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percy · 02-10-2006, 01:42 PM

Sorry here are a couple of links. Forgot to add them. There are more stories but they can be goggled

NEWS STORY

Liberal campaign in "disarray" critics charge

Allan Woods and Peter O'Neil
CanWest News Service

Thursday, January 12, 2006

CREDIT: Canada.com
A screen shot from one of the Liberal Party's new campaign ads, calling Stephen Harper "Bush's new best friend."

OTTAWA -- Liberal policy leaks and negative advertising show that Prime Minister Paul Martin's re-election campaign is in "disarray" and that the Grits should be removed from office on Jan. 23, critics said Wednesday.

The day began badly for the Liberals when three Conservative MPs, speaking ahead of the official release of the Liberal Red Book, read from an identical version that appeared hours earlier on the website of a conservative magazine, the Western Standard.

The MPs called the Liberals' accounting into question noting the platform fails to account for $14.2 billion in campaign promises and makes no mention of Martin's bombshell Constitutional promise to remove the notwithstanding clause from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Conservatives said this is proof the Liberals are creating policy on the fly.

"You're making it up as you go along," said Alberta Conservative Monte Solberg. "The Liberal party is in disarray, and day-by-day they Liberals are proving why we need a change of government."

The Liberals also continued to be hammered Wednesday for a negative advertisement attacking the Conservative party's defence policy.

The ad said: "Stephen Harper actually announced he wants to increase military presence in our cities. Canadian cities. Soldiers with guns. In our cities. In Canada. We did not make this up."

Harper said the Liberals owe an apology to Canada's present and past soldiers. "It's not only angered our soldiers and our veterans. But it raises serious credibility questions. Who believes this?" Harper said.
At a raucous rally in Woodstock, N.B,, Harper intensified his criticism of the Liberal ads, saying they abuse the "brave" men and women serving in the Canadian Forces.

"A prime minister of Canada should never run an ad that directly or indirectly badly reflects on the military of this country," he told the cheering crowd. "Our opponent has. I will never do that."

The ad, which was posted on the Liberal party website Tuesday, was quickly pulled. But reports emerged Wednesday afternoon the ad was still being aired in Quebec. It was also still available on the Internet.

Many soldiers, sailors and airmen were incensed at the suggestion the Canadian Forces would be used to impose some form of martial law, but others found it an amusing comment on the lack of knowledge on defence issues in Liberal party ranks. "Where would we get the soldiers? Where would we get the guns?" asked one officer, who asked not to be named. "Haven't these guys been reading their own policies?"

Douglas Bland, chairman of defence management studies at Queen's University, said whomever produced the advertisement clearly had not read the government's initiative to add another 3,000 soldiers to the army reserve, part-time troops based in almost every major city across Canada.

"The Canadian Forces are already in our towns -- our militia and reservists," he said. "They do good deeds there and the Liberal government has until now supported and praised the reserves and their policy is to increase troops in the cities by increasing the reserves."

Peter Hunter, a retired army colonel and co-chairman of the lobby group Reserves 2000, called the Liberal ad "a very cheap shot" and pointed out there are 15 regiments and nearly 1,500 reserve soldiers in the Toronto area alone.

He said reservists have been instrumental in helping with the aftermath of crises such as the 1998 ice storm in Ontario and flooding in Quebec and Manitoba. "They're there to protect the people if the need arises," he said. "You've got to have soldiers there, even armed soldiers, to respond to emergencies."
Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie, a former Progressive Conservative candidate, said in an interview the ad, which he viewed on the Internet, "took my breath away."

"I can't imagine anyone being dumb enough to use the soldiers as a wedge issue while we have a fairly high-profile mission going on in a foreign country and ... portraying them as some sort of gestapo on a street corner with weapons," he said.

Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay described the ads as an attempt to "demonize and distort" Harper, which he said is not working.

"But it's almost as if people have seen this scary movie before so they know all the scary parts, and they're not scary. The monster doesn't exist," he said from Antigonish, N.S.

