Canadian Ex-Expat

We did it! WPBS will stay on the air in Ottawa!

2009-07-31T12:27:00.005-04:00

Congratulations, fellow Ottawans! We did it!! I received the following e-mail from WPBS this morning:

July 31, 2009

Dear Friends of WPBS-TV:

CONGRATULATIONS! WPBS-TV and Rogers Cable have worked together to ensure a more reliable fiber connection, and WPBS-TV is able to continue serving the Ottawa Community! This news from Rogers could not have come at a better time. WPBS-TV and Rogers have created a more reliable feed source of our signal that is a win-win situation for both parties. In all sincerity Rogers has been kind and cooperative in the discussions with WPBS-TV over the past 48 hours.

Words alone can never describe how much the overwhelming outpour of support from our friends in the Ottawa area has meant to “the little station that could” over the past weeks. Special thanks go to the City of Ottawa Councillor Rick Chiarelli for his unwavering support, time and energy on behalf of the City of Ottawa and WPBS-TV; Gord McDougall, CFRA News Reporter & TV Commentator for his encouragement and friendship; and, the countless members, viewers, supporters & friends of WPBS-TV who refused to give up and remained committed to the end. We could name many, but without their permission we will wait to ‘brag them up.’

How does an organization go about thanking everyone for their character, depth of emotion and heart-felt hard work? We’re not quite sure just yet. But, believe us Ottawa, WPBS-TV will not let you down!

In the coming days, WPBS-TV will be creating on-air spots and making additional announcements with our on-line community of supporters. Please call us with any questions or concerns you may have. Or, just congratulate yourself on a job well done!

As always, we remain,

Tom Hanley, Lynn Brown & Staff

A big "thank you" and virtual hug to all the people who bombarded Rogers, the CRTC, Ottawa city councillors, and local newspapers with your protests against dropping WPBS! Good on ya, Ottawa.

Don't forget to tip your waitress - I'll be writing a thank you letter to the individuals mentioned above and the Ottawa city councillors, as well as Rogers and the CRTC, for their efforts in making this happen.

Now if you'll excuse me, I suspect there's something good on channel 64 right about now...

Save WPBS TV in Ottawa! - Update

2009-07-29T12:19:00.003-04:00

So far, Rogers continues to insist on dropping WPBS. In the beginning they stated that the decision was "final." But recent correspondence suggests that they're getting the message and their resistance may be softening. I received the following message this morning from Rogers' Office of the President (emphasis mine). Note the absence of the word "final," instead being replaced with "at this time":

Dear {name},

Thank you for sending your complaint to the Office of the President regarding the channel realignment that will be taking place in August.  We understand that this is disruptive to some viewers and this is why we rarely make this kind of change. It has been with extensive analysis and viewer feedback that we have made this decision to acquire PBS Detroit.  PBS Detroit offers higher quality reception and signal reliability. We are aware that the local programming you have enjoyed will no longer be available as a result, but have been advised that there will be similar programming available. We have received complaints pertaining to this decision, but at this time, the realignment will still take place as scheduled. 

We do not take these complaints lightly, and have noted this accordingly. Your  feedback in regards to this channel lineup change is taken very seriously and will be voiced. We apologize for any inconvenience that this change may cause you. Thank you for being a loyal customer to Rogers during this time period of adjustment.

Sincerely,

{name} | Rogers Communications Inc. | Advisor | Office of the
President |

Now is the time to keep up the pressure. I have been advised by one city councillor that it will help build support in city council if we contact all of the councillors.

Here is a list for your convenience:

Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca
Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca
Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca
Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca
Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca
Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca
Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca
Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca
Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca
Maria.McRae@ottawa.ca
Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca
Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca
Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca
Jan.harder@ottawa.ca
christine.leadman@ottawa.ca
Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca
Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca
Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca
Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca
Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca
Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca
Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca
Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca
Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca

Please take a few minutes and let them know how you feel about this. There is a link to a petition and more people to contact, such as Rogers managers and government officials, in my previous post.

I am also sending this information to WPBS so they can help spread the word.

Save WPBS TV in Ottawa!

2009-07-28T21:09:00.002-04:00

Rogers has decided to drop WPBS Watertown (channel 64) from its Ottawa cable lineup, despite what appears to be a sizable protest from its customers.

It is replacing it with Detroit PBS, which is 4 times farther away, which means there will no longer be PBS coverage of local events in our shared area, as there is now with Watertown PBS. We will also have less of a voice about our PBS programming, since we'll now have to compete with all of Detroit to get heard. In addition, WPBS may lose more than $300,000 in revenues from this decision since, as a border town, 70% of their audience is Canadian. Rogers claims this lineup change is at the request of its viewers, which is an insult to our intelligence considering the volume of protest against it.

WPBS is one of the few remaining channels that doesn't satisfy itself with airing a constant stream of brainless rubbish. It airs intelligent, educational, entertaining programs that serve the public good and Ottawans in particular. Thus, WPBS is one of the few reasons I still bother with Rogers Cable. Rogers' senseless decision to drop WPBS after decades of symbiotic relationship with Ottawan viewers is infuriating. It has prompted me to start researching UHF antennas in anticipation of their bullish insistence on ignoring their customers' wishes. I've put up with many other annoyances from them which have put me off, but if they remove their top channel too, that'll be the last straw.

The link above will bring you to a detailed description, along with a convenient list of phone numbers and e-mail addresses of officials you can contact to register your complaint. Please contact them and let them know how you feel. There is also a survey and petition you can sign here.

Are Canadians just unbelievably selfish?

2009-06-18T17:48:00.002-04:00

Right now, people are being killed in Iran for protesting the fact that their voices aren't being heard. In Canada, we whine and stomp our feet because making our voices heard might bite into our vacation time. I have also heard Canadians whine about not having an election in winter because, horror of horrors, we might have to put our boots and coats on to go vote.

So, if not winter or summer, exactly when is the right time to fight for what's right?

Most of the people who don't qualify for EI are going to have trouble keeping their mortgages and bills paid. Helping them avoid foreclosure and/or welfare would be one of the most effective ways to combat this economic slump. But the Conservatives won't have it and the Liberals obviously don't have the balls to call an election over it, so these unemployed will twist in the wind while a "committee" argues over the same points that have already been argued in Question Period for weeks on end.

So why the hell aren't we helping people? Why aren't we demanding that help, bad election timing be damned? Is it because those who are employed don't want to give up their precious vacations so we can vote out the guy who won't help the less fortunate?

I want a leader who will stand up and ask these questions, and is willing to demand answers to those questions and immediate solutions. But apparently that's not going to happen anytime soon. Given the events in the last couple of days, I doubt Iggy's going to grow a pair by tomorrow.

And Parliament can sit all summer, as far as I'm concerned. They were paid by us the public for a full session, and only sat for a fraction of it, so I have no qualms about demanding that they continue to sit until an EI solution is put in place for the summer. All the more motivation for the Conservatives to stop putting obstacles in the way and take action now - they wouldn't want to miss their cushy summer vacations, after all.

Which brings me to the second point I touched on earlier. Is that shrinking group of Canadians who still hold jobs, so incredibly selfish, that they simply cannot bear to spend a little of their vacation time to vote out the guy who won't help those less fortunate than themselves? On they go, whining about how rough the winter was and about not wanting to cancel their reservations, and on and on. What the hell is wrong with people?

As a long-time American resident and citizen, I got to vote for the leader of the country once every 4 years, no matter how urgently we needed to kick out the current one. George W. Bush was only one especially obvious example. I treasured the opportunity to make my voice heard as often as possible because it wasn't heard nearly often enough. I've learned to value that opportunity and I'm eager to take advantage of it whenever it is offered. (I voted in every general election since I turned 18.) And let's face it: we already know what each party's platform is, and those platforms shape their policies in mostly predictable ways - so is it really that arduous a process to decide whom to vote for?

Canadians who think they have it so hard should try American voting, where you vote for several political candidates at federal, state, county, and municipal levels; plus judges, school district, water and other special districts; plus 10 or 15 state propositions and local measures, written in legalese, to read through and vote on at the same time. Take a look at the 2008 directory of contests and ballot for my former riding if you don't believe me. The 2008 Voter Information Guide was 144 pages plus a 16-page supplemental guide, just for the federal and state levels - the county and municipal stuff comes in another booklet. They also send you a sample ballot so you can mark it with your choices, since there's too much for most people to remember. Then when you're done with all that, you bring your sample ballot and go vote with a ballot card that slides into a slot behind the ballot pages, and then you go through each page and copy from your sample ballot using a special marker or stylus to mark or poke a hole in the card to indicate all your choices. Here in Canada, we get to concentrate on voting for just one seat - our Member of Parliament. We get to do some research and mull it over, then walk into the polling station, make one "X" and we're done. What's the big deal?

Weather is the last reason I'd expect for delaying an election. I lived in Los Angeles for many years so I am not accustomed to these Canadian winters; but I have now been here through 2 of the longest, harshest winters in recent memory and still would not hesitate to take the time and effort to do my research and brave the weather to go vote. I did it last October and I'd do it again in January, July, or anytime. Canadians' apparent aversion to voting, and for such petty and selfish reasons, is something I find both astonishing and disheartening - especially since voting is so simple and easy here. I love Canada and my fellow Canadians, and that is precisely why I think we can do better than attitudes like this.

No to C-15 and a U.S.-style 'war on drugs!'

2009-06-16T20:58:00.002-04:00

Prime Minister Harper is pushing a bill for mandatory sentences for drug crime. It has unfortunately passed in the House of Commons and is currently in the Senate. More here and here.

I lived in Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world, for many years and can personally attest that the largest single contributor to the gang problems is the illicit drug trade. They make big money from the sales of illicit drugs and use it to fund their other illegal endeavours. Mandatory minimum sentences and the "war on drugs" have not abated the gang problems in L.A. - instead, these problems have worsened dramatically over recent years, as anyone who follows L.A. news can plainly see. These are failed, expensive policies that Canadians can ill afford to adopt. I would love to put an end to drug-related crime, but I assure you C-15 will only exacerbate the problem. Please write your senator and ask him or her not to subject Canadians to this legislation, which experience tells us is doomed to fail.

Support David Chen

2009-06-07T00:39:00.000-04:00

Petition backs store owner charged after thief tied up

This is an outrage. If the police must exercise "triage," as they put it, to such an extent that criminals are allowed to victimize local businesses on a regular ongoing basis, then obviously there are not enough police on the force or else they aren't doing their jobs. Citizens trying to make an honest living are thus left with no other recourse than to perform a citizen's arrest. If this right is removed as well, criminals will rule the streets!

I know about neighbourhood blight from personal experience. I lived in Southern California (including Los Angeles) for many years, and most of the entire region has descended into gangland central over time. The first step necessary for this nasty downward spiral to occur in an area is for police to be too understaffed and/or apathetic to perform proper neighbourhood patrols when local crime is on the rise. The second is for its citizens to fail to take action against it, either due to not realizing the severity of the problem in time, ignorance of their rights (such as citizen's arrest), being stripped of their rights (as in this case), or later, hopelessness and/or fear of retribution from the criminals. This is how it starts. And frankly, I have found it impossible to explain to Canadians who have lived in Canada all their lives, just how truly bad it can get.

If you're not shocked and dismayed by this recent turn of events with Mr. Chen, you should be. His stripped rights are your stripped rights should you ever be victimized by crime. Even an effective, well-staffed police force can't have an officer on every corner - so if victim's rights are taken away, and the police continue to be ineffective, that's the beginning of the end for your neighbourhood. Take it from someone who knows.

God help us all if we're going to be expected to stand idly by while we or other law-abiding citizens are being victimized.

If you haven't yet signed the online petition, I encourage you to do so. It calls for a clearer definition of citizen's arrest, defence of victims' rights, and for the charges against Mr. Chen to be dropped, amongst other things.

We are not the U.S.' clean-up crew - part 2

2009-06-05T20:02:00.002-04:00

My other half said some things about the previous post which are worth sharing; I've paraphrased them here.

Send the detainees to George W. Bush's big ranch in Texas, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld's mansions, and John McCain's eight houses. There's plenty of room.

They created the problem; surely they won't mind being part of the solution.

Besides, Bush told President Obama "if you need anything I'll be right here." Looks like it's time to make that phone call, Mr. President.

