April 22, 2005

Smoking Gun Shoots Flames -- Saddam, Maurice Strong, Paul Martin and $$$

Update at the bottom of these two posts

Saddam invested one million dollars in Paul Martin-owned Cordex

Cordex Petroleum Inc., launched with Saddam’s million by Prime Minister Paul Martin’s mentor Maurice Strong’s son Fred Strong, is listed among Martin’s assets to the Federal Ethics committee on November 4, 2003. [. . . . ]


Search: "Yesterday, Strong admitted that Tongsun Park," [Maurice Strong of Canada] Denver-based , after taking the Park-through-Saddam


I would wager that you won't see nor hear that reported in the mainstream media -- you know, the ones like the CBC which form the Liberals' propaganda arm -- the ones desperate to keep the $$$ tap in power. Check the news tonight for the above information and that will tell you enough about mainstream media's election and other reporting. Then, start checking other sources of news, among them Canada Free Press which brought out that little tidbit of information.




Annan's future clouded, U.S. says with David R. Sands in Washington, Apr. 22, 05

NEW YORK -- The Bush administration said yesterday that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's future in the office "is not certain" despite the U.N. chief's assertion that he had been cleared by investigators probing the huge Iraq oil-for-food scandal.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Lagon, briefing a small group of reporters in New York, said Mr. Annan had been premature in claiming vindication for his oversight of the program from a March 29 report issued by a U.N.-appointed inquiry led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker.

"The [Volker] report did not exonerate him," Mr. Lagon said during a visit to the U.N.'s New York headquarters, according to an account by the Reuters news agency.


Search: Canadian business tycoon Maurice Strong , involved in a major influence-peddling scheme



Update: You might be interested in this.

Bolton on the UN -- He is the man President Bush has put forward as the US representative to the UN.

A good way to run the government in dealing with the taxpayers' money? No Paper Trails -- & -- A How To Primer on Judicial "Appointments"

A good way to run the government in dealing with the taxpayers' money?

Gomery Inquiry Report Globe and Mail

Montreal — Civil servant Huguette Tremblay testified at the Gomery inquiry Tuesday that she was ordered by those in charge of the sponsorship program not to leave a paper trail for an even [. . . . ]


Note what a paper trail revealed, it seems, about business, our PM and friends. When you have had enough of all this, click on this.

38th Parliament Members of the House of Commons Alphabetical Listing by province -- MP Email Addresses


Express your views to your MP. Check this site menu for the speeches of the Honourable Stephen Harper, Leader of HM Loyal Opposition and the Honourable Paul Martin, PM and leader of the Liberal government, along with the posts on what has been revealed by a credible reporter, Judi McLeod on the UNSCAM and the related item concerning Maurice Strong and Paul Martin's latest woes -- or would that be peccadillo?


This Puts a New Slant on Judicial "Appointments" -- and how to get one

PM dismisses judicial appointment allegations CTV.ca News Staff

[. . . . ] Corbeil told the newspaper that the people who received the cash were part of a group of Liberal supporters at the party's Montreal headquarters during the campaign.

He said the group mainly comprised lawyers, engineers or accountants from major firms who wanted contracts after the election.

"They don't want to get paid right away, they want to get paid later," he said.

Corbeil noted that many of the lawyers have since been named to the bench. [. . . . ]

Rex Murphy: Something fishy this way comes

Something fishy this way comes or Rex Murphy -- on sponsorship ads, in his own inimitable way April 16, 05, A21

Rex Murphy is a commentator with CBC-TV's The National and host of CBC Radio One's Cross-Country Checkup.

Reading accounts of how Ottawa poured money into ad campaigns that sought to save Canada by advising Quebeckers on how maintain fishing rods, I was delighted to learn that the commission had played some of these radio spots for which so many millions were fire-hosed into Quebec advertising firms. Remember, according to Jean Chrétien, this was a "fight" to save Canada, that it was, according to Scott Brison, the Liberals' high-profile convert, "a war."

Read closely. It's a peculiar war that savages the enemy with the likes of this: "If the inside of the guide ring is scratched, if the line has been exposed to the sun for too long or if it was in contact with insecticides, there's a good chance you could seriously shorten the life of your fishing line. Which is why you should check your line and change it at least once a season."

Well, if I were an ardent separatist, burning under the imperial boot of Ottawa, and haunted by the dream of a independent nation of Quebec, that would pull me up short. Copy like that would have me jump from Hotspur to Hamlet in a trice. Maybe even half a trice.

I can see it now: "Is my guide ring scratched? How come the PQ or the Bloc never engage with my tackle? Do they care if my 'line' has been exposed to the sun and insecticides? Clearly, they do not. Avaunt, separatism. I am now voting federalist."


Thanks to the person who provided me with this. I love Rex's way with words. Would someone hire Rex away from the CBC for a good salary?

While you're at it, hire Carla Robinson before the CBC turns her into one of them

PM & Liberals' Plan B -- & -- Charity begins, not at home, but with your $$$ to Aga Khan Development Network -- Charity, it's a Liberal "tradition"

Note: This was in the news before Paul Martin spoke last night but it is too funny, so here it is.



The Prime Minister spoke, claiming he could not get his point of view out in the House -- perhaps because he's so seldom there -- Scott Brison has been the PM's Front Man

The Liberals' Plan BCTV.ca News Staff, Apr. 20, 05
[. . . . ] Liberal strategists have a "Plan B" in the works.

Senior Liberal party strategists, including Trudeau-era cabinet minister Ed Lumley, met last weekend to discuss getting former prime minister Jean Chretien to speak publicly again on the sponsorship scandal.
It was suggested Chretien admit no wrongdoing but accept responsibility for what happened under his watch.

Chretien is reported to have heard the proposal and hasn't ruled it out.


According to CTV's Mike Duffy, the Liberals had not been able to get their story out. Had the Prime Minister tried answering questions during Question Period? He had been MIA and using Scott Brison to answer questions in Question Period -- the forum for non-answers, the Canadian Galah House*. Gimme a break!

* A galah is a noisy parrot, though I could not find it in the dictionary so maybe I have misspelled it.





Paul Martin Gives $30-million to the Aga Khan Foundation -- Charity Begins with Taxpayer $$$ . . . Not at Home

Why?

"Government of Canada welcomes the establishment of the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa


That was a news release from the PMO, April 18, 2005.


Read all about this new 'initiative' in support of the Liberal government's "International Policy". Did you know our government had any policy other than . . . . . well, whatever will get them re-elected? . . . . . . Neither did I.

Why are individual Canadians, themselves, not choosing which charities they want to support? I realize it might impact upon CIDA and such but . . . . . . it does seem to be over-reaching in the power department when the power elite in the Gullah House decide which businesses you will support -- which charities you will help fund -- and of course, which friends and advertising companies will rake off . . . . . . Should government not take care of the necessities and leave private citizens to make decisions such as this?

The Government of Canada today welcomed the decision by the Aga Khan Development Network to establish the Global Centre for Pluralism in Canada.

“Canadian society provides a model to the world of how democracy, prosperity and security can flourish when founded on a culture of respect and diversity”, said Prime Minister Paul Martin. “The work of the Global Centre for Pluralism will provide important support in our continued efforts to fulfill Canada’s responsibility to foster democracy and good governance in the world, which is one of the key objectives of the government’s International Policy.”

"The diversity of cultural expressions, respect for differences and openness to the world are important Canadians values", said Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla. "This Centre will be and extraordinary tool to share our experience with the world and for us, it will be a unique space for reflection and dialogue on the ongoing evolution of our pluralist society."

The Government of Canada intends to contribute $30 million to the endowment set up by the Aga Khan Development Network for the establishment of the Centre.

Located in Ottawa, the Global Centre for Pluralism will be a not-for-profit, non-governmental institution with a mission to promote pluralism as a fundamental human value and a foundation for good governance, peace and human development.

The Centre will bring together Canadians from all backgrounds and walks of life to engage in research and dialogue about ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity, with a view to helping foster pluralist institutions in the developing world. It will be the first such research institution globally that comprehensively focusses on pluralism as a key to development.


Thanks to an acquaintance for this. Incorporate yourself as a charity. Get in on the game. Maybe you could contract for the government advertising of the "International Policy" and then subcontract with . . . . . well, you figure out the details. Check the Gomery transcripts for how it's done.

Tsunami Scandal, CIDA, UN, Victims, Abu Musab Zarqawi, Sleepers, Threats, Valcourt of NB

Tsunami Scandal Looming -- CIDA -- Canada -- $425-million for Sri Lanka that Never Arrived

Scandal looming in promised $425 million for Sir Lanka tsunami victims that never arrived? by Judi McLeod, Editor, April 20, 2005

Even as the association of Canadian Maurice Strong with "Koreagate Man" Tungsun Park was coming under world limelight, Sri Lankans were starting to demand answers about where the $425 million promised by Canada to tsunami victims is.

Four months after the tsunami hit, Sri Lankans still don’t have their money. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin rushed to the scene for a weeklong photo op. Generous Canadians donated record amounts of money on line.

