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Post by REALITY on Dec 13, 2006 20:40:53 GMT -5
In My Opinion
By Kevin Somers Dec. 13, 2006 Entertainment and Sports
I think there are too many civil servants and politicians in this country. It's like Communist Russia. In my opinion, the Canadian empire will choke on its bureaucracy. With our wagon hitched firmly to America, an empire toppling under the Grand Old Party's unwinnable war and cockeyed schemes, we're doomed anyway.
I could be wrong, of course. It's only an opinion.
People are being doused with kerosene and burned alive in Iraq. If George Bush sleeps as peacefully as he claims, my opinion of him just got worse.
Enough people voted for Bush in 2000 that he was able to steal the election from vice president and seemingly great guy Al Gore. Americans who boast endlessly of their democracy should be better at it, in my opinion.
Their current vice president avoided combat like the plague but likes to shoot addled animals and old men. Meanwhile, his former employer Halliburton is milking and bilking millions and billions from the war that is turning Iraq into Hell and Halliburton's Houston Headquarters into a palace Saddam would envy.
In my opinion, Dick and Dubya should be in prison suits, not presidential suites.
The Liberals, Canada's Grand Old Party, have a lot of explaining to do too, in my opinion. Jane Stewart ran Human Resources Development Canada while billions of dollars and thousands of SIN cards vanished. Like the jailbirds from WorldCom and Enron, Jane claimed ignorance of the crimes on her watch.
Jane Stewart is now making $1300 a day in Caledonia's land claims industry. Stewart should be at a different government institution earning 50 cents a day making license plates. In my opinion.
In my opinion, Mrs. and Mr. Clarkson had no right to take their buddies on a multi-million dollar trip when there are so many domestic problems that need funding. The money they used could have built a school, clinic, or recreaction center in the north end of Hamilton, or a water filtration system on a reserve.
It would have done a lot more good, I opine, than their luxury cruise for a few select pals.
In my opinion, it's time for a Canadian revolution: quiet and peaceful.
Ontario should be a country, in my opinion. Ironically, everywhere else in Canada, people identify themselves by region first (Maritimer, Quebecer, Islander, Westerner). Wouldn't it be funny if Ontarians were the first to go?
Quebec can have Ottawa along with the federal politicians and public servants as a parting gift. Au revoir. Bon chance.
When Alberta's oil crazy, quick-buck groundhogs run out of gas, we'll still have plenty of water, wind, and woods, if we do it right. We'll have to put a big firewall around The Independent Republic of Ontario to keep people out.
That's my opinion, but I got the idea from Prime Minister and hockey buff Stevie Harper.
According to Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter, there are a lot of big spenders in the public service. The Independent Republic of Ontario will fire those people. Taxpayer funded extravagance is theft, in my opinion.
The shopoholics in education and Children's Aid are particularly offside when you consider who they're stealing from. If public employees had to spend their own money, they'd be quickly cured of consumption. That's not an opinion, that's fact.
The people of Hamilton made a good choice on Election Day, in my opinion. Good luck, Fred.
I wouldn't have an opinion on governments and politics if things were done well and I didn't pay so much tax. I'd rather work, hang out with my kids, watch TV, and not think about it. Unfortunately, layers of bureaucracy take more than half of my income and there's bad news on every channel.
So, optimistically, I share my opinions and hope for change.
** That's funny, it's my opinion too!!
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Post by REALITY on Dec 14, 2006 18:41:08 GMT -5
April 13, 2006 McGuinty Government Helping Troubled Youth Get Their Lives Back On Track
Twelve New Youth Intervention Centres To Be Established
TORONTO – The McGuinty government is helping youth in conflict with the law by establishing an additional 12 youth intervention centres, bringing the total to 27 across the province. These centres will provide youth with structured and closely supervised programs to re-integrate them into their communities, Mary Anne Chambers, Minister of Children and Youth Services, announced today.
“Making communities safer means tackling the root causes of crime through preventive and remedial programs that directly help youth in their neighbourhoods,” said Chambers while speaking to staff and community partners at Turning Point Youth Services in Toronto. “That’s why young people in conflict with the law must be offered positive alternatives that strengthen their connection to the community and invest in their future.”
