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Tory MP Candice Hoeppner, in response to the report issued by the RCMP today on the long gun registry, said that it showed the long gun registry to be "“wasteful and ineffective.” She further claimed that "[t]he report also clearly shows that claims made by advocates of the unreliable long-gun registry about its so-called value to front-line officers are highly misleading.”

How can she possibly square these allegations with what the report actually says? The report says of the registry that it is a "useful tool," that it ensures "police are better equipped to respond to, for example, a situation of domestic violence, assess potential safety risks and confirm the possible presence of firearms and their legal status.” It also said that there is an "“ongoing need” for the regulation of firearms.

Opponents of the long gun registry can believe what they want, but it would be nice if, in such an important debate, they did not twist the facts so blatantly. I...
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If a question of an election is in your head this fall you should know it ain't going to happen. In the summer an election was almost certain this fall, but then the Conservatives had to go and mess with the long form census. Which polls show isn't so popular. Then the conservatives are revisiting the long term gun registry. Both these  issue's are ralling his base, and have immense opposition. These aren't issue's a party in power is going to propose just before an election. Now the Conservatives only slitly ahead of the polls are trying to get it back by ralling the base. An election not happening this fall.
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John McCallum announced today that the Liberals would introduce a private members bill reinstating the mandatory long form census, while removing the jail time penalty. The Conservatives are seeking to further hobble the power of government to take positive action in our society, whereas the Liberals are standing up for the admirable and desirable idea of a government that is able to help society. That shows the fundamental difference between the Conservatives and the Liberals. The Conservatives believe in a government that maintains sovereignty, keeps markets free and supplies the military. Liberals believe government can do more.
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When the bill to abolish the long gun registry was last put to a vote in the House of Commons, 8 Liberal MPs supported it. To avoid such an outcome on the upcoming decisive vote, Michael Ignatieff has whipped his MPs into opposing the bill. Ignatieff has understood that the registry is an important tool for police in their fight against crime. He also knows that the registry makes society safer.

Jack Layton probably knows these things, too. However, as of yet he is unwilling to whip his MPs on this issue, citing his principle of letting MPs vote their conscience on private member's bills. This is an admirable democratic principle. Yet, with the safety of citizens' at stake, Jack Layton should take a firmer stand. He should stand up for what is right. He should whip his MPs to oppose this dangerous bill.
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R. v. Park, 2010 ABCA 248, in the Court of Appeal for Alberta, has a good summary of when a directed verdict is appropriate: 



[15]           The test for a directed verdict is best summarized as follows:



 





⁠



"... An absence of evidence on an essential element will result in a directed acquittal. The existence of evidence on every essential element will result in dismissal of the motion. ..."



(R. v. Charemski, 1998 CanLII 819 (S.C.C.), [1998] 1 S.C.R. 679 at para. 22)



...



 



"In other words, a motion for a directed verdict should not be granted 'in any case in which there is admissible evidence which could, if it were believed, result in a conviction.'"



(United States v. Shephard, 1976 CanLII 8 (S.C....
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When Dmitri Soudas brought the media's notice to the incident that occurred in the arctic yesterday between two Russian bombers and two CF-18s, the intention was obvious. The Russian military often performs exercises in the Arctic near our airspace, about 12-17 times a year. Today's news was nothing of consequence.

Except for the fact that it was motivated by a desire to shock Canadians into plumping for the purchase of 65 F-35s to replace the CF-18s. This is flagrantly obvious, as such events are not normally brought to the public's attention. But with the government announcement of the purchase of the F-35s, they need some sort of justification for this $9billion and up purchase.

Does the government really believe that it can make most Canadians believe we are in danger from the Russians because they are performing routine exercises? They should be ashamed of trying to deceive the public this way.

PS: on a side note, the TU-95 Russian bombers (nickna...
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Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and Alexandra Mendes reported that since Harper's government has been in power, 20% of federal appointments had been given to Conservative supporters, constituting in their opinion a blatant case of patronage. Tory supporters thought they had the perfect mathematical defense.

Looking at the comments on news stories, you see a lot of Tories saying: "If he only appointed Tories to 20% of the jobs, then that means 80% went to Liberals, NDPers, Blocs and Greens. Why are the Liberals complaining?"

