NDP plan to cut small business taxes

Text of Jack Layton's business tax cut announcement
The NDP plan to give small business a break to help create and retain jobs (small businesses create almost half the new jobs in Canada). They also plan to restore corporate tax rates back to the 2008 level, which are still very competitive and lower than the current rates in the USA.

Restoring corporate tax rates will save the government billions of dollars - freeing up money to reduce the deficit and to pay for more useful things for Canadians.

Toronto Mayor's office starting to smell like Harper's PMO

Doug Ford rips the Star - thestar.com
When Stephen Harper became Prime Minister he quickly took steps to control the Media, to control who could ask questions and what type of questions and what access they had.
Today, Doug Ford, the Mayor of Toronto's brother, is suggesting they start to put similar controls on the Media in Toronto regarding access at City Hall.

In Stephen Harper's case we know that his actions to control the Media were done because he has a lot to hide, a lot that he doesn't want to answer for. What are the Fords hiding?

Harper rejects that he tells the truth

Harper rejects claims he was keen on forming coalition - thestar.com
Stephen Harper has been in denial of many things since he first became Prime Minister.
Today he is in denial that he signed a document showing that he was keen on forming a coalition (and there is nothing wrong with coalition governments - they are totally legitimate and acceptable, many countries are governed by coalitions. Harper just wants you to think they are bad because if he gets another minority government, a coalition could take that away from him).
He is also in denial today that his government fell because it was found in contempt of parliament.

Harper's assault on democracy as documented by Murray Dobbin

Larry Hubich's Blog: Harper’s Hitlist: Power, Process and the Assault on Democracy - Dobbin
Dobbin: “This study is
intended to examine the most serious violations of democracy committed
by the prime minister and his government. Some are clearly more serious
than others. But taken as a whole they add up to a dangerous undermining
of our democratic traditions, institutions and precedents – and
politics. These violations are not accidental, they are not incidental,
and they are not oversights or simply the sign of an impatient
government or ‘decisive’ leadership. They are a fundamental part of
Harper’s iron-fisted determination to remake Canada, whether Canadians
like it or not.”
Also:
POLL:
Environics, on behalf of the Council of Canadians, polled people about
their feelings about proportional representation in February. Here are
the results:



-   61% of Canadians support moving to a system of proportional representation in Parliament

-   36% said they were more supportive of proportional representation as a result of Prime Minister Harper’s recent prorogations



(These
results represent the findings of a telephone survey conducted among a
national random sample of 1,001 adults comprising 501 males and 500
females 18 years of age and older, living in Canada. The margin of error
for a sample of this size is +/- 3.10%, 19 times out of 20.)

Jack Layton's campaign launch

Video Gallery
Watch the video.

Realistic Harper Slogans

The Harper Government
A meme highlighting the hypocrisy and malevolence of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government.
Lots of great pictures with realistic Harper slogans.

"Are there a sufficient number of informed Canadians out there in hockey land to mount a successful STOP HARPER campaign in the upcoming election?"

New book examines Harper’s agenda to remake Canada “by stealth”. Should Canadians be concerned? « Citizen Action Monitor
Read the post at the link!
Better yet, read the book!

Polls point to some troubling numbers for the Conservatives

Conservatives hold a tentative lead in polls, Nik Nanos | Oye! Times
* As a voter priority, the economy has fallen to its lowest level since the recession began. With the economy the supposed strong topic for the Conservatives (though I don't know why the MSM feels it is - the Harper government has broken all records for economic MIS-management), this weakens their standing.
* We care more about good government now than economic management
* The majority agree that now is not a good time to buy the F-35 fighter jets (for a price tag of $16 to $30 billion)
* A majority of Conservative voters oppose the acquisition of the F-35s
* 75% of the undecided voters oppose the acquisition of the F-35s
* Harris-Decima polling in the last months shows a slow but steady decline in the Conservative lead over the Liberals

Add to this the CARP polls showing seniors' support for the Conservatives plummeting, and it adds up to signs that their support may be about to fall out from under them. With these trends, they won't be getting a majority, let alone a minority.

Canadian governments who fall to a non-confidence motion, have usually been defeated in the ensuing election

Impolitical: Harper's big risk
Excerpt:
There is also some history here, which may be instructive. Saw this on
Twitter last night, which may be subject to verification:

Interesting
fact from friend- no government that has been defeated on confidence
vote has won the resulting election - except Trudeau in 74.

...

(Cont'd)
Martin 2005 lost election Clark 1979 lost elxn Trudeau 1974 won elxn
Diefenbaker 1963 lost elxn Meighen 1926 lost election.

There is something intangible in the motion that brings defeat and its result that the Conservatives may be underestimating.

CARP Poll shows Conservative support from seniors is plummeting

CARP - A New Vision of Aging for Canada - Advocacy, Benefits, Community & Zoomer.
This poll is often a bellwether for the election results.

