"Aspirational goals" for greenhouse gas reduction invite ridicule
  Technological approach an excuse for inaction.

"Clean government" – Rhetoric contrasts with record
  Throne speech glosses over government's lapses and embarrassments.

"Tar Sands is a national issue" - Alberta First Nations people
  Those most affected by development being ignored, offer warnings.

Aboriginal Day of Action spotlights the contrast between government statements and Conservatives' political record
  Harper-Reform-Alliance have practised "politics of resentment" against Aboriginals for years.

Abortion debate could be reopened despite Harper protests
  In spite of controlling tendencies, PM has never quashed anti-abortion Caucus members.

About those lost jobs:
  How to talk about the economy now.

Accountability concern contrasts with past campaigns for corporate political influence
  Motivated by the Liberal sponsorship scandal, Stephen Harper campaigned in 2006 to get big money out of Canadian politics — after 15 years fighting to enable corporations to spend money on politics.

Afghanistan – Harper imitates Bush's cut-and-run, support-the-troops rhetoric
  Canadian deaths up ante in patriotic slogan debate.

Africa hears more reasons to do less
  G8 performance reaffirms 2007 reversals on Canadian aid.

Arctic frame for sovereignty should be cooperation, not confrontation - Byers
  Harper's combative attitude could undo years of cooperation, while credibility is undermined by social conditions in the North.

Arctic sovereignty slogan masks win for military lobby
  New ships won't meet civil needs in North, earmarked for military operations elsewhere?

Artists need long-term support for infrastructure – Charlie Angus
  Juno nominee MP gives Harper credit for singing, but says Canada's edge in arts industries continues to be undermined.

Atlantic Canada
  "A culture of defeat..." — Stephen Harper, describing the Atlantic Provinces, May 2001.

Budget warning signs raise doubts that announced money will get spent
  Leaks over-hype stimulus spending – economists.

Burma actions don't match resolution Conservatives supported in 2005
  Harper refused to meet last year with leader of government in exile.

Canadian gold company accused of causing international suffering
  Barrick Gold, which won Harper's endorsement in 2007, suspected of environmental degradation and deaths in three countries.

Canadian Wheat Board – a longtime Conservative target – halts Harper government in court
  Ideologically-driven fight against Board led to charges government acted illegally in stripping its powers.

CBC cuts tied to Conservative ideology - poll
  Public broadcaster is starved of funding by a government with a vendetta against it.

CBC has been a Reform-Alliance-Conservative target for years
  Public broadcaster faces political heat on top of years of budget cuts.

CBC would be damaged by Conservative recommendations in committee report
  Calls for public broadcaster to do more with resources currently acknowledged as insufficient.

Child care whopper – no new spaces from $100 handout
  Federal funding cuts put thousands of spaces and jobs in jeopardy.

Climate change disinterest glaringly apparent on world stage
  Harper skips UN meetings on global survival for photo ops.

Coalition push forces Harper onto the defensive
  Momentum – including open online letter – grows to replace minority Conservatives.

Colombia deal halted – for now – as Canadians rally against it
  Human rights situation in Colombia "is truly alarming today" – daughter of murdered trade unionist.

Compassion deficit haunts Harper
  PM's policies contradict attempts to paint him as caring.

Corporate rights trump human rights, while corporate social responsibility bill cast adrift in Senate
  Harper visits a foreign Barrick Gold operation for a second time this year.

Corporate tax cuts to go to US Treasury as Obama closes loophole
  US will tax its companies the difference between foreign taxes and domestic ones to slow outsourcing.

Crime bill, now stalled in Senate, will actually make us less safe
  America's "War on Drugs" and "three strikes" laws are both deemed massive and interconnected failures.

Deep integration – TILMA and SPP to bring in rules to let corporations challenge our laws
  Conservatives quietly advance plans that could deregulate Canada and bring our energy under US control.

Disarmament file sees "diminished activity"
  Douglas Roche joins 170 fellow Order of Canada members calling for worldwide nuclear weapons convention.

Economic management draws failing grade from observers
  Harper has repeatedly choosen politics over sound management - retired Finance official.

Economy being hollowed out by resource sell-offs, despite PM's jokes – Watkins
  Value of US buyouts of CDN companies in first half of '07 more than four times value of CDN buyouts of US firms.

EI changes needed to prevent disaster in the making — CCPA
  Canadians face greater vulnerability than at any time since the 1940s

Equalization – A simple idea made complicated by politics
  Damage to Conservatives from controversy likely to postpone election indefinitely.

Ethics, Political
  Allan Riddell case contradicts accountability promises, threatens damage.

Ethnic strategy undermined by racial slurs
  Immigrant-bashing attitudes and a growing economic gap for racial minorities neutralize political outreach efforts to new Canadians.

Fiscal update shows there is no new Harper
  Cut-throat plan to end democratic financing features lack of financial recovery plan.

Foreign takeovers welcomed by self-serving panel on competition
  Corporate ringers told Harper what he wanted to hear – from an interview with Mel Watkins.

