David Sweet Watch

Missing In Action...Again

2007-08-29T09:04:00.001-07:00

This picture was sent to us by a regular reader who snapped it on his camera phone. Apparently this was the scene at David's booth at the yearly Cactus Festival in Dundas.

Cute, we must say.

Our tipster also tells us that David packed up around 2pm both days and refused to answer questions from constituents, stating that he was there for the festivites only and that anyone with a concern should call his office! One constituent even began yelling at David and his staff for not properly addressing a human right's compaint that he had. Jeez David, if your not going to take a human rights compaint seriously, what do you take seriously?

Giving us our laugh of the day, our vigilant camera man also told us that after David and his staff left, someone wrote "Where is Your MP Now?" and "David Sweet: Missing In Action Again!" on two sheets of paper and taped them to David's tent.

It would seem that it's not only us who are starting to notice the inaction, the delay and inactivity of our fine, upstanding Member of Parliament.

David Sweet: Car Thief

2007-08-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, isn't this interesting:

"When I was 12, I stole cars and I was sent away to a juvenile institution for four years."

David Sweet was a car thief?

My, my... Now, such a quote is not as shocking as the other statements that we've uncovered, such as when he said that women were followers and that homosexuality was not an acceptable lifestyle, but this is interesting nonetheless. Particularly because Sweet is now a "get-tough-on-crime" Conservative.

In fact, on Sweet's own website, he states that crime is one of his top priorities. Now Sweet has little sympathy for criminals and is trying to change the system that was so lenient on him at one point.

We Must Be Getting Under His Skin

2007-07-25T10:47:00.001-07:00

Our persistence must be paying off. After many posts about how David Sweet has done nothing for our community (which can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), David is responding through a series of e-mails and a mail-out entitled "Working For You"

We check the traffic to our site frequently and while our number of visitors has been growing over the past few months, we have noticed one persistent ISP address coming to this site. It's none other than David Sweet's office. It would appear that Doug Brown and the boys down at Sweet's constituency office have been checking in on us almost daily - even during our long absences.

So, when we say "David Sweet has done...well...er...Sweet f*ck all for our community" they take that seriously and have responded. If you check out David Sweet's website you'll notice new section on his site called "Working For You" with a story written by David (probably by one of his staffers, but we're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here). In it you'll notice that David has been out and about in the community:

We welcomed the arrival of summer with the Canada Day long weekend. It was my pleasure to attend the 150th anniversary of Freelton as well as so many Canada Day events throughout the area – from the Rotary pancake breakfast in Dundas to parades and events in Lynden, Troy, Greensville and Flamborough. And ending the day in grand Canadian style at the fireworks in Ancaster.

Well, that's cute and all, but it's in the wrong place since it sits under the heading "Working For You". Someone should tell David that showing up an community events isn't working for us - it's working for himself. That seems to be something that flies right over David's head.

Where are the results that David promises last election?

Because we know that you read this David, we have to ask that you actually start working for us. Cheap photo-ops won't cut it.

David's Swanky Night On The Town

2007-07-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we've posted but that's not really our fault.

Seriously, it really isn't.

We feel it's David's fault. If your MP sits around and does nothing for his or her riding, there really isn't much to write about, is there? Sorry, go blame David. We certainly do.

So, what has David been up to? Has he been supporting our farmers in Flamborough? Perhaps he's busy turning Cootes Paradise into a national park, like he said he would? Has the harbour front clean-up gotten underway?

Well, no - of course not!

David's been busy holding a swanky fundraiser with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

Yes, that's right. When our riding goes neglected all David Sweet can manage to do is hold a fundraiser with his buddies at a high-class country club. That's getting results for people, right David?

We Demand Accountability

2007-05-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Back in March, we told you all about David Sweet's fancy new digs.

We told you how Sweet is constructing the office as a new constituency office, moving away from his current office in Greensville, a location that is inaccessible to the majority of the riding. We were happy that he was correcting a major mistake on his behalf but thought that it could have something to do with a looming election.

