It's Almost Like I'm Psychic

With the announcement today by GM that they would be shutting down the Camaro line in Oshawa and moving production to Michigan, I kindly refer you to my uncanny ability to foresee the future. As I have stated a number of times. CAW head Ken Lewenza would raise his arms in VICTORY, claiming to have beaten back the capitalist enemies after completing negotiations with GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Lewenza boasts of having won the war, keeping Big 3 new hires earning more than their UAW counterparts in the U.S.

 Cue the OUTRAGE from Lewenza today when the news that 1000 more Oshawa jobs would be lost, with Michigan picking up the jobs and Camaro production. By putting a higher labour cost on Canadian manufacturing than the U.S., Lewenza has effectively priced us out of jobs. And it's going to get far worse. We've already seen massive job losses here and plant closures, including the Caterpillar plant in London, the consolidated line in Oshawa among others. Watch for Chrysler to announce the closing of the Brampton Assembly Plant in 2015-2016.

 If Lewenza should be outraged, it's with himself and the master bargaining committee, who were all warned by the companies and economists what the outcome would be should they refuse to accept a deal similar to the U.S.

The Virtual Reality of The Avro Arrow, The F-35, Bourdeau Industries, And The Canadian Media?

With the whole ongoing Jersey Shore type saga over the governments proposed purchase of F-35 jets, the media has never missed an opportunity to try and make the government look bad. This includes distorting facts, figures, and apparently running stories with little due diligence. Case in point,

 In 2010, all the Canadian media sources ran similar stories like this One by the CBC. That's interesting. I always found the Avro Arrow story very intriguing, as I think most Canadians do. Giving the story validity was the fact retired major general Lewis Mackenzie was quoted in all the stories as endorsing the plan, which was being put forth by a company by the name of Bourdeau Industries. At the time of the story, I did a google search of this company and could find nothing, no website, offices, contact information. Nada, nothing, nilch, zippo. I just kind of forgot about it.

 But with news this week that the government was now considering other jets as possible replacements, I again saw the Avro Arrow, both in the media and comments by people posting on news board comments section. So again I searched Bordeau Industries, and found one thing, this Facebook Page. Again, no website, address, contact info, nothing.

 So I politely asked where this company was located, as I could find nothing at all on it. The "official" replied it it was a registered U.K. House company. After doing some searching, I found a company registered in the U.K. with this name, and the companies business was listed as sports activities, notably F1 racing. So I went back to the Facebook page, and asked where the Canadian offices were located, receiving the "officials" reply they were based in Ottawa, close to the GoC offices. Another search for a company with this name came up fruitless, no address, phone number, contact info whatsoever.

 So again I went back, asking why I could find nothing about this company, and this is the response given:

"  Avro Arrow - Bourdeau Industries (Official) If you are looking for a factory or an office with large staff in Ottawa, sorry to disappoint. One of the reasons we can offer the pricing to GoC guaranteed is we have only what we need for the moment. While some may see this as a weakness in fact it demonstrates that the money will go into the actual program elements, not things we don't need that don't directly support moving forward.The Ottawa presence is a virtual one to eliminate any significant overheads; resources are provided by members of our team from their locations around Canada and northern US. Once a funding source is finalized to move forward, our "concurrency" ramp-up plan will see the factory up and running in two years at the location where the GoC wants the" hub jobs" while the deign updates/upgrades and engine development programs will deliver the infrastructure we need to begin parts manufacture in the same initial two year time frame. And yes, we will follow the Cook-Craggie methods used in the original CF105 program (which, by the way, are in much wider application today.) At that point everything will come under one roof."

 So the Ottawa presence is a virtual one? I guess the same goes for the U.K. as well? From the CBC article, which was included by ALL MEDIA SOURCES: "In an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, MacKenzie said he first approached officials about a year ago about the plan by Bourdeau Industries, which has offices in Canada and the U.K., to redesign the Avro Arrow CF-105 as an alternative to the F-35 stealth fighter jet.

 Maybe it's just me, but something seems a little odd with this whole thing. I'm not making any allegations whatsoever. But given the governments seeming willingness to now look at other jets for procurement, perhaps some in the Canadian media might want to do some investigating into this company and whether the claims made are legit. I mean who wouldn't want a jet built in Canada, by Canadians, supplying Canadian jobs, taxes, and putting us on the world stage in the manufacturing of fighter jets?

 Even if the company is just a virtual presence?

Who's Wrong? Andrew Coyne or Myself?

Seems Andrew Coyne thinks I have been dishonest in criticizing his editorial on the Muskrat Falls loan guarantee by the federal government. He takes issue over at Joanne's BLOG to this comment I left on December 11th at 2:00pm.:

"Coyne lost any credibility by regurgitating Lizzy May’s talking points on the Muskrat Falls loan guarantee. By guaranteeing the loan, the federal government saves NFLD & Labrador roughly $1 billion a year on interest payments. Coyne agrees with May, money should be spent on green farces like solar panels, wind power, shiny ponies and unicorns. Pathetic.".

 Coyne's reply was complete denial: "I have never said or implied any such thing, ever."

 Now the reason I had this in my mind was Coyne's editorial followed comments made by May in the news media as well as Green Party WEBSITE. May stated her static talking point that rather than investing in hydro-electric the government should be looking at things like wind and solar power, already epic failures in Ontario and around the world. And with May's comments fresh in my mind, reading Coyne's editorial less than 24 hours later was an easy link to make. In particular this paragraph:

"Provinces do this all the time, of course, and it’s always a bad idea. It biases investment toward megaprojects, away from smaller scale ventures; towards hydro-electricity, and away from other power sources; towards energy-intensive industries, away from others – in each case, towards projects that would not have been the best choice on their merits, but only because of the subsidy.”

In my eyes, Coyne's position does in fact echo May's. His statement about "away from other power sources". Which power sources? Coal is no longer an option. Nuclear power has far too great a start-up cost and years of construction before being operational. So what options remain? I respect Coyne as a journalist and have for some time. But I think myself and others might be of the opinion the Ottawa Bubble might be overtaking rational thinking on Coyne's part. Lord knows this government deserves ridicule over it's communications strategies and abilities. But Coyne's columns are increasingly taking that anti-Harper tone that has me tuning out most political journalists.

 This posting is not meant to slag Andrew, but merely point out the basis for my original comment on Joanne's blog. Read the links and give me your opinion. If you feel Andrew was correct in his assertion that he hasn't implied or stated green energy was the way to go in Newfoundland than I will offer a heartfelt apology. And it also goes without saying that Andrew should accept the fact he did in fact echo May's talking points if that's what the majority of opinions show.

 Either way, you decide..

" The former Liberal government hid more than $60 million in unexpected costs from Parliament

left no written record of important decisions taken by officials, and may have broken numerous contracting rules in its handling of the controversial gun registry, Auditor General Sheila Fraser has found"

 And despite a scathing 2008 REPORT from former AG Sheila Fraser, Liberal leadership candidate Deborah Coyne says no Liberal has to “apologize” for the federal long-gun registry, a political quagmire for the party for more than a decade. Justin Trudeau was right, it was a "failure" Where Trudeau looks the fool is his easily found comments supporting the long-gun registry.

 You know, this Liberal leadership race is gonna be tons of fun. Already JT is flip-flopping on long held Liberal ideology, and now Coyne states Liberals have no reason to apologize for missing money, broken rules, and hiding spending from Parliament and by extension all Canadians.

Durham Liberal Candidate Doesn't Know Where His Vehicle Was Built

 First the guy exploits veterans to try and get votes, and now he pulls a John McCallum trying to score votes with GM workers. Uhh, small problem Grant. That vehicle you are standing in front of looks to be a Pontiac Montana SV6. A 2009 if I'm not mistaken. It wasn't built in Oshawa, or Canada for that matter, but rather Doraville, Georgia. It's also worth pointing out GM dropped the Pontiac brand completely at the end of 2010. Can someone please inform this guy there are several GM vehicles built in Canada he could have done a photo-op with, Buick Regal, Camaro, Malibu, Impala, Equinox (running 3 shifts Grant!), and Cadillac XTS.

 If you wanna get up and proclaim your support for local industry, you might wanna actually have a vehicle produced by them. Sheesh! I'm sure Tim Naumetz  of The Hill Times is already on top of this story and will have an editorial slamming Humes for not driving a Canadian-built vehicle.

Adler takes on Liberal campaign manager over troops sign : Prime time : SunNews Video Gallery

Adler takes on Liberal campaign manager over troops sign : Prime time : SunNews Video Gallery

Tell The Liberal Candidate In Durham What You Think About Exploiting Veterans

The Liberal candidate in the riding of Durham, Grant Humes, is using veterans in a pathetic attempt to gain votes. Let Mr. Humes know what you think about exploiting the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives for political gain on the FACEBOOK page he has set up. Please keep your comments and language civil.

