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Post by rockkid on Oct 19, 2004 10:46:02 GMT -5
Need one say more..........
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Post by Philemon on Oct 24, 2004 9:15:30 GMT -5
It looks like the inquiry into the 100 million dollars Sponsorship scandal will cost us 40 million dollars ...
"We don't laugh because it's funny" (a canadian taxpayer)
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Post by rockkid on Oct 26, 2004 16:07:14 GMT -5
Sigh What else is new.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Nov 4, 2004 7:51:32 GMT -5
Sign o' the times...
Canada: U.S. Immigrants Must Seek Visas
Thursday November 4, 2004 Colin McClelland Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) - Americans attempting to escape four more years of President Bush by fleeing to Canada will have to wait in line, just like immigrants from any other country, the Immigration Ministry said Wednesday.
Over the years, Canada's social climate has shifted to the left of the United States, with relatively higher taxes supporting programs such as public health care. That and the promise of legalized gay marriage and lenient marijuana laws might be a draw to some Democrats despondent over Bush victory and the promise of continued conservatism from his administration.
The U.S. consulate in Toronto estimates there already may be a million Americans living in Canada - most don't register - about a quarter of them in Ontario. But Americans who want to join the expatriate ranks across what is called the world's longest undefended border won't get special treatment just because their brother is married to a Canadian or they like cheap weekends in French-speaking Montreal.
''The immigration program is universal - it applies to everyone the same,'' France Bureau, spokeswoman for Immigration and Citizenship Minister Judy Sgro told The Associated Press.
''People must apply at a visa mission abroad and all applicants must meet the requirements,'' Bureau said.
All immigrants need a work permit, a government web site says. A government department must approve any offer of local employment before a permit is issued.
Those without a job offer can apply in the skilled worker category to become a permanent resident, which takes about a year to process. Applicants must have enough funds to support themselves in the meantime. Citizenship applications take an additional three years or so.
Skilled worker applicants must posses a minimum of points in required areas such as education and language proficiency.
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Post by Philemon on Nov 8, 2004 7:43:17 GMT -5
COMING TO A DEMOCRACY NEAR YOU
"Quand on se regarde, on se désole quand on se compare, on se console " (when we look at ourselves, we get upset when we compare ourselves, we find consolation)
This is the sentiment many canadians feel when we compare the american democracy with our own, as imperfect as it is but how more just than the one of our neighbords in the South.
The Americans who love to give democracy lessons and dream to impose their version of it everywhere on the planet would do well to take time to do a little self-criticism about the high importance taken by money, propaganda and personnal attacks during the last presidential election.
Canadian politicians would do themselves and the country a great favor by staying clear of(at least)four electoral scourges that plagued the U.S. election : Negative campaigns - Fear and lies campaigns Referendums mania - "unlimited" electoral expenditures
In Canada, during the last federal election campaign Many people were shocked to hear Paul Martin stating that his conservative opponent wanted to destroy our public medicare system and many more were scandalized when in a poorly written press release the Conservatives tried to gave the impression that Paul Martin was for juvenile pornography. Yet, our own negative campaigning is nothing when compared with the attacks we've seen between Democrats and Republicans.
In an uncommun exercise of denigration, the Republicans succeeded in undermining Kerry's credibility about his Vietnam War experience while their own candidate managed to dodge any duty in the same war. That slander campaign was very succesful but the real irony about this is that many people are now accusing John Kerry for not having answered more forcefully and with the same tactics as his opponents. That success will make all the Karl Roves of this world proud but Canadians politician strategists better stay clear of those methods.
President Bush managed to save himself from the Vietnam War but it is another war, the one against terrorism, that served him the best in his quest for the (re)conquest of the White House. The republican propaganda machine brilliantly and wittingly succeeded to stoke the fear of the american public with a hotchpotch mix of war in Irak/Saddam/Rogue Nations/Axe of Evil/Al Qaeda/Terrorism/September 11/ Interior Security/Ben Laden, effectively getting people to forget that Ben Laden has yet to be captured and the invasion of Irak was based on the crudest lie possible : Tons of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
It's well known that fear is an irrational phenomena. It is also a powerful political weapon. Too bad for the truth !!
At the height of the debate about gay marriage inside the Liberal Government last year a few members of parliement suggested to let all canadians decided with a referendum. "Never, Chrétien answered. In a democracy, you don't let the majority decide the faith of a minority, otherwise the francophone in Canada would have lost all of their rights a long time ago."
This is exactly what 11 states have just done by rejecting(by referendum)gay marriage. Some immigrant rights have also been reduced in some states. This should dampen in Canada the ardor of those who want social issues being settled by referendums.
On a larger scale, those who dream of following the U.S. by asking the population to decide on a bunch of social subjects at the same time with a presidential election should think about it twice. The multiplication of referendum debates on controversial questions could taint the presidential election to the point of influencing who'll get to be president. A single social stake should not be a decisive factor in electing the president of the U. S. and neither should minority rights suffer from partisan battles.
In the last 8 months, republicans, democrats and the groups that supported them spent more than 600 million dollars in electoral publicity alone. It's three times more than in the 2000 presidential campaign. It is estimated that the two major parties will have spent almost ONE BILLION DOLLARS for their campaigns, about 30 times more than the four major canadian parties together. With that kind of money involved, forget money being the sinews of war, we're now talking about W.M.P., Weapons of Mass Persuasion ...
