Politics - for the people

Aglukkaq Is Now Blaming "Us", The Public, For The Vaccine Shortage!

2009-11-02T06:36:00.005-05:00

Well, well, well. It seems it's now "our" fault that there's an H1N1 vaccine shortage.

From this article in the Ottawa Sun:

"Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq says production "over-estimating" by the company producing the H1N1 vaccine and a panicked public are to blame for the shortages now gripping the country."

WHAT???? We know the Cons blame everyone but themselves when things go wrong but this is outrageous. Oh are they going to pay for this debacle!! The media is jumping on this vaccine nightmare for all it's worth & I'm glad. They could, & should, have been ready a few months ago - there are NO excuses.

Will be doing a post soon on my experience of getting the vaccine.

More Outrageous Spending

2009-10-29T07:36:00.003-04:00

From an article by Kathryn May in the Ottawa Citizen:

"The size of the executive cadre in the government has grown steadily over the past decade and so have the number of assistant deputy ministers whose salaries have cracked $200,000. Treasury Board reported that among the government's 5,400 executives about 69 EX-5s made an average of $214,000 last year -- compared to 14 three years earlier. Salaries are in the $186,000 range, plus up to 25 per cent in bonuses."

Note that there were 69 executive employees making over $200,000 a year last year compared to 14 only 3 years earlier. This large an increase has happened since Harper came to power & he began increasing the size of Govt. assistant deputy ministers as well as others. This from the man who speaks of reducing the size of Govt. Of course when he says "decreasing" he means our social programs like healthcare - his favourite program he dreams of privatizing.

Read the entire article here. It's interesting. And outrageous.

$46,000 of Taxpayer's Money Spent On GO Trains Ads.

2009-10-23T06:50:00.004-04:00

From The Star:

"The Conservative government has spent more than $46,000 to turn two GO train cars into rolling advertisements along the Lakeshore line for its stimulus spending program, which has been widely criticized for putting image ahead of substance."

This is revolting & it's only just beginning as The Cons are in the process of running this "campaign" on billboards all across Canada. Wonder how much that will cost the taxpayer. The money could be better spent on helping the unemployed feed their families & keep roofs over their heads. Thanks Harper - for nothing.

Big Changes at CBC

2009-10-22T12:22:00.002-04:00

On Monday, Oct. 26th, CBC will begin their restructured platforms. Newsworld is even getting a name change - CBC News Network (CBC NN).
Lots of new programming & even changes with their flagship newscast The National. Kady O'Malley, formerly of MacLeans will be blogging for them online & Don Newman will also be making online contributions. Will be interesting to see the new format as well as a new political show from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (weekdays) with Evan Soloman.

For more info on the changes & programming read here.

Tory Ridings Get Bulk Of Stimulus Money

2009-10-20T06:13:00.002-04:00

This just out from the Ottawa Citizen:

"A joint investigation by the Ottawa Citizen and Halifax Chronicle-Herald shows that 57 per cent of the projects with more than $1 million in federal funding nationwide went to Conservative ridings. The party holds only 46 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons. Blue ridings therefore received 23 per cent more $1-million-plus projects than if the projects were divided evenly among all ridings.

The difference between government and opposition ridings is particularly pronounced in Quebec, where Tory ridings received 22 per cent of large projects, although the party holds only 13 per cent of the ridings, which means they received 62 per cent more per riding than if the money was divided evenly."

And it just gets better & better! Read it here.

RALPH GOODALE’S REPORT

2009-10-19T09:09:00.002-04:00

This is an excellent commentary by MP Ralph Goodale:

STEPHEN HARPER’S LEGACY OF DEBT

The Harper government passed an embarrassing milestone last week.

After months of denial, the Conservatives finally had to release the audited financial statements of the Government of Canada for last fiscal year (2008/09). They revealed that for the first time in more than a decade, this country fell back into the red by about $6 billion.

Here’s a key point to note: This deficit began BEFORE, not because of, the recession!

These financial statements reflect primarily what was happening BEFORE the recession hit last fall.

They show how the Conservatives wildly increased spending by a whopping 18% between 2006 and 2008. That’s three-times the rate of inflation.

They show how the Conservatives eroded Canada’s tax base, and recklessly eliminated all the “reserves” which had been built into the federal books to protect against sudden nasty downturns

All that happened BEFORE there was any recession.

So when the housing market collapsed in the United States and American banks began to fail last fall – spreading economic contagion around the world – Canada had nothing left to protect itself.

We were forced back into deficit because our financial strength had been squandered through Conservative fiscal tomfoolery when times were still good.

