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Our current Canadian Government is funny. It campaigns to be tough on crime while cutting funding to women’s groups and trying to kill the Gun Registry. Another ‘fixture’ in the Conservative platform is a strong sense of fiscal responsibility and wise money management.
Obviously, the best way to show Canadians about sound fiscal management going on under watchful Conservative government is to build a two million dollar fake lake. I am not making this up, we are adding another two million dollars onto the millions we are pissing away on the G8 summit.
“Prime Minister Stephen Harper has defended building a $1.9-million tourism pavilion at the G8/G20 summit media centre in Toronto that includes an artificial indoor pool to simulate Ontario’s cottage country.”
One of the traditional ‘selling points’ about Canada is our abundant natural environment. Apparently, Mother Nature fails in the Conservative play book.
Your Tax Dollars in Action!
So instead, lets build a fake lake.
“His comments[Harper] came as the government scrambled Tuesday to correct the price tag associated with the so-called fake lake at the $1.9-million G8/G20 “Experience Canada” pavilion in Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre.
During Tuesday’s question period in the House of Commons, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff asked how Harper could instruct other countries how they should manage their own funds amid the government’s “astonishing” waste of taxpayers’ money on the summits.
The Liberal leader also questioned how much the public could expect to see at the end of three days of meetings, with topics such as climate change not even on the agenda.
“Canadians wanted leadership, and all they got was a fake lake,” Ignatieff told the House.”
I think Ignatieff is being a little hard on Harper and the government. I mean, for a 3 day meeting experiencing the (simulated) Ontario cottage country 1.9 million dollars is super cheeeep! Only more outrageous things could cost more such as, oh say, actually going to cottage country?
Wait..no no no it can’t be just a lobe shattering grossly negligent abuse of the public purse. It is a marketing opportunity! Steven the Harper-Douche says so!
“In fact, it’s a $2-million marketing project,” Harper said, “We must not miss this opportunity.”
The mock lake inside the centre will actually be a 10-centimetre-deep pool, built at a cost of $57,000, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told the House. It was initially reported the pool itself cost $1.9 million.
Liberal MP Mark Holland hit back, saying $57,000 is more than the annual income for 40 per cent of Canadian families.”
Amazing! I’m sure the ‘buzz’ generated will pay big dividends to the poor people of Canada, I can just imagine the dollars rolling in!
This government is anything but fiscally conservative when it comes to spending the tax dollars of Canadians.
Extra Bonus!
The Liberal Party does Fake Lakeing on the Thrifty-Side!
“OTTAWA – Creating fake lakes for the amusement of reporters appears to be turning into a cottage industry.
Liberals have installed their own water feature in the garden at the Official Opposition leader’s residence in Ottawa.
And, they’ve done it for just $19.95 _ a fraction of $1.9 million the Harper government is spending to recreate the look of Muskoka cottage country in a Toronto media centre for the G-8 and G-20 summits.
In the middle of Liberal Leader Michel Ignatieff’s yard was a blue plastic children’s wading pool. A cardboard plaque proclaimed it to be “Fake Lake Harper” and warned “No Diving.”
Another sign declared the pond to be a project funded by the federal economic action plan, “supporting Canada’s fake lake industry.”
Obviously some political hay is being made at the Conservative Governments’ expense. I’m okay with that.
“Reporters were invited to lounge on vinyl Muskoka chairs and watch plastic ducks and tiny boats bobbing in the pond, while recorded loon calls played in the background. Life jackets were available for anyone who wanted to venture into the three-inch deep waters.
One boat _ carrying muppet Ernie and his rubber duckie _ was dubbed the “Captain Tony,” after Industry Minister Tony Clement, whose Muskoka riding has been flooded with cash in advance of the G-8 summit.
A remote controlled craft with a plastic action figure glued to its deck was dubbed the “Stuntwell Day” — a reference to Treasury Board president Stockwell Day, who once famously arrived for a press conference wearing a wetsuit and riding a personal watercraft.”
This will end badly for the Conservatives. Probably not as bad as their leader arriving to a press conference on Jetski, but close.
I miss the days when the Conservatives could actually display how batshite crazy they actually are. Thanks to the Harper 'Muzzle on the Crazy' we'll have to be happy with the Fake Lake-Gate scandal.
We'll get to your problems soon, we promise.
For all the hoopla the regular G8 conferences cause what really happens there. It seems one of the more anti-democratic features of the ‘new globalized economy’. According to the CBC the tough issues will not even be seriously discussed.
“A leaked draft of the final communiqué for the upcoming G8 summit suggests Canada has dodged a bullet on the thorny issues of abortion and climate change.
The draft, obtained by The Canadian Press, says the world’s most powerful countries are prepared to throw money at “all factors” affecting the health of women and children in poor countries but doesn’t specifically mention abortion.
There is no agreement yet on specific funding for the maternal initiative, climate change, food security or aid to developing countries, despite strong words urging concrete measures.”
