tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74498910838859104062024-03-13T17:48:23.632-04:00The Canadian Political SceneThe Canadian Political Scene is a Canadian blog on politics that calls it as it is seen from a balanced and generally neutral or centrist view. Politics is full of controversy and it starts here.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-31962518514400723912014-05-30T11:51:00.000-04:002014-05-30T11:51:32.470-04:00Harper's conflicting funding priorities: praise vs. crisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Harper government is being praised for its extra $3.5 billion investment in international maternal health but a UN report finds aboriginal communities are in a state of crisis. As if this wasn't bad enough, the Harper government has dedicated an extra $4 million in advertising veterans programs that they can't be bothered to fund - leading to the wife of a veteran with PTSD's plea, "we're nothing to you."<br />
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper exceeded expectations<a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/harper-pledges-additional-3-5b-for-maternal-child-health-initiative-1.1844100" target="_blank"> pledging an extra $3.5 billion to his maternal, newborn and child health initiative</a> - activists had only asked for $3.25 billion.<br />
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"We need to finish what we started and sustain global momentum to 2015 and beyond," Harper said in a statement. "This is a moral imperative to saving the lives of vulnerable women and children in some of the poorest countries around the world when it is in our power to do so."<br />
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This pledge and commitment has led to praise from philanthropist Melinda Gates, who told Harper, "Under your leadership, and with the support of many people in this room, Canada has earned a global reputation for driving the agenda when it comes to women and children."<br />
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This praise and generosity, however, has overshadowed the <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/un-report-on-aboriginals-warns-of-crisis-in-canada-1.1817505" target="_blank">ongoing crisis in Canada's aboriginal communities</a>, one that would shatter the global reputation for driving the agenda when it comes to women and children.<br />
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“It is difficult to reconcile Canada’s well-developed legal framework and general prosperity with the human rights problems faced by indigenous peoples in Canada that have reached crisis proportions in many respects,” James Anaya, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, wrote in a recent <a href="http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/country-reports/the-situation-of-indigenous-peoples-in-canada" target="_blank">UN report.</a><br />
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To this day we still watch the poor conditions the aboriginal peoples live through and the federal government's reluctance to honouring treaty obligations, leading to the IdleNoMore movement.<br />
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“What needs to be done is aboriginal people have a say in resolving the problem, and not just receiving funding from the government,” Anaya said in a phone interview on CTV’s Power Play. “If it’s within their territory where they live, they have to have a substantial say. Just as with other property holders, and more so because they have self-governance powers, that say needs to have sway.”<br />
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In addition, the Conservative government has been reluctant to get to the bottom of missing and murdered aboriginal women, which have provoked calls for a national inquiry - one the Conservatives will not entertain.<br />
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Canada's veterans have been the target of cuts recently, and those with special conditions feel betrayed by the Harper government's reversal of specialized services and benefits. These brave men and women put their lives on the line for our country, and while <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/day-of-honour-pays-tribute-to-afghanistan-veterans-1.1813591" target="_blank">$2.1 billion can be found for a Day of Honour </a>and Conservative photo-op on May 9, along with the millions that will be allocated toward future military celebrations, like the War of 1812, Canada's veterans must deal with less. These brave men and women put their lives on the line to defend our country and where is their country when they need it the most?<br />
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When Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino couldn't be bothered to speak with a group of veterans that wanted him to listen, an <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/02/veterans-vow-to-defeat-conservatives-in.html" target="_blank">anti-Conservative outcry took place</a>. His reputation, nor the Harper Government's reputation will benefit from a $4 million ad campaign to "correct misinformation" coming squarely off the backs of the veterans who lost vital and deserved services to this government's judgement of priorities.<br />
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For months, <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/we-re-nothing-to-you-spouse-of-veteran-with-ptsd-confronts-fantino-over-funding-1.1844167" target="_blank">Jenny Migneault, spouse of a veteran diagnosed with PTSD chased Fantino who continuously ignored her</a>, even to the eyes of the media - only to claim he was unaware of her in a statement later on. As he and his staffers left a House of Commons hearing yesterday, Migneault shouted, “Mr. Fantino, I’m just a vet’s spouse. You’re forgetting us, once more. We’re nothing to you.”<br />
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Migneault told CTV reporters she was “offended that a man like that is supposed to be the one who is so proud about my husband’s service? C’mon, that’s a joke.”<br />
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“What about us? The spouses, the caregivers, the ones who live 24 hours a day with their heroes,” Migneault said. “Nothing for us? We have no training whatsoever.”<br />
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Meanwhile, Fantino defended his advertising budget increase saying, “We are faced with the bantering that goes back and forth about what is or isn't (covered); what facts and non-facts are; and also the fear mongering.”<br />
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Liberal critic Frank Valeriote responded, "I'm wondering how you can justify for us your department spending more on advertising -- a $4-million increase in advertising -- and less on the actual programs themselves."<br />
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When it comes to painting a rosy picture for the cameras abroad, the Conservatives have money to spend. When it comes to deceitful programs designed to spread propaganda and misinformation to the electorate, the Conservatives have the money to spend. However, when it comes to aiding Canadians, "we're nothing to you."<br />
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Harper can basque in the praise he received during his maternal health summit but the issues facing aboriginal communities and Canada's veterans are just two of many issues that will serve as an anchor on his persona. What do you think of Harper's spending priorities? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-6088505343178761932014-05-13T23:29:00.001-04:002014-05-13T23:29:14.801-04:00Conservatives Ram Fair Elections Act Through the House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Conservatives successfully rammed their amended Fair Elections Act through the House of Commons today by a vote of 146 to 123. The election reforms are set to make voting more difficult in 2015, requiring voters show a photo ID containing an address (which is limited in scope). Bill C23, as initially introduced seemed to be an attempt to rig the next election but while some of the more radical changes have been crossed out, the alarm bells ring at the<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fair-elections-act-attempt-to-rig-next.html" target="_blank"> nature of the amended legislation and the motives behind it.</a><br />
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Here are the highlights:<br />
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<li><strike>The incumbent candidate or incumbent party will have the power to appoint polling clerks. This gives the incumbent party a major advantage in the next election and could sweep irregularities under the rug. Is it only a coincidence that the party proposing this is the very party that would like to retain their majority government in 2015?</strike> The measure of handing over the power to appoint polling clerks to the incumbent party and candidates was dangerous to begin with but has been amended out of the Fair Elections Act, meaning Elections Canada will continue the practice of appointing non-partisan polling clerks independently.</li>
<li>Spending rules would be loosened in a manner that creates a loophole. Currently, if a party hires a company to solicit funds, it counts as an election expense capped based on the population of a given riding. The loophole in the new legislation would not only allow parties to use soliciting calls for fundraising, but also for support. Yearly donation limits per person would also be raised to $1,500 from $1,200. The savings would give a party with a lot of money the tools to raise even more money. This would benefit one party greatly: the Conservatives.</li>
<li><strike>The Chief Electoral Officer will be silenced through a new limit in what he/she can speak about. Many Canadians looked to Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand for answers when non-Conservative voters in over 200 ridings were subjected to an unprecedented act of voter suppression by misleading robocalls advising them of a phony change in voting location. If made into law, Mayrand would no longer be allowed to speak about investigations into election irregularities, nor would Elections Canada be allowed to create turnout campaigns to increase voter turnout.</strike> The decision to silence the Chief Electoral Officer and restrict his power raised eyebrows and in conjunction with some of the other changes in the initial draft of the bill could have lead to possibilities of electoral irregularities. The amended version, however, will allow the Chief Electoral Officer to speak freely and report on any matters as he can today. In addition, while the initial draft of the legislation would have stifled voter-turnout campaigns, the amended version encourages Elections Canada to support programs which teach primary and secondary school students how to vote.</li>
<li>Voters will need to bring two pieces of identification that proves a voter's address - notably a driver's license. Before 2007, being on the voter's list gave voters a free pass but as Conservative MPs cite an Elections Canada 7% error rate on voter information, voter ID has become a must for voting in federal elections. This move is estimated to consequently take away voting rights from over 100,000 people who don't have a driver's license. Based on demographics, those who would be barred on identification issues are more likely to vote for the opposition. Adding this new dimension would also make voting more difficult, possibly driving down an already low voter turn out. Who benefits from that? The Conservatives.</li>
<li>Whereas the initial version of the legislation would have canceled vouching, it now requires people without valid ID to be vouched by someone with proper ID.</li>
<li>In the initial draft, the legislation required calling companies to hold on to scripts and recordings from election calls for a year. The amended legislation extends this time to three years.</li>
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Despite some of the drastic overhaul of the Fair Elections Act, critics remain unconvinced it will benefit Canada's democratic process.<br />
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"This bill will result in some people having more difficulty voting," Former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley said. "Some people will not go to the polls because they are confused, so it's a form of self-disenfranchisement."<br />
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"What I do not understand is why you require two pieces of ID if you're going to be vouched for by somebody else."<br />
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Kingsley also challenged the notion of voter fraud and asked for proof.<br />
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"Prime Minister, please tell us who they (fraudsters) are. Let us document exactly who is disadvantaged by the rules and who is advantaged... and get a grip on this once and for all so we start making decisions as a country."<br />
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The opposition parties too, remain unconvinced. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau reiterated his pledge to repeal the Fair Elections Act if elected Prime Minister, adding, “The changes that have been made (to the initial legislation) aren't good enough, and if we form government in 2015, we will establish a much fairer principle around elections and repeal C-23.”<br />
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NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said the bill would “weaken our democracy and make voting harder across the country.”<br />
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Mulcair added he had issues with the removal of using the voting card as a valid ID with an address and its lacking of a provision to give the elections commissioner the power to compel witness testimony during investigations into suspected infractions to electoral laws.<br />
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The current elections commissioner Yves Cote recently announced his investigation into the robocall scandal was killed because he couldn't get witnesses to testify their claims. This leaves the investigation as a cliff hanger where there are no answers but the conclusion suspecting wrongdoing remains in place.<br />
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This is a point Kingsley also raised, saying, "I would have been satisfied with the result (of Cote's report) if people had been compelled and we still had found nothing."<br />
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The Conservatives rushed the legislation through the third reading and used their majority to restrict debate and pass the legislation to the senate where it is expected the Conservative majority will pass it into law.<br />
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It is worth recalling that on November 26, 1996, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a Reform MP on the opposition benches, that he opposed then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien's use of his majority mandate to pass amendments to the Canada Elections Act.<br />
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"In speaking on behalf of the Reform Party," he said, "I intend to oppose this bill that imposes changes to the general elections act without the consent of the opposition parties. These changes are not necessary and they are also dangerous to the operation of Canadian democracy."<br /><br />Funny enough, everything Harper said in 1996 is reflective of the direction his government is taking today. In 1996, he added this behavior "is the kind of dangerous application of electoral practices that we are more likely to find in third world countries."<br />
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Harper's Conservatives effectively used their majority to rush and pass legislation that left the opposition and experts uneasy. This is a point Mulcair charged in his criticism of the legislation. "If they are still trying to use their majority to force through these changes without approval of the other parties in Parliament, it is unprecedented in Canadian history to do this sort of thing with no support from any other expert or from any other political party," he said.<br />
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One thing is certain, the legislation was a lot worse before it got amended to its current state. Nonetheless, the complicated new ID rules may inhibit Canadians from voting and changes to Canada's mail service set to take place this year won't aid the matter. While vouching is still an option for those that find themselves in the ID issue, it itself creates a hassle that really shouldn't exist in a democratic society where each ballot is tracked anyway.<br />
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The purpose of this bill, despite its gutting, is to alter the odds of the next election. With 30 new ridings in perceived Conservative-leaning areas and the ID changes set to affect those who likely wouldn't vote Conservative it is clear some of its provisions may need evidence or thought before coming to law. However, if the<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fair-elections-act-attempt-to-rig-next.html" target="_blank"> initial draft of this legislation passed today, the question on everyone's mind, as it was when it was introduced, would have been: Is the Fair Elections Act an attempt to rig the next election? </a>Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-25048965368045911862014-05-12T20:04:00.000-04:002014-05-12T20:04:51.297-04:00The Harper government is monitoring your online activities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Privacy experts believe government spying via social media may be in violation of the Privacy Act. As you scroll through your Facebook's news-feed to find people you knew in High School are now having children, comments on the latest in Entertainment and the slew of personal statuses shared to a group of people considered to be friends, note that Big Brother virtually lurks over your shoulders and agents at CSEC are paid to see what you see.<br />
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A report from Privacy Commissioner Chantal Bernier reveals the federal government is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-snooping-on-social-media-may-breach-privacy-act-1.2636905" target="_blank">data-mining your Facebook and Twitter feeds</a>, possibly with the help of Telecom.<br />
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Treasury Board Minister Tony Clement defended the invasion of privacy saying it is fair "in a day and age when Canadians willingly put information about their opinions" online. He added it allows government officials to "engage in conversations with Canadians." If the Government of Canada is so willing to engage in conversations with Canadians, perhaps it is time for them to start consulting Canadians on the policies they write, rather than use their majority to try to ram incredibly inconceivable legislation like the recent <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fair-elections-act-attempt-to-rig-next.html" target="_blank">Fair Elections Act</a> through the legislative process.<br />
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Avner Levin, Director of the Privacy and Cyber Crime Institute at Ryerson University, argues the Conservative government's spying actions "[is] a breach of the spirit of the Privacy Act."<br />
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The act currently dictates that governments can only collect data that "relates directly to an operating program or activity of the institution." In addition, the government "must inform the individual of the purpose" of collecting said data, with some exceptions.<br />
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Levin goes on to question the purpose of collecting this information, asking how it will be used - questions that remain unanswered.<br />
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"Our government, as a liberal democracy, has to justify why it's collecting any kind of information [on the public]," Levin said. "In a rule-of-law system, they have to answer for why they would be creating databases like that. What's the point? How are they going to be using it?"<br />
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Christopher Parsons also thinks government snooping is violating the Privacy Act. As a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Toronto's Citizen lab focusing on human rights, IT and global security research, he said, "This is information that's been collected without Canadians knowing, and as the privacy commissioner noted, without clear reason. This government is saying they should be able to access public information just like anybody else, but that confuses how Canadian law works."<br />
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It is no secret the current Conservative government is obsessed with Big Brother. Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), was <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/report-conservatives-implemented-big.html" target="_blank">authorized by a ministerial directive on November 21, 2011</a>, signed by then-Defense Minister Peter MacKay to start monitoring and storing personal information of Canadians while keeping them all in the dark. This ministerial directive kept MacKay from having to present it to the House of Commons which would have given him scrutiny.<br />
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Government spying is a touchy issue in Canadian politics and it cost former Public Safety Minister Vic Toews his credibility. In February 2012 the Conservatives introduced a number of bills meant to legitimize government spying activities.<br />
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The first one, Bill C51 would have allowed the police to access and monitor people's online activities without a warrant. Without surprise, the bill faced scrutiny but Toews made the headlines for his response to Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia, who said the Conservative government was “preparing to read Canadians’ emails and track their movements through cellphone signals, in both cases without a warrant.”<br />
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Toews committed a logical fallacy and angered Canadians after responding, <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/02/conservatives-play-big-brother.html" target="_blank">“he can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.”</a><br />
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Then-Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart questioned the necessity for the legislation much in the way critics are questioning the government's actions today.<br />
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“Canadian authorities have yet to provide the public with evidence to suggest that CSIS or Canadian police cannot perform their duties under the current regime," she said.<br />
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"If the concern of law enforcement agencies is that it is difficult to obtain warrants or judicial authorization in a timely way, these administrative challenges should be addressed by administrative solutions rather than by weakening long-standing legal principles that uphold Canadians’ fundamental freedoms.”<br />
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The bill eventually got renamed to Bill C30 and the criticism continued. The legislation as it stood was unconstitutional and violated <a href="http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/charter/page-1.html#l_I" target="_blank">section 8 which reads "Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure."</a><br />
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As the Conservatives expected Canadians to willingly open their hearts to government surveillance resembling the outcome of George Orwell's hit <i>1984</i>, Toews's hypocrisy took centre stage. The legislation to allow government surveillance masked under the title: <i>Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act </i>lead to the a <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/02/toews-doesnt-like-his-private-life.html" target="_blank">@vikileaks30 twitter account which exposed much of Toews's ugly divorce. </a>A group of anonymous vigilantes which call themselves <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.com/2012/03/anonymous-releases-information-on-vic.html" target="_blank">Anonymous also took aim at Toews releasing even more embarrassing information about his divorce</a>. Toews got what was coming to him and got a taste of his own medicine and while he insisted on shoving it down Canadians' throats, he personally replied to the symbolic protests saying, "Now what bothers me is not so much the content of the attacks against me but that there may be members of Parliament or a caucus that is hiding behind the anonymity of government resources to attack me personally."<br />
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The legislation was killed a year later, but little did Canadians know the bullet they dodged legislatively was watching them all along. Every conversation, every status, every phone call is being traced through metadata and stored by means of a secretive ministerial directive.<br />
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Privacy Commissioner Bernier revealed one example of a Canadian being monitored by this government: First Nations Activist Cindy Blackstock was tracked by the Department of Justice and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.<br />
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In her report, Bernier wrote, "It turns out that the misconception that people surrender their right to privacy by posting on Facebook is unfortunately still breeding to some degree within government circles."<br />
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To make matters worst, Canadians now have to rely on their Telecom companies to protect them from government surveillance. Bernier says these companies are refusing to say how many times they've given up personal information to the government without a warrant.<br />
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Bernier, meanwhile, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/telecoms-refuse-to-release-information-on-private-data-given-to-feds-1.2626286" target="_blank">would like the over 1.2 million requests for private information</a> to be tracked in terms of statistics.<br />
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"I'm not disputing that there are times when there is no time to get a warrant — life is in danger," Bernier said.<br />
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"What we would like is for those warrantless disclosures to simply be represented in statistics so that Canadians have an idea of the scope of the phenomenon."<br />
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"We have tried many times. We have sought out information from the telecoms to find out," she said. "They've given us very general comments."<br />
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Bell, for example says if your personal information isn't in <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/private-data-given-to-feds-limited-to-basic-information-bell-says-1.2627043" target="_blank">their public 411 listing</a>, they refuse to give it to the government. After receiving 170 complaints about the way Bell deals with customers' information, Bernier has launched an <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/telecoms-refuse-to-release-information-on-private-data-given-to-feds-1.2626286" target="_blank">investigation into Bell's Privacy Policy.</a><br />
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The opposition didn't remain silent about the government's snooping.<br />
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NDP leader Thomas Mulcair <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/private-data-given-to-feds-limited-to-basic-information-bell-says-1.2627043" target="_blank">charged</a>, "It’s an abomination. This is a basic right in our society. Think of that as a proportion. How can that possibly be justified?"<br />
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said the many unanswered questions is "extremely disconcerting," adding "How many times exactly did the government ask for personal information? What were they asking for? What did they receive? Why were they asking for this information? — these are all questions we have no answers to."<br />
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The wave of legislation to legitimize the Conservatives' surveillance agenda is still occurring. Liberal Justice Critic Sean Casey is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/private-data-given-to-feds-limited-to-basic-information-bell-says-1.2627043" target="_blank">taking issue</a> with Bill S4 which would make "specific changes to the powers of the privacy commissioner," and Bill C13 which would change "several provisions of the Criminal Code allowing for the obtaining of metadata and other information." If there's one thing we learned from the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/04/fair-elections-act-attempt-to-rig-next.html" target="_blank">Fair Elections Act,</a> it is that any change to the powers of an independent body are more likely to decrease than increase - especially before it is pressured to change.<br />
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Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto told CBC's <i>The Lang & O'Leary Exchange,</i> "So to what degree they share that information with government agencies, with the state, is I think the most important question for liberal democracy in the 21st century."<br />
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He said that while people may claim they have nothing to hide and hence aren't worried about government surveillance, it can lead to serious infringement on civil liberties down the road.<br />
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"If we don’t have proper oversight mechanisms to prevent the abuse of power, which is the situation we have today in Canada, we’ll never know whether that is going on."<br />
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Perhaps the question of the matter is: Should the state be allowed to monitor the private online activity of its citizens in the modern age? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-82792843512813816032014-04-26T01:36:00.000-04:002014-04-26T01:46:32.370-04:00Senate Reform: How easily Harper abandoned his plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Supreme Court has unanimously shot down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plans to reform or abolish the senate and in response Harper has dropped the ball. The man who promised an elected senate since as far back as 2006 is now saying there's nothing he can do and is closing the door.<br />
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In the height of the<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/stephen-harper-on-integrity-duffy-affair.html" target="_blank"> senate scandal last fall</a>, the embattled Prime Minister asked the Supreme Court for a recommendation into reforming or abolishing the senate. Despite the recent decision by the RCMP to drop the criminal investigation on his former Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, Canadians still deserve answers relating to what exactly happened when Wright gave former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy (appointed by Harper in 2008) a $90,000 cheque to clear his abusive housing allowance claims. Furthermore, Harper's contradictions and reluctance to answer questions about what he knew of his right-hand man's dealings and attempts to cover up the situation, including the possibility of deleted emails remains a record detailing his judgement. The timing of this action couldn't have been more telling.<br />
