Fake lake, billion-dollar boondoggle: Canadians don’t care

…or so says this Harris-Decima poll, below.

What would account for these results?  Are they wrong?  Is the Fake Lake Clambake truly, as some in the Opposition believe, a way to finally defeat the Harper government?  Or has it all been wildly overblown by the media and the Opposition?  Your views are welcome, because – I have to say – this one surprises me.

G8/G20 ok with Canadians despite fake lake and $1B price tag: poll (G8-G20-Poll)

OTTAWA, Ont. – A new poll suggests most Canadians are not unduly troubled by the fake lake or $1-billion price tag of the coming G8 and G20 summits.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima poll found 76 per cent of respondents said the back-to-back weekend summits in Muskoka, Ont., and Toronto were either very or somewhat important versus 20 per cent that were opposed.

The Harper government has been under fire in recent weeks for the bloated cost of the summits, the vast majority of which is for security, including the $1.9-million Canada Corridor designed to sell Canada to visiting journalists.

At the G20, where the global economy is the focus, 66 per cent of those surveyed said they expected “a little” progress would be made, while 21 per cent expected none at all.

At the G8, where the Harper government has made improving the maternal health of Third World women a priority, 63 per cent expected “a little” progress versus 22 per cent that expect none at all.

The June 10-13 telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

(The Canadian Press)


Father’s Day, six years ago

I found this in the Web Archive “Wayback” machine, and thought I would post it.  This Father’s Day hasn’t started off particularly well, either, but that’s the way it goes, I guess.  Have a good one, all you dads out there.

***

June 20, 2004 – Ever since I can remember, today has been the day when (like you, perhaps) I would call my Dad to wish him happy father’s day. Or, if he was nearby, I would give him something – usually a book about philosophy, or the origins of religions, or something like that. He loved those.

This year, Father’s Day isn’t going to be all that great, for reasons that most of you already know about. But I’m also determined to make the best of it, because I’m a Dad now, too, and I have four little people who need me.

I’m also determined to say thank you to a lot of people. Since my Dad got sick, about a month ago, a lot of folks have been calling, or sending emails. Quite a few of the emails were from people I have never met. Some were from people who went to school with my Dad, or were taught by him, or practiced medicine with him. And there were many, many notes and calls from people who had been friends, or co-workers, or even adversaries during political campaigns and the like. For me and my family, these expressions of kindness and concern were remarkable. And they helped us get through a very difficult time.

Two notes deserve special mention. I received both prior to my father’s death, in the early morning hours of Tuesday. They influenced me in a way I will remember for the rest of my life.

One was from a friend who is the son of a former Prime Minister. In it, he told me to spend every moment I could with my father – to stay with him, and worry about other things later on. So I did that.

The other note was from a former Toronto Star writer who I knew from my Ottawa days, but with whom I had lost touch. But his advice, too, helped me a great deal. He told me he had spent time at a sibling’s bedside, as cancer claimed her life. In their time together, he told her everything he had never said before – the things he had held back. He told me to try and do similarly. And I did.

That advice – from Justin, and from Bill – I will remember for the rest of my life. And I thank them for it.

Now, I have many friends from my involvements in politics over the years, so I knew I would hear from some of them. But I never expected what happened.

At the funeral, my Mom and my brothers – and me – were so happy to see friends like Jean Chrétien, Martin Cauchon, Jean Pelletier, John Rae, Jean Carle, Charlie Angelakos, Jaime Watt, Greg Lyle, James Villeneuve, Bob Richardson, Graham Scott, Tim Powers, Tara Shields, Dave Gene, Sean O’Connor, Doug Wotherspoon, Krista Nicholds, Sean Malone, Sharon Smith, Jim Watson, my in-laws, friends from Queen’s Park, colleagues from Navigator PPG – along with my Dad’s family, and his friends and co-workers at Canadian Blood Services, or McGill, or Queen’s, or the University of Calgary. Before the funeral, there had been quite a few special phone calls – people who took time (a lot of time) to speak with my mom: our family’s friend Jean Chrétien, Dalton McGuinty, and Stephen Harper. Stephen’s call – and what he had to say – I will remember for a long, long time.

