Police Inaction in Native Seizure of Lawrence Cannon's Office Unacceptable

According to the Ottawa Sun, a group of Native and pro-Native protesters has seized and are currently occupying Lawrence Cannon's constituency office in Buckingham. This blatantly illegal and criminal action; however, has not prompted the police to swiftly remove them. Instead the protesters are "occupying the offices [...] under the watchful eye of police."

When a group, no matter what their heritage, ethnicity, or motivation, illegally enters and occupies any space to which they are not lawfully entitled, it is the obligation of the police to remove them. If a group of drug dealers had broken into and occupied a private residence, there is little doubt in my mind that the police would arrest them and charge them. Why the double standard when it comes to native protesters?

More Smug Elitism for Liberal Senators - What a Shock!!!

Earlier, I had written about Liberal Senator Larry Campbell who wanted to dictate that Canadians spend their post-tax money only on things he considers good for the community, not as the individual sees fit. Now another senator, Celine Hervieux-Payette, the Liberal leader in the Senate is trying to overrule parental authority. In discussing the recent anti-spanking bill passed in the senate, she said it was important "to make sure that parents who are not properly educated" learn it is unacceptable to physically discipline their children.

Who is she to decide how a parent chooses to rear their children?!? And the elitism she has shown in claiming that parents who advocate their right to raise their children as they see fit are "not properly educated" is absolutely despicable and disgusting.

There is a great deal of difference between physical assault and spanking. Hervieux-Payette needs to wake up and realize that just because she is a senator, she doesn't know better than ordinary Canadians.

Flying Banana Failure Shows that Individuals are a lot Smarter with Money than Culture Bureaucrats

Ordinary, hard-working men and women have once again shown that they are much smarter than bureaucrats in understanding the value of money and the value of public "art". While the Canada Council of the Arts gave $95,000 to an artist planning to fly a giant helium banana over Texas, normal people contributed only $12,018.

Apparently, when it's your own money to spend, stupid ideas aren't given much priority. When you're a bureaucrat freely spending taxpayers' money, then you spend it on idiotic projects like a flying banana.

Banning Bottled Water is Going Way Too Far

This report from the National Post that the Toronto and Ottawa-Carleton school boards are considering banning the sale of bottled water in their elementary and secondary schools is a sign that governments are going way too far in encroaching on individual prerogative. The nanny state is apparently expanding to the point where it will make it difficult to choose one's own water source.

Let people choose whether or not they want to purchase bottled water, rather than taking away the option. Some people, myself included, prefer the taste of bottled water over tap water (I like the taste of Dasani water the best), and we should not be forced to drink tap water for the school boards to make an irritating environmental statement.

If students find the bottled water too expensive, of poor taste, or environmentally problematic, then those students can drink tap water. I'll stick with the bottle though.

What Will Happen to Dion's Spending Promises if Carbon Emissions Go Down??

If Dion's Green Shift ever comes to be enacted (and I certainly hope it does not), I'm wondering how he would continue to pay for his spending promises if carbon emissions decline.

When announcing his plan yesterday, Dion made several spending initiatives (which do not count as tax cuts), such as their child tax benefit, their larger working income tax benefit, etc. The money to pay for these spending initiatives is supposed to come out of the revenue raised by the carbon tax. These are expensive initiatives that need large sums of cash in order to be paid for.

Even though the carbon tax would escalate over four years, what would happen if Canadians become so good at reducing their carbon output that not enough revenue is gathered??

Liberal Commercial so Stupid it's Hilarious

Has anyone else seen the Liberal commercial designed to promote their carbon tax plan? It is by far, the most ludicrous, stupidest, and silliest thing they have done for a long time! The Liberal caucus stands around clapping like fools as images of trees and animals are shown.

They complained that we weren't engaging in a debate on the substance of their carbon tax, and they respond by not promoting the specifics of their plan. What Idiots!

My favourite part of the add is the look on Bob Rae's face; he clearly doesn't want to be there. He's the smartest one of the group obviously.

Liberals Want to Dictate How We Spend our Own Money

Liberal Senator Larry Campbell recently said that he believes that Canadians shouldn't be free to spend their money as they see fit. In a National Post article, he said the following, "There's always this idea that, if it's your own money you're spending, you can do whatever you want. Sorry. That doesn't happen in my world. You should be looking out the good of the country and the good of your community."

Do Stephane Dion and the rest of the Liberal Party agree with statement or do they believe, like most sensible Canadians, that we should have the freedom to spend our post-tax money as we see fit??

Can Someone Please Explain why the Government Pays for This???

According to an Ottawa Citizen article, Canada's government employs a parliamentary poet laureate, which costs taxpayers up to $83 ,000 annually (plus costs to select a new one every second year). Seriously, I want to know how and why Parliament thinks this is an acceptable use of taxpayers' hard-earned funds...

