Hello Down There!

For those southern neighbors who have to rely on a media who thinks the goings on of the country just north of them plays no importance to their welfare's I thought I'd give you the heads up of what has transpired. Not included, the GG proroguing of our Parliament.... go look that one up. Only in Canada!


December 01, 2008 Dear Calgary –Centre-North Constituents; There is considerable confusion about recent events in Ottawa, so I thought you might appreciate having some information. We are fortunate to live in a democracy. Democracy means “rule by the people”. The situation that is unfolding, as outlined below, is unprecedented and Canadians should have a say. The country’s most senior decision makers are the ones who need to know Canadians’ opinions about where things should go from here. If you wish to be heard on that you could contact Stephen Harper at pm@pm.gc.ca, Stéphane Dion at DionS@parl.gc.ca , Jack Layton at Layton.J@parl.gc.ca , and Gilles Duceppe at Duceppe.G@parl.gc.ca . As always, please do not hesitate to contact our office with any questions or concerns. Best regards, The Honourable Jim Prentice High drama on Parliament Hill On Friday November 28th it was learned that the Liberals and the NDP were holding talks aimed at defeating our government, reportedly planning to ask the Governor General to allow them to form a coalition Liberal-NDP government with the support of the Quebec separatists. Yesterday there was the shocking allegation that the NDP has for several weeks now had a secret deal with the Quebec separatists to seize power at an opportune moment. Jack Layton brags about his deal with the Quebec separatist Bloc Quebecois and how it has allowed him to enter into coalition talks with the Liberals. For details of the tape go to: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081130/conservative_budget_081130/20081130?hub=TopStories <http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081130/conservative_budget_081130/20081130?hub=TopStories> This situation raises a number of serious concerns, including: * This appears to be a premeditated power grab by the separatists and the socialists partnering with the federal Liberals to take over the government without an election using the economic situation as a ruse. * Any Liberal-NDP coalition would have to make significant concessions to the Bloc Québécois, a Quebec separatist party with no desire to protect Canada’s best interests. * Should this plot to seize power succeed, serious further economic instability is certain to result. * For example, a change in Ministers would require several months to recruit capable staff, become briefed on issues, and formulate policy direction and plans, among other transition responsibilities. This, together with a significant shift to the left on several policy fronts, would be very destabilizing to our entire country and disrupt relations with our trading partners at a time where there is already instability due to external pressures. * Just this October, support for the federal Liberals fell to its lowest level in history. * Stéphane Dion, a leader not supported even by his own party, could become Prime Minister. * If another Liberal was simply appointed Leader and thus Prime Minister, that person would not have a democratic mandate, even from his own Liberal party. * However, it appears that Jack Layton has really been the chief schemer behind any Liberal-NDP coalition propped up by concessions to Quebec separatists. Should this give him greater power he will certainly force far reaching changes to the treatment of our country’s job and wealth creators and to our hard won fiscal stability. Prime Minister's statement On Friday evening, even before some of these details came to light, the Prime Minister publicly expressed his concerns about this situation. You can read his remarks at: http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp <http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp> <http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp <http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp> > How did this happen? The NDP and Liberals are using the economy to justify their attempt to seize power but our government has the economic situation well in hand. Here are the facts. The Government's handling of the economic situation shows that action was taken early and was significant. On November 27th 2008 the Finance Minister tabled the regular fall Economic and Fiscal Statement. This Statement sets out the Government’s key short-term and long-term objectives as it prepares the next Budget. Budget 2009 will be tabled on January 27, 2009 – the earliest Budget ever. The Federal Government has led the world in preparing for the current economic downturn. In Budgets 2006, 2007, and 2008 significant economic stimulus was injected into the Canadian economy by way of permanent tax reductions of $200 billion for job and wealth creators and for individual Canadians. An additional $39 billion was transferred to the provinces to support health care, education, and other social programs. Also the largest infrastructure spending program since the Second World War to the tune of $33 billion was put into place. Other countries are now following Canada’s lead with similar measures. However, unlike Canada, most of them are only providing short-term stimulus. Canada’s measures are permanent. Further, these types of stimulus measures need lead time to implement before they actually impact the economy. So Canada’s early action has enabled us to enter this period of turbulence in the best position of all G7 countries. The important thing to note in all of this is that the current calls for fiscal stimulus ignore the fact that such action was taken early and was significant. As the situation worsens our Government will take further measures. Some of these were identified in the Economic and Fiscal Statement and some will be contained in Budget 2009, which will be tabled on January 27. Our Government is managing Canada’s economy in a prudent and careful way both for the short-term recessionary pressures and for the long term. For more information, here are some helpful links: - News Release Announcing Fiscal and Economic Statement http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/08-095e.html <http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/08-095e.html> - Things the Government has done to ensure the banks have enough money for new mortgages and other lending http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/data/08-095_1e.html <http://www.fin.gc.ca/news08/data/08-095_1e.html> - 2008 Fiscal and Economic Statement http://www.fin.gc.ca/ec2008/ec-eng.html <http://www.fin.gc.ca/ec2008/ec-eng.html> - 2007 Economic Statement http://www.fin.gc.ca/news07/07-083e.html <http://www.fin.gc.ca/news07/07-083e.html> Rally for Canada Support democracy at the Rally for Canada http://www.rallyforcanada.ca/ <http://www.rallyforcanada.ca/> Sign a petition http://canadians4democracy.ca/ <http://canadians4democracy.ca/>
CTV.ca NDP, Bloc in coalition talks before fiscal update: tape
Source: www.ctv.ca


The New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois held talks to form a coalition party well before the opposition's uproar over the government's fiscal update, according to an audio recording of NDP Leader Jack Layton.
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