We are not the U.S.' clean-up crew

2009-06-05T03:22:00.005-04:00

Canada refuses U.S. request to accept Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo

Once in a great while, Harper actually does the right thing.

These Guantanamo Bay prisoners, who have been found innocent, cannot go home (for reasons I will expound on in a moment) but the U.S. doesn't want them either. So, Obama requested that Canada take them... but Harper refused to help the U.S. dump its self-created Gitmo problem on someone else, and for this I have to applaud him.

Some Canadians have a "send 'em back!" attitude toward these prisoners. But this problem is not as not that simple for a number of reasons... not the least of which is that many of these prisoners would be wrongfully persecuted a second time if they were sent back to their country of origin. In addition, many of them weren't in their home country at the time of arrest precisely because they were trying to escape wrongful persecution there.

This is a problem of the U.S.' own creation so the solution needs to come from them too. If these prisoners have been found innocent, then the U.S. needs to take them in, compensate them for the atrocities committed against them, give them counselling to help them overcome the trauma they endured, and provide full services to help them integrate into American society. Expensive? Yes! Messy? Yes! But it is the right thing to do for anyone who is wrongly convicted and brutalized. And it will teach American politicians and voters to think twice about this idea that it's okay to flout U.S. and international laws and run roughshod over human rights as long as you feel justified in doing so. This lesson is long overdue. I lived in the U.S. for many years - so I know from whence I speak. I have many American loved ones, don't get me wrong... but a lot of Americans need to smarten up.

You don't create a disaster of this magnitude and then dump it on someone else's doorstep. You made your bed, now sleep in it.

And don't think we missed the irony that a mere 2 weeks ago the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security was wrongfully accusing Canada of letting the 9/11 terrorists into America, and now here's the U.S. President asking us to take people they deem unfit to stay on their soil. Unbelievable.

Good on ya Harper, for telling them where to stick it.

Watch out, Cheerios are a "drug"!!

2009-05-12T23:28:00.007-04:00

Popular cereal is a drug, US food watchdog says

Gee... Maybe instead of wasting time on insipid crap like this, the FDA should concern itself with why drugs like Phen-Fen and Vioxx get expedited through their approval system, despite evidence of their dangerous side effects and permanent organ damage... while drugs that have been used safely in Europe for many years are still awaiting approval. But it won't, because the pharmaceutical companies have plenty of $$$ to keep the FDA in their back pockets for years to come. Expect to hear about more "drugs" in your groceries as the FDA tries to look like it's actually doing its job.

I know Obama has his hands full with the many disasters at hand, but I sincerely hope he gets his hands on the FDA sometime during his tenure. The whole thing needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch, with full transparency and independent review of their decision-making process.

Republicans becoming a 'regional party'

2009-04-09T12:04:00.001-04:00

Apparently, the Republicans are petering out in all but the Deep South. This is fantastic news! And we have Rush Limbaugh - and other loudmouthed right-wing asshats like him - to thank for accelerating the demise of their party.

After all, Rush Limbaugh et al are doing us all a favour. They are coming out and showing the ugly undercurrents so often thinly veiled by the Republican party - contempt for non-whites, women, non-Christians, environmentalists, and the poor, for starters. It's always been covert, of course, almost never being spoken but seen very clearly in the policies it implements. For once, with Rush and his ilk at the helm, the Republican party's actions actually match its words.

It's my fondest hope that, faced with the threat of extinction, the Republican party will be dragged - kicking and screaming, no doubt - into the 21st century. And with it, the Reform Alliance -- oops I mean Conservative Party of Canada. It's time to dump racist, sexist, classist, xenophobic notions and get with the program.

Silly pervert, tits are for kids

2009-04-08T14:56:00.005-04:00

Woman inundated with hate mail over poolside breastfeeding

It seems there is no shortage of right-wing whackjobs who don't get the concept that the first and primary purpose of breasts is NOT sex, but rather, feeding one's young.

Humans are mammals. That starts with m-a-m-m-a, as in...

...aw gee what's that word again??...

...oh yes... MAMMARY.

That means "boobies," for those of you who missed Biology 101. That's right, just like every other mammal we are equipped with these for the purpose of feeding our babies.

If you have, in your mind, sexualized breasts to such an extent that you have lost sight of their entire reason for existing in the first place, there is something seriously wrong with your mindset. It takes a pervert in the extreme, to see a breastfeeding mother and think "pedophile." Just what do these folks think people did to feed their infants before artificial baby formula came along? They do realize they probably nursed at their own mothers' breasts at one time themselves... don't they?

But then, it's easy to confirm such perversion, since such individuals have taken to sending this woman hate mail calling her a pedophile and specifying the obscene acts they would perform on her. These people need counselling, and fast. Even for the ones who didn't threaten her with such acts, their sexual mindset is obviously so twisted that we can no doubt expect a high percentage of sexual offenders in this group. I hope this woman presses charges against each and every one so we can get them off the street.

I personally think it's a beautiful thing when a mother does not resort to allowing her baby to go hungry, or feeding it artificial baby formula, out of fear of offending some ignorant twisted pervert. First and foremost, boobs = baby food. And it's the best baby food, above and beyond any substitute humankind can concoct. So perverts, get over yourselves. Boobs were not made for you.

Same-sex marriage and ignoring Canada, in America

2009-04-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

Gay marriage supporters watch historic vote in Vt

Great! Now the Republicans won't have to bitch about "activist judges" any more. It's been through the legislature. One long-time tactic by the social conservatives when things don't go their way is to say judges shouldn't have a say in such matters (never mind that the courts are precisely where civil rights matters should be decided, both in principle and by precedent). Then they fight to have the legislature decide. If that doesn't go their way either, they say that was never the right way to begin with and it should be voted on by the people. Or they will skip the legislature and take it to the voters (such as has been done in California), and if that doesn't go their way, they'll say it should have gone to the legislature. It seems they're running out of excuses and options, which is good news because their legal shell games are getting downright boring.

It's very disappointing, however, that the writers of the AP article mentioned above left something out of their list of countries allowing same-sex marriage. Hell-l-ooo-oo-o.... Canada?? No wonder most Americans don't know anything about Canada! Once again, Canada has been ignored in American media.

No, I'm not an American-hater. See this post - I spent most of my life in the States so I know what I'm talking about. Americans routinely ignore Canada in the media and this is just the latest blatant example. It's become even more readily apparent to me upon moving to Canada, just how consistent and thorough this ignorance really is. One needn't wonder why American media pisses Canadians off.

I've written a sternly worded message to the writers of the article, both for their lack of research integrity and for the systematic ignorance of Canada in U.S. media. I'll report back with the results, but to be honest I'm not getting my hopes up.

Sometimes I'm ashamed to be American

2009-03-24T21:30:00.003-04:00

Many of my fellow Canadians are hopping mad. And who can blame them? Basically, some late night attention-whore on Fox News gathered a panel of like-minded ignoramuses and they all started insulting and making light of Canada, its mission in Afghanistan, and the RCMP.

There's an article about the host's so-called "apology," which by the way essentially amounts to, "I said what I said, and if you're offended you must have misunderstood me. I'm sorry you misunderstood." Gee, it's hard not to forgive this guy, with such a heartfelt outpouring of remorse and all.

Mind you, Canadians have been fighting in the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, which is why Canadian troops have been dying at roughly twice the rate of American troops. Look at sheer percentages and you'll see this is right. Canada has been doing the bulk of the dirtiest and hardest work while other NATO nations hesitate to get involved - despite their pledges to do so. As if these conditions alone aren't sufficient cause for outrage, this pack of slovenly closed-minded mouth-breathers, in their stupefying ignorance, now have the gall to minimize and make light of these efforts and sacrifices.

They laughed about how it would be a perfect time to invade Canada while our military is out "getting manicures and pedicures," and waxed on about how we don't need a military anyway since we just piggyback our national security on the U.S. military. They claimed not to even know Canadian troops were in Afghanistan, basically saying you wouldn't know it because they're not accomplishing anything. They talked about how the missions last too long because we're too soft and not focused enough on the task at hand. The insults flowed fast and furious with blissfully clueless disregard for reality or facts.

Then they went on to make light of the RCMP, not realizing of course that their references to Canadian law enforcement being performed while riding horses and wearing red jackets as proof that "this is not a smart culture," ironically only serve to showcase their own culture of ignorance.

I really do mean that last phrase exactly the way it sounds. I can state with confidence, from personal experience, that yes indeed - there IS a culture of ignorance in the States. While no country is completely devoid of ignorant people, there is a dramatic difference in the frequency and severity of ignorance between the U.S. and Canada, enough to cause us to experience significant culture shock. There is a minimal education level here, even among the supposedly "uneducated," that still enables them to speak with an eloquence and depth of understanding simply not seen among their American counterparts. I'm not being an ass - I'm speaking of the cataclysmic failure of the U.S. public school system, which I have had the misfortune of experiencing for myself. Were it not for my own thirst for knowledge, and continual lifelong self-education through library books and the internet, I wouldn't have nearly the level of awareness and understanding that I do today. Yes, I have a college education too, and that certainly helps. But before you dismiss all this as anti-American propaganda, take a look at the rates of postsecondary education in the States vs. Canada. You will see that I'm not just blowing smoke up your butt when I say that Americans on average are less educated. Since less of them attend college or university, it follows that more of them rely on the increasingly inadequate public school system for their base of knowledge, and on mass media for supplementing that base.

Which brings me to the abysmal failure of the media to help educate Americans about the U.S.' role in world affairs. News in the U.S. is covered as though the U.S. is the centre of the universe and the American perspective is the only valid one. Yes, world issues and events are covered in world news... but usually in a cursory manner, with little background as to why these things are occurring or discussion of the cultural norms that must be taken into consideration to put them in perspective. The sovereignty of other countries, and the differences of other cultures, are regularly dismissed out of hand or even treated with open contempt. Canada (much less its substantial contributions to the American economy or NATO operations) is hardly mentioned at all, and when it is, it's generally to make fun of it as the 51st state, a lesser imitation of U.S. proper, a land of nothing but frozen tundra and igloos and primitive life, a place and people that just don't matter, and someone to blame whenever there is a lapse in U.S. Homeland Security. So as much as I'd love to claim this latest display of bad taste, ignorance, and contemptuous disrespect is an isolated incident, it's not even close. It's embarrassingly typical. Only now, this outrage is also being directed at those who risk life and limb in service of our country - our troops and our law enforcement. And it's part of a rapidly growing culture of ignorance perpetuated by a failing school system and a mass media that thinks covering the latest Britney Spears escapade is more important than fostering good citizenship or diplomacy and cultural awareness in world affairs.

Sometimes I'm ashamed to be American.

It's official: the Catholic Church has lost its mind

2009-03-11T23:21:00.001-04:00

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/07/catholic-abortion.html

What in the world is the Church thinking? They're going to excommunicate the mother and doctors for saving this girl's life, but NOT the disgusting pig step-father for victimizing her and creating this whole difficult situation in the first place? I just can't understand the Church's take on child molestation. And yet, according to them I'm a 'pervert' worthy of excommunication because I'm in a consensual relationship with an adult of the same gender. More proof that the Catholic Church not only doesn't condemn child molestation, but actually condones and protects it. So glad I look to God and NOT the Catholic Church for my moral compass!

"Buy Canadian?" How about "SUPPORT Canadian?"

2009-02-11T18:31:00.001-05:00

Unions call for 'Buy Canadian' policy

Note that it's the Canadian Auto Workers pushing for this policy. How exactly are we to support their industry? As far as I know, their bread and butter is American car companies. Shall we support their industry by buying American and Japanese cars built in Canada? Are they serious?

Let's not kid ourselves. These aren't "Canadian car companies," they are American companies whose actions are dictated by American interests, and Japanese companies dictated by Japanese interests. They will use us as long as they need us and then bam, out on our collective ear. One need only look at the impending closure of the Oshawa GM plant to see that this is true. There was much pleading and protesting about it, to no avail. And GM has already exported huge chunks of its manufacturing labour to Mexico. Mexico recently surpassed Canada in auto manufacturing. Coincidence? No. It's all about financial advantage. GM is not a Canadian company, it's not based in Canada, and it couldn't care less about Canadian jobs. The sooner we get that through our heads, the better.

