Democratic Reform

THE LIE
“Canada's New Government has an ambitious and extensive legislative plan to strengthen accountability in government through democratic reform.

• First, we are eliminating the influence of big money in the political process by regulating the financing of political parties.
• Second, we've introduced legislation to modernize the Senate to make it more democratic, more accountable, and more effective.
• Third, we are enhancing our electoral system to make it more responsive, fair and effective.

While we have accomplished a lot to date, we will continue to move forward with our plan to strengthen accountability through democratic reform.”
Technically, not a Harper quote. Cited from the Ministry of Democratic Reform website

THE TRUTH
We’ve covered some of this already, but to recap:

• Harper threatened to remove the Government grant to political parties in December 2008, an action viewed by some as the precipitant to the threat of a coalition between the Liberals and NDP.
• Harper crammed the Senate with his appointees in December 2008.
• Harper broke his own law and called an early election.

On the threat to the grant
On the Senate
On the early election call

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, far right, watches as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers the
government's fiscal update in the House of Commons on Nov. 27. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

The Deficit

THE LIE
On June 25, 2009, Stephen Harper was interviewed by CTV’s Steve Murphy who asked about the ballooning deficit projections for 2009, now estimated at $50 billion. “In relative terms our deficit is a quarter of the deficit in the US, the deficit in Great Britain, half the deficit in Europe.”
Tape of the interview

THE TRUTH
According to the OECD Economic Outlook Report dated June 2009, deficit as a proportion of GDP for Canada will be 4.8%. For the other nations Harper mentions and other European G7 countries, the projections are: US, 10.2%; UK, 12.8%; France, 6.7%; Germany, 3.7%; Italy, 5.3%. While Harper is correct that we are in better shape than the US and UK, we do not have one-quarter of their deficit, and we are at about the same level as other European peers.

The OECD report

Employment Insurance

The following is quoted verbatim from the Liberal Party website:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made several misleading statements about EI in the House of Commons yesterday.

“It is simply a proposal... to raise payroll taxes to the roof in perpetuity for workers in small business.”

Fact: There is absolutely no requirement to raise payroll taxes in order to increase EI eligibility. The Liberal plan for EI eligibility does not include any increase in revenue collection. Payroll taxes are frozen and Liberals support leaving them that way.

“The Liberal Leader... is making the proposal that a Canadian could work 45 days and collect employment insurance for a year and that would be the system in every region in perpetuity.”

Fact: You can only receive EI if you’ve paid into the system and been laid off through no choice and no fault of your own. EI is not, in Diane Finley’s words, “lucrative for (laid-off Canadians) to stay home and get paid for it.” The government’s EI policy allows for a variable length of eligibility by region – ranging from 19 to 50 weeks – and the Liberal proposal doesn’t change that. Liberals are making proposals that reflect the reality of the recession while Conservatives remain oblivious to the growing crisis.

“The proposal... would do nothing for the economy, for the recession today.”

Fact: Laid-off workers are those most likely to spend 100 percent of their benefits to provide for their immediate day-to-day needs – things like food, rent and transportation – providing direct economic stimulus to some of the hardest-hit regions in the country. For every $1 spent by laid-off workers, local economies benefit from $1.60 in economic spin-offs.

“Over 80 percent of those who are paying into (Employment Insurance) are receiving benefits.”

Fact: Under the current rules, less than 60 percent of unemployed Canadians who have paid into EI receive benefits. 150,000 more people would be eligible for EI under our proposal – which would provide fairness for nearly half of the over 300,000 people laid off under your watch since last October.

“We have an EI system that responds to market needs. When we have difficulties as we have now, the system responds – benefits increase, eligibility increases as well.”

Fact: EI only adjusts after the unemployment rate has risen dramatically – cold comfort for those who lose their job without EI benefits before the unemployment number skyrockets. EI was not designed to react quickly to the massive, nationwide job losses experienced under this Conservative government.

Five misrepresentations in one Question Period exchange leaves us with one question: why is the Prime Minister trying to divide Canadians on fairness for laid-off workers?

Illegal Coalition

THE LIE
"At a time like this, a coalition with the separatists cannot help Canada," Mr. Harper said. "And the opposition does not have the democratic right to impose a coalition with the separatists they promised voters would never happen."
Globe story with the quote

THE TRUTH
The proposed Liberal—NDP coalition did not include the Bloc Quebecois. The BQ could contribute no cabinet ministers and was permitted an independent vote on all matters except confidence votes for 18 months. In a parliamentary democracy, coalition formation is not only a legal and legitimate form of government, but also a desirable one, where elected representatives seek compromise rather than stagnation in the absence of a clear mandate from the electorate. Israel’s numerous recent coalition governments are probably the most prominent recent example.
The Accord Agreement
Yet another Israeli coalition

Fixed Election Dates

THE LIE
“The Government’s position is clear: we brought in legislation modeled on those of the provinces to set elections every four years to set the next election for October 19, 2009." […] "The Government is clear it will not be seeking an early election. Of course, at any time, Parliament can defeat the Government and provoke an early election if that’s what the Opposition irresponsibly chooses to do.”
In Question Period, May 30, 2006, while speaking on Bill C-16 amending the Canada Elections Act
Hansard entries for first and second statements


