Did everyone Just wake up Yesterday

Harper touts his economic record - Canadians are fooled again - by 2012 it has grown to $58 Billion

Stephen Harper wants you to believe that he has an amazing economic record. The Globe & Mail believes him and from what I can gather, so do a majority of Canadians.

The graphic says it all.

Harper is on to something here. Lie and cheat all you want. No one really cares. In fact, no one is paying attention at all.

Haven't we had Enough of Lisa Raitt

Lisa Raitt, one of Harper's toadies,  always has been a light weight, ready to abandon her historical roots to appease the business side of industrial relations.

Lisa Has a Record of Making Bad Decisions

Her record to date has put her in such a position that it has become impossible for her to act effectively as Labour Minister in the Harper Government. Always ready to shift the balance to business and screw labour's efforts to negotiate reasonable bargaining agreements, this week her actions took the cake.

As she hustled through the Toronto Airport, a few Air Canada employees, taunted her with a slow clap and by calling out "Good Job Lisa." You can hardly blame them. Lisa screwed the worker not much more that a week ago and they are pretty bitter.

What Lisa should have done was to simply walk on but, instead she called out for the RCMP to arrest the clappers. Air Canada then fired them and in doing so, caused a wildcat strike in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. It caused massive delays.

So who is to blame.

In my view, if we are making a list;

• Lisa Raitt is on top.  
• Air Canada is next.

I think we are seeing the beginning of a major push back by labour. Canadian business and governments really didn't like the hard line labour took in the1980's. When labour began to work with business through interest based bargaining and taking concessions when times did get tough. .

Labour has been re-payed by business and governments by enabling the shifting of good Canadian jobs to the third world and collectively moving wages, benefits and pensions  ever closer to the lowest common denominator.

Hold on to your hats. This could get ugly. It should get ugly.

Watching the NDP Leadership Race

I am having a ball watching the NDP leadership race.

I have to amend my prediction that Thomas Mulcair will win by the second ballot. It may take three or four.

 I think Topp is all but out but - I have been wrong before.

The kingmaker probably will be Cullen and I can imagine him going to Topp. Nash is an also ran at this point..

The most interesting thing was to listen to Conservative Cabinet Minister James Moore comment on the convention.

He said "Everyone would say Jack was a really nice guy. Everyone liked him but no one would say that about Mulcair."

That shown two things in my mind.

1. Just how mean spirited the Cons are
2. How afraid the Cons are of Tom

He also scoffed at Mulcair's 30% support on the first ballot forgetting that the Cons won a majority with not much more than that. Also forgetting that the NDP are tied with the Con Men for Canadians support this week.

What Elizabeth May has to Say About Election Fraud

I don't very often re-post material from other people's blogs but I thought this posting from Elizabeth was a good read and asks some interesting questions about election fraud. You can read Elizabeth's blog regularly by going here


Election fraud: how many unsolved crimes are there and can Elections Canada get to the bottom of them?

Lately, a lot of allegations have been made that there were election irregularities and some outright crimes committed in the 2011 election. What we do not know is who was responsible.

But we may be dealing with a serial offender, or offenders. When one thinks about the election skulduggery of the last six years, it is clear that Canada does a poor job of getting to the bottom of some serious crimes.

