Wednesday, December 29, 2010

if it is to good to be true -remember there are no free rides

Five Worst Mistakes by Work-at-Home Job Seekers
Chris Durst and Michael Haaren
In our 11 years of helping people find home-based work, we've seen job seekers make a variety of missteps (we're all entitled to a few), just as in the brick-and-mortar world. But in the work-at-home arena, there's a hitch.

Because of the prevalence of scams, when you make mistakes in your search for home-based work, the consequences can be dire. They can include high credit-card charges, ruined credit, and in the case of "money mule" scams, fines and even jail.

Here are the five worst mistakes home-based job seekers make as well as suggestions to stay safe as you look for legitimate jobs:

1. Believing that you can make a lot of money for little work. We see job seekers make this mistake again and again. "Earn $5,000 a week for just 30 minutes a day." The "job" will often involve basic administrative tasks -- data entry, envelope stuffing, rebate processing -- so the widest range of people will be drawn into the trap.

How can you protect yourself? As the cliche goes, "If it sounds too good to be true ... " Consider those high-income claims a red flag, especially when the "job offer" arrives in your inbox as spam.

2. Paying for work-at-home "kits," "systems," etc. It's all too easy to find an old list of "mystery shopping jobs" and charge desperate job seekers $49.95 for a copy. Indeed, if we had a dollar for every one of these offers we've seen, we'd be as rich as the people you see in bad work-at-home ads.

As a general rule, you shouldn't pay someone for work. They pay you to work for them. (One of the few exceptions is in the virtual call-center industry, where independent contractors are sometimes charged for training or equipment.)

3. Accepting TV work-at-home infomercials at face value. If you spend some time on the Federal Trade Commission website (FTC.gov), you'll see a number of enforcement actions involving infomercials. Why? Because like any other advertiser, con artists know that TV's a great medium for reaching the consumer.

When watching infomercials for any service or product, remember Chris & Mike's Cream-puff Rule. Everybody would like to find a "cream-puff" used car in The New York Times, but no one expects The New York Times to verify that three-digit odometer reading, or the claim that the owner is a widow who only drove the car to church on Sundays. In other words, "caveat emptor" applies to all purchases.

4. Accepting website testimonials at face value. Scammers routinely steal photos of stay-at-home moms, seniors, families -- everything but Bigfoot -- for bogus "testimonials" in their job offers. (We call these "testiphonyals." And they'd steal Bigfoot's picture, too, if they thought it would help.) The images are often taken from stock photography inventory, but they can also be stolen from blogs, corporate or consumer websites, etc.

What can you do? View all testimonials with a grain of salt, regardless of the offer. Always read the fine print (scammers often include carefully-hidden disclaimers to try to avoid FTC action). And if your intuition tells you to distrust the "happy camper" in the testimonial, you probably should.

5. Believing that the work-at-home sector is only as competitive as the brick-and-mortar world. This is a big mistake. As high unemployment persists and commutes worsen, more and more people want to work from home.

What to do? Expand your online network (work-at-home jobs are typically advertised online), don't listen to the naysayers, and upgrade your credentials at every opportunity.

--

Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Care rationing-What happens when there is no more money for public health care?

Health care rationing under way in the U.K.

It doesn't take long for the dream of socialized medicine to turn into a bureaucratic nightmare -- just look at Britain.

They're out of cash, so patients are out of luck.

The country's National Health Service needs to save more than $30 billion over the next three years, and they're going to squeeze most of that money out of seniors by denying them care.

Now, anyone who needs a hip or knee replacement or cataract surgery will have to wait at least four months instead of the usual (already too long) three weeks.

Some of these patients will literally die waiting, especially if a fragile hip or knee or poor vision leads to a deadly fall -- and that's where the real savings kick in.

It's sick -- and you ain't seen nothing yet, because a $30 billion deficit is nothing next to the massive shortfalls that ObamaCare will face right out of the gate.

We're already getting an ugly preview as state Medicaid programs slash services to make up for their own empty piggybanks. In Arizona, for example, Medicaid patients are being denied liver, lung and bone marrow transplants unless they can fund the procedures themselves.

Newsflash: If a patient's on Medicaid, he's certainly not going to be able to fund his own organ transplant.

