So you prefer Iggy with his 25 years living in the UK working for the BBC and his 5 years teaching at Harvard, over Harper’s faithful service to his country Canada?
By HARRY S on 12.15.08 3:41 pm
Harry S., what years of service to Canada are you attributing to Harper? That is a joke! The only thing Harper has done is push and bully people for most of his adult life to further his own agenda and career.
What exactly has Harper done? Well, funny enough he was a member of the Young Liberals Club in high school. Quit that.
Enrolled at the University of Toronto but quit that.
Moved to Edmonton where it seems his daddy (an accountant at Imperial Oil) probably got him a job in the Imperial Oil mail room (Stevie then became an IT geek for a while).
Got paid by the Conservative Party to be the aid to Jim Hawkes, then quit the Conservatives to join the Reform Party.
Lost his first attempt running against Hawkes. Worked for Deb Grey’s office. Got paid by the Reform Party to develop right wing policy. Quit as policy chief in 1992 because people didn’t agree with him.
Got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics (never paid a nickle by anyone to be a practicing economist).
Ran successfully in 1993 against Hawkes (helped by the way with a $50,000 ad campaign waged against Hawkes by the National Citizens Coalition) and was an MP until 1997 when we quit again because he couldn’t get his way.
Joined the right wing National Citizens Coalition as VP then president to champion their cause (no surprise there given their ad campaign that helped defeat Hawkes).
Re-entered politics in 2002 and beat Stockwell Day for Alliance Party leadership. He was elected in a bye-election that the Liberals and Conservatives did not even contest. Harper’s only opponent was an NDP candidate (a former United Church moderator) whom Harper refused to debate because he “despised him”.
Since 2002 Harper’s record is well known.
There’s an interesting pattern through all of this…he quits when he doesn’t get his way. The supreme example of that was proroguing parliament to avoid losing a confidence motion.
Harry, perhaps in your strange world this looks like leadership. To me is only looks like a childhood bully who never grew up. I also do not see any evidence of broad intellectual capacity.
By comparison Michael Ignatieff’s life accomplishments are simply too long to detail in this posting. Here’s just a quick overview:
- wrote 16 books that have been translated into 12 languages.
- The Russian Album won the 1987 Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction and the British Royal Society of Literature’s Heinemann Prize.
- his biography on Isaiah Berlin was shortlisted for both the Jewish Quarterly Literary Prize for Non-Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- his book Virtual War: Kosovo and Beyond won the Orwell Prize for political non-fiction
- he worked on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty which examined the role of international involvement in Kosovo and Rwanda
- his book, Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism won the Gordon Montador Award for Best Canadian Book on Social Issues, and the U of T Lionel Gelber Prize
This is a man of supreme intellect and someone that the British Arts Council recognized as “an extraordinarily versatile writer”.
Ignatieff has written extensively on Canadian culture and human rights, as well as international development, peacekeeping and the international responsibilities of Western Nations.
He has held teaching positions at Oxford, the University of London, the London School of Economics, and the University of California. He was the director of the Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He was the Chancellor Jackman Visiting Professor in Human Rights Policy at the University of Toronto. Ignatieff’s contributions during his career have been recognized by 9 honorary doctorates.
Harry, for you to dismiss this Canadian of great distinction by calling him “an egghead” shows your total and complete misunderstanding of the man, his intellect, and the history of leadership he has exhibited throughout his career.
Would I choose Ignatieff over Harper as PM? In a heartbeat.
He is also an acclaimed journalist and film maker. This is a man of tremendous intellectual depth.
By TS on 12.15.08 7:00 pm
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Sad Day for Canada - GG gives Steve a prorogue
Tories expected to bring battle to the voters
Last Updated: Thursday, December 4, 2008 | 11:42 AM ET Comments301Recommend132CBC News
Transport Minister John Baird suggested that the Conservative party's strategy over the next few weeks will be to go beyond elected members of Parliament and the Governor General and ask Canadians to decide the current political crisis.
Around midday Thursday, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean agreed to a request from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament, a move that delays a confidence vote set for Monday that could have toppled his minority government.
"We are going to see something rivalling an election campaign between now and when Parliament comes back," said CBC's Don Newman.
The quasi-election campaign will unfold over the holiday season with speeches, advertising and polling in the weeks ahead of resumption of Parliament on Jan. 26, said CBC's Keith Boag.
Speaking to reporters outside the Governor General's residence, Harper said the first item on the agenda when Parliament begins will be the budget. The government could be toppled at that time in a confidence vote.
In the meantime, the Conservatives will seek to encourage Canadians to pressure members of Parliament so the NDP and Liberals lose the nerve to proceed with the coalition, said Boag.
"The more time they get to think about it … the more hesitant they may become. That's their objective," said Boag.
Earlier in the day, Baird said the party is focusing its attention on the voters.
"I think what we want to do is basically take a time out and go over the heads of the members of Parliament, go over the heads, frankly, of the Governor General, go right to the Canadian people," Baird said Thursday morning in the foyer of the House of Commons.
"They're speaking up loudly right across the country in a way I've never seen them," he said.
Pressed on whether Baird considered the House of Commons and the vice-regal envoy of lesser authority, Baird responded: "We live in a democracy. [The Canadian people] are the ones that rule. They're speaking up loudly."
The party has repeatedly dismissed the proposed NDP-Liberal coalition, which would operate with the support of the Bloc Québécois, as a betrayal of Canadians who voted in the election seven weeks ago.
