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Saturday, February 13, 2010 4:20 PM EST
Harper lauds ceremonies as 'greatest show' he's ever seen
Jane Taber
For Stephen Harper, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games last night was the “greatest show” he has ever seen in his life.
Mr. Harper is in Vancouver today having had to cancel a planned trip to Whistler to watch the Olympic men’s downhill skiing in which Canadian skier Manuel Osborne Paradis has a chance at a Gold medal.
The alpine skiing marquee event was postponed until Monday because of poor weather conditions.
“What can I say? “Certainly, last night (was) the greatest show I have seen in my life, ” he said, referring to the ceremonies that CTV is reporting has set a record as the most-watched television event ever in Canadian history.
Mr. Harper made his comments as violent protests were taking place several blocks away from the meeting.
The security is tight around the Prime Minister; there was no sign of any protesters where he was.
More than 13 million Canadians tuned in Friday night, breaking the record 10.3 million who watched the men’s Gold medal hockey game at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake.
Mr. Harper attended the ceremony with his wife, Laureen, and their two children. And he looked like he was enjoying himself, waving to the athletes, beating the drums supplied by the organizers to the spectators and clapping along to the music.
“And now that the attention all turns to the athletes … I’m sure we’ll see some wonderful stories unfold,” he said.
He said he plans to take in other events during the course of the Games.
He’s making no predictions, however, on the outcome of the premiere event - the men’s gold medal hockey game.
“Canada,” he said when asked who will be in the game. Mr. Putin [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin], I can assure you that Mr. Putin is convinced it will be Russia also … I’ll just stick with cheering on Canada.”
The Prime Minister has been in the province since last Wednesday; he addressed the B.C. legislature last Thursday, on the eve of the opening of the Olympic Games.
He is expected to leave tomorrow and return later in the Games.
He met this morning with the Secretary General of the Francophonie Abdou Diouf, the former President of Senegal.
The two spoke about bilingualism at the Games and also about francophone issues around the G-20. The Prime Minister is the host of the G-8 and G-20 summits this summer.
Meanwhile, Mr. Harper is to meet later this afternoon with U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden.
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Friday, February 12, 2010 6:13 PM EST
Chrétien chides Harper for attack on top bank executive
Jane Taber
VANCOUVER – Jean Chrétien says he locked horns with political rivals and the occasional protester but never a private citizen.
The former Liberal prime minister was reacting to aggressive Harper Conservative attack on TD Bank chief executive Ed Clark over his suggestions that raising taxes is the best way to reduce Canada’s huge federal deficit.
Referring to the 1996 incident in which he pushed a protester out of the way during a Flag Day celebration in Quebec, Mr. Chrétien told The Globe today: “You know I took on the politicians and the protesters, and grabbed them by the throat, but I never attacked individuals for expressing economic views. ... I did not do that.”
Mr. Chrétien and his wife, Aline, are here for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games. He was prime minister when Vancouver won its bid; in fact, he travelled at the last minute to Prague – where the bid was being decided – to lobby for Vancouver.
The couple is also hoping to see some figure skating, speed skating and the mogul skiing tomorrow.
The controversy over the criticism of Mr. Clark surfaced this week after the Conservatives reacted to a statements by the highly-regarded bank executive. Mr. Clark said Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t listening to the overwhelming view of Canadian CEOs that tax increases are the best way to reduce the record deficit.
The Conservatives sent out an internal e-mail titled “Millionaire Ignatieff Economic Czar Calls for Higher Taxes.” Increasingly, Mr. Harper’s team is trying to link anyone who calls for higher taxes to Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals.
“We can be pretty sure that in the coming months he will use the statements from his well-heeled economic advisers to justify his plans for massive new tax hikes on working- and middle-class Canadians,” the Tory e-mail said, adding that Mr. Clark earned $11-million in 2009. “He can afford higher taxes. Can you?”
Mr. Ignatieff has ruled out raising taxes. And he has asked the Prime Minister to apologize to Mr. Clark, criticizing the Tories for attacking private citizens.
Friday, February 12, 2010 6:21 PM EST
It's Games on for Harper's youngest cabinet minister
Jane Taber
VANCOUVER – James Moore was born in 1976, the year Canada first played host to the Olympics. Now, Mr. Moore is not only the youngest member of the Harper cabinet but, as Heritage Minister, he is the man in charge of Vancouver’s Winter Games.
It is the biggest event in his lifetime. “We need to get this right,” he says.