The Canadian government promised to match dollar for dollar, donations from the public.

But the promised mega millions never arrived. [. . . . ]


Search: veteran newsman Garth Pritchard , Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) , Maurice Strong


Update: Maurice Strong has quit one of his positions at the UN. As with ex-Minister Judy Sgro, he needs the time to clear his name.


UNSCAM: Canadian Connection?

Oil-for-Food Scam: A Canadian Connection? April 19, 05

Well, well, well. Look who may be involved in the U.N.’s Oil-for-Bribes/Palaces/Guns scandal. Why it’s Maurice Strong, long-time Liberal eminence grise, friend and associate of Paul Martin, Jean Chretien and Pierre Trudeau, as well as the Desmarais Family and Power Corporation. . . . .





Are there Sleeper Cells in the US or in Canada?

Reports reveal Zarqawi nuclear threat Bill Gertz, Washington Times, Apr. 20, 05

Recurrent intelligence reports say al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi has obtained a nuclear device or is preparing a radiological explosive -- or dirty bomb -- for an attack, according to U.S. officials, who also say analysts are unable to gauge the reliability of the information's sources.

[. . . . ] The Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who last year formally linked up with Osama bin Laden's terror network, is thought to be operating inside Iraq and has specialized in suicide bombings and large-scale vehicle bombings. [. . . . ]

Dirty bombs are made by mixing radioactive material with conventional explosives.

[. . . . ] The reported threat of nuclear terrorism comes amid other intelligence indicating that Zarqawi is planning an attack on the United States. Still other intelligence says Zarqawi was planning a chemical weapons attack in Europe, officials said.

In February, U.S. intelligence and security officials said information showed bin Laden had asked Zarqawi to focus future attacks on targets inside the United States. The threat was contained in a classified bulletin to state and local security officials. [. . . . ]






Too Little, Too Late, Too Desperate

Note: Concern for Victims & Inevitable "new funding". Hire bodies; buy votes.

One of the Liberals' New Measures: Too Little, Too Late, Too Desperate

Government of Canada Proposes Amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and New Measures to Benefit Victims

[. . . . ] The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Anne McLellan, introduced legislative amendments to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), and together with the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Irwin Cotler, also announced new program measures and new funding. [. . . . ]





Election: Bernie Valcourt

The Man From Adscam Tuesday, April 19

[. . . . ] " . . . ya heard about Bernie Valcourt ?" [. . . . ]

"The one and only. Cabinet Minister, Provincial leader, Evil Kneivel on two wheels, he's done it all. He's going to run federally again, can you believe it ? Wants the nomination in Restigouche, it should be a coronation." [. . . . ]


This is doing politics differently? Thanks to JR via RC.

Militarization of the Tibetan Plateau -- India & Tibetans on China's Quest for Oil and Domination

[MP Deepak] Obhrai Challenges China on Tibet For immediate release: Thursday, April 21, 2005

OTTAWA – Deepak Obhrai, M.P. for Calgary East and the Official Opposition Critic for Multiculturalism as well as International Trade - Emerging Markets, today used the anniversary of the visit to Canada last year by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, to call upon China to open dialogue with Tibet.

“One year ago this week, Canadians were blessed with a visit by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Just two weeks ago, I had the distinct honour of representing the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet during a visit to Dharamsala in India, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. There I met with Tibetan leaders and discussed many issues of mutual interest,” Mr. Obhrai said in the House of Commons.

“It became clear to me during those discussions that China cannot stop the self-determination aspirations of the Tibetan people. Tibetans have a distinct identity and China’s attempt to force Tibet into assimilation will not be accepted by the freedom loving people of the world,” stated Mr. Obhrai. “While we welcome the new openness of China, we also hold them accountable for their human rights violations, especially in Tibet.”

“We call on China to immediately begin dialogue with His Holiness to resolve the Tibet issue. Nothing short of this is acceptable to the world community,” concluded Mr. Obhrai. [. . . . ]





Elephant-Dragon Dance -- Eric Margolis explains some dangerous sore points beween emerging giants India and China apr. 17, 05, Toronto Sun,

THIS WEEK'S good news: China and India, comprising 36% of the world's population, agreed to begin serious talks about their long-disputed, 2,250-km shared Himalayan border -- over which they went to war in 1962. Since then, Asia's two great powers have glared at one another across their ill-defined border, which has long poisoned relations between the neighbours and produced occasional tense confrontations. [. . . . ]

Last year, in a fine example of cynical realpolitik, India grudgingly recognized China's 1950 annexation of Tibet in exchange for Chinese recognition of India's little- noticed annexation of three other Himalayan kingdoms, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ladakh, once known as "Little Tibet." [. . . . ]

India believes China is trying to envelop it from Pakistan, Tibet and Burma.

TIBET PLATEAU MILITARIZED

Delhi is rightly worried that China's vast militarization of the Tibet plateau poses a major strategic threat to India. China worries India seeks to dominate Afghanistan, Central Asia, Burma and the resources of Malaysia and Indonesia. India frets about China's navy probing into the Indian Ocean.

Both giants are vying to secure oil supplies from the Persian Gulf and East Indies. Both nations are determined to eventually exclude the U.S. Navy from their waters.
[. . . . ]

For the "Really Important" Crimes, Call in the RCMP!

Organized crime is doing $25 billion in business in Canada and has at least 10,000 major players and the Mounties are dealing with this and shopping carts in Kelowna? Maybe they have too much time on their hands or were told to lay off the major crooks and stick with the small fry for easy stats.

Edwardsburg Township man charged with satellite signal theft

KINGSTON, ON, April 19 /CNW/ - Charges have been filed against an Ontario man after Kingston RCMP discovered several satellite systems set up in an Edwardsburg Township, ON home which were being used to demonstrate signal piracy.

Members of the Kingston RCMP Federal Enforcement Section executed a search warrant at the home April 5, 2005 and found two satellite systems located throughout the home. Legal "free to air" receivers had been modified to receive encrypted signals from USA Dishnetwork and other satellite systems. The search came after an investigation was conducted with the assistance of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association and charges were laid April 7, 2005.

"The theft of satellite signals cost various industries an estimated $300 million last year. The RCMP is committed to continuing to investigate this type of illegal activity," RCMP Sgt. Sandy Fraser said of the offences under the Radio Communications Act and the Criminal Code of Canada. [. . . . ]


Our government will make sure our finest catch those who steal satellite signals that enter from the US. . . . . But criminal gangs? Drug dealers? Grow-ops? (Ah, soon the government will legalize the stuff, in my opinion . . . . . . you never know . . . . . . might need votes. )

Gun runners? Enforcers?. . . . . Someone has suggested they exist . . . even that they work for those afraid of losing power . . . . . Do you suppose they really exist? In Canada? Nah! Never.

Speech -- Conservative Party of Canada: Stephen Harper

Televised Address to the Nation
Ottawa, ON : Hon. Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P.
Thursday, April 21, 2005

Chers canadiens et canadiennes,

My fellow Canadians,

We have all just witnessed a sad spectacle — a Prime Minister so burdened with corruption in his own party that he is unable to do his job and lead the country, a party leader playing for time, begging for another chance.

This is not how a prime minister should act.


A prime minister should not be addressing the population on this partisan issue, but rather on the concerns and challenges with which we are confronted: the health care system, international trade, agriculture, the fiscal imbalance, safer communities, stronger families, and a cleaner environment.

In the last election, Canadians elected a minority parliament.

Over the past year, we Conservatives have worked productively with the other parties, particularly the other opposition parties, to make this parliament effective.

Even last night, after months of resistance on the part of the government, we adopted a motion to ensure full compensation to all victims of Hepatitis C through tainted blood.

If this parliament is not working today, it is because the government has not made it work, because the government has no vision for the nation, because Mr. Martin is consumed by the image of corruption, crippled by dithering instead of deciding.

But we have now a more serious problem.

Mr. Martin received his mandate by holding an election before any of the facts of the sponsorship scandal were known.

Last May, it was Mr. Martin’s decision to shut down the public accounts committee in its attempt to get to the truth.

It was Mr. Martin’s decision to call an election last year before a single witness had been heard by Justice Gomery.

And it was Mr. Martin’s decision to turn a blind eye to it all when he was minister of finance.

Do Canadians really believe that the number two man in a government now under a cloud of corruption, is the person to clean up that mess today?

Do Canadians really believe that the Gomery inquiry would be operating if the Liberals had won a majority?

And do you really believe that the Liberals will ultimately prosecute themselves, and hold their own to account?


I don’t believe that. I don’t think you believe that.

All of this creates a great deal of difficulty for us as the official opposition.

The two other parties, the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party, have already voted to defeat this government several weeks ago.

The Conservative Party has tried to work with the government on issues where we can support its initiatives.

But how can we continue—politically, ethically, or morally—to prop up a government that is under criminal investigation and accusation of criminal conspiracy?

That’s the real hard question that our caucus will address as they travel across the country the next week.

Let’s be under no illusion.

However the partisan politics of the next election play out, the Liberal Party of Canada has done tremendous damage to this country’s institutions, particularly in Quebec.

