PROTEST HARPER AGENDA on Tues., May 19! , WINNIPEG

STEVEN HARPER IS COMING TO WINNIPEG: LET'S GIVE HIM A REAL WINNIPEG LABOUR WELCOME!

Host: WORKING PEOPLE DIDN'T CAUSE THIS CRISIS AND WE WON'T PAY FOR IT!
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Victoria Inn
Street: Wellington & Berry, near the airport
City/Town: Winnipeg, MB
Phone: 204.792.3371
Email: winnipeglabourdefenceleague@gmail.com

STEVEN HARPER IS COMING TO WINNIPEG: RALLY AGAINST THE HARPER GOVERNMENT, Tues., May 19th: Be There!

An injury to one is an injury to all!

winnipeglabourdefenceleague@gmail.com // 204- 792-3371

PROTEST on Tues., May 19! 5:30 p.m. @ Victoria Inn
(at Wellington & Berry, near the airport)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
BY RIPPING UP THE AUTO WORKERS COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS in Ontario, the Harper government is declaring War on Labour rights across Canada. The Auto companies are getting bailed out, but the workers are getting shafted.

Workers died fighting for the Labour rights Harper is taking away, including in the Winnipeg General Strike ninety years ago, drowned in blood by the mounted police, terrorized into submission by midnight arrests and army patrols with machine guns.

The labour movement, the people who brought you the weekend, medicare and other rights, is under attack. It’s time to push back! Workers did not cause a single problem of the capitalist system, such as unemployment, war, racism, hunger, or the destruction of the earth. But right wing governments are forcing the workers to pay for the economic crisis. Billions of dollars are spent on the banks and wealthy, while workers are laid off, communities and families are destroyed, pensions disappear, children go to food banks.

No worker lives far from utter poverty and ruin. Many people were already in crisis before the recession, not helped by social programs gutted after decades of cuts.

These governments have turned Unemployment Insurance into a cruel joke for most. Youth, Aboriginals, women and immigrant workers pay premiums, but rarely get benefits.

We can be a doormat for the corporations and wealthy, divided by racism and sexism in a dying planet, sent to another war, crushed under the thumb of anti-Labour governments.

Or we can join the fight for decent jobs, universal unemployment insurance, and a better world! We need decent jobs for everyone and to lift the burden of the crisis from the backs of workers.

Almost 80 years ago, the Canadian Labour Defence League collected a petition with 100,000 names demanding unemployment insurance and started the fight that won. We need to follow that example and build the fight from the strengths we have today.

We need to unite as a class around a program of struggle for these goals. We need to build alliances and solidarity with workers and their families in Manitoba and across Canada and the world, wherever workers are being forced to pay for the problems of capitalism. Stephen Harper will be in Winnipeg soon. We need to have a
strong protest to show workers across Canada:

Winnipeg is in solidarity with the Auto workers whose collective agreements he is ripping up.

We need you and your family at the rally:

Tues, May 19, 5:30 p.m.
Victoria Inn (at Wellington & Berry, near the airport)

Bring friends! An injury to one is an injury to all!
Defend Labour rights against Harper’s reactionary government!

Winnipeg Labour Defence League
winnipeglabourdefenceleague@gmail.com
792-3371

"[Confidence in the government] isn't going to be restored by seven weeks of propaganda."

Reposted from: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/04/harper-jean.html

GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January
Decision gives Tories reprieve, thwarts imminent attempt to topple government

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean has granted a request from Stephen Harper to suspend Parliament until late next month, a move that avoids a confidence vote set for Monday that could have toppled his minority government.

"Following my advice, the Governor General has agreed to prorogue Parliament," Harper said outside Rideau Hall after a 2½-hour meeting with Jean.

Harper would not reveal the content of the discussion, citing constitutional traditions, but he said the first order of business when Parliament resumes Jan. 26 will be the presentation of the federal budget.

"The economy is the priority now, and the public is very frustrated with the situation in Parliament. We're all responsible for that," he said in French.

Monday's no-confidence vote could have precipitated the rise of a proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, supported by the Bloc Québécois, or it could have resulted in another election, depending on the Governor General's response.

