Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 13, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba By Sandra cordon o Ottawa its a familiar Story for the Federal nip healthy support in polls that crumbles when voters actually cast their ballots. And if a Spring election is called in the Wake of allegations from the Federal sponsorship inquiry new democrats will Likely face the same old problem say political observers. More and More canadians Are casting ballots strategically not supporting their preferred candidate but instead using their votes to try to defeat their opponents experts say. And that has often worked against the nip. In last junes Federal vote for example Many nip sympathizers cast their ballots for the liberals in an attempt to Stop Stephen harpers conservatives from gaining Power. Liberal and nip supporters who Are outraged by the sponsorship scandal could easily decide to vote conservative just to get rid of the grits said political scientist Michael Prince. I think nip Leader Jack Layton has been squeezed out said Prince of the University of Victoria. I think Well also see much More liberals to conservatives migration. The polls Are already showing that. Several polls including a new Decima research Survey released yesterday have shown the nip garnering about 20 per cent a consistent level of popular opinion for the party. At the same time the Decima results like several other recent polls have suggested Liberal support plunged following damaging allegations at the Federal sponsorship inquiry late last week. That suggests the nip Isnit capturing much new support. The Decima Survey put the liberals and conservatives in a statistical dead heat with the tories favoured by 32 per cent of respondents compared with 31 per cent for the grits. A week before Decima pollsters had the liberals in front by nine Points. Nip strategist Jamey Heath insists voters have greater respect for his party because it has consistently Strong policies and that will win Over disgusted Liberal voters. Policy matters and people who get fed up with the liberals for breaking their promises and stealing their Money they will Migrate to different parties especially the nip. Canadian press election continued from Page a 1 there Are a whole lot of issues where i am increasingly out of sync with the government. The struggling liberals were Given a Little breathing room yesterday when the bloc quebecois decided against introducing a non Confidence motion tomorrow that would have been the first Chance for opposition parties to bring Down Martins minority government. But conservative Leader Stephen Harper hinted the electoral Battle is coming sooner rather than later. He signalled he May not wait for Justice John go Merys verdict on the sponsorship scandal which has the liberals on the ropes. Canadians dont need to form the kind of judgments or. Justice Gomery is going to form Harper said after a speech to the country is real estate agents. Justice John Gomery has to make decisions about potential prosecutions about criminality. Frankly the standards of the electorate Are a lot higher than that. Conservative strategists Are said to be laying the groundwork for a possible defeat of the Martin liberals in mid May which would Likely mean canadians will head to the ballot boxes in late june. Conservative strategists denied a decision has already been made to bring Down the government in mid May for a june election. Queen Elizabeth ii is scheduled to visit Alberta and Saskatchewan from May 17 to 25 and would postpone or cancel that visit in the event of an election Campaign. With three new polls showing his liberals Are paying the Price for damning testimony at the Gomery inquiry which has heard of corruption and kickbacks involving Quebec liberals Martin ramped up his efforts at damage control in a signed letter to party members. In recent Days testimony at the Gomery commission has captured a great Deal of Public attention. It has also Given Rise to allegations about the Liberal party itself and by Extension All of us who Are members. I Felt it was important to write you on this subject and share my perspective and my Pride in All of you As liberals and activists Martin began in the letter which started going out to party members monday night. Like All liberals and All canadians ism offended by what Ive heard in recent testimony. If even part of it turns out to be True it is abhorrent to us All. Martin also urged party members to keep their chins up during what he admitted were challenging times. It is the Liberal party that believes in the Good that government can do that has stood at every important moment in our nations history to fight for a United country and that has delivered to canadians the strongest Economy and Best Quality of life anywhere in the world Martin wrote. While the Gomery inquiry finishes its Job we must continue to do ours. Most important of All we must be proud of who we Are the Good weave done and the Good we will continue to do in the future. That is Why i am like you so proud to be a Liberal. However an e mail from Tim Murphy Martins chief of staff suggests the pm is More concerned about panic than party Pride. Canadian press reported yesterday that Murphys message was simple dont show panic everything we do now will reflect on us. New National polls have certainly Given the liberals reason to panic. An Itsos Reid poll put the conservatives at 30 per cent and the liberals at 27 per cent. A Leger Survey had the tories ahead with 34 per cent support compared to 31 per cent for the liberals. Decima research put the liberals and conservatives in a statistical dead heat with the tories favoured by 32 per cent of respondents compared to 31 per cent for the grits. The three new polls followed an Ekos poll released monday that had the liberals Down to 25 per cent and the tories at 36.2 per cent. Nip Leader Jack Layton said All parties including his have started warming up their Campaign machines. At the same time Layton yesterday demanded Martin Call in the ramp to investigate a $ 2.3 million Unte dered sponsorship contract Given to a Liberal Friendly and firm