Party of the money is for a stipend, part for translation, and part for travel costs. Some of the previous holders of the office have written poems to commemorate important occasions, while others have apparently refused to write on request.

Heritage Canada is already notorious for wasting our money, and this is just further proof that the department's budget should be cut. Positions like Poet Laureates should not be filled while we have long wait times in hospitals, not enough police officers on the streets, and our military still requires increased funds to operate at a satisfactory level.

Actually, the Bar is Much Higher for Elected Officials

Some media reports today are quoting a former Mountie and CSIS agent as telling a parliamentary committee that the government has a "double standard" with regards to the security screenings for Ministers. Some Opposition MPs have also complained that bureaucrats have to go through much more rigorous security screenings.

I disagree with the argument that Ministers are given an easier screening, since they face the electorate first, which bureaucrats and civil servants do not. Instead, they are appointed and hired (often staying in their jobs for years and decades) with no public scrutiny into their suitability or merit for the position. Instead the public is forced to just trust other bureaucrats that these people are fit for their positions.

Maxime Bernier was elected by the people of Beauce. He passed the most stringent examination possible already.

Liberals Accuse Conservatives of Misleading in Order to Cover their Efforts to Mislead

The Liberal Party's website has a press release from yesterday which attempts to mislead Canadians about the Canada Elections Act and its legal obligations. Either the Liberal Party doesn't understand the Elections Act, hasn't even read it, or just hopes that Canadians are too stupid to understand it themselves.

Rather than admitting that they have contravened the Canada Elections Act by not repaying leadership campaign loans on time, they pretend that they are under no obligation to do so within the 18 month prescribed period.

They claim that: "In fact the rules are clearly spelled out the Canada Election Act in Section 435.29. A number of people are under the impression that June 3 is a debt repayment deadline. In fact, the Elections Act allows candidates to honour binding agreements to pay beyond the 18-month period. The June 3 deadline is not a 'repayment' deadline at all."

How can the Liberals claim that June 3 is not a repayment deadline when the Elections Act [s. 435.24 (1)] clearly states a leadership debt "must be paid within 18 months after the end of the leadership contest." To pretend that the phrase 'must be paid with in' does not constitute a repayment deadline is sheer lunacy.

Furthermore, the Act [s. 435.26 (1)] states that an extension may be granted if the Chief Electoral Officer is "satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so." This is not an automatically granted extension as the Liberal press release seems to indicate. I find it laughable also that the Liberal Party seems to think that 'reasonable grounds' for an extension include inability to pay due to lack of support, lack of fundraising, and general poverty of the Liberal Party and its former leadership candidates.

I suggest that the Liberal Party actually read the Canada Elections Act in full prior to making erroneous claims about the Act and its provisions for the repayment of debts by leadership candidates.

Cadman Tape Doctored!

The Conservatives have presented evidence to the media that the tape made by author Tom Zytaruk on the subject of allegations that the conservatives made offers to MP chuck Cadman in exchange for his support in a 2005 confidence vote against the Liberals has been proven to be a fake tape!

Recently broken in The Globe and Mail, the story confirms that the tape which the Liberals have been using to smear and slander the Conservatives is incomplete and doctored through the deliberate insertion of a sound clip into the tape.

the Liberals will now have to answer a serious of serious questions:
1. Did they know the tape was doctored?
2. How long have they been using the tape knowing it was doctored?
3. Who is responsible for this?
4. When will the Liberals apologize for their slanderous attacks and misrepresentation of the Prime Minster, Conservative officials, and the Conservative Party as a whole?

Left-wing Outrage over Illegal Downloading Laughable

One of today's articles in the National Post seems to argue that imposing fines on Internet users who illegally download copyright material are objectionable and harmful. I think the far more objectionable attitude is that taken by these critics who seem to feel that blatant theft is not only harmless, but ought not to be criminalized.

The article argues: "Critics have said the [similar] U.S. copyright bill is ineffective in enforcing infringement and sends the wrong message to consumers." Actually, I think it sends the 100% right message: that theft is wrong, incredibly serious, and has real and harsh consequences.

Some of these left-wing activists seem to believe that there should be no consequences for depriving artists and producers of income that they should expect to earn (and maybe if they were getting all of the income they deserved, they would feel less entitled to Canadian taxpayers' money in the form of subsidies and tax credits...). The act remains that copyright material is a good produced by an individual and/or company which they expect to sell for a profit. They do not do so for nothing so that consumers can steal and distribute their work free of charge.

We need to strike back at this outrageous culture of entitlement where theft is not wrong. Theft is a crime, a very serious crime, and it's time that Canada stood up to send this message to thieves and their advocacy groups.