Seriously, I'm going through outrage fatigue:
Tories accused of not playing fair with the torch
As the Olympic Torch makes its way to Vancouver for the start of next year's games, there will be more torch relay ceremonies held in Conservative ridings than in the ridings of opposition members.
CTV News has obtained a list that shows that torch relay ceremonies will be held in 91 Conservative ridings, compared to 20 Liberal ridings and 17 ridings for both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois...
In Saskatchewan, all 11 Conservative MPs have a torch event taking place in their ridings, though the one Liberal MP does not.
At this point, I fully expect to hear that H1N1 vaccinations will be available only in Conservative ridings. Seriuosly, would that shock anyone?
AFTERSNARK: The Calgary Herald has some slightly different numbers, and fairly unambiguous evidence of some selective festivities:
When federal riding maps are superimposed over torch relay community events, the flame's pit stop standings are as follows:
Conservatives: 126
New Democrats: 29
Liberals: 21
Bloc Quebecois: 18
And selective? You be the judge:
Take Halifax, where MPs representing the city are either Grit or NDP. It's odd how Canada's 13th-largest city doesn't rate a downtown pit stop except in a Conservative riding on the outskirts.
Opposition MP-dominated Winnipeg is bypassed in favour of stopovers in surrounding ridings held by Conservatives.
Inner-city Toronto, the last real Liberal fortress with a smattering of New Democrats, gets one torch relay event in NDP MP Olivia Chow's riding before it scrambles toward Conservative-held Aurora. Interestingly, Lunn's list puts 27 of Ontario's 33 torch relay events in Conservative ridings.
Equally worthy of an arched eyebrow is how communities in the Beauce, with a combined population of around 50,000 and represented by former Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier, rate a two-day, three-stop visitation. The Conservative riding of Kenora gets two stops and, as the local MP has proudly announced, $30,000 in hosting help from the federal government.
Bias? What bias?
6 comments:
Canadian Tire sells fire extinguishers. Just saying.
I was going to say that as the Tories hold a majority of seats, it seems logical that there'd be more ridings to visit in the first place. I went to refresh my memory at the CBC:
Con 143
Lib 77
BQ 49
NDP 37
So the torch is visiting 88% of Tory, 28% of Liberal, and 79% of NDP ridings. Seems disproportionate.
Well, are the Conservative ridings just coincidentally along all the major routes?
Unfortunately it looks like that's the case, at a glance. So I can't say this is really a foul, on the face of it.
The other issue--of skipping Halifax, TO, and Winnipeg--seems more likely to have been stage-managed.
You're missing the point, Metro. Of course there will be parts of the torch route that you can't possibly dispute -- simple geography makes that a certainty.
What's relevant is what happens to the route when there are equally valid choices, or when the choice just defies logic, as you so helpfully point out in the cases of Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg.
Canada's wingnuts will, of course, only address those parts of the route that appear to be fair and, for them, that will close the discussion. The inherent unfairness of other parts of the route will, not surprisingly, go unaddressed.
Call it a hunch.
When it comes propaganda, the Harper Government has embraced full spectrum dominance.
It's pure evil genius because it *does* work. People will remember all the Tory Blue associated with the "exciting" Olympics and feel just so gosh darn warm an fuzzy about Big Daddy.
Complicated things like deficit, debt, moribund economy? Downersville!
Baird also touted the signs as proof that "one of the hallmarks of the government is transparency and accountability."
"That is why we think it is incredibly important when we are making investments in communities coast to coast to coast that we inform Canadians of those investments."
JOhn Baird expounding on the Conservative Party's dedication to transparencly. Forcing stimulus $$ recipients to post a second sign touting the neo-con agenda. The man is a serial liar.
Don't bogart that Big Spliff!
Post a Comment