Party Proposals on Prorogation

Am pleased to see both the New Democrat and Liberal parties responding to Canadians' expressed dissent regarding prorogation, and I agree with Devin Johnston that the recommendations of both parties require more work.

For example, "consent of the House," per the Liberal proposals, or "a vote of the Commons," as mentioned in the NDP proposals, must be defined and not be based on a simple majority vote of MPs. For one thing, in the case of a 'majority' government, votes from opposition MPs would not be required. Yet with our single member plurality voting system, IF we get a 'majority' government it is almost always (certainly in recent decades) on the basis of less than 40 percent of the popular vote. Thus the 'consent of the House' or, the same thing, 'a vote of the Commons' becomes meaningless.

Until our voting system is reformed to one of proportional representation, a simple majority vote of MPs will not reflect the backing of a majority of Canadian voters. Fix the voting system and that problem disappears. Until then, consent of the House/a vote of the Commons should require a super-majority vote of MPs that sums to at least a simple majority representation of the popular vote.

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Don't Get Conned by Con Commenters

Wasting our resources on Harper supporters and their media shills plays precisely into their hands. DON'T DO IT.

We needn't be concerned about Harper Conservatives commenting or blogging about the rallies, trying to downplay their significance. Over 25,000 Canadians stood up and made our opinions known yesterday and we represent only the tip of the iceberg of Canadian discontent.

There aren't enough Harper supporters left to match our numbers. So chill. Don't waste your energy trying to reason with those for whom reason is antithetical to their Harper idolatry. Apply it instead to action to reform our democratic institutions and processes.

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Report Update (now with pics): Duncan CAPP Rally

Daphne and I stayed for the full two hours, yours truly leaving stiff, bent over and sore. BUT it was worth it.

Little ole Duncan had 35 to 40 people show up, all told, with the group being at least 25 strong throughout. Duncan lies between Nanaimo and Victoria on Vancouver Island. The city itself, a total of one square mile, has a population of 5,000; together with the surrounding area, which includes a lot of farmland, the population is 78,000.

I don't recall seeing a single person at the rally who was less than middle age. [ETA: I recall now there was one little girl, but she and her dad couldn't stay long.] Most of us were seniors, from late 50s to very elderly. In other words, PEOPLE WHO VOTE.

Some of us stood on the overpass and waved at motorists as they whizzed by; others held up or stood by signs along the Trans Canada Highway, encouraging drivers to honk.

And honk people did. And waved. And high-fived.

We got WAY more positive responses than negative ones; and lots of them. Certain desperate naysayers went by in both directions to make sure we got their one-finger message; one enterprising driver caused a series of backfires, also in both directions. But for each negative response, we got at least eight positive ones. That really cheered us and made any discomfort worth it.

The pictures below were captured by Daphne - click thumbnails for larger view. There were people also along both sides of the TCH and facing each direction on the overpass. Happy faces, all.


We also got good media coverage. Shall follow-up with that when it comes out too.

WAY TO GO, DUNCAN!! WAY TO GO, CANADA!!

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Haiti and the CAPP Rallies

I came across a tweet this morning that I've had a hard time wrapping my head around.

How could any Canadian suppose that participating in a CAPP rally today would in any way signify the diminished importance of the Haiti disaster?

To me, the very extent of the disaster bespeaks how vital it is that Canadians protest the actions of government. The prior treatment of Haiti by Canada (not to mention the very real possibility of further exploitation) provides more reason, not less, for raising our voices against the erosion of our democracy.

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MUST READ

... if you need encouragement to attend a rally tomorrow as part of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. The Globe lists not just the 36 bills that were killed due to prorogation but also the time spent and now wasted, preparing and debating them.

Wherever you are, there's probably a rally near you. If there isn't and you can't get to a rally further away, make your own banner and go stand on a corner. It likely won't be long before others join you.

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Ownership of a Movement Matters

Over at DAMMIT JANET!, there's a discussion about whether the NDP's Jack Layton, or any other politician, is wrong to call the grassroots movement against prorogation "our" movement; that is, the movement of the NDP.

From the point of view of a population sector that is left consistently unheard and certainly unrecognized, let me say that ownership matters. Particularly when it involves the disenfranchised. Appropriating a grassroots movement for partisan purposes is like researchers who appropriate the knowledge of the poor or other marginalized persons for the purposes of producing books and adding another line to their curriculum vitae.

The grassroots movement of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is bringing Canadians together like never before. We come from all party affiliations - and none. Many of us have voted ever since we became eligible, others aren't old enough to vote. More of us have turned away from the polls in disgust with the options presented on the ballot, and with a party and voting system that skews the results and leaves us unrepresented.

That Jack Layton should suggest this grassroots movement is "the New Democrat movement" leaves me stunned. YES, members and supporters of the NDP are welcome to join this GRASSROOTS movement. As are Liberal, Green, Bloc Quebecois and Conservative supporters. But let no political leader suggest this movement is theirs.

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Duncan CAPP Rally

Daphne and I will be there. The Cowichan Valley can be a hotbed of activism, so I suspect we'll be joined by many others.

The organizers of the Victoria rally, which we would have attended if the Duncan one hadn't happened, suggest people wear whatever colours and regalia they like.

What a great idea! If people do that, it will show how diverse our group is.

As for me, I'll be wearing a Palestinian scarf and if there were one of these left, that too.

I don't have a banner and hope some enterprising individuals will think to bring spare ones along.

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BC Agencies Defraud Government, Don't Help Poor

If you live in BC, you may have followed the story of WCG International HR Solutions based in Tucson Arizona. The company ran the JobWave program which was intended to help people on welfare find regular employment and the Triumph employment program for people with disabilities.

The [Human and Social Development] office in Prince George raised questions about why WCG International HR Solution's office in the city had already billed the ministry for intake for clients it later described as "intake no-shows."

...

The investigators identified $2,800 in overbillings. Also, of the eight intakes they looked at from January and February last year, just one was done within the 21-days allowed under WCG's contract with the government.

The problems went beyond overbilling the government and they aren't restricted to WCG.

I’ve been with Triumph for five months and they have done the sum total of NOTHING. I get one phone call a month where I have to tell the girl I am number ____. It’s always somebody new. The office has always moved. She never knows what’s going on. And her biggest question is: “When’s good for you next month?

That's a quote from the story of Lucy (p76), from the 2005 book Policies of Exclusion, Poverty & Health: Stories from the front. If you click the link, you can listen to her story via podcast.

There are also major issues with Community Futures. When that federal community economic development agency was privatized, it morphed into FutureCorp, which is aptly named. The story of Anna is typical of the experience (p17f, in the book) of people seeking help who are consistently getting caught in a maze not of their own making.

These women were desperate to find work, desperate to forge a new future for themselves and their families. All they met was intransigence or indifference.

Unfortunately, Lucy's and Anna's stories can be duplicated countless times. These agencies that purportedly exist to help the poor seem more to be helping themselves to government money.

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Ignatieff on Powers of Prime Minister

3:49 Michael Ignatieff: "We need a Prime Minister who accepts and welcomes the fact that his or her power is limited by Parliament, by independent regulators and by independent institutions like the courts."

And therein lies the rub. Stephen Harper has shown that the power of the Prime Minister ISN'T limited by Parliament or the other agencies mentioned in Iggy's response.

In answer to a follow-up question, Ignatieff wrote: "As a great writer once said, rules are for people with no character. Meaning, that you need to legislate when you cant trust the people who hold power. My view is that we dont need to legislate limits on prorogation. We just need to return to the basic understanding that used to limit prerogative power, namely that you dont use it to duck tough questions in parliament and you dont use it to duck a confidence vote. harper used it this way and it was wrong, and Canadians are telling him dont ever do that again."

