At Home in Hespeler

Yesterday I ranted somewhat about how completely useless our Provincial politicians have been lately. Today comes a series of videos by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant standing around Caledonia with a Tim Horton’s coffee talking about the unrest there, and saying things like “here’s the bridge; there’s the river.”

Kinsella calls it a smart use of new technology, but really shouldn’t smart use of any technology involve professionalism. The wind blown microphones, Bryant speaks with more “umms” than a Paris Hilton video and jerks around, shrugging and pointing all over the place. This could be smart use of new technology if it was done better (hire a teenager with a cell phone, they’ll tell you how to do it) and the subject matter wasn’t the complete abdication of the rule of law.

Silly Liberals, Silly Politicians

It’s a sad state of affairs when the local newspaper starts reading like The Onion, but that’s the case today. These guys are nuts, and they’re running this province.

Health care in Ontario is a +$30B dollar ministry in Ontario, and the guy running the show doesn’t have the native intelligence to figure out how unpleasant it might be to wear a soiled diaper:

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman says he’s considering personally road-testing a new absorbent adult diaper to see if it’s appropriate for the province’s nursing home residents.

“As a matter of conscience, it’s something that I have been seriously considering,” Smitherman told reporters yesterday.

The super diapers have become a flash point in the debate around adequate staffing in long-term care facilities.

It’s a mighty cold day in hell, and Hespeler when Sid Ryan and Peter Kormos are the guys making sense in a debate, but in Dalton’s Ontario, that’s how effective banning pit bulls has been against global warming:

Ryan:

“So if the minister wants to play silly games, let him put on a diaper and sleep in it all night long and come into the legislature and wear it until 12 o’clock, and let him soil that diaper and lay around in it for the length of time our seniors have to do in this province.”

Kormos:

“Smitherman’s a damned embarrassment. One doesn’t have to use or exhaust one’s imagination to understand the humiliation, the indignity, of sitting in one’s own waste for what could be hours at a time.”

Really, wet socks are annoying, how much brains and imagination does it take to know spending hours in wet diapers is not good enough.

Then there’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister Duncan Bryant, who is telling developers not to pay extortion to the Six Nations Development Institute, a group who is demanding $7,000 fees to develop along the Grand River, land which the institute has no legal claim on:

Ontario will not stop Six Nations from charging developers fees on disputed land near the Grand River, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant said.

He spoke yesterday as calls mounted for the government to halt what some are calling extortion.

A Six Nations development institute is demanding developers pay fees to build around the site, while protesters continue to occupy a former Caledonia housing project.

Developers who got letters seeking fees say the province is hanging them out to dry by not intervening or guaranteeing their safety.

But Bryant said it’s up to police to intervene and press charges.

“Developers … didn’t just fall off the turnip truck,” he said. “They know very well what the rules are and the laws are.”

But Bryant won’t step in and nobody can reasonable expect the OPP to do anything about it. Not after Caledonia. So the developers pay the bribes necessary to do business in Ontario (how about a new slogan? “not your average third world country.” That ought to rake in the tourists). So the developers pay, the Liberals pretend the issue has gone away, businesses moves on to the next province, and Ontario sinks in to have-not status.

Speaking of which, Dalton is doing a fair bit of whining this week:

Federal politicians have to stop “talking down” the Ontario economy, Premier Dalton McGuinty says.

The premier said he wasn’t prepared to follow their advice to cut taxes because he would have to close hospitals, cut social services and stop buying textbooks for students.

Instead, the Stephen Harper government should be partnering with his government on strategic investments in training, jobs and infrastructure to help grow the provincial economy, he said.

“It’d be nice to have the federal government in our corner,” McGuinty said. “It’d be nice to have a federal government which doesn’t seem to take so much delight in talking down the Ontario economy.” Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s comment that the McGuinty government is letting Ontario slide into “have not” status and should cut taxes to improve the business climate did not go over well at Queen’s Park.

