Stephen Harper A Contemptible Liar

No attack ads need to be created to defeat Stephen Harper this election, he has done it too himself.

Stephen Harper and his government; the Harper Government (c)(tm)(r) were found in contempt of parliament. a fact he continues to dismiss.

Harper government held in contempt of Parliament

The fact is his is the first government ever to fall because of a charge of contempt of parliament, and he cannot dismiss that historical fact!

This is the first time a Canadian Government has fallen on Contempt of Parliament, and marks a first for a national government anywhere in the Commonwealth of fifty-four states.

Then he was exposed as a Liar on day one of the election when he claimed that creating a coalition government to replace a minority government that had lost the support of Parliament was 'illegitimate'. Conveniently forgetting that is exactly what he proposed to do in 2004.

Duceppe's message is clear: Harper is a liar

So when it comes to issues of trust and ethics, after five years the Harpercrites have caught up with the Liberals, who fell after 13 years in power because of these kind of ethical failures.

So folks if you don't like Steve and his politics or his political cronies, like Bruce Carson, then just get out those felt pens and add 'contemptible liar', to any Harper posters you see, after all its called truth in advertising for a reason.

Contemtible Liar

Harper Conservatives Don’t Understand Meaning of “Contempt” by Kevin Parkinson – March 27, 2011 |

Even as Prime Minister Harper gave his somber faced farewell speech in the lobby of the House of Commons last Friday, he refused to acknowledge why his government was defeated. By thus refusing, Harper ironically piled on even more contempt for Canadians and their right to know how this government operates. He gave his typical, unimaginative speech attacking the Opposition parties for calling an election, for which the Conservatives have already spent $26 million of taxpayer money in pre-election spending.

If you look back at Harper’s 5 years in power, almost always he has tried to govern as if he had a majority. He has kept information secret not just from parliament but also from the media. Look at the Afghan prisoner debacle, the refusal to stick to his fixed election policy, the secret plan to build mega prisons with a failing crime rate. The list goes on.

Harper’s decision to prorogue parliament should give him the title as King of Contempt. To use a parliamentary statute to protect the Conservative party from defeat in the House has to be one of the most cowardly acts of his tenure. Another irony is, of course, that his popularity actually increased while the House was being prorogued and was empty. As the polls concluded at that time, parliament was irrelevant to Canadians. And that’s the way Harper likes it. He does not want to answer to Canadians.

Whose Canada

This election the issue is simple; whose Canada do you want?
Yours or Harper's.
He re-branded the government and now he wants to re-brand Canada as his.

Harper Does Right Wing Talk Shows

PM Stephen Harper visited NYC yesterday to assure U.S. business interests that all is well in Canada. Especially with our banks. Interestingly his handlers set him up to appear on cable news shows. They chose to have him appear on right wing pro capitalist shows, in the morning he appeared on Fox Money News and in the afternoon he appeared on Larry Kudlows show on CNBC. Neither of these is as widely watched as say CNN or MSNBC political programs. But they were safe waters with both Fox and Kudlow cushing over the PM's presence. On Fox he once again defended NAFTA and warned against protectionism/isolationism. And of course he didn't appear on PBS. Nope these were safe right wing news programs that tossed him puff balls for questions. Kudlow in particular did not know that in Canada GM's union is not UAW but CAW, opps someone didn't do their research. Aw well the PM finally had an appreciative media audience not like the Press Gallery he has to suffer with up here.

Obama's Bipartisanship

Missed by the American media pundits on the cable political talk shows was that Obama's bipartisanship has nothing to do with charming Republicans but about meeting with Conservative PM Stephen Harper.

"If Canadians were no fans of Mr. Bush, their conservative leader, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, found in him a kindred philosophical spirit . . . "

In personal terms, there should be excellent chemistry between these two guys. In generational terms, they belong to the same baby-boomer cohort. Harper was born in 1959, Obama in 1961. They both come from modest backgrounds, where their mothers were the most important influence in their lives. They both saw themselves as agents of change, both made audacious reaches for power at a young age, and both have grasped the brass ring.

Never mind that Obama is a liberal Democrat and Harper is a right-of-centre Conservative. Both have taken parties of chronic losers and made them winners. That's the starting point between them. And in any event, the left in the U.S. can be to the right of centre in Canada. Obama wants to double U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan, while Harper has promised to pull Canada out of the country by 2011. Obama would never support legislation or constitutional amendment to legalize same-sex marriage in the U.S., while Harper called a free vote on it in Canada, and dropped his opposition when a parliamentary resolution backed the courts.

After all as I pointed out here on several occasions Obama is a classic liberal, that is a 'progressive' conservative. While Harper too is a classic liberal, though more influenced by American Republican interpretations of libertarianism equating it with Ayn Randism. Underneath their discourse was the common view that it was time to fortify the gates of fortress North America, which includes Mexico, over issues of common security, shared climate change policy and mutual stimulus packages.