Baird said he expects the proposed coalition to dissolve before the government reconvenes.
"I think enough of them will change their minds and this thing will fall apart," he said.
Baird said there are already cracks in the Liberal caucus, pointing to an article in the Guelph Mercury in which area MP Francis Valeriote was quoted as speaking out against the proposed coalition.
"I believe in working toward a solution, not working toward a coalition," the Liberal representative said according to the local newspaper.
Baird said former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney was criticized 20 years ago for "flirting with separatists" and former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau's party would never have agreed to this type of arrangement.
"It sells out everything the country stands for to bring the separatists into a coalition on the government side of the House," said Baird.
"I think the lust for power has almost obscured what has always been fairly strong judgment when it comes to national unity and the Liberal party."
Justin Trudeau said the Conservatives have misrepresented how his father would have addressed the current political turmoil.
The newly elected Liberal MP said his father was dedicated to Canada and always willing to step up for Canadians in their time of need, and negotiated a number of times with then Parti Québécois Quebec premier Rene Levesque.
"There was an openness to respecting other people's points of view if we can work together for common causes," said Trudeau.
The coalition emerged after Conservatives released a mini-budget blasted by all opposition parties.
They accused Harper of doing nothing to address the financial turmoil and using the fiscal update to introduce what they saw as ideologically driven measures that attacked women and workers. At issue was a three-year ban on the right of civil servants to strike, elimination of public subsidies for political parties and limits on the ability of women to sue for pay equity.
While the Tories have backed down on those contentious issues, the opposition still says the government is not addressing the economic situation.
The coalition — which would have a 24-member cabinet composed of six NDP and 18 Liberal MPs — has vowed to make an economic stimulus package a priority, proposing a multibillion-dollar plan that would include help for the auto and forestry sectors.
Last Updated: Thursday, December 4, 2008 | 11:42 AM ET Comments301Recommend132CBC News
Transport Minister John Baird suggested that the Conservative party's strategy over the next few weeks will be to go beyond elected members of Parliament and the Governor General and ask Canadians to decide the current political crisis.
Around midday Thursday, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean agreed to a request from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament, a move that delays a confidence vote set for Monday that could have toppled his minority government.
"We are going to see something rivalling an election campaign between now and when Parliament comes back," said CBC's Don Newman.
The quasi-election campaign will unfold over the holiday season with speeches, advertising and polling in the weeks ahead of resumption of Parliament on Jan. 26, said CBC's Keith Boag.
Speaking to reporters outside the Governor General's residence, Harper said the first item on the agenda when Parliament begins will be the budget. The government could be toppled at that time in a confidence vote.
In the meantime, the Conservatives will seek to encourage Canadians to pressure members of Parliament so the NDP and Liberals lose the nerve to proceed with the coalition, said Boag.
"The more time they get to think about it … the more hesitant they may become. That's their objective," said Boag.
Earlier in the day, Baird said the party is focusing its attention on the voters.
"I think what we want to do is basically take a time out and go over the heads of the members of Parliament, go over the heads, frankly, of the Governor General, go right to the Canadian people," Baird said Thursday morning in the foyer of the House of Commons.
"They're speaking up loudly right across the country in a way I've never seen them," he said.
Pressed on whether Baird considered the House of Commons and the vice-regal envoy of lesser authority, Baird responded: "We live in a democracy. [The Canadian people] are the ones that rule. They're speaking up loudly."
The party has repeatedly dismissed the proposed NDP-Liberal coalition, which would operate with the support of the Bloc Québécois, as a betrayal of Canadians who voted in the election seven weeks ago.
Baird said he expects the proposed coalition to dissolve before the government reconvenes.
"I think enough of them will change their minds and this thing will fall apart," he said.
Baird said there are already cracks in the Liberal caucus, pointing to an article in the Guelph Mercury in which area MP Francis Valeriote was quoted as speaking out against the proposed coalition.
"I believe in working toward a solution, not working toward a coalition," the Liberal representative said according to the local newspaper.
Baird said former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney was criticized 20 years ago for "flirting with separatists" and former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau's party would never have agreed to this type of arrangement.
"It sells out everything the country stands for to bring the separatists into a coalition on the government side of the House," said Baird.
"I think the lust for power has almost obscured what has always been fairly strong judgment when it comes to national unity and the Liberal party."
Justin Trudeau said the Conservatives have misrepresented how his father would have addressed the current political turmoil.
The newly elected Liberal MP said his father was dedicated to Canada and always willing to step up for Canadians in their time of need, and negotiated a number of times with then Parti Québécois Quebec premier Rene Levesque.
"There was an openness to respecting other people's points of view if we can work together for common causes," said Trudeau.
The coalition emerged after Conservatives released a mini-budget blasted by all opposition parties.
They accused Harper of doing nothing to address the financial turmoil and using the fiscal update to introduce what they saw as ideologically driven measures that attacked women and workers. At issue was a three-year ban on the right of civil servants to strike, elimination of public subsidies for political parties and limits on the ability of women to sue for pay equity.
While the Tories have backed down on those contentious issues, the opposition still says the government is not addressing the economic situation.
The coalition — which would have a 24-member cabinet composed of six NDP and 18 Liberal MPs — has vowed to make an economic stimulus package a priority, proposing a multibillion-dollar plan that would include help for the auto and forestry sectors.
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