Here’s a short list of the ones that still bother me. They remain unsolved.
RCMP interference in the 2006 election. (Remember Zaccardelli issuing a press release about looking into NDP charges that the Liberals had leaked details about the income trust taxation issue? There was nothing to it, but it arguably changed the outcome of the election.) Issuing a press release in an election campaign was a violation of RCMP normal practice. Naming a Finance Minister in the release was unheard of. The Public Complaints Commission for the RCMP, under its director Paul Kennedy, tried to question former RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli. Zaccardelli refused to be questioned and Kennedy lacked subpoena powers. No one knows if there was any political involvement, inducement or pay-off involved. Zaccardelli is now a senior Interpol officer in Lyon, France.
How hard did the Conservatives try to bring down the Martin government in spring 2005? Did the effort include the offer of a million dollar life insurance policy to Chuck Cadman? It was alleged,there was a tape. What happened to the investigation? If it happened, it was illegal.
The Conservative campaign in the Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley in 2008. Courageous MP Bill Casey had been expelled from the Conservative caucus for voting against the 2008 budget which violated the contract with NS, known as the “Atlantic Accord.” In 2008, Casey ran as an Independent. The Conservative Candidate Joel Bernard left Stockwell Day’s office to challenge him. (In an interesting side-bar, the entire Conservative riding association insisted that Bill Casey was their candidate. The Conservative Party fired the whole of the local executive and appointed a secret group to chose their candidate.) Casey was re-elected handily. After the election, Casey learned that Bernard’s campaign had gone to the RCMP and alleged that Casey had embezzled funds from the Conservative riding association. There was no truth to such charges, but it also emerged that efforts had been made to peddle the story to the local media during the election. Media did not cover it because Casey’s reputation for integrity made it too implausible to treat seriously. But making unsubstantiated allegations and wasting RCMP resources were themselves possibly criminal acts.
In 2008, well-documented robocalls were made into the riding I now hold – Saanich-Gulf Islands. There are many details of this case in my previous blogs. It was clearly illegal. The automated calls claimed to be from the NDP and demonstrably were not. The home fax line of the NDP riding association president had been “spoofed.” (So that his number appeared to be the source of the calls.) Calls were made that urged citizens to vote for the NDP candidate who had withdrawn from the race. The robocalls may well have changed the outcome of the election. Yet, Elections Canada dropped the case and ruled no laws had been broken.
Were Larry Smith and Fabian Manning given any promises that if they left the Senate to run for a Commons seat in 2011, and were to lose, they would be re-appointed to the Senate? Both Conservative Senators vied for a seat, one in Montreal, the other in Newfoundland. Both lost and were re-appointed to the Senate within weeks of the May 2, 2011 election. Democracy Watch demanded an investigation as, if such a promise was made, it violated the Criminal Code.

Add these to the spate of calls in 2011 designed to misdirect voters to non-existent polling places, the allegations of a secret Conservative bank account in Vaughn. Add to that the legal, but unethical, use of “voter suppression” techniques – attack ads, writ periods at the legal minimum length, disgusting behaviour in the House of Commons – and you have a toxic recipe for poisoning democracy.

Canadians must not allow allegations of serious election crimes to be swept under the carpet once again. It may that the guilty party is a “win at all costs” attitude; an acceptance of the morally bankrupt idea that anything goes and the only sin is getting caught.

We need to know and we need to stop it.

Lisa Raitt Has to Go

Time to Go, Lisa

Ok, lets get the legal stuff on the table off the top. The Canada Labour Code is a dense set of regulations that sets out the rules of conduct for Federally regulated employees and employers. I say dense because it comes in five parts and unless you have studied the damn thing, good luck working your way through it.

In recent days we have seen Canada’s Labour Minister, Lisa Raitt quoting from the Code in her justification for blocking Air Canada from locking out the pilots and for the Machinists from going on strike.

The Labour Code says, Division V 87.4 (1) During a strike or lockout not prohibited by this Part, the employer, the trade union and the employees in the bargaining unit must continue the supply of services, operation of facilities or production of goods to the extent necessary to prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public.

The “immediate and serious danger” the Labour Minister says she was trying to prevent was a disruption of airline service during what is spring break in some parts of Canada, particularly in Ontario.

She referred the issue to the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) and in doing so, interrupted the initiate any work stoppage until the CIRB is able to rule whether or not, a work stoppage would contravene that part of the regulations.

From my perspective, the only honourable thing the members of the CIRB could have done then, was to submit their resignations enmasse. I worked within the Labour community for over 30 years and I have had my share of arguments with decisions taken by Ministers of Labour Federal and Provincial, but I have never in my life, seen such total disregard for process.

