Tax money - real value for the money please

You'd think that, by now, we'd have gotten over our ability to be amazed at the ways in which our federal government can waste money.

After the sponsorship scandal and the Human Resources boondoggle, the gun registry and the national defence computer fiasco we should have grown so accustomed to mismanagement that we'd just shrug and say "So what."

But then we stop and remember where the money comes from to finance all these dodgy schemes -- from your pockets and our pockets -- and we get all twitchy again and start to hyperventilate and come very close to screaming.

The most recent extravagance to catch our eye demonstrates again that when it comes to our tax dollars, the prevailing attitude is still easy come, easy go.

As the Sun's Greg Weston detailed yesterday (Not much action from feds' integrity officer), it's tough to believe we're getting value for money when we take a look at the budget and the caseload of Edward W. Keyserlingk, federal public service integrity officer.


Keyserlingk's office was established in 2001, ostensibly to give public servants a forum to report government waste and mismanagement. Good idea, right? As with most federal programs, yes, at least in theory.

Keyserlingk was recruited for the job by Jean Chretien's government and started to cost us money right away when he refused to move to Ottawa, preferring to bill taxpayers $30,000 annually in hotel and commuting expenses between Ottawa and Montreal.

Last year, the office worked on 44 files, completing 30 of them. Twelve were dismissed, leaving 18 to be tackled by the nine-member staff, with an annual budget of just over $1.4 million.

Out of that total, there were three cases where the allegations were found to have merit -- none of which could be considered as anything more than trivial.

Just a little something to keep in mind as we sign off on our 2005 federal tax returns.

Property assessment out of control

It is time that we do something about it - Unfair,unresponsive and out of control -lets do something -the home yousave may be your own.PR

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Ontario Makes Plans to Pick Up the Pieces

James Wallace
Queens Park - Tuesday, April 18, 2006

MPPs from around the province have fielded calls with increasing regularity in
recent days from disgruntled home owners, especially seniors, complaining about crippling property tax assessment hikes.

The calls have come from retired people worried about losing their homes, from
middle class families who find the tax bill on their home has become unaffordable and cottage owners worried about having to sell the property that�s been in their family for generations.

Little surprise then that MPPs from all three parties this week supported second reading of a private member�s bill by Erie-Lincoln MPP Tim Hudak to cap assessment increases."

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - $2-M questions

Did you know that everything is for sale in Ontario.

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - $2-M questions: "Canadians have a few simple questions for Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant in the wake of the deal by which Louise Russo will receive $2 million compensation from the five men responsible for shooting her in April 2004:
First: Where did they get the money? "

Editorial - Honesty on the table

After the unforgivable scandals that rocked the previous regime, there is nothing more important than restoring public trust in our federal government.

This, we hope, will be the start of a more honest era in Canadian politics. We all agree PR



winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Honesty on the table: "Honesty on the table



Tuesday was the biggest day so far in the life of this young Conservative government. It was also a memorable day for Canadians who long for an end to government corruption and the imposition of controls that will stop politicians and bureaucrats straying from the straight and narrow.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised his government's 252-page Accountability Act would 'replace the culture of entitlement that took root under the previous government with a culture of accountability.'
The act will, among other things, end secret donations to political parties, reduce the influence of lobbyists and beef up the role of the ethics commissioner.
It will also provide protection for whistleblowers and make the awarding of government grants more transparent. "

Incompetence leaving?

globeandmail.com: "Harper aims to pull a thorn from his side
GLORIA GALLOWAY
OTTAWA -- The Conservative government has found a way to dispense with the Liberal-appointed Ethics Commissioner without a vote in the House of Commons.
The proposed accountability act will eliminate the position held by Bernard Shapiro and combine it with that of the Senate Ethics Officer to create a new office -- and only those with a 'judicial or quasi-judicial' background need apply.
Mr. Shapiro has a doctorate in education and has held numerous posts in that field, including that of principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University in Montreal. But he is not a judge.
When asked at a news conference yesterday whether Mr. Shapiro's days are numbered, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the current Ethics Commissioner does not have the required qualifications."

Federal Accountability Bill

Highlights of Federal Accountability Act
Canadian Press Ottawa —

Reform financing of political parties to reduce big-money influence by banning secret donations and donations from companies, unions and associations. Also limit individual donations to $1,000.

