Helena Guergis No Longer a Conservative But Still Stealing Like One

On the same day that we learn a Harper MP is using tax dollars to campaign for his replacement, we also find out that Helena Guergis is using the skills she learned under Harper, to hose us again.

She is not campaigning for someone else, but herself. With OUR money!

Critics said the now Independent MP for Simcoe-Grey has not only crossed the line of what is acceptable, she also had the “bad judgment” to attach the postage paid, tear-off survey form to her annual Remembrance Day message.

“Why should we have to pay for this?” said Stanley Miller, a resident of Elmvale, Ont. who received the one-page mail-out, told the Toronto Star. Guergis told the Star Tuesday that she has been doing this for years and has never had it challenged by the House of Commons Board of Internal Economy.

Opposition critics say taxpayers shouldn’t have to pick up the bill for Guergis’ latest mail-out to 10 per cent of the households in her riding, given that they say it is an election survey in disguise.

Harper taught her well.

Will Stephen Harper Feel the Wrath of Guergis?

Helena Guergis, after being cleared of criminal charges (though she still faces an ethics violation) had asked for a face to face with Stephen Harper. Which face?

Guess we'll never know.

However, she has stated that she will be running in the next election, possibly as an independent. Guergis, who was a staffer in the Mike Harris government, is not ready to hang up her lawn signs, even if the good old boys in the party told her to take off her shoes and get back in the kitchen where she belongs, now that she is pregnant.

James Travers has an interesting take:

Fear and confusion are power tools. Craftsman Stephen Harper is using both by banishing Helena Guergis and supporting Tony Clement’s quixotic tilt at the census. If cause and effect were connected in this capital, Guergis would be back in caucus today and Clement would be out of cabinet. After all, the RCMP has cleared her of criminal wrong-doing in connection with husband Rahim Jaffer’s back corridor lobbying while a summer storm is rising over the industry minister’s bizarre assault on a benign target.

But that’s not how official Ottawa works. What matters here is control and the Prime Minister is proving the point by blatantly exercising it so arbitrarily.

... A weak minister and public embarrassment, Guergis delivered ample reasons for dismissal well before she and Jaffer became titillating news. Still, harsh understates the punishment imposed by a Prime Minister who has yet to explain why he tolerates sorry performances and nasty behavior from some colleagues only to crush Guergis. A special joy of authoritarian leadership is that no justification is required. Ministers serve at the Prime Minister’s pleasure and no one carries party colours without Harper’s signed approval.

I'm no fan of Guergis, but anyone who challenges Harper is OK in my book.

Paradis Scandal Back On ... I Think .... Maybe

Just before calling his two and half month Prorogue Vacation, Stephen Harper was trying to halt rumblings at Public Works, over a brewing scandal.

First there was a scandal, then there wasn't a scandal. it was all quite dizzying.

Auditors have been called, animal rights people have been called. It's a mess.

But try as he might, the darn thing just isn't going away and it looks like the ethics commissioner may be ready to blow the lid off the whole thing.

Parliament's ethics watchdog will examine a cabinet minister's dealings with Rahim Jaffer, despite the Conservative government's herculean efforts to distance itself from the former Tory MP.

Mary Dawson, the ethics commissioner, will look into whether Christian Paradis improperly used his position as public works minister to help out Jaffer. Jaffer called Paradis on the minister's cellphone last August, asking him to go for beers and telling him about a project he was working on through his company, Green Power Generation, to install solar panels on federal buildings.

Paradis arranged for his parliamentary affairs director, Sebastien Togneri, to deal with Jaffer and set up meetings with bureaucrats. Documents tabled with a House of Commons committee show that civil servants were asked to speed the process of meeting with Jaffer and business partner Patrick Glemaud.

I'm glad they're going to build all those super prisons. They're going to need an entire wing for Harper's government.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Want to be a Lobbyist With Harper's Reformers

Duff Conacher from Democracy Watch sent me an excellent link yesterday outlining the many flaws in our system and how easy it is to exploit them. His organization has been trying to keep government clean for years, with the emphasis on trying.

The Helena Guergis/Rahim Jaffer drama that is unfolding is just the icing on the cake for the Reformers though, because the warning signs were always there.

For me the first sign was when Harper brought in the Mike Harris flunkies, John Baird, Jim Flaherty and Tony Clement. (Helena Guergis was an administrative assistant for the Harris government so she knows how the games are played) I remember thinking that maybe we should just give them all our money, and they'd go easy on us.

These guys were behind every shady deal in the book. In fact Mike Harris was forced to resign after being caught in the shade, in an out of the way restaurant, claiming that he just happened to be the neighbourhood.

Sign two was when Harper put John Baird in charge of drafting an Accountability Act and then sending Pierre Poilievre into the arms of Republican Jim Sensenbrenner, the man Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed one of the ten worst congressman:

Sensenbrenner, whose $10 million fortune stems from his great-grandfather's invention of the Kotex sanitary napkin, won $250,000 in the lottery in 1997. He also enjoys the perks of office: No congressman has racked up more frequent-flier miles on junkets sponsored by corporate lobbyists ....

He is also notorious for hiding things in bills, mostly involving the removal of human rights. He was behind the Patriot Act and when Congress refused to extend it because Americans wanted their civil liberties back, he stomped out in a huff. So I guess we know what they were hoping to learn from Jimmy boy.

So let's do a David Letterman top ten reasons why I want to be a lobbyist in the hallowed halls of Harper's government. Or actually the lobbies. Seeing thousands of snapshots of the big guy would freak me out. Far too Big Brotherish.

It used to have some paintings on the wall. Past prime ministers, certainly a formal portrait of the Queen. Landscapes. I know there was the occasional photo of current Prime Ministers, but when I walked in this time, I felt chilled to the bone. Every available wall space had a large colour photo of Stephen Harper. Stephen Harper at Alert. Stephen Harper in fire fighter gear. Stephen Harper at his desk. Stephen Harper meeting the Dalai Lama. Even the photo of the Queen showed her in the company of Stephen Harper. None were great photos. None were more than enlarged snapshots in colour. They didn’t feel like art.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Want to be a Lobbyist for Harper's Reformers

10. They are so easily bought. Host a fundraiser for Lisa Raitt and provide box seats at a Blue Jays game with all the perks for Rick Dykstra and you can write your own cheque.