I know of two Canadian car companies - Zenn and Dynasty... and neither of them ever got proper support from any level of government.

Compounding this tragedy is the environmental impact of such governmental mismanagement. Both of these are 100% electric cars. They are classified as LSV (Low Speed Vehicles) and are ideal for the type of short distances typical for city dwellers for getting to work, the grocery store, and miscellaneous errands. Since, at last count in 2006, 80% of all Canadians lived in an area classified as urban, a whole lot of people could be using these. Alas, the federal government dragged its heels on making provisions for putting these cars on our roads. Once it finally did, it fell to the provinces, and all but two - BC and Québec - have dragged their heels as well. So, where are these cars getting sold? In the 47 U.S. states that allow them, amongst other places. I've said it before - it's a travesty.

And now that the U.S. economy is tanking fast, and with it their rate of new vehicle purchases, how do you suppose these Canadian car companies are faring? Did the government offer to bail them out or help them along? No! Millions in bailout dollars are instead going to GM and Chrysler, with a line of credit extended to Ford... all American companies.

If the government was really serious about Canadian jobs, the Canadian economy, and the environment, they would give proper support to Canadian-based companies. Why are we giving billions of dollars - that's "billions" with a "b" - to GM, an American company that is already closing down at least one of their Canadian plants? What would happen if we took the money designated for American car companies and put it into Zenn and Dynasty and Canadian startups who want to make cars here? There would still be plenty left over to go into public transportation and infrastructure. Why would we insist on spending big bucks to (1) ensure that our businesses are at a disadvantage and (2) ensure that large segments of our economy and jobs remain at the mercy of foreign interests?

What a crock.

OC Transpo strike - penny wise and pound foolish

2009-02-10T22:22:00.001-05:00

Strike cost city $13.4M - so far

Hope it was worth it to save $3M or so on scheduling inefficiencies!

Mayor O'Brien is an arrogant, pigheaded moron. Alain Mercier is similarly muleheaded and couldn't negotiate his way out of a paper bag. The city councillors, by and large, stood by with their thumbs up their butts. And the ATU needs to get a grip - this is a recession; world economies are tanking; tens of thousands of jobs are being lost in this country; maybe just maybe instead of wreaking hardship on those less fortunate than themselves, they could have just been thankful to have a damn job and helped out their fellow citizens in a jam. And talk about shooting yourself in the foot - they had to know this would result in transit cutbacks and therefore potential layoffs in the future. Certainly having no job results in even more family time than the scheduling they're fighting for.

The city councillors are promising never to "let this happen again." That's not good enough. It never should have happened a first time. They don't deserve another chance. I hope those who voted for them and for this Conservative union-busting mayor are appropriately disgusted with themselves.

I, for one, will not forget this at voting time.

And if we do not continue to push for CIRB to change their definition of what constitutes a threat to public safety, push for public transportation to be declared an essential service, and push for alternate modes of transportation such as a driverless light rail and more cycling lanes, we will still not be assured that a set of fresh political faces will not thrust us back into this same exact situation each and every time an ATU contract expires. We cannot afford to let anyone off the hook. The well-being of our poorest and most disadvantaged citizens, our businesses, our economy, and our environment depend on it.

"The best job in the world," and other exploits

2009-02-10T16:07:00.002-05:00

There is a contest where people are trying to audition for "the best job in the world." The position is called Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef and is a publicity gimmick by Tourism Queensland Australia. You get paid to live on one of the beautiful islands, snorkel, check out luxury spas and local events, etc., take videos and pictures of it all, and blog about it at least once a week. Rough stuff, I know. Naturally, LOTS of people are applying.

In order to get selected, you have to get the most votes for your audition video. This one's from a guy up here in the Yukon. Too damn funny.

Which got me thinking about the "Polar Bear Dips":

...and the "snow baths" (at about 5:24):

What is it about Canadians and doing insane things in ice and snow? Things that make you wonder just how many marbles they are missing?

That's awesome!

I'm still pretty sick this time around but I hope to join my fellow citizens next year. :-P

Tasers and minors

2009-02-04T17:31:00.010-05:00

Ontario rejects call for banning taser use on minors

Sound decision.

Mind you, I understand the outrage over the tasering of a non-aggressive FAS-afflicted 14-year-old girl. I don't know all the facts, and perhaps none of us ever will, for a variety of reasons - not the least of which being the protection of her identity. The article itself states that none of the allegations has been proven in court, but that there is a tape recording of the incident which the Ontario children's advocate has seen and verified. I can only assume this means the tape is probably legitimate, but has not been presented formally as court evidence just yet. At first blush, this certainly seems to be an unnecessary and appalling (ab)use of police force. If this is indeed the case, the officers should be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.

That said, an age restriction on tasers stating that someone's life must be "clearly at risk" might sound great on the surface when one is justifiably outraged about police abuse, but it would be neither practical nor properly enforceable. Violent situations can turn life-threatening in the blink of an eye. Do we want officers hesitating in such situations? Are we saying that, in the heat of a volatile situation, faced with what may quickly become a life-threatening situation at the hands of an young attacker, an officer should stop and question the subject to determine age eligibility for taser use? Because honestly, how else are the police expected to know? Maybe the violent suspect is 19... or maybe s/he is 17½.

And what exactly constitutes "a life clearly at risk?" If a youth pulls a knife, but hasn't attacked anyone with it (yet), does this fit the description? What about a youth sitting on top of someone and repeatedly punching him/her in the head? What about a youth who is verbally threatening to kill someone, but hasn't physically done anything (yet)? Two youths fist-fighting? A youth who appears to be reaching for a gun? In each of these cases it could be argued by a lawyer that a life wasn't "clearly at risk" - even if the danger was real and/or injury had already occurred.

Enacting such a narrow requirement would put police in an untenable situation when faced with potential danger to the public or themselves - what are they supposed to do? Should they taser, billy club, shoot, risk life and limb, or hesitate? Every option could potentially generate a lawsuit. If your child or other family member was permanently maimed by a young aggressor because police hesitated to taser him/her according to the requirement, would you sue? Or if the police went ahead and tased the aggressor before s/he had a chance to attack your loved one, would you want that aggressor's family to be able to sue and get big bucks because police guessed wrong and s/he was 17?

Unless you've been living in a cave for the last several decades, you also know that the vast majority of gang members are minors and young adults. I lived in L.A., the undisputed gang capital of America, for more than 30 years (before finally having the good sense to leave). Gang activities such as shootouts, drive-by shootings, and jumpings (surrounding and attacking a victim) were far and away the number one threat to citizens' everyday safety. One of the biggest problems we had is that minors knew they could get away with a lot more than adults could, and they used it strategically to their advantage. One mustn't forget this group of very dangerous young individuals that police must deal with - in some areas more often than others.

According to Statistics Canada, 33% of 2007 murder suspects were under the age of 25. That means minors and people who could be mistaken for minors made up fully 1/3 of all murder suspects. From this statistic alone, one can safely deduce that if the taser age restriction were to pass, police officers would face far too many volatile situations where they must choose between hesitating and risking the aggressor killing/injuring someone in the meantime, unnecessarily risking life and limb, or using other weapons such as a billy club or gun to stop the aggressor. Like it or not, the risk of permanent damage or death from a taser is still lower than it is for either of the other two weapons used to incapacitate an aggressor. Why would we force police to use the more damaging and risky weapons on youths? This makes no sense and in effect achieves the exact opposite of what is intended by potentially increasing the risk that young offenders will be permanently maimed or killed during violent conflicts with police.

No, this restriction is too narrow. It all looks good on paper at first blush... but life just doesn't work that way, so it all breaks down from there. Officers should not be forced to wait until someone's life is clearly at stake, regardless of the age of the aggressor. And there is no time in these situations to be guessing someone's age. It's so easy to judge the police and play Monday morning quarterback if you've never been in such a volatile situation yourself. I have - many times, unfortunately. Those situations are not nearly as easy to accurately assess in the heat of the moment as one might think. (And no I'm not in law enforcement, I'm a computer geek - but I've experienced all of the craziness L.A. has to offer, so I know what I'm talking about.) It is extremely difficult to predict whether an agitated and violent person is going to suddenly turn on someone and cause injury or death.

That said, tasers should only be used in those situations where there is (1) risk of injury and (2) a risk that officers could lose control of the situation if they don't use it. Acceptable: a single officer is trying to apprehend a suspect who is attacking and violently resisting arrest. Not acceptable: officers have already disarmed and subdued a suspect but taser anyway because s/he has pissed them off.

The particular situation of this 14-year-old, with the facts as presented so far, should never have happened. Not by virtue of her age, mind you, since 14-year-olds are certainly capable of assaulting and murdering people... but rather because she was (1) not threatening or attacking anyone and (2) already in a controlled situation by virtue of being unarmed and behind bars. As it stands, this looks like an alarming example of unwarranted police brutality on an unarmed, unthreatening, mentally disabled aboriginal child. Yes, we should be outraged - but just as important is that we are outraged for the right reasons.

O Canada - no, it's not up for debate

2009-02-04T11:14:00.006-05:00

N.B. anthem dispute opened divisions in community: parent

Why this has become such an issue completely baffles me. I just don't get why 2 families should get to dictate the protocol for an entire school... especially since that protocol involves removing something as integral as the national anthem. Maybe it's just my American upbringing (ironically), but I happen to believe that you must integrate to a certain extent in your country of residence - because no matter how much your beliefs may differ, some things are not negotiable. Yes, by all means write letters to your politicians, protest, and get involved to change things for the better when people are being wronged and victimized. But removing a key part of the national identity from an entire school just because you don't want to hear it is destructive, unfair, arrogant, and more than a little contemptuous - even more so in a country such as ours, where we are sleeping next to the elephant and our struggle for national identity is intensified.

There is a very simple solution: if you don't want to hear a country's national anthem, leave. But be forewarned: no matter where you go you're going to have to hear somebody's national anthem - and most places wouldn't entertain your sentiments anywhere nearly as long as they have here. They sure as hell wouldn't in the States. They'd kick you in the pants and tell you to put up or get out.

And so help me, I agree.

No country is ever perfect. You may not like its government, prevailing attitudes, climate, culture, religion, foreign policy, crime rate, geography, or any number of other things... but whatever it is, if it bothers you that much you're free to go somewhere else that fits you better. I did. So this isn't just hypothetical rhetoric - the very fact that I've moved back to Canada for good shows that I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is. And if The Star Spangled Banner had bothered me the same ridiculous way O Canada bothers these 2 families, I could take solace in the fact that I only have to hear it during the hockey games.

Ugh - say it isn't so

2009-02-01T18:41:00.004-05:00

Liberal MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South) cynically credited President Barack Obama's visit to Ottawa on Feb. 19 as the reason why Labour Minister Rona Ambrose moved to end the strike.

"Ultimately, because (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper was worried about Barack Obama's mobility in this city for his photo-ops," said McGuinty. "I believe that was a contributing factor of solving this strike. Honestly." (full article)

Somebody please tell me that's not the real reason. Granted, it would have been highly embarrassing to have the U.S. President here in a gesture of international partnership, while getting stuck in extra traffic and driving past yelling ATU picketers and yelling anti-strike protesters. Obviously, if we cannot resolve municipal issues in our own capital city then it doesn't really bode well for our capability for international partnership, now does it?

Despite the TTC strike having been ended within 3 days, ours was allowed to drag on for nearly 2 months - maddening and grossly unfair in itself. Given the proximity of Premier McGuinty's very public demands for federal action, citing these facts, and the sudden reversal by Rona Ambrose a few hours later, I admit I assumed a direct correlation between these two events. This situation alone would be an outrage and a disgrace, since it should not require public humiliation plastered all over the mass media to force the government to take care of business - especially given the near-immediate resolution of such a matter in Toronto. But honestly, if the Tories' only motivation to alleviate Ottawans' suffering is potential embarrassment at the impending visit of a foreign leader, and not the embarrassing outcry at home, then they're even worse low-lifes than I originally thought. And that's saying something.

Ontario fairness

2009-02-01T16:44:00.002-05:00

It appears that Premier Dalton McGuinty has made some gains for Ontarians (1, 2 in funding for health care, education, infrastructure, and a number of other fronts. His Ontario Fairness website has been up for some time, it seems, as part of a lengthy battle to get federal representation and funding that is actually proportional to our population.