More troubling is the millions spent in the presidential race by pressure groups ... In Canada, the electoral expanditures by both parties and groups are limited and the Supreme Court recently confirmed the 150 000 $ limit imposed to tiers in order to restrict undue influence by the richest lobby groups. It is not the case in the U.S. where the N.R.A. generously gave 20 million dollars to the Republican campaign justifying their investment by saying : « The Supreme Court will be crucial for the future of the second amendment and the president Bush will appoint judges who respect the bill of rights. »
This should give ammunitions to all here who think that money from lobby groups should not serve to buy an attentive ear in the government.
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Post by rockkid on Nov 10, 2004 10:29:27 GMT -5
Phil have you been following the Mirabel story? They need to give the farmers their land back immediately IMO & while they’re at it tear that sucker down!
As for lobby groups, god no we don’t need that here. Our politicians are corrupt enough already thank you.
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Post by Philemon on Nov 10, 2004 22:38:35 GMT -5
Mirabel is a fine airport ! Too bad they forgot(?) to build a Rapid Transit System to actualy get the travelers in and out of there. WAY OUT THERE ... !! I understand that all the freight and cargo planes are using Mirabel as operating base right now so the White Elephant is still a viable airport Nice location to shoot movies too ... I sure as hell has no clue about what should be done with all the expropriated land.
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Post by riley on Nov 11, 2004 19:19:38 GMT -5
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Post by rockkid on Nov 17, 2004 10:43:09 GMT -5
Kind of falls under the political umbrella…….
Air Farce vet Morgan dead at 74
TORONTO -- John Morgan, who played the dim-witted Mike from Canmore on CBC's The Royal Canadian Air Farce, was remembered yesterday as "eccentric, talented, prolific and funny." Morgan died Monday of a suspected heart attack at his home in Toronto. He was 74. "He was ... the most memorable friend and colleague any of us will ever have," Morgan's Air Farce colleagues, Roger Abbott and Don Ferguson, said in a statement. "He was a performer with whom audiences loved to laugh." When Air Farce moved to TV in 1993, it quickly became one of CBC's top shows. Before that Morgan, Abbott, Ferguson, Dave Broadfoot and Luba Goy had become a staple of Canadian radio. Besides Mike from Canmore, Morgan's other Air Farce creations included Jock McBile and the Prophet on the Mount. When asked once about the success of the show, Morgan said: "You know what they say: we use satire against our leaders; Americans shoot theirs." In 1992, the Air Farce team became the first Canadian inductees into the International Humour Hall of Fame. Ferguson, who knew Morgan for 34 years, said he was a natural clown. "He was a terrific raconteur. He was really completely engaged in life. He flew a plane, drove a sports car, he loved opera," Ferguson said in an interview yesterday. "He knew everything there was to know about tangos. He didn't dance, but he knew the music ... he had these weird interests - you know, you wouldn't expect a guy who was a comedy writer to fly a plane and be an expert on tangos, but he was." Morgan also co-created the CBC Radio series Funny You Should Say That and wrote the pilot of the popular TV series King of Kensington. He served as script consultant and writer for several other CBC-TV comedy series. Morgan retired from Air Farce in 2001.
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Post by riley on Nov 23, 2004 3:47:00 GMT -5
Hey Rock. See you've got a new Premier. Hold it ... no ... wait ... now... that must be another province I was mixing you guys up with Sorry to get your hopes up.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Nov 24, 2004 7:25:46 GMT -5
Hey, the Communist Party - Alberta, no word of a lie, got 98 votes. Things are looking up!
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Post by rockkid on Nov 24, 2004 11:32:17 GMT -5
Don't hold your breath.
Yup riley it’s still Klein. The man does smack of uncouth & is guilty of doing a few strange & highly un pc things but he got my vote non the less. Why? Simply because what ever else he’s guilty of he got our economy to the TOP! Frankly, I’d like to see it stay there.
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Post by Philemon on Nov 24, 2004 11:59:22 GMT -5
HÉ ! As long as the petrol is gushing ... there is no way but up !!
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Post by rockkid on Nov 24, 2004 12:15:20 GMT -5
Not entirely true Phil. Not if other provinces manage to get in on another “share the wealth scheme”. Sorry but I feel that money goes to the guys who freeze their asses off on the well sites & not some guy in an office in Welland Ont. or some such. Ole Klein will stand firm on that one.
On another happy happy joy note(though it's a "when I see it")
FEDS FINALLY INK CHOPPER DEAL
OTTAWA -- After a decade of delays and legal wrangling, the Liberal government inked a $5-billion deal to buy 28 new helicopters and a 20-year maintenance contract from Sikorsky. Defence Minister Bill Graham announced the purchase in July, but federal lawyers needed almost six months to hash through the fine print before closing the deal.
Graham said Sikorsky will be required to deliver the first H-92 Cyclone helicopters in the fall of 2008 regardless of the delay, with a new one delivered every month thereafter.
The 28 helicopters ring in at $1.8 billion and the maintenance contract costs $3.2 billion. Until the Canadian Forces take delivery of the new fleet, the military will continue to fly 42-year-old Sea King helicopters.
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Post by Philemon on Nov 24, 2004 13:20:32 GMT -5
It's a good thing we didn't buy those from G.B. ...
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