Three Western Premiers Speak Up Against Mulcair Remarks

Premiers of three Western Provinces have spoken out about remarks made by the Leader of the Official Opposition regarding the Alberta Oilsands.  Premiers Christy Clark, B.C, Alison Redford, AB and Premier Brad Wall, Sask,

Mulcair, speaking on a CBC radio program last weekend said that the oilsands are artificially inflated the Canadian dollar and hollowing out the country’s manufacturing sector, a similar comment made by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty earlier this year.  He compared  Canada's economic realities to "Dutch disease," referring to the collapse of the Dutch manufacturing sector in the 1960s after oil-industry development raised the country's currency.

The three Western Premiers see the results as divisive, remarks that have no place in today's reality of Canada.

 Mulcair's remarks drew angry remarks from Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.  Wall called the comments divisive for one that aspires to lead the country and said if Mulcair thinks the oilsands are a disease, he wants to know what the NDP thinks the cure is.  Saskatchewan has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country with the help of resource development of potash, uranium and oil.

 "It's a concern for people out West.  I think his economics are wrong. And there's a lack of recognition there that the resource strength for Western Canada is a strength for the whole country,"  Wall said.


Newly elected Alberta Premier Alison Redford also reacted stating that she is not sure if Mulcair's comments were well informed or just his opinion. She continued that she hopes he explains his motivation because she says someone looking to lead the country one day needs to understand just how important the oilsands are to the entire country.

British Columbia's Premier Christy Clark called Mulcair's remarks goofy.

 "I really thought that type of thinking was discredited and it had been discredited for a long time. It's so backwards," Clark said. "I think that's just goofy."

She continued as to his remarks regarding "Dutch Disease" and said they just weren't accurate, calling NDP remarks as gobbledygook.

 "The NDP talk their gobbledygook, but really they want less economic development," she said. "We all know it's a recipe for disaster."

Manitoba has an NDP government so naturally the remarks by its Premier would have to be guarded.  Suffice to say that former Manitoba NDP Premier Gary Doer and presently Canada's Ambassador to the United States is pragmatic enough to support the oilsands. 

Mulcair seems to be stuck on ideology and really hasn't put forward an alternative vision for Canada, at least not one that is all inclusive.  A former Member of Quebec's National Assembly, it certainly looks as if Mulcair has not made the transition yet to the national stage.  While he has to protect his party's turf in Quebec, he also needs to realize that he has to make some inroads in Western Canada. His approach isn't going to cut it.  Remember the National Energy Program.  How did that work for you?

Did Thomas Mulcair Play the Race Card

Media mongul, Conrad Black, has been granted permission to live in Canada for one year, even though he has a criminal record and denounced his Canadian citizenship.  Leader of the Official Opposition, Thomas Mulcair called the move a double standard and his comment may even have invoked the race card.

"It's a clear case of a double standard. One for an American black man from Chicago, another for a British white man coming out of federal penitentiary," Mulcair said.

Mulcair was referring to the case of  Douglas Gary Freeman, who was arrested in Toronto in 1969 for a 1969 police shooting.  Although Freeman pleaded self-defence he was convicted of aggravated battery and spend thirty days in jail.  He served three years in jail, prior to extradition to the U.S.

On CBC's Power and Politics yesterday, Douglas Freeman made his case.  He has raised a family in Canada and is really only looking to be re-united with his family.  Having heard his plea, his case should most certainly be reassessed.

Being denied entry into Canada based on a criminal conviction seems harsh, considering that even Omar Khadr will be returned to Canada.  Regardless this should not be made an issue of race.  Anyone, who has looked south of the border and observed politics there recently can see that the politics of race and division are well and alive.

Conrad Black, who has lost most of his assets and spend 42 months in  rison on fraud and obstruction of justice charges related to his work at Hollinger, is due to be released next week.  He is a member of the Order of Canada and a member of the British Parliament's House of Lords.  In a dispute with former Prime Minister Jean Chretien, he renounce his Canadian citizenship when he was appointed to the House of Lords.  His childhood home is in Canada and Black says he has about $80 Million in assets.

