Harper's policies lay egg with voters - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

Harper's policies lay egg with voters - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA: "Harper's policies lay egg with voters By GREG WESTON

As the Conservative government continues its relentless campaign to woo voters with their own money and many press releases, recent opinion polls suggest increasing numbers of ungrateful Canadians are instead giving Prime Minister Stephen Harper the cold shoulder."

At home, the Conservatives are in trouble even on their traditionally safe files such as law and order. Perhaps the clearest sign of desperation is the bill to kill the rifle registry, recently introduced in the Senate. It is a sure-fire vote-loser in the cities where the Liberals are gaining ground.
And therein lies what may be Harper's biggest problem of all. Ever since Michael Ignatieff became Liberal leader in the infamous bloodless coup before Christmas, the Harper brain trust has been waiting for the Grits to screw up.
Instead, Ignatieff has wisely spent his time bringing money, talent and discipline to his party, keeping a relatively low profile, and leaving Harper and Co. to get run over by the economy.
As Harper looks at what lies ahead this Easter, he may be wishing he could hippity-hop down the bunny trail and right out of Dodge.

The 60 billion doesn't seem to have much traction Now what -should they try talent and discipline? Pr

Emailing: Federal funding comes with its share of strings - Chatham Daily News - Ontario, CA

Looking a gift horse in the mouth

At this point in time, federal infrastructure funding is in pie-in-the-sky phase for Chatham-Kent, to the tune of more than $220 million. But the funding could bring with it substantial luggage.

By no means does council wish the Building Canada Fund (BCF) and the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund (ISF) to turn on the cash taps for all projects put forward after Monday's council meeting. We couldn't afford it.

That's one caveat -- projects will require a municipal funding component possibly even to the point of matching the contributions of senior levels of government dollar for dollar.

While heavy outside funding for the variety of projects -- from a new recreation complex, to sewers to bridge and road upgrades to downtown revitalization -- is appreciated, too much "stimulus" would put too much pressure on local tax dollars.

The ISF cash is only available for projects that would begin in 2009 or 2010, and be completed by the end of March in 2011. That makes for a rather tight window for any large-scale projects. From planning to completion, the window is less than two years.

Preference will also be given to projects that likely wouldn't have been done had the federal government not ridden in and doled out the cash, thus providing the feds with no shortage of white knight stories and photo ops.

While the federal government hasn't released any defining criteria for the BCF's Major Infrastructure Component -- the section for which Chatham-Kent is eligible, general parameters indicate the money is intended for big-ticket projects, with a minimum project cost of upwards of $30 million.

So municipalities must go big or go it alone at a future date.

That's some luggage. But that said, erecting a recreation complex for as little as a third of the cost to local ratepayers is very attractive. Ditto for any other project on the municipal wish list.

Since this is federal money, Chatham-Kent will be lucky to get a hit on just one o

 

Why not slice number of city councillors in half?

Why not slice number of city councillors in half?


RE: Who's looking out for the taxpayer

Mr. Philp's article and proposal of having an auditor-general is a very interesting one. In these difficult times, both private and public sectors have had hiring freezes and downsizing. While we hear of endless studies regarding committees and proposals, the city should definitely study the justification of having two councillors per ward in a city the size of Brantford. There are endless examples of larger cities that have a single councillor responsible for larger wards and a greater number of residents.

A single councillor per ward, with the mayor would equal six votes on council; in order to break a tie, the candidate with the most votes that did not get elected could be installed as an at-large member. An increase in responsibilities, pay and a part-time staffer would attract and keep the good and popular councillors and attract a new type of candidate and instil a greater sense of commitment to one's ward.

In the last five years, two ward-mates thought so little of their commitment to council that they ran (unsuccessfully) for higher office after being elected with a mandate in Ward 3. Another interesting note is the fact that in the 2006 election, the three councillors who received the most votes in the city beat their current ward-mates by an average of 1,316 votes.

Brantford residents would no longer have to call two councillors for services or concerns and city workers would no longer have to deal with two sets of phone calls or e-mails for a single problem. This would produce a more efficient council with shorter meetings, less speeches and save trees due to the decrease in paperwork.

It would also save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in the long run. Like Mr. Philp, I am not optimistic of a city council taking this seriously, but would be interested in the results of a poll or study of popular opinion on this proposal.

Jorge Gomez Brantford

An interesting assessment of improving the effectiveness of our cities spending habits. I agree with the need and am a proponent of the auditor general function as suggested by Tim Philips. The suggestion that the elected members or councillors be reduced in the name of effeciency by Mr. Gomez needs reviewing and is counter intuitive to the taxpayers interest.

