Perception is Everything

In  politics, there is no such thing as a reality. If people think a certain way of a party, this way of thinking becomes a reality that is set in stone. While polls aren’t always accurate, they give people a chance to see what others are thinking and it also gives a chance to see where people stand on policies and what perceptions they have of political parties.

CBC’s Power and Politics recently hosted a new poll from Nanos that took a look at some of the issues floating around today and asked voters who they would be likely to support. The poll was conducted June 11 and 12 and took the answers of 1000 adult-age Canadians. While I’ve never taken polls that seriously, they can be influential and can say quite a bit about the mindset of the country. Because in politics, perception is everything.

The one thing to note before we get started is that the Liberals are in last place among the major parties and the NDP are dominating – sorry to spoil it for you. Another thing to note is the level of uncertainty and the overall lack of confidence in any party as it stands.

Sensitivity to Seniors

It was seniors that made the Conservative government, along with businesses and blue liberals, and it is seniors that are set to break the Conservatives as well.

Recently, the Conservatives decided to raise the retirement age to 67 from 65 and senior poverty is still rampant in this country.

In your opinion, which of the federal political parties, if any, is the most sensitive to the needs of the following: Seniors

	28.4%
Unsure	24.3%
	17.4%
None	14.3%
	12.1%
Other	3.4%

Seniors 60 and over

	34.3%
None	23.3%
	15.7%
Unsure	14.9%
	7.7%
Other	4.1%

One thing to note here is that among seniors, there is a higher amount of people who would rather none of the options than the Conservatives or Liberals. It is notable that the Conservatives have double the support of the Liberals and less than half the support of the NDP.

Sensitivity to New Canadians

The Conservatives recently cut healthcare funding for refugees which has sparked controversy.

In your opinion, which of the federal political parties, if any, is the most sensitive to the needs of the following: New Canadians

Unsure	31.2%
	19.9%
	17.9%
	17.1%
None	9.7%
Other	4.1%

Sensitivity to Post Secondary Education Students

The Quebec government has imposed tuition hikes on Quebec students and they have been protesting ever since. Let’s see how this has weighed federal political parties.

In your opinion, which of the federal political parties, if any, is the most sensitive to the needs of the following: College and university students

Unsure	27.0%
	25.0%
None	14.0%
	13.6%
	13.1%
Other	7.2%

In Quebec

Unsure	27.9%
	23.6%
Other	14.7%
	13.3%
	10.7%
None	9.7%

Among Youth 18-29

Unsure	29.8%
	20.3%
	17.0%
	13.8%
Other	11.8%
None	7.3%

It is notable that in Quebec 11%, counted in Other is Bloc Quebecois and it is also notable that the Conservatives do better among the youth than the Liberals. Again, the level of uncertainty is one to note.

Sensitivity to Small Business

According to pollster Nik Nanos, the Conservatives should have a 15 point lead – which they don’t. There was a time when business was a perceived strength of the liberal party – not anymore. This number will be one to watch as the economy continues to be the main priority for Canadians, followed by Healthcare.

Unsure	26.1%
	22.8%
	19.7%
	14.3%
None	11.9%
Other	5.2%

Sensitivity to the Unemployed

Conservative EI reform is set to restrict who can get access to the insurance they work into and is widely controversial. Let us not forget that the Conservatives raised EI premiums not too long back – thus taxing jobs.In this case, the Liberals are very weak and as more people get laid off, the Liberals will continue to feel the brunt. Meanwhile, Thomas Mulcair’s NDP are fairing the best.

	32.9%
Unsure	23.5%
None	14.5%
	14.3%
	10.8%
Other	4.0%

Canadians’ Perception of Taxes

If a politician said that taxes would have to increase in the future to pay for the deficit spending we are incurring in the current economic situation, would you have a positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or negative impression of that politician?

More than half of 1000 adult-age Canadians surveyed between June 11 and 12 are against tax hikes to fixing a budgetary mess. One interesting thing to note is that only youth between 18 and 29 have a greater tendency to support tax hikes than other age groups but this support is sharply counter balanced by those who are firmly and somewhat against tax hikes.

Perception is everything and as it stands the NDP have everything but taxes going for them. The Conservatives are starting to pay the political price because never before were Canadians directly effected by their decisions. The Liberals will have a lot of work to do if they intend to be perceived as a relevant party that has practical solutions. Their last platform dug them under.

Perception is everything and the level of uncertainty and dissatisfaction is high. Can any party make gains as they stand or will those undecided end up going to the none of the above category? Follow us and leave your feedback: Facebook,Twitter,Google+.