Now, since an election is not going to be coming in the near future, construction has stopped.

No election = no new office.

What a coincidence.

Good to see our tax dollars hard at work, being used for clearly partisan purposes. We here at the David Sweet Watch now want to know if Sweet still has the lease on the building, which he is paying for out of his "global budget" - the budget provided to MPs to serve their constituents. This money is supposed to be spent on hiring a staff, leasing office space, buying office material, etc. If Sweet has in fact used this money to get an early start campaigning by opening up a second "constituency" office, we'd certainly demand some answers.

But, remind us again, didn't Sweet campaign on using our tax dollars in appropriate fashion? Didn't he blame the hapless Liberal party for abusing our tax dollars, promising to be different?

Of course he did. Same old story, same old politicians.

Sweet's New Job

2007-05-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

We here at David Sweet Watch had a good laugh at this.

The author, Lloyd MacKay, is clearly a fan of Sweet's but he sums him up in a way that is not so flattering:

Sweet is a pretty low-keyed member. He can be easily spotted from the press gallery, seated in the back row of the government back benches, his shiny bald pate standing out from the crowd. If he is cabinet material, it has not yet become obvious.

Yes, good job Lloyd. That's what we've been saying for months. David Sweet, as we know, is not at all useful to our community. His bald head reflecting light as he does cross-word puzzles in Parliament trying to kill time during Question Period is not exactly "service". We've seen it before. What are you trying to get at Lloyd?

To our new pal Lloyd, Sweet's undistinguished time in office has made him perfect to head up a religious Parliamentary group, the All Party Inter-Faith Parliamentary Friendship Group.

And why not? It's not like David Sweet is concerned in any way with bringing progress to the riding that elected him- he might as well sit in Ottawa and advance his own agenda. This way Sweet can how have an excuse to avoid such pressing issues such as the harbour front clean up, infrastructure renewal, and agriculture funding...you know, issues important to his constituents.

Back From The Dead

2007-05-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

No, no...we're not dead. We've just been sleeping for a bit.

Lots of you have been e-mailing us, wondering where we've been. To answer you all, we've been here but we just haven't had a lot of write about.

Why is that? Well, David Sweet hasn't really done much lately. In fact, he hasn't really done much since being elected in January 2006.

No action on infrastructure, no action on Cootes, no action on the harbour clean-up....basically, no action, period. Pretty much standard fare for David Sweet - keep your head low and coast to re-election. Perhaps, we should be asking for a bit more from our representative in Ottawa? Perhaps.

But in our absence we did catch one thing. Was it our imagination, or did David Sweet vote against supply side agriculture management in the House of Commons the other week? We think the good people in Flamborough who were largely responsible for sending Sweet to Ottawa and who are strongly in favour of supply side magement may not be too happy with our pal David.

The Promise Keepers Ugly Racist Side

2007-04-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

We've established the fact that David Sweet used to lead the Promise Keepers in Canada, even though he doesn't make note of it on his website or on the Conservative Party's official biography of him.

So why is he hiding his past?

Perhaps it is because the group that he once led in Canada has an ugly racist side in the U.S.

Here are a selection of quotes from Wellington Boone, a prominent Promise Keeper:

"Blacks have had more than two centuries of training in being a slave of man. It can be added as a long-term qualification to prepare them to be a fine slave of God or to rule as a king."

"I believe that slavery, and the understanding of it when you see it God's way, was redemptive."

"I want to boldly affirm Uncle Tom. The black community must stop criticizing Uncle Tom. He is a role model, who, when he was stepped on like a worm, at a point of crisis, evidenced the nature of the classic, model worm, Jesus."

Opening Up The Mail Bag

2007-04-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

We love getting e-mail.

