Canadian Election Watch - Day 5

Thursday was housecleaning day for 2 of the major parties. On the Liberal front, Stephane Dion fired Quebec City candidate Simon Bedard after the media reported 1990 remarks he'd made calling for the "extermination of Mohawks". Nasty, nasty business. Meanwhile, the Cons only suspended their chief spokesperson Ryan Sparrow after he had the audacity to politically attack the father of a fallen soldier. I wonder what it takes to get fired from that camp.

Harper sharpened his focus on the Liberals' Green Shift plan by stating to a Quebec audience that it was a threat to national unity. (Yes, he went there). I know that some Albertans have been chanting "NEP! NEP!" in reaction to the Liberal party's new environmental policies lately because 1) they've been whining non-stop about the NEP ever since the 1970s and 2) they agree with Steve's old firewall comment (ie. which was about not wanting to share Alberta's oil wealth with the 'have-not' provinces). A man who wanted to put a firewall around this province has the nerve to talk about national unity? Please.

What he's trying to sell in Quebec is an alternative to BQ separation sentiments by pushing decentralization of the federal government in an attempt to win more seats in that province. It's going to take more than that to win over les Quebecois. The Cons conveniently seem to forget the scandals they've been nailed on (Berniergate etc.) that have had an impact on how they're viewed in that province.

The NDP's Jack Layton was busy in Quebec trying to sell his party's green plan as well and repeated (I think it's become his daily affirmation now) that he's running to be the Prime Minister.

Layton's Quebec visit coincides with the NDP's launch of an advertising campaign in the province that compares Harper's policies to those of U.S. President George W. Bush, featuring a black-and-white split-screen image of the two leaders.

That's a fair comparison, as far as I'm concerned.

Long day for me. That's it for now.