Liberal Party Of Canada The One To Blame For Veterans Funeral Benefits Being Denied, And The Liberal Candidate Proves It

Good post over at BC Blue, talking about the absolutely despicable attempt by the Liberal candidate in the byelection riding of Durham. While I think the Conservative government should be proactive in addressing the fact many veterans surviving families are denied benefits to assist in funeral and burial costs, it turns out the majority of blame for this travesty rests on the heads of Liberals, namely two guys named Chretien/Martin. And the kicker is I found the information from a LINK provided by the Liberal candidate, Grant Humes.

". The survivor estate exemption was reduced in 1995 from approximately $24,030 to $12,015 as part of Veterans Affairs budget reductions. So this means that a Veteran’s estate if valued at more than $12,000 would not make that person’s surviving spouse eligible for support for a dignified and respectful funeral. This amount is considerably less than the poverty level and has not been adjusted since 1995."


Humes has set up the website, http://www.durham4vets.org/, which actually has more to do with fundraising for himself and nothing to help vets. PM Harper should address this travesty immediately, if he hasn't already. As For Humes, people in glass houses sir!

Toronto Star's Bob Hepburn Proves Journalistic Integrity No Longer Exists

In just another glaring example of how absolutely pathetic journalism has become, the Toronto Star's Bob Hepburn proves we have not hit the bottom of the barrel yet. Hepburn never once mentions any of the sleazy practices during yesterdays U.S. election involving Democrats, but rather tries to smear both Romney and PM Stephen Harper with accusations anyone can disprove with a 10-second google search.

 Here's one gem: "For decades, Harper has been a keen student of U.S. elections, especially when it comes to what his counterparts in the Republican party were plotting. And throughout his political career, Harper has adopted many of the tactics first employed by Republicans, from robocalls and year-round attack ads to calls for tighter voting rules. Until the 2011 federal election, most of these crude efforts to disenfranchise voters in Canada were often hidden or overlooked. But they were in plain sight in 2011.Indeed, Tory robocalls became a major issue in the aftermath of the last election. " " In the U.S. election, robocalls were taken to extremes, with thousands of voters in Florida and elsewhere being told their polling stations would be open on Wednesday, which was not true. In New Jersey, voters were falsely told their polling stations were moved because of last week’s Hurricane Sandy."

 Just one problem Bob. Those robocalls came from the supervisor of elections, not the Republican Party. Matter of fact it was widely reported by almost all the major news organizations in the States, including the Washington Post. Maybe one might look over something like this as an oversight. Someone might also point out to Bobby that a major reason noted for Obama's re-election was the fact the Democrats ran a continual campaign since 2008, including, wait for it Bobby, year-round attack ads. When you include it with the other lies and fabrications you see why Hepburn deserves scorn and ridicule.

 Let's look at one more gem: "Indeed, Tory robocalls became a major issue in the aftermath of the last election. Documents filed just last week in Federal Court allege a company hired by the Tories telephoned voters in numerous ridings about last-minute changes in polling station locations, when in fact there were none. For the record, the Harperites deny any wrongdoing".
Really Bob? What the documents showed, legal documents, sworn statements Bob, was the company doing the calls advised voters their polling station location may have changed and they should make sure they know where to vote. The horrors Bob, the horrors. And p.s., when an actual person calls you, it's not a robocall. By the way Bob, it's a well-known fact all the Canadian political parties rely heavily on robocalls, just ask Frankie V. in Guelph.

 But this has to be the whip cream on top. Seems Bob rips Romney for having the audacity to name Paul Ryan as his running mate. Check this out, and try not to pee your pants: "The best example of that was Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman, as his vice-presidential running mate. Ryan, a hardline white guy, added nothing to the ticket. It was a disastrous choice, given that he could have selected Marco Rubio, a young U.S. senator from Florida with deep roots in the Hispanic community. Some pundits are now saying a big part of why Romney lost was that barely 25 per cent of Hispanics, the fastest growing group in the U.S., voted for him. "Turns out Romney could have been president, if he had only chosen the safe route and picked a token hispanic for his running mate. Of course I'm guessing if Romney had of picked Rubio Hepburn would have been quick out of the gates accusing Romney of exploiting Rubio's ethnicity to become president.

 But hey, don't believe me, read Hepburn's editorial yourself, and ask yourself afterwards, how can this guy actually look at himself in the mirror everyday without puking.

Has Glen McGregor Completely Lost It?

Interesting post over at Alberta Aardvark's blog. Seems journalist(?) Glen McGregor has tweeted mocking Conservative MP Ed Fast for having the audacity to wear a poppy so early. Now McGregor ties to dismiss his pathetic tweet, stating he would have done the same had any NDP or Liberal MP been the first person he saw wearing a poppy. McGregor has a picture of Fast wearing the poppy taken from CTV's Question Period on October 28th.

 I guess McGregor missed question period on Friday, October 26th,when many MP's of all parties had poppies on their lapel.

http://www.cpac.ca/eng/videos/79541

 I patiently await your tweet mocking Megan Leslie of the NDP for wearing a poppy on October 26th. And by the way Glen, the reason the Legion puts the poppies out now is because poppies are the main revenue the Legion has for assisting and supporting our veterans. Ya think they might not have quite the same fundraising numbers if they put them out for the one day?

One Robocall Riding Bites The Dust-Is This Riding Next?

Nice to see that one of the seven ridings being contested by the Council of Canadians over alleged robocalls has been DROPPED. You might remember I did a blog post about a woman in the riding of Nippissing  and what seemed to be a conflict between her sworn affadavit about receiving a robocall and something she had posted on her FACEBOOK page. Tonight I sent off a link to my previous post to the Conservative Party of Canada. I have no idea whether this persons sworn affadavit is legitimate or false, and make no allegations whatsoever. It is interesting however that cell phone records, including the one sent from her Blackberry while in Quebec should be quite easy to produce and either verify or dismiss whether she was in fact at her home when she alleges to have received a misleading robocall.

Stephen Harper's Integrity Versus Jean Chretien's: YOU BE THE JUDGE

Jean Chretien: "Only seven months after winning his third term, the Canadian prime minister, Jean Chrétien, is planning to vote himself a 42% pay increase, as well as a 20% boost for all members of parliament."

"The bill has a considerable impact on the pensions of MPs and Senators as well. Under the current system, Prime Minister Chrétien would have received a pension of about $96,000 a year. Under the new system, the Prime Minister will receive a pension of about $140,000 a year. MPs‘ pensions will also increase – to about $31,500 a year after 8 years of service"

Stephen Harper:"Stephen Harper tightened his own belt this week, voluntarily — and quietly — accepting a pension cut that will likely cost him more than a million dollars.

The prime minister doesn’t need our sympathy. He’ll still have a very comfortable pension, but he deserves credit for showing leadership and finally scraping some of the gold off of MPs’ gilded pension plan. MPs passed a bill on Friday that will see all of them start to pay more for their own retirements, ending a system where they paid just $11,000 a year and could look forward to an average pension of $54,693 a year beginning at age 55".

 It's also worth noting, even though not one journalist nor media source I've seen has mentioned it, is by giving himself that 42% pay increase Chretien's pension also  increased by $44,000 per year.  By voting himself that raise, Chretien has already collected roughly $352,000 more just in the increase in his pension.

So when speaking of integrity, you decide, Chretien or Harper.

Toronto Star On Top Of Allegations Against Former Liberal Cabinet Minister Joe Fontana

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CAW Head Lewenza Set To Strike For Jobs That Don't Exist.....

and never will. I've predicted this was going to happen for the past few years, both here and on other blogs, as well as media sources.

"The union is refusing to back down from several cost-cutting proposals, including a new pay scale which would prevent newly-hired workers from ever reaching what is currently the top pay amount for more senior workers.

"We are opposed to that proposal because it doesn't make any sense in the long run," Kennedy said. "We believe people working side-by-side, doing the same job should at least have the opportunity to have the same pay."

"However, the auto-makers argue Canada has become too expensive to build vehicles and have hinted about moving production south as a way to save money."

 The stance held by Lewenza and the CAW leadership is so obviously flawed only Lewenza himself fails to see it. Gone are the days of the Auto Pact. Gone are the days of the Big 3 owning the North American market. Gone are the days of a secular economy, one that now has transformed to a global economy. Manufacturing, not just in Canada but in all of North America has and will continue to face a labour market from countries like China and Korea with wages that are a quarter of minimum wage in most North American jurisdictions. Then there is that other pesky reality Lewenza refuses to acknowledge, many of the lower 48 U.S. states with double digit unemployment. Governors and a U.S. president more than willing to bring those Canadian auto plants and their jobs south of the border, with the UAW already agreeing to the demands now facing Lewenza and the CAW years earlier.