Despite big differences in philosophy and style, Obama and Harper presented a common front on issues as varied as the war in Afghanistan, reversing the recession and pushing back the hot-button issue of trade protectionism.

Together, they announced a "clean energy dialogue" aimed at finding technological answers to the twin environmental dilemmas of Alberta oil sands and American coal.

For left wing Americans and Canadians who think Obama is left wing, their enthusiasm for Obama is simply their misunderstanding of his realpolitik, as Thomas Walkom notes.
His vision is that of Lincoln Republicanism, especially the radical Republicans who have nothing in common with the right wing evangelicals who took over the current party under Reagan, nor anything in common with the isolationists of the Republican Party of the FDR era.
In that he and Harper share a common understanding of the classical liberal politics of self improvement through self reliance and self responsibility, progress through merit, not class or status. These are the masonic values of the enlightments further espoused by the utilitarian philosophers.
Yes the visit to Canada was truly an expression of Obama's successful bi-partisan politics, the politics of radical republicanism.


Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:

Barack Obama, Barack, Obama,government, Conservatives, Harper,

Harper and Flaherty's Conversion

Ottawa faces up to reality of deficits Here is the real reason that Harper and Flaherty had their economic conversion on the road to Damascus.

Budget officer questions projected federal surplus

OTTAWA - Canada's parliamentary budget officer is publicly questioning the projected budget surpluses of the Conservative government's recent economic statement and is asking for evidence to back up the predictions.
Kevin Page asked Finance Deputy Minister Rob Wright to turn over details on the projected spending reductions in departments and asset sales that the government has said will generate $10 billion in savings over five years. These are seen as key to the maintenance of a federal surplus.
Page's letter, sent on Dec. 3, has now been posted on the budget office's website. It asks for a reply this week.
He also asked for economic data and assumptions used for the 2008 budget and recent economic statement. Finance refused to give the data for the 2008 budget even though the numbers are routinely turned over to Bay Street forecasters. The assumptions, key to estimating the impact of economic volatility, used to be published by previous governments.
In his economic statement, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty projected a budget surplus of $100 million for 2009-10 based on the sale of about $2 billion in assets that he didn't identify.
Page tabled his office's assessment of Flaherty's economic statement last week, but the report got lost in the storm of the political crisis sparked by the Liberal-NDP coalition's attempt to topple the Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative minority.

But as usual they will use a red herring to distract us from their complete failure to address this crisis earlier. Just as they used the opposition coalition as a red herring to seize power in Ottawa.

Canada's banks are being set up.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has misplayed the financial crisis from the start. The lack of political leadership in this country is staggering. Now Mr. Harper – who dictates lines to his Finance Minister – has finally woken up to the fact 2009 will be one grim year for the domestic economy. '10 doesn't look too hot either. Someone will wear responsibility for a deep recession. The Conservatives are skating hard as they prepare to pin this one on the banks. The politicians will claim the banks hoarded capital, and refused to lend, and that sent consumers and corporations over the cliff. It's nasty, it's cynical, it's destructive and it doesn't happen to be true. But that's clearly going to be Mr. Harper's line.

And despite Flaherty threatening the banks, the Harpocrites have not addressed the increased service charges on credit cards the banks have made, the fact that interest on credit cards is as high as it was during the recession in the eighties, and that banks still charge usury rates on ATM fees.

Feeling the crunch
Rising card transaction fees may mean higher prices, retailers say

Restaurant industry supports cap on credit and debit card fees

RCC applauds Alberta Premier's call to Harper for limits on credit and debit fees

Suddenly the issue raised by the NDP is no longer pie in the sky. However unlike Stelmach, the NDP called for the elimination of ATM fees, not just a cap. And we need to see a reduction in usury interest on credit cards. Banks loaning millions to capitalist enterprizes will have less effect than reducing /eliminating service charges, reducing credit card interest and eliminating ATM fees.

New Brunswick Senator Pierrette Ringuette is calling for a federal probe and stronger regulations on fees charged by credit card companies .Canadians hold 64.1 million credit cards, and 80 per cent of them are issued by the two main players in the industry, Visa and MasterCard. Consumers already pay an average of over 24 per cent interest.Visa and MasterCard have about 80 per cent of the national credit card market. Credit card companies are, therefore, extremely wealthy and powerful. Is this a 'collusion' situation because of this 'quasi monopoly' situation?" Ringuette also raised the concern felt by business and retail lobby groups that rates for debit card transactions could increase. There has been concern that the Interac Association, the non-profit group which administers debit and direct payment, could change to a "for-profit" organization. If this happens, the retail council is concerned that the private corporation could be purchased by the credit card companies and therefore create an even greater monopoly over plastic in Canada.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said it would tighten credit card lending through 2009, as it announced its fourth-quarter profit fell by 50 per cent from the same quarter in 2007 — mainly because of higher credit card delinquencies. Some banks have also raised credit card interest rates by five percentage points for customers who are late with their payments. Art Thornton, a bankruptcy trustee in Ottawa, says the changes will mean more business for him."It's going to increase the interest rates noticeably to people who can ill-afford to pay, and it's going to render them — in many cases — insolvent."

