Uh oh. Talk about bad timing. It looks like Stephen Harper's Great Escape Tour is turning into a real drama.
Or a Con klown show.
First a Buffalo Airways plane makes a spectacular belly landing short of the runway in Yellowknife.
To remind us of the dangers of flying in the north. Then Harper claims that the Arctic Rangers can handle any search and rescue emergency.
Only to end up with a red nose AND a red face.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is touting the Canadian Rangers as a pillar of search and rescue in the North -- even as a newly released defence report warns of "glaring weaknesses" in Canada's ability to respond to Arctic emergencies.
The 72-page analysis, written in April 2012, cites 27 search-and-rescue incidents in the North since 2009 that it says exposed "glaring weaknesses" -- including the limited number of military and civilian aircraft available to respond to emergencies over the vast open territories.
But if you thought that was hilarious, or scary, you should have seen what Great
“Look, a new throne speech is, as you know, completely normal,” he said during a stop in Hay River, N.W.T. “We have been able to to have adopted virtually all our legislation to this point in Parliament. There’s a need to refresh legislation.”
Only to have Tom Mulcair point out the real reason.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament until later this fall shows he is afraid to answer the opposition's questions, Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair said Tuesday.
As well as Harper's shameful attendance record:
Mulcair said that by the time the House of Commons resumes sitting, Harper will have spent just five working days in the House over 5½ months, in the midst of a scandal over Senate expense claims that involves senators he appointed.
And Aaron Wherry ask the real question.
When will the House of Commons be recalled? And, if the answer to that question is anything other than September 16, as scheduled, the next question is this: How does the Prime Minister justify putting off the return of Parliament?
As it is, it’s not particularly clear why 20 sitting days would be eliminated. And, at the very least, we should probably not be casually casting such days aside. If Parliament is to mean something, whether or not it is actually sitting would seem to be of rather primary importance.
Leaving me to ask this one:
Who the HELL does that tin pot dictator think he is lopping a full MONTH off the Parliamentary season?
But then I think I answered that one last night eh?
He's leader of a corrupt and decaying regime, who has shown his complete and utter contempt for Parliament from the moment he was elected.
The deranged alien ideologue who would change this country beyond recognition.
And who is now running from scandal like a scared CHICKEN...
Oh boy. You know last night I ran a little video about the prorogation protests of January 2010.
But I also made an even humbler one about the same time, where I tried to convey how the sight of all those Canadians in the streets had made my spirits soar.
And made me believe that I would soon get my country back...
Now when I look at it, after all the horrible things that have happened since then, I have to shake my head at how hopelessly idealistic I am. Gawd. Why can't I be relentlessly cynical like so many others in this country?
But you know what? I don't think I can change eh?
I still want my Canada to be the best country in the world. I still want to hold it to the highest standards so I can be as proud of it as I once was.
And in that regard I'm happy tonight. For now I'm SURE of this:
The tin pot dictator can run but he can't hide. His Con regime is collapsing under the weight of its own corruption.
He WILL be defeated. A new day is dawning.
And I WILL get my country back...
Click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Don't know yet if any of the people on the Buffalo Airways plane were heading down to Hay River to meet the PM. That would be poetic justice. MP Dennis Bevington speaks often about the dangers of deregulation.
ReplyDeleteRussian shipping across arctic is booming. Russia has 2 dozen ice breakers, a string of up-to-date search and rescue centers, upgraded ports and a well mapped route. What has Harper been doing with our money and arctic route? Wasting and nothing.
But we have a stealth snowmobile prototype.
Deletehi anonymous...I don't know if you have ever watched Ice Pilots the reality show about Buffalo Airways, which I think is the best Canadian show on TV. But yes it is pathetic that after seven years of crowing about the North, the Cons can't even guarantee that if somebody gets lost up there we will be able to rescue them. While the Russians and others have been preparing for years, all Harper and his gang have been doing is wasting money and lives in Afghanistan, or just TALKING...
Deletehi Steve...stop making fun of our secret weapon, when you don't understand how they work eh? You drive up to the enemy, tell them how much each snowmobile cost. And they collapse in disbelief... ;)
DeleteIf Harper is bringing Communist China into the High Arctic, why would he need the military up there?
ReplyDeleteHarper mulls massive Chinese resources project in the High Arctic
12/27/2012
huffingtonpost.ca
Think of all of Canada's resources China controls? Harper is permitting China, to buy up our Canadian farms.
hi anonymous...well the answer is simple. It's all just for show. Great Leader talks up a storm, and then sells us out to the lowest bidder...
DeleteAll this talk of northern sovereignty is getting stale and tiresome. This is nothing but a photo op. And what has he done to address issues like food security in Nunavut? Nothing has changed since I left the territory. A good friend of mine noted some figures from Stats Nunavut on the costs to purchase 28 food items in Nunavut and the cheapest price was Iqaluit ($216.21). Interestingly Minister Aglukkaq's home community of Gjoa Haven was the most expensive ($255.58). Arctic Bay, where I lived for 4 years came in 3rd at $252.47.
ReplyDeleteFor the curious, the food items were
2L of 2% milk
Margarine 454g
12 large eggs
1kg of celery
1kg of mushrooms
4.54kg of potatoes
1kg of carrots
1kg of bananas
1kg of oranges
baked beans 398 ml
canned tomatoes 796 ml+540ml
soda crackers 450g
soup 284 ml
1kg of ground beef
bacon 500g
1kg of pork chops
canned salmon 213 g
hot dogs 450g
bread 675g
frozen corn 750 g
spaghetti noodles 500g
1kg of oatmeal
rice 907 g
pilot biscuits 850g
10kg of flour
1kg of french fries
frozen dinner 455g
I recall my MLA up there telling me of going to the research station in Alert where a bunch of military and political elites were going to be feted. He looked in the freezers there and saw all kinds of steak, potatoes etc and couldn't help but think of what one would see when you open the fridge in the average household in his constituency. Sad really.
Until i see something substantive, all this talk of regular trips to our north is really just a bunch of bullshit to me.
hi Way Way Up...sorry it took me so long to reply, I'm even more disorganized than usual. But thanks for this FANTASTIC comment. I recently read about the high food prices in the north, but that list really brought it home to me. I also recently read that seven out of ten Inuit kids live in a home where there is not enough food. And I was both stunned and ashamed. I have so much admiration for the people who live in the far north, asserting our sovereignty with their presence. Canadian governments of all stripes should make resolving the food crisis our number one priority. And while they're at it spend money on better homes, schools, and hospitals instead of staging these photo-ops for Harper and his gang. I am glad that our PM does go up there so at least I can see some reports out of there. And I'm a huge fan of the Arctic Rangers. But it only reminds me that in a rich country like this one we should be doing so much better...
ReplyDelete