It would be nice to have the federal government in our corner. Instead, the feds are reduced to acting like stern parents, warning the province of the consequences of it’s actions. Dalton’s response? Right on cue, here comes the petulance. Answer one question Dalton, are we or are we not heading for have-not status according to the federal equalization formula? If not, answer the argument with facts. If so, why? And don’t say it’s Mike Harris’s fault.

Better yet, someone give this guy a diaper.

Finally, we go back to article two, Bryant Skips Home Fight, for one last item:

Meanwhile, Tory party leader John Tory wrote Gary McHale yesterday opposing the Richmond Hill activist’s “inappropriate” planned Caledonia demonstration Sunday at OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino’s home in Woodbridge. Public figures accept protests with their jobs, but “have a reasonable expectation that our families and our private homes will be left out.”

While I agree in principle, don’t the people of Caledonia have a reasonable expectation that there families and private homes will be left out of protests, whether by native bands, angry unionists or local nutjobs? And if they do end up in the middle of “inappropriate” protests, that their leadership, both politically and in the police, will aid them? And if that doesn’t happen…?

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Government of Ontario: a rash on all their asses

Dalton, John 'Red Green' Tory, Politicians acting badly, Silly Politicians

The federal Conservatives are claiming the Liberals have promised spending commitments and “promising tax dollars to special interest after special interest, writing IOU after IOU,” according to Industry Minister Jim Prentice. The result, according to a Conservative report, would be to add $62.5B debt over the next four years.

Predictably, the Liberals have fired back with John McCallum, calling it a shoddy, dishonest document.” All that spending would be phased in, thus, it’s OK claims McCallum. The Liberals further suggest that the report is “pre-election stunt designed to distract from the Harper government’s own free-spending ways.”

Let’s see, the Conservatives say Dion’s Liberals… spend too much, the Liberals say Harper’s Conservatives… spend too much.

Enough! You both spend too much! Listening to John McCallum and Jim Prentice argue over which party spends too much is like listening to two old hookers accusing each other of nymphomania. And sadly, the opposition to these two parties, Jack Layton, Elizabeth May and Gilles Duceppe would argue that what the other two really need is to get laid once in a while.

A sexually transmitted pox on all their houses – the whole damn lot of syphilitic old whores.

Silly Politicians

A quick excerpt from Brian Mulroney Memoirs:

I had long been impressed by the elaborate courtesies extended to former American presidents by their successors, “out of respect for the office,” even when their earlier relations were not warm. I was determined to act in the same fashion toward my predecessor.

During the 1984 campaign I had promised a commission of inquiry into the Petro-Canada financial transactions. I was aware of substantive allegations about prominent Liberals – including some close to the Prime Minister – making millions on the deal when Petro-Canada was set up. Upon reflection, I declined to proceed when it became clear that Trudeau would be forced to testify, thereby being caught up in the media circus that could badly harm him and his family. Because I believed it would be wrong to drag a former Prime Minister through the mud, I cancelled plans for the inquiry … (Mulroney, Brian. Memoirs: 1939-1993. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2007. Page 529)

I point this quote out not because he’s right, he’s not, at least not when it comes to possible criminal action, but because it says a lot about Mulroney. And it says a lot about our political process. As I mentioned last month about a Warren Kinsella penned article:

Here’s a tip for Warren Kinsella, and the rest of the Liberal party. it wasn’t the Gomery Commission that dealt the shattering blow, it was the acts committed by members of the Liberal party that the Gomery Commission investigated that dealt the blow.

Same principle here, an inquiry doesn’t dis-respect the office, it’s the actions of the office holder that stand to disrespect the office.

Stephen Harper is right to call an inquiry, and it should be a full inquiry, looking into Mulroney’s actions while in office, as well as the later actions of Jean Cretien regarding the Airbus probe, reporters who won’t let this story go, and anyone else involved in this story. It’s time for full accountability or, if no accountability is required, to put this story to rest.

Brian Mulroney, Silly Politicians

Nice piece in the Financial Post today by Terence Corcoran, Flaherty should tackle his own price gougers, making some reflections on Jim Flaherty’s announcement that he would meet with retailers to discuss why the price of goods hasn’t come down lock-step with the rise in the dollar. Nice to have a conservative finance minister that has so little faith in the free market, that he must intervene at the slightest provocation (and I do mean slightest).