Youth aged 12 to 17 who have been found guilty of breaking the law may be ordered by a judge to participate in a program at a youth intervention centre as a condition of their probation. The new centres provide closely supervised programs where youth in conflict with the law accept responsibility for their actions and develop anger management, learning, employment and other life skills. The judge determines if the young person can benefit from the programs of the centre without risk to community safety.
Fifteen youth intervention centres are already up and running in: Barrie, Brampton, Brantford, Mississauga, North Bay, Oshawa, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sarnia, Scarborough, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Windsor. Twelve more will be established this year in: Belleville, Chatham, Cornwall, Hamilton, Lindsay, London, Milton, Moose Factory, New Liskeard, Orillia, Richmond Hill and Sault Ste. Marie.
“Youth in trouble with the law often have a range of problems, from homelessness and unemployment, to problems with their families and a lack of literacy and numeracy skills,” said Colin Dart, Executive Director of Turning Point Youth Services. “The wide variety of programs that we offer – in particular through our youth intervention centre – not only help these youths get their lives back on track, but also promote co-operation between the community, the youth justice system and social service agencies.”
The new youth intervention centres are part of the government’s $22 million annual investment to provide community alternatives to custody programs for youth in conflict with the law.
In 2006-07, the government is providing $9.5 million to establish 12 new and support 15 existing youth intervention centres across the province, up from $7.5 million last year. In addition, the government invested $12.5 million to support community programs and services for young people in trouble with the law. These programs and services, which are provided by community-based agencies, include:
* Intensive support and supervision for non-violent youth who have special needs, such as mental health issues * Supports to re-integrate youth back into their communities, such as youth outreach workers, education supports or counselling * Culturally-appropriate programs developed and delivered by Aboriginal service providers to help reduce over-representation of Aboriginal youth in conflict with the law and encourage involvement in their communities * Restorative programs to support youth in conflict with the law and repair harm caused to their victims, families and communities. These programs allow the victim and offender to seek a resolution that encourages healing and prevents future harm.
“Research in the area of youth justice tells us that providing community-based programs that are meaningful to youth – and hold them accountable for their actions – steer them away from crime,” said Chambers. “That’s why we are investing in these programs and services that give troubled youth a better opportunity to succeed and become productive members of society.”
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Post by REALITY on Dec 17, 2006 20:28:54 GMT -5
Pay hikes, pay outs, payoffs ... Premier Dalton McGuinty's government has been caught up in the perfect political storm
By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD
The last two weeks have been a political whirlwind for Premier Dalton McGuinty. A perfect storm of legislation, revelation and indignation that has likely inflicted the worst political battle scars the Liberals have incurred in the slightly more than three years they've been the government.
First came a scathing auditor's report that flung open the windows on the so-called "broader public sector." Hospitals, schools, children's aid societies all found themselves under the auditor's critical microscope for the first time. And hydro utilities. Ah, yes. Those pesky hydro utilities. They seem to think they live in a different world -- where streets are paved with someone else's plastic and all God's children got racing yachts.
McGuinty and Energy Minister Dwight Duncan were sent scrambling when it was revealed that Hydro One CEO Tom Parkinson had put $45,000-worth of expenses on his secretary's credit card -- which he had then approved.
Nice work, if you can get it
As if that weren't enough to push taxpayers' blood pressure into the stratosphere, three days after the report was released, Parkinson quit -- and was given $3 million in severance. Nice so-called work.
Then, in a breathtaking piece of self-serving bravado, the Liberals and Tories linked hands to push for a pay hike for MPPs. So united are they on this that they're prepared to put their shoulder to the wheel and sit tomorrow and perhaps even the day after if it means getting the bill passed. So who says MPPs don't work long hours?