One gravely ill patient was told to cough up $200,000 -- or the donated liver he had lined up from a dying friend would go to someone else.

He couldn't pay -- so no money, no liver.

The cruel reality is that, in this case, at least someone got the donated liver. Even if it wasn't the intended recipient, a life was ultimately saved.

But mark my words: When we're all on government-run ObamaCare programs, the time will come when donated organs and bone marrow go to waste -- because there won't be any money at all for transplants.  from Douglas Md

--

Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Thursday, December 23, 2010

net neutrality

Republicans roar 'No' to net neutrality

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Republicans in Washington Wednesday vowed to take action to strike down the Federal Communication Commission's just-passe net neutrality rules.

The FCC board, in a partisan 3-2 vote Tuesday, approved rules guaranteeing unbiased service from Internet providers. In effect, the rules say an Internet carrier cannot slow or block consumer access to Web sites that produce legal content, PC Magazine reported

Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the incoming House majority leader, said net neutrality "will hurt our economy, stifle private-sector job creation and undermine entrepreneurship and innovation of Internet-related American employers."

Other influential House members, including the incoming chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton, R-Mich., said they would throw their weight behind an effort to overturn the rules. Upton said he would "use every resource available to strike down the FCC's brazen effort to regulate the Internet."

Businesses have been divided over the issue, which Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., said was an effort to "fix something that isn't broke."

Senators also took shots at the new rules.

"The FCC is attempting to push excessive government regulation of the Internet through without congressional authority and these actions threaten the very future of the technology," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.



Copyright 2010 by United Press International


--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Be aware of predatory practises in the mortgage business

Big banks not always honourabel - Bank of America being sued
 
The lawsuits filed in Nevada and Arizona say the bank has continued to defraud mortgage holders through misinformation, making false promises, backing out of deals and fabricating reasons to deny a mortgage modification.

Bank of America spokesman Dan Frahm said the bank, already caught up in a nationwide controversy over allegedly fraudulently signed foreclosure documents, had hired more staff and conducted training on "homeownership retention initiatives," but former employees said the bank's efforts were duplicitous.

Court papers say that one former Bank of America employee said, "The main purpose of the training is to teach us how to get customers off the phone in less than 10 minutes."

Another said, "One time I complained to a supervisor that I felt I always was lying to borrowers."

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Competition Bureau -is a friend and regrowing teeth

The Competition Bureau launched a legal action against Visa Canada Corp. and MasterCard International Inc. for imposing "restrictive" rules on credit cards that cost retailers about $5-billion a year in fees, some of which is passed on to their customers, regardless of how they pay, in the form of higher prices on their merchandise.
 
The move also highlights the bureau's new aggressiveness in pursuing complaints of anti-competitive activity. Ms. Aitken, a lawyer, became commissioner last year and has already challenged controversial practices in the wireless and real-estate industries, and recently forced the Canadian Real Estate Association to allow greater competition from companies that offer lower-cost services.

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Friday, December 17, 2010

congratulations -competitively we are the best in health care delivery in Canada

 
"Ontario finishes in first place in this year's rankings, with an overall score that is similar to British Columbia's and New Brunswick's in the clear top-tier. Its wait times are shorter than the national average in most categories including orthopaedic surgery and diagnostic imaging. However, an unusually large number of Ontarians reported waiting more than one month the last time they were referred to a specialist for a new condition. Primary care and problem prevention was a particularly strong area for Ontario. For example, a comparatively large number of Ontarians report having regular access to a family doctor."

 
 
 
The annual Canada Health Consumer Index evaluates healthcare-system performance in the ten provinces from the perspective of the consumer. For the third straight year, Ontario and British Columbia finish with the top scores in the CHCI's overall rankings. Analysts from the Frontier Centre assess whether provincial healthcare systems are meeting the needs of consumers.

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Do small owners have teeth - yes -the double edged sword

In an effort to give minority shareholders some rights, a growing number of states, particularly in the northeastern United States, have passed laws allowing the holders of a significant minority of shares (usually 10 percent to 20 percent of the total outstanding) to petition a court to dissolve the corporation if the majority owners engage in "harmful and oppressive conduct" toward the minority holders. If harmful and oppressive conduct is found, the court can dissolve the corporation and put its own valuation on the corporation's assets to determine how much the 20 percent owner (and all of the other owners) will receive when the company is liquidated. Not a good thing.