All of this in itself should be a wake-up call for the CAW National leadership, Lewenza included. This isn't just a matter of the CAW and UAW fighting over assembly plants and the jobs that go with them. This is about letting the Big 3 compete globally with the import manufacturers. The current pension packages enjoyed by current workers, myself included, cannot be included for new hires with the companies having any chance for financial sustainability or cost competitiveness. Nor can the wages of any newly hired workers.

 All this in and of itself should give Lewenza pause to reconsider his hard line stance. But there is something of even greater importance here, that being the CAW giving proper representation to current workers, ones who have been paying union dues for years. Should Lewenza's negotiating tactics result in the closure of Canadian plants, the consequences will be felt by the workers on the line, not Lewenza or his cohorts in the National. And what would those consequences be?

1) Any current workers with less than 10 years of service would lose any pension entitlement, as 10 years is the minimum threshold for having one's pension become vested.
2) Any current worker with more than 10 years and less than 30 would have to wait until age 65 to begin drawing their pension, rather than their 30-year service date.
3) Any current worker with more than 10 years and less than 30 would have their pension benefit reduced to the number of years of credited service at the time of plant closure, a significant cut.
4) As per the current agreement, workers laid off as a result of plant closure would have their benefits terminated at the time specified in the current agreement.
5) Current workers would lose their job, now paying roughly $30 per hour. Does anyone, Lewenza included, think these workers will ever land another job close to that wage?
6) Spin off jobs will be lost. The automakers utilize parts vendors close to the assembly plants to save on shipping costs and storage, using just-in-time delivery. Many of these workers at the parts vendors are CAW members.

 The job of the CAW is to represent it's current workers in their best interest. That's not happening here. Should the CAW agree to the demands for newly hired workers and their wages, there would be no shortage of people willing to take those jobs. And years down the road, the CAW could negotiate from a position of strength, rather than one drawn from union boardrooms in the '60's.

 The jobs of thousands of Canadian workers hinge on Lewenza and his ability to accept today's reality. Do the right thing Ken.

Does Tim Naumetz Know About Elizabeth May's Japanese Secret?

Hard to believe the Hill Times still keeps this guy on the payroll. I guess journalistic integrity isn't high on Naumetz list of priorities.His editorial has since been pulled, apparently because he quoted statements that both NDP MP Megan Leslie and Green MP Elizabeth May claimed they never made. That in itself should tell you all you need to know about the skill level this guy possesses. But it gets better. Seems Timmy tries to infer the PM's message machine blundered by renting Yamaha ATV's instead of Canadian built Bombardier's:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s much-vaunted message machine blundered when they plunked him on a Japanese-made ATV to churn up and down unlikely Yukon sand dunes in one of the rarest ecosystems in North America, say opposition MPs"

 So I wonder, if Timmy thinks renting japanese built ATV's for two days is a blunder, then what does that say about Elizabeth May's own personal vehicle, a japanese built Toyota Prius?

"No surprise, the leader who got left out of the debates owns a Toyota Prius. You'd hardly expect the pioneering eco party to roll up to campaign events in a Cadillac Escalade. Come to think of it, she could, given the giant Caddie SUV is offered as a hybrid. Still, the optics wouldn't be great, so she's in an Ed Begley special.

We expect she'd like a Nissan Leaf plug-in electric, or a Chevy Volt. But if she really wants to be remembered on voting day, we'd recommend the Fisker Karma. Its dual electric motors put out a total of 403 hp and it looks nothing like the mainstream crop of electric roller skates out there"

 I won't hold my breath waiting for Naumetz to write an editorial about May's blunder.

Nanos Federal Tracking: CP 34 NDP 30 LP 27 GP 4 BQ 4

And not a peep from the media, especially the CBC. Strange that.

The latest Nanos tracking shows the Conservatives with a ballot share of 33.6% nationally, while the NDP have slid to 30.3%. The Liberals remained in third with 26.5%, while the Greens and Bloc were at 4.4% and 4.2%, respectively.

Of note, in Quebec the Liberals were up by nearly 8 percentage points (25.0%). It is too early to say, however, if this is a one-month phenomenon or the start of a longer trend.

Healthcare and jobs remained tied as the top issue of national concern for Canadians (24.5% versus 23.7%). The environment registered the biggest change from the previous wave of tracking (up 3.2%), and was cited as the top issue of national concern by 9.4% of Canadians.

Stephen Harper continued to top the Nanos Leadership Index, some 25 points ahead of NDP leader Thomas Mulcair (72.7 versus 46.8). While Harper was more likely to be considered the most trustworthy leader, the most competent leader and the leader with the best vision for Canada in most regions, in Quebec it was Mulcair who continued to perform best on the Leadership Index.

Methodology

Between July 7th and 12th, 2012, Nanos Research conducted a national random telephone survey of 1,200 Canadians 18 years of age and older. A random telephone survey of 1,200 Canadians is accurate plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For 954 committed voters, it is accurate plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Results for May 31st, 2012 are from a random telephone survey of 1,201 Canadians conducted between May 26th and 31st, 2012. A random telephone survey of 1,201 Canadians is accurate plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

National Ballot: For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences? (Committed voters only - First Preference)
Canada (n=954)

The numbers in parentheses denote the change from May 31st, 2012.

Decided Voters Only

Conservative: 33.6% (+0.1)

NDP: 30.3% (-3.3)

Liberal: 26.5% (+1.6)

Green: 4.4% (+2.0)

BQ: 4.2% (+0.8)

Today's History Lesson For Jennifer Ditchburn

Take a look at the latest feeble attempt by journalist Jenniffer Ditchburn to somehow imply scandalous or sinister plots by Conservatives skirting the rules for electoral gain. Ditchburn implies that because Toews mentioned $160,000 in funding for programs in his riding under the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP). She rightfully points out the original announcement came three day before the government fell and the writ dropped, but then seems to think Toews bringing up the funding at a campaign stop is playing loose with the rules. Really Jennifer?

 First, allow me to quote a few paragraphs in which Ditchburn tries to  smear Toews and the Conservative Party:Toews' campaign stop during the 2011 election falls into something of a grey zone. Should announcements be made when it's clear the government is about to fall? Where is the line drawn after the writ is dropped? On March 22, 2011 — one day after a committee found the government in contempt of Parliament and the same day NDP Leader Jack Layton said he would not support the federal budget — Toews put out a press release outlining $160,000 in funding for programs in his riding under the New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP).The government fell three days later, following a motion of non-confidence related to the contempt of Parliament finding.A few days later, in full campaign mode, Toews appeared at a seniors' centre in Whitemouth, Man., to sing the praises of the new funding




 And this is the best part:"What might have given the bureaucrats pause within Human Resources was a general understanding that government events are put on hold until following an election.A 1968 "Manual of Official Procedure of the Government of Canada," only released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, includes a section describing cases of "restraint" on government business.That includes situations where the government is facing censure in the Commons — a motion of non-confidence, for example."In addition to defeat in Parliament or at the polls other situations may indicate that some measure of restraint might be desirable at least until the Government's position is clarified," reads the document

Now this is where Ms. Ditchburn needs to pay attention. Today's history deals with the 2006, or more importantly the lead-up to it. November 9:


Layton announced that, in order to avoid an election of the Christmas holidays and to avoid the cancellation of the First Ministers' Meeting on Aboriginal issues, he would use his opposition day motion on November 24 to propose that an election be called in early January with a vote in mid-February. Such a motion would not be binding on the government and could not guarantee the election timing contained in its language.

Bloc MP Stéphane Bergeron (Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC) resigned from the house to run as a Parti Québécois candidate in a coming provincial by-election.

November 13 - Harper, Duceppe and Layton met after Martin says he would not honour Layton's motion calling for an election campaign beginning in January. They proposed that they move forward with the NDP motion but, unless the Prime Minister committed to honouring it, they would vote no confidence in the government, forcing an election call sometime in November.

November 14 - Finance Minister Goodale tabled his fiscal update, which included a major tax cut package. The opposition denounced it as an attempt to buy votes.

November 21 - The NDP's motion to order Martin to call an election passed with a vote of 167-129.

November 24 - Stephen Harper introduced a motion of no confidence, seconded by Jack Layton. Harper tell the House of Commons: "This government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons and needs to be removed." The vote was deferred until November 28.

November 28 - The motion of no confidence passed 171-133, defeating the government of the 38th Parliament, and forcing the 39th general election.