Tory Defender is in Hot Water

Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro was the main defender of the Conservative party when allegations of illegal phone calls first occurred. At the time, he called the entire event an “unsubstantiated smear” and even charged that the Liberal party was behind it. It turns out that the Conservatives’ own defender has a record to hide and it isn’t a pretty one.

It started with an investigation into overspending in the 2008 Del Mastro campaign and it has spread to confused voters in 2011 who received automated calls from “Jeff.” To make matters worse, a series of $1,000 donations to Del Mastro’s campaign were linked to his cousin’s power company, Deltro Electric Ltd. It appears that Del Mastro is in hot waters.

Forged Documents

It started with overspending in the Del Mastro camp that led to forged documents to try to cover it up.

A Cousin’s Helping Hand

Three donors who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Deltro reimbursed and gave a $50 bonus to anyone who donated $1,000 to Del Mastro’s campaign.

“It was put, ‘We need to find some people to make $1,000 donations,’” said one former Deltro employee.
It is illegal under the Canada Elections Act to exceed the individual donation limit by hiding donations and/or having others help to hide the actual source of the donation.

The former employee signed a declaration before the Commissioner of Oaths and said that David Del Mastro approached and asked him to make a large donation to his cousin’s campaign.

The employee was asked to donate $12,000 and was reimbursed and given a “$50 bonus,” according to the declaration. The donors could also claim that donation as a deduction on their tax returns.

Employees were asked to get family and friends on board. There is currently no evidence that Dean Del Mastro knew that this was happening.

“I believe that all of us were reimbursed in full by Deltro for the sum of $1,000 each, plus the $50 bonus each,” the declaration says.

“I also believe that none of us had any connection to the MP other than that his cousin, my employer, had asked me to obtain these various donations to MP’s election campaign.”
The former employee recognized 12 former Deltro employees in the Elections Canada's list of donors to the Del Mastro campaign.

David Del Mastro said that allegations that he paid people to donate were false, but said that he helped his cousin’s campaign.

“I fundraised for him. I asked friends and family and everybody I knew if they would like to donate to his campaign,” he said.

“I went around to everybody and said, ‘Hey, can you all contribute to my cousin’s campaign? I would really appreciate it.’”

Records from Elections Canada show that the Conservative riding association in Peterborough received 12 $1,000 donations on September 19, 2008 from people with links to Deltro Electric Ltd.

On September 26, another 7 $1,000 donations came from friends of Deltro employees and another friend contributed $1,000 on September 25.

Most of these donors were addressed in Brampton or Toronto, nowhere near Dean Del Mastro’s central Ontario riding of Peterborough.

Has anyone heard of a Jeff?

Fast forward to Election 2011 and we find even more hot water for Del Mastro’s campaign.
On May 2, he authorized 2 robocalls that left some of his constituents confused. They came from a guy named “Jeff.”

The message urged people to go vote and allegedly came from “Jeff.”

It turns out that Jeff is the name of Dean’s Liberal opponent – the party that Del Mastro charged was responsible for the robocalls. Jeff Leal told the Peterborough Examiner that he had heard complaints from constituents that said the caller was “an imposter” pretending to be him.

The same paper shows that Del Mastro admitted his responsibility to these calls, except, he said that Jeff was in fact Jeff Westlake, his campaign manager.

Two Jeffs are now at play but no one knew exactly which Jeff was the one who signed off the message and considering the opponent was named Jeff and would be more reputable than Del Mastro’s campaign manager, there is cause for confusion.

Del Mastro had Campaign Research, used by 39 other Conservative campaigns, to send out the robocalls that were a message from “Jeff.”

Nick Koivalis, principal partner to Campaign Research, defended the robocalls.

"He did identify the campaign office phone number on the call display," he said. "And Jeff, his campaign manager, introduced himself at the front of the script. I think they could have done a better job on identification, but it's pretty clear."

However, he said that the calls in Guelph couldn’t easily be identifiable.

"The person says they're somebody they're not," he said. "They don't give a phone number to call back. They're two different things."

So we have suspicious activity coming from the Del Mastro campaign. We have a 2008 election mired with suspicious donations from outside the riding and allegedly linked to Deltro Electric Ltd. and in 2011, a message from Jeff was sent to constituents leaving them confused.

The opposition had the chance to ask Del Mastro questions in the Ethics committee but the chair, an NDP MP, decided to cancel the meeting and block any such questioning of Del Mastro. So in a sense, the NDP are trying to cover up for Del Mastro.