The decision to suspend Parliament — made after Jean cut short a two-week trip to Europe — only gives the Tories a reprieve until Parliament resumes in six weeks. At that point, the party could be brought down when it tables the budget, which would be a confidence vote, as all money bills are.

In the interim, the Tories will continue to wage a public relations blitz against the Liberal-NDP coalition. But the opposition parties showed no sign of easing talks of a coalition and planned to continue waging their own campaigns to gain public support.

'Monumental change' required: Dion

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion accused Harper of "running away" from Parliament and said only a "monumental change" from the prime minister would change his position on toppling the government.

"Warm sentiments are not enough. His behaviour must change," Dion told reporters.

NDP Leader Jack Layton suggested that his party may even try to bring down the government at the first opportunity — voting against a speech from the throne even before the Conservatives table the budget.

"We need a government that actually believes in what it's doing," Layton told reporters.

"[Confidence in the government] isn't going to be restored by seven weeks of propaganda."

He also accused Harper of attacking democracy by using a "parliamentary trick to put the locks on the door" so MPs cannot express themselves.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, meanwhile, accused Harper of denigrating Quebec voters and asking his supporters to engage in the "worst attacks" against Quebecers since the Meech Lake Accord.

The reference was to the failed negotiations in 1987 aimed at bringing Quebec back into the constitutional fold under then prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Asked whether the Bloc might support the Conservative budget, Duceppe said he would be surprised if Harper met their demands.

Supporters greeted Harper

Harper was greeted by about 40 chanting supporters, including many Tory staffers, when he arrived at Rideau Hall, the Governor General's residence, at 9:30 a.m. ET. A single anti-Harper demonstrator stood waving a sign reading "Harper Must Go."

Opposition parties had hoped to have a word with the Governor General before she made her decision. They planned to present her with a petition with signatures from all NDP and Liberal members that the Conservatives had lost the confidence of the House and urging her to accept a coalition government.

Dion, who would head the proposed coalition, had said he sent a letter to Jean on Wednesday, urging her to reject any attempt by Harper to prorogue Parliament.

The Conservatives have lost the confidence of the majority of members of the House of Commons — largely because of their, in the opposition's view, inadequate reaction to Canada's financial crunch — and thus "have lost the right to govern," Dion said.

The Conservative leader had vowed to use "every legal means" to prevent a Liberal-NDP coalition government from taking power and took to the airwaves late Wednesday to make his case to the public.

In a five-minute, pre-recorded statement Wednesday night, Harper spoke bluntly against the coalition backed by "separatists," saying the federal government must stand unequivocally for keeping the country together in the face of the global economic crisis.

Economic statement lambasted

The coalition sprang up after the Tories released an economic statement that was lambasted by the opposition parties.

They accused Harper of doing nothing to address the current economic crisis and slammed what they saw as ideologically driven measures such as the proposed elimination of subsidies for political parties, a three-year ban on the right of civil servants to strike and limits on the ability of women to sue for pay equity.

Harper has since backed down on those contentious issues, but the opposition has pushed forward with the coalition.

The coalition — which would have a 24-member cabinet composed of six NDP and 18 Liberal MPs — has vowed to make an economic stimulus package a priority, proposing a multibillion-dollar plan that would include help for the auto and forestry sectors.

With 77 Liberal MPs and 37 New Democrats, plus the support of 49 Bloc members, the three parties have more seats than the 143 held by the Tories.

Video of the November 15 Block Harper Rally in Winnipeg

Watch it here!

The Council of Canadians supports the call for a coalition government.

The Council of Canadians, Canada's largest non-partisan public advocacy group has just endorsed the call for a coalition opposition government

Read their statement here: http://canadians.org/08-Coalition/index.html

We believe that a coalition government is a legitimate and democratic option in this minority Parliament, that it would best reflect the concerns of the majority of Canadians, and that it is best suited to deal with the current economic crisis. We encourage our members and supporters to promote this call for a coalition government in their community.

The Council calls on the three opposition parties to defeat the Harper government in a non-confidence vote as soon as possible and to form a coalition government guided by a set of progressive priorities, including:

1. Agreement to proceed with the renegotiation of NAFTA, including seeking the removal of the Chapter 11 investor-state clause, the energy provisions, and water from the treaty.

