Blue Like You

Men - Tired of paying for your own PSA tests?

A letter-writer in today’s National Post has the solution. This one’s a hoot!

I am so happy that Dalton McGuinty and George Smitherman have found a way to spend my Ontario Health Tax. I was always ticked off having to pay for my PSA test out of my own pocket, but after this announcement, I am now seriously considering the sex-change option.

Maybe this is Dalton’s solution for having changed Ontario from a "have" province to a "have-not" province. These guys are so special. They can have it both ways. Now so can I .

Warren (Wendy) Brown, Long Sault, Ont.

Absolutely brilliant!

Other good letters here and here .

As I said yesterday , the amount of money may not be huge, but the optics are terrible. Also, the number of applicants for this type of operation may increase dramatically, now that it is covered by OHIP.

And since the Lemmings of Ontario have seen fit to reward this Liberal Government with a majority, I see no hope on the immediate horizon for any common sense to prevail.

No RCMP charges

And speaking of Chuck Cadman , these other news items would make him weep.

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Update : On MDL tonight, Pierre Poilievre hinted that the Conservatives would pursue their suit against the LPC regarding the smears in the Cadman affair. Meanwhile, the NDP feels it’s time to move on. However, it seems the Liberals would rather keep flogging this one.

Steve Janke - Cadman controversy is dead, but the Liberals uncover evidence of criminal activity .

Plattytalk - Apologies anyone?

Interesting thoughts here by Colby Cosh .

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Saturday Update : Matthew at the Politic has a great post on yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling.

What’s your health care priority?

Sex change operations - funded by the Ontario taxpayer .

Jeff Allen is discussing this now and I hope to pick it up again later. Just want to hear your thoughts. Personally, I think it’s a slap in the face to all those people waiting for cancer and cardiac treatment. I know it’s not a huge part of the health care budget, but I think it send the wrong message - George Smitherman is continuing to pander to his supporters.

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Update : We schmucks here in Onterrible seem to be the laughingstock of the country…

Chantal Hébert misses the mark

I’m having some difficulty deciphering Chantal Hébert’s column this morning - Canada’s Natural Opposition Party.

…Part of the reason for this self-defeating state of affairs may be that the Prime Minister and his coterie of advisers hail from the protest side of the conservative movement.

It is the first time in modern Canadian history that the right wing of the Conservative party produced a prime minister. Whatever institutional memory of government the party may have rests with its progressive wing. But while not all so-called Red Tories have opted to stay out of the tent, in Harper’s peculiar world, they are often as suspect as the Liberals.

Is she trying to say that the Conservative party’s fortunes in Government are adversely affected by a stronger ex-Alliance control at the expense of the Red Tories? If so, I can’t agree.

Granted, the former Progressive Conservative caucus members may have more experience in Government, but I don’t agree that they are being shut out of the limelight. Names like Peter MacKay and Jim Prentice come to mind.

And as for the notion that the Tories are spinning their wheels and seem more comfortable in opposition, I offer Sandy’s impressive list of the Harper Government’s accomplishments as evidence to the contrary.

Chantel, I’ll be patiently waiting for a list of accomplishments by the ‘Natural Governing Party’ . Let me get it started for you.

• Same-sex marriage.
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Entitlements .
• Lowering carbon emissions (Didn’t get it done).

Carry on…

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Update : Jack’s Newswatch - Daily Blogger .

Dispelling some of the myths re: C-484

If you have been following the progress of Bill C-484 (Unborn Victim of Crimes Bill ), you will likely be very interested in MP Ken Epp’s feature in today’s Ottawa Citizen - Pro-choice Fears .

Epp clarifies the Supreme Court rulings on the matter of protecting the fetus as follows:

…Misrepresentations of Supreme Court rulings have also been used to discredit Bill C-484. When the Supreme Court has said that the fetus is not a "person," it has simply been acknowledging the law as it stands today. The Supreme Court has never said that the fetus ought not to be given some protection in criminal law. In fact, it has said that Parliament has a legitimate interest in the protection of the unborn child and that it is not up to the courts to figure out how to do that, it is up to the legislators.

Bill C-484 is an attempt to provide such protection in one very narrow circumstance - when the unborn child is injured or killed when the mother is the victim of a crime…

So this bill is simply recognizing the wishes of the mother to carry the pregnancy to term and give birth to the child that she is so looking forward to holding in her arms. Bill C-484 protects the right of that woman, so that anyone trying to terminate her pregnancy against her wishes would be appropriately punished.

