Once Again, Conservatives Deceive Canadians

The current Harper Conservative government is not being accountable to Canadians, once again. Harper's ministers continue to blatantly distribute information that is not factual. Take for example the recent comments by Gerry Ritz the Minister of Agriculture. He actually stated in a public setting that Western Grain farmers were receiving half of what their colleagues in the East were receiving. This is factually incorrect and a blatant attempt to mislead the public. The facts speak for themselves - I ask you to read the following release and decide for yourself what the truth is.

Will the Minister apologize?

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz Misleading Parliament on Wheat Prices
March 12, 2008
http://www.liberal.ca/story_13715_e.aspx

OTTAWA – Conservative Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is misleading Parliament about wheat pricing in an effort to undermine the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), Liberal Agriculture Critic Wayne Easter said today.

“On March 10, 2008, the Minister stated that producers in PEI were receiving $600 per tonne for milling wheat while those in Saskatchewan under the Canadian Wheat Board were receiving ‘half that,’” said Mr. Easter.

“This statement is blatantly false. Under the CWB’s Basis Price Contract Program, farmers could have availed themselves of prices ranging above $700 per tonne in the month of February.”

Mr. Easter pointed out that as the Minister responsible for the Wheat Board, Mr. Ritz has access to this information and therefore has a duty to be honest about the pricing programs of the CWB.

“Unfortunately, just like his fellow Conservative MPs, the Minister isn’t interested in letting the facts get in the way of his ideological quest to undermine the Canadian Wheat Board,” he said.

“Mr. Ritz is just as wrong on this issue as he is in believing that the majority of farmers in Western Canada support the elimination of the Wheat Board. At a minimum, the Minister owes western grain farmers and the Canadian Wheat Board an apology.”

Signed,
Susan Whelan

Abuse of Taxpayers Money

Tonight, I arrived home to a mail box stuffed with propaganda pieces disguised as government information fliers, otherwise known as ten per centers.

The source of this material, which held no relevance other than strictly promoting partisan views….Jeff Watson, the MP for Essex. The funding for these fliers is you, the hardworking Canadian taxpayer. I am writing this blog tonight in outrage at the absolute abuse of your taxpayer’s money.

Ten per centers, or information fliers, issued by MPs and paid for by the taxpayers of this country are meant to provide constituents with information on government programs, policies and services. They can also be used to provide information on what your MP has been doing to represent the riding. Legally and ethically, however, these pieces are NOT supposed to be used as political campaign fliers or tools. Nor are they supposed to mislead people, or dole out false information and accusations. But tonight that is exactly what I found.

Now this is not the first time that I have found the information to be misleading or slanted, but to purposely misinform people – and having the people pay for it…literally – is what angers me to the point of blogging it here.

Also this week, there were some serious ethical and moral infringements brought up concerning the possible bribing of an independent member of parliament to sway a vote in the House of Commons. This is a serious matter that needs to be addressed and of course, Liberals are deeply concerned, so they asked the RCMP to investigate the matter. As an opposition party, it is our duty to the citizens of this country to ask tough questions – and to ensure that the government of the day is doing its job fairly and just. Yet, after receiving misleading and false information in the mail – again, at your expense, the leader of the Conservative party, Stephen Harper, Canada’s Prime Minister and Jeff Watson’s boss, has the nerve to suggest that he will file a lawsuit against prominent liberals to prevent them from speaking out. Is it purely ironic and hypocritical that Stephen Harper’s own caucus member has deliberately provided information that is false, and sent it to thousands of taxpayers at their own expense?

Needless to say, given the recent blanketing of ill-informed fliers, I feel the need to set the record straight:

It is absolutely false to suggest Stephane Dion will raise the GST. This is not true and Jeff Watson knows it.

It is absolutely false to suggest that Stephane Dion’s plan would plunge Canada into deficit and raise taxes. This is not true and Jeff Watson knows it.

It is also false, in my opinion, to suggest that Harper has restored confidence in the economy by cutting taxes, paying down the debt and investing in the priorities of all Canadians. In fact it was the previous Liberal Government, with the help of all Canadians, that balanced the books, ended the deficit and created the opportunity for new investments for Canadians. What is absolutely factual is that it was the previous Conservative Government that left Canada with a 42 billion dollar annual deficit and the largest national debt in the history of this country. Perhaps it is time to remind all Canadians that prior to 2006, the last time a Conservative Government actually balanced the books was in 1912.

It’s fact and not fiction that should be sent out to the public. Let the facts speak for themselves.

Signed,
Susan Whelan