The stall tactic used by Raitt allowed her the time to get back to work legislation into the house. Bill C-33 was rammed through after a late-night session in the House of Commons. It was passed at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning with MP’s voting 155 in favour to 124 against.

The bill which now just needs the approval of the Conservative dominated Senate will force the parties to binding arbitration. The arbitrator will be picked by the government. Workers should not hold out much hope for a fair settlement.

We have come a very long way from the time when Brice Mackasey is reported to have advised a senior civil servant that he should think of the position as the Minister for Labour since there are plenty of other departments to look out the other interests.

Raitt should know better but, she is has been a controversial figure in much of her working life, unafraid to support positions unpopular to all but hard line Conservatives.

The Harper Government is trying to send Labour a strong message through Raitt. She has shown in her response to disputes at Canada Post and Air Canada the when it comes to Labour Relations, they will stand up for business every time no matter what laws get trampled in the process.

Organized labour in Canada has a choice. They can stand by and watch workers get steam rolled by Harper or, they can get up off their collective asses and take this government on. It has been a long time since a Canadian Labour Leader went to jail for standing up for what was right. Perhaps it is time a few of them put their jobs on the line.

How Deep is the Love?

Rob Anders Nods off in House of Commons

The Conservatives love a good war. They were deeply pissed off when Canada gave a pass on the invasion of Iraq and when they were in power, the soldiers became poster boys for the re-election of Harper’s Government.

They have a decidedly different view of the military when they lose their usefulness. One legged poster boys don’t have the same appeal.

Veterans have become used to receiving the brush off from this government.

Military bureaucracy can’t hold a candle to the quagmire veterans have to wade through at Veterans Affairs. That is nothing new but one might think that the party that has been working hand over fist to put the military first and foremost in people’s minds, might pay a bit more attention to those who have done their bit.

Retired army personnel fighting to get some adequate compensation after being exposed to Agent Orange have been banging their heads against a brick wall for years.

It got so bad at one point that The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association issued a statement saying they are astounded by the "hurdles, the runarounds and the hardships” Canada’s veterans face when they try to collect federal military service and disability benefits.

We remember Pat Stogran the veteran's ombudsman was 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.

Then it was revealed that Veterans Affairs Department improperly accessed and shared his medical files and other information after he brought forward his concerns and was speaking out on behalf of veterans.

The shoddy treatment continues.

Several newspapers reported this week Calgary Conservative MP Rob Anders is accused of falling asleep at a Commons Veterans Affairs Committee during a presentation about efforts to help homeless former soldiers.

Anders came late to the Halifax meeting then, according to Jim Lowther, president of Veterans Emergency Transition Services, Anders slept through the group's presentation at the committee on Tuesday. Liberal MP Sean Casey, who is on the committee, said Anders has fallen asleep before at its meetings. "This happens fairly regularly at veterans committee, so it wasn't out of the ordinary," he said. "This isn't the first time."

The presentation was about the transition services group seeking charitable status, but not wanting any federal funding.

Not unexpectedly, Anders claims he was awake for the entire meeting and he accused Jim Lowther, president of Veterans Emergency Transition Services of being under the control of NDP MP Peter Stoffer, who is the party's veterans affairs critic.

In an almost incomprehensible statement Anders said, "If you praise Vladimir Putin with the way he deals with veterans and you're on NDP press releases and you praise Peter Stoffer and you're in favour of the unionization of the RCMP and you try to crash the prime minister's rallies and you criticize Rob Anders for visiting a mess hall, go figure, Connect the dots."

"When you guys go quoting somebody I think it would be nice if you do a little background on this guy to figure out he's a hack," Anders added.

But Anders appears to be confusing David MacLeod, in part at least, for Lowther. MacLeod said he made the actual presentation, while Lowther, who had pneumonia, sat beside him.

MacLeod said he mentioned in his presentation that the Russians had provided housing for their former soldiers and had set up a hospital to treat Afghan war veterans with post traumatic stress disorders, something he thought was a good idea.

