Electioneering: Jean Chretien's 'Gift', Excellent Compilation of Liberal Actions & Inaction, Jack Layton's Ethical Core & $$$

Gagliano, Loyal Chretienite, Assesses the Damage -- from Florida

PM risked Canada: Gagliano Predicts separation April 20, 2005, Jack Aubry, CanWest

OTTAWA - Alfonso Gagliano is predicting the end of Canada after Quebec separatists win the next referendum in the province -- and he says the country will have Paul Martin and his inquiry to blame. [. . . . ]

Search: Lapierre, Mr. Boulay, worked on Mr. Martin's LaSalle-Emard riding campaign




Jean Chretien's 'Gift'

WAR CHESTS, REFUNDS - MPs worried they won't have enough money to run Paco Francoli, The Hill Times, April 18, 05

Fundraising seems to be the immediate preoccupation for MPs. Liberal MP John McKay (Scarborough-Guildwood, Ont.) said his war chest is far from full and expects to have trouble raising money because of the new election financing laws banning corporations and unions from contributing to parties, and limiting individual contributions to $5,000 a year.

Former prime minister Jean Chrétien brought in the new regime, which came into effect on Jan. 1, 2004, to "deal with the perception that money can buy undue influence," as he put it.

The reform was hugely unpopular with Liberal MPs, including Mr. McKay who said his fundraising abilities have been "severely diminished."

[. . . . ] Liberal MP Dan McTeague (Pickering-Scarborough East, Ont.) mockingly called the new financing regime a "wonderful gift" from Mr. Chrétien designed to "send a message that all politicians are squeaky clean. How ironic."

Mr. McTeague was referring to the allegations made before the Gomery inquiry that Liberal Party executives and organizers--many with close ties to Mr. Chrétien--received millions of dollars in shady donations from Montreal ad executives in exchange for federal sponsorship contracts. [. . . . ]

The Gomery inquiry has shown how deep is the corruption in the Liberal Party that coupled with people getting tired of the same old promises of the Liberal Party. Remember the Paul Martin government is not a new government, it's an extension of the same Liberal government of Jean Chrétien

ELECTION - 'It's all about Ontario,' say strategists F. Abbas Rana, The Hill Times, April 18, 05

Emboldened by the Liberals' free-fall in public opinion polls following sensational and damning testimony from witnesses at the Gomery Inquiry, opposition MPs say their parties are planning on launching a full-scale assault on the Liberal stronghold of Ontario in hopes of winning significantly more seats than the last election and say it will be the main battleground for the three national parties in the next election.

[ . . . . Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai (Calgary East, Ont.)] said that in his consultations with Canadians, people have told him that the revelations about the sponsorship scandal have acted as a "catalyst" for people's desire for change.

"The Gomery inquiry has shown how deep is the corruption in the Liberal Party that coupled with people getting tired of the same old promises of the Liberal Party. Remember the Paul Martin government is not a new government, it's an extension of the same Liberal government of Jean Chrétien...People want a change now."

Meanwhile, one top Liberal insider told The Hill Times that the Liberals are not making any inroads in the West, could lose its two Alberta seats, could pick up an additional seat in Saskatchewan in addition to Finance Minister Ralph Goodale's, could possibly win one or two seats in Manitoba, but pointed out that the party does not have the "optimum situation," nationally. The source said the Liberals are not going anywhere in Quebec, or Atlantic Canada and pointed out that it's reasonable to expect that there won't be "a whole lot of gains in Ontario," adding that the Libs "don't have a prayer" of winning Ottawa-area ridings, including Carleton-Mississippi Mills, Nepean Carleton, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, which leaves the battleground to be in southwestern Ontario. [. . . . ]

Op-Ed: Woe Canada David Frum, NY Times, April 19, 2005. David Frum, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is a columnist for The National Post, a Canadian newspaper.

[. . . . ] Corruption charges have dogged the Chrétien Liberals for years. Mr. Chrétien left office in 2003 under suspicion that he had pressured a government-owned bank to lend money to businesses in which he held an interest. But until recently, nobody was able to prove anything worse than carelessness and waste. Now, though, the improper flood of money from the public treasury is being connected to a reciprocal flow of money to the Liberal Party and favored insiders, including Mr. Chrétien's brother.

[. . . . ] From World War II until the 1980's, Liberal power rested on two political facts: its dominance in French-speaking Quebec and its popularity in the immigrant communities of urban Ontario. [. . . . ]

NDP will prop up Liberals if Ont. gets more cash CTV, Apr. 18, 05

Jack Layton will support Liberals for $$$. Does the man have no outrage about the corruption? Is there any ethical core to Jumping Jack? Or simply opportunism?

TORONTO — Prime Minister Paul Martin could win the support of the New Democrats and avoid a spring election by cutting corporate tax cuts and addressing Ontario's so-called fiscal gap, NDP leader Jack Layton said Monday.

"If he's willing to take some of the surplus, if he's willing to reduce the corporate tax cut and invest it now, then we don't have to have an election,'' Layton told reporters.

"Then we could talk about supporting the government.'' [. . . . ]

Election call could kill same-sex, pot bills CTV / CP, Apr. 18, 05

OTTAWA — If you were banking on tax cuts promised in February's federal budget, hoping for a national child care program or planning a same-sex wedding this summer, a national election will likely spike your plans. [. . . . ]

Excellent Compilation of Liberal Actions & Inaction

Foreign policy statement vague; judge Liberals by their actions

Toronto, ON, Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - The government of Canada today released its long awaited "International Policy Statement - A Role of Pride and Influence in the World" outlining Canada's foreign policy.

"While we welcome a statement on foreign policy priorities from the government, we believe that actions speak louder than lofty declarations," said Alastair Gordon, President of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD). "The foreign policy of this government since Paul Martin became Prime Minister 18 months ago has consistently abandoned our natural democratic allies in Taiwan, Lebanon, Israel, India, Africa and the United States, and submitted to the will of tyrannies and terrorist organizations including Syria, China, Sudan, Iran, Tamil Tigers, Hamas and others who seek to crush the voice of democracy."

"Released six months late in the midst of the Gomery inquiry, and on the eve of a possible election, we hope that Canadians are seeing the real plans of this government, and not simply a well-timed campaign distraction," added Gordon. [. . . . ]

The backgrounder. . . highlights foreign policy initiatives of the Liberal government since Paul Martin became Prime Minister in November 2003, and provides a catalogue of Liberal priorities that can shed light on future foreign policy directions. [. . . . ]

A must read list.

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