So it's just 'trust me'? You're a man of character?

Yea, right. Had you been Prime Minister when Dubya was putting together his 'coalition of the willing' in 2003, you'd have sent Canadian troops to attack Iraq. How did CHARACTER help you then?

To hell with you, Michael Ignatieff. I keep hoping and hoping for change, but if there's any change at all, it always favours the status quo. Predictably, of course, my question never saw the light of day. I am now officially depressed.

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UPDATE 2: Michael Ignatieff's Facebook Townhall

[Re-worded my question... Which never saw the light of day except here. Predictable and depressing that is.]

Here is was my question for Michael Ignatieff.

Question: "Creative, inexpensive - even cheap - shelter for permanent housing, using new design techniques and materials could quickly and substantially reduce Canada's homeless numbers and permit more choice for people of low income. These designs exist now and are part of the tiny house movement, yet such solutions are blocked, time and again, due to outdated municipal laws. Do the Liberals have a federal housing strategy and if so, how does it encourage municipalities to be more inclusive and more open to alternative housing options?"

According to Ignatieff's Facebook page, people are supposed to RSVP at a specified site. Tried that. Canna see how I'm to RSVP. What am I missing?

ETA: OK, worked out the RSVP thingie. My NoScript extension on Firefox needed tweaking.

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Jack Layton and the NDP

Good for you. I'd begun to despair being able to say that.

Not only are you showing the Official Opposition how to be the Official Opposition, you're giving disgruntled Canadians a concrete proposal to consider regarding prorogation.

Not that you're likely to get support from Michael Ignatieff's Liberals. Ignatieff doesn't strike me as someone who likes being reined in, so I don't expect him to support your proposal. He is "yet to be convinced" on issues concerning democratic reform, like fixing our voting system; and he's already on record for saying he would use prorogation as intended, just not as Stephen Harper has done. Not necessarily a problem, except he made no mention of legislation to ensure that.

As for what the Official Opposition appears to be doing - chatting up students across the country and holding a "Thinkers Conference" - like every conference, forum and town hall I've ever been to (about two dozen conferences alone), people will do a lot of nattering and, perhaps, thinking. Nothing else will result ... except more opportunities for nattering and thinking.

You, on the other hand, are proposing ACTION.

Good. More please.

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Harper Government Doesn't Govern for You

Did you know that, that the Harper government, CANADA's government, isn't here to govern for you?

James Bow caught something in Tony Clement's comments about elites and "chattering classes" that I'd not noticed. Here's Clement:

"I know [Harper's use of prorogation] is a big issue with the Ottawa media elite and some of the elites in our country, but I got to tell you if reaction in my constituency is any indication, I've had maybe three dozen emails. It may not be what the chattering classes want, but we're not here to govern on behalf of the chattering classes."

Consider these numbers:

• 42 percent of Canadians are members of Facebook.
• 75 percent of Canadians were eligible to vote on October 2008.
• 207,000 people are members of the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament.
• Approximately 156,000 members of CAPP are eligible voters.
• 156,000 distributes 506 voters to each of the 308 federal ridings.

I don't have the numbers but I suspect that, in the last few elections, several ridings were decided by less than 500 votes.

Tony Clement supposes that the people against Harper's ill use of prorogation are members of the elite and chattering classes. The Facebook numbers are indicators only of the extent of Canadians' anger against the erosion of our democracy and our Parliamentary system. If our system can be abused in this way, something is terribly wrong.

Despite the numbers above, Clement states that his government isn't "here to govern on behalf of the chattering classes" - of which he deems anyone who is against prorogation to be a member. Which means Clement doesn't think that a MINIMUM 506 voters in each of 308 federal ridings are anything to worry about. Silly man!

More numbers to think about.

[Cross-posted at NADER]

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Sad News

This little fellow was killed by a hit and run driver.



I do wonder if they got the gender right. Casper looks to have been a calico. Isn't that a female trait?

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And so it starts...

Canada to take lead building 'New Haiti', so The Sun headline reads. That rings all kinds of alarms for me.

[R]epresentatives from Haiti, the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay will gather in Montreal Jan. 25 to reassess pressing needs and to develop a long-term plan for rebuilding Haiti. The news comes after an hour-long telephone conference with [Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon's] international counterparts dubbed "Friends of Haiti".... Cannon said Harper will play a leading diplomatic role in the long-term reconstruction plans and wants to continue robust rebuilding efforts after the spotlight leaves the crisis.

"The prime minister is fully engaged in helping Haiti," he said.

Cannon noted that Haiti is Canada's second largest aid recipient country behind Afghanistan and that the two countries share close ties.

Yes, and Canada is doing so well in Afghanistan, isn't it? As has Haiti, being the second largest aid recipient of Canadian dollars.

Strange how that works, don't you think? Money on 'development' or what I prefer to call, foreign intervention, results in more death, more misery, more poverty, and less freedom and liberty.

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200,000 Canadians

That's how many of us have signed up to the Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament as of 4:32 PM PST. What a milestone! Now let's get out to those rallies on January 23rd!!

In the event you need to be encouraged:

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Women Need to Learn to Act Like Jerks

Came across this post, thanks to a tweet from @bcbusiness. Here's a sample:

[W]omen in general, and the women whose educations I am responsible for in particular, ... aren't just bad at behaving like arrogant self-aggrandizing jerks. They are bad at behaving like self-promoting narcissists, anti-social obsessives, or pompous blowhards, even a little bit, even temporarily, even when it would be in their best interests to do so. Whatever bad things you can say about those behaviors, you can't say they are underrepresented among people who have changed the world.

...

Now I don't know what to do about this problem. (The essence of a rant, in fact, is that the ranter has no idea how to fix the thing being ranted about.) What I do know is this: it would be good if more women see interesting opportunities that they might not be qualified for, opportunities which they might in fact fuck up if they try to take them on, and then try to take them on. It would be good if more women got in the habit of raising their hands and saying "I can do that. Sign me up. My work is awesome," no matter how many people that behavior upsets.

I recommend reading the whole thing.

I've bluffed my way through some situations. Not only was the exercise fun but the result was gratifying and the bluffing at times challenged me to live up to my own hype. It was win-win all round with no one the loser. Some women, on the other hand, appear to have taken things too far. Cheryl Gallant comes to mind.

ETA: Seems like a lot of people want to read that article. Shirky's server is acting up. Keep trying; his post is worth it.

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Who the Hell is Blake Richards?

Why is Conservative MP Blake Richards junking up my mailbox with Conservative propaganda, paid for by taxpayers?

How can he claim the Conservative Government "is working" and "delivering tough new action on crime"?

How can Richards sleep at night when he knows that Stephen Harper, in proroguing Parliament, killed the very crime bills that would have addressed the issues listed in his rag sheet?

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Haiti and Disaster Capitalism

Watch for it, warns Naomi Klein. She reads a post from the US Heritage Foundation website that gives us a glimpse, evidence that already the vultures are circling.

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Carolyn Bennett Offers to Distribute Letter

Fair Vote Canada sent out two strongly-worded letters this week, one to Stephen Harper, the other to the leaders of the Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties.

I received a tweet from Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett yesterday, after I went offline. She offered to distribute the letter for opposition parties to her fellow MPs.

Will any New Democrat MP come forward to do the same? What about an MP in the Conservative party?

Fair Vote Canada responded to Bennett's offer within an hour of my contact. No doubt, they'll respond with equal promptness to like offers from other parties.

