Rodney Weston is the Reform-Conservative Member of Parliament for St. John New Brunswick, beating Liberal incumbent Paul Zed, by a mere 495 votes in 2008.
His party recently presented a schedule of what their MPs had been doing during the propagation, and it showed that Weston worked a mere 4 days in 2 1/2 months. 4 days!
At a time when the New Brunswick government is reducing it's civil service, and freezing wages, this man believes it's OK to claim a salary of more than $150,000.00 from taxpayers, so he can sit home and watch TV for 2 1/2 months.
Since first taking office, he has proven to be nothing more than a hyper partisan talking head for the Reformers, so he's got to go.
Since strategically the Liberal Paul Zed will be the best option to take out Weston, I'm throwing my efforts into promoting him. He's an experienced member of Parliament with an excellent record.
We will get this riding back and we will take our country back. If you live in St. John, here's what you can do:
1. Join the Liberal Party. It's only about $10.00 and is a great way to show your support. They will keep you up to date with what's happening in the community and on the federal scene.
2. If you are able to find a bit of time, volunteer; perhaps with canvassing or some other promotions.
3. If you can afford it at all, donate a bit now and then. I'm set up to contribute a regular monthly donation, but it's whatever you feel comfortable with. Remember that the Conservatives have a lot of wealthy backers and it takes money to launch a campaign.
5. Join Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. There are more than 30,000 links to stories with reasons to vote the Reform-Conservatives out. The better informed you are the more motivated you will be.
I'll keep this page updated as often as possible and will continue to provide reasons why Rodney Weston and these destructive Reformers have got to go.
And I will also provide plenty of information, as to why Paul Zed must be brought back.
********************** My Postings on Rodney Weston
Last March, the Reformers' partisanship hadn't gotten so out of hand in the House of Commons, that the Speaker of the House, Peter Milliken, was forced to make an announcement, reminding them of the rules.
MPs were reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons Peter Milliken for using time dedicated for statements by members - also known as Standing Order 31 (a fifteen minute period before Question Period used mostly by MPs to salute little league teams and constituents who volunteer a lot) - to slam each other.
"The tone was so consistently negative in Standing Order 31 statements that I felt it was appropriate to change the way it is happening in the House," Milliken said.
He then reminded MPs they are not allowed to use offensive language, attack a Senator, criticize the actions of the Senate, denounce a ruling of a court or attack the character of a judge. "The Speaker has also cautioned Members not to use this period to make defamatory comments about non-Members, nor to use the verbatim remarks of a private citizen as a statement, nor to make statements of a commercial nature," Milliken added, referencing older judgments.
Now I don't know if Rodney Weston was having trouble with the big words, or thought that 'Standing Order' meant to stand and take orders from the Party, but didn't he just go ahead and break the rules:
Mr. Rodney Weston (Saint John, CPC): Mr. Speaker, 34 years after leaving this country, the leader of the Liberal Party has returned with a plan to bring Canada back to the tax and spend ways of the Liberal Party that Canadians know so well. In fact, he even refers to himself as a tax and spend Liberal.
He is also the leader of the party that first pushed for a carbon tax, so he should not be at all surprised that the weekend that he became leader of the Liberal Party was the same weekend that his party reaffirmed its support for the job-killing tax. The Liberal leader said, “We will have to raise taxes”. He made this statement during a global economic crisis when all economists agree that raising taxes is the worst things to do.
The Liberals may want to raise taxes but Canadians know that this Conservative government will not raise taxes.
The only accurate statement in that convoluted nonsense was that the Conservative government would not raise taxes. But his claim that "when all economists agree that raising taxes is the worst things to do.", is dead wrong. All of this country's leading economists condemned the Reformer's cut to the GST, and recently the Council of Executives, made up of 150 of the country's CEOs.
Ed Clark, the CEO of TD Bank ... told a business meeting in Florida that Stephen Harper was not listening to those on Bay Street who were telling him the best way to get rid of a large deficit is through tax increases — on people just like him. And it wasn’t just Clark. He was reporting on the judgement of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), the voice of the 150 largest corporations in Canada.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS RODNEY WESTON REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR ST. JOHN?
With newspapers reporting ''informal negotiations'' between his party, the Canadian Alliance, and the Bloc Quebecois, whose stated goal is to make Quebec an independent nation, Mr. Day refused to rule out teaming up with the Bloc in a coalition after general elections, expected next spring, in order to dislodge the governing Liberals.
''An unholy alliance with people who don't believe in the country,'' fumed Allan Rock, Canada's health minister, and an aspirant for leadership one day of the Liberals ... Stephane Dion, the leader of the Liberal government's unity drive, said, ''It's playing with Canada, and you don't play with your country.''
