“In 2006, after the Liberal ‘decade of darkness,’ we took action to rebuild Canada’s Armed Forces.”
–Stephen Harper
October 2010: “Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is scrambling to contain an ever-widening scandal in which officials deliberately tried to ruin the reputation of outspoken military veterans”
October 2011: Veterans Ombudsman Questions Harper Government Cuts To Veterans Affairs
November 2011: Veterans across Canada protest against planned budget cuts and benefits
March 2012: Veterans consider suing MP accused of dozing off
April 2012: Veterans concerned over cuts to case workers
September 2012: Feds spent over $750,000 in five-year court battle against vets’ pension claim
February 2013: Reserve budgets slashed by almost 25 per cent despite Harper’s order to avoid front-line reductions
April 9, 2013: Danger pay reduced for Canadian troops in Afghanistan
April 21, 2013: Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan ordered to return danger pay
7 responses to “A Brief History of Stephen Harper Supporting Our Troops”
Sigh… The holier-than-thou attitude the Conservatives have towards their opponents on military issues (you’re with us or with the terrorists) does not wash with their approach to veterans’ issues, in particular. I find this to be the least tolerable aspect of the CPC. And I’m no fan.
On the last item, note that McKay has stated that the troops will NOT be required to return the pay after all.
True. Actually I believe they’ve backracked on the second last link about danger pay as well.
I will never vote Conservative nor will I ever endorse them in anyway but I will give some small credit where it’s a little due.
When Harper first came on the scene form the Preston Manning school of thought , I figured that Canada as a nation would become so extremely right winged that we’d all be required to carry a bible and a gun.
Remember the “shoulder-to-shoulder” speech, the “Alberta firewall paper” and the tough on crime crack down, stopping same sex marriage along with many other right winged statements and promises he made?
Well he certainly done an about face on all those matters. Enough so that many in his party are ticked off as well as many conservative supporters are very disappointed at how moderate he became.
I’m actually glad at how moderate Harper has become. He supports open immigration increasing visible minorities. He supports affirmative action. He supports a women’s right to choose. He opposes capital punishment. His tough on crime measures are rather soft when compared to a real conservative like George W. Bush. He fully supports the Nation of Quebec and begins every speech in French to show that we are a bilingual country.
Again I don’t support him and suggest that you don’t vote for him but at least he’s not as right winged as we first thought. It’s so funny though that many conservative supporters are chocked because Harper has become such a moderate that some have stopped giving financial support and have stopped volunteering for the party. It’s all boo hoo from the inside.
Many conservatives only vote for Harper only because they think that there’s no one else better to vote for. It’s like they’re waiting for this knight in shinning conservative armour to come along and reintroduce bible and guns to society.
You greatly mischaracterize the average Conservative voter (and I have been one in the past). This idea that they are all (or even predominantly) bunch of fanatically religious rednecks is absurd left-wing propaganda. It’s insulting and destructive: and perhaps more importantly from a Liberal point of view, it doesn’t offer any genuine insight into how to get Conservative voters to switch their vote to Liberal.
Also: as a point of historical fact, the Reform party never advocated capital punishment, nor banning abortion. Their position was that such topics should be addressed in free votes in Parliament, where each MP would be expected to represent the views of their riding as best they could.
They did in fact endorse a whole bunch of initiatives that would have made Parliament more democratic, and MPs more answerable to their ridings rather than their leaders.
Over 40% of Conservative voters (in the Canadian election study) support gay marriage. Only half support the death penalty for murderers. Only 31% think Canada should admit fewer immigrants. 46% support two-tiered healthcare. Only 4% of Tories believe strongly that job creation should be left to the private sector.
What is my point? Stephen Harper is mostly in line with the views of his party. Those views are relatively moderate – here in the United States, about half of Canadian Tories would probably be Democrats. Even in the knuckle-dragging wing of the party, while folks want to bring Canada back to a distant yesteryear, their goal is 1999 not 1899.
If you think the likes of freedominion, or Small Dead Animals represent the voice of Canadian conservatism, then you are dead wrong.
Yet another example of the “No duty owed” argument by the current government:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWddxakvOfQ&feature=share
https://t.co/4tCjJ1dSC5
and yesterday in Federal Court, the Government of Canada again cited that they have no obligation to CAF members!
http://globalnews.ca/news/2276405/federal-lawyer-argues-lawsuit-over-military-home-equity-loss-should-be-dropped/
Here is the statement of claim: http://www.courts.ns.ca/Supreme_Court/documents/Statementofclaim.pdf