Posted by
Joanne on
30 April 2008, 8:18 pm
…Turning Ontario into a ‘WEAKER SISTER’ .
Well at least we’ll have Danny Williams to bail us out.
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Update : One thing Dalton could do is crack down on the illegal cigarette trade , and try to regain control of the lost tax revenue. But Weak Sisters don’t do that kind of thing.
Anyway, who would want to invest in a province where natives are allowed to barricade highways at will, and told they have the legal right to intimidate business developers ? Go west, young man!
Thursday 10:00 a.m. update – 570 News’ Jeff Allen will be interviewing TD’s Donald Drummond next regarding Ontario’s possible future status as a have-not province.
Sunday Update : Lessons heading into a recession – Toronto Sun .
My brother’s keeper? Not if he lives in Ontario – Herald.
Have-not status a blow to the psyche, expert says - Citizen .
Posted by
Joanne on
30 April 2008, 4:39 pm
And here’s a special little gift via Elizabeth Thompson – New Poll Bad News for Liberals .
Is it possible that this minority government could last the full term?
Posted by
Joanne on
30 April 2008, 3:30 pm
I just happened upon this editorial by Jacob Brinkman Reaume posted on the National Post blog site – We’re lost in the fog of a moral disaster . Reaume’s premise appears to be that here in Canada we really have very little ground to stand on when attempting to restrict polygamy from a moral viewpoint.
When we abandon the notion of an absolute truth (read ‘God’) , then we put ourselves at the mercy of the State to define morality for us. When it comes to polygamy, the only legal club we could possibly have against it is prosecution in cases of underage girls being forced to have sex. That becomes difficult when the victims refuse to testify or even acknowledge abuse.
The comments following the piece are interesting and demonstrate the wide variance of opinion on this matter. Please feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts here.
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Update : Shane at the Politic has a somewhat related post – Gay rights do not equal cohabitation rights in England.
Posted by
Joanne on
29 April 2008, 11:03 pm
H/T to National Newswatch for this one – The Original in and out election financing .
Elizabeth Thompson had an ‘aha’ moment today:
…Listening today to one Bloc Québécois MP after another get up to denounce "in and out" financing and praise Elections Canada, those bells started to ring even louder.
The term "in and out" in connection with election financing was first used by my former colleague and classmate Andrew McIntosh to describe a lucrative arrangement cooked up by the Bloc to take advantage of a loophole in election financing laws to extract the maximum amount of taxpayer-funded refunds from Elections Canada. We might never have heard about it if Bloc MP Jean-Paul Marchand hadn’t balked at the obligation to spend the maximum amount possible on his campaign in the 2000 election, prompting a court case, a scandal and a decision to close the loophole…
Quite amusing in view of the Bloc’s fawning confidence motion .
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Update : The Trusty Tory has been doing a great job tracking the hypocrisy of the opposition parties on this matter – Hypocritical Party of Canada .
More at Sandy’s with links to Andrew Coyne and Hunter .
Jack’s Newswatch – Tories Blast Elections Canada .
Posted by
Joanne on
29 April 2008, 11:48 am
Reader Rich feels that we’re wasting too much precious time talking about Brenda Martin . Instead, he would like to focus on the economy. Sounds like a good plan to me.
Just to get started, here’s his comment:
"Joanne; Enough of BM rantings, I would like to get an opinion on the state of Canada’s economy.
The LPC keep harping on their 8 (eight) balanced budgets and 8 years of surpluses and critize the CPC for bringing Canada to the brink of deficit. If a government continually does this it usually means that the Canadian people are overtaxed to the max with no services provided. Services like the Canadian Armed forces, Cities Infrastructure, Highways & bridges. Under the LPC what we got was spending of 2 billion dollars to an ineffective gun registry, HRC commissions, CPP that do nothing for the majority of Canadians.
The CPC believe that they are the stewards of tax payers money and if there is any left over after providing for necesaary services, it should be returned to the tax payer in the form of refunds. I for one am glad for the handling of the economy."
Thoughts???
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Update : Ontario will be a have-not province:TD !!!
Campbell’s closing in Listowel, Ontario – The Have-not Province?
And from the Record :
…Falling to have-not status is an important psychological barrier for Canada’s largest province, Drummond added.
"It gives the signal that Ontario is not the mighty king of the economy anymore,” he said. "It’s one of the weaker partners, but again it’s not so much Ontario’s being weak as the other provinces are really roaring along.”
So…. Is it Jim Flaherty’s fault for slagging Ontario or Dalton’s for not listening to his advice ?
Thursday Update : Carbon Tax a fuels paradise . – Lorrie Goldstein .
And from the Post : How Stephen Harper ruined our national balance sheet – Ralph Goodale .
Posted by
Joanne on
27 April 2008, 3:52 pm
Blue Like You (Joanne’s Journey ) has undergone some significant changes – most notably that this blog is now powered by WordPress.
I’m still getting used to the differences between WP and Blogger , so your patience is greatly appreciated.
I would like to express my extreme gratitude to Sandy and Cynapse for their never ending encouragement, assistance and endless patience in this endeavor. A big thank you also goes to my IHTG . who certainly earns his keep providing I.T. support to our family. And thanks to Stephen Taylor for his patience in addressing BT Aggregator changes for me.
If you happen to notice anything not working or problematic, please let me know either by clicking on the contact page, or leaving a comment.
Some of the previous posts and comments have not quite made it through the transition, but I’m looking forward to lots of new discussion here. Anyone with WordPress experience is more than welcome to offer tips and suggestions.
This is a work in progress. Thanks for your support.
Freedom of religion vs. the state
Christian Horizons has come under a great deal of unwanted publicity lately due to a decision by the OHRC that ruled that the Christian organization must pay lesbian Connie Heinz $23,000, plus interest. I discussed this story a few days ago , and I’m still not sure where exactly I stand on it.
However, today the Record had an interesting editorial that alluded to the ramifications of this type of ruling – and the dangerous precedent that it might be setting:
Lorne Gunter also has a few thoughts on this situation. What he finds most disturbing is that Christian Horizons must, among other things, now undergo Human rights training, which Gunter equates to thought-control:
Christian Horizons is still pondering the ruling and may appeal. Otherwise, they may be forced to either comply with the ruling, or simply stop delivering the services to the general public and help only Evangelical Christians, which would allow them to stay in touch with their own religious beliefs.
The Ontario opposition parties are pushing to defund CH , even though their services cost the government less than what could be provided otherwise.
A difficult situation. I’m sure we’ll see other similar cases in the future.
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Update : Here’s another example showing how Canadian Human Rights Commissions are looking out for you – Alleged hijacking of website by rights officials ‘disturbing’.
Interesting case here where a gay bar tried to ban a woman and was charged by the Quebec Human Rights Commission . H/T Ezra Levant
Works both ways, I guess.
Wednesday Update : Evangelical and Catholic Groups Call for Curbs on Human Rights Commission after Anti-Christian Ruling – Lifesite .