Month: December 2005

Got an email earlier today from a friend who was insulted by comments made by PMO spinner Scott Reid on CBC Sunday Morning,

“Scott Reid said of [the] 1200.00 per child child care plan that “Canadians would spend that on beer and popcorn”.

Later on in the day, on CTV’s QP, Liberal strategist John Duffy refused to back down from the statement. If the Liberals are going to handle this as their wedge on the childcare, it is extremely offensive as my friend wrote.

I agree.

[CTV QP clip]

As Tim Powers remarked in the CTV clip, even Sweden who implemented a similar version of the Liberal childcare plan is moving to the Conservative plan.

Most people would agree that parents know how to raise their children better than some overblown bureaucracy. The Liberal position is that parents would rather buy “beer and popcorn” than use the government money help a stay-at-home dad buy baby formula, help parents buy a nice gift for grandma for taking care of the kids, or to help a mother buy educational books for the little-one who’s learning to read. The Liberal plan, I agree, limits choice. The value of the money invested in the Liberal plan will depreciate drastically as it is funneled through countless levels of bureaucracy.

Does anybody think that since Paul Martin’s self-annointed healthcare crown was so forcefully knocked off by the Chaouilli decision, that he’s now trying to be the champion of childcare?

Is anyone buying this?

CTV article

UPDATE: Scott Reid on beer and popcorn (video)

UPDATE: ProudtobeCanadian.ca has a longer video with some more context.

UPDATE: Greg Staples on Paul Martin’s backpeddling of Reid’s “dumb” comment.

Martin, asked about the matter at a campaign stop in Beamsville, Ont., quickly backed away from the suggestion.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that parents are going to use (the money) for the benefit of their families,” said the prime minister.

“They’re going to use that money in a way that I’m sure is responsible. Let there be no doubt about that.”

UPDATE: Warren Kinsella believes that this could be what turns the tide for the Conservatives.

IF CANADIAN PARENTS DIDN’T HAVE A REASON TO VOTE AGAINST PAUL MARTIN’S REGIME BEFORE, THEY DO NOW. — Warren Kinsella

UPDATE: Paul Martin has taken back the “dumb” comment by Scott Reid, but Liberal strategist John Duffy later stood by these comments on CTV. The PM has yet to clarify John Duffy’s comments.

Thanks to Blogging Tories MK Braaten for leading this effort, and Angry for providing some other research. Everybody is invited to contribute to the story of course. Post any new data that you find.

So, prior to the Goodale announcement on November 23rd at 6:00pm, it is alleged that a few people received advance word of either the details of finance minister’s announcement or just that he was going to make one. What follows are volume graphs that I made of the most acutely traded income trusts prior to Goodale’s announcement. The volume of the trading is listed as “unusual” on stocktrends.ca.

Click each of the following graphs to enlarge.

Homework assignment: Find insider connections (if any) between these income trusts and the Liberal power structure.

What could be more hypocritical than Paul Martin standing up to give a speech at an international conference on global warming when Canada has done nothing to try to meet the first-phase of Kyoto’s targets?

How about Paul Martin using his old and decrepit gas guzzling jet to rush back to Montreal two days later to get some photos with Bill Clinton for a campaign endorsement?

Paul Martin burned 4,879 litres per hour to get there and back and while he was there he had a ‘bilateral visit’ with a former US president. Of course, if Paul Martin wants to call it a ‘bilateral’ meeting (and announce it on Liberal.ca instead of pm.gc.ca) we know that our brave PM has also had ‘bilateral’ visits with the likes of other non-world leaders such as Bono.

Paul Martin has done little to cut our emissions and to live up to our Kyoto commitments. He has failed in his relations with the current US leadership. Canada used to have leverage for change among our friends, now Paul Martin needs to cover up such erosion in our international influence by meeting with such pseudo-brokers of change like Bill Clinton and Bono.

This is simply crass campaigning by the leader of the Liberal party.