Updated: Do we want more of the same? -&- A few other items

Think about the grouping of the following first few articles. Is it not time to discuss just what we want Canada to be and to become, based on what we have seen from the last several years of the Chretien / Martin teams and their approach to federalism--asymmetrical federalism, immigration, refugees, crime, drugs, criminal gangs, guns (Blaming another country doesn't cut it, Paul.) border concerns, terrorism, lax courts--appointed justices . . . the whole nine yards? It is time we spoke out before Paul Martin and his team render our country impervious to being fixed. NJC



Update 1:

Note: This is based on this link I had posted earlier today. NJC

Memory Lane -- in case you had forgotten the arrogance of Jean Chretien and the common sense of Mike Harris, The man who stopped Meech III NP, Oct. 27, 05



Bud Talkinghorn: Chretien's plot to sell out Canada

Unbeknownst to me and I suspect to the majority of Canadians, after the 1995 national referendum, Jean Chretien tried to pass an amendment to give Quebec distinct society status and a veto over the national constitution.

Even while he had been assuring Canadians that the "No" vote would carry easily, the "Yes" side was surging in support. It was only after a last ditch effort, utilizing tens of thousands of citizens, that the "No" side squeaked out a victory. The Prime Minister then compounded his miserable referendum leadership with his attempt to offer Quebec a Meech Lake 111 deal, whereby Quebec could veto any constitution amendment they didn't think helped them. Guy Giorno, a columnist for The National Post (Thursday, Oct. 27--A-19) explains how this secretive, dictatorial idea was derailed.

Enter Mike Harris, the then Premier of Ontario who informed Chretien that what he was proposing was illegal, as well as blatant paternalism at its worst. What the Prime Minister was trying to push through by fiat negated the law, which stipulated that such amendments needed the approval of Parliament and seven provinces--representing 50% of the Canadian population. It was a sham amendment worthy of a Mugabe. Harris flatly told Chretien that he would never allow such an amendment to pass without a referendum on it.

In classic autocrat style, PM Chretien said he had to carry through with his "distinct society" offer because he had already promised it during a speech. Harris had to remind Chretien that "the constitution was not a plaything of the politicians, but rather it belonged to the Canadian people as a whole". In the end, the Prime Minister had to back down and the amendment was shelved.

If Mike Harris is remembered for nothing other than this principled stand, it would be enough to eulogize him. Poor Chretien just can't keep from muddying his already tattered legacy. Unfortunately, Paul Martin is following in his footsteps. His pledge to end the "democratic deficit" has proven to be sheer rhetoric. Martin is again knee-deep in Senate patronage appointments, while Justice Minister Irwin Cotler proposes appointing an aboriginal to the (already mistrusted) Supreme Court--for diversity's sake. Both men exemplify that maxim: "Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Maybe reports like Guy Giorno's expose will awaken Canadians to this relentless drift towards anti-democratic government.

© Bud Talkinghorn


End of Update 1



Why does the above and what follows not fill many Canadians with enthusiasm?

Liberals set to boost immigrant numbers -- Move designed to address skills shortage and win next election Anne Dawson, Oct. 27, 05

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Joe Volpe is expected as early as next week to present a proposal to Cabinet to substantially boost the number of immigrants and refugees to Canada by 100,000 over the next five years at a cost of up to $2-billion, sources told CanWest News Service. [. . . . ]

Canada accepted 221,352 immigrants and refugees as permanent residents in 2003 and is on track to meet its target for recruiting between 220,000 and 245,000 in 2004.

Search:

undocumented workers in Canada

government does not want to address the "embarrassment" of

backlog of 767,600

legislation or regulation changes

Prime Minister Paul Martin laid the groundwork

a 40% hike in these numbers


More government by regulation? What is the implication of this? Why, it can be done outside of Parliamentary scrutiny, I believe. Comment, if I am wrong.



It's the imported to Canada part that bothers many of us.

We don't hear of this drug gang related mindless mayhem and murder coming out of Canadians from Trinidad, to my knowledge, nor out of India to Canada. Why, then, not do something to stem this? Or do the drug and gun thugs vote Liberal?