The councillors are our public watchdogs, and attempt to the best of their ability and time resources to ensure that the non-elected and highly paid administrators and staff spend our money wisely and according to agreed to plans. They are our oversight group and can be removed by public vote if they are not effective. If we removed just one of the 100K club administators , we could increase this oversight group by a factor of 5, and increase the
potential public accountability factor . More eyes on the tax spending ball ,not less public eyes, seems to make sense. Pr

FCPP Publications :: Undermining Competition

FCPP Publications :: Undermining Competition: "Undermining Competition
The tax-free advantage—and unfairness—of Crown corporations in Canada

In Brief:
One of the most egregious examples of tax inequity and unfairness in Canada is the constitutional tax exempt status afforded Crown corporations, particularly those engaged in commercial activities; this affords them an unfair advantage in the marketplace over private sector competitors.
The choice by Canadian governments to not eliminate this tax inequity is reinforced by the decisions of our courts. This is to be contrasted with the approach of American courts who have not allowed such status to apply to state entities engaged in commercial activity.
Governments in Canada could eliminate this tax inequity and unfairness using legislation. A good template exists in the form of legislation passed by the British Columbia legislature in 2003 which eliminated such status for the BC Ferry Corporation.


This is a fair assessment" Imagine if you went to the trouble of starting a small business, including finding the seed money, working long hours and successfully turning a profit each year. You then, of course, paid all taxes every year and on time. Imagine then that the government excused your competitor from paying those taxes. That would violate any notions of equity, neutrality and fairness which should be the highlights of any tax regime." Lets equalize the playing field -not help inefficient producers-PR

A legal solution is readily at hand; the question is whether governments have the political will to do so." read more

Put the Breaks on Big Auto Bailouts

We are a non-partisan citizens' group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government.

Driving Taxpayers off the Cliff:NoBailouts.ca Launched to Put the Brakes on Big Auto Bailouts

As both US and Canadian governments ramp up handouts to Big Auto, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has launched an online petition at http://www.nobailouts.ca/.

In addition to the $782-million received by the big three automakers in Canada from federal and provincial governments over the past five years, GM and Chrysler will now receive an additional $4-billion in “short-term loans," $185-million to back new car warranties and a further $700-million to support the auto parts industry. Is this how politicians think we want our taxes spent?With the strong prospect of another $6-billion being readied to pour down the proverbial tank, it’s time for taxpayers to slam on the brakes. Don’t let big unions and big corporations get away with this.Your financial support allows us to slam the breaks on wasteful government spending and other issues important to taxpayers.

Public opinion polls show a majority of Canadians oppose these costly, bottomless handouts. It’s time politicians hear from the taxpayers paying the bills, and not from special interests feeding at the trough. One angry taxpayer may not be heard, but tens-of-thousands of bailout-paying citizens speaking with one voice cannot be ignored. The CTF is already leading the charge -- earning headlines from coast-to-coast in opposition to auto bailouts.

Sign our petition at http://www.nobailouts.ca/ and forward it onto everyone you know! Your friends, family and co-workers all pay taxes. Let’s get the attention of our politicians.

I agree -think about all the other things we could do with our money- PR

Information age fails among feds - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

Information age fails among feds - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA: "Drapeau feels that the 25-year history of the act is being ignored. A 40% turnover of access to information investigators, and the elimination of most of the executives in the commissioner's office, has meant a loss of corporate memory and sacrifice of invaluable experience.
Delays are the nightmare for information applicants. Among the biggest government stonewallers in providing timely information are the Department of National Defence, RCMP, Health Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Public Works and Government Services. Marleau complains about their tardiness.
In his last annual report as information commissioner (1998-2006), John Reid noted that 'the name of the game, all too often, is how to resist transparency and engage in damage control by ignoring response deadlines.'
Things are worse now than they were then. While Marleau would like to correct the obstacles, his 12 recommendations which would give him more power, would also remove him from direct contact with people and give him sole power to investigate or not to investigate a complaint -- discretionary power that could lead to abuses"

This is an important tool for accountability- it should be fast, not arbitrary and visible -Canadians should not be satisfied with excuses of why it does not work - push your MPS to get performance- PR

$100K earners double - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

This is ridiculous -have your services increased by a 100% -another first for Brantord on the negative side of the performance sheet- lets do something about it- to be continued" PR


$100K earners double
EXTRA! Local list of top pay-getters grows to nearly 300 names Posted By SUSAN GAMBLE, EXPOSITOR STAFF

Brantford blew past the provincial increase in the $100,000 Club by doubling the number of names on the list of well-paid public servants.
$100,000 club:Check out the complete local list onPage A7
This year's list of 53,572 names, culled from ministries, municipalities and provincially funded organizations across the province, is up 28% from the previous year

But, in Brantford, the number leapt to 298 names from 146 -- a 104% increase.

As usual, the man in charge of the emergency room at the Brantford General Hospital was the top earner on the city's list.
Dr. Gene Jarrell drew $404,309 in 2008. He was joined by other emergency room physicians Dr. Eric Irvine at $284,022, Dr. Anna Jocic at $260,882, Dr. Andrea Unger at $181,269 and Dr. Brian Colborne at $147,302.
Five registered nurses made the list this year, while retiring hospital president and CEO Rick Woodcock made $223,040 and his vice-president, Joseph Buller, drew a $181,959 salary.
"With nurses moving onto the list, that's definitely a change, but they're on pay grids and as you move along with experience you increase your remuneration," said BGH spokesman Gary Chalk.
For hospital managers, Chalk noted that responsibilities have dramatically increased over the last five years.
"A 40-hour work week is nonexistent and managers don't get overtime," he said. "We often find it almost impossible to use vacation time before you lose it from year to year and we're dealing with issues that are certainly significant."
Top-earner Jarrell is more than welcome to his salary, said Chalk, since he all but lives in the hospital's emergency department.

