Happy Canada Day everyone

I will be away for a few days, enjoying the long weekend (I managed to take the Monday off as well, yay for me!). So blogging will likely not resume until Tuesday... hopefully all five or six of my readers won't miss me too much. ;-)

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day. Although the political scene in this country is nowhere near as good as I or many people would like it to be, I still love Canada and will be thinking of the good things about this country this weekend.

Drive safe, please don't drink and drive... but most of all, have fun this long weekend!

Other thoughts on child care...

... can be found at Andrew's blog here.

Also, Stephen Harper started his summer tour by talking about several of his party's policies, including child care. Read it all here (and a big hat tip to Paul for posting it in its entirety).

Have I told you how good Paul's and Andrew's blogs are, by the way? Not that I'm trying to kiss up to them or anything... well, OK, maybe I am a little bit. :-D

Could child care (and not SSM) be the true "family values" battleground in the next election?

With all the recent debate, discussion and controversy surrounding same-sex marriage, it's easy to lose sight of other issues. Election campaigns are funny things, and what people may not perceive to be a major difference-maker now could very well prove to be just that in the next federal election.

One such issue is child care. John Geddes from Maclean's has written this article where he does a great job of juxtaposing the strategies of Ken Dryden, former NHL all-star goalie, current Liberal MP and Social Development Minister, and of Rona Ambrose, the Conservative MP from Edmonton who is becoming highly regarded as "one of the next generation of Tory bright lights."

I think most people know about the Liberals' plan to establish a national, regulated child-care system... Dryden says quite clearly he believes it is the only way to guarantee the high standards necessary for caring for Canada's young children. The Conservatives, on the other hand, plan to propose "direct payments to all parents, combined with new tax incentives for companies to expand daycare to the workplace." In the article, Ambrose says that the details of the CPC plan will be announced by Stephen Harper in the upcoming few weeks... but interestingly enough, she also said the Conservative plan will cost "a lot more money, frankly" than the Liberal plan.

Once clear advantage of Ambrose's plan is that it will give parents full control over their child care choices. This is especially important for families who want to have a stay-at-home parent or a relative care for their young children, because these are options that are not present in Dryden's preference and plan for regulated, government-subsidized day care centres. Do today's young families want such centres estabilshed? Well, current trends as reported in the article suggest many would not want their money spent on such centres. Even Mr. Dryden himself says in the article that parents aren't exactly clamouring for national daycare.

Anyway, I encourage you to read the article in full, it is well worth your time.

It's official...

The SSM bill passed, 158-133.

I'm not a proponent of this new law... I thought the Conservatives' position of creating civil unions for gay couples with all the same rights and responsibilities of marriage was an excellent compromise... but it's the law of the land now. I still wonder what the results of the vote would be if it were truly a free vote, as matters like this should be. In fact, more free votes on these kinds of issues is another key element of the Conservatives' platform, and Stephen Harper has already promised to re-open debate on SSM and bring about a truly free vote if the CPC wins the next federal election. Whether this is a smart political move is up for debate (I'm not yet convinced it is, and at least a few people are convinced it's a really bad idea), but you have to respect a politician who stands up for his principles and beliefs, because there clearly aren't enough people like that on the Hill right now.

One such person is Joe Comuzzi, a Liberal who gave up his Cabinet seat (but did not leave the Liberal party) in order to vote against this bill. Mr. Comuzzi should be congratulated for his courage in taking this stand.

Anyway, if anyone had any doubts that today's vote on SSM was not truly free, consider this:

The bill was supported by all but one NDPer - Bev Desjarlais, who was subsequently stripped of her two critics' portfolios and banished to a back row seat in the Commons.

Boy, that Jack Layton is a real paragon of allowing people to vote with their conscience, isn't he?

Oh my God, part 2

More details on the victims of the shooting incident in London, Ontario (my former hometown), that I first posted about here, can be found by clicking here.

Once again, I respectfully ask you to offer up your prayers to the deceased, and to the surviving member of the family... I cannot imagine what she must be thinking about right now.

Harper to embark on national tour

As an update to this post, this article was first posted by Paul at Blue Blogging Soapbox.

It would appear to me, after reading the article, that Stephen Harper has got the right idea of what needs to be accomplished during this tour.

"It seemed a good idea to start to get some of our ideas out now and to contrast those with some of the priorities of the Liberals," Harper said as he kicked off his summer tour with a partisan barbecue.

"Our primary role in Parliament is to hold the government accountable. But when Parliament isn't sitting, I think, obviously we have to start talking about some of our own policies."

All I can say is, please, PLEASE, let's hope he gets it right!

Angry in the Great White North says "Tories must heed the wisdom of Yoda".

Read... and may the Force be with you! :-D

Oh my God

This is scary.

"London, Ont. (CP) - Four people were found dead following an early morning shootout in a home in this southwestern Ontario city in what police are describing as a triple murder."

Unbelievable... this is my old hometown, and it's a pretty sleepy little city overall. Things like this just don't happen in London... or so I thought anyway.

Please pray for the families of the victims, and may God rest the souls of the deceased.

Other reaction from Lisa at The London Fog... and if she's right in those posts, then I may be more naive than I'd like to believe.

Stephen Harper attacked for speaking the truth... but should he have spoken this truth out loud?

(How's that for a long title, eh? :D)

Stephen Harper said this today about the soon-to-be-passed same-sex marriage legislation: "Because it's being passed with the support of the Bloc, I think it will lack legitimacy with most Canadians... The truth is most federalist MPs oppose this. It's only a deal with the Bloc that's allowing it to pass."

As you might expect, he's being attacked on all sides for saying this, being accused of "pitting one group of people against another" and "saying Quebecers' votes don't matter" by such political luminaries like Scott Brison and Jack Layton.