And this NOT the issue that Flaherty or Mark Carney are addressing when they challenge the banks to free up credit after bailing them out and reducing the Bank of Canada rate.

Hyer Questions Gov't on Credit Card Processing Fees
Friday, 28 November 2008
Ottawa, ON -- Thunder Bay Superior North MP Bruce Hyer was up in Question Period on Thursday. Hyer was questioning the government over the cost of credit card processing fees.Here is the transcript of the exchange in the House of Commons:

Mr. Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay—Superior North, NDP): Mr. Speaker, small businesses create a huge percentage of all the job growth in Canada. We should be helping them, not hurting them.The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is demanding that this government act before the big banks' next big cash grab. Our small businesses are facing a 10,000% increase in their Visa and MasterCard merchant fees. Is this fair?Does the government believe that it is not its problem, or that it can just not do anything about it? Which is it?

Hon. Diane Ablonczy (Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism), CPC): Mr. Speaker, the member raises an issue of real importance to small business. As he knows, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been speaking with the players about this issue. The fact of the matter is that the banks in this country are competitive. They are free to put forward products to all of the customers they have, including small business.The Minister of Finance has written to the banks about this issue asking them to deal with it. We are awaiting their responses momentarily, and we believe we can work on it together.

Bank of Montreal Profit Rises on Consumer Banking

Canadian consumer-banking profit rose 20 percent to C$344 million from a year earlier as personal loans rose 21 percent and it added more mortgages. Commercial loans and credit-card revenue also rose from a year earlier.

Royal Bank of Canada reports fourth quarter and 2008 results

Canadian Banking net income was $2,662 million, up 5% or $117 million from last year, reflecting solid volume growth across all businesses and effective cost management, partially offset by margin compression and increased provisions for credit losses. Net income was up 13% over last year, excluding the impacts of a $326 million ($269 million after-tax) gain related to the Visa Inc. restructuring and a $121 million ($79 million after-tax) credit card customer loyalty reward program liability charge recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Scotiabank Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Canadian Banking's average assets grew by $21 billion or 14%, primarily in mortgages. There was also strong growth in personal revolving credit and other personal loans, as well as in business lending to both commercial and small business customers. Card revenues were a record $397 million in 2008, an increase of 8% from last year. International card revenues increased 11% due to strong growth in Peru, the Caribbean and Mexico. Canadian revenues were up 6% year over year, due mainly to higher transaction volumes. Credit fees of $579 million were $49 million or 9% higher than last year. There were higher acceptance fees in Canada, from both corporate and commercial customers.

It's time to 'shift to thrift'

A recovery in consumer spending will have to wait until Canadians pay down the excess credit card and mortgage debt accumulated in the past decade. Total personal debt nearly doubled between 2002 and the first half of 2008, when it stood at $1.2-trillion. The ratio of debt to disposable income rose from 98 per cent to 130 per cent over that period, while interest payments as a share of available income were virtually unchanged.
Canadians were besieged with advertising messages that promoted borrowing over those years. With credit so cheap and housing prices surging ahead, households took on a lot of risk. Now debt burdens look much too high.
We can take some comfort from the fact that the loans outstanding here are nowhere near as risky as mortgages in the United States. According to the Canadian Housing Observer, Canada has “a negligible subprime mortgage sector; [and] it is characterized by prudent underwriting.” And in Canada, mortgage insurance to protect the lender is mandatory for high-ratio loans.
But there is no insurance to protect the borrower when housing values decline or when someone in the family loses their job. If you ask people living in homeless shelters what sent them on a downward spiral, the common theme is a combination of losing their job, being unable to work because of injury or illness, and then losing their home.
This is a terrible price to pay for doing what was advertised as the smart thing to do.

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:

Canada,, banks,, banking,, BMO,, Bank of Montreal,, Banks,, Canada,, bank, Royal, Bank-Of-Nova-Scotia, banking-regulations, disclosure, Bank of Canada, dollar, Canada, deflation, loonie, exchange-rates, 1961,

Canada, Flaherty, politics, Conservatives,consumer spending, tax-credit, Stelmach, economy, government, Conservatives, Harper, recession, Conference Board of Canada, consumer confidence, Economy, asset-backed commercial paper ,, goldhomes, mortgages, housing, bubble,

Shades of Grenwal Tory Dirty Tricks

Hey remember the last time there was a minority government and the Harpocrites secretly recorded a meeting. At the time the minoritiy government was the Paul Martin Liberals, and the taping was done by Tory MP Gurmeet Grewal who claimed he was being bribed to cross the floor. Well the Harpocrites are at it again releasing secret illegal tape recordings in hopes to shore up their minority government during this crisis of confidence. A Law and Order government secretly and illegally taping the opposition the hypocrisy is only matched by their desperation.