9. And speaking of writing your own cheque, they cut out the middle man. Just ask Phizer. Instead of having to lobby they just make you an employee.

8. Need a lobbyist but too lazy to hire one? Not problem. Brian Jean can provide you with a member of his staff. Instant lobbyist, just add water .. or cash.

Breaking the rules of his own accountability act, he removes Erin Wall, assistant to Brian Jean, Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. (aka John Baird) and sends her to work for Global Public Affairs. Ms Wall is then registered as a lobbyist for the Houston based International Commodity Export Corporation, the largest beneficiary of government subsidies to the [Ridley] terminals. You will notice here that her appointment took place on June 19, 2009; just before the firing of Dan Veniez, and on the same day that ICEC underwent a name change to give it the appearance of a Canadian company.

7. And bored lobbyists can always get a job with the PMO where you can straddle the fence and hope you don't fall off. Just ask Kory Teneycke.

6. Obtaining military contracts is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Harper's first defense minister, Gordon O'Connor went right from being a lobbyist for military contracts to being the person awarding military contracts. But then that whole torture, lying thing got in the way of a perfectly good business. Not to worry though. I'm sure he passed off his Rolodex.

5. For a little bit of infused patriotism with a group called Canadians for Afghanistan, you can be sure those military contracts never end:

The Canadians For Afghanistan website lists its main contact as Josh McJannett, a former Conservative staffer who worked for government whip Jay Hill until September. He had previously worked as an aide to Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer. After leaving the Hill, Mr. McJannett* became a lobbyist with Summa Strategies, an Ottawa government-relations firm that counts some defence contractors, including U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing, among its clients. Canadians for Afghanistan was formed a few months later.

4. You get to arrange YouTube "live" videos of Stephen Harper with a little Google-a-go-go

Meaghan Rusnell: Legislative assistant to MP Rick Dykstra .. left the Hill in 2008 and began lobbying with Playbook Communications, a Toronto-based firm with Tory ties. She listed as clients Google Inc. and the Economic Club of Canada

3. If you're a poor corporation down on your luck at a time when Canadians are out of work and down on theirs, you can be sure that your 25 million dollar revenue is safe with these guys:

What we do know, when we see it, is big time corporate subsidy seeking, backroom politics, scheming lobbyists and cabinet ministers throwing their weight around to satisfy the big time corporate interests. In this case, the corporate interests include the B. C. and Alberta coal industries, whose coal production flows through Ridley Terminals. The political players include two Conservative cabinet ministers, House Leader Jay Hill and Transport Minister Rob Merrifield.

2. Lobbying for a private school was never easier with Diamond Jim Flaherty. If Sensenbrenner taught these guys anything it was how to hide stuff in bills.

1. And my number one reason for wanting to be a lobbyist for Harper's Reformers. You get to play revolving door until you're dizzy. It's better than Prozac. But if you need a little Prozac, have I got a lobbyist for you.

* Josh McJannet has indicated to me that he is no longer with Canadians for Afghanistan.

So We're Expecting John Baird to Make Sense Now?

As much as it annoys the hell out me every time I hear someone in the media talking about
Harper's Reformers being secretive after promising transparency, I must admit that their expecting John Baird to make sense, gave me a chuckle.

And then it annoyed the hell out of me.

They should realize by now that there never was an accountability act and there was never any intention of producing an accountability act. Sure there were a few words on paper, but they were mostly just four letter words. Lots of them. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ....

My first clue, besides the Republican Pollster Frank Lutz's advice to Harper on how to get a majority: preach accountability, flap about lowering taxes and tap into national symbols like hockey; was the fact that little PP got instructions for this so called accountability act from Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner.

Yikes. What Bernard Madoff wasn't available?

The Conservatives are considering an American-style law that would pay a bounty to a whistleblower who sues a company that defrauds the federal government or wastes taxpayers' money. Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who is overseeing the Harper government's whistleblower reforms, is meeting with U.S. legislators in Washington over the next several days to see if the U.S. False Claims Act can be adapted to Canada as part of the much-touted Federal Accountablity Act.

In Washington, Mr. Poilievre is meeting with Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, who chairs the House Committee on the Judiciary, as well as officials from the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, to explore whether employees in security agencies should be excluded from whistleblower laws. He will also be briefed on the Bush administration's Notification and Federal Employee Anti-Discrimination and Retaliation Act -- known as the No Fear Act -- which came into force in 2003 to make departments more accountable for violations of anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws.

A monetary reward for whistleblowers is one of the six reforms Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised during the electin campaign to beef up the Liberals' whistleblower bill.

So who's Jim Sensenbrenner?

On April 26, 2005, it was widely reported that Sensenbrenner has had lobbyists pay for his transportation, a violation of congressional rules. His total travel expenses are higher than any other congressman

Although the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Katrina and the inadequate government response to the disaster is expected to cause further economic misery for the poor residents of New Orleans and other affected areas, Congressman Sensenbrenner has refused to allow victims of the hurricane to enjoy any exception to the recent Bankruptcy Reform, a recent bill passed with widespread support of the banking industry that aims to make it more difficult for consumers to declare bankruptcy. "If someone in Katrina is down and out, and has no possibility of being able to repay 40 percent or more of their debts, then the new bankruptcy law doesn't apply," Sensenbrenner said.

Sensenbrenner held an important role in the Impeachment of Bill Clinton, acting as one of the House managers.

Sensenbrenner believes in criminal prosecution of broadcasters and cable operators who violate decency standards as opposed to the current Federal Communications Commission regulatory methods.

His revolving door lobby

He won "jerk of the week" honours for denying global warming

And remember NAFTAgate when Stephen Harper tried to derail Obama's campaign? It was Sensenbrenner's son Frank who was behind it.