"When I'm on my deathbed, give me Gene Jarrell," said Chalk. "Many times he's responsible for 30 patients all at the same time and he takes that responsibility seriously. Combine that responsibility with his long hours and you see he earns the money."
Chalk said that Woodcock, who retired in 2008, was hired back on a contract basis until the end of 2009 to give the board more time to conduct a search for a new president. Some of Woodcock's remuneration reflects his salary, vacation bank and retirement payout.

In 2007, there were 20 workers on the list from the hospital, while last year there were 28.
City workers on the list doubled to 69 from 35.

Much of that is attributed to arbitration settlements for police officers and firefighters.
In fact, it pays to be in law and order:
There are 16 city police sergeants, inspectors and managers on the list and 28 employees with the fire department.
Police Chief Derek McElveny earned $171,040, while his deputy chief, Jeff Kellner, brought in $159,375.
At the fire department, fire chief Garth Dix earned $129,566, while his platoon chiefs made between $107,000 and $112,000.

Over at the courthouse, four provincial judges got a 15% boost with a raise to $264,368.
Crown attorney Bob Kindon's income almost hit $200,000 last year, while the assistant Crown attorneys earned between $125,000 and $161,000.

Ten OPP workers are on the list -- almost the same number as last year but with few of the same people.
Commander David Durant's $123,636 salary was surpassed by Const. Kevin York's $142,847.
Much of the burgeoning list is due to salary increases at both local boards of education.
With 33 principals joining the list for the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, their list soared to 42 from eight..

"An increase in salaries caused people to exceed the $100,000 limit," said Wally Easton, association director for the Brant Haldimand-Norfolk Catholic District School Board.
Easton said one thing that helped tip several salaries onto the list was that, through a quirk of the calendar, there were 27 pay packages in 2008 instead of the normal 26.
"The salary disclosure legislation is based on your T4 salary, not necessarily the annual salary that a person gets."
The Grand Erie District School board's list also jumped substantially, to 86 from 31, welcoming 56 principals and vice-principals to the list.
There was a substantial drop in the remuneration for the executive director of the Brant Children's Aid Society. Andrew Koster's salary was listed last year at $166,615 but dropped to $139,500.
At Laurier Brantford, new president Max Blouw earned $362,093 compared to outgoing president Robert Rosehart's $366,711 the previous year and three local faculty members moved onto the list.
Similarly, at Mohawk College, five faculty members moved onto the list.

With the establishment in Brantford of the health integration network for this area of Southern Ontario, five new positions were added to the list, including CEO Pat Mandy, earning $279,453.

At the Brantford casino, a new manager moved into place, but just three employees are on the list.

The full salary disclosure list -- which can be found at www.tinyurl.com/d494ez-- looks at all those substantially funded by the taxpayer, amounting to about a million workers.

About 6% of them make the $100,000 list.

Auditor general has lots of praise - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

We need more public oversight to get value for our money PR

Auditor general has lots of praise

Posted By GREG WESTON Posted 1 day ago

The cavernous hall in the federal conference centre was full of long faces yesterday as reporters digested the auditor general's report on government waste and ineptitude.

Sheila Fraser's latest tales from the trough are actually updated progress reports on several federal agencies outed as delinquents in previous audits.

As usual, there were a few horror stories, such as the mind-numbing perennial revelation mobsters and drug-traffickers are slipping through federal security screening and getting jobs in the most sensitive areas of Canada's airports.

But what put frowns on the faces of so many journalists pondering Fraser's handiwork earlier this week was a phenomenon we get to report all too infrequently.

A majority of the sample departments Fraser checked had significantly cleaned up their act.

The auditor general gave thumbs-up, for instance, to an overhaul at Passport Canada after the agency all but came apart at the seams two years ago.

Fraser had previously warned the agency wasn't prepared for new American security rules in 2007 that made passports mandatory to enter the U. S. by air.

Sure enough, the agency was caught with its service down when more than 500,000 Canadians applied for passports in the first month after the U. S. regulations came into effect.

The result was a Canadian traveller's nightmare of day-long lineups at the passport office, processing times of more than a month, and in many cases, cancelled vacations and other trips.

The next big rush is already starting as the U. S. prepares to extend its passport requirements to Canadians crossing the border by land or sea, starting this June.

But this time, Fraser says, the passport office seems far better prepared for the onslaught.

"We are pleased at the extensive action Passport Canada has taken to fix the problems it had, and to be better prepared this time," Fraser said this week.

She lauded the agency for having "put a lot of effort" into making life better for consumers, including an exhaustive PR campaign to encourage Canadians not to wait until the last minute to get a passport.

Fraser cautions only "time will tell" if Canadians are smart enough to heed the advice.

The auditor general also had good things to say about Indian and Northern Affairs, a department that rarely gets to the bureaucratic podium.

Fraser lauded the department for a 42% increase in transferring treaty lands owed to First Nations communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Aside from the ongoing security fiasco at the nation's airports, Fraser even had some positive things to report on national policing and intelligence.

Good thing.

The last time she checked, in 2004, border watch lists for suspected terrorists and other criminals were full of errors and omissions, and didn't even include a roster of stolen passports.