At the time, Conrad Black, the man behind Stockwell Day's success, was livid:
In an interview on Tuesday [with the NYT], Conrad Black, chairman of The National Post, said the strategy would not work. ''It makes it too easy for the Liberals to represent him as a separatist fellow traveler, ambiguous about the future of the country.''
In Trevor W. Harrison's book; Requiem for a lightweight: Stockwell Day and the Image of Politics, he discusses the controversy.
"Day repeatedly journeyed to Quebec ... During August and September, Day stepped up these efforts, going even further to suggest the Alliance party welcome Quebec separatists and might even consider forming a national coalition government with the Bloc Quebecois .... But Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe said he wanted nothing to do with Day whose values (re: gay rights, abortion, youth justice) Duceppe described as "inspired by the United States..."
(Mr. Harrison lists as sources two newspaper articles: "The Report, August 28, 2000" and "Bloc leader denounces Day's ideas" Edmonton Journal August 14, 2000.)
The separatist Bloc Québécois was part of secret plotting in 2000 to join a formal coalition with the two parties that now make up Stephen Harper's government, according to documents obtained by The Globe and Mail. The scheme, designed to propel current Conservative minister Stockwell Day to power, undermines the Harper government's line this week that it would never sign a deal like the current one between the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Bloc.
When confronted with this in the House of Commons (Mr. Duceppe even had the lawyer's letter), Stocky denied it of course, suggesting that it would be against his DNA to make a deal with separatists. The DNA part is right, because Day's father was very anti-Francophone. In several letters to close personal friend Doug Christie, he confirms his contempt.
And talk about separatists. Doug Christie has been trying to use his separatist party, the Western Block, to push for the Western provinces to leave Confederation. It used to be called the Western Concept Party and Stocky's father, Stock Sr., once ran as a candidate for the WCP. DNA indeed.
And remember, Jason Kenney was Stockwell Day's right hand flunkie at the time, so he would have been part of this.
Rodney Opposes Stephen Harper's Plan:
On December 11, 2009, in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press, former Harper insider Tom Flanagan discussed coalitions with Frances Russell:
The author of Harper's Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power, managed the Conservative 2004 and 2006 election campaigns. But he insisted he "wasn't a part" of a coalition proposal made by then Official Opposition leader Harper, NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe in September 2004 that would have included the Bloc as a full partner.
Harper and the other two party leaders drafted a letter to the Governor General pointing out they had a majority and stating "this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options" before dissolving parliament.
'That would have included the Bloc as a full partner'. Not just to support confidence motions, as the 2008 coalition would have done.
Of course, Stephen Harper has never really been a federalist and in a speech he made to the National Citizens Coalition, when he was the Reform Party MP for Calgary West, reveals that he would much rather see a loose federal government, than a united Canada.
“Whether Canada ends up as one national government or two national governments or several national governments, or some other kind of arrangement is, quite frankly, secondary in my opinion.”
And let's not forget his Belgian model speech during the 2004 election campaign, that made reporters think he was nuts. He wanted to divide Canada up by ethnicity.
Stephen Harper would continue to push the coalition idea, while opposition leader against Paul Martin, prompting Martin to accuse him of being in bed with separatists.
Rodney Weston: Short Memory or no History Buff?
Everything I've read about this St. John MP clearly shows that he is not really a politician, so much as a trained seal for Harper and his minions. The Reform leadership says "bark Rodney", and he stands up, claps his little hands together and immediately bellows; : "arph, arph, arph"
Kady O'Malley was live blogging the comedy of errors announcement in St. John's last fall, and had this to say:
Okay, this is weird: the PM just wrapped up his speech, and handed the floor over to Rodney Weston, the rookie Conservative MP who beat out Paul Zed by a mere sliver of vote share last time around, and who is now delivering a vaguely embarrassing paeon to the prime minister’s brilliant leadership. That was — sort of painful to watch, although he really seemed to mean it.
And in the House of Commons when the opposition was trying to get answers about the Afghan Detainee issue and the walking caricature John Baird was up, our Rodney decided it was time for a little grade school skit:
“Why will the government not just simply support a public inquiry,” Mr. Layton asked. “There is a vote today on this. Is the government going to vote against making the truth... [at this point he was cut off].”
Mr. Baird did not answer his question. And while he was under fire from the opposition, the government attack dog had an easy time answering a lob ball from his colleague, Rodney Weston. The Saint John MP noted that today is the first anniversary of the “reckless coalition” that tried to “overturn” the election results from just two months before.
“Could the Minister of Transport … please remind the House of all the measures that we have introduced to help Canadians?” Mr. Baird had no trouble with that one: “When Canadians saw the leader of the Liberal Party sign a pledge, a letter to the Governor-General supporting a coalition, they went to the streets and protested.