In fact, this community loves sending us e-mails as much as we love getting them. We've been getting everything you could imagine since we opened up this humble neighbourhood watercooler in February. We've gotten tons of complaints about Sweet with letters ranging from the generally annoyed to the outright enraged.

We've spoken with a few people who said they would like us to publish them on the website, so we're starting a feature where we'll be printing your letters (if you give us permission of course).

First up, is a letter we got from a young lady named Mellissa Ali:

"I wanted to speak with my MP about the situation in Darfur. Thousands have died and the lives of millions hang in the balance. We need to do something soon so I decided to do my small part and speak with David Sweet. I called his office a few times and his staff told me to come by his office so we could speak in person. Wow, talking face to face with an MP, I thought. I’m making real progress.

I asked my brother to drive me down to his office and I arrived around 2pm. I was told that David Sweet was in a lunch meeting at City Hall but was coming back soon. I decided to wait because the issue is important to me. I waited until 2:45 and he still wasn’t there. His secretary offered me coffee and told me that he would be back very shortly. I waited until 3:30 and left. He had me waiting an hour and a half and never even bothered to show up. Who knows where he was. This is ridiculous. He doesn’t care about Darfur."

Second, we have a letter from John Terry from Ancaster:

"Another quick note for you DSW - I saw Sweet at the Ancaster Food Drive. He showed up mid-afternoon with Don and Stephanie (editors note: his staff members) then picked up a few bags and got his photo taken. He put the bags down and spoke with a few people then left. Photo op perhaps?"

Our third letter writer today asked to remain anonymous:

"I would like to contribute to the blog which I find very interesting. In the fall I spoke with him (David Sweet) at his office about issues which were eroding the sovereinty of Canada and that were being covered up. He basically had no stance on them - expected I guess, unfortunately. This transpired during a meeting I arranged with him at his office in Dundas through his corteous staff. I had four major talking points that I wanted to air and then listen to the response of a federal politician. I aired my concerns but was met with tight lips or terse agreements. Which was one of the points I was making - that the federal government, which ever one it is, basically doesn't inform the public about "happenings" and agenda. There is 10 percent revelations and 90 percent behind closed door programming. Basically everything the public would want to know is not known or is not brought into the forefront in a drawn out, indepth, mature fashion."

That's it for now but keep sending us your letters at davidsweetwatch@hotmail.com.

Getting Results

2007-04-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

It's good to see that David is out in the community getting results. His latest accomplishment? Well, alerting Canada Post to a large amount of graffiti and garbage outside the Dundas Mail Depot.

Keep up the good work David. We're all very proud of you.

Filling In Sweet's Resume

2007-03-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

We've already discussed David Sweet's vanishing resume in the past, but today we're happy to complete it. As we mentioned, David Sweet's offical biography states the following:

David’s leadership experience includes work as Vice President of Business Development for a Hamilton-based think tank from 2004 to 2006 and President of two national organizations prior to 2004.

We have already discovered that the "Hamilton-based think tank" was the Work Research Foundation, a group that is dedicated to putting Evengelical's in politics, and we've already stated that one of the "national organizations" that Sweet was President of was the Promise Keepers.

But what about the second "national organization" that Sweet was President of? Good question. Glad you asked.

It's been hard for us to track Mr. Sweet's past. As he prepared to first run for Parliament in 2004, he managed to scrub the internet clean of anything and everything that would expose who he really was. But, we here at "David Sweet Watch" are a dilligent bunch and we've managed to track the group down.

The "national organization" that Sweet led was none other than the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, an anti-abortion group. The CAPSS approaches pregnant women who they feel are "in danger" of having an abortion and persuades them to carry to term without exploring other options. Using dubious facts and scare tactics, this group misleads young women from coast to coast - since 1990.

With the missing resume is complete, allow us to recap. David Sweet was:

1) the former Vice-President of an evengelical group which advocates for their members to enter politics in the hope of influencing public policy,

2) the President of the Promise Keepers, a mysoginist group which demands that wives "submit" to their husbands and,

3) the President of an anti-abortion group that misleads young pregnant women.

