The Canadian comedy group Air Farce has produced a parody of the ever-parodied "Gangnam Style" starring Craig Lauzon as Stephen Harper.
The skit will be part of the Air Farce's New Year's Eve special on December 31. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gives us the year in review through his version of the South Korean pop song by PSY "Gangnam Style". Some of the references will no doubt be quite foreign to non-Canadians.
The video makes reference to several controversies that dogged the ruling Conservative Party. This includes the over-spending by Bev Oda, the deal for buying F-35 fighters, and budget cuts.
Bev Oda is a former MP and cabinet minister. Oda was appointed Minister for International Cooperation on August 14 2007. After a series of controversies and scandals she resigned her seat in July of 2012 and was dropped from Cabinet.
Besides having a recommendation for funding of a charitable group turned down by having a "not" inserted in a document that recommended funding, and then pretending she did not know who put the "not" in, she was often excoriated for her spending habits. In April 2012, at a conference on the immunization of poor children, Oda refused to stay at the conference hotel furnished by the hosts. Instead she stayed at the Savoy Hotel at a charge of $665 dollars per night for three nights. She also hired a limousine to transport her to the conference. After a huge public outcry, Oda paid some of the expenses herself. She is also famous for her smoking habits, which is why she changed hotels some say. She was charged $250 dollars for smoking in a non-smoking room.
The F-35 controversy has been ongoing. As time passes the costs of the planes has gone far beyond the original ridiculously low projection of the Conservative government. The government originally planned to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets. The costs were estimated in July 2010 at $9 billion. However an audit recently put the actual costs over the lifespan of the planes at $45.8 billion. This has been a huge issue in Canada as the government has kept insisting that the planes were the only ones suitable. There was no tender process. For a summary and some videos see this CBC article.
If you live in Bahrain, Iran, Egypt, or numerous other places please do not attempt to imitate this satirical take on your leader.
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