In New York, the state that first adopted this law, majority conduct is harmful and oppressive when it "substantially defeats the reasonable expectations of minority shareholders," including the expectation to be actively involved in the company's management and operation. By terminating your friend's employment and kicking him off the board, you may have given him the right to ask a court to dissolve your corporation. You may have a defense, since it sounds as if you made every attempt to work things out with him and buy him out for a fair price, but you will have to talk to a local lawyer to see how strong that defense will be.

You should also look at your Shareholders' Agreement. If that agreement calls for a mandatory buyout at a below-market price of any shareholder who files a petition of judicial dissolution, you may be able to get the court to enforce that provision, allowing you to buy your friend out for the price stated in the Agreement rather than the price independently determined by the court.

If the Shareholders' Agreement does not allow you to force a buyout, you may be able to agree on a settlement where your 20 percent owner would withdraw his dissolution petition in exchange for 20 percent of your corporation's fair market value, determined via a "Three Stooges" appraisal: The corporation would appoint one appraiser, your friend would appoint another, and the two appraisers would independently value the corporation. If the two appraisers' values differ by 10 percent or less, you split the difference, and that's the agreed value. If the two values differ by more than 10 percent, the two appraisers appoint a third appraiser, who acts as arbitrator and makes the final determination. A "Three Stooges" appraisal is very time-consuming and costly, and, as the name implies, there's no guarantee the three appraisers will behave in a rational manner.

If your former friend has an unreasonable expectation about what the business is worth, then your only recourse may be to allow your corporation to be dissolved, pay your former friend 20 percent of the value determined by the court, and then form a new corporation with the remaining assets that will be owned by just you and your brother. And make sure to draft a better Shareholders' Agreement this time.

--

Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Re: We Won: Clifford Olson’s Stocking Empty

Well done on a needed change  -we will circulate this to our members . Accountability is a sweet victory for all Canadians  

On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 2:12 PM, Canadian Taxpayers Federation <updates@taxpayer.com> wrote:
Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Dear Supporter:
 
  The only reason prisoners like Clifford Olson will no longer receive low-income senior's benefits is because of your donation that make the work of the CTF possible. Thanks for your support in 2010! Our privacy policy can be viewed here.
 
Great News!  Later today Bill C-31An Act to Amend the Old Age Security Act – will receive Royal Assent and become law of the land.  As of January 1st, serial child-killer Clifford Olson and other prisoners will no longer receive taxpayer-provided benefits intended to help low-income seniors.
 
One victory is saving taxpayers up to $10-million a year; but the larger victory is once again demonstrating that citizens can make a difference.

When the CTF learned that serial child-killer Clifford Olson was collecting Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments, we got organized.  We quickly gathered 46,000 signatures and delivered them to the minister responsible on Parliament Hill.  We issued statements, conducted media interviews, and testified in support of the bill to committees of both the House of Commons and Senate.  We won!

The CTF
exists independent of government money, large corporate or union donations, without foundation grants or even a charitable tax number.
 
We are grounded solely in the moral and financial support of thousands of Canadians who believe taxpayers deserve a voice.  
 
Can you help us out with a small donation?
 
This past year we achieved victories ending the practice of MPs sending junk mail outside their ridings; Parliament opening their books to the auditor general for the first time in 20 years and stopping a private members bill C-308 that would have added billions to the EI program by requiring applicants work a mere 45 days a year to qualify for benefits. And, we came just two votes short of ending the wasteful long-gun registry.
 
In 2011 we plan to restore the National Debt Clock and tour it across Canada as we did successfully in the 1990s.  While politicians appear to be lecturing Canadians about their household debt, we think it's time they take a look at their own.  Demanding governments at all levels move toward balanced budgets will be a top CTF priority in 2011.
 
Thank-you for your support in 2010 and the very best of the holiday season to each of you and your family.
 
--Troy, Kevin, Courtenay, Shannon and the rest of the CTF team.


You are receiving this Issues and Action Update because you have either signed a CTF petition, signed-up through our home page or given a donation. If you do not wish to receive further Action Updates please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this message. Otherwise please add updates@taxpayer.com to your address book. Our privacy policy can be viewed at http://taxpayer.com/about/privacy-statement. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is Canada's leading non-partisan citizens advocacy group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government.