So what to make of this?

Well, to start with, his statement that most federalist MPs oppose SSM? He's right! In a good post by Toronto Tory, he links to this study that lists the voting stats on SSM by party. It reads (roughly) 166 for and 142 against. When you take out the Bloc's votes, the split becomes 135 against and 119 for. So the accusations of intolerance and so on against Harper are pure bogus. Like it or not, when Harper said most federalist MPs do not support SSM, he's absolutely correct.

That's not to say that there's nothing to be concerned about regarding Harper's statements, however. Surely most people remember it was the Conservatives and the Bloc combining together to try and vote no-confidence in the Liberals and vote against the NDP-Liberal budget. Now I believe the CPC did not court the Bloc's support, they just happened to share similar goals at the time. But it doesn't matter so much what I believe... what will the average voter believe? This may have been an instance where Harper should have told himself, "Yeah, I know this is the truth, but the optics aren't great, and this won't have much political benefit for me, so maybe I'll just keep this under my hat."

But that's just my opinion... and I'd dare say Harper's political instincts are better than mine, so maybe he's got a grand plan up his sleeve to help deliver the CPC to victory next election.

But hey, Stevie, anytime you feel like sharing with the rest of us... we do want to help you out, you know...

*UPDATE* Laurent at Le Blog de Polyscopique speaks up and says Harper made a mistake by saying what he did... and considering Laurent is from Quebec and understands politics in that province about as well as anyone I've ever read, he makes points well worth considering.

Rats!

Rats!

"Lions Upend Argos in Grey Cup Rematch"

I watched this game on TV... good game, probably the best game of Week 1 of the CFL, but for Argo fans like me, the outcome was disappointing.

Two main problems with that game for Toronto, they didn't finish off their offensive drives & settled too often for field goals, and too many breakdowns in discipline later in the game, leading to killer penalties.

Certainly there is no shame losing to B.C., they are a very good team, but I think it was a case of the Argos beating themselves rather than the Lions beating them.

Oh well, it's only one game, I'm confident they'll learn from this and get back on track, starting next week against Calgary. When they get it together, and it will be sooner rather than later, look out CFL!

AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGOOOOOOOOOOSSS!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For Mike Brock's 7-step plan to improve the CPC's communications and strategy...

... read here.

Some of the comments are pretty interesting too.

Thoughts...

Thoughts I'm having while watching some CFL football (Aaarrrrrrgoooooos!!!!)

• Why did it take so long for Paul Martin to visit flood-ravaged areas in Alberta?
• Why have people mistakenly Stephen Taylor is an MP? He has a good blog with lots of good ideas, sure, but he's not an MP (he does write a funny post about this problem).
• What to make of this? Is Stephen Harper right when he says the Liberals will make deals with anyone in order to cling to power, as they did in catching the Conservatives off guard and scheduling a late vote on the NDP-socialist happy, $4.6B budget amendment? (Answer: Yes) Did some of the Conservatives over-react in their condemnation of the Liberals' tactics? (Answer: Probably) What does this really mean for Canada? (Answer: Darned if I know)
• Who's running the show at the Globe & Mail? One day, they say the Ethics Commissioner exonerated Sgro, but the next day it appears they actually read the report and then stated she was abusing her powers as a Cabinet Minister. See Angry in the GWN's posts here and here for more details (this leads to another question... what the heck is Robert McClelland thinking by criticizing this point? I have my opinions, but I'll let you decide this one for yourself!)
• Does Toronto suffer from anti-Americanism? Some people think so. My thoughts on anti-Americanism in general can be found here.
• As Bill at Strong World asks: Why are the Liberals not doing the job of government and fighting for Canadians? If it were not for the good and honest efforts of several Conservative MPs and Senators, no one in the Canadian government would be standing up for Canadian ranchers, farmers and beef producers in the ongoing "mad-cow" dispute with the U.S.

*UPDATE* Forgot one... why, oh why, are the Libs in such an all-fired hurry to pass the SSM legislation? Aaron Lee Wudrick also wonders why.

Working blues

Unfortunately, my workload has just grown substantially in the last couple of days... the excrement has hit the electric device with wide blades that spin around, you might say.

So blogging will be sporadic, at best (more likely non-existent) until the weekend. Until then, take it easy everyone... and check out some of the Blogging Tories or other links while I'm away.

Warren Kinsella respects Stephen Harper

Hat tip to Brandon at A La Derecha for linking to this article by Warren Kinsella, which either was in the National Post today or will be tomorrow (I'm not sure which, sorry to say) (*UPDATE* I found out from the Conservative Life blog that the article ran in the Monday, June 20th edition of the National Post).

As a former Liberal advisor and admirer of Jean Chretien, Kinsella has been known to say sharply critical and sometimes nasty things about Conservatives and their supporters. But it is clear that he has a lot of respect for Stephen Harper (and not too much, if any, for Paul Martin). It is a very refreshing read.

Musical Interlude: Strippers' Union

So I drove down to London on the weekend to visit the family and celebrate Father's Day with the best Dad in the world (mine, that is), and I took a couple of CDs with me to listen to on the drive their and back. One was the new Foo Fighters disc (which I praised here), and the other was by a band called Strippers' Union.

Who are they, you might be asking? Well it's a new band led by the duo of Craig Northey (formerly of a good Canadian rock band, Odds) and Rob Baker (guitarist of my all-time favourite band, The Tragically Hip). The Hip is in between albums, so Rob decided to do what many of his bandmates have done and embark on a side project. After starting to write some songs, Rob contacted Craig, and they collaborated on the songs that led to the new album.