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Oh, the Irony! or Mr. Ignatieff, are you convinced yet?

Time to resurrect another post, this one from October 2008:

What on earth are we to do?

How can we persuade Canadians to vote for us?

Where, oh, where have we gone wrong?

So cry the Martinite backroom boys who, come to think of it, didn't do so well with Paul Martin either.

Similar hand-wringing is portrayed here.

Scott Reid, who was director of communications for former prime minister Paul Martin, said the Liberals are actually doing worse than the polls show.

The problem is that Liberal support among those likeliest to vote is soft, while Tory support is strong.

"We've got to really start to pay attention to committed voters," he said Wednesday. "The sad truth of our democracy at this moment in time is that 60 per cent of people tend to vote, particularly when cynicism is running as high as it is with respect to the prospect of an election. So how are we doing among the committed voters, those who say they are likely to vote? Those numbers are even tougher for us. And that has got to change before we get to a ballot box."

Mr. Reid said the party needs to figure out a strategy to "identify a coalition of voters that allows it a victory."

Here's a thought...

How about the Liberal Party of Canada offering something to attract MORE PEOPLE TO THE BALLOT BOX?

How about a meaningful policy to dump our single member plurality voting system in favour of a multi-member system that delivers proportional representation?

How about making the votes of all those who visit the ballot box count? Instead of what it is now, like 27 percent of eligible voters electing a party to a minority or false majority and getting a Prime Minister NONE of us - or, effectively, only 38,548 of us - had the opportunity to vote for?



Guess not.

(Don't you just love the straw man arguments of the status quo?)

NB: As Ed Broadbent said recently on a September 2009 CPAC/Macleans discussion on democracy, until the Liberals or Conservatives back proportional representation, it won't happen. And that means, I ain't holdin' my breath. (H/t to nbcdipper for prodding my memory.)

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Politicos, Media: Stop Telling Canadians What We Care About

Politicians and certain media conglomerates are in the habit of telling Canadians what we care about. Not only do they busy themselves telling us what issues we do care about, they also tell us what we don't care about: process.

Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament and the tens of thousands of volunteers from across Canada who have been and continue to be involved in campaigns for democratic and electoral reform would disagree on both scores.

Process matters. In fact, it appears to matter more to us - at least to 1 out of every 160 of us - than any given issue.

Issues, after all, are ephemeral. Deal with one, or don't, and it's on to the next issue. Flavours of the month are like that.

So why is the consistent message from politicos and their media friends that process isn't something Canadians care about? Might it be that addressing the processes of democracy isn't considered, in their eyes, to be in their own interests?

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Strongly-Worded Letters to PM, Opposition Leaders

On January 12, Fair Vote Canada sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and another to the leaders of the Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties. I've not seen such strong words from this organization before.

From the letter to Stephen Harper:

You have granted yourself and your party two unsupervised months to correct course...

Your party represents fewer than 40 per cent of Canadian voters. You can’t square that minority support, and the unilateral shutdown of Parliament, with any reasonable concept of legitimate and representative democratic government.

I do not accuse you of violating democracy itself only because the Canadian political system as it stands is intrinsically undemocratic. If you are leading a party of democrats, then surely it is time for you to abandon the shamocracy and make the House of Commons democratic.

And from the letter to the opposition leaders:

There is no sign that elimination of the democratic deficit in the House of Commons is on Stephen Harper’s agenda. It should be on yours...

At present the House of Commons embodies and projects a series of ridiculous untruths. Judging from the current “representation” most Quebecois want to quit the federation; most Canadians are reluctant to elect women; there are no Conservative supporters in Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto; there are no Liberal supporters in Alberta. There are no New Democrat supporters in Saskatchewan and remarkably few elsewhere, and no Green supporters anywhere in Canada...

Each of you should now be asking: does my party really want democratic representation for all Canadians, and what will my party risk or sacrifice, now, to achieve it?

I look forward to your individual written replies – and to your unequivocal commitments to seize the moment and do what is needed to make the House of Commons democratic.

I urge Canadians to read the letters in full.

It's long past time that individuals and organizations promoting democracy took their gloves off. By the tone of these letters, it sounds like Fair Vote Canada has taken the lead, in addition to the 1 out of every 160 Canadians who are members of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament.

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Barriers: Tele-communicating

On economicus ridiculous I've published a three-part post on barriers related to tele-communicating with government organizations, non-profits and online and local merchants; in other words, with just about anybody who works in an organizational environment.

From Part 1

With decision made and my new life without a phone, I could have done without unfair restrictions by Canada's telecom giants - aided and abetted by our federal government - on the use of VOIP technologies. And I could have done without certain assumptions and out-dated practices maintained by government and private organizations. Except for these issues, I was sailing quite happily in the unmapped bay of my virtual unmapped island.

I hope you will visit economicus ridiculous to read more.

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About Those Consultations with Canadians

Among Stephen Harper's desperate excuses reasons for proroguing Parliament is the desire to "consult with Canadians" about Canada's financial state and what to do about it.

Stevie's good buddy Tony Clement has shrugged off Canadians against proroguing Parliament (CAPP) as elites or, more picturesquely, members of the "chattering classes." It would appear that people who DISCUSS concerns or ASK QUESTIONS or otherwise TALK TO ONE ANOTHER are chatterers.

One out of every 200 175 172 166 164 Canadians is a member of the CAPP Facebook group. Are they among the Canadians to be consulted?

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Cheryl Gallant, You Disgust Me

This is a sample of the kind of government Canadians have now, one whose MPs consistently lie, slander and stoke fear. I assume this letter from Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant, which appears today in The Daily Observer, was also sent to her constituents by mail and hence was paid for by taxpayers.

Note IN ONE SENTENCE ALONE the following:

1. The unfair characterization of the Bloc and the CANADIANS who support Quebec sovereignty. Supporting Quebec sovereignty is a far cry from being "dedicated to the destruction of Canada." (I support the separation of Vancouver Island from BC and/or the separation of BC from Canada; in neither case does that mean I am "dedicated to the destruction" of BC or Canada.)
2. The suggestion that "the worst global economic recession since the Second World War" is equivalent to the worst economic recession since the Second World War for us, for Canada. For us, the recession of the 80s was much worse.
3. The suggestion that to prorogue Parliament is merely to "adjourn" it.

Further down in the letter, note the slandering of Ujjal Dosanjh, a Liberal MP who is respected by members and supporters of all parties and by this non-partisan. Dosanjh never "accused members of the Canadian Armed Forces of war crimes." He instead expressed his deep concern that the ACTIONS/NON-ACTIONS OF THIS GOVERNMENT made Canada's military personnel in Afghanistan vulnerable to such accusation by the International Criminal Court. Gallant knows this; she was there, or so she claims.

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Olympics: For Athleticism or Athletic Equipment?

The Olympics would appear to be no longer about athleticism or finding the best of the best in a sport. At least, not with respect to certain sports.

Take snowboarding for an example. The base of the board Canada's athletes will use during the Games "cuts friction by 15 to 20 per cent compared to commercially available products" or so claims the creator. Other changes to the snowboarders' equipment have already enhanced the athletes' performances.

Then there is the project Top Secret, described as a "five-year, $8-million technological arms race unprecedented in Canadian sport history."

Researchers across the country have been breaking down the science of winter sport, looking for any edge in training, human performance and equipment. “To date, we’ve completed 55 projects, using 17 different universities and institutions,” says Todd Allinger, the Vancouver-based biomechanist who manages the program. “I think it’s been very successful."