2. Implement a Canadian energy strategy, which would address the environmental destruction of the northern Alberta tar sands, reduce eastern Canada's dependence on imported oil, and create the opportunity for Canada to become an international leader in developing new green jobs and publicly-owned renewable energy sources.

3. Implement a national water policy that would prohibit bulk water exports (by removing water from NAFTA), recognize the right to water through the United Nations, and ensure that water remains a public good not a private commodity.

4. Place an immediate moratorium on the establishment of any new for-profit privately-owned health care clinics in Canada.

5. Take immediate steps to introduce proportional representation to address the unbalanced results that come with the current electoral system in Canada.

Tory views on women's rights perfectly clear

Reposted from: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/539189
Antonia Zerbisias, Toronto Star, November 19, 2008

Stephen Harper can put on all the warm and fuzzy sweaters he likes, smile and say soothing things to politically moderate Canadians but, every time his base speaks out, the Prime Minister's carefully crafted image begins to unravel.

This was evident during the Conservative national policy convention in Winnipeg last weekend, at least when it came to issues concerning women.

Passed were three policy resolutions that affect women, and their rights, and choices.

In ascending order of outrageousness, they are:

Resolution P-305 would allow for income splitting for families with children, which would ease the tax burden on the main earner and put more cash in the couple's pockets.

That means spouses – usually women – who don't work outside of the home for pay could also get some financial reward for their contributions to the family, assuming, of course, that they actually see some of the dough.

Now, on the surface, this is great.

Except for one thing: It discriminates against single-parent families, many of who struggle to make ends meet.

It also works more to the benefit of the rich than the middle classes. The more income that a couple can split, the bigger and better the tax break. And aren't non-working spouses dependents anyway?

What income splitting as official policy really says is, especially in the absence of a national daycare program, a woman's place is in the home.

Resolution P-213 should hardly come as a surprise to anybody following the Harper government's efforts to wipe out any and all support for women's rights.

The proposal eliminates support for full gender equality as well as equal pay for work of equal value.

Let me repeat that: It would eliminate support for full gender equality.

Oh it couches that in airy fairy speak, stating that the party is all for "the full participation of women in the social, economic, and cultural life of Canada." But the phrase "gender equality" was scrubbed and equal pay will only go for "equal work."

That means male parking lot attendants can continue to make more than female child care workers, even if the latter have university educations and are entrusted with your precious kid instead of your car.

Which says a lot about where the Cons stand on the issue of women's work and independence.

And, if you still don't get their agenda, consider what bloggers Dr. Dawg and Danielle Takacs both reported from the floor. At least one delegate objected to the resolution because women already have it "too good" and the proposal should have included men.

Last but, oh so very far from least, is Resolution P-207 which is all about, here we go again, protecting "unborn children" from violence.

Rewind to the eve of the last federal election when Harper pulled the plug on the controversial Bill C-484, the so-called "Unborn Victims of Crime Act" because it contained language that could lead to the definition of the fetus as a legal person.

Well, a similar bill could be back like the stink of skunk after the rain. According to Kady Malley of Maclean's, when one delegate got up to say that passing this would open the door to fetal rights, she was cheered. But, when the applause died down, she concluded that this was not a good thing. Which was when she was booed.

True, after the vote, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told reporters Harper has publicly stated he has no intention of reopening the abortion debate. So why can't he close it in his own party ranks?

It's obvious that, whatever face Harper presents to Canadians, his dark grass roots will always be showing.

Antonia Zerbisias is a Living section columnist. azerbisias@thestar.ca. She blogs at thestar.blogs.com.

stealbackyourvote.org

The following video discusses interesting and important details concerning circumstances in the United States. However, given the new voter ID rules that were introduced here at home, the content is extremely relevant...


Steal Back Your Vote! from Greg Palast on Vimeo.

A Message from the Winnipeg Branch of the Department of Culture

Dear friends, allies, supporters, and fellow Canadians...

