Jan. 6, 2007: Lawsuit?

The Liberal party of Canada could be targeted in a taxpayer-funded lawsuit to recover millions of dollars that went missing in the federal sponsorship program, a newspaper report says. , posted by timwest, 12/29/2006 12:40:52 "Liberals about to be hit with LAWSUIT !!!!"

www.canoe.ca/mb2/messages/cnewsf/13915.html

In its Thursday edition, La Presse quotes a source who says the Harper government has told its lawyers to prepare to sue the Liberals for “all the dirty money,” an amount it estimates is between $1 million and $40 million.

[....] The Liberals repaid $1.14 million after the Gomery public inquiry found that some money paid to outside companies under the federal sponsorship program found its way back into the coffers of the party’s Quebec wing. [....]

Jan. 6, 2007: Toyota

Toyota Motor Corp. is creating new technology for its vehicles that will detect drunk drivers. -- "Internal dissent", NatPost, Jan. 5, 07

www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/
story.html?id=cee8e5fb-9e71-48e1-ab6c-0ffe0d4cf748

[....The] Post's editorial board members debated the value of this innovation in an email exchange.

[....] Lorne Gunter This is acceptable only if the owner has the ability to easily turn off the device. I no more want Toyota imposing its morality on me than I want Ottawa doing so. If I choose to make my car safer for me and for others, fine. But I don't want Toyota making that decision for me. Think of all the other soft moral decisions we could delegate to corporations -- cholesterol tests before we can buy fried chicken, for instance. To delegate responsibility -- to give up responsibility for one's own life choices -- is to delegate freedom, too. [....]

Jan. 6, 2007: Bud Talkinghorn

It's a new year, so let's cut the nonsense files down

Number one on the nonsense files is "the darkest period in Canadian history", as The Globe and Mail wishes to call the residential system for natives. If you think the natives have fallen a long way down the educational ladder now, think where they would have been without that intervention. I am deeply sorry for excessive physical or sexual abuse these kids suffered. However from talking to two teachers who worked in this system, they were the exception not the rule. Did we learn nothing from the false testimony of the Shelburne Juvenile Detention Center trials? The second that the Nova Scotia government lost the ability to tell truth from larcenous false testimony, the former cons suddenly "remembered" abuses. Numerous good guards had their reputations and lives ruined by this rush to judgement. As for physical abuse, many of us non-natives got strapped or worse for infractions; and the white orphans were being buggered by these same Catholic priests in Newfoundland during that era. It is only in hindsight that we realize that many of these priests or teachers were sadistic. The state of denial especially amongst Catholics of that period was unbelievable. These outrages were occurring across the country. But the "don't bring scandal to the church" line was deeply engrained. Religion was yesterday's sacred cow, so the abuses were covered up. Today, most of those cows are penned in the far left field.

Every time I heard Phil Fontaine on TV, giving forth with his victimology 101, I think of where he would have been without that government education. Could it be that he would be the elder of the tribe, giving instructions to the young on pelt curing preparation? Count me out for that refreshing self-flagellation that sustains our cultural elites. These people probably never even went to a public school during the 50's. They tend to be a cosy, incestuous lot. (Common habitat, Toronto or your local university). Their greatest crime is the soft bigotry of low expectations. Affirmative action and lots of taxpayers' dollars are their universal cure-alls. Should those palliatives fail to up-lift natives, that is because of our "systemic racism and paternalism". Daddy bad, sugar daddy good.

The kicker to all this is that there will be a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" to bind the wounds inflicted by the residential schools. Try not to pay attention to the $50 million pricetag. The Liberals were about to dole out $5.4 billion to assauge their cultural holocaust, so a paltry $50 million is chump change. Right? So that a commission can have the few remaining faggy priests and twisted sisters confront their equally old victims. Fontaine claims it is necessary, "so the nation can move forward".

Give me a break. What calumny would haunt a government that allowed its native citizens to languish in a black hole of progress, while their non-native brethern forged ahead to prosperity? Now that would have been a true cultural mis-step. "Apartheid" would be the natives' cry, and rightly so. Unfortunately, what we have been witnessing for years is a self-imposed apartheid, cheer-led by men who want to keep their bantustans from outside influences. The more enterprising youth simply drift away and often prosper. This makes the remaining reservation populations ever more dependent. Unless they too can see the folly of their isolated position, they will continue to fall into an abyss of welfare pathologies. The never ending morass of the present reservation system is the real aboriginal catastrophe, far outweighing the residential school scandal.