Never forget that the sponsorship scandal is not a Quebec scandal.

It is a Liberal scandal that took place in Quebec, a Liberal scandal that took place in Quebec in the name of Canada and in the name of national unity.

The Liberal Party has turned federal politics in Quebec into a choice between separation and corruption.

And one thing is now clear—the Liberal Party can no longer speak for federalism in Quebec.


It is tarnished beyond redemption, because Quebecers know it is beyond redemption.

Federalism must be rebuilt in Quebec by democratic options, founded on principles.

We are going to offer a democratic Conservative option.

We want Quebecers to choose Canada.

And, given an honest choice, Quebecers will always choose Canada.

But we must realize that what Quebecers will not do is choose corruption.

They will not choose the Liberal Party.

The challenge for people outside Quebec is to show that we are equally prepared to demand accountability; to hold Mr. Martin and his party responsible and to build a united Canada where Liberal corruption has no place whatsoever.

Fellow Canadians, we all have difficult decisions to make.

Our party will make those decisions in our own way and in our own time, as we’ve done all along and we will do with your guidance.

Fellow Canadians, Mr. Martin’s speech tonight was not about saving this country. It was about saving the Liberal Party.

That’s a question for the voters to decide, but let me assure you there’s no need to save this country. There’s only a need to move it forward.

The Conservative Party wants to give this country direction. We want, and we believe you want, to end corruption and restore honest financial management; to have a health care system that Canadians can count on when they need it; to better use the talents and credentials of new Canadians; to fix the fiscal imbalance plaguing our provinces and municipalities; to act on a made-in-Canada plan for cleaner air, water and land; to help our hard-pressed agricultural community and resource sectors; to give tax relief for Canadian families; and safety and security for our streets and our communities.

I look forward to sharing all of this with you, and more, in the near future.

Thank you, and good night.

Speech -- Liberal: Paul Martin

Address by Prime Minister Paul Martin to the nation

PMO

April 21, 2005
Ottawa, Ontario

Good evening.

I want to talk to you directly tonight – about the problems in the sponsorship program; about how I’ve responded to them as your prime minister; and about the timing of the next general election.

Let me speak plainly: what happened with the sponsorship file occurred on the watch of a Liberal government. Those who were in power are to be held responsible. And that includes me.

I was the Minister of Finance. Knowing what I've learned this past year, I am sorry that we weren’t more vigilant - that I wasn't more vigilant. Public money was misdirected and misused. That’s unacceptable. And that is why I apologized to the Canadian people a year ago.

But taking responsibility is about more than words. I want to tell you what I’ve done as Prime Minister to deal with the sponsorship scandal – to make sure it does not happen again, to make sure that those who violated the public trust will be identified and will pay the consequences.

On December 12, 2003, I cancelled the sponsorship program. It was my very first act on my very first day in office.

When the Auditor-General’s report was publicly tabled, I acted immediately by ordering a fully independent commission of inquiry, under Mr. Justice John Gomery. Its mandate is to get to the bottom of what happened, and to do it in full view of Canadians. It will report before the end of the year.

And I think you’ll agree – Judge Gomery is leaving no stone unturned.

In addition, I fired Alfonso Gagliano, the minister responsible for the sponsorship program, from his appointment as Ambassador to Denmark.

I put in strict new controls on spending within every single government department.

My government brought forward whistleblower legislation to ensure that when public servants and others come forward with evidence of wrongdoing, they are protected, not punished.

To recover taxpayers’ money – money that went to those who did not earn it -- I ordered my government to sue 19 people and companies for more than $40-million.

I committed to acting on the recommendations of Judge Gomery when he brings forth his final report. And I myself testified before his commission, answering any and all questions.

Finally, I ordered that the Liberal party bring in auditors to conduct a forensic examination of its books - and call in the RCMP to investigate what took place during that period.

Let me emphasize that point: if so much as a dollar is found to have made its way into the Liberal party from ill-gotten gains, it will be repaid to the people of Canada. I want no part of that money.

As Prime Minister, I will never hesitate to describe what happened on the sponsorship file for what is was: an unjustifiable mess. It’s up to me to clean it up. That’s my job. I am cleaning it up. And I am willing to be judged on my record of action.

In recent weeks, fallout from the sponsorship inquiry has led to speculation about an election – which in turn is consuming virtually all political discussion, at least here on Parliament Hill. Initiatives to improve health care, strengthen our economy and ensure for Canada a role of pride and influence in the world are being obscured by partisan jousting.

In short, the Parliament you sent to Ottawa less than a year ago is preoccupied with election talk and with political strategy – not with the job you sent us here to do.

As people focus their attention on the commission’s hearings, let’s remember that the inquiry is being held in front of a judge for good reason.

There is conflicting testimony; only the judge is in a position to determine the truth. Only he can cut through the partisan politics. Only he can tell us what happened and who was responsible.

We’ve all heard that the opposition may defeat the government and take the country to the polls for the second time in a year.

I am prepared to face Canadians and have them judge my response to this serious test of leadership. I will be politically accountable. But I believe that before there is an election, you are entitled to answers – to the answers that Judge Gomery is working toward. I believe that Canadians deserve a full and frank accounting of all the facts. Fairness and due process require nothing less.

For that reason, I commit to you tonight that I will call a general election within 30 days of the publication of the commission’s final report and recommendations. Let Judge Gomery do his work. Let the facts come out. And then the people of Canada will have their say.

If the Opposition forces an election before then, that is their choice. But I believe we can do better. I believe we can – and we should – use the coming months to pursue the public’s business. To act on the issues that matter most to you and make a difference in your life.

If we are to have an election, one that will be at least in part about the work of Judge Gomery, surely that election should occur only when we have the work of Judge Gomery.

In closing, let me say this: there are people who think I was wrong to call this inquiry, wrong to expose my government to the political cost of the scrutiny that has ensued. They warn we will pay a price in the next election. And perhaps we will.

But I trust your judgment. And I will not dishonour this office by trying to conceal or diminish such offensive wrongdoing. I have too much respect for this place.

When I was young, I practically lived here in the Parliament Buildings. My father was a cabinet minister in four Liberal governments. He taught me that those who serve in public office have a duty to protect the integrity of government.

My pledge to you tonight is that I will live up to that ideal. I went into public life because I believe in the good that government can do. And I will do my all as Prime Minister to make sure that your government is worthy of your respect.

The final judgment on whether I have done that will be yours.

Thank you. And good night.


Emphasis added by NJC

Hansard Apr. 19, 05 QUESTION PERIOD: Government Contracts & Sponsorship Program

Hansard April 19, 2005 ORAL QUESTION PERIOD

Government Contracts

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, yesterday's sworn testimony at the public accounts committee makes it clear that the Prime Minister funnelled tax dollars to Earnscliffe and his campaign manager David Herle. A top secret document dated 1995 says that at least $615,000 in improper contracts had already flowed. A memo outlines that the competition was flawed, the payment excessive, the work probably not needed.

As David Herle prepares yet another campaign of dirt and slander, should the taxpayers of Canada not know that it is money going from finance to Earnscliffe that gave birth to it all?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): [. . . . ] Mr. Speaker, first, I hear all those hon. gentlemen and women across the way calling out, “Where is the Prime Minister?” Let me tell everyone where the Prime Minister is.

. . . .launch of this government's international policy statement which in fact speaks to the direction in which this government wants to take our country as it relates to our role in the rest of the world. The Prime Minister is now meeting with some of the globe's most important and influential ambassadors to ensure that they understand the role we want--

(1420)

The Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, there is not a person in Canada who does not understand that these announcements are about a government that has done nothing for 12 years and is now trying to run away from a rocky record of corruption.

Why does the government not just admit, as public servant Allan Cutler testified, that the Prime Minister abused the process to get contracts to his friends at Earnscliffe, to his campaign manager David Herle? Why does he not just admit that he got public money to his political associates?

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we have the views on this subject of the Auditor General of Canada. I would quote from her report in 2003:

Our review of a sample of standing offers found that the competitive process had been followed in pre-qualifying suppliers. Requests for proposals were issued, and the selection process resulted in standing offer agreements with the successful bidders.

We note that the vast majority of these suppliers were not the same as those providing sponsorship or advertising services.

[. . . . ]

Hon. Stephen Harper(Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I fail to see how breaking the rules on ordinary contracting makes any difference that it was not sponsorship.

The Prime Minister said last week in the House, “I have never interfered in any contract”, yet Warren Kinsella testified under oath that the Prime Minister phoned him at home to push for a contract to Earnscliffe.

With the Prime Minister caught in the biggest scandal in history, in the web of his own deception, should he not be here to answer questions on the floor of the House?

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in reference to that testimony yesterday, I would note that in today's Toronto Star the former policy adviser to the Prime Minister, Eddie Goldenberg, completely denied a number of the allegations that were made by Mr. Kinsella.

I would also note that in reference to the credibility of Mr. Kinsella, this House has already been warned to be careful in that matter. There is a reference to the “poisoned partisans like Warren Kinsella”, and that advice comes from the deputy leader of the Conservative Party.

