Quotable Quotes: Finance Critic

The opposition finance critic Scott Brison visited Brantford last week. Here's what he said:

“Wayne Gretzky said 'you don’t skate to where the puck is at, you skate to where the puck is going.' What I fear is that the current government has been so focused on this week’s polls that they haven’t looked ahead.”

Mr. Brison said that we are still in a real recession, and the hard-working people of Brant know that. But the Conservatives, including Phil McColeman, are wasting money on the G20 summit and prisons, instead of investing in long-term solutions.

Phil Makes a Complete Phool of Himself

Phil has a reputation for saying stupid things in the Public Safety Committee and in Parliament. Well he's dunnit again:

Conservative MPs heaped praise Monday on three ex-convicts who've cleaned up their lives, without seeming to grasp they're exactly the types of serious, repeat offenders targeted by the government's latest tough-on-crime legislation.
…
"We need to clearly focus on the type of people -- and they are the repeat offenders, they're the most heinous people -- that we're trying to focus this legislation on," Conservative MP Phil McColeman told the committee.

That prompted witness John Hutton, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Manitoba, to interject.

"I'm sorry, these are the people you're talking about!" said Hutton, extending his arms to encompass the other witnesses at the table.

It gets even better…

As reported by Maclean's magazine, after the meeting Phil called Liberal MP Mark Holland soft on crime. Holland said that this was untrue. So Phil stood up in Parliament and said:

"Mr. Speaker, since being elected to the House some two years ago and a bit, I will take no lessons from the member for Ajax—Pickering when it comes to presenting issues to Parliament that are not based on any factual evidence. I will take no lessons from that member."

That's right – Phil is an expert at presenting issues that are NOT based on factual evidence!

That is what he does every time he blathers on about "tough on crime", after all.

SNAP!

Sometimes people who don't write for this blog make excellent comments about Phil McColeman. Check out this following letter to the editor:

Caring not enough for MP

After reading Blaine Field's letter "McKay, MP make him proud" (Nov. 16) it makes me want to share my thoughts on the subject of our MP's responsibility and obligations.

I totally agree with Field's comments about our MP's character, but character is only a small portion of their job description. Phil McColeman is a well-liked individual of our community but the job goes deeper than being kind, caring and well-spoken. I would guess at least a third of our community could do the same effort that Mr. McColeman has done for us.

It just seems to be that our political leaders are catering to the higher society of our region because that's where the votes are. But you look at the obstacles our city is facing over the past decade like poverty, homelessness, unemployment, with addiction and mental illness at the all-time high. Do you know about 1,000 people frequent one addiction clinic per day, plus the food bank users are at an all-time high?

It is unfortunate that our middle-to low-income families rarely vote because of depression and other problems.

The day our Mr. McColeman steps up to the plate and represents all the people of this fine city is the day I will be the first to shake his hand.

Part-time politicians are not acceptable with the many challenges we face today. Just a few thoughts to consider. Let's stay positive.

James Hildebrandt
Brantford

This letter helps explain why Phil has his office in the green pastures of the north end, far from the grime of downtown, or the toil of the West End. It's hard to stay positive, James, when you have an MP who doesn't seem to care about most of his constituents.

Phil on Immigration

Stephen Harper let Phil speak in the House of Commons. Here's what Phil said:

Mr. Speaker, our government is standing up for new immigrants who choose to come to Canada; the immigrants who make the choice to work hard and play by the rules. Our Conservative government stands up for immigrants who choose to make a home in Canada.

The obvious fact is that Phil is again parroting the party line. What's less obvious is that he's deliberately hiding the fact that the new Conservative Bill C-49 is a literal assault on the Constitutional rights of new Canadians (and those seeking refugee status).

What exactly are Canada's foreign policy principles?

To a question about Canada being denied a seat on the UN Security Council, Phil McColeman had this response:

Our government makes foreign policy decisions based on what's right and on the principles that Canadians hold dear. These positions may not always be the most popular with some members of the UN, however we will not apologize for doing what is right.

Great work, once again parroting the party line without even understanding what it means. What ARE the principles that Canadians hold dear? Making a fool of ourselves on the international stage? Letting the rest of the world take care of funding for needy Africa? Being so belligerant in the Middle East that we get kicked out of the United Arab Emirates? Refusing to fund maternal health programs??

And by the way, Mr. McColeman, Canada's current position is not just unpopular with some members of the UN; Canada's position is evidently unpopular with most members of the UN. Yes Canada should stand beside Israel. But we could help out Israel a LOT more if we had a seat on the Security Council.

Maybe Defence Minister Peter McKay can explain what Canada's foreign policy principles actually are when he visits Brantford next week.