Conservatives weasel out of their arctic commitments, puts Canadian sovereignty at risk.

War drums are beating in the arctic, countries are committing resources to securing their claims - some of which clearly belong to Canada and what is the government's response? Tucking their tail between their legs and leaving.

Loblaws CEO : Farmers' Markets Will Kill People - E. Coli Edition

Remember on February 8 2012 when Galen Weston exclaimed that farmer's markets will kill people? Turns out that Weston's supermarket chain beat the farmers to the punch. On March 13 2012, Health Canada issued a health hazard alert for NO NAME, read Weston's brand, of beef burgers and steaketts. Farmer's markets may not kill people after all but E. Coli from Loblaws' products most certainly will.

Product	Size	UPC	Lot Code
no name 12 Beef Burgers	1.36 kg	0 60383 37333 7	BB 2012 AL 22 EST 761
no name Club Pack Beef  Steakettes	2.27 kg	0 60383 01321 9	BB 2012 AL 22 EST 761

Elections Canada has complaints from over 700 people, crickets chirp

Did anyone really think the flood of complaints that poured into Elections Canada were going to make a difference with regards to the 2011 federal election? 31000 complaints were made and only 700 are of a specific nature according to the venerable Elections Canada. Add to the fact that the identity of Pierre Poutine may remain anonymous for years, an electorate with the attention span of a hamster and you have a dead story.

Conservatives Refuse to Release Records, Call on Rivals to do the Opposite

Is it too much to ask that the Conservative Party of Canada be held to the same standard as other political parties? Is it too much to ask that the Conservative Party of Canada be held to the same standard they hold their rival parties to? For the Conservative Party the answer is clearly yes, it is too much to ask. The Conservatives are refusing to release their phone records related to telemarketing during the last election while demanding that the Liberals do the opposite.  Ridiculous.

Conservatives Still Tops and the Rest Lag Behind

Seriously what is it going take? Canada has once again given the Conservatives a pass despite all of the current scandals wracking this government. Nanos conducted the poll between February 25th and 29th.

Robogate Weekly Recap: Pat Martin sued And Other Tales of Woe

What a week! Robogate is really coming into its own as the most persistent and egregious conservative scandal yet. Here is what happened this week in brief.

Friday March 2nd: 


Racknine CEO Matt Meier sued Pat Marin and the NDP for 5 million dollars. Why? "Martin's words were defamatory, and, in the very least, carried the innuendo that Meier and/or RackNine had committed criminal activity, fraudulent activity, participated in a conspiracy, intimidation, sabotage and/or deceit," the claim says. Of course Racknine's guilt is beyond dispute in this whole scandal and no one denies it. Guess what Rackinne? You guys aren't Elections Canada, even though you pretended to be on election day. Pat Martin has certainly stood out through this whole affair calling out the Conservatives and their Racknine surrogates.


Conservative MPs employed US telemarketing firms during the election. Contrary to another one of Stephen Harper's lies: “We’ve done some checking we’ve only found that it was the Liberal Party that did source its phone calls from the United States.”


Former Liberal MP Boris Wrzesnewskyj expects a ruling regarding his claim that he lost in his riding of Etobicoke Centre by 26 votes due to election irregularities. Note: this riding has his by Conservative/racknine robocalls


Elections Canada confirms that it is investigating fraudulent robocalls and has received over 30000 complaints. Documents show that the investigation started soon after the May 2011 federal election.

The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL): Closed

The Arctic is something that I am passionate about. It is a treasure that Canada has stewardship over and it is our duty to protect it environmentally and territorially from those who would destroy it or claim it for themselves. That is why I was shocked when it was announced that a facility that servers both purposes PEARL will be closed April 30 2012 and have its equipment and staff evacuated.

The Robogate Saga Continues: Pierre Poutine Edition

"If the NDP actually has any information, we challenge them to give that information to the authorities. We have yet to see it and no reason to believe them," Harper said during today's question period in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Harper is standing firm denying any guilt in the ever expanding Robogate controversy.

But is the Conservative party innocent? Let's review the facts at the time this post was written, asked and answered.

Q: Who admittedly used Racknine robocalls in the 2011 federal election?

A: The Conservative Party of Canada.

Robogate by the Numbers, the Ridings, the Election Results

Updated : added 6 more ridings for B.C.

Here it is the info you have all been waiting for: A list of the 39 ridings hit with fraudulent robocalls, how many votes were cast per party both in raw numbers and percentage for both the 2011 and 2008 elections.

Some results are so close that these robocalls could very well have tipped the balance in favor of the conservatives granting them majority status. This election was stolen by the liars, cheaters and thieves that make up the Conservative Party of Canada.