Humble residents of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, I present to you our representative in Ottawa!

The New Office

2007-03-27T20:29:00.000-07:00

Have you passed by the plaza on Main West and Osler Drive recently?

If so, did you notice the construction in the empty strore front? Well, if not, that is our friend David. He's hard at work.

Doing what, you might ask? Apparently he's correcting an old mistake and moving his constituency office from it's current Greensville location but, frankly, we're not buying it. An election is coming soon and we're positive he's setting up his campaign office at the same location as his old one.

Interesting how Sweet campaigns in Westdale but places his constituency office in a location that is inaccessable to the majority of the riding, eh?

Anyways this new office is going to be bigger than the old one. In fact, its going to be double the size of the old one, which requires some renovations. So, he's renovating but we've learned from a source that is working with Sweet that he doesn't have permits. Tsk, tsk David...follow city building codes. It's the law after all.

Aside from this tiny scandal, Sweet's construction should show us all that an election is coming soon.

Sweet's Competition

2007-03-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Part of our mission here at David Sweet Watch is to document - and well, promote - those who are contesting our riding and hoping to defeat Sweet. First up is the NDP candidate Gordon Guyatt. Guyatt's nomination will be on March 25th at Dundas Old Town Hall.

So, Guyatt is the first one with this hat in the ring and we're glad to see it.

No word on who the Green's or the Liberals have nominated yet, but once we get word we'll be sure to pass it along to all of you.

Rumour Control - Will Sweet Stay?

2007-03-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

We here at David Sweet Watch get plenty of e-mails. We love getting mail so keep sending in your letters!

One of the more interesting e-mails that we've gotten was from a person named "Brett" who claims to be a party insider. "Brett" gave us a hot rumour: David Sweet may be replaced for a more "moderate" candidate.

To us, that is great news. In fact, it is the best news we've heard in a long time but we have a few questions, such as how could this be done?

Sweet has already been nominated so we're thinking perhaps a nice government appointment before the election.

Will the Prime Minister give his dirty little secret a plum posting? Will David Sweet be replaced? Will David Sweet Watch's reason for existing be abolished? Who knows, but stay tuned.

And, once again, thanks to "Brett".

Getting Results?

2007-03-11T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here is something to think about:

If the New Democrat Party can get desperately needed money for Hamilton residents even though they are in the opposition, why can't the governing Tory members do something for the city?

That question was posed by NDP leader Jack Layton who was recently in the city and one that we're wondering ourselves. Why can't David Sweet get federal funds to help clean up Randle Reef, one of the country's worst coal tar environmental problems, after he promised in the last election that he would help Hamilton complete this task? Why can't he help clean up the harbour like he promised in the last election.

The government's new budget is coming up soon so we're wondering if the money that the city desperatley needs to clean up Randle Reef will be included. Frankly, we're not holding our breath. Chances are that David Sweet will drop the ball again.

From The Dundas Star...

2007-02-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Although this opinion piece from the Dundas Star is a few months old, we here at David Sweet Watch think it sums up people's feelings pretty well:

Kevin Werner, Dundas
(Apr 7, 2006)

Ancaster-Dundas- Flamborough-Westdale Conservative MP David Sweet doesn't inspire much confidence within the political community to represent Hamilton's interests in Ottawa. Recent events since the January federal election have only confirmed those minimal expectations.

In fact, the former real estate broker, and president of Direction Works Inc., a consulting firm, seems more discombobulated than the usual rookie politician tentatively entering the world of big-time politics.

The thinking goes, if Mr. Sweet wants to retain his seat, there are two issues he must ride herd on during his term as MP. His first priority is making sure CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory, earmarked for the McMaster Innovation Park, is indeed relocated to Hamilton from Ottawa.

There have been murmurs from Ottawa politicians to keep the laboratory from moving to Hamilton. That background noise hasn't quieted down, and Mr. Sweet hasn't done anything to dampen the sense of unease local politicians are experiencing.