“Thank goodness that did not happen. We have Canada’s economic action plan,” he said. As Mr. Baird answered the question, former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, the would-be head of that coalition, listened with his head in hand before giving a dismissive wave and a mock “blah, blah, blah.”
Of course the marches were organized by the Conservative Party and the so-called Action Plan is proving to be nothing more than a publicity stunt. But thanks for playing Rod.
Obviously, since the 2008 coalition attempt had the least involvement with the Bloc, Weston must find Stockwell Day's 2000 agreement, and Stephen Harper's 2004 agreement, extremely reckless.
But if that's the case, why is he protesting in St. John?
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS RODNEY WESTON REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR ST. JOHN?
Last May a conference was held at Mount Allison University in Sackville, hosted by the Council for Early Child Development. One of the speakers invited to attend was former Prime Minister Paul Martin.
He reminded Canadians that the Conservatives had cancelled the childcare program that Ken Dryden had spent several years developing, replacing it with the ridiculous $100.00 Universal Tax Credit.
"I chuckle when I hear the former prime minister talk about us breaking a promise. It wasn't the Conservative government's promise. It was a promise made by the Liberal party," said the Saint John MP.
"We kept our commitment to an early childhood benefit"¦ that goes to every family in Canada." The Conservatives currently provide a universal child care benefit of $100 per month for each child under six, and they say they have helped the provinces and territories create more than 60,000 child care spaces since March.
They may say they have but the fact is, they have not really created any new spaces. The slight blip is due to provincial incentives, mostly in Quebec.
The 2009 budget failed to provide any new funds for childcare, despite the fact that it would have been a very good way to stimulate the economy. According to the National Union of Public and General Employees:
While the 2009 Federal Budget promised to help Canada's economic recovery and stimulus budget, the Harper government once again refused to address the issue of child care spaces. And yet, research indicates that for every dollar spent on child care there is a ripple effect of $1.58 in the the local economy.
And of Weston's claim that his government has created new spaces:
Ottawa (6 Feb. 2009) – Despite promises by the Harper Conservatives that their child care annual allowance and capital grants to employers would create more than 250,000 child care spaces, the reality appears to be greatly different. Child care advocates are pointing to a growing loss of child care spaces which is making a serious problem for parents even worse.
This is a very important issue, because without a viable childcare plan, many people are unable to enter the workforce. Private day cares are too expensive and provincial plans are stretched to the limit.
Gerald Caplan wrote a piece for the Globe and Mail last October under the headline: Why do Tories hate children? It was no doubt meant to grab our attention, and it certainly did.
Mr. Caplan had been involved with trying to implement early childhood education in Ontario under the Mike Harris government.
The reality emerged in a series of phone-in shows I participated in soon after our report was released. I'm not easily shocked, but this time I was. ECE was seen by innumerable callers as some kind of plot to steal the minds of tiny children before they could think for themselves. Who were the plotters? What nefarious purpose did they have? To what end would helpless toddlers be brainwashed? There were no really good answers to these obvious questions. But in general, all ECE was seen as some kind of socialist/communist plot to forge Ontario's children into mindless little reds. Nothing, but nothing I could argue about the benefits of ECE and the lack of ulterior motives of any kind could sway this motley collection of paranoids. (I was not surprised to learn how many were also creationists.) It appeared they were getting ammunition for their wacky fears from organized conservative groups, some of them in the back-to-basics school movement. They made it easier for Mike Harris to deep-six ECE for many years to come.
Paul Martin began the task of developing a national child care system that would include early childhood development. But his early defeat left it to Stephen Harper to scuttle Martin's entire system and to introduce instead an allowance for parents of young children that is not remotely enough to get their kids into child care that doesn't exist.
Why? What do these conservatives know that a generation of education researchers don't? I've been racking my brain over this one for almost 15 years now and still have no sensible answer.
It's that neoconservative ideology. They believe that children will be indoctrinated into some kind of cult that will only want to improve their minds and create better educated and healthier children. Oh the horror.
Although, it actually has more to do with teaching scientific theories that might contradict the Bible. But if you want indoctrination, when Stockwell Day was teaching at the Bentley Bible schools, one of the questions on his test was 'Are the Jews the children of the devil, yes or no?' The seed is planted, associating Jews with the devil, so it doesn't matter how they answer that.
We've got to get our country back so we can start moving forward again. I'm really getting tired of this.
IS THIS REALLY YOUR CANADA? IS RODNEY WESTON REALLY THE BEST CHOICE FOR ST. JOHN?
Rodney Weston is the Reform-Conservative Member of Parliament for St. John New Brunswick, beating Liberal incumbent Paul Zed, by a mere 495 votes in 2008.
