I think Chantel Hebert loses some credibility in her column in today’s Star – Will PM pick a G-G with credentials to stand up to him?
First of all she compares Governor-General Michaelle Jean to Speaker Peter Milliken which is comparing apples to oranges, and then calls Jean weak by contrast:
By comparison, outgoing Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean always brought a weak hand to her dealings with Stephen Harper. That weakness ultimately reflected poorly on both of them.
Hebert suggests that Jean was bullied into complying with Prime Minister Harper’s request for prorogation.
Well first of all, Michaelle Jean was Liberal PM Paul Martin’s choice so if Hebert has a problem with our outgoing GGs performance, her criticism should be directed there.
Secondly, in most cases the Governor General follows the advice of the Prime Minister and her position is more one of a figure-head. If we need the constitution to be re-examined then that’s fine but my understanding is that the GGs powers are not very wide-ranging.
Regarding Hebert’s point that Michaelle Jean had very little political experience, we then have to ask if that should be a criteria for the future. Yes I do wonder too why CBC employees would be qualified to be GG but that again is something that should be examined from a wider scope if we want to establish some kind of vetting qualifications for the future.
Chantel Hebert is clearly disappointed that Stephen Harper is still in power. But I would suggest that she target Michael Ignatieff rather than Michaelle Jean.
Mr. Ziffy has had every opportunity to take down the Conservative Government and yet he continues to act as the Junior Coalition partner.
So if Chantel Hebert is looking for someone to call ‘weak’, she should start focusing on Michael Ignatieff instead if Michaelle Jean who is very popular and has fulfilled her role with competence and grace.
Considering that the GG consulted with numerous constitutional experts when dealing with the request to prorogue parliament it’s a bit surprising to read that Herbert felt she lacked experience. She may have lacked experience but she had no lack of expertise.
Neil D & Liz – Well said, both of you.
Since Hebert is playing the political card here she could have a “case” if Jean had been a Conservative appointee, she wasn’t, neither was she in politics or well known.
Hebert is way off base with this one. We are in a democracy, we need a strong opposition, we don’t have one and it’s due to a WEAK leader of the Official Opposition.
Criticizing the GG for keeping stability by refusing to cede to the wishes of a coalition of power hungry tools, instead of the Prime Minister who has formed a large Minority government is nuts.
I suggest maybe Hebert take the summer off and give her head a shake. Comparing the House Speaker to the GG is really some stretch.
I am writing a note to Chantel here and I am sending her an email with a link to your page Joanne. I was going to send her this via email, but knew I would just get a cursory “thanks” back. Much more fun to put it out there in the public domain for others to read too.
Note to Chantel….your most recent article is hogwash and shows your lack of understanding of the role of the Governor General. Or perhaps it is just your wishful thinking????? I can’t believe that someone who has been writing about political going-on’s for as many years as you have would not understand the role of any GG. Your left wing bias is showing in this one. Your pushing for a Coalition coupled with this latest rant is just another bit of evidence of that bias. Perhaps you should take issue with why Jean Chretien was granted prorogation to get out of having the auditor general report on adscam. Somehow, I don’t remember you reporting on any weakness on the part of the GG at the time. I have lost any respect I used to have for you as a journalist, however, I am sure you will have lots of Harper-haters cheering you on.
I agree half way with Hebert. The GG should have refused to prorogue. The GG should have noted that the electorate had new knowledge about a coalition, and asked Harper to hold another election right away.
Greg…what “new” knowledge was that?
I’m pretty sure that the role of GG is not to stand up to the PM of the day. I’m thinking that Hebert needs to do more research and refrain from rewriting the GG’s job description.
IT always amazes me when journalist write a piece that implies that they have divine knowledge and inside information with which to draw their conclusions. That is what Herbert appears to do in this piece.
It has been apparent that on this file particularly, she has had a mad-on and dislikes the notion that she really should analyze it and the participants with FACTS not EMOTIONS.
As we all know that she hasn’t had an inside track to the GG’s and PM’s conversations or the advice and expertise offered, this is nothing more than and editorial.
Further, she may have an enormously high opinion of Peter Millikin and his parliamentary knowledge but I would conclude, he would be challenged in that knowledge and expertise by Stephen Harper.
Excellent comments so far, very balanced, thoughtful and wise.
Liberal Ziffy’s O’Harvard buddy.
Harvard Ziffy wants Voodoo GG to remain.
Meanwhile: O’s a “victim” of MSM fraud.
O’Economist fraud.
O is Canadian Liberal Ziffy’s O’Harvard buddy.
