Fines boost a cash grab

Let's make our laws for the purpose intended- orderly governance of the social order. Laws should not be used as hidden or invisible taxes or revenue cash cows for unaccountable government agencies PR

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Fines boost a cash grab: "But we draw the line at increasing fines simply to raise more money for government coffers. A fine is a sanction applied to someone who has broken the law. It's meant as a penalty to denounce the offence and to deter the individual and the public at large from committing future offences. Increasing fines with the stated objective of raising money for a government program is little more than a cash grab. "

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor

Good for the officers- the serve and protect motto obviously means something to them. I wonder how they would have felt when they saw the man they saved - a person who was obviously mentally imbalanced or sick paraded in chains without his clothes and further humiliated at the Brantford Court house. Maybe swimming the polluted Mohawk is a better alternative then going through the Brantford justice system -whose bail procedure is conducted like a and has the attributes of a old fashioned slave market with freedom for sale to the highest bidder by the unorganized and harried practitioners.

Osprey Media. - Brantford Expositor: "Police officers dive in to rescue drowning truck driver

By Vincent Ball, expositor staff
Local News - Thursday, April 20, 2006 @ 01:00

Constables Mark Baxter and Chris Grantham braved the frigid, murky and heavily polluted waters of Mohawk Lake to save a city man.

�I think he had just about had it when we got to him. He had already gone under four or five times,� Baxter said Wednesday.

�When we pulled him ashore, he was pretty exhausted and he kept saying he couldn�t swim. He had all his clothes on, too, weighing him down.�

The two officers rescued a man who had driven a stolen pickup truck into the lake following a short police pursuit at about 6 p.m. Monday evening. The man was about 50 to 60 metres from shore and appeared to be swimming to the other side of the lake when the officers spotted him. "

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
Printer friendly
E-mail
Font: * * * * gteel@theherald.canwest.com
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.

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"

Horrible first week for Harper despite seasoned transition team

Horrible first week for Harper despite seasoned transition team: "Horrible first week for Harper despite seasoned transition team"

Farewell to Paul Martin -our deficit slayer

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Less than a PM's fond farewell: "The greatest impact of his short stint in our nation's highest office is the one that will be felt by future prime ministers.
His predecessor coasted for a decade with no credible opposition to call him to account. Martin believed he could do the same and it led to his downfall.
Conservative changes will reduce the oppressive powers of the PMO that were abused by both Martin and Jean Chretien before him.
Martin does deserve praise for taking on the heavy burden of leadership -- one that often exacts a steep personal toll.
He's right that history will judge him, but at this point in time, it appears the chief lesson of his defeat is that the free ride is over for prime ministers in this country.
That spells relief for Canada. "

Cut PM's power: Gomery

Cut PM's power: Gomery: "The Conservatives proposed to clean up the procurement process of government contracts, in part by appointing a procurement auditor to oversee, process and handle complaints from losing vendors. Judge Gomery recommends the Financial Administration Act be amended to add a new section stipulating that violations of the act be grounds for dismissal without compensation."

Be accountable

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "'Our principal recommendations address the need for a rebalancing of the respective roles of two of those institutions; Parliament and the executive arm of the government.'"

Special rules for the special people

Turfed MPs reap healthy taxpayer funded pensions

Terry Pedwell

Canadian Press
Tuesday, January 24, 2006


OTTAWA -- Taxpayers needn't shed a tear for members of Parliament who were defeated in Monday's federal election or left politics before the vote: they stand to collect $74.6 million in pensions and severance.
Four of the 67 retiring MPs could each collect more than $3 million before they turn 75, estimates calculated by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation suggest.
"Defeated and retiring members will win financially thanks to a gold-plated pension plan and rich severance payments for parliamentarians,'' said federation director John Williamson.
"Shed no tears for retiring or defeated MPs. They are being well looked after by Canadian taxpayers.''

- A huge breakthrough

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A huge breakthrough: "Yesterday's win is a huge breakthrough for the Conservative Party of Canada and for conservative-minded Canadians in general, many of whom have felt voiceless and increasingly disengaged from national affairs under dynastic Liberal rule.
The challenge now for Harper and his party -- translating the positive message of the campaign into government action -- is monumental, since they will have to forge consensus with the more socially liberal Bloc Quebecois or NDP to attain a simple majority vote on any legislation in the House of Commons.
We wish Mr. Harper all the luck he'll need to get the job done and congratulate him for giving Canadians, finally, a real alternative to corruption and entitlement. "

The Globe and Mail: Conservatives win minority; Martin to step down as leader

The Globe and Mail: Conservatives win minority; Martin to step down as leader: "'Tonight, friends, Canadians have voted for change,' Mr. Harper said, speaking to supporters in Calgary.
'And Canadians have asked our party to take the lead in delivering that change. I tell Canadians we will respect your trust and we will stick to our words.'
Mr. Harper's comments capped a night in which the Liberal's 12-year reign came to an end in a vote that handed the Conservatives a minority mandate but also held that power in check with a solid endorsement of opposition parties as well."

