With the weekly dumping of Conservative MP newsletters here in Greater Vancouver (My restaurant gets a mailer from Randy Camp almost every couple of days, while my house gets assaulted by Nina Grewal's tripe), it's nice to receive something informative, that doesn't fill my recycle bin, or worse (as I observed yesterday) float down the storm sewers into our salmon habitat...
Ralph Goodale has been focusing on "email circulars" with his "Weekly Commentary" in the past while. The commentary, like Garth Turner's wonderful blog, gives us a very good picture of the goings-on in Parliament - while giving us some hints on potential strategies, or ideas on what "our voice" may be in the days/weeks to come. I urge informed Liberals everywhere to ask to be put on Ralph's e-mailing list, for what WesternGrit feels are very sound ideas and commentary based on real Liberal principles and values presented in a very "straight-shooter", yet eloquent way.
Kudos to Mr. Goodale for sound commentary, and a real environmental conscience - at a time when Conservative MPs think nothing of clogging the nation's mailboxes and filling our garbage dumps with their tax-payer funded partisan junk mail (it remains to be investigated whether the Cons exceeding MP mailing quotas in ridings is legal or not)...
In the Mar 31st Commentary, Ralph talks about the Conservative government's complete lack of IDEAS. One great line from this: "Mr. Harper's original agenda from 2006 - as thin and superficial as it was - was exhausted a long time ago. He's been running on empty for nearly a year now". Ralph talks about how "the TD Bank predicted a sharp slowdown in overall Canadian growth and warned that a federal deficit is once again a real risk - because the Conservatives have been grossly over-spending, while eroding the tax-base at the same time". Ralph goes on to add, "Just over two years ago, Canada had the strongest economy and the best fiscal situation in the western world. There was nearly $100 billion of financial flexibility to work with. Now under Mr. Harper, it's all gone."
It's very interesting to hear the take on Parliamentary goings-on from a gentleman who's been a senior minister in two previous Liberal governments (Cretien and Martin from 1993 to 2005), a lone MLA and Provincial Party Leader in Sask., and (at the time) one of the youngest MPs elected to Parliament in the 1974 Trudeau government at the age of 24. Named Canada's Best MP in 2006 by McLean's Magazine, and still coming across as a "young buck", Ralph is able to "talk smack" with the Cons in a way that leave many a nimble Parliamentarian in awe. He continues to be at the forefront of the Liberal attack on this wretched Conservative government.
1 comment:
All the money will be gone, as Harper, in his new "Federalism" will make sure the incoming government will not have enough money to use for essential means.
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