Two key points are clear:

1. If the prudent fiscal policies of previous Liberal governments had stayed in effect in this country after the government changed in 2006, Canada’s deficit today (even with the recession) would be only a fraction of what it is; and

2. With Mr. Harper’s reckless fiscal policies, Canada would have a deficit today no matter what – even if there had been no recession at all.

For the future, his numbers will get worse. Mr. Harper is another $56 billion in the hole this year (2009/10), and his total legacy of debt will balloon to more than $170 billion.

Raitt Being Investigated - 2 Different Probes

2009-10-17T07:16:00.004-04:00

Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt is being investigated by the conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner AND the privacy commissioner. Both probes concerning her use of the Toronto Port Authority in a recent political fundraiser held for her.

From The Star:

"[Paul] Szabo, the chair of the parliamentary ethics committee, filed a 42-page document questioning whether it was ethically correct for Raitt to allow employees of a federal agency she once ran – the port authority – to provide services for the partisan event, which was held at a trendy downtown Toronto restaurant in September."

=snip=

"Szabo's confirmation of the investigation by the conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner comes a week after junior transport minister Rob Merrifield told Parliament that Raitt "has told me that she has received correspondence from the ethics commissioner and that correspondence has cleared her of all allegations."

Raitt could not be reached for comment."

Isn't that cute? Lying to her junior minister. Not only do the Cons lie to us, the people who pay their salaries, but they even try to pull the wool over their own colleagues eyes. Tut, tut.

It seems that Stephen Harper & his fellow Cons are finally being revealed for who they really are - miscreants of the highest order! Let's keep the pressure on these hoodlums.

MP Olivia Chow, NDP, also filed official complaints along with Szabo.

Red Canuck Has Passed Away

2009-10-15T08:58:00.002-04:00

For those of you who missed yesterday's posting by a friend of RC's on Red Canucks blog here is a link to the post. His father also posted in the comments section.

For those of us who followed RC & his posts he will be sorely missed. His wit, humour, & insightfulness were great reads! He was already missed but this makes it final. Very sad.

My condolences to his family, friends & to all those whose lives he touched in his own unique, wonderful way - bloggers & his blog readers included.

Way To Go Kady!

2009-10-14T03:29:00.003-04:00

Kady O'Malley, whose blog "Inside the Queensway" at Macleans Magazine, has been hired to blog for the CBC starting Oct. 26th. She is the best blogger for covering Canadian politics on the Federal level that I've encountered. Looking forward to following you at your new location Kady & all the best!

Read more here.

Harper Bait & Switch - Again!

2009-10-10T07:08:00.003-04:00

It seems we are now staying in Afghanistan beyond 2011 &, yes, in a combat role.

From CBC News:

"Speaking in Welland, Ont., Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters the government would not seek to extend the mission authorized by parliament in 2008.

"Well, let me be very clear …" Harper said, "Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will end in 2011"

=snip=

"But now it appears the government has two views of what constitutes a "mission," in Afghanistan.

The current mission in Kandahar, which begun at the end of 2006, includes 2,800 troops focused around an infantry battle group.

This, in the government's view, is the military mission.

The new mission will still contain troops, but its focus will be reconstruction. In the government's view, this new mission should be called a development mission — not a military mission — whether or not it contains troops."

You can be sure we will still be in a combat role. After all surely the boys in power will want to try out the new toys that will be available after the 2011 withdrawal date? Like new aircraft, tanks, eg.

And Canadians continue to trust Harper & his lying cohorts? Hope the media attends to this one, at the very least.

More info here.

May Wants In

2009-09-28T07:07:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth May, Green Party Leader, wants in on the debates during the next election. She's even willing to take legal action to make it happen. I, for one, wouldn't mind if she was in them.

From an article by Abbas Rana in The Hill Times:

"If the consortium of TV networks doesn't include Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in the highly-publicized TV leaders' debates in the next election campaign, she says she will call on Canadians to put help reverse the move and is also threatening legal action.

"Well, I think I'll have to ask Canadians to do what they did last time and deluge media with the demand that I be included. Court action was possible last time, I suppose it would be possible again," Ms. May told The Hill Times last week."

Another One Gone

2009-09-14T06:04:00.003-04:00

"Private Patrick Lormand, 21 of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment was killed and four others were injured in a roadside IED blast approximately 13 kilometres southwest of Kandahar city."

That brings the death total to 130. It's time our soldiers came home.

Harper proposes job-killing permanent tax on everything

2009-09-13T05:58:00.005-04:00

From this commentary by Robert Silver in the G&M.

"Embedded in the forecast for EI premiums in the government’s Update is an assumed increase in the EI premium rate in 2012."'