He hopes they have – a $1.3-billion investment in athletes, infrastructure and cultural events, including the Olympic Torch Relay and security from the federal government; about $24-million from the federal government for its portion of the opening ceremonies.
He says Vancouver has never looked better; the energy and enthusiasm is palpable.
But the pressure is on. Three billion people will watch the opening ceremonies; the city is full of tourists, athletes, government officials and business executives from around the world.
The quality of these Games and the impression they leave on the world is as crucial for Canada’s reputation abroad as it is for his government’s reputation domestically.
Mr. Moore, however, dismisses the theory of the so-called Olympic “bounce” – that if Canada wins many gold medals, the outpouring of patriotism from Canadians would propel the Harper Tories to a majority government. And he says the cabinet is not sitting around plotting how many gold-medal wins it would take for the Prime Minister to try to provoke an election.
“Nobody is talking politics and everybody is talking Canada,” he says.
Well, not quite.
He is concerned that “too much politics has been pumped into the Games,” from interest groups disrupting the torch run, to the Vancouver protest this week that blocked the Prime Minister.
And the Liberals, he says, are playing games with the Games.
“Only their Leader [Michael Ignatieff] is participating and they protest the fact that we are participating … going to events even though we are paying our own way,” he says.
He is critical of the NDP and the Bloc for not participating in the Olympics. The NDP, he says, has always opposed the Games; the Conservatives have always supported them.
Friday, February 12, 2010 4:55 PM EST
Budget should target 'fat-cat Ottawa,' poll suggests
Jane Taber
1. Economic advice. Canadians want the government to cut services and spending to reduce the deficit, according to a new poll. Are you listening Jim Flaherty?
The Finance Minister and Prime Minister Stephen Harper vow they can wrestle down the $56-billion deficit without having to raise taxes or to cut spending. Many economic experts believe this to be impossible.
EKOS Research asked Canadians to tell them how they would do it. What is their preferred approach to deficit reduction? Forty-six per cent of respondents said they would cut services and spending.
And 56 per cent of those who identified themselves as Conservatives supported cuts, compared to 38 per cent who say they are Liberals, 36 per cent NDP, 42 per cent Green and a huge 56 per cent of the Bloc Quebecois.
Only 14 per cent said they would raise taxes; 10 per cent of respondents said continue to run deficits and 30 per cent said they didn’t know.
The poll of 3,006 Canadians was conducted between Feb. 3 and 9.
Mr. Flaherty is to deliver his budget on March 4, which many observers are hoping will lay out the roadmap to deficit reduction.
EKOS pollster Frank Graves believes the Conservatives will “accent the need for severe cuts to the ‘bloated bureaucracy’.” In other words go after so-called “fat-cat Ottawa.”
“This will be effective in the short term,” he says. He also says his research team has done a lot of “hard testing” on where to cut - and it’s the Defence Department.
“My guess is that the major resources being devoted to Defence will be eyed by many Canadians as a possible target given he Afghan exit plan,” he says. “This will clash somewhat with the rising affection for the ‘troops’.”
Mr. Graves says that he has also done polling which has shown “receptivity to re-introducing some of the cut GST and dedicating it to the deficit.” That would be a tax hike.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 10:50 PM EST
First look at athletes' podium jackets
Jane Taber
Nathalie Lambert, appearing at Canada Olympic House on Feb. 11, 2010, shows off the jackets Canada's medal winners will be wearing on the podium at this year's Winter Games.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 7:33 PM EST
Agriculture Minister pushes Canadian flavour
Jane Taber
A large meaty burrowing clam with a crunchy texture and a new antioxidant berry developed at the University of Saskatchewan but grown in PEI were on an Olympic podium today.
The Conservative government is taking advantage of the Winter Games to sell other parts of Canada – not just our sports and scenery – to the rest of the world.
On Thursday morning it was Canada’s good taste that was the featured event – its flavours and food, including that huge but odd-looking clam, which is spelled Geoduck, but is pronounced “Gooey-duck”.
It is mostly exported to Hong Kong and China.
“I want people coming back to Canada after the Olympics,” said federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who threw on an apron adorned with a Maple Leaf to cook with chefs at the “Savour Canada” Olympic breakfast.
“We are not ashamed at all about the amount of time and energy we’re putting into promoting Canada and Canadians,” he said, telling the crowd that Canadian food is going to “rock” over the next few days while Canadian athletes are going to “kick ass.”