As it stands now, there is no special recognition of the woman’s right to have her baby. In the past, we have only safeguarded the rights of women who wish to terminate their pregnancies and that right would not be affected by this legislation.

So it is simply an effort to treat all women with the same concern and protection - not just those who have chosen to end their pregnancies.

If it’s true that you can’t pick and choose rights, then the progressives should have no trouble passing this bill.

The problem with cherry-picking

In today’s Ottawa Sun, Lorrie Goldstein showcases the inherent flaw of Dalton McGuinty’s economic strategy to save Ontario from continuing down the vortex of manufacturing job losses - there is no accountability.

…McGuinty said yesterday he will be giving more of our money to General Motors, which is now seeking $140 million for a new engine plant in St. Catharines and a research centre in Oshawa.

This despite the $250 million Queen’s Park has already invested in GM, which recently laid off 2,300 auto workers in Windsor and Oshawa.

That’s half the $500 million McGuinty has invested in the auto sector since 2004 through the Ontario Auto Investment Stategy (OAIS).

The premier boasts those funds led to $7 billion in new investment for Ontario, creating or protecting thousands of jobs and making the province the No. 1 auto producer in North America.

Conservative Leader John Tory and the NDP’s Howard Hampton have attacked McGuinty for failing to get job guarantees when these grants were given…

…But how good is the Ontario government, really, at sorting out the winners and losers among American, Japanese and other car manufacturers?

Goldstein suggests that we need an independent, non-partisan body to make these kinds of decisions - Someone like provincial Auditor General Jim McCarter .

I can agree to a point with this plan, but it still doesn’t address some very serious underlying issues. The auto industry is not merely threatened by poor decision-making on the manufacturer’s part regarding gas-guzzlers, etc. There is a very complex situation, involving a perfect storm of the interaction of the high Canadian dollar, high (unionized) labour costs, high provincial taxes and onerous red tape, rising power and fuel costs, a volatile U.S. market, and the unceasing influx of cheaper imports.

Based on the challenges of that set of criteria, McCarter would probably have better luck picking a winner at Woodbine, than handicapping a worthwhile choice from a field of manufacturing contestants.

I suspect what really influences Dalton’s decisions is the optics of who he’s supporting, rather than the nuts and bolts of the bottom line. He’s looking for the biggest political bang for our buck .

And that is what cherry-picking does. It woos the bigger fish at the expense of the smaller ones - and the Ontario tax-paying suckers get to subsidize the OLP in the process.

No wonder Dalton doesn’t want to listen to Flaherty. After all, It’s not really about doing something. It’s about being seen to be doing something.

Taking a short break

I’m going to take a brief vacation from blogging.  Comment Moderation has been enabled. However you can still leave comments - it’s just that they won’t necessarily get published for a few days.

Sandy might check in from time to time and let a few through as she sees fit.

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Desperate House Members

Just a few final (I hope) thoughts on the latest soap-on-the-hill. The NDP’s Paul Dewar has it right :

"I’m more concerned about (Bernier’s) ability to do the job because of his credentials as Foreign Affairs minister than I am in his pillow talk."

I have to admit that I’m less than impressed with Bernier, but do we really want to start investigating every Cabinet Minister’s significant others in titillating detail (past and present)? I really don’t think we want to go there.

However, we do need a competent Minister of Foreign Affairs, and I think Paul Dewar has every right to present any legitimate concerns in a respectful manner.

There is a very fine line between the public and personal lives of politicians. How we determine that boundary is exactly what defines us as Canadians.

Happy Mother’s Day!

I would just like to join Sandy in wishing all the Moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day.

The only issue I’ve ever had with Mother’s day is that the weather is almost always worse than Father’s day. It hardly seems fair.

On a postive note, being a Mother is certainly one of the most rewarding jobs there is - and also the most demanding. Those feelings of attachment and concern just never leave, no matter how old your baby is. It was only when I became a mother that I began to understand the meaning of the word ’sacrifice’ - and joy.

So thanks to my Mom for all the emotional support and sacrifices throughout my life. I learn every day what it means to be a mother, and all that you went through for me.

And thanks for the gift of unconditional love.

Brenda isn’t done with us yet

Memo to Canadian taxpayers!! Keep your wallets open (CTV ):

Paula Todd: …So have you ruled out any sort of legal action against the Federal Government?"

BM: "…I never would say that I’ve ruled out anything in the future. Everything changes day to day.."

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Update : Neo’s got his own take on things…

And Tony weighs in here .