 So you see Jennifer? Martin's Liberals, well aware of the fact their political days in government were numbered as a non-confidence motion was coming, proceeded with a full-steam-ahead way of governing. Goodale delivered a fiscal update, complete with tax cuts and spending announcements for things like public daycare. All repeated over and over again on the campaign trail by Liberal MP's and journalists like yourself Jennifer. Oh, and by the way, pay particular attention to November 24th. That was the day Stephen Harper introduced the motion to bring down the Liberals.One day after that motion was introduced, Paul Martin announced $5 billion dollars in spending on the Kelowna Accord. Something he oft-repeated during the 2006 campaign.

 Now Jennifer, I'm sure you are all for journalistic integrity. And I'm sure the reason you either overlooked or forgot about all this was just a simple oversight. But I have to ask. Was what took place by the Liberals leading up to and during the 2006 campaign not significantly worse than what you accuse Toews of here? Did they not violate that 1968 "Manual of Official Procedure of the Government of Canada,"? You know, the one only released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, includes a section describing cases of "restraint" on government business?

McGuinty Government Covering Up Major Scandal?

It's been almost a month since the McGuinty government SHUT DOWN Service Ontario kiosks. An announcement by the Government Services Minister Harinder Takhar indicated four of the 72 kiosks province-wide had been tampered with, alluding to an attempt to skim credit/debit card info. Those 72 kiosks remain shut down province wide, with neither the government nor media providing any updates. One line of the Government Services Minister's comments stands out: "There is no indication that personal information accessed through the kiosks, such as health card numbers and addresses, was improperly released, the government says.


 Now I have a source connected with the MTO, something similar to Maher/Macgregor's source with Elections Canada, who tells me the kiosks may never re-open. My source also tells me that the ministers statement was false and misleading, that in fact personal information had indeed been compromised. This includes, names, addresses, health card number, driver's license info, financial info, etc.

 Now we've all seen news reports of skimming machines being found at banks, stores, gas stations. The end result is the skimming machine is removed by the police, and shortly thereafter the debit/credit card machine is back up and running. So why has the McGuinty government left these 72 kiosks across the province closed? All 4 machines that were tampered with were in the GTA. Why close all machines province wide. Why for a month?

 Now if I were a member of the media looking for a juicy story, I'd be putting the question to McGuinty. Was the personal information of Ontarians at risk and accessed by security breaches at government kiosks. If he answers no and we find out that he indeed is lying (again), that should be a trigger for the next election. If he is truthful and answers the question yes, than he better be ready to explain why he and his government have remained quiet when the people of Ontario have faced potential identity theft?

Ekos Frank Graves Gets Canadian History Wrong, And On Canada Day.

Story on iPolitics featuring a new poll by none other than Liberal adviser/psuedo political pollster Frank Graves from Ekos. Now you know that when the first line is factually incorrect, what's to follow is most likely wrong as well. And Graves doesn't disappoint.

 Example 1: "For the first time ever, the federal New Democrats are leading in voting intention across the country." Note to Frank. The NDP led the polls shortly after Ed Broadbent being named leader of the federal NDP. They led both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives.

 Example 2: "A new poll from EKOS and iPolitics shows the NDP sitting at 32.4 per cent nationally. The Conservatives sit second, having slipped to 29.3 per cent support, followed by the Liberals at 19.2 per cent." Interesting. All recent polls had both the Conservatives and NDP at around 35%. Looks like he got the Liberal number right, but used his vast political polling experience to lower the Conservative number. I also notice Graves never ever mentions his crystal ball prediction that PM Harper wouldn't win a majority in the 2011 election. Also noteworthy is Graves missed the actual percentage by 5% for Conservative voters. He also had the Conservatives at 31.5% in December 2011 as well as February 2012.

Example 3: "The major notable factor here is a pretty alarming for the government, decline in support,” EKOS president Frank Graves said. “They’ve lost over 11 points of support and to see a government that secured a majority under 30 points one year later, I think is pretty well unprecedented". Unprecedented? Doesn't that mean it never happened before. Like when Mulroney went from 47% to 31% after the 1984 election? Ditto Chretien, who saw support drop dramtically as a result of breaking his promise to scrap the GST. Both went on to win the following elections by the way Frank.

 Example 4: :Canadians are also showing signs of losing confidence in the direction of the country. Only 44.5 per cent of those polled said they felt Canada was moving in the right direction, while almost the same (43.8 per cent) feel it’s moving in the right direction.
Those numbers are “really lousy leading indicators,” Graves said, and could also be “quite meaningful.”

“Typically those numbers should be much higher, particularly this early in an administration,” he said

 Note to Frank. While it's true the Conservatives won their majority in 2011, they had already been in power since January 2006, and have won 3 elections in a row, upping their seat count consecutively each election.

Happy Canada Day everyone. Luckily we on the right have a better grasp of our history than Liberal pollsters like Graves

The Toronto's Star's Thomas Walkom, Stupid Or Ignorant?

because it's got to be one of those two choices. Fresh on the heels of PM Stephen Harper's interview with Peter Mansbridge, where the PM was truthful about the realities Canada might face due to the European debt crisis, Walkom writes another predictable Torono Star editorial, trying to portray the PM as uncaring. Here's a sample:

 "Prime Minister Stephen Harper is warning Canadians to prepare for another rough ride — this time with little help from his government.

He says he is pessimistic about Europe’s ability to solve its twin debt and unemployment crises.

He says that if these crises are not solved before the Greek election, less than two weeks from now, Europe’s financial system will begin to unravel.

He says that if and when that happens, Canada’s banks — and Canadians in general — must feel the pain.

And he suggests that this time around, his government won’t respond with another stimulus package to boost jobs.

Instead, Ottawa will forge ahead with its current strategy of deregulation and wage reduction, a strategy aimed at reducing costs for business.

That’s the gist of Harper’s remarkably frank interview Tuesday with CBC Television’s Peter Mansbridge.

 Now I myself watched the entire interview. I doubt Walkom did. The PM was clear that the government had a contingency plan in place should the European crisis spread to Canada and it's economy. Whatever the reason, it appears Walkom was either too ignorant or lazy to actually verify his facts before printing such a trash piece of journalism. You see, it was just Monday of this week, less than 48 hours before this journalist(?) wrote this, where finance minister Jim Flaherty himself told the media this:

"Flaherty not ruling out possibility of more economic stimulus
Published Monday, Jun. 04, 2012 09:28AM EDT

Last updated Monday, Jun. 04, 2012 04:43PM EDT

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he is very concerned about the deteriorating situation in Europe and will intervene with economic stimulus if it becomes necessary.


The minister told reporters in Toronto that the government is in a strong position to act as it did in 2009 to stimulate the Canadian economy because it has relatively small debt and a shrinking deficit.

Mr. Flaherty says he will discuss the worsening economic climate with his Group of Seven colleagues Tuesday morning, but made it clear he considers the situation serious.
Global markets have fallen sharply in the past few days as news coming out of Europe worsened, with Spain joining Greece on the crisis watch list.

On Monday, Portugal’s finance minister said foreign bailout creditors were providing another batch of the country’s $96-billion (U.S.) rescue package after concluding the government is abiding by the terms of the loan.
Mr. Flaherty says Canada would be hurt by a financial crisis spreading out of Europe or a downturn in the U.S. economy"

 Now given the fact Flaherty's remarks were put out across Canada by The Canadian Press, I struggle believing Walkom was unaware of the government's position via Flaherty or PM Harper. At the least, The Star should immediately issue a correction, stating in fact the PM and his Conservative government do in fact have a plan to help Canadians should the euro crisis cause damage to the Canadian economy.

 The Star and Walkom's credibility depend on it. On second thought, never mind.

Canada Post Issues Recall Of Dalton McGuinty Postage Stamp

after receiving numerous complaints. Canada Post was unsure of why there were so many complaints of the just-released McGuinty stamp, as they had never received similar complaints of any other stamp release in their history. After issuing a recall for the remaining unsold stamps, it was discovered that customers were actually spitting on the wrong side of the stamp.

iPolitics Writer Doesn't Know Electoral Boundaries?

Absolutely brilliant. iPolitics columnist Eric Beauchesne tries to backup Mulclair's "Dutch Disease" comments, and makes an ass of himself:

"Canada’s economy may be suffering from so-called Dutch disease. The claims of a resource-fuelled rise in the currency that is hollowing out its manufacturing sector was reinforced this week by reports of a plan by General Motors to shut down an assembly plant in Finance minister Jim Flaherty’s own riding"


Now one would think someone writing something for iPolitics would actually have a clue that the GM plants are in Conservative MP Colin Carrie's riding of Oshawa, not Flaherty's riding of Whitby-Oshawa. And I could easily point out the other glaring errors in this editorial. The easiest being those vehicles now being built in the Oshawa plant will continue to be built in the U.S. The fact is this move by GM has nothing to do with a slowing economy. GM and the other manufacturers  have plans to further ramp up production numbers. Nor does the plant closing have anything to do with the high Canadian dollar.