During a recent luncheon with Dundas business people, he stated that getting CANMET to Hamilton is his No. 1 priority. But curiously, he said later he can't assure residents he will follow through on the Liberal's promise to relocate CANMET.

"I will do what I can," he said in a less than confident tone. "But all the announcements that the previous government made we need to check and see if they are financially sustainable."

McMaster officials remain in limbo about the future of CANMET. They do have a letter of intent from CANMET, but not a lease signed to relocate the facility to Hamilton.

The other high profile federal issue for Hamilton is quashing an attempt by Pickering to begin constructing a multi-billion airport. If Pickering is allowed to be built, politicians' dream of a low-cost, alternative airport in Hamilton, along with the much-hyped aerotropolis plan, crashes to the ground. Yet not a peep from Mr. Sweet on what he will do to stop Pickering.

So what has Mr. Sweet been doing instead for nearly two and a half months?

To his credit, he has scoped out a few local issues, turning up at a city council meeting, appearing at a rural official plan meeting in Ancaster, dressed as Father Merrin, and according to Mr. Sweet, he's responding to "hundreds" of requests for help from residents.

He opened up a constituency office outside Dundas, where only the cows roam, and more recently he has spoken at area chamber of commerce luncheons.

He left a few Ancaster business people with mouths agape, with his vision of Canada. While they wanted to know how his government would assist Hamilton's urban areas, he talked about Canada's apocalyptic food crisis, Hurricane Katrina, and capital gains tax reductions.

His Dundas talk was more subdued, and followed Conservative talking points. He answered most questions by quickly regurgitating Stephen Harper's five point plan - child care, accountability legislation, lowering taxes, getting tough on crime and patient wait times. But how to answer a question about reducing fuel prices by referencing the five programs? You don't.

Which brings us to a disturbing core of the whole Conservative agenda that Mr. Sweet seems to have bathed himself in. Mr. Harper has placed, if not a gag order on ministers and MPs, at least a red beeper to monitor what his ministers and MPs say. The PM's office must approve of all information, comments and even letters to the editor from government officials and cabinet ministers, except those that deal with the five priorities.

As he rushed to his vehicle to leave the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club, Mr. Sweet denied there is a gag order in place.

"Absolutely not," he sternly said. "You're asking me questions here right now. So that's not the case. There are some priorities we had agreed upon (during the election) that all of us said yes to."

But try contacting Mr. Sweet on an issue, and it may be easier to watch for the white smoke to emerge from the building.

Even his website, which is an essential tool for today's politician, is nothing more than a picture of Mr. Sweet and a contact number for his Dundas office. Looking at wallpaper is a better use of time.

Maybe there is method to Mr. Sweet's madness. Since expectations are so low for him, if he does anything for Hamilton, he will be lauded for his abilities.

On the other hand, if you expect nothing, you should receive nothing in return.

The Promise Keepers View's On Homosexuality

2007-02-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

We already know how David Sweet feels about gays and lesbeins. Apparently he thinks that they are living an "inappropriate lifestyle".

But what about the Promise Keepers?

Well, they are pretty much the same. Here are a few choice quotes from PK leaders and members:

"It's been too long that three percent of homosexuals control our moral majority."
- Tony Evans

"The nation is plagued with "wrong conduct." Prisoners believed they could get away with it. Homosexuals believe they were born that way..."
- Ed Cole

"The primary cause of this national crisis is the feminization of men."
- Tony Evans

"The demise of our community and culture is the fault of sissified men who have been overly influenced by women"
- Tony Evans

"Arrogantly demanding their rights, activist gays and lesbians have become a militant voice in American politics, influencing elections and affecting the policies of high government leaders. Their public demonstrations and political lobbying have fooled many in our country into believing that they deserve special status."
- Bill Bright

Some Interesting Traffic

2007-02-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

Amidst the thousands of you who have checked out “David Sweet Watch” over the past week, we had a few interesting visitors. Here are some of their URL’s:

parl203.parl.gc.ca (Canadian House Of Commons)

parl153.parl.gc.ca (Canadian House Of Commons)

parl205.parl.gc.ca (Canadian House Of Commons)

Apparently we’ve gotten the attention of a few parliamentarians. Could it be David Sweet checking in on us? Who knows, but it's interesting nonetheless.

