Riding associations backing Liberal Party loans

In my previous post, I looked at Liberal Party fundraising for the second quarter.  Not surprisingly, fundraising for the Liberals is flat.

But in looking over the numbers, I noticed something unexpected.  Several riding associations emptied out their banks accounts to move money to the Liberal Party.

Why?

Then someone reminded me of what the Liberals were doing.  The party had taken out a big loan in order to stay in operation, using the riding associations as collateral.

Liberal Fundraising: Still in the doldrums (but one shockingly generous riding transfer)

The second quarter returns of the major parties have been made available by Elections Canada.

The Liberals are the only major party that saw an increase in donations!

Yeah, but it was just a burp really. 

No surprise, but it seems clear that through the second quarter of this year, the Liberals still hadn't figured out how to squeeze any money from Canadians.

Note that the return covers a period to the end of June.  For all we know, the money is pouring in now, even as I type this.

But until we see those returns in 90 days, we can ponder a different mystery.

How did the riding association of Pierrefonds-Dollard get hold of $30,000 to transfer to the party?  No other transfer comes anywhere close to this.  It is half of all of last year's income for the riding association.

Very strange.

What was Marc Mayrand thinking?

We have some details concerning the payback plans for the Liberal Party leadership contenders who have all been granted extensions to pay back their outstanding campaign loans.

Except Stephane Dion, whose plan is still under review.

But of the others, the details are, well, difficult to reconcile with reality.  As such, I can't imagine why the extensions were granted.

Carbon tax confusion cleared up -- Stephane Dion just doesn't care

British Columbia has a carbon tax.

Quebec has a carbon tax.

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion promises to inflict a carbon tax on Canadians if he ever becomes prime minister.

The obvious question -- how do these two levels of taxation interact -- is causing no end of confusion.

But really, there is no reason for confusion.  Stephane Dion has made it clear today that whether Canadians in some parts of the country will be required to pay two taxes is irrelevant to him.

He has the power to make every Canadian pay a price for everything they do, and he intends to use it.

The devil is in the (paydown) details

As widely expected, Elections Canada has waved away the failure of Liberal leadership contenders to payback their leadership debts by granting extensions.

OK, let's be clear.  Extensions are often granted by Elections Canada to candidates who fail to hit the deadline.  Sure it looks like special treatment for the Liberals, but it is not as bad as all that.

But then, maybe it is.  The devil is in the details.

Does green living mean recycling news stories?

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is touring the country trying to sell people on his plan for a carbon tax.

It's all about being more environmentally responsible.  You know.  Recycling and all that.

But does recycling news stories count as recycling?

Green Shift: A lump of coal or a precious diamond?

Just how prevalent is the phrase "green shift"?

Stephane Dion directs people to Jennifer Wright's Green Shift Inc

As we all know, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is proposing a carbon tax, which he calls The Green Shift.  There is a company that has been in operation for years called Green Shift Inc that is suing the Liberals for using the name without permission.

But one is "Green Shift" and the other is "The Green Shift", or so argue Liberal Party apologists.

Perhaps it is a significant distinction, but only if the Liberals actually use it.  So what does it mean when Stephane Dion directs people to the website for Green Shift Inc, instead of the party's website for The Green Shift carbon tax?

To me it means that Green Shift Inc boss Jennifer Wright has a point when she says that the names are causing confusion, which is why she needs relief from the courts to force the Liberals to change the name and to pay for damages.

Marc Mayrand fails the memory test -- by twenty million dollars!

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand explained that one of the reasons the Conservatives are being targeted for investigation is that candidates and their agents weren't able to recall details of the advertising spending.

Well, that's why we write things down on things like receipts.  So we don't have to remember.

But that's not good enough for Marc Mayrand.

Marc Mayrand holds these people to a higher standard when it comes to remembering details like these. 

Amusingly, it is not a standard he seems to be able to meet.  In fact he misses the mark by a wide margin -- actually by nearly $20 million!

Misleading Liberal Party fundraising email

I received an email this week from the Liberal Party.  I am being hit up for a donation in support of Stephane Dion's carbon tax.

So far, so good.

But let's say I'm one of the majority of Canadians who doesn't know about Stephane Dion's carbon tax plan.  The email helpfully offers to send me to the website for the plan where I can "learn more".

But instead, I am sent back to the donation page on the Liberal Party site, where I'm expected to cough up cash.

That's misleading.  Even a bit spammy.

Message to Stephane Dion: Do your damn job, sir!

Stephane Dion gets a rough ride while on the road...from his own nominee!

Oops: Liberal nominee Gerry Samson can't sell Green Shift (except to stealth Liberals)

Yet again, Liberals are undermining Stephane Dion's attempt to sell his carbon tax plan (aka The Green Shift) to Canadians.