 The reason 2,000 GM workers will be out of a job in one year is because the CAW, led by Ken Lewenza, refuses to accept the reality of today's global workforce and economy. Whereas the UAW has foregone wage increases in exchange for profit sharing and performance bonuses, Lewenza's strategy of playing hardball with companies like GM looking to cut costs will continue to result in Groundhog Days, with plant closings and further job losses becoming recurring news.

 It's also notable the author never sees fit to mention the number one reason for "eurosclerosis" as he calls it. That would be the debt crisis of countries like Greece and Italy, countries that have have hit their fiscal Armageddon due to socialist spending policies, the same ones Mulclair promotes.

  If Mr. Beauchesne disputes the facts of the riding boundaries, I would be more than happy to forward them along.

CAW Head Ken Lewenza Should Resign

It's becoming all to common, so much so that even someone like myself is becoming immune to these types of news stories. I'm talking about GM's announcement today:

 “As previously announced, the Consolidated Line will cease at the end of (the) scheduled lifecycle for the current-generation Impala. This is currently anticipated to occur in June 2013,” the company said in a statement Friday.'


Now I'll readily admit the greed shown by corporations and their executives is to the point of making me gag. But in this instance, as in other recent announcements, the blame for this closing, with the resulting job losses of 2,000 GM employees,as well as spin-off jobs should be placed squarely on the shoulders of CAW head Ken Lewenza. It's 2012, yet Lewenza still thinks he's bargaining in the 60's. There have been closings over the past few years where Lewenza and the CAW National refused to allow concessions even when the workers losing their jobs, the ones getting thrown out of work, were open to the idea of concessions if it allowed them to maintain jobs they had been working at for many years.

 Were these GM assembly line jobs going to a country like China, where Canadian workers cannot competitively stand a chance of matching wages, I can see the workers accepting their fate. But these jobs, quality jobs with good pay and benefits, aren't going overseas. Their going south of the border. The reason? Lewenza's steadfast stance that the CAW will not change it's bargaining position in regards to bonuses instead of wage increases.

"Last year, the CAW’s counterpart in the U.S., the United Auto Workers agreed to link pay raises to company performance. Instead of fixed wage increases, the union accepted signing bonuses and profit-sharing incentives, concessions the CAW has unequivocally rejected."


Make no mistake. The gap between the wages paid these workers in the U.S. compares closely with those paid to the Oshawa workers. What has resulted in this announcement is Lewenza's pig-headed refusal to look at the big picture, or more importantly doing what's in the best interests of those line workers. Instead, Lewenza clings to a by-gone era where the unions ruled the roost. His position also ignores recent history. When GM and Chrysler faced bankruptcy, the union had not one iota of bargaining power. Zippo. Nilch. Yes, both GM and Chrysler have posted profits recently, They also lost billions that will take a decade to recover. Allowing these companies further time to recover will result in new vehicles that will require assembly plants and workers to build. Companies are still pinching pennies on R&D. A successful company will have successful workers.

 This alludes to the title of my post. If Lewenza truly believes he is right, call a meeting of those 2,000 workers. Allow an open vote as to whether the CAW should change it's bargaining strategy and adopt performance and profit-sharing bonuses. If they vote for change, Lewenza must accept the will of the workers, workers belonging to a union supposedly based on the concept of democracy.

 If Lewenza refuses the results of the vote, or simply refuses to allow a vote, then he should immediately submit his resignation. We've witnessed the closing of the Oshawa truck plant because the CAW refused to bargain two-tier wages. Those trucks are now built in the U.S. and Mexico. We've witnessed the London plant close that made locomotives. Yes, Caterpillar asked for ridiculous concessions, but Lewenza sealed the workers fate with his steadfast refusal to even make a counter-offer. Lewenza has strongly hinted he will continue down this road in this years negotiations, with either the Chrysler Brampton or Windsor assembly plants likely to be another closure target. Chrysler has a vacant mini-van plant in St. Louis that could be manufacturing Caravan's in  mater of days.

I'm Sure Robert Fife Is Calling The Ethics Commissioner As We Speak About Mulclair

Story out today in the Ottawa Citizen about NDP leader Thomas Mulclair having refinanced his mortage 11 times over the years, increasing the debt up to $300,000 from $58,000.

Now I think these stories should be out-of-bounds when talking about politicians. Given we don't know the reasons for the mortage, they should be personal in nature. With that being said, I assume Robert Fife will continue with his own views on this type of mortage financing, and will be contacting the ethics commissioner first thing Monday morning to look into Mulclair's personal finances:

Jane Taber (The Globe and Mail): And there's more on Ms Guergis. … there was a story in the Ottawa Citizen over the weekend from Glen McGregor talking about a new home that she has purchased in Lindenlea for $880,000 mortgage which it seems there's no down payment. Odd.


Robert Fife: (CTV News): That's right. And according to the Citizen story, she's got this house on the Athens on the Rideau crowd and she's, and apparently there's no mortgage on it. She's put no money down on this and she's got some kind of a loan, or, we don't know. They won't talk about it.


Tonda MacCharles (The Toronto Star): A mortgage on it, but it's not clear whether she actually had any down payment and what else was rolled into it.


Fife: So, anyway, she owes $890,000. The issue here is was Ms. Guergis given special treatment? We don't know that, but we're going to have to ask these questions now that the story is out. I will make a phone call to the ethics commissioner… Tuesday.. to ask the ethics commissioner: is this mortgage above board? Because if it isn't, if she's got special treatment that other Canadians have not been able to get in terms of a mortgage, then was it because of her position in cabinet that she was able to get this for a house? I think this could be quite a serious issue here. Maybe quite legitimate but, if there was special treatment here there needs to be brought out.

Conservative Government Misses Key Talking Points On EI Reform

 While we all knew it was a given the opposition and media would whine about whatever changes the government made to EI and the way it is paid out, I still feel somewhat frustrated by simple and obvious points the government could have and should have made. Here are a few:

1: Repeat EI users would be required to accept a job paying 70% of their previous employers wages. A 30% pay cut sounds pretty bad however you frame it. BUT, EI only pays 55% of previous earnings. A repeat user accepting a job at 70% of previous pay would actually be increasing their income by 15% over what they currently receive on EI.

2. No insurance company would ever issue insurance where they are going to pay out more than they take in on a yearly basis in payment. Even with the governments so-called draconian changes, the fact is a chronic repeat applicants numbers could look something like this. (using the 60 weeks of benefits over a 5 year period, max benefits, max deductions) Deductions (5 years X $839.97 = $4199.85) Benefits (60 weeks X $485= $29,100) $29,100 - $4199.85= $24,900.15 That's right. Over every 5 year period this repeat EI applicant would receive almost $25,000 more in benefits than what they paid into Employment Insurance. To make it easier to digest, the repeat user would in effect be receiving almost $5,000 more per year, on an ongoing basis, than they would pay in the EI fund.

3. The government could have made one substantive change to EI. Currently EI recipients working part-time can earn $75 or 40% of their weekly EI, whichever is higher, without affecting their benefits. Any amount higher than that comes off dollar for dollar. While this is a great way of helping those now working part-time who have lost their jobs supplement their EI benefits, those working full-time lose all their benefits. The government could change the full-time clause or amend it to make it more appealing. Take Ontario for example, and again using maximum EI benefits in the formula. Someone receiving EI benefits of $485 could have their weekly income increased to $679 adding in the $194 (40%)allowed for part-time workers. But someone accepting a full-time position loses all their benefits, making a lower paying job far less attractive. Given minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25 per hour, that would result in weekly income of $410. By applying the same allowable income rule for part-time workers to those accepting lower paying full-time positions, the weekly EI benefit paid would drop from $485 to  $269 ($485-$410+$194). The EI fund sees a huge savings, those collecting benefits see an increase of $776  monthly in income, and they can still apply for better paying jobs all the while taking home more income.

"Isabelle collects EI benefits. She receives the maximum amount allowed, which is $468 a week. During her benefit period, she finds part-time work for $10 an hour. She is entitled to earn $75 a week or 40% of her weekly benefits, which, in her case, amounts to $187.20 (this amount is rounded to the nearest dollar: $187). Since the higher amount is used, Isabelle is therefore entitled to earn $187 a week without having her benefits reduced. She works 20 hours a week, earning a total of $200. Her benefits will therefore be reduced by $13."