The Globe and Mail: Conservative fiscal plan incompetent, Martin says

The Globe and Mail: Conservative fiscal plan incompetent, Martin says: "A Conservative government would restrict annual spending growth in federal departments and agencies to rates necessary to account for Canada's population growth and inflation: about 2 to 3 per cent annually. The Tories estimate this would free up $9.7-billion over five years. Two departments would be exempted, they say: Indian Affairs and National Defence.
A Harper government would also slow planned growth in federal subsidies and other transfers, including Industry Canada aid to business and Human Resources and Skills Development grants. The Tories expect to save $12.8-billion over five years there, saying actions would not affect currently projected growth rates for transfers to people such as benefits to the elderly and employment insurance, or transfers to other levels of government for health, social programs, equalization or infrastructure."

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A very Canadian plan

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A very Canadian plan: "The Tory platform preserves important social programs. But it also proposes concrete solutions for some of the serious problems facing Canada, including high taxes, a weak criminal justice system and out-of-control government spending.
It's a very Canadian platform. "

The Globe and Mail: Editorial: Three reasons why it's time for a change

The Globe and Mail: Editorial: Three reasons why it's time for a change: "Change is essential in a democracy. A perpetual lease on 24 Sussex Drive fuels the sense of entitlement that blurs the line between private gain and public good. Just as bad, a perpetual lease on Stornoway discourages the discipline and moderation required of an alternative government. Without a vibrant, continuing competition for power, a democracy runs the risk of degenerating into hegemony on the governing side and unreality on the opposition side. Both parties need to believe they can win elections � and lose them."

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Dead party walking

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Dead party walking: "No, this is the last-ditch attempt of a dead party walking to scare Canadians into sticking with the shameless, corrupt and completely arrogant Liberals. Will it work? We doubt it. The fact that the ads have not only been roundly condemned but also widely mocked on the Internet with bloggers posting frame-for-frame parodies suggests that the Liberals have finally gone too far in trying to demonize their opponents.
When asked for his comment on the military ad, respected retired general Lewis Mackenzie yesterday said, 'It took my breath away; I just couldn't believe anybody could be that dumb.'
But they are. There are Liberals that dumb. In our cities.
We did not make this up. "

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tory tax plan lacking

We agree the Tories can do better and when elected will be made accountable to getting Canadian taxes competitive with the rest of the world. PR
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tory tax plan lacking: "It's not like there isn't the fiscal room to bring in broad-based tax cuts, either.
The federal government is projecting nearly $55 billion in surpluses over the next five years.
And we all know there are billions of dollars more in government waste that can be slashed, including the $1-billion gun registry.
Canada suffers from one of the lowest productivity rates among the world's developed countries. We need leaner government and a higher performance economy to reverse that.
Most economists agree that one of the best places to start is to reduce Canada's high tax burden.
We thought the Conservatives believed that, too. "

Before the bubble bursts

One unintended consequence, like a side-ache from dancing the Twist, is that the largesse simply enervates our body politic and delays inevitable reforms. In a relatively slow-growing economy where government spending accounts for about half the total, more cash for old models prolongs the mediocrity of Mills’s “perfect calm.”
Three themes dominate the dated dance music:
Governments can produce cheaper services. The reality of vibrant markets demolishes this, the mouldiest of the tenets. Almost no one believes that governments should run supermarkets to provide cheaper food, or that politicians and bureaucrats can outperform Wal-Mart. Only primitive government accounting systems, which fail to measure real costs, preserve the illusion. Can Manitoba Health deliver cheaper MRIs than the Maples clinic? Only when you treat equipment purchases as a free good, underpay their operators and make the public wait for needed scans. Ditto for many services now delivered by our sprawling public sector, including liquor, car insurance, social services and education.
Government price controls can outguess markets. Two examples, from many. The latest statistics on Manitoba’s rent-control tragedy show higher rents in Winnipeg than in Regina or Saskatoon—both decontrolled in 1992—and a lower quality and quantity of apartments. The collateral damage: little or no residential construction in Winnipeg’s downtown, a huge missed opportunity. For more stupidity, consider the Doer government’s shenanigans with energy pricing, where clean, renewable hydro-electricity subsidizes the consumption of non-renewable natural gas. Massive equalization payments allow us to charge below-market rates for electricity and cross-subsidize energy consumption. The result: one of the world’s most energy-inefficient economies.
Governments can plan for the future. Politicians tend to look backwards, protecting old methods and catering to favoured interests. Consider, for instance, the tiresome debate about transit. More people now “telecommute” by working from their homes than ride transit. Yet the establishment still seeks to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into a system that moves people downtown to fewer and fewer jobs. Ten years ago, few had heard of the Internet, which has revolutionized work, play and shopping. Yet we use yesterday’s assumptions to project ridership decades from now and waste money on outmoded forms.
A “perfect storm” is about to sweep away the “perfect calm” and obliterate such myths. Even the dimmest of politicians are slowly understanding that unreformed healthcare is unsustainable. The main paymasters, Alberta and Ontario, are losing patience with a dysfunctional equalization system. The latter, Canada’s manufacturing heartland, is caught between the pincer of huge competitive pressures from China and rising energy costs. The Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, a think–tank funded by the Ontario government, recently criticized equalization’s focus on increased consumption in low-productivity provinces. To boost Canada’s investment and economic performance, it proposes tax cuts instead of “no-strings-attached” subsidies to have-not provinces

