WHO'S THIS GIRL?
Daniela Syrovy is a communications professional and writer who has worked for the Toronto International Film Festival, Alliance Atlantis and CTVGlobeMedia. She runs a boutique PR firm in Toronto and once owned a fast food diner called Big Burger. She contributes to  sweetspot.ca and shedoesthecity.com, and divides her time between Toronto and the West Indies.
WHO'S THIS GUY?
Sameer Vasta is a storyteller, web junkie, hugger extraordinaire, and communications strategist that has helped organizations like the Government of Ontario, The World Bank, and the AKDN create compelling narrative around their work. He performs poetry in the street and gives, arguably, the best hugs in the country. Ask him for one next time you're in Toronto.



Top 10 Conservative Party scandals

by Daniela Syrovy & Greg Bolton
All governments have their controversies. Remember the Liberal’s infamous “sponsorship scandal?” The Mulroney-Schreiber “Airbus scandal?”

For a government that came in promising to clean up corruption, the current Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, have sure had their share of controversies. Here are 10 of the Harper Government's biggest missteps so far. (It should be noted that it was harder than we originally anticipated to keep the list to just 10.)

 
Photo 1 of 10
1) Who: The Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office that directly serves Mr. Harper. 
What: Replaced the words ''Government of Canada'' with ''Harper Government'' in an attempt to re-brand. Directive was sent to a variety of public servants with regards to all federal communication.
Result: Liberals have their panties in a knot and the rest of Canada thinks Harper is one step closer to declaring a dictatorship.
Lessons learned: If it's not broke, don't fix it. Leave the re-branding to ad agencies. (credit: Canadian Press)
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Posted on 13/03/2011 at 3:36 PM
Re: Harper
Ladymermaid
If Harper were only as good at running the country as he is at covering up all the items he is sweeping under the rug.

Sorry Mr. Harper but no one with your rather warped sense of morality will get my vote.
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 2:26 PM
Re: liberal minds
Anonymous
WOW Posted on 13/03/2011 at 3:23 PM
Original comment has been removed.
The Liberals under Jean Chretien balanced the budget and cut down the debt.
Conservative Mulroney triple the debt.
Conservative Harper is now running a 50 Billion dollar yearly debt.
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 2:30 PM
Re: liberal minds
Anonymous
WOW Posted on 13/03/2011 at 3:23 PM
Original comment has been removed.
actually, under the liberal government canada had a bit of a surplus. it wasn't until harper took helm that we started suffering billions of deficits
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 3:20 PM
Harper Time to Go
Anonymous
Harper reduced the GST from7% to 5% and that was great however He has now has introduced the 13% HST (Harper Sales Tax) thus adding 8% to the GST and renaming it. Now we pay tax on everything we never paid tax on before. Not only is Loblaw increasing all product on the shelf by 5% in April. Small business must 13% to invoices the which used to be 5% so how do we stay in business. Remember Malroney and the GST now we got Harper and the HST.
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 3:21 PM
Re: Harper
John Turner
PC Support Posted on 13/03/2011 at 5:10 PM
Original comment has been removed.
How short our memories. Paul Martin left Harper with a surplus, not a deficit. Harper immediately gave the surplus to big business in the form of tax reductions. He has now landed us in the biggest deficit in Canadian history. Spendiing $1.2 billion on a photo shoot in Toronto, $30 billion on fighter planes we don't need or want. How many millions has he spent on "hush" money to people he has fired to keep them quiet because they dared to disagree with him. (e.g. Linda Keen) How many Millions has he wasted fighting to keep Canadian citizens, the people he is supposed to represent and protect, from coming home to Canada (Kahdir for one) from American/foreign prisons and torture chambers? He backed Bev Oda when she falsified a signed document - probably altered at his suggestion. A private citizen would have gone to jail.

Harper is not a leader. He can't lead or pursuade. He merely abuses his power to bludgeon opposition into compliance. Sounds like a dictator to me. Canada's reputation as a peace maker is in the trash can. Are we safer now than before he came into power? Not by any measure. Killing thousands of innocent people in foreign countries just to please Bush, an American psychotic president, does no one any good. Why should we be surprised when some of those people try to resist or strike back?
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 4:39 PM
Re: liberal minds
Ian
WOW Posted on 13/03/2011 at 3:23 PM
Original comment has been removed.
Liberals? Maybe you should say, "people who can read and know some facts"...the Cons (some belong in jail) inherited a surplus from the previous government (Liberal), and while we had a terrible recession and fortunately solid banks but Harper did not create our regulatory system that saved us (so far?) from a U.S. style housing collapse. You opinion is yours to keep but name calling is an unfortunate trait held by most neo-Con bullies. All Canadians should be very concerned about the direction the once "Good ship Canada" is going regardless of political stripe. The word "Liberal" is used by the Neo-cons in the states as an insult, but I always believed the Liberal party represented the middle...the NDP on the left and the Conservatives on the right. There is a reason they removed the name "Progressive". Now we have the "Regressive" Conservatives...Happy?
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 4:55 PM
Conservatives :(
Rick
The conservatives in general have screwed canada way more then the liberals. The avero arrow was cancelled because of the Diefenbaker conservatives kissing american rear. Oh NO! can't have canada be a airspace superpower. Mulroney got stupid free trade and brought huge debt. And The conservatives now spend so much money on stupid bashing campaigns its sickening. Like come on spend the money where its needed not on things that make them seem childish. The GST thing was stupid too. O wow 2%. Like its a huge difference. now 8 or 10% now thats significant. They make the little things seem so great when they are actually covering a big screw up. Harper get the act together!!
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 5:03 PM
P.C goverment
Shar
The arrogant Harper and all the P.C party get in office and then they make the rich richer and the poor are left to starve and the working middle class picks up the tab.Look at Mike Harris he gutted every service used by the middle class eg. health care,schoolsandevery service used by the poor . Then he jumps ship as soon as people wake up with no doctors no mental health services user fees everywhere . and most jobs paying 10 bucks an hour .Yes I want more of that .
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 5:21 PM
Re: BETTER
gob
HARPERPRO Posted on 13/03/2011 at 9:14 PM
Original comment has been removed.
This is typical of Conservative Party hacks...they will stand by their party no matter the hard facts presented and are unable to defend their position using anything solid, so, they just resort to comments such as the above mindless drivel.
Posted on 16/03/2011 at 5:23 PM
Re: Harper
gob
PC Support Posted on 13/03/2011 at 5:10 PM
Original comment has been removed.
You don't know the name of the Liberal leader? This is not surprising to me coming from a Conservative Party supporter. Please do Canada a favour and try doing some actual research into the candidates you are voting for before you cast your next ballot.
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