Congratulations, McGuinty, on your successes in this regard.

I think this is especially commendable because, surprisingly, Ontarians don't seem to be clamouring on the Parliament front lawn demanding it. I've known of McGuinty's cause (from his website) since before we immigrated, yet this is the first time I've heard anything about it in the media or anywhere other than his website. Do people just not know about it, or feel like it doesn't affect them, or don't think it does any good to make a stink over it? Maybe they do, and I just haven't been hanging with the right crowd.

Rick Mercer's "Photo Challenge"

2009-01-31T00:51:00.004-05:00

The original:

Adaptation:

Thank you, Dalton McGuinty

2009-01-30T08:03:00.003-05:00

This is my thank you letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty. Much of it is a repeat of things I've said in various places on this blog, but I've included it here for your convenience. Feel free to use any or all of it for your own letter.

Dear Premier McGuinty,

I am writing to thank you for your recent action on the OC Transpo strike that has paralyzed our city for nearly two months.

The ATU's selfishness was unconscionable, and Mayor O'Brien's grandstanding and union-busting games have also contributed greatly to this impasse that has caused so much suffering. The two sides weren't going to budge and if anything had gotten more entrenched over the last few days. And because the feds were far more worried about staying in power than anything else, they left Ottawans literally in the cold. It struck me as more than a little unfair that TTC was legislated back within 3 days but Ottawans have been allowed to suffer through almost 2 months of winter without transit, and with no relief in sight.

MP Rona Ambrose said only 4 days ago that she had no intention of doing anything about this. MP John Baird promised at least several more weeks of red tape. By speaking out as you did, you held their feet to the fire and publicly shamed them until they acted in the best interest of the public. Now they can't stop talking about how they couldn't bear to let the suffering continue and had to act. Their hearts weren't bleeding for us 4 days ago, so I have no illusions where this came from. Therefore, I am writing to the proper person to express my gratitude. You were the only one from higher government demanding a solution and demanding it _now_.

So thank you again, Mr. Dalton - for acting in the best interest of our most vulnerable citizens, even when others cannot be troubled to do so except under fire. Rest assured that I will remember this at the polls.

Warm Regards,

EEP

The transit strike is over - but don't fall asleep!

2009-01-30T01:13:00.006-05:00

At long last, thank God, the transit strike is over.

There - was that so hard, you jerks?

It disgusts me that they could only agree to such a simple solution - that is, binding arbitration without preconditions - when they finally knew they were backed into a corner by the feds and going to have to do it anyway. The feds in question being Rona Ambrose and John Baird, who weren't going to do anything either but were publicly shamed and backed into a corner by Premier Dalton McGuinty. The feds who would have been positioned to do something in Parliament sooner had it not been for their leader, who put everybody on a time-out after being backed into a corner himself for not taking proper action on the economy, among other things.

Is anybody else as thoroughly disgusted as I am?

And does anyone notice that at every step in this process it was the Conservatives that needed to be cornered like a rat and forced to take proper action? From Conservative Mayor O'Brien to Conservative MP's Rona Ambrose and John Baird, to Conservative PM Stephen Harper - how such people get voted in is beyond me.

In any case, the end result of the labour board's decision that transit is not an essential service, according to its ridiculously narrow definition, is that the ATU will be able to strike again in the future. Baird has said (after the aforementioned cornering) that this definition can be reviewed. But if we are going to be smart about this, we cannot allow all of this to fade into the background now that the buses will be back on the road. As long as transit is not an "essential service," we know the possibility of a strike always looms at the end of every contract.

We must keep the pressure on Baird to pursue this and we must pressure the Mayor and Councillors to get some decent alternative transportation in place.

There is no way our entire city should be brought to a grinding halt, and our most vulnerable citizens victimized, every time the ATU decides it doesn't like something. The light rail nightmare O'Brien helped create needs to be sorted out and fixed. We need to get that thing going. We need to look into the feasibility of a driverless system like Vancouver's Skytrain. We need to press for more bike lanes. I've said it before and I'll say it again... we can live with this hanging over our heads for decades to come, or we can start mitigating the situation now so this never happens again. But if this situation has shown us anything, it's that we cannot rely on our public officials to take the initiative. We must call them and write letters to them, especially our Mayor and Councillors, demanding continued action. If we do not, we will only have ourselves to blame the next time we are left in the lurch for transportation.

Voices of reason on the OC Transpo strike

2009-01-29T11:59:00.006-05:00

Finally... it's so refreshing to hear from politicians who get it and are willing to do something about this:

[Ottawa Centre New Democrat MP Paul Dewar:] If the two sides can’t agree on arbitration, it will be ordered by Parliament with his support, he said.
“This is not an inconvenience. We’ve got a full-blown crisis.”
...
Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty called on Labour Minister Rona Ambrose to introduce the legislation as soon as possible.
“I hope it comes as soon as possible — yesterday. This should have been dealt with three weeks ago,” he said.
Mr. McGuinty said it was unfair that the Ontario government legislated an end to a strike by Toronto Transit Commission operators within 72 hours, while the federal government treats people in the national capital region like “second-class citizens.”
“The well-being of the citizens, in my view, have to take precedence over the right to collective bargaining,” Mr. McGuinty said. He said both sides in the labour dispute have lost perspective and it’s time for the federal government to intervene.
“There is just too much suffering and too much cost. We have got to get these buses rolling.”

See, some of our MP's get it. It is a full-blown crisis and should have been treated as such weeks ago. The two sides aren't going to budge and if anything have gotten more entrenched over the last couple of days. It's ridiculous. And because the feds were far more worried about staying in power than anything else, they left Ottawans literally in the cold. Yes, it struck me as more than a little unfair that TTC was legislated back within 3 days but Ottawans have been allowed to suffer through almost 2 months of winter without transit, and with no relief in sight until Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty cranked up the pressure on the feds. Is it that we're just not as important as Torontonians? Just a few days ago, Rona Ambrose was saying she had no intention of getting involved and John Baird was promising us a minimum of several weeks of red tape. Suddenly these two have reversed themselves and are talking about how too many people are suffering and they couldn't let it go on. Their hearts weren't bleeding for us 3 days ago - Premier McGuinty made a public stink about it and held their feet to the fire. Ottawans would do well to remember this at voting time. I know I will.

In case I wasn't direct enough before, I'd like to extend a big thank you to the Premier for forcing the feds' hand on this, since they were stubbornly unwilling to do anything and both sides of this debate are obviously so pigheaded we'd be fighting to keep this from ruining another Christmas if somebody didn't do something. I'll be sure to write him a nice thank you letter.

Oh and don't worry, Mayor O'Brien, I won't forget you at the polls either. Your insistence on making this a public referendum on union-busting, and your stupid union-busting games, have contributed greatly to this impasse that has caused so much suffering. Make no mistake about it - the ATU does need a swift kick in the rear, but so do you. And I hope Ottawans give it to you but good.

And another voice of reason

2009-01-28T19:12:00.004-05:00

Russia halts missile plans in nod to Obama: report

How about that? Amazing what less combativeness and warmongering, and a little more goodwill can do.

It all depends where your priorities lie, doesn't it? If you are more interested in lining the pockets of your buddies in oil, military equipment, contracting, pharmaceuticals, etc., you end up with the mess we have now. If you actually care about the country and are willing to exercise some prudence, smarts, and tact, you get developments like the one today.

Congratulations, Obama! Keep up the good work.

At last, a voice of reason

2009-01-28T17:53:00.008-05:00

Legislate OC Transpo back to work, McGuinty tells feds

Excerpt:

“I think it’s gone on for too long,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters at Queen’s Park. “It affects our most vulnerable citizens. It’s dramatically affecting our economy at a time when we can’t afford to have these kind of things get in the way. So my advice to the federal government is you’re going to have to come to grips with this.”
...
"It's the responsibility and the obligation of both these parties to get back to the table and come up with a negotiated settlement as quickly as possible that's in the best interests of the citizens of Ottawa," Ms. Ambrose said last Thursday. "It's in (the city's and the union's) hands to solve."
Mr. McGuinty said that response demonstrated “a lack of leadership.”
“I think the public interest has been compromised,” he said Wednesday.

Wow... could it be that someone is exercising some good sense on this issue? The City and ATU remain pigheaded on this and don't want transit declared an essential service. The labour board has decided it isn't going to be of any help.

And this just in, literally in the middle of my post...

It appears now that the Cons' crisis is over and the pressure is on, lo and behold there may be federal action on this after all:

House of Commons to hold emergency meeting on transit strike

Excerpt:

[Rona Ambrose:] "As of last night, the talks have stalled and they are at a stalemate and it is my belief that when the government sees a situation where there is clearly no compromise or no flexibility being shown by either side to reach an agreement, it is our obligation to act," she told reporters on Parliament Hill. "I'm prepared to act at this time, I'm prepared to introduce back to work legislation."

Funny, she wasn't three days ago. It's amazing how many times this government can flip-flop. You could get whiplash from the blinding 180-degree turns. But there are occasions such as this (and the budget) when it badly needed to happen. Finally, maybe we can get some kind of expedient solution to this.

Put your foot in your mouth and "swallow hard"

2009-01-28T12:57:00.011-05:00

So Ignatieff is going to "swallow hard" and support the Cons.

Well, Chantal Hébert called it, I'm sorry to say... but also provided some interesting and enjoyably scathing commentary. Don't misunderstand, I think she's great... I just wish she'd been wrong about this.

Now, I understand the need for expediency in taking action on the economy, but obviously Harper does not since he was willing to prorogue Parliament in order to run away from a confidence vote. How many more chances do we need to give him before realizing that he can't be trusted to do what needs to be done? It's like trying to reason with a pathological liar and hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'll tell you the truth this time. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I still don't fully understand Ignatieff's reasoning for "swallowing hard" and accepting this. Getting the quickest possible action on the economy? Wouldn't that be hard to do with a PM who was willing to put such an urgent matter on ice for 6 weeks for personal political gain? After such a stunt, how can we expect him to act with any urgency on this matter? If he doesn't, and what sane person would expect him to given his recent behaviour, wouldn't taking a "wait and see" attitude postpone proper action even further?

Or is it, as Peter Mansbridge asked him, a way to leave the impending deficit and economic pain on the heads of the Cons then have the Libs swoop in later when things are looking up again? That would be just as dirty, partisan, and selfish a trick as Harper's vote-ducking last month.

Most infuriating of all: Ignatieff's support now means that Harper's dirty little trick worked and he will be able to remain PM. How many similar stunts will we see in the future now that everybody gets to see you can get away with this?

Mr. Ignatieff needs to lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way. Otherwise described in my childhood household as "sh*t or get off the pot."

And I agree with many of Jack Layton's points today (as you can see above) but his repeated commentary about a "new coalition between Harper and Ignatieff" is just childish and inflammatory. Yes I'm angry too, but such rhetoric is not helping.

I have an idea: we'll put Harper in teamwork training, Ignatieff in assertiveness training, and Layton in finishing school.

Rick Mercer's "Photo Challenge"

2009-01-26T21:50:00.004-05:00

The original, posted at Rick's Photo Challenge page:

...and with a few minor adjustments.

The Tories have a coming-to-Jesus moment

2009-01-26T15:35:00.003-05:00

...or at least, they'd like you to think so. Here's the full text of what the media is hilariously calling the Pamphlet from the Throne.

But here are a few interesting phrases from it (emphasis mine):

we strive for greater solidarity

Our Government approached the dialogue in a spirit of open and non-partisan cooperation. There is no monopoly on good ideas because we face this crisis together. There can be no pride of authorship –only the satisfaction of identifying solutions that will work for all Canadians.

unity, determination and constancy of purpose.

As you unite in common effort and in common cause,

"There can be no pride of authorship" - translation: We have no qualms about continuing to steal other parties' ideas, reached through their research, at their expense, and presenting them as our own. Here we have the most truthful statement in the whole speech.

As for the rest... bovine excrement about the Cons holding hands and singing kumbaya with the other parties. I imagine the GG had to pop a Gravol before reading this one.