© Bud Talkinghorn


Cultural Elitism for Dummies

Beat me with bound copies of John Ralston Saul's impentrable missives, but I still don't worship at this Golden Calf of intellectual thought. Yes, I tried to read one of his books, but the "fog index" was simply too high. One pronouncement of his that I do remember was when he suggested all Canadian universities should be bilingual--the final nail in the coffin of the anglophone majority. Still, the media proclaims that these deep thinkers have their fingers on the pulse of the nation. To refute their judgments is to expose your hickish background. From their ivory towers and Rosedale residences, they pontificate for the good of the masses. Just accept it.

But what if the triumphal elites of this ultra-secular / politically correct age are dead wrong, as they were in Europe pre-WW11? What effective responses to the gathering storm of barbarians, who want desperately to destroy our democracy, do these people have? All I observe is endless mumbo-jumbo about being culturally diverse, and being tolerant of the intolerant amongst our immigrants. Perhaps it is time to elevate the plain common sense of the Canadian people. The Harper government is at least making a movement in that direction.

© Bud Talkinghorn


The gift card that doesn't keep on giving

Besides being a tad cheesy, gift cards are often not even used. Consumer Report found that 19% of those surveyed didn't activate their cards, while the Tower Group estimates that the value of unredeemed cards is about $8 billion. Small wonder the retailers love them. Home Depot alone has $40 million gift cards they expect never to be utilized. That amounts to a windfall profit, as the plastic cards are dirt-cheap to produce--made in China no doubt. Check e-Bay for bargains on these useless cards. There are other pitfalls to watch out for. Some cards have expiry dates or charge fees after a certain period of time. If you are too lazy to send a thoughtful gift, then just send money. Unlike a gift card for lingerie, $40 cash will never go unused.

© Bud Talkinghorn

Jan. 2, 2007: EDC Canada Account Update

The link in the Jan. 1, 2007 post to information on COFACE, a link which has changed so often ...




Screen capture from a few minutes ago for

Since 2005, EDC has maintained a partnership with Compagnie française d'assurance pour le commerce extérieur (COFACE) [Link corrected at least four times] for the provision of domestic accounts receivable insurance to Canadian businesses, since EDC is not permitted to do so under its mandate. Similarly, EDC has partnered with Northstar Trade Finance ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnie_française_d%27assur
ance_pour_le_commerce_ext%C3%A9rieur

From this post: Frost Hits the Rhubarb Jan. 1, 2007 Happy New Year -- re: EDC, the Canada Account which is separate from the Corporate Account, and related material

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2007/01/
jan-1-2007-happy-new-year.html

Jan. 2, 2007: Lansbridge U & Kingston College

Province orders probe of second university , J Steffenhagen, CanWest.com, Nov. 1, 06 -- Via PrimeTimeCrime.ca - Greed and Corruption , Vancouver Sun, November 01, 2006

www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=6129e670-ab43-4031-830b-551ccf201704&k=88044

VANCOUVER - The BC government has ordered an inspection of Lansbridge University the second private post-secondary institution owned by Vancouver businessman Michael Lo to come under a cloud. (Vancouver Sun) [....]

... will review the common ownership and administration of Lansbridge and Kingston College, Advanced Education ....

Kingston had been advertising the degrees despite repeated warnings from the ministry and PCTIA to stop. Lo was on the PCTIA board and headed its quality assurance committee.

Lansbridge, with campuses in Vancouver and Fredericton, N.B., is the crown jewel in a network of traditional and online educational facilities in Canada and abroad owned by [Michael] Lo and his partner Queenie Tin. They include a private high school in Vancouver, two B.C.-certified high schools in China, a Chinese school with five campuses in the Lower Mainland and an educational software company called Learnsoft. [One branch of Learnsoft is or was located in Fredericton, NB]

To listen to story, click the VoicePrint link. You may have to link to PrimeTimeCrime.ca to activate this.


Via Prime Time Crime:
www.primetimecrime.com/Recent/Greed%20Corrup
tion/Greed%20and%20Corruption.htm

Scandal Rocks University -- Watchdog group calls for suspension of Lansbridge U , Vanessa Lundgren, 19 October 2006 - The Martlet -- or here

www.cufa.bc.ca/index.php?option=com_con
tent&task=view&id=99&Itemid=44

Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C. (CUFA/BC), which represents over 4,000 university professors including staff from UVic, has called for the "immediate suspension of operations by Lansbridge University," according to a media release.

