THE 6 COMMANDMENTS

According to Harper, Martin isn't keeping the promise he made to Canadians when he told them they would have answers before the election was called about what happened in the sponsorship scandal. "It is up to the voters to hold the government accountable for an unprecendented record of waste, mismanagement and corruption." "Canada deserves better, Canadians demand better," he added, echoing his party's campaign slogan, "Demand Better." Harper rejected suggestions that he wanted to reduce Canadians' taxes to levels lower than in the United States. "It's impossible. I'm an economist, I know it can't be done," he said. "These claims that we would cut some enormous amount of taxes in a single term is simply not consistent with my public statements." Harper said Canadian voters need to challenge Liberal "arrogance."
"My Canada will be as Canadian as any other Canada. You know, in this country, you can be a Canadian without being Liberal. The government seems to forget that. That's why they need to be defeated. It's that kind of arrogance that leads to the waste, mismanagement and corruption that we've seen.'' Predicting his party would win more than 20 seats in Ontario, Harper then boarded his campaign bus and headed to Brockville, Ont. joined by his wife, Laureen, and two children, Ben, 8, and Rachel, 5. Showing a softer, friendlier side, he offered a few jokes and warbled a few line of Elvis. "I hear the Liberal member of Parliament in this riding is an Elvis impersonator,'' Harper said, referring to MP Joe Jordan, a one-time Elvis impersonator. "That's good, because he's going to have four years to practise Heartbreak Hotel... 'Well, since my voters left me..,' " he sang to the noisy applause of a crowd of about 400. "I'd do Elvis more often, but I'm afraid it would lower my charisma," Harper quipped.

CTV.ca News Staff : Layton urges voters to make 'positive choice' - NDP leader Jack Layton is urging Canadian voters to choose change after more than a decade of scandal-ridden Liberal rule. "Maybe it's not time to reward the Paul Martin Liberals with four more years," said Layton. "If you do not trust the Liberals to handle your tax dollars, why would you vote for them again?" "It's time for integrity in government," he said. "It's time to make environmental progress and create jobs. And it's time to put hope back into politics in Canada."

         The New Democrats are hoping to capitalize on Layton's charisma and a handful of celebrity candidates, including former leader Ed Broadbent, who is running in the Ottawa-Centre riding. Surrounded by hundreds of sign-waving supporters, the 53-year-old Layton promised that the NDP is going to win "a lot more seats." "We're on the move in every region in this country," he said. He stressed that a vote for the NDP is "a positive choice." "For 20 years they have made politics about what we can't do together," Layton said of the Liberals and Conservatives. "It's time to make politics about what we can do together."
         As well as attacking the ruling Liberals, Layton also took a shot at Conservative leader Stephen Harper. "There are many reasons to disagree with Stephen Harper," he said. "He supports private for-profit health care delivery, he supports Star Wars missile defence, he's got no Kyoto plan and he's a reckless tax-cutter -- just like Paul Martin." Layton's chances of winning a majority government for the NDP may be slim, but that doesn't mean political power is beyond his grasp. If voters knock the ruling Liberals down to minority status, Layton and the NDP could hold the balance of power, allowing them to strike a deal with the Liberals.
         Canada has a history of Liberal- NDP partnership. Pierre Trudeau governed between 1972 and 1974 with the help of David Lewis' New Democrats, while Lester Pearson relied on NDP and Social Credit support while leading a minority government between 1963 and 1968. Minority governments have also been productive, creating legislation on medicare, the Canada Pension Plan and the Canada Assistance Plan for have-not provinces. Layton may be able to exact a price from Martin in exchange for NDP support. He'd likely demand a promise to hold a referendum on proportional representation, a plan that could drastically increase the number of NDP seats in future elections.

Les Élections Sont Proches (2004-Mai-18)

(Clement Allard, PC) - Alors que les sondages continuent de montrer l'avance du Bloc Québécois au Québec, le premier ministre Paul Martin a lancé, à midi, un vibrant appel aux Québécois. Devant plus de 500 personnes invitées par la Chambre de commerce de Laval, M. Martin a clairement et maintes fois répété qu'il avait besoin du Québec.
M. Martin s'est dit fier d'être Québécois, en soulignant que le Québec était un pionnier en matière sociale. Il a promis au Québec une place de choix dans les pourparlers internationaux sur les grands enjeux qui le touchent de près.