While problems remain, Fraser gives the various policing and border agencies good grades for improving the reliability of the watch lists.

Fraser's report also included two chapters from her environmental counterpart, Scott Vaughan, who gave gold stars to both the federal environment and health departments.

He said Health Canada had updated drinking water standards that had not changed in more than 15 years, and the environment department had managed to produce a meaningful air pollution index.

All of which may leave ordinary Canadians wondering why it takes a mauling by the auditor general to achieve such seemingly basic levels of service.

But for now, at least, Fraser's dearth of news for reporters was good news for taxpayers.

GST/PST harmonization hides tax grab

Ontario Budget 2009: GST/PST harmonization hides tax grab

People planning how they will spend their $1000 cheque from the provincial government will have to think twice. First not everyone gets the $1000. Families with 2 or more people, this includes single parents, will get the $1000. Single people, including those 65plus, only get $300 – and it’s spread over 3 payments.


The cut-off is $166,600 for families and $82,000 for singles – those with incomes above these amounts will not receive the transitional payments.


These payments were meant to soften the blow from the increase in Retail Sales Taxes due to the new combined tax now applying to goods and services that were not taxable provincially before harmonization. Based on government analysis of consumption patterns, people could be paying from $185 to $1000 more in sales taxes due to this change. The budget papers say that even after the $300/$1000 one time only payments have stopped, taxpayers will still be ahead but that depends on believing that businesses that stand to gain the most from this change will pass their savings through to consumers.


One huge flaw in this analysis is that some products like home heating oil- which is a major expense for most families, especially older Canadians, - is not much subject to competitive pressures.


Instead of exempting essential products like home heating fuel, the government is leaving it to taxpayers to pressure businesses to pass through their savings. Increasing sales taxes is no way to stimulate consumer spending and it in fact hurts most those who have no choice but to spend on necessities.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce [OCC] was clearly delighted with being able to convince the Province to harmonize the sales taxes, calling it the “biggest single stimulus for the Ontario economy”. At Queen’s Park after the Budget speech, CARP caught up with Len Crispino, President and CEO of the OCC and asked him how this would help the single person who only gets $300 one time only but is faced with a permanent 8% increase in their home heating costs. His answer was that the improved economy would help everybody.


CARP asked Mike Colle MPP to champion the cause of people hit with the new taxes. While he was not necessarily prepared to call for an exemption for home heating fuel, he was willing to lead the charge to encourage businesses who gain from harmonization to pass those savings along to consumers. Since he is the Chief Government Whip, perhaps he can get his caucus colleagues to echo that message as well.


CARP could not get a straight answer from anyone in the lock up about whether mutual funds would now be subject to provincial sales tax but if they are, it would be one more blow for people whose retirement savings have already been hammered.

Customer King - good news -bad news

Residents rally around ER

By TREVOR TERFLOTH, THE DAILY NEWS

The good news is that the people a thousand of them- will save their hospital and are tired of listening to the MOH -LHIN piffle.
"He didn't mince words about the lengths he was willing to go to prevent a possible ER closure.
"I'm prepared to take legal action to put an injunction against it," Gilbert said.

The chief said if the CKHA and LHIN can't manage the Wallaceburg facility, they should "give it back to people who can."

Wesley said there is a high demand for the Sydenham campus and believes it is desperately needed to take pressure off the Chatham facility. See http://www.chathamdailynews.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1499748

The bad news is that the government is going to legislate energy requirements. Smitherman the former czar of health ie the LHIN creator is now going to attempt to solve the energy challenge in the same autocratic way - ie increase taxes, build an unaccountable bureuracray , and restrict competitive market choices - teaching this challenged Czar is only possible through citizen action and those with intellect to ask the right questions and see through the propaganda and mi's -information PR 

,

-----------------------------------------------SOS

Participants in last night's forum were in no mood to answer a questionnaire about their emergency department.

More than 1,000 people attended a community meeting at Wallaceburg District Secondary School to discuss the future of the ER at the Chatham- Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) Sydenham campus.

While the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) had arranged for electronic voting technology to gather input, many in the crowd walked to the front to drop off their clicker devices.

In a report earlier this year, the Hay Group gave several recommendations, including converting Sydenham campus into an urgent-care centre.

The LHIN board is to make a decision in June.

Save Our Sydenham (SOS) chairman Jeff Wesley gave an address, as did Walpole Island Chief Joseph Gilbert, and both received a standing ovation as they entered the gymnasium.

Gilbert said he and his community fully support Wallaceburg citizens in their fight.

He didn't mince words about the lengths he was willing to go to prevent a possible ER closure.

"I'm prepared to take legal action to put an injunction against it," Gilbert said.

The chief said if the CKHA and LHIN can't manage the Wallaceburg facility, they should "give it back to people who can."

Wesley said there is a high demand for the Sydenham campus and believes it is desperately needed to take pressure off the Chatham facility.

"We are not a low-volume hospital," he said. "Quit repeating this."

Wesley said if the CKHA wants to cut costs it should begin at the administrative level.

Hospital CEO Ken Tremblay was not in attendance yesterday.

LHIN CEO Gary Switzer said he understood the emotions the community was feeling.