To use some of Del Mastro’s words, are these allegations nothing more than unsubstantiated smears? Do you agree with the NDP’s decision to let his questioning wait until the fall – if they allow it to happen at all? Don’t forget, it was the Liberals that wanted him questioned and it was the NDP that attacked them over it. Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

Harper is ready to work with the Separatists

Prime Minister Stephen Harper campaigned on having a “strong, stable, national Conservative Majority Government” to protect Canadians from a “coalition with the separatists.” It turns out that after a secret meeting with former PM Brian Mulroney and current Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Harper is ready to work with the separatists.

Harper is running dead last in Quebec, losing seats in the last federal election in the province. Quebecors have made it clear that Conservative policies are out of touch with them but Harper is now looking at the reset button – even though it will not work.

It adds to the Conservatives’ power-hungry mantra. One that saw a guilty plea in spending illegalities in the 2006 election and one that has led to the suspicion of voter fraud in the last election. Let us not forget that Harper too has signed a deal with the separatists in his past, when he wanted to topple Paul Martin’s Liberal government.

The coalition was to be made between Conservative leader Stephen Harper, NDP leader Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe.

The Conservatives, admitting that they want to play nice with the Parti Quebecois who are expected to form a government should a provincial election be called this fall, have joined the NDP in the softening of federalist appeal.

We remember that the interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel had ties to another Quebec separatist party, the Quebec Solidaire and we remember that a good number of her new Quebec MPs had differing views on Quebec independence than the rest of the nation. We also remember when Liberal MP Stephane Dion slammed the NDP when they said Quebec independence should just be a 50%+1 vote when he argued that the NDP would play into the hands of the separatists.

So Harper, now seeming more desperate than ever to hold onto power will be working nicely with the people he said he’d fight and protect the country against. Harper used to cry that any opposition coalition with the separatists would be a danger for this country. He wanted one in 2005 and now he is set to work with its provincial counterpart.

NDP Defend Tories, Dirty Tactics Continue

It’s one thing to say that you want to fix Ottawa. It’s one thing to say that you want to get rid of the Harper government. It’s a completely other thing to act on those words, it seems, for the NDP. After recent actions in the House of Commons and recent comments published by former strategist Brian Topp, the NDP affirm that dirty tactics are here to stay.

In Question Period on Thursday, the NDP and Conservatives found common ground, a common hatred for the Liberal Party – nothing new. But for a party that seeks to defeat the Conservatives, it is an inevitable reality that attacking the Liberals actually hurts instead of helps their case, and I am sure that many progressives out there will agree.

So what happened? We know the NDP are fed up of Liberal existence and would love nothing more than to see the annihilation of the Liberal Party. As in 2006 and in 2011, the NDP sided with the Conservatives to attack the Liberals, the NDP have yet again taken this route, aiding the Conservatives, the most corrupt and dictatorial party in our time.

Why would a party that claims to despise Harper aide Harper? Sure, many will argue political capital, but for the people who brand themselves as decent and evolutionary for our political system, their actions are no different than those they claim to dislike – one can only imagine how fixed Ottawa would be if they actually got a mandate. So lets see the unfolding of the NDP hypocrisy, and it isn’t the first time this has happened.

Liberal MP Scott Andrews sits on the Ethics Committee and demanded the NDP to explain why they wouldn’t support his motion to call upon Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro to testify about questionable election funding in 2008. He wanted to propose this motion in Thursday’s hearing. The NDP canceled that hearing.

“Today, at the last minute, the chair [NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault] cancelled this morning’s meeting,” Andrews charged. “This, despite witnesses being confirmed and my motion to call the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister to testify on allegations of election fraud being on the agenda.”

Andrews asked the youngest MP, 21, why he canceled the meeting.

“I don’t know where he’s getting his information,” Dusseault said. “The meeting was canceled last night.”

Dusseault explained that he asked for it to be canceled because Thursday was the last sitting day and it’s customary to cancel meetings in that case. He said that the committee would resume in September – thus giving Del Mastro a break.

The NDP weren’t the only ones that were pleased, the Conservatives stood in support of the NDP’s decision as their party is continually coming under fire over misleading robocalls and potentially illegal spending practices during the last election campaigns.

As the NDP MP sat after indirectly defending the Conservatives, the Conservatives and other NDP MPs cried for “more!”

The Liberals asked the same question, this time by Massimo Pacetti, and the NDP MP delivered the same answer in a flat tone and with a placid look on his face.

Cheers erupted again as the NDP and Conservatives bonded over their hatred for the Liberals.

