Blue Like You

Archive for November, 2007

Afternoon Update: Good grief! It just gets crazier and crazier. CTV reports that “the group Democracy Watch says Stephen Harper is in a conflict of interest over the Mulroney-Schreiber affair — and it wants the federal ethics commissioner to investigate.”

Duff Conacher apparently feels that Harper shouldn’t have been the one to pick the adviser.

Doesn’t that call into question the integrity of David Johnston and his ability to remain impartial? Here is a man who agrees to serve his country. It is a thankless job. And this is what he gets?

I think the U. of W. President deserves an apology.

The opposition parties must think that a public inquiry into the Mulroney-Schreiber affair will somehow ameliorate their political capital vs. the present government. Some left-wing pundits seem to share that view. Others think it’s a huge mistake.

But is it in Canada’s best interest to fork over all this money and attention? Author William Kaplan, an expert on the Brian Mulroney-Karlheinz Schreiber affair, thinks not and predicts that the upcoming hearings will be a “gong show.” (CTV)

Kaplan also thinks a public inquiry into a controversial $300,000 in payments to the former Progressive Conservative prime minister by the German-Canadian businessman will prove to be a bad idea.

“We don’t need another inquiry. We certainly don’t need the ‘gong show’ that’s about to transpire on Parliament Hill next week before the ethics committee,” the lawyer and author of two books on the controversy told CTV’s Question Period on Sunday.

Kaplan’s advice to David Lloyd Johnston, the legal academic whom Prime Minister Stephen appointed to advise on the terms of a public inquiry, would be that a special prosecutor be appointed to review the matter and recommend if charges should be laid.

Geoffrey Stevens who teaches political science at WLU and U of G, thinks that this whole affair will hurt the present government because “the hearings will keep the issues of corruption, integrity and truthfulness alive in the public mind” even though he admits that “there’s scant chance that the ethics committee will lay a glove on Harper or his government”.

I don’t quite get the logic here. Attempting to malign the present government which is a totally different party and has nothing to do with the Mulroney era other than a few tangential relationships which are also present in today’s Liberal party (e.g. Garth Turner), hardly smacks of a huge risk to Harper in my mind.

However, Stevens is suggesting this will cost Harper a majority government.

An new Ipsos poll shows the gap between the CPC and the Liberals is closing, but it is unlikely that the poll results are directly related to the Mulroney-Schreiber affair. (Post)

Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos Reid, said the poll indicates that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have so far avoided major political damage from the Mulroney-Schreiber affair.

“I don’t think these specific events have had much impact. Maybe a little bit of an impact but it’s not like it has crashed the numbers in the same way, for example, as the sponsorship scandal hit Paul Martin and the Liberals,” Mr. Bricker said.

I personally doubt the ‘Airbus Probe’ will have much of an adverse impact on the Harper government.

However, I doubt any party could achieve a majority in this period of Canadian politics. Unless Harper screws up bigtime, I doubt we will see another Liberal majority for a long time.

Liberal leaders before Martin had majorities based on right-leaning opponents who were in disarray and fighting against each other. All that has changed now.

And I also doubt we will see a CPC majority anytime soon. The lines of partisanship are just too firmly entrenched. The mushy middle that changes sides is getting smaller, as I see it.

So whose interests will the inquiry serve?

I can only only think of two people - Schreiber and Mulroney.

It will be an expensive gong show.

So Michael Bryant arrived in Caledonia today. As the Globe reports he met with “local politicians, business and spiritual leaders during his much-publicized trip, but did not meet with any of the Six Nations protesters or their representatives.”

Frustrated residents were not able to talk to the Minister, but seemed only too happy to vent to reporters:

Misti Bottenfield, who lives near the former housing development site that has been occupied for almost two years, said it’s time Mr. Bryant gave protesters an ultimatum.

“It should be — get off the land or no talks,” said the 26-year-old, adding she has been repeatedly intimidated by the protesters. “Get off the land and out of the houses. Even though the barricades are down and the roads are open, it’s still not much better. It sucks.”

Pat Woolley, another Caledonia resident complained:

“This thing is getting worse, not better,” said Woolley, adding the province should put an end to the occupation now while it continues negotiating the land claim.

“Businesses continue to suffer … You can’t allow this thing to go on. I’ve always brought my children up to believe we are all equal under the law. My frustration with this Liberal government is that we’re not seeing this transpire in this community.”

Bryant’s main response to the occupation was that “whether the provincially owned land is cleared of protesters is a matter for the provincial police, not the governing Liberals to decide”.

So, what’s the hold-up, Julian Fantino? Why not clear the land? Are we not all equal under the law?

Christina Blizzard still questions the integrity of the OLG, in spite of the supposed clean-up after lottogate earlier this year - Lottery still not a safe bet.

…As Sun Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Antonella Artuso reported last week, over the past year, one in 20 big jackpots went to lottery insiders — either retailers or people employed by the lottery corporation.

And while a spokesman for the OLG says the reason for that is there is now greater scrutiny of wins over $50,000, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that something is horribly wrong…

…The government is happy to wash its hands of whole issue. Their mantra is that they’ve implemented the recommendations of KPMG auditors and the ombudsman - so their work is done.

I don’t think so. Because as long as you’re relying on lotteries as a major source of government revenue, you have to ensure the integrity of the process. As long as your hospitals, your schools, your police forces, are paid for from the proceeds of gambling, you’d better make darn sure it’s fair…

The reference to schools being funded by gambling proceeds reminded me of a post from Nov. 18. I had been surprised to find out that the TDSB topped the list of Canada’s richest charities, pulling in a staggering $2.4 billion dollars.

Interestingly, the Ontario Trillium Foundation ranked first in the most generous foundation category. A reader reminded me that funding for the OTF comes largely from lottery proceeds.