But, that’s not it. We’ve also gotten the attention of the Privy Council Office and the Finance and Treasury Board Secretariat:

gateout.pco.gc.ca (Privy Council Office)

user.fin.gc.ca (Finance Canada And Treasury Board Secretariat)

Clearly, we've got the government's attention. Perhaps they are getting nervous, knowing that large group of ADFW constituents are dedicating so much of their time to exposing David Sweet's secrets.

They should be nervous, we're a dedicated group.

In His Own Words (Part 3)

2007-02-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here are Sweet's thoughts on the seperation of church and state:

"Most people who go to the altar do it with the intention of a lifelong union. But for some reason, and we can certainly blame it on the enemy, we have developed a psychology in our culture that we can divorce politics and morality. That is impossible to do. We legislate morality every time we bring in any kind of law."

This quote is rather vague, but it is clear that Sweet is advocating for the involvement of religion in crafting public policy. Perhaps this is why Sweet got into politics in the first place.

As we've seen with the Promise Keepers in the United States, they have advocated for their members to enter public life and advance such fundamentalist ideals as abolishing equal marriage and abortion.

In fact, Promise Keepers leader Raleigh Washington has been quoted as saying:

"There is no way this group can restrict itself when it comes to public policy. We are producing leaders in this organization. They will enter the political sphere."

Is this why Sweet entered politics? We all know that this is the goal of the Hamilton based group Work Research Foundation that he led for many years. Perhaps he just wants to legislate some more "morality".

Broken Promises

2007-02-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Today, we'll be looking at the issue of satellite offices, of which Sweet promised to open when he became our MP in January.

When elected Mr. Sweet had this to say:

"I'm looking at getting locations in Flamborough, Westdale and Ancaster. It's something I want to do."

It's one year later, and no additional offices. In fact, his current office is inaccessable to most of his constituents. A problem that we've already addressed here.

Mr. Sweet also promised to hold remote office hours on various dates throughout the riding and we have yet to see that happen either.

How can David Sweet still claim to be accessable to his constituents?

Misleading The Public

2007-02-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

David Sweet has done a lot to hide his Promise Keeper past. He has had the PK website scrubbed clean of any of his involvement. He has also had various other websites scrubbed clean of any of his involvement with Promise Keepers. Luckily, his past was discovered and it became an issue in the last election but Sweet deflected criticism of the group and was able to mislead the voters of ADFW.

In this article from the Hamilton Spectator, Sweet notes that the Promise Keepers are not interested in dominating women and pledges that he does not hold "extreme views" towards women.

What he said is not the complete truth and we here at "David Sweet Watch" know better so we've assembled a small taste of what the Promise Keeper's really think about women:

- The Promise Keepers do not encourage an equal relationship in a marriage but instead call for men to "take" their role as leaders of the family. In the past, members, such as Tony Evans, have stated to men that, "I am not suggesting that you ask for your role back, I am urging you to take it back. There can be no compromise here."

- The Promise Keepers not only expect women to submit to their husbands at home, but also in public life, such as the classroom. One women, who was interviewed at a "Chosen Women" rally had this to say: "Our job is to submit to our teachers and our Professors...even if we know they are wrong. It is then in God's hands."