The NDP were at their most sanctimonious, with most of their number saying they won't take the hike. Kenora-Rainy River MPP and NDP leader Howard Hampton says he'll give his hike to charity. Ditto for Niagara Centre MPP Peter Kormos. Still they'll both get the enhanced pensions. That reminds me. When the Tories wound down the old, gold-plated pension plan, Hampton and his wife, Shelley Martel, who represents Nickel Belt, took a combined buy-out of more than $1 million. Kormos netted $200,000.
Let's not be hypocritical here. The NDP can rant all they like about the hike. They can pledge they'll give it to charity. A year from now, we'll all have forgotten those pledges. And who knows who'll have given what to the food bank?
In the fury around Parkinson's severance and MPPs' salary, another piece of legislation slipped quietly through the Legislature, and with changes that, critics say, have drastically diluted it.
In order to pacify the storm of protest that greeted the proposed new law that requires young people to graduate high school in order to get a driver's licence, the high school credits have been diluted so they are easier to attain, says NDP education critic Rosario Marchese. He believes that whole proposal to force students to graduate before they could get a licence was simply a "diversionary tactic" that allowed the government to bring in other drastic changes.
He says the bill is all about watering down high school credits, so that in the next election, the Liberals can claim to have reduced the drop-out rate.
So-called "equivalent learning programs" can be taught outside the classroom by people who are not teachers. Any "Tom, Dick or Mary" can teach them, Marchese says.
And while Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said they will be overseen by the ministry, Marchese says that is only for the first year.
As well, the programs also reduce the hours of instruction in those credits -- from 110 hours to 40 hours, Marchese says.
"It was intended to make it easier to give kids a credit and say, 'Behold, our numbers are down. We have fewer students who have dropped out of school,'" he says.
The big question now is whether the furor over the MPP pay hike will die over the Christmas break or whether it will sit on a slow burn and reignite when the Legislature returns after its two-and-a-half-month Christmas break.
The big question for the next election is, who do voters vote for if they are angry with the pay hike? The Tories are on side, remember. Will everyone vote NDP -- when Hampton himself took a handsome pension buy-out? Will we all go Green? I doubt it. Stay tuned.
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Post by REALITY on Dec 19, 2006 14:26:49 GMT -5
Queen’s Park Weakest ministers challenging McGuinty Eric Dowd
Premier Dalton McGuinty now knows for sure who his two weakest ministers are, but it is not certain how much he can do about it.
Children and youth services minister Mary Anne Chambers put herself very much in the running when she provided one of the feeblest defences by a minister on a key issue in memory.
She was asked to explain why some children’s aid societies have failed to help needy children, while wasting millions of dollars on luxuries for their staff.
Chambers replied she could not discuss the failings because they were described in a report by the auditor general that had not been released formally in the legislature and she kept repeating that as if she were announcing which trains were leaving which platforms in a railway station.
But McGuinty’s government every day leaks policies to news media before presenting them in the legislature, hoping to get them reported twice, once when leaked and again when officially announced. No government has leaked more, so it is bizarre it would ask not to discuss the issue to respect the legislature.
Chambers also kept saying that she was proud the McGuinty government eventually would reveal the problem, and when opponents pointed out that it constantly volunteers information on less crucial issues, such as how many eggs the province produces, objected huffily to vulnerable children being compared to eggs.
It was the most inept performance by a minister since Harinder Takhar, then in transportation and since demoted to look after small business, became tongue-tied when asked why he had a friend manage his business affairs, which were supposed to be at arm’s length in a blind trust while he was a minister and able to influence government policy.
When Takhar was caught outside the office of the business in which he was required no longer to be involved, the best explanation he could offer was that he was there discussing his daughter’s education.
Takhar became the first MPP formally reprimanded by the legislature’s integrity commissioner, and the questioning lasted almost a year. He caused the most damage of any McGuinty minister.
McGuinty might feel that he would like to get rid of both ministers, but he is in a quandary because the other link they have is that both happen to be members of visible minority groups. Chambers came from Jamaica and Takhar from Punjab. To be fair, both also have made considerable marks in life outside politics.
If McGuinty were to drop either, the minorities to which they belong would be offended. They also are the only representatives of visible minorities in his cabinet.
Parties like to have representatives of visible minorities among their elected members and cabinets to show that they have support among them and promote some to their inner circles.
