former Prime Minister Paul Martin spoke about the changing world today, and the concessions that Canadians would have to make.

In this video clip you will hear the former prime minister talk about Canadians having to "give up a little bit of their sovereignty" in order to tackle the new realities.

  This is an unprecedented statement and it is unbelievable that a Canadian audience would tolerate such a treasonous statement. Here was a room full of academics sitting quietly, being told by Martin to prepare for a Canadian future where the concept of "Canada" would be in jeopardy. Not a sound was heard; not one delegate rose to his feet to defy the remark.

Conservative MP Guy Lauzon's Report Misinforms and Misleads Voters

In response to Guy Lauzon's report of 11/12/08 in the Seaway News, I have to say that his column was filled with misinformation and deception.

 Even the title of the piece, “Let the People Speak,” is a conundrum. The people have already spoken and elected only enough Members of Parliament to form a minority Conservative government.  The voter’s job is now over, and puts his trust in the member representing his riding. Once the newly elected members enter the House of Commons, the rules of Parliament apply.

Canada Resists Conservative "Shock Therapy": Time for Prime Minister Harper to Resign

In a rare occurrence Canadian politics got ample international press coverage this past week, based on the planned coalition of our three opposition parties and a planned vote of non confidence, a decision by the Governor General to grant a prorogue to Stephen Harper, and a huge outcry across Canada.

 Most people are upset albeit for different reasons. Almost everyone agrees that we need a parliament that can function during these tough economic times, and we urgently need legislation to stimulate a faltering economy. But to really understand what has happened and how we got there, we need to back up a bit.

Did Stephen Harper Have Prior Knowledge of Imminent Financial Crisis Before Calling Canadian Election?

Stephen Harper’s Conservative party continues to hoodwink the unsuspecting public as the current election campaign mirrors the party’s well known, secretive modus operandi.

 The campaign so far, is conspicuous not by what Stephen Harper says, but by what he doesn’t say.

Minority Government is Preferred in Canada Since We Can’t Trust Politicians

It’s election time again and we can expect the media owners to rub their hands together, as the candidates and their handlers get prepared to spend the millions of dollars that it will take. Federal elections, like wars, are good for business.

Canadian Government Colludes with 'Big Pharma' to Remove Individual Freedoms

There’s no doubt that the big corporations continue to flex their global muscles and exercise their control over us. We see it everywhere each and every day. Governments are controlled by big business, and big business sets the agenda.

Take the influence of Big Pharma as an example. I think most people would agree that the pharmaceutical companies control western medicine, and that the answer for so many medical conditions is to take prescription medicines. i.e. drugs. Doctors move from one examination room to another with their prescription pads in their hands, and we have been conditioned to expect pills to cure what ails us.

Last month, the Minister of Health introduced a new law in parliament, C-51, which will give the Canadian government broad reaching powers to regulate the sale of all herbs, vitamins, supplements and other items, which are NOT presently included under the Food and Drug Act. C-51 will change key terminology in the Act such as replacing “drug” with “therapeutic product.”

This change in language will mean that items such as: bottled water, vitamins and dandelion greens and basically all plant derived substances will fall under this generic category of “therapeutic product.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what is going on here. Big Pharma is losing money, lots of money because more and more Canadians are turning to natural medicine. Big Pharma has been pressing both the American and Canadian governments to eliminate natural heath products through government legislation.

Big Pharma wants to eliminate up to 60% of natural health products currently sold in Canada, and to eventually criminalize the sale and distribution of natural health care products. This all sounds unbelievable at first, but is well documented at StopC51.com

I don’t expect that our Conservative member, Guy Lauzon, will disagree with his Health Minister, and will likely trot out the “health and safety of all Canadians” argument as a defense for C-51, but this would simply be a smokescreen. The Conservatives need to stand up to Big Pharma and say “no” to this blatant attempt to control people’s choices and their spending habits.

If Canadians want to use homeopathic medicines, various vitamins or Melatonin, I think they should have a right to do so, without getting a costly prescription. It’s time for the Conservative government to stand up to Big Pharma.

I hope readers will do the right thing and let their own Member of Parliament know your feelings on this important issue. For suggestions on how to do that please consult a 'fact sheet' which has been prepared by Stop C51

Prime Minister Harper Wields the Power- Parliament Becoming Irrelevant

Oct 20, 2007 04:30 AM
James Travers
OTTAWA

What most Canadians see happening here is a strong Stephen Harper taking advantage of a weak Stéphane Dion to impose the will of the minority on the majority. What the country's leading expert on the machinery of power sees is a Parliament acting as a palace court and a Prime Minister behaving much like an absolute monarch.

Before dismissing the observation as hyperbole or hysterics, consider the source. Donald Savoie's list of honours and publications is long and imposing. A celebrated international scholar and Order of Canada member, the Université de Moncton political economist is best known in Ottawa for one of three-dozen books. Governing from the Centre, an unflinching examination of the concentration of Canadian political power, made him a pariah in Jean Chrétien's capital and is a now a workshop manual for Conservatives who in opposition saw it as proof of the devil's undemocratic work.

So take Savoie seriously when he says, as he did in an interview this week, that the events of the past few days measure the rapid acceleration of a decades-old trend. In forcefully imposing a notably personal agenda on a Parliament with life-and-death powers over his administration, Harper is taking advantage of a specific political circumstance – disorganized Liberals fear a campaign – and the generalized truth that between elections modern prime ministers are perilously close to omnipotent.