Just tabled today in the House of Commons:
Tag: stephen harper
For the record: Text of PM rally speech in Orleans
Here’s the text of the speech Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered in Orleans, Ont. this afternoon, in front of about 500 people.
This is the text as supplied by the PMO communications team. Was largely delivered as written:
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Chers amis.
Thank you for that tremendous welcome. Continue reading For the record: Text of PM rally speech in Orleans
Harper's new national security advisor on the threat of terrorism
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper named Richard Fadden as his new National Security Advisor, a job which, you might have guessed, is both important and influential in that you end up talking to the prime minister of a G8 country likely every day, if not more often, about, well, national security.
On Wednesday, of course, terrorists killed 12 journalists and policemen in Paris.
Later this year, we will have an election where national security and our collective response to the world’s terrorists may be an issue. I try to connect all three of those dots in a column offered up for publication in our newspapers tomorrow. [You can read it now here].
That column draws heavily on a speech Fadden — whose bio is worth reviewing — gave in 2009 just after he was appointed head of CSIS. Newspaper will only give me 625 words worth of space so I was only able to impart a small bit of what Fadden said back then. I encourage you to read all of what he said in 2009 and can report that, in my discussions with current and former Harper insiders, Fadden’s 2009 thinking would be very much in keeping with the prime minister’s thinking right now in 2015.
I’m told, though I am unlikely to be able to confirm this with Fadden himself, that he pretty much wrote this himself and rather than offer it to PCO higher-ups where the “good bits” would likely be gutted, he just went and gave the speech. The source for these remarks is here [PDF]: Continue reading Harper's new national security advisor on the threat of terrorism
Spirit of Radio: Ad wars pitch Conservatives versus Liberals
Across the country this holiday season, voters who listen to radio will be hearing pitches from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.
Maybe.
The Liberals have announced that they have two different radio ads ready to go. You can listen to them on their Web site but, so far at least, I have no reports that anyone has actually heard them in the wild. Continue reading Spirit of Radio: Ad wars pitch Conservatives versus Liberals
Asked and answered: Trudeau's Iraq questions and Harper's answers
On Wednesday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party distributed a list of what it called the “Prime Minister’s Unanswered Questions On Iraq.” Let’s look at those questions and see if any were answered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper today in the House of Commons. (Short answer: Answers were provided for most) Continue reading Asked and answered: Trudeau's Iraq questions and Harper's answers
A prime minister sends Canadians overseas to fight terrorists
A Canadian prime minister determines that the activities of terrorists operating in a Muslim nation far from Canada’s shores is such a threat to Canada’s security, that he dispatches Canadian Forces on a combat mission. There is no debate or discussion in Parliament let alone a vote. There seems not to have even been a full cabinet discussion before the prime minister makes his decision. Simply a request from an American president.
That was all it took for Jean Chrétien to to begin what would become Canada’s decade-long war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Here’s some of what he said on Oct. 8, 2001 about that mission: Continue reading A prime minister sends Canadians overseas to fight terrorists
The NDP ask a lot of Canada's PM: Be in two places at once
Moments after speaking in the House of Commons Tuesday (above), NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters in the House of Commons foyer (my emphasis):
You know, as far as we’re concerned, when you ask a question that corresponds to all the rules on a very important subject of national concern like Canada’s involvement in a war in Iraq, Canadians deserve better and they deserve more respect for our institutions than we got today. … And frankly, the Prime Minister should have been there today. That’s his role to be in the House.
Wait. Hold on. Continue reading The NDP ask a lot of Canada's PM: Be in two places at once
By phone, Harper and Netanyahu speak about the Hamas rocket attacks
Earlier today, Canada’s Prime MInister Stephen Harper spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here is the ‘read-out’ from the Harper’s office:
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Pancakes, politics, and parades: Stephen, Justin, Xavier … and Captain Kirk
Cool pic (above) taken at the Calgary Stampede and published on Justin Trudeau’s Flickr feed. Prime Minister Stephen Harper welcomes Xavier Trudeau to Calgary, as dad looks on. Continue reading Pancakes, politics, and parades: Stephen, Justin, Xavier … and Captain Kirk
By-election scorecards: How have party leaders fared?
Since Stephen Harper became leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, he has led his side through 30 by-elections. His party’s record in those by-elections? Pretty good. Conservatives held 7 seats in which they were the incumbent, stole 4 seats from another incumbent party, and suffered 1 loss. In the rest, they were neither the incumbent nor were able to steal. Continue reading By-election scorecards: How have party leaders fared?