Frank Sensenbrenner, the one-time Young Republican fundraiser now at the epicentre of a scandal over a leaked Canadian memo which wounded Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama, was always a poor fit at the Canadian embassy. The ambassador, Michael Wilson, didn't want him there.

The diplomatic corps on Pennsylvania Ave. didn't want him there and ultimately were so distrustful of the son of a right-wing Republican congressman, they muttered that they wanted his door left open so they could hear who he was talking to.

But officials in Stephen Harper's office wanted him there and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day particularly wanted him there, based on Sensenbrenner's long links, dating back to school days, with the former Reform party, the precursor of today's government in Ottawa

The Republicans aren't out of office, they're just now in Stephen Harper's office, teaching 'accountability' ... to John Baird and little PP. Crafting clever lobbying loopholes so convoluted we may never know where our money is. While Alykhan Velshi is telling Canadians who and who can't come to this country and talk.

Anyway, the net result of this relatively little-known loophole is this: Even if a minister "quietly designates" his parliamentary secretary as "the government's exclusive gatekeeper" for a particular grant or contribution program -- which, according to the Hill Times, was what Transport Minister John Baird did by "tasking" Brian Jean with "identifying potential projects ... and candidates ... to be considered for the Green Infrastructure Fund ... and forwarding them to the department for evaluation" -- there is currently no way to find out which companies, or consultant lobbyists, may have come knocking on that gatekeeper's office door.

Which, I have to say, doesn't seem quite as transparent a system as one would, perhaps, expect to see in what Pierre Poilievre is so fond of reminding us was supposed to be the "toughest anti-corruption law in Canadian history." What, for instance, is to stop a minister from designating his or her parliamentary secretary as the contact point for all lobbyists, which would allow any subsequent discussions to flourish unfettered by any obligation to report all registrable interactions? Pretty much nothing, as far as I can tell, although as the aforementioned staffer pointed out, it's their job to enforce the law as it stands.

Maybe Mark Foley could get Jason Kenney a date:

Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis May go Down Together But They Won't be Alone

I posted a rather lengthy piece on Rahim Jaffer and Helena Guergis, just to show how close he was to so many members of our current government. The relationship goes back a long way, and the dirty dealing just as long.

I also privately wondered how many more MPs besides his wife, will end up getting tangled up in this.

When you buy someone off for $ 40,000.00 and get away with it, I guess you believe you can get away with anything.

Jaffer's contact with government touched six departments

OTTAWA - Conservative government officials dealt with calls and emails from Rahim Jaffer as a priority and sometimes pushed federal bureaucrats to speed up their response to his queries.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the former Tory MP sometimes used the parliamentary email address assigned to the office of his wife, Helena Guergis, the former minister of state for the status of women. The more than 50 pages show that Jaffer contacted at least six ministerial offices over the past year.

Jaffer emailed Industry staff from Guergis account

Jaffer sent an email to an Industry Ministry official from an account registered to MP Helena Guergis, who at the time was the minister for the status of women. The message inquired about Canada's plans for installing new space satellites and about national ownership rules in that sector.

The information was requested "on behalf of some constituents who are friends of Helena and I," Jaffer wrote in the message. Jaffer hasn't been an MP since he lost his Edmonton-Strathcona seat in the October 2008 election.

In the email, he asks whether the federal government is interested in technology that allows satellites to track ocean vessels. If so, he says, it "would be positive for commercial development and MDA." MDA refers to MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, a B.C.-based aerospace firm that has built several government satellites. David Pierce, the Industry official in question, who knew Jaffer personally, replied the next day, saying he would call the former MP.

GuergisJafferWatch: It's a mini-document dump

Not that we're complaining, mind you. CBC News has obtained the 60-page package of Jaffer-related correspondence delivered to the Government Operations committee earlier today, and -- well, here it is! (I'll add my thoughts when I've had time to go through it in detail)

I'll bet there's not a lot of sleeping going on these days.

Reformers, Snack Packers and the Price of Silence

"... the notion that some Reform members may have strong Anglo-Saxon nativist inclinations is supported by more than merely the background profiles of its leaders, members and supporters. It is supported also by the words of many of its ideological mentors who depict Canada as not only historically an Anglo-Saxon country but also part of a wider Anglo-Saxon culture that is in need of recognizing and re-establishing its heritage." (Of Passionate Intensity: Right-Wing Populism and the Reform Party of Canada. Author: Trevor Harrison Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-8020-7204-6, Pg. 170)

From it's inception the Reform Party was seen as an all white, Christian fundamentalist party. (Or what the Toronto Sun referred to as "a ribald collection of dung-kicking rednecks.") Their anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalism platform certainly appealed to anyone supporting a white Canada.

And despite the outrageous behaviour of Preston Manning's MPs, neither he nor his lieutenant, Stephen Harper, did much to stop them. At their opening assembly one of the motions presented was to round up all the immigrants and send them back where they came from. I guess that kind of set the tone.

That's not to say that they didn't have the odd enlightened member, including the very popular Jan Brown, who was becoming increasingly upset with having to constantly apologize for the actions of her colleagues. For example, Reform MP Dave Chatters suggested that schools should be allowed to fire gay teachers, MP Art Hangar planned a trip to Singapore to investigate 'caning' as a form of youth punishment, and MP Myron Thompson wanted to throw ten-year-olds in jail.

But things came to a head when MP Rob Ringma suggested that business owners should be allowed to demand that gays and ethnics move to the back of the store, if it meant that they could lose business otherwise. Brown had had enough and spoke out publicly against the rampant racism of what she referred to as the 'God squad' and the fact that Preston Manning refused to put an end to it.

During the next caucus meeting, Ringma got a standing ovation and Brown was given a suspension, but instead simply quit and sat as an independent. The next election she ran for the PCs, but was defeated.

That election took place in 1997, and to replace Jan Brown, the Reform Party plucked a young man from the Fraser Institute, by the name of Jason Kenney. Meanwhile, Stephen Harper had resigned his seat to head up the right-wing National Citizens Coalition, and another Fraser alumni, Rob Anders stepped in to replace him.

