Budget 2012: First Glance

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced yesterday the first budget since the Conservatives won their coveted majority. The budget aims to cut $5.2 billion over 3 years by cutting an average of 7% per program and will phase out over 19,000 civil service jobs. It is worth noting that in the first 2 years of their first mandate back in 2006, the Conservatives increased program spending by over 40% and this budget is a far cry from restoring Canada to a prudent economic state.

Thomas Mulcair Takes NDP Helm

Winning 57% of the votes in the fourth ballot, Thomas Mulcair beats Brian Topp in his bid for NDP leadership.

NDP to Choose New Leader Today

The NDP are in the process of voting for Jack Layton’s successor after a long leadership race that will shape the face and role of the Official Opposition.

Liberals Slam Conservative Economic Record

The Conservatives may have attacked Bob Rae in a recent set of attack ads but the Liberals are exchanging fire, blasting them on their economic record. However, no ad has been released – yet.

 

Conservative Strategy: Easy to Follow, Difficult to Beat

Rae didn’t make his defense against Conservative attacks of his record easy. By admitting on January 11, that the deficit increased and so did the debt, and admitting that some decisions were unpopular, Rae played into the Tory machine and if history has taught us anything, Liberals who get targeted by the machine struggle to win national support.

Conservatives Take Aim at Bob Rae

With Conservatives claiming Bob Rae isn’t ruling out a bid for Liberal Leadership in the 2013 convention, the Conservatives have taken the time and effort to attack him on his record as Premier of Ontario.

NDP Win Landslide in Toronto-Danforth

In a by-election today, Jack Layton’s old riding of Toronto-Danforth remained NDP as candidate Craig Scott won 59% of the votes.

Raitt Responsible for More Bureaucratic Waste?

Lisa Raitt’s expenditures while being CEO of the Toronto Port Authority have again come under scrutiny by NDP MP Olivia Chow who demanded the government release the details back in 2009.

Robocall Scandal: Dean Del Mastro says It could have been ‘Mistakes’

On today’s Power and Politics, Dean Del Mastro was again put into the hot seat as he was introduced to the CBC investigation that found links between voters who got robocalls and their response to Conservative recruiters.

Robocall Scandal: More Pieces Fall into Place

Elections Canada confirmed yesterday that there were  700 cases of irregularities in the last election and told Canadians not to jump to premature conclusions. A CBC investigation found a suspicious pattern linking who got the robocalls and who they supported.

Conservatives to Reopen Abortion Debate April?

When Conservative backbencher MP Brad Trost introduced his controversial idea to reopen the abortion debate, Stephen Harper quickly came to the cameras and assured Canadians it wasn’t going to happen. It turns out that Conservative backbencher MP Stephen Woodworth has been allotted an hour of debate with a committee this spring and a second hour of debate this fall to review a law that comes short of defining unborn children as “human beings.”

Has anyone heard of Jeff? Del Mastro implicated in Robocall Scandal

Conservative defender Dean Del Mastro has found himself in hot water after two robocalls on May 2 left some of his constituents confused. Residents in Del Mastro's riding allegedly told his Liberal opponent Jeff Leal they got calls from "an imposter" and this was then reported through the Peterborough Examiner.

Quebec Government Rejects Law C10

The Quebec government has announced today that it will do everything in its power to dilute Harper’s new crime laws and soften its clout.

What Happened to the Free Market, Tories?

As one of the advocates for a free market and little government intervention Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party have proven to be one of the biggest interveners of our day. From the Postal Workers dispute to the potential Air Canada strike and likely to the many future walkouts, the Conservatives will interfere with the will of the free market and levy its heavy hand as government.

Rae Demands Royal Commission into Robocalls

The Conservatives continue to play the blame game rather than look into allegations of voter suppression and voter fraud as more people take to the streets in what can be described as a loss of confidence in our electoral system.

Robocall Scandal: Canadians want a Public Inquiry

A recent poll suggests that the Liberals and NDP aren’t the only ones who want an inquiry. The matter has awoken Canadians from sea to sea to sea and 75% of them want an inquiry according to a poll conducted by Ipsos Reid for Postmedia and Global News.

Conservative Crime Bill Set to Become Law

The Conservative crime bill will be put to a final vote tonight where their majority in numbers will allow it to pass.

The bill was supposed to have passed last Wednesday but the NDP was able to delay the last debate to Friday and consequently the vote to today.

Robocall Scandal: Alleged Suspicious Activity in Eglinton-Lawrence Riding

Former Liberal MP Joe Volpe has asked for a formal investigation into the Eglinton-Lawrence riding where he alleges Election Canada laws have been broken. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver called the allegations ‘unsavory’ and called Joe Volpe a ‘sore loser,’ claiming that there was no voter suppression in the riding.

Robocall Scandal: Tories Play Blame Game

The Conservatives started with a failed attempt to blame Liberals and while continuing on their same failed mantra, Conservatives now start blaming Elections Canada for the misleading phone calls that may have lead to voter fraud in the last election. However, a reluctant Conservative party has now decided to cooperate with an Elections Canada investigation into the matter and prefer to play the blame game than get to the facts. For a party that prides itself as tough on crime, the idea of election fraud should strike their heroin attitudes, but instead it has left them hiding in the corner launching missiles in random directions. Failed tactics or something to hide?

Tories Hold Steady, Liberals Gain in Nanos Poll

A new Nanos Poll suggests that the Robocall scandal has had no effect on the Governing Tories. The poll took place between February 25-29 and asked 1,203 random Canadians who were above the age of 18. The poll is accurate within 2.8% 19 times out of 20. It found a steady hold for Tories, 1.9% jump for the Liberals and 0.2% decline for the NDP among respondents.

Anonymous Releases Information on Vic Toews

It has been a busy week in politics. From election fraud allegations to the war against Bill-C30, Canadians can say that they have had quite a bit to deal with. Anonymous followed through with its word Friday, encouraging Canadians to research the talking points they discuss in their videos for themselves. These videos are said to be based on evidence from named and anonymous sources but some arguments rely on logical reasoning based on past events.

Robocall Scandal: People Hit the Streets

There is no greater sign of non-confidence and misrepresented election results than a series of protests that have broken out across the country. If people believed and voted for a Conservative government fair and square, this would not be happening.

Robocall Scandal: Pat Martin and NDP Sued By RackNine

Matt Meier and his company RackNine Inc. have followed through with an earlier threat to follow through with a $5 million law suit against the NDP and MP Pat Martin for for defamation, claiming comments from Martin and published by the NDP have lost business for the company.

Robocall Scandal: Four Ridings Could Go Liberal

The number of close ridings affected by the Robocall scandal keeps climbing and with evidence of links to RackNine and RMG, along with 31,000 phone calls reporting irregularities from voters, there is plenty of evidence to prove something was wrong. However, is it enough to prove to a judge that an election result should be overturned? This list will likely grow over time. If the answer to the question is yes, the Liberals could recoup 4 ridings as a result of Robocall.

Robocall Scandal: Tories Misfire on Liberals

The Conservatives recently tried to blame the Liberal Party for the robocalls that were sent out to mislead voters who weren't Conservative. They sourced a document and tried to have it released to media sources and it contained a false link between the Liberals and an American firm which are completely unrelated to Robocall. It turns out that there is a lot more behind the story beneath the eye.