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All eight Supreme Court judges have concluded that in order to enact the reforms Harper has proposed to the senate, the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-reform-can-t-be-done-by-ottawa-alone-1.2621712" target="_blank">constitution must be re-opened</a>. To change the senate to an elected one, 7 provinces representing 50% of the population must agree. To abolish the senate, a more daunting task, all 10 provinces must agree.<br />
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Harper responded by <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephen-harper-says-senate-reform-is-off-the-table-1.2622053" target="_blank">slamming the door on senate reform</a>, saying it is impossible - at least for the time being.<br />
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"So essentially this is a decision for the status quo, a status quo that is supported by virtually no Canadian. We are virtually stuck in the status quo for the time being."</blockquote>
Harper has been talking about reforming the senate for a while, with much <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/harper-promises-bill-to-elect-senators-1.579399" target="_blank">feistier words in 2006</a>.<br />
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"The government isn't looking for another report. We are seeking action. The Senate must change and we intend to make it happen."</blockquote>
Eight years after Harper made this promise, we are now discussing a Supreme Court ruling that took half a year to make and could have been presented by February 2007. It is April 2014.<br />
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/liberal-leader-trudeau-on.html" target="_blank">Last June, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau came under attack from Harper as being in favor of the status-quo</a> and having no real grasp on the issue. In response, Trudeau said anyone "preaching wholesale Senate reform" is pandering as "After all they know, or ought to know, that major reforms like creating an elected Senate, or abolishing it outright, would require protracted Constitutional discussions with the provinces."<br />
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In January, Trudeau stunned his former senate caucus and pundits alike with the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/01/dismantling-senate-liberals-about-doing.html" target="_blank">first measure as part of his alternative plan to remove partisanship</a> from the Upper Chamber, deleting the Liberal brand from the senate and leaving the Conservatives as the last remaining party. Liberal MP Stéphane Dion said in the Commons foyer that it's time for Harper to follow suit.<br />
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The NDP remain ambitious and leader <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/senate-reform-can-t-be-done-by-ottawa-alone-1.2621712" target="_blank">Thomas Mulcair vows to continue the fight</a> to roll up the red carpet. "Contrary to Mr. Harper, I've never stopped trying," Mulcair said. Getting unanimous support for abolition will be an uphill battle, especially in Quebec where the NDP gained the majority of its seats in the last election. The only real upside for Mulcair is if he does win the election next year, his former political ally Philippe Couillard is heading a majority Liberal government in Quebec that should be solid until 2018 - the separatist threat is off the table.<br />
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It is interesting to see how easily Harper abandoned his plans to reform the senate. However, given such inaction for the past 8 years this really isn't a surprise. In rough political circumstances, it's better to align yourself with the anger and as outraged as Canadians were that Harper's inner circle may have had a part in the Duffy affair, they were even more outraged that the current system allowed it to happen. The reality is, if Harper was really serious about an elected senate, he wouldn't have waited until a senate scandal to get a recommendation from the Supreme Court. So how serious was Harper about senate reform? Today he sits as the "status-quo" guy - and still underplaying the unethical, if not outright illegal activity that his former Chief of Staff embarked in.<br />
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The senate as an institution is not perfect but its ability to function depends on its input. Adding cronies and political hacks to the chamber for second thought undoubtedly turns the Upper Chamber into a partisan war-zone and haven for ridiculous entitlement. When a government focuses more on its political agenda rather than the will of the citizens and institutions it represents, we get crisis and unnecessary chaos. Harper appointed Nigel Wright as his Chief of Staff and Mike Duffy, a Conservative fundraiser and former journalist, as his Senator - again, showing his judgement. Funny enough, despite all the senate appointments Harper made, didn't he once have disdain for appointing unelected senators?<br />
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In summary, the Liberal leader that was framed as bring pro-status quo is now the only person with a realistic plan for the senate. The Conservatives are now sitting on their hands. The NDP, while ambitious, are standing for the least likely of outcomes with possibly the most reckless and destructive of tools at their disposal - opening Pandora's box. As far as Senate Reform is concerned, don't expect any major changes for at least a little while.<br />
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Do you think Harper really intended to reform the senate? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-62583603848806805742014-04-20T16:46:00.000-04:002014-04-20T16:46:36.261-04:00Fair Elections Act: An attempt to rig the next election?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Conservatives' Fair Elections Act defies reason and defies advice from electoral experts. The only people supporting Bill 23 are a small number of Conservative insiders whom revolve around the increasingly secluded world of Democratic Reform Minister Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. With such an outstanding rejection to such illogical policy, one must wonder what motive lies behind the stubborn push to get it passed.<br />
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Let's sum up what we know so far about the proposed changes.<br />
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<li>The incumbent candidate or incumbent party will have the power to appoint polling clerks. This gives the incumbent party a major advantage in the next election and could sweep irregularities under the rug. Is it only a coincidence that the party proposing this is the very party that would like to retain their majority government in 2015?</li>
<li>Spending rules would be loosened in a manner that creates a loophole. Currently, if a party hires a company to solicit funds, it counts as an election expense capped based on the population of a given riding. The loophole in the new legislation would not only allow parties to use soliciting calls for fundraising, but also for support. Yearly donation limits per person would also be raised to $1,500 from $1,200. The savings would give a party with a lot of money the tools to raise even more money. This would benefit one party greatly: the Conservatives.</li>
<li>The Chief Electoral Officer will be silenced through a new limit in what he/she can speak about. Many Canadians looked to Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand for answers when non-Conservative voters in over 200 ridings were subjected to an unprecedented act of voter suppression by misleading robocalls advising them of a phony change in voting location. If made into law, Mayrand would no longer be allowed to speak about investigations into election irregularities, nor would Elections Canada be allowed to create turnout campaigns to increase voter turnout.</li>
<li>Voters will need to bring identification that proves a voter's address - notably a driver's license. Before 2007, being on the voter's list gave voters a free pass but as Conservative MPs cite an Elections Canada 7% error rate on voter information, voter ID has become a must for voting in federal elections. This move is estimated to consequently take away voting rights from over 100,000 people who don't have a driver's license. Based on demographics, those who would be barred on identification issues are more likely to vote for the opposition. Adding this new dimension would also make voting more difficult, possibly driving down an already low voter turn out. Who benefits from that? The Conservatives.</li>
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Bill C23 has come under fire from all directions as being "unfair." Experts question if Poilievre selectively read their reports on the 2011 election campaign. The average voter should wonder: Is this a blatant attempt to rig the next election?</div>
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One of the experts Poilievre cited is BC's former Chief Electoral Officer Harry Neufeld who said, "The minister has used my report … as the basis for justifying the elimination of vouching. He has not interpreted my report correctly. I think he has been selectively reading and quoting from my report."</div>
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The consensus in the political sphere is that Bill C23 is an attack on Canadian democracy as we know it. At the front of the pack attacking the bill is former Auditor General Sheila Fraser who is now a co-chair on an advisory board to Mayrand. </div>
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"Elections are the base of our democracy and if we do not have truly a fair electoral process and one that can be managed well by a truly independent body, it really is an attack on our democracy and we should all be concerned about that," Fraser said.</div>
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"When you look at the people who may not be able to vote, when you look at the limitations that are being put on the chief electoral officer, when you see the difficulties, just the operational difficulties that are going to be created in all this, I think it's going to be very difficult to have a fair, a truly fair, election."</div>
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These are views first voiced by Mayrand.</div>
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“Electors still have a challenge producing proper identification at the polls.”</div>
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“Groups that come to mind are aboriginals, young people, even seniors, who are increasing in terms of population and have increasing difficulty producing proper ID documents.”</div>
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Fraser's attack added new fuel to that fire in her bid to praise the integrity and competence of Mayrand, which has come under fire by Poilievre and his bill.</div>
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"Those provisions say to me that this is really a bit of an attack on Elections Canada and I find that really unfortunate because I really do believe Mr. Mayrand has done his job with great integrity, has certainly not shown the bias that some would like to claim he has and I just think it's really terrible the way he's been treated by government," she said.</div>
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The government has long been in war with Elections Canada. It started after the 2006 election when their in-and-out money transfer scheme from candidate accounts to the central war bank and back were scrutinized and continued as in 2008 and 2011, the Conservatives broke spending rules. The final straw may have been after the 2011 campaign when investigators linked those robocalls to the Conservative Party. One staffer, Michael Sona in Guelph has been charged but for an event that was widespread in the election, there is still much to investigate.</div>
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It's a <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-dangerous-conservative-war-on.html" target="_blank">dangerous war</a>, one that risks dismantling democracy as we know it in an effort to tilt elections in the Conservatives' favor. Add 30 ridings in Conservative hot spots to this legislation and the Tories could be in for a good several mandates before the opposition would be able to outnumber them at the polls. The Conservatives' war has went as far as to strip the independent powers of Elections Canada to give them to MP-appointed officials.</div>
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"Independent officers of Parliament and the government is now restricting what they can say? It's just so inappropriate," Fraser said, adding the credibility of our elections would be at stake.</div>
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"And if that independence from government is attacked or is viewed as not being there, I really think those institutions lose the credibility and the respect that they have from the public. And then if people start to doubt about the elections process, where does that leave us in this country?"</div>
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Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Andrew Reynolds says this bill would leave a terrible impression on regions of the world that are finally moving toward democracy.</div>
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"When a democratic, established democracy in the West like Canada seems to be curtailing its own ability to do that, it sends a very poor message to new countries in the Arab world, in Africa, in Asia, who are attempting to move from authoritarianism to democracy."<br />
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The bill is now in the senate where amendments are likely to be proposed but in the event the Conservative majority let's it pass, the bill would be catastrophic to our rights and freedoms as a whole - not to mention another black mark in the international community.</div>
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Perhaps the most disturbing aspects about the bill have to do with the motives that defined its design. A desire to get payback on Elections Canada, a relentless and power hungry style of politics that has moved campaigning away from policy and toward American-style personal attacks. Perhaps another disturbing aspect is the timing and circumstances considering the robocall scandal that still has more questions than answers. But if we look at the bill and its main changes, we realize each change benefits the Conservative Party - sometimes at the expense of the opposition. </div>
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Will Conservative partisans appointed as polling clerks in Conservative-held ridings, some held by the narrowest of margins, really prevent voting irregularities during the count? Is there really an issue with voter fraud in this country where people falsely fill multiple ballots? How does one justify silencing the Chief Electoral Officer in the wake of irregularities in 2011? Could the Fair Elections Act really be a blatant attempt to rig the next election? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-88956926476308843712014-03-30T18:58:00.000-04:002014-03-30T18:58:13.743-04:00Tories and NDP waste taxpayer money for partisan purposes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Conservatives have a long list of abuses of taxpayers' money and new revelations show the NDP may be following their footsteps.<br />
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The NDP are being accused of using Parliament-funded staff to run satellite offices in Montreal, Quebec City and Saskatchewan - where the NDP don't even hold seats. The NDP used these offices to conduct partisan activities and also used taxpayers' money to send their own partisan 10-percenters.<br />
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Liberal Ethics Critic Scott Andrews sent a complaint to Speaker Andrew Scheer on March 18 asking the Board of Internal Economy to investigate "a disturbing pattern of possible use of Parliamentary resources for party activities."<br />
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In response, the Conservatives caught the NDP off guard Thursday morning when 12 MPs weren't enough to bypass parliamentary procedure which saw a motion passed to drag leader <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/27/thomas-mulcair-satellite-offices-trick_n_5043460.html" target="_blank">Thomas Mulcair to a committee </a>to answer questions being raised by recent revelations.<br />
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The NDP argue the satellite offices, notably those in Quebec are for non-partisan research purposes, something that's hard to believe when the office in Saskatchewan comes into play. House of Commons resources are not allowed to be used for party fundraising or party business, but <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.1739235" target="_blank">documents obtained by CTV</a> show the NDP have been using their satellite offices and taxpayer-funded staff for just that. In addition, a number of the NDP's Quebec riding associations are using these satellite offices as their mailing address.<br />
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“These members of our personnel exclusively perform parliamentary tasks while being decentralized,” <a href="http://o.canada.com/news/ndp-keeping-a-taxpayer-funded-office-in-quebec-city/" target="_blank">said NDP spokesperson Valérie Dufour.</a> “They support MPs’ direct communications, media relations and stakeholder relations.”<br />
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Dufour argued the NDP had approval to run these offices and shot back at the Liberals who initially made the complaint and charged the NDP were being hypocritical considering they complained about former Bloc-Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe doing the same thing.<br />
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“If the Liberal Party spent half the time fighting Stephen Harper’s policies as they do smearing the NDP, perhaps Canada would be a better place,” she said, probably forgetting all the times the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/ndp-reject-accountability-play-pathetic.html" target="_blank">NDP have attacked the Liberals instead of the Conservatives</a>...<br />
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The NDP haven't had an MP in Saskatchewan<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-liberals-trade-accusations-over-taxpayer-funded-offices-advertising-1.2584773" target="_blank"> since 2000</a> but sure enough Mulcair's office posted a job offer in Saskatoon for an "outreach" officer to work with MPs outside the capital.<br />
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In addition, the Liberals sent a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-liberals-trade-accusations-over-taxpayer-funded-offices-advertising-1.2584773" target="_blank">complaint </a>earlier this month against the NDP's letters that were mailed to residents in the Liberal riding of Bourassa at the same time as the by-election that saw Emmanuel Dubourg elected as a Liberal MP. The formal complaint argues the letters should count as part of NDP candidate Stephane Moraille's campaign expenses. It turns out Bourassa wasn't the only target of large volume mailings by NDP MPs. The Speaker has sent the information to Chief Electoral officer Marc Mayrand to investigate.<br />
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The Conservatives, however, have their own list of abuses, including their use of government planes to save party funds, their half a billion dollars in legal costs, a plan to use taxpayer money to send anti-Trudeau 10-percenters, inflated limo costs, a fake lake, gazebos, an instance of $16 orange juice and the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/04/government-waste-rampant-under-tory.html" target="_blank">list just continues.</a><br />
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Flying high on the taxpayers' dime</h2>
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The Conservatives have been saving money by using government jets to transport Conservative staff across the country for partisan events. An <a href="http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/03/25/conservative-party-has-saved-thousands-of-dollars-by-using-government-jets/" target="_blank">iPolitics </a>analysis finds invoices, obtained through the Access to Information Act, show that while the Conservatives have repaid the Department of National Defence 17 times, or a total of $37,272, for using challenger jets since April 2006, Canadian taxpayers have footed a more than $118,090 bill for the Conservatives' partisan events. While the Conservatives paid the commercial cost of the planes, the fact they cost between $2,314 and $3,868 per hour to operate wasn't taken into account.<br />
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Long-time Conservative fundraiser Mark Kihn is one of the many Conservatives that took advantage of government jets and invoices show he travelled with Harper and his family every year between 2007 and 2012. Kihn paid an average of $260 per flight for 5 Ottawa-Calgary flights and one of the flights were billed to the Conservative Party of Canada.<br />
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“Kihn was the driving force on Stephen Harper’s two leadership campaigns. In the first, Kihn raised $1.1 million with his Rolodex and direct mail for Harper to win the Canadian Alliance. Then, adding the demon dialer to the mix, he was mostly responsible for the $2.5 million raised in the 2003/04 scramble that put Harper at the head of Canada’s united right and on a rail right into the prime minister’s office.”<br />
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Despite Harper's relentless attacks on former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien's use of the plane, Harper tends to use government jets for his personal and partisan affairs, including taking his son to sports events. Harper's more recent decision regarding the plane, to paint it for $50,000 under his new design drew controversy of its own. Over the years, Harper has only reimbursed taxpayers for $17,193 of his flights, a fraction of their actual costs. Since his party formed a majority government, Harper nearly tripled his use of his favourite taxpayer-funded jet.<br />
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Harper paid $951.39 for his family's flight to New York in September 2012. Air Canada would have charged him $1,680 and keeping the Challenger in the air for the 2.3-hour run there and back cost taxpayers $8,689.<br />
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Harper's spokesman Stephen Lecce defended the Prime Minister's rampant use of the Challenger citing the common PMO argument about security and added Harper reduced air time by 75% compared to his predecessors. “The Prime Minister is prohibited from flying commercial for security reasons, and, as is standard practice, when he flies on Conservative Party business, the Party reimburses the government the cost of an equivalent commercial flight.”<br />
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While Lecce says the government reimburses the equivalent of a commercial flight, documents obtained by the Canadian Press in 2007 show the Harper government was quick to slash the cost of reimbursing DND for partisan use of the jets. The initial cost of flying Harper and six staff from Ottawa to Moncton at the time was multiplying 3.1 hours of flying time by $2,139 per hour to operate, leaving a price tag of $6,630.90 but the PMO soon informed DND they would only - and have ever since - reimburse the cost of economy class commercial flights which set the tab at $3,144.18.<br />
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The Legal cost of unethical conduct</h2>
Documents obtained by <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/28/conservative-spending-legal-costs_n_5046302.html?utm_hp_ref=tw" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a> show the Conservatives have raked in half a billion dollars in legal costs to deal with ethics probes or investigations into political interference of ministers or their staff. Since 2006, 2,500 Department of Justice Lawyers were deployed to deal with Conservative legal antics but the cost of outside lawyers stands at $510 million.<br />
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Liberal Justice Critic Sean Casey charged the costs were inflated for a period of austerity.<br />
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“Lots of cuts to public servants, cuts to social programs, cuts to EI, cuts to veterans, cuts to railway safety, cuts to health care for retired workers, cuts to infrastructure, but lots of money for legal fees,” he said.<br />
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“How can the government defend such outrageous expenditure while real people suffer?"<br />
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Conservative Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice Robert Goguen responded the government was dealing with over 5,000 litigation cases, adding “about 85 per cent of those are not initiated by us [but] last year we were successful in nearly 75 per cent of those cases.”<br />
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Cost of Outside Lawyers Per Department since 2006</h3>
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<ul>
<li>Office of the Director of Public Prosecution: $245 million</li>
<li>Foreign Affairs: $80 million </li>
<li>Canada Revenue Agency: $40.6 million</li>
<li>Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development: $25 million</li>
<li>Justice Department: $20.1 million</li>
<li>Correctional Service Canada: $17.4 million</li>
<li>Fisheries and Oceans: $12.2 million</li>
<li>Natural Resources: $9.2 million</li>
<li>Canadian Human Rights Commission: $921,313</li>
<li>Canadian Military Complaints Commission: $5.3 million</li>
<li>Citizenship and Immigration: $1.2 million</li>
<li>Immigration and Refugee Board: $472,538 </li>
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Eighteen departments claimed zero expenses and seven refused to comment.<br />
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The anti-Trudeau 10-percenters</h2>
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Last May, the Conservatives wanted to use taxpayer money to fund a mail blitz of partisan flyers painting Liberal leader Justin Trudeau as "in over his head." To the surprise of the party brass, Conservative MPs questioned the judgement behind this campaign, condemning it as a waste. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/mackay-joins-20-conservative-mps.html" target="_blank">More than 20 MPs, including Deputy Leader and now Justice Minister Peter MacKay refused </a>to take part in what would have been a $29,050 partisan campaign paid for by taxpayers across the country.<br />
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Conservative MPs bring entitlement to a new level</h2>
In May 2012 a CTV investigation emptied the parking lots at Parliament Hill showing Conservative MPs were enjoying their expensive and entitled limo perks during a time of austerity and economic turmoil. The average ministerial driver was paid <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/05/can-you-lend-me-ride.html" target="_blank">$50,755 plus at least $20,000 in overtime.</a> The list of MPs and their taxpayer funded limo costs can be found <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/05/can-you-lend-me-ride.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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If the limo costs weren't enough, how about former Conservative MP <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/04/bev-oda-5-star-waste-of-taxpayers-money.html" target="_blank">Bev Oda's $16 orange juice</a>?<br />
<h2>
The G20 summit of waste and taxpayer abuse</h2>
Hosting a controversial and important summit in a big city shows an expensive lack of judgement, but when security funds start translating to $50,000 gazebos and a fake lake several kilometres away from the Great Lakes, you know there's a problem. To add insult to injury, then-<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2011/04/auditor-general-conservative-government.html" target="_blank">Auditor General Sheila Fraser blasted the Conservatives for misleading Parliament on the expenses.</a> The 2010 G20 summit in Toronto was widely criticized on a number of fronts. The summit, which would only cost $1.2 billion went on to be criticized by France, whose then-President Nicolas Sarkozy was among the critics saying his summit would cost <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2011/02/harpers-message-to-canadians-we-will.html" target="_blank">10 times less</a> than Harper's.<br />
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What do you think of the NDP and Conservatives' abuse of taxpayers' money? Will they ever be held accountable? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-59150979534358295692014-03-19T11:05:00.000-04:002014-03-19T11:05:23.798-04:00Finance Minister Jim Flaherty resigns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Finance Minister Jim Flaherty resigned yesterday to work in the private sector and current Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver will be named his replacement.<br />
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In Flaherty's <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/finance-minister-jim-flaherty-resigns-joe-oliver-to-take-over-post-1.1734996" target="_blank">statement</a>, he said he told Prime Minister Stephen Harper of his intentions to resign from caucus on Monday.<br />
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“This was a decision I made with my family earlier this year, as I will be returning to the private sector,” Flaherty said in his statement, not specifying which company he was leaving to, and ruling out health issues as a reason.<br />
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Despite the recent spat between <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/02/a-question-of-party-unity.html" target="_blank">Harper and Flaherty on the Conservatives' core 2011 election promise on income trusts</a>, Harper accepted Flaherty’s resignation “with great reluctance.”<br />
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"In a political career of almost 20 years, Minister Flaherty has exemplified the best qualities of those who enter public life: a true commitment to service, and a sincere desire to leave the country in better shape than it was when he entered politics,” Harper said.<br />
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While Flaherty may not have been there to announce the first surplus since the recession, he leaves telling Canadians they are in good shape.<br />
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“Canada’s fiscal position is the envy of the developed world,” Flaherty said in his statement. “All Canadians can be proud of the country’s performance.”<br />
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Flaherty leaves behind an economy that remains <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/01/december-job-losses-economic-recovery.html" target="_blank">sluggish at best</a>. Economists remain skeptical about the country's growth numbers and a <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/worst-job-growth-in-decade-economic.html" target="_blank">multitude </a>argue Canada's job numbers aren't up to par with where they should be. Before the recession struck, Flaherty inherited a $13 billion surplus in 2006 from the previous Liberal government and squandered it to a deficit which in its peak reached $56 billion,<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2011/05/kiss-surplus-by-2014-15-goodbye-it-was.html" target="_blank"> the highest of any finance minister in the country's history</a>. The road to balanced budgets has come at the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/07/bureaucracy-ballooned-under-harper-at.html" target="_blank">cost of public services while bureaucracy remains bloated</a> and <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/07/bureaucrats-get-6bn-gift-during.html" target="_blank">well-paid</a> - a failed attempt at <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2011/06/flaherty-intends-to-copy-liberals.html" target="_blank">researching and repeating the methods Former Liberal Finance Minister and short-term Prime Minister Paul Martin used </a>to slay the $37 billion deficit inherited in 1993 from Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives.<br />
