We Will Remember Him
Aug 31st
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadian:
Corporal Brian Pinksen – Afghanistan August 30, 2010
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays
Unreported Crime Rate is Alarming? So’s Stockwell Day.
Aug 3rd
I watched CPAC’s feed this morning of a news conference given by Stockwell Day and Denis Lebel. Since I don’t speak French and that is all Lebel spoke in, I can’t comment on anything he said. In some ways, I came away from watching that feed wishing Day spoke anything but English and was in anyone’s government but the government of Canada.
When asked to comment on the government’s tough on crime agenda and the associated costs in among his convoluted response was a reference to first of all comparing current crime statistics to the crime rate back in the 60′s, some fourty years ago. Then he confounded just about everyone by referring to the statistic on unreported crime and how alarming they are. More >
Tags: census, conservative government, crime rates, crime statistics, criminal offenses, government of canada, long form, unreported crimeWe Will Remember Him
Jul 20th
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadian:
Spr Brian Collier – Afghanistan July 20, 2010
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays
In Case the Liberals are Wondering…
Jul 13th
Just so I’m transparent here, I am currently a Liberal supporter. I became one when Ignatieff became leader because I believe, notwithstanding my previous disapproval of him, that he had improved his performance and might just be a good leader for the Liberals.
In the intervening time, I have to admit, I have sure wondered about that decision. I know for certainty that Harper would never get my support, nor would Bob Rae. I am extremely unlikely to support Layton or the NDP. I have to admit to noticing that inspite his having to take time to battle with cancer these last few months, he sure manages to speak up about things Canadians are concerned about.
I want to not only hear that out of Ignatieff, I want him to mean it. In order for him to mean it, he can’t just shoot from the hip, he needs to do enough background to know he can carry through on what he’s saying. More >
Tags: budget bill, canadian citizens, canadians, g20, gun registry, liberal party, NDP, parliamentWe Must Not Shrug Off Our Democratic Rights
Jul 12th
Two weeks after the G20 summit concluded the fallout continues, and so it should. Canadians watched an unprecedented attack on our civil liberties and human rights as the result of police action during that weekend. The question is, who issued the orders which allowed this to take place with impunity?
Many Canadians remain blissfully unaware, while others are choosing to be unaware as they don’t believe what happened. Many choose to focus on the violence as justification for the mass arrests which followed the next day. The question should be: where were the police and why did they not move in to corral and stop those who were committing the violence?
All too many Canadians are choosing to ignore the facts and the politicians who should be on the hot seats are able to avoid answering to the public they are supposed to be serving.
An acquaintance of mine seems to be pretty typical of those who haven’t woke up to the assault on them that took place. When the subject came up, he immediately pointed to the violence on Saturday and said the police had to react. More >
Tags: canadians, civil liberties, g20 summit, mass arrests, police action, politiciansEco Fees — A Cash Grab by Any Name
Jul 8th
Along with the HST coming into effect in July 1st, more Eco fees came into effect covering a wide range of products. The Eco fees are supposed to be fees charged to manufactures based on the amount of products or packaging they put into the market place. Stewardship Ontario which receives these fees claims not to be government yet they were setup by the provincial government.
If they are not government, then someone or some group is getting the money we are all being forced to pay. The manufactures are allowed to pass along the fees they are charged to the consumer in any manner they choose. At this point, the fees are appearing on our sales receipts as an added fee one which we pay — you guessed it — HST. But it’s not a tax you see, you just have to pay tax on it.
There appears to be no established standard as to how the fees are assessed and as such the consumer has zero protection from the manufacturers taking whatever they want as the cost of passing on the fee. Since it isn’t attached to the product at the point of the consumer making their selection, we don’t even have buying power to limit the fees to a minimum. More >
Tags: conservatives, eco fee, hst, liberals, mcguinty, provincial government, stewardship ontario, tax dollars, waste diversionWe All Lost With the G20
Jun 28th
I watched in disgust on Saturday the footage of the rampage by black clad protesters as they wantonly vandalized stores and businesses in the downtown area of Toronto. I saw police cruisers vandalized and set on fire. For a while, I was willing to reluctantly consider that the almost $1billion in security costs may have been money well spent.
The question also arose in my mind though, with all that money spent and the massive police presence in Toronto — just how did that group of 100 or so vandals manage to run roughshod over areas of Toronto? It became rather apparent the police were far more intent on protecting that fence than the downtown area outside of it.
Ah yes, that fence, the same one that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair asked the provincial cabinet to pass regulations which allowed police officers to violate our rights and freedoms to protect. The regulations which were supposed to only have effect five metres from that fence. The regulations which appear to have been applied throughout the city to accommodate whatever police state tactics the cops chose to deploy.
I read in the Toronto Star on Sunday morning that the police were aware of at least one bus load of people from Quebec who were headed to Toronto for what appeared to be exactly what we saw on Saturday. That begs the question — if the cops knew they were coming, why did they let them arrive? Being unable to prevent their arrival, why was some of that massive police presence not used to keep a close eye on them and nail them as soon as they started something? More >
Tags: bill blair, fence, G30, police state tactics, protesters, rampage, security costs, Toronto, toronto police chief, toronto starHow About Some Truth on Spending?
Jun 23rd
The Harper Conservatives have fancied themselves as ‘tough on crime’ by bringing a string of crime bills into the legislature and daring the Opposition to vote them down. The so called “Truth in Sentencing” bill passed in February was one of those bills.
The bill places stronger limits on when a judge can give credit for time served when passing sentence. The overall effect is to lengthen the amount of time which a convict will remain in custody, raising the average time in federal custody from 523 days to 722 days.
The overall effect will be more prisons will have to be built, more guards hired and the costs of providing shelter to those who have committed crimes will rise. More >
Tags: budget officer, canadians, conservatives, corrections canada, crime rates, prisons, sentences, truth in sentencing
