Tory Trickery

Helena Guergis again. Her office assistant was sending letters to local newspapers praising Guergis. However, she was posing as a regular voter who had nothing to do with that Conservative MP. Guergis maintains that she didn't know about these letters. However...

Liberal MP Wayne Easter notes that all cabinet members have a media clipping service that details every newspaper reference, so it is simply “unfathomable” that Guergis or her department didn’t know about the letters.

So it is impossible that Guergis didn't know about the letters. More lies from the Tories. She is not only trying to trick the MPs, she is trying to trick Canadians. More reasons why she should resign.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/787782--guergis-aide-posed-as-regular-voter-in-letters-to-editor

Harper strong on afganistan date

I have to say that Harper is doing something right, now. Harper said he will not keep Canadian troops in Afghanistan longer than 2011 when they are set to leave. This is after Hillary Clinton said that she would like Canada to stay in Afghanistan longer than it's year of 2011. I am very happy that Harper keeps this promise to end our involvement in Afghanistan at 2011. I do think that unless a major need is made we should leave at 2011  but Canada should have some talks meetings and involvement without military after 2011. I think if we do this we can help the people of Afghanistan and still help it keep away from the Taliban. I am curious why the U.S would want us to stay longer than they are even willing to stay for. the U.S is plan to leave 2011 why should we stay longer. I think the mission in Afghanistan is since the beginning has improved a major amount and now Afghanistan is going to have to walk on it's own two feet without the Taliban.

"But I'm not going to sit here and tell you we're happy about it because … that wouldn't be telling you the truth. We'd love to have Canada stay in this fight with us. But again, you know, you've got your own considerations and we respect that."

At least 2,500 Canadian soldiers are in Afghanistan, serving under NATO. Since 2002, when the mission began, 141 Canadian soldiers and two civilians have died.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/30/afghanistan-clinton-cannon.html

Tax-a-palooza (not!)

That's what Industry Minister Tony Clement called the Liberal Party's new policy on corporate tax cuts. The Conservatives are calling ending tax cuts to multinationals and humongous corporations a tax hike. That makes no sense whatsoever. At the Canada 150 conference, the audience heard about the challenges of the ever-rising costs of services. If corporate tax cuts continue, then taxes will have to be hiked to keep the quality of social services at the same level. However, by stopping tax cuts for big companies, we can make sure that Canadians pay less on their tax bill. Cut income tax, shift to companies. Also, by making companies pay a carbon tax, Canadians would have their taxes cut. "Cut income tax, shift to pollution," in the words of Stéphane Dion.

Then he accused the Liberals of wanting to raise taxes on “everything,” including the GST (which is not correct) and payroll taxes (which is also not correct).

“And now they come out and want to raise taxes on job creators, raise taxes on investment. That will not help job creation,” Mr. Baird said.

Mr. Ignatieff shot back that “only a Conservative would call pushing the pause button on corporate tax breaks a tax hike.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/liberal-tax-a-palooza-or-prudent-pause-on-corporate-cuts/article1516208/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ambitious-liberal-agenda-lays-groundwork-for-election-battle/article1515164/

Tax Berserk

Micheal Ignatieff stated that his platform at Montreal. One of his new ideas is to freeze the tax on corporation. Now of course when the Conservatives hear "tax" from a Liberal they go off and say that they will never support a tax hike, a job killing tax, they act like the Liberals have just said that Canada is not a country. First, their is a big difference between hike and freeze and if the Conservative party does not know the difference I would not trust their budget at all. Now, I believe that instead of freezing taxes how about lowering taxes for new companies and increase the tax on big corporate company's. So new jobs can be made and the deficit could lower a decent amount.If you are worried about competitiveness Canada has one of the most lowest taxes in the world.

"After being gone for 34 years, [Ignatieff has] come back to Canada with a reckless plan to raise taxes. Ignatieff's tax hikes will kill jobs, put the brakes on our recovery and set Canadian families back," Soudas said.

However, Ignatieff argued that, thanks to years of Liberal and Conservative reductions, Canada's corporate tax rate is already 25 per cent lower than in the United States. He said that leaves some room to defer the scheduled cut to 15 per cent by 2012 without hurting competitiveness.

He reminded Liberals that "we've been here before," when Jean Chrétien promised to reduce a $42 billion deficit in 1993 to three per cent of GDP.

Chrétien's government exceeded its target and erased the deficit entirely within four years.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/28/ignatieff-promises.html#ixzz0jZwRMUzx

Happy Passover

To all the Jewish people reading my blog, may you have a happy Passover. I, personally will be away for this holiday after the first Seder tonight. However, posts will continue to be posted and on schedule.

חג כשר ושמח

Censure the Tories!

On the issue of government censorship of the Afghan detainee documents, the opposition MPs are being urged to censure the Tories.That is a sharp rebuke of the person's actions. This happens rarely, but can lead to devastating consequences for the person reprimanded. In the 19th century, Louis Riel was ultimately expelled from Parliament over his participation in a revolt. It's very real but unlikely that it would happen today. However, it still has a symbolic meaning.

Mendes, one of the country’s top constitutional scholars, said Parliament’s power exceeds that of the various national security laws that have been used to censor government memos and diplomatic cables describing who was warned about possible war crimes violations going back to early 2006, when Canadian soldiers moved to Kandahar province.