The Tories also unveiled a surreptitiously recorded tape of a New Democratic Party caucus meeting, alleging it showed a long-existing cabal with the Bloc Québécois to defeat the government — and there were rumours that as a last resort, Mr. Harper might seek to prorogue Parliament, ending the session to avoid defeat in the Commons
The Prime Minister's Office released a secretly taped recording of a conference call of the NDP caucus in which Leader Jack Layton refers to having "locked in" the support of the Bloc early.
Mr. Harper's aides argued it showed a pre-existing NDP-Bloc agreement to look for an excuse to defeat the Tories that had nothing to do with last week's economic statement.
In the recording, Mr. Layton is heard telling his MPs they have plans to cope if the Bloc goes "offside" during the coalition.
"I actually believe they're the least of our problems, but in case I'm wrong, let's just say we have strategies. This whole thing would not have happened if the moves hadn't have been made with the Bloc to lock them in early, because you couldn't put three people together in one, in three hours. The first part was done a long time ago, I won't go into details …," Mr. Layton said.
Mr. Mulcair insisted that while the two parties have spoken about co-operation on issues like employment insurance, the first NDP-Bloc talks about a coalition took place only after elements of the government's economic update were revealed last week.
He said the party mistakenly sent the conference-call number to a Conservative MP, who dialled in and recorded the meeting. He said the NDP plans to raise the action as a violation of parliamentary ethics and will consider pressing charges.
Mr. Mulcair said the Tories "illegally" recorded a private meeting, and called it "scandalous."
"It shows the desperation of the Conservatives," he said.
Mulcair added that the NDP were also pursuing legal action against the Tories for listening in and broadcasting a private discussion.
"We're already in contact with senior lawyers in that regard," he said.

And the reason to release this tape despite the possibility of facing legal charges let alone jeopradizing their declining public support?

There were also rumours that Mr. Harper might prorogue Parliament, ending the current session so he cannot be defeated in the Commons — although some said that was a last-resort option that would look desperate.

They know full well that the majority of Canadians, heck the majority of Albertans, did not vote for them.Hence the desperation to stay in power at any cost. So of course the Harpocrites are feigning outrage about a pending coalition government made up of the opposition parties, not because it is an undemocratic power grab as they spent the weekend messaging to the media, but rather because they have used the tactic in the past and know that it can be done.

Only a day earlier, Mr. Harper's chief of staff Guy Giorno sent out an e-mail that included talking points, scripts for Tory partisans to use on radio phone-in shows and a template for letters to newspaper editors. Party faithful were encouraged to "use every single tool and medium at our disposal" to spread the word that opposition parties are trying to usurp the government in a crass bid to protect their political "entitlements."

Text of PMO e-mail to Tory MPs on key talking points
Note to all Conservative members of Parliament:
As you are aware, the Opposition parties are currently discussing a plan to topple our government and replace it with a Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition.
While we believe such an arrangement would be an affront to the democratic will of Canadians when they afforded us a strengthened mandate on October 14th, we must nonetheless take this threat very seriously.

The Conservative party asked its members to make "emergency" donations to help prevent the NDP and Liberals from forming a coalition government, the latest step undertaken by Tory officials to rally supporters. Irving Gerstein, the Conservative Fund Canada's chairman, sent an e-mail appeal to supporters over the weekend, asking them to "protect Canada's future and protect Canada's democracy from being hijacked by politicians who care about nothing more than power and entitlements."The message asks recipients to make a donation of "$200 or $100 -- whatever you can afford" and states "time is of the essence."
"The Liberals are holding secret negotiations with the socialist NDP and separatist Bloc Quebecois to overturn the wishes of Canadian voters and take power," Mr. Gerstein wrote. "They want to take power and impose on Canadians a prime minister without a personal mandate, a Liberal-NDP coalition not one voter has ever endorsed and have it all backstopped by the separatist Bloc Quebecois who simply want to destroy the country."

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre said the tape proves the NDP has been plotting to usurp results of the election. "The mask has been lifted off -- the separatists and the NDP have been having these backroom talks for months," he said. "Their goal is to reverse the election results and seize power. Now their scheme is exposed ... it's incumbent upon the Liberal Party to ... no longer participate in the secret discussions."
Poilievre said he doesn't know who made the tape and declined to comment on its ethical implications.