During the month of February, support for Conservatives dropped 10 points.

Excerpt:
There are two findings which do not bode well for the Conservatives.
While the NDP is the second choice of one quarter of voters (26%),
followed by the Green Party (14%) and the Liberals (13%), very few
members make the Conservative party their second choice (8%). In
addition, the proportion of undecided members in our latest poll is
significantly lower than in the past. Taken together, these two findings
indicate the Conservative party has now declined to its core base, and
has very few options for gaining additional votes.

NDP on the rise in Quebec - now placing 2nd, ahead of Liberals and Conservatives

NDP leads federal parties vying to capture Quebec imagination - The Globe and Mail
Bloc 41%
NDP 20%
Liberals 18%
Conservatives 16%

Date of poll: just before March 15, 2011

Rob Ford as Mussolini

Spotted: Rob Ford as Mussolini - Torontoist
New posters spotted along College St. in Toronto:

Example of MSM bias towards the Conservatives

Democratic Progress: G&M
I'm not a Liberal party supporter, but anyone should be able to see that the Grope & Fail intentionally posted (see the example at the link) a positive photo of Harper and Flaherty, and a very unflattering photo of Ignatieff together. MSM (Mainstream Media) does this all the time. And it does sway thousands, if not millions of gullible voters. Their choice of how they word the titles of articles and what they say in their "news" items also shows a lot of bias. But again, there are a lot of gullible people who are swayed by this. If you point this out to these people they often get very angry and deny they are being swayed, etc. etc.

Another example of what the Left and middle are always up against.

Conflict of interest for the Ford family

Mayor Ford's family business raises conflict questions - thestar.com
Excerpt:

“You’re not supposed to vote on issues where you’re going to directly
financially benefit,” he said. “If the Ford family business is doing
business with city hall, when those contracts come in front of council —
or those interests — they should be declared.”[Adam Vaughan]

Requests for interviews sent to the mayor’s office, Doug Ford and Deco Labels were refused.

Behind the scenes of Ford's demolition team

Breakdown of an Executive Committee Breakdown - Torontoist
Excerpts:
But I don’t think I have seen a less curious, less thoughtful, or less
intellectually rigorous group outside of a church. No one cared about
input from those who took the time to attend the meeting and express
their views. This administration seems to believe that the "people"
spoke last October 25, and all this is now just an annoying distraction
from the work that has to be done. They couldn’t even muster the
pretense of listening. Twice, as the meeting wound down, they had to
stop after it was pointed out there wasn’t a quorum—seven committee
members—present. During a discussion about how they were going to
proceed with their core service review! The nuts and bolts of governing.
...
This executive committee is the ugly manifestation of Ford Nation. Like a
jilted lover, it has seized control, determined to prove its worth. It
brooks no dissent and counters any disagreement or outside opinion with
vitriol and contempt. Retribution, not reconciliation, is its agenda.
This is the heart of an administration that has more interest in getting
even than it does in governing.

The NDP's response to The Budget

Budget Response | NDP
The NDP are not supporting this budget.

Jack Layton:

A month ago I met with the Prime Minister to discuss the budget.

I set out a clear message to him... focus on the priorities of middle class families or face an election.

I did this despite the fact that this is a government that we have
not supported because I believe it is important to try to make
parliament work - we owe it to Canadians.

I told the Prime Minister that in this recession middle class
Canadians were working harder than ever before to make ends meet.
Household debt is at an all time high and the costs of everyday
essentials are going up.

After years of the well-connected and big business getting all the breaks – I believe it’s time families get a break.

I want to build a Canada where no senior lives in poverty.

A Canada where no family has to go without a doctor.

...where every Canadian can retire with security.

Clearly Mr. Harper doesn’t.

Mr. Harper had an opportunity to address the needs of the hard working middle class families – he missed this opportunity.

He just doesn’t get it.

And in the midst of mounting scandal, this government could have put political games aside and worked with other parties.

It could have achieved practical, affordable results that help families now—to show Canadians that Ottawa can work for them.

But Stephen Harper chose not to do this.

I called on him to create new doctors and nurses for the 5 million Canadians without access to family medicine.

Mr. Harper’s budget will not do that.

I called on him to help Canadians with ever rising energy bills – to remove the federal sales tax from home heating.

Mr. Harper’s budget will not do that.

Because a quarter of a million seniors live in poverty today – a
national disgrace - I called on him to ensure no senior lives in
poverty.

Mr. Harper’s budget will not do that.

Because every Canadian deserves to have access to a financially
secure retirement – I called on him to set goals to increase benefits to
the Canada Pension Plan.

Mr. Harper’s budget will not do that.

Nothing in this budget has persuaded me that Stephen Harper has
changed his ways and is prepared to work with others in Parliament to
give middle-class families a break.

And therefore New Democrats will not support the budget as presented.

Ford plans to continue to provide good services to Toronto by massive staff layoffs?

