Sorry Link, it isn't Working

Let me be up-front. I am a card carrying member of the New Democratic Party and have been for some time.  That doesn't mean I am very happy about that party's performance.  I still be support them but some times I think it is becoming tougher and tougher to be a New Democrat as each day passes.

Time for a change?

Jack Layton is well beyond his best before date, the Manitoba New Democrats have slipped to 34% and the NDP in British Columbia are self destructing. 
Here in Saskatchewan despite the fact that the  Saskatchewan Party is basically a one man show leading a group so bush league that most of them would not be capable doing the job as a village alderman, the NDP trail badly in the polls and will be lucky to hold on the the seats they have in the next election.
When Lorne Calvert left politics it was time for the New Democrats to rebuild. Renewal should have been the catch phrase on everyone's lips. When a leadership race was held there were choices which would have given us just that but the tired old party decided  instead to pick a leader from the past. We picked Dwain Lingenfelter.
I came to Saskatchewan not long before Lingenfelter left politics to work as an executive in the energy industry in Calgary so I don't know him well but from what I gather, he was touted to be Roy Romanow's successor but instead, he decided to seek his fame and fortune in Alberta. An odd decision for a New Democrat but a good fit for Dwain.
He wasn't my choice but he did win the race and I respect the process so I figured, what the hell Link, show us how it is done.
He hasn't. His leadership is such a liability that a new NDP candidate in the next election told me, "We'll never will another election here in Saskatchewan until we get rid of that bloody Lingenfelter" (I actually cleaned up the language quite a bit)
So, the NDP in Saskatchewan have a couple of choices. Dwain could resign today and the party could begin to rebuild now, bringing in new blood or, we could get trounced in the next election and then he could get forced out in a leadership review.
Don't get me wrong, there are some very good bright, young faces on the New Democrat side of the legislature and I am encouraged by some of the young, smart candidates running in the next election but unless some of the old guard move over, we are hooped. 
The new face of the party are MLAs like Trent Wotherspoon, Warren McCall, Cam Broten, Danielle Chartier and Darcy Furber. Candidates like Yens Pederson, Jaime Garcia and Heather McIntyre. Guys like Ryan Meili.
My view is the best decision would be to start right now. Have Link step down, put in the Deputy Leader Kevin Yates in as a place holder, elect a new leader, take your lumps in the next election and get on with the rebuilding process.
Any bets on what we actually do?

Isn't it About Time

I sometimes wonder at what the opposition parties think they are doing in Ottawa.  They don't walk the walk and it seems that these days they hardly even talk the talk.
Here we are Federally, being governed by a right wing political despot with a minority government that very few people would be willing to admit that they support yet in any way yet, the opposition parties are dropping the ball and not surprisingly, trail in the polls.
We do have alternatives, the opposition parties could, very easily get together in some kind of coalition, they do after all collectively represent a strong majority of Canadians. It isn't likely to happen however, political hubris would prevent that before and discussion even gets off the ground.
Here is an idea. They could show some leadership.
The conservatives are laughing.
So, we march on, the Liberals talking tough, then embarrassing themselves by supporting the government or, the Bloc quietly making side deals that serve Quebec and the NDP braying impotently from the sidelines.
Time after time the gang of bullies Harper calls a government abuse the system they are bound to uphold and time after time the opposition drop the ball.
It is more than a bit disheartening.
So my challenge to our political opposition is this. Take a good long break over Christmas and think about where this country is going. If this government is in power much longer then Tough on Crime - soft environment will seem like the norm. We'll see more thugs like Julian Fantino get elected. We'll be tearing each other apart over gun control again. We will hardly recognize our country.
So, listen up Iggy and Jack. There is no room for Tea Partiers here but what might work is the good old coffee klatch. So, no more staged breakfast meet and greets filled the party faithful. Get off your rear ends and get out there and do your work one voter at a time. Get out and meet voters in the malls and on the street. Sure you get knocked around a bit but...but after all, you deserve it. You might just learn a thing or two.
We don't need any more old party rhetoric. How hard can it be debunking the Harper political agenda?
Most of all, let us help you throw these bums out of office. If you can't or won't, then move over and let someone else who has got enough fibre to do it for you.

Hello out there

Every once and a while I think it is fun to have a look at where the visitors to this blog come from.
My tracker keeps a note of how many visitors I get each day, who is new and who is returning and where the last 500 people who log onto the site live. It provides me with the visitor's IP address, the name of service providers, the browsers being used and the city and country visitors live in but, of course, not their names.
So if one of those little dots represents you,
welcome to my blog and feel free to leave a comment.

Wikileaks more like Wikigossip

I have got to say that I have been more than a little disappointed at what has been revealed by Wiki-leaks this week. After the first announcement that Wiki had new secrets to reveal, I waited through the weekend with growing excitement.

Everyone but governments and diplomats love this stuff. The more salacious the better. 

The build-up was great. The American Government was reported to be calling around the globe tipping nations off that they may have been a bit more candid then "friends" would like and Harper and his gang were putting on a good, brave face saying "No matter what those guys might have said, they are still our best friends." Holy smoke we thought, great stuff coming.

In the end there was very little for anyone to get their knickers in a knot about. It was more like high school than anything else. 