When questioned about the Black case during Question Period, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that cases like this are a matter of privacy.  He also stated that he had indicated to his department that in respect to Black he would have no involvement.

"I can advise the House, with respect to this individual, I indicated to my department that I would not have any involvement in an application from that individual and that his application would be treated by highly trained members of our public service."

He also called Gary Freeman a cop killer, a comment he apologize for later and said he should have called him a cop shooter.

Those statements prompted Mulcair's allegations, which could be considers as invoking the race card.  Be it as it may, the comments emphasizing race are over the line.  Gary Freeman's case should be re-examined.  By all indications Mr. Freeman should be given a permit on compassionate reasons to reunite with his family and grandchildren, but please keep race out of it. 

The recent discourse in Canada's Parliament is unbecoming.  As an example during another session of  Question period last week, a question arose regarding Canada's military involvement past 2014.

When Mulcair asked the prime minister about the extension, Harper attacked the NDP for being pacifists regardless of the situation. "In 1939, the NDP leader didn’t even want to support the fight against Hitler," said Harper. Of course the PM was referring to the CCF, the predecessor of the NDP.  This created a lot of chatter in the twitter sphere, with Canadians offering history lessons to the PM.  Canadian Politics this Week.

Both sides would be well advised to get back to civil debate.

Canadian Politics - Two Opposing Visions

The New Democratic Party has been surging in the polls.   In the most recent polls, the surge is most prominent in the province of Quebec, lags in Ontario, but has brought the party into a statistical tie with the Conservative in the rest of the country.  Both the Liberal Party of Canada and the Conservative Party have lost favour in Quebec.  The New Democrats (NDP) have a newly elected leader, Thomas Mulcair, who is also the Leader of the Official Opposition. 

The Conservative Party and the NDP represent two totally different visions for Canada.    

The Conservative Party, similar to the GOP stands for lower taxes, smaller government, more decentralization of federal government powers to the provinces, and a tougher stand on "law and order" issues.  During the last election, the Conservative Party ran on the Canada Action Plan, with a budget already introduced during the previous session. It has promised Senate reform, including term limits. One of the mainstays of the Reform Party was a EEE (Elected, Equal and Effective) Senate. Harper may be able to achieve the Elected and Effective, however equal requires the approval of the provinces and Quebec and Ontario are not likely to give up their present number advantage.

The New Democratic Party stands for many issues embraced today in the Democratic Party. The party embodies gender equality and equal rights for the LBGT community, improving environmental protection, national water standards, reducing poverty and increasing corporate taxes, while decreasing taxes for small business. It further promotes aggressive human rights protection, improving public transportation, improving universality of health care, to include prescription drug coverage and dental care.  During the last election, the party unveiled its 2011 Platform.

 More on Canadian Political Parties Here


The Conservative Party has been plagued with several problems recently, including "Robocalls", buget cuts, particulary in the public service sector and most recently the procurement of the F35B stealth fighter.   A recent report by the Auditor General suggests that the government misled the Canadian public on the actual cost of the program.  The government contends that it is an accounting issue.   Without going into specific details, the robocalls, budget and the fighter issue have raised enough doubt to make the government vulnerable.  The conservative government is also criticized for its position on environmental issues, particularly the Alberta Oil Sands and the construction of the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta to the west coast, through environmentally sensitive areas.   The majority of citizens in British Columbia oppose the pipeline and oil tanker traffic on the west coast. 

Thomas Mulcair, the newly elected leader of the NDP, says that he has an obligation to reach out beyond the traditional base of the NDP and try to rally all progressives across Canada.

"My primary obligation is to reach out beyond the NDP's traditional base, to try to rally all progressives across Canada under the NDP banner."

This appears to have occurred in Quebec with relative success.  Mulcair has his work cut out in Ontario and Western Canada.  Some of his recent popularity may be due to a bump in poll numbers after the leadership race and the problems that the present government is experiencing.  Three years in politics is a long time though.  In the end it will boil down to the health of the economy and delivery of health care.

The battle lines have been drawn and there are two opposing views, with very different platforms.  Both parties will have to sell their platform as the best direction for the country.