…-
“BUSTED: The Economist Photoshops Obama To Make Him Look More Depressed And Alone
It’s just not quite the same for a president to be glancing down at the water while chatting with others on the beach as it is for the president to be solemn and depressed and alone while contemplating oil-soaked sand.
But the Economist didn’t have a picture of the latter. So they made one:”
[photoshopped photo: O'alone. Not.]
“The change was discovered by Jeremy Peters of the New York Times.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/busted-the-economist-photoshops-obama-to-make-him-look-more-depressed-and-alone-2010-7
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/mt/mt-comments.cgi
..-
O and Ziffy’s socialist role model/mentor Stalin used airbrushed photos in his socialist propaganda:
“Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the … himself shortly to vanish and his photographs airbrushed from history by NKVD.”
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Moscow_Trials
She is just jealous that she doesn’t have a hope in hades of getting the job, and neither do any of her At Issue friends.
Isn’t it time there was a new panel, with new ideas and thoughts, instead of rehashing old liberal ideas.
There will be no coalition, so give it up Chantel.
Mme Hebert also seems to have forgotten that Mr. Ignatieff supported an extension to Michaelle’s Jean’s term.
She is much too experienced a political journalist not to understand that when the PM requested a prorogation last year, the GG had no reason whatsoever to refuse. There is a continuing and insidious battle going on by the left to try and illegitimize this PM and everything he does, regardless of whether other PMs have routinely exercised similar powers. It may well be that the Canadian Prime Minister has too wide-ranging powers, but apparently the only time the media focus on this fact is when there is a Conservative in the job.
Isn’t Chantal an avowed ANTI Monarchist. Recently she has written scathing articles about this with the Queen’s visit.
So, why would she care what the GG does. As the Queen’s rep. Hebert should be consistent and just call to abolish the position.
Do many people really care what this very caustic and negative journalist thinks anyways. Why is her opinion any more important that yours or mine? She is one person in a country of 34 million people.
Chantal always seems so unhappy. Is it just since the Liberals were no longer giving her those nice yummy career enhancing leaks? Or, no more fancy Liberal press parties on the taxpayer dime?
Darn those conservatives, Chantal. No more special perks just for you.
The left are weak, and the left can’t handle being on the wrong end of the stick amongst Canadians. One look at the G-20 protesters and you just know the left are not going to be in power for a very long time. What is left of the left is not something Canadians will even consider as an alternative if they merge. As the left dies on the vine Herbert knows so does any power that Quebec had. Canadians will no longer put up with the tail wagging the dog.
At first I was cynical about Michaelle-Jean being appointed as GG, but she has been an excellent representative of Canada, and I am very proud to have her as our GG.
Canadian politics have changed … Chantal hasn’t …
MM
I think Michaelle Jean has done a very good job as GG. Her term is up and our PM gets to pick her successor. Then PM Paul Martin was the one who appointed Michaelle Jean. I too am finding a thread of gee we should have had our election, our votes stolen from us by the Coalition of lefty losers, NEVER! Chantel!
As for the phrase ” the present regime”. Modern usage gives that word a negative spin. I really take exception to your sneering, snotty, tone madam.
Our Present Government, duly elected by the people, may not suit you, get over it already.
It’s not like our present PM has taken to strangling protesters is it?
There are two kinds of knowledge, one is where you already have enough to make an informed decision. The other is when you know to consult informed experts, which is exactly what Michelle Jean did, she made an informed decision which was a good decision.
It was the right decision for Canada, the people derserved no less. I would have accepted no less than to have our election stand.
The wise words of HM PM Stephen Harper “Losers don’t get to form coalitions” should be carved in stone on Parliament Hill.
Queen now arriving at Waterloo International airport.
(You can listen live at Newstalk 570 as she makes her way to RIM.)
Have you all got your coffee ready,to settle in and watch the latest Gong Show on the Hill today? Markie Mouthpiece Holland will be front and center,so maybe take a good dose of anti-barf meds too.Wouldn’t it be something if Fadden discloses some juicy tidbits about Lib/Dip MP’s being in the pocket of foreign gov’ts? Maybe those opposition MP’s will be sorry they asked for this inquiry.
BTW,where’s Bobby Fife these days? Haven’t heard from him in quite some time.
Fadden said this has been going on for years. Who was in power for years. Who has only been in charge for 4 yrs with a minority govt. Who is in China as we type, saying he is making contacts for the future.
Holland might get something he doesn’t want. Who has been lobbying for foreign govts for years, one Derrik Lee.
Will the Queen announce a new GG today.
Who is the gal in the colored dress questioning Mr Fadden. He is telling the Chair that the questioner is way off base and mis interrupting what he said. He never used the word treason but she is. CPAC is covering it.