• Some American diplomats thought that some of the CBC dramas were taking shots at the American border service. 
• They also thought that Canadians have an inferiority complex. 
• The head of Canada's spy agency thinks that the courts are making his job tougher. (Thank God for that I thought)
• A Canadian diplomat was caught out saying things about the leadership of Afghanistan that we have all heard or read in the media time and time again.     

Governments are still nattering on about putting people in harms' way but in reality, at this point, five days of releases have told us nothing we didn't really already suspect was happening anyway.

Whoop-de-do. This time it was all hype, little substance. Wikki-leaks indeed. I have heard more gossip  in the bar on Friday night after floor hockey.

The Conservatives are Spammers of the Worst Kind

 My MP is a homophobic, bush league, Parliamentary bench warmer who only speaks out after it has been cleared by the PMO staff. He is good at getting his picture taken handing over cheques, but little else.

He was particularly silent on the BHP takeover bid even when his old buddy Brad Wall was talking up a storm.  He claimed in the media that he was prevented by law from give his opinion on the matter but unfortunately the reporters forgot to ask him what law it was that prevented him from supporting his constituents position on the takeover.

Tom doesn't really care what urban voters think. He has never come to my door election time and in fact he is seldom seen in the Regina area spending his constituency time pandering to rural voters. Those guys would elect a dead horse if it wore a Conservative t-shirt. Some would suggest they already have.

What Tom Lukiwski is really good at is having his staff send us all the Canada Post equivalent of Spam.

The conservative government members are flooding the postal system with useless propaganda hoping that we will in turn do  the same by returning the whole thing with the expected a response supporting Stephen Harper. When they ask me, "WHO IS WORKING IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CANADIANS (their caps not mine). I usually send it back with checks beside Micheal Ignatieff, Jack Layton, and Elizabeth May.

I find this stuff particularly offensive.

The latest rant I got from Tom Boy was all about how a Stephen Harper Government is so much better that the alternative which he sees as a "ragtag coalition".  The interesting thing is that neither Ignatieff, Layton nor Duceppe wants a coalition to many of us, a coalition government, by its very nature forced to work in co-operation with each other would be 500% better that the government we have. The Harper model is divisive.  Think about it. It thrives on setting one part of the country against another, rural versus urban, knuckle draggers against gun control advocates - you see what I mean. Harper is tearing this country apart and guys like Lukiwski are helping him do it.

Come on boys and girls. Next chance we get, let's dump these people before it is too late.

Pirates, all of Them

I was intrigued this morning by a piece by Neil Reynolds writing in the Globe and Mail about the return to the Gold Standard. He quotes Canadian born economist Dr. Robert Mundell extensively. Mundell has evidentially been predicting a return of that shiny metal as a backbone of our modern economies since 1997. And, now he is backed up by World Bank President Robert Zoellick who is suggesting that the world needs to embrace the gold standard.

To be honest the world economic system all seems like a bit of a shell game to me. Economies seem to rise and fall because of how a group of insecure people feel about them on any given day. The value of currencies being affected by events like North Korea feeling a bit randy one morning or a politician's unfortunate ad lib. It doesn't seem real.

But gold? It is really of very little value except that it is kind of shiny and makes good jewelry. I am not sure I get it.

Or, perhaps I do. I wasn't all that long ago when the world economic system went into free fall that critics were referring to our world's bankers as a bunch of pirates playing loose and free with what is essentially our money. Perhaps it is all beginning to fit together.

I think Michael Flaherty would look good with an eye patch and a three cornered hat. Bring it on.

All together now:
Sixteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo yo ho and a bottle of rum

My New Favorite Chicken Recipe

I tried a new recipe this evening. A Spanish dish, Paprika Chicken with Garlic. It is a dish that a good restaurant wouldn't hesitate to charge you $25.00 for.
So why pay through the nose for something which is so simple to make.

Ingredients
6 to 8 chicken thighs
2 cups of flour
3 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 couple of glugs of olive oil
20 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
2 cups heated chicken stock
1/3 of a cup of dry white wine
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
Salt & pepper

Dredge the chicken in flour then in the paprika. If is isn't covering well take some paprika in your hands and rub it into the chicken. Set it aside.
Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a deep frying pan or a dutch oven. Add the garlic and heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Don't let it brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
Brown the chicken well on both sides. Don't crowd it. Three at a time is probably the easiest depending on the size of your pan. When all the chicken are well browned place the chicken pieces skin side up in the pan. Hopefully your pan is large enough to have the chicken all on one layer,
Put the garlic back into the pan distributing it evenly and between the pieces of chicken. Add the bay leaves, the thyme and the salt and pepper.
Add the hot stock and wine to the pan and turn up the heat bringing it to a boil.
When it boils, turn the heat to simmer, cover the pan and cook for 25 minutes.
After the chicken is done, take it out and put in in a warming oven.
Take out the bay leaves.
Bring the stock back to a boil and reduce it to about 1 1/2 cups.
Put the chicken on warmed plates and pour the sauce and the pieces of garlic over the chicken.

This dish would be great with roast potatoes and what ever vegetable you like.

Why do the Media Pay Attention to the CTF

 I have never been a big fan of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) they are anti-union and much to far to the right for my tastes.  A quick look at their Board of Directors pretty much confirms that these guys are not your average Canadians.

