Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 8, 2008, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k Page a6 Altona while the National Campaign is dominated by sweater jokes and candidate flame outs Altona voters lobbed some refreshingly serious questions at their candidates tuesday night everything from the Lister Osis outbreak to human rights in Colombia. And even though Sheds running in the safest tory Riding outside of Alberta it a snot a love in for Rookie conservative candidate Candice Hoeppner who was the target of Many questions. Equipped with an airbrushed Campaign Van and some High profile support from the party Sheds vying to replace retiring my Brian Pallister in a Riding thatus gone tory longer than Sheds been alive. The worsening Economy was the undercurrent of the night. On the Way to the meeting Altona resident Cliff Doell caught some radio clips of prime minister Stephen Harper describing the need for a Federal government that avoids panic despite turmoil in the world markets. I like the fact that he does not get rattled said Doell. He seems like someone who is in control. Doell said he was at the forum to get to know Hoeppner a bit. He said Liberal candidate ted Klassen is impressive but he got into the race a Little late and it will be Tough to unseat a tory even a new name like Candice Hoeppner. Klassen tackled his Long shot status head on appealing to the progressive elements of the old conservative coalition to counter what he called harpers secretive american style leadership. Portage Lisgar has voted conservative for 51 years. Has that always served us Well Klassen asked the packed school division meeting room. Imagine if on oct. 14 we woke up to the knowledge Portage Lisgar had become a swing Riding. The booming Riding includes most of South Central Manitoba Portage la Prairie Carman Winkler and Morden. Pallister has represented it for the last eight years but he announced his retirement Long before the writ was dropped. That gave Hoeppner a skilled party strategist and social conservative time to steamroll the nomination with the support of party brass and several maps. She ran prime minister Stephen harpers leadership Campaign in Manitoba and finance minister Jim Flaherty popped by to open her Campaign office last month. Unlike other Rookie candidates who Dodge debates Hoeppner is attending every one in her Riding. Last night she framed the Campaign As a Battle Between leaders in a time of economic unrest. Repeating some party mantras the fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong Canada needs a government for people who work hard and play by the rules Hoeppner painted Liberal Leader Stephane Dion As weak aimless and risky. Green candidate Charlie Howatt a Young Farmer near Manitou joked about the Cycle of revenge Between the grits and tories and appealed to Altona voters to try something different. The 120 or so Altona voters covered a lot of ground with arguably some of the most pointed questions posed yet in the Manitoba Campaign. They asked about rutted roads the looming labour shortage in the Pembina Valley and changes to the National food inspection system that failed to catch the deadly Lister Osis outbreak. One woman from Gretna asked whether one per cent of the health budget could be earmarked for sports and recreation As a preventive measure. A smart question from a Young Man about copyright Law and online piracy left the candidates stumped. Tory cuts to arts and culture funding the Sleeper Issue of the election also came up As Well As Canadas re cent failure to meet International Aid commitments. One voter asked How the candidates will crack Down on judges who Are in cahoots with homosexuals and feminists which earned a couple of groans from the audience. Hoeppner was Quick to Bat the question away. Ism hearing about judges but its not the Issue you re raising she said firmly. Its the Issue of How to put criminals in jail. Maryagnes. Welch free press. My. Ca liberals closing the Gap a Nanos nightly tracking Survey shows the race tightening up As the liberals Are now within four Points of the tories. The polling firms latest voter snapshot shows the tories at 34 per cent while the liberals Are now at 31 per cent. The nip Are at 18 per cent the bloc quebecois at 11 per cent and the greens at six per cent. The tracking tally is based on a three Day rolling Sample of 1,200 Telephone interviews. The Survey is considered accurate to within 2.9 per cent 19 times out of 20. 