It’s quite possible Mouthy Holland will get more than he bargained for before this is all over.
The Liberals had power for decades and knew how to grab votes.Does Holland seriously think they didn’t cater to their voters in immigrant rich areas like Toronto where they have had a stronghold? God, how can anyone be so politically naive, or assume we are, and have such a big mouth with permission to shoot it off? Oh, forgot, his “leader” is Ziffy.
This could be very interesting indeed.
Who is the gal in the colored dress questioning Mr Fadden.
MaryT, I think she’s from the Bloc.
Mark Holland, The Mouth That Ate Ajax, is costing Canadians money again with these inquiries. Like all of the others look for this to blow back big-time on the opposition.
Even though Hebert is a left-lib partisan, I usually find her commentary astute and considered.
On this one, as others have pointed out, she’s off:
” … outgoing Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean always brought a weak hand to her dealings with Stephen Harper.”
EXCUSE ME? The G-G’s role is never to be in opposition to the Prime Minister. And, unlike Milliken, s/he is not an elected, partisan politician. The G-G is the Queen’s representative and the Queen’s role is to support and aid her Prime Minister, with the good of the country in mind, within constitutional boundaries.
As others have pointed out, as well, if Hebert has an argument with anyone about the relative merits of Michaelle Jean, she needs to take it up with Paul Martin and Co. I remember the day in August 2005, when Martin made the announcement. I thought, “wholly unsuitable, completely a partisan, politically correct appointment. Yuck.”
Jean fit the black, French, media, feminist profile to a T and, all the better that her husband was a staunch, anti-Canada, separatist: rub this appointment in the face of conservative Canada.
As it turns out, Michaelle Jean has done a satisfactory job in her role as Governor General (and, to be fair, has elegantly carried out the duties of her office). And now it’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s turn to make his appointment to the position.
If you have an argument with PMSH’s imminent appointment, by all means voice it, Ms. Hebert, but don’t diss our PM for an appointment made by your favoured Liberals.
It is obvious the cbc sat on this interview for a very long time, to be released when they thought it could hurt the PM.
Wouldn’t it be great if Peter and other cbc honchos had to testify why they held it back.
I don’t think the committee will get the names they want. We know if they are they will be leaked asap.
“it will be interesting to see if Harper selects a successor with the credentials to act as an authoritative enough referee to stand up to him, if need be, in future parliamentary showdowns.”
What about the next GG having the credentials to stand up to the leader of a losers coalition ???
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the next election results in the same kind of minority Parliament as we have now, we are guaranteed to go through the same kind of power struggle as we had last time.
Some pundits have been promoting University of Waterloo president, Dr. Johnston, as the next GG. He was appointed by PM Harper in 2007, to advise him re the terms of reference for the Mulroney/Schreiber inquiry. I’m sure we have tons of quotes from the Libs and the media, praising Dr. Johnston’s integrity, impartiallity, knowledge, etc etc.
If Dr. Johnston indeed becomes the next GG, then all these quotes will be thrown back in their faces, at the appropriate time.
Anyone paying attention to the live blogging from Kady, I’m not. Maybe we should, just to see how she misinforms her loyal following.
Notice how she is sitting right behind Mr Fadden, must be seen to be earning her paycheque.
I see that Greg hasn’t been back to answer my question as to what “new” information Canadians have about a Coalition, so let me take a guess. The “new” information is that Coalitions are fine; done all over the world, just look at Britian.
The difference “Greg” is that Britons knew that a Coalition was possible if they didn’t elect a majority AND – (here’s the big one Greg) – the actual WINNER of the election gets to decide who to make a Coalition with. The losers DO NOT get to get together and overthrow an elected government.
So quit trying to make out like what was about to take place in 2008 was anything but an attempted coup and the GG’s ultimate decision to grant prorogation was nothing more than what any other GG has done in the past.
OOPs notice how she glanced at the camera, they got a shot and now she appears to be gone.
As ever and always, all the mushy howls from the Opposition and their tools in the media is focused on the Liberals Divine right to rule no matter how decrepit they are.
The GG didn’t grant them power to rule in a coalition of losers so she listened to advice she has at her disposal and the person we elected to serve as Prime Minister as per our system so she’s being called “weak” by someone who bloody well knows better, having been around reporting on CANADIAN politics for some time.
No way of knowing if it stems from being a Quebec thing, anti Monarchy, or simply a political bias or both.
….glad to see this up….chantal ate nail sandwiches and is feeling rather poorly methinks…has no positive outlook…how could she…she also visits the CBC and drinks their cool-aid… She is a columnist to be ignored. Just like Mr. Travesty… ride off into the sunset both of you….or get scotty to beam you up….your so called work is done here….