This time, we have Liberal nominee Gerry Samson in Stormont-Dundas-South-Glengarry admitting, on the record, with Stephane Dion in the room, that Samson can't get local residents to believe him when he tells them that they will benefit from Stephane Dion's new tax.

Well, one guy in the audience loved the idea of the carbon tax.  But then as it turns out, he's a local Liberal Party riding association activist (ed. actually a director and a member of the riding association executive).  Of course, that wasn't mentioned in the media report.  He's described as just a local resident who was really impressed with Stephane Dion.

Stephane Dion selling the carbon tax

Can Stephane Dion sell the carbon tax?

The question is misleading.

The real question is this.

Can Stephane Dion sell the carbon tax without alienating everyone around him?

Stephane Dion? Oh.

Stephane Dion is mistaken for a popular local politician.  When the mistake is corrected, enthusiasm for being in such close proximity to that carbon tax guy drops dramatically.

Hey, it's just an anecdote, so don't read to much into it.  But it is funny.

What's more interesting, though, is that the story became ammunition in a Liberal-versus-Liberal infighting.

Oops: Liberal MP Ralph Goodale explains how most oil consumption will not be taxed

Is Saskatchewan going to hurt badly by Stephane Dion's carbon tax?  Well, Stephane Dion admitted as much, but Liberal MP Ralph Goodale has taken the time to explain this more clearly. 

Don't worry, he says.

Almost all the oil taken out of the ground in Saskatchewan will be consumed and turned into carbon dioxide emissions without a dime of tax being applied.

Oil company profits are safe!

You might wonder how this helps the environment.  On the other hand, you might have stopped asking that question after Liberal MPs Ken Boshcoff and Martha Hall Findlay have already explained that no one expects any actual environmental benefit from the carbon tax.

Time to Wade into the Pilot Seniority Problem at Air Canada

Is it time for the government to get involved in the ongoing labour dispute at Air Canada?  With the troubles plaguing the airline, this is one issue that could be resolved.  And ought to be.

Blair Wilson and the anonymous letter

Yesterday I wrote that the story of Blair Wilson was coming to a close.  I think that's likely to be true, but today I have to point out the Blair Wilson is putting up what might be a last minute fight.

Part of that is what might be an attempt to alter the understanding of what started the Elections Canada investigation in the first place.

Blair Wilson story coming to a close

Blair Wilson had admitted to violations of the Elections Act, but there will be no prosecution.  It is also likely that there will be no seat for Blair Wilson once this parliament rises for the last time.

The Conservative Boxes: A good show for the cameras on the way out, then quietly returned

Seventeen boxes of sensitive Conservative material related to the In-and-Out affair being removed from Conservative Party headquarters by grim-looking Elections Canada officials.

The images from last April were quite powerful.

Would you like an update?  Well, for one thing, the boxes didn't leave the building, at least not until the relevancy of the seize material was determined.

And that determination was that over 85% of the material had nothing to do with the question of advertising financing in the 2006 election.  That material has been returned, but without a phalanx of cameras recording the march back into Conservative Party headquarters.

And the rest?  Virtually all of it was material Elections Canada already had.

Makes you wonder just what the point of all this was.  Just to put on a good show for the cameras?

Stephane Dion: Thief

Some strong language from Jennifer Wright, the head of Green Shift Inc, the company suing the Liberal Party over the use of the name "Green Shift".

Yasmin Ashareh: Application for a publication ban covering William Imona-Russel

One of the stories that has gone dormant for almost a year is the case of the murder Yasmin Ashareh.

Well, it was come back with a vengeance.

Disturbing details from Toronto Police about man charged with sexual assault and incest

A disturbing report from Toronto Police.  And I'm surprised at the amount of detail they're releasing.

Stephane Dion: Underwhelming performance in Guelph

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion was in Guelph this past week.

It was not an impressive performance.

Contradictions about the Cadman tape?

More news from the saga of the Cadman tape.

According to the headlines, a third expert is contradicting the claims made by two other experts that the tape misrepresents a conversation between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and reporter Tom Zytaruk.

The headline is an attention grabber, but the the truth is that the third expert is not willing to come to the same conclusion has the first two experts without access to the original tape and the original recording equipment, something Tom Zytaruk is not willing to grant.  He does say that there are irregularities in the recording though.

Not actually a contradiction as I read it.

Oops: Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay admits to Liberal greenwashing

Liberal Party MP Martha Hall Findlay talks about Stephane Dion's plan for a carbon tax.  The carbon tax will save the planet, right?  We'll be encouraged to consume less energy, right?

According to Findlay, there's no way to really know, or to be sure if it's really working.

Still, that's no reason not to impose a tax on Canadians.