- In the past, members of the Promise Keepers, such as Tony Evans, have openly mocked the women's rights movement and feminists by saying that: "I believe that feminists of the more aggressive persuasion are frustrated women unable to find the proper male leadership. If a women were receiving the right kind of love and attention and leadership, she would not want to be liberated from that"

- The PK leadership has established a group called, "Suitable Helpers" whose goal is to provide the wives of Promise Keepers the information they need to help serve their husbands. There is also a magazine for women, called "Adam's Rib", which is produced by PK, with household tips and godly advice to assist women become better wives to their husbands.

There is also additional information on the views that Promise Keepers hold about women here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The Promise Keepers are not interested in "dominating" women? We don't think so David.

In His Own Words (Part 2)

2007-02-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

In 2000, David Sweet led his group, the Promise Keepers, into Saskatoon for what was called a “Millennial Men’s Conference”. The conference was not only attended by 2,500 Promise Keepers but also a small group of protestors who called the group homophobic and misogynistic.

Interviewed in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Sweet had this to say against the charges that his group was homophobic:

“It’s pretty clear in Genesis, in Leviticus and in the book of Romans that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle, and that’s the truth we decided to live by.”

The fact that David Sweet would even state that homosexuality is "not an acceptable lifestyle" is concerning enough, but what should shock every resident of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale is Sweet’s quoting of Genesis, Leviticus, and the Book of Romans in regards to homosexuality.

Let us explain.

Leviticus, for example, states that:

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a women, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death. Their blood will be on their own heads."

The Book of Romans has this to say about homosexuality:

"They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,slanderers, God haters,insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil, they disobey their parents , they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless...Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death..."

Genesis 19 concerns the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and like the other quotes from Leviticus and the Book of Romans has been widely used in the past by extremist groups, such as "God Hates Fags", to justify discrimination and even violence against homosexuals.

Clearly, this is not a "moderate" member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Why Is David Sweet So Keen On Having An Election?

2007-02-22T16:52:00.000-08:00

David Sweet says that he is ready for an election. If that is true, perhaps Mr. Sweet is now ready to answer to his constituents. Perhaps Mr. Sweet would like to tell us why there has been no progress on the harbour front clean-up project? Why there has been no progress on turning Cootes into a national park?

Additionally, perhaps he would like to tell us where the infrastructure funds are that he promised he would get in the last budget? Why is the McMaster University Innovation Park project stalled? Where are the additional funds for farmers that Sweet promised to get for Flamborough residents in the last budget?

So, David, are you really ready for an election, because we here in Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale have a few good questions for you.

A long time ago, a friend of mine told me something very interesting: "When someone tells you what they'll do, ask them what they've done." Such an idea is very apt here. As Mr. Sweet comes knocking on your door, asking you for your vote, ask him what he's been doing in Ottawa for the past year.

David Sweet's Vanishing Resume

2007-02-22T03:59:00.000-08:00

If you check David Sweet’s biography on his website, you might think that Sweet is nothing more than a mild-mannered businessman who dabbles in real estate. The toned down version of his website states that:

David’s leadership experience includes work as Vice President of Business Development for a Hamilton-based think tank from 2004 to 2006 and President of two national organizations prior to 2004.

Sounds innocent enough, perhaps, but what were these organizations that he worked for?

The first - the "Hamilton-based think tank - was the Work Research Foundation. What might this "think tank" be, you ask, and what might they be sitting around thinking about? Well the group's declared aim is to "to influence people to a Christian view of work and public life. We seek to explore and unfold the dignity of work, the meaning of economics, and the structures of civil society, in the context of underlying patterns created by God."

Basically, the Work Research Foundation is a group that helps assist evangelicals to enter public life and run for office, for the assumed purpose of influencing public policy and advocating against a women's right to choose and equal marriage.

The other group listed, which is covered by smooth-sounding euphemisms is the Promise Keepers Canada, of which Sweet served as President and CEO for a number of years. While the PK website seems relatively harmless, others know the opposite. The Promise Keepers are a group which advocates for women to "submit" to their husbands, a position that Sweet, as president, advocated for many years.