FCPP Publications :: The Passing of the Old Guard

FCPP Publications :: The Passing of the Old Guard: "One unintended consequence, like a side-ache from dancing the Twist, is that the largesse simply enervates our body politic and delays inevitable reforms. In a relatively slow-growing economy where government spending accounts for about half the total, more cash for old models prolongs the mediocrity of Mills�s �perfect calm.�
Three themes dominate the dated dance music:
Governments can produce cheaper services. The reality of vibrant markets demolishes this, the mouldiest of the tenets. Almost no one believes that governments should run supermarkets to provide cheaper food, or that politicians and bureaucrats can outperform Wal-Mart. Only primitive government accounting systems, which fail to measure real costs, preserve the illusion. Can Manitoba Health deliver cheaper MRIs than the Maples clinic? Only when you treat equipment purchases as a free good, underpay their operators and make the public wait for needed scans. Ditto for many services now delivered by our sprawling public sector, including liquor, car insurance, social services and education.
Government price controls can outguess markets. Two examples, from many. The latest statistics on Manitoba�s rent-control tragedy show higher rents in Winnipeg than in Regina or Saskatoon�both decontrolled in 1992�and a lower quality and quantity of apartments. The collateral damage: little or no residential construction in Winnipeg�s downtown, a huge missed opportunity. For more stupidity, consider the Doer government�s shenanigans with energy pricing, where clean, renewable hydro-electricity subsidizes the consumption of non-renewable natural gas. Massive equalization payments allow us to charge below-market rates for electricity and cross-subsidize energy consumption. The result: one of the world�s most energy-ineffici"

FCPP Publications :: Yes - We Will Feel Better if We are Taxed More. It's True!

FCPP Publications :: Yes - We Will Feel Better if We are Taxed More. It's True!: "On the second point, my own research shows high taxes make some people spend too much time at work - trying to get back what the state has taken away from their spouses. But these new, high-tax advocates believe the way to stop me from feeling bad about the rich is to tax the high earners more, so bringing everyone back to a similar income. This, they believe, would reduce envy. Hence we�d all be happier. "

It is true that some people just love to be taxed - I am not one of them -chuckle. PR

Liberals losing ground

Liberals losing ground: "It's really a pre-emptive action against what we expect the Liberals will do in the second half of the campaign and that is to launch a barrage of negative advertising,' said Geoff Norquay, Mr. Harper's former director of communications and one-time senior advisor to former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
'What could be more timely with the income trust scandal just getting nicely under way now? I mean, there is yet another RCMP investigation of this government going on right now,' Mr. Norquay said"

City 'exaggerated' need to keep records secret

City 'exaggerated' need to keep records secret: "Many of the city's statements are generalizations which it applies to the information in question without distinguishing between those parts of the information which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to result in harms and those parts that are innocuous and/or already available or well-known to the public,' he wrote."

Whistleblower joins Tory ticket

Whistleblower joins Tory ticket: "OTTAWA -- Former Groupaction vice president Jean Lambert, one of the original whistleblowers in the sponsorship scandal, will be running for the Conservatives in a bid to become member of parliament for the Eastern Townships riding of Shefford.
Lambert, 49, is the second sponsorship scandal whistleblower to become a candidate for the Tories. Allan Cutler, the civil servant who blew the whistle on questionable practices within the civil service concerning the sponsorship program, is also running for the Conservatives in the riding of Ottawa South.
Lambert said Friday he was proud of the role that he played in bringing the sponsorship scandal to light."

Voter cyiisim -How do you believe them?

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "While he may vote Conservative, Walton doesn't see much difference in how different parties would distribute federal resources. He thinks voters are weary of the constant stream of promises from political leaders.

I think people are getting a little tired of their making a new promise every day.'"

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Harper by default

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Harper by default: "It was not an inspired performance -- not by any of the four -- and there was certainly no knockout blow delivered.
But, since we can't believe essentially anything Martin promises based on his party's literally scandalous track record; since we can't take Layton's bombastic socialism with much more than a grain of salt; and since Duceppe has merely bystander status outside Quebec -- we'd give the first English debate to Harper, purely on points. "

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - What's the problem?

