Typical Opposition BS
Opposition irate as RCMP brings vehicle from Canada for Harper’s India trip | Canadian Politics | Canada | News | National Post
India has had a number of Jihadist terror attacks.
We have soldiers in Afghanistan.
Is the Opposition just plain stupid or dammed stupid.
NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to India took an unexpected twist Monday when his security guards brought their own armoured vehicles to drive him through the streets, sparking objections from the Official Opposition back in Ottawa.
The unusual development raised questions such as whether Harper faced a security threat in any of the four cities he is visiting, why the RCMP did not trust the Indian government to provide suitably protective vehicles, and how much it will cost Canadian taxpayers to ship the cars to India for the trip.
Harper’s office declined to answer questions on the matter and referred all queries to the RCMP, which operates the security detail that protects the prime minister.
“The RCMP makes the operational decisions on the prime minister’s security,” said Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s director of communications.
Cpl. Lucy Shorey, the RCMP’s media relations officer, released a brief written statement in response to questions.
“The deployment of RCMP resources are dictated by operational requirements, including public and officer safety considerations, and a threat assessment of the events/environments,” said in her statement. “For security reasons, details on the security plans will not be discussed.”
NDP finance critic Peggy Nash assailed the government for spending taxpayer dollars to ship the vehicles to India. She said that taking the prime minister’s limousines overseas has only ever been done in Haiti or war-torn countries, not the world’s largest democracy, India.
“Austerity doesn’t seem to apply to the prime minister,” she said, demanding the government identify the costs to ship the vehicles overseas. “This isn’t about security … How much is it costing to send the prime minister’s personal limos to the Taj Mahal?”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the deployment of RCMP assets is based on operational considerations, including the safety of officers and the prime minister, and that the decision was indeed based on security.
“I rely on the RCMP and I trust their judgement,” Toews said. “Frankly, the RCMP, in fact, have made that decision. They’ve made it related to the prime minister’s security.”
Harper flew into the Indian city of Agra on Sunday evening and visited the nearby Taj Mahal mausoleum on Monday morning.
Security was tight for the visit. Thousands of tourists were told by whistle-blowing Indian security guards to leave prior to his arrival.
Harper received a private tour, without any tourists present, and rifle-toting soldiers were stationed in some towers nearby.
On Monday afternoon, he flew to New Delhi to meet business people at a hotel. His trip will bring him later in the week to the Indian cities of Chandigarh, home to a large population of Sikhs, and to Bangalore, where the country’s major high-tech firms are located.
Normally, when Harper travels abroad, he is driven in vehicles provided by the host country — apparently with the exception of highly dangerous nations such as Afghanistan.
But in Agra, he was driven in a black SUV with Ontario licence plates. Later, upon arriving at the airport in New Delhi Monday afternoon, he was guided by his security guards into a black Cadillac with Ontario plates.
MacDougall said he didn’t know how much it cost to ship the vehicles.
“The RCMP evaluates these . . . I don’t have the costs in front of me. We won’t know that for a while. These costs will all be disclosed in due course.”
Harper is in India to promote political and business ties. His aim is to triple annual bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2015, reach a free-trade agreement next year, negotiate an accord to protect Canadian investors’ legal rights in India, and resolve a long-standing nuclear dispute over how much detail Canada should get once it sells uranium to India to ensure it is used for peaceful purposes.
Opposition irate as RCMP brings vehicle from Canada for Harper’s India trip | Canadian Politics | Canada | News | National Post
India has had a number of Jihadist terror attacks.
We have soldiers in Afghanistan.
Is the Opposition just plain stupid or dammed stupid.
NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to India took an unexpected twist Monday when his security guards brought their own armoured vehicles to drive him through the streets, sparking objections from the Official Opposition back in Ottawa.
The unusual development raised questions such as whether Harper faced a security threat in any of the four cities he is visiting, why the RCMP did not trust the Indian government to provide suitably protective vehicles, and how much it will cost Canadian taxpayers to ship the cars to India for the trip.
Harper’s office declined to answer questions on the matter and referred all queries to the RCMP, which operates the security detail that protects the prime minister.
“The RCMP makes the operational decisions on the prime minister’s security,” said Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s director of communications.
Cpl. Lucy Shorey, the RCMP’s media relations officer, released a brief written statement in response to questions.
“The deployment of RCMP resources are dictated by operational requirements, including public and officer safety considerations, and a threat assessment of the events/environments,” said in her statement. “For security reasons, details on the security plans will not be discussed.”
NDP finance critic Peggy Nash assailed the government for spending taxpayer dollars to ship the vehicles to India. She said that taking the prime minister’s limousines overseas has only ever been done in Haiti or war-torn countries, not the world’s largest democracy, India.
“Austerity doesn’t seem to apply to the prime minister,” she said, demanding the government identify the costs to ship the vehicles overseas. “This isn’t about security … How much is it costing to send the prime minister’s personal limos to the Taj Mahal?”
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said the deployment of RCMP assets is based on operational considerations, including the safety of officers and the prime minister, and that the decision was indeed based on security.
“I rely on the RCMP and I trust their judgement,” Toews said. “Frankly, the RCMP, in fact, have made that decision. They’ve made it related to the prime minister’s security.”
Harper flew into the Indian city of Agra on Sunday evening and visited the nearby Taj Mahal mausoleum on Monday morning.
Security was tight for the visit. Thousands of tourists were told by whistle-blowing Indian security guards to leave prior to his arrival.
Harper received a private tour, without any tourists present, and rifle-toting soldiers were stationed in some towers nearby.
On Monday afternoon, he flew to New Delhi to meet business people at a hotel. His trip will bring him later in the week to the Indian cities of Chandigarh, home to a large population of Sikhs, and to Bangalore, where the country’s major high-tech firms are located.
Normally, when Harper travels abroad, he is driven in vehicles provided by the host country — apparently with the exception of highly dangerous nations such as Afghanistan.
But in Agra, he was driven in a black SUV with Ontario licence plates. Later, upon arriving at the airport in New Delhi Monday afternoon, he was guided by his security guards into a black Cadillac with Ontario plates.
MacDougall said he didn’t know how much it cost to ship the vehicles.
“The RCMP evaluates these . . . I don’t have the costs in front of me. We won’t know that for a while. These costs will all be disclosed in due course.”
Harper is in India to promote political and business ties. His aim is to triple annual bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2015, reach a free-trade agreement next year, negotiate an accord to protect Canadian investors’ legal rights in India, and resolve a long-standing nuclear dispute over how much detail Canada should get once it sells uranium to India to ensure it is used for peaceful purposes.