That means translates into the opposition being able to demand documents form the government and that they have to release the documents. Of course if Harper's ministers don't release uncensored the uncensored docs., full steam ahead! We will not back down on this issue. We must press on until we win one way or another. Censuring MPs only takes a simple majority; which the opposition has. This scandal will not die until the information is released.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/760035--censure-tories-over-detainee-handling-mps-urged

“Slow Route to a Fast Train”

Barbara Yaffe compares Canada’s slow rail system to the high-tech ones of Europe, Japan, China and now the US. Our most important mode of transport for the future is not improving; in fact it’s probably degrading. The “Renaissance” cars used on some Via routes are actually old carriages from England. Cutting travel time, high speed rail improves the economy by creating jobs now, and ensuring the easy business of tomorrow. I don't agree with her that no politicians are supportive of high speed rail. Ignatieff supports the idea as heard in one of his speeches but he could be more enthusiastic about this issue. More support for fast trains from the Official Opposition can only be a good thing.

Politicans have jawboned for years about a high speed rail corridor between Quebec City and Windsor, spending money on studies but never actually advancing the project.
"We are light years behind," sighs Paul Langan, head of a citizens' advocacy group known as High Speed Rail Canada, formed in 2008.
With Canada now fighting a large deficit, this worthy project probably will not be undertaken any time soon.

She is right that it will not be started any time soon. My prediction is that upgrading our tracks and trains so that they can go over 200 km/h will be finished in 2025.

Carbon Tax! Carbon Tax, Where have you been?

At the Canada 150 conference, the carbon tax idea got regenerated by Michael Phelps. He said that only when carbon is priced, will people reduce their consumption. I always liked the carbon tax idea. It’s just that when people hear the word “tax,” they scream and run for the bomb shelter. Of course, that makes it easy for the other parties to demonize it, as the Conservatives did to Stéphane Dion. However, even the big oil companies are starting to back this initiative.

Leading Quebec environmentalist Stephen Guilbault said a consensus in favour of carbon taxation is forming, with even oil giant Exxon showing signs of coming around. “At this point I can’t see who except Stephen Harper can still be opposed.”

Exxon Mobil is the world’s largest oil company and even it supports a carbon tax. It’s easy and cheap to be set up, and it’s much harder to evade than Cap-and-Trade. Soon, people just won’t be able to ignore the benefits of a carbon tax. It cuts emissions, increases revenue which in turn can lower income taxes. Everyone wins (except for the big companies). The only problem stopping a carbon tax is the fear of the people.

In a significant shift in stance, Exxon's chief executive, Rex Tillerson, told an audience in Washington that he considered a tax to be a fairer route to curbing emissions than a cap-and-trade system of pollution allocations.
"As a businessman it is hard to speak favourably about any new tax," said Tillerson. "But a carbon tax strikes me as a more direct, a more transparent and a more effective approach."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/09/exxon-wants-carbon-tax
http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Liberals+hear+call+carbon/2735658/story.html

Reserved Right-of-Way

The tramway is making its comeback in North America. After years of being replaced by buses, cities are lure by the capacity and the environmental benefits. As Yonah Freemark mentions in this article, it's important to design a tramway properly. Europe's "new tramway" concept completely solves the problems. The idea is that the tramway should be completely separate from the cars. That means taking lanes away from the road which encourages cars to get off. The benefits of tramways are too good to ignore for many cities. We can only hope that that of Montreal gets on the tracks soon.

All this at a much more reasonable price than would be possible if you wanted the type of full-scale, independent right-of-way featured by Link. Unlike equally cheap streetcars, these tram lines wouldn’t held up by surrounding traffic or required to have short trainsets because of limited street dimensions.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been relatively easy to implement such street-running railin a number of European cities, and where it’s been done, it has often improved the quality of the surrounding streetscape, producing exactly the type of livable environment planners love to see around major new transit investments.

Worried Troops

Now about the contents of the documents. They show that our soldiers in Afghanistan were worried about the treatment of detainees. In fact, one soldier reports that the Afghan police/army took a detainee and for all of our and his knowledge, killed him. However, there was very little follow up on any of these observations. Therefore, the comments were deemed unfounded. While our own troops were worried about the treatment of prisoners, the opposition MPs were too. By just inquiring about the detainees, they were submitted to an onslaught of accusations that they were attacking our soldiers. But, our soldiers were also worried and inquiring about the treatment of prisoners. So according to the Conservatives, the soldiers were attacking themselves. Again, great arguments from the great Tories.

All of the incidents are deemed unfounded by military investigators, but the documents also show a disturbing trend of front-line soldiers and senior military officials keeping their own police investigators in the dark and even threatening them at a time when sensitivity to how Canadians treat and handle their Afghan detainees was at its highest.

Read about it at The Toronto Star

Where is our free speech?

Ann Coulter was planning to make a speech at a university at Ottawa, but there was protest all over. Because of the protesters, the authorities deemed it unsafe and the speech was cancelled. I find this horrific. Her views may be completely strange and unethical views, but I think that they she has the right to speak. What is the point of a speaker coming if they can only come if they believe in what you believe. The school who decided to allow her to come clearly knew what she believes in, and thinks that it is always okay to listen to another side of the story. Ann coulter is no Hitler or a KKK leader. Her views may sound a bit racist, but to those protesters you do not have to hear her speak if you do not want to, and if you are going to protest someone's freedom of speech at least have a peaceful assembly. The point of an education is to spread your ears further than only ideas you believe in.

Thud!!!!

The sound of 2,500 pages falling on the Speaker's desk. His office now needs to photocopy those thousands of pages for the opposition MPs. It came in a cardboard box with no warning at all. These heavily censored documents were released by the Tories to try to avoid three of their ministers being in contempt of Parliament. This action actually shows more contempt. They just dumped a pile of documents on the Speaker's office. This kept the opposition MPs and journalists waiting for hours for photocopies. Stephen Harper calls himself a strong leader. Well, it's time he became more responsible.

"I have to say it's a sad day when members of Parliament request information and they are treated in such a contemptuous fashion by the government," New Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton told the Commons. While MPs have been fighting for several months for access to uncensored documents, they wound up with "a pile of censored documents" produced without notice or ceremony.

