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Let Me Be Clear: Fact Checking Leaders on Foreign Policy
Let Me Be Clear: Fact Checking Leaders on Foreign Policy
A civil debate, sure. But civility, it seems, doesn’t always encourage truthfulness.
The fourth debate in this election “season” — a campaign as long as some places in Canada go without snow — was rather polite compared to the first two English debates.
It was clear host Munk Debates wanted a civil conversation among gentlemen, where the moderator held court and didn’t let the leaders shout over one another. The audience laughed and clapped as though there was a flashing sign telling them to do so, and even booed Liberal leader Justin Trudeau for speaking over Conservative leader Stephen Harper. Apparently they’re sticklers for manners, too.
Civility doesn’t equal truthiness, however, and it turns out there were some whopper-sized statements in last night’s foreign policy debate. As per form, we picked one statement per leader to debunk.
Thomas Mulcair: “It’s very difficult to see how Canada’s superior interests were being served when Prime Minister Harper said to President Obama that it was ‘a complete no brainer’ — those were his exact words — that the Americans had to approve Keystone XL. I know that Keystone XL represents the export of 40,000 Canadian jobs because Mr. Harper told the Americans so.”
The NDP leader’s first sentence is misleading. Speaking to reporters in New York at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, Harper told an American reporter that approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship raw bitumen from Alberta to Nebraska, would be a “no brainer.” He could have said this to Obama in a private conversation, but in public he said it to a reporter.
The second sentence is false, with a caveat. Keystone won’t “export” jobs to the United States. Mulcair could be referring to the fact that exporting raw bitumen means American refineries get to refine the product, rather than a Canadian facility. But the 40,000 jobs number comes from a U.S. state department report, and the majority are either temporary positions or they already exist.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Spin cycle: Can 1.3-million new jobs be created in 5 years?
This election has a theme common to almost all others before it: everyone is promising more jobs
The promise of jobs, jobs, and more jobs has long been a staple of election campaigns.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair has promised a basket of goodies to help manufacturing and other sectors create jobs, as well as help for young people and veterans to connect with the new jobs.
The Liberals, meanwhile, decided to go big or go home by promising $125-billion in infrastructure spending — even if it means short-term deficits.
Now it seems the Conservatives, not wanting to be outdone, are making a bold promise of their own.
Perhaps channeling Babe Ruth, Conservative leader Stephen Harper figuratively pointed to the faraway bleachers on Tuesday and promised “1.3-million net new jobs.”
The spin
“I would say that there is no reason why we can’t have a similar record on that we have now,” Harper told reporters on Tuesday.
Harper points out that the economy created 1.3-million new jobs since the “depths of the global recession.”
Of course, those jobs were created in large part by the unprecedented stimulus spending the government launched — including the largest deficit in Canadian history.
This time around is quite different. Harper’s plan to duplicate the results involves maintaining a balanced budget, reducing employment insurance premiums two years from now, and re-introducing the home renovation tax credit.
The counter spin
“I find that number, to put it mildly, wildly optimistic,” Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said.
Trudeau is dismissing this as just another empty campaign promise.
No one is going to campaign against creating more jobs. In fact, as mentioned, everyone in this campaign is promising that.
The critique, and indeed the test, of Harper’s promise is whether or not it is a realistic goal and, if so, are the measures in place to achieve it.
Economics and demographics
To borrow an old adage, if you asked 12 economists if tax cuts lead to job creation — you are likely to get 13 different opinions.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
