Carbon Emissions

THE LIE
“I read that Canadians think the Obama plan is credible, and their targets are virtually identical to ours,” Mr. Harper said after the meeting.
On President Obama's proposal to cut carbon emissions at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, July 9, 2009

THE TRUTH
The G8 leaders pledged to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050. Now, that may sound about the same as what Environment Minister Jim Prentice vows Canada will achieve--60-70%--regardless of what the G8 leaders agree to: "Prentice, has said the government does not plan to sway from its commitment to cut greenhouse gases by 60-to-70 per cent by the year 2050, even though the G8 deal mandates an 80-per-cent cut."

Instead of thinking of this as a 10% difference--70 versus 80%--look at the remainder. If we achieve a 60% reduction in carbon emissions, we are left pumping out twice as much carbon as if we achieve an 80% reduction. A one-and-a-half to two-fold difference is not "virtually identical."

Canada is already one of the world's most irresponsible emitters, with per capita levels in the top three emitters in the world, behind only the United States and Luxembourg: "Canada is a dismal 27th out of 29 OECD nations when greenhouse gas emissions are measured on a per capita basis. Canadians produce 16.84 tonnes of carbon dioxide, per person, per year, 48% above the OECD average of 11.41 tonnes and more than four times the global average."

On Canada's per capita GHG levels
I've written about Harper and his emissions policy before

Leaders of G8 and developing nations look on as Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
left, is the last to arrive for a family photo during the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy,
July 9, 2009. Jason Reed/Reuters
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Recession

THE LIE
"The only way there is going to be a recession is if [the Liberal Party is] elected, and that's why they're not going to be elected."
from the CBC, reporting on the campaign trail on September 28, 2008

THE TRUTH
Let the record show that Stephen Harper is an economist, so the inaccuracy of his rosy prediction reveals either incompetence or a lie.

"The most recent forecasts, and there has been a series of predictions, [are that] there is a suggestion that there might be a technical recession at the end of this year or the beginning of next [...] Indeed, the economic growth is just about zero, perhaps a little bit less, but it is a technical recession,"
Stephen Harper tap-dancing at the Asia-Pacific summit in Lima on November 23, 2008, about six weeks after his party was re-elected

"Economic projections are now much lower than at the time of our last budget [February 26, 2008]. Private sector forecasters expect real GDP growth of just 0.6 per cent this year and 0.3 per cent next. The same private sector forecasters are now widely expecting a technical recession, with negative growth in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
from Harper's Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, during his presentation of the Economic and Fiscal Statement on November 27, 2008

"The sharp contraction that began in the last quarter of 2008 intensified in the first quarter of 2009, led by collapsing exports, fixed investment and stockbuilding. The pace of contraction appears to be slowing, but recessionary conditions are expected to linger through the third quarter, with only a slow recovery thereafter. Unemployment is projected to keep rising until early 2010."
from the OECD's Country Report on Canada in its Economic Outlook no. 85, June 2009

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, centre, wearing a traditional Peruvian poncho at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima. (Andrew Vaughan/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