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question. When each group of Liberals calls the other group of Liberals a bunch of crooks and liars, does it really matter which one we
believe?

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in matters like this, yes indeed, the truth does matter a lot. I would refer the hon. gentleman to the Auditor General's report from the year 2003, or the external audit that was conducted by Ernst & Young in 1996. Let me quote that one. Ernst & Young said:

Our audit of the research contracting process determined that APORS was in compliance with prescribed policies and procedures.... We found no instances where non-compliance might have led to situations of personal gain or benefit.

The truth does matter.

Mr. Peter MacKay (Central Nova, CPC): Mr. Speaker, it is hard to audit envelopes of cash.

Yesterday at the public accounts committee it was revealed by a longtime Liberal strategist that there was concern within the Liberal government as far back as 1995 that government contracts were being used to cross-subsidize the Prime Minister's leadership campaign activity.

Under sworn testimony Warren Kinsella said, “I and perhaps others would consider it inappropriate that you cross-subsidize that political activity using the public treasury. That's inappropriate”.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that he was both informed and involved in an ad scam-like kickback scheme to use taxpayers' money to fund his leadership campaign?

[. . . . ]

(1425)

Hon. Ralph Goodale(Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will make no such concession as the deputy leader of the Conservative Party has asked for. Today the member is relying heavily upon the views and the comments of Mr. Kinsella. I would simply ask him why then, not very long ago, did he call that individual “a poisoned partisan”?

[Translation]

Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, in November 1994, Warren Kinsella wrote Terrie O'Leary about a contract awarded Earnscliffe, and I quote:

Terrie, all of this spells trouble and you know it. The competition was flawed, the payment is excessive, the work is probably not needed, and the research community can be fully expected to blow the whistle on the political connections here.

Given this statement, will the Prime Minister finally recognize that his entourage intervened to get the contract awarded to Earnscliffe, the firm employing key players in his leadership campaign?

[English]

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the very period referred to by the hon. gentleman was subject to an independent external audit conducted by Ernst & Young which covered the period from 1994-96. It was reported in 1997 and it says:

Our audit of the research contracting process determined that [the agency at the Department of Public Works] was in compliance with prescribed policies and procedures.... We found no instances where non-compliance might have led to situations of personal gain or benefit.

That is the independent audit.

[Translation]

Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier—Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, Warren Kinsella was testifying under oath, with evidence. Not only must there be no conflict of interest, there must appear to be no conflict of interest. So we have the executive assistant of the former finance minister, now Prime Minister, who happens to be the wife of someone working at Earnscliffe, and the contract is awarded to Earnscliffe.

Is this not a conflict of interest? I would like to see what sort of birthday card he sends to the spouse and to the woman who was his assistant?


[. . . . ] [Translation]

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau (Repentigny, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was aware of the interventions made to ensure Earnscliffe got the contracts for the Department of Finance, because he intervened himself to add pressure.

What does the Prime Minister have to say about Mr. Kinsella's statement under oath that the former finance minister had even called him at home to complain?

[English]

Hon. Ralph Goodale (Minister of Finance, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no evidence of such a mythical phone call.

[. . . . ] The documentation is the same, and indeed it supports the case that the staff of the former minister of finance was arguing for more contracting competition, not less.

[Translation]

Mr. Benoît Sauvageau (Repentigny, BQ): Mr. Speaker, indeed, the documents submitted in evidence to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts show beyond any doubt that the finance department intervened at least four times—and this has been confirmed—to promote Ekos, Earnscliffe and Everest.

[. . . . ] (1430)

[. . . . ]

Sponsorship Program

Mr. James Moore (Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, CPC): Mr. Speaker, Claude Boulay, who worked on the Prime Minister's leadership campaign, to whom the Prime Minister writes very glowing and very personal letters, received $67 million in sponsorship cash when the Prime Minister was the finance minister.

The Prime Minister's campaigns and the Liberal Party were financed by Boulay and Boulay was financed by dirty money from the sponsorship inquiry.

Why will the Prime Minister not tell the whole truth about his relationship with Claude Boulay? Is it a guilty conscience?

Hon. Anne McLellan (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been absolutely clear and completely truthful about his relationship with Claude Boulay. He has said over and over again in this House and I have said that the Prime Minister never lunched with Claude Boulay in relation to the direction of any contract to anyone.

[. . . . ]
[Translation]

Mr. James Moore (Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, CPC): Mr. Speaker, on April 14, the Prime Minister denied having dined with Claude Boulay, but Alain Renaud has stated that the Prime Minister did dine with him. Now we learn that, when the PM was finance minister, Mr. Boulay received over $67 million in sponsorships.

[. . . . ]
[Translation]

Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, in an internal PWGSC memo dated July 24, 1995, we learn that nearly $298,000 in contracts was awarded by dubious means to Earnscliffe, a firm with close ties to the Prime Minister, in 1994 and 1995, by the finance department.

Why is the Prime Minister trying to make us believe that he knew nothing, when his department did this for Earnscliffe, which had close ties with him, was involved in his leadership campaign and was headed by the husband of his chief of staff? Those are a lot of coincidences for one man.

[. . . . ]

[Translation]

Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, Alfonso Gagliano said that the current Minister of Transport had approached him to put in a good word for his friend François Dufort of Cossette, a company trying to land federal contracts.

Does the Minister of Transport recognize that what he did for Cossette, despite what he says, was nothing short of lobbying?

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, that is not true, but we know that Groupaction employees gave $100,000 to the Parti Québécois and that Groupaction won contracts from the Société des alcools du Québec and Télé-Québec.

That is quite something for a party that claims to be clean.

Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, we were talking about Cossette. The Minister of Transport would have us believe that he invoiced only for policy analysis or brainstorming, but not for time spent arranging meetings with ministers for his friends, and their subsequent meals.

Does the Minister of Transport think we believe that? No one believes the Minister of Transport.

[. . . . ]
[English]

Mr. Jeff Watson (Essex, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister testified that he barely knew Groupe Everest president, Claude Boulay, and his wife. Yet the Prime Minister's letters entered into evidence show this relationship was in fact warm and quite personal.

Here is what he said about Boulay's wife, the queen of Liberal ticket sellers, “I still believe that the years wash over Diane with such grace and beauty that she remains youthful”, a statement so fresh to an acquaintance it deserves a slap.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that his Gomery testimony was not the full truth?

[. . . . ]

Mr. Jeff Watson (Essex, CPC): Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister wrote a letter like that to my wife, I would have him outside this House real quick.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the Prime Minister sent out 53,000 greetings last year. I have a very simple question. I would like to know how many he sent out when he was finance minister and how many of those greetings referred to wine, golf games and hot wives?

[. . . . ]
(1445)
[. . . . ]

Mr. Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, CPC): Mr. Speaker, well before his intimate letters of—

[laughter, Speaker. . . . ] [Translation]

Mr. Jason Kenney: Quite right, Mr. Speaker. Well before he sent his intimate letter to Claude Boulay in 2001, the Prime Minister sent another “Dear Claude” letter in 1994, in which he stated “The services you provide could be of interest to the federal office of regional development for Quebec, of which I am the minister responsible. Your letter has been forwarded to my office in Montreal—”

Is this not proof that the Prime Minister intervened in order to make sure his buddy Claude Boulay got some of the dirty money?

[English]

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the simple answer to the hon. member's question is no.

Part of the testimony that we have heard, as indicated by Mr. Boulay, was that he has done business with the Government of Canada going back to 1984. That was not a Liberal government; that was a Conservative government.

[. . . . ]

Mr. Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, CPC): Yes, Mr. Speaker, and he has known the Prime Minister for some 20 years. Why is it then that the Prime Minister said it was a short term relationship? Why is it the Prime Minister said that he barely knew him when the Prime Minister was recommending him for business 11 years ago, when he was commenting on the good looks of his
wife four years ago and when he was working on the Prime Minister's leadership 15 years ago?

Why did the Prime Minister not tell the whole truth under oath to Canadians?

Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister of Canada always tells the truth and he did tell the truth under oath.

[. . . . ] Canadians know that they can believe our Prime Minister. [. . . . ]

April 21, 2005

The Liberals are Creating a Whole New Sponsorship Scandal -- & -- Quebeckers' Addiction to the Gomery Inqiry

My critique of the immigration sponsorship fiasco which follows is indebted to Martin Collacott, a former Canadian ambassador and ferocious critic of our lame-brained immigration system. Also, Diane Francis, the award-winning financial columnist, has exposed the abuses of this sponsorship scam. Both write articles which appeared in The National Post, April 20 edition.

Knee deep in the ole muddy of the ADSCAM affair, the Liberals have embarked on a new sponsorship endeavour. Now they want Canadians to applaud their tripling the number of elderly immigrants sponsored by their children living in Canada. Instead of allowing only 6,000 elderly parents and grandparents to come into Canada annually, they want to allow 18,000. The government doesn't want to mention that since 1986 we have already allowed 250,000 of these unproductive people to batten on our social and health services. The 'theory' is that the sponsoring children will look after their elderly kin, but the reality is shockingly different.

