Climate Porn?

Toronto Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstine wrote an interesting article about the over-hype of the global warming "crisis". A good read.

read more...

Mom and Mom and Dad

A rather interesting court ruling this week. Apparently, it is now legal for a child to have three parents. No, not in the sense of a step parent, but three full fledged legal parents. That's odd.

An Ottawa area lesbian couple had been fighting for this for a number of years. The biological mother's lesbian partner wanted to become the adopted mother of the child. The father is still alive and heavily active in the child's life. The reasoning behind this is that if something were to happen to both biological parents, the child would still have a mom. That does make sense in a way. The father was married to the biological mother and they are divorced. (I don't know why, two women is every man's dream, right?)

Well, this other woman has finally been granted the right to be the child's full fledged adoptive mother. This opens an interesting can of worms. It's interesting to note that this trial happened with a homosexual couple, rather than a heterosexual relationship. It leads me to believe that judges are being a bit too "pro-active" on the whole gay rights agenda. Something that is not their job. Why do we elect MPs anyway? Secondly, it creates a few legal problems. Does this new ruling apply to strait couples as well? Was it right to do so? I personally found the ruling unnecessary. There are already laws in place that would give the child to a step-parent provided this be noted in the will. Both biological parents did want this women to be the mother if something were to happen.
It's more pushing the whole gay agenda than anything else, with the legal consequences not even being considered. The judge should be disbarred for that in my opinion. This ruling has one major flaw. That is, what happens if the relationship between the two women were broken off. The other woman would still be the child's legal parent. That likely means back to the courts to decide who gets custody, and then the child ends up getting bounced back and forth between three people. That is hardly fair to the child, who has already had to deal with such adult issues at such a young age. Though I think it's possible for a child to have caregivers outside of their two biological parents, it's wrong to start making these caregivers the legal status of biological or adoptive parents, it goes against nature as well. In the human species, it's only possible to have two parents.
Speaking of which, what about adoptions. Something else that wasn't considered that definitely should have been. If say a woman gives up her child for adoption, does she still remain a legal parent? This case opens the door for something like that. Take the US women who recently kidnapped her kids she gave up for adoption and fled to Canada.

I definitely question the Judge's motives on this ruling as it is highly irresponsible. It is always wrong to use children as a pawn to push political agendas.

These sorts of decisions should be left up to the legislature to decide. It's alright for judges to bring up these issues but its wrong in a democratic society for them to have the final say.

read more...

Death of a Tyrant

As I'm sure most know by now, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain has been executed. Stick a fork in him, he's done. Too bad the debate over his death is still as fresh as my Christmas tree, still going but stale.

I for one think Saddam being executed is the first positive thing in Iraq since the war started. It finally closes a chapter on the nation's violent past. Saddam was born a thug, he was already a killer by his teens. He ruled his country like a mafia don. The loyal were well treated, those he doubted were murdered en mass. Definitely not a very nice man. He's finally hung for his crimes. If anything, Iraqis can be safe in knowing he'll never be coming back.

However, the debate as to whether or not he should have been killed still continues. Many claim that executing him is in itself a human rights violation, committed by the imperialist United States. Never mind Saddam was tried and executed by his own people, and not the Americans. I suppose mass murdering Kurds and pitting Shiite against Sunni in a brutal civil war is not enough justification. As I hinted at earlier, the Iraqi people would not have accepted anything less than death in order to make sure he wouldn't return to power.

To those who still rant against him being killed, Saddam is dead. Nothing can bring him back to life so you're just beating this issue like a dead horse. Where were you before they were going to hang him?

read more...

Spewing Hot Air

I wish I had the ability to lie and keep a strait face. Too bad I can't so I can't be a politician, or a "scientist". Yes, it was warm today. January 5th and it got up to 11 degrees today. Of course you know what this means? We can't ski! Oh well, I hate skiing. No wait, that's not it. Oh yes, the apocalypse. Yes, this might be my last post on Martin's Mill News. I might be dead tomorrow, and so will you. The world is ending! It's all over people, we don't have a prayer!