They claim to be grassroots but it is never clear where their money comes from. Friends suggest that the right wing think tank, The Fraser Institute backs them financially but to be honest, I don't know. It would be interesting to take a look at their financial statements though.

The CTF is most at home attacking governments that lean left. They are busy boys and girls when the NDP is in power. Here in Saskatchewan, when the right wing Saskatchewan Party got elected they were not sure what to do so, they pretty much focus on pushing the government act on their core values and to privatize the public sector.To my way of thinking, most of their reports have little depth and are really a waste of time. Not much more than nitpicking really.

To be fair, it is not that they never do any interesting research. Their recent study about how much some of the First Nation's leadership are paid was pretty good and their cautionary notes about Brad Walls favorite project, a new domed stadium for Regina are a good read.

What has always bugged me however is how the media seems to fawn over each and every press release the CTF issues. Having some experience in trying unsuccessfully to get the media to take up important issues, I am sometimes baffled by it but, I think I figured it out.

The government has starved the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for funds and the privately owned media have done the same to their outlets. Everyone is short staffed, there are no funds for research,  few reporters seem to have beats any more so they can't follow issues properly and newspapers are so thin on the ground that they never even bother to rewrite the wire copy to give it local context anymore.

Don't worry about investigative reporting, media don't do that anymore. What news outlets have done is to farm out their responsibility for research and news gathering. Major daily newspapers are acting like small town rags. No money for research, no bother, the Taxpayers Federation will do it for you.

 Don't worry be happy.

Abe Books to the Rescue

I must confess that blogging about politics can start to get to you after a while. It wears you down. Not that there is any lack of material. In fact there is almost to much. It is just that after a while you start to wonder if there is any hope for us as a species. Few people really seem to care any more.

On that note I sometimes wonder about the decisions made by the Canada's book selling community.

Like many Canadians I have been captivated by Stieg Larsson's Millennium series. The author's story is almost as interesting as the books themselves.

I have read the first two books and have seen the first two films in Swedish with subtitles.

I have been waiting for the third book, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, in paperback for some considerable time now. It seems that Canadian booksellers have decided that they can make much more money by delaying release of the cheaper regular format paperback book and continue to sell the large format soft cover edition, at a cost of over $20.00, until at least after Christmas.

I just lost patience. The books are after all copyright 2007.

My solution in the end was to go on-line to Abe Books where I found a brand new paperback edition from a bookstore in the UK. It cost me considerably less to buy it through them, even when you factor in the fact that it was shipped from England.

So...today it gives me great pleasure to thumb my nose at Heather Reisman and to give a big thumbs up to Abe Books, one of the best places to find bestsellers, rare books, signed editions, textbooks, first editions - new and used. They are quick and shipping is often free. Give them a try

If democracy isn't dead in Canada...it is severely wounded.

What a Joker

Our Prime Minister the weaselly Stephen Harper, after his pollster told him Canadians were fed up to the hilt with our involvement in the war in Afghanistan he told us that, no ands, ifs or buts, Canada will be out of Afghanistan by 2011. Sounds pretty definitive.

But hold on. Now the slippery rodent is saying "Oh no. We'll stay on . It is a smaller mission. Just training. Inside the wire (That is military talk Peter McKay taught him) minimal risk"

Now you might think that something like that might just be appropriate to discuss in Parliament. "No no" says Stephen. "That is my decision."  No need to bring that sort of debate to Parliament those opposition friends of the Taliban will just complicate things.

If democracy isn't dead in Canada...it is severely wounded.

Never use the words Regina and snow removal in the same sentence.

Sorry to you faithful readers but I have been a sit under the weather and any creative though I had dried up for a couple of weeks.

I am back and annoyed about the City of Regina's feeble excuse which passes for snow removal in this city. I just assume that Reginans put up with it because they don't know any better. I do.

Oh yes. It snowed again this week. I just wish it would hold off for a few more weeks.

When I lived in Pointe Claire, a suburb of Montreal, the city truck was down my street at the first sign of snow. On a very snowy night they were past my house several times. My the time my kids were home from school the sidewalks were plowed and in a couple of days, the city would come along with a snow blower and take up all the snow lying between the road and the sidewalk. Here in Regina I live on a bus route and I am lucky if the snow plows make it within four days of a snow storm.

The City doesn't clear the sidewalks and if it wasn't for the number of retired guys on my street with snow blowers, you would never be able to walk anywhere in my neighborhood.

I have lived in six different provinces and Regina has the worst snow removal of any where I have ever lived, bar none. It is appalling.

I want to make it clear. I am not slagging the city workers. I certainly am not. I think they do a great job with the resources they are alloted. But, starve city services of resources and you get what you should expect. Crappy service.

So Pat Fiacco, shove that "I heart Regina" stuff there the sun don't shine.

Here is an Idea For You Brad

To be honest I don’t know who is right in this BHP/PCS/Brad Wall war of words over potash. But Brad says "No" and it seems that every day, the rhetoric gets a bit more strident and the stakes are cranked up one more notch.

 The Saskatchewan Government has dispatched a  gaggle of ministers to Ottawa so they can work the back rooms and the corridors of power,  Brad Wall is travelling to Toronto to try and get Canadian business leaders on side and what a windfall in advertizing revenue it much be for the newspaper industry. Each day we are bombarded with new and increasingly strident, full page ads.