But it’s not like this should be a surprise. The NDP have learned a lot from the Conservatives and in the past they used to get on the Liberals’ case for supporting the government but when the Liberals objected, the NDP claimed it knew how to work with the government, had dinner with the Prime Minister and passed the motion in question – up until contempt.

And this shouldn’t be unexpected. Former NDP strategist and runner-up in the NDP leadership race, Brian Topp, wrote an editorial in the Globe and Mail on April 29. In it, he concludes that “Conservatives and New Democrats at both the federal and provincial levels have an interesting opportunity to pay the Liberals back in more of their own coin in future elections.”

In other words: It’s the NDP and Conservatives vs. the Liberals, just like it was in 2005 when they agreed to form a coalition government to topple Liberal PM Paul Martin.

When will the NDP live up to its promise to cleaning up and bringing in accountable and reasonable government? Or are they just power hungry hypocrites who are secretly in alliance with the Conservatives whom they just defended?

Robocall is serious, and Dean Del Mastro should be put under the wire. Why didn’t the NDP do the right thing? Why are they and the Conservatives all of a sudden having each others’ backs?

One must wonder about the validity of any of the election results from 2006 onward…

PBO Poised for Legal Action Against PMO

Do you remember the Accountability Act? It was a piece of legislation that the Conservatives passed in 2006 to diminish corruption by putting parliamentarians in check. It included the creation of a budgetary officer, whose mandate is to monitor federal finances. The Privy Council refused to give information on the wide range of cuts in Bill C-38 and as part of his job PBO head Kevin Page may likely be taking the Conservative government that created his position to court over a lack of accountability.

The dispute started in May when the PBO originally asked government departments to hand over “information pertaining to the savings measures undertaken within your department” and while some departments did, the majority didn’t.

The PBO was given a letter on May 15 from the Clerk of the Privy Council saying that some departments would first “provide information to affected employees and their unions in the first instance, as required under applicable collective agreements.” and that only once this is done, “the government will then begin to implement these planned reductions in departmental spending and communicate accordingly.”

In short the Privy Council told the PBO that information was being cut off until unions were told of the cuts.

Page responded noting that his office is required to have “free and timely access to any financial or economic data in the possession of the department,” as said by the Accountability Act that the Conservatives have clearly forgotten.

“A functioning democracy requires freedom of information and respect for the rule of law. By breaking the law and obstructing the work of the PBO, the Conservatives are, once again, testing Canadians to see what they can get away with,” Liberal finance critic Scott Brison said.

Page also noted that the affected federal unions “have expressed both their acceptance of disclosure and their view that provision of the information requested would not fall foul of the collective agreements by which the government is bound.”

Given the government’s continued refusal to disclose details about the cuts and deciding to ram the piece of legislation blindly through the Commons and now the Senate, the PBO is now poised to take the Conservative Government to court for breaking its own law.

In the House of Commons, the NDP presented a point of order stating that parliamentarians were deprived of the privilege of seeing the full legislation but Speaker Andrew Scheer, also a Conservative MP, found no grounds for a breach of parliamentary privilege.

Bill C38 includes cuts to public servants, the dismantling of environmental regulations and can be seen as the lobbyist's budget which acts only to aid the development of the oil sands without considering and adapting for other factors and without taking precautions for those who are going to be effected by future oil spills. So far there have been 3 this month. The budget strays off economic policy and attempts to ram over 70 changes to Canadian laws in one shot and details are still under wraps.

Meanwhile I outlined that much of the painful cuts that are yet to come could be averted by forcing decency on bureaucrats and parliamentarians who reward themselves far too highly for the shortcomings of the Canadian economy, weakness of healthcare, rampant poverty and a blatant disregard for human rights, as firmly observed by the UN.

Please do justify bonuses for government executives, hotel upgrades, taxpayer-funded vacations,  23:1 golden pensions and limo service in times of fiscal restraint. Can anyone justify this? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

Liberal Leadership Race to be held in April 2013

With recent polls showing 41% of Canadians don’t trust any of the current leaders on the Canadian political spectrum and 16% don’t know which party they want to support or don’t support any of them, one sees that Canadian politics has become bleak. The Liberals have been scrutinized by the media over their relevance and their rebuilding process but considering the obvious discontent among the electorate, they have a chance to make serious gains.

The NDP leadership has come and gone and Thomas Mulcair is enjoying a honeymoon that has put the NDP ahead in the polls for the first time in history. Nanos puts them tied with the Conservatives and a recent Forum poll presents a complete reversal in roles where the NDP would form a minority government with 133 seats and 37% of the vote (guess where the Conservatives stand).