Am I crazy? Probably. Does the above statement sound crazy, definitely. Coming for me, it's no different from the homeless guy on the street corner who hasn't taken his meds today. Coming from psudo-scientists, it makes perfect sense. Yes, it's warm today so the world is going to end. Global Warming. A convenient issue. A convenient lie. Especially if you're considering running for the democratic presidential nomination in 2008...*cough*. Global warming is an issue that is really starting to bother me. What bothers me is that it shouldn't be an issue at all. It's all a lot of hot air. I've talked about this before but its dominating the news again. Why won't people just come out and admit it doesn't exist! Why, because they're making too much money and getting too much attention over it. If you read my October 2006 article about it, you'd know my position. Of course reducing pollution is important but telling people we'll all die tomorrow if we don't is pure insanity, and people don't even see it.

read more...

Reflections on 2006, Thoughts for 2007

The world greets 2007 today. One year over and another begins. 2006 was certainly an interesting year to be alive in. We saw the Conservatives rise to power for the first time in 13 years. The Democratic party took control of congress in the US. Saddam Hussain was finally executed for his crimes. War in Lebanon, natural disasters, the deaths of many big names in recent history. It's amazing how much we can cram into 365 days, whether for good or bad.

I think we should look at 2007 on a positive outlook. Recent polls done in the United States show Americans fear an approaching dooms day. For some reason though, I highly doubt the second coming of Jesus is in the cards for the next year. I predict we've still got a solid 5 billion years before we have to worry about the end of the world. So what are my predictions?
-Weather will return to normal with the end of the El Nino cycle, ending global warming fears.
-No chance for peace in the Middle-East but with Saddam Hussain out of the picture in Iraq, at least there will still be hope for that country.
-There will be no terror attacks on US soil this year. Terrorism world-wide will be below normal this year.
-Fidel Castro will die. Cuba will either become democratic or adopt post-Mao Chinese style "communism". US Embargo against Cuba will end.
-Canada will not go to the polls for another Federal election as predicted by some political scientists. With Canada's two biggest provinces already going to the polls for provincial elections, opposition parties will likely hold off until early 2008, or face voter backlash. Dalton McGuinty will (unfortunately) win the Ontario provincial election but will only hold a minority government.
-Caledonia will not be resolved. The OPP will be sued over it.
-Milton will fall further into the sinkhole it dug itself.

read more...

OPP Has Failed: Military Action Needed

The Ontario Provincial Police have failed at Caledonia. This comes on the heels of the arrest of Gary McHale, who organized a protest against the native occupiers. Not only is this grossly unconstitutional, it proves who the police are really supporting in this issue.

The Federal Government really needs to get involved and to take a stand against the aboriginal protesters. How long can we let this go on? Another year, five years, ten years of squatting on land that does not belong to them? The RCMP or the military should be called in immediately to resolve the dispute. Obviously the OPP is not there anymore to protect the rights of Ontarians. It's bad when it gets to the point where an external body must get involved. Constitutionally the natives are a federal duty so they should be resolving it anyway.

Further more, OPP chief Julian Fantino should resign his post and the officers involved should be reprimanded for their failure in the issue. What are we? Mexico? The natives have no legitimate claim over land they sold. Why bring up stuff from 200 years ago? Only to cause trouble most likely. Most of those on the Six Nations reserve are on welfare (I've had natives tell me that), simple wards of the state. Their free ride has gone on long enough.

read more...

Political Correctness is Dying a Cold Death

It's been a slow news week so this Christmas Tree thing has been dominating the airwaves for the past few days. The tree issue itself is rather trivial on the outside. It does however scratch the surface of a very important issue in Canadian society. That is political correctness.

The PC movement began in the 1980s. The idea was to eliminate racism and intolerance. Since it first started, it's done quite the opposite. If anything, it's made people more intolerant. The anti-Christmas movement that came out of PC was started by a small minority of Jews, though some atheists in the US have joined. As an atheist, I celebrate Christmas. It's a western tradition and is just as much secular as religious. I couldn't care less where they have a baby Jesus. He is a historic figure after all.
The vast majority of Jewish people do not support this anti-Christmas crap. Frank Dimant, vice president of the B'nai Brith has denounced Justice Cohen's decision. Based on her last name, Cohen is obviously Jewish. It seems she doesn't have the support of her people though, far from it. This whole thing about the Christmas tree has seemed to unite Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews in the Toronto area. I'm sure this is not what Cohen was expecting. Current government policy allows for the celebration of all holidays in order to promote multiculturalism. This move by Cohen is anti-multicultural. She still refuses to back down though. The government needs to redefine policy to prevent overzealous people from taking things into their own hands.