Diane Francis quotes John Baird, the Minister of Community and Social Services for Ontario (the hardest hit province). Baird says that in 2002 in Ontario alone, there were 16,000 cases of sponsors defaulting on their obligations. "The sponsor is a deadbeat and the federal government is the enabler," he complained. On a national level this cost Canadians around $700 million a year in welfare and other costs. When several provinces sued 1,600 of these deadbeats, the Federal government stopped the process, without explanation. Well, I have an explanation. The Liberals are so addicted to garnering the ethnic vote that no amount of harm to the taxpayers and citizens will be allowed to interfere with their pandering. The Liberals' response to the huge number of defaulting sponsors for the three year period was to increase the sponsorship promise to ten years. Keep it off the books for seven more years seemed to be their answer to the problem. However, the insanity does not end there. No, now we find out that sponsors, who are themselves on welfare or disability, can sponsor old relatives who will certainly join them in penury. Straight out of Alice in Wonderland stuff here.

Australia, Britain and the United States all demand that a bond be posted to cover any medical services these geriatric immigrants might need. Not here in Canada, of course. Here, they can compete with you for your limited health services. Then there are the federally-funded language training services, which will be offered to people who are too old or uninterested to benefit from them. Volpe is also talking about giving the ones who cannot be sponsored immediately extended visitor visas for five years. Add them to the welfare / healthcare roles.

Martin Collacott presents another angle that most Canadians never consider. Colacott maintains that the sponsored elderly can then also begin sponsoring their other children or near relatives. So somebody who shouldn't be in the country can sponsor other drags on the economy. Those new cases can then marry their fellow citizens, who can come to Canada and--wait for it--also sponsor their kin. A snowball that soon becomes an avalanche. This new hidden agenda is to mask the fact that for years the government has been allowing in 21,000 sponsored parents / grandparents. I used to think that all those old Vancouverite Asians were born here, until I realized that many couldn't speak English. You see them in the ER, accompanied by their children, because they can't even describe their symptoms. Hospital translators have to be hired. These incrmental costs are an endless highway of fiscal obligations for the immigrant cities.

Considering the downside to Mr. Volpe's new policies, what do the Liberals see as the upside? Apparently, they think the immigrant community will be so happy to see papa san that they will forget who pays for this. Well, all the other ethnic voters who do not benefit know they are paying for these unproductive individual oldsters. They may have two beefs about this. First, they know it is nothing but a cheap political dog-and-pony-show and secondly, they also will have to pay for these unassimilated, tax-draining people. Oh, definitely, this cynical ploy could blow up in the Liberals' faces, if the Conservatives and Bloc Quebecois have the guts to expose it. Forget the NDP, they probably don't think Volpe went far enough. If no opposition party challenges this travesty, then we really are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, should they win.

© Bud Talkinghorn



Small wonder the Quebecois were so addicted to Gomery

The Gomery Commission can be taxing with its nitty-gritty examinations of accounts. However, there are gems that make watching it worthwhile. Claude Boulay, smirkingly defending getting his half million dollar deals without a shred of a written government contract. He mentioned how Guite helped him assemble a decent wine cellar collection. How his company charged 17.5% for the appearance of a bunch of cheerleaders. How a fishing and hunting exhibition that attracted about 4,000 attendees ballooned into a $1-million-plus contract for Group Everest--for consulting, i.e. putting up a few banners. His smugness while defending these blatant frauds is worth a million in Conservative advertising. His better lines should be put into TV Conservative ad clips, and for comic relief, you could have the amnesiac clown, Corriveau, discussing the fine points of art.

© Bud Talkinghorn

Liberal Government CHANGED THE ORDER PAPER for Parliament

Update Just Added to the post on Kyoto below.


Note: Turn on your TV / radio; big news today -- some time. There was mention of "judges" or "justices" this morning, along with big "scandal". I did not hear this myself; someone else did. Listen.



Ed Broadbent and Peter MacKay were interviewed by Allison Smith on CBC TV this morning. Both were excellent.

Ed Broadbent says Parliament is working as usual; the Liberal government CHANGED THE ORDER PAPER for Parliament to avoid budget discussion and voting on it -- to avoid defeat -- even though the government might NOT have been defeated.

It is Paul Martin who is in crisis because of the questions raised in Question Period, which is only 45 minutes out of Parliament's work day. The rest of the day, Parliament continues with business as usual. There is no crisis in government; the crisis is for Mr. Martin and his Liberals.

Ed Broadbent castigated all the mainstream media for reporting that there is a crisis in Parliament. He says Martin is going to try to suggest that the Opposition is stifling discussion on the budget; however, the Liberal government reversed the order of business so that, instead of talking about and staying on the budget, as they could have, they placed same sex marriage on the order paper. It is the Liberal government which has done this because of the questions raised by the Liberal scandal.

Do not miss Let it Bleed:

"Canada's National Newspaper" [sic] and comments

I almost never purchase print editions of the Globe and Mail, mostly because, to the extent possible, I don't want a single shaving off a penny going from my pocket to the pockets of people like Rick Salutin and Heather Mallick (so, out of spite, really). Yesterday, however, in what can only be described as a moment of weakness, I picked up a copy... and I was reminded of what a terrible, terrible paper it truly is.

Let us refresh ourselves as to where we stood on Tuesday morning in this fair land. The previous day, a laughably hyper-partisan Liberal had testified, under oath, before the Gomery Commission*, that the current Prime Minister had engaged in, in the best possible light, improper tampering with allocation of government contracts. To reiterate, a Liberal, under oath, accused the sitting Prime Minister (i.e., the leader of his own party), of improper conduct in the midst of the biggest corruption scandal in Canadian history. That same day (i.e., Monday), the minority Liberal government gamed the rules in Parliament to prevent the opposition parties (i.e., the parties who have more votes than the government) from having their previous allotted "opposition days", in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat; Chantal Hebert, probably Canada's shrewdest political commentator, called this gambit "political suicide". [Check Let it Bleed for the "political suicide link". . . . ]


And one comment:

J.C.'s rep may be "thoroughly ruined"? - are you sure you weren't reading the comic strip? - does the G&M have a comic strip? - well I guess they do now.


A must read and note links, such as Quotulatiousness.

Update Added to Entity behind Kyoto conned public -- Just read it! UNSCAM: Kofi's "Reform" -- Strong, PM, Canadians with Global Connections & More

Update: More on Kyoto is below this first post.


Entity behind Kyoto conned public by Judi McLeod & David Hawkins Thursday, April 21, 2005

(David Hawkins, Foundation Scholar-Cambridge University, and founder of the Citizen's Association of Forensic Economists at Hawks’ CAFE, and CFP investigative journalist Judi McLeod, have teamed up to write a series of articles on the UN’s radical socialist agenda executed across Intranets and virtual private networks, operated by the self-styled "Global Custodians". A new feature of Canada Free Press, the ongoing series combines McLeod’s investigative experience and communication skills with Hawkins’ brilliant research linking $40 trillion hedge funds, via an online portal on the 79th floor of One World Trade Center, to "disruptive technologies" developed by Canada for alleged use in the UN Oil-for-Food scam, 9/11 and Kyoto fraud.) This is the fourth in the series.

We’ve all been had.

The bottom has long since fallen out of the key group that master-minded the Kyoto Protocol credit scheme, but nobody seemed to have joined the dots.

It all began with the flight of Canadian Maurice Strong’s Earth Council from Costa Rica as noted by the National Post’s Peter Foster in May, 2004. [. . . . ]

Search:

"the biggest scam of all time"

"Canada’s Prime Minister Paul Martin"


There is more. Just read it.





UNSCAM: Kofi and Maurice Strong from Canada
Now we have the charges by U.S. prosecutors that Koreagate's Tongsun Park shuttled millions in bribe money from Saddam Hussein to two high-ranking U.N. officials, referred to in the complaint as "U.N. Official #1" and "U.N. Official #2." Outside the U.N., the hunt is on to discover the identities of this duo.


Stale Kofi -- Annan wants to "reform" the U.N. again. He must be in trouble. Claudia Rosett, April 20, 2005

Ms. Rosett is a journalist-in-residence with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Her column appears here and in The Wall Street Journal Europe on alternate Wednesdays.

Yet more scandal at the United Nations? Secret deals, millions in bribes, leading to billions in global kickbacks? What to do?

Have no fear, reform is here. The United Nations has already put in place a sweeping set of improvements, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan reorganizing and streamlining the world body to bring about [. . . . ]

All of which sounds terrific. Except that the reforms cited above, heralding the new era of openness, coherence, competence, integrity and improved peacekeeping are all plucked from a U.N. dossier released almost three years ago, in June 2002. These reforms were shepherded through by Mr. Annan starting in the late 1990s, with the help of his handpicked special adviser, Undersecretary-General Maurice Strong.