This request followed allegations that Lansbridge president Michael Lo had illegally given or promised degrees without ministerial permission through his other school, Kingston College. Kingston students have complained that these degrees, if received, would later be considered worthless. They had been issued by the American University in London (AUL), a school based in the U.K. without accreditation. [....]

The Kingston College B.C. website ... campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby, Toronto and Niagara Falls. [....]

Kingston College is just one of seven schools in the Kingston Education Group owned by Lo and associate Queenie Tin. Lansbridge University is also part of this group.

More here: Frost Hits the Rhubarb Jan. 15, 2006
Surly Beaver: Liberal Gaffney-ACOA & Learnsoft (Correction), Kyoto & Stakeholder Influence, Whistleblowers, Corruption, Fry & Svend, IQ Test, Film [a link correction]

[....] Apparently it's good to be Liberal if your name is Michael Gaffney, Liberal candidate for Nepean-Carlton and son of Chretien era Liberal MP Beryl Gaffney.

You see, Mike Gaffney used to be the President and CEO of Learnsoft Corporation, a company based in Kanata Ontario. In September 1999, a virtual university was founded in Fredericton, New Brunswick to grant "E-MBA's." The university was given $600,000 in taxpayers money - $375,000 from Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and $225,000 from Human Resources Development Canada. This private, for-profit university was and is a subsidiary of Learnsoft Corporation. Sometime later, Mike Gaffney sold his shares in Learnsoft for - you guessed it - $600,000.

There is more. Also, link to The Surly Beaver
www.thesurlybeaver.ca/index.php?itemid=88


PrimeTimeCrime.ca links to more:

Controversial college forced to close
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=faa824ec-6993-4bcf-ae84-258d7030eed8&k=54495

Private educator faces new questions
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=243557bd-aa3a-4d3b-a24d-0476dbe2544d

College head under investigation off board
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=16d947a0-d331-4b36-9e25-238f7a29494c&k=65468

College faces probe after complaint over degrees
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.ht
ml?id=d325e922-f1ea-43a5-8343-58a5fcf40c69&k=36894

Schools disciplined but names kept secret
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.ht
ml?id=212a187b-d37e-4230-96c4-3cb096481f86&k=12470

Private Career Training Institutions Agency
www.pctia.bc.ca/

International students stir the BC economy
www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.ht
ml?id=0299b402-1446-496a-b833-1e1ae27a8509&k=41511

Jan. 2, 2007: Bud Talkinghorn

Update-related posts added below

"School's stupid. It's for white people"

So sayeth a stoned-out Native student in high school. According to the CBC documentary lately on The National, he represents a majority of the Indian students in that school. One native kid was profiled as an exception to that rule however. The second episode of that sad saga showed the graduation ceremony. Only two graduated from high school.

This attitude is partly the legacy of Phil Fontaine, the Grand Chief of Aboriginals. He has consistently turned his face away from modern realities and railed against any attempt at assimilation. He has this grandiose vision of a self-sufficient network of far-flung reserves. However, that extra $5.8 billion Kelowna Accord payout would not be frowned on. From years of canvassing opinions on the government's handling of the native file, I have been able to boil the gist down to "Let them get to hell to work!" And these useless kids portrayed in CBC's "Reading, 'riting and the Rez" are all potential timebombs. Either they will go on permanent welfare (with a little extra from drug dealing). or they will wake up and see the opportunity Canada offers. I would take bets on which path these kids will choose.

If they don't like English language or math classes, then they could become welders and make a mint in the oil patch. I have an acquaintance, who is in his late 50's, but he makes $1,000 a day as a master welder in Fort McMurray. What Fontaine and the other (some grossly overpaid) chiefs of dinky reserves want is to keep the same authoritarian control over their people. Is there any wonder that Harper's government wants to set some limits? The left, of course, wants some esoteric "Native language initiative", which will simply retard any ability to communicate in the language of the majority. How does a fluent Slavvy (Slavey?) speaker even communicate with any of the other Indian tribes spread across the country? Needless to say, that linguistic ability is not going to be a resume highlighter in the North American world.