It's funny that Sweet would omit such facts on his resume. It's also funny that he can openly declare that, "I am not hiding anything from anyone." Perhaps he should have included "comedian" on his biography.

Contact Us

2007-02-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

Have a hot tip about David Sweet? Suggestions or comments perhaps? Want to report a broken link? Do you have a problem with our sources?

Just e-mail us at davidsweetwatch@hotmail.com

In His Own Words (Part 1)

2007-02-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

We here at David Sweet Watch are introducing a new, regular feature to our humble website - "In His Own Words".

In this section we'll be going through some of David Sweet's past comments, of which we have a small archeive at the ready, to give the people of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale a true taste of who he is.

Today we start with a classic:

"(M)en are natural influencers, whether we like it or not. There's a particular reason why Jesus called men only. It's not that women aren't co-participators. It's because Jesus knew women would naturally follow."

The Riding Office

2007-02-21T08:22:00.000-08:00

There can be no denying that Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale is a large riding. Geographically, it is massive, so the positioning of a constituency office is key, which is why many of us have questioned the location of David Sweet’s riding office.

Currently, the office is in Greensville, in West Flamborough and is largely inaccessible for most of his constituents. It’s remote and not on a bus line, so what is a constituent in need to do?

Well, Sweet has pledged that one of his office staffers will come and pick anyone up at the end of the bus line (a strange arrangement in itself) but there is no phone at the end of the bus line. In fact, there is nothing at the end of the bus line except for a bus stop.

This is an issue that McMaster University political science professor Henry Jacek took Sweet to task for in the Dundas Star many months ago (sorry, no link). In response Sweet pledged to hold remote office hours. At first the remote office hours were to be held year round, on weekends, then after figuring that it would take too much time, Sweet scaled them back to only the fall, winter and spring. Apparently summer is too hot for him.

But, we’ve only had a handful of remote office hours so far - a few in the fall and one just after Thanksgiving. The remainder had to be either rescheduled or cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

To Sweet this is not a problem as he commented in a McMaster University student publication that the majority of communication with constituents is done through e-mail or over the phone. The question now becomes how quickly Sweet’s office actually gets back to you. There have been numerous complaints (including a variety of letters to the editor in the Dundas Star) regarding the tardiness of Sweet’s office. In fact, many constituents have waited up to two months for a response from his office, while some do not get a reply at all.

It is rather farcical that David Sweet’s homepage can boast of him “working for you” when he seems to be doing little of it.

Effective? Not even close.

Let's Turn Over Some Rocks!

2007-02-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Who is David Sweet?

From what we're told he is our Member of Parliament here in Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale but what we see is something very different, in fact we see very little of our humble MP. The reason for this is because David Sweet is the Conservative Party of Canada's dirty little secret.

Sweet is an MP who is not heard from or talked about - and for very good reasons. His past comments regarding women and homosexuals are derogatory and downright shameful. David Sweet is a noted homophobe and has made several offensive comments in regards to women during his time as head of the Promise Keeper’s Canada. To us here at the David Sweet Watch, this is unacceptable.

Aside from his past comments, Sweet has been an ineffectual MP in Ottawa. He promised to resurrect the former plan of Russ Powers to turn Cootes Paradise into a national park and he hasn’t delivered. He promised to deliver federal funding to the new McMaster University Innovation Park and hasn’t delivered. He promised to bring additional infrastructure funding to the riding and he hasn’t delivered. He promised to champion the harbour front clean-up project in Hamilton and hasn’t delivered. He promised additional federal funding for farmers in Flamborough and hasn’t delivered. Basically, he hasn’t kept his promises. For a Promise Keeper, he sure doesn't seem to keep his promises. This riding deserves better.

We here at the David Sweet Watch plan to expose the real David Sweet, the one you never see in the local and national media, over the next few months in the hopes that the good people of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale can make an informed decision – whether it be NDP, Liberal, Green, or Independent – in the upcoming federal election.