Also, the documents were not translated into French, one of Canada’s official languages. Well, It would certainly make life easier for francophone MPs to read in French. Another display of irresponsibility.

Holding up a page that was completed blacked out, Bloc MP Claude Bachand mocked the government's request for unanimous consent for tabling the documents because they are not translated into both official languages. How long would a blank page take to translate, he wondered.

This is a complete political move meant to quiet the opposition. The Conservatives want to say, “We’ve done everything we have to do. Now shut your mouths!” It will not work. This display of total disregard is disgusting. And the Tories say that releasing documents in this manner will  continue to be done. So, the MPs will continue to wait in line for their photocopies. And imagine, that’s not in an airport.
You can read about the new releases at the CBC, the National Post, the Toronto Star and two articles at the Globe and Mail, here and here.

Robert F. Kennedy

Mr. Kennedy talks about Ann Coulter, and the future of Canada and America. Politicians really do need to stop taking advantage of people. (Stephen Harper's divide and conquer strategy)

Americans have spent decades lost on a dark path that Canadians are in danger of following, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warns.

But there's hope for both countries, as long as they shed their reliance on information and energy from the large corporations threatening to take power from government, he said.

EEEEEAAAPPP!

According to the Fraser Institute, the 50 billion giant (Canada’s economic Action Plan) did nothing to help the economy in 2009. Well, that actually was a surprise for me. I even thought that the Tories’ plan was going to help somehow. Apparently not.

OTTAWA — Despite Ottawa's numerous claims to the contrary, its $47.2-billion Economic Action Plan contributed little to the country's economic turnaround in 2009 and will do more harm than good in 2010, according to the Fraser Institute.

Looks like it will also harm the economy this year. But that’s not what I’m mad about. When Flaherty hears about this report, he calls it “shabby” and “poorly done and wrong.” I think that there are people, Canadians who worked on that project. As everyone should, they probably worked very hard on it. After working very diligently on it, The Big One dismisses it as “shabby.” I wouldn’t feel so good. It’s not right to attack the character of something. It’s a necessity to actually read over the report and criticize whatever is inside it.
http://www.leaderpost.com/business/Government+stimulus+packages+little+with+economic+recovery+Study/2715542/story.html

Conservatives do not want contraception in health initiatives

Harper in the G8 said he would not like to talk about contraception or abortion. Harper stated how the opposition is playing petty politics, but the truth is the conservative government do not approve of helping people in the poor country's by providing contraception while I and 74% of Canadians believe that Harper should be providing contraception. I do think that in the G8 the 8 richest countries may have more important things to do like the economy, jobs and debt. I still think this should be something Harper should concern himself considering he does have health initiative. Now the most arguable thing in this debate is whether the initiative should include providing abortion. I believe strongly that if indeed people want an abortion they should have to pay for it, but if it endangers the mothers life it should be provided.


http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100323/family_planning_100323/20100323?hub=TopStoriesV2

Save the trees! Save the animals!

A new project called the Enbridge project would make a pipeline to transport oil from Edmonton to the north west of BC. This idea has been attacked by first nation groups saying it will damage the wild life and the people living their. I think knowing that there is a major protected area in kitimat their should not be a continuing of this project. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there are about 70 oil spills per day. these are very small oil spills but this can of course wreck the housing prices of all the people living their and also this shows the people of Kitimat that oil is worth more than there protected areas

Coastal First Nations executive director Art Sterritt says after five years of scientific research and community consultations, the groups have found "no good" can come from the project.

The Enbridge pipeline would stretch more than 1,000-kilometres from the tar sands near Edmonton to the northwestern B.C. coastal town of Kitimat, before crude would be loaded onto tankers for export across the ocean.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/100323/n032365A.html


http://www.kitimat.ca/EN/main/visitors/regional-attractions/marine-parks-protected-areas.html

The Climate Change Reality: Sandstorms

In China, a series of sandstorms are swooping across the country. Because of desertification in certain regions, the earth turns to sand and is easily picked up by the wind. The sand picks up pollution particles and whips them across the city: another reason why pollution isn’t good. This desertification is a consequence of climate change. Heavy drought in areas will cause regions to become deserts. Not only that but droughts will make it harder for people to push back the desert by planting trees. More and more signs of the climate change reality are being seen. When will the politicians obstructing action like Stephen Harper see what is happening and take action?

BEIJING, CHINA—The dust works its way through keyholes and window frames, and smells like a filthy brew of dirt, smoke and metallic particles. The sky turns magenta and whole buildings disappear. Eyes tear up and throats get sore from coughing.
Northern China’s spring sandstorms blew in with particular ferocity over the weekend, bringing misery to people working outdoors Monday in Beijing and across a wide swath of the country.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/783348--china-choked-by-sandstorms-as-pollution-levels-rise

Hard Tory Times

Bruce Champion-Smith looks over the past few weeks for the Tories. It has been very hard for them. Wasting time on changing the national anthem and not including contraception in their plans for hosing the G20 nations. A new motion was set to have the speaker find three ministers in contempt of Parliament. Stephen Harper has to start re-portraying himself as a strong leader if he wants to regain even more support. If not, people are going to abandon him.

OTTAWA–It's been a jarring few weeks for the Conservatives with climb-downs and flip-flops on everything from the national anthem to contraception.
In Parliament, the Conservatives also initially bucked a motion to crack down on political mailings, mocked an NDP motion to put limits on prorogation, and continue their battle with opposition MPs seeking to view documents on the detention of Afghan detainees.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/783134--tories-tripped-up-by-flip-flops-tantrums

Why do we need oil?