But that is not the case. When they said supporters, the Liberal MPs meant Conservative party insiders, people who had worked for the party or had given large donations to it. People that actually were Conservative party members. They did not mean anyone who voted Conservative in the last election.

Not every Canadian is a member of a political party, or is a donor to one. Far from it. To think therefore that the appointments can be divide...
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There's a curious intellectual disconnect, or an apparent disconnect, in the Federal positions on the census, the gun registry and the crime agenda.



The positions on the census and gun registry seem to follow a libertarian approach. Less government is better and we must focus on core functions -- keep government out of people's lives. This is a valid intellectual position -- one with legitimate conservative roots -- and while I don't agree with it I respect it.



The crime agenda, by contrast, focussed on the government managing people's lives so as to ensure they behave properly -- hence the proposed increases in penalty for running a bawdy house or drug offences. I don't agree with the position but I understand it.



The trouble is the positions don't seem the be consistent and, what's more, the inconsistency cannot be justified by claiming that the government is doing what works regardless of ideolo...
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Corporate Ethics International..  "Respect Our Authoritah"
Well.

I started my little facebook page mostly to vent my own frustration with a group of Californians wanting to throw stones from their own glass house.

But I've been pleasantly surprised with the growth - from one (me) to 32 this morning.

Thank-you for all of have joined the group - for those of you who haven't yet joined - you still can join Re-Think California here.

Just a comment though.

The point of Re-Think California isn't to suggest everyone in Califor...
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Alleslev-Krofchak v. Valcom Limited, 2010 ONCA 557, released today online provides a clear statement of the elements of international interference with economic relations:

 

[48]          If there was any uncertainty about the elements of the tort of intentional interference with economic relations, I think recent jurisprudence has provided much clarity. The most important case is OBG v. Allan, [2008] 1 A.C. 1 (“OBG”), which was issued on May 2, 2007 by the House of Lords. The three earlier cases from this court that the trial judge referred to all precede this judgment.

 

[49]          In OBG, the House of Lords provided a detailed analysis of the two intentional torts of inducing breach of contract and intentional i...

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World hunger an issue I find has not been stressed enough, Because clearly if it was a big issue it wouldn't be that bad. Here are some interesting facts about hunger in our world.



Did you know that 15 million people die from hunger every year. That is 1 person every 3.6 seconds! In the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America 500 million people are leaving in absolute poverty. 50% of our planet live on less than 2$ a day. It is also in the U.S one in eight children under the age of 12 in the U.S go to bed hungry. Now what is the world doing about it. Well the cost to satisfy all hunger needs in the world would cost 13 billion dollars. That is how much people in the U.S and the E-U spend on perfume. Now nothing against perfume, but the fact is that not enough money is given to end global hunger. In Japan 5 times more food is thrown in the garbage than the UN gives for hunger relief. 13 billion is a lot of money for you and me, but for our government especially...
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In 1971 Pierre Berton referred to the NDP as “The conscience of the nation.” Today that emphatic statement would be best phrased as a pertinent question: Does the NDP have a conscience? How quickly we forget that Stephen Harper’s rise … Continue reading →
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Stephen Harper's Conservatives have prided themselves on being a party that is tough on crime, pushing for certain minimum sentences and announcing plans to build new prisons in order to convey that image. However, they are now coming into conflict with their partners in the war against crime, the police. If this isn't a signal of being soft on crime, then what is?

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) approved a resolution at its meeting earlier today that asserted the importance of the long form to police work. It reads that “ police agencies throughout Canada depend on reliable, comprehensive demographic statistical information provided by Statistics Canada to establish policing priorities and to determine policing services for their communities" and that “the long form census used by Statistics Canada is the basic tool for gathering the necessary statistical information while protecting the confidentiality of such information.”

In other wor...
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In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, Marc Mayrand, Liberal MP Marlene Jennings asks him to look into allegations of the Conservative party soliciting donations from Conservative party members from the PMO. This would be in contravention of Section 92.1 of the Elections Canada Act that "requires that a donation in-kind to be declared to Elections Canada whenever an organization allows a political party to use its facilities to raise funds" if no such donation in kind was made. If the calls were in fact coming from party headquarters, that would constitute fraud.