As for political correctness, it's dying a cold death. People are sick of having to tiptoe around issues for fear of offending someone. It seems that Canada's four major religions are in agreement on this. Attacking Christmas displays is not political correctness, it's just bigotry desguised as it.

read more...

Is Iran Falling to Nazism?

Iran is a curious state that is certainly full of controversy. Earlier this year, the National Post posted a false article regarding arm bands for Jews. Fortunately this was not true but one begins to question how long will it be before it is the case.

Iran is holding what it calls a Holocaust Conference. It claims it is to discus the reality of the holocaust in an open and free environment. In reality, it seems to be more of a convention for anti-semitics than anything else. Notably, a former leader of the US based Ku Klux Klan was invited to be a keynote speaker. (For those who don't know, the KKK is a radical and violent white supremacy group that hates Jews, who are ironically white) The conference's main goal is to question whether the holocaust actually happened. If the holocaust was fabricated, it must be the greatest conspiracy in history. Certainly, it would be impossible to pull off. I find it insulting that there are people who would deny the crimes of Nazi Germany, since I had family members die fighting them. Curiously, anti-zionist Jews were invited to the conference and are attending. It begs the question of whether Iran's government is anti-Jewish or just anti-Israel. That question is difficult to answer. It's not one I can answer, though I'm leaning towards the latter.

I think Iran's theocratic regime is treading on very thin ice. The world has turned against them, with almost every foreign leader denouncing the conference. Public opinion in Iran itself has been very negative. Both Arab and Jewish Iranians are denouncing the conference and the government for letting racists and Nazis in their country. Iran is certainly on a path for a second revolution.

read more...

Tis the PC Season

I was reading in the Sun today about a judge who forced staff at a particular Ontario court house to remove a Christmas Tree from the front lobby and move it to the back of the building where it goes unseen. I find this to be a curious decision to say the least, and certainly illegal in my opinion. Despite outrage by staff, Justice Marion Cohen has defended her decision on the grounds that it is a Christian symbol.

Was this judge right to make this decision. In my opinion, the decision is unconstitutional. Under section 2, you cannot discriminate on the basis of religion but it seems to me that's exactly what Cohen is doing. Historically, Christmas Trees are not a religious symbol. People used to decorate trees for winter festivals long before they became associated with Christmas. A proposal to rename it a unity tree with symbols from all religions was turned down.

The tree has been a tradition at this particular court house, which is what upset people the most. Each court administrator, as Cohen is, has the right to do as they please. There is no universal policy.

This begs the question if political correctness is going to far. Do we abandon traditions just for the sake of not offending someone. I'm not Christian and I put up a Christmas Tree, and I call it so. It's not a holiday tree or unity tree. If that's the case, I'm going to start calling Menorahs "festive Middle-Eastern candelabres". I guarantee that won't go over well with the civil servants.

read more...

At It Agian New Milton

I loath the new people to Milton with every fiber of my body. I would like nothing than to round them all up and toss them back to the garbage heap known as Toronto from which they came. They push and shove, whine and winge, they bitch about everything; problems they created.

The latest involves construction in a housing development. I grew up around construction sites and I know the hazards associated with them. The new people to Milton in the Hawthorn Village subdivision are complaining about their children getting to school. In order to get to a new school in the area, many children have to walk past construction sites. The parents are fretting because of how dangerous these sites are. Their kid could get killed walking near them. Now they want a bus service.

This actually made CFTO's 6pm news. (just goes to show the sorry state of the news media, but I'll save that for another day) One dad said he drives his kid to school because of this "danger", even though the kid is less than a five minute walk away. He is one screaming for a school bus service in order to protect their kids from the danger of the construction. Get real. You really want the Halton taxpayer to have your kid take a one minute bus ride to school? Fortunately, the Halton District School Board agrees with me. They said no to the bus idea. How dumb are people getting in this town. I say if you want that kind of service, drag your slimy hides back to T.O. and put the kids back on the safe embrace of the TTC to school. Milton is not Toronto, for those who haven't noticed. Nor should it become like it, despite what some want. The danger is just not there as long as the kids have common sense and are taught to stay away from the men while they're working. When I was growing up, that was a "well duh" thing to most children.

What bugs me most about the noobies is that they complain the loudest but don't vote. Plus, Milton didn't have these problems before they came. They created them so now they have to live with them, or else get out. I think the latter option is the best one since they're making the old folk suffer unjustly from the problems they caused. *sigh* A man can dream. (I guess the Native Canadians must be having a "now you know how it feels" moment when they look at us.)

read more...