Quebec is trying to get a okay from the federal government to be able to explore for oil and natural gas. I do not think we should take this oil, because do we really need it. I think that we get enough energy from hydro electricity. I believe that we should show as a example that this oil is not touched and yet we can still use other sources of energy that are renewable.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/100320/n032023A.html

U.S health care is not baby killing

If you can remember when the health care debate in the U.S., it started in the summer. You remember all those people who screamed at the congressman or woman's "baby killer." I would like to say that Nancy Pelosi, Obama have stated again and again that the health care bill will not give money for abortion. I think that in the health care bill people who can die if they try to keep the baby should have a free abortion because they may die, but under no circumstances should someone who will not die from abortion should have to pay from their pockets and not the tax payers pockets.

What's all the fuss about?

Apparently, there has been great dissatisfaction with Gilles Duceppe's speech over the weekend. In it he says that the Bloc have been the resistance to Canada's policies. People are saying that this has ties to the resistance during the Nazi regime. Personally, I don't see what the whole fuss is about. Sometimes the media overspins something to go like this, "Wow! Gilles Duceppe used a big word. Let's all go attack him because the word he used can be understood in a different context." I have to agree with Duceppe on this one. The fuss over his big word is "plain stupid." It's not the first time a word has different meanings nor the last. All the parties that criticized him for that remark should learn their lesson. Don't do it again. I don't think they should apologize but they should not do it again.

OTTAWA - Federalists and Quebec sovereigntists were both demanding apologies on Monday over a weekend speech by BlocQuebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe that described Quebecers as "resisters" to Canada.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2713303 

5VFT5MFFF99U

Petro Province?

According to Questerre Energy Corp., an underground lake of natural gas is buried near the St. Lawrence river. Also, another company wants to drill a well on an oil field on the border between Newfoundland and Quebec. This means that we are facing the possibility of becoming a province that contributes to equalization, not receives. We also have to consider the environmental impact of the drillings. Exploitations do pollute the air and water. I say let the companies do it. But there are going to be Taxes with a capital t.

1. Taxes on destroying the fauna
2. Taxes on emitting pollution into the air
3. Royalty payments
4. All of the other taxes that apply to businesses

So, if the companies want to exploit the resources by destroying the environment, let them. But everything they do has consequences. Taxes is one of them.

Integration

Integrating the Winter Olympics and Paralympics so that they take place at the same time could be tricky. But it’s worth it. With events happening at the same time, Canadians and the world’s population would be aware of Paralympics happening. We could and should be as excited as we are for the Olympics. I guess we don’t because the initial excitement has worn off after the Olympics. Integration would make sure that TV stations would show more events and therefore, Canadians would watch more events. For our athletes, it means more support and a better feeling. So let’s all get behind our athletes in the Olympics and Paralympics and cheer them on!

Robert Steadward thinks it's time to start seriously discussing integrating the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
The founder of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said as much in Vancouver recently and reinforced that view in a telephone interview on Saturday.
"I'm sure we'll see in the future that more world championships will incorporate both of them (able-bodied and disabled athletes) together concurrently," Steadward said. "I think you'll see, as well, more regional games that will include both disabled and able-bodied athletes.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/2010wintergames/call+integrating+Games/2711646/story.html

Welcome to the 21st century

Last night, a health care bill passed in the United States of America. With a vote of  219-212 the bill will move onto the senate. In the senate, if they just vote on the bill itself and make no changes it will be voted on. In the senate they only need 51 votes and no more. The democrats have more than 51 yes votes. After that it will go to the president to be signed, and the health care issue in the U.S. that has been delayed for 98 years will be saved. The problem for Obama is even now that the health care bill has passed the question is now will the Americans see the benefits of this bill soon enough for Obama to keep his big majorities in the house and senate.This is histroric and I would want to see this bill passed as soon as possible. There will not be any Americans denied health care because of pre-existing conditions and 31 million americans will now have health care insurance.

Zambia: the Climate Change Reality

UN video showing the climate change reality in Zambia.

We Have the Votes

The healthcare bill is going to be passed! We have the 216 votes needed to pass it in the House. After that, the Senate. This is a historic and brave step for Obama and the Democrats to be taking. In the future, the next presidents should further this goal of caring for the citizens and make a public system available to all taxpayers. This way, everyone gets cured.

“This bill is going to go through,” Representative Bart Stupak, the leader of the anti-abortion group, told reporters as he announced the deal with the White House. “We are well past 216.”

Stupak, who was joined at his announcement by six other abortion rights opponents, said he was satisfied Obama’s executive order would ensure current law banning the use of federal funds for abortion would not change under the healthcare overhaul.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Democrats+healthcare+bill+passage/2709100/story.html

Slow High Speed Rail

A nice article by Fraser Harland showing the benefits of HSR. He also brings to light some facts that even I didn't know before such as that Canada is the only G8 country without HSR. This fact means that all other superpowers in the G8 want to include high speed rail for their future because they know it supports the economy and is environmentally friendly. Canada is the only country yet to devote itself to a network. Even a group in Alberta is promising to run the trains, so long as the government constructs and leases out the tracks. It's now up to the government to decide if we want to be left behind or not.