[. . . . ] Even if Mr. Strong had the best of intentions, his decision as a high-ranking U.N. official to be involved in any business relationship with the star bag man of Koreagate suggests seriously odd judgment. [. . . . ]





Background links for information

In Reply to: Re: Maurice Strong caught stealing at U.N. (again) posted by Wall Street Journal Posted by Walrus on 12:16:48 2005/04/20

Blind Trust -- How much do we really know about Canada's next Prime Minister? Marci McDonald, The Walrus Magazine (http://walrusmagazine.com/), June 21, 04

Marci McDonald is a contributing editor for US News & World Report and a former Washington bureau chief for Maclean's magazine.

On the third floor of a faceless commercial tower in Vienna, Virginia, a landlocked suburb of Washington, D.C., sits the unlikely nerve centre of the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry, one of the offshore conveniences that allows the world's maritime moguls to fudge their ownership, hide their profits, and keep their fleets afloat with discount maintenance standards and cut-rate Third World crews. . . .

[. . . . ] Which is why it seems noteworthy that Canada's most celebrated shipowner, Paul Martin as of August still the official proprietor of the Canada Steamship Lines group continued to list five ships on the website of his company's international division that were flagged to Liberia.

At the Canada Steamship Lines' Montreal headquarters, where senior vice-president Pierre Préfontaine rhymes off the vessels in Martin's international fleet, he doesn't mention those Liberian-flagged ships or seven others sailing under the flag of Vanuatu, a tiny South Pacific tax haven first made trendy by the money-laundering set. One reason for that lapse may be the dissonance between the company's iconic national image and its somewhat less patriotic reality. On the masts of all twenty-one cargo carriers owned or operated by CSL International as part of partnership agreements, there is nary a Canadian maple leaf in sight nor, on board, a Canadian crew. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] CSL took out the second of two new mortgages on the Atlantic Erie for $56.8 million from hsbc [HSBC] Bank Canada, formerly the Hong Kong Bank of Canada, boosting the ship's total registered debt to over $100 million. Might Martin remember that generosity when it comes time to decide whether foreign financial interests rate a bigger piece of the Canadian action?


Search: In David Olive's 1984 Canadian Business profile , " a weekend pilgrimage to Geneva to consult Strong, by then president of Montreal's Power Corporation." , Strong offered him a sobering lesson. , Strong arranged a timely lifeline , "Two stories above, in a corporate penthouse, sits the executive command post and stunning private art collection of its landlord, Paul Desmarais." , " the kingmaker behind virtually every Canadian prime minister since Lester Pearson." , "Power's chairman had been single-mindedly amassing CSL stock" , "CSL's own history is studded with high drama" , The only catch was CSL's $195 million price tag , "Still, that chummy buyout somehow fuelled Martin's reputation as" , "Stelco, CSL's biggest customer" , The captain received a telex from CSL headquarters , Australian courts have since upheld CSL's rights to , At the Liberal leadership convention in 1990, Gossage watched Martin digest the news that he'd lost to Chrétien and , "He blamed his pragmatic course on the policies of an intransigent Tory government that had refused breaks to Canadian shipping and shipbuilding." , "Barbados, The Investor's Paradise," nearly two dozen countries specifically listed in the tax code , "taking advantage of that loophole?" , nobody raised an eyebrow when he blamed it all on , "in January 1995, Martin personally signed the bill." , the loophole didn't benefit CSL alone , "CSL International is registered in the law offices of Clarke, Gittens & Farmer" , The appearance of a ministerial conflict

There is much more but that list should give an idea of the extent of the information included.

April 20, 2005

Bombardier Nortel China to Tibet & More, Vietnamese Truckers, Drug Lords, Triads, Gamblers & Kingpins, Refugees & Immigration--Why the Liberal Haste?

The Liberal government, as I posted yesterday, is planning to import more refugees & immigrants but our system has problems, big problems, which this reveals. The question is: Why the Liberal Haste?

This post covers little, compared to the information available -- awaiting you. . . . . One must question what is going on . . . . . the apparent desperation just before an election. I believe there is much to be revealed about this whole push.

Smoking Gun? You decide after you read through this. No wonder Paul Martin is desperate to keep his, his network and his predecessors' regimes going -- even when the haste is unseemly.

Follow the yellow brick road -- think monkey business.



Bombardier, Nortel under fire for plans to help China build railway on the 'Roof of the World -- Political move to link China and Tibet‘s capital by rail Apr. 7, 05, Asian pacific Post

[. . . . ] Bombardier‘s participation in the controversial railway being built by China through Tibet is an “ethical disaster,“

[. . . . ] Bombardier is one of the first western corporations to directly partner with the Chinese government in the construction of the railway.

Once completed, it will bring an influx of Chinese settlers into Tibet, further marginalizing Tibetans and posing a threat to the survival of their culture and identity, Students for a Free Tibet said.

[. . . . ] Bombardier signed the C$402 million rail passenger car contract with China‘s Ministry of Railways in Beijing in February. According to the contract, the consortium will supply 367 cars for new railways to Lhasa, capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region in western China.

[. . . . ] Besides the joint venture in Shandong, Bombardier has two joint ventures in Northeast China‘s Jilin province and eastern Jiangsu province. The venture in Jilin produces metro vehicles, while that in Jiangsu makes propulsion components for rail vehicles.

Bombardier also has a wholly-owned venture in Shanghai — Bombardier Railway Transportation Equipment (Shanghai) Co Ltd.

Bombardier is the No. 1 supplier to the Chinese regional aircraft market. . . .

[. . . . ] Nortel Networks, which will supply a wireless network for the rail line [. . . . ]

Nortel‘s Research & Development (R&D) operations in China [. . . . ]

[. . . A] Chinese R&D professional costs only one-third as much as a similar specialist in North America.


There are several business 'initiatives', I believe, that emerged as a result of PM Martin's compassionate tour of the tsunami stricken areas, thence to conduct business, leading business groups to Beijing, though his trip may have been billed as a parallel jaunt. At any rate, he was a guest with the businessmen in China and possibly also in India. There has been more talk of business ties with India lately, note. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.




All the talk of business and ties to Asia have omitted discussion of some of the problems that have emerged as a result of previous Liberal immigration and refugee laxity.



The secret life of a Chinese crime boss in Canada -- A "Refugee" -- Canada's Immigration and Refugee Policies at Work -- Protecting Canadians in that unique Liberal way.

An immigration officer processed his papers as a "refugee" claimant fleeing the fallout from the Tiananmen Square incident -- In Canada, Kwai did not wait long before hooking up with the local Triad boys -- another poor refugee is 'helped' Feb. 4, 2004 Asian Pacific Post, via Prime Time Crime from the Asian Pacific News Service

Kwai was a known criminal to Hong Kong police and authorities.

[. . . . ] Here [in Canada], Kwai did not wait long before hooking up with the local Triad boys. His criminal mind saw a huge opportunity in cigarette smuggling.

[. . . . ] Attempts by The Asian Pacific Post to determine if Kwai was actually deported were met with [Canadian] government officials citing privacy legislation and the need to protect an applicant's identity.

Asian Organized Crime investigators in Ontario believe Kwai is one of the 36,000 illegals who have gone underground in the province. The government this year admitted that it has lost track of them.

[. . . . ] As Hong Kong police piece together evidence to put away Kwai and his gang for good, a Canadian MP is urging Ottawa to study the case and plug loopholes in the immigration system that is believed to allow the fugitive to travel freely around the world on bogus passports.

MP Darrell Stinson said the case of Kwai Ping Hun would provide valuable insight for Immigration Canada authorities on how to spot and quickly deport the criminals who are abusing the refugee system. [. . . . ]


Be prepared for the Liberals and their ever-helpful mainstream media propaganda machine to call you a "racist" if you mention any of this (keep scrolling down). Pay no attention; a century ago you might have been considered a "sinner". Today, with our government forbidding the mention of a Christian god (NS -- Swissair crash and memorial) and sin, a wrong is to question Liberal policies or cross the political correctness barrier; the cardinal sin is "racism". No evil is too extreme that the word "racist" will not be screamed to protect those involved and their evil -- if you mention that you don't want it in your country. Find a white male to bash, metaphorically!

Get rid of this %^$*&#% government! . . . . Before Canada is uninhabitable by decent people and all control has gone to the usual suspects and their network.





This is an excerpt from an article I mentioned yesterday, though there is much more if you scroll down for yesterday's link to Frost Hits the Rhubarb February 24, 2005: Multiculturalism, IRB, Vietnamese Immigration via Philippines, Vietnamese Asian & Other Criminal Gangs in Canada -- with links to more information.

Vietnam is a transshipment point for heroin shipments from China to the rest of the world.

Canada goes to Vietnam's deadly roads to find truckers Aug 18, 2004, Asian Pacific Post

About 200 truckers from Vietnam, reputed to have some of the world‘s deadliest drivers, will be behind big rigs on Canadian roads soon, The Asian Pacific Post has learned.

Ranked by the World Health Organization and the World Bank as having one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, Vietnam‘s road carnage is referred to an “epidemic“ of death and disability.

“I don‘t think this is a good idea,“ said Diep Trinh, president of the Vietnamese-Canadian Federation, the umbrella body which represents 14 provincial Vietnamese-Canadian associations with thousands of members.