Jamaica's 'born fi dead' culture -- "Jamaica is increasingly exporting its violent crime -- and that means New York, London and Toronto." . Bruce Garvey, NP, Oct. 27, 05

[. . . . ] What nobody is talking about, however, is where those involved in violent crimes are predominantly coming from. While we know that the vast majority of Toronto's killers and victims are black, our multicultural hyper-sensitivity forbids any further racial or national breakdown. But even with a lack of statistics to prove it on paper, it is widely -- if quietly -- acknowledged that a disproportionate number of criminals and victims hail from Jamaica. [. . . . ]

Memory Lane

RCMP Lay 278 Charges: Immigration and Refugee Board -- Cash Scam Mar. 18, 03



Canada set to deport Harkat, lawyer reveals -- Algeria has assured federal officials it won't torture suspected Ottawa terrorist, memo says Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen, Oct. 26, 05

Canada is moving closer to deporting terror suspect Mohamed Harkat [. . . . ] they started attempts in Federal Court to have him released on bail pending a constitutional appeal that is likely headed to the Supreme Court. [. . . . ]

Don't hold your breath.



Senator feels heat over meth -- A rookie Liberal Senator [Larry Campbell, I think] is under fire for downplaying the deadly impact of crystal meth. Ottawa Sun, Oct. 26, 05, via Jack's Newswatch

Senator Campbell, what would be the impact of all the following?

Police break up international ecstasy ring -- 170 people arrested CTV.ca News Staff, April 1, 04

[. . . . ] At its height, the ring distributed 1 million ecstasy tablets per month, making it the biggest ecstasy operation ever broken up by either U.S. or Canadian authorities.

Proceeds from the sale of the drugs were sent back to Toronto and Ottawa, where they were laundered and sent to Vietnam.

"The laundering wing of this organization was able to move $5 million in cash a month," U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Comey said.

Hand guns were seized in the various raids, along with an estimated $6 million US and an additional $3 million Cdn in cash.

More than 375,000 pills were seized along with 120 kilograms of powdered ecstasy worth an estimated $33 million. The RCMP put the retail price of each pill at $25; Tandy put it at $15 US to $20 US.

Besides ecstasy, there were as many as six marijuana grow operations raided in Ottawa. [. . . . ]

And this is only the tip of the iceberg, Senator.



Backlog of fingerprint background checks forces RCMP to go on hiring spree



Tania Fiss: A better life for Indians

Something to consider instead of searching for someone to blame. There are too many ways tax money can be shunted aside as it goes from the taxpayers to the feds to the band councils to . . . Then there are the consultants, federally- or is it band council-awarded contracts and contractors for reserve work which may range from administering to building. Years could be spent digging for and apportioning blame and still, nothing would change.

[. . . . ] In the past, native leaders and activists have responded to similar CTF recommendations with the argument that any effort to promote accountability on reserves will water down native rights, and thus contribute to "cultural genocide."

This is nonsense. Our goal is simply to free natives from the paternalistic policy that has long been embedded in the Indian Act and the Department of Indian Affairs. When natives are enabled to succeed in the same way as other Canadians, they will be no less Cree, Mohawk or Ojibwas. But they will be more prosperous and self-sufficient.

Related: A dose of fresh thinking on natives -- "reserve-resident aboriginals . . . are not allowed to own their own land" -- Certificates of Possession

Isn't it time aboriginals were given a reality check, emphasizing full Canadian citizenship with all the rights and responsibilities which that entails? This would include getting rid of band councils who have proven to be less than transparent and democratic in their governance, particularly in the dispensing of other Canadians' dollars. It might mean aboriginals moving to where there is work or facing the consequences, home ownership that entails work as well as pride. Scrap the whole Indian Affairs department, along with the means for pork to be sliced off along the way to . . . wherever it goes.

In the reserve system, Canada has created a monster. Canada has dependent people who look to others for money and services, who are in thrall to layers of government both aboriginal and non-aboriginal. Let's give each native directly what is paid out through layers of dispensing agencies and let them use it to help themselves.

Even better, scrap the whole thing -- to heck with all the neverending talk about native treaties and oral history. The present situation is a mess and it is natives who suffer. There has to be a better way.

Any teenager just itches to get away from home . . . to be independent. It is time for natives to feel that liberation from the way things are. Then they might become citizens who live better and who are proud to be Canadian.

Or is our federal government so desperate for the way things have always been--keeping a lid on a cesspool, maintaining all the jobs that go into preserving the present failed system, keeping the reserve votes that band councils deliver to the party that maintains their perqs--that it will do nothing else?