---------------------------------Energy

Ron Anderson, with Chatham-Kent's economic development department, said, "that's the way it has to happen. It has to become law or (companies) search the world for these products.

"It's going to help the municipality at a time it's needed, right now," he added.

Jacques Gauthier, senior vice-president and chief operating officer with Kruger Energy, sees a benefit for having domestic content rules.

"If, in fact, the government puts a little pressure on the suppliers to install some facilities here in Ontario . . . it could be savings for everybody and it's a good idea," he said.

Gauthier said a company such as Siemens has a lot of facilities in Europe, but nothing in Canada, because wind energy is a relatively new industry here.

Chatham-Kent Essex MPP Pat Hoy, who hosted Smitherman during his visit, said, "Chatham-Kent is way ahead of the wave on this and they're to be commended."

He said the minister will make the changes to require investment here which "will be to the benefit of this whole region and, indeed, Ontario."

When asked if the province has a target for the amount of wind power it wants to see developed in the province, Smitherman said a number is not being put out there because "a target is a cap in my opinion."

Instead, he said the message being sent to investors is that Ontario seeks to be "a world leader in green, renewable energy."

Smitherman said he will move forward soon with a directive that will give guidance about where investments need to occur in transmission.

"This will give us some sense of the capacity that we're seeking to create and will help to flesh out those opportunities."

The act will also see the province take a more active role in deciding where renewable energy projects can be developed in Ontario.

Smitherman said the government has noticed several municipalities have struggled with such issues as determining appropriate setbacks for wind turbines.

He said the government will create a law that provide clear guidance "so that we don't have a patchwork quilt, but we have one circumstance for all of Ontario."

The guidelines will be defined by the Ministry of the Environment that is consistent with the environmental assessment act, he added.

However, Smitherman stressed municipalities will continue to have a say on proposed projects.

"No one will be surprised that something is coming forward," he said. "Consultation with the local community will remain a very, very important ingredient before any project is given the permit to be able to build.

--
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

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

Whistleblowers: Heroes or Traitors? An excellent review of the challenges faced in Canada

http://fairwhistleblower.ca/events/2009-03-05_FLCD_presentation_transcript.html

Expropriation-a can of worms by Tim Philps

maybe there will be fishing for taxpayers dollars with that can of worms-comment PR

At city council, it seems, a councillor's fancy turns to multi-million dollar projects to rehabilitate the downtown.

At least this certainly seems to be the case when you look at plans to expropriate almost the entire south side of Colborne Street from the bridge to Grand River Hall next to the library and replace these eyesores with one or more mega-projects. As night follows day, the arguments have started at council about using public money to do this.

On the one side, you have the "Let the private sector do it all" group. These councillors feel that the city's only role is consultative or, at most, to provide assistance through some kind of grants process by giving some percentage of the cost of the project based on the total price tag.

Some councillors on this side also feel that if the city does go ahead with the expropriation, then any proponent with a project should expect no further help from the city beyond a gift of the land.

Ward 3 councillor Dan McCreary is the lead proponent of this school of thought. His wily political mind realizes that if he can get such a motion passed by council, even by a slim majority, it would require a two-thirds majority to overturn the policy. That is a much higher bar to jump over and would make it very difficult for a fractured council to change its collective mind.

Why council should reduce its flexibility is beyond me, but it seems to make sense to McCreary.

The side that has the upper hand in the council chamber, for now at least, is willing to purchase the properties at fair market value or to expropriate them if a deal cannot be struck.

This approach has the virtue of putting the land in the hands of the city and making negotiations with future developers much simpler. It also has the virtue of giving the city some say in the eventual use of the property. This gives council a very big stick to wave in negotiations with a developer when it comes to project approval.

Of course, it is also a costly avenue to pursue if a deal cannot be struck as the legal and other costs of expropriation could be considerable on top of the money actually paid for the properties.

Anyone who has watched council over the past few years will be tempted to make comparisons between this project and the Harmony Square project that consumed the last two councils with rancor, hyperbole and probably resulted in costing the seats of at least two city councillors. That project, which everyone acknowledges was a great success, was plagued by a nastiness that I have seldom seen in municipal debate.

Every stage was fought over and I have never seen tempers flare as often as during the heady days of the debate over Harmony Square. The only thing comparable that I can remember is the downtown grants debates... come to think about it... it was the same council!

Councillors against this project say that the downtown grants program, which was successful in spurring development in the core over the past few years, is the way to go rather than expropriation. It would certainly be a cheaper way to go.

While there might be some merit in their argument, I do find it interesting that some of the

same councillors who are such advocates of using a grants program on the South side of Colborne Street are the same people who argued vehemently against the grants program in

the first place. Perhaps some councillors have had a conversion on the road to Colborne Street?

The south side of Colborne Street has been the wart on the nose of downtown. It was so bad

that it stood in for an abandoned town in a horror movie. The residents of Brantford are sick of this situation and want it fixed. Most members of council heard loud and clear, during the last election, that citizens want this situation resolved sooner rather than later.

Last year might have been a better year to start this project as we are too close to the "silly season" that starts next January when councillors start their reelection campaigns.

However, you cannot turn the clock back no matter how hard we might wish to do so. This project will have to run the gauntlet of political ambition and politics over the next few years before we can be as proud of our downtown as we are of Harmony Square.

