- Give drivers a break

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Give drivers a break

In 2004, the CTF says, the federal government collected $4.25 billion in direct federal gasoline taxes, an 18% increase over what was collected 10 years earlier.

There are a couple of reasons for the federal windfall.

Item 1: In 1995, the feds hiked their gas tax from 8.5c to 10c per litre to help fight the deficit. As we keep reminding the government, it has long since been slain.

Item 2: The GST is added on to the per-litre price including federal and provincial taxes -- a tax on a tax that marches steadily upward.

Looks bad on them all

Good idea- What will it take- a private members bill? PR

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Looks bad on them all: "The way to stop floor-crossing is simple -- a law requiring any MP who renounces his or her party in between elections to resign or sit as an independent until the next election, when he or she can be judged by voters.
If politicians are serious about ending floor-crossing, which we doubt, let them pass that law instead of running to the ethics commissioner. "

Is there a PM in the house?

Is there a PM in the house?: "Is there a PM in the house?
Liberal leadership convention date to be set this weekend
* Juliet O'Neill, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, March 18, 2006 "

Buffoons in Senate are up to old tricks

When will the culture of entitlment end- now we all hope. PR
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Buffoons in Senate are up to old tricks: "Losing their grip on the reins of power is never easy for Liberals to accept, but here's a lesson that they had better learn and learn now: Harper and the Conservatives form the government of the day. They were elected to power on a platform that committed them to some very specific programs, including tax reform, financial assistance to parents, crime control and restoring faith in medicare.
Voters will render their judgment a couple of years from now as to whether or not they were on the right track. In the meantime, we can do without buffoonery by a bunch of people whose main claim to fame is Liberal party loyalty. "

globeandmail.com : Ontario's bottom line drags on rest of Canada

McGuinty is not a powerhouse PR The day of reckoning is comming!
globeandmail.com : Ontario's bottom line drags on rest of Canada: "Ontario's bottom line drags on rest of Canada"

Challenge to Catholics

So how would you make this venerated institution more relevant? PR

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - Challenge to Catholics: "Challenge to CatholicsLetter to bishops calls down Vatican dogma
By CP




TORONTO -- A Canadian Roman Catholic body representing 22,000 priests, nuns, and religious brothers has labelled the Vatican and the Canadian church outmoded on issues such as homosexuality, contraception and divorce, the Globe and Mail reported yesterday.
In a letter sent to every bishop in the country, the Canadian Religious Conference also says the church is locked more into defending church dogma rather than listening to people's search for meaning, and faults the Canadian church for its 'unconditional alignment ... with directives issued from Rome.'
The letter talks about the Vatican's and the Canadian church's intransigent stands on sexual morals, their unwelcome attitude toward homosexuals, their lack of compassion for those who divorce, their fear of dialogue with other churches and their censorship of dissenting views.
The conference, an umbrella body of 230 religious orders, acknowledges that its letter is timed to the Canadian bishops' scheduled journey to see the Pope this year.
'This is an uncommon step for us to take,' the Globe reports the letter saying. 'We take it with the firm conviction that it is absolutely essential, particularly at this time in the great history of the church. Our church has seen great suffering and is being called upon, now more than ever, to carefully discern the signs of the times.'

The letter also expresses unhappiness with priests' preaching skills and theological training, and is critical of the marginal role of women.
'MESSAGE MEANT TO BE PRIVATE'
It declares that for young people, young couples and a growing number of women, the church's 'future, its projects, it"

Mysterious death

Great 21 agencies -and not one who takes responsibility for the questionable service What poor value for money - if we hold our nose too long -we will suffacate PR

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Mysterious death: "The Traverse family says they were concerned about Lawrence's children.
'There were signs of abuse and we kept phoning (child and family services)... I kept phoning, but they didn't believe me,' said Lawrence's brother, Darryl Traverse.
'Every time I'd get her home for a visit, she had a runny nose, or a bump on her head or a bruise on her chest, or her legs, her arms,' Lawrence said. 'Since she was in care, I noticed she was bruised up. But they didn't say nothing, they said she fell on her own.'
The provincial government, which runs the Child Protection Branch -- the department which oversees Manitoba's child protection agencies -- refused to comment on Lawrence's claims. Under the Child and Family Services Act, they cannot speak about specific cases, a department spokesman said.
The Child Protection Branch also wouldn't confirm which of Manitoba's 24 child and family service agencies was handling Heaven and her siblings"

[discuss] The Canadian email tax bill 602P is a hoax, but proposals to tax publicly accessible Internet documents are not a hoax.