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--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Continuing an Important Dialogue

This highly rated non government funded Canadian Thinktank deserves our support because it moves real discussions forward by providing compellng new and tested ways and ideas to bridge the challenges faced by everyone. It is a great resource and mind jog for those that would like to move forward and breach the entrenched convention walls that are dated and no longer competitve in the new and ever changing world we live in  
 

 

Appealbanner3.jpg

 

Dear Friends:

 

Over the years, many Canadians have helped to broaden the debate of ideas on the Canadian prairies by donating to the Frontier Centre.   Support for the Centre has allowed Frontiers' policy analysts to think "outside the box" and scour the world for practical policy solutions that work.  For example, on healthcare, Frontier has moved beyond the tired Canada-U.S. comparison and examines how European countries provide universal health care—without Canada's killer wait times.

On cities and the provision of public services, Frontier looks to New Zealand and Australia where legislation requires easy-to-understand benchmarks in performance reporting. 

And there is more.

Frontier continues to lead the debate on creating more innovative aboriginal policy in Canada.  Frontier continues to aggressively promote the idea of property rights on First Nations which are now being implemented in select First Nation communities.

Many of the above challenges issue from the presence of larger and larger government. Frontier continues to show how the over sized and low performing public sectors in the "have not" provinces are connected to well intended but excessive federal government transfers. Frontier continues to promote "smart green" environmental policy that protects the natural environment without unnecessarily constraining economic growth or personal freedom.

If you would like to see more of what the Frontier Centre has been doing, click here

To continue this intellectual missionary work we need your help.

As we approach the end of our calendar year, I would urge you to consider a donation (tax deductible) to the Frontier Centre today; an investment in a stronger and more prosperous society.

Donate_bttn1_200p.jpg

Best regards,

Peter Holle
President




--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Re: FW: Focusing on local matters (National Post, 14 Dec 2010, Page A18)

Peter
 
Well done Bro- thank you for making an important difference at all levels of government  . Great accountability and forward planing tool . Please post the entire article on your web site and facebook .
 
Maybe we can get you to come to review results and discuss implications of the index for Brantford in the  New year as part of our City budget and renewal process. This is a positive tool that can improve our competitive performance . ( I have shared this link with our community leaders )
 
"Where mayors and councilors have taken it upon themselves to improve citizens' access to timely, reliable budget information, improvements in local-government services has followed. Fortunately, the Frontier Centre has decided to help kick-start the accountability process.

At its l ocal performance index website — www.lgpi.ca — the Centre lays out budget and efficiency indicators for scores of Canadian cities and lets voters compare their municipalities with others across the country, as well as against local averages for their province.

It's a small step toward improving local government, but a welcome one."

 
Sieg

On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 6:56 AM, Peter Holle <HolleP@fcpp.org> wrote:

We got the main editorial today!

 


To: Peter Holle; David Seymour
Subject: Focusing on local matters (National Post, 14 Dec 2010, Page A18)

 

Outstanding!  Main editorial today's Post.


Focusing on local matters

National Post
14 Dec 2010

Most Canadians pay more attention to federal and provincial politics than the municipal variety. We media do the same. That's too bad, because while provincial and federal issues — health care, crime, unemployment, the environment, stimulus spending,... read more...


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--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Taking advantage of those in need to make money -comment.

Insanity nation- an  interesting point of view

If you're not mentally ill, you're just not trying hard enough.

The shrinks have finally succeeded in slapping a label on nearly everyone, with a new government survey finding that 45 million Americans suffer from some form of mental illness, including 11 million with "serious" problems.

In all, that's 20 percent of all adults and 30 percent of the 18-25 age group.

Look, I don't need a study to know there are plenty of crazies out there... but 45 million? No way.

Shrinks have managed to turn every quirk and flaw into a disorder with drugs, twice-weekly therapy sessions, drugs, group meetings, drugs, Internet support forums and drugs.

It's the biggest scam going, with millions of Americans now caught up in an endless loop of drugs and treatments they don't need for normal, harmless conditions that don't hurt anyone.

So here's the real deal: If you've got something going on that's hurting yourself or those around you, seek help from a real doctor.