Il a aussi promis de trouver des solutions aux problèmes que posent les dossiers de la péréquation et des congés parentaux. Il affirme que les libéraux sont les mieux placés pour faire progresser la situation. En réaction préliminaire, le sénateur conservateur Pierre-Claude Nolin, s'est dit déçu que le premier ministre n'ait pas reconnu que le Québec est une société distincte.

         (Jacques Boissinot, PC) - Alors que Paul Martin dit aux Québécois que le Parti libéral a plus que jamais besoin d'eux, le chef bloquiste Gilles Duceppe lui réplique que le Québec n'a pas besoin de Paul Martin. La campagne électorale fédérale n'est pas encore déclenchée officiellement que déjà, les chefs en sont aux attaques plus incisives, signe que la campagne sera serrée et féroce au Québec. Le chef du Bloc québécois inaugurait officiellement ses locaux de candidat dans Laurier, lundi après-midi, sur le Plateau Mont-Royal. Son assemblée d'investiture devait se tenir en soirée. C'est à cette occasion qu'il rencontrait la presse et répliquait à l'allocution que venait de prononcer le chef libéral et premier ministre Paul Martin, devant la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Laval. M. Martin a alors répété à plusieurs reprises qu'il avait plus que jamais besoin du Québec.
         Quand on lui a rapporté en anglais ces propos de M. Martin, M. Duceppe a alors répliqué que "le Québec n'a pas besoin de lui, c'est ça le problème". Les libéraux, dit-il, sont au pouvoir depuis 10 ans et ils ont amplement eu le temps de répondre aux demandes des Québécois, ce qu'ils n'ont pas fait, soutient M. Duceppe. Et M. Martin "a eu six mois comme premier ministre pour faire les choses différemment de Jean Chrétien", ce qu'il n'a pas fait non plus, martèle M. Duceppe. Le chef bloquiste s'est d'ailleurs dit déçu du manque d'ouverture de M. Martin face aux demandes pressantes du premier ministre québécois Jean Charest sur le déséquilibre fiscal et le financement de la santé.
         Dimanche, le premier ministre du Québec Jean Charest a invité les chefs des principaux partis politiques sur la scène fédérale à dire comment ils régleraient la question du déséquilibre fiscal et de quelle façon ils assureraient un financement stable et à long terme du système de santé. Après avoir entendu un résumé de l'allocution de M. Martin sur la place du Québec au sein du Canada, M. Duceppe s'est dit désappointé de l'absence de réponse à l'invitation de M. Charest. "Il ne répond d'aucune façon aux demandes de M. Charest, ni sur le déséquilibre fiscal - strictement rien de nouveau à apporter - ni sur la santé, sauf qu'il rencontrera les premiers ministres un moment donné cet été, dit-il. Rien sur la péréquation sauf qu'il dit que ça le préoccupe. Rien sur les congés parentaux, alors qu'il a pris 45 milliards $ dans la caisse de l'assurance emploi. Strictement rien. Or, c'était sa première déclaration depuis 1995 sur la place du Québec. Et c'est loin de répondre aux besoins et aux demandes du premier ministre Charest", a déploré M. Duceppe.
         Le Bloc québécois n'a pas attendu le déclenchement officiel de la campagne pour présenter à la presse son autobus de campagne et son programme électoral. Quand les journalistes sont passés, des bénévoles s'affairaient déjà dans le local de l'avenue Mont-Royal, tapissé d'affiches du candidat et de néons en forme de fleur de lys.

VISITE DE JEAN CHAREST (2004-Mai-06)
Un Américain à Paris

Cyberpresse et Denis Lessard (La Presse) : Paris - Inventeurs de la diplomatie, les Français parlent couramment un langage hermétique pour bien des Nord-Américains, un code sans manuel, qui leur fait doser avec une habileté sans partage l'affection et la réserve. «Money talks», disent les Américains. En France, ce qui parle... c'est le détail. Pour sa première mission officielle en France, Jean Charest n'a pas échappé à cette loi. Ses trois sauts de puce à New York, et son séjour de 10 jours chez les Anglais et les Allemands, avant la visite aux cousins français, auraient pu froisser les mandarins du Quai d'Orsay, s'il n'avait pas reçu à Québec, rapidement après son élection, le premier ministre français, Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