1. Sydney-Victoria (NS)

• 2011
• CON 14,805 - 40.50%
• LIB 13,945 - 37.70%
• NDP  7,050 - 19.06%
• 2008
• CON 17,353 - 49.93%
• LIB  8,563 - 24.63%
• NDP  7,224 - 20.59%

Robogate: How to Violate the Principals of Democracy

Boy, Harper and team just can't catch a break, from the OAS scandal / backlash to every time Vic Toews opens his mouth and past election scandals that will certainly come back to the forefront due to Robogate, the new scandal that everyone will soon forget about, allowing Stephen Harper to win his second majority in 2015. During the May 2011 election, the Conservative Party of Canada hired a company guilty of fraud, Racknine/2call.ca, to robocall liberal Canadians in battleground ridings on "behalf" of Elections Canada to purposely misdirect voters to incorrect voting stations so that they may be frustrated into not casting a vote.


Voters in Guelph, Ontario, Winnipeg South Center and 16 other ridings were victim to misleading and fraudulent calls with the purpose "to undermine a person’s right to vote," said NDP Pat Martin. Martin also asked and answered, "How is this different from a bunch of goons with clubs blocking the door to a voter station as we’ve seen in Third World countries or the deep south of the United States? Because the net effect is the same."

The Arctic is the Great Game of the 21st Century

A map of the arctic including territorial claims, disputes and resources

"This isn't the 15th Century," Then Foreign Minister Peter MacKay stated, "You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'," he said, however, in August 2007 that's exactly what happened when Russian explores planted their country's flag 4200 meters below the north pole on the arctic seabed. In my opinion this marked the beginning of new chapter in history; 'The Great Game in the Arctic' a race to stake a claim to a vast wideness and riches of the north.

The players involved are diverse and include, Canada, The United States of America, The Russian Federation, The People's Republic of China, Denmark and Norway. Traditional alliances are thrown by the wayside (NATO) and old rivalries have been rekindled. Any pretense of following international law was dropped when the Russian flag was planted and the scramble is on.

Vic Toews: Guilty of Violating the Tackling Violent Crime Act

Ever since the advent of Bill C30, the conservatives and it's brain child Vic Toews have been taking criticism, however, this week a new player appeared on the scene and vanished just as quickly. @vikileaks30 an anonymous twitter account posted details about Vic Towes' divorce. All of the posted information was part of the public record, obtained through the freedom of information act.

Some interesting tidbits include:

• Toews had an affair with a babysitter under his employment
• Toews changed the locks on his home effectively evicting his wife.
• Toews did not meet his alimony obligations.

Vic Toews is Just Plain Awful

"He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers," Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews said regarding opposition to his 'lawful access bill' which will soon be reviewed in parliament. The bill includes provisions requiring ISPs to

• Provide personal information to police and other agencies with no warrant
• Provide makers of technology to provide a "back door" to make communications accessible to police.
• Allow police to get warrants to obtain information transmitted over the internet and data related to its transmission, including the locations of individuals and data transmitted
• Allow courts to compel other parties to preserve electronic evidence, such as the gun registry database that conservative wants to un-preserve

Not to be confused with bill C11, The Copyright Modernization Act, Toews is willing to sink to the lowest of the low by comparing being against the above bullet points with child pornography, in order to pass his bill. This is ignorant at best and virulently vicious at worst.

Christy Clark's Big BC Gamble

The BC Liberals are in trouble and Christie Clark an unelected former AM talk radio host and Premiere of BC aims to change her party's fortunes ahead of the next provincial election. Drawing on her strengths, Clark is going back to her roots, the demagoguery and browbeat of AM conservative talk radio to bring her message to the masses.

NDP Leadership Debate Fails to Impress: French Edition

What do I think of the NDP French leadership debate?  Unfortunately not much. Most of the candidates do not speak French very well outside of Thomas Mulcair and Brian Topp. Martin Singh's French was laughably bad to the point where I could not understand what he was saying


Most questions and answers were vague and vaporous, one question however, was interesting to me: Why did the Quebecois vote for the NDP in the last federal election. The answers were meek:

Liberals For Life: Special Interests Intent on Hijacking the Federal Liberals

If you are pro life - fine, it's your belief and I respect that, though I do not agree. But if you are pro life then you are not a liberal. So when I read that Trifon Haitas was on a track to win a nomination in the Toronto-Danforth by-election to run as a Liberal pro life candidate I flipped my lid.


A self styled group entitled Liberals for Life issued the following 'urgent' message to Toronto Danforth Liberal members, "Trifon Haitas is the only candidate who is committed to stop the slaughter of unborn children in Canada."  Haitas was also endorsed by the campaign for life coalition, known for their liberal and progressive views.

Holy Housing Crises

OK, let's get something straight. When a one bedroom 650 square foot condo costs over $500,000 to own, you have a housing crises. When there is a waiting list to rent an ~ $850/ month ~ 256 square foot apartment, you have a housing crises. 