In recent years, being in a visible minority and elected to the legislature has been almost, but not quite, a passport to cabinet.
But it is fair to say the record of members of visible minorities in cabinet is not that impressive.
Jamaican-born Alvin Curling, a Liberal who became Ontario’s first black minister in 1985, was dropped from that cabinet because he had a minor association with a questionable party fund-raiser and McGuinty when he came to power did not feel him worth reinstating.
Bob Wong was the first MPP of Chinese ancestry and a minister, but little noticed, in the same Liberal government.
Zanana Akande was the first black woman MPP and a minister in a New Democrat government, but became discouraged and quit elected politics after complaints that she had gouged tenants were disproved.
David Tsubouchi, a Progressive Conservative, was the first minister of Japanese descent, and in a government that slashed welfare benefits. Having once advised welfare recipients to look for dented cans of tuna and bargain down prices, he is best remembered as Tuna Dave.
This is not a distinguished list, considering the enormous talents of those in visible minorities. Political parties clearly are not recruiting and promoting the right people.
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Post by Mary on Dec 21, 2006 20:50:26 GMT -5
Harper dismisses key Gomery proposals Role of Clerk of the Privy Council survives unchanged as PM outlines disagreements
GLORIA GALLOWAY AND CAMPBELL CLARK From Thursday's Globe and Mail
OTTAWA — Stephen Harper has rejected core recommendations of the Gomery commission's scathing report into the sponsorship scandal aimed at breaking up the power of the Prime Minister's Office and insulating civil servants from political interference.
Mr. Harper outlined his decision in a letter to 65 prominent establishment figures who had opposed Mr. Justice John Gomery's call 10 months ago for firewalls between politicians and bureaucrats.
Mr. Harper went on to insist that a modern government needs central control under its elected politicians.
"Our approach has been to assess the merits of Mr. Justice Gomery's recommendations on a case-by-case basis," Mr. Harper wrote in a letter that was made public late yesterday. Related to this article Latest Comments Comments
* swine Is there any alternative to not donating to any political... * 'Gomerys recommendations would be great, if I werent in power... * So Harper is just like Jean Chretien, Martin and all those before... * Harper is right on this one in insisting that the government...
"And there are a number of areas where my government finds itself unable to agree with Mr. Justice Gomery." The letter marks the first time the Prime Minister has said explicitly that he did not concur with Judge Gomery. But expectations in Ottawa had been low that he would agree to enact measures that would diminish control of the bureaucracy. Judge Gomery had proposed splitting the functions of Ottawa's top civil servant, the Clerk of the Privy Council, so that the bureaucrat who runs the Prime Minister's department is not also the head of the civil service responsible for rating the performance of other senior bureaucrats. He said this "would contribute to better governmental accountability." Mr. Harper disagreed. "It would be inappropriate to change the position of the Clerk," he wrote. "The Clerk's role as Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Head of the Public Service are also vital to the sound functioning of our system of government." Another series of recommendations was aimed at insulating deputy ministers -- the senior civil servants in each government department from political control by making them answerable to Parliament if laws or government rules were broken. Deputy ministers and other civil servants now are responsible only to their cabinet ministers -- not to the Parliament or the public. Judge Gomery called for deputy ministers to be given explicit legal responsibility over administrative matters. He said that cabinet ministers are responsible for policy decisions, but civil servants must account for the way programs are administered. But the Prime Minister disagreed.