Thank you so very much for your many contributions to our campaign over the past few weeks! Your generosity has helped us get the word out about destructive Conservative Party of Canada policies through many means including handbills, posters, events, and now an ad in the Sunday edition of the Winnipeg Sun.

Keep your eyes peeled for the ad below.

The money raised at the Wrecking Ball, This is Not a Conservative Party, and through various individual donations has made this possible. We really hope it reaches people who are on the fence... the ones who are planning to vote CPC because they're looking forward to a little (and ultimately negligible) tax break. The way we see it, cheering for crumbs in the form of small tax breaks is falling for a bribe that will cost more in the end.

To circulate this ad, please click on it to save it in its larger size.

Best,
Members of Winnipeg's Department of Culture

Messages from Allies

More from Anyonebutharper.ca (from a few days ago, but still very relevant!)

VIDEO
Just one today, and it's a big one. This is the video for "You Have A Choice"

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc

by K-OS, Ed Robertson of the Barenaked Ladies, Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent, Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace, Sarah Harmer, Hawksley Workman, Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene, Darren Dumas of The Salads and the Arts Offstage Choir under the direction of David Reed.

SONG WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY
Ian Lefeuvre (The Hundreds and Thousands) and K-OS

Lyrics all contributed by the artists. Additional keyboards are performed by Todor Kobakov from Major Maker. The track was mastered by Joao Carvalho.

PLEASE POST IT TO YOUR SITE(S) AND SHARE IT WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW!
(link to share)
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc

THE OFFICIAL PREMIERE OF THE VIDEO IS AT 7PM TONIGHT AT THE PHOENIX IN TORONTO AS PART OF "THIS IS NOT A CONSERVATIVE PARTY!"

http://departmentofculture.ca/concert/

If you're going, I'll might see you there!

It's just the long weekend to go folks, the fact that Tuesday is after the Thanksgiving weekend means people won't be paying alot of attention this week and voter turnout will be down on Tuesday (I'm sure that that is part of Harper's plan) so drag your friends with you to the polls on Tuesday, call them and ask if they've voted. For decades now we've said 'we'll do something about the environment someday', we've commissioned studies, come up with grand 10 and 20 year plans that fizzled but this is it.

I know people are concerned about the economy but have you noticed that when the economy is up they say we can't do anything about the environment because we'll kill the strong economy, when it's down they say we can't do anything because we'll damage it more. But virtually every reasonable economist in Canada, and most environmentalists agree that a Carbon Tax would actually be GOOD for the economy.

The time to do something about the environment is no longer someday, it is not, over the next 5 years, it is not 'when the economy improves' it is TUESDAY!

Vote with your heart, but don't leave your head completely out of the equation. Vote to remove Stephen Harper.


NEWS:

Alberta Premiere Calls for Economic Meeting With Counterpart: Contradicts Harper
http://tinyurl.com/3jlcnn

Oil sands will pollute Great Lakes, report warns
http://tinyurl.com/4ykb8p

Flaherty Suddenly Cares About the Economy
http://www.publicbroadcasting.ca/2008/10/you-cant-trust-conservatives-with-money.html

Elizabeth May Endorses Strategic Voting in Close Races
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081008.welxngreens1009/BNStory/politics/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail

Canadian researchers call for end to 'politicization' of science
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/09/scientists-letter.html?ref=rss

Canadians prefer national child care system to monthly allowance 2 to 1 according to Nanos poll
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/09/c4801.html

POLLS:

CPAC-Nanos Conservatives 33% (no change) Liberals 29% (no change) NDP 20% (no change) Bloc 10% (-1) Greens 7% (no change) Undecided 15% (-1)
While the Conservatives and/or Liberals were up or down 1 - 2 points here and there it was within the margin of error. Statistically significant NDP +4% in Quebec, Conservatives -6% in Atlantic Canada.

Also in terms of "Leadership Indicators" Harper lost ground on Trust, Competence and Vision for Canada while Dion gained in all 3 areas.

http://www.nanosresearch.com/election/CPAC-Nanos-October-9-2008E.pdf

According to the Canadian PRess/Harris-Decima poll
Conservatives 32% (+1) Liberals 27% (no change) NDP 19% (-1) Green 12 % (no change) Bloc 8% (no change)

So - it is the 15% undecided that we need to convince, and strategic voters.