So, just remember. If you buy a lottery ticket in Ontario, not only do you have reason to still question the fairness and integrity of the system, but you are also putting money into the hands of a corporation that turns around and gifts it to rich ‘charities’ like the TDSB with their most interesting experiments in public education…

Just thought you might want to know.

Funny how a headline pertaining to the same story can be torqued in so many different ways.

Anyway, The Wudrick Blog contains an excellent analysis. Just don’t drink yellow beverages and read at the same time.

This, of course, was predictable - Dion condemns PM’s climate change stance.

Hunter - Media uses Lethal Weapon!

Interesting comments at the end of this CTV report. (H/T Trusty Tory).

The Record is doing a series on doctor shortages and other medical issues in Ontario for the next few days.

I found this article particularly alarming - Security of patient data to be reviewed.

Yesterday, the Record published a report (MDs use private firms to collect patient data) about Metroland West Media Group’s investigation of private companies that encourage doctors to sign up for their ‘block fees’ payment plan. Patients are charged an annual lump-sum rather than have to submit individual payments for fees such as sick-notes, telephone prescription renewals, etc.

The problem is the lack of full disclosure to the patient, which has the The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner concerned, as well as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

Here’s the clincher:

The company acknowledges that the letters appear to come from doctors and says it does not disclose its involvement because physicians have asked it to stay behind the scenes.

So how’s that ‘public’ health care system workin’ for ya?

Red Tory just lost what little credibility he had left.

The “Joanne” he ridicules in his post was not me. I did not make those comments at SDA.

For a person who prides himself on being so meticulously correct in every little detail, he sure got sloppy this time.

Saturday Update: I’m done with Red Tory and his band of slimy miscreants.

Forever.

It’s just not worth it.

This one is sure to get the old school-funding debate rolling again!

The Halton Catholic District School Board has pulled “The Golden Compass” from school library shelves after receiving complaints that the book was written by an atheist.

The comments following this CTV report are fascinating.

I’m not entirely sure where I sit on this one, but I think it’s safe to say that the public funding of the Catholic school board in Ontario remains a contentious issue.

Telegdi bill proposes Canadian ‘Charter Day’.

Gag me with a spoon (after I finish my popcorn & beer and eat my cake).

This seat dispute between McGuinty and Van Loan reminds me of a parent trying to be fair to all the kids, and yet inevitably someone’s nose ends up being out of joint. Maybe Johnny has a part-time job and brother Sammy doesn’t, so you end up giving Sam an extra buck or two for a treat, and then Johnny screams blue murder. It’s a no-win situation.

Anyway, Christina Blizzard has interviewed political scientist Dr. David Docherty and relates his observations (More seats, less democracy) . Please read the whole article. It’s quite enlightening.

Here’s what I didn’t know - There is very little rep by pop in this country:

“There have only been three provinces whose seats are determined by population: Alberta, B.C. and Ontario,” Docherty said in an interview this week.

Quebec gets 75 seats no matter what — despite declining population in that province. So if you divide their population by 75 seats, you get a higher voters-to-MP ratio than you get here in Ontario. And it’s that formula that critics — particularly McGuinty — are applying to the new formula. Or they take the overall population of the country — 33,800,700 — and divide it by the number of seats in the House of Commons. Except that doesn’t work either.

New Brunswick and tiny P.E.I. are protected by what is called the “senatorial floor.” A province can’t have fewer MPs than it has senators. This means that despite their minuscule populations, P.E.I. and New Brunswick get four and 10 seats respectively.

According to Doherty, other provinces have their seat numbers protected by the ‘federal Representation Act.’

“Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia probably shouldn’t have the seats they do, but the act protects them from losing seats...”

Under the proposed changes, the number of federal ridings would increase from 308 to 330. Of those 22 new ridings, 10 would be in Ontario, seven in B.C., and Alberta would get five.

New provisions to the act guarantee that provinces with smaller populations than Quebec — the largest province that has a seat guarantee — are entitled to equivalent representation. So Alberta and B. C. get more seats to reduce their MP-to-voter ratios until their constituencies are roughly the same size — but conveniently slightly larger — than Quebec’s.

Blizzard calls it “the quintessential Canuckistan dog’s breakfast of a compromise“. If Ontario’s seats are increased, then Quebec will be throwing the tantrum.

What a mess. McGuinty’s letter to all Ontario MP’s calling for “Representation by population, ‘one person, one vote,’ equality under the law and effective representation”, seems rather unachievable.

Blizzard has advanced her own proposal:

Dump the Senate, so you don’t have to worry about how many seats provinces have. While we’re at it, ditch P.E.I. as well. What’s it doing with four MPs? It has a smaller population than some GTA ridings. Roll it into New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.

Then let’s start from ground zero. No deals. No seat guarantees. Just rep by pop — all across the country.

Sounds good in theory, Christina, but I doubt that the kids would ever stop whining no matter how hard you tried to resolve the situation.

Let’s hope Ken Epp has a bit more success than Leon Benoit getting some legislation through to protect Unborn Victims of Crime and their mothers who have chosen to follow through with the pregnancy.

I think there is a lot of grassroots support out there for this bill. Ironically, it was the Conservative government itself that squashed Benoit’s efforts. Perhaps it was afraid of a pro-choice backlash, but I firmly believe this is not a mutually exclusive initiative. With the right wording, I think the law can protect a woman’s right to choose whether she decides to abort her pregnancy or not. If she chooses to give birth to her baby and someone then commits an act of violence to destroy her unborn child, there should be a punishment for that.

Whatever your political stripes, please contact your MP and let him or her know that you support Bill C-484 (Unborn Victim of Crimes Act).

It’s the least we can do for these grieving families.

They deserve closure.