Titled "Local 518", the disc is a good mix of rock and mid-tempo folk rock numbers. A number of songs have guest musicians, including some of Craig's former bandmates and Rob's current Hip-mates, and some songs even include a great horn section. Craig handles the vocals for most of the disc, but what is notable for me are the two songs where Rob sings lead. "Bulletproof White Limo" and "Sweet 'N' Low" feature Rob's deep bass voice, and I think they are among the best songs on the disc.

All in all a very solid disc, I highly recommend it.

Check here for another review of Strippers' Union - "Local 518".

Ethics Commissioner Shapiro "Incompetent"

Remember what I said in this post?

Now will Shapiro do the job as he's set out to do? Time will tell... but let's just say this doesn't make me feel very optimistic on that front.

Well... looks like I had reason not to be optimistic.

Parliament's independent Ethics Commissioner is incompetent and should be replaced, opposition critics say.

Bernard Shapiro, who was appointed by the Liberals last year, has been asked recently to look into at least two cases of alleged conflict in the Liberal cabinet.

He has not submitted final reports on either and has been accused by the opposition of dragging his feet and not handling the job properly.

Now, the NDP says Mr. Shapiro has decided against expanding an inquiry into the Grewal tapes affair to include the Prime Minister.

They have demanded an explanation, and MP Ed Broadbent said he will formally call for Mr. Shapiro's resignation in the Commons next week.

Conservative Deputy Leader Peter MacKay supports the NDP complaint.

"Mr. Shapiro seems to be demonstrating daily that he's just as anemic as his predecessor," Mr. MacKay said outside the House on Friday.

"He's a wet noodle on this issue," he said of the Ethics Commissioner's probe of secretly recorded discussions between Tory MP Gurmant Grewal and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Tim Murphy, the Prime Minister's top aide.

"And yes, I think (Mr. Shapiro) should resign. I think we should have someone there who is competent, independent and prepared to hold to account government officials that were involved in what appears to be a vote-buying exercise in return for cabinet positions."

And that doesn't even include the fact that Shapiro initially thought that he had no mandate to investigate Murphy's actions, even though he could have confirmed without a doubt that he could probe Murphy's behaviour in just a few short minutes.

Maybe Mr. Broadbent and Mr. MacKay are right... maybe Mr. Shapiro should be replaced.

Belinda speaks out!

Belinda Stronach has written a piece in the op-ed pages of the Globe & Mail.

Read it... but be warned. It is a little... shall we say... precious at best. And almost painfully juvenile at worst.

Then read this fisking of Belinda's op-ed piece by Aaron Lee Wudrick. I'll bet it will have you nodding your head in agreement quite a bit... for he really does nail the hidden meanings behind Belinda's words and actions.

*UPDATE* Perhaps you'd also like to check out Bob Tarantino's comments... for in addition to being entertained you'd learn something too... that Belinda's piece didn't even make the Globe proper, but instead was a "free 'Web-Exclusive Comment' on their website". LOL!

Well, that's not very nice now, is it?

From the CP:

A protester dumped a red liquid on Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew on Friday as he spoke at a conference on Haiti.

"You've the blood of Haitians on your hands," the man shouted as he was escorted away by security officers.

Say what you will about Mr. Pettigrew and his effectiveness as Foreign Affairs Minister (and indeed, many have), but this sort of treatment is unwarranted and completely wrong.

It's fair to protest and speak out against what you think is wrong, but any sort of physical altercation like this person engaged in clearly crosses the line.

I'm just glad Mr. Pettigrew didn't make like his former boss, Jean Chretien, and put a chokehold on the guy. But I'll bet he was thinking about it... and hey, if I were in Mr. Pettigrew's shoes, I KNOW I'd be thinking about it!

The nerve of some prime ministers

OK, anyone else find this ridiculous?

It's time for Stephen Harper and his Conservatives to stop playing politics and help pass amendments to the federal budget to ensure municipalities get millions in badly needed funding, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Friday.

"(There's) too much at stake for us to tolerate partisan games any longer," Martin said after announcing two agreements to give Ontario municipalities money for transit and infrastructure.

"I believe that it is time to put politics aside and pass the budget."

Come on. Time for Harper and the Conservatives to stop playing politics? What about Martin and the Liberals playing politics by working with the NDP to create an add-on to the federal budget of potentially $4.6 billion? What about Martin and the Liberals playing politics by refusing to acknowledge the results of valid non-confidence votes in the House? What about Martin and the Liberals playing politics by buying the support of Belinda Stronach and getting her to cross the floor? What about Martin and the Liberals playing politics by constantly resorting to the lowest common denominator in order to constantly cling to power?

I could go on and on here... but surely by now you get my point, right?

Speaking of the Liberals playing politics (not to mention Mr. Dithers being in full effect again), after being pushed, then delayed, then pushed again, now it looks like the SSM bill is being delayed again. Man, talk about being jerked around... no matter which side you take, the Liberals' lack of political courage and leadership on this issue is beyond irritating.

Surprisingly enough, even though Stephen Harper has offered to take the "blame" for this latest delay...

"I'll gladly take credit for being the one party leader who's opposed to this legislation," Harper said.

"We're not going to make their job easy when we don't agree with their legislation."

... no one, not even the media, is taking the bait! Will wonders never cease...

Same-sex advocates and the NDP heaped scorn on the possible delay. And they weren't buying Martin's attempt to blame the Tories.

"Talk about an abdication of leadership," said NDP leader Jack Layton.

"What kind of commitment has (Martin) got to human rights?... I call upon him to lead."

A prominent gay-rights advocate also called into question the Prime Minister's gumption.

"The government can pass the equal marriage legislation if (it) wants to," said Alex Munter of Canadians for Equal Marriage.

"That's where the question of leadership comes in."

*UPDATE* For further (and entertaining) thoughts on the SSM legislation delay, see here.