With the native population's large birthrate, their burden on the welfare system, their health problems, and their high crime rate, Canada is going to face big hurdles to accommodate them. With the current approach, the pathologies will only get worse. It is time for a radical overhaul of the Indian Act and for the natives to oppose Phil Fontaine's myopic vision for them.

© Bud Talkinghorn

Related: Scroll down

Bud: Frost Hits the Rhubarb July 9 - 14, 2006

July 12, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn: Native Education ... & More
Native control of education -- or here for the specific post.

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006/07/
july-12-2006-bud-talkinghorn-native.html

.... If the drop-out rates, guaranteeing later high unemployment rates, are too high among natives, it is because of the natives' cultural resistance to the wider world of Canada--and by extension, the entire world. Here is a report from one in the trenches of native schooling. ...

FHTR: Frost Hits the Rhubarb July 9 - 14, 2006

July 12, 2006: First Nations' stewardship ... of the land and resources -- or here

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006/07/
july-12-2006-first-nations-stewardship.html [specific post]

frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/
2006_07_09_frosthitstherhubarb_archive.html [week beginning July 9, 06]

Also, a year ago I posted in Nov. or Dec. 2005 an account from a teacher who had been on a reserve school in the north of one of the provinces, Ontario, or Manitoba -- a sad account of the reality. (Her name may be Laurie Goth but I forget that and the exact name of the reserve. You might search Keesekoose, as well from the same time period.)



Frost Hits the Rhubarb Dec. 17 - 23, 2006

Dec. 19, 2006: Braves' new world
Natives demand release of Six Nations protester they consider 'political prisoner



New Year's predictions

Global security--The cancellation of Bangkok's New Years festivities by co-ordinated bomb attacks augurs poorly for stanching Islamic terrorism. In Lebanon, there is the Shi'ite radical Nasrallah trying to topple the elected government. Should he suceed, Israel will have to respond, probably in conjunction with a coalition of the overly willing among the Druze, the Maronites, and the Sunni. Another scenario is that Hezbollah pulls another mini-war. However, the Israeli response this time will make the last conflict look like a pillow fight in comparison. Invariably, America will have to take a stand, which will in turn further demonize them in the Muslim world.

I see this as the year that radical Islam--Shia or Sunni--will really test the will of the West and the democratic East. Iran has enormous influence now. This allegiance to Moqtada al Sadr among the Iraqi Shia can only lead to greater Iranian influence in the south. The Shia crescent of power is coming along nicely and portends more Middle Eastern instability.

The head of Internal Security in Britain went on TV to announce that the authorities were investigating 300 different potential terrorist cells and were watching 1600 individuals. All were mainly homegrown groups of disaffected Muslims. Needless to say, the multicultural model is taking a beating. Domestically, the future doesn't appear any brighter. Canada unravelled a cell of 17 local terrorist lads, which in turn exposed numerous anti-Western websites set up by others across North America. The Left has adopted Maher Arar as the poster boy of Islamophobia. Through their endless media resources they will try to weaken our resolve to combat radical Islam here. However a horrific terrorist event here may change the zeitgeist on that front.

© Bud Talkinghorn

Jan. 2, 2007: Reflections ...

On the EDC, the Canada Account and Being Concise

Let me know what happens with this post, and if you're able to pull something more concise together.

That was a reader's comment on Frost Hits the Rhubarb Jan. 1, 2007: Happy New Year ... Connecting the dots ... EDC and the Canada Account

When I posted this exploration of just one Canada Account Disclosure from Export Development Canada (EDC) 2003-2004, I assumed that providing screen captures of the actual pages would be needed as proof. That, and with sections marked in colour so people could read and judge for themselves, along with my comments on why I thought these were significant, was about as concise as I could make it. Perhaps the mainstream media could fill in the breach after investigating.

I have been researching and blogging for a few years. What I have noted about those reading news and blogs in Canada is that a blog like this does not "sell". Few people will spend the time reading what I have found, but research is what I do, adding comments, sometimes at length, sometimes useful. I have had a few problems while posting and with posts being changed afterward because I post here, free, but with attendant problems, especially with certain topics. Of course, there are few ISP's actually, in Canada, and everything passes through a few choke points. Make of that what you will. I do.