Not much seems to be working.  There are no signals out of Ottawa suggesting that anyone in Investment Canada is listening and despite Wall’s special relationship with the Conservatives it doesn’t look like they give much of a damn about what Brad wants.

The only Federal MP who has spoken out about the takeover is Ralph Goodale.

 Let’s face it, this Stephen Harper government hasn’t ever given much thought to the needs of Saskatchewan’s government or its people, ever.  Why change now? Harper feels his 13 Saskatchewan MPs are on pretty solid ground.

So, I have a suggestion for the Premier. The next time you have the opportunity, make it very clear that if the Federal government approves the BHP deal, come the next Federal election, you will run Saskatchewan Party candidates in every Conservative riding in the province.

I assure you Mr. Premier , that will get Harper’s attention.  Saddled with 13 lightweight Saskatchewan MPs whose only selling point is the political parties they don’t belong to, Harper would have real difficulty holding on the any one of those seats.

Stephen Harper Makes me Ashamed to be a Canadian

There is not a lot I can say about Omar Khadr I haven't already said in other posts. Besides I think I am just to angry to write much  about it right now.

Omar Khadr was born in Canada and he is a Canadian citizen.

He was 11 years old when his father, an alleged al-Qaeda financier, took him to Pakistan.

When he was 15 has tagged along with a small group of al-Qaeda fighters. The group got into a firefight with some Americans.

The Americans claim that, despite being seriously wounded, somehow Omar threw a grenade and an American was killed.

Omar was taken captive and tortured by the Americans.

He was locked up in Guantanamo Bay for 8 years.

Faced with a process, so unfair, that it would never be permitted in any civilized western country, including the USA he was left with little choice but to purger himself by pleading guilty,  in an effort to get a plea bargain deal which should allow him to return to Canada after a year.  

He will be the only person found guilty of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan where over 1,000 American soldier's have died since their invasion in 2001.

Omar was sent to trial this year, the only war crimes tribunal to prosecute someone for acts committed while they were a child since the second world war.

He is only western foreign national left in Guantanamo. Every other western country intervened on their citizen's behalf and lobbied for their release. Under the leadership of Stephen Harper our government has refused to do the same.

I have often been concerned about the actions of my government but the conduct of the Harper Conservatives in this matter is worse than I could have imagined possible. As Canadians we should be ashamed that we let this happen. 

Do not Pass Go

Unlike a very large number of its citizens who have already made up their mind, successive Canadian government have been spinning in the wind with the issues around recreational drug use.

Those of us who are old enough remember attended the Le Dain Commission public hearings on the non-Medical use of Drugs in the late 60’s, early70’s. About 12,000 people attended and participated in these hearings which were held across Canada. A number or prominent individuals gave testimony including John Lennon. It was a big deal.

Go Directly to Jail

In June 1970 the Commission delivered its interim report, calling for the decriminalization of all drugs. Going far beyond suggesting decriminalizing marijuana, commission chair Gerald LeDain recommended a maximum fine of $100 for possession of any drug, including "hard drugs" like cocaine and heroin. Although the Commission report was widely praised for its thoroughness and thoughtfulness, as might be expected, its conclusions were largely ignored by the federal government.
Over the years, as other countries relaxed their attitudes toward recreational drug use, particularly pot, Canada typically couldn’t make up its mind. Tolerance varied depending on where you lived. For a while, particularly in B.C. and Quebec, people smoked weed openly in some bars. A practice you most likely wouldn’t have wanted to try in Saskatchewan.
 In 2005 Cannabis surpassed wheat as Canada's most lucrative agricultural crop. Canada's  cannabis market is estimated to be worth $8.5 billion annually, approximately three times the size of Canada's largest legal crop. In British Columbia alone the growing and selling of marijuana it is estimated to be worth $6 billion a year.
Several polls since 2003 have found that a majority of Canadians agreed with the statement, "The use of marijuana should be legalized", the latest being the 2009 Angus Reid poll, with 53% for legalization   
The Green Party of Canada supports the legalization of cannabis. The Liberals have several times toyed with the idea of decriminalizing the drug.
The New Democrats previously supported the legalization of the cannabis until   Jack Layton reversed his position on the issue in 2009. Before that, Layton encouraged people to “join the party” and support the NDP because he believed they should be allowed to smoke marijuana in the comfort of their own homes or in cafes without being considered criminals.
In the end no one was brave enough to make the move. The right wing and the RCMP would raise a fuss, no question, there is a lot of job security in fighting pot use.

These days, even in the face of the American anti drug crusade, California is moving to legalize possession of marijuana for personal use.

In Canada our government under the direction of Stephen Harper is attempting once again, to move his crowd, and us, off in another completely different direction.  Harper wants to toughen up punishment for drug use. Harper wants anyone who is found growing a more than five pot plants in the backyard to go directly to jail. This is all part of Harper’s tough on crime legislation but as usual, his legislation is much too far reaching. Parts of the bill make sense but to say that in the government’s view growing six plants is a serious drug crime is sheer nonsense.

 Going to jail for seven to ten months for growing six plants in the back garden or under a grow light in the basement makes no sense at all.

I simple can’t understand why these guys don’t understand that the real problem here is not the substance but the prohibition of the substance. 

