WHAT??

Let's get this straight. If a ministerial aid screws up or interferes with the function of the ministry, they cannot be questioned by parliament committees who are looking into the screw-up. The Minister will take the blame for the screw-up because of the joke term ministerial responsibility. Not too friggin' likely.

Two major problems. A minister can claim to have no first hand knowledge of the infraction... therefore plausible deny-ability. Second... a minister cannot be compelled to testify. Maybe legally he/she has to appear but in reality there are ten thousand ways to get out of it.

And what about the current case wherein the minister is in fact the prime minister. Is he going to testify? Not too friggin' likely. He doesn't even need an excuse - he just says, no thanks.

So what's next for Harpo and his band of cretins? They can pass a regulation to eliminate ministerial responsibility. Think that they can't? Just wait.

Maybe they could cancel the G8 and G20 and use the $930 million earmarked for security to set up a new government department. It could consist of five hundred Con patronage appointees who are charged with taking the fall when ministerial aids screw up. They could be put on contracts so that when they are fired for things that they did not do -they get no severance pay.

If you ever wondered...

If you need one reason why Anal Coulter should be discouraged from speaking in Canada, look no further than her comment in Ottawa.

The report on her aborted attempt to speak at U of Zero, in today's Ottawa Bird-cage Liner reads, “It confirms my idea that you also need more liberal gun laws,” she said. “Guns lead to a polite society, as we like to say in the United States. And I think that all of western Canada would agree with me."

According to Her-Wisdom, if protesters get in her way, out comes her gun.  And that is polite?

Hudak stays on his stupid message

Tiny Timmy was back on CFRA yesterday.  He was extolling the virtues of two of his caucus who have decided to stage a sit in at Queen's Park.  They are battling the dreaded HST legislation.  What heroes they are.  Here they are a ray of sunshine standing, or sitting, or sleeping, against an unwanted tax.

Rob Snow, who is well known for his Liberal leanings,... NOT, asked every self-serving question that Timmy could easily answer.  The only question he ignored was..."If you get elected in 2011, will you cancel the HST?"

Now, Timmy knows the sound-byte answer to this one.  He claims that the dreaded Liberals have made the HST legislation loophole resistant by putting in clauses that tie the hands of future government for 10,000 years.  Iguess no one has told him that if he forms a government he can do whatever he wants with past legislation including lower the rate.

But, you know, Timmy will hide behind his accusation because he knows that the economic mess that Ontario is currently in will not be solved by growth.  It will take tax dollars and to lower the rate or cancel the harmonization with the GST would make him dumber than Tiger.

Grow up, Timmy.

Off to the slammer with you!

The Cons have an interesting take on crime.  Stats show that crime is down all across Canada which continues a trend that has occurred over the past 10 or 12 years.  That also means that fewer people are being incarcerated.

That should be great news for Canadians - and it is- unless you are a Con.

The stats can only mean one thing... we are soft on crime.

We need to make more things illegal and make sure that more Canadians go to jail.  That way we can get our stats back up to where they used to be and make Harper's Cons happy.

Sure is strange!

When is a tax increase not a tax increase?

So let's get this straight. All though out 2007 and 2008, the federal and provincial Cons chided the government of Ontario to reduce corporate taxes because without the reduction, business would move out of, or not locate in Ontario. "Lower corporate taxes are essential," spewed Flaherty. He being a former Ontario Minister of Finance made his word ring with truth (chuckle).

So lowering taxes on profit is a good thing. As a small business guy I like paying lower taxes... if now I could only make a profit!

So here we are in 2009, the Cons finally figured out that the economy is in the toilet and after 3 years of seven percent program spending growth, maybe, just maybe, they have to do something about the deficit which will be $50b-75b in 2009 depending on who does the math.

One of the problems for the government is that they are collecting a lower tax rate on less profit. The perfect storm! So what to do?

Raise the EI premiums paid by business! According to Cons it is not a tax increase. Tell that to the people who have to pay it!