But if you think you're ill just because some shrink told you so, do yourself a favor and tell him where to stick his Diagnostic and Statistical Manual instead.

Causing the shrinks to shrink,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

--

Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Friday, December 10, 2010

Fwd: [FAIR Newsletter] OAG report on Integrity Commissioner – a devastating indictment


What is your position on this ?

FAIR   Newsletter

OAG report on Integrity Commissioner – a devastating indictment

The Auditor General, Sheila Fraser, released yesterday the results of her investigation into the the conduct of the government whistleblower watchdog, Integrity Commissioner Christiane Ouimet – an investigation that was prompted by complaints from three of Ouimet's former employees. These findings amount to a devastating indictment of the Commissioner's conduct.

Fraser concluded that the three areas of complaint were founded:

  1. that the Commissioner failed to perfom her mandated functions, showing great reluctance to accept or investigate cases, failing to establish proper procedures for handling cases, and refusing to investigate for reasons that were not supported by the available evidence
  2. that she engaged in inappropriate conduct towards her staff – that she "yelled, swore, berated, marginalized and intimidated" certain of her employees
  3. that she engaged in reprisals against employees, in one case devoting significant resources to a bogus security investigation against a former employee whom she suspected of complaining about her.

Fraser also reported separately to Treasury Board about allegations related to performance pay decisions, and referred to the Privacy Commissioner violations of the Privacy Act by Ouimet that she uncovered.

FAIR's analysis

The importance of Auditor General Sheila Fraser's thorough investigation cannot be overstated.  Over the past three years FAIR has repeatedly criticized the inadequacy of the law and the lack of results from Christiane Ouimet's office. We are pleased to see our concerns validated and to understand better why this office accomplished nothing.

It is ironic that this commissioner was a role-model for the types of behaviour that she was employed to help drive out of the public service: misconduct in the performance of her mandate; and reprisals against honest employees who objected to this.

OAG's findings lay bare at least three major failures:

  1. A failure of the whistleblower legislation. It is noteworthy that OAG soon found that it could not even conduct its limited investigation effectively under the whistleblower act and decided to proceed under the Auditor General Act instead.
  2. A failure of the appointments process. This commissioner did not suddenly turn into this type of person when appointed to this office – she had a track record which should have been examined. This is the kind of bad decision that so often results from secretive back-room deals.
  3. A failure of oversight. This appalling situation continued for more than three years before being brought to light. The first complaint to OAG was more than two years ago – yet when Ouimet appeared before parliamentary committees she essentially got a free pass. Committee members asked her few tough questions because they had no idea what was going on.

Described by some as a 'reign of terror', Ouimet's actions over the past three years have had very serious negative consequences.

The worst is that instead of deterring wrongdoers she has emboldened them, since they could quickly see that her office presented no threat to them.

And instead of protecting honest public servants from reprisals, she has terrorized her own employees and abandoned to their fate those who came to her office for help: they soon learned that the safe harbour promised to them was an illusion. There is a human tragedy behind so many of the 228 complaints that she ignored, as we know only too well from the many calls we have received from desperate whistleblowers.

Sheila Fraser's description of the lax and arbitrary manner in which cases were disposed of, and the bizarre reasons given for refusals, suggest a contempt for due process and a complete disregard for the plight of many of these truth-tellers who had been brave enough to come forward.

Some of the details revealed by the report are quite surreal. For example, Ouimet launched an investigation of an employee who had left 6 months before because she suspected (incorrectly) that he had complained about her. In the process she compiled four binders of information on him containing more than 375 pages, circulated at least 50 emails about him, and engaged at least six of her 20 staff in this task. She also attempted to get access to the personnel files of this person (and three others) from previous employers and shared confidential personal information about him with others within and outside the public service.

For those who, like us, wondered what the Commissioner was doing with her time – since her office seemed to be doing nothing – here perhaps is part of the answer.

Further revelations to come

There is a lot more information still to come out about what was going on within this office – and across the federal government.

At least two Parliamentary committees have an obligation to examine and learn from this catastrophe – Government Operations for the operational aspects, and Public Accounts for the legislative aspects. The Public Accounts committee has apparently decided already to call Mme Ouimet to appear before it on Tuesday.

