Happy RoboCon Election Fraud Budget Day

Lucky scheduling break for the Cons, eh? - getting Election Canada's Marc Mayrand to testify on 2011 election fraud on the same day they released the 2012 budget.

"We are free to choose our future," Flaherty said in his budget speech. "We have made our choice."


Election Fraud : Calling it "absolutely outrageous" and " totally unacceptable in a modern democracy", Elections Canada Marc Mayrand told the PROCommittee EC is investigating 800 specific complaints of electoral phone fraud in 200 ridings across ten provinces and one territory. 250 files open right now including 70 out of the 7,000 complaints in Guelph.

2012 Budget : Elections Canada budget to be cut by $7.5 million a year.


Election Fraud  : CBC's Terry Milewski : Misleading robocalls went to voters ID'd as non-Tories
2012 Budget : CBC budget cut by 10%


Well I guess that'll learn 'em.


The budget features "streamlining" environmental review processes, plus gives $8 million to the Canadian Revenue Agency to target registered charities that are "too overtly political", translation : "opposition from environmental groups to the massive Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline."
New RevCan money will investigate "the extent to which these are funded by foreign sources." 

But foreign tarsands-to-tanker funding from China is still a-ok, even at the cost of Canadian jobs ... 


PetroChina bids to help build $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline


"Chinese investment in Canada’s energy sector could move to a new level if PetroChina wins a bid to build the controversial Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline.
The largest of China’s three state-controlled oil companies has expressed an interest in building the $5.5-billion project across the northern Canadian Rockies and is considering purchasing an equity stake, said Pat Daniel, president and CEO of proponent Enbridge Inc.
[W]ith a workforce of almost two million and cheaper labour costs than its North American counterparts, the Chinese company stands a good chance of presenting a competitive bid."


Well so much for Pipeline Steve's Canadian 'jobs, jobs, jobs' angle in that case. Also :


WSJ : Canada To Allow Wealth Funds To Invest In Its Financial Institutions

"The Canadian government said Thursday it plans to introduce legislation to allow foreign and domestic sovereign-wealth funds to invest in Canadian financial institutions."

So. After somehow being the apparent beneficiary of massive election fraud in which they gained a majority government, The Harper Economy™, as Pogge says, "is primarily based on ripping anything that might be of value out of the ground and shipping it out of the country as quickly as possible."
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Election 2011 gnomenclature

Yes, those are exact quotes from Flaherty's interview with Mansbridge on why Canada should accept the budget and not go to the polls.

I imagine HRH the Queen is probably a bit hacked off - you'd think Jim would have found room in there somewhere to mention the Royal Wedding as a reason not to have an election.

It seems rather rude but it's probably just a gnome thing.

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Libs pass the Cons budget, again

On Tuesday the following 30 Liberals passed the Cons budget bill by not showing up for the vote :

Larry Bagnell, Carolyn Bennett, Gerry Byrne, Denis Coderre, Irwin Cotler, Jean-Claude D'Amours, Ruby Dhalla, Stéphane Dion, Ujjal Dosanjh, Ken Dryden, Martha Hall Findlay, Hedy Fry, Albina Guarnieri, Andrew Kania, Jim Karygiannis, Derek Lee, Gurbax Malhi, Keith Martin, John McKay, Dan McTeague, Bernard Patry, Glen Pearson, Bob Rae, Pablo Rodriguez, Todd Russell, Michael Savage, Alan Tonks, Bryon Wilfert, Borys Wrzesnewskyj and Peter Milliken

Click on the name to see their full voting record.

Ignatieff termed the budget a "dumpster bill" and "an abuse of power" for, among other omnibus outrages, its provision to give the environment minister the power to bypass environmental assessments on major projects he wants passed. Then the Libs passed the dumpster bill, as they have every Con budget since Harper came to power 2008. (Thanks for the correction, Jurist)
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Over 75% of infrastructure funds went to Con ridings last year

"The Opposition party's analysis of the $1 billion dispensed from the Building Canada fund found 21 of 26 projects receiving money are in ridings that elected Consevative MPs, Liberal infrastructure critic Gerard Kennedy said.
Kennedy told the House of Commons during Thursday's question period that it leaves the majority of Canadians living in opposition ridings "massively shortchanged."

Shorter Harper : I don't remember you Libs bringing this up when you helped pass our federal budget by a 211-91 vote two days ago.

Iggy : "I can't help but find I'm an impotent man," Ignatieff told the House. "Can the prime minister assure us that his infrastructure spending will benefit all Canadians, no matter where they live or who they vote for?"

Correction : Actually Iggy said "I'm an impatient man". My bad.
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Iggy prepares to "swallow hard"

Congratulations, Libs. Tomorrow will mark the 45th time in a row that you have sat on your hands in Parliament because you can't afford to fight an election because no one gives money to fight elections to parties that sit on their hands in Parliament.

Iggy - PM if necessary but not necessarily PM - did go all medieval schoolmarmy on they Con ass, demanding regular quarterly progress reports on how the budget plan he had just finished lambasting was progressing.

G&M :

"We're putting this government on probation," Mr. Ignatieff said.
By 4 p.m., the government, relieved that the conditions did not require more substantive concessions, accepted the amendment, saying that providing updates to Parliament and facing votes wasn't really a new burden.
"This is nothing new. … We always report back to Parliament," Government House Leader Jay Hill said.
"The amendment just states the obvious, so we're very pleased to comply with it as we move forward."

Shorter Jay Hill : Swallow harder, bitch.
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Steve and Kory ready their shovels

Yes that is the original meaning of CBC's new favourite phrase.

h/t The Phrase Freak

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