And is it just my imagination, or was the GG seething mad when she read it? She looked like she was extraordinarily pissed off and trying hard to hide it... a pleasant smile with flared nostrils and eyes that could cut through steel. And who could blame her if she was? She's already been put on the spot in one untenable situation by this PM, with possibly more to follow, by his idiotic games. And it's anybody's guess what they talked about for 2 hours before she granted him prorogation. I'm still convinced she attached some conditions we don't know about.

Letter to my councillor

2009-01-26T12:17:00.008-05:00

I wrote the following letter to my city councillor today. A bit late, I admit, since they are meeting with the ATU today, but I have little faith that they will come to agreement today anyway. I recently sent an e-mail of outrage, carbon-copied to my city councillor, Mayor O'Brien, and the ATU. My councillor answered stating that they voted to add another $500,000 to assist low income and vulnerable people who are affected by this strike. I replied with the following. Please feel free to use any or all of this to write to the Mayor, your City Councillor, or any other government official if you are so inclined.

Dear {name},

Thank you for your efforts to provide assistance for our city's disadvantaged. It's not that these efforts go unappreciated; it's just that the need is so great and the extra help has not been nearly sufficient or fast enough. As you can see, public protests have begun today because citizens have had enough of these hardships.

I don't know if you will reach an agreement today, and I'm sure you are overwhelmed with letters and e-mails on this. But I have a few of suggestions, for what they're worth.

1) Compromise more with the union on scheduling to get the buses back on the road - just bite the bullet - BUT.....

for their UNCONSCIONABLE selfishness and willingness to impose extreme hardship on our citizens, and to protect us in the future:

2) Use future transit funding to implement an automated, driverless system such as Vancouver's Skytrain, and

3) Do whatever it takes to get the light rail system going in our city.

I am normally pro-union in my views, but this abuse of the public by the ATU has caused me to rethink my position. This is the capital of a G8 country and there is no reason why a group of bus drivers should be able to bring this entire city to its knees every 3 years if we can not or will not cater to their every wish. Something needs to be done, and if we have alternate transit options in place they won't be able to repeat this nightmare year after year. Knowing the possibility of a similar crisis always exists, it would be extremely irresponsible not to make other provisions. Granted, these are not short-term solutions - but we can live with this hanging over our heads for the next few years while we take steps to mitigate it, or we can live with it for decades to come.

Thank you for your time. Please feel free to share this letter with the mayor or other councillors as appropriate.

EEP

The loudmouth speaks, after all

2009-01-26T11:34:00.005-05:00

...and basically says, no help here - figure it out for yourselves.

Mind you, Baird didn't bring up the strike himself but was questioned on it by reporters... at which time he essentially promised to relegate the work-rest requirement question to several months of red tape (or several weeks if expedited - notice the "if") and left us on our own for the rest. He would have continued as though the strike wasn't happening at all, if he hadn't been cornered like a rat. Just like Harper and his treatment of the recession... repeated denial of its very existence and refusing to act on it (after all, it doesn't exist!) until cornered like a rat by the coalition.

Colour me surprised.

Incidentally, here is the media's version of the Harper personality transplant I proposed here and here.

Prime Minister needs to build confidence

Good luck with that. Once a gutless liar, always a gutless liar. Here's hoping the Liberals reject the budget.

Found this on the web today

2009-01-26T10:12:00.000-05:00

'Nuff said.

Ottawans take to the streets, Baird crawls in a hole

2009-01-25T18:48:00.012-05:00

There will be three rallies tomorrow calling on the City and ATU to restore service while they hammer out a workable agreement:

City, Transit Union head back to the table

Ottawans are sick and tired enough to take to the streets. I think it's fantastic because the media blackout has helped to cover up and minimize just how deep and profound the suffering is from this thing. Maybe, just maybe, seeing the faces and hearing the stories from the most downtrodden of Ottawans as they endure these hardships will prick the consciences of City and ATU alike and cause them to realize what jerks they're being. Here's hoping. I only wish I could be there tomorrow, but I've been suffering with a nasty flu for several weeks now and can't seem to shake it. So I just don't have the energy to go, but I will be there in spirit, rooting for these people and praying that they get heard.

Ironically - the loudmouthed, yelling, pointing, shrieking John Baird has suddenly clammed up tight and is strangely silent during all of this. I'd normally be rejoicing that we finally found a way to get this guy to shut up... but this is the worst possible time for him to do so. Meh, what does he care? He, Rona Ambrose, and Stephen Harper have one single-minded mission right now, and that is blowing enough smoke up everyone's butt on Tuesday to avoid being kicked out on their collective ear. They couldn't care less about this strike, but will do the bare minimum required to make it appear like they do (such as force a vote they knew was going to fail, then wash their hands of the whole thing - see, there, we did something about it, now leave us alone).

For one thing, even if the federal Cons had time for us right now (which they don't), they still don't have the inclination. Conservatives are about big business, and as such, they tend to prefer union-busting to negotiation... arguably a major reason behind this ridiculous 48-day showdown between Conservative Mayor O'Brien and the ATU in the first place. Not even mentioned yet, but just as pertinent, is the fact that parties - and conservative parties in particular - are loathe to break ranks by questioning the decisions of one of their own. All this means don't go getting your hopes up for any of these clowns to swoop in and save the day. They'd starve out every union in existence if they could, and more importantly, they've got bigger fish to fry right now. If there's one thing you can say for the Tories, they're at least consistent... they will happily flip-flop 180 degrees on any policy, throw anybody under the bus, lie through their teeth no matter how preposterous, or ignore any issue no matter how pressing, as long as it's self-serving in some way.

One thing this means for me, as a recent export from the States, is I can pretty much predict the Tories' every move. The Republicans have turned deception into an art form, fuelled by the neo-con agenda that has permeated their ranks. Apparently inspired by this, The Tories copy all the old tricks, unaltered, from the Republicans' playbook. So it's child's play to know what the Cons are up to... I've seen this all before. It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

Wake up Canadians! Or we'll have a mess just like the States. I have no interest whatsoever in watching another country I love go down the tubes.

Obama brings transparency, we get... ?

2009-01-22T21:45:00.007-05:00

U.S. news:

Obama administration to swear by "transparency"

On day one, Obama demands open government

vs. Canadian news:

Judge asked to unseal documents tied to election spending controversy

Elections Canada investigators "stymied" by Tory privilege claim

Apparently there is no end to the Cons' lies and treachery. Steel your stomach, much much more to come next week.

Reading the news today made me just a liiiittle envious of Americans in the States. Mind you, there's so much to love here I'd never dream of moving back... but I find myself earnestly wishing for an Obama-style revolution over here. Harper's much-needed personality transplant could come from someone with so much to spare. I sincerely hope that Obama raises such a high level of transparency and integrity that Canadians will be outraged and demand the same from our own government. Here, as there, it's long overdue.

Paper clips, rubber bands and scotch tape for the economy

2009-01-22T19:05:00.007-05:00

Despite warnings, PM touts fixes for short term

So typical of the Cons. Try to look busy, like you're actually doing something useful - while rushing into wasteful harebrained schemes, benefiting the rich and big business, and leaving the poor twisting in the wind. Oh, and ignoring the environment while missing the opportunity to create green jobs and develop alternative energy. And do it all against all better judgement.

You know, the exact opposite of all the stuff Obama is going to be doing.

Please, Canadians, get rid of Harper and his ilk. They're an embarrassment and liability to this country.

Ecology Ottawa petition on the transit strike

2009-01-22T18:10:00.005-05:00

Ecology Ottawa has a petition you can sign, which I found out about here:

Dear City Councillors,

Enough is enough! Public transit is an essential part of a productive, healthy and environmentally sustainable city. We need all parties to sit down at the negotiating table and produce a fair deal that will end the transit strike and get our city moving again.

Over 2700 people have signed. The hope is that enough of a united public outcry will pressure the City and ATU to hurry up and put an end to this. At this point, I'm willing to try anything. I've already written to Mayor O'Brien, my city councillor, and the ATU to send them a similar message directly.

Let them eat cake - and walk in the cold

2009-01-21T13:32:00.002-05:00

Demand for help soaring during Ottawa transit strike - [EDIT: CBC changed the title and some of the content shortly after I published this post, grr]

This is precisely what I've been talking about. The working poor, disabled, elderly, shut-ins, and parents with small children, amongst others, are all suffering needlessly and the recession is hitting Ottawans extra hard because the City and ATU refuse to get it together. Furthermore, the ATU has even threatened to picket some of the extra Para Transpo buses the City has provided because the temporary drivers aren't unionized. The selfishness of the ATU is positively astounding. The union-busting games and ploddingly slow, inadequate aid from the City are deplorable. And the effect of all this drawn-out, pigheaded posturing has been catastrophic for the disadvantaged in this city.

And why have the Feds refused to do anything?

Shame on all of you! Every single last one of you.

Obama - issues and great expectations

2009-01-20T15:34:00.009-05:00

Don't get me wrong - I am thrilled that Obama is the new president, for a wide variety of reasons. I watched the inauguration ceremony with hope and pride. But I have a couple of nagging concerns.

Now, trust me when I say I understand the enormity of his election. He is the first African-American to be elected president, something I thought would never, ever happen in my lifetime. It's huge! I'm a biracial person with a biracial partner and a lifetime full of friends of varied heritage... so I get race issues, I do. And I still can scarcely believe it's happened. Some part of me keeps thinking I'll wake up and it was all a dream, just wishful thinking of my subconscious mind for a more egalitarian world. That said, what bothers me the most is that his race seems to be the main aspect people are focused on. No news coverage and no commentary anywhere gets by without stressing the fact that he's black, he's black, he's black. Or at least, half so.

But that's only one aspect of this. What about the fact that he ran a positive campaign, even despite a sickening amount of negative attacks and mudslinging on the part of his opponent? The fact that he has mobilized the country's youth and gotten them engaged for the first time since... gee, I dunno, the sixties? His unprecedented efforts to reach out to everyday Americans to get their input on a continuing basis? His call for transparency and ethics in government? His emphasis on peaceful relations with other countries, discussing and negotiating through problems with military action reserved as a last resort? What about his focus on the poor and disadvantaged? Or his heavy emphasis on respect for diversity? His sensitivity to women's issues, non-Christian religions and atheism, and rights and accommodations for the disabled? His promise to get rid of "don't ask, don't tell" and further the rights of gays and lesbians? His promise to look at getting rid of Guantanamo Bay? His being tech-savvy and the tech developments he's vowed to bring to the country? His understanding of the importance of education and scientific research, and pledge of proper financial support? His bipartisan approach to try to eradicate the divisiveness that runs so deep between Democrats and Republicans, and the culture wars existing between various groups? And on and on. The election of a black president is historic and groundbreaking and long overdue, no doubt about it, but there's such a thing as focusing too much on his race, while glossing over his ideas. It's as if the main important fact is that he is black and everything else is falling by the wayside.

The second disquieting fact is that, over the last several months but especially between the campaign win and now, people's hopes for him have been spiralling higher and higher. They are increasingly idolizing him as the best thing that's ever happened to the U.S., and he hasn't even "happened" until today. I fear the expectations are so high that they are expecting Christlike miracles from this guy. Yes, he's an eloquent, fresh, intelligent, groundbreaking, inspiring, remarkable man, full of great innovative ideas. But he is still just a man. There is a lot of vague Obama worshipping, and Obama commemorative coins and pins and posters and so on, all in anticipation of what a great president he is going to be since, until today, he hadn't even started yet. And there is one hell of a massive bloody mess to clean up, which is going to take some difficult and unpopular decisions no matter how you slice it. This mess is unlikely to be cleaned up in two presidential terms, much less one. Yet people seem to be pinning their hopes on Obama for nothing short of world peace, eradication of racism, end of the culture wars, full-fledged infrastructure overhaul, a national health care program, and so on, despite the deplorable state of the economy and country to which he has now been handed the reins.

We haven't even seen the start of this, and for all we know, at the end of 4 years you may want to chuck that commemorative coin right at his commemorative head. Granted, given his modus operandi thus far, that's not likely. But living with American politics most of my life has perhaps made me a cynic. I'm hopeful, yes, but I'm also a "wait and see" kind of gal. As joyous an occasion as this is in so many regards, especially given the progressive changes we expect in contrast to Bush policy, we would be wise to remain realistic in our expectations. God knows we all need something to hope for, but this is not the Second Coming.