However, Manning knew that if he really wanted to gain support in the rest of Canada he was going to have to at least give the appearance of representing all Canadians, so they brought in their first non-white candidate, a young man from Uganda, Rahim Jaffer.

The small talk was telling among the young Reformers milling about prior to Jaffer's arrival. People complained, with a neo-con bravado that matched everyone's cowboy comportment, about how squishy some of their contemporaries were on issues. There was also a heavy-duty spew of racist humour and invective, something you'd never hear from most real-life cowboys. With the tacit approval of the others, two young Reformers held court with depraved jokes about all-white neighbour­hoods, the Ku Klux Klan and the appropriate usages of pit bulls.

That is, of course, until Rahim Jaffer showed up. Then the conver­sation changed, from whites-only humour to election strategy in a split second. Everyone acted cordial and laid back, as though someone's mom had arrived in the middle of a stag party. "I want to be judged for what I do and say, not what I look like," Jaffer said while campaigning in 1997. "I'm a real Reformer, not a token."

"Look at the demographics here," said Manning's legislative assistant, Ezra Levant, at a "Team Rahim" campaign event. "Have you ever seen so many interesting-looking people voting Reform?" (Slumming it at the Rodeo: The Cultural Roots of Canada's Right-Wing Revolution, Gordon Laird, 1998, Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN: 1-55054 627-9, Pg. 103)

Bingo. They were no longer racist. However, maybe they should have been looking for more than just skin colour, but they had their priorities in order.

From then on, Jason Kenney, Rob Anders and Rahim Jaffer became known as the Snack Packers. (Globe and Mail, September 22, 1997) Something to do with their ages, I think. Ezra Levant rounded out the little group.

The First Sign of Trouble

In March of 2001, Jaffer agreed to a radio interview but then realized that he would be opening one of his coffee shops on the same day, so he convinced his aide to take his place. All was revealed when someone recognized the aide's voice.

Peter Warren, the show's host, says the hoax was eventually revealed, but not before both Johnston and Jaffer tried to cover it up. Warren says his producer asked Jaffer directly if they had talked to him on the air."She reached him at his cafe in Edmonton and said to him, 'Was that you on the interview with Peter Warren on the Corus Radio Network an hour ago?' and his answer was, 'Yes it was. I was happy to do the interview'. "Warren says they finally got an admission from Johnston and Jaffer when they asked them to put their version in writing.

But what didn't make the papers was how the whole thing came about. From Preston Manning.

"The story as told by Rahim in Ottawa, with the help of his friend Ezra [Levant], was that Matthew had acted entirely on his own."

Chuck Strahl, the House leader, first learned of all this from Jason Kenney at a strategy meeting at Stornoway. Chuck told Jason that Rahim's account had better be the whole truth, because the media would be looking for contradictions, and if they found any Rahim would be in even greater trouble. Jason [Kenney] then said "I wouldn't worry about that. $40,000.00 buys lot of silence." (Think Big: My Adventures in Life and Politics, By: Preston Manning, pg 379-80)

Not Jason Kenney. Say it ain't so. The $ 40,000 was apparently the amount of 'severance' given to Matthew Johnston for keeping quiet. (Deb Grey also mentions this in her book )

Stephen Harper also looking for optics, added a few women to his roster in 2003, including Helena Guergis, a former administrative assistant in the Mike Harris government. Naturally he plunked her where she was visible, giving him the appearance of an enlightened male. (stop laughing, I said 'the appearance')

A Classic Love Story

So Helena and Rahim met in caucus, caused a fracas, but then ran out of luckus. Boy when they fell, they fell hard, didn't they? And Don Martin thought that Helena's only problem was that she was completely clueless.

...a second-term Tory over her head as a Cabinet member in the government's most sensitive portfolio. After double-checking with female parliamentarians and journalists to make sure this wasn't just a pale male pile-on, the verdict is clear: This 39-year-old Ontario MP should be removed before her amateur antics and strange behaviour trigger an international incident.

Of course, it was brilliant moving her to the Status of Women, where Harper can now claim that there is a reason why women have no status in his Canada. Two words: Helena Guergis.

And who'd have thought it would take a drunk driving, drug arrest to topple the Kingdom of Tokens? I mean Jaffer campaigned by suggesting that the NDP were soft on drugs. And Helena campaigned on ... I don't know .. I don't listen to her. I swear she'll suck the brain cells right out of you.

Helena Guergis: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

And we thought her airport melt down and cocaine in her car, would have been enough for Harper to finally dump her.

But a much more serious scandal, is raising some very serious questions. Helena Guergis's husband, Rahim Jaffer; a long time friend of Jason Kenney and Stockwell Day, has been up to some funny business.

So much for a party pretending to take the moral high ground.

I knew what this little group was about when they first bought the silence of an aide for $ 40,000.00.

Guergis is now sitting as an independent, but that doesn't excuse our government. How did she get away with this and was she acting alone?

Helena Guergis touted a green technology company to Simcoe County officials while her husband Rahim Jaffer and businessman Nazim Gillani were involved in a plan to take the firm public in a $1 billion deal.

Cabinet ministers and MPs are forbidden from using their position to influence a person or organization to benefit their interest or that of relatives or friends, according to the federal Conflict of Interest Act.

And:

NDP MP Libby Davies sent a letter to Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson on Friday formally asking her to investigate Guergis's conduct, saying media reports about Guergis's endorsement of Wright Tech Systems Inc. may have violated the Conflict of Interest Act "and perhaps other applicable statutes."

Shortly after Davies's letter was released, Liberal MP Mark Holland filed a formal request with the lobbying commissioner to back up a complaint filed by his colleague Marlene Jennings earlier this week, based on "additional information that would seem to be relevant" that has since "come to light" about Jaffer's company, Green Power Generation Corp.

Oh, oh! I'll bet there are more than a few Conservatives sweating bullets right now.

Helena Guergis Says Research Confirms That Women Have no Status

There's a reason why the Reformers made one of the stupidest women on the planet, the minister of the Status of Women.