The bloc gal just moved a friendly motion that Mr Fadden resign today. Out of order. Kady gone again.
Just heard a fellow, a guest on talk radio,didn’t catch the name, utter something pretty profound. He opined the economy could make or break this Conservative government. If it goes well PEOPLE WILL HOLD THEIR NOSES AND VOTE CONSERVATIVE!!!!! How about that for ignorance, arrogance and pure bias? Why would anyone assume people would have to hold their noses to vote for a Conservative government as opposed to a Liberal government?
I can’t help but wonder how much Fadden would be on the “hot seat” if he had suggested that it was the PM or any of his ministers who were “influenced”. Seems to me that these cries of outrage are a little too much and that perhaps Fadden is opening a can of worms the left opps and media don’t want opened.
Jean was faced with allowing the three stooges to wreak havoc on the Canadian economy and potentially see a serious split in Western Canada.
As an Oakville and Ontario voter I would have HAD NO difficulty in an immediate decision to leave Canada after the hijacking by these morons.
If the three stooges had run on a coalition and not dismissed it at every opportunity the outrage from every corner (except QC) would have been smaller.
The CPC went to 46% in the Polls as a result.
The GG believes in Canada and gave the three stooges an opportunity to re-think their power grab.
The Liberals pushed Dion under the bus without delay. The timeout was five days ahead of the XMAS break.
The Liberals did not allow a leadership race by Rae to sell the coalition deal,they put in the runner up to Dion to quash it.
Iffy was busy writing a book in France over the holidays and recanted why the coalition was a three legged stool in May 2009.(Book tour montreal)
The GG was correct in reading Canadians, the Liberals were not interested in leading the coalition of idiots.
Many of the pundits in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal just don’t get it. They don’t know what Canadians want or think as they have been drinking the kool-aid of Liberalism for too long.
Anyone else think this Fadden witch hunt by the blowhards in Opposition is another gotcha attempt by the desperate?
Fadden didn’t name any names but those who are calling for his head just might get some names they won’t want to hear about. What has he got to lose by fixing their wagon as they try take the wheels off his?
C’mon now CanadianSense, the Liberals were kind to Dion, they let him remain in Stornoway over the Christmas season to enjoy the ambiance.
The fact that the opposition wants all our secrets made public, with names dates and events be it CSIS or detainees or whatever. Why do they want it, why do they need it.
Are they being influenced by bad people to help them with any attacks they may be planning. Are they the ones Fadden is referring to.
(just saw W. Kinsella at the luncheon for the Queen)
Hosted by the Prov Govt, but where is the PM.
Hosted by the Prov Govt, but where is the PM.
MaryT,I heard somewhere the PM is hosting a dinner for Her Majesty tonite.
Cross-posted at SDA (where it’s still caught in the filter). I’m having difficulty fathoming Richard Fadden’s loyalties …
I’m not sure about Richard Fadden’s loyalties. I’m watching the proceedings of the Standing Committee on the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service on CPAC (http://www.cpac.ca/forms/index.asp?dsp=template&act=view3&template_id=46〈=e).
Fadden NEVER GOT IN TOUCH WITH THE FEDERAL MINISTER UNDER WHOSE JURISDICTION CSIS OPERATES, admitted in questioning by a Liberal MP, even though he said in a public talk to a black-tie audience at the Royal Canadian Military Institution in the spring that there were serious intelligence issues in Canada involving foreign interference with certain politicians and the threat that poses to national security.
He “regrets” his being too detailed in the information he gave in his public talk a few months ago and my question still remains: Why did he grant CBC’s Peter Mansbridge an interview about the issues he spoke about at that talk in the week before the G-20 Summit? IMO, it put Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government in the media crossfire and seemed poised to embarrass the government. Despite Brian Stewart’s protestations that “Documentaries of this complexity take time to produce” — and that’s why the time lapse from Fadden’s talk in the spring, filmed as “background material only,” to the Mansbridge/Fadden interview the week before the Summit — the timing of the CBC interview seems too neat by half, especially given that the CBC’s agenda has been all-Liberal-all-the-time, embarrass-the-CPC-whenever-possible since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the CPC formed the government (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/24/f-vp-stewart.html#ixzz0spO8sKge).
Fadden’s talk at the Royal Canadian Military Institution, his co-operation in sharing “inside” CSIS information with Brian Stewart and the CBC, and his interview with Mansbridge put into question Mr. Fadden’s suitability to continue to head CSIS.