Be vigilant and informed - the low delivery producers are trying to get another free ride with your money PR

[discuss] The Canadian email tax bill 602P is a hoax, but proposals to tax publicly accessible Internet documents are not a hoax.

In April of 1999 a bulletin was circulating the Internet claiming that
Canada Post had convinced the federal government to add a 5 cent surcharge
on every email delivered. The claim was that since Canada Post was losing
money as people switched from them to email, that they should be
compensated. The advise of the bulletin was to write your member of
parliament.

While this was a hoax that is well documented on the Internet (just
search for "602P Canada" on any search engine), it bears a striking
resemblance to a real proposal that the government will soon be debating.
In this case it is not Canada Post that is claiming they are losing money
competing with the Internet, but traditional book publishers.

You may have heard about this proposal to levy educational use of the
public part of the Internet. If successful, this levy will be extended to
all uses. The Council of Ministers of Education have been strongly opposed
to this proposal, and have asked educators and parents to write to the
government.

working.com - Article - Job & Career Resources

The mystery of bad attitude in government solved .Vegitation sets in if you are in your existing job more then 5 years. PR
working.com - Article - Job & Career Resources: "Five years on the job?


Associated Press


Monday, March 13, 2006





How long have you held your current position? If it's longer than five years, you might need to be wary.

A company in the field of 'human capital assessment' says its research has found that the longer someone holds the same job the less likely the employee is to be friendly and supportive of others in the workplace."

Departments - By Executive Decree - Library and Archives Canada

From 10 departments to 24 departments that consume 40.5% of the GDP - have we made progress? It depends if you think you are getting value for your tax money.
Departments - By Executive Decree - Library and Archives Canada: "From 1867 to 1873, the Canadian government operated with less than ten ministries, together with a few portfolios such as postmaster general, superintendent-general of Indian Affairs and secretary of state for the provinces. In 2005, the Government of Canada administers about two dozen departments and related organizations. Contemporary departments include such high-profile units as National Defence and the Department of Finance, as well as specialized units such as Social Development Canada and Industry Canada."

'Heads should roll'

It is sad that we pay so much to get so little-what a sham. PR
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - 'Heads should roll': "The system broke down to such a degree that this little girl was not a concern of government any more when she should have been.
The question is: How systemic is this problem? If this can happen to one child, it's likely that it can happen to others. Something is seriously wrong with a system that can break down so easily.
Make no mistake, the people responsible for the death of Phoenix Sinclair are those who allegedly murdered her.
But government has to take some responsibility for failing to ensure that this helpless little girl did not get the protection she deserved.
It is unconscionable that CFS staff would not track and monitor a little girl who was so at risk that she had to be taken away from her mother at birth.
Kim Edwards, who cared for Sinclair for three years as a foster parent, said 'heads should roll' in government over this tragedy. "

Annual account surplus hits record $30.2 billion in 2005, says StatsCan - Sympatico / MSN Finance

Good news we are flowing in our money - Tax relief is in order PR
Annual account surplus hits record $30.2 billion in 2005, says StatsCan - Sympatico / MSN Finance: "Annual account surplus hits record $30.2 billion in 2005, says StatsCan
Posted 2/27/2006

OTTAWA (CP) - Statistics Canada says the country's current annual account surplus with the rest of the world reached $30.2 billion in 2005, surpassing its previous record of $29.3 billion in 2000.
And the agency says Canada's current account surplus increased $5.5 billion in the fourth quarter, reaching a new seasonally adjusted high of $13.3 billion. "

