The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The fall federal election campaign ending was certainly one of the strangest ever held. The Conservatives led the polling from day one. The NDP and Liberals battled for runner-up, with both their leaders saying they wanted to be Prime Minister and trying to play up suspicion over Stephen Harper. The Bloc Quebecois tried to be the spoiler and to hold onto their seats. Gilles Duceppe even made a speech in Toronto attacking Harper even though his party doesnÕt run anyone outside Quebec. Duceppe desperately wanted a minority, as he has no influence in a majority government. Jack Layton was his usual arrogant and slick salesman type, continuing to repeat that he wants to be Prime Minister, and in doing so scaring a lot of people. He reverted to the old socialist policy of Òtax the richÓ, saying he would eliminate HarperÕs tax cuts for business. You donÕt need to be an economist to know what would happen if that occurred. Businesses would simply pass the increase on to the consumers, lay off workers or go out of business. Layton also promised to immediately bring our troops home from Afghanistan, which of course would alienate our NATO allies in the fight and violate a parliamentary decision to stay until 2011. Stphane Dion, as expected, provided pathetic leadership, even though expectations surrounding him were low. He continued to emphasize his ÒGreen ShaftÓ proposal, which very few accepted, particularly his assertion it would be revenue neutral. This would not be the case, and DionÕs plan certainly would not have lowered CanadaÕs greenhouse gas emissions, which are only a small percentage of the worldÕs output. Dion switched to an economic plan to combat the supposed economic problems spilling over from the U.S., but few paid much attention except the Liberal-loving Eastern press and the CBC, who seemed to feel sorry for the Liberal non-leader. In the debates, Eastern pundits crowed about how well Dion did in the French debate and mused about how well he would do in the English contest. But he really finished last in the English one, as he was attacked by Harper and Layton for his mispolicies and did not have the English skills to properly reply. Elizabeth May? She was applauded by the press for her intellect and attacks on Harper, but she showed her lack of skills in French and also that the Greenies have no policies other than the environment. She was really just another Liberal candidate. At least she did not claim that she would be Prime Minister. The strangest events ever took place in this contest, with a record for apologies as several candidates made gaffes and others were crucified for past sins. Two NDP candidates in B.C. were dropped, one for smoking dope and the other for taking off his clothes in front of minors at a camp in 1996. A third from Ontario apologized for obscene Internet postings supporting U.S. war deserters. Winnipeg Liberal candidate Leslie Hughes was fired by Dion because of an article she wrote years ago that supported the 911 conspiracy theory. She claimed Israeli businesses at the World Trade Centre had advance knowledge of the attacks, deserting their offices and not warning the others. The widely discredited theory proposed also that Israel wanted the attack and the U.S. response on its enemies among the Arab nations. Jewish leaders were not impressed by HughesÕ apologies and demanded that Dion drop her, which he quickly did. She could not win anyway. The Conservatives had their share of gaffes, too. A Harper speechwriter resigned after plagiarizing a speech the future PM gave in 2003. Several candidates, including ministers Lawrence Cannon and Gerry Ritz, apologized for things they or their staffers said. The funniest one was HarperÕs apology for a Tory website image that showed a puffin crapping on Dion. The press made a lot of noise over these incidents, and many expressed amazement that they did not have a major affect on the election. What will they think of and report on next? RogerÕs Right Corner runs Wednesdays.