There is even a group called Alberta High-Speed Rail that has said it would own and operate the trains, if the provincial government would build and lease the tracks. Its President and CEO Bill Cruickshanks argues that, “If you want to start an airline or a bus company, you don’t have to build an airport or a highway. We take the attitude that if government is going to build infrastructure for on industry it should do so for the other.”

http://www.argosy.ca/view.php?aid=42530

Just move on

As my blogger friend has stated again another Tory tantrum. I said it twice and I will say it a third time "although many may want her too resign i think that since she (now he) has apologize and if she (he) shows that this is clearly not herself (himself) usually we should not just decide upon one moment if she (he) should resign ". I think that if clearly this person shows he is truly not like this and apologizes to who he may have offended then we should accept it and "move on". I am a little tired but not surprised that the opposition party's take advantage of this situation. My question will saying how the minister has to resign help the economy lower, the unemployment, lower the deficit or solve global warming. absolutely not. So I say let us move on, and make the Parliament start talking about the real issue. I do believe we should talk about this, but maybe not now considering the minster has apologized we and the government should move on to the real problems, and we should not take time off of question period just to attack a government.I still believe we could talk about it if he did not apologize ,  but since he did i think we should move on . http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/100319/n031957A.html

NDP try to raise taxes on music

The NDP want to make a new levy (special tax) on Ipod. This money will go to Canadian artist. The same way blank CD's taxes go to artist so the artist can recover some money by the amount they lose for the mixes. I like the idea of taxing blank CD because some of those will be used for blank CD and even if they don't it is a way to give Canadian artist the money they desrve. But i think it is wrong to tax the item that consurmers will be using to buy the artist music, so i think that would go against where this tax will be going.

The money would theoretically go into a fund for Canadian music artists the same way as the current 29-cent levy on blank CDs and cassettes. So far, it has the full support of only the Bloc Quebecois, not enough to pass the House of Commons. The Liberals, and at least one Conservative, agreed to continue discussion of the issue in committee.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/100317/n031745A.html

Tory Tantrum #2

Sounds familiar? This time it was Veteran Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn. He tried to carry a bottle of tequila onto a plane at Ottawa’s airport on February. Most of us probably know that we are not allowed any liquid or gels in carry-ons. And this was alcoholic. He proceeded to demand that the security guards destroy the bottle; as if he thought that somebody else was going to drink it. He and the guards started arguing and at a point, security almost called the police. Why do these Conservatives think they are above the law? They say they are tough on crime, but the Tories expect preferential treatment over others. There is no need for Harper’s cronies to get special treatment over the rest of Canadians who willingly abide by the law. Maybe I should open a whole new label for Tory Tantrums...

According to CTV, Veterans Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn had a bit of a temper tantrum when airport security would not let him carry a bottle of the Mexican fire-water onto the plane at the Ottawa airport in February.
When security guards told him he could not carry the bottle on to the flight, CTV reports, he demanded they empty its contents in his presence. The network says the argument became so heated that security almost called the police.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100318/minister_airport_100318/20100318?hub=Canada

There is no propoganda!

The energy minster of Alberta said they will combat what it called "propaganda campaign". That is simply not true there is no propaganda about Alberta oil sands by environmental groups. The truth of the matter is the Alberta oil company's are not doing enough to conserve energy for the future, and that these company's are not doing enough to transition to a environment friendly industry

He says the announcement reducing provincial royalties was a turning point for the relationship between the government and the industry.

He says people outside Alberta need to understand how Canada's oil sands benefit them financially.

I feel that the minister should understand that the oil company's can still provide wealth for the province or even more by becoming more greener, and that just letting the oil industry's do what ever they want will not help any one but the oil company's
  http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/03/17/calgary-alberta-oilsands-liepert-speech-propoganda.html

Documents, Now!

Liberal MPs and Bloc MPs are calling on the speaker to rule that basically, the government must release the documents on on Afghan detainees. Good for the opposition. We are moving forward and hopefully past the Tory censors. We will find out the truth and nothing but the truth. But only if the speaker accepts the motion, will their be victory for us.

Liberal MP Derek Lee, NDP defence critic Jack Harris and Bloc Québécois MP Claude Bachand argued in the House on Thursday morning that the Conservatives' refusal to abide by a House order to hand over the documents flies in the face of parliamentary rights and traditions.
"If we don't stand up, efforts to undermine our constitution will have succeeded," Lee said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/03/18/parliament-afghan-detainee-documents.html?ref=rss#ixzz0iYZA23hN

Americans > Canadians?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency didn’t allow Americans to eat food that was under investigation. However, these deli meats were good enough for Canadians. These meats were under investigation for the killer listeriosis. This happened last week. Why should Canadians be treated any differently than Americans? Our agency should be working for us, not the Americans. The meat should have been discontinued in both countries. Safety for everyone comes first, not just Americans.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency cut off access to American markets for the Toronto plant at the centre of an ongoing listeriosis investigation connected to tainted deli meats while allowing the company to continue to produce food for Canadians, Canwest News Service has learned.

The Siena Foods Ltd., facility was quietly delisted as an eligible certified plant to export meat to the United States this week in response to recalls in Canada last week of four different deli meats for possible listeria contamination.

http://www.theprovince.com/health/Deli+meat+Canadians+limits+Americans/2694606/story.html

Attack!!

Look at what I got in the mail.

 

From

The Tory attack ads out again. This is why the ten-per-centers should be banned. Using taxpayers money for this kind of political advertisement.

PM’s prorogation power limited

"Our prime minister is not a king, and it's time he understood that.” –Jack Layton

The NDP with support from the Liberals and Bloc have passed a non-binding motion to limit the Prime Minister’s prorogation power. Congratulations to the NDP for making this possible. It’s this kind of thinking that makes our country more democratic. The PM shouldn’t be able to hold this kind of executive power. If only this motion were binding…

Opposition members of Parliament joined together Wednesday to pass a motion that would prevent the prime minister from proroguing Parliament for longer than seven days unless supported by the House.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/03/17/layton-prorogue.html?ref=rss#ixzz0iXpej07e

B.C.’s green money maker

British Columbia has demonstrated that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. New predictions say that the green economy in B.C. could be worth 27 billion by 2020. All governments in Canada should be investing in this. If we help a green economy along on its path, we could make ourselves a lot richer in the future as many countries will be looking for these environmentally friendly alternatives.

VANCOUVER - The green economy in British Columbia could be worth more than $27-billion by 2020, according to an independent study released on Wednesday by a Vancouver group.