Oops: Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff admits to Liberal greenwashing

Liberal MP Ken Boshcoff has let the cat out of the bag.  Apparently Stephane Dion's carbon tax program is just a big vacuum designed to suck money out of Alberta, pass it through  Liberal government social programs, and put it in the pockets of whomever the Liberals deem worthy of receiving the cash.

The whole "environmental" thing is just words slapped on to make the tax grab more palatable.  That's called "greenwashing".

You know, this just makes Jennifer Wright's argument that her company is being damaged by the Liberals lifting the name "Green Shift" all the more compelling.

Planning for a day in court

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's legal team wants to make Tom Zytaruk answer some very particular questions while under oath.

Liberals make jokes about murdering Stephen and Laureen Harper

In what has to be one of the most tasteless displays from the Liberal Party, this "joke" appearing in the official newsletter of the St Catharines Federal Liberal Association makes light of the deliberate murder of Stephen Harper and his wife, as discussed by schoolchildren.

Are the Liberals trying to hide the Chuck Cadman stories? [Update: Links restored]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against the Liberal Party.  The suit stems from allegations made by the Liberal Party via their website through two so-called news stories that Stephen Harper knew of and condoned an attempt to bribe independent MP Chuck Cadman just before a crucial confidence vote in 2005.

I just checked, and you can't get to those two stories via the Liberal Party website.

Are the Liberals trying to quietly hide the stories?  Perhaps as a prelude to a settlement?

If so, they need to do a better job.  I can still get to those stories via their policy forum.

Update: The navigation is back, and the stories are accessible again through the Liberal Party website.

Jennifer Wright to sue Liberals despite veiled threat from Garth Turner

Stephane Dion and the Liberals ignored a cease-and-desist letter from Jennifer Wright of Green Shift Inc., over the use of the name "Green Shift" to describe the Liberal carbon tax.

As a result, the Liberals are about to get sued.  We don't know by how much, but it'll be over $2 million.

And this despite Garth Turner's veiled threat to dig around her private life if she went ahead with the lawsuit.

Stephane Dion to shut down the oilsands?

Stephane Dion is trying to convince an interesting cross-section of people that his carbon tax is a good idea.

These people aren't interested in taxes though.   They want Stephane Dion to shut down the oilsands completely.

Paul Cheema: The suspicions born of evidence

When Paul Cheema, the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Shemina Hirji, was found dead of a suicide, the story was essentially wrapped up.

Nevertheless, a lot of people seemed to think that Cheema was hounded by police who had no other suspects and so defaulted to the husband.

Not too long ago I spotted a news story that revealed why the police were interested in Cheema from the start.  It wasn't widely reported.

Who's the loser, eh? It's not who you think.

Garth Turner, Liberal MP and alleged communications guru, has gotten into trouble.

Again.

This time he has called Quebeckers and Albertans who are worried about their livelihoods and their futures losers.

As a result, he's been chewed out in a big way.  Does that make him the real loser?

Yes, but perhaps surprisingly, not the biggest loser in this story.

The end of the Internet as we know it?

Imagine that your ISP blocked access to every site on the Internet.  Then as a subscriber, you paid a monthly fee for access to basic blocks of sites, as well as extra fees for other sites not in the basic package.

Apparently this will define access to the Internet for Canadians in 2010.

I know, it sounds nuts.

Part of me wonders if I was directed to this story by someone wanting to embarrass me.

But then the idea has just plausible enough to make me think it could be true.

In any case, it's fascinating, and I figured I can't be faulted for letting you read the story and judge for yourself.

Ah, for all I know, this is just an urban legend I've never heard of before.

Misappropriation of Personality

A reader on another blog asks what exactly earned the Liberals the charge of committing misappropriation the personality.  That allegation was combined with an increase by $1 million in the damages sought by Stephen Harper in his lawsuit against the Liberal Party.  The original lawsuit was tied to Liberal Party accusations that Stephen Harper had known and condoned illegal activities regarding the late MP Chuck Cadman, in particular, an attempt to bribe Cadman with an insurance policy.

I guess the basis of the misappropriation of personality charge is not widely known, so let me help explain.

Ecological harmony: Who are the real villains?

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is prepared to tax the oil operations of Alberta and Saskatchewan, to punish them for being the source of so much carbon dioxide that is wrecking the planet.

Kyoto (the protocol, not Stephane Dion's dog) demands it.

It makes no such demand of countries like India. 

It doesn't seem fair, at first glance.  Take a deeper look, and it's grossly unfair.

And I mean gross.

Does David Suzuki sound nervous to you?

It wasn't too long ago when David Suzuki was urging young people to find ways to imprison politicians who don't interpret scientific evidence in the same way Suzuki does.

With polls showing a majority of people in British Columbia are against the provincial carbon tax, Suzuki has tried to play it a bit more casually.

The problem is that he comes off as nervous.  Like he's worried that the crowds aren't listening to him anymore.

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.