Protesters return to Parliament Hill to hound floor-crosser Emerson
Trade Minister David Emerson has written to angry constituents saying they'll have to wait for the next election to oust him from the seat he won as a Liberal before switching to the Tories.
Manuel Pereda, a constituent who has spearheaded efforts to oust Emerson, says he met the minister recently to discuss the situation and then got a followup letter.
In the letter, Emerson says he respects the need for a constructive dialogue.
"As I have stated on many occasions previously, I will continue that dialogue in earnest with all of my constituents - remaining accountable to them in the next federal election," he wrote.
That's not good enough, says Pereda, who feels MPs should be accountable between elections as well.
"He responds to all my questions with one single sentence, his sentence is he's only accountable to constituents at election time," Pereda said at a Parliament Hill demonstration Monday.
Pereda and a handful of supporters tried to plant hundreds of little flags on the Hill, each bearing the name of someone who registered on an anti-Emerson website.
The RCMP, however, told them they couldn't plant the flags because they were "a tripping hazard," Pereda said.
Emerson, a former Liberal cabinet minister, campaigned in the riding of Vancouver Kingsway promising to be Stephen Harper's worst nightmare in the Commons.
He won the seat, then days later joined Harper's cabinet.
He should of said he would give Harper his best bl** job instead ha ha.
Remarkable people are still pissed at this. He will be booted out if he dares to run in that riding as a Tory. Hopefully the NDP take that seat.
But this floor crossing issue does piss people off and Harpercrit was a hypocrite for allowing it.
Bilinda Stonach has written to angry constituents saying they'll have to wait for the next election to oust her from the seat she won as a New Troy before switching to the Liberals.
Well Belinda was relected as a liberal and by a bigger margin.
Emersons riding has not elected a con since 1958 and the cons always finish a very distant 3rd in that riding.
You conservatives have no right to complain about belinda crossing the floor as your party lost all credability with the Emerson fiasco.
If Emerson dares to run as a tory in that riding he will finish a very distant 3rd or even 4th. Vancouver like the other top 3 largest city's in Canada is not conservative country. The cons has not elected cons in the big 3 cities in a long time.
A: What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Lib_tards have as much right to whine about Emerson as to quote you -> conservatives have no right to complain about belinda.
What you 'plainin aboot, Willis.
ps...if you are going to play the ndp card, then what's it to you?
B: The Harps won't need David's riding when majority time rolls around, but Davids riding will need the Harps.
If they are to stupid to vote for their best interest, then that will be their tough luck.
U.S. `gave up nothing' on softwood
Forestry firms vow to fight deal
Cite pressure from Ottawa to sign on
May 11, 2006. 01:00 AM
LES WHITTINGTON
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA—The notion that Prime Minister Stephen Harper played hardball with U.S. President George W. Bush to win a valuable agreement for Canada on softwood lumber is being increasingly challenged by forestry companies.
After a two-week study of the draft deal meant to end decades of cross-border friction, lumber producers have decided to pull out all the stops to try to change the agreement, which they see as a danger to free trade and thousands of industry jobs.
"Nobody's happy with this. Our objective is to get back to free, unencumbered access to the U.S. market, but this is clearly not the way — this is a managed trade agreement," said Carl Grenier, executive vice-president of the Free Trade Lumber Council.
"Our instructions are that we ought to do anything and everything to improve the terms of the deal," said Grenier, whose advocacy group says it represents companies that produce 40 per cent of Canada's softwood lumber exports to the United States.
On April 27, when it was announced that Canada and the U.S. had arrived at a long-sought deal on softwood lumber exports, Harper was praised for standing up to the White House to obtain concessions for Canadian forestry companies.
Harper's image as a tough negotiator had already been etched by Bush who, after meeting the PM in March in Cancun, Mexico, talked about his "steely resolve" on the softwood issue.
But a U.S. source close to the negotiations insists it was just the opposite. Harper was quietly convinced by Bush that the new government in Ottawa could achieve a major breakthrough in U.S.-Canada relations by working with Washington to resolve the nagging softwood dispute.
Bush raised the possibility again when he phoned Harper on April 22 to offer condolences over the death of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
After that, there was an intense push in both capitals to craft a deal.
But, the source said, "on the Canadian side, the instruction was, `Just get it done.'
"And on the U.S. side, it was, `Give up nothing,' and they didn't give up anything."
Canadian producers' willingness to accept terms of the deal has also been undercut by the tactics used to win agreement from the industry, sources say.
There were complaints that Harper and other senior Conservatives told forestry company executives that if they didn't support the April 27 agreement, Ottawa would drop its efforts to put an end to U.S. softwood duties and cut off federal government support for the industry.
Describing the approach taken by federal officials, one industry stalwart said, "The expression I use is: Would you like seven bullets to the head or an AIDS injection? And most people are taking the AIDS injection because, who knows, you might be immune..." said the source, a top figure at a Canadian company that employs 10,000 forestry workers.
While many in the industry are reluctant to speak openly about the pressure from Ottawa, Grenier said he heard about it from numerous forestry executives.
"They had phone calls at the mill level from Conservative MPs and they were told very clearly, `If you don't support this, don't count on the federal government for helping you with your difficulties later on,'" he said in an interview.
The Conservatives say the agreement was based around U.S. acceptance of Canada's bargaining positions and is a good deal for an industry that's long suffered from the softwood trade irritant.
But many forestry companies are calling for an urgent campaign to ensure industry concerns are taken into account as Canadian and U.S. officials transform the framework agreement into a final deal.
A legal analysis commissioned by the Free Trade Lumber Council and two Ontario associations — and leaked to the media — is sharply critical of the April 27 package, which it calls a "political bargain forsaking entirely the rule of law enshrined in the (North American Free Trade) Agreement."
Jamie Lim, president of the Ontario forest industries association, said the industry wants to work with the Ontario and federal governments to ensure the final product doesn't short-change forestry producers.
Emmerson's going to be Dictator Harper's worst nightmare alright... he's going to cost him the next election.
Emmerson's going to be Dictator Harper's worst nightmare alright... he's going to cost him the next election.
And when you put one of your baby teeth under your pillow, Peter Pan will bring you money while you sleep, but remember, it can only happen if you believe it will.