"The public service, a recognized and essential institution of government, exists to provide professional advice and operational support for the government of the day and does not exercise authority independent of government," he wrote. "This would not be an appropriate role for the public service and is not one that is sought by public servants." Mr. Harper also rejected Judge Gomery's recommendation that deputy ministers answer directly to Parliament's public accounts committee on the administration of their department. "Ministers alone are accountable to Parliament, which is a central tenet of our system of responsible government," the prime minister wrote. "Accordingly, the government does not agree with Justice Gomery that ministers should not appear before the Public Accounts Committee." Judge Gomery said that when a cabinet minister wants to overrule his deputy minister on an administrative matter, he should be forced to issue instructions in writing, with a copy sent to the Treasury Board, where it could be reviewed by the Auditor-General. Mr. Harper said the government's new Accountability Act provides a mechanism for addressing those types of disagreements, but that rather than assigning blame after the fact it prevents and resolves the differences. In February, when Judge Gomery issued his recommendations, Mr. Harper had just won an election but not yet taken power. Mr. Harper said then he would think over the calls for structural changes to the way government works -- but suggested he liked them. "I don't plan to make these kinds of structural changes during the transition period or the early months of government. "I don't need the complication of creating major structural changes, but I think the recommendations have merit," Mr. Harper said then.
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Post by mary on Dec 29, 2006 13:24:48 GMT -5
Questions emerge as Kingsley quits Elections Canada post GLORIA GALLOWAY OTTAWA -- Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the innovative and occasionally controversial former hospital executive who has managed Elections Canada for the past 17 years, is stepping down from the job. Mr. Kingsley tendered his resignation to Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Noel Kinsella, the Speaker of the Senate, in a letter dated Dec. 22. But his pending departure wasn't made public until yesterday afternoon in a news release issued by the Office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Mr. Kingsley will stay on the job until Feb. 16, giving the government a month and a half to find a successor. In his letter, he says "it was an honour to be elected to my position by way of a unanimous resolution of the House of Commons," and talks about his desire to pursue his "professional interests in an international sphere." But no reason is given for his decision to leave the job at this juncture and he did not return phone calls yesterday afternoon to provide an explanation. Nor would the PMO discuss what motivated Mr. Kingsley to quit his position. In his release, Mr. Harper praised the many innovations that have occurred under the departing electoral officer's watch. "These include the development of the permanent voters list known as the National Register of Electors, and the computerization of Canada's national electoral infrastructure. These efforts improved the efficiency of the federal electoral system and made election information much more accessible to Canadians," the Prime Minister stated. But the relationship between Mr. Harper and Mr. Kingsley has not always been harmonious. When he was president of the National Citizens Coalition, Mr. Harper challenged provisions in the Canada Elections Act prohibiting any third party from spending more than $150,000 to support or oppose any party or candidate -- or any issue linked to a party or candidate -- during a campaign. Mr. Kingsley appeared in court to defend the rule. In that same capacity, Mr. Harper backed a British Columbia man's fight to post federal election results on the Internet before the polls closed -- another restriction introduced by Elections Canada under Mr. Kingsley. Gerry Nicholls, the NCC vice-president, said in a release yesterday that Mr. Kingsley's resignation is good for Canadian democracy. "He was not a disinterested bureaucrat," Mr. Nicholls said. "Kingsley had an ideological axe to grind and he used his powers to go after groups he didn't like." Just last week -- the day before he submitted his resignation -- the Conservative Party bowed to another ruling by Mr. Kingsley and admitted it had failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations collected as fees to its convention last year. It was a standoff that had been waged between the party and Elections Canada over several months. And, in the end, it meant that three party members, including Mr. Harper, had donated more than the legal limit. That prompted the Liberals to suggest there are political subtexts to the resignation. "When you look at it and you say that Kingsley has refused to back off his investigation of what happened at the 2005 convention, he has refused to sweep it aside in the way that the Conservatives thought that it should have been -- despite the fact that they broke the law -- now it seems extremely suspicious," Liberal MP Mark Holland said. "I would say we have a lot of questions to ask of Kingsley and of the Prime Minister' Office to find out what the real story is here." But the Prime Minister, however, could not have forced Mr. Kingsley to resign. Chief electoral officers can only be removed, for cause, by the governor-general after a joint address of the House of Commons and Senate. www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061229.KINGSLEY29/TPStory/National
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Post by mary on Dec 31, 2006 13:53:24 GMT -5
Government Failure in Canada, 2005 Report: A Review of the Auditor General's Reports, 1992-2005 Publication Date: October 2005 Publication Format: Public Policy Sources Author(s): Jason Clemens, Director of Fiscal Studies, The Fraser Institute Email: jasonc@fraserinstitute.ca Telephone: (604) 714-4544 Mark Mullins, Executive Director, The Fraser Institute Email: markm@fraserinstitute.ca Telephone: (604) 714-4552 Niels Veldhuis, Associate Director of Fiscal Studies, The Fraser Institute Email: nielsv@fraserinstitute.ca Telephone: (604) 714-4546 Executive Summary: The discussion of the limitations of government and subsequent government failures is wholly absent from debate in Canada where, unfortunately, we still assume that governments act benevolently and without institutional constraints. That this is not true is plain to see in the pages of the reports of the Auditor General of Canada, which provide concrete evidence of the existence, and the extent, of government failure in Canada. The Public Choice school of economics, which applies traditional economic methods and techniques to explain the actions and decisions made by those who operate in the political marketplace, has striven to explain government failure empirically. This publication has been written to inform Canadians about the theories and insights of Public Choice Theory, to document government failure from the reports of the Auditor General, and, perhaps most importantly, to describe the mechanisms available to reduce government failure. www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=pb&id=800
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Post by REALITY on Jan 1, 2007 21:46:34 GMT -5
I don't recall seeing this in the news. Anyone else?