But, despite the polls showing a decline for the Conservatives, a surge for the NDP and a tick for the Liberals,  the election isn’t set for another 3 years and the Conservatives have plenty of time to get Canadians to forget robocall, the omnibus budget bill, and many of their other shortcomings and get their attention to the things that grip. In the same time, the NDP can gain on what they have now by organizing a foot campaign and presenting themselves as the alternative to those who really can’t stand Harper and will take anything over another day of Harper’s mandate.

But if one thing is noticeable, with 41% disapproval for leaders, trust for Mulcair being in single digits outside of Quebec and 16% of Canadians being unsure which party to vote for, there is a lot of room for migration. The NDP had their chance to sway voters in large crowds to Mulcair, they had their chance to pitch their party as the hope for the future and they had their chance to decimate the remainder of the Liberals and well, given these particular numbers, they haven’t done a very good job. While people may seem to be going to them, I think the more important trend is how many are running away from all the parties and this trend isn’t new – look at voter turnout.

So the Liberals are now up at the plate and they need a pitcher to swing and with Bob Rae formally declaring he’s not in the race, there is certainly going to be a lot of room for fresh blood to enter the party leadership rankings, or wait for another known face takes the helm. Regardless what Liberals decide, they now have a chance to sway voters from the Conservatives, NDP and the undecided and they have the opportunity to do what they – and other parties – haven’t  done in a while: inspire.

When Canadians say that all parties are bad or are the same or that they don’t trust any of their leaders, it’s equally bad for all of whom who are involved. But, if the Liberals play their cards right, they can capitalize where the NDP haven't and where the Conservatives are losing. While being third party isn’t a good thing, in Canada’s political climate, Canadians are fed up with all options and want something new and now is the time for a party to reinvent itself and propose a real alternative or for members to disband and form a new party. The NDP had their chance and they didn't capitalize. The Liberals now have their chance – will they capitalize? That’s up to us to wait and see.

Do you think that the pundits who are noting the Canadian trend to a left-right, polarized spectrum (like in the United States) are right in their claim? Do you think the Liberals can capitalize on the current situation or has the ship sailed? Follow us and let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

NDP hold Government in Contempt over Budget

The opposition has been doing everything they can to stop Bill C38 or the Omnibus Budget Implementation Bill – the same bill that would attack and transform EI, the same budget that would attack pensions and retirement, and the same budget that would take an axe to environmental regulations to prop up the Alberta tar sands exploitation project.

While the Liberals and Greens are keeping the House of Commons in a 24 hour voting Marathon over over a thousand amendments, the NDP came out and declared that the lack of details was subject to contempt. The NDP charged that the government didn’t specify how many civil servants, programs or services would be cut.

"Essentially the government is requiring members of Parliament to vote blind on the legislation coming forward," NDP House leader Nathan Cullen argued Monday.

Cullen is asking the Speaker to rule that MPs’ collective privileges have been breached when the government withheld data requested by Kevin Page, the independent parliamentary budget officer. The PBO was created in 2006 by the Tories in their bid to make government more accountable.

When Page asked for the information regarding the cuts, the Conservatives flatly rejected.

"We're still left scratching our heads," Page said. "Where are the savings? Where is the plan? We don't see it."

The government froze operating budgets in 2010 saving $1.8 billion and intend to lay off 6,000 full-time employees to save $1.8 billion by 2013-2014. Page said that these savings will only account to a third of the savings that are desired.

His analysis showed that despite the freeze on operating costs, the cost of Personnel are expected to rise $1.7 billion over the last year.

"Is there something we're missing here?" said Page. "Where's the freeze?"

Let’s not forget that $2.7 billion was spent on severance and that federal bureaucrats who stayed, retired, or quit on their own, got a bonus of $1.2 billion – included in the $2.7 billion total. Now, add $1.8 billion and we are spending $3.5 billion on bureaucracy and its perks. Why don’t we cut there first?

A government-wide spending review is underway to find $4 billion in savings and while the Conservatives are cutting spending on services, they are spending $2.7 billion on perks for bureaucrats and $1.8 billion on personnel, just $500 million off their goal of what needs to be cut.

"We need to do it in a smart way, we need more transparency," Page said. "In some ways, we're throwing up flags."

Perhaps instead of cutting services, bureaucratic benefits should be first on the list, among MP limo service, among MP 23:1 pensions and among other waste that is associated with the unnecessarily inflating size of bureaucracy. Not to mention the waste buckled down on some MPs, Bev Oda and Peter MacKay to name two.