"I support Vladimir Putin?" said MacLeod, when told of Anders' remarks. "I was in the Canadian Forces for 27 years. I'm former military intelligence, for God's sake.

You have to ask the Conservatives, How deep is the love, when it comes to veterans of the Military.

Not very deep

UPDATE:  Rob Anders was punted from this committee by Harper. Not soon enough.

Great Video Ad for the Guardian

The UK's Guardian Newspaper released a great two minute video ad yesterday showing how they might cover the story of the Three Little Pigs.

Was I too Hasty?

In addressing the Robocall, election fraud scandal Prime Minister Stephen Harper says "The Conservative  Party can say absolutely, definitively it has no role in any of this."

The real question is can we trust anything Harper says? You have to admit. that is a pretty strong statement from the leader of the Party that only four months ago pleaded guilty, in court to violations of the Elections Act. And, I am reminded that the guilty plea came after four years of denials that there was wrongdoing on their part.

So, if the Conservatives didn't do it who did? The suggestion from the Tories is that if anything actually happened, if this is anything more than a political stunt by the NDP and the Liberals it was the work of over eager election workers acting independently.

I wonder?

• To start with, setting up Robo calls, particularly on the scale which is alleged in the current scandal, is not cheap. It is well beyond the capability of a few rogue Conservative pranksters. 
• To make it work you need to have a voters list broken down to indicate party preference,  
• access to a call centre and;
• lots of expertise 

Who would have the access, the money and the expertise?

Did someone steal the election?

The Globe & Mail reports today that, expanded under Stephen Harper's leadership, the Constituency Information System (CIMS) the massive Conservative database could be, some would say very likely was, the tool which helped all this come together.

The Green Party suggests that during the 2009 election someone in the Saanish-Gulf Islands riding launched, what now looks like a pilot project for what happened in 2011. The same Robocall setup there in 2009  is alledged to have stolen the election from the Liberal candidate and handed it to Conservative Gary Lund.

It is not quite a smoking gun but...

Elections Canada claims to be looking into all this but is being very tight-lipped about what it is up to and how wide its probe is. It is reported that today it is off to Thunder Bay. That is where a call centre worker reported that she and her colleagues were scripted to misdirect voters to factitious polling stations. The worker is reported to have reported the situation to both the RCMP and Elections Canada at the time but both apparently ignored her complaint.

It has also been reported that Elections Canada met with parliamentarians in committee, to ask for increased funding so they could properly deal with this scandal but the request was denier by the Conservative dominated committee.

I am sure many will believe the Prime Minister when he says his hands are clean. I, for one, am not so ready to suspend my disbelief.

If you are late to this story, the Ottawa Citizen has done a good job of putting all these stories in one place which makes it easier to follow.

Trust in Government

Ask yourself. What do these two Guys Have in Common?

It gives us all a warm comfortable feeling when we can trust the government in power. A kind of secure feeling in the face of a world that too often seems like to be caught in a massive downward spiral.

I confess however, that it is becoming tougher and tougher to find that warm feeling these days. We are tested daily by more and more unlikely explanations from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet colleagues that truly test our ability to suspend our disbelief.

The list is so long it boggles our imagination,

•  the trough Tony Clement rolled for his constituents during the G8, 
• the untendered fighter jet contracts for aircraft that have become white elephants even before the first one comes off the production line,
• The in-out scandal
•  people concerned about our environment being compared to terrorists, 
• Citizens concerns about privacy being called supporters of child molesters,  
• A polling firm tied to the Cons called constituents in Liberal Irwin Cotler's Montreal riding their MP was about to or had resigned and that a by-election was imminent.
•  the supports of the gun registry being compared to Hitler. You know the list. I could go on and on. 

I never recall a government so arrogant.

Even hard line Conservatives are jumping ship.

