Canuck Politics

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged nations to practice “enlightened sovereignty” in his keynote speech to the 2010 Wold Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Notions rooted in a narrow view of sovereignty and national self interest must be reconsidered. We cannot do business as though for one to have more, another must have less.  That is not true, it is not just, and it cannot be the path we take …

Our ambition … must be a shared belief that the rising tide of recovery must lift all boats, not just some. This is the exercise of soverignty at its most enlightened.

- Stephen Harper

Related links:

• Stephen Harpers article in the Toronto Star: G8 agenda: Focus on human welfare
• Full video: Stephen Harper’s keynote address at the 2010 World Economic Forum

Stephen Harper says cooperation among the G-20 economies was instrumental in averting an economic disaster as the worst of the global financial crisis seems to have passed.

If these measures are enacted and we continue to move forward with the G20 process, we will have the kind of global governance that is necessary to ensure the stability and transparency of markets, in a way that gives us the benefits of a globalized market economy without the enormous risks that we have experienced the last few years.

- Stephen Harper

Michael Ignatieff says the Liberal Party no longer has confidence in the Conservative government, and they will work to trigger an election at their earliest opportunity.

Liberals say they will not negotiate, and there is nothing Harper can do to change their minds.

The game is up for this Conservative government … Mr. Harper, your time is up.  We cannot support this government any further.

- Michael Ignatieff

Related videos:

• The Ignatieff Ultimatum (June 15, 2009)
• Tories and Grits cooperate on EI Reform (June 17, 2009)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is interviewed on Sky News while at the G-20 meeting in London, England.

Harper rejects a global financial regulator, saying soverign countries will never accept international regulation of their monetary policies.

Canada’s opposition parties are threatening to defeat the Conservative government over cuts to political party subsidies included in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s economic update.

Flaherty says the federal budget will go into deficit after accounting for the planned economic stimulus spending agreed by the G-20 nations.

We cannot ask Canadians to tighten their belts during tougher times without looking in the mirror. Canadians have a right to look to government as an example. We have a responsibility to show restraint and respect for their money. Canadian tax dollars are precious … Today, our Government is eliminating the $1.75-per-vote taxpayer subsidy for politicians and their parties, effective April 1, 2009.

- Finance Minister Jim Flaherty