Our anti-choice Prime Minister and his merry band of pro-life fascists are out to scuttle reproductive freedom for the Third World. It is good to know that we will stick to our ideological beliefs in the face of the facts (abortions save womens lives).
“Action is required on all factors that affect the health of women and children,” the document says. “This includes addressing gender inequality, ensuring women’s and children’s rights and improving education for women and girls.”
Message to Harper Government: Women are people too.
Hello, hello?! Abortion is a part of women’s rights! But hey it is just the womenz anyways marginalizing them has always been a slam dunk.
Climate Change though, WoW! Canada looks like to be putting forth this bold initiative:
“On the environment, the only thing G8 negotiators have apparently agreed to is that fighting climate change shouldn’t hurt countries’ economies — a position the Harper government has been pushing.”
Taking the status quo is really a non initiative. Restructuring our economy so we are not shitting in the air we breath and the water we drink is going to hurt economically. It is necessary to do it sooner than later because right now we have the choice to do it, when our ecosystems ‘decide‘ they have had enough of us I assure you, gentle reader, that the economies will be much more than “hurt”.
Our parliament is back in action after being out of business while supposedly our conservative turd-nuggets “calibrated” their economic plans to “save” the Canadian Economy. What do we get? A large horse and pony show about possibly changing the national anthem and more tax cuts for business and the banking industry.
We are cutting taxes on the financial sector. Don't complain...have some yummy ice-cream to make all those thoughts of fairness go away. Silly Public.
We stopped the business of government so we can get yet another typically conservative budget? Some putrid highlights:
- The finance minister promised many times that this budget would not include any significant tax cuts, but he just couldn’t help himself. No Harper budget is complete without a major tax cut for business, even after business leaders say we now need tax increases.
- The major new business tax cut this year is a complete elimination of tariffs on manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment. This move aims to make Canada’s manufacturing sector into a free trade zone, consistent with their aggressive new free trade plans and will cost the federal government an estimated $1.3 billion over five years.
- Further planned cuts to corporate income taxes will drive the federal corporate tax rate down to 15% down by almost half from the from 29.12% rate in 2000. These cuts so far have cost more than $100 billion and further cuts will cost the government an additional $20 billion in lower revenues during the next five years.
- The Harper government is continuing with these further cuts even though the steep cuts so far have had little positive impact in increasing investment or productivity
Well isn’t that just fraking grand. The opposition, rather than condemning this albatross of a budget, will quietly vote to pass this budget. Will the Afghan detainee torture scandal resurface? Will Harper and his merry band of neo-conservative business courtiers continue to sell ordinary Canadians down the river?
I hope the we get some real direction from our opposition soon. I’m getting tired and quite cranky over the mendacious conservative rule we are toiling under.
I am glad to see the Tories neck and neck with the Liberals in the polls. Perhaps our haughty PM can shelf his pride and start listening to what Canadians have to say. I doubt he is even concerned with the poll to be honest though. He needed time to stack the senate (the one which he has tried so very hard to make elected) in his favour so he can more easily push through his parties’ legislative agenda.
The ECOS poll results from from January 27th, 2010 to February 2nd, 2010.
This is a meme that deserves to be propagated.
What? The Canadian Government have to comprise? I don’t think so. Harper and his merry band of plutocrats are considering proroguing parliament again. Essentially wiping the slate clean for the next session. It would cost the conservatives as they have much of their treasured neoconservative agenda at risk:
“If Harper were to prorogue, the Consumer Product Safety Act, as well as several crime bills dear to the Conservative government such as those dealing with auto theft, email spam, sex offenders, conditional sentences and white-collar crime, would be wiped off the legislative agenda.”
A small price to pay though to avoid the torture scandal that is brewing over the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan. There is mounting evidence of Canadian wrongdoing and that would be bad for the polls, so indeed it might be worth it to sacrifice current legislation.
“Moreover, parliamentary committees — including the special Commons committee probing the issue of possible Afghan detainee torture — could not sit.”
Ahh…well things become more clear now. The last minority government was brought down because of an inquiry. We certainly cannot have that, as the ethical treatment of other human beings is much less important than staying in power.
A update before the post has gone to press. Look – Harper is going to do it anyway.
A second update, the disdainful deed is done. Shame on me for scheduling this post for the new year, as I underestimated Steven Harper’s capacity to fail.
The CBC sagely intones:
“Two high-profile international events bookended Harper’s year: welcoming the immensely popular U.S. President Barack Obama to Ottawa in February and making an overdue sojourn to China in December. Both generated mainly positive reviews.”
Wow, our PM is really rocking the house with deeply important meetings and visits vital to all Canadians. 
“Harper began the year facing huge political potholes at home but opted to hit the road internationally — a time-honoured coping mechanism of Canadian prime ministers.”
I guess we can gloss over stimulus-gate, the imperial misadventure in Afghanistan, and the perilous state of the Canadian social fabric.
“Move along move along…nothing to see here….”
*rolls eyes*
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