But roll back the tape to September 2004, just a little more than two months after Canadians elected a minority Liberal government. Then-opposition leader Harper appeared at a news conference with Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe -- you know, the guy who wants to destroy the country -- and NDP leader Jack Layton to announce that the three of them had conspired -- sorry, agreed -- on a list of demands that would give them a larger role in governing.
"The agreement that we are announcing today will profoundly alter the operation of the House of Commons in ways that opposition parties have been demanding for years," Harper told reporters.
The three opposition leaders also wrote to then governor-general Adrienne Clarkson urging her to "consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority" in the event the Martin government lost a confidence vote.
The opposition leaders said the letter was an attempt to head off any attempt by Martin to hold a snap election in the hope of coming back with a majority.
"I would not want the prime minister to think that he could simply fail in the House of Commons as a route to another general election. That's not the way our system works," Harper said.

SEE:
Flaherty's Fiscal Failure
NDP the New Reform Party


tags
Canada, Flaherty, politics, Conservatives,illegal taping, opposition coalition, Grewal, economy, government, Conservatives, Harper, recession, NDP, Liberals, BQ, politics, , federal election, minoirity government Jack Layton,

Flaherty's Fiscal Failure

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters that the Harpocrite neo-con austerity plan aka the fiscal update was not 'written on a napkin, we have planned it for months'.

Oh dear that means all these cuts, the attack on democratic public funding of political parties, the plan to freeze public sector workers wages and take away their right to strike, and the plan to sell off crown assests and privatize infrastructure spending was all planned months ago. Then why didn't they make that known to the public during the election? Because of course it was couched as 'balancing the budget' and 'we won't run a deficit'.

When the fiscal update was released it was anything but....rather it was another example of Harpers political agenda being foisted on Canadians by a minority government intent on neo-con social engineering at any cost. Until that cost was deemed politically too expensive. Then Harper blinked. At least when it came to public financing of political parties.

Government reverses itself on political funding decision

As far as freezing wages, removing the right to strike and privatization that is still on the agenda.

The Harpocrites have no fiscal plan, they have their same old tired neo-con agenda; reduce government. In particular reduce programs that they and their right wing base are opposed to as we saw with their announcement of arts cuts and before that their attack in their first term on womens programs and legal aid programs.

The biggest wasrte of government funding has been Harpers war in Afghanistan, but reducing our involvement and reducing military spending is not on their agenda.Instead they are increasing spending on the military and refusing to withdraw our troops any earlier than 2011.

With unemployment increasing and predicted to get worse,due to the collapse of the manufacturing sector in Ontario, especially with the auto industry, again the Haprocrites failed to come up with a stimulus plan.

Instead the cynical might be forgiven for thinking the this Law and Order government has only one real infrastructure plan given their propensity to imitate the U.S. Increased incarceration means building more prisons, to house the unemployed forced into a life of crime.

Harper is following in the footeps of another Conservative PM from Calgary; R.B. Bennett. He failed to deal with the economic crisis of the Great Depression. Flaherty's fiscal update shows that the Harpocrite government is failing Canadians just as Bennett did.

SEE:
Neo-Con Industrial Strategy.
Too Little Too Late
WSJ Criticizes Contracting Out
Mayor Of Kabul Says Get Out
Economics 101
Common Sense
Neo-Cons Have No New Ideas
Here Come the Seventies
Auto Solution II
Wage Controls
Arts Vote Cost Jaffer His Job
C.D. Howe Canada's Grand Poobah
Calgary Herald Remembers R.B. Bennett

tags
Canada, Flaherty, politics, Conservatives,consumer spending, tax-credit, Stelmach, economy, government, Conservatives, Harper, recession, Conference Board of Canada, consumer confidence, Economy, Finance Minister, CPP, net debt, pension, debt, P3's, public-private-partnerships

Economics 101

A rose is a rose, a recession is a recession, no need to get 'technical' about it.
'Technical' recession possible: Flaherty
Prime Minister Harper says Canada is facing a "technical recession"
Canada to be hit by recession, 7.5% jobless rate, OECD warns
Oshawa's 96% jump in employment insurance recipients leads country
Number of Canadians on EI rises 3.9 per cent from last year: StatsCan
More working Canadians using food banks: study
A recession refers to economic contraction, a real decline in economic output as measured by the change in gross domestic product. Most recently, Canada experienced recessions in the mid-1970s and the early 1980s and 1990s. In each case, real GDP shrank and unemployment rates climbed into double digits.

SEE:
Common Sense

tags
Canada, Flaherty, politics, Conservatives,consumer spending, tax-credit, Stelmach, economy, government, Conservatives, Harper, recession, Conference Board of Canada, consumer confidence, Economy,

Common Sense

While Harper, Flaherty and Farmer Ed continue to wear rose coloured blinders denying the obvious; that we are in a recession, you and I know better.