Reduce the influence of lobbyists by toughening the Lobbyists Registration Act.

Strengthen the role of the federal Ethics Commissioner with a new Conflict of Interest Act and a new Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.

Create a parliamentary budget officer to ensure objective analysis on government finances.

Ensure government appointments are based on merit.

Create a clean, transparent process for awarding government contracts, including appointing a procurement auditor.

Provide protection and a $1,000 reward for whistleblowers who disclose government wrongdoing.

Expand access to information legislation to cover some Crown corporations, federal foundations, and agents of Parliament such as the Auditor-General.

Give the Auditor-General more power.

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Two tax cuts are better than one, Mr. Harper

The bottom line is that our taxes are way too high for the services that are delivered. Lets get some of our money back and reverse the government people inflation. Go Harper go. PR

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Two tax cuts are better than one, Mr. Harper: "Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new Conservative government came to power on a bold promise of tax cuts -- including an immediate 1% reduction in the GST. And unlike their predecessors, who famously promised to scrap the GST but never touched it in 13 years (instead becoming its biggest boosters), the Harper Tories intend to keep their promise in their first budget a few weeks from now.
Unlike the Liberal hypocrites and their supporters who preach that a GST cut is inferior to a broad-based income tax cut, we're all for cutting the GST. We're all for cutting any tax -- actually doing it, that is; not merely talking about it, or making small cuts here while raising pension premiums there, etc. "

globeandmail.com : Russo deal blasted as attempt 'to buy' better sentence

Just like any other banana republic justice is for sale in Canada- what next -politician indulgences for sale?
globeandmail.com : Russo deal blasted as attempt 'to buy' better sentence: "Attorney-General Michael Bryant refused to respond, saying he could not interfere with the plea-bargaining process.
'Until it's before open court, it would be totally inappropriate for me to speculate about what position we may or may not take.'
New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton, a former attorney-general, said any deal involving payment in return for lighter sentences would distort the principles of the justice system.
He said criminal-court judges are allowed to order restitution to victims but that this normally occurs after a verdict -- not as part of a plea bargain.
'Restitution is a good thing and Ms. Russo deserves some kind of restitution,' Mr. Hampton said, adding that any payments before a verdict 'sends all the wrong type of signals.'"

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor

And the economic terror continues with yet more excuses and
faked corncern about equal treatment for property owners . They have the power to reduce taxes but do not want to set a dangerous precedent-doing more for less -like the normal people they supposedly serving. Yawn -get a grip - understand that politicians are again white washing and feather bedding their overly comfortable nests-in anticipation of getting re-elected this fall.

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Apartment owners, tenants protest unfair city taxes

By Michael-Allan Marion, expositor staff
Local News - Thursday, April 06, 2006 @ 01:00

Responding to rising ire from apartment building owners and tenants over having to pay much higher property taxes than homeowners, city council is trimming another scheduled tax hike it was about to hand them.

The committee of whole listened this week to an hour�s worth of presentations from a succession of apartment owners with tenants in tow. They were calling for council to institute a longterm plan that will gradually reduce the difference between the higher multi-residential tax rate and the lower residential rate to parity.

After years of uneven increases, the multi-residential tax rate had by 2005 outpaced the residential rate by a ratio of 2.4 to 1.

Even before this week�s meeting, Mayor Mike Hancock and council members were already feeling the heat over higher business taxes from apartment owners and the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant."

No bubble in Canadian house prices

No bubble in Canadian house prices: "Jacqueline Thorpe, Financial Post
Published: Thursday, April 06, 2006
The U.S. housing market may be rolling over but virtually all Canadian cities remain undervalued and could see annual price increases of 4.2% on average through 2010, a new study from Merrill Lynch says.
The study runs contrary to current wisdom that Canada's housing market is boiling over. For example, despite the oil boom, house prices in Calgary are 16% undervalued compared with average historical valuations. Ottawa's market is 13% undervalued, Halifax 12% and Toronto 17%. Merrill found only Victoria to be overvalued."

Ethanol industry touted as cure

Will this make a difference?