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Flaherty is expected to be replaced by Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver whose aggressive campaign promoting Alberta's oil sands has put him <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/neanderthal-canadian-conservatives.html" target="_blank">at odds with world renowned and world respected NASA climatologist James Hansen who responded to Oliver's attacks calling the Canadian Conservatives "neanderthal(s)." </a>His partisan rhetoric often outweighs his ability to defend and articulate key policy measures the Conservative government is trying to implement. At 73, Oliver isn't expected to topple Harper who already is<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/03/27/grumbling_by_tory_mps_could_be_seed_of_leadership_challenge_hbert.html" target="_blank"> hanging by a thread</a> within the Conservative membership. Oliver will be Harper's second finance minister since the Conservatives took power in 2006.<br />
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<h2>
A glance at Flaherty's tenure</h2>
Source: <a href="http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/jim-flahertys-career-as-federal-finance-minister-in-10-charts/?preview=true" target="_blank">Maclean's</a><br />
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1. Deficit's became the new norm.<br />
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2. Canada's debt is the highest it's been in history, but it isn't out of control.<br />
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3. Prior to the recession and resulting austerity, the Conservatives were adding bureaucrats and increasing their salaries. Even after some of the cuts, Canada's bureaucracy remains bloated as services are starved.<br />
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4. Tax credits have bloated the tax code.<br />
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What do you think of Jim Flaherty's tenure as finance minister? What do you think about his replacement? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-34606159403346894832014-03-15T21:22:00.000-04:002014-03-15T21:22:25.549-04:00Conservative and NDP MPs donated to Quebec separatists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A Huffington Post review of Elections Quebec records shows Conservative and NDP MPs have donated to separatist causes since 2000. A review of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's days as a Reform MP reveals he pushed Jean Chretien's Liberal government to accept a 50%+1 majority result during the 1995 Quebec referendum.<br />
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<a href="http://thequebecpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pq-leader-pauline-marois-puts.html" target="_blank">Sovereignty has taken the front row seat in Quebec's ongoing election campaign</a> and as <a href="http://thequebecpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-pqs-train-wreck-of-campaign-reveals.html" target="_blank">revealing as it is for Quebecers about how their political scene is shaping</a>, it is equally revealing as to how the Conservatives in government and NDP in Official Opposition view Quebec's separatist movement. If you need to tell your MPs not to donate to a sovereignty movement, you have a real problem.<br />
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A <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/13/quebec-solidaire-donations-ndp-tories_n_4959990.html" target="_blank">Huffington Post report</a> has uncovered donations to separatist parties made by Conservative and NDP MPs since 2000. NDP MPs François Choquette, Anne-Marie Day and Alexandre Boulerice have all donated to the Quebec Solidaire, a left-wing separatist party in the province, as recently as 2012. Conservative Infrastructure Minister Denis Lebel and Small Business and Tourism Minister Maxime Bernier both donated to the Parti Quebecois before they were elected.<br />
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Choquette donated $560 between her election in Drummond in 2011 and the 2012 election in Quebec. Day gave $100 during the 2012 election campaign, although she noted it was for the candidate and not the party.<br />
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Quebec MPs interviewed by the Huffington Post were told by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair's office not to make any donations during the ongoing election campaign in Quebec, an order that Liberal MP Marc Garneau and the PMO say wasn't issued in their respective parties.<br />
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“I’m pretty sure no one in my party will be making donations, because we’re very strict on this,” Isabelle Morin, MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Lachine, told HuffPost Thursday.<br />
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“My colleague, Alexandre Boulerice, was attacked in the House of Commons for the contributions he made, so they told us ‘no more.’”<br />
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Garneau took a swipe at the NDP saying if MPs need to be told not to give to a sovereigntist party, “it is probably because there was a concern that some of them may not be 100 per cent committed to federalism.” Garneau added that Mulcair's neutral position during a campaign where sovereignty is on the table is concerning and not the actions of a future Prime Minister.<br />
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Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau weighed into the Quebec Election on Twitter endorsing the Liberal Party of Quebec, lead by Philippe Couillard.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
It’s up to Quebecers to decide the outcome of this provincial election. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23qc2014&src=hash">#qc2014</a><br />
— Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/444182355578597376">March 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Quebecers want a better economy, not a third referendum.<br />
— Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/444186171682205696">March 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
My Quebec colleagues and I support federalism, <a href="https://twitter.com/phcouillard">@phcouillard</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23QLP&src=hash">#QLP</a>.<br />
— Justin Trudeau, MP (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/444193691062636544">March 13, 2014</a></blockquote>
The Bloc Quebecois also took a swipe at Mulcair, who used to be a cabinet Minister in Jean Charest's provincial Liberal government. “In Quebec, he is much softer on nationalism, but in the rest of Canada, he’s Captain Canada, someone who will take a tough stance against separatists and will be better than [Liberal Leader Justin] Trudeau to crush the sovereignty movement,” said Bloc Quebecois MP Jean-François Fortin who implied Mulcair spoke from two sides of his mouth.<br />
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The NDP released a statement in response, saying “Mr. Mulcair has fought for Canada during the 1980 and 1995 referendum. It's pretty clear where he stands.”<br />
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“Several NDP MPs voted yes during the 1995 referendum, others have supported sovereigntist parties like Québec Solidaire,” Fortin said.<br />
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“There is an uneasiness about the question of nationhood. … Perhaps, this [banning NDP MPs from any involvement in the provincial election] is a way to ensure that the NDP doesn’t show its true colours publicly.”<br />
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Conservative MP Jacques Gourde also pounced on the NDP, saying, “If you’ve give money to a party that supports the separation of Quebec and you are in the House of Commons or part of a federal party, and you get your salary from the House of Commons, well, maybe they changed their minds, but in those years, they were squarely affiliated with parties that supported Quebec’s separation.”<br />
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As the Conservatives grouped the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois into a "separatist banner" since 2011, they have failed to acknowledge that their own MPs have also contributed to the separatist cause.<br />
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While the NDP backed a small social equivalent with slim chances of ever forming a government because of the strange political dynamic in Quebec, Lebel and Bernier have donated to the very party that has spent the most energy trying to break up our country. In 2000, Lebel gave $500 and between 2001 and 2002, Bernier gave the PQ $900.<br />
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Bernier used to work for Benard Laundry when he was the finance minister under Lucien Bouchard's PQ government during the late 1990s. Landry said that in order to get the job, Bernier had to be a separatist and “That’s what [Bernier] told me he was, and I believed it, and I still believe it,” Landry said.<br />
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Garneau said the Conservative offenses can be overlooked because of both MPs' strong commitment to federalism and criticized recent donations made by the NDP.<br />
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“Obviously, it says something about their previous leanings,” the Liberal MP said. “But I don’t think it’s quite the same as someone who is giving to a separatist party last year.”<br />
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As the Conservatives took jabs at the NDP for the soft nationalist leaning and the Sherbrooke Declaration, which calls for the federal government to accept a basic 50%+1 majority in the event of a successful referendum, <a href="http://o.canada.com/news/national/as-reform-mp-harper-felt-simple-majority-enough-to-decide-a-referendum/#.UyRxMz5Fs0c.twitter" target="_blank">Parliamentary records</a> show Prime Minister Stephen Harper once sang the same tune when he was a Reform national unity critic.<br />
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Jean Chretien's Liberal government brought in the Clarity Act which requires Quebec achieve "clear majority" in a referendum with a clear question where "clear majority" is believed to be two thirds. The Conservatives under Stephen Harper are now being made to clarify his 1995 position as they may be inclined to have the same view as the NDP when it comes to how easy it can be to break up the country. The PMO responded, “Your question is clearly intended to draw us into the election in Quebec and we have no intention of doing so as we’ve said a few times now.”<br />
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What kind of leader doesn't get involved in an election campaign when the separatists may very well win a majority mandate and use his unpopularity to potentially win another referendum? It appears to be easy for Harper to stand and call his opposition a bunch of soft nationalists but when it comes time to standing up to the real threat, he retreats and has his spokesman say he's not getting involved.<br />
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Harper, at the time, proposed the Quebec Contingency Act in a private member's bill, calling for a clear referendum question that if not achieved would be met by a parallel referendum on the same day with the following questions: “Should Quebec separate from Canada and become an independent country with no special legal ties to Canada? If Quebec separates from Canada, should my community separate from Quebec and remain a part of Canada?” Harper's bill specified that if there were no ambiguities on the results, then separation would be granted based on a “majority of the ballots cast.” The bill died like most private member's bills do.<br />
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Reform Leader Preston Manning wrote in his memoirs that he felt former Prime Ministers Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Jean Chretien set the precedent allowing 50%+1 as a benchmark.<br />
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“I felt strongly that the growing ambiguity concerning the meaning of ‘Yes’ and the meaning of ‘No,’ and the dividing line between them, was dangerous, especially to the federalist side,” he wrote in Think Big.<br />
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“As a democrat, I believed that issues should be decided, if at all possible, by a simple majority vote — 50 per cent plus one” vote.<br />
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“Since the federal Liberals, including Trudeau and Chretien himself, had accepted 50 per cent plus one as the dividing line in the first Quebec referendum on sovereignty in 1980, I felt it was dangerous for the federal government to argue now for some higher majority.”<br />
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A former Reform insider revealed Harper also pushed for Chretien to clarify that 50%+1 would be the result needed to trigger break-up negotiations.<br />
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“I asked him about it at some point,” said Tom Flanagan, Harper's former right hand man but is no longer in his inner circle.<br />
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“He said you had to do that to discourage strategic voting on the part of voters in Quebec who didn’t seriously want separation but thought that voting yes would give the province a stronger hand to negotiate concessions from Ottawa,” Flanagan said.<br />
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At the time, Chretien said that the clouded question in the 1995 referendum may lead to him nullifying the results. Harper responded saying, “We have the prime minister saying that a no vote counts and a yes vote may not count. I ask the prime minister to reconsider that position carefully. Is he not really telling Quebecers that it is easy and without risk to vote yes when that is not the case?”<br />
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On the matter of Quebec independence, Justin Trudeau's Liberals support the Clarity Act the Chretien government adopted but the NDP want to allow the barest of majorities to determine the break-up of a nation - all the while requiring two-thirds majority on their own internal constitutional votes.<br />
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In 2013, NDP MP Craig Scott tabled a private member's bill entitled the Unity Act which would redefine conditions needed for Quebec succession to follow the guidelines set in the NDP's Sherbrooke Declaration. Conservative MP Jason Kenny attacked the bill saying it was “making it easier for provinces to secede from Canada.”<br />
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As the Reform Party's national unity critic, Harper campaigned in the 1995 Quebec referendum promising a Reform Government would "decentralize Canada" and offer powers to all provinces as part of its "New Confederation."<br />
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The plan divided the powers by saying:<br />
<ul>
<li>The federal government would keep powers over "common economic space," economic regulation, international trade negotiations, defense and foreign affairs.</li>
<li>The provincial governments would be granted powers over natural resources, manpower training, social services, language, culture, housing, sports and tourism.</li>
<li>The federal government would not impose standards on healthcare and threaten to withhold federal funding.</li>
<li>Provinces would be given the power to elect future senators</li>
<li>Provincial legislatures would be in charge of appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada</li>
<li>The federal government would elect a governor for the Bank of Canada but the board itself would be appointed by provincial legislatures.</li>
<li>The Constitution would be amended "unilaterally" to forbid deficit spending and rapid spending increases unless authorized by a national referendum.</li>
</ul>
What do you think of the Conservatives' and NDP's stance on Quebec sovereignty? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.<br />
<br />Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-58724422831215146272014-03-02T17:11:00.000-05:002014-03-02T17:15:05.960-05:00The dangerous Conservative war on Elections Canada<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A majority of Canadians (<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/02/28/canadians_believe_tory_election_act_settling_scores_delacourt.html" target="_blank">62% according to a recent Angus Reid poll</a>) rightfully believe the recent Fair Elections Act proposal shows “the Conservative government is motivated politically and dislikes Elections Canada.”<br />
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Conservative proposed changes to the Elections Act threaten the fair foundation of our democracy. The Fair Elections Act, proposed by Democratic Reform Minister Pierre Poilievre gives incumbents unprecedented new powers, strips Elections Canada of its teeth, increases donation limits and brings in voter ID rules American lawyers warn could be a recipe for disaster. The bill also mutes the electoral officer, who now cannot promote elections to the Canadian public. Overall, this is a bill manufactured to aid the Conservatives in the next election - <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/31/tories-would-have-won-22-of-30-newly-created-house-of-commons-seats-if-they-had-existed-in-2011/" target="_blank">like the addition of 30 new ridings where 22 of which turned Tory-blue upon creation.</a><br />
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In 2011, over 200 ridings across Canada were struck by unusual electoral behaviour. People registered as non-Conservatives got phone calls attempting to redirect their polling booths. One Conservative staffer, Michael Sona, has already been charged under the Elections Act and investigations are ongoing in several ridings across the country. The<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/stephen-harper-on-integrity-robocall.html" target="_blank"> robocall scandal</a> exposed in 2012 is not the first Conservative run-in with the law. In 2006, the Tories came under fire for an in-and-out money exchange scheme used to dodge fundraising rules and in the 2008 and 2011 elections, Conservative MPs like Dean Del Mastro, Shelly Glover, and a list of others came under fire for overspending.<br />
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The people with the pen are the people with a track record of deceit and electoral mischief and if any further news comes of the<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/stephen-harper-on-integrity-robocall.html" target="_blank"> robocall scandal</a>, perhaps even fraud and voter suppression. The Fair Elections Act has opposition MPs and legal experts in Canada and the US standing on ends warning it could have negative repercussions on democracy in Canada.<br />
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One of the lawyers that shot down new voter ID laws in Pennsylvania last month, Witold Walczak, says Harper's electoral reforms will<a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/u-s-lawyer-offers-warning-to-canada-on-planned-changes-to-voter-id-rules-1.1688820#ixzz2uq9EvW4m" target="_blank"> inevitably deprive voters from their right to vote</a>. The warning comes from a country where voter rights are a delicate issue and where studies into voter ID laws have shown decreases in turnout among the young, the poor, and minorities - a vast majority of which are non-Conservative voters. The bill wouldn't go as far as recent legislation in the United States that wanted to limit valid ID to transportation licenses that are to be issued by the Transport Department (clearly not free or eligible to everyone) but it would end the practice of voter vouching and prohibit the use of voter cards as valid identity. While these changes seem minor and prevent duplicate voting, Walczak asks if the amount of fraud that will be prevented by this change will actually be greater than the number of Canadians who are turned away from the ballot box?<br />
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"They're going to show up on election day -- having every right to vote, meeting all of your constitutional requirements, but not knowing that they have to bring an ID," Walczak said.<br />
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"They show up, they wait in line, they get to the front and hear, 'Sorry, you can't vote, you've gotta go home.' And then that person says, 'Ah, screw it, I don't have time."'<br />
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In Pennsylvania, Walczak says the government wasn't able to prove voter fraud that could be prevented with limiting voter's rights. Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand estimates more than 100,000 Canadians will be affected by this change. Voter ID laws are more controversial in the United States where they've been used to deny African-Americans and ethnic minorities the right to vote in the past.<br />
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The changes prompted questions to Poilievre's office about whether the Fair Elections Act was inspired by American law and if any of their information was used to draft the act. Poilievre's office met the questions with little response: "When drafting the legislation, the minister was very fortunate to have such a wealth of information from our electoral agency."<br />
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<a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Conservatives+Fair+Elections+eliminates+referee+Marc+Mayrand+says/9477383/story.html" target="_blank">Mayrand has his own concerns about the bill</a>, stating “Electors still have a challenge producing proper identification at the polls.”<br />
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“Groups that come to mind are aboriginals, young people, even seniors, who are increasing in terms of population and have increasing difficulty producing proper ID documents.”<br />
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Mayrand is also concerned about its failure to give Elections Canada more oversight and the fact he would be effectively muzzled by restrictions on what he is allowed to say to the Canadian public.<br />
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“What worries me, I must say, is whether the commissioner will get the tool box he needs to do his job and I’m afraid that I don’t see it in the act that is currently written,” Mayrand said.<br />
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“There is no enhancement of transparency of political parties in the new legislation. I believe the commissioner doesn’t get the authority to compel witnesses.”<br />
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These <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/01/preston-manning-elections-canada_n_4881678.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=444562b=facebook" target="_blank">concerns are shared by former Reform Party Leader Preston Manning</a> who helped Harper build the base he has today.<br />
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The bill would not only strip the referee of its whistle and potentially subtly restrict more than 100,000 Canadians - who are likely to not vote Conservative in 2015, the bill would grant new powers to incumbents.<br />
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BC's former Chief Electoral Officer Harry Neufeld, who also wrote a recommendation report for Elections Canada based on the 2011 election, warns that <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elections-bill-would-give-incumbents-too-much-power-expert-warns-1.2555498" target="_blank">giving incumbent candidates or incumbent parties the power to appoint polling supervisors</a> would lead to more abuse in the next election. In 161 of Canada's ridings, the Conservatives would be the referees to their own re-election campaigns. In past elections, Elections Canada appointed neutral returning officers to each riding.<br />
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"It’s completely inappropriate in a democracy," said Neufeld, who argues the bill is worrisome since staff at polling stations responsible for more than 500 "serious administrative errors per electoral district" in the 2011 election are often "making them for partisan reasons."<br />
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The bill would<a href="http://o.canada.com/news/national/alert-government-unveils-new-elections-act-to-combat-fraud/" target="_blank"> increase allowable campaign donations</a> per person per year by $25 after setting the rate to $1,500 from $1,200 now - a move that is expected to aid Conservative coffers.<br />
<blockquote>
<h2>
Parties' Fundraising in 2013</h2>
<ul>
<li>Conservatives raised $22,392,340.55</li>
<li>Liberals: $12,085,529.05</li>
<li>NDP: $8,211,725.47</li>
<li>Greens: $2,214,917.40</li>
<li>Bloc Quebecois: $552,825.86</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
Overall, the Fair Elections Act doesn't appear to be fair at all. It doesn't address the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/stephen-harper-on-integrity-robocall.html" target="_blank">robocall scandal</a>, instead it prohibits Elections Canada from talking about it. As legal experts have concluded, new voter ID rules could limit some of the most vulnerable Canadians' access to the polls. Granting incumbents and incumbent parties control over polling station oversight tilts the balance in favour of the incumbent and with over 500 "serious administrative errors per electoral district" being committed in 2011, who's to say that number won't increase in 2015 based on politically driven elections oversight?<br />
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The Conservatives claim Elections Canada is biased against them and have since 2006 when they came under fire for the in-and-out scandal. The Conservatives have routinely defied the wishes of Elections Canada with an attitude that pits them above electoral law. In 2008 and 2011, Conservative MPs were caught exceeding campaign limits and in 2011, attempts at voter suppression lead to one of the biggest electoral scandals of our time. One Conservative staffer has already been charged and in hundreds of ridings across the country, the investigations are still ongoing in what was a targeted blitz on non-Conservative voters through illegal and misleading robocalls.<br />
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It is clear the Fair Elections Act is nothing more than continued effort in the dangerous Conservative war against Elections Canada, a view over 62% of Canadians share when learning more about Bill C-23. This war won't help the Conservatives' image when some of the changes clearly give them an advantage in 2015 and when they are being called "serial cheaters" by the Official Opposition. What do you think of the Fair Elections Act? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-325667591445468292014-02-24T13:46:00.002-05:002014-02-24T13:48:21.406-05:00Liberal convention sets stage for 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The four-day Liberal convention closed yesterday setting the stage for 2015. Despite a leaked Conservative memo suggesting attempts to disrupt the convention, the events continued as though they weren't there. The Conservatives and media did try to surface negative publicity, but recent polls show Liberal support is on the rise as the Tories and NDP prepare for the most negative campaign seen since 2006.<br />
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There weren't any election-winning policies on the forefront, but the policies that passed don't pose too great a threat to Liberal credibility as they can't easily be attacked. Some of the more controversial policies to have passed the plenary include the decriminalization of medically-assisted suicide and a basic income supplement. On the constitutional front, Liberals gave their leader Justin Trudeau right of way to liberate former Liberal senators after the fact.<br />
<blockquote>
<h2>
Trudeau's keynote speech</h2>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hjtByjPvtSQ" width="560"></iframe>
</blockquote>
During the beginning of the convention, former General Andrew Leslie became the spotlight issue for his $72,000 final moving expenses in Ottawa. Despite having the power to change the rules, the Conservatives let the former general claim his expensive last move while now using it as a wedge on the Liberal Party. As the Conservatives try to paint Leslie as a matter of judgement, Canadians should not forget Conservative fundraisers that were appointed to the senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to continue a lifestyle of entitlement - only for it to explode and reveal an elaborate PMO cover-up... talking about judgement right?<br />
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"It's quite clear that this government is ready to be vicious and ruthless with anyone, even with a Canadian hero, that dares disagree with their ideology and their approach," Trudeau told reporters last Tuesday.<br />
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Heading for the end of the convention, Conservative and NDP commentators noted the lack of policy substance as they target the likely victors of the 2015 election - at least if the trends hold. Trudeau has said he is in no rush to reveal the Liberal platform, a move that would go a long way to diffusing attacks from his chief rivals. The media is now releasing headlines of possible Liberal deficits and debt but we have yet to see if the Conservatives actually manage to achieve a surplus after creating the largest deficit in Canadian history. Liberals may want to take pride in their record during the 1990s when they slayed a $39 billion deficit, lowered taxes, and left behind a $13 billion surplus in 2005 - it may be worth reminding Canadians too.<br />
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However, small-l Liberals and even small-c Conservatives can find their place in the new Liberal Party. While Conservatives argue the Liberals will be tax and spend, Trudeau affirmed “tax increases for [the middle class] are not in the cards, and not on the table.” In addition, Trudeau confirmed in an interview with Evan Solomon he would not raise corporate taxes, nor personal income taxes nor the GST. The Conservative catch-line, "keeping taxes low" is also a part of Liberal policy. At least the mistakes made in 2011 on the taxes front aren't going to be repeated in 2015.<br />
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Critics argue that new spending and refusal to raise taxes will lead to deficits and debt - which is nothing but speculations. However, if a deficit were to be run, it would be short-term as economic growth resulting from stimulus spending would generate more than sufficient revenues. At the same time, it is worth noting that bureaucracy inflated under the Conservatives will likely be cut and that programs deemed useless will be canned, just as anyone would expect a government to do when shifting priorities in the ways the Liberal Party seems to be hinting at. Former Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who is seeking the nomination in the Toronto riding of Don Valley West, said “Liberals have proven, frankly, that we are the people who don’t run deficits. We cut deficits.”<br />