Framing mistakes and contraditions pile up
  Bad timing has played a role, but Harper is largely the author of his own undoing.

Global Warming
  The Harper Conservatives' fight for credibility, as the party representing the Alberta oil industry, has been largely unsuccessful.

Global Warming update – Harper at G8
  "Go-between" role contradicts historic opposition to greenhouse gas control.

Guns – Secretly appointed firearms committee is mostly made up of gun advocates
  Conservatives appoint no strong voices for urban perspective.

Health care defence intentionally vague
  Harper attempts to avoid debate over Canadian system because he despises it.

Hidden agenda of cuts could follow Harper win
  Funding for public services will dwindle due to corporate tax cuts - CLC economist.

Hidden-agenda concerns keep Conservatives from majority
  Only ten percent in poll think Harper has told them the whole truth about his plans.

Human rights platitudes contrast with lack of Canadian action
  Canada falling down on commitments, disappointing international observers.

Human rights rhetoric contradicted by rush for Colombia trade pact
  Despite death squads, Harper government set to endorse Uribe government with deal.

Immigration changes contradict Conservatives' ethnic outreach
  Debate could backfire if it exposes intolerance or brings out comments that appear to consign immigrant workers to serving up coffee.

Intensity-based targets promote oil industry frame
  Purported inclusion of developing economies conceals self-serving nature of scheme.

International anti-poverty group singles out Canada and Harper for condemnation
  Three countries - France, Canada, and Italy - threaten to undermine world efforts - Avaaz.

Isotope privatization fiasco triggered "crisis"
  Nuclear regulator overruled to help corporate beneficiary of subsidies to AECL.

Israel continues to get unshakable support from Harper
  Problematic nature of promises takes on a new dimension with intense attack on Gaza Strip.

Jobs debate should be framed around what Canadian families need to cope with changes
  Out of crisis, working people may find opportunity to advance issues like drug benefits and income security.

Kyoto undermined by rhetoric at APEC: Greenpeace
  Push for nuclear power could lead Canada to import massive amounts of waste.

Land claims progress questionable: analyst
  Apparent progess in first months of new tribunal has to do with which claims were processed, not how.

Language change foisted on diplomatic corps
  Humanitarian concerns conflict with Conservative frame, minister dares staff to challenge him.

Mandatory minimum sentences proposed while US states repeal them
  Liberals cave, so Canada will face the kind of swollen prison populations that have forced states into crisis, with some contemplating mass releases.

Medicare would end with Harper majority - Mike McBane
  Even now, the system is under extreme threats, with privatized clinics opening the door to trade challenges.

Missile defence – Questioning Harper's role as go-between
  PM uses Canada's image as international mediator to advance American president's agenda.

Native rights stance in UN vote lost allies for Canada
  Massive support for Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was a stunning defeat for Canada.

Nuclear energy endorsement may be linked to tar sands and climate change pressure
  Unresolved questions remain about environmental implications and costs.

Obama turns the tables on Harper
  Prime Minister is forced to take or at least accept positions he normally condemns.

Obstructionism from Canada blocks global climate change progress
  Australian scientist, best-selling author Tim Flannery urges Canada to be part of the solution.

Partisan government ads put Conservatives – deliberately – on thin ice
  Controversial giant cheques are censured in public and probably sanctioned in private.

Pay equity spin gives women the kiss-off
  Labour steps up campaign to stop attack on rights.

Playbook for election looks like vintage Alberta politics
  Name-calling is about mobilizing the base and creating distraction.

Privatization – Harper Conservatives quietly eye options
  Nuclear sell-off and private prisons may be on horizon.

Prorogation and budget strategy pay off for Harper
  Ignatieff confirms Conservatives' status as government.

Public appointments and patronage
  Harper government stacks public service with loyalists while it stalls on setting up accountable panel.

Quotes from Harper's NCC days...
  A contrast with his current moderate tone.

Raitt "insults Canadians"
  Plumping for nuclear industry takes priority over health and safety for resources minister - anti-tritium activists.

Rally supports Colombian trade unionists, opposes trade deal
  Union leaders and MPs say Canadians will have to compete against people who face death if they try to improve working conditions.

RCMP – Task force instead of inquiry sends law-and-order signals
  Controversy stems from Harper maintaining control of appointments process despite accountability promises.

Recession – Harper comfortable with shrunken federal government
  But his no-deficit position would "accelerate, deepen and lengthen" any downturn — economist.

Refugee board patronage appointees will follow political directives
  Recent IRB appointees include anti-gay evangelical and brass from CLAC, the anti-union union.

Residential schools apology clashes with Conservative record
  "20 years from now some other PM will be apologizing for the 2008 moratorium on reserve school construction" - First Nations observer.

Surplus budgeting now framed as taxpayer benefit
  "Surprises" once scorned, now provide excuse to avoid social spending.

Wheat board ultimatum sends another ominous message to public agencies
  Frustrated by courts, Conservatives threaten unprecedented moves which critics charge will "hand over control to private multinationals".