The ITC Construction company along with architect Bruce Carscadden, seem to be downsizing living space to keep up with tumbling net worth in an overheated housing market. The company markets the veritable closets to urban dwellers but no one wants to live in a space comparable in size to a jail cell. This is just the latest symptom of a much larger problem:

UPDATE : National Parks Should Not be Privatized

An artist's rendition of the now approved Glacier Discovery Walk

On January 28, I wrote a small piece about the potential privatization of a section of Jasper National Park. Unfortunately the project was approved today which will allow the Brewster Travel company to operate a private, for profit tourist contraption in our national park

Loblaws CEO : Farmers' Markets Will Kill People

Pot calling the kettle black

Galen Weston CEO of Loblaw and wanna be TV star stirred up a controversy when he gave a keynote speech at the Canadian Food Summit, stating that "Farmers' markets are great . . . One day they're going to kill some people though." Mr. Weston is well ahead of the curve because the antibiotic resistant chicken his company sells probably already has killed someone. 

Get Ready for Bill - C11 - The Copyright Modernization Act

Take 39% of the popular vote, add 75 parliamentary speeches, one opposition motion to block legislation, several false starts and you have the recipe for bill C11 - The Copyright Modernization Act.


Copyright law is in desperate need of an upgrade and has not been updated since 1997 but there are several items in bill C11 that are contradictory and alarming along with the debate surrounding the bill itself.


Let's start with the problems surrounding the debate of bill C11, there is none. House Leader Peter Van Loan decided Tuesday night that there was no further need to continue debate and stated that the NDP "wouldn't commit to any reasonable, cooperative approach." Perhaps the NDP are intransigent due to the contradictory nature of the bill outlined below.

It's Official: Leona Aglukkaq: Worst Health Minister Ever!

Minister of Health?

Ever wonder what it would be like to have Grimace or even Ronald McDonald for a Minister of Health? Well folks, fantasy is fast becoming reality in Canada McDonaldland. 


When discussing the pressing issue of trans fats, health minister Leona Aglukkaq stated "I have instructed my department to continue its engagement with stakeholders to identify the challenges and how best to overcome them without adding a regulatory burden."


Aglukkaq continues: "Our government continues to make prevention and health promotion a priority — that includes reducing trans fats in foods."


It's a wonder that anyone in this country could make an informed choice when it comes to their food with anything goes labeling and poor safety standards.

Why must the Gun Registry Data be Purged?

Soon legal to own in Canada,  no registration required

Many issues divide Canadians such as the gun registry. For years the Conservatives have campaigned to scrap the bill, citing a waste of money. Since the Conservative triumph in the most recent federal election, almost everyone expected a swift motion to scrap the bill.


In late October 2011 however, it was decided that all records would be purged as well. If the gun registry was such a waste of money as the conservatives claim, why would they want to purge all of the data surrounding it? At the very least the data could be studied as how to better control the costs of future government programs.

The Politics of Food in Canada

One of the sentinel sites part of C-Enternet: Our best bet in food safety.  Two sites exist, Conservative government refuses to fund the other 3.

There is a common misconception that Canada is a leader in the world when it comes to food safety and accountability. The truth however, is unfortunately quite the opposite. Canada rates as the second worse country belonging to the OECD when it comes to pathogens in our food, with only Ireland ranking worse. Those who would presume to protect Canadian citizens are apathetic at best and in the industry's pocket at worst.


Take Maple Leaf foods, one of Canada's largest agribusinesses, in 2008 they were directly responsible for the death of 23 people during the now infamous listeriosis outbreak. Several reports and investigations were commissioned by the government, including the "lessons learned" memorandum, however, four years later the situation has since deteriorated.

Daily Show/Colbert Report: Weekly Wrap up 01/30/12 - 02/02/12

Writing posts is hard work, so on Fridays for the time being, I am going to let John Stewart or Stephen Colbert do the work for me since I could never hope to match their eloquence.


This week's clip features Daily Show host Aasif Mandvi who interviews several Florida law makers and questions the wisdom of force drug testing welfare recipients.


Video after the jump

BC has the Second Highest Level of Income Inequality in Canada

Should we be concerned that BC has the second highest rate of income inequality in Canada? BC Liberal finance minister Kevin Falcon doesn't think so. “We want to have a high-wage-earning economy in B.C. In Cuba, they don’t have any income inequality because they are all poor. We want to have an economy that is giving the people the opportunity to advance,” Said Falcon.

There are two points that disturb me despite Falcon's hubris. 

For Some, Life Begins at Conception and Ends at Birth

Justice?

Social Conservatives have always made their stance clear when it comes to the sanctity of life. The comments of a certain Canadian Conservative senator however, have been making headlines around the world. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu stated "Each assassin should have the right to a rope in his cell to make a decision about his or her life."  on the record in defense of the questionable omnibus crime bill. 