It is reported in the Toronto Star that it has become so bad that a former Conservative member who was a director of Conservative electoral district association boards in the Ontario communities of Guelph and Kitchener-Center says he regrets every working for Harper’s Party.

Victor Pocaterra of, Kitchener says “They have gone against Canadian values and have made a joke out of our democracy.” He goes on to say “Canada is a great nation, built by a people who value hard work, taking responsibility for one’s actions and above all honesty. The government that sits in Ottawa values only power and cannibalizes its own in order to save face.

As someone who has seen what is talked about in the party, I can only say God help Canada in the next four years. Because it won’t be the country that veterans, like my grandfather fought so hard to protect.”

The last few days have revealed election fraud which Canada's former chief electoral officer says is unprecedented in the country's electoral history.

Elections Canada has traced fraudulent phone calls made during the federal election to an Edmonton company that worked for the Conservatives and for Harper.

During Question Period Monday, the Prime Minister claimed that he had no knowledge of any wrong-doing in the robocalls scandal, and challenged the opposition parties to prove his Conservatives were guilty. I wonder.

If he had his hands on all this, I am sure he would made sure there was a distance between him and who ever initiated the misleading calls in 40 closely contested ridings during the election. Like Tony Soprano, he wouldn't have to be specific. They boys knew what to do.

It is quite a stretch to imagine these that a control freak like Harper would not be aware of this stuff going on.  A massive campaign like this one is not the work of a couple of young over eager rogue part time workers. It smells like something much bigger. It is just how things look. If I am out on a limb here I apologize but let's wait to see what the RCMP have to say.

This contempt for the democratic process and for the people of Canada is too much for me to swallow and should be too much for most Canadians.

Let’s hope it it finally the beginning of the end.

Vote of Non Confidance

Quick! Before it's too late.

I am not going to make a list of reasons because anyone with half a brain and access to the internet or a newspaper already knows the list is as long as your arm but...Does anyone else think it is time for a citizen's Vote of Non Confidence in the Harper Government?

Caterpillar Crawls Away

A $5 million in Tax Break Election Promise

One of the many media events staged by Stephen Harper during the last election campaign was one where he announced a $5 million in tax breaks for Caterpillar’s Electro-Motive Diesel plant in London Ontario.

Nine months later, Caterpillar gave the plant workers an ultimatum. Either accept a 50% pay cut and cut your benefits package, or you will risk losing your jobs.

The workers went on strike in January.

Caterpillar shared last week that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 per cent and that their 2011 revenue reached $60 billion.

Today Caterpillar announced they will be moving those London jobs to Indiana. A state that just passed right to work legislation. Could we possible find a better example of trickle-down economics is an utter failure.

Stephen Harper is typically silent on the issue today.

I Have Been on the CIA Website

I have been on the CIA website the last couple of days. No, it’s not what you think. The CIA, nosey buggers that they are, have an amazing amount of information about countries around the world, including Canada. They have information about Canada, our own government isn’t all that open with.

I went onto the site because I got thinking about oil. All this talk about the Keystone pipeline and the newer Northern Gateway proposal, which would export oil to Asian markets through Kitimat. Our Prime Minister says we need these markets. The growth of our economy depends on it. We have to sell our oil.

Harper wants Keystone big time. He and the oil companies have been talking about how the pipeline is win-win for the USA and Canada. This pipeline will create jobs in Texas he says. Why do these guys keep putting roadblocks in our way?

I got thinking about pipelines and about imports and exports and thanks to the CIA I have a better idea of the lay of the land.

The amounts are up and down but on average, Canada exports about 2,000,000 barrels of oil and oil products a day, mainly to the USA. By coincidence, Canada also imports about 2,000,000 barrels a day of oil and oil products a day from the Middle East, the North Sea and South America.

So, how about this idea Stephen Harper? If, instead of concentrating on building a new pipeline to Texas and creating a raft of new jobs there, why not forget about any expansion of the market, build the pipeline around the Great Lakes to Eastern Canada. Create the jobs in Canada and significantly reduce our oil imports or eliminate them altogether.