Maybe we'll have buses in time for Easter - or not

2009-01-19T14:39:00.010-05:00

(19 Jan 2009, CBC News) Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, which represents around 2,300 striking transit drivers, dispatchers and maintenance staff for OC Transpo, proposed Friday that its members could be back on the job Monday if the city agreed to set aside the controversial issue of worker scheduling for later and send the rest of the contract to binding arbitration. The union also agreed to the city's proposal to hire an independent fact finder to look into the issues surrounding scheduling.

Over the weekend, city council unanimously voted to reject the offer and issue a counter-offer to send the entire collective agreement to binding arbitration, with the conditions that the resulting contract does not cost more than the city's last offer and "respects national safety and work-rest standards" for commercial vehicle operators.

On Saturday, ATU 279 president Andre Cornellier issued a statement saying the union itself was disappointed in the city's response.

Cornellier said the arbitration process "would not be neutral under their conditions." (full article)

The City's 3 conditions for arbitration are spelled out in more detail here, where they are described as follows:

The final agreement respects national safety and work-rest standards for commercial vehicle operators
It does not cost more than the City’s last offer, and
The union agrees the labour disruption is ended if the Union accepts this offer.

Cornellier is right about one thing. Saying, "okay I'll submit to binding arbitration, as long as they incorporate points A, B, and C as part of their decision" is meaningless. Either you agree to arbitration and stick to the decisions made, or you don't! But the ATU is just as guilty in this regard. More on this in a minute.

Binding arbitration requires a certain amount of faith in the chosen neutral party. While I understand the City's desire to have the above conditions met, one can only assume that a reasonable arbitrator would, after thorough review of circumstances, come to conclusions #1 and #3 on its own. After all, federal labour standards are in place for a reason, and the obvious point of getting this whole thing resolved is to get the buses back on the road (duh). In addition, any arbitrator worth their salt is going to look at transit deals in other Canadian cities as a guideline for solutions here. If the two sides are actually being reasonable in their requests and not grandstanding, neither of them should mind this because agreements elsewhere should bear out their points. As for condition #2, given the hundreds of millions of dollars all of this is already costing our local economy and our citizens, isn't this a rather moot and exceedingly stupid point?

In my mind, this is yet another example of the City's role in turning this into a pissing match instead of trying to resolve the problem. We could have had buses today had the City had simply allowed this sticking point of scheduling to go to arbitration. And the City's counteroffer contains a poison pill that's dragging this on needlessly.

The ATU is far from blameless in this, and the interview with a worker from the garage in the excerpted article above bears that out. However, the City is playing no small role in this unnecessary showdown where the public pays the price.

As for the ATU... no specific issue was mentioned with the City's 3 conditions for arbitration. I can see why they might have an issue with #2 of the City's 3 conditions for arbitration (the limit on cost), if for no other reason than the fact that placing a predetermined monetary limit on an arbitrator's decision is counter to the spirit of arbitration itself. But what is the issue with #1 and #3? They don't want to be subject to national standards for safety and work-rest? They don't want to end the labour disruption? I find both of those hard to believe. Again, no specific issue was mentioned by Cornellier, just a reference to "those conditions," plural, which implies that at least one of conditions #1 and #3 was also objectionable. Something here doesn't add up.

At the same time, we have the ATU demanding binding arbitration on the outstanding issues of wages, contracting out, and sick days, and putting the main issue of scheduling, route assignment and working conditions into non-binding mediation. Again, either you submit to binding arbitration or you don't! Cherry-picking issues to be arbitrated is meaningless - you said it yourself, Mr. Cornellier!

Now for just one more example of just how selfish the ATU is being... this document from the ATU website. An excerpt:

Cornellier noted that the City has a binding contact with ATU Local 279 that mandates that all Para Transpo drivers belong to the Union.

“We have indicated to the Employer that our Para Transpo members will provide any increased service needed to transport the elderly and disabled members of this community in accordance with the terms of our contract with the City.”
The Union has given the City until Monday to back away from its plans to hire replacement workers or else face the prospect that the Para Transpo service could be picketed by Union members. (emphasis mine)

Yes, I understand that the City is playing games with them by hiring non-unionized temporary workers to expand Para Transpo service for the elderly and disabled, thus violating the terms of their contract while daring them to protest something so universally supported by the public as extra transportation for the disabled, elderly, and vulnerable. It's a filthy game; I get it. And no, I'm not thrilled about it. But at some point you also have to make some damn concessions because the disabled, elderly and vulnerable are needier than you and nobody cares if the help they get is unionized or not because those people need whatever help they can get. If you interfere with this by picketing, you will be yet again displaying the selfishness I first described here... and you will get the public disapproval you so richly deserve.

It takes two to tango, and so far neither side cares enough to put a stop to this insanity. That much has become obvious.

From the CBC article cited above:

Meanwhile, the City of Ottawa announced over the weekend that after the strike ends, it could take up to 14 weeks for full service to resume. However, 70 per cent of transit service could be back within three weeks.

Translation: don't even think about having proper transit this winter. And don't go getting your hopes up for Easter, either.

ATU's view of the strike

2009-01-18T22:22:00.007-05:00

Just became aware of this website by the ATU regarding the transit strike.

There's an article here which the ATU has cited as an apt description of the root of the problem.

I feel these are important reads, not because I'm suddenly an ATU sympathizer (one need only read this, this or this to be assured of that), but because there is a lot of misinformation and speculation out there about what is really going on. The most accurate way of understanding the problem is going to come from hearing the viewpoints of both sides, then contrasting them and doing some fact-checking. This is the first time I've been aware of somewhere I can go to hear the ATU's take on this matter, so I'm sharing it with you here.

I'm still reading and frankly this flu is taking it out of me so I'll post an update later.

Who impeded the electric car?

2009-01-18T05:53:00.005-05:00

Grand plan for electric cars takes shape in Ontario

Well this is good news all right, but why does it take an American company to get things into gear in this province? Why aren't we looking first to a Canadian company for this role? And along the same line, where is the support for the Canadian-made Zenn car? Shouldn't we be encouraging Canadian businesses first?

Quick background: The Zenn car is considered a low-speed vehicle, also known as a neighbourhood electric vehicle (NEV). Such cars are especially suited for urban dwellers since they don't have lengthy commutes.

It's a fact that despite the Zenn car being made in Canada, and the company having been around since 2000, it's still not road-legal anywhere in Canada except B.C. and Québec. Know where it's being sold? The States. Know where we first saw them? Portland, Oregon. Why? Because almost all of the continental U.S.' state governments have passed legislation allowing NEVs on local public roads, and almost all of the Canadian provincial governments have not. It's a travesty that foot-dragging provincial governments are simultaneously keeping an environmentally friendly option out of our hands while impeding a Canadian business' success. We should be using a Canadian company to set up the infrastructure to support electric cars, and offering incentives for people to buy Canadian electric cars in particular.

Bad Ottawans! No buses for you!

2009-01-17T23:58:00.002-05:00

Ottawa transit strike drags on over scheduling issue

If the City and the ATU are soooo sorry about the "inconvenience" (oh sorry, I was thinking "extreme hardships") this lengthy process is causing, where is the urgency?? If they were really that concerned, wouldn't they be in negotiations every day trying to hammer this out? And are they allergic to binding arbitration, or is it just against their religion? (Update: I stand corrected - but what's with the preconditions?) How can we introduce some actual urgency to this? Oh hey, I know! We'll make O'Brien, Council, and the ATU drink 2 litres of pop each, lock them in a room together, and nobody gets a bathroom break until this thing is resolved. Hey, it's cheaper than arbitration and twice as fast.

This strikes me as a personal vendetta gone bad, a Mexican standoff between two pigheaded sides, where the poor, sick, elderly, and disadvantaged pay the price. People are getting canned because they can't get to work, failing classes because they can't write their exams, getting sicker because they can't get to their surgeries or doctor's appointments, getting poorer because they are having to pay for taxi cabs or artificially inflated parking fees, getting depressed because they can't get out to visit friends or go to community events, losing their businesses because customers can't get to them, missing time with their families and losing sleep because they have no option but to walk everywhere, and suffering stress overload from struggling so hard every day for nearly six weeks to get through the snow, ice, bitter cold, and traffic since the ATU decided doing this in December would screw us up the worst. Estimates as of 13 Jan peg the cost to our local economy at $280M and up, $8M per day. All this on top of the global economic crisis and being in a recession, where people are already worried about losing their jobs, homes, and life savings. Oh and how many Ottawan children have had their Christmas ruined by all this is anyone's guess.

Unless the Canada Industrial Relations Board determines that there is "immediate and serious danger to safety or health" under an excessively narrow definition, only Parliament can force the bus drivers back to work while an agreement is hammered out. But oops.... Parliament has prorogued until 26 January because our PM is busy dodging a confidence vote.

Thank you ATU, for your selfishness in deliberately targeting innocent people who can least afford the hardship, and holding them hostage for the sake of internal matters of seniority and scheduling.

Thank you Mayor O'Brien and City Councillors, for injecting unnecessary bravado and grandstanding, and turning this into a public showdown and referendum on union-busting rather than solving the problem at hand. Many more thanks for refusing to have transit declared an essential service.

Thank you all 3 of the above, for exercising an exceptional level of urgent urgency usually reserved for things like cleaning out the mystery box at the back of the garage or sorting the sock drawer.

Thank you Labour Board, for making your criteria for hardship excessively difficult to meet. Hardship doesn't really count unless someone's on the brink of death.

And last but not least, thank you once again Harper, for throwing everybody else under the bus in order to look out for your own job. In Ottawa you've done it figuratively and literally.

Please can somebody at least pretend to care more than a two-second "sorry for the inconvenience" and blaming someone else? Grow a spine and a conscience and solve this! And act like your nana's heart transplant depends on it.

Adapting to the cold

2009-01-16T17:41:00.009-05:00

Today we needed to make a grocery run. There were 150 car accidents yesterday in Ottawa alone, from black ice in the cold snap we've had the last few days. Weather Canada has issued a frostbite warning which has been in effect since Tuesday. Wind chill today has hovered around -30°C. So yeah, it's a bit chilly. We bundled up in layers and walked about 2 blocks to the store.

Now, this was our first time being outside in such temperatures, and I have to say it's a weird experience. Not to be gross, but at this temperature when you sniffle and the cold air rushes in your nose, you can briefly feel your nose hairs freezing together and sticking. Yes, seriously. Now, want to hear some sad commentary on L.A. life? I thought people used ski masks basically either for skiing or robbing people. In case you're wondering, yes I feel like a dork. And I obviously stayed in gangland far too long for my own good. Anyway, apparently you can wear these things several ways. Very handy. Weather like today, when your nose hairs are freezing and your whole face is numb, makes you realize how nice one of those puppies would've been.

By the way, along these lines, a simple tip most Canadians probably take for granted: if you open your jaw a bit but keep your lips closed, it draws the cold air over more of your sinus area and throat so the air that hits your lungs isn't so cold.

Another item we can't live without, which we never saw anywhere in the States and don't know the name of (help with this, anyone?), are a flippy type of glove. The bottom part is like a fingerless motorcycle glove, and there is a top part that is half attached to the back part of your glove and kept in place by a button or velcro. You can undo the fastener and flip this part forward to cover your fingertips. This way, if you need to do something that's too small and fiddly to do with gloved fingers, you don't have to take your gloves off. You can flip back the top, freeing your bare fingertips while keeping the rest of your hand toasty, then flip it back over your fingertips to warm them up. Genius, I tell you!

My (adult) son recently came up from the States to visit, and had bought new wiper blades to install before leaving for home. We said our goodbyes and he left, but when I looked out the window to check on him he was still out there struggling with the wipers. I went out there and discovered that the wind had kicked up significantly and gotten much colder... it was blowing his wiper packages and the little parts all over the place as he tried to figure out how to get his blades on with his bare hands. Oh I felt so bad for him! Apparently he'd forgotten to bring gloves. I was wearing my flippy gloves so I gave them to him to put on. Despite living only a few hours south of us in the States, he'd never seen anything like them either and thought they were brilliant. I helped him get his blades on and sent him on his way, telling him to keep the gloves since they sell lots of them up here. He told me during a phone call a couple of weeks ago that ever since that day they've officially become his favourite gloves. I smiled and thought, that's good since I just sent you another pair. :-D (I didn't say anything, it's a surprise.) It felt awesome to find something so helpful for him.

