WooHoo! Stephen Harpers "independent economist" just dropped a bomb!!

[Harper_is_Bush]

Economist says Tories gave him incomplete platform

Updated Sun. Jan. 15 2006 4:28 PM ET

Canadian Press

OTTAWA — A prominent economist commissioned by the Conservatives to assess the financial soundness of their election platform says major items were omitted from the version he was given.

Paul Darby, deputy chief economist of the Conference Board of Canada, originally concluded that Stephen Harper's Conservative platform "is affordable in each fiscal year from 2005-2006 through 2010-2011."

The Conservative party promoted that conclusion last week as evidence its election platform had been "independently verified" by the Conference Board, an Ottawa-based think-tank.

snip

"Talk to Harper," he said. "It is not in the platform I received from them."

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060112/tory_platform_060115/20060115?s_name=election2006&no_ads=

I love it, absolutely love it.

Given this kind of news from last week, it's extra sweet:

OTTAWA (CP) - Conservative election promises made so far would result in a deficit of at least $12.4 billion over five years, the Liberals said Sunday.

Prime Minister Paul Martin, feeling increasing pressure to halt Conservative momentum, used a mix of bravado and sarcasm to cast doubt on the promises made by Tory Leader Stephen Harper.

"I'll be very interested to see how Mr. Harper is going to pay for them," he said during a news conference at the Sun Youth centre in Montreal.

snip

The Conservatives responded to the Martin and Liberal comments by saying their platform is affordable through to 2011, and offered a letter from the Conference Board of Canada to back up their claim.
http://www.cjad.com/content/cp_article.asp?id=/global_feeds/CanadianPress/NationalNews/n01089A.htm

Looks like the Conservatives need a new line to defend thier platform budgeting!

[ClusterFreak]

1. If this gains traction....maybe hope isn't lost...

I'd love to see Darby call a press conference or something....complaining about being duped by Harper. Christ that would be sweet!

[daleo]

2. It will be interesting to see if this is picked up by the media

The Globe will probably give it a hearing, Canwest is more doubtful. It may be downplayed significantly in either case, though.

[daleo]

6. My Canwest was A4, Globe A6 I think.

Neither gave it front page billing, and both pretty well let the Conservative response slide by ("we couldn't cost these until we negotiated with the provinces"). The Conservatives still claim that they have the full backing of the Conference Board. The latter don't seem to be too bothered by the whole thing, or at least they aren't getting that message into the press effectively.

Once again, the Conservatives seem to be mostly getting a pass on a substantive issue.

[glarius]

3. I watched CTV news tonite and when they were talking about the election

at the beginning of the newscast, giving a report on Harper's and Martin's activities today, there was no mention of this....They finally threw in a bare mention of it later on toward the end of the newscast....We'll see what happens tomorrow on all the newscasts of the different networks.

[Harper_is_Bush]

4. sigh. The media is so lined up behind the Conservatives

it's sickening.

[Telly Savalas]

7. It would really help if Mr. Martin and his buddies

would take a more active role in bringing attention to these things.

[MrPrax]

5. Oh so Harper is lying...

Wow...that should really cut into their numbers as voters re-consider the Liberals :eyes:

Doom is upon us

[daleo]

8. Here is the Conference Board of Canada's website

I don't see them complaining of their offended honor on the site. It looks like they have done the minimum they could get away with - a slight objection to the Conservative's chicanery, but no outrage, that's for sure.

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/