The reality is that they gave tax breaks to big corporations making huge profits (read: banks and investment firms) and now they want to ding the smaller guys with a higher bill for EI. These are the same small firms that are not making a profit to take advantage of the tax-rate reduction. Will they have to lay of people to pay the EI... um... tax increase? Or will they just have to do without new employees?

Either way it is dumb.

Harper stays the course

Last fall Harper stated that the economy was strong and that Canada will never have a deficit. A few weeks later he admitted that maybe things weren't so rosy. A few after that, he admits that we might have smaller than expected surpluses and that dips in the TSE were "buying" opportunities.

By January he predicted a slight deficit of to cover his stimulus package. Then the estimate grew to $34 billion and then to over $50 billion.

He then tells us that the budget will be balanced in five years and that the debt will rise by only $100 billion.

In the meantime, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, M. Page, who Harper hates with a passion, predicted that the deficits will continue after Harper's target date and the debt will rise by $156 billion.

"Dumb", says Harper. Almost all economists must be dumb also, cause they agree with Page.

It reminds of the old military story that a mother was watching her son on the parade square and she remarked, with pride, "My son is the only one in step". Harper must be the only one in step.

Next comes that declaration that Harper will not raise taxes or cut programs to balance the budget. Then just yesterday he clarified it all by stating that he will not cut taxes or slash programs to meet an arbitrary deadline for balancing the budget.

So let's get this straight -- Harper tells us that the PBO is dumb to suggest that the deficits will last longer than he declares and that he will not raise taxes or cut programs. Then he tells us that he will not raise taxes or cut programs just to meet the dates that he has already stated?

Stay tune -- the next logical thing for Harper to say is he may have to raise taxes or cut programs to get the country's budget balanced. But you can be sure that he will find someway to blame it on the Liberals.

Who is the dumb one now, Pinocchio?

I am glad you made it clear, Pierre.

On June 12, 2009, Nepean Carleton's mighty mouth MP, Pierre Poilievre entered, voluntarily, a scrum outside the House of Commons.  For those who may not be aware, a scrum is one of the few chances that reporters get to ask questions of Cons MPs.  Generally, guys like PP only like media types that have a camera in both hands. and no mouth.


Julie VanDusen, from CBC, was part of the scrum and she asked this seemingly simple question:
"How many jobs have been created through the federal investment in infrastructure."

The answer should have been simple enough.  After all The FinMin had been talking about creating 160,000 jobs just a few minutes earlier in the Commons.

  “Lots of jobs,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “No, but I need a number,” the reporter protested.
   “Lots of jobs,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “You've got more than 3,000 - where are you going? I mean if it's a great news…” the reporter said.
   “I'm going to the grand opening of a new radio station here in Ottawa,” Mr. Poilievre replied.
   “Okay. How many jobs have been created to date?” the reporter asked.
   “Lots of jobs. Lots of jobs,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “Be specific,” the reporter said.
   “I'll be specific,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “Okay,” the reporter said.
   “We're building roads, bridges, hockey arenas, other construction projects all of which create jobs. We're lowering taxes so that people can spend and invest in the economy to create even more jobs. So the answer to your question is lots of jobs. Thanks,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “The Prime Minister said 80 percent of the projects are underway. How many jobs? Give me a number,” the reporter said.
   “Lots of jobs,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “Give me a number,” the reporter said.
   “Lots of jobs,” Mr. Poilievre said.
   “That's not an answer,” the reporter protested.

With that, PP walked away to his next photo op.

I will bet you that if you asked PP how many votes he got in the last election, he could tell to the last number.  I bet, if you asked PP how many times he has been named by the Speaker he could tell you, but then he'd tell you that it was the Liberals fault, not his.

So why can't PP answer a simple question on employment numbers?  Is it because he doesn't know?  Is it because he doesn't care?  Is it that he is no more than a stuffed shirt who when he does not have a script, he cannot operate?

I guess we will find in the fall during the next election.