But now this begs the question... these things are amazingly useful, so why is it that nobody I know can find them in the States? Not even my son, who is only a couple of hours from the border and has similar weather. Yet, we've found them easily in various places in Ontario. Are they a Canadian thing? Weird.

And here, for the uninitiated such as myself, are guides on protecting yourself from hypothermia, frostbite, a wind chill hazard chart, cold weather cycling, and winter driving including putting together a winter driving survival kit.

It's embarrassing to have such a level of ignorance about these matters that I have to look them all up on the web, since other Canadians have probably been taught all about this stuff from an early age. I arrived here as a middle aged Canadian who had only ever seen the snow 3 times, with zero knowledge of how to dress for it, prepare for in it, walk in it, drive in it, or even play in it. I had leaky uninsulated workboots, no waterproof gloves, and I'd never been sledding in all my life. Some part of me envisions people secretly smirking and laughing their arses off at our ignorant California ways. During our first winter, a lot of people politely smiled and asked how we were handling the cold, not-so-secretly wondering if we weren't going to pack up and high-tail it back to California at any moment.

Well, it's dangerous not to know about this cold weather stuff, so I figure I'd better get cracking no matter how embarrassing it is.

Dare we hope?

2009-01-16T04:39:00.004-05:00

Ottawa council willing to budge on transit scheduling

Maybe, just maybe, we are beginning to see the end of this stupid standoff. Seeing union members "storming out" of the last meeting certainly wasn't encouraging. Supposedly it will take a couple more weeks now while an independent fact-finder objectively clarifies the scheduling issue and dispels any misconceptions either side may have.

Seems to me that no matter how you slice it, you can pretty much bank on the fact that we will be continuing to limp along through the worst of this winter with no resolution. Even if this fact-finder did his/her job properly, gave them all the facts in a timely manner, and they all magically came to agreement that same day, we're still talking 2 more weeks minimum without public transit.

I'll give them this much... in a way it's a good thing because frankly, nobody seems to have a really clear picture on what exactly the sticking points are in this scheduling issue, since the ATU has insisted it's not about the money and all manner of claims are being made on both sides. At least one side is lying, if not both of them.

I've "heard" (as in online, using my eyes not my ears) accusations that senior drivers schedule themselves such that they will only have to drive 6 hours, but still get paid for 8 due to an 8-hour minimum daily pay requirement. I've not heard any ATU members or leadership deny this.

I've also heard claims that drivers will have 13½-hour shifts. But I understand this isn't really true because most of them are working split shifts since most of the demand for transit is when people are trying to get to/from work. I don't know how long the break is in between... 3 hours? 5 hours? But even if your first shift ends on the other side of town from your home and you have to wait around, it's not like you're working that whole time. And if you have to travel across town from one shift to get to the next, surely it doesn't take 3-5 hours to do so. You should be paid for any necessary transit time, but you can't count that gap in between as working hours. I once had a job as one of a team of several people, and we were frequently sent to remote locations for a week at a time. You had to stay in a hotel and work 8 hours a day until the project was complete. You only got paid for the 8 hours each day you were working; the time you spent getting to the job site and back counted as working hours; but you didn't get compensated for the other 16 hours a day you spent away from home during the week. Of course I missed my loved ones back home. But hey, I knew what I was getting into when I took the job. And before you say, "Now see, that's a situation where having a union could have helped," guess what? That was a union job! The terms: an hour's work for an hour's pay!

ATU members have said that the change in scheduling would make it difficult for them to plan their personal lives. But honestly now, when you decided to be a bus driver, you can't tell me you didn't know ahead of time the hours that most people would need transit, and what that would require of you. If working funky split shifts presents a problem for you, why would you consider such a job in the first place? Something here doesn't smell quite right.

All that said, I've also heard from drivers that the City makes outrageous demands, such as scheduling shifts back to back without proper time allocated in between for a driver to get from the end point of the first shift to the starting point of the second shift. Thus, there is no way for a driver to start the second shift on time. I don't know if this is really true in their case but I can say I've seen that type of thing before, when companies with a ridiculously single-minded focus on their bottom line make you crazy by allotting 15 minutes for a 1-hour job and the like, blatantly ignoring customer satisfaction and/or safety rules in the interest of saving a buck. In all fairness, I consider this issue to be a distinct possibility, and I've not heard the City deny this accusation.

Somewhere under all this posturing is the truth, and I'm not convinced I've heard it yet.

Canadian irreverence

2009-01-15T04:41:00.010-05:00

These are a couple of hilarious videos showing how refreshingly irreverent Canadians are about politics. For those of us who are used to the stiff formality of American politics, these come as a bit of a shock... yet we immediately fell in love with this down-to-earth, politicians-are-people-too type attitude.

A little quick background to set context for non-Canadians: Rick Mercer is a political satirist. All the other people in this video are high-ranking government officials. The lady in red at the gate is Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, who has been trying to get a seat in Parliament but so far cannot because of the failings of the first-past-the-post voting system. The guy whose English is not so good was the leader of the Liberal Party at the time. The guy next to Rick Mercer while Rick is reading the paper is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Background: Prime Minister Stephen Harper continually claims to work with the other 3 political parties, while in actuality stubbornly refusing to do so. So the 3 parties finally joined up in a coalition against him where the Liberals and NDP would form the government and the Bloc Québécois agreed to support them. Because of this Harper was going to fail a confidence vote last month and thus be out on his ear, so instead he dissolved Parliament until Jan 26 (chicken!), but he'll still have to face the vote then and is expected to fail. In the meantime the Liberals picked another leader, Michael Ignatieff, who will likely be the next Prime Minister in short order. This video is Geri Hall from the show This Hour Has 22 Minutes getting *very* cheeky with Ignatieff.

Ignorance is bliss - and a threat to democracy

2009-01-14T11:44:00.004-05:00

Thank you Rick, for setting the record straight.

This is exactly what I've been saying. The Cons use the same trick as the U.S. Republicans - preying on the ignorance of some of our citizens and deliberately spreading misinformation about how our system works. They should be thrown out for this slimy tactic alone - it is an act of open contempt for democracy, the parliamentary system, and the voters.

Shame on you if you don't stay informed enough about how it works to keep from falling prey to such tactics.

Shame on you twice if you vote anyway.

The Ottawa transit strike - Attitude is everything

2009-01-13T18:49:00.002-05:00

Posted in response to this article:

I remember some of the early news coverage of this strike, where picketers were purposely exacerbating the traffic problems caused by the strike by blocking traffic on a major thoroughfare.

A reporter pulled aside one of the picketers doing this and asked him about this practice. I will paraphrase here because I don't recall the precise wording, but I know it's very close if not exactly word for word.

Reporter: We understand that you're striking, but aren't you basically just antagonizing the public by doing this? I mean, isn't the traffic bad enough as it is?

Picketer (a huge smirk crossing his face): Yes, absolutely. It's all *about* antagonizing the public and making it as inconvenient as possible. We're getting our message across.

This is where they lost me, right there, from day one. In this man's mind, not only was it okay to target the public as innocent victims, it was downright hilarious to do so.

Now, I understand he doesn't represent all ATU members. But first impressions stick. And there were plenty other picketers in that lineup so he's obviously not the only one with that attitude either.

I have long held the belief that unions are good and help protect the plight of the common worker against corporate tyranny and greed... things like labour law abuses, discrimination, keeping an employee for many years and then finding a reason to lay them off just before retirement or when they get sick in order to avoid paying promised benefits. But what I have seen so far from the ATU so far seems just as abusive, callous and wrong. They seem to have started off flouting the public, but forgot one fundamental truth: historically, strikes have stood the best chance of succeeding when they have the public's support. So now that they seem to be realizing this, they feel "beat up" and want sympathy from us. Too bad they started out with two left feet and stuck them both in their collective mouth.

Election vs. Coalition

2009-01-12T22:44:00.006-05:00

More Canadians prefer election over coalition: poll

Personally, I don't see the coalition as a usurpation of voters' wishes. We voted the MP's in and 38% were Conservative and 62% were divided among more liberal parties. While those parties differ in ideology somewhat, they are all farther left than the Cons. As such, as near as I can tell, they are largely in agreement when it comes to major issues like the economy, environment, energy, education, and so on. So to discount the 62% figure by saying, oh but 74% voted against the Liberals, 82% against the NDP, and 90% against the Bloc, is a misnomer... because these 3 parties are a whole lot closer to each other in ideology than the Conservatives are. And if the Conservatives stubbornly refuse to work with the other legitimately elected parties, as they have been despite the expectation of cooperation implied by having only a minority, I consider that an abuse of the system. In such a case I expect the other 3 parties to take action, and my only disappointment is they didn't do it sooner, ideally before the election. If the only way for them to get this government's attention is to threaten to take it out of commission, and that certainly seems to be the case here, then so be it. At least they are injecting some checks and balances and representing their constituents.

Now I know some Conservative voters have gotten all bent out of shape about this and consider it a hijacking of government and an overriding of their vote. "My vote counts!" they say. But guess what: your vote only represents 38%, a minority of the voters, and if your leader can't get it through his thick skull that his "mandate" is to work with the other parties, then he needs a boot in his arse... because yes your vote counts but so does mine, dammit.

If people want another election, I'm happy to go vote again because I'm thankful for any option to express my wishes as a voter. But frankly I'm not sure what this would accomplish if it ends up putting Harper back in place in another minority government. He obviously doesn't understand the meaning of cooperation and doesn't care to unless cornered like a rat under threat of expulsion. So unless he gets a sudden personality transplant or the Conservatives pick a leader who knows how to play nicely with others, we'll be back to square one again if we don't elect a different party. So unless there's something I'm missing, another election strikes me as being potentially just as much of a waste of time and money as the last one, and delaying even further the start of some actual real governing and action on the economy. You know, the stuff Harper is supposed to be doing instead of playing partisan games.

Cycling Vision Ottawa

2009-01-09T15:14:00.004-05:00

While surfing I ran across a group called Cycling Vision Ottawa that is trying to get the City to allocate proper funds to increasing the network of cycling lanes here. I'm not affiliated with them or anything, I just thought this is a progressive issue close to home so maybe it would be of interest. Their website isn't much I'm afraid but it's here.

Using the instructions there, I sent them the following to forward to my city councillor. Feel free to use/adapt any or all of it for your own letter.

Dear {name},

Especially in light of the bus strike, and the potential for similar events in the future given the fact that public transportation has not been designated an essential service, I find it quite disturbing that the City would place such a low priority on cycling lanes. For many people, especially in circumstances such as these, cycling is their only means of getting to work, school, the doctor's office, or even the food bank. There are also countless others who would cycle more often if only they felt safe cycling along the routes they must take. If people can't take the bus, and can't afford a car, yet feel endangered on their bicycles, what are they to do?

The strike notwithstanding, it behooves us all to make our city as bike-friendly as possible, for a number of reasons. First, while mass transit remains better than having the equivalent number of cars on the road, buses still contribute to pollution and therefore impact the health of all. Second, obesity is becoming a more widespread problem. It is a well-known fact that both air pollution and obesity are important contributors to a wide array of health problems. By encouraging people to cycle, we will be improving the overall health of everyone here. Over time, this translates into lower health care costs, shorter wait times, and less demand on public assistance, among other things.

Portland, Oregon, is the city to watch in North America in terms of being bicycle-friendly. They have quadrupled their cycling lanes since the 1990's and bicycle use has quadrupled accordingly in the same timespan, with no increase in crashes. This is only one of many excellent examples of the direct correlation between cycling lanes and the number of bike commuters. I lived in Portland for a time, until two years ago, and can attest from personal experience that the number of cyclists on the road there is truly astounding. Our good city could follow suit and reap the numerous advantages of such an arrangement.

I strongly support the development of an effective network of cycling lanes, including segregated lanes, and pathways, to make cycling in Ottawa more inclusive of those who prefer or need a degree of separation from motorized traffic. As a fellow cyclist, I imagine you are likely of the same mind and I am preaching to the choir. I ask City Council to allocate sufficient funds to the Ottawa Cycling Plan for this purpose.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Best regards,

{name}

As Bush Exits, Expats Staying Put

2009-01-08T21:24:00.003-05:00

This article is about Americans who made good on their threats to move to Canada during George W. Bush's tenure.

