Conwest... the voice of the few

Today's headline in the Calgary Herald blared the message that Liberal and NDP ridings all across this great nation have received more funding than Con ridings from something called the Knowledge Infrastructure Program.  KIP is a program from Industry Canada which has earmarked 12 billion of taxpayers dollars for colleges and universities across Canada.

While it may be true that more total dollars has gone to non-Con ridings, Conwest forgot to mention that the vast majority of colleges and universities are located in non-Con ridings.

But never let it be said that statistics are not the refuge of the stupid.  Conwest could, but did not, point out that while Alberta, with a population of less than15% than that in Ontario, received almost as many grants as Ontario (47 in Alberta and 56 in Ontario),  In fact all four western provinces, with less that half that of Ontario received almost twice as many grants as Ontario.  Quebec, where Cons are busting their humps to gain seats, received half of all the grants in the country.

Congratulations Conwest.  You have shown your bias yet once again.  No wonder you are bankrupt

Perfect timing for Harper and Flaherty

It seems that earlier this year, while the Con government was telling us that the economy was rosy and there was no chance for a deficit... ever, they were selling $14 billion in T-bills to offset the loss in revenue from their GST cuts.  Well, it also seems that if the government does not pay off those bills before the end of 2008, they will be classified as debt and add to the deficit that they are planning to run up.

This is the result of a blatant lie and deliberate deceit by a government that touts responsibility and transparency.

What a joke.  And the joke is on all Canadians... not just the ones who voted to put them back in.

So the responsible and transparent Con government is about to use the excuse of the world-wide financial crisis to cover up their incompetence by adding that $14 billion to their planned deficit.

Buried in reports from the Finance Department are these statements:

"With a budgetary surplus of $2.9 billion and a requirement of $23.2 billion from non-budgetary transactions, there was a financial requirement of $20.3 billion in the April to July 2008 period, compared to a financial source of $6.8 billion in the same period last year. This difference reflects the financial requirement associated with loans to major Crown corporations which were announced in Budget 2007, as well as higher refunds related to the 2007 tax year."

and

"The Government financed this financial requirement of $20.3 billion by increasing market debt by $14.2 billion and reducing cash balances by $6.1 billion. The increase in market debt was achieved largely through the issuance of treasury bills."

See: http://www.fin.gc.ca/FISCMON/2008-07e.html

We are truly saps and they are truly criminals.

It's time to tell the truth, PP!

Are Canadians so stupid that we can't tell a lie when we hear one.  Obviously in Nepean-Carleton, we are.

We have elected and re-elected one of the great nose-stretchers in all of the stiffs on Parliament Hill... Pinocchio Poilievre.  What did he do this time?

This week I got a mailer from PP with respect to child care.  In it he states that "Dion voted against the $1200 child care benefit and will take it away."  What a bonehead frickin' statement and A LIE to boot!

The truth is that Dion voted against the Conservative plan to replace a $4.8 billion deal on child care, of all ages, that had been negotiated with all the Provinces, with a federal stipend of $1200 that would be paid to parents of kids under six.  The truth is that the Provinces would have used that money to expand the number of junior kindergarten (JK) spaces.  Instead a family in Alberta, of which I am aware, has to spend a fortune (more than the $1200 provided by Cons) on morning day care and afternoon JK for their son because there were not enough available morning JK spaces in their area.  The Provinces could have used the $4.8 billion to create those spaces.

PP claims to have negotiated with the NCC for a $1 per year rent for the Queensway Carleton Hospital.  A LIE!  The truth is that the NCC will be collecting the money from Treasury Board instead - and that largess could be cancelled at anytime by a future (or present) government.

PP claims to have found $35 million for the Strandherd Bridge.  A LIE!  The truth is that money was already earmarked for the bridge as part of a federal contribution to the NS LRT project that was killed by his fellow Con, Screamer Baird.