Sad day in UWO history, part 2

Unbelievable... I just read the link posted on UWO's website containing Dr. Morgentaler's convocation speech. I won't give him or them the satisfaction of linking to it directly, but through this post here you can see a portion of the speech, compared to another convocation speech delivered by Neil Armstrong (the first man to walk on the moon) to graduates of the University of Southern California.

Bad enough that Dr. Morgentaler has done so much to advance the cause of abortion... apparently he is also self-centred, egotistical, and can't give a good speech to save his life!

Sad day in UWO history

Updating this post... well, unfortunately, despite the best efforts of thousands of people, Dr. Henry Morgentaler was awarded his honourary degree by UWO today.

Truly a said day in the history of a great educational institution. One which it may never fully recover from... no matter how others may spin this.

See here and here for other reactions.

*UPDATE* More reaction here, here and here.

Audit targets firearm registry

Ah, the federal firearms registry... another in a series of areas where the Liberals are guilty of wasteful spending (if not fraud a la Adscam, although nothing has been proven in that regard) in pursuing a policy that provides little if any benefit to Canadians.

Now the Libs are being warned... or rather, they are being warned by someone they might actually listen to, instead of the normal warnings issued by the Conservatives, Canadians who legally own guns and Canadians who believe the Libs are wrongly infringing on fundamental individual rights with this registry.

Costs for the controversial gun registry program could continue to "spiral out of control" unless the government takes steps to curb spending, an external audit warns.

But the thing is, it's not really an audit.

The financial report compiled by Hill & Knowlton for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, obtained under Access to Information by Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz, recommends the government shift the Canada Firearms Centre to another larger department to wrestle down costs. (emphasis mine)

First of all, a financial report is not an audit, so it won't have the same strict tests that a regular audit would. Secondly, Hill & Knowlton is a PR firm, not an accounting or public auditing firm.

Hey, I'm an accountant, remember? Believe me, I know audits, and I know audit firms. And Hill & Knowlton may be capable of many things, but being an audit firm and preparing true audits, financial or otherwise, ain't among them. In fact, Angry in the GWN's post lists in some detail what these guys actually do (hint: think spin doctors).

Still, we must admit Hill & Knowlton may well be giving the government good advice on how to handle costs on the gun registry today. So what are they advising the Liberals to do? Find efficiencies in the program? Reducing staffing on the registry? Scrapping it altogether?

Well... uh... we don't know, exactly.

Breitkreuz called the report an "indictment" of a failed program that should be scrapped.

Slamming the reams of information that has been whited out in the 40-page document, Breitkreuz said the censoring is a deliberate attempt to keep the public in the dark about a badly managed "fiasco".

Originally pegged at $2 million, the cost has ballooned to $2 billion by some estimates. (emphasis mine)

Just another example of how the Liberals don't get it.

Musical Interlude: Foo Fighters

So I picked up the latest release by the Foo Fighters on Tuesday, "In Your Honor"... and I have to say it's probably their best work ever! It's a double CD, disc one being the hard rock the Foos are known for and disc two being an all-acoustic set, with ten songs on each disc.

Disc one rocks as hard as anything the group has ever released. The first single, "Best of You", has been getting a lot of airplay, and is a superb release featuring impassioned vocals by the Foos' frontman, Dave Grohl, but there are several other excellent numbers on this disc... my early favourites are No Way Back, The Last Song and Resolve.

What comes as a real revelation to me is the all-acoustic disc two. There have been hints in the past that the Foo Fighters were capable of producing good acoustic tunes, but this release has surpassed my expectations. Among the gems are What If I Do?, Miracle, On The Mend and Friend of a Friend. The last song is reportedly about Dave's old bandmate in Nirvana, the deceased Kurt Cobain, which makes it even more compelling and touching.

I definitely give "In Your Honor" two big thumbs up, and while The Tragically Hip are and will always be my favourites, the Foo Fighters are right up there on my list.

Mr. Dave Grohl, Mr. Taylor Hawkins, Mr. Nate Mendel and Mr. Chris Shiflett, take a bow, you guys have outdone yourselves!

The "Hidden Agenda Tour", coming to a BBQ near you!

(h/t to Kate at small dead animals for the quoted part of the title)

Looks like Stephen Harper is going to hit the so-called BBQ circuit in the summer. He plans to attend several events and promote the Conservatives' positive policies.

In addition to that, he's going to try and have a little fun while he's at it. Said Harper to the press after a national Conservative caucus meeting, "My wife said to me recently: 'You do need to have more fun.' She said: 'You're not having enough fun, even by your standards.' So we'll do some of that."

Capital idea! If he can relax at these events, I'm sure he'll come across as more engaging and better able to connect with Canadians. Maybe then people will drop the ridiculous notion that Harper is scary.

"Steve? Make my burger well-done, please!" :-D

Darn those unnamed sources!

More of the... uh, shall we say... less than stellar reporting from the Grope & Flail... or Mop & Pail... or heck, whatever you want to call it.

I was going to comment on this... but Greg at Political Staples and kaz at bluetory have summed it up perfectly already.

*UPDATE* And so has Aaron Lee Wudrick.

Gulp!!

The Canada Revenue Agency has written off almost $2.4 billion in taxes owed but never paid after an internal audit found there was little likelihood of ever collecting the money.

Yep... you read that right... that's $2.4 billion.

With a "b".

Thanks to Bob at either orr for finding that link. Oh, and if you need a good laugh to make you forget about government incompetence such as that found above, read this post by Bob... and don't thank me, thank him!

I don't know what else to say but...

... ugh!!

Michael Jackson found not guilty.

I don't care... he STILL gives me the creepy-crawlies!

