There is no way the conservatives could be so close in this race – a very high percentage of our population is native – none of them will vote conservative – also we have a very strong liberal incumbent and the other two candidates are not considered as a challenge

The Conservative candidate will not receive a large percentage of the aboriginal vote (probably 5% or less) so his base is narrower than typical, more homogenous ridings. You would need a strong Conservative trend in the white population for the Conservative to win. I would not predict that at this point.

Bill Brown is a nice guy, but there’s going to have to be a lot of variables go his way to pull out this 3 way race. And to contradict Jeannine, Roger Valley is not a strong incumbent (Roger Valley is not Robert Nault). Susan Barclay has the native vote and should improve on 2004 results.

Susan Barclay lost the 2004 election by less than 100 votes. I think she will improve on her 2004 result and overtake Roger Valley this time.

This has been a 2-way race from the outset. Bill Brown (Con) has next to no Aboriginal support — this in itself counts him out. Roger Valley (Lib)doesn’t deserve the seat. (Corrupt party) So Susan Barclay and the NDP are the only solid choice for the Kenora riding.

to contradict Ken, Barclay lost by almost 1000 votes – she will not do any better this time round, and the conservatives cannot compete against the aboriginal vote. The riding will go the the incumbent.

Sorry Jerry, but Valley has lost support in the riding. Partly due to assotiation with a corrupt party and partially by being ineffective in the riding. (ie. His party, both provincially and federally stood by and watched as the Kenora mill was shut down.) Even if all of his lost votes go to the Conservatives, which they won’t, that gives the win to Barclay. NDP support is up in the riding and in the province and while Harper is still frightening, he’s not scary enough for the Libs to pull the same scare tactic they pulled last time. (In fact the Liberals were forced to pull some of their “Evil Harper” ads.) For further proof, check the polls at http://www.gokenora.com, http://www.gosiouxlookout.com and http://www.goredlake.com. This site and others at best say the riding to close to call but at the same time last time in the campaign, the same sites were not counting Barclay as a contender and she came within close to 4% of winning. Applying that same logic (as this site and others have) says that Valley’s Federal carrer will be a short one.

As to how much Roger Valley spoke in the House of Commons, my facts are a matter of record. The number is 29.

http://www.howdtheyvote.ca/member.php?id=294 (Roger Valley’s record)

As a contrast, Charlie Angus, the NDP member for Timmins-James Bay spoke 132 times. And unlike Roger Valley’s mostly self-congratulatory party statements and government set-ups, Charlie spoke of issues and the concerns of his constituents.

http://www.howdtheyvote.ca/member.php?id=11 (Charlie Angus’ record)

Simply put – Valley: 29, Angus: 132 So if you want to know what an NDP member can do for your riding, look next door. Charlie has been praised for giving Timmins-James Bay a voice. This is what Susan Barclay can do for this riding. And imagine the power of a unified Northern Ontario front.

This website takes all info directly from the Government of Canada website. Here’s the facts … There was no mention of the forestry industry in crisis until the Kenora Mill was already closed. Where was Howard Hampton? Urging a Provincial Liberal Government to do something to save the mill. Are you going to tell me that a Liberal Government would ignore a member from another party with such a serious concern and that is why we need to elect Roger — oh wait, the Liberals did ignore the concerns of the riding. Yet another example of why they need to be removed from power. That Liberal government, like their Federal counterparts were unwilling to do what was needed. (Where are your phantom buyers Mr. Valley?) If this was a provincial issue as you say, where were the provincial Liberals? As for a majority of his 29 quotes in the house record, most are set-up Liberal questions and party self-gratification. (A lot of “I’d like to ask my buddy, the Minister of so-n-so to tell me how great we Liberals are.”) I’m not kidding and to back it up I invite anyone to go there and see how little he actually says.