Messages from Allies

Vote Strategically!

From Anyonebutharper.ca
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=se4G8t_o0T8
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=se4G8t_o0T8

Video from Alberta Artist Richard Sixto on Harper, the Military, the Arts the Media, the Environment and more
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9XE4fZZEQ
(link to share)
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9XE4fZZEQ

Also, thank you all for watching and sharing the "You Have a Choice" video from yesterday. So far it has been seen (after 1 day) by 11,433 people and has a 5 star rating!

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=slnN3GMy7Nc&feature=related


NEWS

Conservatives Bail Out Banks
They are trying to sell it as an investment, but what they are actually doing is buying 25 billion dollars in questionable mortgages.
http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/10/10/flaherty-banks.html

A Green Candidate in Quebec has withdrawn to help the Liberals
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/09/green-liberal.html

Duceppe Calls Harper on His Linguistic Double Standard
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/story/2008/10/10/duceppe-dion.html?ref=rss


POLLS

CPAC Nanos
Conservatives 33% (no change) Liberals 27% (-2) NDP 22% (+2) Bloc 10 (no Change) Green 8 (+1)
other points of interest - the Tories are down 2 points to 16 in Quebec but they are up 4 to 32 in Ontario with the Liberals down 6 to 33.

Canadian Press Harris-Decim
Shows a Conservative Rebound
Conservatives 34% (+2 up 3 over 2 day) Liberals 26 (-1) NDP 18 (-1) Bloc 9 (+1) Greens 12 (no change)

Rick Mercer Report : Harper Home Pregnancy Test

Still as valid as ever...

Open Letter from Canadian Economists on the Current Economic Crisis and the Appropriate Government Response

Reposted from an e-newsletter circulated by the CCPA

The deepening global financial crisis, the decline in world commodity prices, and the growing possibility of global recession are exposing worrisome weaknesses in Canada’s economy. Complacent expressions of faith in our “fundamentals,” and other varieties of economic denial, will not protect Canadians from the coming storm.

Canada’s Economic Fundamentals are Anything but Strong

Macroeconomic performance has weakened dramatically since the current government came to power at the beginning of 2006. Economic growth has largely stalled. Productivity has declined. The recent expansion was largely propelled by high commodity prices and a housing bubble – both of which are now ending.

Labour markets have weakened, and employment is poised to decline further as the slowdown takes hold. Some sectors have already been badly hit. Over 300,000 jobs in manufacturing have been lost. Yet less than 40% of unemployed workers qualify for Employment Insurance benefits.

Excluding petroleum and minerals, our international trade performance has deteriorated. Incomes for corporations, governments, and some households have been inflated for a time by record global commodity prices. But over-reliance on resource extraction is not a sustainable basis for our future economic progress. Meanwhile, in large part as a consequence of this growing resource reliance, Canada has failed miserably to do its part in the urgent global effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Although Canadian financial institutions did not engage as aggressively in risky practices as their U.S. counterparts, the Bank of Canada has already had to step in to provide many billions of dollars in short-term liquidity. Credit conditions in Canada are becoming more uncertain, restricted, and costly, and this will inevitably constrain spending and output in the months ahead.

Canadian households are more indebted than ever, with $1.25 of debt for every dollar of disposable income. Amid gloomy headlines, falling stock and housing prices, and precarious household finances, Canadians are starting to cut back on consumer spending.

Many Canadians did not benefit much during the good times: poverty rates in Canada did not meaningfully decline and real wages have hardly increased at all, even while corporate profits surged to all-time highs. But the prospect of recession now threatens all of us with hardship – whether we shared in the good times or not.

Crisis Demands an Active Government Response

The general approach of Canadian economic policy in recent years has been to reduce the scope of government (through tax cuts, deregulation, and privatization), ratify the growing resource orientation of Canada’s economy, and squander the chance to use revenue from the resource boom to enhance long-run productivity, prosperity, and stability. Some politicians wish to further reduce the size and influence of the public sector.

