Stephen Harper Plays Terror Card, Martin Agrees

“I've made no secret of our desire to rebuild the Canadian military to have the capacities of a sovereign nation. To make foreign policy decisions that are not only independent but are actually noticed by other powers around the world.”

Stephen Harper, Canadian candidate for prime minister.

Randall Palmer, “Canada’s Conservatives vow to boost defense budget,” Reuters, 1/16/06.

He lays out 196 promises to the people of Canada. But when it comes time to show how he and his Conservatives are going to pay for them all, there's a bit of a problem. His numbers are off a bit. Well, more than a bit -- they're off by $22-billion. Now there's actually an old accounting expression for an error like this. It's called ‘oops.’

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

Campbell Clark, Steven Chase, Gloria Galloway, “Conservative fiscal plan imcompetent, say Martin,” Globe and Mail, 1/17/06.

I think you can express it, I suppose, in two ways, and that is, the more that we can do to establish Afghanistan democracy, the institutions, and doing it in the tougher parts of Afghanistan, then the more we protect ourselves at home. But I also believe that we have a responsibility to the people who are going through what they are going through.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Micahel Den Tandt, Gloria Galloway, “Party leaders stand by Afghan mission,” Globe and Mail, 1/17/06.