THE NEW SESSION: FARMERS TAKE STOCK
Ethanol industry touted as cure
Gasoline with 5-per-cent renewable matter would ease farm-income crisis, Tories say
BILL CURRY
OTTAWA -- The Conservative government will soon unveil a plan to promote a domestic ethanol industry as a long-term solution to the financial troubles of Canadian farmers.
Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl said yesterday that he and Environment Minister Rona Ambrose are preparing to announce how they will implement a campaign promise to require that all gasoline be made up of at least 5 per cent renewable materials.
Mr. Strahl said his plan is to have farmers who grow corn and other crops from which ethanol is made also be involved in its production, so their incomes are not entirely based on selling low-priced crops. Those in the farm industry say that would mean a U.S.-style co-op system.
"The real answer in the long run is not government subsidies. Farmers don't want subsidies. They don't want handouts. They don't want to farm the mailboxes, as they say," said Mr. Strahl, who was responding to a rally on Parliament Hill by a few thousand farmers who blocked traffic for most of the day with their tractors and transport trucks.
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"The solutions that we will bring forward in the days ahead will continue to develop programming and strategies that are going to address things like access to capital and getting farmers more involved in the production chain so they can get more value out of it."
The farmers said it makes little difference whether their crops are sold as food or to produce gas as long as they continue to lose money each year because they cannot compete with U.S. farms. Some farm groups blame U.S. and European farm subsidies for driving down the prices for agricultural products to historic lows. Canadian egg and dairy producers are also protected from foreign competition by the government.
Bob Friesen, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, held a news conference yesterday with other farming leaders, who painted a picture of a shrinking Canadian farm industry where credit-card debts are dividing families and forcing them to sell their farms.
Mr. Friesen said farmers need more than $6-billion to stay in business. Ottawa has promised $2.5-billion over five years, but the farmers say it is not clear whether it is above, or instead of, the billions of dollars in emergency funds received in the past two years.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded yesterday to Liberal members of Parliament who urged him to commit more money for farmers.
"In the last [election] campaign, we did commit to increase -- significantly increase -- agricultural funding. We intend to follow through on those commitments. It's a little late for the Liberals to now say they'd like to increase agricultural funding. They had their chance and they've left farmers with the mess we do have today," he said.
Doug Eadie of the Ontario Corn Producers said any push toward more ethanol plants will simply lead Canadian ethanol producers to buy U.S. corn, unless the subsidy issue is addressed to make it financially worthwhile for Canadian farmers.
He said there are only a handful of plants producing ethanol in Canada while the industry booms south of the border as the U.S. seeks to decrease its reliance on oil. The production boom is being tied to an energy bill signed by President George W. Bush that encourages the use of ethanol in gasoline.
The Conservatives promised during the election campaign that they would require all gasoline to be composed of 5-per-cent renewable materials by 2010. Mr. Strahl said yesterday the government will have to act soon to make sure the capacity is in place to meet that target.
"We are going to have to start aggressively this year on a biofuel strategy that will give farmers . . . the crushing plants and the other processing plants in place that should give us enough time by 2010 to meet that target.
"[For] too long they have been the lowest-cost providers, to value-added people who take the money and run, so to speak, and farmers want to be part of this and we are keen to make sure that farmers are part of the biofuel strategy."

globeandmail.com : PM pummels Grits defending Throne Speech

globeandmail.com : PM pummels Grits defending Throne Speech: "�We have a plan, we have priorities, and Canadians are with us. During the recent election we laid out our priorities and a plan for change. Canadians made it clear they support change, and they want us to act.�
He reiterated his party's plans for providing more open and accountable government, cutting the GST by one percentage point, cracking down on crime, giving parents a child care allowance of $1,200 for each child, and ensuring medically acceptable wait times.
�That's what we promised. That's what we intend to do,� he said."

Waste from your neighbour

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "City losing patience with upstream neighbours

By Michael-Allan Marion, Expositor Staff
Local News - Monday, April 03, 2006 @ 01:00

Every few months on a particularly rainy day, some little towns upstream find they just can�t hold it anymore. Like little children caught too far from a bathroom, they open the gates and let go their effluent into the Grand River.

Occasionally, the effluent is fully treated by their own plants, often it�s partially treated and sometimes not at all.

It�s not just a naughty indignity to city officials downstream in Brantford. They treat it as a threat to the municipal water supply, since Brantford gets all its drinking water from the river.