  It also should be pointed out that the government itself sees an increase in tax revenues using the scenario in #3 above. A savings in EI benefits paid out, an increase in tax revenues, and Canadians increasing their income by 40%. Surely that change in and of itself would be an easy and appealing sell. My guess is most Canadians would accept it, and the opposition and media would look like fools trying to play this plan as unfair or draconian.q

Mulclair Is Right About Dutch Disease....

and this is what some call unintended consequences. A quick google of "Dutch Disease", which NDP leader Mulclair has steadfastly stated is the reason for the decline of manufacturing in Ontario and Quebec also includes this gem, which I'm hoping either a member of the government or media might mention to Mulclair:

Diagnosis: It is rather difficult to definitively say that a country has Dutch Disease because it is difficult to prove the relationship between an increase in natural resource revenues, the real-exchange rate, and a decline in the lagging sector. There are a number of different things that could be causing this appreciation of the real exchange rate. The Balassa-Samuelson effect occurs when productivity-increases affect the real exchange rate. Also important are changes in the terms of trade and large capital inflows. Often these capital inflows are caused by foreign direct investment or to finance a country’s debt.


Similarly, it is difficult to show what is causing a decrease in the lagging sector. A case in point is the Netherlands. Though this effect is named after the Netherlands, economists have argued that the decline in the Dutch manufacturing industry was actually caused by unsustainable spending on social services

Another Nail In The Loss Of Credibility Of The Canadian Media

From CBC, May 4th,2012: Elections Canada has traced a computer from the Conservative campaign in Guelph, Ont., to the account that paid for robocalls that falsely directed voters to the wrong polling station in the last federal election.


Newly released court documents show investigator Al Mathews traced a PayPal account used to pay for the robocalls to the same IP address as a computer used by Andrew Prescott, the deputy campaign manager in the riding.

And just 6 days later, May 10th, 2012: "OTTAWA — A comparison of Rogers billing records shows that “Pierre Poutine” did not use a computer in the headquarters of a Guelph Conservative candidate to launch the election-day robocalls, casting doubt on the theory that the culprit could have been any of a number of campaign workers operating out of the office.


Data provided to Elections Canada investigators has linked a Rogers account to the Internet Protocol (IP) address used by the robocalls suspect to log onto RackNine, the Edmonton-based voice broadcaster that transmitted more than 7,000 misleading calls telling voters their polling station had moved.


Under court order in March, Rogers turned over details of customer information for three Rogers accounts to Elections Canada.


None of the account numbers listed in a summary of the disclosure corresponds to the Rogers account used by the campaign of Conservative candidate Marty Burke.

 And from the same article, the icing on the cake: "Although the court filings appear to rule out Burke’s HQ as the source of the Rogers IP, the documents do not indicate to whom the account belongs."

407ETR Donating Thou$ands To McGuinty Liberals And Hudak Conservatives

 That seems odd. Much has been written about drivers having their license plate and drivers license renewals denied due to supposed debts to the 407ETR. What amazes me is the 407ETR can basically hold people hostage, simply by notifying the Ontario government about an alleged debt. In fact, it's the only example I can think of whereby they do not have to prove their case, by taking supposed non-payers to small claims court or higher to prove their claim of default.

 But why would an independant company donate thousands of dollars to both the Ontario Liberal Party and PC party?  Below are donations made to the Ontario Liberal Party. Contributions to the PC Party mirror those made to the Liberals. Someone please explain why the 407ETR would donate to two different parties, similar amounts.If it was just one of the two parties I guess they could argue they think that is the best party to lead Ontario. Instead they support two polar opposite parties? Seeing as how the government has the power to enforce these sticker renewal denials, along with toll increases, it does give a stench of, let's call it an alleged conflict of interest. Someone in the msm should be looking into this, especially in light of the fact another round of road toll increases was recently implememnted.

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

04/18/2012

04/20/2012

9,300.00

9,300.00

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

03/16/2011

03/18/2011

9,300.00

9,300.00

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

12/31/2010

01/13/2011

4,000.00

4,000.00

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

01/30/2009

02/02/2009

4,400.00

4,400.00

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

08/08/2008

08/08/2008

1,500.00

1,500.00

 

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

10/01/2007

10/16/2007

6,000.00

8,000.00

407 ETR Concession Company Limited

06/18/2007

06/27/2007

2,000.00

2,000.00

Will Someone Please Point Out The Obvious To Thomas Mulclair...

or Jennifer Ditchburn, or any other moron stating Conrad Black is receiving preferential treatment by being allowed to return to Canada, and cite Omar Khadr as a comparison. Really?

 Well, seeing as nobody I have seen has pointed out the obvious, including members of the Conservative government, allow me to.

 Conrad Black was convicted of a crime in the United States and served his sentence. Upon his release after serving out his sentence, he has requested and received a one year temporary permit to enter and stay in Canada.

 So Mulclair thinks Khadr should be treated the same? You know what. I'll actually agree with Mulclair. Khadr should also be treated the same way Black was. In late 2010 Khadr was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but is to be released in 8 years due to his plea bargain and time already served.

 So yes, by all means Mr. Mulclair, let's treat Khadr exactly the same way Black' case has been handled. That will allow Khadr, like Black, to serve out his full sentence in the United States, with his release coming in 2018. At that time he will also be able to apply to the government for readmission.

CCPA And The CBC Give Another Glaring Example Of Trash Journalism

 It's gotten so pathetic it's not even funny anymore. The CBC has a headline up stating the Canadian banks received "secret bailouts"(so secret they held a news conference) of $114 billion dollars. Wow. That looks pretty damaging to the government. Problem is it's complete bullshit by a lefty-linked group, another group that can't get over the sore-loser syndrome evident on a daily basis. Watch the video, listen to everything this guy says. Memorize it. Then read the news report below dating as far back as 2008. Note that the government actually made interest on the aquisition of these CMHC mortgages, and the person in the video actually states 3/4 of the way through the funds were never at risk, all were repaid, and in fact the government made a return.

" CTV.ca News Staff




Date: Wed. Nov. 12 2008 10:36 PM ET



The federal government is purchasing another $50 billion in residential mortgages to further stabilize the lending industry and encourage lower interest rates, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced Wednesday.



The Canadian economy has stalled and is on the brink of a recession. The government hopes that its cash injection will keep consumers spending and keep businesses afloat.



The announcement follows a similar move last month in which Ottawa bought $25 billion in mortgages.



The combined mortgage debt, both purchased through the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), will bring the maximum value of bought securities to $75 billion.



"At a time of considerable uncertainty in global financial markets, this action will provide Canada's financial institutions with significant and stable access to longer-term funding," Flaherty said at a press conference in Toronto.



"This extension of the program to purchase insured mortgages will further support the availability of credit, which will benefit Canadian households, businesses and the economy.



"In addition, it will earn a modest rate of return for the Government with no additional risk to the taxpayer."



Flaherty said the government "will not allow Canada's financial system, which has been ranked as the soundest in the world, to be put at risk by global events."



Patrick Grady of Global Economics LTD told CTV News, "the banking system would weather this storm whether the government provided assistance or not. But what it would do is cut back on loans it made."



Will the move help average Canadians?



It is hoped that the announcement will be a boon to entrepreneurs like Joseph Saikaley, the owner of an upscale hair salon in Ottawa.



He said despite the economic downtown, business at his salon, Byblos, is booming.



Saikaley says he wants to expand his operation, but can't get a loan from the banks.



"We have been trying to expand for the last few months, even trickling it down to a minor renovation and there is just not one dollar to be given out or lent," he told CTV News.



Flaherty says that the $50 billion in mortgage purchases should allow banks to start lending again with greater ease.





"It is up to private sector lenders to keep on doing their jobs, making loans to credit worthy people and enterprises of all sizes," he said.





But Saikaley isn't hopeful that the banks will start passing on the loans anytime soon.





"Put it in the hands of people that will do something with it, the banks are doing absolutely nothing will it," he said.





Last month, Canada's big banks lowered their prime lending rates following the announcement about the $25 billion buyout.





Not a bailout, gov't says



The Tories have been quick to indicate that the deal to buy mortgages is an asset swap, not a bailout.



The idea is that banks can take good assets, in this case the mortgages, and turn them into cash -- which can then be made available to people seeking mortgages or to small business.



The "high-quality" assets are already guaranteed by the Canadian government, Flaherty said.



"It is an efficient, cost-effective and safe way to support lending in Canada at a time of extraordinary strain in global credit markets," he said.



Despite the global financial crisis, Flaherty said he still expects to report a budget surplus.



"We're still on track for a small, and I emphasize small, surplus in the current fiscal year," he said.



Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada said Wednesday it will inject an added $8 billion into Canada's tight money markets.