I’m not sure who benefits if Mr. Fadden continues as the head of CSIS. But he certainly misfired in granting the CBC’s Brian Stewart exclusive access to operations at CSIS at Stewart’s and the CBC’s suggestion: Stewart has pointed out that he ” … actually first approached CSIS more than a year ago with the seemingly wild notion that they might allow CBC to have an ‘inside look’ at their world as part of a special hosted by Peter Mansbridge” (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/24/f-vp-stewart.html#ixzz0spPkvhjZ).
There’s one thing on which I can agree with Stewart — and that is that an “inside look” by the CBC at the world of CSIS certainly is a “wild notion.”
What possessed Richard Fadden to agree to the CBC’s request?
Anyone else think this Fadden witch hunt by the blowhards in Opposition is another gotcha attempt by the desperate?
Yeah, I did too. Total political posturing. One of the Libs are trying to pin something on the PM and the Minister of Public Safety as usual. The Dipper MP and the Bloc are calling for Fadden’s head.
This little episode with csis could backfire big-time on the msm.It will make people in power even less apt to grant interviews,and of course,this will lead them to blame it all on PMSH and his being a control freak!
BTW,what the hell is that Bloc-head doing ranting about treason,and demanding Fadden step down?? Since when has the Bloc been concerned about Canada as a whole?This was grandstanding of the most hypocritical nature,and what is the Bloc doing for the country?That whole show was a disgrace.
To MaryT re Kady: I only saw bits and pieces of this sideshow,but..if you watch the replay,watch Kady closely.There were a few times during Fadden’s speaking,where you could clearly see Ms Kady doing some serious eye-rolling,sneering etc.Talk about ‘non-partisan??’
Toronto’s “Pride”.
Muslim hate-monger’s hate speech aborted. In TO.
“In his past speeches Naik has advocated death to Muslims who leave Islam, as well as to homosexuals.
In one YouTube video, he explains the rules on how a Muslim man can beat his wife.”
Dhimmi TORedStar plays down the Muslim hatred by calling it a “talk”.
…-
“Talk by controversial Islamic preacher cancelled
No explanation given for the cancellation”
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/831949–talk-by-controversial-islamic-preacher-cancelled
Just heard someone from the committee say that it is unacceptable that a beauracrat “smear” a municipal or federal politician….HUH…
he should have added “unless that politician is Conservative”. Then it is fair game to “smear” them.
I’d say the Bloc is the closest thing we have to treason in this Dominion today. Some gall for one of them to be talking about treason. What other country would allow them to sit their arses in their House of Parliament while advocating the breakup of the country and their only stated mission, their reason for being?
I’m still trying to fathom why Fadden gave the CBC exclusive access to CSIS information and capitulated to Brian Stewart’s (in his words) “wild notion that they [CSIS] might allow CBC to have an ‘inside look’ at their world as part of a special hosted by Peter Mansbridge” ((http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/24/f-vp-stewart.html#ixzz0spPkvhjZ).
Can anyone explain WHY Fadden spoke to the Royal Canadian Military Institution in the spring about sensitive matters that, he admits, he didn’t share with the CPC Minister responsible?
I can see how the Opposition is desperately trying to tie Faddens’ indiscretions to the CPC and PMSH — in fact Prime Minister Harper, it seems to me, as per usual with the Opposition and the media, is damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t — and I can’t see how Fadden has helped the situation.
Can someone explain where Fadden’s loyalties lie, as I’m confused.
Server seems very slow this afternoon.
I’ve said it before and I believe it bears repeating: The problem with the coalition as proposed by the three stooges is the fact that this would have led to a change in government without the calling of an election which in parliamentary tradition is tantamount to sedition. Had the coalition coagulated before the GG called on a party to form a government then the coalition would have been legitimate. However once the GG had named a government the only way to legitimately change that government is through a general election following a vote of non confidence or the expiration of the governments term.
OT: Since Iran is still stoning women why are we trading with them? Every time I go to buy something like dates, I find they’re a product of Iran and have to leave them on the shelf.
There is a 42 year old mother of two up for being stoned and there’s a call for action to prevent it from Amnesty International.
The inhumanity of burying a woman, up to her waist and then hurling stones large enough to cause pain but not kill her immediately should be reason enough for the CIVILIZED compassionate world to take action.
Too many positive comments re our PM and his government, and lots of nasty comments re Pride Parade and Chantel.
Can’t have negative comments re the opposition now can we. LOL
Oh-oh. Big power outage in Toronto affects Prince Philip.
Rosemarie Barton in for Evan today and first off she tries to twist things said today.