The post on the EDC and Canada Account was being changed as I typed. By the next day, what I had corrected had been corrupted again, with new wrinkles added. That is an example of what happens with those who try to get information out to Canadians. It happens particularly with topics that appear to cross those who benefit from hiding information from the public. Think of that and the concentration of newspaper ownership in the East, Irvings, buttressed by the Conservative-hating CBC. Then, think of the cross-pollination between, for example, CBC and the Globe and Mail (e.g. BCE income trust story, anti-Conservative, anti-conservative ad nauseam). Canadians have to do their own investigations.

One of the salient features of a Canadian education, along with the current mainstream media concern with brevity--presenting a profusion of sound bites as opposed to much substantive analysis--is that readers expect that any news may be presented in a few sentences. It is not the case with much of what I do, at least for me. My purpose is to give enough information, including links, that others may follow what I found, read, and come to their own conclusions, though I do comment. My bias is that I tend to be conservative in many areas, though not all, and I hate what has happened to my country. I hate the assumption of entitlement, the corruption, the fact that so many have allowed governments to get away with the assumption they know better what to do with Canadians' money than those who earn it do, and to have acted accordingly. That, and the fact that preferment, perquisites, even allotting the ability to work have been the province of those who have wielded the power over many years. What has happened is an outrage, compounded by the fact that the ordinary people not included are still forced to fund the news outlet which is blatant in keeping this going ... Yes, CBC, that's you, aided by the CRTC which keeps the rest of the media in tow, as well.

The most concise statement about so much of what I have learned is that, in this instance (among others) of the Canada Account, the federal (Liberal) government in 2003-2004 used taxpayer money through a Canada Account administered by Export Development Canada (EDC) to fund various projects and that information is not transparent to the Canadian citizens whose tax dollars fund this and other agencies. EDC is Canada's Export Credit Agency and a Crown corporation (aka Export Development Corporation) Crown Corps allow much activity to be hidden from public scrutiny, partly because finding and reading what might enlighten the citizenry takes time and effort, partly because the government was able to operate in this manner, telling us we could not know. There should be outrage in the land over this lack of transparency and accountability.

The same has happened with the transparency and accountability of other groups, natives, foundations, agencies, NGO's, programs such as the Court Challenges Program, the Status of Women (SoW), and the like, all funded, in part at least, by the taxpayers of Canada. The people who pay have not been privy to much information unless they are willing to spend the time to read it for themselves ... if they can find it, which often requires a degree of computer capability which many people do not have.

The mainstream media, for the most part, have been remiss in the journalistic investigation area, presenting too little in depth investigation, with a few exceptions. Good journalism might not help the news business if it crossed government(s). Instead, journalists have become a conduit for government press releases and/or formed a claque for their favourite political party ... or they self-censor, perhaps to hang onto a job. Media and politicians working together ... for the good of those connected.

Apparently, the education system is not preparing students to protect their own freedoms, democracy and money, through reading for knowledge and, if necessary, taking considered action, even when civil disobedience is called for. This serves corrupt individuals and corrupt governments well. Many students have become adults not trained to read and to question the authorities, received wisdom, certain attitudes and whether positions or actions are wise or should be re-examined. These citizens are better prepared to be hoodwinked, readied for blunderbuss and bafflegab, for obfuscation and non-disclosure through recourse to "privacy" concerns. When the ordinary people ask questions, they don't learn much, nor, for that matter, do MP's in the House nor from agencies like CIDA (Think of comments from MP's and Sen. Kenney's committee about not being able to find out what was happening with projects in Afghanistan -- CIDA projects, I think, but it could have been others.).

Governments have, in various ways, hamstrung investigation by ordinary citizens. Learning what has been happening cannot be condensed into a sound bite nor a few bytes, nor into a quick paragraph. I have investigated in varying degrees of depth a few media-ignored topics such as the sale to CN of BC Rail and that story's many tentacles (the latest being Frost Hits the Rhubarb, Dec. 22 and Dec. 27, 06 but this goes back to posts on News Junkie Canada, Feb. 24, 2004, and Mar. 1, 2004, and more throughout that month and later. News Junkie Canada Oct. 24, 2004 comes to mind on security.). My investigations go back over three years. However, brief, they are not. They do contain information about which Canadians might be wise to learn. It is the seeming agreement among those (elites) at the top ... is it co-operation? collusion? naivete? corruption? belief in the same philosophy? political thought or aspirations? ... Whatever is at work in Canada, too much has not been examined and Canadians are gradually losing their country to those whose concern is themselves and their group ... making money, using power. The incestuous nature of judicial appointments has been another concern; see Nov. and Dec. for posts. But there I go again. Enough, already.