Confidence falls
Reuters; Canwest News

Falling home prices and the worst bear market since the Great Depression combined to drive consumer confidence down further in November, the Conference Board of Canada said. The independent research association said confidence fell 2.9 points to 71, a level last reached in 1982 and 1990, respectively. Both were periods of recession. Consumers were gloomier about their personal financial situation than in October, with more than one-quarter saying their families were worse off than they were six months ago.

Confidence plunges on Prairies

Markus Ermisch, Sun Media

Tue, November 25, 2008
The Prairie provinces led the nation's tumble in consumer confidence this month, says the latest Conference Board of Canada consumer confidence index.
The Ottawa-based think tank reported yesterday Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba collectively posted a 7.4-point drop in consumer confidence.
During the November survey, conducted between Nov. 6 and Nov. 13, 15.1% of the respondents said they were better of financially today than six months ago, a drop of 1.4% from October.
Meanwhile, 25.4% said they were worse off now, up 2.5% from October.
The Conference Board treats the Prairie provinces as one region and doesn't calculate individual results for each of the three provinces.
Alberta, however, which generates much of its income from natural resources, has also been impacted by collapsing commodity prices, which saw oil prices plunge from heights above US$145 a barrel this summer to less than $50 last week.
As a result of this unprecedented price contraction, economists at BMO Capital Markets forecast provincial GDP to grow 0.3% next year, down from the 2% growth estimated for 2008.
This means Alberta would be near the bottom of national growth chart.

Gloom deepens among consumers as recession fears grow
OTTAWA — One of the last pillars of Canada's economic foundations may be crumbling as the latest survey shows consumer confidence eroding to a new quarter-century low.
The Conference Board's monthly poll of consumers found spreading gloom with the index drooping 2.9 points this month to 71, a depth not seen since the intense recession of the early 1980s.
"There's no doubt the level of the consumer confidence index is at recessionary levels and that's worrisome," said Paul Darby, an economist at the Ottawa think-tank.
"It's also now the case that that low sentiment has spread across the country - we've seen a major drop in consumer confidence in the Prairies as well."
The board's latest poll, conducted between Nov. 6 and Nov. 13, found the largest one-month decline on record for consumer sentiment in the Prairie region. Confidence also sagged in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, but edged up slightly in Atlantic Canada.
Nationally, only 9.7 per cent of those polled predicted there would be more jobs available in their communities in the next six months, the weakest employment expectation ever recorded by the Conference Board survey.
In the past few months, Canadians have seen the pillars of prosperity eroding or collapsing - exports, commodity prices, stock markets, housing, and most recently labour markets - but consumer spending, particularly for automobiles, has held up relatively well.
Darby believes the survey indicates Canadians may be getting ready to hold off on big purchases.
There is disagreement among economists about whether consumer confidence surveys accurately predict behaviour, but there may be more reality than usual in the latest survey, said TD Bank economist Don Drummond.
That's because the index dropped at a time when gasoline prices came sharply down, which he said was unusual.
"To have it fall when gasoline prices are falling may be more telling, because we've found there is a tight inverse relation between gas prices and consumer confidence," Drummond explained.
A major reason for the loss of confidence is the tumble in the stock market, which fell to barely half its summer peak, and growing fears that Canada is following the U.S. into bleak economic times.
In recent days, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney have said Canada may be in or headed into a recession.
"The most recent private-sector forecasts suggest the strong possibility of a technical recession ... yes, I am surprised by this," Harper said from Peru on Sunday. Only two months ago, he had said the worst was over for the Canadian economy.
What has surprised many is the speed of the changes that have turned expectations on their head.
Oil, a mainstay of the Canadian economy, has gone from US$147 a barrel to $50 in a matter of months, forcing many oilsands producers to scale back projects in northern Alberta and taking billions of dollars out of the oil economy.
The North American automakers have gone from troubled to teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, with layoffs expected to intensify.
In his report, Darby found one hint of hope - 25.9 per cent of those polled said now is a good time to make a major purchase, slightly more than in October.
But he noted it was a minuscule change, and likely means only that people are anticipating bargains on purchases they make now.
The Conference Board poll claims a 95 per cent probability of its index reading - set at 100 in 2002 - being accurate within 2.2 points.

SEE

Neo-Cons Have No New Ideas

Back To The Fifties

Here Come the Seventies

Wall Street Mantra

tags

Canada, Flaherty, politics, Conservatives,consumer spending, tax-credit, Stelmach, economy, government, Conservatives, Harper, recession, Conference Board of Canada, consumer confidence, Economy,

His Masters Voice

Two Lame Ducks. Harper and Bush. One has a minority government the other a lame duck administration. Bush will be leaving in less than sixty days. Harper will continue to listen to his masters voice and be the ventriliquists dummy for Bush. It is a strange case of political seance, Harper continues to channel his inner Bush promoting free trade as the solution to the capitalist crisis. In a unabashed and unashamed bit of historical revisionism he claims that protectionism caused the Great Depression, failing to mention that while this exasperated the capitalism melt down the real solution was state intervention rather after the so called free market failed to self correct.