We will hear in due course from the Privacy Commissioner the results of her investigation into Ouimet's actions, and the Treasury Board will be under great pressure to release the results of its investigations into allegations of improper performance pay decisions by Ouimet.

There are also the dozens of public servants who went to this office for help – submitting a total of 170 complaints of wrongdoing and 58 complaints of reprisal.  When their cases are re-examined properly there will surely be many more investigations, followed by more exposures of wrongdoing within government departments.

In addition many people who have been silent while waiting for Fraser's findings can now speak out publicly, knowing that their concerns have been vindicated. These include former PSIC employees such as Normand Desjardins (who submitted the first complaint) and Pierre Martel, the acting Commissioner who left within weeks of Ouimet's arrival.

It is noteworthy that, although FAIR has received a steady stream of calls from whistleblowers over the past three years, we never heard from any PSIC staff – until this audit was announced. Now we are in contact with several former employees – some still very fearful and insisting upon complete anonymity – who say that there is yet more more to this story that needs to be told.

Actions required

As recently as October 25, after the OAG audit was announced, President of the Treasury Board Stockwell Day assured the public of his confidence that PSIC "continues to be a safe and independent agency for public servants to bring concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace without fear of reprisals". How was he so badly briefed?

Hopefully Fraser's report will erase the government's past denials that there is a problem, and it will then become possible to have sensible discussions on the Hill about how to fix this mess.

So one of the first things that needs to happen is a frank admission by the government of the magnitude of the problem. Its much-touted "ironclad" protection for whistleblowers, the core of its Accountability Act, is a complete shambles – a bad law compounded by a bad choice of commissioner.

The Liberals also need to avoid turning this situation into a purely partisan debate, since their track record is no better: after promising during their successful 1993 election campaign to clean up government and protect whistleblowers, they reneged and even blocked several private members bills. Only when forced into a corner by the Gomery Inquiry did they introduce legislation – a pitifully inadequate bill that never came into force.

Minister Day's statement today – that he 'assumes' the acting Commissioner will now review all the old files – raises serious concerns.

The current acting Commissioner Joe Friday was Ouimet's long-standing senior legal counsel. In this role he was responsible for reviewing all cases and providing guidance to the Commissioner regarding the legal basis for her decisions. Is it reasonable to expect him to review his own work?

The government must also realize that this review will be a massive task, since it involves essentially re-doing three years of work – the work that this office of more than 20 people was supposed to be doing. This will require an entire team of people, who must not only be competent, but must also be independent of those who did the original work.

Going forward, we see at three major processes that need to be initiated:

  1. The search for a new Commissioner – this time using a public, merit-based appointment process, not the type of secretive back-room process that led to Mme Ouimet's selection and the glowing endorsement of her as the ideal candidate.
  2. A root-and-branch reform of the current deeply-flawed legislation, which was condemned by FAIR and many others even before it came into force. This law creates so many barriers and pitfalls for whistleblowers that most will fare just as badly under a new Commissioner, whose hands will be tied until the law is rewritten.
  3. A complete, thorough and independent re-examination of all the past cases, and thorough investigations of wrongdoing and reprisals where warranted.

There also need to be consequences for those who perpetrated this massive obstruction of justice – and not just the Commissioner. Other senior PSIC staff who willingly collaborated in depriving whistleblowers of due process – and effectively assisted in the cover-up of suspected departmental wrongdoing – need to be disciplined.

This office was created to punish and thus deter wrongdoers, as well as to protect whistleblowers and make them whole after reprisals. These same goals must be pursued in the efforts to clean up the current fiasco. We cannot allow yet another scandal in which the wrongdoers retire in comfort while the truth-tellers have to lick their wounds and adjust to straightened circumstances.

The USA began protecting whistleblowers more than 30 years ago. The UK has had effective protection for truth-tellers for more than a decade. Even former Communist-bloc countries like Bulgaria have made important strides. Meanwhile Canada has been pretending – but doing nothing serious – for 17 years.

This government, with assistance from Mme Ouimet, has brought about a spectacular meltdown of whistleblower protection. On the issue of protecting honest employees, which is central to the entire process of transparency and accountability, we are now the laughing stock of the developed world.

Canadians deserve better.