Now I am no athlete, but I do know a thing or two about fairness. Common sense tells me that if you want to assess the relative merits of athletic performance, then all athletes in a sport should use the same equipment. If they don't, then at the level of Olympians where fractions of seconds can mean the difference between the gold medal and tenth place, the competition becomes about the equipment.

So is Canada spending billions upon billions of dollars for a winter Olympics for sports equipment and the manufacturers who make it? It looks increasingly like it to me.

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Fantastic Video in Support Jan 23 Rally

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OMG! She's Just A Janitor!

OMG! A janitor that does other than clean up after people! This one writes books! Lots of them! The books are published! People buy these books! Academics are astounded!!

When the University of Victoria's bookstore hosted a display honouring writers employed by the university, the most prolific scribe was - wait for it - a janitor.

Yes, a lowly janitor writes books.

"It is," said bookstore staffer Jennifer Cameron, "quite amazing."

What is amazing is the stigma attached to people who work in the 'service' sector. For some reason it is thought that if you choose to work at a physically demanding job you couldn't possibly be smart enough to write a book.

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Numbers to Make You Ill

Did YOU vote for Stephen Harper to be Prime Minister of Canada? In theory, no one did. But in practice, given Canada's democratic system that elevates parties to the detriment of voters' interests and preferences, that's what a few rare number of us did do:

Total votes in the riding of Calgary-Southwest on October 14, 2008: 52,996
Total votes cast for Stephen Harper: 38,548
Total votes cast in the general election: 13,834,294
Total number of people eligible to vote: 23,677,639 

Because Stephen Harper is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, he ipso facto became the Prime Minister of the country; which means...

On October 14, 2008, 1 out of every 359 voters determined who would be Canada's next Prime Minister. Worse, that's 1 out of every 614 registered voters. How warm and fuzzy those rare few people must feel, to have chosen who would dictatorially preside over us all!

Some more numbers:

Voter turnout in Calgary-Southwest: 58.4 percent
Voter turnout in the general election: 58.8 percent

Voter turnout was the lowest in Canadian history.

Does anyone wonder why?

Don't blame non-voters. That is the typical knee-jerk reaction to such numbers.

There's no reason to think that voting patterns among non-voters would be dissimilar to those among voters. That is, there's no reason to suppose that the percentages of votes by party and hence votes to individual party candidates, wouldn't break down as they do now. It would still be the case that with our multiple political parties the results of elections under our antiquated single member plurality voting system would not fairly represent the choices of the electorate.

That's one reason why people are turning away in droves from the polls on election day. They may not be able to articulate it as the reason, but they know deep in their guts that something is terribly wrong.

[Cross-posted at NADER]

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126,000 and Still Growing

Someone has suggested that the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament group should be aiming for 350,000 members. That would be one percent of the population. I suggest the more relevant figure to politicians is 23,401,064, the number of registered voters as of October 2008. At our current numbers, CAPP is already at 0.54 percent.

By the way, that CBC article reporting on October 2008's record low turnout has relevance in its own right. Canada needs democratic reform, big time. That includes, but is not limited to, reform of our voting system. Let's throw to the trash heap our antiquated single member plurality system and replace it with one of proportional representation that distributes fairness to the greatest number of voters.

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Kitties!

Cats in their cradles. Here are some new photos of the two furry companions, Kiltie and Brodie. (Click thumbnails for larger view.)

We have a new/old blue house too; acquired, like the red one, free through the local freecycle place. Alas, the human hasn't been fast enough with the camera to catch a critter in it.

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Imagine

... Stephen Harper doing something smart, in response to Canadians' rejection of his rogue move. It would begin by his acknowledging that rejection and honouring it by reversing his prorogue decision. It would require his appealing to the Governor General to bring back Parliament 'early' - that is, January 25th instead of March 2nd.

For Harper to manage the acute anxiety associated with such action - i.e., from suspending his dictatorial style and swallowing his own, self-inflated ego -, he would, during the course of his acknowledging, honouring, reversing and appealing, also engage in denying, rejecting, blaming and lying. In other words, he would deny and reject any responsibility for the situation. Instead, he would blame the opposition and "left wing groups" (such as women) for purportedly lying to and misleading the Canadian public about his actions.

I can imagine such a scenario. I can imagine the Official Opposition, once again, being out-manoeuvred. And I hope I'm wrong.

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I Support the HST - P2

... but, as I wrote previously, I don't support the way our Liberal government foisted its particular brand of the HST onto British Columbians.

Now my support for the HST is supported by the typically NDP-friendly Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, to whit:

the central result [of our analysis] - that the tax credits and tax cuts have the effect of offsetting the impact of the increased HST revenue for low-income and moderate-income families and of moderating the impact for other families - holds.

This jibes precisely with my experience of the BC government's 'revenue-neutral' carbon tax. While the tax needs improvement, certainly in terms of its impact on climate change measures, it has helped this low income household, not harmed it.

I expect similar experience with the HST, given the rebates I will be getting.

All of which leaves me wondering... Just who does the NDP, the party that holds itself up as champion of the poor, actually represent? And why is it working so hard to mislead the public, especially people of low income, about these taxes?

ETA: I realize that this CCPA report assesses specifically the Ontario HST program. However, the issues are similar enough to the BC situation to make the report also relevant here.

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Cons Down, Greens Up

Stephen Harper prorogues and the one who speaks up makes the greatest gain.

Might it be that the latest drop in Conservative polling support (-2.8 percent) together with the almost identical increase in Green support (+2.2 percent) is a result of a certain party leader speaking out quickly and forcefully about Stephen Harper's rogue move?

In contrast, the vapid, delayed or absent responses of other party leaders have failed to impress.

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Full Body Scanning

If security at Canadian airports is already making exceptions for full body scanning, then what is the damn point?

"The scanners will not be used on minors and only on passengers selected for secondary screening, the federal government said Tuesday."

On secondary screening: The man who recently blew up his underwear had been passed through security without secondary screening.

On minors: Our federal government refuses to repatriate Omar Khadr who, at the time of his alleged offences, was 15. By refusing repatriation, Canada's government has effectively and without trial, found Khadr guilty of terrorism and murder. In the government's view, such a minor would entertain blowing up a plane.

The Harper government continues to expose itself as run by a bunch of idiots.

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132 Political Scientists Call for Reform

Woot! Fair Vote Canada has just released a statement, signed by 132 political scientists. They are calling on the federal government to initiate a process to reform the federal electoral system by the end of five years.

The statement reads, in part:

We call on the Prime Minister and leaders of all parliamentary parties to set aside partisan interests and together support a substantive program to engage Canadians in a national discussion on: 1) fair voting principles – voter equality, proportional results and the formation of governments whose policies reflect the majority of voters, and 2) the various types of fair voting systems based on those principles.

We call on the government to engage experts, consult widely with citizens, and implement a Canadian version of a more proportional and fair voting system within the next five years.

This is not just a electoral issue in my view; it's one of justice. Under the present system, all voters are not accorded the same opportunity to be fairly represented.

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On Being a Patriot

An hour ago, Kevin Gaudet, CEO of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation, sent the following Twitter update:

"I am ashamed Maude Barlow is Canadian. She may hate Harper but should love Canada."

Gaudet was responding to this article by Barlow, which appears today in The Globe and Mail. In essence, Barlow was criticizing Canada's failure to act on a number of issues, failures for which the Harper government is responsible. 

Gaudet took particular exception to this:

I am personally ashamed of my country as I travel internationally. [emphasis added]

Gaudet has a peculiar understanding of patriotism. In his view, to express shame for the actions or inactions of one's country is to be unpatriotic. But he's dead wrong.