Woman Petitions Ontario Court for “Third Parent” Status for Lesbian Partner’s Son Says law’s failure to allow for three parents discriminates against same-sex couples
By Gudrun Schultz
TORONTO, Ontario, September 27, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Ontario Court of Appeal is considering a petition by a woman in London, Ontario, to be granted legal recognition as the third parent of her lesbian partner’s five year old son, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.
The boy lives with the two women, who have been together since 1992. His biological father is an active participant in raising the child, seeing him twice a week.
The woman (all names are protected by a court ruling) first applied for the same rights as a biological parent three years ago, but the Family Court ruled it did not have the authority to make the decision. The woman wants full legal rights as a parent without removing the parenting rights of the boy’s father.
The appeal argues that the law’s failure to allow for three parents discriminates against same-sex couples because it relies on a biological definition of parenthood, violating equality guarantees under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“It’s discriminatory, because one [member of a same-sex couple] gets legally recognized--the biological mother--but the non-biological mother, who is equally part of the process except for the biological bits, can’t be legally recognized even though they both decided to have a child, planned for the child, and they both jointly parent the child,” the woman’s lawyer, Peter Jervis, told the Globe and Mail.
The Alliance for Marriage and Family, a coalition of pro-family organizations including the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Catholic Civil Rights League, the Christian Legal Fellowship, REAL Women and Focus on the Family, filed a factum in the case arguing that such a radical change to the definition of parenthood must be undertaken by the provincial parliament, not by the courts.
“Our position is that under family law in Canada, children can only have two parents and that has been the situation even with adoption or divorce and remarriage,” said Janet Epp Buckingham, director of law and public policy with the EFC. “This would be a fairly significant change to the law; it wouldn’t be appropriate for the court to do this. You would need to have the full hearings in the provincial parliament and it should be a legislated change.”
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Post by REALITY on Jan 7, 2007 23:56:08 GMT -5
B.C. subsidies for private liquor stores will cost $90 million
Gordon Campbell Liberals received $150,000 in political donations from private liquor interests
Vancouver - The B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) says the latest move by the Gordon Campbell's Liberal government to boost subsidies to private liquor stores by 23% is an outrageous giveaway that will cost $20 million in taxpayers’ money.
The move is in addition to lavish handouts already given to private liquor stores. In fact, it is the third time since 2004 that the government has raised the discount rate for the outlets.
By the end of 2007, private liquor interests will have received almost $90 million in handouts from Victoria, says union president George Heyman.
“That’s money that otherwise could have been used to fund medical procedures, or restore funding that the Liberals cut from vital programs like child protection, legal aid, and women’s centres,” he says.
“It’s another example of the government cutting back room deals with their friends at the expense of funding for important services for British Columbians. Premier Campbell is literally shovelling money out the back of the delivery truck for private operators.”
