I live in British Columbia. Our Provincial Liberals treat the Government like it's their own party publicist/campaign arm. So, to me, Julian Fantino posting some letters on a Government website that are critical of the opposition doesn't seem like a huge deal.
This article is interesting for two reaons. First, it points out that this certainly isn't the first minister to pull a Flaherty and use their ministerial role inapropriately. Next, if you scroll through the comments, it seems to illuminate the official Conservative talking point for this: That if a minister doesn't break this rule, we're actually punishing the businesses in ridings that happen to have a minister for an MP. Sooooo...how old is Canada? I didn't realize that for over a hundred years we've been punishing businesses in the ridings of Ministers. I mean, there's never been a case where a minister has unfairly handed out boatloads of cash within his own riding, has there? We really need to address this grave injustice. Jim Flaherty is a hero, really. And what the fuck? Is it honestly the job of an MP to write recommendations for businesses in his riding? Is there some sort of daily line-up outside of MP's offices where local business owners stand, cap in hand, waiting for the good word of their MP?
Wow. The National Post is on it today. First, an opinion piece taking Jim Flaherty to task for not simply admitting that he made a mistake. Next, they question the Prime Minister for his attack on a journalist who exposed sketchy election spending by the Conservative party. Well done National Post.
And...There is an opinion piece written by Patrick Brazeau. And I really, really hate to say this, but I think I might actually agree with him on this. Whether you think First Nations receive too much support or not enough support, it's impossible to make any sort of determination without a better idea of where the current batch of money is going. I realize that Idle No More is about more than money, and opponents are trying to make it all about the money. But...well...he raises some valid points.
I'm not sure if I talked about this guy before. Was this before the last election? Anyhow, an Edmonton MP was pulled over by the cops one night and refused to provide a breathalyzer sample. And was a total dick. Guess which party he's with? I don't think the article actually states this. Perhaps in Alberta "MP" and "Conservative" are synonyms?
A Salon book discussion raises horrifying thoughts on the war in Vietnam. It's a pretty long read. It's very depressing. But it warrants your attention.
The headline of this article states "GOP memo brags party kept the house by gerrymandering". I didn't take this at face value. I expected some subtle interpretation whereby the author read some innocuous phrase as an endorsement of gerrymandering. But no. It really is a memo bragging about redistricting to best support election of GOP congressmen even wihthout a majority of the vote.
Another Liberal leadership candidate has come out in support for some sort of election reform. This time a ranked ballot.
Looks like there may be some identity theft related to lost student loan data.
You heard about the maple leaf on the new bills? Me too. Does it really matter? Stupid botanists. I actually heard one of them talking on the CBC about how we would never put a baboon or a palm tree on our bills, so why would we put the wrong maple leaf.
I was with Brazeau right until here: "While we mull this over, we might also ask the question of how certain chiefs and council members seem to receive very handsome salaries and benefits while families go without clean drinking water."
ReplyDeleteWhy not, Senators and Premiers and Prime Ministers getting handsome salaries? This is ghetto-ized thinking; Their issue is their problem and they are mismanaging it. To my mind, it's our issue, our problem, and we are mismanaging it.
If the AANDC sucks at its job (his contention not mine), then our Federal Government is just as culpable for throwing money away by not expecting proper accounting procedures be followed.
To me this is the greatest boondoggle of government accountability. The old saw is, "we paid x dollars for y service/infrastructure/program and it didn't work, therefore look at the people who got the money not us." This is insanity. Ask any manager.small business owner/anyone with a budget basically and responsible for the outcome of spending that budget (like 4 walls, heating, clean water, and food for your family) and making sure the work gets done properly is the hardest part. Stroking the cheque (especially when its the people chequebook) is easy.
Jay. I agree with you. To a point.
ReplyDeleteWhen the salary for the work far outstrips the work being done, you need to ask some questions.
And the fact that Senators (and other politicians) are paid a large sum of money and perhaps not showing results doesn't preclude this from being a valid question.
Is this line of reasoning/questioning by Brazeau/Canada racially motivated? Probably. I don't agree entirely with what he says. I in no way am trying to blame the first nations for this mess and I agree that the Federal Government is as much to blame as anybody. I'm just suggesting that without a complete understanding of where the money is going we can't possibly figure out what the solution is and I agree with Brazeau that it is not racist to initiate a process whereby we try to figure out where the money is going (even though it's probably racist that we've put so much focus on this issue).
I'm an Engineer. If I've learned one thing over the years it's that you can't effectively solve a problem unless you have great data. Perhaps the actual data will suggest that there are no problems with reserve finances and this has all been elaborate smoke and mirrors? We'll never know until we have some actual data.