I see that I have failed concise ... again.

Jan. 1, 2007: Innsbruck Fireworks

... and to wish you a happy & healthy 2007

Jan. 1, 2007: Happy New Year

Update Jan. 2, 2007 - two updates below. One link changes no matter what I do and I do not know why.




Bumped up from Dec. 31, 2006

Happy New Year to all

The following is dedicated especially to those who try to protect the taxpayers of Canada, perhaps in the background.


Connecting the dots

Caveat: It is difficult to read what is in the following tables because they are small, but Blogger is limited for displaying table information. Check the websites in question. Note that below the tables is more information. It is possible to save and to enlarge the tables.

MS Paint will allow anyone to enlarge and look at the tables.
* Open MS / Microsoft Paint.
* Simply save a table to your computer and open in Paint.
* If necessary, make a screen capture (key "Print Screen" along the top of your keyboard); open Paint, use Edit/Paste or Ctrl-V which pastes the screen capture into Paint. Save the file as a jpg or jpeg.
Using the same file in Paint:
* In Paint, open Image/Stretch-Skew from the menu at the top.
* The first two spaces are for horizontal and vertical percentages. Change both percentages the same amount, for example, change 100% to 110% or 120% for BOTH.
* If it is large enough to read, save the result as "Name-view 2".





Scope of what follows

Re: Export Development Corporation , Canada Account , Funding , CIDA, Foundations , Export Development Bank , Grants , Concessional Loans [as opposed to other loans] , Concentration of Exposure [Canadian Financial] , Aging of Loans Receivable , Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) , Past Due Receivables , Forgiveness? Restructuring? Write-off? , Paris Club , UN Millennium Goals , EDC administrative charges , paid EDC to administer the Canada Account , DFAIT - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade , split in 2003 , Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) , administrative separation , Export Credit Agency , Export Development Canada (EDC) , Crown corporation , state-controlled , Compagnie française d'assurance pour le commerce extérieur (COFACE) , Northstar Trade Finance , Government-owned corporations , Industry Canada , NORTHSTAR Trade Finance Inc. , Western Economic Diversification , provincial government of British Columbia , BMO Bank of Montreal , Royal Bank of Canada , HSBC Bank Canada , National Bank of Canada , Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec , Canadian Trade Mission to Brazil , Scott Shepherd , exportsource.ca , Export Development Bank Corporation , Pender Financial Group , Kelly Edmison , trade commissioner and as an officer of the Export Development Corporation , Chemetics , Imperial Chemicals Inc. , 1994 , chartered banks

Continued:








Continued:




Source: EDC Disclosure - Canada Account Annual Report 2003 - 2004





Digression: Funding Bombardier

Recent subsidies cannot be totalled totally as EDC amounts are not subject to public scrutiny.

"It seems Bombardier has been subsidized, in recent times." and further down that webpage, "over 90% of their rail manufacturing is done in foreign countries"

www.taxpayer.com/main/news.php?news_id=1863

Check further; I ran out of time. From CNEWS forum here , posted by bobjane

End of Digression

Glossary - only some terms germane to what is below - There are more.

Concentration of Financial Exposure - Note "Grants"

Concessional Loans - low or interest free - may be combined with Grants - Canadian financial exposure








Related to Concentration of Exposure




Financial Statements

Note that this ties in to Notes 3, 4, 5 - with more information (below).





EDC Mandate and Authority

As mentioned below, when government responds to "international business opportunities", who are the beneficiaries?

Note: Bombardier, China, along with various banks in China, and there is mention of a few other businesses. Undoubtedly, if you search, there are more businesses of interest; at least, that has been my experience.







Aging of Loans Receivable

Note the amounts by 2011 - 2012. As an amateur looking at these, this struck me as significant to a government going into an election, as perhaps putting off the inevitable ... or would there be a write-off later? Maybe it is completely normal in business, but the average person in debt, long term, is only in debt in relation to buying a house, a house and vehicle, or perhaps for farm equipment so they may continue working or surviving, that is, for a farm family not involved in a corporate-sized farm business.





Past Due Receivables

Forgiveness? Restructuring? Write-off? Normal high finance?

What is the Paris Club and why is it significant to Canada? Forgiveness of Debt? Connected to the UN Millennium Goals? More research needed. Perhaps a great job for New Years Day.