Duceppe not running for Parti Quebecois leadership

Updating this post... Gilles Duceppe announced today that he will not be running for the vacant position as leader of the Parti Quebecois, but will instead remain in his current job in Ottawa as leader of the Bloc Quebecois.

Many in Quebec were clearly hoping he would return home as the triumphant hero, but he decided to stay where he is. Why did he make that choice?

... Duceppe called the independence struggle a two-front battle and said he did not want to abandon the troops in Ottawa before the next federal election.

"If I weakened the front in Ottawa, would it serve the sovereigntist movement? My conclusion was no," he said at a news conference.

"The next step in the long march for Quebec and for sovereigntists is the next federal election."

Well now, looks like the PQ is back to where they started after Landry's surprise announcement. Many people assumed that Duceppe would take this opportunity, so now they've had to rethink their plans.

Of course, this could be just a temporary no for Duceppe. Let's assume the federal election is held sometime within six to twelve months from now. Let's also assume that the polling numbers in Quebec hold and the Bloc win massive seat numbers in the province and nearly wipe the Liberals out. Let's furthermore assume that the PQ choose only to name an interim leader while they "search" for a permanent replacement.

If that scenario holds, it could well mean that Duceppe will be on top of the world in Quebec after the federal election, and will then likely be able to take the full-time reins of the PQ virtually unopposed.

Once again, Angry in the Great White North weighs in on this issue with an interesting post, where he gives two possible reasons why he feels Duceppe will not take the PQ job anytime soon... because the PQ might not win the next sovereignty referendum, and because the PQ might win the next sovereignty referendum. Uh, yes I know that sounds confusing, but trust me, if you read, you shall be educated.

Health Minister grilled

From this article...

"Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh took heat from opposition and government MPs over long waits for health care Monday, but offered no promise of speedy relief."

Er... umm... hold on a minute here. I thought health care was fixed for a generation!

MPs from both Liberal and Conservative ranks denounced slow progress on the issue, given last week's report by the Supreme Court that people are dying on waiting lists.

The high court cited long wait times as the reason for striking down Quebec's ban on private health insurance.

Under the federal-provincial health accord, benchmarks for measuring waiting times will be released at the end of this year. The provinces are required to report substantial progress in reducing wait times by March 31, 2007.

Oh, well then, Mr. Dosanjh is going to get right on top of this problem and solve it, right? Er... right?

Dosanjh said he, too, is impatient - but suggested there's little he can do.

"There's nothing to prevent the provinces from reporting before March 31, 2007. In fact, my view is their citizens will hold them accountable from time to time. I'm hoping we don't wait for the deadline.

"The only review mechanism we have is Parliament reviewing progress in implementing the accord every three years."

Gee... why am I not surprised by this?

Quick link

Just a quick link tonight...

Further to one of my earlier posts, Bill at Strong World has more great advice for the Conservative Party and those who support them, including some pertinent quotes from John Diefenbaker.

Go read, and be enlightened.

Landmark Supreme Court case

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled yesterday that restrictions on private health insurance put in place by the Quebec government are unconstitutional. The decision only affects Quebec for now, but it's almost guaranteed that similar legal challenges will be launched in other provinces across Canada.

Is this the first step towards our politicians, and the public at large, accepting the need for more private input into our health care system? Right now anyone even mentioning the word "private" is immediately shouted down as favouring "American"-style health care and thus somehow being un-Canadian. Pretty difficult to engage in reasonable debate in how to fix our broken health care system, wouldn't you say?

Currently health care costs are spiralling out of control, yet wait times for surgeries have never been longer. It's time for our politicians to be honest with themselves and with Canadians... we need more private input in our health care system. If it is done right, then we can have a health care system that benefits all. For those that have the means to pay for it, if you want to have your procedure done sooner rather than later, you should be able to do so... but if you need to rely on the public system, then it should be there for you to provide what you need at high quality and within a reasonable time frame. We're not there right now, but maybe this Supreme Court decision will help us get there.

Some other thoughts on the matter by the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, Aaron Lee Wudrick, Pro Libertate Veritateque, Toronto Tory, Daimnation! and Let It Bleed.

Whoa, I'm getting dizzy over here

OK...

Let's see if I've got this straight.

First, the same-sex marriage bill was going to be sidelined until at least the fall.

Then... one whole day later... that same bill was going to be fast-tracked.

Now? It might not be passed into law so quickly after all.

I think I need to lay down for a while here... all this flip-flopping and dithering is getting me light-headed and making my neck sore.

(Thanks to Angry in the Great White North for allowing me to shamelessly link to his posts... do him a favour and give him a read, it's well worth your time.)

OK, now I feel a little better

Well, after yesterday's disappointing poll results, today's Toronto Sun editorial puts things in perspective.

First, it makes the point that if the Conservatives panic and attempt to dump Harper, it would be "stupid, disloyal and unproductive". I totally agree with this. Harper has already done so much for the CPC to make it as viable a party as it is. One bad poll is not enough to get rid of him. Others disagree... and while I respect their opinions, I can't agree with them either. Set aside the fact that I personally support Harper... the timing right now couldn't be worse to remove him as leader. As reader The Invisible Hand said in this post at Bound by Gravity, "It's worth noting that since the Liberals took power, no conservative party has had the same leader for two elections in a row, thus allowing them to paint us as having a hidden agenda every single time" (emphasis his). Considering the great challenge we all know the next election would be, wouldn't it be nice to not have to face that handicap as well?

The editorial also makes the point that all Conservatives, including Harper, need to do more to win favour with what it called the "fickle" electorate. For one thing it suggests we refrain from blaming voters, saying "What this poll... tells Conservatives, yet again, is that Canadians won't hand them the keys to government simply for calling the Liberals corrupt. Canadians already know the Liberals are corrupt." It surely is good advice... even though it's sometimes very tempting to lash out and wonder what's wrong with people, we must control this urge. Again, due to the failure of the Tories to properly promote their policies, most Canadians don't see a viable alternative to the Liberals, thus leading to the poll numbers we saw yesterday.