FAIR looks forward to assisting all sincere efforts to fully understand what went wrong and to develop a way forward. We will work with the government, opposition leaders and any other interested parties to help recover from this body blow to the integrity of our democracy.

We hope that this time around the government will pay attention to the expert advice available from ourselves and others to create a system that's not just for show, but one that will work to protect the public interest.

David Hutton
Executive Director

Read the full text of the Auditor General's report (pdf)


About FAIR

Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR) promotes integrity and accountability within government by empowering employees to speak out without fear of reprisal when they encounter wrongdoing. Our aim is to support legislation and management practices that will provide effective protection for whistleblowers and hence occupational free speech in the workplace. FAIR is a registered Canadian charity.

FAIR is a volunteer-run charity with slender resources. If you feel that our work is worth supporting, please consider making a donation.

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Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Knowledge is power -how did we do ?

A easy to use  useful interactive tool that  makes comparisons easy for competitive reviews of city or community services.  Objective information , third party administered makes performance benchmarking easier

 New Web Site Graphically Presents the Finances of 130 Municipalities
As of December 3, 2010, the Frontier Centre's living database of municipal financial statistics contains graphically presented data and comparisons of municipal finances. Frontier's David Seymour explains why you cannot have it three ways at once with any business, including Crown corporations.

This is a useful tool to compare results of the communities we live in :

http://www.lgpi.ca./report/ontario/brantford/2009

As we are moving into the new council and new budget process ,maybe this information can be used to do even better . It is our community to grow and together make it prosper .



--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations  

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

A tax saving strategy that helps charities

 
In the 2000s, tax shelters evolved and donation tax shelters became the rage. Many were buy-low-donate-high schemes where you'd purchase something for one price then donate it to charity and receive a donation receipt for a much higher value. The Canada Revenue Agency isn't exactly thrilled about these.

Interestingly, not all donation tax shelters should be painted with the same brush. Some are different. Some legitimately help charities.

Recent tax saving structure There's a donation tax strategy, designed by EquiGenesis Corp. and their legal team, that is worthy of some mention. Over the past seven years since it was first introduced, it has distributed $14.7-million to charities in Canada, with significantly more expected over the next decade.

Now, before I go on, I want to emphasize that this strategy does come with tax risk. There's the likelihood that the CRA will audit the 2010 version of this strategy, and the risk that taxpayers could be reassessed.

Having said this, I like the fact that the total cash to be distributed to charities over the life of this tax structure will be greater than the donation receipts issued to the taxpayers who participate. This gives the strategy more legitimacy than many. It also helps that this strategy is fully on the taxman's radar already. It was audited by the CRA for 2005 and 2006, and was given a clean bill of health subsequent to those audits.

How it works

There are basically two phases to this tax structure. The first is that the taxpayer will make an investment in a limited partnership. The second involves a donation to charity. It's a 10-year program so that, at the end of 10 years, your investment is wound-up and you are expected to receive a cash distribution (although not guaranteed).

Specifically, the investor will borrow money to invest in a limited partnership. This will provide the investor with annual deductions on his tax return for interest costs on the debt and financing charges.

Once the investor acquires the limited partnership units, he uses those units as collateral on a second loan, and he donates those loan proceeds to charity. There is no deduction available for the interest on this second loan, but the individual investor will receive a sizable donation receipt. So the tax savings in the first year can be significant.

Part of the funds that are invested in the limited partnership are set aside and invested in a portfolio that is designed to grow over the 10-year program. At the end of 10 years, the funds in the portfolio are expected to be sufficient to pay off the loans. This is part of the risk of the structure. If that portfolio does not grow sufficiently, the investor may have to make up the difference to pay off the loans. The fact that there is some risk to the structure makes it more palatable to the taxman.

At the end of the day, the net cash in the investor's pocket from the tax savings and cash distributed in year 10 is expected to be higher than the cash outlay, with most of the tax savings coming up front in the first year.

If you can help charities and save more tax at the same time, it's worth a look. But before jumping into any tax-structured program, be sure to have a tax specialist review the program on your behalf.



--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants"  .

Sunridge Lodge  "Back to Eden" quality 24/7 care
261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford  backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -
 
Brant Positive Action Group -a positive community affirmative action group that promotes goodwill and timely cost effective creative solutions to enhance the competitive well being of Brant Brantford and Six Nations