I wonder Where They Learned This Stuff

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi with Stevie Harper

I note in the Globe & Mail that the Canadian Government is “deeply concerned” by a report that Ethiopia is using aid money to routinely reward supporters and to punish those who fail to support it.

 A Human Rights Watch investigation came to the conclusion that Ethiopia is abusing the foreign aid it receives. Farmers who fail to support the ruling party are denied access to fertilizer, seeds, loans and other agricultural aid.

It is also reported that the government is using the foreign aid program to purge the civil service of anyone with an independent political view.

I don’t really understand why any Canadian is shocked by all this. It sounds like the way Harper delivered the infrastructure money earlier this year. Conservative ridings got well in excess of what ridings who voted for other parties got.

And here in Saskatchewan I know plenty of smart and effective civil servants who lost their jobs when Brad Wall’s right wingers took over from the NDP just because the new governments wanted to put their own people into power, to pay off political favours and to get rid of anyone who might have a connection to the previous political party no matter how well they did their jobs.
Canadians never seem to be put off by these practices. It sounds like old style Canadian politics. And we put up with it.  I do understand that the practice is repugnant but I don’t know why the Conservative government would be pissed about it. The practice is directly from Harper's own rule book.

Sometimes You Have to Wonder

I have to say that the Canadian electorate, when it comes to accessing political systems, parties and leaders are one of the most screwed up groups of people in the world.

First let me say that our great fear of change allows us to be lead around by the nose by politicians who work their butts off seeking that magic 40% or so voter support. Reach that number and a majority government is almost guaranteed. 

Doesn’t that sound really dumb?

Yet, try to talk about Proportional Representation and most Canadian’s eyes glaze over. This seemingly bright nation can’t seem to figure it out. Our first past the post system is screwing us.

I was reading the results of a very recent Angus Reid poll yesterday and I confess that I came away shaking my head.

If you look at Canadian’s voting intention 34% would vote for the Harper Conservatives, 26% would support the Liberals lead by Michael Ignatieff and 18% would support the NDP.

Ok, I guess we could easily come to the conclusion that Canadians like Harper and his bunch.  

Not so fast though.  Canadian were asked to select up to six words or expressions from a list, that best described the party leaders.

• When it came to Stephen Harper the five words chosen most often were secretive, arrogant, dishonest, out of touch and uncaring. Only 2% thought he was exciting.
• The NDP’s Jack Layton in contrast was described as intelligent, down to earth, honest, compassionate and open.

What do you think? A kind of collective schizophrenia? Go figure.

Surprisingly, the divisive debate over the long gun registry, supported by about two thirds of Canadians seems to have done little to boost support for the Liberals nor the NDP nor did it hurt Harper.

Encouragingly, the Green Party moved into double digits nationally for the first time at 11%. Interestingly in British Columbia the Greens very nearly surpassed the Liberals. Higher than the Bloc nationally but our voting system will guarantee a large number of Bloc seats and the Greens will continue to struggle to elect anyone.  

In Saskatchewan where citizens seem to like getting screwed over, support is still high for Harper and his bunch of loyal, but not too bright foot soldiers.
Very few people think we will or should have an election in the fall so in the meantime Harper and his gang will carry on dismantling our country, the Liberals will continue to gaze at their belly buttons and wonder how they ever were so dumb to pick Iggy over Bob Rae, Gilles Duceppe, the avowed separatist and perhaps the best politician of the lot, will continue to build up is Canadian Federal Government pension and Jack Layton will dream about being Prime Minister and prepare for his last election as leader.

Saskatchewan Potash Soap Opera Continues

Little Stevie must be in a bit of a quandary over the Saskatchewan position on the proposed takeover of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan by the Australian firm BHP Billiton. The Saskatchewan government has been acting a bit like a banana republic in their in backroom talks with BHP trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of the company but their demand of $1 billion dollars and hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure money, was a bit rich. These guys are very large global players and one suspects that Brad's small town negotiators were much of a match. This isn't much like making a deal in Swift Current.  Billiton walked away from the table. 

Now Harper and his gang of thugs in Ottawa (well mostly Harper really) have to decide if they will continue with their policy of openness to foreign investment or, if they will ignore their policy in favour of supporting what Brad Wall calls his “special relationship” with this Conservative government.

Now truth be told, this issue of foreign ownership when it comes to Potash is mostly bullshit anyway. As Wall well knows, that horse left the barn years ago.

• The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has it’s head office in Chicago.
• Mosiac  the other major Saskatchewan potash player has their head office in Plymouth Minnesota.

Why pretend that these are Saskatchewan companies anyway? A bit of honesty would be refreshing here.

Right now Ralph Goodale, Saskatchewan’s only Liberal MP is getting great mileage out of the events saying that  if Harper doesn’t act on the Saskatchewan request and reject the BHP effort  they “...do so at great peril” ,also noting that if the government goes along with Wall’s request it puts Harper’s investment strategy into a tailspin.

The great herd of Saskatchewan Conservative Members of Parliament are not surprisingly, very  quiet about it all. But, no one ever expected for MPs like Tom Lukiwski  to speak out for his constituents before he was absolutely certain which way the wind was going to blow.

Historically Harper never really gave a damn about Saskatchewan anyway. We remember the broken promises on transfer payments. He never saw a problem with welshing on that promise and nor did his lackey Saskatchewan MPs.

It will be interesting to see what happens. 