Once we start shipping our own oil to Eastern Canada the existing level of export to the USA can be sent south via the existing pipeline network.

Just saying Stevie, it is time to think outside the box.

It Makes you Wonder

If Harper says it. It must be true.

It is amazing how quickly the threat of budget cuts can erode the CBC’s journalistic ethics.

Just as Canada’s Premiers were meeting in Victoria to decide how to deal with the shafting they just got from the Harper Conservatives, Smilin’ Stevie turns up on the National to answer a few slow pitched questions from Peter Mansbridge. Harper could say, even the most outrageous things, to Mansbridge without the risk of being challenged. Harper looked good and unruffled by the easy ride Peter gave him.

What a great way to take the risk of having a bunch of grumpy provincial leaders trash your agendaand Harper can guarantee that whatever he says will be featured on CBC newscasts as the “honest to God truth.” Harper may be rethinking his dislike for the public broadcaster. Who knew they were so easy to manipulate?

The premiers meanwhile are being characterized on the CBC as being a disorganized, unruly bunch as Harper deftly plays one off against the other.

Even Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is a bit embarrassed this week or at the very least he should be.

At the beginning of the Premiers’ Victoria meeting Wall was playing down the health care funding issues blathering on about the possibility of a new Health Care Innovation Fund. Wall loves the word innovation. It is tough to find any statement by him that doesn’t use the word although I am not sure he really knows what the word means.

By the end of the conference even Wall, who has a reputation as a Harper toadie, had come to the realization that the innovation fund was a ruse, there was no extra money and that he had been, once again, hung out to dry by his buddies in Ottawa.

And all the Best for 2012

All this ranting at the Blue Meanies can be a bit draining so, I expect this will be my last blog of the year.

Commentators were all a flutter, near the end of this year's sitting, about Justin Trudeau using unparliamentary language in the House of Commons even though what he said was much less of an obscenity than the statement by the scud stud's older and less credible brother, that he was reacting to. Shame on you Peter Kent.

I will leave the last kick at the cat to blogger Rob Shirkley who takes a look at the troubling Irwin Cotler incident. He has a few things to say about the Speaker of the House, Saskatchewan's own Andrew Scheer although. Few of us expected any truly mature rulings from the boy speaker but this pretty much takes the cake. After this, people here might find it more useful to send him back  from whence he came.

   That done, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2012.

Pinocchio Peter Strikes Again

You have to admit, it does look a bit like our Defence Minister

I am no fan of the Canadian Taxpayer’s Federation but the media seems to love the right wing lobby group these days. Probably because the CTF does the digging journalists don’t seem to have the time for these days.

To be honest I usually find the CTF annoying and I usually think they should be left alone. If they aren’t going on about what the First Nations communities have done with the money, they are attacking public pensions or the cost of social programs. They are generally not nice people.

So you know, when they go after one of Harper’s gang of thugs, he must have done something, way over the top.

We all were a bit shocked when Peter McKay called up the helicopter flight, so he could leave an exclusive fishing lodge in Newfoundland to attend a photo-op in Ontario. He actually had the nerve to call it important government business. He tried to hide all this by claiming it was a search-and-rescue training exercise. No one bought that one and Peter’s nose grew a little longer..

Now, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has released new documents showing MacKay stayed in uber luxury hotels during trips to Germany and Turkey. During one stay in Munich, Mackay's bill was $1,452 per night during a two-night stay then in Istanbul MacKay's paid $770.00 a night.

Oh sorry, we old retired guys on pension, paid for it through our taxes, not Peter.

McKay also spent $4,752 for a pair of Executive Class tickets from Toronto to Edmonton so he could go to the grey Cup game. He had to be there to wallow in what most of us saw as the military's excessive presence in that event. 

Air Canada must have been jumping for joy. Those tickets booked in advance are about $700.