Ding, ding, ding. "Increase in the EI premium rate"...that sounds an awful lot like a payroll tax increase to me. What does Orr have to say about that?

"Mr. Flaherty pledged to return to balanced budgets without a tax increase. Isn’t an increase in EI premiums a tax increase?"

To repeat, isn't an increase in EI premiums a tax increase?

The answer? Yes, yes it is."

So for all the rhetoric of not raising taxes, to reduce the debt, by Harper, Flaherty & whatever other Con gets a microphone in their face it isn't true - no matter what they say. And they must think we Canadians are too dumb to see that obscure little amendment?

I, for one, would much prefer to see the GST raised back to where it was before Harper lowered it by 2 cents. It's a much easier & less painful way to begin debt recovery than raising payroll taxes.

Conservative Govt. - always hiding the truth.

Good post on this by Impolitical. Go read.

2 More Canadian Soldiers Dead in Afghanistan

2009-09-07T07:21:00.003-04:00

This brings the total number of our soldiers killed to 129.

"Killed in the explosion were 36-year-old Maj. Yannick Pepin and Cpl. Jean-Francois Drouin, 21 who were killed by an the IED explosion around noon local time in the Dand district, southwest of Kandahar city on Sunday."
Both men were members of the 5 Combat Engineer Regiment and were stationed in Valcartier, Que.

For all the information go to CTV here.

Supreme Court & Khadr

2009-09-02T07:17:00.003-04:00

From The Gazette:

Supreme Court moves quickly, will rule on Khadr on Friday

"Omar Khadr, a young Canadian man being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could learn his fate on Friday after Canada's top court announced yesterday it would rule on an appeal by the Conservative government to stay a repatriation order.

The Federal Court of Appeal recently upheld an earlier court ruling that Khadr, 22, an accused terrorist, be repatriated from the discredited U.S. military prison in Cuba. But the Canadian government announced on Aug. 25 that it would appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada and filed a motion to stay the repatriation order. It is unusual for the Supreme Court to issue a judgment on a case so quickly."

I hope the SC refuses to hear the appeal that Harper has filed. All he ever does is run to the Courts for anything he doesn't like, for anything that doesn't favour him & his sick Conservative Party with it's sick ideology. Enough already.

Pay More, See Less

2009-09-02T07:12:00.003-04:00

This totally infuriates me & rather than just link I have chosen to cut & paste the following article:

TV networks free to air unlimited ads

Old limits of 15 minutes per hour no longer apply

By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News ServiceSeptember 2, 2009 4:03 AM

Television viewers in Canada now get to pay a little bit more and might have to view more advertising courtesy of new cable and broadcasting rules that came into effect Tuesday.

Conventional television broadcasters are free as of Tuesday to air as many advertisements as they wish, up from a maximum of 15 minutes per hour under the old system that died on Aug. 31. And beginning on their September bills, cable customers will start to see a new line on their monthly invoice amounting to a 1.5 per cent increase.

For Bell TV customers, this translates into about $1. The hike for Rogers customers will vary depending on their cable package, but will come in at less than $1.

The additional cash will go into the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF), created by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and funded by cable and satellite companies. The CRTC initially set the contribution at one per cent of their gross broadcasting revenues, but increased it recently by a half percentage point for the new broadcasting year.

These new charges passed on to consumers could be a prelude to even higher monthly bills. Hearings begin later this year over a system of payments known as fee-for-carriage, which would allow the country's largest TV networks to charge cable and satellite companies for signals.

In the meantime, Canada's conventional television networks -- CBC, CTV and Global -- have a new stream of revenue open to them. After increasing the number of minutes the country's big broadcasters could air in an hour from 12 in 2006 to 15 in 2008, the CRTC lifted the cap altogether beginning on Sept. 1, 2009.

Mirko Bibic, Bell Canada's head of regulatory and government affairs, said he has no doubt the broadcasters will come out the winners now that restrictions on advertising time limits have been removed.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Michael Bryant Arrested

2009-09-01T06:27:00.002-04:00

Former Ontario Attorney General, Michael Bryant, arrested in hit & run with a cyclist. Some very interesting eyewitness accounts in this article from The Star.

H1N1 VACCINE DISTRIBUTION STALLED!!

2009-08-19T07:01:00.005-04:00

Well isn't this just ducky. All the assurances from our dear Health Minister, Leona Aglukkaq, that all is well & on track with a possible flu pandemic outbreak starting THIS Fall is once again untrue. There's a shortage of vials in which to put the vaccine so it won't be available to Canadians until Christmas, although there will be shipments leaving Canada for parts unknown at this time.