It is sure the NDP won’t agree to my suggestion of cuts. As NDP MP Ryan Cleary said, "I work my butt off, Would I deserve a pension of $28,000 after six years? Probably not. It should be more than that."

MPs and bureaucrats seemingly believe they are entitled to perks while Canadians far and wide can barely keep their kitchen tables afloat. The Conservatives have some nerve to preach austerity in tough economic times as they line their pockets with luxurious hotels, limo rides and give bonuses to their friends, the bureaucrats.

The Conservatives hid behind public sector unions stating that they were trying to renegotiate payment arrangements for the effected bureaucrats.

"This means it's the first time in Conservative history where they're defending a collective agreement where the union says 'don't worry about it, we're good'," Cullen responded.

"If the House cannot hold the government of the day to account, then why have the House at all?" Cullen asked in the Commons.

"This isn't a right-left issue. This is right and wrong."

The last time the Conservatives were found in contempt was in March 2011 which lead to the spring election that gave them a majority.

Do you agree with the budget implementation act? Follow us and let us know: Facebook,Twitter,Google+.

The Alberta Pipeline: En Route to Disaster

While the Conservatives and NDP divide the East and West over the effects of the tar sands in terms of the economy and effectively play political games, and while Harper gets funded by oil lobbyists to attack Environmentalists as radical terrorists, an oil spill in Alberta is proving the dangers of the project.

Over 3,000 barrels of oil leaked beneath Jackson Creek on Thursday night paralyzing local economies, threatening to contaminate drinking water and leaving residents in fear as flood warnings in the area are apparent. The pipeline through Alberta and British Columbia, crossing through the BC forest known to the rare spirit bear, hasn’t even been started but we already see the effects of careless and dangerous exploitation of the dirtiest oil in the world.

When given the opportunity to tap into what could have been a lucrative energy deal between Canada and the US, US President Barack Obama put his people first and rejected the offer. This has prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to sell the entire project to China and this threatens to raise the fuel costs across the country while putting Albertans in the line of fire for any mistakes.

Alberta is known to be home to some of Canada’s finest landscapes and with this project, they will be destroyed, and with future oil spills like these, the damages may be rendered irreversible.

This recent spill threatens to harm the way of life of 100,000 Albertans who live downstream on the Red Deer River.

For resident Chris Huhn, this is déjà vu of the spill in April 2008 which leaked 125 barrels.

“I just hope this beautiful lake isn’t going to be wrecked with this terrible spill,” he said, adding many of his neighbors are concerned.

He was driving home at 11pm that night and smelled a strong odor and called the Energy Resource Conservation Board and was told of a nearby oil spill.

"I know we need the oil, but at what cost?" he asked. "This is the drinking water for the City of Red Deer and we’re gambling with it."

Stephen Bart, Vice President of Crude Oil Operations for Plains Midstream said that it is too early to tell how long a clean up will take on a swollen and fast moving river.

“We deeply regret this incident,” he said. “We’re obviously working to ensure we’re doing all we can to limit the extent of the release.”

An alert was issued and people have been prevented from fishing in the area. Meanwhile, the shore is covered in oil and continues to wash up.

This is the second time that the company has had an oil spill in roughly a year after its Rainbow pipeline cracked and spilled 28,000 barrels of oil near Peace River Alberta.

“Who’s to blame? The government are the ones who gave them approval in the first place. It’s unfortunate it had to happen,” Randy Westergaard of the Gleniffer Lake Resort said as his marina was closed until further notice.

Albertan Premier Alison Redford said the spill as unfortunate but defended their efforts.

“It’s actually an exception, if you think that we have hundreds of thousands of kilometers of pipelines across this province,” she said. “There has been a leak and it has been contained.”

One of the “terrorist” environment groups, Greenpeace, stated through their spokesman, Mike Hudema that “we have a federal government that is trying to gut Canada’s environmental legislation and streamline the process for future pipeline proposals, and so that’s something that we think definitely needs to be stopped.”

While Hudema doesn’t seem like a terrorist or radical, one thing can be said to the Conservatives: Climate change poses a larger threat to mankind than terrorism ever has.

Sundre is located 100km west of Red Deer and it too is facing the consequences of the oil spill.

As the Conservatives get bribed by oil lobbyists who then use Sun News as their outlet, species are being endangered and oil extraction practices are not subject to enough regulation. On top of that, the Conservatives are set to pass their recent budget, Bill C-38 which acts to deregulate the industry further while neglecting the impact it will have to the local community, local economy and local safety of Albertans and British Columbians who will be in the direct path of the pipeline. One can already imagine how healthcare costs will balloon, as well as cleanup efforts and losses in food supplies.