Jennings goes on to bring Mayrand's attention to allegations she has received claiming that Conservative party workers have been making phone calls posing as a fictitious "Elections Centre" with the aim to gather information on voters. It would appear that if this is the case the Conservative Party is using the similarity betw...
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If it were not apparent that the Harper government does not believe in the independence and expertise of public servants, there is almost no doubt about it following the removal of Marty Cheliak from his post as acting Director General of the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP). The reason offered for his removal from the post, that he does not meet the bilingual requirement for the job, immediately arouses suspicion.

Cheliak was appointed Director General of the CFP in August 2009. It is safe to assume that he was no more bilingual then than he is now. After all, most people who are bilingual don't lose the ability to speak both languages in a year. Clearly, if Cheliak is not bilingual now, he was not bilingual then. It follows with undeniable logic that he therefore did not fulfill the bilingual requirements for the job.

The RCMP would have definitely known this a year ago. Unless the bilingual requirements for the job have been modified, which they have not because...
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"Hey boys and girls, want some crystal meth?"

Excellent article in the Calgary Herald Saturday by Robert Remington:

Rethink California: a Hypocrite's Travel Guide

You see, the California crowd at Corporate Ethics International is suggesting Alberta is so filthy that tourists had best beware.  Oddly enough, it appears that California is throwing a lot of rocks around for someone living in a huge glass house.

While Corporate International is playing fast and loose with the truth in trying to make their poi...
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With Jack Layton calling for an emergency debate when the House reconvenes, we can provide support by joining the facebook group advocating the retention of the mandatory long form census. Let's show Stepehn Harper there's just as much anger over this issue as over prorogation.
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On the CBC Radio program The House, Tony Clement stated today that there would be no further census concessions. The reason it seems is that Clement believes that he "[is] meeting the objections of those who are concerned about robust and reliable data." I guess he thinks that a 50% response rate is robust and reliable.

The sad fact though is that it isn't. It is fair to say that experts at Statscan, who have made it their life's work to deal with statistics, would know more about what constitutes robust and reliable data than he does, and that therefore we should follow their advice of maintaining the status quo. That is if you're not talking to the experts Clement alleges exist at Statscan that believe that a voluntary form is a perfectly acceptable substitute for the mandatory long form
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I try not to get too worked up over summertime polls. Canadians aren't thinking about politics, and even a barrage of Census news stories isn't going to change their vote intent much. At least not right away.

After all, people are at their cottages and drinking lemonade. They have better things to do than talk to pollsters. So there was really no need to panic when Ekos' Canada Day weekend poll showed the Liberals at 23.9%. And the Tories probably don't need to lose much sleep over an August long weekend poll which ...
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“…[P]robably the most exciting day was the day I found out I became dean. And I remember the person who phoned me said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And the person said, ‘Well, you are about to make history.’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, my God.’ [I]t was scary, of course, but [...]
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‪‪‪As soon as the ship entered Canadian territory the people on the ship are legally entitled to make refugee claims. 

Despite the tough talk below that's what the law is. 

And frankly it's hard to see what can be done other than to let the ship in -- were the Forces supposed to fire on an unarmed ship full of people? There is no point talking about turning away ships -- that's not realistic -- the fix is to fix the refugee system so it works quickly and fairly. 

Genuine refugees should be admitted and those not genuine excluded and all that should be done humanely and in a matter of a few weeks.  I am sure there are legitimate refugees on the Tamil ship -- and probably some who aren't -- so let's sort 'em out. There's where there is work to be done -- tough work yes but necessary work:

"Public Safety Minister Vic Toews stressed Thursday the migrants are not welcome and issued a warning:

"We want to send

...
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Quebec will sell hydroelectricity to Vermont. This deal will give Vermont 225 megawatts of energy this will give enough energy for 200,000 homes in Vermont. By 2012 for another 26 years Vermont will have energy that is clean and cheap. Vermont has now proven again that it believes in enviromentally and cheap energy for it's citezens and future citezens. I think that we here in Quebec are lucky to have so much lakes that we can make the new enviromentaly energy of the future. I hope Quebec continues to sell more of it's energy so it can first get more revenue and to get U.S to start moving away from oil and coal enrgy use.




Vermont will purchase 225 megawatts of power starting in November 2012
and ending in 2038 - 225 megawatts of electricity is enough power to
maintain about 200,000 homes.
Read more here...
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