This is where the final point of the editorial comes in, and it's one I've also made earlier as part of this post. The CPC needs to "tell Canadians, clearly, where they stand." The sooner the better, I say.

So, I encourage everyone to throw their energy and support behind Harper and to do your part if you truly desire a change in how Canada is governed for the next election. In my mind it's clear... Harper gives us the best chance of having a conservative government in power than we've had in many years.

*$#% poll!

*Sigh*

The latest polling information...

The Liberals vaulted to a 14-point lead over the Conservatives in popular support, suggests a new poll released to the Canadian Press.

A Decima survey last week suggests support for the federal Tories crumbled, putting them in a virtual dead heat with the NDP.

The Liberals were at 37 per cent support, the Tories had 23 per cent and the NDP trailed them closely at 21 per cent.

*Double sigh*

Most surprising were the numbers in the critical battleground of Ontario, where the Conservatives were running neck-and-neck with the Grits barely a month ago.

Decima said the Tories had fallen 26 points behind the Liberals and were in third place behind the NDP. The Liberals had 48 per cent in that province, the NDP was at 24 and the Conservatives held 22 per cent.

OK... part of me wants to take the attitude of MP Monte Solberg, who in the article was quoted as saying "These things wax and wane... I think we just keep pounding away, stay positive, and in the end people will come around to our point of view."

But the other part of me wants to curl up in a fetal position in the nearest corner and weep for the state of my country, and especially my province of Ontari-ari-ario.

Maybe I just need to take a deep breath and clear my mind instead.

Book-tagged

Well, well, well. This book-tagging thing has been going around the blogosphere for a while, so I guess it was inevitable that I got tagged. Anna at Canadianna's Place has done the tagging.

So, here goes nothin'...

How many books do you own? Well, I have some at my place, but I know some of my books are still at my parents' house, for some reason. I'm going to guess and say about100.

What was the last book you bought? I bought two recently, volumes 5 (Wolves of the Calla) and 6 (Song of Susannah) in Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series. I got the seventh and last volume for Christmas, but I'd only read up to #4. I finally got impatient enough that a couple of weeks ago I bought those two books. This series I guess is King's "Lord of the Rings", if you will... I'm not saying it's as good as that, but it's been an entertaining read so far.

What was the last book you read? Funny enough, the same two books I most recently bought! I was so impatient to find out what happens in the series once I got the books that I've just devoured them. Just starting on #7 now.

Which 5 books mean a lot to you? Tough question. I haven't read a lot of "political" books, so I guess one of the neat things of reading these "book tag" posts is seeing some of the books out there in that area. I hope I can find some time to get to some of those books. But now on to answer the question at hand:

"The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil - I became interested in this book after listening to an album by Our Lady Peace called "Spiritual Machines", where Kurzweil read quotes from his book and the band incorporated its themes in their music. The first two parts of the book are pretty science-heavy, but they are interesting even if a little difficult to get through sometimes. But part three where he makes predictions on the future impact of computers on our lives is absolutely fascinating, and sometimes more than a little frightening.

"The Tropic of Hockey" by Dave Bidini - The author is also part of one of Canada's best indie-rock bands, The Rheostatics. This book is about Bidini's quest for hockey in some very unlikely places, like Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. Very interesting and witty, a terrific read.

"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote - An eye-opening and chilling read examining a horrific crime, what the perpetrators were thinking, and how they were brought to justice.

"Lives of Girls and Women" by Alice Munro - I read this book in my university English course... the rest of the course ranged from forgettable to downright miserable, but this book was quite the exception. I responded to the honest storytelling in this book, as well as the emotional impact it carried.

"It" by Stephen King - Hey, what can I say, I'm a big fan of King's books. Whether this was his best work or not is debatable, but to me it's one of his most scary and emotionally charged books. The book has a lot of "heart", and I admire it for that. It also speaks to me personally... one of the things the book touches on is the effect of bullying on kids, and I can sympathize with that as I was picked on as a child in grade school.

Tag 5 more people. Are there even 5 people left who haven't been tagged by this? Well, I'm going to tag these people and hope they haven't already done this...

1. The Reformer's Firebrand
2. Toronto Tory
3. habamus rodentum
4. Let It Bleed
5. and, just to see what the other side is thinking, The Amazing Wonderdog.

*UPDATE* Wonderdog has already been tagged... see here.

From religion to SSM to Pat O'Brien

OK, a few things to cover in this post.

First, this article, where... can you believe this?!... Christian groups are trying to, and have been, influencing Liberals, not just Conservatives.

Really?! But I thought Christians only went together with Conservatives, because don't ya know, THEY'RE SCAAARRRRYY!!!

Socially conservative Christian groups purportedly infiltrating the Conservative party have been equally involved in the ruling Liberal party for years.

"People of faith are engaging in the democratic process in the Liberal party as well as the Conservative party," Charles McVety, head of Canada Christian College and a founder of the Defend Marriage Coalition, said in an interview.

... McVety and other Christian activists counter there's nothing new or threatening about their activities. Nor are they exclusive to the Conservative party.

McVety said his group, which opposes same-sex marriage, helped a number of like-minded Liberals secure nominations prior to last year's election.

Among them were Toronto-area MPs Paul Szabo, Tom Wappel, Jim Karygiannis, Dan McTeague and Albina Guarnieri, now veterans affairs minister, and Oshawa MP Judi Longfield.

"And those are just some of the Liberals we've helped."