They had already decided that we have no status in this country, and Guergis fits their ideology that we should 'know our place', and leave the men to do the whole politics thing.

I'm still reeling over the announcement that Harper's so-called focus on vulnerable women and children around the world, will not include contraception or safe abortions.

Now I learn that they will also be cutting the funding to one of the most important advocacy agencies in the country.

Status of Women minister Helena Guergis is expected to cut funding for further research on missing and murdered aboriginal women as part of a refocusing on the government's support for the issue.

The five-year-old Sisters in Spirit initiative had been compiling a database on the more than 500 women who have died or gone missing over the past four decades. The group, operating within the Native Women's Association of Canada, had become Canada's leading resource on the topic.

But their funding was set to run out on Wednesday with no public word yet on their fate. The co-ordinator of the program said she believed that the program would survive in another format - minus the research. "That's something that Status of Women has been clear about, that there should be no more research, that it's now more about action," said Karen Rexe, director of Sisters in Spirit.

Of course 'action' is a code word for bring on some Religious Right group who will give you a cookie if can repeat three times: "I am woman, hear me whimper".

I'm getting so sick of this.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Helena Guergis Encourages Staff to Lie For Her

In an attempt to change public opinion, Helena Guergis, the minister of putting women back in the kitchen; has had her staff (technically our staff, since we pay their salary) write letters to the editor on her behalf.

Now there's nothing wrong with her staff writing letters, but they must identify themselves as her staff.

A long-time spokesperson of Minister Helena Guergis insists there was no conflict of interest when she wrote a glowing letter to Maclean’s about her
boss—but failed to identify herself as the MP’s employee.

Knight’s stunt coincides with a similar incident: earlier Tuesday, another Guergis staffer, Jessica Craven, was caught sending flattering letters about the minister to Ontario newspapers using her married name, Morgan. She has apologized, and insists Guergis had no idea. The minister has since spoken out, calling these letters “inappropriate.”

Naturally she's denying that she was aware, but c'mon. Just how stupid do you think we are Helena?

Do you think we're all as stupid as .... ah, never mind. She's not worth it.

New Airport Security Measures Mean No Conservatives Allowed

After Helena Guergis's airport melt down on Prince Edward Isalnd, another Reformer has made an ass of themselves.

Mind you when Jean-Pierre Blackburn lost it, it was because someone had taken his Tequila.

What was he supposed to do?

Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn has pologized for trying to bring a bottle of tequila through security at Ottawa airport last month.

Blackburn is the second member of Stephen Harper's cabinet forced to offer a public apology after recent exchanges with security personnel at Canadian airports.

"On February 23 I was at the Ottawa airport and a bottle of alcohol was confiscated from me because it exceeded the 100-millilitre limit," Blackburn said in a statement Friday.

Clearly, new security measures don't apply to the Harper government. But he apologized.

A lot of that going around lately. Maybe they should stop doing things they have to apologize for.

Helena Guergis Hurting Conservative Fundraising?

Apparently it would seem that members of the Reform-Conservative Party are calling on Stephen Harper to throw Helena Guergis out. They claim that she is hurting their fundraising efforts.

Oh really?

Just because she throws shoes in an airport and her husband got off a drunk driving/cocaine possession charge? I would have thought they'd have thrown her out when she claimed that young girls are responsible for their own rape, but what do I know?

Or could it be that their fundraising is drying up because of their arrogance at shutting down Parliament for three months while they blatantly show up at the Olympics?

Oh and by the way, I drink Tim Hortons and so do most of my friends, and we'd never vote for Stephen Harper. Are Timmies trying to tell us that they don't want our business unless we agree to a dictatorship? What a stupid comment.

Trying to attract the Tim Hortons crowd? I swear our media gets stupider by the minute.

Another video making the rounds is from 2000, when, according to Wikipedia:

The Canadian television program The Fifth Estate profiled Sylvia Stark in January 2000, and included interviews with Guergis and other former contestants. Stark alleged that Guergis made death threats against her, and added that she had lost a child from the resulting stress and was unable to conceive again. Guergis responded by questioning the state of Stark's mental health.

Did a Little Hanky Panky Keep Jaffer Out of the Tanky

Rahim Jaffer is a former Reform/Alliance MP and long time associate of Jason Kenney. He is also married to Helena Guergis, the woman who can barely tie her own shoes, blamed girls for their own rape and recently had a complete melt down on Prince Edward Island.

Yesterday Jaffer went to court to face charges of drunk driving and possession of cocaine.

To anyone else this might be a serious offense but the man got a slap on the wrist.

Jaffer court case sparks outrage across Canada

Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer's guilty verdict in an Ontario courtroom has ignited an outrage across Canada. Many are now questioning why the charges of cocaine possession and drunk driving were dropped in the case. Jaffer pleaded guilty to careless driving and received a $500 fine, and no criminal record.

However, David Akin thinks he may know why Mr. Jaffer got such a sweet deal.

Jaffer's former caucus colleagues immediately tried to distance themselves from the decision and the case. The line from all Conservative MPs, when asked, was that it was a provincial matter, that the prosecutor in the case was a provincial appointee. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews even went far enough to point out that it was a Liberal administration in Ontario responsible for the case.

Well, turns out the judge in the case, Doug Maund is a long-time Tory: When Brian Mulroney was prime minister, Maund was the chief of staff to Mulroney's health minister Perrin Beatty. He backed Kim Campbell in the leadership race to succeed Mulroney He was appointed to the Ontario bench in October, 2000 by the Ontario attorney general of the day, none other than current federal finance minister Jim Flaherty.

Nice to have friends in low places.

But before you think I'm blaming the judge, the deal was worked out with the Crown attorney, and the judge himself raised eyebrows, despite his links to Flaherty. However, the optics of this is not good.

Of course, the irony is that when Jaffer was running in Edmonton, he accused Jack Layton of being soft on drug crime. Some things never change.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA?