1.5 million votes already in Ottawa nearly 1.5 million voters cast ballots in Advance polls Over the last few Days before having a Chance to see the full conservative Campaign platform. Elections Canada released the turnout numbers for polls held Friday saturday and monday the final poll coming just a Day before prime minister Stephen Harper released his platform. A total of 1,459,253 canadians cast ballots. A substantial portion of voters were members of jewish communities Many of whom had raised objections at the outset of the Campaign because Harper set the election for oct. 14a key religious Holiday. In response the conservatives urged jewish voters to take advantage of the Advance polls. The head of one of Canadas biggest jewish groups said the Advance poll turnout from the jewish Community in his Toronto Riding was larger than he had Ever witnessed. I have never seen so Many people at an Advance poll said Bernie Farber of the Canadian jewish Congress this years turnout was just below the Advance poll for the 2006 Winter election but higher than the turnout for the summer election of 2004, when 1.2 million voters cast ballots in Advance. Scientists target tories Vancouver More than 120 of Canadas top climate scientists have signed an open letter criticizing conservative government policy and urging canadians to vote strategically for the environment next week. Global warming is the defining Issue of our time said Andrew Weaver a Lead author with the Nobel peace prize winning intergovernmental panel on climate change. But Weaver said tuesday that Stephen harpers government has yet to get engaged in the innovative and urgent policies that we need to significantly reduce greenhouse Gas emissions in Canada. From the news services a 0 Winnipeg repress. Com election 2008 Winnipeg free press wednesday october 8, 2008 t Oronto Stephen Harper offered up a stiff dose of what he described As hard headed pragmatism tuesday As the conservatives finally released their costed platform one week before election Day. With Stock markets nose diving under a global credit crunch and tory support numbers steadily Drifting downward the prime minister offered up $ 745 million in Tariff Relief and Loans for hard hit manufacturers. But in a speech to a Well heeled business audience in downtown Toronto Harper maintained the party line that All the fundamentals Are already in place for Canada to weather the global economic storm. Prudent leadership does not set economic strategy for the nightly news or rewrite plans for the morning papers Harper told the Canadian club of Toronto after releasing his platform. As the saying goes it a snot raining when Noah built the Ark. Which is Why when the rain came Noah did not need to panic and he did not switch boats. It a snot exactly a Clarion Call to action or a compassionate embrace of worried Canadian Consumers As Harper himself later acknowledged at a news conference. Ism the first to admit ism not the most emotionally expressive Guy he said noting thatus not the Choice voters will have to make oct. 14. Ultimately it Isnit about governments waving their arms. Its about How governments Are actually going to Deal with the situation. It was a calming stay the course message in keeping with the party platform. The document entitled the True North Strong and free Stephen harpers plan for canadians is a Glossy 41 Page Booklet printed in huge Blue font that includes 22 Colour photos of Harper. Most of the platform had already been released in a series of announcements the conservatives repeatedly stressed were modest and achievable. Some of it was intentionally vague on a number of initiatives allowing Harper to continue making platform announcements Over the final Days of the Campaign. One of them he revealed tuesday a $ 200 million boost Over four years for the strategic aerospace and defence initiative and another $ 200 million for the automotive innovation fund. The Promise which would provide additional Loans to Industry was met with polite applause. Harper also committed to eliminate tariffs on a wide Range of imported equipment for a saving to manufacturers of $ 345 million. If steady As she goes was one Harper message the other was of the perils of Liberal or nip economic activism. This cannot be excused As proving they care or wanting to do More a Harper told the luncheon crowd. When people Are looking at their Stock portfolios and seeing the drop How can you Tell them that your solution is to come in and hit their savings with harder taxes it does not make any sense. It is a recipe for disaster nothing More nothing less. And that is not the direction this government is going to go. Harper got a polite chuckle when he said that if conservatives do not win re election it will make Bob Raets Ontario look like a Boom town. Rae the former Ontario nip Premier during a deep Canadian recession in the Early 1990s, is running for reelection As a Liberal and was waiting to react outside the hotel ballroom where Harper spoke. Harper is completely failing to connect with economically battered ontarian and canadians Rae said. The prime minister is presiding Over a recession. Everybody knows it except for him. He seems to be living in a bizarre Bubble. Of More than $ 8 billion in new spending Over four years in the conservative platform Only about $ 2 billion is actual government expenditures and the rest is lost Revenue in the form of various tax cuts. In a nod to Quebec and the cultural Community the conservatives also promised to scrap controversial changes to film and television tax credit eligibility that would have allowed the government to disqualify productions it deemed offensive. The Canadian press tory platform