Imagine that... Christians helping the Liberals too. Perhaps we Christians aren't so scary after all. Hmm... I wonder if Gloria Galloway at the Globe & Mail has heard about this.

Meanwhile, recent news that has disappointed most Christians is the Liberals changing their minds and deciding to fast-track the same-sex marriage bill. I can't figure out for the life of me why the Liberals are doing this. They have gone back on their word to hold more meaningful hearings on this proposal (more on that later), and they seem to be oblivious to how many people are upset by this bill, especially those from whom they usually enjoy support (the ethnic vote and less "activist" Christians). (hat-tip to Angry in the Great White North... read this for his very interesting and thought-provoking post on his thoughts on the possible ramifications of this bill passing.)

Now, as part of the fall-out of the decision to fast-track SSM, comes today's announcement that Pat O'Brien is leaving the Liberals and sitting as an independent. O'Brien has long made it known that he is against same-sex marriage. He flirted with leaving the party before, but Martin promised that he would hold cross-Canada hearings to better study and debate the issue. O'Brien says Martin' s reneging on this promised (gee, what a surprise, PM the PM reneging on a promise!) has forced his hand.

"I tried my best as part of the Liberal caucus to achieve my objectives. I now find that I can't do that anymore," (O'Brien) said at a news conference Monday morning in Ottawa.

"I'm not being listened to in the Liberal caucus to the degree I want to be on this issue. They're determined to move forward on this issue and you can see what a rush they are in to do that."

... "The truth is not what you say, the truth is what you do," said O'Brien.

While I wish O'Brien had made this decision long ago, I applaud him for deciding to take a stand and follow through on his beliefs. I'm not sure how much, or even if, O'Brien has any common ground with the Tories on any other issues, but hopefully they can work together on other areas in Parliament. It may be a short-term option at best... the local CPC association in O'Brien's riding have already chosen a candidate to run in the next election, and I doubt they would bump him even if O'Brien later shows interest in joining the party. I guess one can only conclude that O'Brien is following his conscience at the possible expense of his political career... if that is truly the case then he deserves even more praise for his decision.

In any case, things (as they say) is gettin' interesting.

Parti Quebecois Leader Bernard Landry Resigns

Well... this is surprising. I can honestly say I never saw this coming!

Bernard Landry's shocking resignation as leader of the Parti Quebecois on Saturday promises to realign Canada's political landscape... Landry... quit following a lukewarm 76.2 per cent result in a confidence vote.

Party faithful gasped and dozens broke into tears as an emotional Landry haltingly broke the news he was leaving.

"You will remember at the beginning of my speech I saw we were activists, it's the title we have in common, and it's a beautiful title," Landry said in announcing his departure.

"But I want to tell you that from this moment, it is the only title I will have."

Landry then summed up the situation this way: "It breaks my heart to tell you this, but I'm doing it in the national interest. I'm sorry to do this."

Landry had said he would stay on with 76 per cent support, but supporters confirmed the PQ leader had privately set a minimum threshold of 80 per cent to
remain at the helm.

So... what now? Well, long-time PQ MLA Pauline Marois has already jumped off the mark and announced her candidacy (although at least one person has publicly stated her announcement is premature and could work against her). There are also rumours another former PQ cabinet minister, Francois Legault, will also run for the job.

The leading candidate, however, is probably Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, even though he released a statement supporting Landry and asking him to reconsider his decision. Assuming he declares his candidacy, he would certainly be welcomed with open arms, almost as a conquering hero a la Lucien Bouchard. If I were a betting man (and I have been known to lay down a wager from time to time), I'd put it at even money that in the next few weeks, Duceppe will run for, and win, the PQ leadership.

If that happens, what of the BQ? Is there anyone capable of leading that party? Heck, can anyone outside of Quebec even name another BQ MP? In some ways it may not matter a lot, as the Bloc will still win a ton of seats in Quebec next election since the Libs are dead there and the CPC haven't really established themselves yet. But in other ways it will matter. Duceppe was a relative unknown when he took over the Bloc, and at first was not taken seriously (remember the cheese factory "headgear"?), but over time has proven to be an able MP and leader of that party. Will the new leader develop in a similar way, or will he/she continue to be a nobody after taking the leadership of the Bloc?

So many questions...

Gurmant Grewal tapes: Paul Martin calls for co-operation with probe

Article here.

I have no problem with Paul Martin asking for co-operation with the probe to be undertaken by the federal ethics commissioner, Bernard Shapiro. What I'm worried about is whether Martin will follow his own advice. Heaven knows he's evaded his share of responsibilities since becoming Prime Minister.

Two questions:

1. If Shapiro finds no evidence of tampering with the tapes (and no, the findings of minor alterations do not constitute evidence of tampering), will Martin and the Liberals drop that charge, or will they just repeat it until the lie becomes truth in the eyes of the voters? I bet I know the answer to that one...
2. From the article... "Shapiro's probe will be limited to the actions of Grewal and Dosanjh. Murphy's actions will not be subjected to Shaprio's investigation". Um... excuse me? What the heck is this??? Murphy was one of the main players in this whole affair. If his actions are not part of the investigation, then what's the point?

*Sigh*

"Stop being smug when dealing with U.S."

The above is a portion of the headline for this article, written regarding a speech given by Frank McKenna, Canada's ambassador to the U.S.

It is excellent advice. Sure we have disagreements with the U.S. (i.e. defence matters, softwood lumber, cattle industry re: mad-cow disease), and some aren't thrilled about their current political leaders. However, the U.S. is and has been for a long time our greatest friend and ally. As the one remaining true superpower, they (generally) use their economic and military might for good, to spread and encourage freedom and democracy around the world. So it's disappointing to me when otherwise reasonable Canadians spew venom and condescension to the U.S. and its citizens.