Perhaps most telling in this process is the narrow one-vote margin by which the project passed the first hurdle.

Mayor Hancock has a big job to steer this project to completion. Fortunately, he has a record of winning the votes that he needs to keep things on track.

Democracy is a very messy business and we are all going to get a little soiled before this project is complete.

Q-jumpers-The Health Myth Busters: Solution: Pilot proposal to improve the Ontario Health Care system

Q-jumpers-The Health Myth Busters: Solution: Pilot proposal to improve the Ontario Health Care system

Some solutions worth considering. What are the real costs of care? How much does it cost to stay in a public hospital- let everyone know- why the secrecy ? How much are those customers in the emergency hallway costing us per user visite or day? We need and have a right to know what our public subsidy rate is.

Food for thought Learning from the chinese

ON CHINA: RONALD REAGAN WOULD SMILE

Speaking at the People's Congress in Beijing recently, Premier Wen Jiabo made it quite clear that China intends fully to achieve 8% growth in GDP this year. Not next year; not two years hence, but this year...'09; the year of the Ox... this year.
Interestingly, Mr. Wen made it clear that not only was the government intent upon force feeding liquidity into the nation's banks, but was also prepared to make material cuts in income taxes, across the board to sponsor such growth.
Wen made it clear that the only way he can see Chinese economic growth returning to the not-so-long-ago-lost halcyon days of 9% growth almost relentlessly shall require more than simple reserve injections.
Mr. Wen said that it is his intention to turn China from an export driven society to a consumer driven one instead. He know that liquidity alone will not suffice to do what Beijing needs the economy to do; hence Mr. Wen will begin this new era of growing consumer demand by cutting corporate and personal income taxes. According to The China Daily, Mr. Wen said, in the simplest of terms, that it is Beijing's intention to spur the economy forward by "boosting domestic demand through residential tax cuts, in addition to the levy reduction for companies."
The latter has already been put into effect; the former is coming. Mr. Wen's proposed "residential" tax cuts include tax cuts on securities transactions; tax cuts on property sales; smaller taxes on exports and an end to a number of "administrative charges" on various goods and services. At a time when American law makers on the Left are debating the possibilities of taxing stock transactions, the Chinese are moving to end them!
Further, China is moving swiftly ahead with very real "infrastructure" spending. The new term here in the US is "shovel ready." Our stimulus program is manifestly un-shovel ready; in China, the shovels are already at hand and the programs are being put into effect, with workers being hired and ground being broken.
Mr. Wen has the calendar working for him too, for this year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. As is always the case, China will have myriad numbers of building programs in place to commemorate that event. Too... and this is hard for us to believe, for time passes so quickly... this is the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Uprising. Mr. Wen and Mr. Hu will want to make certain that things are on the economic mend in order to keep dissidents wrong-footed throughout the years.
This is a strange era in which we live then. We live at a time when ex-Communists are taking the more free market route toward a consumer led society. We are living in an era when Beijing reads Atlas Shrugged and Washington reads The Manchester Guardian. We are living in an era when tax cuts of all sorts are effected by Beijing, while Washington talks about and effects tax increases of all sorts. We live in an era when Beijing gets out of the way of entrepreneurs, and Washington throws rocks and rubble in their way instead.
As was said in Ecclesiastes, "To everything, turn, turn, turn..."
Good Luck and Good Trading,
Dennis Gartman

 

 

What a simple idea - Help the consumer- let those that build things, buy things -do these things by giving them more money to do so by reducing taxes and restrictions on their growth - Pass it on to the PM- PR 

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Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
New Beginnings -23 Richards Ridgetown

backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Q-jumpers-The Health Myth Busters: Happy St Patrick's day- how goes the performance accountability war?#links

Q-jumpers-The Health Myth Busters: Happy St Patrick's day- how goes the performance accountability war?#links

Council costs $400K

Your bucks stop here

Here's the 2008 pay, benefits and expenses for the 10 councillors:

WARD 1
Mark Littell: $27,362 in pay and benefits and $3,703 in expenses; total $31,064.
Jennifer Kinneman: $27,362 in pay and benefits, $3,584 in council expenses and $2,487 in AMO board expenses; total $33,442.
WARD 2
Vince Bucci: $25,822 in remuneration and benefits and $1,393 in expenses; total $27,215
John Sless: $27,362 in pay and benefits and $2,360 in expenses; total $29,722.
WARD 3
Greg Martin: $23,795 in pay and benefits and $1,531; total $25,327.
Dan McCreary: $27,362 in pay and benefits and $1,553 in expenses; total $28,914.
WARD 4
James Calnan: $26,389 in pay and benefits and $1,648 in expenses; total $28,037.
Richard Carpenter: $23,795 in pay and benefit and charged expenses of $3,877; total $27,672.
WARD 5
John Bradford: $23,001 in pay and benefits and $5,773; total $28,774.
Marguerite Ceschi-Smith: $27,362 in pay and benefits, and charged $5,140 in council expenses and $3,381 in FCM board expenses; total$35,882.