It was also revealed that young Peter spent $3,167 on a trip to Boston for a seafood show. The CTF commented "Again, Minister Mackay regularly attends this event, although the usefulness of a senior Canadian minister attending a “seafood show” is even more debatable than attending the Grey Cup," Who can blame him? I’d love to go to Boston and eat seafood but I wasn't invited. I just don’t think Peter could pass up those free oysters.

Is Gerry Ritz above the Law?

Need I say more?

Have we Lost our Way?

I have been reading a good deal about bullying these last few weeks and we all are, or should be  aware of some recent tragic cases of teen bullying. The thought that continued harassment at school and in the community has pushed some kids to decide the only way out is to take their own life is an appalling statement about where we have arrived as a society.

Schools ignore it or when it does become known, the other kids circle the wagons making it difficult for educators and parents to deal with. 

Some Governments have concluded that the crisis has become so acute that they feel legislation is the only answer.  Legislation is probably the easiest answer but I am not sure it is the best.

In my view, what we need is a huge shift in what we value as a society and I am not hopeful.

• I am shocked to read that Christian and Jewish groups are fighting against the Ontario legislation because they see protecting gay youth against bullying as condoning homosexuality. 
• Kids’ coaches think it is appropriate to yell at 11 year olds, belittling them publically when they don’t play their best. 
• NHL teams pay millions of dollars to thugs whose only role is, not to score goals, but to intimidate talented players in the ice. Players hold workshops designed to teach them how to fight. Canada’s National Sport has deteriorated to such a degree that when a fight breaks out so called fans stand and cheer. 
• Workplaces can be just as bad. There is good reason why “going postal” is an accepted term for someone who goes off the edge after becoming so frustrated at work, they can't take it anymore. 
• While media columnists be may among those speaking out against bullying the “If it bleeds it leads” approach to news if still quite prevalent.
• YouTube videos featuring school yard fights are common, shared and laughed about. 
• Try Goggling “Why psychopaths make good CEOs” 
• Our current Federal Government thinks they are above the law. 

While I would agree with some that we really don’t need to continue to puzzle over the question “What does it means to be a Canadian” there might be real value in asking ourselves “What the hell has happen to us as a people?”

Politicians with Conscience?

I have been thinking a lot these days, about politicians, the people who we elect to lead and shape this country of ours. About who they seem to be, what must motivate them and how they respond to issues.

Seeing them at work, generally isn’t a very pretty sight. Think of Peter McKay. It is embarrassing.

Then, yesterday, listening to the radio, I heard a story about Italy’s Minister of Welfare. When during a press conference, Elsa Fornero began to announce a rise in the age the people will be eligible to draw on their pensions and that many pensions will no longer be adjusted for inflation.

Ms Fornero said “We had to … and it cost us a lot psychologically … ask for a …” before she could not continue, breaking down in tears. Prime Minister Mario Monti had to step in to finish her sentence, with the word “sacrifice.”

I thought, how refreshing, a politician who actually gives a damn about the people she was elected to serve.

In contrast, with winter coming on in the Northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat, families are living in tents, un-insulated shacks and abandoned construction trailers, children are sleeping on mouldy carpets and there is a decided lack of running water and sanitary facilities. When the Stephen Harper Government was finally embarrassed by the media into reacting to the shocking conditions the PM’s first reaction was to absolve his government of any responsibility and blame the situation on financial mismanagement by the community.

How refreshing it would be to have our elected leaders taking part in the dialogue, speaking from the heart and working with us to find solutions. I am sick of scripted responses, talking points instead of speaking from the heart. I want politicians who do more than cover their asses when things get messy.

Sometimes I despair.

A Sad Commentary

I am generally not a big supporter of armed conflict. I distrust military leadership and I am appalled by this new move by our Prime Minister to insert the military into Canadian life these days. Everything from citizenship ceremonies to the Grey Cup game.

I have mixed feelings about Remembrance Day. I see in it, too much celebration of the military and not enough thought about the futility of war. I do not wear a poppy in November and I don’t attend cenotaph services but I probably think about the sacrifices made by young men and women more than most.