Unlike Roger Valley who has recently visited the north and learned of the issues, Susan Barclay has been working with the northern communities and Aboriginal people in all of the riding for close to two decades and has been part of many successful projects and initiatives. (Bio on http://www.susanbarclay.com ) Susan Barclay has worked tirelessly for the people of the whole riding whether it was in her paid positions or the numerous organizations she has volunteered for. That work ethic and commitment won’t change. Susan Barclay can speak for entire riding. She will be a member of a smaller caucus, allowing the concerns of this riding and our constituents to shine through rather then lost in the sea of Liberal back-benchers. And by the way, the trend is not toward a Liberal Government. With the right-wing Conservatives in power we need as many NDP representatives as we can get to protect what is right for the country and this riding. The Liberals will tell you that unemployment is low in the country — maybe it is, but not in this riding — it hasn’t kept par with the national rate under 13 years of Liberal rule – quite a few of them with a Liberal cabinet minister and the mill closing won’t make things better. (source: Stats Canada 1996 & 2001 Census) So the question is, after these 13 years of Liberal representation, why is that going to change now? It won’t. We need a new voice and a new direction. One where development is fair and balanced. Not based on who you voted for. The Liberals have supported and rewarded their friends for far too long and they need to be sent a message. In sociology you learn that people don’t change until they are forced to. The Liberals won’t change until they are not in power. Maybe not even then but at least they won’t be able to do so much harm.

I will admit that the other comments are from personal sources and while I am not a journalist, I will keep them private. Feel free to believe or not. But as you can see, I have backed up my thoughts with fact.

that last guy talked too much lol. but yeah, i’m voting NDP and i urge you to do the same.

Looks like the good old NDP campaign team is controling this site. Fact is, Susan will be a ineffective representative – if the Kenora riding really wants to be totally ignored, then elect Susan – personally, I will go with a winner and vote for someone who will really fight for our riding – Vote Valley!

Susan Barclay and ethical don’t go together – is that why she agreed to accept $5,000 illegal money to run for this election – if you don’t believe me, check out the National Post December 21st headline is “Union drops plan to pay candidates – $5,000 in “wages” ruled illegal”. Susan is named. And, using the excuse, she did not know it was illegal, is no excuse!

If you checked your facts you would find no one in the Susan Barclay office submitted her name for that list. No money was ever agreed to and she was as surprised as anyone to see her name on that list. If you can find evidence otherwise, submit it. If you want to make accusations, Brad, do a little research. An article from a known right-wing paper as your only source makes you look very weak.

Oh, and Brad … I said “work ethic” … not “ethical” .. which she is too, by the way. You have not even come close to proving otherwise. But I guess you wanted any excuse to get you attempt to sling mud.

I’ll be voting Conservative in this riding. Let the Liberals fall on their swords; they can lick their wounds and come back to fight another day.

The Native vote on Northern First Nations used to be a given for any Liberal Candidate in this riding but many of the deeply religious Natives in these communities are deeply angered by the Liberal’s support for same sex marriage. They’re unlikely to vote Conservative but want to abandon the Liberals.

I don’t think Barclay will bring the economic development that we need and will only suck up to the Unions.

Well, let me see, if you read the article, the NDP and the union both admit (and quoted) to this $5,000 payout- are you telling me that they both are lying and Susan is telling the truth? Hmmm!

1. The headline speaks for itself … the plan was dropped when it was found to be illegal.

2. I said Susan Barclay and her office knew nothing about it. Central party did and they admitted it. Since Susan was not a member of the union and obviously supposed to be on the list in the first place, that explains why she would not have known.

Brad, no one lied here. An error was made and corrected. Susan Barclay did not accept or agree to accept the $5000. While we would always like lines of communication to be flawless, in any large organization they are not. Plain and simple. She did not submit her name or know that it was there. Why are you harping on money that never changed hands? Susan’s record in all of her work in the riding is that of a devoted worker for the people. I doubt you will find anyone who knows of her work negative towards her. I guess that leaves the issue of the scandal that never was.

Your right – the plan was illegal, and the only reason it was dropped, according to the newspaper article, is because a reporter found out about it.