Low cost relative to the 100K club at over $6 million - the council takes the heat, gets paid the least - now if we could rool back the admin costs we would be going in the right direction PR

Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
New Beginnings -23 Richards Ridgetown

backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Happy St Patrick's Day

Enjoy your special day -my irish friends

Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
New Beginnings -23 Richards Ridgetown

backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care

Public Water Safety Record Falsified-action requested

Citizen petition for new Brantford By-Law


Let it be resolved that any individual or group who falsifies records that impact on the quality of life or safety of the public should immediately be terminated without benefits or recourse.

Citizen Watch Committee - Brant Taxpayers Coalition - March 2009

Please contact your political representative to express your views. Ask the Mayor, councillors for an accounting of the attached water reporting incident and help them make the right decision Contact information is given after the following information article .

Water treatment plant incident raises questions

The following quote is taken from Part II of the Walkerton Inquiry Report at page 5:
"While it is not possible to utterly remove all risk from a water system, the recommendations' overall goal is to ensure that Ontario's drinking water systems deliver water with a level of risk so negligible that a reasonable and informed person would feel safe drinking the water."
I read with interest and concern the report in Saturday's (March 7) Expositor concerning an incident at the Holmedale water treatment plant.
I have also read the column in Tuesday's (March 10) edition by Tim Philp under the heading "City should be ashamed of water secrecy."
The later is an understatement and should raise a number of questions in the minds of city taxpayers:
Who should we believe?
The City's general manager of Engineering and Operational Services, who says: "the memo was a legal opinion on yellow paper, so it was confidential" and "We didn't want to release information until we had a full investigation. It's a staff issue, there are procedures and we have unions here."
The general manager went on to say because the incident was not serious the issue was about how it was reported internally, and not about the safety of the water.
Or ...
The opinion of the assistant city solicitor who says the matter is important "because bacteria and other dangerous substances can attach to the particles." The "particles" are the subject of concern that were released into our water system by mistake and the regulations state that they should rarely exceed 0.3 parts per million and never exceed 1.0 parts per million.
According to the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition system) the incident had recorded readings that "exceeded 1.0" part per million.
It is fortunate that this was discovered as quickly as it was. The operator on duty had failed to enter the above in his log book. In fact the operator on duty had falsified a legal document.
A log book is just that and failing to make accurate entries either by omission or commission is falsification.
Is this the first time an incident such as this has occurred or have there been others that have gone undetected or unreported?
Are the employees at the plant properly trained and do they understand the importance of accurate reporting?
Does the city manager of Engineering and Operational Services fully understand the potential impact that this incident could have had on the city's water system and the health of the citizens of this community?
As a concerned citizen of Brantford I would like to be informed of the outcome of the ministry investigation and be assured that regardless of past practice the management and staff at the City's water treatment plants are held responsible and accountable for the way in which they carry out their duties.
Quite frankly, I find it disturbing that the city manager of Engineering and Operational Service would be more concerned about "staff issues, procedures and unions" than the safety of the citizens of Brantford. I remain reasonable and (hopefully) informed.
Thank you for listening. Doug Foulds Brantford (Article emphasis added)

Contact your public representatives to get the answers - it’s your money and safety, tell them to use it wisely and protect your quality of life and water safety.

Public Brantford Representatives

Mayor Mike Hancock 519-759-4150 mhancock@brantford.ca

WARD 1 Councillors Jennifer Kinneman 519-717-3872 jkinneman@brantford.ca
Mark Littell 519-717-0403 mlittell@brantford.ca

WARD 2 Councillors John Sless 519-717-0673 jsless@brantford.ca
Vince Bucci 519-717-0518 mailto:Bucci519-717-0518vbucci@brantford.ca

WARD 3 Councillors Greg Martin 519-754-7269 gmartin@brantford.ca
Dan McCreary519-761-2439 dmccreary@brantford.ca

WARD 4 Councillors Richard Carpenter 519-770-6027 rcarpenter@brantford.ca
James Calnan 519-732-6476 jcalnan@brantford.ca

WARD 5 Councillors Marguerite Ceschi-Smith 519-758-5093 mceschi-smith@brantford.ca
John Bradford 519-755-8255mailto:jbradford@brantford.ca

Provincial representative Dave Levac

dlevac.mpp@liberal.ola.org

Federal representative Phil Coleman

McColeman.P@parl.gc.ca

Brantford Press Editors

Expositor John Chambers Editor jchambers@theepositor.ccom Editorial
Brantford.com Greg McMillan Editor http://www.blogger.com/editor@brantford.com

The 7 new truths about your customers -consumer power

The 7 new truths about your customers – from Profit Magazine

How you can employ just a few simple tactics to satisfy your customers' fast-rising demands.

By Kara Aaserud with digest and comment by Sieg Holle

The Customer king is a positive change factor and progressive agent .for improved high value growth everywhere

The information revolution is bigger then the industrial revolution with many more far reaching implications .We live in a Inter-Net connected or wired world, without virtual borders. This is a world where the customer is king, in a highly aware society that has the ability to instantly communicate their requirements, their hierarchy of needs everywhere 24/7 in the convenience of their residence. They mostly have the freedom of choosing the products and services that suit their needs and requirements through their purchasing power. The ability to instantly communicate, find alternatives, purchase what they want, allows them to overcome many old restrictions, restraints and hurdles. The new reality trend:

o Causes a revolution in customer ,the buyers’ expectations

o Empowers customers to find better service, price and selection with little or no effort.

o Freedom of choice ensures that the old saying “buyer beware” has shifted to “seller beware” –you can easily lose your source of revenue if you don’t deliver on your promises

You need to understand how this revolution has created the seven new truths about your customers-the bill payers, the taxpayers, the service payers, and your market constituents-and how you can employ just a few simple tactics to satisfy their fast-rising demands. The stakes are high .Conversely if you do not listen, do not adapt to the new communication reality you could fail and be part of a splendid but spent force and tradition that once ruled by taking the customer for granted.