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - What's the problem?: "'When did we lose our freedom in this country?' said Corlett, who says he just wants to get better and return to work. 'Why do they have to control us?'
Corlett needs an MRI so his doctor can make a diagnosis and decide whether he needs surgery or not.
In the meantime, he can't even lift his arm, much less work on airplanes.
'I can't work because they don't have work for a one-armed person,' said Corlett.
Like many patients who will use The Maples clinic, Corlett didn't have to pay out-of-pocket for his MRI. Instead, his insurance company did. Like many Manitobans, Corlett has private disability insurance and it's in his insurance company's best interest to get him an MRI as quickly as possible so he can be treated and return to work.
In fact, the insurance company was planning to fly him to Calgary for an MRI until The Maples announced it would be providing MRIs.
'Why do I have to go to Calgary when we've got one in Winnipeg?' said Corlett.
Precisely.
How can government possibly have a problem with this? Government sends Workers Compensation Board patients to clinics for preferential treatment.
Why can't a private insurance company send one of its clients to a clinic, too?
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a recent Quebec case that government cannot prevent people from buying private insurance and using it to obtain medical services if government is not providing that service in a timely fashion.
Clearly, the Manitoba government is not providing elective MRIs in a timely fashion.
So I'd say The Maples clinic has the blessing of Canada's top court.
Besides, if people like Corlett aren't getting their MRIs in Manitoba, they'll go out-of-province for them and they'll take their "

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Voters don't trust politicians: poll

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Voters don't trust politicians: poll: "OTTAWA -- A whopping 76% of Canadian voters believe politicians are blowing smoke and making lofty election promises they don't intend to keep, according to a Leger Marketing/Sun Media poll.
The poll of 2,013 Canadians conducted from December 9-13 says 17% of respondents believe politicians plan to implement the pledges they make.
The most cynical voters are in Quebec and Ontario, where 78% of respondents said they don't trust the leaders to keep their promises. "

It appears that we Canadians are not stupid ,complacent believers in our political leaders -just cynical. That is not surprising based on our "Political non performance and lack of delivery. PR

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Green deserves day

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Green deserves day: "It's a mockery of democracy to include the Bloc, which has no relevance to most Canadians, and exclude the Greens, a national party that has piqued the interest of younger voters who already feel alienated by our current political process."

Good point-Just how democratic are we really ? Not allowing a registered national party to speak , one with 6% of the national vote -is neither democratic or nor wise. They have a right to be heard not censored by mediia default. PR

1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006

1885 tax becomes an issue in 2006: "The Tories, Mr. Harper noted in a statement, have 'long recognized the terrible historical wrong of the Chinese head tax. It is time for Parliament and the Government of Canada to recognize this grave injustice and to apologize for it.'"

He's unbelievable- out PM

Sympatico / MSN - Partner content

Paul Martin -Unbelievable and no real substance? PR

This is what happens when you follow Paul Martin around for even a little while on the campaign trail. You hear no end of grand pronouncements. Sweeping commitments. Stirring appeals. And then you take a short stroll and peek behind the curtain and you discover that Oz the Great and Terrible is barely there. All that's there is a guy putting on airs. I have spent most of a year steering clear of the Prime Minister whenever I decently could, given the unfortunate reality of my employment as an Ottawa political columnist, because I took an early dislike to his huffing and puffing and I did not want to torment him or bore my readers. Last week was a bit of a reunion. I was quickly reminded how easy Paul Martin is to like and how hard he is to believe.

The Globe and Mail: Cutting the GST

The Globe and Mail: Cutting the GST

A viewpoint from the right on liberal gun contol

Martin's promise to confiscate all handguns opens up intriguing possibilities

The trouble with making policy predictions in Canada is that no matter how obvious the prediction is, a loud liberal chorus will shout it down as ridiculous.

And when the prediction comes true, all earlier denials are simply forgotten.

Last week, for example, all the much-derided predictions of gun owners over the past ten years came true.

We knew they would and they did, when Paul Martin promised to solve Toronto's "national" gun-crime crisis by confiscating virtually all half-million registered legal handguns across the country.

So it's true. The reason for gun registration from the start was future confiscation.

Repeated previous denials by the likes of then-Minister of Gunnery Anne McLellan are now officially expunged.

The only fig leaf this leaves to cover the Liberals' shame (if they are still capable of feeling such a thing) is to insist that they will allow provinces to opt in or out of the confiscation as they wish.

Now this is an interesting idea.

When challenged in court by the provinces in 1996, Ottawa justified the registry by insisting it falls in the category of criminal legislation, which is federal.

If not, it would be a regulation of civil property -- a provincial jurisdiction.

That's what the provinces argued it was. But the judges (federally appointed) sided with Ottawa, as they usually do.

So to be absolutely clear, back in 1996 it was firmly established that regulating guns is a federal criminal law jurisdiction.

Are the Liberals now saying provinces may opt in and out of federal criminal laws? Apparently they are.

I have two questions.

What provision in our Constitution allows Ottawa to amend the Constitution at will by reassigning one of its "exclusive" powers to the provinces?

And does it work the other way around? Could a province, say, decide not to enforce the gun registry sections of the Criminal Code? Or is this power of unilateral, arbitrary amendment reserved to the federal government?

Martin's election promise emphasizes once again that Canadian gun control is entirely about politics, not law and order. This is a matter of record, not opinion.