Are you Embarrassed Yet Prime Minister?

Burkina Faso is one of those countries you seldom hear about. A country of 15 million sitting north of Cote d’Iviore, Ghana and Togo, it is one of the world’s poorest nations.   

Canada had a fairly long relationship with Burkina Faso.  Canadian companies, mostly mining firms, provide the small country’s largest source of foreign private investment. But despite our relationship with them, last year, Bev Oda announced that Canada was cutting bilateral aid to several developing countries throughout Africa, Latin America, and Asia and that development funding would be focused on just 20 “priority” countries.

Its Foreign Minister, Bedouma Yoda, doesn’t understand why Canada made that move and came to Canada to ask why. Burkina Faso wasn’t the only African country confused and angered about Canadian actions. Embassies, such as the one in Malawi, have been shut. In all eight African countries were dropped and our smaller list of 20 priority aid recipients marked a shift to Latin America  

“Africa understood that Canada was becoming disinterested in her,” Mr. Yoda said.

My guess is that to Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, the old “You reap what you sow” message is now crystal clear.

Canada was humiliated at the United Nations yesterday having been refused a seat on the Security Council. Beat out by Portugal. It is the first time in history that Canada has been snubbed in this way.

But, it wasn’t just Africa.

• Canada’s move from taking a diplomatic role in the middle east – a mid-power broker - to that of being Israel’s most stalwart defender played a role too.
• Canada’s role as one of the world’s most active and committed UN peacekeeper has been eroded over the past several years as well, with Canada choosing instead to get involved in much more aggressive actions in places such as Afghanistan.  Canada’s Generals started to boast about killing “scumbags” instead of talking about the commitment this country had in helping to bring order to divided nations struggling under conflict.
• Canada today has only 62 peacekeepers working abroad, 10 of them in Haiti.
• This Conservative Government has snubbed its nose at other developed and developing countries over climate change.
• Harper is out of step with Canada’s allies on women’s reproductive rights
• In the face of the Global banking meltdown Canada’s refusal to impose a tax on international banking basically scotched a proposal much favoured in Europe designed to build a fund as a cushion to be used in case of a future economic crisis.
• Then last year, our less that Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave up an opportunity to speak at the United Nations for a trip to an Ontario Tim Horton’s to have a double-double and to press the flesh.

Earlier this year Harper spoke to a near empty United Nations chamber, most delegates choosing to take an early lunch.

So Stephen, are you embarrassed yet? 


You bloody well should be.

We'll See How Lucky the Moose Really is

The Lucky Moose Food Mart

I have been intrigued by the court room drama being playing out this week in Toronto.  I have been baffled by the whole thing since the incidents which started all this in motion took place, several months ago.   

It is somewhat ironic that this all transpiring during the week that the “new” Globe & Mail is focusing on immigration and how Canada should be doing a better job helping immigrants to integrate into Canadian society.

OK, for those of you who live under a rock and missed this story, this is what happened.

David Chen, a Chinese immigrant, owns the Lucky Moose Food Mart on Dundas Street in Toronto. He has been plagued by shoplifters to such a degree that he installed a $30.000 video security system in the place. The police – just in case you forgot are the people who are supposed to capture bad guys - it seems have been very little help to him. In the past when he has called than have taken up to five hours to respond and when they do actually get there on time, have encouraged him not to press charges and have let the culprits go.

In May, Anthony Bennett, a petty thief and drug addict, skulked in and stole a bunch of flowers worth about $60.00. Flowers are easy to sell on the street for quick cash you see. Chen saw him do it but was unable to intervene and Bennett got away. Chen checked the security video and it was clear to him who did the dirty deed.

A few hours later, one assumes after successfully selling the flowers on the street, Bennett, a creature of habit returned to the Lucky Moose and from what I saw on the video tape was reaching over to steal more flowers. Chen confronted him. Bennett challenged Chen saying, “I have never been here before. You fuck off you Chinese. Stop bullshitting me.” Then he ran. Chen and another employee gave chase and eventually they were seen by another employee of Chen who was driving a delivery van. Together they captured Bennett and after a fight secured him, threw him in the van and hailed passing police to have him arrested.

Much to their surprise, they were hand cuffed, arrested, brought to the station and strip searched. And, charged with forcible confinement.

Now to be fair to the cops they did also charge Bennett the thief who has a rap sheet going back 30 years and who admitted that he had stolen the original flowers and recognizing a good thing, had returned to steal more flowers. Bennett was convicted but was offered a reduced sentence in exchange for a deal that he would agree to testify against Chen and his employees.

To be honest my only complaint against Chen is that the “moose” on his store sign looks more like a cow. But, I suppose most downtown Toronto people wouldn’t know the difference anyway.

Is this what Stephen Harper and Injustice Minister Vic Toews mean when the talk about their “Law and order agenda?”  I figure I must be one of their old “soft on crime” guys but to be honest, it all just pisses me off. 

If there is any justice in the system - which is debatable – the judge will through this charade whole thing out of court.

New Poll Shoots Holes in Harper Strategy

I thought I was done with the long gun registry but there was something in the Harper Government response to the defeat of Candy Hoeppner’s bill that offended me enough to keep watching this file. Remember Harper was very clear that those who switched their votes will pay at the polls and that the Conservatives will not rest until the registry is abolished.