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca

You shall reap what you sowed - good summary of the Gommery findings. PR
Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "Brault pleads guilty to five sponsorship charges
CTV.ca News Staff
Jean Brault, an advertising executive who founded Groupaction Marketing, has pleaded guilty to five of six fraud-related charges against him in the sponsorship scandal.
Brault is one of three high level executives who face charges in the scandal.
Brault pleaded not guilty to the remaining charge of conspiracy and will go to trial on that charge at a later date.
Brault did not seek a plea bargain, said his lawyer, Jacques Dagenais.
'There was no bargain,'' Dagenais told the Canadian Press after the court appearance. 'As you can see the charges are all there.''
Retired bureaucrat Chuck Guite is also facing fraud and conspiracy charges for his alleged role in the scandal, as is advertising executive Paul Coffin. "

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "New look touted for city hall

By Michael-Allan Marion, expositor staff
Local News - Friday, March 03, 2006 @ 01:00

City CAO John Brown has a plan to eliminate his job.

Brown surprised members of council Thursday during one of its regular retreats when he unveiled a new model for the city's administration.

His model would replace the current one, in place since the mid-1990s, that includes a chief administrative officer and four commissioners.

In its place, there would be a city manager overseeing the administration, with three general managers each overseeing several departments and services.

The three managers would be in charge of these areas:"

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A modest step forward

Wow - an attempt to get value for taxpayer money - and in Canada you say ! PR

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A modest step forward: "And it's in keeping with his overall objectives of phasing out the business tax over time, reducing bureaucratic costs and improving front-line services.
Katz did not cut the business tax this year, and never promised to.
Instead, he put a 15% cap on increases to businesses whose assessment grew beyond that rate in 2006.
It's a reasonable solution to what was turning into an explosive situation for hundreds, maybe thousands, of businesses in the city that were facing tax increases as high as 60% to 100%.
You can't tell the business community you plan to phase out a tax and then stand idly by and watch some businesses' taxes soar.
Katz is also recommending that city council instruct the city's chief administrative officer to find savings of $4.7 million, including $2.9 million in cuts to senior and middle management.
It's a small step towards reducing bureaucratic costs and we would have preferred a bolder and more informed approach"

Minister pressed to maintain wheat board

Dual marketing -a concept whose time has come- let the producers choose PR
Minister pressed to maintain wheat board: "WINNIPEG -- Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl ventured into not-altogether-friendly territory Monday, meeting with officials from the Canadian Wheat Board - an institution whose monopoly he plans to take away.
'What I said to the wheat board's board of directors is the same thing that I've been saying publicly . . . that our campaign promise was to move toward dual marketing,' Strahl told reporters after the get-together. "

More taxpayer money misspent

CANOE -- CNEWS - Politics: More taxpayer money misspent: "OTTAWA -- Federal justice department employees have played fast and loose with travel and hospitality rules and cost taxpayers a bundle, an internal audit reveals.
The report, completed in March 2005 but just released publicly on the department's website last week, uncovered sweeping problems, including shoddy documentation, mixing personal and business trips, and flying business class instead of economy in violation of the rules. Weak control measures have left the department vulnerable to unauthorized spending, non-compliance to the rules, unjustified or fraudulent claims and excessive expenses, the report found. "

Tories inherit troubled GST computer project

Tories inherit troubled GST computer project: "The federal government has a badly tarnished record when it comes to implementing new computer systems:
-In 2003, National Defence discovered it had been defrauded of $146 million through bogus invoices related to computer systems.
-A 2003 audit found the Canadian Coast Guard had mismanaged a project to link its ships and shore stations by computer. The original budget of $7.9 million soared to $13.3 million and would likely climb even higher, the audit said.
-An internal audit last year of the military's MASIS computer project, designed to track inventory, estimated the true cost at about $325 million - far in excess of the $147 million planned in 1997. "

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Openness in the court

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Openness in the court: "We're confident all MPs will treat the review process with the respect and dignity it deserves and not turn the exercise into a 'political circus' as some have warned.
More openness and accountability in the public sector, including our judiciary, is always a good thing. We applaud it. "

Federal government posts $7.3-billion surplus

Does this mean that our taxes are too high?
How do they get away with this gauging?
Could you maybe use the money instead of some nice government mandrin!
Federal government posts $7.3-billion surplus: "Federal government posts $7.3-billion surplus"