The Liberal government was warned in 1993 by John Tait, chief Justice bureaucrat at the time, that a universal gun registry would be expensive, ineffective, and a source of political outrage.

That outcry from angry white males was exactly what the Liberals wanted, of course, and now they're doing it again. They probably have no intention of following through after the votes have been counted.

If I owned a pistol, I'd ignore this ban whether it passes or not.

As Alberta MLA Ted Morton has pointed out, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled against categorical government bans on anything -- as we saw with tobacco advertising, child pornography and private health care.

In fact this election promise opens up all kinds of potential litigation against the gun registry in general -- starting with Ottawa's novel idea that the criminal law can be different in one province than another.

The Klein government would be doing Harper and the national Conservative party a favor (for a nice change) if it announced immediately that it will challenge this law in court if it is ever passed in Parliament.

Link Byfield is chairman of the Edmonton-based Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy, and an Alberta senator-elect.

Interesting points made -lets see first we confiscate all the registered guns from the law abiding - give total freedom to the non-registered criminal elements -and then hire only politically correct "our special law enforcers " to ensure our "Liberally determined political peace - hmmmm - sounds like Orwell's 1984 to me . PR

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Beer, popcorn is for Liberals

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Beer, popcorn is for Liberals: "The beer and popcorn comments didn't surprise me, though.
That's what the group of Liberals in Ottawa represent.
They think they know how to spend your money better than you do. Which is why Social Development Minister Ken Dryden said earlier this month that stay-at-home parenting and home-based child care 'is not child care.'
Only government-sanctioned child-care centres offer real child care, according to Dryden. And if you want child-care support from the government, you have to choose child-care centres, the Liberals insist.
They're not about to hand you a cheque for $1,200 so you can blow it on beer and popcorn. Or coats and cars. "

Do you not get tired of having the self interest groups or hypocrites in Ottawa spending your beer and popcorn money ( high taxes) for their favourite boondoogle projects. It is outrageous to think that parents can not manage their lives without a champaign childcare monopoly run by the special childcare think police. The arrogance is just overwhelming. PR

winnipegsun.com - Winnipeg News - Seeking only justice

winnipegsun.com - Winnipeg News - Seeking only justice: "'Canada is great at creating victims. We have more victims than we do criminals.'
'The federal government is turning Canadians into victims one family at a time.' "

Interesting story about a new class action that is trying to get justice and accountabilty from the Federal government. Those that believe they have been wronged should join the "class" - It is great that there are people in Canada that believe the courts can make a difference.Use them if you have the courage of conviction, the time and the money. PR

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - Canada high on corruption barometer

winnipegsun.com - Canada News - Canada high on corruption barometer: "OTTAWA -- An international group that tracks global graft says Canadians believe political parties are the most corrupt institution in the country. ( Another dubious first for Canada-PR)
The dubious distinction was awarded to Canada by Transparency International. The Berlin-based group made the determination in its latest global corruption barometer.
Canada's standing was determined based on a public opinion poll taken in the months after Auditor General Sheila Fraser accused the Liberal government run by Jean Chretien last year of 'breaking every rule in the book' with the sponsorship scandal.
The survey was taken before the Gomery inquiry heard sensational allegations of Liberal party operatives stuffing their pockets with wads of cash while others were accused of pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars for little or no work. "

Liberals red-faced over campaign claim "Liberal popcorn and beer-eh"

Liberals red-faced over campaign claim: "The federal Liberals scrambled Sunday to control the damage from their first serious gaffe of the election campaign after a top aide to Paul Martin suggested Canadian parents could blow any extra child-care money they get from Ottawa on beer and popcorn. "

" With such a low opinion of parents or taxpayers-there is just nothing to do but let Father Martin and the liberal family to decide how to use and spend your money. S.O.S -QJ

RED HERRING | Clean Energy Tops $42B

RED HERRING | Clean Energy Tops $42B: "For clean energy IPOs and secondary offerings, New Energy estimates that current annualized public market fundraisings have reached $4.2 billion.

Wind energy leads the way in clean energy IPOs and secondary offerings at $1.5 billion from 2001 to 2005, followed by solar with $1.4 billion. Fuel cells were $496 million, while biofuels reached $254 million.

New Energy believes the volume of clean energy investment is large, growing, and diversified by asset class, geography, and technology. However, the firm cautions that the investment volume is far from the volume and profile needed to match the growth in global energy use."

Governments kill people too

Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "Martin proposes sweeping ban on handguns
CTV.ca News Staff
Liberal Leader Paul Martin is proposing a sweeping ban on handguns to combat growing gun-related violence in Canada's cities.
'Handguns kill people -- that's why they exist, and they're taking too many Canadian lives,' said Martin during his 'safer communities announcement' at a school near Toronto's violence-plagued Jane and Finch area this morning."

Interesting that we have learned nothing from the gun registry - This is a good idea but how do you execute it? PR

Accountability Champion

A liitle political humour from my favourite teachers

It is election time! No politician is immune.

Where is my donkey? Gomery!