Given the fact that the government does not let anything like tradition, Parliament, lawmaking or anything else stop them when they really want to do something, don't give us the old story about law, constitution, treaties for not doing anything . . . the whole panoply of reasons for maintaining a broken system and doing nothing radical to fix it.

Remember Min. Scott's treaty this spring that was done by regulation, not through Parliament?

Why do you think Min. Stronach, relatively inexperienced, was courted and appointed a Minister? Do you really think it was her ability or that she would vote to keep a desperate PM in power? NJC

Feds mull pipeline stake -- Ottawa proposes to buy 20% of Mackenzie project Claudia Cattaneo, NP, Oct. 27, 05

[. . . . ] The proposal was poorly received by Mackenzie pipeline backers.

"I can't comment on the specifics of what is being discussed," said Imperial spokes-man Pius Rolheiser. "Government equity participation in this was never part of the scenario."

Still, Ottawa remains keen. "[The federal government is] clutching at straws to try to provide something for the producers to go with this Mackenzie line," one Ottawa source said. "They are desperate to get the Mackenzie thing cranked because they see the Alaska line picking up. [. . . . ]

Search:

a two-year delay in building the Mackenzie and Alaska pipelines, as well new liquefied natural gas terminals, could cost Canadians

asked for tax and royalty concessions of

"If this thing really drops out on them and dies . . . "



Sponsorship Scandal Similarities -- Canada-France: Who learned from whom?

43 guilty in French political corruption trial


An intellectual who knows no bounds -- Charles Krauthammer -- a good candidate for public intellectual



The last best piece of waterfront -- Koetter & Kim vs Diamond and Schmitt Robert Ouellette, NP, Oct. 27, 05

Robert Ouellette is the publisher and editor of www.readingtoronto.com, an online community dedicated to the design, culture and politics that shape our city. He received a City of Toronto Urban Design Award for the John Street Media Corridor project.

This morning, the board of directors of the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation receives two different plans for the same waterfront property. [. . . . ]

With Koetter & Kim working on the master plan, the TWRC -- and David Miller -- were ending 150 years of waterfront neglect. Except the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO), owners of the property, then hired Diamond and Schmitt as advisors and design consultants. Following the direction of TEDCO, Diamond produced an alternative plan for the site. [. . . . ]

Broadly, the article covers how the plans differ.



French tourist 'catches bird flu in Thailand' Times Online, Oct. 26, 05

[. . . . ] He has, however, been quarantined, to reduce the risk of a possible mutation between the bird flu virus and a common human flu virus - which scientists fear could prompt a global pandemic.

The doctor speculated that the man might have only a "benign form" of bird flu. But 19 other people who went on the same trip to Thailand have been questioned about their health, two of whom have shown "flu-type symptoms" and are undergoing tests. Reunion Island is located east of Madagascar, off the African coast.

News of the possible infection came as Margaret Beckett told MPs today that a second dead parrot found in a private Essex quarantine facility had contracted the H5N1 bird flu strain. [. . . . ]

Atlantic & East Coast Report -- The Last Refuge of a Scoundrel By Myles Higgins, Tuesday, October 25, 2005

[. . . . ] Telling lies to discredit the opposition, playing the morality card and calling for patriotism are indeed the "havens" of scoundrels and politicians alike. They can and have been called on to save the day when all else has failed, to hell with the truth.

We are seeing it more and more in our politics over the past couple of years. It's effects every facet of our lives from politics to business and even to some special interest protest groups. It's fact of life that isn't going to change, but at least an informed public is an armed public. [. . . . ]

Web Talk - Newfoundland and Labrador



Deleting a Dictator Posted by Wall Street Journal - James Taranto on 20:29:56 2005/10/24, from Best of the Web Today - October 24, 2005, www.opinionjournal.com, By JAMES TARANTO

[. . . . ] The United Nations withheld some of the most damaging allegations against Syria in its report on the murder of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, it emerged [Friday].
The names of the brother of Bashar al-Assad, President of Syria, and other members of his inner circle, were dropped from the report that was sent to the Security Council.

The confidential changes were revealed by an extraordinary computer gaffe because an electronic version distributed by UN officials on Thursday night allowed recipients to track editing changes. [. . . . ]

---