There is mention of HIPC or HIPC's

Search: HIPC

Is it Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)?
I assume it is not to be confused with Health Information Privacy Committee (HIPC) in Canada. Of course, it could be an in joke.



Is this Debt Forgiveness, eventually?









Note 6 concerns EDC administrative charges (See below for more)




According to the above, at that time, Canadian taxpayers through the government of the day, paid EDC to administer the Canada Account. EDC was paid through Administrative Charges. What, if any, is the relationship of the EDC or Export Development Corporation to the Export Development Bank?

Search further: Export Development Corporation , Export Development Bank (Its name may have changed since; I think I read that somewhere. Try Business Export Development Bank )


Readers might want to check further whether these, mentioned in the report above, are significant:

Statement of Cash Flow to/from the Consolidated Revenue Fund - interesting figures
Paris Club
Aging Distribution - Amounts rise precipitously. Is that significant or only significant to the hoi polloi who do not normally deal with such vast quantities?
OECD Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits
Sovereign Loans
Political Risk Insurance
LIBOR - London Interbank Offer Rate -- The interest rate at which banks in London are prepared to lend to first class banks


The above tables are from EDC Disclosure Canada Account Annual Report 2003 - 2004 -- or here -- or here

www.edc.ca/english/docs/2003-2004_CanAcctRep_e.pdf

www.edc.ca/english/disclosure_9239.htm


I checked further:

DFAIT - Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, a brief history.

Which Ministry has been responsible for the Canada Account? While it falls under DFAIT, that department was split in 2003, then rejoined under PM Harper. There is a senior Min. of Foreign Affairs with overall responsibility (MacKay), a Min. of International Trade (Emerson) and a Min. of International Cooperation (Verner), responsible for certain delegated foreign policy matters including Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

[....] A separate Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of International Trade were created in December 2003 through an administrative separation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

However, on February 15, 2005 legislation to formally abolish the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and provide a statutory basis for a separate Department of Foreign Affairs and a Department of International Trade failed to pass a first vote in the Canadian House of Commons. However, the government maintained the administrative separation of the two departments despite neither having been established through an Act of Parliament. [....]

Export Credit Agency

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_credit_agency

Export Development Canada (EDC)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_Development_Canada

Export Development Canada (EDC) is Canada's Export Credit Agency and a Crown corporation that offers assistance and services (such as loans and insurance) to Canadian exporters who wish to export goods or services.
Since 2005, EDC has maintained a partnership with Compagnie française d'assurance pour le commerce extérieur (COFACE) [this link keeps changing] for the provision of domestic accounts receivable insurance to Canadian businesses, since EDC is not permitted to do so under its mandate. Similarly, EDC has partnered with Northstar Trade Finance [actually leads to an old Industry Canada webpage. See below.] to provide administrative support for Northstar financing transactions to foreign buyers of Canadian goods and services.

There is more:

Update Jan. 2, 2007: The link for this has mysteriously changed again to this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnie_fran%C3%A7aise_d. This is incorrect and would not work when I tried it. I do not know why it changes. My latest screen capture of it:



Check further on Wikipedia, try the full link below, or check elsewhere for information:

Compagnie française d'assurance pour le commerce extérieur (COFACE) is the main French export credit agency.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compagnie_fran%C3%A7aise_d%
27assurance_pour_le_commerce_ext%C3%A9rieur [Place on one line-a good link Jan. 2, 07]

COFACE North America official website
www.coface-usa.com/

COFACE official website
www.coface.fr/


Crown corporation - There are links within this item - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_corporation

In the Commonwealth Realms, a Crown corporation is a state-controlled company or enterprise. This article mainly deals with Canadian Crown corporations since the term is most widely used in Canada. Equivalent names in other jurisdictions include Government trading enterprises, Government-owned corporations and State-owned enterprises.

Note: In Canada, there has been a lack of transparency in accountability in relation to Crown Corporations. That might repay more checking.

I checked Wikipedia for more on Northstar Trade Financial and could find almost nothing. A Google search was somewhat more productive.

Northstar Trade Finance - information in Spanish, French and English. Nota Bene: This may be an older version of this page from the Industry Canada website; there may or may not have been changes in the last year.

strategis.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/navigate.do?language=
eng&portal=1&subPortal=&estblmntNo=
123456203464&profile=completeProfile

NORTHSTAR Trade Finance Inc. was created to support Canadian exporters by offering financing to credit worthy buyers of eligible Canadian goods and services.