for Winnipeg Gas 1999 pan am games. The fact is this Liberal corruption is putting a corrupt face on federalism in Quebec and it is smearing que Becks name All across Canada Layton said in the commons. Yet we know that in Nova Scotia Liberal Friendly and firms were getting sponsorship contracts for projects like the pan am games. Now Given what we know from testimony about How sponsorship fees end up getting funnelled Back into the Liberal party will the prime minister refer that testimony and the pan am contract to the ramp the nip has Long complained about the contract with Halifax based and firm Compass communications which delivered a Little Over $ 634,000 Worth of product such As Volunteer uniforms with the Canadian Flag on them. When the nip first raised questions about the contract last year Compass said much of the remaining $ 1.7 million went to develop design construct and support the Canada place Pavilion at what is now Home to the Manitoba theatre for Young people. Paul. Samyn free press. My. 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Com in Canada s most popular backyards so � 2005 Arch deck let Arch deck be your backyard company we custom design & build decks screened rooms gazebos arbours Manitoba schizophrenia society offers free Public presentations on schizophrenia and psychosis in Winnipeg Call 786 1616 text of prime minister Paul Martins open letter to liberals dear Liberal Friend in recent Days testimony at the Gomery commission has captured a great Deal of Public attention. It has also Given Rise to allegations about the Liberal party itself and by Extension All of us who Are members. I Felt it was important to write you on this subject and share my perspective and my Pride in All of you As liberals and activists. As Leader and prime minister i want party members everywhere to remember that it was this Liberal government that established the Gomery commission precisely in order to see that anyone who might have used the Liberal name to profit from National Unity would be identified and punished. Similarly if there Are those who abused our part yes Trust by using their position or their association with it they have done a terrible disservice to the people of Canada and the members of our party. Like All liberals and All canadians ism offended by what Ive heard in recent testimony. If even part of it turns out to be True it is abhorrent to us All. Public life is the highest service to which one can commit and the Liberal party must embody the highest of ethical standards. This is my determined View just As i know it is yours. To those who have watched recent testimony i say simply this is not the Way politics should be done. Most certainly this is not the Way we do politics in the Liberal party. Canadians Are looking for someone to step Forward and to be accountable for cleaning up this mess and As prime minister and Liberal Leader i accept that responsibility. In fact As my first act in office on dec. 12, 2003, i cancelled the sponsorship program. I made sure that those implicated were removed from their positions As Crown corporation executives. The government has also filed a lawsuit against 19 defendants including several communications companies and their directors to recover $ 41 million. And of course it was this Liberal government that appointed Justice Gomery. With his conclusions in hand i will act swiftly and surely to ensure those who did wrong face the full consequence of their actions. As liberals these challenging times will also give us an Ideal Opportunity to show canadians our True values and ethics. It is the Liberal party that believes in the Good that government can do that has stood at every important moment in our nations history to fight for a United country and that has delivered to canadians the strongest Economy and Best Quality of life anywhere in the world. It is these values expressed through the policies we pursue that Tell the True Story of what the Liberal party stands for and what it will fight for in the future. Together we have made great strides to strengthen Public health care by finding ways to lower the times that canadians have to wait for heart surgeries and cancer treatments. We have taken Steps to revitalize Canadas cities and communities and to preserve our natural environment. We Are working to build a child care system on which canadians can depend. In other words this Liberal government is keeping its promises to Canadian taxpayers. While the Gomery inquiry finishes its Job we must continue to do ours. Most important of All we must be proud of who we Are the Good weave done and the Good we will continue to do in the future. That is Why i am like you so proud to be a Liberal. Sincerely prime minister Paul Martin the g Omery i inquiry liberals under siege w Winnipeg f ree p ressa4 w wednesday pril 13, 2005 pm writes to liberals the province will spend $ 1.1 million in 2005 on agriculture projects aimed at making farming in Manitoba More cos effective and environmentally Friendly. Along with the Money the province will also Supply technical help to the projects under the covering new ground program. We Are pleased to support projects that seek solutions to environmental challenges and assist in developing healthy farming methods for people livestock and the environment said agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk. The result of this evolving technology is Long term economically viable and environmentally Friendly benefits. Covering new ground projects focus on crop pasture and forage production sustainable agriculture and water Quality. More than 1,200 projects have been funded by the program since it was launched in 1998, including Riverbank management biological control fertilizer and manure impacts on soil insect monitoring and rotational grazing. Information and applications for covering new ground funding Are available online at wow. Gov. My. Ca agriculture research covering. Fred Chartrand / Canadian press Martin shown heading to his office from the commons yesterday issued a rallying cry to Liberal maps. Province funding a. Programs scandal fallout gives Little boost to nip ;