THE 9 LIVES OF STEPHEN HARPER

Remember the last Federal Canadian Election? Probably not. Well, kiddies, because you know I keep notes allow me to share with you a little story I call: HOW HARPER MANIPULATES THE VOTERS - part seven "HIS SECOND TERM".

During Harper's first term as Imperious Leader, the Parliament of Canada passed Bill C-16, an Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act. It required that each general election was to take place on the third Monday in October, in the fourth calendar year after the previous poll, starting with October 19, 2009. This was passed on November 6, 2006 and has yet to affect anything.

Around April 2007 many serious economists the world over (and in parts of Saskatchewan) were starting to wonder how one went about selling shares in unsecured debt on homes when most indicators predicted the US Housing Bubble was likely to pop soon. Except for the publishing of a few books warning the economic world was about to end nothing was done about it.

As 2008 began there were very worrying signs across the United States as businesses began failing, first as a trickle then with increasing speed. The majority of economists were largely on the payroll of Wall Street at the time and of course the surest way to bring down a stock driven economy was to incite a panic, so they tried to avoid doing that.

By September 15, 2008 Lehman Bros failed and the end began. Despite best efforts no amount of scurrying by Wall Street and Big Money was able to stop the house of cards that was (and largely still is) the US Economy from falling.

October 2, 2008 - During the English Leader's debate, Stephen Harper said Canada's economy was sound and he was the steady hand at our economic wheel.

October 14, 2008 - Months of relentless bullying paid off and Stephen Harper's party won its second consecutive minority. Stephane Dion became the first Federal Liberal leader in Canadian history not to become Prime Minister.

December 1, 2008 - Amid a complete economic collapse in American, an economic basket that the Harper Government had put ALL OF OUR TRADE EGGS in, Stephen Harper delivered a weak economic statement filled with a few token assistance programs largely aimed at marginal ridings the Harper Government hoped to win in the next election. It was soundly rejected by the majority of Parliament with a call for a non-confidence vote.

December 2, 2008 - Following several hours of haranguing the Queen's representative in Canada Harper comes out of the Governor General's residence to declare that he has been granted a stay of execution, and that Parliament had been Prorogued. During the 8 weeks that the Government of Canada is effectively shuttered the entire Corporate world of Canada holds their breath, no one is hired and stores across the land see the softest Christmas/Boxing Day season since the 89 recession as thousands wait to find out if they too will lose their job.

2009 - Forced by the opposition into doing something about the Economy the Harper Government comes out with CANADA'S ACTION PLAN. A spending proposal designed to finally deliver funds for projects already approved and budgeted for, so long as they are either in safe Conservative seats or ridings the Conservatives hope to gain in the next election. Most of the money is held up until proof is provided that CANADA ACTION PLAN signs touting the Harper Government as general savour are confirmed by party staffers to be on display.

June 19, 2009 - The Prime Minister tells a Tory crowd that "The Harper Government’s unprecedented effort to accelerate the job-creating investments contained in Canada’s Economic Action Plan is paying dividends, with 80% of this fiscal year's (2009-2010) Economic Action Plan initiatives already being implemented." Two days later he accuses new Liberal leader Michael Igntieff of "flailing around to invent reasons to force another election" because the Liberals are withholding their support of the budget bill that will actually approve the 80% of the stimulus money Harper just claimed was already at work. Ignatieff won't support the bill unless Harper starts providing regular updates to him on the economy. Harper conceeds and provides Ignatieff with the statement he demanding proving that Stephen Harper is Ignatieff's bitch.

December 30, 2009 - Harper shuts down Parliament again to avoid a non-confidence vote on the Afghan detainee affair. For those too lazy to google this: Harper's generals were told by Defence Minister Peter "My Signature Isn't Worth The Paper It's Written On" MacKay to hand over Afghan detainees to the Afghan military (polite speak for Warlords that fought on our side, most of the time) despite being told by those Generals that the Warlords had been torturing and executing prisoners without trial. The order came in direct violation of the 1933 Geneva Convention and Harper and MacKay's involvement and cover up has resulted in them both being investigated by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

January 2010 - Harper uses the shutdown to spend MILLIONS on an anti-Ignatieff, anti-Liberal, "A Coalition will Kill Your Children" ad campaign.

October 2010 - The Harper Government responds to an official "Access to Information" request on the funding of a Quebec Hockey Rink with a 60 page document, half of which is blacked out for National Security reasons. This sort of secrecy is becoming common place within the Harper Government but has rarely occurred on reports relating to Hockey Arenas.

November 2010 - In order to better frame their successes in the minds of young Canadians the Government of Canada is rebranded the "Harper Government" on much of their literature, finally ending five years of blaming Chretien for everything.

March 2011 - Harper puts forward two bills to spend BILLIONS on jets and jails but refuses to provide Parliament with any details on how the money will be spent. He then brings out a budget thinking he can avoid a non-confidence vote. He instead gets the first ever Contempt of Parliament charge in the history of Parliamentary democracy and his government falls on a non-confidence motion over his weak budget. It's not a good week.

The next day Ignatieff attack ads appear on radio and television across the land. At no point do they mention Jack Layton or Gilles Duceppe except to link their parties to the so called Illegitimate Coalition option. Harper does not consider the Bloq or NDP an issue worth engaging.

April 2, 2011 - After agreeing to the format of the Leader's debate where Harper will face off against Layton, Duceppe and Ignatieff; the Prime Minister refuses to debate Ignatieff one-on-one unless the others are excluded. Then he demands there only be five questions in the debate.

Two points I want to make about all this are thus:
1. In 2006 and 2008 Harper was predicted to win a Majority - it never happened even though 800,000 Liberals stayed away from the polls in 2008 because of Dion.
2. The US House of Representatives - 435 elected members, face re-election every two years, meaning that since we had our election in October of 2008 the Americans have had 2 elections for their House. Because their elections are fixed their members of Congress begin running nearly 18 months ahead of each election (already there are election ads for candidates hoping to win in 2012 playing on Buffalo tv). Anyone who thinks an Election caused because a 3 year old Government lost the confidence of our Legislature is a waste of money should move south where they go through this every 24 months. They've got money wasting down to an art there.