The Vancouver-based GLOBE Foundation report assesses the economic and employment impacts associated with the transformation of the provincial economy toward lower-carbon energy generation and usage, as well as business practices that reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, according to a news release.

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/energy/green-energy/story.html?id=2694208#ixzz0iXnsRSki

Bye Bye Pepsi

PepsiCo stated that they will remove all soft drinks from primary school worldwide, and will sell only fat free milk, water, and juice to replace the soft drinks. I think this is a great first step. This will take effect in 2012, but I do think that they should also take way these soft drinks in secondary schools too. I believe that other Company's should follow in this example to help lower child obesity. Coca Cola also said that they will not be selling soft drinks in primary school, but they said they will if the school district or parents want them to. I think that with no question should the soft drinks be out of all schools around the world. Not even if the school disrict or the parents want to. The fact is that kids will still be able to buy other soft drinks that are not owned by Pepsi or Coca-Cola.

Both PepsiCo Inc., the world's second-biggest soft drink maker, and No. 1 player Coca-Cola Co. adopted guidelines to stop selling sugary drinks in U.S. schools in 2006.

 PepsiCo's policy requires co-operation from its bottlers, vending companies and other distributors who take the company's products to schools worldwide

In primary schools, PepsiCo will sell only water, fat-free or low-fat milk, and juice with no added sugar. In secondary schools, it will sell those drinks along with low-calorie soft drinks, such as Diet Pepsi. Sports drinks are permissible when they're sold to students participating in sports or other physical activities.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2010/03/16/pepsi-school-pullout.html

NDP introduce limit PM's to power

The NDP is proposing a motion that the Prime Mister can not prorogue Parliament longer than a week without the majority of the MP's consent. I am in total favor of this. i want to make sure that Harper can not just prorogue Parliament when ever he wants and expect that it is okay. This motion was proposed Wednesday and will be voted on today ( or has been voted on Thursday). The Liberals are going to propose a similar motion after. The huge problem is even if this motion passes it will not be binding on Harper to follow the bill. That is why I would just want Harper to admit that he has done wrong by proroguing Parliament so we can all move on and for him to approve the bill so he can not be able to do it again.

However, should opposition parties join forces to approve the motion, it's not binding on Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper has already signalled that he has no intention of constraining his power to suspend Parliament whenever he sees fit. 

Liberals have come up with their own set of proposals which they plan to introduce at some point and members of the Commons's procedure and House affairs committee have also agreed to study the issue.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/national/100316/n0316111A.html

The Final Run

Obama and the democrats in Washington have decided that they will do something called Reconciliations. What this means is that in order to pass the bill you do not need 60 out of the 100 votes to pass this bill. The problem with this way is that it takes longer time untill you can vote on it unlike the regular way. Time the president may not have considering a political up rise with the tea party movement and the criticism that he has spend to much time on health care. I personally believe that this is how it should work always a 51 majority rules bases. The funny thing is that in 2001 when democrats apposed the tax cuts of Bush. the republican use reconciliation to pass it, and democrats scowled at them for using "sneaky tricks", but the Republicans say that they believe that a 51 majority rules does work. Then on Obama Health care Democrats have changed their tunes and said they believe in majority rules, but Republicans are screaming at the president that he is "cheating the system". It all seems as politics as usual on Capitol Hill.

Climate Change Reality

Another video showing the reality of climate change, this time much closer to home. The other one you can see by clicking on the tab “about the environment…”
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/779845--victoria-island-where-warming-means-danger

Tough on Crime, Soft on Ignoring

Now, that’s two subjects on which the Tories reject the solid research: climate change and crime. The government’s own research shows that mandatory minimum sentences do not work. However, even Harper says that research on justice doesn’t work.

In a 2008 speech, Harper flatly denounced research-based justice policies, accusing the pedlars of such policies of trying to “pacify Canadians with statistics.”

But, statistics are the cold hard facts. Basically, Harper is rejecting reality and substituting it for his own. So, outright Harper is trying to fool us.

“The great appeal of mandatory minimum sentences is that they give politicians the appearance of doing something, of being seen to be doing something,” Craig Jones, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Canada, said in a recent interview.

“You must never underestimate the need for politicians to be seen to be doing something — even if, in some cases, it’s the wrong thing.”

http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2010/03/14/13226151-cp.html

Liberals not wasting

The Liberal Party of Canada is cutting back on the use of mass mailings. These letters/ads waste money and trees each year. These usually use taxpayer’s money for partisan ideas. For some reason, the Tories are the party that uses the most 10-per-center mailings. this is a great initiative brought on by Canada’s great party. And now, the Canadian taxpayers Federation is going to ask its members to back the Liberals. Good for saving money  and the environment.

Burning Trash?

We are going back to the stone age of energy-making. Vancouver is going to start burning its trash to create energy. In our time with our polluted cities, the worst thing we can do is burn garbage. We need to reduce, reuse and recycle all in that order. Maybe we can add compost. Only if it’s impossible to do these four things with an item do we throw it out. Good thing this plan will need consultation with the public. All residents of the Vancouver area, please speak out against this polluting practice. Stop this plan in its tracks and set an example for North America.

Metro Vancouver's waste management committee meets Wednesday to discuss its draft solid waste plan, which will require consultation with the public, the FVRD and its residents, and First Nations before it's submitted to the Environment Minister for final approval.

Committee chairman Greg Moore, the Mayor of Coquitlam, said Metro has to do that consultation before settling on a final solution - which could be anything from a new landfill to an incinerator in the Lower Mainland or one outside the region.

http://www.theprovince.com/health/Metro+Vancouver+plan+burn+trash+energy+advisable+study/2686299/story.html

Scientists “muzzled” by Ottawa

What’s new? Well, documents from Environment Canada show that their climate-change scientists need to request permission form the government before participating in an interview. What is this now? I thought that censorship of science was illegal in a democracy. Well, leave it up to Harper to do something like this.