How do we know that Fadden and others have not been talking to the ministers involved, at all levels of various govts. Shouldn’t they be asked to explain what they might suspect.
And does anyone believe that some govts are not spying on us and others, think of all the ideas stolen by other countries to manufacture things or use technology from other countries.
And who has close ties to Chinese, who made several trade missions to China, where is Mo living and who is in China at the present time. Talking to students. He loves to talk to people who can’t vote for him.
Read BC Blue re iggy’s goofs today with his meeting with students. He said he missed an opportunity to discuss how he could win the next election with the Chinese leader when he was in Canada. Iggy tried and failed to do a coup, and he will only win if he is like China and has no oppositiom.
Blackout in downtown Toronto, what happened.
Read BC Blue re iggy’s goofs today with his meeting with students. He said he missed an opportunity to discuss how he could win the next election with the Chinese leader when he was in Canada. Iggy tried and failed to do a coup, and he will only win if he is like China and has no oppositiom.
Blackout in downtown Toronto, what happened.
Where is the State dinner tonight.
Liberal Ziffy’s O’bungler buddy.
…-
“Bungling the BP oil spill cleanup? Or never letting the crisis go to waste?
Obama’s deliberate Katrina
Back in May, a television news program asked me if I’d tell America the BP oil spill is President Obama’s Katrina. We discussed the spill’s causes, effects and cleanup effort, but I wouldn’t give them the “red meat” they were looking for. So I lost my 15 minutes of national fame.
Since then, it has become obvious that the Katrina analogy is inappropriate. The 2005 hurricane was marked by abject failures by the New Orleans mayor and Louisiana governor, and initially inept responses by FEMA and the Bush administration.
The 2010 oil spill is defined by yeoman’s efforts by Gulf Coast governors – and an Obama administration response that is leagues beyond inept. It is proactively incompetent and obstructionist, as though it is determined not to let this crisis go to waste – but to prolong and intensify the environmental and economic calamity, to advance its political objectives: shutting down offshore leasing and drilling, bringing the US oil industry into the automotive-banking-housing-healthcare sphere of federal control, forcing a massive shift to costly renewable energy, and ramming cap-tax-and-trade through Congress.
How else can anyone explain the litany of bureaucratic decisions that have squandered opportunities to shield beaches, fisheries and estuaries from the expanding slick, before hurricanes hammer cleanup efforts? Ponder this unconscionable malfeasance by the EPA, Corps of Engineers, Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service, OSHA, Justice Department, White House and Congress, which:
* Exempted BP from normal environmental reviews, from requirements that BP have viable plans in place and equipment on location to deal with any blowout and spill, and from oversight of its intended removal of drilling muds from the drillstem despite signs of dangerous pressure building in the well.
* Opposed surface and subsurface use of dispersants and rejected offers of dispersants from Britain.
* Compelled crews to employ 4-inch hoses to vacuum up oil by the quart, after President Obama objected that he “can’t suck it up with a straw.” Rejected state-of-the-art skimmers from the Netherlands, because the skimmers send a little oil back into the ocean, while collecting seawater mixed with oil, segregating the oil and discharging the water. (EPA demands that any water discharged from the skimmer be 99.99% oil-free. In other words, it demands that all the oil be left in the ocean, to be driven onto beaches and into sensitive estuaries – rather than permitting ships to collect 95% of the oil, and discharge the rest.)
* Rejected other state-of-the-art vessels, because the Jones Act prohibits the use of even specialized foreign crews in US waters. All together, says the State Department, the feds have rejected 21 offers of help from 17 different nations. (The president could waive the Jones Act, as President Bush did after Katrina, but apparently doesn’t want to offend his union allies.)
* Stands poised to reject help from the Taiwanese tanker-turned-skimmer, “A Whale,” which is now steaming toward the Gulf, to aid the cleanup – on the same bogus Jones Act and “pollution” grounds.
* Refused to allow the building of berms, because dredge and fill operations might cause environmental impacts – as though the massive intrusion of oil into marshlands would have no effect on wildlife.
* Forced Alabama to remove barriers it had installed to protect the state’s beaches, and move them to Louisiana waters.
* Appointed a scientific advisory board to assess the spill response – then falsely claimed the panel had approved the imposition of a drilling moratorium that was actually added to its recommended actions only after the scientists had signed off on the proposed plan. The drilling ban’s severe impacts on Gulf state employment and revenues were ignored by Interior and the White House, which likewise ignored a Federal District Court order to lift the moratorium until the matter could be fully adjudicated.
* Instead of coordinating an effective cleanup, appointed an oil spill investigation panel that includes the dean of the Harvard Engineering School, a former EPA administrator, the head of an anti-drilling environmental activist group, an anti-oil former US senator, and three others. Not one has actual expertise or experience in drilling or oil spill cleanup.