City manager’s memo raises spectre of job cuts - The Globe and Mail
Let's see.
Mismanage the budget and reduce city income in the first year.
Layoff staff to reduce next year's budget deficit.
Will this equal continuing or improving services to Torontonians?
No Rob, as usual your math still sucks.

Harper's Legacy - Only Canadian government ever found in contempt of Parliament

Committee finds Harper government in contempt - thestar.com
Read the news.
If you are surprised or if you still think that the Harper government is worthy of your vote - WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?
It's long past time for an election. Bring it on.


CBC: MP's report finds government in contempt

Harper government offers peanuts to businesses who suffered due to the G20

Business owners insulted by G20 compensation offers - thestar.com
Stevie was willing to waste our money on fake lakes and sidewalks in small towns, and on way too many cops and toys for them. But, when it comes to compensating businesses who greatly suffered due to damages and the closure of downtown Toronto, he insults them.

Ford's lackey Ootes balks at doing his job as directed

Editorial: Double-dipping at city hall - thestar.com
Excerpt:

What shouldn’t be left to his discretion is whether to do his job as
instructed by city council. In published comments Thursday, Ootes said
it did not make sense for him to approve every invoice over $1,000 at
the housing authority. It would take too much of his time.

But city council voted 22-21 last week to have the community
housing board — now represented by the interim managing director — sign
off on all such expenses. Ootes can’t expect to take the public’s money
and then refuse to do the public’s bidding, through its elected
representatives. He, of all people, should know better.

Ootes’s behavior shows that, even in Ford’s administration, there’s
gravy to be had at Toronto City Hall. Yes, $25,000 is just a few drops
compared to the heavily loaded “gravy train” that Ford expects to find.
But people scooping even small amounts should, at least, do their job
according to the dictates of city council.

That's why there needs to be a board of duly elected members, not just one person appointed by the Mayor. A board could handle the workload. Ford bypassed proper procedure to un-democratically dismantle a democratically elected board and replace it with one person. Now there is NO representation for the tenants, and the one person doesn't want to do his job as directed by our democratically elected city council.

Clawing back progress in Toronto - big chunks at a time!

Rob Ford's first 107 days - EYE WEEKLY
Toronto is being torn down and the bills are piling up. I told you so. Read the article and weep.

Police snipers unacceptable and unwarranted at peaceful rally in Toronto

Snipers On The Roof - Torontoist
Excerpt:

Ultimately, though, we could argue back and forth about the necessity
of a sniper at this protest for hours and never get to the real point:
the police strongly overreacted to this protest, and with an unseemly
amount of fear. Snipers are simply not a necessary security measure for
anything other than the largest public protests, and even then their use
is highly questionable. (Ultimately a sniper's basic purpose is to
shoot at people from a great distance, and involving them in a public
protest is an admission that you believe deadly force may well be
necessary.) But this was not a large public protest. This was OCAP being
the same damn pain in the ass they always are: mostly peaceful and
mostly annoying, and meriting consideration of deadly force not in the
slightest.

Many have said before that the true crime perpetrated by the G20
Integrated Security Unit was to intimidate and pre-criminalize the
citizenry of Toronto as a whole. Even so, the events of the G20 were
exceptional in many ways, and although police there reacted extremely
badly to those exceptional events this could still be forgiven if it was
clear that the tactics adopted for the G20 were seen as a mistake.
However, if snipers are to become a constant presence at public
protests, then the events of the G20 were not a terrible mistake.
Instead, they were the introduction of a new norm, where protest is
considered to be not only the source of likely criminal activity, but a
source of criminal activity so dangerous that it requires the
installation of lethal force at a distance. And that is unacceptable.

Mayor Ford - Unaccountable and untrustworthy

Accountability at the TCHC, and at City Hall - Torontoist

http://torontoist.com/2011/03/newsstand_march_11_2011.php

Ford is practising the same kind of thuggery in office as Harper - use whatever powers he can to circumvent democratic process, ignore the facts, and direct his followers in how to help him do those things.

Ford not fooling anyone

Ford pushes for ‘fresh start’ at emergency TCHC meeting - The Globe and Mail
As you know, Rob Ford, Toronto's new mayor, is trying to circumvent the democratic procedures in place around how the TCHC board members become members or are removed. He wants to appoint his lackey Case Ootes to rule the TCHC in place of the democratically elected board. He wants to tear it all down before a proper investigation happens to determine the facts.

So, when Ford claimed that the meeting was "democracy in process":

   When Mr. Ford, during his opening speech, called the meeting “democracy in process,” the crowd burst out laughing.

The "crowd" in question was mainly TCHC tenants, concerned about what is happening with their board members.

Mr. Ford, you are not fooling anyone.

Harper replaces Government of Canada

Tories rebrand ‘Government of Canada’ as ‘Harper Government’ - thestar.com
In my book, this would be treason. It should be.
In Ontario, regarding the Government of Ontario, it is forbidden.