Category Archives: politics

Judge rules Axel defames Borys

From the Toronto Star:

OTTAWA – A Toronto Liberal incumbent has won a court injunction ordering his Conservative rival to yank a defamatory campaign flyer that alleges he has a poor attendance record.

Ontario Superior Court Justice George Strathy has ruled that Tory hopeful Axel Kuhn and his staff must stop publishing and distributing a brochure that makes false claims about Borys Wrzesnewskyj.

The pamphlet claims Wrzesnewskyj skipped dozens of parliamentary committee meetings, but the Liberal says he’s only a full-time member of one of the six committees listed in the brochure.

In his Sunday ruling, the judge wrote that the words in Kuhn’s flyer are “clearly defamatory.”

It’s Ignatieff vs. Boyer in tight race

From the Toronto Star:

Some Tory campaign workers say privately that Etobicoke-Lakeshore is one of the party’s best chances at making inroads into the 416 area. In the 2006 federal election Ignatieff defeated his Tory rival by fewer than 5,000 votes.

Boyer, who represented the riding for two terms during the Mulroney years, likes to emphasize his local roots, pointing out that he lives on the lakeshore and runs a publishing house nearby.

Ignatieff, Liberal deputy leader, likes to emphasize that he is often seen on television holding the Tories to account in the House of Commons, but it’s constituency work that he finds rewarding, such as helping a voter with an immigration problem.

Also running are Liam McHugh-Russell for the NDP, Dave Corail for the Green party and Janice Murray for the Marxist-Leninist Party.

While Etobicoke-Lakeshore is a Liberal stronghold, Ignatieff was parachuted in to replace a popular Jean Augustine amidst controversy when others trying to apply for the seat were locked out.  Augustine defended the action, from the same article:

She told The Hill Times that the takeover was orchestrated by “a group of individuals who are from the Ukrainian community” who wanted to ensure that the next MP was Ukrainian. Etobicoke-Lakeshore has one of the largest Ukrainian-Canadian populations in Canada.

Ignatieff has gained heat in his own riding, for starters living in Boston most of his life and currently not even residing in the riding he is to represent.  Also some choice words from his book Blood and Belonging:

My difficulty in taking Ukraine seriously goes deeper than just my cosmopolitan suspicion of nationalists everywhere. Somewhere inside I’m also what Ukrainians would call a great Russian and there is just a trace of old Russian disdain for these little Russians.

The Liberals are losing their hold on this riding, and I’m glad to see this group is also losing voters.

Canadians vote today

Today is the Federal election, the blogosphere deems the following candidates the most Ukrainian friendly:

If you’re not already registered or haven’t recieved your voter card in the mail, you can still vote provided you bring any of the
following;

  • Government-issued photo ID with an address (but not a passport).
  • Two pieces of ID without a photo, as long as one has your address. These can
    be bills, a health card or a library card.
  • Another registered voter from your district who will vouch for you under
    oath.

Not sure where to vote?  Visit Elections
Canada and enter in your postal code
.