The dramatic events of recent weeks have destroyed the idea that markets are best left to their own, unregulated devices. The enormous costs of this complacency have been clearly demonstrated. Government and its institutions must now show leadership and play a more active role in stabilizing financial markets, stimulating real investment, and maintaining employment and incomes.

The spreading downturn in both the financial and the real sides of the economy is likely to undermine spending and employment levels in many regions and sectors of Canada’s economy. Income support measures, employment insurance in particular, should be strengthened. In addition, public infrastructure projects, including those aimed at reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and expanding affordable housing, should be ramped up to maintain employment and production (as private-sector activity declines).

The federal budget is narrowly balanced, and may slip into deficit (especially if real GDP begins to decline). The current government has pledged to prevent such a deficit at all costs, and this will mean significant cuts to public spending as the budget balance deteriorates. But that course of action would worsen the economic downturn and job losses. It is far better to maintain public programs to support employment and incomes, even at the cost of a cyclical deficit.

The Bank of Canada must continue to support the financial industry with liquidity, and should reduce interest rates to stimulate borrowing. But the government must also explore other avenues (including the use of public institutions, like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and other conduits) to expand lending to households and businesses. At the same time, the financial industry must be re-regulated to prevent the unproductive speculative excesses that caused the current crisis.

The global economy is heading into a challenging, dangerous period – perhaps the worst crisis since the 1930s. Canada cannot expect to be immune from those global developments. Economic history teaches us that government intervention is essential in times of crisis: both to stabilize markets and to shorten downturns with counter-cyclical measures.

Signed by: 85 economists
http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2008/10/07/open-letter/
--
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5E7
tel: 613-563-1341 fax: 613-233-1458
email: info@policyalternatives.ca
http://www.policyalternatives.ca

An Economics of Culture

Even if you're one of those [few] people who don't recognize that there's more to culture than it's consumer value, you'd be hard pressed to deny the economic benefits of a strong cultural field. It's no surprise that the same government that rejects the widespread benefits of culture is the same government that's blowing Canada's surplus on corporate welfare and other giveaways that genuinely serve only the financial elite.

* * *

Valuing Culture: Measuring and Understanding Canada’s Creative Economy
The Conference Board of Canada (July 2008) | weblink
Prepared by The Conference Board of Canada for the International Forum on the Creative Economy.

This report highlights the substantial social, cultural, and economic contributions of Canada’s culture sector and assesses its economic footprint. This report is a joint initiative of the Conference Board’s Organizational Effectiveness and Learning Division and Forecast and Economics Division, in collaboration with the Government of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage.
See also: ‘Arts and cultural industries add billions of dollars to Canadian economy’, The Conference Board of Canada News Release, September 16, 2008 | weblink

In Their Two Years of Power, Harperʼs Conservatives Have:

In Their Two Years of Power, Harperʼs Conservatives Have:

1. Raised taxes for working class Canadians
   Upon taking office, the Conservatives canned a 1% income tax cut for low-income earners and raised their taxes instead.
   
   (See: Macleanʼs national editor Andrew Coyne, 21 March07: http://andrewcoyne.com/columns/2007/03/dishonestbudget.php)
   
   
2. Let the cost of living rise 7%, while the rich have gotten richer and everyone else has gotten poorer.
   In August 2008, inflation reached its highest peak in five years, sending living costs higher and higher.
   
   (See: Statistics Canada, September 08; http://www.canadianeconomy.gc.ca/English/economy/inflation.cfm)
   
   
3. While corporate incomes have risen under Harperʼs watch by 28% and CEO salaries jumped 50%--- average wages have lagged behind at 6.7%
   
   (See: Canadian Union of Public Employees, 19 September 2008: http://cupe.ca/economics/harper-no-manager)
   
   
4. Driven Canada to the brink of deficit
   After inheriting a 13.2 billion dollar surplus from the Liberals,the Conservatives have wasted your tax dollars and have given Canada its first quarterly deficit in nearly a decade.
   

CAN YOU AFFORD 4 YEARS OF A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY? CAN CANADA?

ON OCTOBER 14th, VOTING IS AS EASY AS A, B, C:

Anything
But
Conservative.