This year, I was saddened by the Harper Government’s small-minded move to block the members of the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois to say a few words in the House of Commons during the time set aside to honour the war dead.

As a result of the Conservatives’ petty response to the request to be allowed to say a few words I wrote the same e-mail message to 94 Conservative members of Parliament, including my own MP Tom Lukiwski, several cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister.

I said:

My father served in the Canadian Army during the second world war and when I was a boy was sent to Korea to take part that dispute, again as a member of the Canadian Army.
When I was 17, I joined the Canadian Navy and served on Canada’s ships and submarines for several years.
Given my background, I am sure you can imagine how upset I was to hear that when the House of Commons honoured our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen. Your party twice denied the representatives from the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois the opportunity to say a few words in the house honouring those brave young men and women.
From my perspective, this action by the Conservative Party of Canada was beyond the pale. It was unconscionable.
Too many young men and women died, and continue to die to uphold the democratic principles, which seem to mean very little to you and your party.
You should be ashamed.

I received 16 responses. Most of them simply said “Thank you for writing, We appreciate the feedback” This e-mail from MP Bruce Stanton is typical.

Hello:
Thank you for your email.
Bruce receives a large volume of email correspondence every day; it is difficult to respond to every piece in a timely manner. As such, Bruce prefers to make the correspondence of his constituents his first priority.
If you could please provide your civic address that identifies you as a constituent of Simcoe North, I would be happy to forward your correspondence to Bruce for his consideration and response.
Thank you for understanding and for taking the time to write.
Kind regards,
Ashley Brown
Parliamentary Assistant

Just one, Ed Komarnicki, actually responded to the issue saying;

Thank you for your note and for bringing the issue to my attention. I understand your frustration and upset.
Although I wasn’t part of the decision making, nor privy to the considerations that led to the decision, I do know that the consideration went beyond simply whether they could speak in the House of Commons on this issue or not. Each of the Bloc and the Green Party are not recognized as having official party status in the House.
Everything being equal and not having regard to these considerations, your desire to see them included in the speaking order is understandable.

It is a sad commentary on the democratic process.

So, In Saskatchewan Politics. Just Who Pays that Piper

Just in case anyone thought the news media in Saskatchewan were neutral and unbiased.
this is a list of the corporate media contributions to the Saskatchewan Party over the last few years.

Anyone surprised?

565509 Saskatchewan Ltd. (Doug Rawlinson) — $113,098.36
629112 Saskatchewan Ltd. (Elmer Hildebrand) — $4,089.98
Access Communications Co-operative Ltd. — $48,037.99
Argus Corporation Ltd. — $25,000.00
CanWest Global Communications Corp. — $516.00
CanWest Mediaworks Inc. — $5,000.00
Central Broadcasting Company Ltd. — $272.00
CJWW/Hot 93/Magic 98.3 — $515.28
CTV Television Inc. — $11,547.15
Dekkerco Holdings Limited (Northwestern Radio Partnership) — $5,000.00
Global TV Network — $297.20
Harvard Broadcasting — $6,002.93
HDL Investments Inc. (CKCK Regina) — $6,151.69
Jilltd Investments Ltd. (Lana Jill Rawlinson) — $25,000.00
News Talk 650 — $295.80
Ravelston Corporation Ltd. — $25,000.00
Rawlco Capital Ltd. — $19,254.00
Rawlco Communications (Sask.) Ltd. — $7,300.23
Rawlco Radio Ltd. — $71,846.96
Regina Cablevision Co-operative Ltd. (Access Communications) — $500.00
Regina Leader-Post — $10,312.82
Rogers Group of Companies — $3,410.02
Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association — $1,517.64
Saskatoon Media Group — $1,502.40
Saskatoon StarPhoenix — $10,000.00
Shaw Cablesystems G.P. — $329.14
Shaw Communicatons Inc. — $10,458.22
Western Producer Publications — $360.00
Total: $412,615.81