Overhauling Canada's Regulatory Framework Details Lacking

As usual there's the cart before the horse, some half cocked put it out there then we'll get to it ham fisted approach to legislation.  Everything needs to be speeded up to get that economy on track, expedited, action verbed out there.  Just get it in the headlines and let the reporters talk it up with the usual patter, some flag around the Harpo or Joe Oily looking like he's about to collapse from the burden of responsibility on his shoulders, or Peter Kent falling down sagging from his copious notes.

For workers on the front line, here's where all this profitability margins got you.  Deaths and negligence.  Safety personnel at risk in the North.

Inadequate Search and Rescue in the North.

“It’s inexcusable for our country to rely upon search and rescue [resources] located on the shores of Lake Ontario . . . when there’s so much more happening [elsewhere].” NunatsiaqOnline (subscribe and support)  

Arctic Rescuer Dies Waiting Five Hours in Sea in Canada

According to a preliminary report released by the Canadian Forces Wednesday, Gilbert and two other technicians parachuted 600 metres into waves which were three metres high with winds blowing at 50 km/h.

Dust Levels High At Burns' Lake Warnings Dismissed

The WorkSafe BC inspection report shows an officer collected 10 dust samples from the mill on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23 and submitted them for lab tests.

The results released Dec. 28 found dust levels in the basement cleanup area were more than twice the acceptable level for an eight-hour exposure.

Read it on Global News: Global BC | Dust levels high weeks before explosion at B.C. mill: WorkSafe BC 

Since we now know that our local papers are Harper puppets, collect a wiki of your own independent newspapers and journalists that can write true real people points of view.  Submit the names of the reporters to writer's organizations who offer awards of merit for real news reporting and sanctions against  shills like Ibitson, et al.  (more to be added)

MP's Pensions an Outrage

Time for pension reform for MP's.  This is now a hot point that needs to be addressed in times of austerity.  If not, then the point is clear.  All optics for the power elite.  Make sure the underclass know they are an underclass by being callous and supercilious when dealing with issues of equality.  Make no bones about who dictates, and who serves, about who is deserving of wealth and who is not.

The Publicly Funded MP Pension Plan

Rick Mercer describes Parliamentary Secretary, Pierre Poilievre, as someone who has never worked at anything, but is an expert on everything. First elected in his mid-twenties, 31 year-old, Poilievre, has ALREADY qualified for HIS share of the extravagantly outrageous, MP pension plan. Poilievre can start cashing HIS pension cheques at age 55. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation tells us that taxpayers kick in $23.30 for every dollar put in by their MP. CTF says that MP pensions, guaranteed by law, grow 10.4% a year - all courtesy of taxpayers, who, each year, put more money into their MP's pension account - $248,000 - than the MP's base salary of $157,000. MP's themselves, contribute a minimal $10,990 a year. In the face of THIS, Harper, not only plans to stuff another 18 bodies into Parliament, but, he also has the gall to set about attacking the very people supporting such *generosity*? For Harper voters everywhere, just how is THIS sort *accountability* working for you, again?

Kicking the Retirement for Pensions Plan Can Around

Harper's going to have to face the opposition critics as Parliament resumes today for his disclosed pension cuts and OAS changes.  Here are some of the critics already.

Let me see if I understand this...

Harper will be able to retire at the age of 52 making well over two hundred grand a year that working people will pay for. An MP only has to work for six years before collecting a full pension in which working people pay $23 for every dollar the MP contributes. They will be expected to continue to pay for the pensions of elderly people brought here by their children who have never paid one thin dime into the system. However, those very same working people are going to be expected to work two years longer in order to be able to collect the small poverty level pensions they've worked all of their lives for. Sorry Harper. Not a chance!!!  Toronto Star

Harper and Flaherty love to brag...

...about the stability of Canada's Banking System claiming Canada's Banks didn't recieve bailout money. They conveniently forget that the Chartered Banks recieved $150 Billion Dollars thru the backdoor in years 08/09 by CMHC purchasing Mortgages from them. CMHC's mandate is to insure mortgages with low downpayment from default with a pool of premiums collected from mortgagees. It's mandate was not to actually provide mortgages. This makes the Canadian Government (taxpayer) after the American shakeout the largest holder of subprime mortgages in the world. This slight of hand actually eclipses Paul Martins' theft of $60 Billion in Employment Insurance premiums by taking the premiums illegally into general revenues to balance the budget. It's all smoke and mirrors in fat city! 

Possibly a start at balancing the books....

...of Canada's Old Age Security Plan would be to make immigrants who arrive as seniors and have never worked in Canada ineligible for OAS. As it stands now anyone living in Canada for 10 years receives the benefit. Immigrant seniors come to Canada as part of the family unification class of immigrants, live here for ten years often with substantial seasonal vacations to the homeland then at 10 years receive OAS often then moving permanently back to the homeland. Remember the 50,000 "Canadian's" who sought government/taxpayer assistance in leaving Lebanon when war broke out, only to return as soon as the hostilities subsided? 

How the Canadian Government Plans Its Tar Sands Action

Could have been a same sex too!  This is Toronto after all.

See the full redacted scribd version.  Hope it doesn't get redacted too.  Seems that the government has been removing documents from the archives.