As I responded back: "Shame is the emotional equivalent of taking responsibility." For someone to love one's country, per Gaudet's requirement for patriotic citizenship, one must never express shame for what one's country does. Such a concept of citizenship is empty of meaning.

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economicus ridiculous

Please don't forget the new blog created by Daphne and I, economicus ridiculous, a consumer advice blog with a twist. Latest posts: Silver Linings Savings Plan and Getting a Bank Account.

Help in getting word out about this new blog would be appreciated.

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He Says It Not Only for Liberals

Jeff Jedras, that is, in his excellent commentary that appears in the National Post today.

Jedras expresses the frustration that many Liberals have been feeling, I suspect, as they've watched 'leader' Michael Ignatieff's initial modest flame fizzle to a mere ember. Simultaneously and perhaps unintentionally, Jedras also expresses the frustration felt by non-Liberals, since all Canadians are let down when the official leader of the Official Opposition fails to lead.

Where is the man's backbone? Where is his or his party's vision?

And don't tell me about that damn thinkers' conference! There's nothing like telling the few truly grassroots members your party has left that they don't qualify for your deep thought. Or, for that matter, the rest of us plebes.

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On 'Mock' Parliaments

It would appear that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and his minions "are not interested in mock Parliaments."

Good grief, sir! Why ever not?

Our Members of Parliament, elected to represent the people but who instead represent their parties' interests, make a mockery of Parliament as a matter of course.

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Calling Vegan Wanna-bees !

For those of you who are wavering on whether to embrace a vegan diet this year, here's food for thought.

Change your life for the better and save the lives of animals in 2010 by pledging to be vegan!

What a great way to start the year!

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2010 and Space Exploration

Where's our moon colony? Where's our Mars colony? Where's our fully inhabitable space station - aka Babylon 5? Where's our exploration into the deeper reaches of the solar system and beyond? Why are we not reaching "where no human has gone before"?

Answer: A huge portion of money is being poured by the world's governments into the sinkhole of the military industrial complex.

The tax dollars of the most affluent societies pay for war, for killing, not for the advancement of science and technology that would benefit all. Think healthcare, education, a food distribution network that stamps out world hunger. These things are possible, but not when war and aggression is the typical answer to dissent.

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New Blog: economicus ridiculous

For 2010, Daphne and I have created a new blog, economicus ridiculous. We concluded it was time to separate our political writings from the everyday challenges we face living on the dirt cheap.

As the introduction to the new blog explains, economicus ridiculous is intended to be a 'consumer advice' blog, but one with a twist. Please check it out.

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Post Revival: We are Separatists

Encouraged by Boris' Option 3, I think it a good time to revive this post, written by Daphne and I in January 2009. The situation has not improved since then.

***

For a long time, I've pondered the benefit of my community, now Vancouver Island, being part of the political entity that is the Dominion of Canada. Not because of any dislike for Canada's land, waters or people - that aspect of being Canadian makes me go all mushy inside - but because I can't see how a nation so large, structured as Canada is politically, can fairly represent and administer and distribute justice to all of its people.

As long as Canada maintains the power structure that it has now, then I would prefer that British Columbia be a nation unto itself - i.e., separate from Canada. Even better, that Vancouver Island go it alone.

Our top-tier government has only grown more powerful over the decades, not less. It has been steadily sucking political power from the nation's provinces, territories, regions and municipalities. Thus the federal government, together with its puppet masters, has steadily been eroding the ability of citizens in their communities to directly influence change.

More and more, citizens are taken as irrelevant by our politicians. The support of the federal government by large corporations powers the agenda of Canada's politicos. Their concern for the people functions only as an electoral device to "win" a mandate to govern, one that is rigged by our outdated voting system. And then the winning party governs for the CEOs. For "ordinary" Canadians (to which our political parties so fondly refer), to think otherwise is to be delusional.

Recently, I emailed these reflections to Daphne, and asked: Have you ever thought about things like this?

We don't always agree and I wasn't expecting agreement here.

"Yes," replied Daphne, "have pondered this and have talked to others over the years... At one time, I printed T-shirts which depicted Vancouver Island as forming the Vancouver Island Liberation Organization, hence breaking away from the rest of Canada."

Vancouver Island Liberation Organization T-shirts, anyone?

We are not alone in wanting to detach ourselves from the rest of Canada, friend Daphne explained. An emerging notion is that of Cascadia. The boundaries of Cascadia vary but in most proposals, all or part of British Columbia, Oregon and Washington state are included.

While some notion of Cascadia might be workable in the future, Daphne and I prefer thinking only in terms of BC or Vancouver Island separating from Canada.

Seriously, we're fed up with successive governments which are supposed to be OF, FOR and BY the people being instead OF, FOR, and BY Canada's CEOs. And a heckuva job those CEOs have been doing lately!

Consider one example which exemplifies the joined-at-the-hip relation between Canada's government and big business.

Successive governments have been selling off our¹ resources under the guise of the Security and Prosperity Partnership "agreement" endorsed by the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the USA. (Don't be fooled. The name keeps changing, but the agenda remains the same.)²

Instrumental to the SPP is our very own Grand Ayatollah, one Tom d'Aquino, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. Mr. d'Aquino is one busy guy! Read the article. You'll understand why we two, having trashed our rose-coloured glasses long ago, prefer to divorce ourselves from Canada Inc.

¹ A sizeable chunk of "our" natural resources are on and in traditional native land and water.
² Excellent Canadian sites for information on the SPP include Global Research and the Council of Canadians.

[This post was co-written by Daphne Moldowin and Chrystal Ocean.]

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How to Game Canadian Parliamentary System

... in five easy steps.

1. Promise 'em anything. While the Official Opposition, complain about the unfair voting system, lax election laws, rules discouraging people from voting, lack of government transparency, Senate appointments...

2. Win by a plurality under said unfair voting system, lax election laws, rules discouraging people from voting, lack of government transparency, Senate appointments... Do not legislate improvements.

3. Write a 200+ page book on how to disrupt House of Commons (and Senate) committees. Make sure all MPs follow it religiously.

4. Control the message: all leaks/messages must be authorized by PMO, whisper Ottawa news in ears of media buddies first, zip your loose-tongued MPs - have them pose as potted plants.

5. If, despite following the first four steps, you find things getting a little too hot for you, prorogue Parliament.

Remember, the Canadian Parliament is no longer for the purpose of governing - designing and getting key legislation passed, studying vital issues in committees, or MPs representing their constituents. No, it's about which white ageing male can grab and wield power the longest and the men who will trade whatever integrity they've left in order to share in a tiny portion of it.

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Get Rid of Parliament

... and we get rid of MPs. Canadians would save a whole bunch of money.

Let the federal service do the work of government. Our MPs certainly aren't.

Oh, and about taking the knives to the pension plan for federal civil servants, you might start instead with the lucrative 'early retirement' package for MPs. Six years of 'service' and our elected 'representatives' are set for life.

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Culture of Disability

I am disturbed by the focus on DISability in our culture, both physical and intellectual, as starkly evident in the 2009 Federal Disability Report.

By definition, few people are going to sit at the top of the bell curve of abled-ness and intellect. Which makes all the rest of us either prone to athleticism and/or genius, or falling-apart dullards.

In civilizations past there would have been a place for every last one of us, with no disability industry standing by, chomping at the bit, ready to label us and rake in the big bucks.

As I suggested in my "Needy Renters" post, in this society the emphasis is always on what's lacking, not on people's untapped talents and capacities. This needs/incapacities approach celebrates victimization. It raises victimhood to an elevated status.

Alternatively, the capacities approach highlights what people can do, not what they can't. It treats all people with respect and dignity. Rather than looking at people in terms of their potential drain on society, it recognizes them for their potential benefit to society.

