Paul Martin is spending his last hours campaigning, not promoting any bright new ideas or initiatives, but smearing Conservatives.

Paul Martin refers to the Conservatives as the "radical right", and their platform "the far, far right of the U.S. conservative movement". Those are two woefully inaccurate statements, and are intended to scare voters away from the Conservatives. These comments come in the GTA though, so its not surprising that nobody would challenge his lies.

Oh, and speaking of Toronto, how about that thrashing the Leafs took on Saturday night by the Senators? HAHA! I loved every minute of it. I Hope they can repeat it on Monday night.

I liked this summation of Paul Martin's campaign.

He proposed a handgun ban that wouldn't ban handguns. A wait-time guarantee that wouldn't guarantee wait times. An amendment to a constitutional provision no federal government has ever used. A unilateral amendment the federal government could not deliver unilaterally. He stood in a room full of children in New Brunswick to announce a daycare commitment that will not begin until 2009-as if he could commit, not the government we are about to elect, but the one after that.

There is an interesting article in the Christian Science Monitor which debunks many of the "myths" surrounding the Conservatives platform.

Also in this article, they make some shocking revelations about recent polls in Quebec:

Perhaps the most dramatic campaign story has unfolded in Quebec, where Conservatives failed to win a single seat in the last election. According to a recent poll, the Conservatives' leader, Stephen Harper, is more popular in Quebec than he is in his home province of Alberta, the most conservative region in the country.

While the Liberal party Sponsorship scandal put Canada's future in jeopardy, and while Buzz Hargrove stood next to Paul Martin and told Quebec to vote for seperatists, the good people of Quebec have seen the light.

They're seeing now that Stephen Harpers vision of Canada includes more power to the provinces. This isn't a platform promise, this is the way the Conservatives see the way government should be run, with more resources going "down the ladder". This is exactly what the people in Quebec have been looking for, since the separatist movement began. Many seperatists would prefer NOT to seperate from Canada, but they want more control over their own affairs. This is what Stephen Harper wants for EVERY province.

Paul Martin CLAIMS he wants to give more power to Quebec, but mentions nothing of the other provinces. His party in general is not in favor of ceding power to the provinces, and are firm believers that everything should be done at the federal level, and Quebecers are starting to see through him and his lies.

Another thing that bothers me is how so many Liberals are so quick to compare Stephen Harper and George W. Bush. Most Liberals would have you believe that George W. Bush is the face of true Conservativism, but thats just not true. George W. Bush is a crook and a liar, and has much more in common with Paul Martin than he does with Stephen Harper. Both George Bush and Paul Martin have a circle of incompetant cronies, are constantly being accused of corruption and lying, and both only took their jobs to make their own private companies, and their freinds, richer.

For example, George W. Bush ran on an anti-tax platform, and once elected slashed taxes drastically, but only for the richest of the rich. Paul Martin just threw us a bone with an income tax cut. But as Stephen Harper was quick to point out, the poorest of the poor in this country don't pay income tax. Harper's GST cut is the most evenly applied tax-cut possible in this country. It will affect every consumer, small business, and large corporation evenly. Thats fair.

It's the most hypocritical aspect of the Liberal party in Canada right now. When George W. Bush authorizes illegal surveillance of his citizens, theres outrage. When Paul Martin authorizes illegal surveillance, theres not a friggin' peep out of us, or the media.

On the healthcare front, Paul Martin has been brutal. He's made zero headway with any wait times, and the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that its illegal to prevent Canadians from getting private healthcare, YET THE GOVNERMENT CONTINUES TO PERSUE THAT OPTION. Two-tier healthcare has proven so wildly successful in many of the most successful liberal European countries, that its pathetically closed-minded to not consider the option here.

During Paul Martin's one-on-one with Peter Mansbridge, a woman who was a mother of four stood up for a question. She explained that she was a mother of 4 children, and had just quit her job to take care of them, and she wanted to know what Paul Martin's plan was for people like her. He Dithered, and said he was working on it, but in his mind, those people get nothing.

Stephen Harpers childcare plan may not be perfect. It only provies $1200 a year, for children under 6, it's not a lot. But the POINT is that it gives parents a CHOICE. I really could care less about childcare, for obvious reasons, but it's a matter of principal, that I think Stephen Harper has won in the minds of most Canadians. It comes down to a matter of freedom and liberty.

Another disturbing trend during this election, has been the Liberals pointing to Stephen Harpers personal views, and claiming that he's going to somehow hijack to the country into making abortion illegal, same-sex-marriage, and the Iraq war.

The fear they monger in this regard is a testament to their lack of respect for democracy. Although the Liberals would have you believe otherwise, our elected representatives still REPRESENT us. If they don't represent the views of their constituents, they lose their jobs, by not being elected again. This is even more true during a mintority government, which it appears we will have, yet again.

Of the MP's that are running as Conservatives, most are probably far more socially liberal than Stephen Harper himself is. This is why Stephen Harper has said he'll support FREE VOTES on controversial subjects. Thats democracy in action. The fact of the matter is, it'd be next to impossible, legally, for Stephen Harper to reverse the decisions made on same-sex-marriage.

The one thing that I wish for most out of this election, is that once the dust has settled, the government get some shit done. I think that Stephen Harper will be a good leader in this respect. Also, Harper's got a relatively clean reputation internationally, whereas Martin has no credibility left on the world stage. Whatever Harper does, he needs to get Canada to speak with a unified voice, and bring this nation back together.