Also – money may or may not have exchanged hands, (we don’t know if it actually did exchange hands, and was returned) but it was agreed upon according to the newspaper article – the paper would not have printed Susan’s name if they were not sure that an agreement had been made. (after all, they could be sued)

Get to know the law. They can only be sued if the reporter can be proven to have known the information published was untrue. Not simply from a mistake. So just by the fact it was published in a paper, does not make it true. And in no place does it say that the individual candidates were contacted. Again I say … If your only source is a single article from a right-wing newspaper, your arguement is weak. Come back with the evidence Brad.

Get a room guys!

Everyone else: check out Warren Kinsella’s page; he mentions Bob Nault “a tough, honest Northern Ontario boy” (hey that’s NorthWESTern Ontario Warren).

http://www.warrenkinsella.com/musings.htm

If the Conservatives really are suggesting that they’re going to bring back Nault’s First Nations Governance Act it certainly would be a reason to vote Conservative.

Sorry Chris, the aboriginal population did not support the act and since they are most affected by it, it would be just plain wrong. There was a time when a respected Bob Nault. But he became a Liberal party puppet .. and is long gone. Besides, he has been replaced by a weaker party puppet. Bill Brown has almost zero support among the aboriginal peoples. He is not even visiting the north. He cannot win without them.

A. Edwards, only the politicians, Native or otherwise, failed to support the Act not the people. I think the Native community will look back on Nault’s reign as the good old days. Although I’ll agree with you on who’s an even weaker party puppet.

Too bad Layton couldn’t make it here yesterday. Oh, I guess in fact he could make it here, I understand the problem was that he just didn’t want to get “stuck here”. Ouch!

A strong conservative supporter originally from ON now in BC has predicted a Barclay win. Just thought people would want to know that it is more then this site calling it.

http://bctory.blogspot.com/2006/01/big-show-ontario-predictions.html

Chris … the shot at Layton not making it was un-called for. If you are going to fault a politician for not wanting to fly into freezing rain … seriously …

A…he wasn’t flying into freezing rain, as I said, the problem wasn’t with getting here, it was with being able to leave here.

OK .. we will disagree on this one. Let’s assume you might be right. I don’t think any leader wants to get stuck in any one place one week before an election. That is a probable reality you can agree with.

Tell me A., who’s going to stand up to the Unions around here? You seem to have the “inside scoop”.

Stand up to the unions? I did not know there was an issue? But … keep this in mind. Susan is not a union member … nor did her 2004 campaign recieve money from any unions. this is not an inside scoop .. this is public knowledge. Here’s the link …

http://www.electionscanada.ca

all info is availiable there.

Susan stands to speak for the riding. Not any particular union or corporation or that matter. Susan and the new NDP are about balance. Working families, union or not.

Sorry to interrupt your little fight but I just wanted to comment about the Jan. 11 post by A. Edwards citing the polls in the riding. I would hardly call an internet poll of 89 people a fair representation of 41,000 voters. Especially when I know that political parties often pad these polls.

Roger Valley has been an excellent MP – is well respected and hard working and has been given a number of significant leadership roles during his first term on Parliament Hill. Roger was instrumental in developing the $1.5 Billion forestry package to help the ailing industries in the riding. As for the Kenora mill – I believe if you review the facts you will note that the cost of energy was a major factor in that closure which is a provincially controlled cost. The Provincial Member for Kenora is an NDP (Hampton) who has been ineffective in getting results on this issue for years…why would electing a backbench NDP federally be so great for this riding if the leader of the provincial party can’t even get the job done for his constituents!?

Carla,

Where did you get the 89 number from? The gokenora poll has 436 votes to date, not including the Sioux Lookout and Red Lake polls. By Comparison, SES does national polls gauge voter support for 33 million people based on 1200 calls. But that being said, I also base my feeling on the number of signs up in the area. I base my feeling on what I hear in the street. The poll just supports the trend in the area. The Liberals can’t be trusted and Conservatives can’t win.

Our Liberal MP was instrumental in developing a useless forestry package. The industry was waiting for the package and then it proved to be mostly loan guarantees. Considering most mills were running high debt loads already, it was clearly too little, too late. The needed support was not there.