Too bad the social service sector is more focused on needs than capacities. It doesn't help that the industry is encouraged to do so by our own governments.

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Logic Challenge

If Canadians don't want an election but instead, as expressed by Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, they "want an alternative to the Harper government,"...

And if Parliament is dysfunctional, as suggested by Liberal MP Keith Martin,...

And if the NDP (and presumably, the Liberal Party of Canada) wants to make Parliament work,...

And if the same parties want to solve this conundrum,...

Then doesn't this mean, in the current minority situation, that said parties must...

Capitulate to all of the government's demands whilst assuring Canadians said demands are good for them OR,...

Form a coalition government?

Of course, non-partisan Canadians might consider another solution. As one tweeter put it: Revolution!

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For 2050 Olympics

... training in gymnastics begins now.


I canna stop laughing.

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It Just Warms My Heart

... to read such drivel.

Where DOES the Times-Colonist find these people? First it was this privileged whine. Now Lawrie McFarlane blusters forth with his inflated two cents:

Two B.C. courts have now ruled that the City of Victoria was wrong to prevent homeless people setting up tents in downtown parks.

Let's bypass the fact that a good portion of the campers were propagandists who use "homelessness" as a bludgeon. Our courts seem bent on redrawing civic rights in a way that has no foundation in law.

Their first step is to suppose that if a serious issue exists, it must be the duty of government to fix it.

Careful, Mr. McFarlane. Your stereotypes are showing.

Agreed: It is not the business of government to provide housing.

That's where our agreement ends.

It IS the business of government to regulate market conditions such that affordable housing is available to anyone who wants it. This includes half the people living in poverty who work one or more full-time and/or part-time jobs on low wages without benefits, and a considerable number more people living in poverty who worked in similar employment much of their lives and now face the end of their days in meagre retirement.

Among these people are those who serve you at your favourite retail haunts, wait your tables, serve you at theatres, monitor your home security, take your parking fees, wash your cars, book your travel arrangements, and provide your catering, home cleaning and home repair needs.

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Sloppy Journalism

The National Post this morning reports on a poll conducted for Canwest News Service and Global National that shows Canadians to be as disenchanted with our politicos as ever.

No surprise there.

What caught my eye was this bit:

When asked if they agree with the statement, "I've tuned out of participating in any kind of political activity, including voting," better than two out of three, or 67%, said they disagreed with that statement.

Still, the last time there was a general election, in the fall of 2008, just 59% of eligible voters bothered to cast a ballot.

The second paragraph isn't relevant to the preceding one.

There is so much more to political involvement than just voting. The people who responded to that Ipsos Reid question know that; among them will be those who no longer vote but are otherwise politically involved.

Apparently, the pollster and the National Post have trouble sorting out certain distinctions, even when their own polling questions suggest them.

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Targets Can Target Back

Most readers of this blog know that I am an atheist and have a low tolerance for blind faith. I've even less tolerance for the religion industry.

But not all religious organizations, or organizations founded by 'people of faith', are created equal. Among the stellar ones is KAIROS. Its entire raison d'être is the advancement of social justice.

Now, Jason Kenney & Company have set their sights on that organization, accusing it of antisemitism, an accusation that is so far off the mark as to be laughable; if it were not also so hurtful.

This time, Harper Conservatives have gone too far.

The target of their abuse is not without connections.

I hope KAIROS continues to fight back, emboldened by other progressives, with the light of its own special truth.

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On "Needy Renters"

One would think from reading the Cowichan NewsLeader that people who are struggling to find affordable rental housing are "needy renters."

Why do media types insist on using the word 'needy' when describing people without housing? People looking to be housed are not simply a bundle of needs. In fact, that's the least of who they/we are.

We have skills to offer, and insight and wisdom born from our struggles, which we wish others would recognize as useful and worthy of respect. We have solutions for our communities to what others deem intractable problems; and our solutions require considerably less outlay than those typically proposed by politicians, non-profits and business.

A serious shift in thinking is required. It can begin with simple acts, like journos and others no longer using words like 'needy' to describe people without housing.

Language matters. It's about R E S P E C T.

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On Becoming Newsworthy

How to become Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year: Screw your country and country(wo)men.

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One Reason I Don't Support NDP

I can't think of a NDP MP I haven't admired at one time or another. However, there are too many times when good-hearted intentions go over the top. Libby Davies' recent tweet is one example:

Canadian government should be helping Canadians travel to Gaza, not opposing them http://twurl.nl/j56ss3

I disagree. The Canadian government should be neither helping nor thwarting these activists' efforts.

I've also a bone to pick with certain leftists' interpretation of an email sent from the Embassy of Canada in Egypt. The link included in Davies' tweet contains the full text of that email:

From: <cairo-cs@international.gc.ca>
Date: December 24, 2009 1:50:44 AM PST
To: [edited out]
Subject: Gaza Freedom March, Dec 27-30th 2009

Le Français suivra

Gaza Freedom March

The Gaza Freedom March, which includes various activities in Egypt and the Gaza Strip, will take place from December 27 to 31, 2009. In response to this event, Egyptian authorities have confirmed that they will not permit entry to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing. They have also indicated that this March will be prohibited in Egypt.

The Canadian Embassy in Cairo would like to advise any Canadians considering taking part in this event that they could be found in violation of their tourist visa and be subject to arrest, detention and/or deportation.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada advises against all travel to the region surrounding the Gaza Strip due to the risk of rocket and mortar launches, gunfire and of ongoing military activity. The border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has been officially closed since June 2007; however, it may open or close upon short notice. Canadians should exercise extreme caution when travelling to this area due to ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip.

Consular Section
Embassy of Canada in Egypt


Marche de la liberté pour Gaza

La marche de la liberté pour Gaza, qui comprend différentes activités en Égypte et dans la bande de Gaza, se tiendra du 27 au 31 décembre 2009. En prévision de cet événement, les autorités égyptiennes ont confirmé qu'elles ne laisseront pas entrer les gens dans la bande de Gaza par le point de passage de Rafah. Elles ont aussi fait savoir que cette marche sera interdite en Égypte.

L'Ambassade du Canada au Caire aimerait aviser tous les Canadiens qui considèrent prendre part à cet événement qu'ils pourraient être accusés de ne pas respecter les conditions de leur visa de touriste et arrêtés, détenus ou même expulsés du pays.

Section Consulaire
Ambassade du Canada en Égypt

That email reads to me like the standard travel advisory to people planning or thinking about travelling to a foreign land where unrest is known to be occurring.

I am loathe to defend anything that happens under the Harper government's watch. But leftists are their own worst enemies when they read 'agenda' of the Republican variety into virtually everything that passes their desks or computer screens.

As for my respect and fondness for many members of the NDP, it's one thing to like and admire them, it's quite another to want that party leading the Government of Canada. After all, I like and admire certain Liberal MPs too, which is not to say I'd vote for a Liberal government that would be headed by Michael Ignatieff. There are even - gasp! - one or two conservatives I like and respect ... er, that's certain former Progressive Conservatives who are serving in the Senate.

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New Year's Resolution.

Yes, in this news, vegetarians fare better.

Anyone thinking that vegetarian diets were risky was told otherwise when the Dietitians of Canada and the American Dietetic Association issued a joint statement in June.

After reviewing the most current science, the report concluded that a well-planned vegetarian diet is healthy for people of all ages, including infants, children, teenagers and pregnant women.

What's more, vegetarian diets were linked with better health, including leaner bodies, lower cholesterol levels, reduced risk of heart disease, and lower cancer rates.