It's natural and right to voice concerns or debate whether decisions made in the U.S. are right or not, because those decisions often have a large impact on Canada. And in other, more relaxed settings (i.e. sporting events), it sure is fun cheering against the big bad U.S. All that's OK, but we need to remember not to get carried away. I urge anyone reading this to follow Mr. McKenna's advice, and "stop being smug and take the chip off your shoulders".

UWO Alumni Against Honouring Morgentaler

I was very distressed when I heard the news a while ago that my alma mater, the University of Western Ontario, is granting Dr. Henry Morgentaler an honourary degree at this year's convocation ceremonies.

For those of you who don't know me, I was raised as a Catholic, and even though I don't attend church regularly as I probably should (much to my mother's chagrin), I have retained my religious convictions and beliefs. This includes abortion. I am against abortion, except in very defined circumstances (i.e. for victims of rape who become pregnant, or where the pregnancy puts the mother's life in danger somehow). So naturally when I heard UWO (or more specifically, the president of UWO, Paul Davenport) decided to grant this honour to "Dr. Death", I was stunned, upset and outraged.

Other people who feel the same have started this excellent web site, and with the help of sympathetic people in the local media (including Herman Goodden), they have done a lot to spread awareness of this issue. They have also organized reasonable yet insistent protests to let the UWO brass know how many people are upset by this decision. On this website nearly 12,000 people have signed their online petition.

If you have not done so, I urge you to visit the website and add your name to the growing list of voices protesting this irrational decision. Davenport and others have done incalculable damage to UWO, both in terms of its reputation and in fund raising (reports have it a wealthy individual decided to withhold a multi-million dollar donation when he learned of the decision to honour Morgentaler... see here and scroll down to the May 13 entry), and as one of its alumni I am saddened that they would do this to an institution I care about. So I would be grateful if you did voice your protest against the decision to honour Morgentaler.

Thank you.

Gurmant Grewal tapes: Ethics commissioner to investigate

Article here.

Here's hoping Mr. Shapiro is able to do a thorough job and get to the bottom of this. If he's able to do it, then let's hope justice is served and those implicated in this scandal step down.

Frankly I'm getting a little tired of this story right now, mostly because of the shameless denials, lies and spins the Liberals are doing over this. Now I'm not saying Grewal is necessarily blameless in this matter... he should be turfed if it can be proved that the tapes have been tampered with, and the way he went about doing this makes me a little uneasy (although as I mentioned in another post, it's also reasonable to assume that he felt he had little choice but to do this, otherwise he'd risk being branded a liar... plus proof of the Libs' underhanded dealings would never have been made as clear as they were). Still, reasonable people should be able to see that Murphy and Dosanjh have clearly made an offer to benefit Grewal and his wife in exchange for his crossing the floor and/or vote in the budget showdown, all of it couched in language and doublespeak to provide a plausible "degree of deniability". Ugh... that phrase just makes my skin crawl, as does this whole episode!

Now, will Shapiro do the job as he's set out to do? Time will tell... but let's just say this doesn't make me feel very optimistic on that front.

More at (as usual) Angry in the Great White North.

Gurmant Grewal tapes: Angry nails it!

Well... I was going to add more thoughts to the continuing Grewal tapes affair (Grewalgate? Grewalscam?), but after reading Angry in the Great White North's posts today, I don't think I can add much more of value... he's nailed it perfectly. Check him out here, here, here, here, here, and here... you'll be glad you did.

A reasonable voice in the MSM wilderness...

Nice to see that at least one newspaper editorial has it right. The Montreal Gazette's editorial is titled Murphy and Dosanjh must go.

Where is the rest of the outrage? Where are all the other voices speaking against this sort of behaviour and demanding Murphy and Dosanjh resign?

At the risk of stealing from Brian Walsh's blog theme (sorry Brian), why do I feel like I'm one of the few who have taken the red pill and am aware and disgusted with the Liberals' duplicitous ways, while too many others have taken the blue pill and, essentially, don't care?

From the "What the Heck?" Files

Anyone remember this guy?

"A man from New Brunswick... said he'd loaded his car with guns and ammunition in New Brunswick before setting out with plans of randomly shooting people in Toronto.

On arriving in east-end Toronto, the man reportedly went into a nearby park to load his weapons. There, he told police, a playful dog approached him. That encounter apparently changed his mind."

Turns out the guy really was crazy... but perhaps for an entirely different reason.

"A New Brunswick man who told police a friendly dog scuttled his plan for a bloody shooting rampage was sentenced Wednesday to a three-year prison term after admitting it was all a ploy to get life-saving surgery while in jail." (emphasis mine)

Gee, whatever happened to calling 911 or going to a hospital like everyone else?

"The former jail guard, who originally hails from Niagara Falls, Ont., suffers from diabetes and Marfan's syndrome which can cause a swelling of the heart. His lawyer said it was not clear why he wasn't treated in New Brunswick.

(He) was sentenced to three years in prison... followed by three years of probation. During that time, he is to stay in the province of Ontario and continue any treatments he started in prison." (emphasis mine)

Hmmm... so he gets what he wanted after all. Maybe he is crazy... crazy like a fox!

Gurmant Grewal tapes: Possible motivation for taping?

Just wanted to link to this post at Canadianna's Place, where she shares an interesting and very plausible theory on why Grewal taped these conversations in the first place.

Read it and I think you'll agree she makes a lot of sense.

UPDATE: Michael at The Blue Maple Leaf shows how easily Stephen Harper exposes the lies coming from Paul Martin on this whole issue. A well-written post, and another reason I support Stephen Harper to continue to lead the CPC.

UPDATE #2: You can always count on Andrew Coyne... he absolutely nails it on the head with both this column and this one. That's telling 'em, AC!