MP blasts Tories over Throne Speech plans and Liberals over sliding principles

The environment has long been main focus of Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen's time in Parliament. So it's not surprising that he would have a rather poor impression of the Conservatives thoughts on the environment, as delivered in the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday.

Cullen correctly points his finger at the Liberals for some culpability, as they scramble to avoid an election at all costs and seemingly at the expense of many of their once Holy Grails of Liberalism.

It's been a clever plan hatched by the Conservatives heading into the new session of Parliament, they are barging ahead with a much more aggressive agenda, more than aware of the problems that lurk within the opposition parties and in the necessity of the Liberals to avoid an election at all costs until they can regain control of their fractious party.

It leaves the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois in their traditional spots of providing the voice of opposition to the Conservatives, while the Liberals vacillate on where they want to stand and what they want to do.

Cullen outlined a number of his concerns about the Conservative blue print for the coming Parliament, they were collected and provided as the front page story in Wednesday's Daily News.

MP ANGRY AS TORIES THROW OUT KYOTO IN THRONE SPEECH
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Pages one and three

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen was disappointed but not surprised when the Conservatives abandon Canada's Kyoto commitments in the throne speech yesterday, and he expects the Liberals to do likewise to avoid an election.

"If you don't do something about it for 13 years, and then do even less for 10 years, it's hard to do something about it at the last moment," said Cullen, who is also the NDPs environment critic.

"It's incredible but all indications are the Liberals are going to just throw away one of the few things Stephane Dion supposedly believes in."

He expects the Liberals will not show up when it comes to the vote. The country is 76 days away from the compliance period of the Kyoto Protocol.

"It is now widely understood that, because of inaction on greenhouse gases over the last decade, Canada's emissions cannot be brought to the level required under the Kyoto Protocol ..." reads the speech that delivered the Conservative's agenda.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has staked his reputation on his record as environment minister and on his passionate defence of the Kyoto Protocol - he even named his dog after the pact. Up until now, the Liberals have continued to insist that Canada should make every effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

Cullen criticized the speech for containing little substance and failing to address the concerns of middle and lower income Canadians, such as child care and housing.

'They say they are for the middle class but it doesn't come out in the wash," he said. "They seem to have an ideology bent against all reasonable conversation."

The Conservatives also pledged to take a stand for Canada's fishery. Cullen hopes they actually follow through.

"Our fishing industry in the Northwest is in huge trouble," he said. "Words are not going to do it. We need some action."

In the throne speech, the minority government Conservatives also said Canada should stay directly involved in Afghanistan until at least 2011.

The new proposed deadline is two years beyond the current mandate approved by Parliament and repeats Prime Minister Stephen Harper's promise to put the future of the mission to a vote in the House of Commons.

The speech also tied Canada's eventual exit strategy from Afghanistan to the training of Afghan security forces, including the army and police, and their ability to stand on their own two feet in order to face threats from Taliban insurgents.

"This will not be completed by February 2009, but our government believes this objective should be achievable by 2011."

To Canadians already weary of war following the deaths of 71 soldiers and one diplomat, the Conservatives tried to steel public opinion to the road ahead.

"Progress will be slow, but our efforts are bearing fruit."

The throne speech declaration will likely also push the Liberals, who've called for an end to the combat mission on schedule, into a political corner.

With files from Canadian Press

Setting the snare?

We’re not sure if the Prime Minister is the hunting or trapping type. Somehow we doubt that he would be caught in a less than flattering picture, quietly sitting in a duck blind, decked out in an Elmer Fudd hat and hi viz vest ready to blast away.

But setting a trap or two, well now, perhaps there may be some old time Hudson’s Bay company blood in the guy most associated with Bay Street and Calgary’s Oil towers.

Later today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil his agenda for the upcoming session of Parliament, with a prime time presentation of the pomp and ceremony of the Speech from the Throne, which if it were to be one of those movie block busters would be subtitled: The Conservative Way.

In order to achieve the best possible coverage in vote rich central Canada, the presentation will get under way at 6:35 ET, 3:35 PT with the arrival of Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who will summon the MP's to return to work, no doubt fully refreshed from their four month summer vacation.

The Throne Speech of a minority Parliament isn’t so much the blue print of the government’s plans, as it is the Utopian dreams of what a government would like to do, if only that pesky opposition gang would get out of the way.

This Throne speech however, may be one that lays out a few snares or mines, ready to force the hand of the opposition parties.

Without even hearing a word, it’s a safe bet that the NDP will not offer up its support to Mr. Harper's plans and one has to wonder about what the calculations are over at the Bloc offices today, as they try to decide if they should tempt the fates of an election or hunker down in the BQ bunkers for another raucous session.

The NDP is fairly secure in their message, support and leadership at the moment. They are anxious to see if they can capitalize (if a socialist party dares to use such a term) on the current malaise with the Liberals in the larger centers. The same can’t be said for the Bloc,which has seen the Conservatives continue to make inroads in their strongholds and grow stronger with each poll in Quebec.

While the number three and four parties weight their options, what really matters is where Liberal leader Stephane Dion will weigh in on the issue.

For Stephane Dion’s gang, the rifts in his party have seemingly not healed from the Chretien/Martin years, let alone from last years Liberal convention. The release this week of the Chretien memoirs about his time as Prime Minister, should only serve to re-energize the animosity between those two camps putting Dion in a most uncomfortable and unwanted spot.

Even worse for him at the moment was the praise heaped upon him in print by Uncle Jean, who pointed out in his book, that he likes Stephane and preferred that he was the one to take the leadership. It was most likely a heartfelt sentiment, if at the same concerted effort to stick it to the Martinites one more time. But it was not particularly helpful to the concept of uniting a rather fractious party, heading into a possible election.

All of which is music to the ears of Stephen Harper. While the Conservatives have found a wee bit of upward traction in the polls of late, there isn’t enough to guarantee a majority government any time soon. Normally that is a warning bell to avoid going to the polls, but in this case there may be no better time than now.

In effect, with his Throne Speech Harper can govern as though he has a majority. Putting forward a more aggressive agenda designed to form the basis of a Conservative election platform. One which will most likely be sugar coated with tax cuts for the middle class and an agenda (soon to be electoral talking points?) of addressing the concerns of his core group of supporters, all the while taking advantage of an opposition that has more than few problems to deal with internally.

The Globe and Mail suggests that there is no “poison pill” to be put forward with today’s speech, which if correct, could guarantee a minority government until early at least the first few months of 2008 and the budget vote.

Then again, the Liberals may have retrenched by that time and the Bloc found yet another issue to bounce back with, to spark the passions of their supporters of years gone by. Timing is everything in politics, the key is to know when to take your chance with the people.

Today's speech has been called by some as perhaps the defining moment of Stephen Harper's Prime Ministership, his chance to issue a battle cry to his supporters and to dare the opposition to topple his government if they dare.

It will be interesting to hear his plans, watch his maneuvering and most importantly gauge the reaction of the opposition, who are guaranteed to find something to dislike in this speech.

The question is whether they are ready to topple the government, at the risk of giving them a larger mandate six weeks from now?