Phil's Flag Flap Comes to an End

Apparently the riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry has been proclaimed the most patriotic riding in Canada… or rather, the riding most willing to overlook their MP defacing the Canadian flag. Thank goodness that Brant didn't win that dubious title. Embarrassingly, we placed third.

There is still no excuse for using taxpayer dollars to deface flags with promotions for Conservative MPs. The flag is a proud symbol of our great country, not of partisan politics.

Phil Gets a Reality Cheque

Phil McColeman, who has shown an amazing lack of imagination in the past, has been called out along his Pork-Barrel Propaganda Parade for using the same oversized cheque at every single event. Read on…

Given the number of spending announcements at which the giant cheque has appeared, we figure, to use a hockey metaphor, we have a save percentage of over 90% -- as in, we've saved our readers from seeing this ridiculous prop that often.
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Adding to the oddness is that it's the exact same cheque taken from announcement to announcement and doctored to suit the particular project.
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As for the giant cheque, perhaps it could make a few fundraising appearances on its own, maybe even raise some money to help reduce the deficit that will result from all this free spending.

This last point is so funny I want to cry: we're going to be paying off Phil's follies for a long, long time.

Green Hope for Brant

If you really want Brant to become a "Green Hub," with sustainable long-term jobs revolving around environmentally-friendly technologies…


…you're not going to get any help from this political party.







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Huffy Duffy Comes to Brant

Couldn't have said it better myself:

Duffy's Senate nod shows lack of integrity

The gall of Stephen Harper and his acolytes is beyond the pale.

I see that Mike Duffy is coming to Brantford (at $150 per person) to raise money for our MP and the local Conservative Party. Mr. Duffy is one of those Senate appointments that Stephen Harper promised he would never make as he believed only in an elected Senate. Having watched Duffy's so-called coverage from Ottawa for two or three years before his cash-for-life appointment, his fawning over all things Harper was obvious. His grovelling paid off with the Senate appointment.

Now he is being used to raise money for the Prime Minister and his MPs who promised us an elected Senate, not an appointed one. Longevity does not mean effectiveness -- Duffy was in Ottawa a long time, but his coverage of events became increasingly partisan and his loyalty to Mr Harper was rewarded.

Is there any integrity left in the Conservative Party?

-Rick Trebilcock, Brantford

Phil's Funds Fall Flat

Remember that time Phil McColeman promised truckloads of money for Brant? And then he couldn't figure out what to spend it on so he asked city council to come up with an idea? And then city council decided they wanted to fix up the roads? Remember that?

Well promise made, promise broken. It turns out the money won't be coming after all – Phil and the Conservatives only want to spend money on things that make for good photo-ops and ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It is painfully clear that Phil and friends think of Brantfordians as chumps who can be bought off with propaganda and a few strategically-placed taxpayer dollars. (That's pork-barrelling, by the way.)

In other news, there are less and less jobs in Brant every day.

In even more news, Phil came under criticism for continuing to do nothing about land-claims issues. So much for his "number one priority" last election! Well lucky there's another election coming this fall…

Phil McColeman: Not with a strong voice but a whimper

As our MPs relax into summer, it's a good time to review how they performed in Ottawa during the recent sessions of Parliament. During the last election, Phil McColeman promised leadership and a strong voice in Ottawa. In terms of leadership, he has failed to take a stand on any important issues. In terms of a strong voice, Phil has been nothing but a trained seal in the House of Commons, posing pre-planned questions to fellow Conservative ministers, and delivering speeches about how awesome the Conservative government is. Here's a chart showing what Phil talked about every time he opened his mouth:


It's heartwarming to see that Phil spends his speaking time setting up other ministers for an easy score instead of asking questions about, say, land-claims issues, or the need for medical isotopes, or really anything that matters at all.

Predictably, McColeman also voted just as Stephen Harper told him to every time. For example, even with the constituency of Brant that has many Italian-Canadians, Phil voted against a bill that would have recognized the injustice done to Italian-Canadians who were interned during the Second World War. (In 1988, Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government offered an apology and compensation to Japanese-Canadians who suffered similar mistreatment). Strong voice for Brant? As if!

With behaviour like this, it's no wonder that Phil was recently listed as a nominee for Canada's Worst MP. Too bad there's no category for Most Obedient MP, or it would be a shoo-in.

Visas on Demand; Phil cubre su culo!

After the Harper government decided to make an international incident in their poor handling of their relations with the Czech Republic and Mexico and singling them out in requiring Visas to come to Canada. Phil managed to cover his butt and "save the day". A last-minute intervention by Brant MP Phil McColeman has helped 49 Mexican singers and their escorts land in Brantford last night after almost having their trip cancelled. Almost two months of work went into plans for a children's youth choir from Mexico City to stay in Brantford as part of a swing through Michigan and Ontario. But the itinerary was almost scuttled after the Canadian government announced that Mexicans and Czechs needed visas to enter Canada.

So Phil's government creates an international incident and now they are heroes for not screwing over a Mexican band??? How about the thousands of couples with wedding plans this summer who have to change or cancel their plans due to the lack of notice or travellers who have non-refundable deals to vacation in Mexico? Or students who have to cancel their studies-abroad plans because it takes two to three month to have a temporary Visa issued to them?


Well at least Phil will have a group of tourists who he can give more of his vandalized flags to.



Our visitors will probably wonder why the Canadian flag now has www.philmccolemanmp.ca on it and wonder what kind of shameless "idiota" would self-promote himself like that. Aye carumba!