* Threatened criminal prosecutions, thereby chilling witness discussions and testimony, rather than working to learn what precisely went wrong on April 27 and coordinate a successful cleanup effort.
* Held congressional inquisition hearings, to grandstand, browbeat industry officials, and gloss over MMS regulatory and oversight failures – long before a factual investigation could be completed into the accident and response to it, and amid threats of criminal prosecution for anything witnesses might say.
To top it off, in the face of an environmental catastrophe largely perpetrated and perpetuated by a deliberately incompetent and intransigent federal government, rabidly anti-drilling Congressmen Waxman, Markey and Stupak have now introduced HR 5626, the Blowout Prevention Act. The bill requires that any company seeking a drilling permit must first guarantee that it could prevent any future blowouts; promptly stop any blowout, even if the blowout preventers and other measures fail; and drill a relief well within 90 days of any blowout.”
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/24961
What happened to the power in Toronto, windmills fail.
Or is it a deliberate attack.
Bet the State Dinner will take place, someplace else.
And after all the great things said about downtown TO yesterday.
O.K. I changed my mind. I love the Queen!
Wow. Waterloo gets the Queen one day and the PM the next!!
power restored to downtown Toronto after 90 minutes
hurrah for the best Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper
fh
Tom Flanagan hit the cbc for holding the speech and Barton sure tried to defend it. Speech recorded in March, interview to repeat it in June. Yes, cbc held it to cause trouble and I think cbc honchos should face questions from the committee.
Just when Barton broke for an update on the Power outage, we lost power for about a minute.
I think cbc honchos should face questions from the committee.
Mary T @ 5:37 pm – I agree.
Rosemary Barton, she works for us, we pay her salary,she’s representing a particular entity, she’s not neutral, I want her fired. Where in hell does the CBC go for talking heads anyway, wha are their credentials? Do they have to be Liberal supporters to get hired?
MaryT, what a surprise, Iggy goofed!!!!! God he’s good!!
Will the Queen announce a new GG tonight or will the PM do it in Waterloo tomorrow.
Wonder where the Queen is in the blackout, hope she is not in an elevator.
I am not surprised that Iggy wanted to find out from the Chinese prime minister how to win elections – after all, weren’t they both “elected” by not having a true and fair election!
I guess Iggy wants to find out how to get himself “elected” in the same way as the Chinese do it.
Sorry Alberta Girl, I was out all day – what I meant was – Canadians had no idea that the Liberals were willing to team up with the socialist NDP and the communist and seperatist Bloc in the previous election. With that knowledge as a new factor, there was an excuse to hold another election very quickly after the last, instead of simply handing power to the coalition of morons. An election that would have resulted in a conservative majority.
I would bet the hotel slated to host tonight’s event would have an emergency generator???…..what more can happen in Toronto? Egad!
You just have to love the sarcastic digs on Newsnet though comparing the inconvenience to that of the G20.
What a second class mentality. No thanks!
The State Dinner will go on. The Prince handed out his awards in dim lights. Generator will be used, and lots of candles will be on hand. Hey Jack and Olivia are invited. Did you see a pic of Kinsella in Waterloo today.
Toronto needs more windmills. Toronto is drawing power from other areas, so wait for blackouts somewhere else.
A transformer blew, was it an accident or something else. With the Black Bloc, bank bombings, bombings in Montreal, one never knows. I know, it was the PMs fault, or else maybe Bush did it.
Did you see a pic of Kinsella in Waterloo today.
No! So we get Kinsella here on top of the Queen and the PM? What a great place to live. [Sarc/off re: Kinsella]
Thanks Greg…I wondered if that is what you meant after I had asked the question. You are right!! There will never be another election without that possibility. Hopefully Canadians remember.
Looking like the Fadden fooferah is all but over when a very partisan Liberal MP says he’s satisfied with Fadden’s explanation. Now he needs to tell Holland to STFU, it’s o-v-e-r.
Another gotcha bites the dust.
GG’s voodoo Haiti.
Haiti: the “icon” of the left-liberals.
“They keep arresting the women and sending them to us,” Mathieu said, “and the criminal justice system does not free them. What is one to do?”
Haiti: the sewer of the Caribbean.
…-
“No justice for Haiti’s women inmates
By Clarens Renois (AFP) – 21 hours ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The inmates at Haiti’s only women’s prison cry out in desperation as warden Marie-Yolaine Mathieu makes her rounds, hoping that she will hear their case and perhaps, help secure their release.