I have an idea for Jim Flaherty: want to see the market kick into gear? Remove the duty on goods consumers bring back into Canada upon leaving the country. No need to be away 48 hours for a $400 duty free (or 7 and $750). One day in the U.S., bring back as much consumer goods as you please (booze and cigarettes subject to the usual rules, of course). This would create competition with American retailers, forcing Canadian retailers to bring their prices more in line with American prices.

This way, you see, I could get up Saturday and say, Hey! Let’s go shopping! Couple of hours later wee’re in Buffalo, buy a big screen TV, 5.5 Surround sound system for it, a HDDVD, and a bunch of DVD’s. Back at the border:

“How Long have you been out of the country?”
“Couple of Hours.”
“Anything to declare?”
“Four-thousand-five-hundred and seventy-two dollars worth of goods.”
“Any liquor or tobacco?”
“No.”
“have a nice day, sir.”

Jim Flaherty says he wants the markets to work for Canadians. That’s how they would work, by adding competition, not by some busybody politicians harassing sellers.

And the big advantage is he could do it tomorrow, just issue an order in council, or whatever these guys do, and suspend the paying of consumer duties until a) Jan 1 b) Further notice. Simple, and would even be popular amongst us unwashed masses -er voters.

While we are on the subject, and speaking of upping the competition, and since the price differential in books seems to be one of the items that is really annoying people, how about eliminating those pesky Canadian ownership requirements to owning a large bookstore. Then we can get Borders/Barnes and Noble in here and give Chapters a run for their money. Problem being, I admit, this one would take a while. Unlike the issue with not paying duties, which could be implemented tomorrow.

So how about it Jim Flaherty, want to really fix the problem of consumer prices? or do you want to play big hero politician who interferes in the market, but solves nothing?

Economic Fundamentalism, Silly Politicians, Unsolicited Political Advice, whack-a-mole politics

My pal Gerry Nicholls has quite a funny column on Stephane Dion in today’s Sun: Let’s replace Dion with a carrot.

My favourite bits:

Stephane Dion wants to move the Liberal Party to the Left.
A carrot is good for your eyesight.
Advantage: The Carrot

Stephane Dion is a former academic with a keen interest in constitutional affairs.
A carrot is an inert piece of vegetable matter.
Advantage: The Carrot

Stephane Dion has a green plan.
A carrot is actually organic and has a green stem and feathery green leaves.
Advantage: The Carrot

Read the rest here, with Sheila Copps less amusing, slightly more personal re-jab comparing Harper to a rutabega here.

Never mind the politics, someone pass a slab of meat.

Gerry Nicholls, Humour, Silly Politicians

Now that the Ontario election is over, we can ask it? Is there anybody, anywhere, who’s a worse campaigner than John Tory? He ran Kim Campbell’s 1992 disaster, got his ass kicked over a bridge that affects a few hundred voters in Toronto, and now the Ontario election where, instead of voters warming to John Tory as promised, his numbers went down as the campaign wore on. This against a dishonest Premier who is presiding over Ontario’s descent into have-not status within confederation, while anarchy reigns in small pockets of the province. If you couldn’t beat this guy, couldn’t even mount a reasonable challenge against him, you don’t belong in politics.

For me, I was planning on holding my nose and voting PC, until last week: In order to win over my vote, specifically my vote I believe, John Tory decided to announce test marketing corner store sale of beer and wine. It was the bone I needed throwing to get my vote. Then my local moron, Gerry Martiniuk, stated in debates last week he’s not in favour of that policy. One conservative policy in the whole damn platform, and my local Progressive Conservative candidate is not in favour of it.

One bone, that’s all I asked for. I frickin’ bone.

So after voting F*&% no to MMP, I voted for Gerry Nicholls favourite candidate, Montgomery Brewster. A cowards way out, I admit, but John Tory/Gerry Martiniuk had made themselves un-votable in my eyes, and they were heads and shoulders above the rest, at least in my riding.