No Use Crying Over Raw Milk

This is a story I've been following off and on. It's not a particularly important story but I thought I'd comment on it. A great deal of people have been questioning the food supply recently.

The story is of an Ontario farmer who wants to sell raw milk. Raw milk comes right from the cow and is untreated. It is illegal to sell raw milk in Ontario. This farmer thinks that law is unfair because people should be able to eat what they wish. Unfortunately things are not this easy.

It's been illegal to sell raw milk for some 70 years. The reason dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Infant mortality rates in Toronto's poor districts were at an all time high. Causes of death were bacterial and viral infections. These infections were traced to raw milk. At the time, only the wealthy could afford the pasteurized product. The boards of health at the time decided to act. Areas were setup where low income families could obtain clean, pasteurized milk for free. Infant mortality rates dropped dramatically after this. Not long after, the sale of raw milk was banned.

The organic food trend has boosted demand for the product. There is a difference between organic milk and raw milk though. Organic milk is still pasteurized but comes from grain fed cows who haven't been given antibiotics. Pasteurization is a process of heating a liquid above a temperature in which harmful microbes cannot survive. There are no chemicals involved in the process, despite what proponents of raw milk claim. Raw milk is dangerous because it contains living diseases that can cause food poisoning. Humans are not really meant to drink cow's milk, which is what separates it from human milk. Human milk contains special antibodies that protects us from these illnesses, cow's milk does not.

I rarely agree with the Liberals but in this case I do. It's insane to put a potentially harmful food product on the market. You wouldn't sell, say carrot juice that's potentially contaminated. Why would milk be any different. Sometimes "rights" cannot trump public safety. If raw milk was legalized, I'd be willing to bet a few years down the road, someone would get sick from it and the government would get sued for allowing its sale.

There is no difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk, except for the latter being safe to drink. I don't see what the problem is here. I guess somebody will always be there to complain about something, no matter how trivial. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll be hearing the last from this.

read more...

Short On Cash? No Wonder!

The CEO of Hydro One has been fired this week. The same week in which Ontario's auditor general released a report that revealed mass corruption within the ranks of Ontario's public service. Millions of dollars have gone missing from Ontario coffers, spent on items that cannot be accounted for. These items include lavish vacations to the Caribbean by Childrens' Aid workers, luxury cars, fine dining, and $44,000 spent by the Hydro One boss. The Ontario Government under Dalton McGuinty is always complaining to the feds and citizens that it's always strapped for cash. That's why our taxes are so high, according to the finance minister. Now we're starting to see where all this extra tax money is going. To keep civil servants living in the lap of luxury. They're off laughing all the way to the bank while we toil in our jobs, giving half of our hard earned pay to them. People should certainly be more outraged than they are. Unfortunately, Canadians only seem to get outraged when a certain doughnut shop chain raises the price of coffee by 10 cents. The government takes thousands off them, criminally wastes it, and they don't even bat an eyelash. It's no wonder the Americans view Canadians as being so dumb, its because we are.

So what's our solution? There's a couple of long and short term ones we could try. First off all, there needs to be tighter accounting and tighter budgets within government departments and crown corporations. Every single penny should have to be accounted for. The second is to begin laying off civil servants en mass. The bureaucracy has simply gotten too big. A great deal of civil servants are under worked and overpaid. Take Hydro One's boss who resigned but ran away with three million dollars. Three million dollars can get a surprising amount done. Several bridges could be repaired and hundreds of hospital beds could be opened.

Of course we cannot do either of these options. The problem? OPSU. The Ontario Public Service Union. They prevent layoffs and basically allow government workers to get away with anything. Even those who get caught don't get punished. As David Dingwall infamously said "I'm entitled to my entitlement". Same works for Ontario's public service, and Hydro One's boss is an excellent example. In my opinion, government workers should not be allowed to unionize. I feel that this is a reasonable limit on the rights to freedom of association. Under a democratic system, it essentially puts one massive, unelected organization in total control of government. It is a oligarchy that only supports the needs of the few in a system that is supposed to be the voice of the many in the interest of all. I doubt that government employees are would be "exploited" without the protection of their union. It's not like they do backbreaking labour in mines and factories. The more we do the eliminate unelected, self-interested oligarchies from our government, the better our democracy will be. More importantly, we will finally be able to freely check the abuses within the bureaucracy.

read more...