Helena Guergis Just Wrote Prince Edward Island Off For the Reformers

If the Reformers were hoping to hold on to Gail Shea's seat, or make further inroads into Prince Edward Island; Helena Guergis just put the screws into those plans.

Somehow being referred to as a hell hole, does not sit well with the friendly islanders.

Junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis has issued an apology for her rude behaviour at the Charlottetown airport, where she allegedly threw a tantrum and screamed obscenities at staff who asked her to take her boots off for security screening.

Guergis "slammed her boots into the bin" provided by security personnel and then, according to the account, said to one of the airport staff: "Happy f---ing birthday to me. I guess I'm stuck on this hellhole.

This girl is such a ditz, but Harper holds onto her for some reason. Maybe by giving her the Status of Women portfolio, he can use it to claim that women should not be in politics, and Guergis is his proof of that.

Women should very much be in politics. Just not this woman.

She recently claimed that date rape was the result of the hyper sexuality of young girls, and voted in favour of scrapping the gun registry, then had the nerve to show up at the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

Her husband was charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession and at the airport people who witnessed her meltdown said she looked intoxicated.

Harper's God Squad can't be too pleased. And yet a spokesperson for the prime minister claims that she apologized so the matter is settled. I can assure you that the people of PEI will not think her apology means much.

IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS HELENA GUERGIS REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR SIMCOE GREY?

We Knew in 2008 That the Harper Government Was Making a Mess of Afghanistan

On May 22, 2007, Alex Panetta and James McCarten of the Canadian Press informed readers of the security precautions taken for Stephen Harper's trip to Afghanistan:

"Only upon leaving Europe were the journalists informed of the final destination. They were warned in a briefing by security officials that they risked arrest and prosecution under the National Defence Act and the Official Secrets Act if they did one of two things: mention the prime minister's itinerary during the next layover, or describe the location of that layover to anyone. Reporters were told they could wind up in handcuffs for breaking the rules."

Nine months after Stephen Harper's trip, Liberal leader Stephane Dion and deputy leader Michael Ignatieff went to Afghanistan to meet President Hamid Karzai. While there, Helena Guergis, Conservative MP and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the press that, "I think [Dion] should apologize to our troops while he is touring the PRT." Dion was scheduled to visit the PRT - the Provincial Reconstruction Team - twelve hours later.

Said opposition MP Andrea Matrosovs: "In her petty attempt to criticize the efforts of Mr. Dion and Mr. Ignatieff, she put their lives at unnecessary risk, revealing in advance that they would be leaving the base to visit the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the south where Canadians are working."

"Ms. Guergis complains Mr. Dion didn't go soon enough, but then insists it takes time for the department in which she works to plan these trips because of the necessary security. Her flippant comments then undermine Mr. Dion's security. That's shameful.

It was also dangerously incompetent.

Helena Guergis may not be terribly bright, but her actions speak volumes for the incompetence of the Harper government. And after the visit in question by Dion and Ignatieff, revelations from that visit, were just as alarming.

Harper was in over his head, as he tried to control the war and it's messaging. It became more about public relations than the safety of our soldiers or the Afghan people. And by aligning himself with the corrupt Karzai government, he undermined attempts to win favour with the locals.

Much of what Michael Ignatieff reported in January of 2008, has since been validated by others.

Harper failing to lead Afghan mission: Ignatieff
January 27, 2008
CTV.ca News Staff

Recent gaffes surrounding the military transfer of Afghan detainees shows how badly the Harper government is mishandling the Afghanistan war, Deputy
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff says.

"The very least you can say is that Canada's soldiers deserve better civilian leadership than this," Ignatieff told Question Period on Sunday .... Ignatieff said he was concerned about Prime Minster Stephen Harper's mismanagement of military operations there .... said that the public and Parliament have not received "honest
answers" from the government ...

The comments stemmed from a series of public miscues following the release of the Manley report on the future of the Canada's mission. In November, the Canadian military stopped transferring detainees to the Afghan military after diplomats found clear evidence of torture. But the Harper government stayed silent on the subject until the facts came to light last week in government documents filed in a lawsuit by human rights groups opposing the handling of detainees.

Sandra Buckler, director of communications in the Prime Minister's Office, this week blamed the military for not telling the government that the practice had changed. She later claimed she "misspoke." The opposition has accused the government of not revealing the change mainly to protect itself from embarrassment.

Military leaders have reportedly been furious, saying they kept the government in the loop. Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier both declined to appear on Question Period.

... NDP Leader Jack Layton told Newsnet on Sunday that two cabinet ministers now appear to have lied to the House of Commons on the Afghan detainees issue (NDP defence critic) Dawn Black asked on Nov. 14 whether prisoners were being transferred -- and that they shouldn't be, given the evidence -- and the minister didn't tell the truth," he said.

The Montreal Massacre and a Noisy Minority. Taking a Look Back

The video above is a look back at the horrible day twenty years ago, when Marc Lépine went on a rampage in a Montreal university, killing 14 women and wounding another 13. It is still fresh in many minds, including my own.

My boss at the time had a daughter attending that school, and was having a great deal of difficulty trying to obtain information. Just before leaving Kingston for Montreal, she received a call that her child was OK, but it did not mean that she didn't grieve.

I came across an article that was written at the ten year anniversary of this horrific event. It also tracks the history of the gun registry and includes an interview with Wendy Cukier, then president of the Coalition for Gun Control.

At the time it was believed that Ms Cukier's work was done, but she still lived in fear of "...what a noisy minority can do to change things", so never gave up her diligence. Her fears have now been realized, because a "noisy minority", has done the unthinkable.

I wasn't surprised after reading this that Garry Breitkreuz led the charge by Reform to oppose new gun legislation, but the article also states "so does about half the New Democratic Party caucus." Why did I assume their views would be in favour of women? I guess that's why so many voted to scrap the registry. They never agreed with it in the first place.

Lépine Massacre Ten Years After
Macleans Magazine
December 6, 1999
By: ANTHONY WILSON-SMITH

The nightmares that haunted Heidi Rathjen for such a long time seem to have disappeared.