The analysis reviewed the impact of a new federal communications policy at Environment Canada, which required senior federal scientists to seek permission from the government prior to giving interviews.

In many cases, the policy also required them to get approval from supervisors of written responses to the questions submitted by journalists before any interview, said the document, obtained in an investigation into the government's views and policies on global-warming science that was conducted by Climate Action Network Canada, a coalition of environmental groups.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2682162

Science left out

By cutting funding to the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, the Conservatives are showing that they don’t care about the climate. Although this isn’t new news, I believe this is the first of many new cuts to come to the environment. Research is one thing, but acting on it is another. If this is one of the research cuts, I’d hate to see what’s going to happen to our targets in a few months or years.

When government funding for a foundation dedicated to climate research dries up at the end of the year, scientists say the aftershocks of its departure will be felt not only in Canada but by researchers around the globe.

The 2010 federal budget, unveiled this month, offered no new cash to the decade-old Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, a group that has been financing research on everything from melting glaciers to drought on the Prairies to the thawing permafrost.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/scientists-distressed-by-tory-cuts-to-climate-research-fund/article1500190/

Elected “Senate” for England

The reason, says a minister is to make the House of Lords “legitimate.” I am actually all for a Triple-E Senate. It’s time that the stuffing of the seats ends. Each House should be able to watch the other one. Therefore, Canadians would be able to vote for different political parties on the ballots. This would ensure the accountability of the two Houses.

"The time has now come to make it legitimate in the only way that a legislative assembly can be legitimate in the modern world, which is to be elected," Lord Adonis told BBC television.

"We can do it in this country as most democracies do it: we'd have two chambers, both of which are elected but with the government accountable to the first chamber," he added.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=2682156

Articulating our Routes

By June three routes will have exclusively articulated buses runnig on them:

• 535 Cote-des-neiges/Park avenue reserved lane
• 121 Cote Vertu/Sauve
• 467 Express St. Michel

Articulated buses hold more people without having to crowd each line. These buses could improve the use of public transit as the more people a bus can hold, the more people will go. Anyway, I’m for anything that involves having more people taking public transit. However, there should still be a tram instated on the 535 route. Tram= more capacity (more than an articulated bus), attracts more people (including tourists), pollutes less, faster. The tram’s revival in Montreal should take place on this line.

Lesbians denied to dance

In Mississippi, a school closed the prom because a student who happened to be lesbian wanted to go with her  girlfriend. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing the school because closing the prom for that reason is against freedom of expression which just so happens to be what democracy is based upon. But a rule was made on Feb 5 that stated that prom dates must be between a man and the opposite sex. What’s the matter if she went on a date with her girlfriend? Would the sky fall down? I hope that the American Civil Liberties Union wins and that the prom is reinstated. I hope also that the girl's life is not exposed to much, or attacked because now she is an icon something that she may have never wanted to happen.

"All I wanted was the same chance to enjoy my prom night like any other student. But my school would rather hurt all the students than treat everyone fairly," said the student
"This isn't just about me and my rights anymore -- now I'm fighting for the right of all the students at my school to have our prom."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/11/mississippi.prom.suit/index.html

Budget Battle

The deficit won’t be gone by 2014 says the parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page. The deficit will only be gone if:

1. The economy surges ahead past expectations
2. We raise taxes
3. More spending cuts

The problem with the cheery expectations of the government is that Stephen Harper said in 2008 that the economy was fine. Only when he called an election did he admit that there was a world recession. So we cannot really trust the Tories. Time can only tell who will be right. And that’s if Stephen Harper doesn’t introduce massive spending cuts in the rest of his term(s).

OTTAWA–Unless the economy greatly outperforms expectations, the only way the Conservative government can meet its deficit-reduction goals by 2014 will be to slash programs or raise taxes, says parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page.

His analysis of the March 4 budget, released Thursday, casts doubt on the federal government's claim that by reducing the growth in federal spending, Ottawa can wipe out most of its current $54 billion deficit in the coming years.

The government's claim that it will nearly eliminate the deficit by 2014 will be off target by nearly $20 billion in the last two years of the plan, Page said.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/federalbudget/article/778876--tory-deficit-reducing-numbers-off-watchdog-says

Shuttle Bus

The STM will launch a new shuttle bus connecting downtown and Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport on March 29. It’s name will be the 747 Airport express. What a pun! (Boeing 747.) Anyway, this service will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week arriving very often. It costs seven dollars a ticket, but also received is unlimited access to the network for 24 hours after buying the ticket. Holders of passes get on free. Great idea, but a lousy bus doesn’t replace the shuttle train that attracts more people, pollutes less, moves faster and is simply, better. This is only a temporary solution until the rail connection is in place. It’s time the government gets moving on the rail connection. It is only for the better.

The Quotas

Iraq had an election. What you may not know is that 25% of the seats in the Iraqi legislature is ministerially for women, and in the Indian Parliament a new bill has passed now reserving 33% of the legislature for women. I think this now puts an entirely new ethical question on not only affirmative action for regular jobs but a question whether it should should be in Parliament too. I do not believe in affirmative action an both cases, because I feel we will undermine women saying that the only reason that they are a MP or a Teacher is because they are women, and because they have too. I do not think this is what we need to do to create equality. I do think we should give women and other races, origin and religion  a better opportunity's like equal pay and lowering the violence against them.

Get out of my Face

The Liberal Party of Canada has called on the minister who threw a tantrum in an airport to resign. That is exactly what I said on February 25th, almost two weeks ago. I’m happy with this decision, but what took them so long? This was an obvious show of disrespect to fellow Canadians just doing their job. This is not the kind of person we want to be the face of Canada. If I wanted to be rude, I would tell her to get out of my face, but I just want her to resign.