"Removing protectionist barriers and easing trade restrictions was a big factor in ushering in this extraordinary era," said Harper, referring to recent years of unparalleled economic growth. "We cannot allow ourselves to turn back." Harper said the Great Depression was prolonged by poor managerial choices on the part of governments that included shrinking the existing banking systems, raising interest rates and building barriers in a failed attempt to save jobs. These are the kinds of practices that need to be avoided in the present economic climate, he said, and Harper also urged other countries to take a look at their pasts when making decisions on how to move forward. "As we enter a period we have not seen in the memory of virtually anyone alive today, we must be good students of history -- and not just recent history," he said.

Harpers decision to push for a Free Trade deal with Colombia is another example of continuing on the Bush agenda, despite his masters own failure to succeed in pushing a similar American deal through congress. And Harper will have a fight when he brings it to parliment for approval. Colombia's record of human rights violations, state attacks and murder of political and trade union activists, their support for right wing death squads cannot be reformed by bi-lateral trade deals. Colombia's largest export is cocaine, the irony of a free trade deal with the Law and Order Harpocrites is delicious.

"In a time of global economic instability free trade is more important than ever," Harper said in a statement.
"By expanding our trading relationship with Colombia, we are not only opening up new opportunities for Canadian businesses in a foreign market, we are also helping one of South America's most historic democracies improve the human rights and security situation in their country."
U.S. President George Bush, arriving in Lima Friday, has made a free trade agreement with Colombia a priority for his last two months in office. Harper acknowledged that Colombia faces many challenges, particularly in security. Colombia is the world's biggest supplier of cocaine according to the CIA, despite efforts from both their government and the United States.

Colombia's ties with the US could be severely damaged if Congress does not approve a planned free trade deal, the country's vice-president has warned. Francisco Santos Calderon told the BBC that a US failure to sign the pact would be a "slap in the face" to a strong ally.
The trade deal was signed two years ago by leaders of the two nations.
But US Democrats oppose the deal and have used their Congressional majority to block its passage. Mr Santos told the BBC that he did not believe that the deal would be passed during the remaining days of the Bush administration - and that he was not optimistic for its future under President-elect Barack Obama.
He said it was critical that the incoming administration saw US-Colombia relations "not in the context of what special interest groups want but in the light of our long-term relationship".
"Not approving the free trade agreement would be certainly a slap in the face to the strongest strategic ally that the US has in the continent," he said.
But Mr Santos played down the significance of the "Plan Colombia" US military aid package - worth more than half a billion dollars annually - aimed at fighting drug production

And China too has signed a Free Trade agreement with Colombia, which simply proves bireds of a feather and all that, both regimes are autarchic, militarist. In China's case it is her imperialist objective to act as a trading partner with whomever the U.S. fails to or takes exception too.

China, Colombia agree to strengthen cooperation

And let us not forget that we have been through all this before. Free Trade exasperates the crisis of capitalism it is not a solution to that crisis as Herr Doctor Professor Marx explained 160 years ago.

ON THE QUESTION OF FREE TRADE

Public Speech Delivered by Karl Marx

before the Democratic Association of Brussels January 9, 1848

We have shown what sort of brotherhood free trade begets between the different classes of one and the same nation. The brotherhood which free trade would establish between the nations of the Earth would hardly be more fraternal. To call cosmopolitan exploitation universal brotherhood is an idea that could only be engendered in the brain of the bourgeoisie. All the destructive phenomena which unlimited competition gives rise to within one country are reproduced in more gigantic proportions on the world market. We need not dwell any longer upon free trade sophisms on this subject, which are worth just as much as the arguments of our prize-winners Messrs. Hope, Morse, and Greg. For instance, we are told that free trade would create an international division of labor, and thereby give to each country the production which is most in harmony with its natural advantage. You believe, perhaps, gentlemen, that the production of coffee and sugar is the natural destiny of the West Indies. Two centuries ago, nature, which does not trouble herself about commerce, had planted neither sugar-cane nor coffee trees there. And it may be that in less than half a century you will find there neither coffee nor sugar, for the East Indies, by means of cheaper production, have already successfully combated his alleged natural destiny of the West Indies. And the West Indies, with their natural wealth, are already as heavy a burden for England as the weavers of Dacca, who also were destined from the beginning of time to weave by hand. One other thing must never be forgotten, namely, that, just as everything has become a monopoly, there are also nowadays some branches of industry which dominate all others, and secure to the nations which most largely cultivate them the command of the world market. Thus in international commerce cotton alone has much greater commercial than all the other raw materials used in the manufacture of clothing put together. It is truly ridiculous to see the free-traders stress the few specialties in each branch of industry, throwing them into the balance against the products used in everyday consumption and produced most cheaply in those countries in which manufacture is most highly developed. If the free-traders cannot understand how one nation can grow rich at the expense of another, we need not wonder, since these same gentlemen also refuse to understand how within one country one class can enrich itself at the expense of another.”