A young man named Paul bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. When the farmer drove up the next day, he said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news...the donkey ison my truck, but he's dead."Paul replied, "Well then, just give me my money back."The farmer said, "I Can't do that. I went and spent it already."Paul said, "OK then, just unload the donkey anyway".The farmer asked, "What are ya gonna do with him?"Paul said, "I'm going to raffle him off."To which the farmer exclaimed, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"But Paul, with a big smile on his face, said, "Sure I can. Watch me. I justwon't tell anybody that he's dead."A month later the farmer met up with Paul and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"Paul said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $698.00."Totally amazed, the farmer asked, "Didn't anyone complain that you had stolen their money because you lied about the donkey being dead?"And Paul replied, "The only guy who found out about the donkey being deadwas the raffle winner, when he came to claim his prize. So I gave him his$2 back plus $200 extra, which is double the going value of a donkey, so he thought I was a great guy."

Paul grew up and eventually became the Prime Minister of Canada, and no matter how many times he lied or how much money he stole from Canadian voters, as long as he gave them back some of the stolen money, most of them thought he was a great guy . ( This seems to be particularly true in Ontario.)

FCPP Publications :: Empowering Healthcare Consumers

FCPP Publications :: Empowering Healthcare Consumers: "An old friend of the Frontier Centre flew into Winnipeg in the middle of November and left behind more than the winter�s first blizzard. Johan Hjertqvist�s seminar here laid out the basics of what his Belgium-based organization calls the EuroHealth Consumer Index. An ambitious attempt to benchmark the relative sensitivity of countries to healthcare consumers� need for information, it may well represent the wave of the future.
The project�s relevance in Canada can be summed up with one person�s name: Jacques Chaoulli. The Qu�bec doctor had sued his provincial government on behalf of a patient who faced long waiting times for orthopedic surgery. In June, Qu�bec�s Supreme Court ruled that a longstanding ban on private health insurance violated the patient�s rights. Although the decision was later stayed for a year, to allow the provincial and federal governments time to respond, it threw down a gauntlet to our Medicare system. Canadians are tired of being pushed around.

Hjertqvist cited the case as one of several elements in the growing demand for consumer empowerment in healthcare, with escalating costs and unhappiness with waiting lists high on the list. As affluent boomers near the age at which they will max out our healthcare resources, they are increasingly intolerant of the system�s demand that they suffer in silence. If Dr. Mark Godley is willing to sell a private MRI scan at the Maples Surgical Clinic for $695, what exactly gives Health Minister Tim Sale the gall to tell people they can�t spend their own money, or even buy insurance coverage, to get it? Better they should wait months and have taxpayers provide it for $300?
After providing the intellectual ammunition for the 1990s revolution in healthcare delivery in Stockholm�splitting the purchaser from the prov"

Conservative plan - A child-care plan for all Canadian parents

Winnipegsun.com - Editorial - A child-care plan for all Canadian parents

"Parents can spend that money however they wish. You can choose the child-care option that best suits your family's needs.' The new allowance would come on top of current child benefits, including the income tax deduction for child-care expenses.

That strikes us as a far better option than the Liberals' insistence on helping fund government-approved day care centres, in that it also recognizes the value of stay-at-home parents -- parents who were left out in the Liberals' five-year $5-billion plan to subsidize day care.
Harper said his party doesn't agree with the concept of government forcing only one child-care option on parents.
'The only people who should be making these choices are parents, not politicians, not the government. "

Fantatastic -imagine giving parents the needed access to their own money to take care of their kids -rather then another liberal government monopoly in the make. This is a great choice - good thinking -revolutionary indeed by the conservatives PR That is a real empowerment and choice idea for the better.

Health fraud's new frontiers

Health fraud's new frontiers: "Health fraud's new frontiers

More on fixing the system -first step let's find out where it is bleeding-PR As usual -officials do not see a problem -speak out

Although cases of defrauding the health care system exist -- including payment claims on prescriptions that were never filled and the staging of fake auto accidents for insurance claims -- regulatory bodies that oversee health professions don't see a widespread problem.

From doctors who bill for non-existent appointments to dentists who perform major restorative work on healthy teeth and organized rings that recruit every sort of health professional, economic crime saps billions of dollars a year, by some accounts, from the over-burdened health system.

It is a little-discussed phenomenon, yet one physician was handed an 18-month jail term for bilking medicare of almost $1-million. A chiropodist purloined $900,000 from the country's biggest hospital, garnering virtually no media attention. Even the Mafia and Russian mob have their hands in the health business, police and insurance investigators say.

Ordinary Canadians ultimately pay the price as dollars are drained from the public system and private insurers pass on the extra cost through higher premiums or service cuts.