Roughly 4 per cent of Canadian adults follow a vegetarian diet, a number that's expected to increase over the next decade.

Not so those who seem to eat more than enough.

Obesity rates climbed for both men and women – today, 18 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women are obese. The highest rate of obesity (22 per cent) was among 55- to 64-year-olds: 24 per cent of men and 21 per cent of women.

New Year's resolution: Eat more vegetables!

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'Tis the Season

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Most of us celebrate the holiday surrounding the birth of Christ on the 25th of December, yes? Some of us celebrate the winter Solstice, which is an undeniable return of longer days to come and the celebration of new life in the spring.

Some very thorough research has been done in regard to the birth of Christ, which is nicely summed up on the video Zeitgiest - Part 1, Religion.

I include it here for your viewing pleasure and edification this joyous season. (You'll have to endure a short ad before Zeitgiest - Part 1, Religion comes on.)

As I am no expert on this subject, I suggest you take up any debate with a theologian, your minister, pastor or the like. I suggest that it will be put down to the devil's work.

End of story.

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All Canadians Should Read This

More explosive material (PDF) from Richard Colvin on the Afghan detainee affair. It refutes or contradicts testimony given by others, including generals, to the parliamentary special committee.

Richard Colvin is my new hero.

New meme: Colvin for PM! Colvin for PM!

ETA: If you simply can't read the whole thing - you're lazy, can't make the time (?!), whatever - then here's Kady O'Malley's excellent summary.

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A Privileged Whine

... about the privileged homeless.

While it's true that the homeless have rights, the rest of us have rights as well. Do the rights of the homeless matter more than ours do? If so, why?

How do you balance the right to survival with the right to parks protected from overuse?

The full article, which appears in today's Victoria Times Colonist, smacks of old-fashioned prejudice and the arrogance of the propertied.

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Connies Have Oily Knickers in a Twist

Retweeted by Conservative MP Jason Kenney:

RT @Spydyman: These are the nuts Cdn activists/Libs support? Radical environmental protesters cut down Cdn flag in London & douse it with oil.

To which I respond:

Sounds about right to me! Especially the douse with oil bit. Fits with our slimey Con politicians.

No source link was provided in the original tweet or Kenney's retweet.

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Have a Gift Card You Can't Use?

Just came across this site. The idea seems like a great one, a way for people to pass on gift cards they can't or won't use to people who would use them - and to make a few bucks in the exchange.

The Toronto-based company has been featured recently in a number of media, including CBC's The National.

As for me, cash or a gift card from a store I frequent is the best type of gift and probably for others in similar circumstances.

Speaking of which... a friend recently sent me a Thrifty Foods Smile card.

As I wrote in thanks, there's a reason Thrifty's calls its gift card 'the smile card': it puts smiles on the faces of its recipients. The moment I opened that envelope, my face grew a grin from ear to ear.

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Senior Couples Split to Afford Nursing Home Care

In BC, we're already well on the road to recovery from that 'worst recession since the Depression'. People again are parking themselves overnight to line up for 'affordable' housing... So much for that housing correction, eh?

It's a sorry economic boom indeed when senior couples are separating or divorcing so that they may afford hursing home care, but that's what's happening in increasing numbers, according to one seniors advocate.

As more people enter nursing homes, Veronica Ratchford, a representative from the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents' Rights, said an increasing number of couples are legally splitting up so they can get government help with the cost of that care.

"It is happening, I would say, on a regular basis and I think the reason why we do not hear about it is I feel that people are afraid," Ratchford said.

"They're afraid to speak up against government policies and also they are embarrassed for the public to know their income and what financial situation that they're left with."

When public services fail and your very survival is in question, you develop strategies to work around a program's stringent criteria. These criteria, of course, are designed less to help people than to prevent 'abuse' of the system.

When the system itself is abusive, no recourse is left; it brings back onto itself that which it so generously inflicts upon others.

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Did you vote for this?

I started a post on the latest social funding slash by Gordo's BC Liberals, when I came across this page.

“The cuts are coming fast and furious in all directions, “ wrote Times Colonist columnist Jody Paterson on October 2, 2009, “with neither a plan nor an understanding at any level of what it’s all going to mean when the dust settles. Without a word of public discussion, vital social programs and supports that British Columbians have counted on for years are vanishing.

Yep, and we're lambasted with propaganda that BC is the best place to live...

Paterson alleges that vulnerable people are being “cast to the wolves.” In October she listed just some of the programs she had noticed were cut. These included:

* School lunch programs
* Community mental health and addiction services
* School sports
* Intensive behavioral therapy for young autistic children
* Support for programs preventing fetal-alcohol damage in children
* Help for people raising their grandchildren
* Reading centres
* Treatment for children who witness abuse
* Outreach for victims of domestic violence (later reinstated after a public
outcry
* Help for problem gamblers
* Elimination of B.C.'s only prosecutor specializing in domestic violence
* Support for sports for people with mental handicaps.

There is more, read the whole article.

Did YOU vote for this?

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Let's Pathologize our Children: for Profit

Big Pharma is onto a good thing when doctors, teachers, health care professionals, physiologists, psychiatrists and parents recommend, subscribe or outright order prescribed drugs for childrens' 'dis-orders'.

The path to child drugging in the US started with providing adolescents with stimulants for ADHD in the early 80s. That was followed by Prozac in the late 80s, and in the mid-90s drug companies started claiming that ADHD kids really had bipolar disorder, coinciding with the marketing of epilepsy drugs as "mood stablizers" and the arrival of the new atypical antipsychotics.

Robert Whitaker, author of "Mad in America," describs the dangers of psychiatric drugs:

"When you look at the research literature, you find a clear pattern of outcomes with all these drugs," he said, "you see it with the antipsychotics, the antidepressants, the anti-anxiety drugs and the stimulants like Ritalin used to treat ADHD."

"All these drugs may curb a target symptom slightly more effectively than a placebo does for a short period of time, say six weeks," Whitaker said. However, what "you find with every class of these psychiatric drugs is a worsening of the target symptom of depression or psychosis or anxiety, over the long term, compared to placebo-treated patients."

"So even on the target symptoms, there's greater chronicity and greater severity of symptoms," he reports, "And you see a fairly significant percentage of patients where new and more severe psychiatric symptoms are triggered by the drug itself."

So who benefits the most? BIG PHARMA, of course.

In 2008, psychiatric drug makers had overall sales in the US of $14.6 billion from antipsychotics, $9.6 billion off antidepressants, $11.3 billion from antiseizure drugs and $4.8 billion in sales of ADHD drugs, for a grand total of $40.3 billion.

What about teaching your child to choose alternatives when seeking attention? Hey! Maybe even give the child your undivided attention, prepare a home cooked meal then sit down to eat and let them tell you about their day.

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BC Housing Plans Campaign to Combat ...

... homelessness?

No.

Headline reads: BC Housing Plans Campaign to Combat Negative Press on Homelessness.

h/t David Eby, formerly of Pivot Housing and now executive director of the BCCLA.

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City of Victoria vs. the City's Homeless

Victoria's homeless win.

"The City of Victoria is on the hook to pay Appeal Court costs, as well as the October 2008 court costs. How high that bill will be is not known."

Tee hee.

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Those Poor, Poor Diner-Outers!

Ian Tostenson, president of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association pleas that the BC government "allow the consumer time to adjust" to the HST.

The intent to bring in a harmonized sales tax was announced early this summer. Consumers will start getting charged HST July 1, 2010.

Time to adjust?!

And oh, those poor diner-outers! How terrible that the customers who can afford to eat higher-priced meals at restaurants will have to pay an extra seven percent!