Conservative Party of Canada: Friend of Israel, no Friend to Jews

"There is no better friend to Israel than Canada," exclaimed Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird while on a state visit this past Tuesday. The Conservative party is doubling down on Israel, throwing all of their support behind them, insisting that to do otherwise would be falling a victim to trend. 


"For a country like Canada, the easy thing to do would be simply to go along with anti-Israeli sentiment, to get along with other countries," said Baird. It would appear that that the Conservative Party is sticking to their principals even if they have nothing tangible to gain. Baird Continues:

"Whether it is rockets raining down on Israeli schools, or the constant barrage of rhetorical demonization, double standards and delegitimization, Israel is under attack." 

"It is symptomatic of that new ill — the new anti-Semitism."

I find it ironic that the Conservative Party, successor to the antisemitic and regressive Reform party, is lecturing the world on just the opposite. There may be a Christian Evangelical motivation but by and large this is nothing more then a veiled attempt to court Canadian Jewish voters, hoping we forget their checkered Reform and Alliance past. Why shouldn't they broaden their base? It worked in my home of Richmond BC where 52% of the population are Canadian-Chinese. Conservative Alice Wong won the riding hands down in the 2011 federal election, despite having membership to a political party that once referred to her as belonging to an 'Asian Invasion'.

Freedom of Information is not what it used to be

The Proposed route of the Northern Gateway Pipeline

It's no secret that the export of oil from Alberta is a controversial issue, however, what should be even more controversial is the lack of transparency shown by the respective governments involved when required by law.


Since the rejection of the keystone pipeline by the Obama administration, new focus has been placed on the Nothern Gateway Pipeline which would see the transport of oil from Bruderheim Alberta to Kitimat BC. As expected, there are those against and those who are pro project.


BC Liberal Environment minister Terry Lake is quoted saying that "Critics are wrong to suggest the provincial government has already decided to support the Northern Gateway pipeline that would carry oil from Alberta to Kitimat." Sounds Reasonable, all options are being weighed: pros and cons.


What bothers me, is when a request was made to access a 371 page document regarding the lobbying and approval process of the above mentioned project,, all relevant info related to options or recommendations from ministry staff had been blanked out. Blanked out? What is the reason for blanking out anything? Does the BC Liberal government have anything to hide? Of course they do.

Chilliwack BC Liberal Candidate Laurie Throness is a Conservative

A Conservative in Liberal's clothing?

It has always been my contention that the BC Liberals were conservatives, the BC Conservatives were bat shit crazy and the Chilliwack by-election is certainly proving my point.


BC Liberal Candidate Laurie Throness has been quoted saying that  "I have a long record of conservative politics and I think that we need someone to replace Barry Penner, who is a small "c" conservative, within the Government Caucus."


Sure that's all well and good, except, if you are running as a Liberal candidate, maybe you should enact Liberal policies. 

NDP Leadership Debate Fails to Impress

If the NDP / Canadian left ever hope to defeat the now entrenched conservative majority 3 points need to be discussed :


1. What will your organization due to counter vote splitting?  


To be fair Nathan Cullen did try to discuss this point, however, most candidates were united against even making mere mention of this most pressing issue.

National Parks Should Not be Privatized

An artist's rendition of the proposed Glacier Discovery Walk

I don't get it. For a fiscally conservative government the Conservatives seem to enact some hypocritical policies such as Bill C-10 (omnibus crime bill): a one billion dollars for cost Ontario alone and the 165 million per unit F35 joint strike fighter, working radio equipment sold separately.

If that was not enough there is a project in the works that would allow a private company to profit off of our natural parks. Even if you are not against the above policies aggressively pursued by the current government (I am) one has to at least ask why our fiscally conservative government is anything but.

If we must build a pay-for-use "discovery" walk at least let the revenues benefit the national park, the province or something constructive. 

Source

A petition against the project

Introduction

2011 Election Results

It is no secret that the politics of the left are in a state of disarray in this Country. 


The outcome of the May 2011 election was almost unthinkable to me. I had only been living in Western Canada for 6 months but was starting to get the sense that the politics of my adoptive homeland are not always that of my own. The problems do have their roots in western alienation, however it is a tired premise that does not have much relevance today. 


Conservatism has taken the west by storm. The BC Liberal party is anything but liberal, scantly resembling any Liberal political movement back east. 


The antics of the BC Liberal party certainly have ruined the brand in British Columbia which has further sullied the reputation of the Federal Liberal brand making people turn even more to the right.


The term left coast is now owned uniquely by the United States and does not apply to Canada if the above image is any indication. It is my hope to offer a left of centre perspective to BC politics, Canadian politics, US politics and anything else that might be on my mind at any given time.