Harper mulls income-splitting among tax cuts as campaign enters Week 2

Well we can certainly buy into the concept of bloated government at 40.5% of the GDP- that is too high and costs too much of our money- PR Anything to reduce our tax burden is the right direction

Harper mulls income-splitting among tax cuts as campaign enters Week 2: "Harper, a trained economist, is itching to fix a bloated system he says is way out of whack.
'There's been overwhelming evidence . . . that Canadians were being massively overtaxed, resulting in huge unnecessary surpluses that were only having the effect of causing the government to be badly managed.'
'That's not the purpose of government - to turn a huge profit.'
'When government is rolling in money, it tends to get very inefficient, full of scandals, full of mismanagement.' "

FCPP Publications :: Big Ideas Should Shape the Campaign

WE COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THIS POSITION -PR

Big ideas should shape the campaign -fundamental reforms to reduce the size of governement is needed

In Brief:


The federal election provides an opportunity to consider fundamental reforms to government.
Ensuring Canada's competitiveness means looking at smarter tax and spending policies.
Tying public sector expansion to growth and inflation would free up billions of dollars for tax cuts.
Complex problems need structural repair, not more money.

Fundamental reforms to reduce the size of government is needed

"Every mile is two in winter," said a long-dead British poet. His words will resonate with campaign troops dragged out in the depths of January for a new federal election. But cold air also sharpens the mind. Let's hope that it will turn voters away from nasty rhetoric and towards some fundamental thoughts on policy reform needed in Ottawa.

Canada moves into the election in surprisingly strong fiscal shape, but it would be naïve to ignore some powerful forces that loom on the policy horizon. These forces are disrupting major portions of the Canadian economy and will require some heavy lifting in response.

Compared to the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush government or the paralyzed German coalition, Canada shines like a star, the only G7 country with a fiscal surplus and declining debt. But, domestically, things look much murkier. During the 17 months of minority government, when not engrossed in the Gomery inquiry, our politicians have lurched around with hasty spending programs. Only on the eve of an election did we see a patchwork of tax reductions, heavily weighted, of course, to the distant future in 2010 -- an eternity in politics.

Consider that the Chinese will be exporting cars to Canada soon at $7,000 a pop, one example of the huge pressure they will place on our entire manufacturing sector. Brain work like legal and accounting services is trickling over to India, which does it overnight for a tenth of the local cost. Meanwhile, Canadian taxes, which discourage investment and retard productivity, generally top the range compared to competing jurisdictions.

World-flattening forces that are speeding up international trade are placing unsustainable pressure on Canada's wealth-creating private sector. At some point, the private sector will no longer be able to foot the bill for the increasingly obsolete policy models that riddle the public sector. How long, for example, can our politicians pour billions into the black hole of unreformed health care, a low-performing monopoly that resists measurement and simple accountability, with little or nothing to show for it? We must break away from the simplistic tendency to throw money at complex problems and avoid structural reforms.

Consider what our competitive position would be had federal spending held constant in line with population growth plus inflation. We would have had $17.1 billion available now for federal tax cuts, enough either to cut corporate taxes by 50 per cent, personal income taxes by 20 per cent, or chop the GST to four per cent. Instead, we spray piles of cash at the usual hodgepodge of programs, particularly health care, which suffer from flawed design more than a shortage of resources.

Or consider the research that estimates the optimal size of government—the size where economic growth is maximized—is 30 per cent of the economy. The size of government now is 40.5 per cent. To put in perspective how difficult it will be to get that number down, consider that the $17 billion mentioned above tax would reduce the government size by only one per cent to 39.5 per cent. Not so much, but a critical move in the right direction as the Chinas and Indias of the world gear up to eat our lunch. Reducing the size of government relative to the economy will not only stimulate much higher rates of economic growth, it will ultimately deliver more revenue to our treasury.

Let's consider where the forces of globalization will force the policy revamp to go. The public sector will have to retreat from the in-house production of commercial services and buy them instead from competing suppliers. The efficiencies will be substantial. We will also see a much needed "sorting out" of the roles of different levels of government. The feds should abandon areas where they have minimal competence and no jurisdiction in our constitution. This means getting out of daycare, infrastructure programs and various social transfers, plus egregiously counter-productive regional subsidy programs, including equalization.

These delay and retard policy innovation, while preserving an oversized, low-performance public sector that delivers so little while keeping spending and taxes counterproductively high. Ontario and Alberta have both twigged to the fact that the "haves" simply pay "have-nots" to stay poor. In the brave new world of China and India, this simply will no longer be on.

Finally, while these changes will be fought tooth and nail by the many interest groups that drive our public policy, somehow we will have to implement two basic reforms. First, in light of the vote-buying scandal, a fundamental redesign of government to install firewalls between politicians and the administration of government programs, like the system functioning superbly in New Zealand. Second, we need an economic constitution which prevents the type of spending frenzy recently witnessed in Ottawa.

Don't hold your breath this election. But the train of better policy is coming, folks. Our political parties had better to get in front of it before it runs them over.