1 In 18,000,000

The lottery. Your chances of winning are incredibly small. Apparently they've gotten even smaller in Ontario. Apparently lottery retailers have been collection prizes more often than the the odds would suggest. They've been defrauding people by saying winning tickets are losers and claiming the prizes themselves.

The Ontario Ombudsman has called an investigation into OLG retailers. A great waste of tax payer dollars in my opinion. There's an easy answer to this problem, and it comes right out of the Well Duh file. When a private corporation holds a customer contest, employees aren't allowed to enter. So, why not do the same with OLG employees. Duh.

read more...

Milton Election Rigged?

Democracy died in Milton today with incumbents sweeping the election. My friends, I believe the Milton municipal election was rigged. Based on people I've talked to, the incumbents were highly unpopular. Voter turn out was only 10,000 yet poll stations were packed. The numbers simply do not add up.

Milton residents, stand up for your rights. Fight the results of this illegitimate election. Contact your MPP to force the province to review the results. We cannot allow this corruption to continue.

read more...

Milton: Who Ever Wins, We Lose

It's been a long time since I posted a Milton article. The municipal elections are coming up. What is has been presented is a sad story of our local affairs. I witnessed local corruption first hand at the meeting dealing with the proposed mall to be built at Derry and Bronte back in October. A highly inappropriate location for such a facility. Both local residents and developer Field Gate Homes are strongly opposed to its construction. Mayor Krantz seems to have made up his mind, making a passing comment that we would have to appeal it to the OMB. Let us remember that this was not a meeting to vote on the proposed zoning change that would allow the mall, only for information and to voice opposition. I thus found the mayor's comment very odd. This leads me to believe that there is a lot of back door politics and kickbacks going on behind closed doors at Town Hall.

We now have less than one week before the election. Of the myriad of candidates, little information about them has been given. I place a great deal of blame on the local Canadian Champion newspaper about this. I feel they have not devoted enough on election coverage and have failed journalistically by not criticizing the local officials. Most of the information coming out is about the incumbents, which further adds fuel to my corruption theory. The local news has become nothing more than Mayor Krantz's personal photo album. Nobody knows what the other candidates stand for.

Personally, I will not be voting for anybody who is currently on council. I feel they've destroyed our town by selling us out to the developers. Shame. Unfortunately, I'm predicting landslide victories for the incumbents simply due to lack of voter information, and the disgustingly small turn out for municipal elections. Remember Miltonians, municipal elections effect you the most. Don't let these people back in office!

The Milton municipal election will result in an illegitimate government. The long time residents of Milton have lost our town forever. Welcome to New Brampton.

read more...

US and Them

I'm often asked for my opinion about the United States. I usually don't have one, as we have enough problems here to worry about what they do. However, there are times that pop up that effect us a lot. A lot of Canadians dislike Americans. This has been a complete mystery to me as the vast majority I've met are polite, nice people. A far cry from the coldness of Torontonians.

The US has just wrapped up their mid-term elections. The Democratic party has taken control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. The results for the Senate have yet to be released. It's hard to tell exactly what it means for Canada though.
Many Democrats have moved up to Canada in recent years. These people tend to be the most hard-core liberals who strongly oppose the Bush administration. A lot of these people have come up here with false beliefs about what Canada is and what it means to be Canada. The most common fallacy is that Canada is the United States without the problems. Of course that's not true, since we just wrapped the most important elections in recent history, which saw the Liberal party ousted for corruption. The ones interviewed on Global News last night think we're some sort of socialist paradise. It's amazing how people who have actually been living here know so little, like how the health care system they praise is no better than theirs. Studies have shown that. Our system is like stacking bricks on top of a wine glass. You know it will break, the question is when. It's funny how the most ignorant Americans are actually the ones who stare north with envy.

This election has been important for these people because it does switch the balance of power. However, I doubt our humble little country is going to see much gain out of it. Democrats are a more labour oriented party so we'll likely see a more protectionist economy, where production is domestically focused. Since Canada's economy hinges heavily on export to the US, this does not bode well for us. However, they will give into the powerful business lobby eventually. Border rules are not likely subject to change. Canada has become a convenient target for increased border security post-9/11 despite the thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants sneaking past their southern border on a daily basis. The Democrats will not want to appear weak on terrorism, especially homeland security, so we won't get any help from them on that issue. In fact, the Democrats have been calling for more limits of what we can bring across, trash in particular. Much of the key strategy will be to focus on America's war on terror on the other side of the globe, not at home. Iraq is going to dominate congress for the next while. My prediction is that relations between the US and Canada are not subject to undergo any change.