My heart bleeds.

As for "the HST [costing] the industry in B.C. hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs," where's the evidence? Did the same industry face such dire consequences when a HST was implemented in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador - and in over 130 countries?

NO!

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Google to Limit Access to News Content

This will only increase the importance of social media and bloggers in enabling democratic access to information.

A not insignificant number of people can't afford to pay for the news of what's happening in their world. Ergo, the Internet community, fostered by social media, will become all the more crucial to properly functioning democracies.

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Mass Firing of Newly Unionized Staff

[Reposted, from last night]

From my own community comes this news.

Employees at Duncan’s Sunridge seniors complex were told this afternoon about 200 will be let go as of March 31, a Health Employees Union official told the News Leader Pictorial.

“It’s a mass firing,” Margi Blamey said.

Her report comes on the heels of Saturday’s HEU certification vote when some 70 per cent of the facility’s employees voted to join the union.

...

The two-year-old facility receives about $10 million annually from the province.

A 70 percent vote in favour of unionization. That's a large majority and a clear democratic result.

If this privately-run facility wants to fire its staff, fine, if it's for just cause. But getting public funding to reap profits unfairly off the backs of its employees? Not on my dime!

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Mass Firing of Newly Unionized Staff

From my own community comes this news.

Employees at Duncan’s Sunridge seniors complex were told this afternoon about 200 will be let go as of March 31, a Health Employees Union official told the News Leader Pictorial.

“It’s a mass firing,” Margi Blamey said.

Her report comes on the heels of Saturday’s HEU certification vote when some 70 per cent of the facility’s employees voted to join the union.

...

The two-year-old facility receives about $10 million annually from the province.

A 70 percent vote in favour of unionization. That's a large majority and a clear democratically-determined conclusion.

If this privately-run facility wants to fire its staff, fine, if it's for just cause. But getting public funding to reap profits unfairly off the backs of its employees? Not on my dime!

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What is going on?!

Over the past ten weeks - actually, beginning in early Spring -, virtual strangers have been helping me. Even government bureaucrats, who are notorious for thwarting one's ambitions, have speedily done their job.

I've no idea how to handle it.

First, in the spring someone whose blog I read diligently contacted me about a subsidized seniors development that might accept my application. No guarantees, of course, and there'd be a waiting list even if my application was accepted. I'd not applied to this particular project because it wasn't listed as accepting pets. Well, it takes someone who knows someone who knows someone else...

Next, there were those terrible two days in September, when Brodie was going to have to go to the SPCA. For the third time in two and a half years, Kiltie had acquired a urinary tract infection. I couldn't do it anymore, couldn't care properly for both cats, let alone care for myself; not on $67/month total for 'discretionary' budget needs - groceries, toiletries, laundry money - which was all that was left after paying for shelter costs.

Two wonderful women came forward, one who sent me enough money to pay for Brodie's food for a year. The other, to provide Kiltie with the special food she needs to get her back to health and to keep her there.

A fourth woman contacted me a few days later about another matter, after reading a comment I'd left at another blog. I'd mentioned Challenging the Commonplace proudly sporting the logo of that "Left-wing fringe group: Women" but said I wouldn't be able to order a t-shirt and wear my support in that upfront and personal way.

A few days ago, I received a t-shirt.

Then there was this personal request I posted many moons ago. The woman who sent me enough money to cover Kiltie's food for a year added a bonus: enough money also to buy an exercise bike. (She'd wanted to help in additional ways, but we ran into problems.)

I've had a Healthrider N40 upright exercise bike, bought for half price, for two months now and been using it regularly. Am already feeling stronger. My back gives me less trouble, causes less pain when I take the long walks I can't (and don't want to) avoid. The more mobile one can be, the more freedom one has and the better the quality of life. This woman's gift has improved my quality of life, for which I am deeply grateful.

About those bureaucrats...

Had been fretting for over a year that when it came time to applying for my CPP pension, I'd come up against a stone wall of administrative indifference and intransigence. As experienced with bureaucracy in the past, I imagined being required to go above and beyond what most citizens must in order to prove identity. The process has always caused me distress - delving into my the past ain't fun. Childhood upheavals of myriad number have resulted in a paper trail, of who I belonged to and what my name was, not following a straight line. BUT and this is what my hopes were pinned on, the one thing that was constant, once I began working at age 15, was my social insurance number. I was taxpayer number xxx xxx xxx and through that number all my CPP contributions were made.

So... filled with apprehension, I completed my CPP application and mailed it August 25th. Within three weeks - not the months I'd been envisioning -, I received a reply. In large bolded letters, in consideration of aging eyes, the letter began:

Your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Retirement Pension has been Approved.

In slightly smaller font, but still larger than average, further information was provided. It included the statement, in all caps: THE CHILD REARING PROVISION HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION - not that that will result in much; still, anything extra is welcome.

The CPP payments will begin August 2010.

My cynicism has undergone an adjustment.

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Finally, a correct, unequivocal decision.

From Michael Ignatieff, no less.

The man, and the Liberal Party, is on record for supporting a harmonized sales tax; but as demonstrated with other issues in the recent past, support for policy x has been no guarantee that Ignatieff wouldn't change his mind about policy x and thus signal a change in the party's support for it.

This time, finally, Ignatieff has made the correct decision.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said on Tuesday that his party will support a Conservative bill that would allow provinces to harmonize the provincial sales tax and federal GST on products and services.

"Our party for 15 years has supported sales tax harmonization...." Ignatieff told reporters. "We will support this legislation in Parliament."

Ignatieff added that it would not be a free vote.

...Ignatieff had previously said that if the Liberals formed a government, they would not cancel HST agreements signed with the provinces. But it had been unclear whether they would support this proposed federal bill.

It's the right decision in terms of policy, but for the Liberals the more important point is that it's the right decision in terms of ending (I hope) the waffling and fence-sitting.

Of course, the more time that passes between an Ignatieff decision and the consequences of that decision - in this case, the actual Parliamentary vote -, the less confidence one might have that Ignatieff won't, again, change his mind.

As for the National Citizens Coalition estimate that "the HST will cost the average taxpayer an additional $800 to $1,000 annually," average in this case is meaningless.

First, as the wealth of the few(er) increases to bloating proportions, the mean average makes it appear that we're all doing better. Second, over the past decade and more, the income of the average median household has either remained static or fallen. Ergo: there are fewer taxpayers.

ETA: In case you missed it, I support the HST, qualifiedly.

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In favour of Climate Change?

People the world over are shouting about Climate Change. People are demanding that their governments work together to stop the downward spiral spin. And what can an individual do, you might ask. One giant step would be to stop eating meat. Yep. Get rid of the meat in your diet.

Half, yes half of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by growing, slaughtering, rendering, transporting and distributing of live animals for us to eat, according to a report by Robert Goodland and Jef Anhang, environmental advisors (past and present) of the World Bank.

Their call to move to meat substitutes accords with the views of the chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who has described eating less meat as "the most attractive opportunity" for making immediate changes to climate change.

In a paper published by a respected US thinktank, the Worldwatch Institute, two World Bank environmental advisers claim that instead of 18 per cent of global emissions being caused by meat, the true figure is 51 per cent.

Methane from the meat and dairy industry creates more CO2 than all the world's transportation emissions.

While looking into the paper's findings, Friends of the Earth said the report strengthened calls for the Government to act on emissions from meat production. "We already know that the meat and dairy industry causes more climate-changing emissions than all the world's transport," said Clare Oxborrow, senior food campaigner.

So, if you really want to make a difference, minus the meat from you meals.

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