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And Another McGuinty Bites the Dust (or Oilsands)

Wetcoaster

By Wetcoaster
in Off-Topic General

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Wetcoaster Canucks First-Line

Wetcoaster

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A short while back Liberal Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty resigned and now his brother Liberal MP David McGuinty has been forced to apologize and resign as Liberal party critic for natural resources.

Little Davy seems to not recall the angst and antipathy that the Liberal grab of Alberta oil resources under the Trudeau National Energy Policy - obviously Alberta and the Conservative party have not forgotten.

McGuinty was reported by Sun Media as saying that Alberta Conservatives should "go back to Alberta" and that they don't belong in Parliament unless they adopt a more national view of the energy industry.

"They are national legislators with a national responsibility, but they come across as very, very small-P provincial individuals who are jealously guarding one industrial sector, picking the fossil fuel business and the oilsands business specifically, as one that they're going to fight to the death for," the Sun quoted an angry McGuinty as saying Tuesday following a meeting of the natural resources committee into energy innovation.

Reaction from the Conservatives was swift.

Joan Crockatt, who is in a tight race with a Liberal candidate in Monday's byelection in Calgary Centre, quickly issued a news release invoking former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau's energy policy from more than three decades ago.

"This anti-Alberta prejudice is the same the Liberals had when they brought in the disastrous National Energy Policy in the 1980s that did tremendous damage to our economy and cost Albertans billions of dollars," she said.

"I find it shameful, I guess not surprising, but shameful that 30 years after the National Energy Program these anti-Alberta attitudes are so close to the surface in the Liberal Party," ~ Prime Minster Harper

Calgary Southeast MP Jason Kenney, the immigration minister, said before question period the remarks were "deeply offensive" as he called on McGuinty to apologize. "It's totally inappropriate and, frankly, arrogant for a parliamentarian to tell elected colleagues they don’t belong here, that they shouldn't be representing their constituents, that they shouldn't be advocating for economic growth in one of the key growth industries in the Canadian economy," Kenney said after his party's weekly caucus meeting.

"I would remind Mr. McGuinty that three-quarters of Canada's petroleum production actually happens in Alberta, that Alberta's energy industry is Canada's energy industry and that industry is responsible for almost 20 per cent of our country's gross domestic product. The entire Canadian energy industry is creating hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country."

Pierre Poilevre, an Ottawa Tory MP, called McGuinty's comments "shocking" while Calgary Tory MP Michelle Rempel challenged McGuinty to make the comments to her face in the House.

"Seriously, 'Go back to Alberta,'" she wrote. "Like it's some backwater, uncultured, non-entity in our nation. Unbelievable.

"Last time I checked, this sector was important to the entire country."

And even his Liberal party colleagues could not distance themselves from the McGuinty stench fast enough.

Interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said earlier Wednesday that McGuinty's comments weren't "helpful" and made it clear he expected an apology, but said the comments likely came from "exasperaton" with Conservative members on the natural resources committee.

"I think the way he expressed himself was unfortunate."

Later, on CBC News Network's
Power & Politics
, Rae said McGuinty's views as reported don't reflect those of the party, and said the Liberals back Alberta Premier Alison Redford's call for a national energy strategy.

Justin Trudeau, who is running to be the next Liberal leader and who has already taken pains to distance himself from his father's legacy in the West, was asked about McGuinty's remarks during a stop in Edmonton on Tuesday, but wouldn't comment on them directly.

"My entire campaign has been about bringing people together, about not pitting region against region and about being a strong representative and a voice that says the same thing in Chicoutimi as we say in downtown Calgary as I'll say in Toronto as I'll say in B.C.," Trudeau said.

Congratulations David McGuinty as you have all but assured a Conservative victory in the Calgary by-election in what was shaping up to be a close race. What a doofus. Or perhaps he was just giving voice to the usual Liberal party view of Alberta.

McGuinty has now belatedly apologized and resigned as the Liberal critic for natural resources.

After 24 hours of outraged reaction from Conservative MPs and some backpedalling by Liberals, McGuinty issued an apology and said he was stepping down from his critic role.

"As member of Parliament for Ottawa South, I would like to unreservedly and unequivocally apologize for comments which I made with respect to parliamentary colleagues from the province of Alberta," McGuinty said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

"My words in no way reflect the views of my party or leader, and I offer my apology to them as well as my colleagues from Alberta.

"I hold all parliamentarians in high esteem, and I regret my choice of words, as I can understand the offence they have caused," McGuinty said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/11/21/pol-david-mcguinty-.html' rel="external nofollow">

There is no word when the surgery to remove Davey's foot from his mouth and Bob Rae's boot from his butt will take place.

Thus far no Alberta politicians have been reported responding to let the Eastern bastards freeze in the dark as was the case during the NEP days.

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Wetcoaster Canucks First-Line

Wetcoaster

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And now the McGuinty remarks have caught up The Chosen One - Justin Trudeau.