For years, she snapped awake at night, tormented by remembered sounds of screams, shouts and the popping of an assault rifle. Rathjen was reliving real life: on Dec. 6, 1989, she spent 45 minutes huddled in silent terror in a student lounge at the University of Montreal, while Marc Lépine, a 25-year-old semi-recluse with a hatred of women, roamed the halls, shooting at any female he saw. "Whenever we thought things had quieted down," Rathjen recalled later, "another round of bullets would shatter the silence, smashing our hopes."

By the time Lépine's rampage ended as he turned the gun on himself, he had killed 14 women and wounded another 13 people. Rathjen, then a 22-year-old engineering student at the university's Ecole polytechnique and now an anti-tobacco activist, considers herself "one of the lucky ones: the nightmares are a small thing next to keeping my life." ...

Women in the Harper Government Must STOP SPEAKING FOR CANADIAN WOMEN IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If our taxes weren't going to pay the salaries of these women, I would forbid them to ever show up in the House of Commons again. ... on second thought, maybe we should pay them to stay the hell home. They are a disgrace.

We've got Cheryl Gallant suggesting that a soldier dies every time we debate the war in Afghanistan and even accused Jack Layton of being directly responsible for one death. And yet it was discussed two years ago that the way we were handling Afghan Detainees may have directly affected the safety of our men and women in uniform.

Then there's Diane Finley, the second absolute moron in the video, who recently lost passport applications and didn't even advice the victims; caught lying about the cost of EI Reform. Four billion dollars was a lark. The Parliamentary budget officer confirmed that it would be about 1 billion.

And of course she was set up by that little twit Hoeppner, who dared to show her face at the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 massacre at Montreal's L'École Polytechnique, after presenting the bill to scrap the gun registry that was created in their memory.

They should stick to making coffee and sandwiches for the boys, because these women do not represent us.

I don't know if they are really this stupid, or if the boys demand they look stupid, so they don't get shown up. For Hoppy's information we need a childcare plan, and most working women agree, so never ever, ever; assume you have the right to speak for us on this issue.

I think Gerald Caplan was right. Tories really do hate children. They sure hate women.

Tory `girlfriends' hew to party line on femicide
By Antonia Zerbisias Living Columnist
December 4, 2009

If it weren't so hypocritical, it would be hysterical.

On Wednesday, at a Parliament Hill ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 massacre at Montreal's L'École Polytechnique, Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner co-starred in Status of Women minister Helena Guergis's show of sympathy. Bad enough that, last month, Guergis voted for Bill C-391, the legislation that aims to kill the long-gun registry and Hoeppner was the one to introduce it in the House.

No wonder that Status of Women committee members Anita Neville (L-Winnipeg South Centre), Irene Mathyssen (NDP-London- Fanshawe) and the Bloc's warrior queen of women's rights, Nicole Demers (Laval), boycotted the ceremony. As Neville told me Wednesday, "The Conservatives' record on women has just been abominable.'' ...

Shouldn't We Be Warned that Cheryl Gallant and Helena Guergis Would be Speaking on the Same Day?

I mean seriously. Shouldn't there be some kind of warning, like 'We interrupt this program to warn Canadians to run, and just keep running.' They are both such a disgrace.

The Status of Women critics from the Opposition parties protested Helena's hypocrisy over the ceremony to mark the l'École Polytechnique massacre, saying they couldn't stand alongside Guergis, the Conservative status of women minister. I don't blame them. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with that woman.

The Reformers record on women's issues is abysmal. They are trying to take us back to the stone age, and some one's got to speak up. Guergis voted in favour of scrapping the long gun registry, so she gave up her right to speak for these young women.

Critics boycott Tories' Polytechnique ceremony
December 1, 2009
The Canadian Press

Opposition critics boycotted a non-partisan ceremony Tuesday marking the 20th anniversary of the Dec. 6 l'École Polytechnique massacre, saying they couldn't stand alongside Helena Guergis, the Conservative status of women minister.

Liberal, NDP and Bloc Québécois MPs who sit on the House of Commons status of women committee argued that Conservative policies have rolled back the fight for women's equality and safety.

They pointed to the government's elimination of the court challenges program and to the move to abolish the gun registry — something that some Liberal and NDP members also support.

"We consider this [ceremony] a hypocritical gesture because her government has shown itself from the beginning to be hostile to all women's demands," said Bloc MP Nicole Demers.

'I would just like to think that there are some things in politics that are above partisan games.'— Helena Guergis, status of women minister

Liberal MP Anita Neville said: "I find it difficult to stand beside a minister who chooses not to advocate for women, who chooses to follow the party line, who chooses to endorse the elimination of the long-gun registry."

The sombre ceremony in the House of Commons foyer was led by a senior bureaucrat at Status of Women Canada, and Guergis did not speak.

About two dozen parliamentarians and staff, including NDP MP Libby Davies and Liberal MP Judy Sgro, placed 14 white roses in a vase to represent the 14 women gunned down in 1989.
House Speaker Peter Milliken and Senate Leader Noel Kinsella made brief remarks. The Bloc did not send a representative.

Tension on women's issues

The boycott by Guergis's critics was a sign of the tensions that have built up over the past three years between the government and the opposition on the status of women committee.

Within months of coming to power in 2006, Harper redirected $5 million from the administrative budget of Status of Women Canada, closing branch offices and stopping funding for women's research and advocacy groups.

The funds, plus an additional $5 million, were instead earmarked for programs that more directly serve women, such as immigrant integration initiatives in major Canadian cities.

The mandate changes did not sit well with the other parties, who argued that while front-line programs are important, women's advocacy groups still need support to bring issues forward into the public domain.

In 1991, Parliament declared Dec. 6 as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Jason Kenney and the Conservatives Remove Women From Canadian History

Jason Kenney's new handbook for immigrants was released yesterday, and not that we should really be surprised, but it almost completely removed the notion that women made any contributions to this country.