Parties must get serious about tax relief

Parties must get serious about tax relief: "Parties must get serious about tax relief


Both the Liberals and Conservatives have promised voters tax cuts should they be elected in the Jan. 23 election. Yet neither party's cuts even come close to offering the level of relief Canadians need. Even after the Liberals' promised income tax reductions or the Tories' GST cut, the average Canadian's taxes would still be one-third higher than the average American's and nearly 10% higher than the average for taxpayers in all industrialized nations. The full cost of Ottawa's addiction to high taxes is made clear in a new study by Global Insight, a Toronto-based economics research firm: slower economic growth. "

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Honesty on health care

Excellent -this is a solid approach to saving our public health system- ensure preformance with meaningful benchmarks-QJ

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Honesty on health care: "Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced his party's wait time 'guarantee' yesterday. It's not really a guarantee. It's more like a benchmark or a target for provinces to follow. But within the government monopoly system that we have in Canada, it's not a bad approach to take.
Harper says maximum wait times for medically necessary services should be established across Canada.
Failure to provide the service -- be it for hip surgery or MRI scans -- within that established timeframe would mean patients could demand government send them out of province to receive the treatment.
The cost of sending patients to other provinces or the U.S., Harper says, would be an incentive for provinces to meet their targets.
It's not a real guarantee because patients would have no recourse if care weren't provided within the maximum wait time. "

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Tory GST plan puts Martin on the spot

Good point -cut both -we are overtaxed PR

Winnipegsun - Editorial - Tory GST plan puts Martin on the spot

"Martin says he'll leave the GST as it is, and instead focus on cutting personal taxes. 'I believe that's fairer, I believe it's more sensible.' Hmmm. Funny but we would have sworn that just a year-and-a-half ago the PM was dead set against just such tax relief when it was proposed by Harper during the last election campaign.
The fact is we're overtaxed in every area imaginable, and that's what has allowed the feds to ring up massive surpluses year after year. Martin needs to understand that Canadians are fed up with paying and paying and paying and then being offered token relief from a government that hopes we'll forget whose money they're spending in the first place.
Tax cuts shouldn't be on an either/or basis. Cut the GST. Cut income taxes.
Let us decide for ourselves how to spend our cash. "

Hated tax made and killed careers

A real issue becomes clear -no waffling - the conservative promise to reduce it to 5% - good move to but more money in your pocket PR>


The promise places the Liberals in a difficult position. The party rolled into office 12 years ago on a promise to "replace" the GST, but never delivered on the pledge.

The promise was spelled out in the party's campaign bible of promises -- the Red Book. Who co-wrote the Red Book? Paul Martin -- then a relatively unknown opposition MP, and later the finance minister who apologized for the fact the Liberals could not replace the tax.

Now, as Prime Minister, Mr. Martin's back is against the wall, trying to explain why the Conservatives' proposed GST reduction is bad public policy.
In the 16 years since the tax was first proposed by Brian Mulroney's Tories, the GST has haunted both parties, like an albatross they could not shake.
The impetus for the tax came in 1986, when the United States launched tax reform.
Here in Canada, it was difficult for exporters to compete with their U.S. counterparts. The problem was the 13.5% manufacturers' sales tax (MST). It was a hidden tax built into the price of an item, and tended to favour imported goods over exports. In 1989, Mr. Mulroney proposed to replace it with the GST. Initially pegged at 9%, it would be added at the cash register. It was a public relations disaster.
All 10 premiers opposed the tax. Lobby groups railed against it. One poll showed 80% of Canadians objected.">Hated tax made and killed careers: "The promise places the Liberals in a difficult position. The party rolled into office 12 years ago on a promise to 'replace' the GST, but never delivered on the pledge.

The promise was spelled out in the party's campaign bible of promises -- the Red Book. Who co-wrote the Red Book? Paul Martin -- then a relatively unknown opposition MP, and later the finance minister who apologized for the fact the Liberals could not replace the tax.

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Focus on corruption

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Focus on corruption: "With the Gomery report still fresh in voters' minds, Harper has an unprecedented opportunity to remind Canadians repeatedly about the arrogance and dishonesty of the Liberal government.

He must do so with a focused campaign that hones in on the irrefutable proof of Liberal corruption over many years.
In fact, there are only three main messages Harper must drive home to the Canadian electorate. First, he must keep the issue of corruption central to this campaign. Second, he must clearly explain how his party will be different, and how it will spend our money more responsibly. And third, and perhaps most crucial, he must convince Canada -- especially Ontario -- he is not the bogeyman many believe him to be. That is just the product of a Liberal spin machine in overdrive"

Advisor.ca - Daily News Goodale listened-No more double taxation on income trusts

Advisor.ca - Daily News: "According to the minister, the tax changes will eliminate the double taxation of dividends. The tax reduction will take the form of an enhanced dividend 'gross-up' and tax credit to make the total tax on dividends received from large Canadian corporations to make it more comparable to the tax paid on distributions of income trusts.
'Reducing the tax individuals pay on dividends will encourage savings and investment and will help establish a better balance between the tax treatment of large corporations and that of income trusts,' said Minister Goodale. 'This action will benefit Canadians and result in bottom-line tax savings for them.'
As a result of this surprise announcement the Canada Revenue Agency will resume providing advance tax rulings on flow-through entity structures"