Asked at a campaign appearance in Edmonton what he thought of reported remarks by David McGuinty, Trudeau would not comment directly but stressed his priority is national unity.

"My entire campaign has been about bringing people together, about not pitting region against region and about being a strong representative and a voice that says the same thing in Chicoutimi as we say in downtown Calgary as I'll say in Toronto as I'll say in B.C.," said Trudeau.

"That's the kind of politics that I am trying to do here."

However it seems that has not been his position in the past where he said he thought Albertans who were in charge were ruining Canada and it would be best to have Quebeckers running things.

In November 2010, Trudeau told a Quebec television show that he was tired of Albertans running the country and that, whether it was Jean Chretien or Brian Mulroney, Canada is better off when Quebecers are running the country.

"Canada isn't doing well right now because it's Albertans who control our community and socio-democratic agenda. It doesn't work," Trudeau said in French to interviewer Patrick Lagace on the Tele-Quebec program Les francs-tireurs (The Straight Shooters).

Lagace then asked Trudeau if he thought Canada was "better served when there are more Quebecers in charge than Albertans?"

Trudeau replied: "I'm a Liberal, so of course I think so, yes. Certainly when we look at the great prime ministers of the 20th century, those that really stood the test of time, they were MPs from Quebec... This country - Canada - it belongs to us."

Trudeau specifically named prime ministers Pierre Trudeau, Chretien and Paul Martin but also included Progressive Conservative Mulroney on his list of great Quebec prime ministers of the last century.

http://cnews.canoe.c...2/20377596.html

FLIP

FLOP

from the entitled Trudeau fop...

The Conservatives are going to eat him alive if he wins the Liberal leadership.

And Justin has already been put on the defensive for those comments falling back on that time honoured excuse... that his remarks were taken out of context. Problem is that does not appear to be the case. As Matt Gurney of the National Post writes in an article titled "Anti-Alberta Trudeau interview reminds Canadians why the Liberals were voted out":

Mr. Trudeau’s interview was given to Patrick Lagace, host of Les francs-tireurs (The Straight Shooters). And shoot Mr. Trudeau does … right at Alberta. He magnanimously lists Brian Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative, as a successful prime minister, but his other examples of good Quebec leaders — his father, Chrétien and Martin — aren’t just Quebecers, they’re Liberals.

And according to Mr. Trudeau, Canada belongs to them.

It doesn’t really matter if he was referring to Quebecers or Liberals. The comment reeks of arrogance either way.

This certainly won’t help the Liberals in Alberta, particularly in the upcoming Calgary Centre byelection. Harvey Locke, the Liberal candidate there, is probably wondering what he needs opposing candidates for, with Liberals like Messrs. Trudeau and McGuinty blowing up his campaign. But the comments by both senior Liberals will resonate far beyond Alberta’s borders, and help to remind Canadians why it was they turfed our former natural governing party from office six years ago. It wasn’t any particular scandal or policy, but mostly because the entire party had come to embody a sense of entitlement, and the Liberals weren’t even trying to hide it anymore. They clearly felt they were owed not just cushy jobs and patronage posts, but the entire country and its collective identity.

It blew up in their face, of course. Millions of Canadians who might have gone for the Liberals’ policies found they didn’t much like being told that Liberal values were Canadian values, and that’s that. How could those who didn’t happen to support the Liberals conclude anything other than that their government didn’t consider them legitimate citizens? Such phenomenal arrogance cost the Grits at the ballot box. In case anyone is having difficulty remembering how that turned out, in a space of eight years, the Liberals went from expecting a 200-seat majority under Paul Martin to earnestly wondering if they can survive anything less than a drastic reinvention. Liberals have groused ever since that millions of Liberal voters have “stayed home” during the last few elections. Maybe it’s simpler than that. Maybe their ego simply drove millions of people out of that big tent the Liberals are so eager to talk about.

The Trudeau camp responded quickly to the revelations. In a statement put out on Thursday afternoon, they said, “The Conservatives are using out of context statements made years ago in a long interview … We need to get beyond the divisive politics of the Conservatives and include all Canadians.”

Problem: It was Mr. Trudeau himself making the divisive comments, saying Canada didn’t work when Albertans have power, and that the country belongs either to one province, or just Liberals from that province. Mr. Trudeau may feel the quotes were taken out of context, but they still [ital]sound[endital] astonishingly divisive. You can’t accuse someone else of playing the politics of division when your own party, twice in two days, has treated Albertans as somehow unfit to hold office in their own federal government.

These comments just don’t sound divisive (though Lordy, they do). They also sound achingly familiar. This is exactly how many Canadians suspect the Liberals really feel, deep down inside: The only good Canadian is a Liberal. Everyone else is either an American or an Albertan (one suspects that, to many Liberals, this is a distinction without a difference). The Liberals can embrace the oil sands all they want. Until they stop treating the people who live in the general vicinity of the oil sands as enemy aliens out to rob the Grits of their rightful, if temporarily interrupted, rule over Canada, they’re not going to improve much on their third-party status.