From an article by Gloria Galloway at the G&M:

"Canadians will wait for vaccinations against pandemic H1N1 influenza even as bulk vaccine shipments are exported to other countries because GlaxoSmithKline can produce more vaccine at its Quebec plant than it can put into vials."

=snip=

"In Canada, the Ste-Foy facility will begin producing vaccine in November, or possibly late October, and it will be Christmas before every Canadian who wants a shot can get one.

It takes two weeks for the vaccine to be considered fully effective. And many people will require more than one shot. Which means it will be February or even March before the vaccine is protecting all of the Canadians who are inoculated. That is well after the traditional flu season begins in December."

So, if this flu hits us in the Fall as has been predicted the vaccine will arrive too late to help the majority of the Canadian population. This on top of non-answers from the Govt. on very important issues as to who, what, when & where the 1st vaccines will go to, like first responders? the elderly? the young? those with compromised immune systems & serious health issues? & the lack of coordination with a plan across the country does not bode well.

Just another example of how little Harper & our Conservative Govt. cares for Canada & its peoples.

Busy...

2009-06-29T08:24:00.002-04:00

Just to let those who are interested know that I've been in the process of moving, all moved in now since Fri., & that is why there haven't been any posts. It may continue to be that way for a little while longer as I get sorted & unpacked. I'm getting way too old for this moving thing!!! ;)

#120

2009-06-15T05:40:00.004-04:00

Cpl. Martin Dube, 35, killed defusing 2 bombs when they blew up.

From CBC News:

"An Afghan police officer was also killed and an Afghan interpreter was seriously injured in the explosion."

Alberta Tories angry with Harper Conservatives

2009-06-09T07:47:00.003-04:00

From Brian Laghi at the G&M:

"The Harper Conservatives are being taken to task by their provincial Alberta cousins, who say Ottawa is failing to inform them of key government policies, treats the unemployed unfairly and falls short in boosting the oil sands."

"The document is the most recent example of Prime Minister Stephen Harper finding himself on the defensive from his own partisans. Last winter, Conservatives criticized a federal stimulus spending package that has increased the projected deficit to $50-billion."

It will be interesting to watch how this develops & if Harper makes concessions to the Alberta Govt. If not this may lead to the Liberals making inroads into Alberta. Sure would be nice if that were to happen!

Read more on it here.

#119

2009-06-09T07:38:00.003-04:00

Pte. Alexandre Péloquin, 20 years old. How many more before we withdraw? IF we leave.

From CBC News.

Politics Show Staying!!!

2009-06-08T07:56:00.002-04:00

From Harris MacLeod at the Hill Times:

"CBC Newsworld's supper-hour political news program Politics will not be cancelled, says CBC spokesperson Jeff Keay."

"But Mr. Keay said that though the show will undergo substantial changes between when it goes off the air for the summer break, and when a revamped version appears in the fall, the CBC would still have a political show at 5 p.m."

Well that's a tremendous relief as I was concerned that the only political program come the Fall would be CTV's 5 p.m. show.

NO PROTECTION: Outside of Country

2009-06-03T06:53:00.003-04:00

It seems that we, as Canadians, no longer have any protection if we leave the country. This according to our Conservative Govt.

From Janice Tibbetts at The Gazette:

"Canada's legal duty to protect its citizens, even children, ends at the border and there is nothing in domestic or international law that obliges the government to seek Omar Khadr's repatriation, say federal arguments filed in court."

"States do not have a duty to protect citizens held by foreign countries," said the factum, noting that there is no decision worldwide ordering a government to seek repatriation."

This is in reference to the Harper Govt.'s appeal against a ruling, recently, by Federal Court Justice James O'Reilly ordering the Govt. to repatriate Omar Khadr.

But this doesn't just apply to Khadr. This applies to each & every one of us who leaves the country. So, how do you like this NEW take on our safety & well-being from Mr. "Law & Order" Stephen Harper? I, for one, no longer feel secure about leaving the boundaries of our Canada.

DEBT in 5 years: $630B!!!

2009-06-03T06:29:00.002-04:00

This is unbelievable. From CBC News another report from TD Bank:

"Canada's total debt will jump more than 30 per cent by 2013-14 under current economic conditions, the Toronto-Dominion Bank said Tuesday in a new forecast.

The bank said Ottawa's auto bailout package, as well as a lagging economy, will add $167 billion in new public borrowing over the next five years.

That means government debt, estimated at $462.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2008-09, will rise by 36 per cent during the period to almost $630 billion, according to Don Drummond, TD's chief economist, and Derek Burleton, the bank's director of economic analysis."

What the heck is going on? And why are Stephen Harper & Jim Flaherty still in power? Time to throw these fools out!!!!