Do you think the pipeline is a good idea? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter,Google+.

Related:

Harper’s Alliance with Ethical Oil and Sun Media

Harper Government Accepts Funds from American interest Groups

Double Standards and a Deteriorating Environment

Federal Bureaucrats get $1.2 Billion Bonus

The Conservatives love the monarchy and their actions show it. Not only do they believe in making the average Canadian citizen poorer, they believe in pocketing the money that they take from all of us. In times of economic constraint, what we see is a systematic theft of our money. This recent giveaway should make you as outraged as I am.

In the last fiscal year, 91,613 lucky bureaucrats who either stayed in their jobs, retired, or quit on their own were given a share of $1.2 billion in voluntary severance. This act alone is new and unheard of for those of us paying the bill.

Business groups and spending watchdogs have pounced, calling the payouts “staggering” and “outrageous” but only one word best qualifies what has happened: “theft.”

This comes in addition to the $1.5 billion we must pay for regular severance for over 102,589 bureaucrats according to new stats obtained by Postmedia News.

To sum: We paid $2.7 billion on bureaucrats in the last fiscal year plus another amount for all the senators plus another amount for all the MPs plus another amount for all of the spending sprees these people have endured. The total: theft and a blatant fraud to the Canadian taxpayer.

Federal severance payments by the numbers:

— In the 2011-12 fiscal year, 102,589 federal public servants were issued either a voluntary severance or a regular severance payment, at a cost of more than $1.5-billion.

— 91,613 employees opted to receive the voluntary severance liquidation payment at a cost of roughly $1.2-billion.

— Approximately 92% of employees receiving voluntarily requested severance took the full amount rather than accepting a partial payment now and the rest when leaving the public service.

Source: Public Works and Government Services Canada

The gravy train hasn’t stopped yet, for this fiscal year, it is projected that another such bonus, to the tune of $850 million will be handed out on top of the existing severance package.

“It’s outrageous. If taxpayers knew what is contained in federal union contracts, we’d have a rebellion on our hands.

The contracts that the public is saddled with are too rich. It’s an unbelievable deal that most federal government employees have.”

Gregory Thomas, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

On top of this $2 billion bill comes another $900 million price tag to cover “workforce adjustment” payments for bureaucrats who will be laid off as a result of austerity.

Meanwhile, Treasury Board Minister Tony Clement’s press secretary said that the government was moving toward scrapping accumulated severance and was negotiating with the unions to try to get a deal.

“Our government is always looking to find savings for taxpayers and improve value for their tax dollars and one important way to do this is ending the costly practice of paying accumulated severance for public servants quitting or retiring from the bureaucracy,” Sean Osmar, press secretary to the minister, said in an email.

“We know this has been the common practice under old agreements, but it is expensive and is unfair to taxpayers and it is why we have already completed agreements with several unions covering about 100,000 public servants ending it. We expect to finalize future agreements as collective bargaining processes continue.”

On top of that, while Canadians are seeing their pensions fade away and while young Canadians are faced with the prospect of working longer and harder than the last generation, these bureaucrats get the “gold-plated” pension that should be cut down to size.

“It is a staggering amount of money paid out to people who are not losing their jobs,” said Dan Kelly, senior vice-president with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which represents over 109,000 small-business owners across Canada.

“People don’t actually believe this exists. I don’t think the average taxpayer has a sweet clue just how much they are paying for the perks for government workers.”

Dan Kelly, senior vice-president Canadian Federation of Independent Business

The kings and peasants is the name of the game and this is what the Conservatives love to promote. While you watch your EI get taken away and your pensions slashed, remember that MPs will always get away with illegitimate spending sprees and will always be paid those great salaries and pensions. Now remember that the new senators they added costs money and is subject to the same abuse of our money, and now we have this outrageous theft of our money by bureaucrats.

Be it resolved that the next government cut and/or eliminate government perks and finally end the culture of entitlement in Ottawa and finally give a damn about the taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill.

Can you believe how much money is stolen from us in times of “economic constraint?” Let us know: Facebook, Twitter,Google+.

The NDP are fed up of the Liberals

If there is one parody that sings loud in Canadian politics, it is the outright hatred that the NDP show towards the Liberals and while for a short period of time, it seems the Liberals and NDP found grounds to work together, old resentments made it back to the surface.