Finally, I'd like to wrap up with my view on George W Bush. Analytically, he sits outside of the conventional political spectrum. He is neither economically conservative or liberal. Socially, he sits far right about issues. He's a member of what's referred to as the Religious Right. A dangerous class of politically active people because they bring god into the picture. As far as I know, god has no vote, but his followers do. As a leader, Bush has done a poor job. He goes off in every direction with no focus. As a strategist, he is a genius. An expert on damage control and getting people to go along with him. The US unfortunately suffers from the same problems as Canada does. Poor leadership. There is nobody in either the Republican or Democratic party that stands out amongst the others. It's going to take a long while to bring the American ship of state back on course.

read more...

University Students: More for Less

Once again, my fellow university students are fighting to get their tuition fees reduced. I do feel that we pay too much at the universities, but I'm starting to see the reasons why. University students are an interesting bunch. The South Park guys would say they like to smell their own farts. They're very smug. They think they're progressive and attentive to the issues. They're not. The issue of tuition fees has become all too black and white. These students should know better than to treat it like that.

The tuition debate has been raging for the past several years. In some fields, such as law, tuition has been increasing nearly exponentially. On average though, tuition increases this year were roughly between 1-6%. Dalton McGuinty followed through on an election promise to freeze fees for two years only. When the freeze was lifted, many students felt he had broken a promise. Though I do not like the man, he did not lie or break any promises in this case. The freeze was clearly stated to be for two years only, with caps of up to 6% after. Students still feel cheated.

Now here's the kicker. While students have been protesting the huge increases in tuition, they have also been demanding more on campus services. Services that cost money. Where I go, demands include 24 hour quiet study space, a more advanced gym, more money for clubs, and even child care services. In other words, they want to pay less money in tuition, but they want more money for other things. Often these demands are non-academic, related to what they call "campus life".
As an example, $5 is added to tuition for a dedicated fund to help purchase new books for the library. A poll of the student population held by the student council asked whether or not this money should be moved to fund clubs instead. I cannot remember the results of the vote, but I believe the student council's plan was voted in favour of transferring the funds. However, this was only a plebiscite, not a referendum. Only the university's administrators can make the final decision. I think this does show where the priorities are.
The more recent issue of child care at the universities has become a hot topic. The vast majority of students are aged 18-24. Staff members tend to range from 40-60. Most of the staff and students are outside of average child bearing age, which now is probably 25-35. The children of staff members tend to be old enough to look after themselves for short periods of time. So this begs the question, is child care really necessary. I think not. In four years, I've only met one student who had a young child. Universities should not be in the business of running such programs because they are such a financial drain. You have to hire day care workers and designate a room, buy toys and educational material. All that for a very small number of people. Likely, all students would be forced to share the burden of these services, rather than just those using them.

So who do these students want to pay for their new services? Ironically, themselves. Not in the form of tuition but in the form of higher taxes. They want tax payers to fork up the bill for their education. That would be a huge burden when government coffers are already stretched thin trying to pay for health care and primary & secondary educational services. There simply isn't enough money to have a "free" university system without having huge tax increases. I'm sorry my fellow students, but you're just going to have to buckle down, start saving, and stop wasting so much money on beer and parties. That's life, get used to it.
Besides, if university were "free", you can't honestly tell me you wouldn't take it for granted.

read more...

The Trouble With Belinda

I'm glad I don't live in Newmarket/Aurora. Liberal MP Belinda Stronach controls this riding. She certainly is an interesting character in Canadian politics. She replaces Sheila Copps and Caroline Parish as the most controversial female in parliament. So who is Belinda Stronach? She's a business woman and heiress, her father owns auto parts giant Magna International. She was ran for the Conservative party leadership in 2003, loosing to Steven Harper. In 2004, she was elected as a Conservative MP for the Newmarket/Aurora riding in Ontario. Shortly there after, she engaged in a whirlwind romance with Conservative deputy leader Peter Mackay. She later dumped him, and the Conservatives and crossed the floor to the Liberals. She was re-elected as an MP in the same riding under the Liberal banner in early 2006 and continues to serve as an MP.