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Trudeau warns the supposed Conservative surplus is artificial because they're achieving it by delaying Defense spending, counting on one-time asset sales and maintaining artificially high payroll taxes on employment insurance premiums.<br />
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“The idea of being fiscally responsible is something that goes to the core of what it is to be a Liberal, " <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/22/justin-trudeau-deficit_n_4838846.html?ref=topbar" target="_blank">Trudeau told CBC</a>. "Because we believe in government and therefore the best way to demonstrate that government can be good, unlike the Conservatives, is to demonstrate that government can be responsible fiscally, and that’s where they have fallen flat because they want to prove that government is bad.<br />
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"If you continue to invest in education, in the right kind of infrastructure spending, you can actually grow the economy.”<br />
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Bill Morneau, chairman of a small-c conservative economic think tank, the <a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Head+conservative+think+tank+attacks+Tories+Liberal+convention/9539865/story.html" target="_blank">CD Howe Institute, slammed the Conservatives' economic record</a> at the Liberal convention to the tune of enthusiastic applause.<br />
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“Harper Conservatives turn a blind eye to these problems, their minds focused on partisan politics of the very worse kind," he said.<br />
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"This business person, for one, is frustrated by government cabinet ministers who like to talk about growth,” he said, but are instead concerned with “politics without purpose, politics focused solely on beating the other side rather an leading Canadians to the other side.”<br />
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While the Conservatives attack and dismiss the Liberals' positions on the middle class, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-s-middle-class-mortgaging-its-future-with-debt-1.2548633?cmp=fbtl" target="_blank">internal government documentation</a> shows they see what the Liberals see: "The market does not reward middle-income families so well. As a result, they get an increasingly smaller share of the earnings pie."<br />
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“How does the Conservative government respond? By boasting that it is balancing the budget, while middle-class Canadians struggle to balance their chequebooks,” Morneau said.<br />
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The Liberal convention at Montreal's Palais de Congres has come to a close, but it marks the beginning of an aggressive campaign for 2015. The upcoming campaign will have three options: More of the same, the middle of the road, and the left. The Liberals intelligently are placing themselves as the party of progressive policy and fiscal responsibility, one that should appeal to Conservatives who aren't fans of Harper's rigid, divisive, and socially conservative agenda. The Liberals have painted themselves the party of choice, voting in favor of medically assisted suicide - a measure that was narrowly shot down in the last Conservative convention.<br />
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Liberals are leaving this convention upbeat while Conservative attacks backfire. In 2015, expect a barrage of negative attacks, to be met by a positive Liberal campaign that won't be shy of highlighting what it will do differently than the Conservatives.<br />
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Trudeau took jabs at the Conservatives and NDP, noting his move in the senate "is how you make change happen." Trudeau also opposed the NDP's senate abolition campaign which would require opening the Constitution. "For me, Mike Duffy is not worth another Meech Lake."<br />
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With the help of US President Barack Obama's inner circle and strategists, the Liberals are looking to win in 2015 by uniting Canadians across the political spectrum.<br />
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“People in Ottawa talk about the ‘Conservative base’ as if it’s an angry mob to be feared. They’re wrong,” Trudeau told the 3,000 delegates. “Canadians who voted Conservative aren’t your enemies, they’re your neighbours.”<br />
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What do you think of the results of the Liberal convention? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-80701531760127729302014-02-14T09:35:00.000-05:002014-02-14T09:35:23.737-05:00A question of party unity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A party that is divided and in turmoil is perceived as unfit to run a government. Hence why the Conservative Party wanted to try to reignite old divisions in a strengthening foe next week - only to find out they were throwing rocks in a glass house.<br />
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Conservative leaked memos show 2015 will be a full-fledged assault on the Liberal Party - just as the past 3 elections were. The Conservative strategy is to use Harper's wife and undermine Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau by reigniting old divisions in the party and giving a microphone to internal critics to policy stances the party has taken. The assault would begin at the Liberal Party's Montreal Convention set to begin next Thursday while Liberal members choose the policies they want to see in the 2015 platform and the executive team they want to guide their electoral readiness.<br />
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The leaked 6-page <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/10/leaked_memo_from_conservatives_targets_justin_trudeau.html" target="_blank">memo obtained by the Toronto Star </a>outlines three key tasks: “drive, disrupt, disunity.”<br />
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The idea is to “drive our narrative[:] Trudeau in over his head, has poor judgment, only interested in legalizing marijuana VS. PM’s strong, stable leadership, focused on what matters most to Canadians.” The memo also wants the Liberals to be “on their heels and forced to defend themselves. If they’re explaining, they’re losing.” In addition, the note claims that an “opportunity exists to fan the flames of Liberal infighting,” and they can "use the opportunity to build an ‘anti-Trudeau’ supporters’ list. Encourage people to sign up to hear the real truths behind Trudeau and why he’s in over his head.”<br />
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“Canadians will face a clear choice in the next election between Justin Trudeau’s poor judgement, lack of experience and bad plan on the economy and Prime Minister Harper’s strong, stable leadership and low tax plan for jobs and economic growth for Canadian families,” Conservative executive director Dimitri Soudas said.<br />
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It turns out that the strong, stable Conservative Party has lost a considerable amount of its steam. From policy differences among social conservatives to a year-long spotlight on a massive PMO scandal to a major contradiction on what was supposed to be a 2011/2015 election promise. The united coalition of the former Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties is showing its expanding fault lines as moderates within the party track to Trudeau's Liberals and Reformers in the party's establishment mull the censorship they had to endure to remain electable.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h2>
Conservative Income Splitting Promise 2011</h2>
"We will establish the Family Tax Cut: income sharing for couples with dependent children under 18 years of age. This will give spouses the choice to share up to $50,000 of their household income, for federal income-tax purposes. This important new measure will be implemented when the federal budget is balanced within our next full term in office."</blockquote>
In 2011, the Conservatives promised that if they got a surplus they would implement an income splitting program to equalize salaries between spouses with children below the age of 18 in an effort to lower their family's tax burden. Next year's budget is expected to be balanced, but don't expect the Conservatives to keep their promise. Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have toured the country in the last election on that promise, but blatant contradictions and counter-arguments from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has shown yet another fault line expanding in the Conservative Party. The tear has left other Conservative MPs in caucus confused and refusing to answer. Damned if they do and damned if they don't, income splitting will either be the issue that demonstrates they've broken their promise or it will be the issue that shows how reckless the Conservative Party can be. How good can a policy really be when their own finance minister has shot it down publicly? So much for steady the course - the likely Conservative election theme.<br />
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Harper's message remains clear: income splitting is happening.<br />
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"Once we get a balanced budget and once we get a surplus we can have obviously the discussion about what we do next," Harper told reporters Thursday.<br />
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"But we're very clear, we've made some commitments and reducing taxes for Canadian families will be among our highest priorities as we move forward."<br />
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Contrast this to Flaherty's <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/income-splitting-questions-dog-conservatives-for-second-day-1.2536286" target="_blank">announcement on Wednesday</a> and the opposition gets thrown a bone.<br />
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"It benefits some parts of the Canadian population a lot. And other parts of the Canadian population virtually not at all," Flaherty said.<br />
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"And I like to think I'm analytical as finance minister, so I will, when we discuss it eventually in cabinet, in caucus, I will present my analysis to my colleagues." Earlier, Flaherty said "I'm not sure that overall it benefits our society."<br />
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau used this ounce of division to drive a wedge into the Conservatives' ability to govern.<br />
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"The way that I'm building the platform for the Liberal party over the coming year-and-a-half, we're very much thinking about how we implement (policies) and not just whether or not they're saleable politically," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/02/13/stephen-harper-income-splitting-flaherty_n_4783800.html?ref=topbar" target="_blank">Trudeau said</a>, adding that the Conservatives may want to focus on their own internal disarray and division.<br />
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The income splitting promise may be the least of Harper's worries in 2015. With a party showing deepening division and a resonating Liberal leader and a united Liberal Party, the Conservatives face the fate they exploited to get into power: division. A divided Liberal Party in disarray was easy for Harper to fight against, however, in 2015, he will now be facing a united Liberal front with a very influential leader while standing on a shaky (at best) foundation.<br />
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The Conservatives can try to place a public magnifying glass on Liberal policy disagreements, but you don't need to look further than the abortion debate to see a Conservative Party branded as moderates be torn apart by radically different conservative segments whom resolved these very internal conflicts just to have a united Conservative Party in power in the first place. In the meantime, the Conservatives are trying to “ensure we don’t wake up on October 20, 2015 with Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister.”<br />
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What do you think of the recent turn of events in Conservative unity and election strategy? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-56644242876355576972014-02-03T19:33:00.001-05:002014-02-03T19:33:14.751-05:00Using free airport wifi? CSEC may be watching you<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Following <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csec-used-airport-wi-fi-to-track-canadian-travellers-edward-snowden-documents-1.2517881" target="_blank">Snowden documents</a> revealing metadata was collected from thousands of Canadians during a two week period through the free wifi at an airport, Canada's security experts demand answers and government officials are defending the legality of the act.<br />
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The government that touts itself for its "small government" and increasing individual liberties by dismantling of the long form census and the long gun registry are ironically responsible for the intrusive nature of the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC).<br />
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On November 21, 2011, then-Defence Minister <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/report-conservatives-implemented-big.html" target="_blank">Peter MacKay signed a ministerial directive</a> to dodge scrutiny in the House of Commons as he reinstated a spying program introduced by the Liberals in 2005 - and was put aside because of concerns it would enable warrantless surveillance of Canadians. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, CSEC, an arm of the Defence ministry, is the only agency that can eavesdrop on people's lives.<br />
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Top secret documents released by Edward Snowden and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/csec-used-airport-wi-fi-to-track-canadian-travellers-edward-snowden-documents-1.2517881" target="_blank">obtained by CBC</a> reveal CSEC may have been engaging in warrantless surveillance of Canadians. Using one of Canada's major airport's free wifi service, CSEC has managed to get the metadata of thousands of wireless devices enabling tracking beyond that visit to the airport to other airports, hotels, coffee shops and restaurants, libraries, ground transportation hubs, and over thousands of places containing public wifi "hotspots."<br />
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No one is denying this happened, instead CSEC chief John Forster stated, "I can tell you that we do not target Canadians at home or abroad in our foreign intelligence activities, nor do we target anyone in Canada.<br />
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"In fact, it's prohibited by law. Protecting the privacy of Canadians is our most important principle."<br />
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CSEC maintains it's "mandated to collect foreign signals intelligence to protect Canada and Canadians. And in order to fulfill that key foreign intelligence role for the country, CSEC is legally authorized to collect and analyze metadata."<br />
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Metadata doesn't reveal the content of communications but it does reveal significant data about the communications including incoming and outgoing phone numbers and the location of the tracked device at each communication. "No Canadian communications were (or are) targeted, collected or used," the agency says in its argument that collecting metadata isn't intrusive because it doesn't collect the actual data. However, Ontario's Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian begs to differ on the matter.<br />
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Cavoukian wants to see an <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/27/canada-needs-independent-watchdog-to-prevent-nsa-type-breaches-ontario-privacy-commissioner/" target="_blank">independent body set up to oversee CSEC</a> to prevent the breaches that have been seen by the NSA south of the border. “This is deadly for privacy, because invariably we’re talking about defending public safety and security,” she said, challenging the idea that the iPhone and Facebook age would inevitably lead to more surveillance as “utter nonsense … It is a myth that is being created and perpetrated by those who would like that world to achieve superiority, and have information about everyone.”<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Without privacy you cannot have freedom,” she added. “What freedom means is you’re free. Your stuff’s not captured for potential use down the road, and linking back to you, and finding out what you were doing when and who you are connected to.”</blockquote>
She argues that CSEC's oversight, the current independent commissioner Jean-Pierre Plouffe, isn't adequate as the commission “is not an independent oversight agency. He reports to the minister of national defence, who is part of the government. He doesn’t report to Parliament, which consists of all political parties. He reports directly to the head of the agency that he might be criticizing.”<br />
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Ronald Deibert, head of the world-renowned Citizen Lab cyber research program at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, calls the collection of metadata the "indiscriminate collection and analysis of Canadians' communications data," and said, "I can't see any circumstance in which this would not be unlawful, under current Canadian law, under our Charter, under CSEC's mandates."<br />
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The Conservatives, meanwhile, argue CSEC's actions were legal and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/spy-agencies-prime-minister-s-adviser-defend-metadata-collection-1.2521166" target="_blank">Prime Minister Stephen Harper's national security adviser, Stephen Rigby</a> said he is "not totally persuaded" that the airport's wifi was even tapped.<br />
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"I think that the document that has been released clearly indicates that there has been collection of metadata," Rigby said. "That is a well-known fact.… It does not represent a compromise of private communications by Canadians. It's data about data," making it "well within the legal parameters" of agency operations, he said.<br />
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau launched a campaign to protect Canadians' privacy and the both the Liberals and NDP intend to use opposition day to respond to recent Snowden documents.<br />
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The Conservatives have a history with spy legislation. The most notable one is Bill C-30 which wanted to allow the RCMP to act warrantlessly on citizens who committed crimes online. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/02/conservatives-play-big-brother.html" target="_blank">Then-Public Safety Minister Vic Toews challenged Liberal MP Francis Scarpaleggia saying "he can either stand with us or with the child pornographers."</a> However, when Vic Toew's <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/03/anonymous-releases-information-on-vic.html" target="_blank">dirty secrets </a>of his divorce hit the mainstream, <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/02/toews-doesnt-like-his-private-life.html" target="_blank">he wasn't nearly as thrilled </a>as Canadians were at the prospect of his spying legislation.<br />
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Are you concerned about the increasing presence of the Canadian spy agency and the Harper government in our daily lives? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-35123079620517557242014-02-01T14:57:00.001-05:002014-02-01T15:05:37.422-05:00Veterans vow to defeat Conservatives in 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Canada's veterans are fuming over the Conservative government's recent decision to close 8 offices and merge veterans' services with Service Canada. After a recent fallout with Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino, who refuses to reconsider the closures, veterans are urging Canadians to give the Tories the boot in 2015.<br />
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“I absolutely regret yesterday’s events," Fantino reflected Wednesday after a meeting with a group of veterans went sour. Apart from his refusal to reverse changes that would pit veterans who need specialized care with the giant bureaucracy at Services Canada, Fantino arrived 70 minutes late, excusing it stating it was "due to a cabinet meeting that ran long." His behaviour at the meeting wouldn't serve him any better as it led a fury of resignation calls Wednesday.<br />
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When Paul Davis from Newfoundland asked Fantino if specialized services and people knowledgeable of veterans' affairs would be available at Services Canada, Fantino's response was "regret[ful]" at best.<br />
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“You know,” he snapped, “this finger-pointing stuff doesn’t work very well with me.”<br />
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Davis replied that Fantino's absence at a scheduled meeting “doesn’t sit very well with us” and told Fantino that a weak excuse wouldn't whitewash because he knew he’d “bushwhacked” them.<br />
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“I’m not gonna stand here and listen to that,” Fantino ended.<br />
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It would appear that the veterans won't stand there and take Fantino's attitude. In a joint statement, veterans Rob Clarke, Bruce Moncur, Paul Davis and Roy Lamore said, "What the minister did yesterday was disgraceful. The only thing we want is a commitment to keep open the eight offices and reopen the Prince George office. Veterans have earned that respect."<br />
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Official Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair quickly picked up where the statement left off during Wednesday's question period, calling for Fantino's resignation or firing.<br />
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"When the veterans complained that the minister had missed their meeting, [Fantino] said, 'I'm not going to stand here and listen to that' and he stormed out," Mulcair said.<br />
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"Will the prime minister do the right thing — apologize himself and fire that incompetent?"<br />
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Fantino didn't resign, and Harper defended him, saying, "The minister has apologized for the events of yesterday but the fact of the matter is that this government and this minister have increased services for our veterans without precedent."<br />
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The response wasn't satisfying and was met with opposition chants for his resignation.<br />
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Despite the closure of the 8 veterans' centres, the Conservatives argue that over 650 new locations for these services have been created through Services Canada - which is currently facing the knife under austerity measures. This is a solution veterans aren't happy with, given the limited resources Services Canada has to deal with the line-ups of Canadians that require government services. In some remote areas, the closure adds two to eight hours of travel to veterans who need specialized services from treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to dealing with the after-effects of the wars they fought, and survived in service for our country.<br />
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Only when asked by a reporter that accompanied the veterans did Fantino offer a reply to Davis's initial question, saying "If [veterans] can't travel to an office then these workers will come to them like they have all along."<br />
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Veterans and the opposition, however, are not impressed.<br />
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"There have been eight military suicides in two months," Mulcair said Wednesday. "This is the last moment where we should be cutting back on services to our veterans."<br />
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Clarke, a 36-year veteran, vowed to travel the country in 2015 to campaign against the Conservatives after a meeting he described as "unbelievable, unacceptable and shameful. The way we were treated is just not kosher."<br />
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On Thursday, Clarke joined veterans and union lobbyists to try to reverse the closure and Clarke told reporters, "Mr. Fantino, because he's such an ass, made it easy for us. It was a hard fight and that's all it was, was a fight. It's not the end of the war."<br />
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The veteran's ombudsman was "taken aback" by the position, noting it the situation is surprising given the disrespect toward the Harper government's own bill of rights introduced in 2007, which says veterans "are to be treated with respect, dignity, fairness and courtesy."<br />
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"I am always willing to hear from veterans face-to-face on any issue," Fantino said in Wednesday's press release.<br />
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But Mulcair notes "it is extraordinary to watch the body language and the behaviour on the other side — the robotic answers, delivering talking points. As if a talking point could replace the fact that they're closing offices."<br />
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The Conservatives maintain the changes will provide more services to veterans but if that were the case, veterans themselves wouldn't be pointing their hostilities to the party that is known to be pro-military. Clearly, either the Conservatives are trying to cover-up the axe they took to veteran's services during a time of an unprecedented rate of suicides, or they have completely botched the communications and demonstrations of their improved plan.<br />
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Veterans aren't convinced. One of them, Melbourne Birmingham, who served in Kosovo as a civilian police officer in 2000 doesn't agree with Harper's assertion that the centres slated to close had "very few people, had very few visits."<br />
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"They need the help, they need the support and the support is already here," Birmingham said. "Why take it away from us? Who does he think he's fooling? He's got an agenda to try and save money on the backs of veterans. He's been doing this for years and there's no need of it. It's just hogwash. </blockquote>
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"It's not going to save money, they're not going to train 600 so-called people in these service centres. It's ridiculous. I get so upset, it's hard to talk. What a slap in the face. It's a Canadian disgrace and this Harper government is causing it."</blockquote>
Clarke shares the sentiment. He said he spoke to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau who vowed to reopen the offices and open new ones where needed.<br />
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"Now we have the NDP, the Liberals saying that they will reopen the offices, so all we got to do is get rid of the Conservatives," said Clarke.<br />
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"I'm sure the Conservative Party will be filing into the unemployment insurance office in 2015."<br />
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While the Conservatives claim they've made record investments in veteran's affairs, the number of suicides have risen and Mulcair argues the closure of these 8 veterans' centres will mean “some (veterans) who are over 90 years of age will have to go to Service Canada offices and stand in line to then be sent to a computer.”<br />
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What do you think of the Conservative government's handling of veteran's affairs? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-53920723801258639862014-01-31T21:40:00.000-05:002014-01-31T21:40:58.968-05:00Dismantling Senate Liberals "about doing the right thing”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau turned the Senate and pundits on their heads this week following his announcement that Liberal Senators would cease to sit in the Liberal caucus in a bid to remove patronage and partisanship from the scandal-plagued Upper Chamber.<br />
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The Senate scandal escalated within a year to reveal real cracks in the way the Upper Chamber works. A red chamber filled with individuals appointed for political reasons revealed just how much control a single entity could have on it. The senate scandal may now be a full-blown PMO scandal, severely mishandled from the start, but it reveals how an arbitrary majority of "Conservative" senators could take control of the chamber of sombre second thought and reduce it to the robotic and systematic chamber of minions whose sole role is to advance the PMO's policy agenda. We need not look further than the Senate's Internal Economy Committee to watch the Conservative hierarchy try to protect their own before inevitably throwing them under the bus. The whitewashed Deloitte audit goes to show how deception and political control have plagued an essential institution and turned it into the second House of Commons.<br />
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The Conservatives campaigned for senate reform and despite being in power for 8 years up to now, all they've truly accomplished is to wait for the Supreme Court of Canada to explain how the government should proceed with reforms, given any structural changes would require the messy and unforgiving reopening of Canada's constitution. Their goal to create an elected chamber managed by the provinces would achieve only one thing: literally create a second house of commons. Canadians need not look further than their neighbours to the south to see how two parties, polarized with conflicting views, can create chaos and gridlock when the two chambers are not occupied by the same ruling party. The Conservatives know all too well, despite Harper's opposition to appointed senators, he managed to appoint 59 of them to assure a Conservative majority in the senate - one that would act as a voting block like his whipped caucus in the lower chamber.<br />
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The fundamental flaw with an elected senate is it will inherently be partisan. Any individual or group of individuals whom have any hope to maintain a seat and salary in the senate will have to campaign on something and thus their record won't be neutral. Creating a second house of commons would be a colossal waste of taxpayers' money that can easily be reallocated to the researchers that were recently fired by the Harper government. The New Democrats in turn have started their "roll up the carpet" campaign that would abolish the senate altogether. It is a solution that is popular among Conservatives as an alternative to an elected senate, but it too has its flaws. The campaign will be an easy sell and until this week, the NDP have been perceived as the leaders on the senate file. However, it would cancel the safeguard that reviews and rejects policies deemed to have been badly thought out and jammed through the Commons. Both solutions will likely require reopening the constitution and there is nothing Quebec Sovereignty Premier Pauline Marois would love more. The provinces would have a field day: being brought to the negotiating table to discuss the Senate only to set their own agendas and hold our nation's unity hostage.<br />
