MSM and Harper, Immigration, Birth Citizenship & Visas, Transparency & Governance, RCMP

Update 2:

Question Period: Harper Asks about Air India Disaster and Hep C Compensation related to the following:

Compare the speed of the government's responses to requests for action / taxpayer money:

Hep C blood scandal victims and the survivors of the Air India terrorist bombing victims who wanted justice

versus

Jean Chretien and others who were scheduled to appear before Justice Gomery at the Inquiry into the Sponsorship Fund: They wanted taxpayers's money for expenses.

Canadian taxpayers' $$$ for those petitioners vs genuine victims? No contest. Speed was of the essence and there was no delay in granting the $$$ for those appearing before the Gomery Inquiry.

Question(s) re:

Belinda Stronach's family business Magna & Paul Martin's family business CSL

versus

The PM and Minister Stronach's Conflicts of Interest -- Both are in important positions determining the rules related to business and employment -- related to employees in the family businesses.

According to PM/PM, eveything will be taken care of because the Ethics Commissioner will look into any potential conflicts.

We can rest easy.




CBC: the Kathleen Petty Show -- Security Certificates & Mohammed Harkat

CBC suckers me again

I mentioned a while ago that I enjoyed Kathleen Petty's call-in show. It is solely because the callers did not seem to be filtered. Today's show (June 27, 05) disabused me of my belief, however. First, Petty interviews David Harris, former Chief of Strategic Planning for CSIS. Harris is allowed to explain that the media has (purposely?) distorted the reality of the Security Certificate. This certificate is issued when CSIS/RCMP have evidence that the individual in question--in this case, a Muslim--is part of a "sleeper cell" or actively engaged in a future attack on Canada. Harris explained that all these suspects have the right, voluntarily, to be deported to their home countries. Not one has taken that option. Also the full charges against the detainee are given to him; therefore, the nonsense media spin, that they have no idea what charges they face, is patently false. He went on to show that the certificate evidence claim must be seen by a federal judge(s) to be extremely strong.

So much for Harris and most callers; a "special caller" is allowed on. This is suspect Mohamed Harkat's wife. She is given what seems like ten full minutes to tell us what a good man Harkat is. "Gentle" and "a man of peace" were two accolades tossed out. Informatively, she said she knew the other four suspects, as well, and they were good guys too. She keeps interesting company. Sorry, but after that advertisement there was time only for three callers. The first one was some guy who started off balanced enough--"After Sept 11, blah, blah, blah", but soon segued into talk about our "Islamic gulag" and other descriptions only mouthed by the loony left. The next chap simply thought there should be trials, while the last "caller" just happened to be some Canadian-Islamic honcho. Forget the federal judges -- as they are all controlled by CSIS. These detainees are all good boys was the gist of his testimonials. Then it was "Sorry, but we are out of time," so all you future callers, try to get your speed dials working, or forget about your viewpoint being presented.

© Bud Talkinghorn



David Harris explained very briefly and clearly how Security Certificates work. There are requirements to be met, oversight and a federal court judge has access to ALL the detail.

Personally, I support the need for Security Certificates which have been in use since the late 1960's, at least. I also support detaining those affected. They used to be immediately deported. Now, the problem comes in with the need to deport individuals who might face harm in the countries from which they came, if deported. The push is for releasing these people into Canadian society, with some restrictions. Our security appears less important than his.

'Balance' from the CBC. It is the illusion of balance. Bah! NJC




Update 1:

Never take water, food safety for granted 2005-06-25, JIM TAYLOR, For the London Free Press

[. . . . ] We learned that a shortage of inspectors to keep an eye on the system was not unusual.

And now it seems the same holds true for inspections of places where food is served, such as restaurants and fast-food outlets, day-care centres and nursing homes. [. . . . ]

Apparently, Essex county in Ontario did not fare very well. If I were sending a child to daycare, I would be concerned. As for restaurants, fast food outlets, and nursing homes, well, this whole report is disturbing, given that so many eat out and that, with an aging population, nursing home care is rising for the elderly. The facts need more exposure.




Cops wounded in Ontario shootings Winnipeg Sun, Canada, June 27, 05

LONDON, Ont. (CP) - At least two people were killed and two police officers wounded in a shooting that left "multiple deceased persons" in a home on a quiet street near the city's downtown early Monday.

Police said they received a 911 call from a child at about 2:30 a.m. reporting an apparent assault. [. . . . ]

MSM and Harper visit to Toronto

For more positive press or headlines, maybe Harper should be trying to court ethnic voters with OPM's $$$ -- PM style?