What a mess this whole election was. Can we please get on with finding a conservative to run the Conservative party in Ontario, and start getting back to having some hope.

John Tory, Ontario Election, Silly Politicians

Have you seen that commercial yet? Dalton McGuinty virtually giggling into the camera (scroll down the empty page and click on video 3: Public Schools):

You know what I love about Ontario’s public schools? They’re public.

Not that it’s good, effective, gives our kids a superior education, prepares them for reality, or is inexpensive and efficient. No, what Dalton McGuinty loves about the education system is that it’s owned and operated by the government of Ontario.

Which makes giggles McGuinty a dangerous ideologue:

Soviet TV, 1978 – Your great leader Leonid Ilyich McBrezhnev:

Comrades. Do you know what I love about Russian made GAZ automobiles? That it takes three years to get one? Nyet. That it breaks down with annoying regularity? Nyet. That it’s dangerous, unreliable and poorly made? The way the glove box rattles, the coffee cup holder is twice the size of any coffee cup I ever saw, and the sun roof won’t close when it gets wet? Nyet comrades. What I love about my Lada is it’s made by the government.

Don’t we need a better reason for supporting public education than “because it’s public”? And if that’s the only reason to continue supporting it, then isn’t that an admission that it’s time for a complete re-think on the education file?

Dalton Dalton Dalton, Silly Liberals, Silly Politicians

I can’t begin to say how much I have been enjoying the political hornets nest Brian Mulroney has stirred up with his trashing of Pierre Trudeau this week, and release of his memoirs, Memoirs 1939-1993 next week.

And, strangely, I half agree with Stephane Dion that Mulroney is off base, although Dion calling him a political coward demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge in Mulroney’s history, if he really believes it. But slapping Trudeau around for youthful indiscretions? Even if they were as serious as being a Nazi sympathizer (which I in no way believe they are), they are events that happened 70 years ago, in the youth of a man who lived a full life, and passed over six years ago. Besides, Trudeau’s work and policies in no way suggest he was sympathetic to the Nazis.

No, if Mulroney wants to attack Trudeau, policy is the place to do it. And there is lots of room to attack, and it is, frankly, fair game whether Trudeau is alive or dead. Policy is the legacy a politician leaves behind, and Trudeau left enough policy is just downright bad. I will reserve judgement until I have read the book, but if Mulroney’s critique of Trudeau can’t rise above the “he didn’t fight the Nazi’s when he had a chance” stuff, if he can’t find enough policy to lambaste Trudeau over, then it explains much about what went wrong during Mulroney’s years in office. If a Conservative Prime Minister can’t find pages an pages of critical comment on Trudeau’s politics, then he should never have been a) a Conservative and b) Prime Minister.

The fallout, however, looks like it will not be constrained to pistols at sunrise between the Trudeaupeans and the Mulroneyites. Today Senator Pat Carney wrote a letter into the Post regarding David Frum’s piece of the free trade Agreement. In his piece, Frum suggested that John Crosbie was the minister of trade who negotiated the FTA. It’s not so much Carney’s setting the record straight that’s interesting; that happens all the time. But the tone of the letter strongly suggests the following entry in Pat Carney’s (Sen. PC) Christmas card list:

Here is the letter itself:

David Frum’s mundane account of Brian Mulroney’s historic accomplishment in achieving the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is marred by his false assertion that John Crosbie was the minister of trade who negotiated the FTA. That role is properly mine, as trade minister whose signature is on the Agreement in Principle negotiated by finance minister Michael Wilson, chief of staff Derek Burney and myself in a clock-racing marathon in Washinton [sic] on Oct. 4 1987. John Crosbie, who famously said he had never read the FTA, was responsible for implementing the negotiated agreement. Look it up.

With this being the week before the first of the two big memoirs coming in the next few months (Jean Cretien also has his coming out), this could be a lively and fun fall.

Books, Silly Politicians, Who You Calling a Nazi?