Favoured hours over Christmas
News of the added bonanza comes less than two weeks after the government’s Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) cancelled extended holiday openings at public liquor stores. The move was designed to force consumers to patronize private stores — where prices are considerably higher and selection limited — during the busy Christmas-New Year period.
Heyman also demanded that the Campbell government put an end to other unacceptable gifts for private operators including subsidized delivery rates.
“For example, a private liquor store in Vernon pays only $35 to the LDB for their weekly delivery of goods from the government’s distribution centre in Kamloops. But the LDB will pay hundreds of dollars more to the trucking company that makes the actual delivery,” he says. “These kinds of special breaks for private stores have to stop.”
Elections B.C. filings by the B.C. Liberals show that the party received some $150,000 in donations from private liquor interests during the 2005 provincial election campaign.
A 2006 survey by the Consumers Association of Canada found that despite being heavily subsidized by the Campbell government, prices at private liquor stores were up to 35% higher than at public liquor outlets. NUPGE
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Post by REALITY on Jan 14, 2007 19:07:04 GMT -5
McGuinty Government Plans Cameras in Court Pilot Project Attorney General To Usher In A New Era In Access To Justice TORONTO — The McGuinty government and Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry are implementing a pilot project to put cameras in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Attorney General Michael Bryant announced today. "Through this initiative, we will be bringing the public directly into our courtrooms via cameras in the court," said Bryant. "In doing so, we will be opening a new window to provide Ontarians with an unprecedented view of our justice system." The pilot project is in response to a recommendation made by the Ontario Panel on Justice and the Media, which was established by Bryant to promote mutual understanding between the media and the justice system. While cameras are generally prohibited under the Courts of Justice Act, they are permissible for educational or instructional purposes, with approval from the presiding judge and consent from the parties to the proceeding. An implementation team of Ministry of the Attorney General staff has been struck. The team will work in consultation with the judiciary to determine specific details about how the project will work, including when the cameras will be up and running. "I'd like to thank the Justice and Media Panel, the judiciary, and particularly Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, for supporting this groundbreaking initiative," said Bryant. "Moving forward, we will continue to work with the judiciary to shine new light on the justice system and usher in a new era in access to justice." Bryant made today's announcement at the annual Opening of the Courts ceremony, where he and the Chief Justices of the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario gathered to detail past successes and outline priorities for the coming year. In his speech, Bryant also highlighted a number of recent government accomplishments, including: * The investment of close to $1 billion over the past three years to construct new courthouses and improve the facilities of justice. * The introduction of the Access to Justice Act, 2006, which will reform the justice of the peace system and regulate paralegals. The Act was passed by the Ontario legislature on October 19, 2006. * Adopting a unique, multifaceted approach to fighting organized crime called Organized Justice. * The introduction of the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, which will improve and strengthen the promotion, advancement and enforcement of human rights in Ontario. The Act was passed on December 5, 2006. A transcript of the Attorney General's speech will soon be available at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca.
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Post by REALITY on Jan 14, 2007 19:14:18 GMT -5
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Post by REALITY on Jan 14, 2007 19:18:44 GMT -5
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Post by REALITY on Jan 15, 2007 13:40:03 GMT -5
U.S. War Resisters take precedence over Single Moms
By Judi McLeod
Monday, January 15, 2007
Move over single Moms, the US war resisters are coming!
In issuing an emergency housing appeal for housing for American soldiers who want to flee to Canada rather than serve in Iraq, The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC) seems to be putting American war resisters ahead of the working poor.
TDRC politics is taking precedence at a time when affordable housing is difficult to find for single people raising families.
The TDRC battle cry went up when the news first broke that President George W. Bush would be announcing an increased deployment of 20,000 troops to Iraq.
According to TDRC officials, "There has been a huge response within the U.S. military" and their telephone lines have been "inundated" with calls for help.
"The War Resisters Support Campaign has been inundated with requests from soldiers who are considering coming to Canada," states a TDRC media communiqué.
"This is an urgent appeal for housing spots for the new arrivals. If you have a room where you can house a resister for a few days, a few weeks or longer, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH US. We are in especially great need of longer term housing (1-2 months).