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However, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair appears to have neglected this fact when he criticized Trudeau's statement on Canada AM yesterday.<br />
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“It’s not that hard to change the Constitution when you find out that an institution no longer serves the same purpose as when it was created,” Mulcair told Canada AM.<br />
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Until this week, the Liberals were seen as the party of the status-quo. There is no doubt a commons that wasn't dominated by a single political party would have thoroughly analysed and changed recent ominous bills but in the political game, power trumps good politics and good governance. Trudeau's bombshell announcement has left many confused, even the very senators who are fighting the decision and staying true to their affiliation. However, this move was not only bold and strategic, it is one that goes back to the root purpose of the senate: sombre second thought.<br />
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A Prime Minister today can choose and recommend senators to the Governor General to appoint to the upper chamber. Stephen Harper has chosen 59 since 2006 and has himself added Patrick Brazeau, Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy to the chamber - knowing full well that Wallin and Duffy were two of his strongest fundraisers. It is clear that Harper's judgement and choice of political partners hasn't been too great. Outside of the senate, both his former fishing partner Rob Ford, and celebrity in overalls Justin Bieber are the international headlines for their unbelievable behaviour ranging from drug use to assault. A Prime Minister with sound judgement likely wouldn't have appointed Brazeau, Duffy or Wallin and today wouldn't be tied so firmly to the anchor that is a police investigation on what seems to be an elaborate cover-up of corrupt activities being orchestrated out of the PMO in the Senate - so much for accountability...<br />
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Given the circumstances that have together lead to the mess of a senate today, it is clear that changes are needed. However, change won't be easy. Both the Conservative and NDP plans are either non-existent or unrealistic. They both can pin their misfortunes on the file on the Liberal Party - as doing so would favour both their electoral odds - but that doesn't mean they're doing the right thing. The Conservatives were in power for 8 years and have yet to do anything to resolve the problems other than send Pierre Poilievre as a spokesman to claim Trudeau's popular move was a mere "smokescreen." If the Conservatives would have dismantled their senate caucus, they would have been applauded as well but given a party that is descending into chaos, control is the most important element to their political survival. Their loss of control is notable by the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/30/ndp-electronic-petitions-house-of-commons_n_4697915.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-politics" target="_blank">8 MPs who recently broke ranks</a> to pass an NDP bill on electronic petitions.<br />
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The Liberals are the third party in the House of Commons and given Trudeau's solid support and the party's continued lead in the polls, they are in the best position to capitalize on the senate - and have. The Conservatives have a majority in the senate and no Liberal front will break it. Trudeau had nothing to lose dismantling his senate caucus, but instead stands to have a lot to gain. As cracks continue to form in the Conservative caucus, it is likely the Reform and Progressive segments of the Conservative Party will continue to grow apart and with centrist Liberal policy, Progressive Conservatives in the Conservative coalition are looking to the Liberals to restore their voice in Canadian democracy. The freedom in being an independent Senator will likely entice the Conservatives across the room whom are becoming evermore fed up with the job of taking orders and losing their right to think in order to advance the "Conservative" mission - even if some of its parts are fundamentally flawed and even defy Conservative logic.<br />
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Trudeau's accompanying announcement laid out a firm reasoning to his bold move. Returning to the senate's root purpose, the era of patronage and partisanship were clouding the red chamber's ability to function. Individuals taking orders from party hierarchy and being appointed for their contributions to the governing party is no way to provide neutral reflection of legislation passed in the House of Commons. Free and independent senators can be as Liberal or Conservative as they want to be, but no matter this affiliation nor this philosophy, public policy is destined to succeed or fail in practice on the basis of evidence and empirical data and research. Individuals can be Liberals and disagree with policies they put forth as can Conservatives in this regard. In a partisan senate structured to whip votes by party affiliation, there is no room to spot mistakes and the country's public policies suffer as a result, potentially inflicting individuals, businesses, interest groups and the overall economy and rule of law.<br />
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“I did anticipate that it was going to take a lot of people by surprise, including our senators,” Trudeau told CTV’s Canada AM. “But this wasn’t about personal relationships. This was about doing the right thing.”<br />
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“So what I’ve done is remove any sort of link or control by the Liberal Party of Canada over those formerly Liberal senators. And what that means is that the only people who get to sit in the Liberal Party caucus are people who were elected by the people of Canada,” he said.<br />
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Trudeau's move is a first step and shows how the leader of the third party can do something about a massive problem without being Prime Minister. Trudeau also avoided constitutional reform and all the headaches that accompany it - however it would appear he needs to update the Liberal Party's constitution.<br />
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In its root, the senate is the chamber of sombre second thought and being anything else would just be a wasteful use of taxpayer's money. Trudeau's move is bold and strategic and has put the Liberals in the driver's seat of this issue. He had nothing to lose abandoning those senators, but if Conservative divisions continue to grow and Canadians support the classical purpose of a senate, he may have all to gain.<br />
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Nonetheless, the next economy will be fought on the economy and a rerun of 2011 NDP-like policies may act to hinder the solid centrist base Trudeau has built in such a short time, taking the moderates away from his chief rivals the Conservatives and NDP who would rather anyone have these votes than the Liberals. What do you think of Trudeau's bold move? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-11818128106935306622014-01-27T20:55:00.000-05:002014-01-27T20:55:10.664-05:00Harper to make American primetime in new attack ad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Keystone proponents have flooded the American airwaves with ads trying to convince Americans and President Barack Obama to either accept or turn down the Keystone pipeline. This ad, slotted to air during tomorrow's State of the Union address, shows how heated the debate can get as the Keystone project has been framed as being of greater benefit to the Chinese than to average American consumers. The spot features a picture of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese ex-premier Wen Jiabao shaking hands to the narration of "a sucker's deal for America."<br />
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The ad was made by NextGen Climate Group headed by Tom Steyer, one of Obama's biggest donors and staunchest critics to the pipeline deal.<br />
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The ad features a narrative beginning "It's a sucker-punch to America's heartland" to the backdrop of Harper and Jiabao shaking hands.<br />
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The ad quickly transitions into a money counter and list of Chinese shares of Canada's oil reserves to a backdrop of the Chinese flag.<br />
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"(The Chinese are) counting on the US to approve TransCanada's pipeline to shit oil through America's heartland and out to foreign countries like theirs...<br />
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"Keystone's a sucker's deal for America. Just say no to Keystone," the narrator can be heard, once again to the backdrop of Harper and Jiabao.<br />
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Obama hasn't yet indicated a decision on the pipeline but Republicans in the US are threatening to hold his feet to the fire the next time the government hits the debt ceiling.<br />
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"The president's own State Department acknowledged that the Keystone XL pipeline — as just one example — would create tens of thousands of jobs at no cost to taxpayers," said Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri.<br />
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"Now, this project has been stalled for more than five years. It's time for President Obama to approve truly shovel-ready projects like Keystone to encourage private-sector job creation."<br />
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Locally, a lot is at stake for all major parties. If the pipeline passes, the Conservatives can declare victory and will be remembered for its vigorous attempts to get the project passed. If the pipeline fails to pass, the Liberals will target the Conservatives on the basis that <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/30/keystone-xl-mishandled-by-harper-governments-megaphone-diplomacy-justin-trudeau/?__lsa=0d21-abc1" target="_blank">they took the wrong approach</a> </span>to get the pipeline passed and it's expected the NDP would then campaign against the Liberals and Conservatives and either <a href="http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/call+government+power+override+assessments/9250464/story.html?__lsa=71dd-2dba" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">pull the plug on Keystone</span></a>, or dramatically <a href="http://www.ndp.ca/news/keystone-pipeline-equals-canadian-job-losses" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">change the way it's handled as a project.</span></a><br />
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The debate in Canada hasn't been as heated as south of the border, but one can imagine the Keystone projects will be part of the next election campaign in one form or another: whether it be on the Conservative narrative of creating jobs, the Liberal narrative of getting it passed, or the NDP narrative of it being bad for the environment.<br />
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The ad is ironic considering the style of attacks Harper's Conservatives have launched in the past. However, unlike Conservative ads against Stephane Dion, Michael Ignatieff, and Justin Trudeau being contained to a Canadian audience, this ad demonizing Harper in a very polarized American frame could potentially be seen across the world. Putting domestic politics aside, Harper is the man who represents Canada on the world stage and this slap to him is a slap to our nation's image.<br />
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Nevertheless, the world needs oil (whether as a fuel or as a means to create products like tires) and the way it is extracted and transported remains a subject of debate. With recent rail tragedies like Lac-Megantic growing in number, we see that pipelines may be the safest form of transportation. However, with changing atmospheric conditions and an inherent reliance on proper maintenance, not to mention possibilities of eco-terrorism by radicals, pipelines pose their own set of dangers in the transport of one of the dirtiest, yet most essential, resources in our current context.<br />
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Obama's decision is much anticipated and will impact domestic politics as we know it. In Canada, the Economy remains the number one focus of Canadians and anyone without an acceptable and coherent economic platform won't get elected - as we saw in 2011. However, while oil will be required for a while yet, it won't suffice forever. European markets have taken the lead in building the green markets of tomorrow. Why isn't Canada, with the second largest share of landmass in the world, taking advantage of the natural elements needed to produce and export cheap and renewable energy?<br />
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What do you think of Harper's premier in an American attack ad? Where do you stand on the Keystone XL project? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-45538244327475688332014-01-20T09:37:00.000-05:002014-01-20T17:08:42.511-05:00Conservatives besiege science for ideological gain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Conservative government has shut down hundreds of federal and world renowned research facilities as part of their war on science. The bulk of facilities affected pertained to the climate science that has actively gotten in the way of the government's coveted pipeline projects. The Conservatives are silencing their critics as they cut scientific funding in the name of ideological gain.<br />
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CBC's <i>The Fifth Estate</i> published a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/blog/federal-programs-and-research-facilities-that-have-been-shut-down-or-had-th" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">list of the effected scientific facilities</span></a> compiled by the Canadian Association of University Teachers and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. The full, long list can be accessed at the end of this article. The impacts are detrimental to Canada's ability to make policies based on evidence and the savage attacks on scientific institutions will be leaving a black mark for years to come.<br />
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The Conservatives have fought vigorously in favor of their pipeline project, going as far as to <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/neanderthal-canadian-conservatives.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">attack world renowned climatologist James Hansen</span></a> when he joined the world's scientific community raising flags on the project. As a result, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was dealt the humiliating result of having his government be called a "neanderthal government."<br />
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While the Conservatives pitch the project as a clean and safe energy alternative, American President Barack Obama has been clear he would reject the project if its carbon emissions wouldn't be neutral. Despite John Baird's aggressive attempt to twist America's hand - to deaf ears, the Harper government's own internal projections would see a<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/14/canada-carbon-emissions-2030-tar-sands" target="_blank"> <span style="color: blue;">38% increase</span></a> in emissions by 2030 if the pipeline projects were given a green light. By contrast, <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/17/cut-carbon-emissions-ed-davey-tells-eu" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Europe intends to cut 40% of its emissions by 2030</span></a>.</span><br />
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In a <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://unfccc.int/files/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/submitted_natcom/application/pdf/final_nc_br_dec20,_2013%5B1%5D.pdf" target="_blank">report to the UN</a>,</span> the government projects 815 million tonnes of CO2 will be emitted in 2030, up from 590Mt in 1990. Worse, a <a href="http://climateactiontracker.org/assets/publications/briefing_papers/2013-06-11_Climate_Action_Tracker_briefing_paper_Bonn.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">2013 Climate Action Tracker analysis</span> </a>done by Germany's <a href="http://www.climateanalytics.org/"><span style="color: blue;">Climate Analytics</span></a>, the <a href="http://www.pik-potsdam.de/"><span style="color: blue;">Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research</span></a> and Dutch-based energy institute <a href="http://www.ecofys.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Ecofys</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.98714256286621px;"> </span></span>suggests Canada's report is low-balling the emissions amount as the natural gas sector, the third largest in the world, could have released 212Mt in 2011 alone.<br />
<br />
However, given the cuts to Canada's atmospheric scientists, not long after <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/muzzling-of-federal-scientists-widespread-survey-suggests-1.2128859" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">muzzling them</span></a> for a few years (a trend that started in 2006 with the Harper government's new media protocol), it would appear the lights are closed on facts and reason. Worse, with the radical changes occurring to our climate caused by this climate change, cutting research in the domain leaves us vulnerable to the unknown as weather patterns become more extreme and more difficult to predict.<br />
<br />
To make matters worse, the Conservatives don't deny climate change, they are aware of its impacts. Conservative MP <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/conservative-mp-peter-braid-says-extreme-weather-and-climate-change-linked-1.2486494" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Peter Braid admitted on CBC's<i> Power and Politics</i></span></a> earlier this month that extreme weather patterns and climate change are linked.<br />
<br />
“We are seeing the effects, the impacts of climate change,” Braid said. “With climate change comes extreme weather events. We saw that through the floods in southern Alberta, we’re now seeing that with the ice storms in Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto, with the extreme cold across the country.”<br />
<br />
The Conservatives are aware of the environmental impacts, however, a lucrative fossil fuel industry cannot thrive in an era of dwindling support and scientific skepticism. Choosing to turn a blind eye and dice their opponents is the only option viable to a government driven on failed ideology in a desperate attempt to revive <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2014/01/december-job-losses-economic-recovery.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Canada's under-performing economy.</span></a><br />
<br />
Years of talent and work were destroyed by these cuts, as a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/the+fifth+estate/ID/2429411271/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><i>The</i> <i>Fifth Estate</i> investigation</span></a> has found. Scientists working on a range of research from historical life to water pollution were given their walking papers and had their years of research seized as their life's work was shattered in mere minutes. Worse, with the company of security guards, these scientists were given 5 minutes to collect their personal belongings before being permanently locked out of their old jobs. Whether their research be deemed useless for the market or inconvenient to Conservative projects, scientists across the country have taken the hit by reckless Conservative ideology. Science, once an independent branch of public policy that has given birth to the modern society we live in today, has been besieged and the damage may well be irreversible.<br />
<br />
A shift from science to a $28 million campaign to recreate the War of 1812 has seen Canada's Museum of Civilization, one based on scientific research, be renamed to the Canada Museum of History, one focused on Canada's British roots. In late November 2013, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers became the sponsor of the new Museum of History.<br />
<br />
Environmental science isn't alone in besiege. The Conservative attack on public healthcare is leaving scientists at Health Canada <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/health-canada-library-changes-leave-scientists-scrambling-1.2499217" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">scrambling to squirrel away needed information</span> </a>from the besieged research library.<br />
<br />
Health Canada Management, looking for cuts, is looking at the research library, which in a report written by a consultant hired by the department, said, "Staff requests have dropped 90 per cent over in-house service levels prior to the outsource. This statistic has been heralded as a cost savings by senior HC [Health Canada] management."<br />
<br />
"However, HC scientists have repeatedly said during the interview process that the decrease is because the information has become inaccessible — either it cannot arrive in due time, or it is unaffordable due to the fee structure in place."<br />
<br />
Dr. Rudi Mueller retired as a Pathologist in 2012 and agreed with the assessment.<br />
<br />
"I look at it as an insidious plan to discourage people from using libraries," Mueller said.<br />
<br />
"If you want to justify closing a library, you make access difficult and then you say it is hardly used."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The access problems became bad enough that student library access became a workaround. Another is the squirreling away of important literature.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
"One group moved its 250 feet of published materials to an employee's basement. When you need a book, you email 'Fred,' and 'Fred' brings the book in with him the next day," the consultant wrote.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Meanwhile, librarians were being fired leaving scientists to do the work of finding information themselves.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, fears that with the changes, "Scientifically, we are going to be a third-rate country." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Health Canada rejected the consultant's report and claims to be working with scientists on these many concerns. "[The report] was returned to its author for corrections which were never undertaken. As such, the recommendations are based on inaccurate information and have not been accepted," <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/health-canada-library-changes-leave-scientists-scrambling-1.2499217" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Health Canada responded to CBC News.</span></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Conservative attack on science is notable and is purely for ideological gain. Scientists working in fields that forward Conservative ideology are likely to do well, but so many that don't fit the political narrative have been extinguished, having a negative impact on the future of Canadians.<br />
<br />
"By default, what we have done in Canada is turn off the radar," former Marine Mammal Toxicologist Peter Ross told <i><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/the+fifth+estate/ID/2429411271/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Fifth Estate</span></a></i>. "We are flying along an airplane and we've put curtains over the windshield of those pilots of that flight crew and we've turned off the instruments. We don't know what is coming tomorrow, let alone next year."<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<h2>
Federal programs and research facilities besieged</h2>
<i>Source: <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/blog/federal-programs-and-research-facilities-that-have-been-shut-down-or-had-th" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">CBC's The Fifth Estate</span> </a></i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li>Environmental Emergency Response Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Urban Wastewater Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Smokestacks Emissions Monitoring Team</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Winnipeg Office</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Protection Operations</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Compliance Promotion Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Action Plan on Clean Water</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) (PEARL lost its $1.5 million annual budget when the government stopped funding the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Science (CFCAS) . In May 2013, the federal government announced the facility would get a $ 1 million a year grant for the next five years. But according to Professor Tom Duck, of Dalhousie University, with the loss of CFCAS, atmospheric and climate research will be funded at less than 70 per cent of the level it was funded at in 2006.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sustainable Water Management Division</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Effects Monitoring Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Chemicals Management Plan</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Centre for Inland Waters</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Clean Air Agenda</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Air Quality Health Index</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Species at Risk Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Weather and Environmental Services</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Substance and Waste Management</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ocean Contaminants & Marine Toxicology Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Experimental Lakes Area (Under the Bill-38 the ELA was shut down. As of January 2014, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Ontario government are working out an agreement with the federal government to take over the facility.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>DFO Marine Science Libraries</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Centre for Offshore Oil & Gas Energy Research</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Kitsilano Coast Guard Station</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>St. Johns Marine Traffic Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>St. Anthony’s Marine Traffic Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (L’anse au Loup, NL)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Trepassey, NL)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Rigolet, NL)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Burgeo, NL)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Arnold’s Cove, NL)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Baddeck, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Canso, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Sheet Harbour, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Woodstock, NB)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Port Hood, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Wallace, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Kedgwick, NB)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Montague, PEI)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Inuvik, NT)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Rankin Inlet, NU)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Clearwater, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Comox, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Hazelton, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Quesnel, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Conservation and Protection Office (Pender Harbour, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Species-at-Risk Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Habitat Management Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>DFO Institute of Ocean Sciences (Sidney, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Freshwater Institute - Winnipeg</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Oil Spill Counter-Measures Team</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Maurice-Lamontagne Institute’s French language library</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Coast Guard Management</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Sidney, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Winnipeg, MB)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Burlington, ON)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Mont-Joli, QC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Moncton, NB)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Water Pollution Research Lab (Dartmouth, NS)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>St. Andrew Biological Station</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ice Information Partnership</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Motor Vehicle Fleet</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Inshore Rescue Boat Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Species at Risk Atlantic Salmon Production Facilities</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>At-Sean Observer Programs</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Financial Management Services</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pacific Forestry Centre, Satellite Office (Prince George, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pulp and Paper Green Transformation Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Isotopes Supply Initiative</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Clean Energy Fund</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sustainable Development Technology Canada – Next Generation Biofuels Fund</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Program of Energy Research and Development</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pacific Forestry Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Astronomy Interpretation Centre – Centre of the Universe</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>MRI research, Institute Biodiagnostics</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Polar Continental Shelf Progam</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Neutron Beam Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Molecular Biochemistry Laboratory, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Plant Metabolism Research, Aquatic and Crop Resource Development</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Human Health Therapeutics research program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Automotive and Surface Transportation program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Risks to Health program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Substance Use and Abuse program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>First Nations and Inuit Primary Health Care program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Health Infrastructure Support for First Nations and Inuit program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Interim Federal Health Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Knowledge, Technology, Information, and Measurement program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Science, Innovation and Adoption program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Rural and Co-operatives Development program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Farm Debt Mediation Service</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Centre for Plant Health (Sidney, BC)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>National Aboriginal Health Organization</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>First Nations Statistical Institute</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>First Nations and Inuit Health</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fertilizer Pre-Market Efficacy Assessment program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Enforcement of Product of Canada label</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>RADARSAT Constellation Mission</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik Research station</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Kluane Lake Research Station</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Bamfield Marine Science Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Microfungal Collection and Herborium</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Biogeoscience Institute</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Coriolis II research Vessel</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>OIE Laboratory for Infectious Salmon Anaemia</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Phycological Culture Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brockhouse Institute</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Polaris Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Research</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Mount Megantic Observatory</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Smoke Stacks Emissions Monitoring Team</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Protections Operations Compliant Promotion Program,</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sustainable Water Management Division,</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Effects Monitoring program,</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fresh Water Institute</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Centre for Inlands Waters (Burlington)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Environmental Emergencies Program</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Parks Canada</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Montreal Biosphere</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Statistics Canada</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Laboratory for the Analysis of Natural and Synthetic Environmental Toxicants</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>National Ultrahigh-field NMR Facility for Solids</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>IsoTrace AMS Facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Phycological Culture Centre</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Resource Centre for Zebrafish Genetics</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Neuroendocrinology Assay Laboratory at the University of Western Ontario</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Research Investigating (POLARIS) (Ontario)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>St. John’s Centrifuge Modelling Facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Quebec/Eastern Canada high field NMR facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Félix d’Hérelle Reference Center for Bacterial Viruses</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Compute/Calcul Canada</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Center for Innovative Geochronology</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Biogeoscience Institute</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pacific Northwest Consortium Synchrotron Radiation Facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Centre for Molecular and Materials Science at TRIUMF</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Canadian Cosmogenic Nuclide Exposure Dating Facility</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Atlantic Regional Facilities for Materials Characterization</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Canadian SuperDARN/PolarDARN facility</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