This week, she's back in the news after Mackay allegedly called her a dog in parliament. This was after a Liberal in opposition made a comment about Makay's actual dog. Stronach was not sitting in parliament at the time. No evidence of the infamous dog remark has been found on the record. Only Liberals claimed to have heard it. Somewhat disgustingly, it has dominated the news. Sometimes I wish Canada was more like the Republic of China, where they have first fights in their parliament. Issues with other MPs would certainly be solved faster that way.
This is not the first time Stronach has been in the news. She allegedly had a sexual relationship with hockey tough guy Tie Domi. She flatly denies this despite photographic proof existing to the contrary. Stronach had demanded an apology from MacKay over the dog comment.

Stronach herself is a political pawn. She knows this and plays it well. Her favorite defense is sexism. She only gets treated poorly simply because she is a woman. In reality, she is simply a poor little rich girl who knows how to manipulate people to get what she wants. The dog comment and the Domi incident only testify to her pawn role. However, this makes her a very ineffective leader. She simply does nothing other than play political games, and in reality stands nowhere on the issues. She would probably have joined the communist party without second thought if they offered her the same sweet deal that the Liberals did. The Liberals have carefully crafted the dog issue around her in order to make it appear that the Conservatives are anti-woman. They are in fact succeeding as female support has dropped sharply over the comment that many people in parliament weren't even sure was made. The Conservatives just the same played her in the Domi issue, attempting to destroy here credibility. When the next election comes, I highly recommend that Newmarket residents vote Stronach out on her backside, if only to put an end to the nonsense political games.

read more...

Garbage Now at Our Borders

Mexico is no longer the place for American criminals to pay a visit. Canada is now the new hot travel destination for those who are less than law-abiding. This week however has presented us with one of the strangest court rulings in US history. A Buffalo man charged with sex offenses convicted. In lieu of jail time, he proposed he spend his three year sentence in Canada with his family. The judge agreed.

Woah! Back the truck up here. A US judge actually banished a man and is putting their garbage on our doorstep? Well, it wouldn't be the first time since we get tons of pre-caught felons coming up here. However, can this Buffalo judge even legally do this?

The simple answer is black and white. No they cannot. Canada has full rights to refuse entry or remove anyone of another nationality who has committed criminal acts. I'm also pretty sure that even though this person was convicted of a crime, it's unconstitutional to kick an American citizen out of their own country. Unfortunately, this issue is not black and white. The judge made his ruling and it stands unless a higher court rules the decision to be irresponsible. So now the US and Canada are debating what to do with this man. The man is now stuck living it up in legal limbo with his family in St Cathrines. The Canadian government is deciding whether or not to deport him. They likely will deport the man because they don't want to create a legal precedent that would allow US judges to use Canada as a giant penal colony. The US is also stuck between a rock and a legal hard place because they would have to appeal the decision, which takes time.

The ideal thing to do would be to detain this man for deportation while the US goes through the process. However, we would need to seek assurance that the US would pay for his detainment. We also need an agreement that ensures that this mess will never happen again.

read more...

Don't Turf Turner, Turf Harper

I was very upset and disturbed by Halton MP Garth Turner being kicked out of the Conservative caucus. As I understood it, the Conservatives were going to give us a more US style government in which individual MPs were allowed to speak their minds. However, what we are getting is more Chrétien style attitude from the man in power. In other words, strong arming their MPs into line. Comments on Turuner's blog were cited for his removal from caucus. Turner is one of the only MPs who uses an electronic medium to talk to his constituents.

Former Hamilton MP Sheila Copps brought up an interesting point in this weeks Sun. She says that this move will backfire in Harper's face. Indeed it will for I will no longer be voting Conservative unless they apologize to Turner and reinstate his seat in caucus, and remove Harper as party leader. So far, Harper has been a disappointing leader, particularly to Progressive Conservative supporters like myself. He has given us a rather poor foreign policy coupled with more typical Liberal style antics on the home front.

The turfing of Turner however is just as much an institutional issue as it is a Conservative Party one. The fact that this would even be legal in a modern, western democracy is appalling. The Westminster system is simply too archaic to function effectively. Many people cite history as a reason not to change. However, history is a dialogue of change and change is what is needed. Canada must adopt a US style republic in which all sitting members in parliament are free to speak and vote as they choose. This system may be slower and has its flaws, but it is still more fair and balanced than the one Canada currently uses.

read more...