"Welcoming a war resister here with the offer of temporary housing is a concrete way to put an end to war in Iraq. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated!"
During the duration of the Iraq war on terror, Canada has been a harbour for conscientious objectors from the United States.
The U.S. draft ended in 1973 and troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan serve in an all-volunteer army.
Of course there are those who would argue that the job of soldiering is voluntary in much the same way as any paid job is voluntary. In their way of thinking, soldiers are not forced to do the job; they are paid to do it.
In the same communiqué that the TDRC is asking for housing for U.S. war resisters, is an article noting that housing continues to move out of reach for minimum wage workers.
"Minimum housing wage measures the level of hourly wages that a person or household must earn to afford an average rent unit without paying more than the norm of 30% of before tax income for housing.
"Rising rent levels in all 28 Canadian Census Metropolitan areas have resulted in an increase in the minimum housing wage required in all of these cities.
"Single parent families with one wage earner face the greatest challenge. In Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto a single parent must find a job paying almost three times the minimum wage in order to cover the rent for an average two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartment."
"Paying the rent or feeding the children is a real life choice that all too many parents have to make," says Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) President Karen Charlton.
Toronto remains the most expensive city, but compared to 2005, Calgary and Edmonton are catching up, due to the greatest increase in rent levels since 2005.
Panhandlers are on the increase in Mayor David Miller's Toronto. Many of them are homeless.
Meanwhile, not all members of TDRC's constituency are happy with the organization's latest emergency housing appeal.
"It's Homes for War Resisters--Screw the Poor," is how one local wag sees it.
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Post by REALITY on Jan 15, 2007 13:51:38 GMT -5
Jack Layton calls for housing strategy during visit to Greater Sudbury
Date Published | Jan. 15, 2007
BY KEITH LACEY
Federal NDP leader Jack Layton said he and his political party will push hard to reintroduce a national housing strategy.
During a day-long visit to Greater Sudbury Saturday, Layton said the problems with homelessness in this community and across the country are directly related to the federal government cutting funding to build more affordable housing units.
"It's just not right that hundreds of thousands of Canadians can't find affordable housing and are forced to live on the streets," said Layton.
As part of his tour, Layton visited the local Finlandia Koti seniors' residence, spent some time with newly-elected Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez, met with the local Coalition Regarding Homelessness and then held a press conference Saturday afternoon at the Steelworkers Hall.
Some Canadians who work at low-paying or minimum wage jobs are also becoming homeless or close to it and providing more affordable housing is the only way to remedy what is becoming a crisis situation, said Layton.
"These people have no money left over to buy food, never mind to get around or pay for the other necessities of life," he said.
During his meeting with Rodriguez, Layton said the subject of poverty and homelessness was front and centre.
Rodriguez, a former longtime Nickel Belt MP, agreed reintroducing a national affordable housing strategy is needed and Layton promised he and his federal party members in the House of Commons will make this a priority when parliament resumes in a couple of weeks.
"We'll be calling on all our members to push for a national housing program," said Layton. "I can tell you the NDP is very committed to this."
The NDP still has influence in setting national policy, said Layton, noting his party convinced the federal Tory government to eliminate $4.5 billion in proposed tax cuts last year, forcing them to turn that money over to municipalities to pay for such services as transit and assisting First Nations communities.
Layton said it's "very sad" when seniors' homes like Finlandia Koti can't accept more residents because they don't have the necessary funding.
Seniors are responsible for building this country and those who need care and comfort in terrific residences like Finlandia Koti should not be turned away because of money, he said.
The NDP will continue to push for programs that assist those who need help the most, said Layton.
"We're here to take responsibility as Canadians for those who need our help...there's no time to waste," he said.
He will personally head the charge to ensure legislation that assists the poor and downtrodden is brought before the House of Commons and his party will try everything in its power to enact legislation that assists the most needy people in Canada, he said.
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Post by Dean Robinson on Jan 15, 2007 15:22:00 GMT -5
great post. im liking the NDP more every day. I hope Ontario goes NDP in the next election.
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