Historian Margaret Conrad said of the new guide, that it “represents a new kind of Canada, one that is less sympathetic with my personal sense of a progressive, forward-looking nation, but the new slant is no doubt in keeping with the sentiments of the current administration in Ottawa.”

She said she was surprised that the environment, given two pages in the previous guide, disappeared in the new document. The emphasis on the Queen and the Canadian Forces also struck her as unusual. “It's kind of like a throwback to the 1950s,” she said. “It's a tough, manly country with military and sports heroes that are all men. “It's a tougher Canada than the one the Liberals depicted.”

In its photos and illustrations, the new guide paints a picture of a multicultural country, but it offers very little discussion of the accomplishments of Canadian women, Prof. Conrad said. None of the great Canadian thinkers highlighted is a woman, and the only female athlete mentioned is Paralympic medal winner Chantal Petitclerc.

One of the reader comments at the end of the Globe and Mail piece was also disturbing. I suspect other macho types will feel validated with this booklet and I would imagine comments like this will be more common now. I'm used to hearing them, growing up in the '60's. I just hadn't heard them in awhile:

"Maybe Margaret Conrad needs to realize that it was men who built this country, and are still building it. Are you reading this, Maggie? You haven't contributed nearly enough. Shut yer trap."

Shut our traps? The new slogan for the Status of Women now that the word 'equality' was removed from their mandate. Left-Wing fringe groups. That's what we are now. Women have been marginalized with this new government. We weren't important in Canadian history and we aren't important now. REAL Women of Canada have won. The Promise Keepers have won. William Gairdner has won. And we let them because we have given up the fight.

Helena Guergis who's in charge of the Status for Women recently cited "the hypersexualization of girls as a root cause of dating violence." We shrugged. Welcome to the new Canada.

Maybe this generation of young women, after getting a taste of what it was like for us, will finally understand. Or not. It doesn't matter.

When Michael Ignatieff unveiled the Liberals Party's 3rd volume of the pink book, the media scoffed. Diane Francis wrote a scathing column, which I didn't have the stomach to read.

Ms Francis of course won the National Citizens Coalition Colin Brown medal of freedom. Now bear in mind freedom means freedom from government, or to be more specific; freedom from anything with 'Canadian' or 'public' in it's title. Ms Francis is the head of the Reform Conservatives PR firm, the National Post.

Do you see what we're up against?

There were three letters to the editor after this story was printed:

Those Mad Men of Ottawa, the Harper Conservatives, would like to take us back to the 1950s when men were tough, the Maple Leafs won games and everyone loved the Queen. I was a boy back then and do not recall anyone suggesting that a career in the army would be a fine choice.

Despite our new military vigour, it is hard to imagine that immigrants will flock to Canada to become soldiers in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. Given the general indifference to the recent royal tour, there is little chance there will be a renaissance of affection for the monarchy, as immigrants replace births as the main source of our population growth.

King Canute, who died on Nov. 12, 1035, was famous for proving to his fawning supporters that he was not all-powerful by showing that he could not turn back the tide. Centuries later, people in power still have not learned this lesson.

Jim Reynolds, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
............
Since when does any particular political party get to decide what is Canadian? Can we now expect our national culture to change every time a new party is elected? This would mean that, with every new election, those who supported the losing parties and their values would become un-Canadian.

A nation’s culture is the result of a decision made by the people. The Tories’ belief that they have the ability to determine the “real” Canada shows a profound lack of humility.

Sascha Maicher, Ottawa
............
Now that I’m nearing retirement age, I’m glad to learn it’s no longer necessary for new Canadians to understand the need to protect Canada’s environment. Has my life’s work paid off?

John Bennett, executive director, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Ottawa

Does Helena Guergis Blame Women For Violence Against Women?

Toronto Star Columnist, Susan Delacourt, published a story recently It's the girls' fault?, in response to an announcement by Status of Women Keep 'em in the Kitchen minister, Helena Guergis, that implies that she and her government believe that women may be responsible for any violence against them.

"The Government of Canada is pleased to provide support to Regroupement des femmes de la région de Matane for its project, Et toi ton couple, ça clic? (So, Are You Clicking as a Couple?). This project aims to promote equitable, non-violent behaviour in the romantic relationships of adolescents by targeting the hypersexualization of girls as a root cause of dating violence."

However, defenders of the program have suggested that either Guergis lost something in the translation or whoever wrote the press release saw it as an opportunity to salve the wounds of the Religious Right organizations, especially Real Women of Canada, who have not been thrilled with all this extra money going to what they call radical feminists groups.

From their most recent newsletter:

"One would think that elected conservatives would be able to resist the feminist ideology, which is a very leftist, Marxist, anti-family movement (see “Feminism in Canada” on our web site.) With the emotional appeal of portraying women as perpetual victims, the sisterhood seems able to convert even Conservative MP's who were elected to combat the nanny state as embodied by Liberal and Socialist NDP enthusiasts...

"Political Science courses and Women's Studies abound. All this is not good enough for feminist activists in Canada. Instead, they have managed to obtain a $1.2 million grant for 38 months, from Status of Women Canada, to develop their own special mentoring programs ...

"Thus, to meet leftist global demands, our taxes are diverted to the advancement of feminism via Status of Women ... the Prime Minister’s Office seems totally oblivious to the global thrust behind such projects to use feminism to advance leftist control of free democracies.

"... This is not why a Conservative government was elected!"

So Real Women should get some satisfaction in knowing that their elected Conservative government is still anti feminist, blaming women for domestic and dating violence. Sadly, I believe that was only a very small part of the Matane project, but it has now been tarnished by Guergis' comments.

But what is this really about? Harper has always openly opposed the Status of Women, and among his first acts when elected, was to remove the word 'equal' from their mandate and drastically reduce their funding.

However, he knows that to win back support, especially in Quebec, he has to at least give the appearance of becoming enlightened. Will it work? Who knows? I looked at many of the ridings where they have provided funding through the Status of Women and most seem to be in areas they are hoping to claim next election, or vulnerable Conservative ridings that could go either way.

Stephen Harper does nothing without an agenda.