The Bank said it plans to introduce a Canadian Dollar Term Loan Facility (TLF) in four auctions of $2 billion each in the coming weeks.



Under the plan, qualifying financial institutions will be able to offer non-mortgage loans as collateral -- meaning they can offer most loans currently on their books.



With a report from CTV's Robert Fife







Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/EdmontonHome/20081112/Ottawa_mortgages_081112/#ixzz1tXEYRh4W

And The 2012 Golden Pacifier Of The Year Award Goes To......

Envelope please......The Canadian Journalists Association .I can't think of a bigger bunch of snivelling, whiny, childish imbeciles more deserving. Wear that award proud my friends, it might take the smell of that bullshit you call journalism off your minds for a few seconds.

A History Lesson For Kady O'Malley And the PPG

It seems the parliamentry press gallery are beside themselves, outraged by the fact the PM, in reply to a question in the house of commons about Afghanistan, made note of the fact the NDP never supported the war putting an end to Hitler's reign of terror. In fact many of those in the press gallery rushed to mock the PM, led by Kady O'Malley. Now first off, I think the PM could have chosen his words better, and left the Hitler reference from his answer. On the other hand, I gleefully await the new standard of journalistic integrity Kady and her brethren are now seemimgly claiming should occur.

 So here is a little history lesson for those supposedly professional journalists.

1.  The NDP evolved from a merger of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The CCF grew from populist, agrarian and socialist roots into a modern socialist party.

2. The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party of Canada) and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003.

So there you have it. Both the now governing Conservative Party of Canada and the NDP were formed as a result of a merger. Now, in keeping with Kady's line of defence about the NDP not even existing at the point in history the PM referred to in his answer, I would like to point out a few things, just to, you know, make sure Kady and her cohorts apply that same rule of journalistic integrity into comments made about the PM and his party. Soooooooooooooooooo:

1. Brian Mulroney was not a PM in the Conservative Party.
2. Mike Harris was not a Conservative Party MP.
3. Preston Manning was not the leader of the Conservative Party.
4. Karlheinz Schreiber did not have any dealings with the Conservative Party.
5. Private members bills that were put forth by the Reform or Alliance Party were made before the Conservative Party existed..
6. Awww, you know, I could go on and on. Suffice to say, I hope all Blogging Tories call out Kady when she tries to infer something sinister about the Conservative Party before they came into existence.

Will James Moore Once Again Defend The CBC Over This Crap?

A perfect example of why the cuts to CBC were far short of where they need to be. In what no one could say is not a partisan attack against the PM, CBC gives Canadians a glimpse of paid top-dollar journalism for tabloid worthy news headlines.

In fact, the CBC itself outs itself only two paragraphs after the first, which includes this gem:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Labour Day-weekend trip to Manhattan last fall, which included coveted tickets to a New York Yankees game and a Broadway show, cost Canadian taxpayers at least $45,000, documents reveal."

And if anyone took the time to read the entire story, they come to this:

"A spokesperson for the prime minister told CBC News that Harper covered the cost of both the flight and accommodations for himself, his daughter and two guests on the flight. He also covered the costs of tickets to the game for himself and his guests.

"Prime Minister Harper makes it a practice of reimbursing the government for personal travel," spokesperson Julie Vaux wrote in an email. "As the prime minister is prohibited from flying commercial for security reasons, he also compensates the government for the cost of an equivalent commercial flight. In this case, he compensated for the flight for himself, his daughter, and guests at the cost of a commercial fare for each."

It's time once again for everyone to start sending complaints to the CBC ombudsman, as well as James Moore, telling him this type of trash journalism should not be paid for by the Canadian taxpayer.

Conservative Government Will Be Forced To Change F-35 Costs Again Tommorrow

Looks like the Conservative government will again have to adjust the life-cycle costs of the F-35 purchase. Opposition parties are set to pounce on Defence Minister Peter Mackay over new revelations the government never told Canadains about all the costs associated with the F-35 program.

In another embarrassing example of the government not reporting the numbers accurately, it was learned today by the Canadian Press that the government failed to include the costs of batteries used in television and dvd player remotes used in the training classrooms by DND.

This new revelation will bump the "life-cycle costs" of the F-35 up another $113.69 over the next 30 years. Bob Rae is said to be seething that the government hid the cost of these AA batteries from Canadians, and will again demand the PM resign.

Newly elected NDP leader Thomas Mulclair is rumoured to announce a news conference in the morning, issuing a scathing rebuttal of the government as it turns out the batteries will be purchased by DND outside the province of Quebec, and will claim it is further proof of the PM's divisive style of governing.

A Question For Andrew Coyne....

or any other journalist or opposition member. Can you please give me some examples of previous government announcements of procurements of military equipment where the government tabled the amount including salaries, fuel costs, etc.?

I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but hours of searching the internet has produced a big fat zero. For example, the Chretien government bought submarines from Britain in 1998 at a cost of $750 million, but since then National Defence has pumped over $1 billion into repairing and converting them to Canadian use. I can find news reports of Liberals stating the $750 million cost, but none mentioning the $1 billion in repair and maintenance included at the time of purchase. And that $1.75 billion includes no mention of salaries, fuel costs, etc.

Another example is the gun registry. Liberals told Canadians the cost would be $119 million, but would be reduced to $2 million through registration fees. The actual cost is in excess of $1 billion. And by the way, The RCMP reported the cost of the registry at roughly $87 million a year, not the $4 million Liberals such as Mark Holland liked to recite in the full knowledge that was wrong. So using the same accounting you demand for the F-35 procurement, it can be said that over 20 years the cost of the LGR would be in excess of another billion. Can you please show me anywhere the Chretien government included the extra billions in cost?

Going back even further to the Mulroney government, in 1991 Mulroney announced the purchase of 50 helicopters for $5.8 billion dollars. Now given the long life expectancy of helicopters, which can exceed 30 years, I find it hard to fathom the fact that the $5.8 billion number included salaries, fuel costs, etc., for the next 30 years.

Maybe I'm wrong with all this. Enlighten me.

By the way, by the mid-'90s, the Sea King helicopters had become so worn out that it cost 30 hours labor for every hour of air time. Perhaps I missed it. Can you show me where the Liberal government of the day told Canadians what the cost of flying those copters was?

Chretien Liberals Military Procurement Process Makes Conservatives Look Like Saints...

it was the Liberals in 2002 who along with our NATO allies who decided to hold a competion for a next-generation plane at the design stage, rather than a model already in production. The Lockheed-Martin F-35 was the result.


If Ignatieff really intends a different plane be picked, Canada will be out-of-step with all its allies, and as several senior military officers and bureucrats have pointed out, holding a bidding competition where the only acceptable winner is already known looks stupid and wastes a lot of money.


Not that that has stopped the Liberals in the past when dealing with the military. While Ignatieff is well read, he clearly hasn't cracked the spines on too many history books. If he had, he'd know full well his party's past experiences with meddling in military purchases haven't gone well.
Being out of the country the in 1990s, he seems unaware of former Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien's experience with the EH-101 helicopter — the military's plan for a replacement for its aging Sea Kings and Labradors — both in service since the 1960s.


After a lengthy procurement search the Tory government of the day picked the British-Italian designed aircraft and committed to buyng 50 of them. Chretien said they were too expensive at $3 billion, and made cancelling the purchase a key plank in his 1993 election campaign. He won and the purchase was cancelled — at a penalty cost of $500 million.


The downside was the military had to make do with the its existing helicopters and within five years Chretien found himself okaying the purchase of 15 of the EH-101 search and rescue versions — redesignated the Cormorant from the Chimo in an attempt to hide the fact this was the same aircraft he'd ruled out a few years earlier.


Meanwhile the militry had begun a new search for a military-use helicopter, and when it looked like the EH-101 would win again, Chretien ordered a change in the criteria that excluded the EH-101 from the competition. A totally untried, and unbuilt, aircraft was picked in 2002 — the Sikorsky S-92, named the Cyclone. Today, Canadian Forces are still awaiting delivery. Four years later, and with the price having soared to an estimated $11 billion for 28 of the helicotters, the first operational models still aren't expected to arrive until 2012.


Helicopters aren't the only skeleton in the Liberal history of 'messing with military pourchases'.
There were the submarines. The navy had been arguing strongly it needed new submarines to replace its Oberon class subs, which had been in service since 1964. New submarines, particularily the nuclear ones the navy had been eyeing in the 1980s, were deemed far too expensive, besides the Cold War had ended, said the Liberals.


When the Liberals announced they'd found four used subs in the British navy yards at a bargain basement price — $1 in exchange for jet fighter training time over Canada's wilderness in Labrador — it sounded like a deal too good to be true. It was.