International journalists attended the breakfast, which showed off all sorts of Canadian fare, including grains, cheese, beef and fish. There were no seal products there, however – a decision Mr. Ritz said wasn’t deliberate.
In a prelude to the theme raised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper later in his speech to the B.C. Legislature, the Agriculture Minister said that Canadians are “a shy retiring people” and have been “reticent” in the past to aggressively market their food. But he wants that to change and the breakfast was meant to be a “reawakening” for both the domestic and international markets.
Friday, February 12, 2010 9:39 AM EST
Stephen Harper delivers paen to patriotism in B.C. Legislature
Jane Taber
Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants Canadians not to be shy or embarrassed about their patriotism, even though most tend to associate “boisterous displays of nationalism” with other countries.
In a rare speech to the B.C. Legislature today, the Prime Minister spoke of what it means to be Canadian, apologizing at times for the wrongs the country has done but challenging citizens to be patriotic during the Olympic Games and “celebrate together.”
The subtext of his speech was that Canada is a confident country now, and ready to “stand on guard for itself.”
And he even injected a little shout out to his government’s recession-busting Economic Action Plan. Canada “has shown during this global recession, and it will show during these Games, that it can compete and win against the very best,” he said according to prepared remarks.
Mr. Harper was speaking in Victoria on the eve of the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Games. He has been in British Columbia since yesterday and is also expected to take in some events.
His speech to the legislature is a “first,” he pointed out, saying “no Prime Minister has ever formally addressed this great assembly” since B.C. joined Confederation in 1871.
In keeping with his theme of patriotism and pride, he spoke of the risks and sacrifices athletes must take to win, comparing them to the risks and sacrifices of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. He said says Canadian soldiers are serving not “for conquest and advantage but simply to spread our gifts of freedom, democracy and justice to make the world a little safer, a little better.”
Thursday, February 11, 2010 4:50 PM EST
Tory senator cheers on Lindsey Vonn
Jane Taber
Vancouver – Nancy Greene Raine is cheering for Lindsey Vonn.
“We all cheer for the great ones. It doesn’t matter where they come from,” Ms. Greene Raine, the Olympic icon and a Conservative senator, said this morning at an Olympic breakfast.
Ms. Vonn is an American skier, the dominant female competitor in the World Cup and the one to beat on the slopes. She could win as many as five medals.
But the attractive blonde athlete is making front-page headlines today after she revealed on NBC’s Today Show that she is injured. A badly bruised shin is causing her much pain.
Although her appearance on the slopes appeared slightly iffy, it seems now her doctors believe the muscular contusion to her lower leg won’t affect her Olympics. She will ski in all five of her races.
Ms. Greene Raine, who is Canada’s Olympic ambassador, knows all about injuries and the Games. A month before her Olympic races in Grenoble, France in 1968, she suffered a bad sprain. However, she was able to tape up her leg, ski and then win – gold and silver medals.
And she recounted today how it all flashed back to her when she read about Ms. Vonn’s injuries.
“If you have to race and have pain it does affect your performance,” she said. “… Hopefully they’ll be able to figure out how she’ll ski without pain.
“She’s such an amazing skier she could probably ski on one leg and still do really well.”
Thursday, February 11, 2010 4:58 PM EST
Liberals tie detainee committee to deal on break weeks
Jane Taber
The immediate recall of the all-party committee investigating the Afghan detainee scandal is a condition the Tories should meet if they are truly serious about making Parliament work, the Liberals say.
In a pointed letter to the Government Whip Gordon O’Connor, Rodger Cuzner, the Liberal Whip, lays out several other conditions that would help make up for the prorogation of Parliament.
The Tories announced last week they are canceling two scheduled break weeks – one in March and the other in April – to make up for some of the days lost as they recalibrated their agenda over the prorogation period.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has agreed to the request (it takes all parties to agree to any changes in the parliamentary calendar). But the Official Opposition wants their conditions to be considered in return.
The Liberals want a guarantee that all ministers will be “fully available” whenever requested. They want all other Commons committees to be reconstituted within the first three sitting days so they can deal with government estimates. (It usually takes a week to 10 days for committees to get up to speed after a prorogation.) And they want four designated opposition days during March.
Mr. Cuzner says these conditions should be met in order for the Tories to “repair some of the damage you have caused” by the Prime Minister’s decision to shut down Parliament until after the Olympic Games.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 4:50 PM EST
'Elasticity' would reduce Conservative minority
Jane Taber
Another minority Parliament led by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government is inevitable if an election were held tomorrow, according to new EKOS Research seat projections.