The Liberal party is calling for the resignation of Conservative MP Helena Guergis as minister of state for the status of women after she threw a tantrum last week at the Charlottetown Airport.

"Her behaviour is certainly unconscionable. It's not what one expects from a leader," said Anita Neville, Liberal critic for the Status of Women.

"I don't think she warrants a cabinet position with this kind of behaviour."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/02/26/guergis-liberals.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r2:c0:b0#ixzz0hit7CVel

Around the World in Two Days

Well, at least the Eurasian section of the world. China is negotiating with the rest of Europe for a deal that would allow connections between Asia and Europe. Great. If this happens, it will signify a new era of massive building of rail. The benefits are just too large to ignore anymore. With an ever-growing network in Europe, Asia, and now the US it can only be so long until Canada plays catch-up.

Railway passengers will be able to travel from King's Cross to Beijing in just two days on a journey that would be almost as fast as by airplane under ambitious new plans from the Chinese.

China is in negotiations to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe with trains capable of running at more than 321 kph within the next 10 years.

http://www.vancouversun.com/London+Beijing+days+trans+continental+express/2655061/story.html

Sold!

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty wants to sell off some of the Crown assets. These assets could include the CBC and Via Rail. It’s obvious why the Conservatives would want privatize CBC. It’s run by the government and they are against spending. However, the CBC runs a television and radio service with many great shows such as Dragons’ Den. CBC news is trusted by many as a corporation that can be trusted. By selling off the CBC, the Tories will be selling off our heritage and a part of Canada. We cannot let this happen.


That's right. It's our own and we can't let it be taken away.

Intentional Torture

A law professor from Ottawa says that the Government is censoring the Afghan detainee documents because the prisoners were intentionally tortured. This person says he has seen the uncensored version of the documents. However, this can’t be taken as truth. What needs to be done is the release of the documents in full so that all Canadians know the truth. If intentional torture is the truth, then something needs to be done about whoever is responsible. Further investigation and the release of documents is necessary.

If the allegation is true, such actions would constitute a war crime, said University of Ottawa law professor Amir Attaran, who has been digging deep into the issue and told CBC News he has seen uncensored versions of government documents released last year.

"If these documents were released [in full], what they will show is that Canada partnered deliberately with the torturers in Afghanistan for the interrogation of detainees," he said.

"There would be a question of rendition and a question of war crimes on the part of certain Canadian officials. That's what's in these documents, and that's why the government is covering up as hard as it can."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/05/afghan-attaran005.html#ixzz0hQaD53wV

Pandora = Earth

The Sierra Club compares the tar sands to Pandora, the planet in the movie Avatar. It is all too true. We are destroying Earth with thoughts only to the profit we get out of it. There are better ways to reap profit which are environmentally friendly.

The 51st State

In December 2010, all passengers flying to or even over the United States without making any stops will be checked by the US Department of Homeland Security. Wait a moment. Is that right? We’re going to be checked by Uncle Sam?

QUEBEC — Starting in December, some passengers on Canadian airlines flying to, from or even over the United States without ever landing there, will only be allowed to board the aircraft once the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has determined they are not terrorists.

So it is right. Our neighbours to the south will be controlling which Canadians go on flights. But, when did we Canadians agree to this massive takeover?

Parliament never adopted or even discussed the Secure Flight program — even though Secure Flight transfers the authority of screening passengers, and their personal information, from domestic airlines to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

So, none of our representatives in Parliament got to vote on this crazy idea. We are our own country. We can police ourselves and decide what should be our security. Well, we should be able to decide. This “Secure Flight” plan should be purged from Canada, and then the world. The US cannot go around butting in other countries’ affairs. They are not entitled to mess around in other countries. This is a great time to see whether Stephen Harper will defend our national sovereignty or not. If he lets this continue, we will be on track to become the 51st state.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/have+which+Canadians/2638715/story.html

Deadly Driving

A study by WHO (world health organization) shows that 1.2 million people have died by car accidents. it is not just the people who drive will be in danger it is also the cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian. 50 million other people are injured. Think about that 16.2 million people died more than there are people in all of Canada. the amount of people that died is 1/3 of all of Montreal. WHO even predicts that if people do not do anything traffic accidents will be the 5th most cause of death in the world. So I think that it should be illegal all over the planet that no person can use his phone in his car while he is driving.

Campaigners have said they hoped to cut the forecast level of fatalities over a decade by 50 per cent — saving a potential five million lives.

Without such efforts, said Dr. Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general, road accidents "will otherwise become the fifth-leading cause of death by 2030" behind heart disease, strokes, respiratory infections and lung disease.

 http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/03/03/road-accidents-who.html#ixzz0h9H3DFQk

China Fast

A video on China's new high speed rail line. The trains are the fastest commercial trains in the world. I'd like to see these come to Canada.

MPs go to work but may go back

Parliament is going to return on Wednesday with a throne speech, and on Thursday Jim Flarety puts down a budget that will later be voted on. The moral question is now: should the Liberals try to take down the goverment because they have prorogued Parliament so long and are irresponsible? Or should they not try to bring down goverment and attempt to stop an election because parliment has been out so long that can we afford to lose more time on a election. Now, although many of you believe that we should take down Harper it would send a bad message saying that we do not support proroguing parliment and stop MPs from working for a month and then stop MPs working for a month to do an election. Although I beleieve an election is a better use of a month, and that why I believe that unless the budget is outragous than call an election, but if the budget is fair I think it would we should try to keep away speding another 300 million dollars to get another minority goverment that fall in 1 1/2 years. Now I want too want to get Harper out but I do not think thier is curently not enough support, and I think now that Harper is so tied with the Liberals he will play it nice. Which I think for now souds like in strange way a stable goverment, because Liberals and Conservatives don't want an election.