Howard Hampton was elected with 60% of the vote. Kinda high you for an “ineffective” member, don’t you think? 55% of Kenora voters supported him, in case you were wondering if his win came completely form his home area of Fort Francis / Rainy River. The ineffectiveness you speak of was on the part of the Liberal government in Queen’s Park.

Charlie Angus, Pat Martin, Bill Blaikie … all re-elected NDP MP’s. What can an NDP MP do? Ask the voters that continue to send these and other New Democratics to Ottawa to speak for them. Solid representation. Solid records. Solid MP’s.

Edwards – did you watch the debate in kenora last night – if you did you would not be so quick to dismiss Valley – he rocked! He showed just how useless Brown and Barclay are! Anyone watching knows who the best candidate is for Kenora riding. Vote Valley

I watched. All I heard was excuses. “I couldn’t do much in 18 months.” And my favourite one … when the Liberals promised an effective childcare program in 1993 but what did Valley say when asked about rural childcare solutions? After 12 years “We’re still working on the details.” 12 years — that is unacceptable.

The fact of the matter is that the Liberals are finally paying for all our tax dollars they stole. That’s how a democracy works! The Conservatives haven’t evolved enough to be trusted to govern and rather than rely on the courts and the senate to keep them in check, I’ll vote for Susan Barclay to do that job.

The NDP is the best way to go trust me on that as a 65 year old voter lived in Canada all my life. From Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. With my experience the NDP are the best choice if they ever win majority (which will not happen till people have a taste of the conservatives (which I have had) than NDP will have a chance of majority) the NDP would make Canada into a Country which all would want to live in, work, and educate their children. With my experience as a voter I believed the unbelievable (liberals) and turning our country into a US state (conservatives)is not what Canadoans want and than the NDP some mistakes but nothing compared to other parties. The party to trust, the party that fights for Canada and its citizens and knows what Canadians need and want! Vote NDP trust them and you will not regret it = ). Best wishes to all candidates in all ridings and parties! GOOD LUCK!

Do not forget to vote January 23 2006
NDP!

ndp win but im voting green, but i could change my mind to ndp.

The local candidate for the Green is a great guy but he’s not serious. Simply put; nice guy, wrong party.

Any vote for anyone other than the Conservatives is a vote towards firearms confiscation.

Bill Blaikie, Charlie Angus and other strong NDP MP’s have all come out against the gun registry. Susan Barclay has not waivered on her position. In 2000, 2004 and 2006 she spoke strongly in favour of scrapping it. Besides I’ve heard Susan speak, her husband is a hunter and runs a tackle business. She always has to go home and be able to sit across from him at the dinner table. There is another choice in this riding to oppose the gun registry. What we need to do is get rid of the Liberal who voted in favour of it.

Ummm, Ralph I have to STRONGLY disagree with you.

I watched the debate (despite the bad signal) and I don’t think Valley had much to contribute. The Green candidate got in his jabs, the Conservative candidate was good at NOT answering the questions asked of him, and the NDP candidate was probably the most straight forward. Valley, while he tried hard to explain why the Liberals couldn’t do as much as they wanted to, just kept criticizing the other candidates without answering the darn questions. While I understand that an MP can;t be all things to all people he did very little other than to tell me what committees he sat on. After all of the finger pointing and attacking, very little was actually substance. I was disappointed in Valley. I really don’t understand how you could have possibly reached your conclusion.

Respectfully yours,

Dean

man you must have been watching a different debate! The debate I’m talking about is the talk of the town in Kenora – everyone was blown away by Valley – he laid it on the table and he is right – Hampton (provincial NDP) has done nothing to stop the mill closure and layoffs, he has done nothing for our riding period, and he is a party leader! Susan will do even less, if that’s possible! And yes, the NDP called the election before even the tiny change they made to the budget was able to be implemented, so they effectively did nothing in 18 months – look at what valley did – I have a brochure in front of me: new Sioux Lookout hospital, new water treatment plant for ignace, millions in infrastructure in Ear Falls, Kenora, new airport runway in Dryden, on and on – hes done more in 18 months than and NDP MPP has done in 12 years!

just wanted to mention that in Dryden, Susan is the talk of the town – and it’s not good. People are shocked by what they are hearing about her – when the election started, they were talking about how she was fired as a preacher, then her obsession about FEDNOR and now people are talking about her taking $5,000 to run in this campaign – people are extemely leary about what kind of person she is – just thought I would tell you
what people are saying here.