I new poll was released yesterday that illustrates how out of touch that bunch of Tories really are. The Ipsos Reid poll was conducted between September 27 and October 4l shows that two thirds of Canadians, support the long-gun registry. The figure is 66% to be exact. Even people who tend to vote for the Harper Conservatives are split on the issue.

Alberta is the only place in Canada where citizens support the scrapping of the registry. No real surprise there but even in wild rose country, the figures are close with 53% in opposition to the registry with 47% in support. The poll finds that support for the registry is highest in Quebec  at 81% followed by Ontario at 66%, British Columbia at 61%, Atlantic Canada supports the registry by 59%  and Saskatchewan and Manitoba combined come in at 57% supporting the registry.

The last figure may come as a surprise to Saskatchewan residents who were bombarded by media reports during the registry fight, suggesting that far in a majority of residents supported abolition. Even the CBC in Saskatchewan pandered to the abolitionists giving voice to every crazy in the province on Garth Materie's call-in show. I simply couldn’t listen to the rants and as a result have pretty much given up on CBC local radio.

 Other interesting figures jump out of the survey;:

-  Conservative voters mirrored the Alberta results with 47% supporting the registry and    53% opposed.

-  Liberals  were at 78% support to  22% opposed.

-  Sixty sever percent of NDPers support the registry and 33% oppose.

-  Bloc Quebecois voters: 88 % support; 12 % oppose.

-  With the Green party, 68% support; 32% oppose.

The poll finds that 23% of Canadians say the results of the recent parliamentary tussle over Hoeppner's bill could have an impact on how they vote in the next election.

 Let's bring on an election an toss those bums out.

Shouldn't We Expect Something Close to the Truth

The question we should be asking ourselves as Canadians is,  when at least a couple of government minister, have been shown to consistently lie through their teeth, is that news?


To me, honesty in government is a  fundamental requirement, but to our media it doesn't seem to be very important news at all. Now to their credit, the news outlet with the most to lose by attacking government, the CBC, did uncover this story but so far at least I don't see any other outlet picking it up.

Well are his lips moving?

You will recall that Max Bernier - most of us remember Max, not because of his good work but because of his ex-girlfriend and the secret documents he left at her apartment - was quoted ad nausim that when he was Industry Minister he received thousands of e-mails every day complaining about the long form census. Now to me, that did sound a bit over the top, even for Max but, if you can't believe the Minister of the Crown, who can you believe after all?


Using access to information legislation the CBC uncovered an e-mail from a senior StatsCan official which said in response to a question about the number of e-mails recieved by government about the issue "We got the standard 20 to 30 a year."


These days of course,  the misguided charge is being led by Tony Clement - a minister I will freely admit I really don't like - who claims the government received far too many complaints from citizens who said the mandatory long-form census is intrusive and they don't want to feel forced to file. Clement feels that forcing Canadians to fill out the long form   under threat of jail and fines is “a terrible degradation of the social contract between the governors and the governed.” He too claims that scores and scores of Canadian citizens have contacted him about it. Again evidence uncovered suggests that Tony, not unlike many of Harpers gang of hooligans makes it up as he goes along.


Now I know that it is considered unparliamentary for one MP to call another MP a liar but should we not at the very lease expect the response from ministers to legitimate questions to least resemble the truth.

Flaherty Sucks up to Business Again

In 2008, the Conservative government set up the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board, an independent body created  to set premium rates and to take the politics out of the process. At least that is how it is supposed to work.



That board which don't forget is a Conservative appointed board, called for an increase to premiums of almost 10 per cent on January 1st.  


Before anyone could act on the recommendation a private member's bil proposed by Bloc Quebecois MP Yves Lessard,  and hit the floor of the house. This bill, supported by the NDP, would have allowed anyone who has worked at least 350 hours, as opposed to the current minimum of 420 hours, to qualify for EI benefits. It also would increase the maximum weekly benefits to 60 per cent of earning, up from 55 per cent.


The  bill that would have allowed more jobless Canadians to collect employment insurance premiums at higher rate was defeated in a Commons vote Wednesday after Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff  made sure enough Liberals defeated the bill and he climbed on the finance minister's mantra about the cost of the proposed bill. 

MPs voted 147-124 to defeat the bill, which until Ignatieff's public change of heart had been given a strong chance of winning approval in principle and being sent to a committee for further study.

Once the private member's bill was out of the way, thanks to the Liberals, Flaherty announced that the he was going to ignore the Board recommendation and that the 2011 increase will be limited to five cents per every $100 of insurable earnings. He says, he limited the recommended increase after "listening and consulting" with business owners. 


What everyone conveniently  seems to forget is that the EI fund has a surplus. The government owes the Employment Insurance Fund over $60 billion. Most of that money was taken from the fund when the Liberal were in power.  


I guess neither Flaherty, nor Harper, nor Ignatieff thought to consult with the people who use the plan, the unemployed. My sense is that their message would have been slightly different from the incessant whining of business community leaders.


What really confuses me is why people actually vote for those guys.

 

Michaëlle Jean Moves On.

I am not what you would call a monarchist so I  have never been a huge fan having the  post of Governor General here in Canada but, I accept the fact that the position exists. I my lifetime Prime Ministers have for the most part appointed stuffy old white guys to the post, a tradition Stephen Harper has returned to with the appointment of the new guy, 69 year old David Johnston.