The Real Davos Story 2012

Harper went to Davos prepared with the big reveal, the Transformative  Strategy for Canada and by extension to the world economic leaders.  As he held Mark Carney in captive thrall running through his talking points and polishing his delivery,

The veteran founder and Chairman of the Davos World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus Schwab, declares that "Capitalism, in its current form, no longer fits the world around us."

 Reporter:  Terry Milewski, CBC.ca

Harper's plan for Capitalism is that it should grow and find markets everywhere unfettered by government intervention.  Hence, less taxes for corporations.  His message was the debt.

"It threatens the strong, sustainable balanced growth that G20 countries have made their priority and risks bringing the world to another recession."

 "We have failed to learn the lessons from the financial crisis of 2009," he goes on. "A global transformation is urgently needed and it must start with reinstating a global sense of social responsibility."

Harper didn't mention his failed policies such as putting too much money into one region for oil development and encouragement of investment which impacted the rest of Canada because of a petro dollar or "Dutch disease" result.  Investors felt free to take the money grants and then leave without penalty.  

Even though Canada shares NAFTA policies with the U.S., Obama has moved towards protectionism, and buy American policies in order to insulate workers from job losses.  The U.S. presses charges against "dumping" of solar panels by Chinese.

Even though the world is in chaos from corruption in banking, excessive movement of money away from stakeholders and into the hands of shareholders where it is parked out of country or used in a virtual way as commodity flips and trades make money and inflate goods beyond real value. 

Free trade and free markets won't cut it anymore.

That's obvious in Canada.  Yet, Canadian goods are struggling to compete against the influx of Target, Wallmart, Ipods instead of Blackberries.  

"seriously address the social impact of globalization," he says. "Growing inequities within and between countries and rising unemployment are no longer sustainable ... We must rethink our traditional notions of economic growth and global competitiveness, not only by focusing on growth rates and market penetration, but also, equally — if not more importantly — by assessing the quality of economic growth."

"How sustainable is it and at what cost to the environment? How are the gains distributed? What has become of the family and community fabric, as well as of our culture and heritage? The time has come to embrace a much more holistic, inclusive and qualitative approach to economic development."

"The success of any national and business model for competitiveness in the future will be less based on capital and much more based on talent. I define this transition as moving from capitalism to 'talentism'."

Some tweets via hashtags.org  search term Davros


"Growth was achieved at the cost of greater inequity, higher unemployment, weak
democracy,loss of identity, & overconsumption" #Davros #WEF



Important to read re-read & absorb - World Bank Beyond Economic Growth
ISBN 0-8213-4853-1 (+ pdf) CH 1 "What Is Development?" #Davros #WEF

Invest for the long term future, Stop short selling the World. #Davros #wef Take options for decency and reasonableness.

Humanity has for many years known the correct action to support and maintain health world economics but Fail as are too greedy #Davros #WEF

Look here for my shared Tweet Grid on topics on the blog

Harper's Davos Talking Points

Canada is recovering well from the global recession.

change how Canadians finance their retirement.
overhaul the immigration system. (Canadians want job security.  Well we won't let you indulge in the old notion of "jobs for life" - unless, of course, you run a company, are in finance or work for the Harpercons.)
make oil and gas exports to Asia a “national priority”(not climate change, clean water, Aboriginal birthright)
aggressively pursue free trade in India and Europe. (our corporate boots have already signed the contracts and you'll hear about it soon enough.  Only when we find a safe place to hide when Harper reveals it center stage at a WTO or banker's forum in China).
“Western nations, in particular, face a choice of whether to create the conditions for growth and prosperity, or to risk long-term economic decline. In every decision, or failure to decide, we are choosing our future right now,” Mr. Harper said. (plagiarized from words of climate scientist Bill McKibben)
He did not spell out whether seniors will have to wait longer to receive the benefit or whether clawbacks would be increased for higher income earners. (bad news is incremental).
(or like the EI - we might just find that there are fewer staff to disburse cheques at Christmas time)
(there are more people employed looking for cheaters of EI than there are in the EI office of disbursements)



“a threat to the social programs and services that Canadians cherish.” Preserving those social programs will likely mean cuts elsewhere.  (Old people are a burden and a threat to his new vision of Canada.)

Slanted Media Coverage of the Keystone XL

Balance in reporting by major US outlets

The Canadian media is certainly slanted towards the pro tar sands angle.  Just today, an article quoted three MP's and Harper and not one Aboriginal voice or environmental position.  It's almost as if silence has descended on this issue.

Media continued to frame the story as a jobs issue, as a cudgel by which to punish Obama's reluctance to move forward with a nasty Republican power struggle, and as an ethical oil alternative.

Breakdown by medium and message bias

Television often played down environmental risks.  That's a surprise, given that the Concordia disaster played constantly as front page news.  Normally, disasters make good press.  I guess not oil spills.  Protesters were often seen being dragged away, or were called "actors".


Headlines are extremely important in digital culture as this determines whether we pay attention or not.  A continuation of positive headlines made the story seem to be always a "no brainer". 

Of those quoted by the major newspapers, 45% were in favor of the pipeline and 31% were opposed. The New York Times was the most balanced, quoting 35% in favor and 27% opposed. The Wall Street Journal was the least balanced, with 52% in favor and 21% opposed.

I'm sure if you used an aggregator to determine sentiment, one would find that the same lack of balance would be found in social networking sites like Twitter, Blogs and rss feeds.  So we do have the same perceptions repeated in the minds of the readers and media consumers.  Don't forget too that there is a huge media machine pushing the tar sands in the social media.