SEE:

Colombia Deal Dead

Armes sans frontières

The New Market States

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about: Colombia, USA, unions, Marx, labour, human-rights, death-squads, paramilitary, Uribe, AFL-CIO, Coca-Cola,Free Trade, Canada, China, Stephen Harper, bilateral-trade, trade,

Con Game

As I predicted here the Harpocrites have only one song sheet they sing from when it comes to the economy;the old neo-con tighten your belt.

Throne Speech warns of deficit
It pledged cost-control measures in Ottawa, including a squeeze on the budgets of many government departments and a law to limit the pay raises of civil servants.
"Hard decisions will be needed to keep federal spending under control and focused on the results," Ms. Jean read, following with the government's pledge to place grants and capital spending "under the microscope."
Mr. Layton argued that the Throne Speech adopted austerity measures and a laissez-faire approach, when intervention is needed. "I don't think you want to be taking ideas from the Mike Harris-era in Ontario and applying them to today's economic crisis," he said.

SEE:
Blue Throne Speech
Pinocchio Conservatives
Deja Vu


Tags
Canada, Great Depression, market crash, free trade, recession, Harper, Conservatives, deficit, Government, politics, Flaherty, Budget, GST, politicsCanada, Surplus, Economy, Taxes, EI,

Blue Throne Speech

Why am I not surprised?

Throne speech warns of deficit, offers economic plan

No specifics in Tory economic plan

Because the neo-con agenda was about the failure of Keynesianism, except now all the capitalists and their political puppets are Keynesians when the market crashes. And when they applied their neo-con agenda it was during a temporary debt and deficit crisis of their own creation and it exasperated that into a full blown Reagan Recession. A little historical fact they fail to mention.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper moved closer to an about-face on economic policy today, outlining plans to stimulate growth that may run up a budget deficit after vowing to preserve surpluses.
A month after his Conservative Party government strengthened its hand in Parliament while falling short of a majority, Harper outlined his legislative agenda in a so-called Speech from the Throne, the ceremonial opening of a session. He pledged ``support'' for the country's car makers and plans to expedite infrastructure spending.
``In a historic downturn, it would be misguided to commit to a balanced budget in the short term at any cost,'' according to the text of the speech, which by tradition was read by Governor General Michaelle Jean in the country's Parliament, while Harper and other lawmakers listened. ``Ongoing'' deficits, though, would be ``unacceptable,'' Harper said.
Harper, who pledged ahead of his Oct. 14 re-election to maintain a balanced budget, told reporters last week his government may need to provide more stimulus to the world's eighth-largest economy to boost demand amid a global recession.


SEE:
Pinocchio Conservatives
Deja Vu
Business Unionism Offers No Solution To Capitalist Crisis

tags
asset-backed commercial paper ,, gold, homes, mortgages, housing, bubble, US, economy, oil prices, sub-prime mortgage, Wall Street, crash, recession,Bernanke, Inflation, Staglation, Stock-Market, US, Federal-Reserve-Chairman, Oil, gold, commoditiesSmoot-Hawley, protectionism, tariffs, Herbert Hoover, U.S., U.S. economy, Canada, Great Depression, market crash, free trade, recession, Harper, Conservatives, deficit, Government, politics, Flaherty, Budget, GST, politicsCanada, Surplus, Economy, Taxes, EI,

Turn About

"It is not a secret that in a real way this problem began in the United States
with completely inadequate regulation of the financial sector," Harper said in
Winnipeg. "Unregulated financial markets do not work. Canada has
known that for a long time. We all knew that from events of many decades
ago."

My, my now our neo-con, republican lite, libertarian free marketeer PM is proclaiming praise for state regulation. Like I said before when capitalism crashes there are no Austrians in fox holes. And as our PM has admited come a capitalist melt down there are no neo-cons in foxholes either.



Tags
asset-backed commercial paper ,, goldhomes, mortgages, housing, bubble, US, economy, oil prices, sub-prime mortgage, Wall Street, crash, recession,Bernanke, Inflation, Staglation, Stock-Market, US, Federal-Reserve-Chairman, Oil, gold, commoditiesSmoot-Hawley, protectionism, tariffs, Herbert Hoover, U.S., U.S. economy, Canada, Great Depression, John McCain, market crash, free trade, Republicans, recession, Canada, Flaherty, tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, politics, Conservativestaxes, tax-credit, budget, economy, government, Conservatives, Flaherty, Harper, Salaries, Canada, wages, Economy,