City officials have informed the Ministry of the Environment that these incidents happen far too often for their liking, and they want them stopped or at least severely curtailed.

To environmental services staff and the Grand River Spills Action Centre, each incident is called an �effluent bypass,� which usually occurs during a period of high rainfall.

Most occur during the early spring or late autumn, but they can happen at any time of year.

At a certain point, the usually older, unsophisticated sewage treatment system of a small town can�t take the amount of water coming in or the whole system would back up completely, sending raw sewage up people�s toilets, flooding their homes.

So officials release a certain amount and inform the Spills Action Centre, which in turn informs municipalities downstream so they can take action to protect themselves."

globeandmail.com : Accountability Act to be Tories' first bill

globeandmail.com : Accountability Act to be Tories' first bill: "The Accountability Act will make changes to several federal laws dealing with donations to political parties, lobbying, whistleblower protection, government contracts, appointments, internal auditing, ethics and access to information.
The proposed law will be coupled with a separate document outlining policy changes that do not require legislation. This will likely include the creation of a Parliamentary budget office and new powers for the Auditor-General.
The Conservatives promised during the campaign that the Auditor-General would be asked to audit all federal grants and contributions.
In a 2004 speech, Mr. Harper estimated such an audit would find about $18-billion in annual spending and that at least $4-billion could be trimmed over a mandate."

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Undoing the damage

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Undoing the damage: "The lefties may have taken a drubbing in the federal election, but they still want to call the shots. A coalition of activists is urging PM Stephen Harper to backtrack on a number of his priorities, including child care and closer ties with the U.S.
Oh yes, they also want to 'strengthen the CBC with stable, long-term funding.' Maude Barlow, head of the Council of Canadians, claims to 'stand on the side of the majority of Canadians on these issues.'
We beg to differ. "

globeandmail.com : Surplus touted for tax relief

globeandmail.com : Surplus touted for tax relief: "Surplus touted for tax relief
STEVEN CHASE
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
OTTAWA � Booming commodity prices are swelling Ottawa's coffers by an extra $2-billion to $3-billion annually -- an unexpected windfall that gives the minority Conservative government more room for spending or tax cuts in the spring budget.
Economists say this would give the Tories the means to preserve some of the Liberal income tax breaks they had planned to repeal this year in order to fund an election pledge to lower the GST.
The unforeseen 'revenue motherlode' being generated by lofty commodity prices should add $2-billion to federal coffers for the current fiscal year ending March 31, says Toronto-Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond."

No plan -no future except more fleecing

The Ontario record of non performance

The war on credit card fraud

The war on credit card fraud: "The war on credit card fraud Gina Teel, CanWest News Service
Published: Thursday, March 23, 2006 Article tools
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How to Protect Yourself
- Review credit bureau report annually, and immediately question any unknown credit inquiries or unauthorized accounts;
- Carefully check each monthly credit card and bank statement for any unauthorized transactions. Report these transactions to your financial institution;
- Report lost or stolen cards immediately;
- Do not reply to unsolicited e-mails or telephone calls that request personal information such as a SIN, password or bank account number;
- Shred all personal and financial information such as credit card offers, credit card/ATM receipts, and bank statements, before disposing of them;
- Protect your PIN, use your hand or body to shield your PIN when conducting transactions at a point-of-sale terminal or an ATM;
- Keep an eye on your banking card when conducting a transaction at the point-of-sale, and only allow your card to be swiped once."

saveabureaucrat.com

Outrageous - join the rest of the world - why don't you just quit! Why do you believe that you are more entitled then the rest of us? Sterling example of how Canadians are being ripped off by those that are supposed to serve them - PR

Working - canada.com network: "Work-hating bureaucrat will quit for $1 million

Chris Lackner
CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen


Wednesday, March 22, 2006



CREDIT: saveabureaucrat.com



OTTAWA -- Desperate to escape his 'unfulfilling' office job, a man claiming to be an Ottawa bureaucrat has launched a website hoping to raise $1 million to finance his early retirement.
The 'Save a Bureaucrat' campaign was launched Tuesday by an anonymous man. The site (saveabureaucrat.com) asks frustrated office workers to donate money and 'live vicariously' through the bureaucrat's dreams of freedom. If he raises the full amount, he promises to reveal his identity."

- 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.