Harper owes Johnston big time for basically saving Brian Mulroney's ass when wrote the terms of reference which restricted the jurisdiction of the Oliphant inquiry, that probed the business transactions between former prime minister Brian Mulroney and German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber. Surely a good bottle of single malt would have been enough. Lets just say Johnston and Harper have a special relationship and leave it at that. 


To be honest I am sorry to see Michaëlle Jean leave. I thought she brought a touch of class to the position and she   overflowed with real human warmth. My only real problem with her was her decision which allowed Harper to prorogue parliament when there was a workable coalition waiting in the wings, capable and willing to form government. I think that was a huge error which will forever temper my feelings about her.


It was a low point in Canada's history which plagues us still. One which illustrates how little most Canadians actually know about how our country works. Harper and his gang of thugs still go on and on ad nauseam about coalitions as if they are some how illegitimate. 


So, I was surprised to read this morning in the Globe & Mail that in his new book  Harperland,  columnist Lawrence Martin claims that if he was turned down by the G.G., evidentially Harper, never one to take no for an answer, was prepared to try to go over Jean's head and talk directly to the Queen, asking her to do the dirty deed.


Now that would have been an interesting political drama.

How Come We Don't Get It

Anyone interested in political process in Canada has been watching the New Brunswick election pretty closely. Voters delivered the ruling Liberals an upset Monday night bring into power David Alward’s Progressive Conservatives.

It wasn’t supposed to work that way.

In 2006, then Premier Bernard Lord promised a referendum on a proposal by the Commission on Legislative Democracy which suggested a mixed-member proportional voting system be brought into the Atlantic province.

Ironically, before a referendum could be held on the issue, Premier Lord was defeated in an election, in which Lord’s Progressive Conservatives got more votes, but in which the voting system gave the Liberals a majority of seats.

In this election half the voters cast votes for the Progressive Conservatives and half for other parties. Fair enough one might think but the half supporting the PC’s will hold a whacking three times as many seats. In fact they will hold a bit more than that.

The Liberals win the rest of the seats, 13 out of the 55 seats up for grabs. The 17% of voters who voted for other like the NDP and the Greens do not get any representation at all.

The galling part is that although far in a majority of democratic governments around the world use some sort of Proportional Representation, Canada's mainstream parties cling to the First Past the Post system which often allows them to win majority governments when they actually receive much less than a majority of the popular vote. And, of course it delivers skewed results such as those in New Brunswick.

For more information on proportional representation have a look at the Fair Vote Canada website or to have a look at how New Brunswick would look had proportional representation been in place visit Wilf Day's blog.

Pay Attention Canada

I noticed an important story in the Hill Times today, unfortunately ignored by most of the mainstream media, at least so far.

We remember Pat Stogran the veteran's ombudsman  who is being drummed out of his position by the Harper bullies for having the gall to actually do his job. To speak up, forcefully on behalf of veterans and to voice some of the concerns raised to him by those he considered his constituents and he brought to light the shoddy treatment many of them felt they were getting under the leadership Conservative government.

Harper loved the ready access the military provided for photo-ops and the like but when he was needed to provide support to people wounded or traumatized by Afghanistan little Stevie pulled the political equivalent of a "cut and run."

Real support is so much much more than a photo-op Stephen.

Perhaps the most telling thing he brought to light was when he confided that he was told by a senior civil servant   " … that it is in the government’s best interests to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term.” The former senior military officer was shaken to the bone by the comment. “

Now Stogran has revealed that says he believes that the Veterans Affairs Department may have improperly accessed and shared his medical files and other information after he brought forward his concerns and was speaking out on behalf of  veterans.


Mr. Stogran said he first raised the issue after discovering there had been as many as 400 “improper inquiries” into his personal file at the Veterans Affairs Department. At first he didn't worry too much about thinking that people in the department were just curious about who he was but Mr. Stogran became more concerned when
another high-profile veteran, Sean Bruyea, told CP last week that  he obtained information that his personal information and medical files had been spread around within government and used in attempts to discredit him.  It was at that point that Stogran  became aware he may also have been a target. "It was apparent that more people had been in my file than had any business being in my file" Stogran said.

Doesn't this just piss you off? I hate where we seem to be going as a country. Our government is out of control and in the face of it all, Harper is up in the polls.

Give your head a shake Canada. Is this what you want.

Way to go George

Usually main stream media just don't seem to get it. 

Last night on his show George Stroumboulopoulos  said;

“The gun registry survived last night’s vote 153-151, but the prime minister just won’t let it go.

Take a look. (Stephen Harper: “. . . we will continue our efforts until this registry is finally abolished.”)

Here’s what I just don’t understand. And you can help me through this. Does the Prime Minister think it’s not a democracy if he doesn’t win?  ‘Cause MPs represent people. So we have to assume that they voted for their constituents. In fact we know that a lot of MPs went against their own personal beliefs to represent their constituents. So in a sense Canadians have spoken.

But Mr. Harper . . . if you think the system isn’t fair – I’m with you. So why don’t we change it. How about proportional representation, where every vote actually counts.”

I know George probably doesn't consider himself main stream so "I am sorry for suggesting you are George but "Way to go  buddy!"

Check George out at http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/videos.html?ID=1599034077  or go to 

Fair Vote Canada