[. . . . ] Vietnam‘s Department for Overseas Labour Management in a statement said that the government-controlled Suleco, a labour export company based in Hanoi, has signed a contract to send Vietnamese truck drivers to Canada

[. . . . ] The workers are to be processed through programs under the auspices of Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC).


[. . . . ] In British Columbia, many of the 35,000 trucking companies registered in the province are also facing driver shortages said Louise Yako of the B.C. Trucking Association.

She said a meeting has been planned with government for next month to get Victoria‘s involvement in bringing in foreign drivers.

“Most of the discussions have revolved around drivers from European countries because of their compatible driving standards,” she said. Stephen Anderson of the Ontario Trucking Association estimates the province needs 15,000 drivers every year for the next five years.


Now, put together what has been on this site previously about the problem of the honest, decent, non-drug running truckers (articles from the Vancouver newspapers on the BC drug running and related issues) who have said they are pressured because of the $$$ involved . . . . . and put together truckers from Vietnam, through which heroin comes from China to be sent around the world (check the Prime Time Crime site for a start -- www.primetimecrime.com). Put together the movement of certain "refugees" and "business class immigrants" with $$$, connections there, along with networks and political clout in Canada, to say nothing of the business "favours" they could do . . . . . . and the virtually complete breakdown of our immigration and refugee system in the face of the onslaught . . . and Liberal desperation for . . . . . . . what? Votes? Business partnerships? Just what requires such haste to import people when our security services are already underfunded and overtaxed with security work? There is too little time and manpower for proper screening and then our Liberal government will give entrants Canadian citizenship. In ONE YEAR?

Who is being pressured? Who benefits?

I have my own ideas about the "business" end of all this and my thoughts are of the kinds of connections that could get one killed by what our government has imported already -- and to which it seems bent on adding.

Will no-one do something for Canada and Canadians who see what is happening?

Why is there such unseemly haste to import and give Canadian citizenship after ONE YEAR to so many people -- on the part of the Paul Martin government? Desperation? . . . . for reasons perhaps yet to be revealed?






False Documents -- Canada an easy mark

Airport syndicate was sending illegals to Canada Nov. 18, 2004 -- via Prime Time Crime


Indian police have busted a racket operating out of the New Delhi airport that was sending natives of Punjab to Canada on fake visas and passports.

Among those arrested were the chief security officer of an international airline and other staff posted at the international airport, including a private travel agent.

[. . . . ] Indian police said corrupt immigration officials at the airport were working with airline security officers to help illegal Canada-bound passengers board planes.

They were providing fake visas and boarding cards and arranged for their clients to fly out of the country when they were on duty at the airport.





Canada's Immigration System -- In Action

Casino Connections -- A lavish feast to signify the reemergence of the 14K Triad in Macau will have ripple effects in B.C. Jul 8, 2004. Note, [???] were used in place of punctuation marks in the original, so I put in apostrophes and quotation marks -- which may be incorrect, though they made sense to me.

As the final touches were being put to the River Rock casino resort in Richmond "B.C.'s latest gaming complex"a lavish banquet was held in Macau attracting Asia's A-list of tycoons and Triad bosses.

[. . . . ] On an international scale, Asian Organised Crime investigators said the 14K and their affiliates will use casinos around the globe for loan sharking, money laundering and a host of others signature organized crime activities.

[. . . . ] As for the 14K, a U.S. government study on the scope of Asian organized crime in Canada released last year said the Chinese Mafia gang is the fastest growing Triad group in Canada.

[. . . . ] "14K's global network has allowed it to steal credit card data from all over the world, including the United States and Canada, by installing magnetic recorders in credit card terminals," the U.S. report to Congress stated.

The 14K has a well established cell in Toronto while individual chapters operate autonomously across North America.


[. . . . ] Scores of them like Lower Mainland residents Kwok Tam, who had his picture taken with former B.C. premier Glen Clark to show off to his buddies, Betty "Big Sister" Yan, a prolific loan shark according to police reports and others with nicknames like Stupid Ricky and Black Ghost Ming are on casino blacklists.

Yan, for instance is a mother of a two-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl. She has been on the police radar ever since she landed in Vancouver in 1995 to claim refugee status.

[. . . . ] As she fights the deportation order on humanitarian grounds . . . .


[. . . . ] The ostentatious Lisboa Hotel, is the flagship of Macau gambling czar Stanley Ho who has extensive business dealings in Vancouver and Toronto. His daughters had applied for casino licences in B.C. under the NDP government.

Stanley Ho, the Asian casino king, is listed in a variety of intelligence reports in Canada and the U.S. as having strong Triad connections. Australia has banned him from operating casinos. His office has vehemently denied any criminal links.

[. . . . ] Aside from the Ma brothers, others in attendance included Broken Tooth's Triad big brother "Blackie Hwa" who is the director general of the newly-minted Heng Son Sports Club and boss of the Casino Lisboa, Four Seas gang boss Chia Jun-nien and a high-ranking member of the Bamboo Union – one of Taiwan's most powerful organized crime syndicates.

A number of high level representatives of gang lords in Hong Kong with affiliates in Vancouver and Toronto also attended the banquet.

"It is only a question of time before we see how the events in Macau will play out locally," said a Vancouver-based Asian organized crime expert.






CASINO CONNECTIONS Part 2 - Stanley Ho's house of cards -- Money laundered through Macau casino ended up in Richmond and Vancouver banks Jul 22, 2004

Stanley Ho, the undisputed gambling czar of Macau has friends in high places in virtually every corner of the globe.

In Canada, he has been feted and wooed and given medals by the likes of [. . . . link for the list -- Canadian, US and other politicians.]

But there is a dark side to the casino magnate, one which is secretly recorded in Canadian, American, British and Australian intelligence files.

The intelligence data, which has been vehemently denied by Ho and his friends in high places, state the operations of the gambling king are intricately linked to Asian organized crime.

A RCMP document called the Asian Organized Crime Roster has him listed as Triad leader while a similar American report put Ho on a watchlist.

[. . . . ] Far Eastern Economic Review magazine [. . . . ]

A report by prize-winning writer Barry Wain alleges that Ho‘s multibillion-dollar gaming flagship Sociedad de Tourism e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) is allegedly at the centre of a money-laundering scheme moving billions of dollars out of China through Macau into Hong Kong.
[. . . . ]

[. . . . ] Funds sent abroad typically go into property in the US and Canada to pave the way for the emigration of family members, according to Chinese officials and Hong Kong police

[. . . . ] He has tried several times through his daughters Pansy and Daisy to apply for casino licences in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.

[. . . . ] Unlike Canada or the United States, Ho has never been able to make much headway into Australia because of extensive Australian Security Intelligence Organisation reports on his background, connections and links.

[. . . . ] The New South Wales Gaming Licensing Board (now defunct) has a report on Stanley Ho which is stamped “never to be released.“ Its officials have deemed Ho “an unsuitable person to hold a casino licence”.



Search:

Bank of China scandal
entered Canada via Vancouver using false identities
Royal Bank Canada branch
Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
takes gamblers to so-called VIP rooms
"at Ho‘s crown jewel, the Hotel Lisboa, STDM‘s flagship casino and heaquarters in Macau"
offsetting arrangement
Documents provided to the Review by Winnie Ho [Stanley Ho's sister]
a bloody gang war in Macau
Asian Organized crime sources
involving him in the Philippines


I think it is time to re-think just what our immigration and refugee policies should be and who they are intended for. There is much more information; there will be updates, if possible, later.

Europe blinded by anti-Semitic bigotry & Islam in America -- Loyalties

"Self-delusion is a pre-requisite for the justification of holocaust, of genocide, of ethnic cleansing."


Europe blinded by anti-Semitic bigotry wnd.com, Apr. 20, 05

The Association of University Teachers in the United Kingdom is set today to begin blacklisting Israeli professors who refuse to condemn their country's policies toward Arabs.

The academics will debate today whether to boycott three of Israel's eight universities – Haifa, Bar Ilan and Hebrew – over their alleged complicity with the government's policies toward the so-called "Palestinians."

[. . . . ] Let me give you my perspective on this action – the perspective of an Arab-American.

Israel is not a colonial state. It is not a racist state. The Arabs who live in Israel are among the freest Arabs in the world.

Every so-called "Palestinian" college has been created and funded by Israel. There were no Palestinian colleges or universities before 1967. And that is with good reason. [. . . . ]


Search: Arab nationalist chic , Christian Arabs , Self-delusion is a pre-requisite for




How Muslim radicals are penetrating Washington -- 'Infiltration' reveals shocking truth about Islamic spies, subversives in U.S. Mar. 14, 05

While Americans continue to promote cultural diversity and religious tolerance as society's highest values, radical Muslims masquerading as "moderates" have insinuated themselves into the very fabric of American society, to the nation's extreme peril, says a startling new book by veteran investigative journalist Paul Sperry

[. . . . ] In his blockbuster expose, Sperry uses classified documents and revealing interviews to courageously explain how, for the past 30 years, Muslims have labored to replace the U.S. Constitution with the Quran and turn America into an Islamic state. And, as Sperry details point-by-point, they have been unwittingly aided in their sinister aims by the politically correct media, government, and citizens, who don't fully understand the dangers of the Muslim faith. [. . . . ]


When you think of the fact that all Muslims owe their first loyalty to Allah and the teachings from the Koran and then think of what those teachings from the Koran permit, even encourage, then where does loyalty to the nation lie?