How do you feel about the Conservative war on science? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-65598529841889390852014-01-13T21:27:00.001-05:002014-01-13T21:27:17.329-05:00December job losses: "The economic recovery remains fragile"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XfbgkRpL7oE/Urvv6Tj2KRI/AAAAAAAADyA/0QE6xvbwYOM/s0-c/o-UNEMPLOYMENT-LINE-570%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XfbgkRpL7oE/Urvv6Tj2KRI/AAAAAAAADyA/0QE6xvbwYOM/s0-c/o-UNEMPLOYMENT-LINE-570%5B1%5D.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
While the Conservatives would say the economy is "still strong," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty warns "the economic recovery remains fragile " amid <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">45,900</span></a> in job losses in December - the steepest since the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">54,500</span></a> drop in March. When all months are considered, only <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">102,000 jobs</span></a> </span>were created in 2013 and the unemployment rate rose 0.3% to 7.2% - which is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/10/unemployment-rate-canada_n_4574735.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">higher than that of the United States</span></a> (6.7%) for the first time since 2008. In addition, the <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm" target="_blank">US registered a 74,000 net increase</a> </span>for December.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"Not only was the headline contraction in December sizable, but the losses were broad-based across industries and exclusively seen in full-time positions," <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">TD Bank economist</span></a> Sonja Gulati wrote in a report.<br />
<br />
Finance Minister Jim <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Flaherty told CBC</span></a> the poor results as a "reminder" of the fragile state of Canada's economy.<br />
<br />
"We sympathize with those Canadians who lost their job last month. This is a reminder that the economic recovery remains fragile and we must stay focused on our plan to grow the economy and keep taxes low to create the environment where job creation can flourish," he said.<br />
<br />
"It’s also important to remember that monthly job numbers are volatile and our overall trend is positive. Indeed, for 2013 as a whole, Canada’s economy created more than 100,000 net new jobs."<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Indeed, monthly results are volatile and cannot be an indicator of the direction of the economy, however, Chief Economist at RBC, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Craig Wright told CBC</span></a> the December losses were not only widespread, they decimated four months of job gains.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
“More than half of the industries that they monitor were down. More than half the provinces experienced declines in the month. It was very broadly based and unfortunately focused on the full-time component.”</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Despite economists' pessimism, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's "reminder" and the numbers themselves, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-loses-nearly-46-000-jobs-in-december-1.2491374" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Industry Minister James Moore</span></a> stuck to the Conservative narrative on the Canadian economy.</div>
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“The overall picture for the Canadian economy is still strong. The job picture is still strong,” Moore said.<br />
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"Still strong" but don't forget that "the economic recovery remains fragile."</div>
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The job losses aren't over yet. Blackberry could see a 40% cut in workforce. Sears has announced several rounds of layoffs. Potash-corp is looking at cutting at least 1,000 jobs and Heinz is expected to hit the chopping block as well. To join the private sector in shedding jobs will be the public sector along with a fresh round of cuts in the upcoming budget and the overhaul at Canada Post that will change the way Canadians get their mail.</div>
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"The job market ended 2013 on a distinctly sour note, with the drop cutting the average monthly job gain to just 8,500 for all of last year versus more than 25,000 in 2012,"<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/10/unemployment-rate-canada_n_4574735.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: blue;">BMO Chief Economist Doug Porter</span></a> wrote. "Digging beneath the ugly headline reveals more ugliness, as full-time jobs tumbled 60,000, and thus barely managed to rise at all last year."<br />
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A Globe and Mail report on the state of the economy revealed a net increase of <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/the-employment-growth-is-great-too-bad-its-not-enough-for-new-job-seekers/article14840660/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">17,000</span></a> jobs per month is necessary to meet the demands of a growing population, the average for 2013 falls 8,500 jobs per month short.<br />
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BMO Economist Benjamin Reitzes wrote in a <a href="http://www.bmonesbittburns.com/economics/amcharts/dec1013.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">report last month</span></a>, “Compared to November 2012, employment is up a meagre 1%, with both the goods and services sectors clocking in at that pace. ... This is hardly the stuff of a firm underlying economy.”<br />
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In addition, a <a href="http://www.bmonesbittburns.com/economics/amcharts/dec1013.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">graph of Statistics Canada data</span></a> on job growth indicates 2013 was one of the worst years in a decade outside of a recession.<br />
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But, don't worry, the Conservatives will continue to tout a strong economy, one fueled by lower taxes and "prudent" management. While the Conservatives attempt to scare Canadians into believing their opponents are tax-and-spend, we have yet to see what either the Liberals or NDP have to say on the matter. While the NDP have historically favored tax-hikes, and the Liberal about-face in 2011 to its introduction of tax cuts in the 1990s is not necessarily going to repeat in 2015.</div>
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The Conservatives have their Action Plan website and a slew of TV ads that advertise new jobs, low taxes, and a Canada Jobs Grant that doesn't even exist. These ads in particular have <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-job-grant-ads-cost-2-5m-for-non-existent-program-1.2495196?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed&cmp=rss" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">cost the taxpayer $2.5 million</span></a> and played twice during CBC's <i>Hockey Night in Canada</i> playoffs, reassuring viewers, “The Canada Job Grant will result in one important thing – a new or better job.”<br />
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Their narrative is simple: they are the ones who can steer the economy forward. However, no matter the rosy rhetoric by Conservative Ministers on political talk-shows and their glorified ads, whenever a bump in the road appears, it is a "reminder" that "the economic recovery is still fragile." A strong economy is not fragile, a weak one is. The job numbers have prompted alarm from the nation's economists and has lead to gloomy prospects for 2014.<br />
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However, while Canadians across the country feel the bite of a Conservative economic agenda pollsters deem "out of touch," the Conservatives intend to fight the next election on tax cuts after achieving a $3.7 billion surplus, which is all too meagre in comparison to the $13 billion surplus they squandered in 2006.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/for-the-canadian-economy-will-2013-be-any-better-than-2014/article16090539/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz</span></a> admitted Canada's recovery wasn't natural over the past three years, meaning it isn't self-sustaining or self-generating. In other words, strip away the stimulus measures and Canada would likely still be in recession.<br />
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<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/for-the-canadian-economy-will-2013-be-any-better-than-2014/article16090539/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">David Madani, the Chief Analyst at Capital Economics</span></a> warns 2014 won't be significantly better than last year, noting the excessive 164% personal debt on after-tax income burdening middle class Canadians, and an over-build of housing units as demand drops.<br />
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"So you have a situation where weakness in housing and slower household consumption growth is now offsetting the improvement in exports and perhaps business investment," Madani says.</div>
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Economists are hopeful 2014 will see a rebound, but for a country that supposedly beats the rest of the G8 economically, having a higher unemployment rate than the United States and a sluggish year overall must be embarrassing for the Conservatives. However, the Conservative message is clear: the economy is "still strong" but "the economic recovery remains fragile." Will you be banking on this message? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
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Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-69147133852546514812013-12-29T15:59:00.001-05:002013-12-29T15:59:07.427-05:00A round up of the controversy of the year: 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who said Canadian politics is boring? This year has been a news-maker filled with controversy and action. From the battle that wages over the economy to the one being waged in the senate, Canadian political junkies had ample opportunities to gather popcorn or join the discussion over the issues that matter to them.<br />
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Follow <span style="color: blue;">blue text</span> to links with more details.<br />
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<h2>
Economy</h2>
The year is wrapping up as it started, with bad economic news. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/worst-job-growth-in-decade-economic.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">If it isn't economists alarming about the worst job growth in a decade (outside of a recession)</span></a>, contradicting Conservative claims about the economy, it is <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/worst-job-growth-in-decade-economic.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">uncertainty being instilled by some economists of the country's leading institutions over what's in store for 2014</span></a>. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/worst-job-growth-in-decade-economic.html" target="_blank">Make no joke, the <span style="color: blue;">Conservatives aren't lying when they tell you they created 1 million jobs since the recession, what they didn't tell you is the quantity doesn't fit the demand and the quality isn't up to par</span>. </a>The budget deficit increased $1.3 billion this year amid austerity measures. In the beginning of the year, the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/01/a-new-year-new-round-of-bad-budgetary.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Parliamentary Budget Officer suggested an incline in bureaucrats despite 4% cuts in public services</span>. </a>The trend continued and despite the bloated government, with <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/07/bureaucracy-ballooned-under-harper-at.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">14% more bureaucrats than when Prime Minister Stephen Harper took office in 2006</span></a>, Canadians aren't getting the services they used to but are still paying the price for them.<br />
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Meanwhile, the Conservatives are known as the "low-tax" option but <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/03/budget-2013-harpers-hidden-tax-hikes.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">actively raised tariffs in this spring's budget, impacting the price of all imported goods from China</span>.</a> <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/09/harper-government-jacked-up-foreign.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Small bands from out of the country will also pay the price, passing the cost to consumers.</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/imf-canada-has-weakest-economy-of-20.html" target="_blank">More bad news came in April when the <span style="color: blue;">International Monetary Fund said Canada had the weakest recovery of 20 countries outside the G8.</span></a><br />
<h2>
Senate-PMO Scandal</h2>
The year started off with a series of bombshells that wouldn't release its grip of the mainstream media. Canadians first learned of Patrick Brazeau's alleged abuse of his housing allowance. Next, came PEI Senator Mike Duffy. Pamela Wallin was then implicated within her own financial misuse scandals. And so was Mac Harb. While Brazeau made the initial headlines, Duffy stole the spotlight that today sits awkwardly in Stephen Harper's own office. To try to summarize the scandal would take a while - there are a lot of details. Conservatives praised Duffy when he returned his over-expenditures but when CTV news broke the reality of a $90,000 cheque from former Chief of Staff Nigel Wright, narratives turned quickly. An honorable man soon became a disgrace who then became the Harper government's worst nightmare. Releasing statements, documents and a paper-trail, the RCMP got involved and are combing their way into the PMO which reluctantly is hiding from the public. Harper's contradictory tale of events doesn't help the matter, and in a government branded off his name, any and every mistake stops at his feet - especially when it's something he campaigned on vigorously in 2006. The questions Harper once asked of former Prime Minister Paul Martin during the sponsorship scandal can now be applied to him and that is actively tarnishing the Conservative brand of responsible and accountable government.<br />
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<h3>
<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/stephen-harper-on-integrity-duffy-affair.html" target="_blank">Stephen Harper on Integrity: The Duffy Affair</a></h3>
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What started as a $90,172 claim of inappropriate expenses seen as an outrage as part of abusive senate behavior quickly escalated to a scandal with many more questions than answers. Get up to date with the full timeline.<br />
<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/stephen-harper-on-integrity-duffy-affair.html"><span style="color: blue;">Read more</span></a><br />
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<h2>
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau</h2>
<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/justin-trudeau-takes-liberal-helm.html" target="_blank">With 80.1% of the party's internal votes from members and supporters,<span style="color: blue;"> Justin Trudeau became the new leader of the Liberal Party</span>.</a> Since 2006, the Liberals have changed hands a good number of times. Until Stephane Dion lead the party to their 2008 defeat, Bill Graham served as interim. When Stephane Dion stepped down as leader of the party, Michael Ignatieff took over and lost the 2011 election. Until April 14, Bob Rae served as the Liberal Party's interim leader in their quest to rebuild.<br />
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Trudeau's<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/conservatives-are-in-way-over-their.html" target="_blank"> first day on the job was met with a <span style="color: blue;">series of Conservative smear campaigns</span></a> which surprisingly backfired. The Conservative attack machine has lost its steam and every attack to date against Trudeau has resulted in either a bump in the polls or increased funds for the Liberals.<br />
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/mackay-joins-20-conservative-mps.html" target="_blank">The Conservatives wanted to <span style="color: blue;">use taxpayers money to send 10-percenters to their riding constituents smearing Trudeau</span> but it didn't take long for 20 of their own MPs to reject such reckless spending.</a><br />
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.com/2013/06/grace-foundation-charity-refund-another.html" target="_blank">A <span style="color: blue;">stakeholder with Conservative ties created a stir over Trudeau's speaking fees</span></a> which the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/grace-foundation-never-authorized.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">tarnished Grace Foundation later denied approving the controversial letter</span>.</a><br />
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There is still another two years until Canadians are summoned back to the polls and a lot can change. Last year, the Liberals were thought to be a write-off and today they appear poised to form a strong minority government at least.<br />
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Trudeau has also received endorsements from former Canadian Prime Ministers - <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/former-tory-pm-endorses-trudeau.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">notably Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney</span>.</a><br />
<h2>
Canada Post to end home delivery</h2>
Canadians aren't taking the news well: Canada Post will end its home delivery service due to a (not yet alarming) downward trend of mail use and a deficit. All the while, CEO Deepak Chopra said his decision came with seniors 'asking him' for 'exercise and fresh air' as they would need to walk to community mailboxes to get their mail - and many can't and won't use a computer. The comments sparked outrage that exploded when the media learned of the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-post-ceo-cripples-service-to.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">mismanagement occurring within Canada Post</span></a>, including an executive structure with 22 vice-presidents, an administrative staff costing $10 million and a CEO salary of $500,000 and 33% bonus while he lays off 8,000 postmen. His lack of creativity and sense of entitlement have crippled Canada Post which ran surpluses in the past and could easily adopt the model many American companies in the field currently use for the future of mail - parcels and the fruit of online shopping.<br />
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CETA Free Trade Agreement a Go</h2>
The Conservatives have achieved their coveted and promised free trade agreement with Europe. While it was a triumph for the government, the headlines remained saturated with the ongoing senate-PMO scandal as the Conservative government that won on accountability was struck down by its own failed actions to cover up an affair much larger than initially thought. The agreement will vastly open European markets to Canadian exports,<span style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=973" target="_blank">removing 99% of tariffs between the two countries</a></span>, as a result, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/5-ways-the-canada-eu-trade-deal-will-impact-canadians-1.2125510" target="_blank">Canadians could benefit from <span style="color: blue;">lower prices on a variety of goods</span> ranging from food to cars if the retailers and European manufacturers don't swallow the equivalent of the tariff elimination. The agreement would mean more Canadian meats would enter European markets and the Conservative government said it would support dairy products as European cheese enters our market. There would also be competition in the pharmaceutical markets and telecommunications will get up to speed with Europe's standards.</a><br />
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As a result, the agreement is estimated to make 30,000 jobs in Ontario and numerous more across the country and would also lead to new revenues for the federal government.<br />
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The Conservatives should celebrate their trade deal and the new funds it will pump into the Canadian economy.<br />
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Big Brother keeps creeping in</h2>
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The Conservatives are obsessed with big brother. Fixated on watching individuals actions online and intent on allowing police to act without a warrant are just a start. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/09/harper-government-jacked-up-foreign.html" target="_blank">The <span style="color: blue;">legislation is coming back in a diluted form as anti-cyber-bulling policy</span> which trumps common sense and leaves the door open for some of the draconian measures to be added in the future.</a> <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-rolled-out-red-carpet-for.html" target="_blank">If this isn't bad enough, the NSA has been spying on its own citizens, allies and Canadians alike and the <span style="color: blue;">Harper government rolled out the red carpet and set up their spying headquarters during the G8 summit</span>.</a></div>
<h2>
Electoral Fraud</h2>
Former Conservative MP Peter Penasue was sent packing in a spring by-election that started the test of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's momentum. However, while the Liberals swept the Atlantic riding, Harper was left with a black-mark to his reputation. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/03/penashue-accepted-28-illegal-donations.html" target="_blank">Despite knowing <span style="color: blue;">Penasue accepted 28 illegal donations</span> in the 2011 election, Harper campaigned for him - rather than doing the right thing and replacing him with a better Conservative representative.</a><br />
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Scandals based on Entitlement</h2>
<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/02/harpers-jet-to-be-repainted-for-50k.html" target="_blank">Despite a mandate of fiscal restraint, Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to spend <span style="color: blue;">$50,000 on a new paint job for his prime ministerial plane</span>. While the $50,000 is a mere blip in the scheme of Canadian finances, it is a matter of principle that should apply. When cutting services Canadian taxpayers paid for, why should they have to pay $50,000 for your plane when that $50,000 can be used elsewhere?</a><br />
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Tony Clement and Laurie Hawn got their own set of gold-embossed business card while looking for areas to cut. They both cleared up the mishap by reimbursing taxpayers excusing themselves as having "ordered in error." Neither would say when the "error" was discovered. <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/national/Goldembossed+business+cards+created+Clement+Hawn+against/9261414/story.html" target="_blank">The cards <span style="color: blue;">broke rules made by the Treasury Board made in 1994 </span>when the Liberals performed their own sweep of austerity. The rules specify the Canada coat of arms be printed in black and the only color permitted would be a small red Canadian flag above the Canada watermark.</a><br />
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A Lack of Discipline?</h2>
This spring saw a revolt from a dozen of the more radical Conservative backbenchers who were angry their caucus leader muzzled their attempts to reopen the abortion debate. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/mp-rathgeber-resigns-conservative.html" target="_blank">By the end of the squabble, former Conservative <span style="color: blue;">MP Brent Rathgeber became an independent</span> MP</a> engaging against the Conservative government in Question Period.<br />
<h2>
NDP raises eyebrows</h2>
<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/03/controversy-surrounds-mulcairs-visit-to.html" target="_blank">The NDP have came out swinging about several of the Conservatives' proposals concerning energy. Speeches made by leader <span style="color: blue;">Thomas Mulcair concerning their disapproval of the Conservative government was made in the United States</span> while the Conservatives were trying to pitch Canadian oil and caused controversy for it.</a><br />
<h2>
"The root cause of terrorism is terrorists"</h2>
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Boston was targeted by a bomber and controversy arose as CBC put Trudeau to the test. The <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/harper-uses-boston-terrorist-attack-as.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Conservatives quickly pounced on the opportunity to slam Trudeau's take</span></a> but it appears their entire attack relies on CBC's soundbite footage that is a misrepresentation of what Trudeau actually said. </div>
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At the peak of the political chaos, <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/04/conservative-mp-pierre-poilievre-root.html" target="_blank">Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre attacked Trudeau who said the root causes needed to be addressed saying<span style="color: blue;"> "the root cause of terrorism is terrorists." </span></a></div>
<h2>
Pipeline politics and the environment</h2>
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/neanderthal-canadian-conservatives.html" target="_blank">Conservative <span style="color: blue;">Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver fought world-renowned climate scientist James Hansen</span> over his opposition to Canada's oil sands development. As a result, Hansen responded calling the Conservatives "Neanderthals" in a feud that the world could see as <span style="color: blue;">Greenhouse Gas emissions hit a record 400PPM.</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/calgary-floods-act-of-god-or-proof-of.html" target="_blank">In June, one of the side-effects of global warming came back to haunt the Conservatives in their own backyard leading to <span style="color: blue;">massive flooding in Calgary</span> - also causing the delay of the Conservative convention to October. The cleanup and aid costs are noted as one of the factors leading to a larger deficit this year than last.</a></div>
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US President Barack Obama has said he will reject any pipeline projects that increase greenhouse emissions.</div>
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A piece of good news for the Conservatives entails a <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/northern-gateway-pipeline-now-awaits.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">conditional approval for the Embridge Gateway pipeline</span> from the panel researching the project, that would get Canadian oil to Asian markets.</a> Environmentalists are concerned of the environmental impact and the conditions include the necessity to create and research plans on dealing with the worst case scenario. The opposition disapproves of the project, but Liberal leader Justin Trudeau hinted that while he didn't think the Gateway project had clear benefits, he is inclined to support KeyStone XL.</div>
<h2>
Military</h2>