Changing times ended the flight training need, and the Liberals only belatedly acknowledged the subs had actually cost close to $750 million when the deal was inked in 1998. The cost of the Liberal's $1 deal including purchase price and repairs— an estimated $1.5 billion thus far and rising annually.


More troubling has been the subs' mechanical history. Neither the British Navy, nor Canada's has ever been able to keep all four in service at once — only one is operational at present.
And last on the list, but not least if the Liberals are elected, was the cost-saving plan to replace Canada's 1970s era Leapord I of tanks with Stryer gun platforms, beefed up versions of the wheeled LAV III troop carrier with a mounted cannon.


While used by the U.S. military, the Stryker is not a tank, and thankfully the military was able to talk the new Conservative government out of that in 2006 and instead leased 20 of newer Leopard IIs from Germany for use in Afghanistan, while awaiting delivery of 100 real tanks for its amoured units.

http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3085346&archive=true

p.s. Notice what all those things have in common? None of the prices include the costs of salaries, fuel, etc. Isn't that was this new faux scandal is all about?

Rae And Wherry: Seperated At Birth?

Bob Rae is running around calling the PM a liar, stating that there is no contract signed for the F-35 jets, and the PM mislead Canadians by saying there was. Carrying on his argument is Maclean resident nutbar Aaron Wherry, who seems to think he has irrefutable proof that Rae is correct in his assertion the PM lied. So let's take a look at what Wherry thinks is a slam-dunk against the Conservative government:

"Stephen Harper, November 3, 2010. We are going to need to replace the aircraft at the end of this decade, and the party opposite knows that. But instead, for the sake of getting the anti-military vote on the left, with the NDP and the Bloc, the Liberals are playing this game. The mistake is theirs. It would be a mistake to rip up this contract for our men and women in uniform as well as the aerospace industry.

Peter MacKay, December 13, 2010. Mr. Speaker, let us look at the actual contract. What the Canadian government has committed to is a $9 billion contract for the acquisition of 65 fifth generation aircraft.

Stephen Harper, January 14, 2011. “I do find it disappointing, I find it sad, that some in Parliament are backtracking on the F-35 and some are talking openly about cancelling the contract, should they get the chance,” Harper said at the Heroux-Devtek plant in Dorval.

Stephen Harper, today. The government has not signed a contract.

Stephen Harper, today. As I have said repeatedly, we will ensure that when we replace the aircraft at the end of this decade, and we have not yet signed a contract in that regard.

Peter MacKay, today. Mr. Speaker, as was mentioned, with no contract in place, no money misspent, and now funds frozen, we are injecting more accountability into this process.

Julian Fantino, today. We have not signed a contract to purchase a replacement aircraft.

Now pay attention to the dates of those past quotes. Now let's take a look at what was reported by news agencies March 10th,2011, including the CBC:

"In a memorandum of understanding, Canada has committed to buy 65 of the Lockheed Martin planes that are now in development and scheduled to be ready in 2016. Canada joined the JSF program in 1997 and in 2001 Lockheed Martin was chosen as the company that would manufacture the high-tech planes."

So it seems the media also referred to the deal as a memorandum of understanding, something the PM alluded to in QP when asked by Rae about the alleged lie of a contract. But can a MoU be considered a contract?

"In some cases depending on the exact wording, MoUs can have the binding power of a contract; as a matter of law, contracts do not need to be labeled as such to be legally binding.[citation needed] Whether or not a document constitutes a binding contract depends only on the presence or absence of well-defined legal elements in the text proper of the document (the so-called "four corners"). This can include express disclaimers of legal effect, or failure of the MoU to fulfill the elements required for a valid contract (such as lack of consideration in common law jurisdictions)."

That certainly ties in with what the PM has said in the past, that if the agreement was broken (failure) the Canadian jobs created under the F-35 program would be lost. That in itself looks to make the PM's comments consistent.

Of course that in itself wouldn't be enough to convince someone like Wherry that the PM never lied. So one would need irrefutable proof to show that the Liberal Party themselves knew that the agreement was in fact a Memorandum Of Understanding, and consistent in the fact it could be considered a contract.

So without further adieu, I give you the Liberal Parties position also reported on March 10th, 2011, which by the way is dated after the supposed damaging quotes from Wherry: "The Liberals say they would cancel the memorandum of understanding and hold a new competitive bid for the plane contract if they win the next election. The NDP is also opposed to the purchase, and Thursday on CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, Bloc Québécois defence critic Claude Bachand said his party no longer supports the deal.

So there you have it. The three opposition parties were against the memorandum of understanding, or is it a contract? Seems it's Rae and his party are the ones who are lying.

NDP Convention by the numbers:

NDP Convention by the numbers:

Over 300 riser decks
Almost 3000 square feet of truss
120 moving lights
Over 450 interlocking LED Panels
9 HD video projectors
6 line array stacks for sound

Number of Canadian Flags on Display 1, and you can get a print of it for only $250, with half going to the NDP

I've looked at hundreds of pictures online, as well as watched coverage of the convention. Only time I saw our Canadian flag was when it was flashed on a screen for the singing of the anthem, or the one in the photo called Jack's Flag, with print copies being sold for $250. Matter of fact the CBC media setup proudly boasted the CBC logo around it's circumference, with nary a Canadian flag in sight. Pathetic.

I won't hold my breath that some member of the CBC will ask Mulclair if he loves Canada.

Rob Ford Can Turn The Subway Loss Into A Huge Win...

It's pretty much a done deal. Rob Ford's vision for subways (one I agree with), is dead. I think years down the road Torontonians will see the error in their ways, when the maintenance costs of LRT far outstrip any savings accrued from aborting the subway plan. Now if I were Rob Ford, rather than continue to deny the subway vision as being dead, I would embrace it.

Now I realize that will be a hard pill for the mayor to swallow, but this loss could lead the way to many wins in the future on his plans and visions for the city. My thinking is this. The usual anti-Ford, David Miller apostles, including The Toronto Star, Adam Vaughan, Karen Stintz, have spent a great deal of political capital in steamrolling the mayors plans for subways. Matter of fact, all of the lefty anti-Fordites have all chosen to toe the same partisan line, that it was a democratic vote by council that led the way for the now future of Toronto transportation, LRT's.

One of those who has repeated that line about how we have to respect democracy and the vote by council is a guy by the name of Dalton McGuinty. Perhaps you've heard of him. In their zest to beatdown the mayor, they in fact have handed him a bag of hammers, in which he is now free to play whack-a-mole with their heads.

You see, whenever Ford puts something to council, something like fiscal or social cuts for example, and he gets enough support on council to pass, he only has to quote the usual suspects about how democracy works, and throw in a few factual quotes regarding the subway.

After all, if the subway proposal defeated by council must be respected due to democracy, neither McGuinty nor anybody else using that mantra had better make a peep about anything voted in favor of by council as being unacceptable.

Suzuki's Email Campaign As Phony As Leadnow's Robocall Petition.

Via KATE at Small Dead Animals, seems Suzuki wants to prevent the Senate from questioning both the funding and motives of groups outside of Canada in regards to the oilsands. Best part is, much like the Leadnow robocall petition, it allows editing. Here's my email including the revisions I've made. Wonder if Suzuki agrees.

Subject: Canadians want to be heard, not insulted by David Suzuki Dear Senator Eaton, Members of the Senate, and Members of Parliament,

As a Canadian who cares deeply about the future of our country, I am extremely disappointed by the recent attempts by David Suzuki to silence and demonize those who don’t share his positions.

Suzuki has labelled those who support the oilsands, and the economic benefits they bring to Canadians, including health care and education “radical” and have questioned the integrity of legitimate Canadian businesses and the Canadians it employs.

I am proud to support Canada’s oilsands, which have a long history of providing all levels of government with tax revenues to support the social programs Canadians need and depend on, and providing information to help Canada steward the natural environment on which we all depend for our health and future prosperity.

The Suzuki Foundation is supposed to be a registered charity removed from partisan politics. As such, we expect more from CRA, including an investigation into the Suzuki Foundation and it's removal as a registered charity.

Like many Canadians, I believe that the issue of large amounts of international funding is a distraction and effort to silence and discredit honest Canadian businesses, and the people they employ. Canadian businesses that provide and that are looking out for the needs and interests of Canada and Canadians.

A democracy functions best when all points of view are considered rationally and carefully, and when our leaders, both elected and appointed, examine the facts before speaking. Sadly, Suzuki himself refuses to listen to anyone unless they hold a mirror image of his opinions
As a Canadian who looks to Foundations that believe in leadership, I ask you to get back to the business of thoughtful debate rather than trying to stifle the voices of millions of Canadians with whom you may not agree.

Sincerely,Paulstuff