To everyone who passed along their thoughts and wishes – and to all of my fellow bloggers, who were extraordinarily kind – I, we, cannot thank you enough. I read many of your messages to my Dad before he died, and they were appreciated more than words can express.

My Dad wanted me to get back I into the game before this election was over (and we both had a good, long laugh about one journalist’s suggestion that the Martin regime should reach out to me). So I will do that. But before I do so, I wanted to thank all of you for your kindness and support.

And, to my Dad: happy father’s day. Fortis in arduis, forever.


Iggy Pop Is God

James Jewel Osterberg – Iggy Pop, Iggy Stooge, the Risen Rock’n’Roll Messiah, age 60+ – played with his Stooges in front of TWENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE in Dundas Square in Toronto tonight. It was extraordinary.

Even more extraordinary, something that made it a rock’n’roll event for the ages: hearing 20,000 sing ‘Now I Wanna Be Your Dog.’ And knowing all the words.

Lord, take me home now. It won’t ever get better than this.


Harper-related bits and pieces, with bonus alliterations!

  • The Summit Scandal: The fake lake, the roads to nowhere, the airport no one will use: where these revelations hurt the Harper government the most, I think, is with their own base.  I’ve received quite a few emails and comments from card-carrying Conservatives who are perfectly livid about the summitry excess.  I mean, even Pierre Bourque – whose race car bears the CPC logo – has been alleging 80 per cent of the G20 supplier contracts have been issued without competition (is that true?).  The Reformatories have become, fully, what they said they were coming to Ottawa to eliminate.
  • The Secret Circle: Laureen Harper was very kind to my daughter, a few years back, and I’ve been a fan ever since.  I may disagree with many of the policies of her husband’s government – but the Canadian First Lady is one of the nicest folks you’d ever care to meet, hands down.  A great Diebel read, comme toujours.
  • The Sinister Stories Syndicate:  My God Almighty, why have so many knickers gotten in a knot over the plans of former Harper spokesman Kory Teneycke and Quebecor to (i) invest in Canadian journalism and (ii) provide more choice for news consumers? I mean, why is Don Newman – who is a nice man, but who has never exactly been the most exciting thing ever seen on television – so apoplectic about Kory’s plans?  Why is Official Ottawa so aghast and atwitter?  Christ, you’d think someone had forgotten to remove the crusts from the cucumber canapés at a Kingsmere garden party! Read Wells for an account that doesn’t hyperventilate.

Little Timmy Hudak and the HSTs: review round-up

That little-known nostalgia act, Little Timmy and the HSTs, are touring Ontario – and the reviews are pouring in!

Adam Radwanski has a column about Timmy’s tune-making in today’s Globe:

Mr. Hudak’s Tories don’t have [the ability to make “a principled and non-conflicted case” against the HST]. Their ties to the federal party that championed the HST, combined with the fact that they don’t fundamentally oppose the nature of the reform, have limited their ability to benefit from the issue in and of itself.”

And there’s also this boffo review, from the Guelph Mercury yesterday:

“Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak was once again all talk and no promised action during a visit to Guelph.  As he did in previous stops — Hudak has been in Guelph four times during the last 14 months — he lashed out at Premier Dalton McGuinty and the looming harmonized sales tax, which takes effect July 1. But the leader again failed to offer a concrete solution to the tax.”

Then, there’s my latest favourite, also from yesterday, in the Toronto Star:

While Hudak insists he opposes the tax, he has also pointedly decline to promise to repeal it.  Party sources say that’s because the leader, who has a masters in economics from the University of Washington, sees the merit in taxing consumption instead of income to spark productivity.

What a tune! “We Really, Really Hate It, But We Won’t Get Rid Of It, Because We See The Merit In It!”

Long song title.  Doesn’t sound like a hit to me, but what do I know?