The military remains bogged down by record amounts of <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/conservative-fiscal-mismanagement-is.html" target="_blank">costly bureaucracy and botched equipment procurement. The fiscal mismanagement in the department is to blame for many of the decisions that is leaving current and former generals with a sour taste and a strong sense of objection.</a> </span>The military is perceived to be a Conservative strong-suit but the quest for budget cuts and the places to enact them are definitely causing major problems that need not be.<br />
<h2>
Party Round-up</h2>
<h4>
Liberal</h4>
The Liberals have had a great year, rebounding from the fate some pundits had placed for them last year. The Liberals still have a lot of work to do, including hammering out and properly marketing what it stands for, what its policies are and what a Liberal government will look like with Trudeau at the helm. It is clear they will have to do this eventually but the campaign is never-ending in today's political climate and Trudeau's popularity will need substance at the ballot-box or it could flop. When voters hit the booth they think of their wallets, their quality of living and their families and if the Liberal Party doesn't clearly address these areas, they will once again see poor results.<br />
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Heading into 2014, the party needs to build its image among the electorate in a more refined way that it has thus far, playing off the strengths and charisma Trudeau has to offer. However, there are two things the Liberals really need to do: 1. Take back the title of the economy and remind Canadians of the $13 billion surplus they left behind, the regulations they enforced that prevented a banking sector crash, the fact that they lowered taxes in the process and as a bit of a side-note, that the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney introduced the 7% GST. 2. Their policies should be heavily weighted on the economy - a big red-book with plenty of spending and social promises won't beat a small blue-book with tax cuts and bare-bones.<br />
<h4>
Conservative</h4>
The Conservatives have had a terrible year, their few achievements have been overlooked by their big scandal and to wrap up the year, it turns out their economic propaganda is nothing but half-truths. The Conservatives have dealt with the senate scandal badly and it is eating away at their support. The one thing the Conservatives have going for them is neither opposition party has presented a credible plan to replace them and keep a "sturdy hand" on the economy. No matter what the actual performance of the Conservatives is on the economy - as long as the country doesn't descend into obvious economic chaos - which it likely won't - the Conservatives can hold onto the economy as their key area. It just so happens they're perceived as good economic managers and that is a bonus.<br />
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Heading into 2014, the party needs to get its house in order and clean up the mess looming internally. A tough-on-crime, accountable government shouldn't be hiding from its own scandal and hiding behind the words their leader once uttered of the former government in its rough days. Every party can overcome scandal with a clean slate - just look at the Liberals. It is also going to be important for the Conservatives to ensure Canadians benefit from their recovery because when Canadians doubt a recovery and the stats may or may not point to one, there is a problem that will only escalate over time. The drop in the polls is expected, the party will have been in power for 9 years come 2015, but will need fresh ideas, fresh faces and a renewed commitment to principle to get somewhere.<br />
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NDP</h4>
The NDP haven't had a great year. Their poll numbers set them back to distant third and their results in recent byelections weren't spectacular. While Thomas Mulcair has done a good job in Question Period, some of the more radical and pointed positions he's been taking - particularly around energy - have taken a hit to his credibility and have offered the Liberals a chance to shine. Mulcair also needs to look at the tactics his predecessor used because Canadians who are growing tired of the mudslinging in our discourse will see three options: 1. The Party we know that will rip you to pieces if you aren't one of their own. 2. The Party we don't recognize that will welcome you with open arms into their discourse and comes with a completely fresh new outlook. 3. The Party we don't know that will rip the Liberals to pieces just as often as the Conservatives without offering a pragmatic and clear plan. This scenario will depend on what the Liberals do to determine if its PM Harper or PM Trudeau.<br />
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Heading into 2014, the party needs to define itself. The NDP is the Official Opposition for the first time in history and many Canadians still have no clue what an NDP government would look like. The NDP also has this idealist reputation which appeals to youth and dreamers but when push comes to shove, they're the party that seems unready to govern. There is no doubt that as Environment Minister in Jean Charest's Liberal government in Quebec that Mulcair can employ his experiences to his advantage buit his message and his party's policies will determine its fate in 2015. Like the Liberals, the NDP needs to put the economy front and centre and start appealing to centrist voters - who are parked in the Conservative Party right now. Albeit, no one would expect a non-left-wing NDP, a pragmatic left-wing NDP would certainly have a better chance than its past platforms. Another thing to note: don't try to be the Liberals and don't try to impersonate the Conservatives.<br />
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How would you sum up the year? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-24525397425321899122013-12-26T06:12:00.000-05:002013-12-26T06:12:38.481-05:00Worst Job Growth in a Decade: An Economic Recovery?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Some economists are raising red flags on the topic of the economy which has been dear to the Conservatives' electoral strategy. Job creation has been the weakest in a decade for a non-recession year and the low quality of these limited jobs are cause for concern. If that isn't enough, the national deficit ticked $1.3 billion upward this year.<br />
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BMO Economist Benjamin Reitzes observed from StatsCan data earlier this month that Canada created fewer than 175,000 net jobs this year prior to December while the unemployment rate holds steady at 6.9%.<br />
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“<a href="http://www.bmonesbittburns.com/economics/amcharts/dec1013.pdf">Compared to November 2012, employment is up a meagre 1%, with both the goods and services sectors clocking in at that pace</a>,” he wrote, adding “this is hardly the stuff of a firm underlying economy.”<br />
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Last year, Canada saw average job growth of 25,400 jobs per month, but this year, the Globe and Mail reports the country only produced a little more than half that, an average of <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canadian-employers-expect-to-continue-hiring-in-coming-quarter/article15827413/" target="_blank">13,400</a> jobs per month - well below the estimated <a href="http://api.viglink.com/api/click?format=go&key=b057a0c538f3356fa4383d50d05abcbf&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca%2F2013%2F12%2F11%2Fjob-market-canada-2013_n_4421034.html&v=1&libId=0c551612-94ef-49e0-8fcd-d72e17289f15&out=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Freport-on-business%2Feconomy%2Feconomy-lab%2Fthe-employment-growth-is-great-too-bad-its-not-enough-for-new-job-seekers%2Farticle14840660%2F&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2F&title=Canadian%20Job%20Growth%20In%202013%20Worst%20In%20A%20Decade%2C%20Outside%20Recession&txt=estimated%2017%2C000%20jobs%20per%20month%20needed%20to%20keep%20up%20with%20population%20growth&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_138804269229113" target="_blank">17,000</a> jobs per month needed to account for population growth.<br />
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The outlook doesn't get any better when Erin Weir, an economist for the United Steelworkers, breaks down the numbers for November, noting that of the 20,000 of the 22,000 (or 91%) jobs created in November were part time.<br />
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“<a href="http://www.progressive-economics.ca/2013/12/06/part-time-do-it-yourself-job-market/">Broken down another way, 19,000 of the employment increase were people reporting themselves as self-employed</a>,” Weir writes. “Canadian employers actually hired fewer than 3,000 [net] additional employees last month.”<br />
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Left-leaning think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives estimates another 280,000 jobs need to be created to recover from the recession of 2009. They argue that 1.3 million jobs needed to be created but since the meltdown, only 1 million have been. It also noted a slight increase in temporary employment, noting that with 13.7% of Canadians in temporary jobs, Canada ranks 17th out of 28 OECD countries in this regard.<br />
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The unspectacular recovery has left BMO at a wait-and-see approach, forgetting about raising its benchmark interest rate and instead leaving it as it's been since 2010 and some economists think it could fall further. The pessimistic outlook follows the <a href="http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/balance-sheet/canada-gdp-rises-2-7-per-cent-q3-134737933.html" target="_blank">fastest GDP growth</a> in 2 years in the third quarter.<br />
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In addition, TD Bank economists note a "<a href="http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/balance-sheet/corporate-canada-slump-155115070.html" target="_blank">slump</a>" in corporate Canada, adversely affecting hiring prospects as they've posted low profits for the past year and a half.<br />
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To date, Canada's economy has relied on real estate and consumer spending.<br />
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"We are going to eventually get this rotation toward exports and business investment and away from real estate and consumer spending. We said that would happen in 2013. It didn't happen. Now we're saying it is going to start next year," TD Bank's Chief Economist Craig Alexander said.<br />
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This would lead to about 2.3% growth for 2014 after 2 years of sluggish 1.7% growth. This, while important, won't lead to a significant increase in new jobs or incomes.<br />
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Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz admitted Canada's recovery wasn't natural, meaning it isn't self-sustaining or self-generating. Strip away the stimulus measures and Canada would likely still be in recession.</div>
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"Part of the reason Canada hasn't seen the lift in capital business spending is because the rest of the world has disappointed us," CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld said.<br />
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"Interest rates have been low, financing has been available, but unless you are sure the product demand is going to be there, it's hard to trigger a boom in capital spending. So a brighter global economy could see a return in capital spending in the resource in sector, which is part of that rotation that's been missing."<br />
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While a US recovery is sparking optimism among economists, Alexander notes a more competitive manufacturing industry in the United States driven by right-to-work states, lower labor costs, lower gas costs, and a shale gas revolution are making life more difficult for Canadian exporters.<br />
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"And we've had really strong productivity growth in the U.S.," Alexander added. "So U.S. manufacturing is far more competitive than it was before and that makes it much tougher for Canadian exporters."<br />
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Joining Alexander in his pessimistic view of economic growth next year in relation to this year's sluggish results is David Madani, the chief analyst at Capital Economics who says that even if the composition of the economy is healthier, Canadians shouldn't expect any better results.</div>
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With household debt at record levels - 164% of after-tax income - and overbuild of new housing units and condos, a slowdown in the construction industry and less consumer spending should be expected. </div>
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"So you have a situation where weakness in housing and slower household consumption growth is now offsetting the improvement in exports and perhaps business investment," Madani says.</div>
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Amid the mixed review for next year's economic growth, the pessimistic forecast would see sluggish job growth on a year that is scheduled to have more austerity as federal and provincial governments attempt to balance the books, something Reitzes says hasn't helped the sluggish job numbers.<br />
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“With the federal government and most provinces still looking to balance the books, don’t expect a comeback anytime soon,” he said, adding about 51,600 public sector jobs were lost this year.<br />
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The quest to balance the books hasn't been working too well for the Conservatives this year. While not a disaster, it isn't good news to see a deficit climb $1.3 billion this year. Canada's deficit will be $13.2 billion in comparison to $11.9 billion this year. The federal government maintains that it will run a $3.7 billion surplus by 2015 - a far cry from the $13 billion surplus they inherited in 2006 from Paul Martin's Liberals.<br />
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In addition, the handling of certain federal departments such as the Department of Defense hasn't been the most prudent and an overhaul could go a long way to improving efficiency and services. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/conservative-fiscal-mismanagement-is.html" target="_blank">Fiscal mismanagement is easily to blame for some of the internal decisions infuriating current and past generals and military officials</a>. <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-post-ceo-cripples-service-to.html" target="_blank">Fiscal mismanagement is also to blame for Canada Post's short-coming leading to an end to home delivery of mail while its CEO shamelessly accepts a salary of $500,000 and a bonus of 30% while sitting on a board with 22 vice presidents.</a><br />
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The numbers, however, are clear. Canada's job growth is the worst in a decade but the government needs to downsize staff where they are not needed. However, at the same time, it is clear that more can be done to promote economic growth that doesn't restrict today's jobs to low quality temporary ones that will inevitably disappear and leave the Canadian economy in another tough spot and require the government as a crutch.<br />
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The job numbers aren't good news for the Conservatives, who would rather talk about the economy than the ongoing senate scandal. Given the results, perhaps the senate scandal will be easier to talk about if the economy is the main priority in 2015.<br />
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What do you think of Canada's job numbers this year? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
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Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-26720846773862839382013-12-22T19:44:00.000-05:002013-12-22T20:47:14.923-05:00Conservative fiscal mismanagement is crippling our military<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Canada's armed forces are being suffocated by bureaucracy and cutbacks in the equipment and training they need. The Conservatives claim to be there for our military but former officials will tell you otherwise.<br />
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A Question of Priorities and Management</h2>
Under Peter MacKay's tenure, <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-defense-department-is-still-nothing.html" target="_blank">Defense Canada inflated with bureaucrats</a> and faced some of the most humiliating realities in procurement. Now, with Rob Nicholson at the top, the defense department is facing an overhaul that fails to reverse the damage MacKay left behind.<br />
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In 2011, Retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie - now one of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's advisers - released a report advising for the cut of bureaucracy created during the war in Afghanistan. However, in contradiction to Leslie's warning, the Parliamentary Budget Office's reports for 2011-2012 show the defense department increased its bureaucracy by 29.3% - part of the government's overall 14% increase in bureaucracy.<br />
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When tasked by budget cuts and a letter sent to him from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, MacKay didn't cut this bureaucracy, he instead opted to cut military services and the trend is continuing under Nicholson - and <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/07/bureaucracy-ballooned-under-harper-at.html" target="_blank">beyond the defense department</a>.<br />
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Unsatisfied with the direction the military was undertaking, Leslie became vocal in June, saying, "The underlying premise of the 2011 report on transformation was that everything possible should be done to protect the front-line teeth."<br />
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At the time, a spokesperson for MacKay responded saying the department aimed to reduce the number of bureaucrats from 29,348 to 25,408 by the end of the 2012 fiscal year, which is a far cry from the bureaucracy reductions which took place in 1999 under the previous Liberal administration when the number of civil servants was reduced to 17,037 from 37,200 in 1990. In that past year, MacKay's department cut 1,500 workers in clerical staff at bases, gun range supervisors, radiation safety advisers, armory workers and trades helpers - people on whom the troops depend, rather than administration.<br />
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Leslie's report underlined a 57% increase in Ottawa-based administration since Harper took office in 2006 and he said "All of those folk who have received affected notices, at least the vast majority, are to be found on bases and directly support the front-line troops. And I don't see affected worker notices going out to where the vast majority of the growth has occurred since 2004, which is at the higher level headquarters."<br />
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CBC recently discovered the trend was continuing under Nicholson and officials in the military are at odds with the way the Conservatives' deep cuts are being handled - notably that rather than cutting bureaucracy, the Defense Department is cutting the operations and maintenance budget which includes training - a key tool to maintaining a modern and prepared military.<br />
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The Canada First Defense Strategy was drafted to cut the military without cutting the amount of troops - currently 68,000 nor the budget for ships and planes (which has been botched). However, that leaves cutting the necessary tools troops need, which could lead to an out-flux - it has certainly lead to an internal outcry.<br />
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Retired General Rick Hillier blasted the strategy saying "You're going to devastate the capability of the Canadian Forces" with the cuts.<br />
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"If all the other things are untouched because you don't want to reduce the number of people, because you're committed to equipment, then you're going to savage the operations and training piece of it, which means that soldiers won't train, sailors won't sail and men and women won't be in their aircraft very much."<br />
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Hillier said "The defence strategy is no longer affordable. You need to reset. You need to reshape it and you need in fact to come out with a new Canada First Defence Strategy."<br />
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The government's cuts will total $2.1 billion of the $20 billion annual budget the military receives by 2015. As a result, the largest hit are those working in maintenance and operations as they face 61% cuts, amid all the added bureaucrats that aren't being touched.</div>
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"Fewer training dollars, and less maintenance money means there's fewer platforms for people to go on an exercise with, and then at a certain point down the road, there's going to be fewer aircraft and fewer ships for the Canadian Forces to actually deploy with," said Dave Perry, a senior defence analyst with the Conference of Defence Associations Institute.</div>
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Leslie came back to the forefront Wednesday, telling CBC news, "This is fiscal mismanagement on a vast scale."<br />
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"Our transformation team, over two years ago, recommended they cut consultants and contractors, which in 2010 was at $2.77 billion per year.<br />
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"Since then DND increased spending on consultants and contractors to $3 billion a year," he told CBC News Wednesday. "This is irresponsible."</div>
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As Nicholson shrugs off this latest storm of criticism, Canada's procurement process has shown how the Conservatives are spending upwards of 10 times more on either inadequate or unnecessary equipment.</div>
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"Our government has made unprecedented investments in the Canadian Armed Forces. In fact, since 2006 we have boosted defence budgets by 27 per cent, roughly $5 billion in annual funding," Nicholson said in a statement.<br />
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"The government will continue to place priority emphasis on meeting operational requirements, training within Canada, supporting the part-time reserves, undertaking national sovereignty missions and caring for ill and injured soldiers."<br />
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Heavy armored vehicles program canceled</h2>
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Recently, a $2 billion program to acquire 108 heavy armor personnel carriers for our soldiers was canceled. The vehicles would protect our soldiers from improvised explosives and ambushes. The cut is part of the Canada First Defense Strategy which asked the military to re-evaluate its needs for such vehicles. </div>
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The Conservative plan announced in 2008 called for heavy investments in<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.89px;"> </span>fighter jets (like the failed F-35), frigates, support ships, Arctic patrol ships (which will cost 10 times their worth to design and build), and an entire family of new vehicles, including two types of trucks and three types of armored vehicles. </div>
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The new revision, given the need to cut away the national deficit which hit a record breaking high of $56 billion in 2010, will now mean revision on these contracts as part of the overhaul of the operations and maintenance budget. As a result, the army's readiness budget was cut 10% from $3.7 billion to $3.3 billion along with the aforementioned 61% cut of the operations and maintenance budget.</div>
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Industry is fuming at the changes, noting Ottawa has wasted their time and their business is needed elsewhere.</div>
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The Conservatives have botched most, if not all, of the procurement processes for new military hardware.</div>
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The F-35 fiasco</h2>
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The cost of the F-35 ballooned before<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/12/f-35-contract-is-bust-surprised.html" target="_blank"> it was shot down</a> and <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/06/emails-diplomats-military-officials.html" target="_blank">diplomats were told to keep a low tune</a>. </div>
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On July 17, 2010, Stephen Harper personally announced a $9 billion price tag to replace Canada's aging fighter jets. The cost spiraled out of control and despite a campaign promise of $16 billion for these jets, the price kept rising until the price ballooned to $25 billion and then to $45 billion in June. </div>
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The jets are used by the United States which warned they weren't the best choice they made in 2010.<br />
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Canadians learned the hard way the <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/04/mackay-admits-government-mislead-for-2.html" target="_blank">Defense Department was covering up the actual costs of the F-35 contract in April 2012</a> after over a year of rigorous debate and a Motion of Contempt on the matter which triggered the 2011 election - inevitably giving Harper his coveted majority government.</div>
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The value of Arctic icebreakers</h2>
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In May, CBC learned Canada would acquire ships similar to those used by Norway - which paid $100 million for the entire project in 2002. Experts pit design costs as 10-20% of the project. Denmark paid $105 million for its ships in 2007 and the Irish Navy is currently working on ships at the tune of $125 million. All these costs include design. Canada will pay $288 just to design its ships, and the building costs are pegged to be in the billions. </div>
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Experts with Irving shipbuilding blasted the price tag. One, who preferred to remain anonymous, said "I have no idea where you find another $200-plus million [just for the design.] That's more than the estimated value of building the ship. As a taxpayer, it doesn't make sense." Another expert said "the numbers are staggering ... There is no rhyme or reason for such a vast amount of money, especially not without clarity." This person noted a $15 million price tag for design would be acceptable. Another said the process "is going badly wrong ... [it] will be much more expensive than the F-35 acquisition. It has the potential to be an even bigger fiasco."</div>
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Then-Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose and then-Defense Minister Peter MacKay gave statements on the cots but didn't explain why <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/05/canada-to-pay-ten-times-more-than-other.html" target="_blank">Canada was paying at least ten times more than other countries for the icebreakers.</a></div>
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Ambrose said "We are implementing what's called a design and then build strategy. What that means is that we are spending more money up front on the design and production phase. That's important because we want to make sure that the shipyards, and the navy, and the coast guard, get the design correct."<br />
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MacKay's justification was the ships were being built in Canada.<br />
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Moving headquarters?</h2>
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Despite the search for $2 billion in operating costs, the Department of Defense put aside $1 billion to purchase a former Nortel Networks complex but in September it became apparent the building was riddled with eavesdropping devices and the plan is being reconsidered. Several former employees allege the company was a Chinese target for nearly a decade. When the move to Nortel was stated in 2012, the cost was only $200 million.</div>
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Nonetheless, changing headquarters would be a reckless move in a time when the government is cash-strapped and looking for cuts. Leslie once again weighed in, saying, “Spending $1 billion on a new headquarters, even if it’s state-of-the-art -- and of course, it isn’t -- is a really bad idea.” <br />
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<a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/01/department-of-national-defense-people.html" target="_blank">The Canadian Taxpayers Federation came out swinging when Canadians learned in January 2012 that the Department of Defense was renovating its current headquarters throughout June 2011. At the tune of $379,000, taxpayers paid for the Deputy Defense Minister's renovated office. An internal briefing slated the costs would "improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the deputy minister's office."</a></div>
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Derek Fildebrandt responded on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation to the renovations calling it “an incredible waste of resources."<br />
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"Department heads and leaders need to lead by example, nowhere is this more important than in the military.<br />
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It should have never been approved, especially not since we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars to move [DND] to the other end of the city... into the old Nortel buildings."</div>
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Conclusion</h2>
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The list of misuse of resources and funds in the Department of Defense goes on, including the fact <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2012/05/libya-cost-700-more-than-what-we-were.html" target="_blank">Canadians learned in May 2012 that we paid 700% more than MacKay told us when the Libya conflict arose.</a> Rather than paying $50 million for military support in the NATO effort to liberate Libya from its tyrant, Canada managed to shell out $350 million in hard economic times.<br />
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Now that the Harper government is trying to reign in spending to eliminate a deficit - they created - for political purposes in 2015, it is clear that the damage they do in the process by failing to act responsibly will harm their brand.<br />
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Leslie, who has came out swinging against Harper's mismanagement of the Department of Defense has aligned himself with Liberal leader Justin Trudeau as a military adviser. If this entails one thing, it is that a if the Liberals form a government in 2015, they will be making a clean up in National Defense - it appears they won't have much choice. The Liberals should follow Leslie's restructuring plan closely because the military is important for Canada's sovereignty and security and it shouldn't be an institution of rampant waste and mismanagement.<br />
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It is hard to imagine the NDP being in favor of this kind of mismanagement with their vocal opposition during the acquisitions but what is left to find out is what the NDP strategy for the military actually is. </div>