NDP MP and chairman of the closed door F35 committee, David Christopherson called the sole Liberal member Gerry Byrne a “dishonorable crybaby,” last Thursday.

It comes after the Liberal member asked Christopherson a question because only committee chairs could respond to direct queries.

"Despite my motions having been previously called and still up for debate, the chair has chosen not to allow them to proceed," Byrne said. "Why has the chair not allowed my motions to be dealt with and will he commit that before proceeding to other business he will allow my motions to be properly debated and properly voted on?"

Chrisopherson said that he ruled the Liberal’s motions as out of order and emerged playing dirty politics, accusing the Liberal of launching a personal attack in the committee.

"Mr. Byrne has chosen that because he can't get the rulings he wants, that he is going to hold whatever tantrums are necessary to convince the world that he's right and the rest of the world is wrong.

And on this matter, in my opinion, Mr. Byrne has been a dishonorable crybaby and because he doesn't have enough talent to come up with procedures that will let him win, he starts to argue the rules are unfair.

If you attack me, I’m from Hamilton. You attack me, I’m going to attack back. And that was a dishonorable, unnecessary attack. And I just responded.”

NDP MP, Committee Chair, David Christopherson.

Like usual with the NDP, politics comes first and it comes dirty. They always find a way to attack the Liberals, even when they are their only allies in their fight against the Conservatives. But we can still remember the days when the Liberals were in government and when the Conservatives were in minority when the NDP used all of their energy to attack the Liberals and every time the Liberals were ready to attack the Conservatives, the NDP ran to make a plea bargain with the Conservatives.

Isn't this what Canadians are fed up with NDP? The dirty political games that pit sides against each other? Weren’t you guys the ones who said you wanted to change that? Some things just never change.

Are you fed up of the political games surrounding the F35 purchase? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

Related:

Conservatives Fed up of Procurement Process

Conservatives fed up with Military Procurement

The Conservatives have come under fire over the F35 proposal and in a recent report, the Auditor General told them to do their homework on the costs. Shortly after, Defense Minister Peter Mackay admitted that he mislead Canadians on the cost of the stealth fighters for 2 years.

In a first and emotional moment for Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, she told military contractors at CANSEC, the annual military trade show, last Thursday, that she was fed up of inter-governmental duplicated processes and said she couldn’t guarantee the goods she promised. This means the search-and-rescue planes that have been stuck in the system for nearly a decade may remain stuck in the system once more. Federal documents state that the planes won’t be ready and functional until 2017.

"Frankly, when it comes to procurement, I'm a little tired of being told why something can't be done.

I'm also tired of being told I can only get partial buy-in for new ideas because people would rather see things fail first. And I've become tired of all of the duplication and competing agendas.

I am fully aware of all of the internal obstacles to change, but I realize we won't be able to transform the procurement system overnight.”

Conservative MP, Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose

However, some defense contractors see the delays and hold ups as the government doing its due diligence.

"From my perspective it sounds like a very reasonable approach," Jim Grant, Vice President of Lockheed Martin’s air mobility division said. "If they can move forward that way, it's very smart government."

David Schellenberg, CEO of Cascade, said "all the industry is looking for is a fair, open and transparent process."

These 2 CEOs contradict the Conservative plea that the system is broken – as you saw in Ambrose’s statement.

The Liberals attacked the Conservatives, stating that Conservative MPs Rona Ambrose, Peter Mackay and Julian Fantino have yet to testify in the committee.

“Minister Ambrose described a federal government in chaos when it comes to how billions of dollar of taxpayers money is spent on military hardware,” Liberal committee member Gerry Byrne said.

“With so much at stake, there is no excuse for either of these ministers to be absent from appearing before the committee.”

Do you think Minister Ambrose is justified? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google+.

Related:

The NDP are Fed up of the Liberals

Luka Rocco Magnotta is arrested in Berlin

The alleged killer and dismemberer of a Montreal Chinese Exchange student Luka Rocco Magnotta was arrested in Berlin after fleeing to Paris. Berlin Police said he didn’t resist but instead uttered, “You got me.” He was spotted by a client in an Internet café by a client who said he was reading about himself on a computer.

The victim, Lin Jun, 33, was a student at Concordia University.

Magnotta is facing 5 charges including first degree murder, in the crime that went international.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who’s party received a severed foot, congratulated German police for finding  and arresting Canadian fugitive Rocco Magnotta.

For more information about the crime, you can read the first release of information. Otherwise, you can follow us on our various social networks Facebook,Twitter,Google+.

Human Remains Sent to Tory and Grit HQ