Harper plays same-sex card to woo Muslims at convention

MISSISSAUGA - While hundreds of thousands of gays partied at the pride parade in downtown Toronto yesterday, federal Tory leader... [. . . . ]

Compare the emphasis in the above headline with these.

From the National Post: I stand with you on traditional marriage, Harper tells Muslims



Tories in no hurry to vote on same-sex bill James Brown, June 27, 05

[. . . . ] The time required to deal with the legislation could be even shorter if the Liberals bring in closure, as they did last week to cut off debate and ram through key budget legislation.

That ploy left the Conservatives fuming when they were caught without enough members in the House to head off the move.

[. . . . ] In Toronto on Sunday, party leader Stephen Harper took a miss on the city's flamboyant Gay Pride Parade, but did weigh in on the issue in a speech to thousands attending the 29th Annual Ahmadiyya Muslim Convention, calling on all religious groups to protect and preserve the traditional definition of marriage. [. . . . ]

Harper comes to T.O. Megan Thomas, June 25, 05, CNEWS

TORONTO (CP) - Tory Leader Stephen Harper continued his image makeover tour Saturday after an embarrassing week that saw his party ambushed on a budget bill it had promised to defeat.

[. . . . ] The embattled leader, who plans to hit the barbeque and festival circuit this summer in an effort to lighten his staid image, wore a suit but left the tie at home and unbuttoned the collar of his dress shirt. [. . . . ]

Comuzzi expected to resign over same-sex bill The Hill Times, Angelo Persichilli, June 27th, 2005

Would this put the Liberals in trouble?



Link for policy briefings



Native soldiers weren't fools Doug Fisher, June 12, 05, Sun Ottawa Bureau

[. . . . ] My summation would be that the residential schools and their staffs did a lot of good. Those who attended them were better ready to function in the bush, on a reserve, or in an urban setting. Thus, I think a blanket payment to every former student is generosity and guilt run wild.

By all means, compensate those who were demonstrably mistreated or sexually abused, but it's nonsense to pay the rest "compensation" for getting a very basic Canadian education.

European holder of original Maple Leaf flag in 'no hurry' to return it to Ottawa June 27, 05 -- Lucien Lamoureau's (sp?) widow -- Pension money is involved, I believe, but check.

Update & correction: I had written Claude Lamoureau above; I just corrected this, July 1, 05. Lucien Lamoureau was a former Speaker of the House of Commons. Apparently, the flag is now going to be returned. Of course, he should not have had the flag in the first place. It belongs to Canadians. . . not that that kind of fine point stops those with power in Ottawa.




Editorial on RCMP: Why the Mounties can't get their men

No white males policy . . . . Bilingualism is a key to selection for command.

Worth reading.




Immigration, Birth Citizenship and Visas

Getting into Canada through the back door Diane Francis, June 27, 05, National Post

Granting automatic citizenship to the children of all foreign mothers who give birth in Canada . . . . Last week, Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland publicized a case, in several e-mails sent to the media, involving two pregnant relatives of a notorious Syrian military officer who were given visitor's visas from the Canadian embassy in Damascus.

[. . . . ] In Canada, citizenship is like winning the lottery: Lucky recipients are entitled to privileges such as the right to remain a resident or return in the future; free health care; free education; welfare; access to work opportunities, as well as the right to sponsor relatives as immigrants. [. . . . ]

Search: "birth citizenship"



Who in the PMO turned down Wons' resignation? And why would Ihor Wons ever want to put the credibility of his candidate in danger? Angelo Persichilli, Hill Times, Jun. 27, 05 -- Ihor Liard Wons, aide in Judy Sgro's constituency office

TORONTO--Aristotle once said that "a living being is a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts." If you apply this concept to the Judy Sgro affair, you'd be left with some concerning questions about the role played by the national Liberal campaign and, later, the Prime Minister's Office. [. . . . ]

Transparency & Governance

Canada's first billionaire Cabinet minister to disclose by fall - Download PDF Kady O'Malley, June 20, 2005

'Belinda's portfolio is as thick as the Manhattan phonebook,' says NDP MP Pat Martin

Parliament Buildings renovations to cost 'much more'-- Download PDF Paco Francoli, June 27th, 2005

Original $1.6-billion, 23-year plan to renovate Parliament Buildings is about to get 'much more' expensive and to take several more years to complete, says Liberal MP Walt Lastewka.

Upcoming Policy Briefings

Alternative Energy July 11th, 2005
Climate Change August 8th, 2005
Aerospace August 22nd, 2005
Defence September 26th, 2005
Automotive Industry October 17th, 2005
Labour, Education and Skills Training October 31st, 2005
Transportation November 14th, 2005
Natural Resources December 5th, 2005

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