Quebec Premier needs to consider perils of an electionThe most recent rumblings out of La Belle Province are that Premier Jean Charest is going to have the National Assembly dissolved in favour of an 8 December election."It was quite clear from statements made by the ADQ and Parti Quebecois that they're not in a mood to co-operate with the government," Charest recently announced.Of course, Charest insists that an election isn't necessarily his option of first choice."We think the only responsible thing for the this government -- and for this premier -- at this time is not to call an election, but to look for solutions to the crisis," he insisted.Quebeckers -- and Canadians at large -- may be forgiven if that sounds familiar. It sounds remarkably similar to Stephen Harper's comments prior...
Counter-branding effort beginsIn the 2005/06 federal election, many people hoped Jack Layton and the NDP would play softball with the Liberals, hardball with the Conservatives, and keep Stephen Harper out of office.Instead, the NDP focused their efforts on the Liberals, shrank the Liberal caucus returned to the House of Commons, and -- some say -- helped Stephen Harper get elected Prime Minister.Of course, Layton understood well what he was doing when he targeted the Liberal party -- he was attracting disaffected soft Liberals to support the NDP instead.Now, less than a day before the call of a 2008 federal election, the NDP has once again chosen to err on the side of the opposition, releasing a new attack ad against Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.Following a trip to the Democratic...
...Are Doomed to Repeat ItSpeaking at the University of Alberta yesterday (more coverage of this will be offered at The Nexus in the near future), Stephane Dion took some time out of his pre-campaign stop to question the legality of tomorrow's (seemingly inevitable) election call."[Harper] gives a bad example to Canadians by not respecting his own law," Dion insisted. "Some constitutional experts are saying this election will be illegal."But for his own part, University of Ottawa consititional political historian Michael Behiels isn't quite so eager to agree. "I am not sure [Harper] is a law-breaker," he demurred but suggested that Governor General Michaelle Jean should consider rejecting Harper's request that she dissolve Parliament, reportedly due tomorrow. "If she goes along with him,...
Conservative party party tries to present a "softer, gentler" HarperWith an election call seemingly mere days away, the Conservative party is trying to jump the blocks a few days early with a trio of new pre-campaign ads.The rationale is actually very simple: the Conservative party has more money than they can spend in an election campaign. So the best way for them to spend that money is for some pre-campaign advertising -- before the campaign spending limits kick in.The ads cover three general topics, one of which will certainly be raised as an issue by the Opposition parties, one of which probably will be raised, and one on a traditional Conservative party strength.In other words, two of the ads address percieved Conservative weak points, while the third plays to the party's strength.As...
Since its release last week, a lot has been made about the most recent Conservative party advertisements.First off, with Stephen Harper rushing to trample his own fixed election date legislation, they are clearly pre-election campaigning. There is no question about that.But the theme of the ad bears some obvious consideration.In the ad, numerous "main street Canadians" lavish praise on Stephen Harper and his government. This enthusiasm-themed ad -- a stark contrast to the various negative ads the party has released over the past 18 months -- features various people in rather ordinary settings -- a blue-collar worker at his shop, a man leaned against his pickup truck in what appears to be his driveway, a woman at the park with her kids.But for an ad that goes to such lengths to appear to...
And not in a good way, eitherGreen party supporters across Canada have likely spent the last two days feeling a little better about their party.Not becuase they finally managed to elect an MP, or stands a chance of actually electing an MP in the upcoming election, but because of the suspicious agreement of a former Liberal MP to become the newest member of the party's federal caucus -- bringing the grand total of its members to one."Joining Elizabeth May and joining the Green Party feels a lot like coming home," announced Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Blair Wilson shortly after dawning his brand new Green Party button. "One-point-five million Canadians support the Green Party," he added. "They deserve a strong voice in the House of Commons and they deserve a strong voice...
Tom Flanagan reveals a key piece in Harper's election puzzleStephen Harper insists that his intent to call an election is not for partisan gain.How could it be? The Conservatives and Liberals remain statistically tied in the polls, and another minority government -- be it Liberal or Conservative -- remains a near certainty.Harper has also indulged himself in some intellectually dishonest excuse making for his relentless push to call an election before 2008 finally writes itself into the history books, but his true intent remains something of an enigma.The alleged need for a renewed mandate does indeed make a lot of sense. Then again, so do the clues offered today by University of Calgary political scientist (and former Harper adviser) Tom Flanagan.Namely, that Harper is out to score...
Harper offers specious argument in support of contravening his own fixed election lawMany Canadians, Conservatives and non-conservatives alike are all asking themselves the same question right about now:How can it be so hard for Stephen Harper to abide by his own fixed election date legislation?The answer according to Harper: the fixed election law only applies to majority governments.To a certain extent, this argument could ring true. After all: a minority government could be defeated at almost any time -- a lesson former Prime Minister Joe Clark learned the ahrd way -- triggering an election. A fixed election date law could certainly be viewed to be rather empty.But then one should be asking how it is that Harper would bother passing legislation fixing the next election date at October...
And he won't back downWith an election call seemingly only days away and spurious opposition to Bill C-484 -- the Unborn Victirms of Crime bill -- stubbornly refusing to abate, the Conservative government is moving to try to disperse what it seems to fear is a coming storm."We've heard criticism from across the country, including representatives from the medical community, that Mr. Epp's bill, as it is presently drafted, could be interpreted as instilling fetal rights," announced Justice Minister Rob Nicholson. "Our government will not reopen the debate on abortion."Bill C-484 would, indeed, introduce fetal rights. However, because of the fact that the bill contains an explicit clause forbidding its use in cases of abortion or against any act (of commission or omission) of the mother,...
Conservatives seem set to trample their own fixed election dates lawUpon taking office as Prime Minister, one of the first things Stephen Harper did was declare his intent to set a fixed date for the next federal election (naturally precluding the possibility of a governmental defeat)."Fixed election dates stop leaders from trying to manipulate the calendar," Harper announced. "They level the playing field for all parties."However, if recent developments represent anything more than mere rumour, innuendo and sabre-rattling it seems that Harper may not be comfortable with a playing field that's a little too level."The only way we can have justice is to have a fixed election date, because an election without a fixed election date is a tremendous advantage for the party in power," Harper...