Yes, the comments are from a couple of years ago, which may help partially offset the oh-so weak response put out by the Trudeau team (though we’re not talking unearthed university-era debate club stuff here — this was Trudeau speaking in his capacity as a Liberal MP only two years ago). And the Liberals have been doing okay lately. Polls show they have a shot to come back to second place. Maybe even compete for government.

It could happen. But they’ll need more than a new leader and some new policies before that can happen. They need a full-on attitude adjustment. Despite all their talk about renewal, it’s not clear that’s in the making.

http://fullcomment.n...were-voted-out/

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TOMapleLaughs Canucks All-Star

TOMapleLaughs

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Attacking Trudeau over a years-old statement taken out of context only confirms that the Conservatives are scared.

Here's why:

Nov. 21, 2012. If an election were held today, a Liberal party led by Justin Trudeau would win a strong minority government from Canadians while the NDP would tumble to a distant third, a new poll suggests.

Under Trudeau, 39% of respondents in a Forum Poll for the National Post said they would vote for the Grits, while the Conservatives would take 30% and the NDP would fall to 23% — less than a quarter of the popular vote.

Those numbers would win the Liberals 150 seats in the Commons, just short of the 155 needed to have a majority in the 308-seat House.

“It’s clear by now that the Trudeau phenomenon is no one-day wonder, and that a Liberal Party led by him would be the prohibitive favourite to beat in the next federal election,” Forum Research President Dr. Lorne Bozinoff said.

The Conservatives would win 107 seats, while the NDP would drop to 44 seats. The poll suggests the NDP’s loss of fortune would not necessarily equal a resurgent Bloc Quebecois, with the separatist party winning only six seats. Elizabeth May would retain her seat for the Greens.

While Trudeau is often portrayed as the Gen-X candidate who might finally tap into Canada’s apathetic young voters, the survey suggests his famous name actually polls stronger with older Canadians.

Only 27% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 would vote for a Trudeau-led Liberal party, the same percentage that would vote Tory. The NDP, at 34%, remain young Canada’s choice.

But Trudeau performs quite strongly with middle-aged Canadians, winning decisively in all age groups over 45.

A Trudeau-led Liberal party also holds a decisive edge in female voters, taking 42% of their vote, compared to 26% for the Conservatives and 25% for the NDP.

Male voters each give the Tories and the Trudeau Liberals 35% support. The NDP trails behind at 21%.

CURRENT SITUATION DIFFERS SHARPLY

Using the current leaders of the Canadian political parties, the poll’s numbers drastically change. With interim leader Bob Rae at the helm, the Liberals drop into a tie with the NDP for second place at 28% support.

The Conservatives stay in the lead with 33% support, but would be reduced to a weak minority of 138 seats.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair continues to see his net favourable ratings decline in the Forum poll, falling to a negative rating for the first time. While Prime Minister Stephen Harper has the highest negative rating overall with Canadians, he also maintains a solid base of 36% approval.

While several polls now suggest Trudeau may be a formidable opponent on the campaign trail, he still has to win his party’s leadership.

Other Liberals vying for leadership include Martha Hall Findlay, Deborah Coyne and presumably Liberal MP Marc Garneau, who is expected to announce his candidacy in the near future.

The Liberal leadership election is not until April 2013. A federal election will likely not occur until 2015.

The Forum Poll was conducted by Forum Research with the results based on an interactive voice response telephone survey of 1,849 randomly selected residents of Canada aged 18 or older. The poll was conducted on November 19th, 2012.

Results based on the total sample are considered accurate +/- 2 %, 19 times out of 20. Subsample results will be less accurate.

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ronthecivil Canucks First-Line

ronthecivil

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Trudeau moves from alienating a region to a position of trying to unify.

Meanwhile the conservatives are not winning many over with their social policies. And soon enough the folly of their economic policies will come crashing down on their heads.

The "provide nothing but attack ads" policy isn't fool proof. Heck, their latest campaign against the NDP (who I dislike by default anyways) actually would have me liking the idea of a carbon tax - at least then we would have a hope of balancing the budget!

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aGENT Canucks Hall-of-Famer

aGENT

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The "provide nothing but attack ads" policy isn't fool proof. Heck, their latest campaign against the NDP (who I dislike by default anyways) actually would have me liking the idea of a carbon tax - at least then we would have a hope of balancing the budget!

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ronthecivil Canucks First-Line

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No doubt. And yes, those ads piss me off to no end. Not only is the message entirely wrong but what giant waste of my f'ing tax dollars years out from an election against a party that, if the polls are correct, won't even be your main competition! I should let the local radio stations know I change the channel when that ad comes on
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