Pollster Frank Graves found that the Tories would win 114 seats compared to 110 for the Liberals. Last week, based on better vote intention numbers for the Grits, Mr. Graves had Michael Ignatieff’s team winning 122 seats compared to the 77 they now have in the 308-seat House of Commons. The Conservatives would have won only 110 seats; they now have 145 seats.
For the governing Tories, he says, this is “far short of the nearly 180-seat majority that was on the table last October.”
His seat projections are based on numbers from his latest poll. The survey of 3,006 Canadians, conducted between Feb. 3 and 9, shows 31 per cent support for the Conservatives compared to 29 per cent for the Liberals. The NDP attracted 15.5 per cent; the Bloc got 10. 3 per cent and the Green Party pulled in 11.3 per cent.
The EKOS pollster says these seat projections must be “distressing for roughly 35 Tory MPs who would be dusting off their CVs, but clearly better than last week’s prospect of sitting in opposition.”
What this tells him, he says, is that although the vote intention numbers have been fairly stable over the past few weeks, “there is lots of elasticity in the configuration of the next Parliament based on pretty modest shifts in voting patterns.”
Elasticity, indeed: His projections give Elizabeth May and the Green Party two seats, both in Ontario. Last week’s projections showed the Greens with none.
The NDP would win 35 seats, down just two from what they have now; the Bloc would win 56 compared to the 48 seats they have today. There would be one independent.
(Photo: The Prime Minister attends a Lunar New Year parade rehearsal at Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre yesterday. Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Ottawa Notebook Contributors
Jane Taber
Jane Taber has been on Parliament Hill since the Mulroney days, first writing for the Ottawa Citizen in 1986. Since then, she's reported for a small television network, WTN, and for the National Post before joining The Globe’s parliamentary bureau in 2002. She is the senior political writer and also co-host of Question Period, which airs Sundays on CTV.
John Ibbitson
John Ibbitson started at The Globe in 1999 and has been Queen's Park columnist and Ottawa political affairs correspondent. Most recently, he was a correspondent and columnist in Washington, where he wrote Open and Shut: Why America has Barack Obama and Canada has Stephen Harper. He returned to Ottawa as bureau chief in 2009. Before joining The Globe, he worked as a reporter, columnist and Queen’s Park correspondent for Southam papers.
Steven Chase
Steven Chase has covered federal politics in Ottawa for The Globe since mid-2001. He's previously worked in the paper's Vancouver and Calgary bureaus. Prior to that, he reported on Alberta politics for the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and on national issues for Alberta Report. He's had ink-stained hands for far longer though, having worked as a paperboy for the (now defunct) Montreal Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Vancouver Sun and the North Shore News.
Campbell Clark
Campbell Clark has been a political writer in The Globe and Mail’s Ottawa bureau since 2000. Before that he worked for The Montreal Gazette and the National Post. He writes about Canadian politics and foreign policy. He stopped being fascinated by ShamWow commercials after that guy’s nasty incident in Florida, but still wonders if one can really pull a truck with that Mighty Putty stuff.
Bill Curry
A member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery since 1999, Bill Curry worked for The Hill Times and the National Post prior to joining The Globe in Feb. 2005. Originally from North Bay, Ont., Bill reports on a wide range of topics on Parliament Hill. He is very protective of the office’s brand new copy of O’Brien & Bosc, the latest Parliamentary rule book.
Gloria Galloway
Gloria Galloway has been a journalist for almost 30 years. She worked at the Windsor Star, the Hamilton Spectator, the National Post, the Canadian Press and a number of small newspapers before being hired by The Globe and Mail as deputy national editor in 2001. Gloria returned to reporting two years later and joined the Ottawa bureau in 2004. She has covered every federal election since 1997 and has done several stints in Afghanistan.
Daniel Leblanc
Daniel Leblanc studied political science at the University of Ottawa and journalism at Carleton University. He became a full-time reporter in 1998, first at the Ottawa Citizen and then in the Ottawa bureau of The Globe and Mail. While he likes the occasional brown envelope, he is also open to anonymous emails.
Stephen Wicary
Stephen Wicary has been with The Globe since 2001, working on the news desk as a copy editor, page designer, production editor and front page editor. During the U.S invasion of Iraq, he pulled a three-month stint as overnight editor of the website. He moved to the parliamentary bureau at the end of 2008 to bolster online political coverage.