“Director, director, I need to speak to you,” calls out one woman with matted hair and a blemished face, whose days of incarceration without a conviction turned first into weeks and now months.
Like so many others, the woman make a futile plea for Mathieu’s intervention.
“I’ve been in this prison for six months. I have a 10-year old child who has not been cared for since my mother died during the earthquake,” she cried.
“I can’t take it any more,” she screams, beside herself with despair.
This impoverished Caribbean country’s broken judicial system has failed its citizens at every turn. But it has been especially delinquent in prosecuting those who face criminal charges but have never been convicted of crimes.
Haiti’s main in prison in Port-au-Prince was virtually destroyed by the 7.0-magnitude quake on January 12, and almost all of its estimated 4,000 male prisoners escaped.
But the women’s institution — condemned years ago by UN officials as “cruel and inhumane” — still holds its unhappy occupants. Built for around 30 inmates houses 300.
The prison director said however said she feels for the women, but that she is powerless to improve their plight.
“They keep arresting the women and sending them to us,” Mathieu said, “and the criminal justice system does not free them. What is one to do?”"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jsL-I9WPy3gj3FNJybd89Vub739w
Don’t miss PM Harper on CBC right now!! Looking very dapper in his tux.
Watching, and the Queen is in a gorgeous dress and tiara.
OT but Jacksnewwatch seems to have dropped a link to Bourque also.
No announcement of a new GG by the Queen, maybe in Waterloo by the PM tomorrow.
A hockey sweater for a gift is much better than the IPod O gave her, loaded with his speeches.
NEVER have I seen in my lifetime such a cool PM, he oozes sincerity. The dinner this evening was like a family affair but with a little more bling and glamour.
Yes, very lovely night for the Queen and our PM in spite of the power interruption.
Family member who works at RIM says he saw the Queen. Very cool!
“Did you see a pic of Kinsella in Waterloo today.
No! So we get Kinsella here on top of the Queen and the PM? What a great place to live. [Sarc/off re: Kinsella]”
A correction. WK wasn’t in Waterloo. The luncheon he attended was at the Pinewood Studios in Toronto, with McGuinty as host.
Watching the Fadden testimony today and wondering how much taxpayers have wasted on unnecessary investigations over the last while. Including travel, etc. I bet it’s a bundle.
Oh, and I happen to believe that Kady O’ knows exactly where the TV camera’s pointing every time.
WK wasn’t in Waterloo. The luncheon he attended was at the Pinewood Studios in Toronto, with McGuinty as host.
That figures.
Kady O’Whatatwit, an example of a reporter making herself look so very important, complete with reactions, sneers or smirks, real live emoticons for the camera.
Yes, CBC hierarchy should be called to answer questions, won’t happen though.
O/T – Hudak weighs in on G20 thugs here http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/2010/07/05/14617826.html
No word on the next GG appointment, the PM likes to keep us in suspense so rumours are still flying. Even Milliken has been mentioned, now that would be a long shot even though he may be knowledgeable of the Parliamentary process and has been “neutral” as Speaker of the House.
Have we ever had a GG who is single?
Sorry re saying WK was in Waterloo, so many pictures so many events. The point is, he went to see the Queen. Fox has finally mentioned She will be in NYC today, but made a catty remark that She wore a recycled dress. It was a beautiful gown and worthy of letting us see it twice.
Will the PM announce the new GG today, in Waterloo. It is reported he will be making a major announcement.
Oh, and the thugs are facing a bail hearing today in Toronto, and some member of the Police Board says they will appoint someone to investigate.
My take, they will get bail, disappear and turn up to do more damage somewhere else.
Did anyone at the UofT get in trouble for hiding the thugs.
Will the PM announce the new GG today, in Waterloo. It is reported he will be making a major announcement.
Mary T – Stephen Hawking will be present as well as Gary Goodyear, Science & Technology Minister so I’ll thinking it’s something to do with a science grant but I could be wrong. It just seems a strange place to announce a new GG – unless we are talking about David Johnston…
You are probably right, but with the Queen leaving and the GG returning and iggy out of the country, would be a great time to do it.
He still has to appoint a senator from Ontario, any ideas, have you been called. LOL
He still has to appoint a senator from Ontario, any ideas, have you been called. LOL
Ha-ha. That’s interesting too though. I wonder if David Johnston would like to be a Senator?
I find it interesting to see how Her hats have changed over the years. If one gets to see Her, no matter how close or far, you never forget it. We saw Her in Edmonton a few years ago, and of course it was pouring rain, and some of the musical program was cancelled because of it.
OT, but how many people are ignoring any ban on water bottles today, wherever they are banned.