Susan

A. Edwards:

There is only one party who doesnt want to take your guns and thats the Conservatives. If you think the local candidate for the NDP or Libs wont tow the party line when its time to vote on the registry you are fooling yourself.

What is this obsession with guns? We have much more important issues than this stupid one. Only a few people really care about this – what we care about is proper representation in our riding, and Bill Brown is a sissy – he just can’t cut it! enough with the gun crap – sheesh!

Grier,

There is no NDP party policy on the registry. NDP members voted agaist the registry. That’s a fact. Feel free to look it up.

I would like to respond regarding the gun issue. Anyone who knows Roger knows that he is a hunter and trapper. He understands the concerns of our area, and he is not one to tow the party line regarding this issue. He has stated in his debate that not only will he protect the riding regarding the handgun ban, but he will strive to enshrine the rights of long gun owners, to protect our way of life. What more can you ask? Isn’t it important to have a competent MP, who will fight for our riding on this issue, and all the others too, than to elect someone who will be ineffective? Watching the debate, I noticed that both Bill Brown and Susan Barclay couldn’t get off the party line, or their “written” answers – we need someone who can actually think on their own, without a team telling them what to say – and Susan’s fixation regarding FEDNOR shows just how much imagination she has! I would like to think our voters have the good of the whole riding in mind on Jan. 23rd, and not just one issue, and care about the serious concerns of our area, such as jobs, access to doctors, and all the other important issues that we face. Think about it. Roger Valley is respected throughout the riding, we all know his party’s problems, but we need to focus on our riding – he has worked hard for us, and deserves our support, and will be the most effective person to represent us.

As John said “We all know his (Liberal) party problems.” I’m not prepared to let them walk away with stealing our tax dollars! They lost the moral authority to govern and their offensive ads will not work this time. The Conservatives agenda needs to be held in check, but I wouldn’t trust the scandalous Liberals to do that. On January 23rd. I’ll VOTE SUSAN BARCLAY NDP.

Our MP has been honest and competent. The best way to keep government honest, is to elect a MP that is honest and has integrity. Regardless of what party you favour, we still need to elect the best candidate for our riding – if you elect someone like Barclay, then you have a problem – she has enough of her own scandals – and not party scandals, but her own personal actions are questionable. She has purposely deceived voters on more than one subject – do we really want this kind of representation in government? I don’t think so.

I just tuned in to this site – and I have to say, it has been very interesting and educational. One point I would like to make, is regarding the comment by Vic regarding “offensive ads” by the liberals – isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black? Susan Barclay has been very actively calling down the Liberals (by the way, I’m not sure who I’m voting for yet)- in fact, that is all she does – both of her debates, is just call down the Liberals – which doesn’t impress me. As for Bill Brown, his pamphlets he is sending out, is (speaking of offensive) the worst! We may not all agree with same sex marriage, but the way he put it, offends everyone. Kind of scares you, to think someone so insensitive could be representing us in government. As for Roger Valley, well, I have problems with his party, but the way I see it, is that they will not be in government next time round, so why not vote for him? What do you think?

The national debt and a balanced budget – I would like to see the debt paid off before my children and grandchildren have to pay for a debt created in my lifetime. Why has this only been addressed by one party. I am not happy with any party who promises with my money, doesn’t give a true picture of what those promises will cost and will in the end, have a deficit budget. The social programs that have made Canada the great place it is today. Healthcare – getting it on track.

I want a party who can pay down the debt, bring in a balanced budget, retain our social safety net and properly fund Health care. That leaves only one party, and that is the one who has been doing a great job so far. The conservative platform would drive us into deficit and we know the NDP will never make the government, so there is only one choice and the cadidate for the Liberal party in the Kenora Riding is also the best choice for leadership, strength and a voice for the North.