THE TRUTH
Harper’s Government set an election for October 14, 2008, at its sole discretion. This is despite the preamble of his Government’s amendment to the Canada Elections Act pointing out that

“fixed election dates would remove an unfair advantage that the government possesses in being able to decide on the date for an election. It would create a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process, by removing the uncertainty and perceived bias in favour of the governing party. This would facilitate planning for election officials, as well as political parties and candidates. It is also argued that, indirectly, fixed election dates would help relax party discipline and allow freer votes, as the Prime Minister and cabinet would no longer be able to use the threat of an election to keep their caucus in line. At the same time, by ensuring that an election could be held earlier in the event that the government clearly did not have the support of the majority of the House of Commons, the concept of confidence that underlies the parliamentary system of government would be preserved.”

As with his position on the elected senate, Harper professes a commitment to democratic mechanisms that he later circumvents.
The text of Bill C-16
Democracy Watch to get their day in court

Stephen Harper speaks at a campaign rally in Quebec during his illegal October, 2008 campaign

Housing Starts

THE LIE
"We’re also helping Canadians invest in new homes, through the First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit and the new Home Buyers’ Plan. And it’s working, friends; housing starts were up by more than 10,000 last month."
from a speech on the Economic Action Plan, June 11, 2009

THE TRUTH
It sounds as though 10,000 more homes were built in May than April, or than last May. What the CMHC actually reported was that the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of housing starts increased by 10,800. What's the SAAR, you ask? "All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) – that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels." In other words, if you were to take the improvement seen in May, and extrapolate that over an entire year, there would be an increase of 10,800. That represents an estimated increase of 900 housing starts in May.

I should also note that the starts are not distributed evenly throughout Canada. Ontario enjoyed the sharpest improvement in urban starts of 22% (11-figure cash infusions into auto industry and infrastructure), while BC suffered a decline in the SAAR of 5% (zero bridging support for industries like forestry and lumber, mining). Moreover, housing start levels are still well below that estimated by demographic demand, about 27% below it.

CMHC in da house

Harper gets the neighbours (Bush II and Calderon) to help pretty things up a little.

Stimulus Spending

THE LIE
“Today, I am here to announce that only 10 weeks into this fiscal year, fully 80 percent of our Plan's funding has been committed and is being implemented across this country!”
from a transcript of Harper's speech of June 11, 2009

THE TRUTH
Though there is federal approval for stimulus spending, it is a lie to describe 80 percent of the stimulus plan’s funding as being implemented. Most shovel-ready projects have yet to break ground. And the ones that aren't shovel ready are still clogged in the planning phase.
One reality check, and another

Child Care Benefits

THE LIE
“We promised to take money that was going to lobbyists, researchers and bureaucrats and to give it instead to families, parents, and children. And we have done so. Now every parent of every pre-school child is receiving $100 a month from our government!”
from a speech delivered in Quebec, July 2008

THE TRUTH
The Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) program issues a taxable $100 monthly payment to families for each child under the age of six to help cover the cost of child care. After applying a marginal tax rate of 40%, each family—not each parent—gets to keep $720 a year for child care. On average, that amount won't be enough to pay for your child's care beyond February. You're on the hook for the rest of the year.

Oh yeah, and about taking money from greedy "researchers" to put it in the hands of "families, parents, and children": science and technology "spending has increased every year since 2006" and Canada's Economic Action Plan "announced $5.1 billion in new spending in the areas of S&T infrastructure, research, people and commercialization." This is, of course, the right thing to do, but that doesn't prevent Harper from lying about these government grants when it suits his audience.

Details on the benefit program
KPMG survey of tax rates in Canada
Median daycare costs in Canada, 2005
Spending on science and tech

Stephen Harper dares you to take his crayons. (www.conservative.ca)

Elected Senates

THE LIE
"We believe that wherever the people of a province or territory by democratic election choose persons qualified to be appointed to the Senate, the government should continue the practice it started in the 39th Parliament of filling any vacancy in the Senate for that province or territory from among those elected persons."
from the Conservative Party of Canada Policy Declaration, November 15, 2008

THE TRUTH
On Monday, December 22, 2008, barely six weeks after the above principle was reaffirmed at a party national convention, Stephen Harper stuffed the Senate with a slate of 18 unelected appointees, including broadcaster Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.

Duffy has since become infamous for his comment about Premiers Danny Williams (NL) and Robert Ghiz (PEI): "You know what happened, what a grotesque scene that is. You know what happens when two politicians climb into bed together. One of them comes out on top and I'm afraid when you're in bed with Danny Williams, he's going to be on top." He has also been accused of baldfaced partisanship while hosting a show on CTV that featured Stephane Dion false-starting an interview three times during the lead-up to last fall's election. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled that Duffy was not "fair, balanced, or even-handed," and that his rebroadcast of the miscues were in breach of industry code.

Harper's equal, elected, and effective senate
Duffy's hoof in mouth disease
Duffy's partisan parry

Prime Minister Stephen Harper walks away following a television interview with
Mike Duffy in Ottawa in February 2007. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)