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The Conservatives can continue to sugarcoat their management of our armed forces. While they've given the perception of being Canada's pro-military party, putting on fancy militaristic displays and emphasizing the War of 1812, their cuts and management in the military have proven to be counter-intuitive and the forces risk losing vital hardware because the government simply can't seem to get things right.<br />
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The Conservatives preach their commitment to Canada's veterans but in the wake of their desperate search for cuts, mental health for those who have been scared by their years of service is going to be harder to access and their benefits will continue to dwindle as they face the inevitable line that the Canadian people can no longer afford them.<br />
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Do you think Conservative fiscal mismanagement is crippling our military?<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.89px;"> </span>Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
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With 209 conditions that need to be met, the joint panel reviewing the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal has given the idea a green light, leaving the final decision in the hands of the federal government.<br />
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"After weighing the evidence, we concluded that Canada and Canadians would be better off with the Enbridge Northern Gateway project," concluded the panel's roughly 500-page report.<br />
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The final document is the product of 180 days of hearings in 21 communities across British Columbia and Alberta. The federal government now has 180 days to accept or reject the proposal with the 209 attached conditions, including the development of a protection plan for marine mammals, researching the cleanup of heavy oil and conducting emergency response exercises, which cannot be changed unless they are brought to the National Energy Board.</div>
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The pipeline would cost $7.9 billion and carry bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to the BC coast where tankers will ship the bitumen to Asian markets.</div>
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Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said the pipeline wouldn't be approved unless it was safe for Canadians and the environment.</div>
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“The panel’s report represents a rigorous, open and comprehensive science-based assessment,” Oliver said in a statement.<br />
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“Now that we have received the report, we will thoroughly review it, consult with affected aboriginal groups and then make our decision. We also encourage everyone with an interest to take the time and review the report.”<br />
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While the project is recommended for federal approval, the BC government has stated its opposition unless 5 conditions are met.</div>
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<li>Passes Environmental review</li>
<li>Develop world-leading marine oil spill prevention and response strategies</li>
<li>Develop world-leading land oil spill prevention and response strategies</li>
<li>Respects First Nations treaty rights and gives them opportunities</li>
<li>BC receives a fair share of fiscal and economic benefits</li>
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Meanwhile, 130 aboriginal bands have signed a declaration against the project.</div>
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NDP leader Thomas Mulcair voiced his party's opposition to the pipeline last Wednesday.</div>
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"This is not going to be allowed to go through without a peep," Mulcair said, accusing the Conservatives of neglecting aboriginal rights.<br />
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"You can no longer impose these things from the top down. This is another era. You need social adhesion, you need to work with people. You can't just bark at them and say, 'This is going through.'"<br />
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Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said in October that while he supports the keystone XL project, he is against the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project.</div>
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"There's no question we need to get our energy resources to the Pacific. I've looked at the facts. I've looked at the resistance to it. I've looked at the politicization of it and I just don't see Northern Gateway as it stands being a viable proposal," Trudeau said.<br />
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Enbridge started negotiating with the aboriginal communities in 2005, well before the project was proposed in 2010. The federal government said it would consult aboriginal communities once the panel's report has been completed.</div>
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Approval of the project would debut construction in 2014 leading to its operation in 2018.<br />
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It is no question Canada's untapped oil-sands will be of great value in the near future as oil supply on the market continuously gets swallowed by growing demand. However, the modern world is tending toward cleaner energy in an effort to lower the overall carbon footprint and has lead to the creation of new markets. Where do you stand on the Northern Gateway pipeline? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
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Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-26039517644171652152013-12-18T18:24:00.000-05:002014-01-09T00:11:33.836-05:00Canada Post CEO cripples service to save $500K salary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is no more telling scene of <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-post-real-uncreative-mess.html" target="_blank">mismanagement than Canada Post, a crown corporation that has been mismanaging its funds, funneling it to its management's entitled salaries.</a> Its CEO, Deepak Chopra, is paid between $440,900 and $518,600 to decide that seniors want the exercise his new community mailbox plan entails. A crown corporation now expected to be going deeper in the red every year has one place to cut: the top.<br />
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Instead of being a reasonable human being and cutting his salary, the highest range for a governor in council cabinet appointments, he cut home-delivery service to urban Canadians to make Canada the first country<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span>to join the third world to embrace the idea of crippled communications and delivery. If the Americans could barely survive a financial crisis they created and still have home delivery, what's Canada's excuse? Funny enough, Harper still likes to parade at the "fact" that Canada has the best growth record of the G7...<br />
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But the reality is, mismanagement and entitlement is the theme of the Harper government, showing its ugly face in our mail and <a href="http://thecanadianpoliticalscene.blogspot.ca/2013/12/canada-post-real-uncreative-mess.html" target="_blank">hiking the price of stamps to $1 and crippling the last real relevance of the service. The worst part is the decline in letter usage is slow and the CEO nor the government are creative or smart enough to look at Amazon as a model for the future. Instead, Canadians suffer from the effects of entitlement: extreme mismanagement and incompetence. </a><br />
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Canada Post's management structure is just as ridiculous as Chopra's salary. For an organization of 70,000 workers, 8,000 of which are about to be laid off, apart from the CEO himself, there are two "group presidents" and 19 vice presidents, each with their mouths wide open, waiting for bloated handouts. The group of Canada Post's top management account for $10 million in salaries alone - not to mention the perks and bonuses they get.<br />
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Chopra told an emergency parliamentary committee looking into his changes that seniors, the hardest hit from the change in service, want the exercise and fresh air that entails from his changes. The Conservative Government may have endorsed his plan, but Liberal and NDP MPs responded angrily. NDP MP Paul Dewar started asking him about his salary, which he said was public knowledge and wouldn't change face until Dewar suggested he got a bonus of 33%.<br />
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As Canadians start to question why we must be subjected to a monopoly that so grossly misused its finances to diminish services at greater cost, Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, wonders why Canada Post should maintain its monopoly on mail service in Canada. Kelly noted the "massive letter mail rate hike" will hurt his members and its postal workers and employees have salaries that are 40% greater than the private sector - thanks to the postal workers union. Kelly raises a solid point. There is no doubt jobless Canadians would happily form a new, more efficient postal service to replace Canada Post at a fraction of the cost - it would probably perform better too!<br />
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Chopra, two years into his tenure, was unapologetic in his mismanagement of the organization, but said he will restructure the management proportionally to his downsizing of employees - but perhaps there would be no greater cost saving measure than laying off himself.<br />
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“When you look at our structure … (the management team) reflects the size and complexity of the organization. It goes through intensive scrutiny on an annual basis by the board of directors who review structure and everything that goes with it,” Chopra said.<br />
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“What I would like to do is, in the same proportion, if you look at the percentages for example, so if you’re looking at X percentage of our workforce getting readjusted, I expect the management ranks to reflect that,” he said.<br />
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There is a strong sense and era of entitlement in Ottawa and it needs to end. Canadians should not be paying for an elite few in the top ranks of public sector management to walk away with $500,000 salaries, bonuses and perks as their organizations collapse beneath them to the detriment of Canadian society. The first overhaul that's needed in Canada Post is a change in managerial staff that is willing to work at a fraction of that high-end $500,000 salary bracket. Second, employees need to accept the end of the days of entitlement, as does its union, and it needs to become reasonable with its demands of public sector money. If that isn't doable, then perhaps the private sector is the future of mail - a future that will likely cost much less than the abuse we've seen today.<br />
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It goes to show what entitlement does to services, it diminishes them to a real uncreative mess and it's Canadians who have to pay for it (whether we want to or not). Do you believe your services should be abused in such a manner? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78333282470703px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-4302929506680014892013-12-16T17:07:00.000-05:002013-12-19T00:42:30.826-05:00Canada Post: A real uncreative mess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Canada Post's decision to end home delivery to the Conservative Government's applaud actively shows how the service is a real uncreative mess - effectively ending its last opportunity to revive itself.<br />
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Canada Post has been bogged down and run by entitlement - with a union to actively defend and encourage it. The Canada Post strike two years ago in the peak of the recession asking for higher salaries amid a scarcity of stable jobs signaled the beginning of the end, demonstrating the destructive nature of entitlement.<br />
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Couple the optics of unreasonably greedy children being spoon fed with an unimaginative government with no business sense and you get a service in deficit and chaos, one that makes the unprecedented move of destroying home-delivery service and making a stamp cost $1. Last Canadians checked, Canada Post was a crown corporation and we are all stakeholders. Given this unprecedented move, Canada becomes the first country to join the third world to embrace the idea of crippled communications and delivery. If the Americans could barely survive a financial crisis they created and still have home delivery, what's Canada's excuse? Funny enough, Harper still likes to parade at the "fact" that Canada has the best growth record of the G7...<br />
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There are several solutions that could have been employed that would still get Canadians a vital service. Funny enough, when the postal workers decided to demand more the government's reason for putting them back to work was the detrimental impact the economy would bare from such a disruption in service. Today, the same people aren't lobbying against a disruption in service, they are employing a permanent disruption and if they acknowledged an adverse economic impact two years ago, what makes today any different?<br />
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However, rather than putting the postal workers' union in their place and clawing back on benefits and giving the 8,000 effected employees the choice of a pay cut - among upper management of course, the government has let the service's sense of entitlement destroy an institution that easily could be competitive today.<br />
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The Americans know what they're doing. Online retailers like Amazon are flourishing in today's economic climate and they're job is to sell and deliver. More and more Canadians, meanwhile, are joining the American chorus and joining the Amazon bandwagon as shopping online is cheaper and much more convenient. While letters may be the thing of the past, parcels aren't. A creative Canada Post would have restructured on the Amazon model, and aimed to turn a profit, rather than dismantling the last useful task it had. However, Canadians need not worry, eventually Amazon will deliver the remaining bills that are sent by mail and aren't online. Eventually, Canada Post will be gone completely and Canadians can rightfully demand their money back - especially since Amazon won't be subsidized.<br />
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So now, Canadians will be subjected to the idea of community mailboxes, a task that will be daunting in the winter. However, just imagine the littering that will take place and the idea of vandalism. We don't live in a utopia, utopias don't exist. There is no doubt these community mailboxes will soon be smashed and bashed as thieves and gangs prey on the future of mail - one that is becoming more of a parcel driven entity, rather than white or brown envelopes. One mustn't look further than their downtown to realize the new community mailboxes will serve a new lobbying point for the homeless, the preachers and those who want to cause problems. One mustn't look further than the next -40 degree day where a 10 minute walk down the street to meet an empty mailbox or a hydro bill feels like a painful eternity. At least mailmen were better for the environment, kept danger away and on cold days, they'd have their mail trucks. No one is paying me to get my mail down the street, instead I'll be expected to pay more to mail things, like those pesky tax returns - a reminder of how little the government deserves and how wasteful they actually are.<br />
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Canada Post is in a deficit because it has failed to modernize to meet today's demands. It is a reflection of the inward thinking of the governing Conservatives who have become everything they claimed they wouldn't be. Corrupt, scandal-plagued and entitled, don't need to look any further than today's Conservative Party. The Harper government has no vision, only rhetoric and loose accounting. A government with a vision and good business sense would understand that Canada Post is vital for the Canadian economy and can be the engine Amazon is in the United States. But when the Conservatives dragged the postal workers back to work two years ago on the basis of the necessity of movement in the Canadian economy, they failed to listen to the businesses that are upset today that they too will lose their mail service.<br />
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One day, Canada Post will be irrelevant, not because letters and bills will no longer exist, but because its management failed to capitalize on out of the box models and the trends that are starting to take shape today. And while letters may be becoming a thing of the past, there will still be about 9 billion in circulation this year, just rather than reaching your doorstep, they will reach a community mailbox. The trend of letter-based mail is obviously downward, but look at the actual trend: In 2008, there were 11.8 billion, in 2009 there were 10.8 billion, in 2010 there were 10.6 billion, in 2011 there were 10.1 billion and in 2012, 9.8 billion. Note that the downward trend is fairly slow. As a result, the crown corporation faced a $104 million deficit in the second quarter and predicts a $1 billion deficit by 2020. This is the time to be turning in a surplus by studying everything that Canada Post hasn't been doing. However, given Canada Post is run by management and a union that acts solely on entitlement, one shouldn't expect Canada Post to move forward because entitlement creates a real uncreative mess.<br />
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Are you satisfied with Canada Post's decision to end door-to-door mail delivery? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-59137520951160593562013-12-12T12:18:00.000-05:002013-12-12T12:18:56.281-05:00Trudeau reveals some policy stances ahead of new year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In an interview with Evan Solomon yesterday, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau revealed some of his policy stances ahead of the new year.
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The Liberal strategy up to now has been to keep the policy process quiet until the next election and focus on rebuilding its grassroots base. This means news on Liberal policy stances will be slow and vague. Recently in an interview on CBC's Power and Politics, Evan Solomon fished out some of the stances Trudeau was willing to take as curiosity continues to ensue around the new leader and renewed party.<br />
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The Arctic</h2>
The Conservatives have made a formal claim for the North Pole after years of working on establishing northern sovereignty. This is destined to lead to conflict with other nations with their eye on the prize, a region believed to be rich with oil and energy-producing resources. The notable opponent to Canada's claim is Russia who has planted a flag in the past years and is among some northern European countries also making a bid.<br />
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If Justin Trudeau were Prime Minister, his approach to claiming the arctic would be based on science. His response to Canada's ownership of the North Pole...<br />
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"I would certainly like to think so, because everyone knows that Santa Claus is Canadian. But the real issue is what do the cartographers say? What do the experts in science [say]?" Trudeau said.<br />
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He added Harper's belief that the North Pole was Canadian didn't go far enough.<br />
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"This is a UN mapping process that's been going on for 10 years … scientists need to demonstrate that we have a legitimate claim on the North Pole. Of course I want us to declare as much as we possibly can," Trudeau said.<br />
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"We need to base our decisions on science, not chest thumping."<br />
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Budget Surplus</h2>
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The Conservatives are claiming there will be a surplus before 2015, which they'll say is proof of their economic competence. The funny thing is they inherited a surplus and turned it into a deficit before the recession. When the recession struck, the deficit ballooned to the highest it's been in history, $56 billion. The Conservatives promised in 2011 that when they got their surplus, they would implement their popular income splitting tax policy that would halve the tax burdens of couples.</div>
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If Justin Trudeau were Prime Minister, this is what he would do with a budget surplus:</div>
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"I think I'd work on making sure that Canadians have opportunities to find good jobs, to grow, to gain stability in terms of pensions. The reality is that Canadians don't feel that our economy is working for us. We need to make sure that the middle class gets … the first raise in 30 years."<br />
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Trudeau finds income splitting to be "A decent idea, but it doesn't help the most vulnerable. So there's advantages in some ways, but it's not exactly the panacea that they're pretending it is."<br />
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Corporate Taxes</h2>
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The Conservatives have followed the Liberal plan to reduce corporate tax rates and continued to do so throughout the recession. As a result, Canada now has the lowest corporate tax rates among G8 nations. In 2011, the Liberals sided with the NDP to advocate for a corporate tax hike which, among other policy stances, drove Canadians to flock to the Conservatives or the NDP.</div>
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If Justin Trudeau were Prime Minister, here's how he would deal with corporate tax rates:</div>
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"I think we're pretty much where we need to be on corporate taxes. I felt that during the recession it wasn't the time to decrease further corporate taxes, but where they are right now is something OK with me."</div>
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Environmental Policy</h2>
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Canada has a black eye on environmental policy on the world stage, but none of the existing solutions have gained traction or credibility. There is no evidence that a carbon tax, a policy the Liberals once advocated (and lost a good number of support for), would reduce greenhouse gases sufficiently and not pose as a gauge on struggling Canadian families - Australia is in the process of reversing its carbon tax. Cap and trade, a solution the NDP is advocating, doesn't have much scientific merit behind it either. The Conservatives chose the regulation route, which hasn't worked and likely added unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy which is costing taxpayers dearly.</div>
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If Justin Trudeau were Prime Minister, here's how he would deal with environmental policy:</div>
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"I think we need to price carbon, there's no question about it. The way we do it needs to be based on science and not political debates and attacks, and that's why I'm drawing on experts and best practices from around the world."<br />
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Russia's Homophobic Laws</h2>
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Russia has come under international scrutiny for passing laws that make homosexuality illegal and the punishments have been severe at best. The Harper government hasn't taken a clear stand on the issue and as other countries condemn and withdraw participation in the upcoming Olympic games in Russia, Canada has done nothing...</div>
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If Justin Trudeau were Prime Minister, here's how he would deal with Russia's violation of human rights:</div>
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"My stance would be to point out that it's absolutely unacceptable that they have these hateful laws within their country that is aspiring to be a full partner around the table of nations as a pseudo-democracy. And that for me is not good enough," Trudeau said.<br />
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The law "fundamentally disrespects a significant proportion of its population," he added.<br />
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These new stances follow his existing significant stances of leaving the gun registry in its grave and supporting the keystone pipeline, among others. What do you think of Trudeau's stances up to now? Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
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Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7449891083885910406.post-62233424740170312922013-12-12T12:16:00.000-05:002013-12-12T12:16:35.814-05:00Ministers' staffers receive gag order from committee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A parliamentary committee has asked ministers' staff to sign Lifetime Confidentiality Agreements which would inhibit them from sharing information - which has been used by whistle-blowers and lead to revelations in the PMO scandal that has swallowed Conservative support across the country.<br />
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Ironically, a policy designed to prevent whistle-blowing has lead to an anonymous email spreading the contract to the media. The anonymous staffer wrote, "At a time when some parliamentarians are moving to create a more open and transparent Parliament, the [House of Commons'] Board of Internal Economy is putting measures in place to ensure parliamentary staff can't be whistle-blowers on their employers."<br />
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Some of the provisions go to the extreme of making workers disclose all gigs outside of their government jobs, maintain this order for life - even when retired, and the fact that breaching such a contract would terminate one's job without pay or notice.<br />
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"Employees may not disclose any information about their employer which is politically sensitive," the writer says.<br />
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"If a MP staff member wanted to write a book about their time working in Parliament they couldn't ... but their MP could. Talk about a double standard," the email says.<br />
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The House of Commons speaker has confirmed the leaks made by the whistle-blower.</div>
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"In the past, conflict of interest and confidentiality was dealt with in each separate [MP's] office on an ad hoc basis," spokesperson Heather Bradley said.</div>
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As a result, all staffers are going to be using this new standardized conflict of interest and confidentiality contract. </div>
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The union representing most NDP staffers has received numerous complaints about the new contract. </div>
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"Clearly, vague language like that found in Article 8 [which states that the contract survives the termination of employment, and even establishes automatic penalties in the event of a breach] is deeply worrisome," Anthony Salloum, head of this union, said.<br />
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"Many of my colleagues were asked to sign this form in order to receive their raises," he said. "It's important for us to be informed on whether we have any grounds to formally object to it."<br />
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Meanwhile, the rest of the employees who want their raises and bonuses from the taxpayer's dime have no other choice but to sign the dotted line.</div>
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While the committee that imposed the gag order may soften the terms, they do not intend to make it easier to be a whistle-blower.</div>
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NDP MP Nycole Turmel sits on this board and said that the committee's decision was made behind closed doors. The party, however, has internally faced the most heat on the new agreement.</div>
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“Right now, I know that people are reacting negatively and we’ll see what happens. I’m ready to revisit the policy with the board if we need to,” Turmel said.<br />
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Turmel thanked whistle-blowers for helping the NDP keep the government in account, but said that any changes would require all party support. For her part, she doesn't think staff should be able to be whistle-blowers without the fear of reprisal.</div>
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“For me, it’s important to protect those people. Does the (agreement) mean we won’t? I don’t think so, but we should verify,” Turmel said.<br />
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“Is there complete protection? We’d have to experiment to find out, but I do doubt it,” she added.</div>
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Turmel added that the "difficulty" is that employees are chosen by MPs or political parties.</div>
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“We can intervene for House of Commons staff, we can intervene to force employees to sign this letter, but can we go above that an impose rules on other party caucuses regarding laws or procedures? That would be — there would certainly be resistance,” she said.</div>
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As the Unionized NDP workers make a fuss, non-Unionized Conservative and Liberal workers aren't reacting. One long-time Liberal staffer said “this is nothing new.”</div>
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While NDP MP Turmel expressed neutrality to the policy, Conservative house leader Peter Van Loan said the policy was unnecessary.</div>
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“I have to confess I do not have any such arrangements with my staff, and I have not had any problems with my staff,” he said.</div>
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New staffers received this contract April 1 and those incurring a raise or change of contract may also get this new contract to sign.</div>
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Is it normal for MP staff to be expected to remain confidential with sensitive information? Of course. Does this gag order go too far? That's a question for you. Share this article and join the discussion and let us know what you think: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thecanadianpoliticalscene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/CPoliticalScene" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://plus.google.com/102155562506078136296/posts" style="color: #3366cc; line-height: 20.78px; text-decoration: none;">Google+</a>.</div>
Julianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05748787920039751350noreply@blogger.com0