NORTHSTAR Trade Finance Inc. brings together the export strengths of the government of Canada through Export Development Canada (EDC) and Western Economic Diversification, the provincial government of British Columbia, and the private sector through BMO Bank of Montreal, the Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC Bank Canada, National Bank of Canada, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Northstar shareholders are the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, HSBC Bank Canada, CDP Capital International and the Government of British Columbia. The Government of Ontario provided initial capital, and the Government of Canada provides support through the Export Development Canada (EDC), the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

Industry Canada: one address given: Northstar Trade Finance

833-595 Berrard St
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
V7X1C4
Telephone: (604) 6645828 Fax: (604) 6645838 Website URL: http:// www.northstar.ca [Remove the spaces.]

Perhaps fittingly entitled "disambiguation"

Northstar Trade Finance, a Canadian company offering financing to buyers of Canadian goods and services.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North
star_%28disambiguation%29


Photos from the Canadian Trade Mission to Brazil

Canada Trade Mission to Brazil Nov. 2004 includes photos, Note: webpage last updated 2005-02-08, just after the last federal election

www.tcm-mec.gc.ca/brazil/mission-en.asp

Jim Peterson, International Trade Minister and Jean-Paul Ruszkowski, Northstar Trade Finance Inc.

[....] Scott Shepherd, Northstar Trade Finance Inc. [more below]

Export Development Bank Corporation - exportsource.ca

exportsource.ca -- or here - many links to more information. What date? Is the information still valid?

exportsource.ca/gol/exportsource
/site.nsf/en/es01895.html

Northstar Trade Finance Inc. -- or here

www.wd.gc.ca/export/traderes_e.asp


Pender Financial Group - Team -- or here. Also, check Pender Financial Group Corporate.

www.penderfinancial.com/team/

www.penderfinancial.com/corporate/

Kelly Edmison - President & Chief Executive Officer

Pender Financial's management team has significant experience in the area of strategic business development, corporate finance, capital raising, and corporate governance, enabling it to add true value to portfolio companies as part of its hands-on investment management philosophy.

Kelly Edmison is the President and CEO of Pender Financial. Mr. Edmison is supported by an experienced group of professionals in the areas of finance, technology assessment, corporate governance and portfolio administration

[.... Much high powered talent here, it appears. Scroll to the bottom ....]

Scott Shepherd - Director [...email address]

Scott Shepherd has been active in financial markets for two decades. A graduate of University of Toronto and Dalhousie Business School, Mr. Shepherd spent his early career with the Canadian Federal Government as a trade commissioner and as an officer of the Export Development Corporation. Mr. Shepherd then spent a number of years as treasurer of Chemetics, a subsidiary of Imperial Chemicals Inc.

In 1994, Mr. Shepherd founded Northstar Trade Finance Corporation ("Northstar"), where he continues today as its chief executive officer. Northstar provides assistance to Canadian companies in financing exports. Northstar operates in partnership with the Export Development Corporation and four of Canada's chartered banks. Northstar has over $100 million in assets.

Check the rest of the members of the team.

Again, Happy New Year.


Update & Related: I remember mention of the Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank somewhere in all the above, which would make the following relevant, re: Paul Martin.

Frost Hits the Rhubarb Dec. 24 - 30, 2006

Search:
Dec. 27, 2006: CIDA: Grants, Contracts, Contributions



Frost Hits the Rhubarb Dec. 21, 2006: Here we go around the mulberry bush ... again



frosthitstherhubarb.blogspot.com/2006/12/
dec-21-2006-here-we-go-around-mulberry.htm
l
Africa: Screen capture & Update: UN CA Connections CITIC Paul Martin Power Corp. Volker ... and Oil

Assume ... after each. Search:

African Development Bank

Former prime minister Paul Martin has been named co-chair of a high-profile panel that will advise the African Development Bank Group on its strategic vision. [....]

Paul Martin's spring 2005 budget

Note how often Africa is mentioned in that budget. Also, in the following, check the history of the African Development Bank and note mention of AIDS / HIV.

[....]

Some of the following appear to be about media but they include banking information, complex networks, global media empires, financing ... The more I read, the more it seems to be all connected in some way.


Related re: Media, Power and Pargesa, and Canadian banks, TD, for example.

Dec. 17, 2006: CBC & Friends and Dec. 17, 2006: Media ... litany