Les diplomates français soulignaient que M. Charest avait eu tant d'égards «qu'il serait difficile de faire l'équivalent pour ceux qui suivront». Constat un peu rapide. Rien dans cette mission officielle qui soit équivalent à l'appui à l'entente du lac Meech donné par Michel Rocard à Robert Bourassa lors d'un somptueux banquet au Quai d'Orsay, en 1989. On était loin aussi de l'ascension solennelle de Jacques Parizeau dans l'escalier d'honneur de l'Assemblée nationale que lui avait ouvert, exceptionnellement, le président Philippe Séguin, dans un contexte préréférendaire. Lucien Bouchard, tout comme MM. Parizeau et Bourassa, avait pu prendre la parole devant des centaines de patrons français, conviés par l'équivalent gaulois du Conseil du patronat, le MEDEF. Hier, une trentaine seulement sont venus à un petit-déjeuner privé pour rencontrer M. Charest. [Photo Sympatico.Ca]

Dalai Lama lauds Canada's treatment of dissent (2004-Apr-25)

Canadian Press : OTTAWA — Canada's peaceful experience with referendums on its future has set an example for the world on successful political dissent, says the Dalai Lama. Two votes on the future of Quebec in Canada that proceeded without violence have shown how a mature democracy can cope with change, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said in an interview Saturday with The Canadian Press. Similar political patience must also be applied elsewhere in the world, he said, including Tibet where the Dalai Lama has long struggled for cultural and religious autonomy from China. "Canada's maturity in democracy was really displayed when there was a Quebec referendum and how that crisis was handled, the 68-year-old Buddhist monk said through a translator. "There were not shots, no arrests," he added in English. "Just give people free choice -- I think that's a wonderful thing. And it's a real indication of patience."

Many of the lama's followers are growing impatient, however, in their demands for autonomy from China, which sent troops into Tibet in 1951. The Dalai Lama himself fled in 1959 and has since lived in exile, travelling the world to promote peaceful, patient change, greater attention by the world to human rights and religious tolerance. Almost mid-way through a 19-day visit to Canada, he attracted more than 10,000 listeners Saturday afternoon to the Ottawa Civic Centre, where locally-born singer Alanis Morissette sang three songs and then introduced the Dalai Lama as a man of "vision, warmth, humour and grace." While his 75-minute address focused primarily on spirituality and the quest for inner peace, the afternoon began with an overtly political message from the Canada Tibet Committee. "Canadians can make a difference for Tibet," said an introductory video. "When a peaceful movement prevails, war loses." The closest the Dalai Lama came to a political statement was during a question-and-answer session at the end of his address, when he decried the violent wars that marked the 20th century. "This century should be the century of dialogue," he said to applause.

China has argued that Ottawa -- because of some Quebecers' aspirations for independence -- should be more sensitive to Beijing's concerns. But the Dalai Lama insists he doesn't seek an independent Tibet, but rather autonomy to cultivate its ancient culture and religious beliefs. Change is coming slowly within China. Canadians can help but shouldn't try to rush matters by demanding too much of Beijing, he said in the interview. That means Canadians and their government should speak out wherever possible on the importance of protecting human rights but not take more "antagonistic" steps such as threatening trade sanctions or withholding aid. "When it comes to Canada's own matters, you have the ability to have patience," he said, referring to Canadians' willingness to allow Quebec to vote on its future. "But when it comes to the outside world, you don't have patience. It's the opposite," he added with his distinctive chuckle. The Dalai Lama wouldn't say much about his brief meeting with the prime minister beyond the fact it was "very good," and focused on promoting human rights. "The prime minister showed his concerns about the human rights situation in general, and in particular in Tibet."
Friday's meeting included about two dozen spiritual and civic leaders. It was held at the home of Ottawa's Roman Catholic archbishop to emphasize the spiritual rather than political nature of the session in deference to China's concerns. Canada should continue using its ties with China to continually emphasize the importance of protecting human rights, said the Dalai Lama. China "is not yet" ready to seriously discuss more freedoms for Tibet, he added. But the massive state is slowly changing, showing more concern for world opinion and more interest in environmental issues such as the impact of deforestation, he said. He believes more openness and freedom will follow. "Because of their own awareness, because of their own experience, things are changing," said the Dalai Lama. "So democracy, rule of law, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, open information -- these things will come. "I think every Chinese friend in the world can help them. Remind them, remind them, remind them: it is their own interest (to change)." [Sympatico.Ca]