Roger Valley has had no part of the “stealing of tax dollars” – we should not punish an innocent MP – by the way, we will all suffer if we don’t re-elect him – if you think Susan Barclay or Bill Brown will represent us as good as Valley has, your dreaming! We will be totally ignored without Valley fighting for us.

I agree with “sally” that locally the Conservatives have had very offensive ads, but Valley’s and Barclay’s ads and comments have not been offensive in my opinion. Perhaps you consider the mention of Liberal corruption as offensive? John says “we should not punish an innocent MP”, but in our political system that’s the only way we can send a message to Paul Martin that we won’t tolerate his party’s scandals. Voting for a Liberal candidate is giving support to a corrupt government. Voting NDP is the best choice for me.

The liberal party is not going to win – it’s going to be a conservative government – so forget aboutpunishing the party, lets not punish ourselves – we need Valley to fight for us or we will be totally ignored. Our needs here are too important to not be heard.

It’s funny. The same people who used to say “Vote Valley” because we need an MP in govenment are now saying “Vote Valley” because the Liberals are NOT going to take power. Which is it?

You know what? The Forestry Caucus that Roger Valley worked so hard to create … It was not an official parliamentary committee. It was a Liberal party creation. It will cease to exsist under a Conservative government. To be effective, true parliamentary committees contain members from all parties and remain intact no matter who is in power. The Liberal party and Roger Valley blew it.

I watched Roger on cpac and I am embarrased to have him represent me. At one point he said that if Canada was a doughnut, this riding would be the hole. Valley called this riding a hole. Thanks for speaking up for me Rog, ol buddy ol pal.

Roger Valley signed a card as a member of the Liberal party. If he is so different from the corrupt members he should not be a member of a corrupt party. At least he should have spoken out against it. He did not. A Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal.

I would suggest that as people start disparaging those who have bravely put their name forward for public service now and in the past, they exhibit desperation.

It is easy to put your initials on a website and cast aspirations on those who are running for public office.

I would think that I speak on behalf of many Canadian who are totally turned off by the character slurs and name calling by those without the intelligence to discuss the issues.

What character slur?

I quoted him. I think cpac will broacast again this weekend. And the Forestry Caucus problem is a statement of fact. It’s an issue for those who lost their jobs, just maybe not for you Donna.

Forestry is a provincial juristiction. The member of the Kenora riding in Queen’s Park is the leader of the NDP. Howard has accomplished nothing, just as an NDP federal member would accomplish nothing.

No one in this election even remembers the NDP, they are irrelevant. They can make all the promises they want because they know they will not be in power. They promise to address the forestry issue, get back the lost jobs. No way! Susan and the NDP know they will never be brought to task because they will never be government.

Niether will the Liberals … does that make them irrelevent? Why do people lose interest in politics? Because they get tired of being told that their views are irrelevent. I am critical of Roger’s record. I am critical of the way he insulted me and my riding. I am tired of his excuses. (“I only had 18 months …” — honestly it just sounds whiney.) Im not insulting him .. Im being critical. That is my right. My comments are based on fact. With the Liberal gov’t dissolved, the Forestry Caucus no longer exsists – that is a fact Based on that most of what he based his campaign on is mute. A true effort would have been to create a true parliamentary committee that would still exsist no matter who gets in power. I have no idea what they were thinking.

No, Edward is not being insulting, he’s being critical; and Susan Barclay is his MOM!

Roger’s campaign is mute, what about Susan’s. The NDP campaign in this riding was largely based on the allegation that Fed Nor funds were being spent in southern Ontario. It took the incumbent to set her straight, which she finally admitted to in the Kenora paper. She commented that perhpas the funding model used by Fed Nor should be changed as it gave THE APPEARANCE that money meant for the north was going south. All the NDP ads and literature were based on the false appearance. GUYS do your homework.

Hey Ralph –

Plans for a new hospital in Sioux Lookout have been in the works for over a decade. Roger had nothing to do with that. Give credit where credit is due. This had nothing to do with Mr. Valley.

Dean