Carpenter should resign

So what ? Having a loose cannon on council who is a proven divesive and unprincipled element reduces the effectiveness of council. Carpenter should resign . He has no integrity and that is now a proven fact. We need leaders not children handling our public affairs - PR

Carpenter broke code, so what?
Posted By MICHAEL-ALLAN MARION

City Coun. James Calnan says he will "carry on and hope for the best" after colleagues declined to punish his wardmate for violations of the code of conduct identified in an integrity commissioners' report.

"From my point of view all I ever asked for was an apology," Calnan said in an interview Monday after council voted to receive a report by commissioner Aida Gatfield.

The London-based lawyer was appointed integrity commissioner to investigate a complaint by Calnan six months ago concerning an alleged pattern of behaviour by Carpenter toward him last year.

In her report, Gatfield found that "on the balance of the probabilities" Carpenter violated sections of the city's municipal Code of Conduct with a series of coments concerning Calnan. The code prohibits "patronizing or condescending behaviour, written or verbal abuse or threats."

She said council could formally reprimand Carpenter or suspend his council pay for up to 90 days, but she made no recommendation.

Councillors chose to do neither. With almost no discussion, they voted to receive the report and release it to the public.


They quickly adjourned the meeting and all, including Carpenter, left the room with only Calnan remaining with reporters.

"In the absence of an apology from my wardmate, I'll just have to carry on and hope for the best," he told reporters.

"It's very clear that I have had had a less than cordial relationship with my wardmate," Calnan p>He noted that he filed his complaint against Carpenter "as a last resort."

Although no action is being taken, "we now have a report that has resulted in a change of behaviour," Calnan added.

Carpenter declined to comment on the report or council's decision.

Gatfield investigated a series of incidents and comments dating back to 1996. At the time, Calnan wasn't on council but he said the incidents displayed a pattern of unprofessional behaviour by Carpenter.

In an interview with Gatfield, Calnan presented news clippings from an incident in 1996 in which it is alleged that Carpenter attacked a fellow councillor. She ruled that incident was so long ago that she considered it staledated.

She also dismissed another incident during the 2003 election campaign involving a dispute over signage between Carpenter, then an incumbent, and Calnan as a candidate.

But Gatfield ruled that more recent incidents in 2008 constituted breaches in sections of the code.

During a Nov. 3 closed-door meeting about how council should deal with challenges from a Six Nations Confederacy organization called the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, Calnan said he advised his colleagues to refrain from engaging in divisive behaviour.

He claimed Carpenter stated: "You are the divisive element on council," and added: "You shouldn't even be on this council."

In his interview, Carpenter denied having called Calnan "divisive," or saying that his wardmate shouldn't be on council.

But Gatfield cited testimony from some other councillors who recalled Carpenter making comments to Calnan about his fitness to sit on council.

Carpenter did agree that he did call Calnan a "backstabber" in the press. That was when Calnan began breaking publicly from council's position on the native land claims dispute, and its policy to have Mayor Mike Hancock serve as the sole spokesman on such issues.

Gatfield wrote that Carpenter agreed his comment was emotional and not respectful.

The report cites testimony from other councilors, who stated that Carpenter treats them in the same manner, making personal attacks.

In her conclusion, Gatfield said Carpenter's comments toward his wardmate were not justified, but found the context in which the comments were made to be a mitigating factor.

"The First nations issue is an emotionally charged matter," she wrote. "Council had unanimously agreed to a course of action, which the complainant subsequently publicly rejected without prior notification to council."

Although council appears to have put the complaint against Carpenter to bed, it is due to consider again in two weeks another report identifying Calnan as an information leak regarding an in-camera discussion about a document important to progress on the native land claims dispute.

In an interview, Calnan noted that his complaint took six months to investigate, while the investigation into the leak began later and took less than half the time.

He said he is still consulting legal counsel on his response.

Arbitrary Tax mistakes

This is a CBC investigative report that is disturbing and needs redress by all Canadians pr

Part 2: Tax Mistake - Couple

For 13 years now, Irvin Leroux has gone back and forth with the Canadian Government in a bitter fight over his taxes. The Canada Revenue Agency insisted he owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Irvin Leroux disagreed. So he fought ...and fought. But as the battle continued, his bill got bigger, climbing to one-million-dollars in back taxes, penalties and interest.

The story begins back in 1992. Mr. Leroux developed some land he owned in Valemount, British Columbia. He removed trees, sold the timber ... created lots for a subdivision and built an R-V park. The plan was that the business would support him and his wife, Jill Moore, in their retirement.

But the couple's never-ending fight over taxes ruined those plans. And even though the Canada Revenue Agency eventually admitted it made a mistake, the battle isn't over. Irvin Leroux and Jill Moore joined Anna Maria from Vancouver.


Listen to Part Two: Click link to hear radio interview


Part 3: Tax Mistake - Reporter

In our last half-hour, we spoke to Irvin Leroux and his wife Jill Moore. They walked us through the last 13 years of their life and their battle with the Canada Revenue Agency. It began with an audit in 1996 that found that Mr. Leroux owed $50,000 dollars. Five more audits and ten years later, the bill stood at a million dollars.

Eventually, the Canada Revenue Agency admitted it had made a mistake. But in the process, Mr. Leroux lost his business, his home and his savings. He and his wife are still fighting for compensation.

The CBC's Kathy Tomlinson has been investigating the couple's story

Bloomberg news: Market Value Falls as Seniors Unload Insurance Policies

 Life’s Market Value Falls as Seniors Unload Insurance Policies

 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=home&sid=at0p6bvmQGm4

The state of economic reality- the retired are really hurting to sell their policy at 40% discount- PR

Medical tassers -Where is the Common sense?

Where is the common Sense?
When Rules are Wrong: Border Patrol Stops AmbulancePOSTED by obserant blogger casNOVEMBER 18, 2007 AT 10:02 PM TO POLITICS, US, CANADA.cas shares news of government rules and regulations rum amuck at the US-Canada border:"An ambulance rushing a heart attack victim to Detroit from a Windsor (Ontario) hospital ill-equipped to perform life-saving surgery was stopped for secondary inspection Monday by U.S. Customs, despite the fact it carried a man fighting for his life. Rick Laporte, 49 -- who twice had been brought back to life with defibrillators -- was being rushed across the border when a U.S. border guard ignored protocol at the Detroit portion of the tunnel and forced the ambulance -- with siren and lights flashing -- to pull over."

This reminds me of a story a few months back here in Virginia where a husband was pulled over and issued a reckless driving ticket for going over 80mph. The catch: he was taking his wife, who was in labor, to the hospital. It's these people's jobs to uphold the law, but come on, have half a brain and make exceptions for special circumstances!

How do we stop this? Just like Tassers which are legal but abused by "robotic" officialsh and if used without common sense


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