Calls for $ 8b Over 4 years Harper vows to Aid manufacturers by Bruce Cheadle the nip shades of the dirty thirties Vancouver Jack Layton conjured the ghosts of depression Era politics accusing prime minister Stephen Harper of following the footsteps of an ill fated predecessor former conservative prime minister r. B. Bennett. Or. Harpers response to the Clouds gathering Over our real Economy is to say that we dont need to care about manufacturing we dont need to care about forestry the nip Leader said tuesday following release of the tory platform. Or. Harpers response to the crisis in the banking system is to say that everything is Fine nothing needs to change and there Are no problems. R. B. Bennett have said it better himself in 1930. The liberals bully with a brochure calling the prime minister a bully and his newly released Campaign platform nothing More than a brochure Liberal Leader Stephane Dion ripped into Stephen Harper saying the conservative party Leader has misjudged the seriousness of the economic trouble canadians face and for that infraction he said Harper should lose his Job. When asked what he thought about harpers renewed Promise to abolish the Senate Dion said the tory Leader did not possess the Power to do that without breaching the Constitution. We have a prime minister who wants to bully the country As hers bullying his own Cabinet and his own caucus. It does not work this Way he said. The experts split decision Jeremy Leonard economist and senior fellow at the Institute for research on Public policy its Clear the tone is stay the course. Its conservative not in the political sense but in the financial sense. The platform does not contain much in new initiatives. I think that it expresses their message that fiscal prudence is important in terms of maintaining investor Confidence and the Confidence of Consumers As Well As we go through this downturn. Jean Michel Laurin vice president of global business policy Canadian manufacturers and exporters on the $ 345 million Promise to abolish tariffs on a wide Range of imported machinery and equipment the government had already announced its intention to do this and we look Forward to them implementing it. Is it on our list of top three priorities no i want this to be seen As answering manufacturers request. We want More investment we want More trading and we want More innovation. The first thing the government should be doing to encourage companies to invest in plants and equipment should be two year write off for manufacturing and processing equipment. It really helps generate Cash flow. From the news services critics rate conservatives plan the daily voter Riding Selkirk Interlake voting Liberal ism tired of the conservatives running our country because i think someone else can do a better jobs Quinn Moffatt 27 highlights $ 200 million More each Over four years. F or the repayable strategic aerospace and defence initiative and automotive innovation funds. Cancel changes to film and television tax credits allowing government to disqualify certain productions. No Cost provided. Two cent a litre Cut in taxes on diesel and aviation fuel Over four years. $ 600 million a year once fully implemented. Allow 49 per cent foreign ownership of airlines and foreign ownership of uranium mines. Tax credit for first time Home buyers to claim up to $ 5,000 in closing costs for a rebate of up to $ 750. $ 200 million a year fully implemented. Ban kid Friendly flavours and additives. F rom tobacco products and require cigarillos to be sold in packages of at least 20. No Cost provided. Maximum life sentences for offenders As Young As 14 convicted of first or second degree murder maximum 14 year sentences and an end to anonymity for youths who commit violent crimes. End conditional sentencing also known As House arrest for 30 serious crimes including robbery theft and arson. $ 113 million Over five years to crack Down on environmental crime including maximum penalties of $ 6 million for companies and $ 1 million for individuals. Internet anti spam Law ban on charging for unsolicited text messages crackdown on Gas pump tampering. No Cost provided. New tax credit for parents of children under 16 enrolled in eligible arts programs $ 150 million a year. Local artists react / d1,4 candidates conservative Candice Hoeppner party strategist Liberal ted Klassen former teacher and town councillor nip Mohamed Alli labour activist hardware distributor employee Green Charlie Howatt Farmer Christian heritage party Len Lodder teacher 2006 results conservative Brian Pallister 25,719 69.8% Liberal Garry Mclean 4,199 11.4% nip Daren Van Den Bussche 4,072 11% Green Charlie Howatt 1,880 5.1% Christian heritage party David Reimer 987 2.7% oddity its the safest tory Riding outside Alberta. Retiring my Brian Pallister won 20,000 More votes than his nearest rival. Thatus 58 per cent More the biggest spread of any candidate of any Stripe outside Alberta. Economy dominates forum in Altona Portage Lisgar Battleground by Mary Agnes Welch election Roundup lib Ananos t Elro a 06_ oct 08 08. Ind a6 10/ 7/ 08 9 50 52 pm ;