New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton ridiculed Liberal scare tactics saying Martin is resorting to "threats" and "manipulations" in debates and TV ads.

Martin "has nothing left to say to Canadians other than to tell them that unless they vote Liberal, the sun will not rise, spring will not come, and volcanoes will destroy the Earth" if Liberals aren't re-elected, Layton said in his written speech. "I don't think that's going to work this time Paul."

Speaking to reporters in Toronto, Martin defended his attack on Harper's Conservatives and suggestions there is a hidden social agenda.

Two Liberal cabinet ministers also dismissed Conservative calls Wednesday for an apology.

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Social Development Minister Ken Dryden said in separate interviews, early Wednesday, no harm was done because the ads never aired, which they said renders Tory complaints baseless.

"I don't think they should try to do politics on something that did not happen," said Pettigrew. "We have the highest respect for our military."

Dryden said it's inappropriate to make comments on an ad that didn't run.

"It's that time of the campaign where people are looking to be as inflammatory as possible," said Dryden, an Ontario MP who was once a star goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens.

CanWest News Service/Vancouver Sun/with files from Mike Blanchfield (Ottawa Citizen), Chris Wattie (National Post)

© CanWest News Service 2006

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/natio...a-7b4e56be9d5c

Ad wasn't an attack on military: Paul Martin
Updated Thu. Jan. 12 2006 2:52 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Paul Martin defended the series of controversial ads his Liberal Party unleashed this week and continued his attack on Stephen Harper, painting him as a leader who subscribes to a far right-wing ideology.

In an interview Thursday morning on CTV's Canada AM, Martin said he approved every one of the harshly critical ads -- including one that suggested the Tory Leader would use the military to occupy Canadian cities.

The ad did not air and was pulled from the party's website within hours of being posted. But Martin said the ad was lifted simply because he didn't think it was very good.

But later Thursday, Liberal MP Keith Martin took a far more critical tone, calling the ad "appalling" before apologizing to members of the military who were offended by it.

"Some idiot inadvertently sent out an ad that was not approved and not supported by the party with the 11 (ads) that were supported," Martin told CP. His riding includes CFB Esquimalt, the headquarters of Canada's Pacific naval fleet.

Paul Martin stressed, however, that the ad wasn't meant to target soldiers, and that his party is a defender of the military.

"I've probably put more money into the military than almost any prime minister," said Martin on Canada AM, in his most comprehensive remarks regarding defence during this campaign thus far.

He said the Tory Leader's plan to increase military presence in Canadian cities so soldiers can be on hand to help in emergencies would create a logistical nightmare.

He quoted chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, as saying: "I want to have a Canada Command. I want to be able to really have top-flight soldiers in top-flight positions with top-flight equipment."

Martin added: "You can't do that if it's spread out all across the country."

He then spoke on the difference in values that exists between his policies and those of the Tory Leader.

"(Harper) said that his views have not changed in 10 years. So if you take a look at our ads, what we have simply done is said, 'this is what Stephen Harper has said'," Martin told Canada AM co-host Beverly Thomson.

The Liberal Leader pointed to a speech that Harper gave in 1997 to the Council for National Policy, a right wing American think tank, in which he referred to Canada as a "northern European welfare state, in the worst sense of the term."

"Those are his words," said Martin. "He has said those are still his views. He said Canada was second rate -- that was his view."

The Conservatives have claimed that those comments, including one in which Harper told U.S. conservatives that their movement was a "a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world," were meant to be "tongue-in-cheek."

But Martin said those statements are indicative of the far right views harboured by the Tory Leader. "I don't share the views of the far right Conservative groups in the United States. And so that's the chasm between us and that's where the debate should take place," said Martin.

The Liberal Leader then took a series of questions from Canadians on a wide-range of topics. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...e=election2006

And call me crazy, but I'm sure I saw the ads with tanks in the streets saying something like, "Is this the Canada you want?"