Bangor Maine Troop Greeters -- Composed mostly from the generation that served in World War II and Korea

Welcome Stop for Warriors -- Locals in Bangor, Maine, are on a mission to greet every military plane, at any time, in any weather. Their tally so far: 200,000 troops. Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer, April 20, 2005

BANGOR, Maine — Tired and bleary-eyed, Marines of the 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, based at Twentynine Palms, Calif., were finally back on U.S. soil after seven months on the front lines in Iraq.

But they were still many miles and hours from their families and the homecoming they longed for. Their officers told them they would be on the ground for 60 to 90 minutes while their chartered plane was refueled. [. . . . ]

Lining the hall and clapping were dozens of Bangor residents who have set a daunting task for themselves: They want every Marine, soldier, sailor and airman returning through the tiny international airport here to get a hero's welcome. [. . . . ]

The Fleecing: PWGSC Feds' 10% solution, Fraud: Guite & Italian Grand Prix, Corruption & What to Do, Investor Info, Feds-Airports & Ports

This is "unprecedented" says Mike Duffy

Do not miss.
Liberals put new limits on opposition motions -- anything to thwart democracy -- CTV.ca News Staff

CTV Newsnet: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper 7:19




Liberals: Playing the Same Tune

In other words, give my party another chance to fleece you -- in the name of national unity.

National unity is on the line: Joe Volpe CTV.ca News Staff

[. . . . ] "The greatest threat to national unity is what the Liberals have apparently done in Quebec through what's being investigated by the Gomery inquiry," said Manning.

"And for them to pretend that any national unity problem that's created now is someone else's responsibility is simply not believable." [. . . . ]

[Ed] Broadbent, however, said waiting for Gomery might just make things worse for the government.

"I think we're going to see more fallout from the Liberals,"
he said





PWGSC: Feds' 10% solution 'a disaster'

Feds' 10% solution 'a disaster' April 19, 2005, Greg Weston, Sun Ottawa Bureau

Perhaps taking a page from Adscam and the art of the Liberal shakedown, Paul Martin's government is quietly in the process of trying to screw thousands of its best Canadian suppliers out of billions of dollars.

The federal purchasing department recently sent a rather stunning letter to more than 2,600 Canadian companies that supply the government with everything from computers to new carpets.
[. . . . ]

Search: by 10% (or else, strongly implied) , The "greening" of government in this case , Do the math: Since , Susan Murray, spokesperson for Public Works Minister Scott Brison




Kinsella -- Martin's Political Ties to Earnscliffe Strategy Group -- Intimidation

Kinsella warned Martin aide of problems CP, April 18, 2005

[. . . . ] "Terrie, all of this spells trouble and you know it," Kinsella wrote in his letter.

"The competition was flawed, the payment is excessive, the work is probably not needed, and the research community can be fully expected to blow the whistle on the political connections here."

Kinsella was an aide to Public Works Minister David Dingwall at the time and was responsible for ensuring that government departments followed contracting rules. He was later a fierce supporter of Jean Chretien in the leadership dispute with Martin.

[. . . . ] In a sign of the political heat involved, Kinsella told the committee that he received a telephone call recently from someone who suggested Dingwall might come under pressure from the Prime Minister's Office to refute Kinsella's testimony.

Kinsella said he took that as intimidation. He refused to name the caller publicly, but said he would pass on the name to the committee chairman.



Related:

Martin under fire: Kinsella alleges PM knew about 'rigged' contracts

Paul Martin knew about claims of "bad behaviour" involving public-opinion contracts for a firm closely tied to his leadership campaign but threatened to quit his job as finance minister if his top advisor was disciplined, a former Liberal aide testified yesterday.




Martin took personal hand in contracts for Earnscliffe, MPs told Jim Brown, April 19, 05, National Post




[. . . . ] Several other Martin confidants also worked at Earnscliffe, which was often jokingly referred to at the time as Martin's prime-minister's-office-in-waiting. [. . . . ]

Kinsella also startled the hearing by claiming he had received a phone call, just before he testified, warning him that his old boss Dingwall might come under pressure from the Prime Minister's Office to "disavow" some of the things he planned to say.

"I took it to be intimidation," said Kinsella.

He wouldn't make the name of the caller public but agreed to give it privately to Conservative committee chairman John Williams. [. . . . ]




Corruption & What You May Do About It

Turn your speakers on, watch and listen.

The Issue -- and action a citizen may take.

Transcripts for the Gomery Inquiry Public Hearings are here but sadly out of date, with respect to translation. If you listen and watch it live, translation is provided. Eventually -- translation maybe before an election is called?

The Gomery Inquiry Transcripts -- in French -- English translation when? I doubt that it is a government priority and the translation department has much work to do.


We paid for Guite's trip to Italian Grand Prix

MONTREAL - The Gomery inquiry has unearthed some unusual bills in its investigation of the federal government's sponsorship scandal, but few stand out as starkly as a 1998 Groupaction correspondence to the organizers of the Montreal Grand Prix. [. . . . ]




Corruption

Grand Prix organizers aided Groupaction plan to buy tickets with public cash Brian Daly, Macleans, Apr. 18, 05

MONTREAL (CP) - Top Canadian Grand Prix organizers conspired with the Groupaction ad firm to hide $264,000 in racing tickets under a sponsorship contract, the federal sponsorship inquiry heard Monday.

Documents show the scheme was one of two occasions where race officials falsified paperwork to shower expensive Formula One tickets on the ad firm at the centre of the sponsorship scandal. Two Grand Prix vice-presidents admitted the federal sponsorship contract for the 1998 auto race was boosted to $900,000 from $700,000 the previous year. [. . . . ]





Diane Francis: Taxpayers deserve to know where the money goes



Canadian dollar among primary currencies most sensitive to oil-price shocks


Falling metals prices and anticipation that low interest rates will remain unchanged are factors often blamed when the loonie performs poorly. But the Canadian dollar is also seen as a particularly oil-sensitive currency, according to CIBC World Markets. So when crude oil prices fell last week, the loonie was understandably the second-worst performer among primary currencies. CIBC sees the declining price of crude oil as a short-term correction, but political uncertainty related to a possible federal election call is also likely weighing on the dollar.




Trust

A Crisis of Trust -- Investment industry needs to be cleaned up Linda Leatherdale, Apr. 19. 05, Toronto Sun

[. . . . ] If we threaten to fight back by withholding taxes, we go to jail. But the political fraudsters will walk. Just wait.

"It's time to clean up our government and our investment industry before it is too late," warns Stan Buell, founder of the Small Investor Protection Association. "The government in power must be turfed out, a new government must be held accountable and made to reform our investment industry, if Canadians hope to live in a future where corruption does not rule."

TESTIFIED

Buell has taken his fight to the Senate banking committee in Ottawa, where he testified that . . . .

Now, here's how you can speak out. . . .

The Ontario Securities Commission is holding [. . . . ]

If you've got an investment horror story to share, show up. [. . . . ]

For the sake of the future of this country, and to put an end to corruption, it's time to stand up, and speak out. [. . . . ]


Link to Leatherdale's article to find out what you may do.




Feds & Airports: "Slaughtering the goose that lays the golden eggs"

Only Ottawa makes money from flying Robert Stromberg, Financial Post, April 19, 2005

Robert Stromberg is the recently retired chair of the Saskatoon Airport Authority. This is excerpted from his final remarks at the authority's annual meeting.; The StarPhoenix

[. . . . ] So guess who's making big money in the Canadian aviation industry? It's the Government of Canada. And it starts with the scandal of airport rent, but it goes further.

Add to that the additional money the federal government is collecting:

- $200-million from the security tax

- $500-million from GST on the purchase of airline tickets

- $50-million from aviation fuel tax.

And just to rub salt in the wounds
, the federal government demands free space in airports, including Saskatoon. So in addition to charging rent and providing no services, they're also squatters.

That totals nearly a billion dollars every year in taxes from the air industry. All this from a federal government with a financial surplus amounting to billions of dollars. [. . . . ]





Montreal's container traffic increases an unprecedented 13% in first quarter
The Port of Montreal's container traffic surged an unprecedented 13% in the first quarter and will set another record in 2005 despite a slowdown expected in the summer months. In March alone more than a million tonnes of container cargo were handled, a new monthly peak, bringing the first-quarter total to 2.8 million tonnes, Dominic Taddeo, the Montreal Port Authority's chief executive, said yesterday. "We've got a 39.8% share of the North Atlantic market against New York's 35%, but with the tempo of the North American and European economies it's only realistic to set the gain at about 4% for all 2005," he said after the MPA's annual meeting.


And how many containers are checked by port security? How many members of a criminal gang(s) work at the Port?