It has become easier to mobilize change agents, advocacy group and those that have a cause. The new Ralph Naders, will instantly tell every one of “consumer lemons”, the new Kings will instantly share the “I have a dream philosophy “with their interested peers to change and challenge the existing order.

The people that spend the money for products and services are the new customer Kings. Customers that expect to be heard If they are ignored, mislead, monopolized or taken for granted they have the power to say no. instantly inform others and affect change by moving their spending elsewhere. A summary digest of the new rules and their implications follows.

New customer rules	The facts and reality	Implications
1: Customers won't give you a second chance “ lower bad service or bad performance tolerance levels” “ more informed –the easy access wired information web revolution “	- - 23% of Canadian consumers said they would quit doing business with a company immediately after a bad experience, twice the level (11%) in 2007. In the same period, those who said they would speak to a supervisor before taking their business elsewhere tumbled from 49% to 36%.	In a world of consumer empowerment, you have to get it right from the beginning. Bad service desertion - due to a dichotomy in the marketplace. Some companies are getting customer service horribly wrong, more are starting to get it right. Each time consumers get a taste of great service, they no longer wish to settle for the subpar variety offered elsewhere.
2: Customers control the conversation “Companies no longer hold absolute sway over the decisions and behavior of consumers, “	Unhappy consumers used to have few means to tarnish a company’s name: word of mouth and their inner circle of family, friends and colleagues . Rise of social-media channels such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, and of Web-enabled mobile devices that make it easy to complain in real time about a lousy customer experience. And the Internet’s archival nature means a bad review lingers in cyberspace.	Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000, The Web not only provides consumers with a platform for expressing their preferences, grievances and experiences, but it also provides companies with a means of listening to them When you come across negative feedback—which you will—respond with sincerity and transparency
3: Customers expect to be heard “Virtually everyone has an emotional desire to be heard,”.	Never before has feedback, and the ways in which you collect it, mattered more to your customers and, therefore, to your reputation.	If you don’t offer them a range of channels through which they can share their frustrations and concerns (or compliments), they’ll soon find their own, often more destructive, outlets. “A company that fulfils that need will have a huge advantage over competitors who ignore it.”
4: Customers will bail if you keep them waiting	Ten years ago, you could take three or four days to solve a problem,” “Today, clients want an instantaneous response.” The gap between what clients expect (90%and what companies typically deliver is 54%	In our wired, 24/7 and globalized economy, speed is king. If you can’t get back to customers quickly enough—whether by phone, blog, e-mail or face to face—someone else will. Set specific response times then design systems to deliver
5: Customers know more than you do What value do you bring to the transaction if the customer is better informed than you are?	It has become far easier for consumers to do their own web research and shop around before even entering the store. This informed group is growing fast and is over 1/3 of population Customer has already been to all the comparison websites that the companies do not want you to go to,	Switch your focus. “It’s highly unlikely you’ll win the information war,”. “You should try to win the relationship and service war instead.” Staff ,who are passionate about the product or service, take the fear and complexity out of the buying process and have the emotional empathy Have the right organizational structure in place, including training and incentives. to build a culture of good customer service.
6: Customers see transparency as the key to credibility Transparency keeps the firm credible and, more important, gives it an edge over its rivals	The bleak economy likely has you feeling even more inclined than usual to keep your cards close to your chest. Yet it’s tough to keep bad news secret in an ultra-wired world, and if it leaks out online, the damage to your firm’s reputation can spread far and fast	“When you make mistakes, you’ve got to own up to them. And it’s much better if you own up to them before somebody else decides to own up for you.” “People find it refreshing. They realize that I’m a person like they are, that I’m a human being. And that has allowed me to move ahead of the competition.”
7: Customers insist on individual treatment You need to nurture advocacy.”	A cookie-cutter approach that analyzes consumers based on broad measures such as age, sex and income doesn’t cut it anymore. As customers become increasingly diverse, the gap(30) between what they want—more personalized, customized service (88)—and what companies are delivering is widening.(58) The key to understanding customers is to listen to what they have to say and respond. The objective is a simple one: to truly get to know your customers, so you can serve them in a way that meets their individual needs	A‘one size fits all’ approach, which is the standard model, all you can really do is throw more money and people at it, and constantly strive to address the mass,”. is not optimal. True competitive advantage comes from being able to tailor your products or services to the individuals you serve Analytics software that measures client behavior. “A lot of ROI models around customer service are hopelessly outdated,”. “They’re typically based on frameworks of the customer’s lifetime value, which are good but not sufficient for this new world of virility and word of mouth.”

A executive summary of the new consumer reality – The Customer king