Conservative Support in Quebec

THE LIE
“They’ll never again be able to say that I wrote off Quebec,” Harper said. “Our party and our organization are getting stronger in all parts of Quebec, including Montreal.”
Quoted in Maclean's from Harper's address at a Conservative Montreal fundraiser in May

THE TRUTH
Léger Marketing's polling reveals a completely different story:

The Conservatives were weak at the time of the last election, and have been in freefall since December, now commanding only 11% support and trailing the Liberals, the Bloc, and NDP. There is no rally, no strength, no core of support. In their desperation, Harper's Conservatives accused Bloc MP's of being soft on pedophiles.

Quebec is an essential prize for any party wanting to form a majority government, and the Bloc has effectively obstructed Harper's attempts to do so, to his humiliation. To his horror, the Liberals have made impressive advances in Quebec.

Harper's valiant attempt to doll-up his ugly party fools noone who is paying attention. Fortunately for Harper, people who pay attention to current events do not form the Conservative base. But the Quebec electorate is sensitive and savvy, commensurate with its political clout. Harper's ham-handed repudiation of "separatists" during last December's coalition scare has surrendered half his share of the Quebec electorate and paved the way for the Liberals to pick up ground.

The Léger polls: October 2008, March 2009, May 2009, June 2009
Conservative propaganda on pedophile protection

A dream that Stephen Harper once had.

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