02-10-2006, 01:42 PM	#23 (permalink)
percy Addict	Sorry here are a couple of links. Forgot to add them. There are more stories but they can be goggled NEWS STORY Liberal campaign in "disarray" critics charge Allan Woods and Peter O'Neil CanWest News Service Thursday, January 12, 2006 CREDIT: Canada.com A screen shot from one of the Liberal Party's new campaign ads, calling Stephen Harper "Bush's new best friend." OTTAWA -- Liberal policy leaks and negative advertising show that Prime Minister Paul Martin's re-election campaign is in "disarray" and that the Grits should be removed from office on Jan. 23, critics said Wednesday. The day began badly for the Liberals when three Conservative MPs, speaking ahead of the official release of the Liberal Red Book, read from an identical version that appeared hours earlier on the website of a conservative magazine, the Western Standard. The MPs called the Liberals' accounting into question noting the platform fails to account for $14.2 billion in campaign promises and makes no mention of Martin's bombshell Constitutional promise to remove the notwithstanding clause from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Conservatives said this is proof the Liberals are creating policy on the fly. "You're making it up as you go along," said Alberta Conservative Monte Solberg. "The Liberal party is in disarray, and day-by-day they Liberals are proving why we need a change of government." The Liberals also continued to be hammered Wednesday for a negative advertisement attacking the Conservative party's defence policy. The ad said: "Stephen Harper actually announced he wants to increase military presence in our cities. Canadian cities. Soldiers with guns. In our cities. In Canada. We did not make this up." Harper said the Liberals owe an apology to Canada's present and past soldiers. "It's not only angered our soldiers and our veterans. But it raises serious credibility questions. Who believes this?" Harper said. At a raucous rally in Woodstock, N.B,, Harper intensified his criticism of the Liberal ads, saying they abuse the "brave" men and women serving in the Canadian Forces. "A prime minister of Canada should never run an ad that directly or indirectly badly reflects on the military of this country," he told the cheering crowd. "Our opponent has. I will never do that." The ad, which was posted on the Liberal party website Tuesday, was quickly pulled. But reports emerged Wednesday afternoon the ad was still being aired in Quebec. It was also still available on the Internet. Many soldiers, sailors and airmen were incensed at the suggestion the Canadian Forces would be used to impose some form of martial law, but others found it an amusing comment on the lack of knowledge on defence issues in Liberal party ranks. "Where would we get the soldiers? Where would we get the guns?" asked one officer, who asked not to be named. "Haven't these guys been reading their own policies?" Douglas Bland, chairman of defence management studies at Queen's University, said whomever produced the advertisement clearly had not read the government's initiative to add another 3,000 soldiers to the army reserve, part-time troops based in almost every major city across Canada. "The Canadian Forces are already in our towns -- our militia and reservists," he said. "They do good deeds there and the Liberal government has until now supported and praised the reserves and their policy is to increase troops in the cities by increasing the reserves." Peter Hunter, a retired army colonel and co-chairman of the lobby group Reserves 2000, called the Liberal ad "a very cheap shot" and pointed out there are 15 regiments and nearly 1,500 reserve soldiers in the Toronto area alone. He said reservists have been instrumental in helping with the aftermath of crises such as the 1998 ice storm in Ontario and flooding in Quebec and Manitoba. "They're there to protect the people if the need arises," he said. "You've got to have soldiers there, even armed soldiers, to respond to emergencies." Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie, a former Progressive Conservative candidate, said in an interview the ad, which he viewed on the Internet, "took my breath away." "I can't imagine anyone being dumb enough to use the soldiers as a wedge issue while we have a fairly high-profile mission going on in a foreign country and ... portraying them as some sort of gestapo on a street corner with weapons," he said. Deputy Conservative leader Peter MacKay described the ads as an attempt to "demonize and distort" Harper, which he said is not working. "But it's almost as if people have seen this scary movie before so they know all the scary parts, and they're not scary. The monster doesn't exist," he said from Antigonish, N.S. New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton ridiculed Liberal scare tactics saying Martin is resorting to "threats" and "manipulations" in debates and TV ads. Martin "has nothing left to say to Canadians other than to tell them that unless they vote Liberal, the sun will not rise, spring will not come, and volcanoes will destroy the Earth" if Liberals aren't re-elected, Layton said in his written speech. "I don't think that's going to work this time Paul." Speaking to reporters in Toronto, Martin defended his attack on Harper's Conservatives and suggestions there is a hidden social agenda. Two Liberal cabinet ministers also dismissed Conservative calls Wednesday for an apology. Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Social Development Minister Ken Dryden said in separate interviews, early Wednesday, no harm was done because the ads never aired, which they said renders Tory complaints baseless. "I don't think they should try to do politics on something that did not happen," said Pettigrew. "We have the highest respect for our military." Dryden said it's inappropriate to make comments on an ad that didn't run. "It's that time of the campaign where people are looking to be as inflammatory as possible," said Dryden, an Ontario MP who was once a star goaltender with the Montreal Canadiens. CanWest News Service/Vancouver Sun/with files from Mike Blanchfield (Ottawa Citizen), Chris Wattie (National Post) © CanWest News Service 2006 http://www.canada.com/globaltv/natio...a-7b4e56be9d5c Ad wasn't an attack on military: Paul Martin Updated Thu. Jan. 12 2006 2:52 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Paul Martin defended the series of controversial ads his Liberal Party unleashed this week and continued his attack on Stephen Harper, painting him as a leader who subscribes to a far right-wing ideology. In an interview Thursday morning on CTV's Canada AM, Martin said he approved every one of the harshly critical ads -- including one that suggested the Tory Leader would use the military to occupy Canadian cities. The ad did not air and was pulled from the party's website within hours of being posted. But Martin said the ad was lifted simply because he didn't think it was very good. But later Thursday, Liberal MP Keith Martin took a far more critical tone, calling the ad "appalling" before apologizing to members of the military who were offended by it. "Some idiot inadvertently sent out an ad that was not approved and not supported by the party with the 11 (ads) that were supported," Martin told CP. His riding includes CFB Esquimalt, the headquarters of Canada's Pacific naval fleet. Paul Martin stressed, however, that the ad wasn't meant to target soldiers, and that his party is a defender of the military. "I've probably put more money into the military than almost any prime minister," said Martin on Canada AM, in his most comprehensive remarks regarding defence during this campaign thus far. He said the Tory Leader's plan to increase military presence in Canadian cities so soldiers can be on hand to help in emergencies would create a logistical nightmare. He quoted chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, as saying: "I want to have a Canada Command. I want to be able to really have top-flight soldiers in top-flight positions with top-flight equipment." Martin added: "You can't do that if it's spread out all across the country." He then spoke on the difference in values that exists between his policies and those of the Tory Leader. "(Harper) said that his views have not changed in 10 years. So if you take a look at our ads, what we have simply done is said, 'this is what Stephen Harper has said'," Martin told Canada AM co-host Beverly Thomson. The Liberal Leader pointed to a speech that Harper gave in 1997 to the Council for National Policy, a right wing American think tank, in which he referred to Canada as a "northern European welfare state, in the worst sense of the term." "Those are his words," said Martin. "He has said those are still his views. He said Canada was second rate -- that was his view." The Conservatives have claimed that those comments, including one in which Harper told U.S. conservatives that their movement was a "a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world," were meant to be "tongue-in-cheek." But Martin said those statements are indicative of the far right views harboured by the Tory Leader. "I don't share the views of the far right Conservative groups in the United States. And so that's the chasm between us and that's where the debate should take place," said Martin. The Liberal Leader then took a series of questions from Canadians on a wide-range of topics. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...e=election2006 And call me crazy, but I'm sure I saw the ads with tanks in the streets saying something like, "Is this the Canada you want?" Last edited by percy; 02-10-2006 at 01:46 PM..