Before I begin discussing this, let me just say that there are a whole lot of non-political reasons why we moved here. I suspect it's the same for most American expatriates. If you moved every time politics didn't go your way, you'd never stay in any country for very long. That said, U.S. politics and the extent to which the U.S. government neglects the needs of the people have rubbed us the wrong way for a long time.

I can really relate with the gal who said it's not just Bush. A contributing factor is the fact that literally ½ of Americans knew what Bush was about, had watched him in action since 2000, knew what he was going to do, and still voted for him again. Now, despite a truly abysmal presidency full of lies and illegal conduct, fraught with scandals, wrongful deaths, enshrining torture, ignoring habeas corpus and basic human rights, flouting of Constitutional rights and the system of checks and balances, blatantly taking from the poor to give to the rich, gutting the educational system, and so much more... the Republicans still garnered 45.7% of the vote last November. I'll never understand this. Are people taking crazy pills?? This speaks volumes about American society in general and in my mind is just one more symptom of how backward things are over there. (See my discussion of the U.S. South below.)

I can also relate to the lesbian couple, who quite enjoy having the right to marry and full protection under the law. When I've met people here, and they inquire upon introduction who my partner is to me so they'll know how to refer to her, it doesn't even faze them when I tell them. They don't freak out or hesitate or anything. It's amazing! I've always dreaded that moment whenever meeting anyone new in the States, because so many times they'd start right in on us like it's any of their damn concern. I say, don't ask if you might not like the answer! I finally gave up and just started lying and saying she's my roommate, which I really hate doing, because I really don't like lying for any reason and I don't like denying our relationship. But it got so we started doing it habitually, because we couldn't even go out and have a good time at mixed social events because some closed-minded jerk always had to take it upon him/herself to ask the question and then ruin our good time. We had to either go to gay events or face the homophobes.

Mind you, it's not like we were in the Deep South either... this was California, one of the most socially liberal states in the U.S., a leader that has had domestic partnership in place since 1999. So draw your conclusions from there. I lived for a brief time in the U.S. South, incidentally, so I know what I'm talking about, and I can vouch for the fact that the widespread racism, homophobia, condemnation of anyone who is not a fundamentalist Christian, and general closedmindedness were shocking and dismaying enough to convince me to avoid any future visits.

So coming here to Canada, it's mind-blowing and really refreshing when the question comes up about my same-sex partner, who also happens to be of a different race than myself, and nobody even bats an eye. What a difference!

Returning to Canada as an adult has made for some serious culture shock, in so many very positive ways. We love it here! And as we get to know it better, we love it even more. We have a lot of dear loved ones in the States, but we wouldn't dream of moving back.

Hurt by the Ottawa Transit Strike?

2009-01-07T09:31:00.004-05:00

I unfortunately discovered Labour board wants stories of people hurt by Ottawa transit strike at this late date. Late, because the deadline on it is 2 days from now so there's no time to mail in letters, which would have been the most convenient way for people with no transportation. All the same, I hope it helps.

Despite a series of obstacles which seemed determined to keep me from doing so, including our obstinate printer, I printed this out and ran down to the lobby of our apartment building to post this up for others to see. I have a car, but I really feel bad for all those people who don't and must schlep through the cold and snow on foot, bum rides from people, pay for expensive cabs, and the like, while trying to get to work, school, doctor's visits, surgeries, and the like. This has put a lot of people in dire straits financially, healthwise, and stresswise so I really wish they'd resolve this thing already! Lacking that, I post my little papers in the lobby.

Goodbye Air Farce, we hardly knew ye

2008-12-31T21:12:00.002-05:00

We were introduced to the Royal Canadian Air Farce , a comedy troupe specializing in political satire, shortly after landing in Canada in 2007. We feel like we've only just gotten to know and love this show, and as of tonight it's off the air after an amazing run of 35 years.

Just a few of the beloved favourites we will miss...

Craig Lauzon's robotic Stephen Harper impressions
Driving with Alan Park
Luba Goy's Hillary Clinton impressions
Jessica Holmes' impressions of Belinda Stronach and Britney Spears
The coffee shop scenes
Don Ferguson and the famous Chicken Cannon

For our American friends, the Chicken Cannon was a recurring year-end event. (Oh how it pains me to talk about all this in the past tense.) This was a cannon that fired rubber chickens, or other objects, at caricatures of whoever was considered the most annoying that year. Viewers would nominate targets and appropriate ammo for those targets, then vote on them. Then Don Ferguson did a countdown of the top 5 most deserving targets. The 4 runners-up were shot down with an "armed scud chicken." For the top target they loaded the cannon with all the suggested goopy ammo and fired the final disgusting mixture in an explosive splat. Pow! Great comic and stress relief in one satisfying gloppy shot. Simple but brilliant.

One of our favourite target/ammo combos, watched on Air Farce's website because we weren't here yet in 2003:

TARGET(S): George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld & Dick Cheney
AMMUNITION: Iraqi crude - oily just like our targets; cranberry sauce, candied yams, mashed potatoes and gravy (to go with the three turkeys); Freedom fries (don't forget the ketchup); fudge (for the fudged intelligence reports); head lice from Saddam Hussein, maraschino cherry.

Goodbye, Air Farce. We miss you already...

Tighten your belt, my cronies could use the $$$

2008-12-23T19:09:00.005-05:00

Nice, Harper, just one more broken promise and show of hypocrisy. We are asked to tighten our belts and suck it up when we need programs and services, but hey there's lots of money to go around to pay Parliament to sit around doing nothing until 26 Jan, and to offer 7 new Cabinet spots ($500k plus support staff) and 18 cushy new jobs in Senate ($6M) to right-wing friends. They even manage to coincide the "tighten your belts" announcement with the announcement of new expensive staff. How the Cons ever manage to convince anyone they are about fiscal conservatism is beyond me. Once again we get to see that their brand of "fiscal conservatism" means "spend it like you stole it" for their cronies, and fiscal conservatism (aka cutting infrastructure and vital programs and services) for everybody else. You know... undeserving people like veterans, sick, elderly, poor, homeless, displaced workers, college students, at-risk youths, and children.

This is exactly the mindset of the U.S. Republicans. I should know, I lived there and watched them rob us all blind while giving money hand over fist to the oil companies, banks, big pharma, and the otherwise filthy rich.

This article, excerpted below, is a great read and spot-on from both a Canadian and an American perspective. As a Canadian-American Canadian, I am well-positioned to vouch for its accuracy. If you look at the record of Conservatives and Republicans alike, you see a trend of burning through surpluses, tax cuts to the rich, and cutting needed programs and services for those who need them most. Stéphane Dion may not have been very popular, but he was right on target about this:

Harper, he said, "suffers from the same fatal flaw as other right-wing politicians. he talks about shrinking government then he spends and spends building nothing with no coherent plan."
"History shows us that in tough economic times, it is progressive governments that put economies back on track. Clinton after Reagan and Bush. Blair after Thatcher and Major. Chretien and Martin after Mulroney. And, of course, McGuinty after Harris."

Shame on you, Harper. How dare you ask us to sacrifice while spending like it's going out of style. I can only hope Canadians are sitting up and taking notice of your Bush/Reagan/Dubya neo-con ideology, and throw you out in disgrace just like George W.... widely despised, with everyone onto you and your games and eager to undo all the damage you have done. You are a scourge and disgrace to our country just like W is to the U.S.

List of carpooling/ride sharing websites

2008-12-19T13:17:00.004-05:00

People have started leaving notes posted in our apartment lobby begging for carpool partners, rides to classes, etc. due to the bus strike here in Ottawa. I feel so bad for them and wish I could help them all. Being winter and the Christmas season, it's a hard time of year for the elderly, sick, poor and disadvantaged to be stuck walking, biking, or stuck with extra expenses for taxi cabs. I have taken to printing out the following and leaving copies in the lobby for people to take. I checked out all the links and they do work. I figure at least I can do something. Maybe this will help someone online too.

As a side note, freecycle.org is an excellent place to exchange free stuff in your local area. Their goal is for people to save money by exchanging free items and reduce waste by keeping things out of the landfill - win-win. I haven't taken anything yet, so I haven't tried that end of it yet, but I've offered various things and it's worked out quite well as people come and pick them up. They're grateful to have them and I'm grateful to get rid of them with a minimum of effort and know they'll be put to good use.

LIST OF CARPOOLING AND RIDE SHARING WEBSITES

HELLO ALL, I FOUND THIS ONLINE AND THERE ARE COMPUTERS YOU CAN USE FOR FREE AT THE LIBRARY AND SERVICE CANADA,AND PROBABLY EMPLOYMENT ONTARIO IF YOU EXPLAIN YOU NEED TO FIND A WAY TO GET TO WORK. HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE!

Subject: [OttawaON-Freecycle] ADMIN: sites for carpooling and ride sharing
From: "Sharon Stewart"
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 17:59:39 -0500
To: "Ottawa Freecycle Group"

[NOTE: I compiled this list in February 2008, but I do not have time today
to check whether the links still work]

Here are some local boards for posting ads about carpooling and ride sharing:
http://ottawa.craigslist.ca/rid/

http://ottawa.kijiji.ca/f-community-rideshare-W0QQCatIdZ5
or http://tinyurl.com/2o9uqx

http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Ottawa

http://www.carpoolconnect.com/search/do_search?home_code=Ottawa,%20Ontario,%20Canada
or http://tinyurl.com/2vjlzx

http://www.punkottawa.com/board/viewforum.php?f=10

http://www.autotaxi.com/autotaxi.htm

http://welcome.pickuppal.com/alpha.php?camp=people&group=Car%20Pool%20Ottawa&root=Car%20Pool&place=%20in%20Ottawa
or http://tinyurl.com/2mub9h

This one is run by the City of Ottawa:
https://www.ottawaridematch.com/Public/UserSignIn.aspx

These ones are broader geographically:
http://www.carpoolworld.com/

http://www3.sympatico.ca/dataorb/

Sharon Stewart
Moderator
Ottawa Freecycle

Steve, the Sovereigntists, and the Scare Tactics

2008-12-07T23:36:00.009-05:00

Well, Prime Minister Stephen Harper really done it now. He's continually ploughed through Parliament with his Napoleon complex turned up to maximum, running roughshod over the parties the other 62% of voters put in office, and insisting a minority is a mandate. And now that he has finally pushed them beyond their limits, they have united against him and promised that he will fail the upcoming confidence vote on Monday. Weren't expecting that, were ya Stevie? Apparently he thought he could rule like a spoiled child king without repercussion. He was wrong.

Rather than facing the music, however, he decided to take the most cowardly option imaginable: run to Governor General Michaëlle Jean and advise her to prorogue (temporarily suspend) Parliament, thus placing her in what a number of experts are calling an untenable position. One such expert is Errol Mendes, law professor at the University of Ottawa:

Mendes says Harper's request would put Jean in a jam, "drawing her into a potential abuse of executive authority," because his reason to suspend Parliament would be to avoid defeat of his minority Conservative government in a vote on Monday that he has already postponed once.
"She is now being faced with a really incredible, untenable situation by the prime minister, because, in effect, what he's trying to do is to hide from a vote of confidence and thereby essentially drawing her into a potential abuse of executive authority," Mendes said in an interview.
"I basically consider this, regardless of whether you think the coalition should or should not take place, a profound and gross abuse of power." (link)

Tradition dictates that she take his advice and prorogue Parliament, but the circumstances under which this request is being made are outrageous. And should she deny his request, she will be placed in the equally difficult position of either calling another election days after we just had one, or the controversial move of installing the Coalition leader as PM without a vote. What answer can she possibly give that won't roil the waters even more?

Harper may be (just barely) within legal limits to do what he is doing, but ethically it's despicable.

As if all this isn't enough, he has employed the U.S. Republicans' tried-and-true tactic of sounding the alarm bells while deliberately misinforming the public (also known as "lying") about the workings of the parliamentary system, utilizing already existent ignorance about this process to exacerbate the confusion in the hopes of increasing support for the Conservatives. The Republicans have shown this method to work time and time again. Who better to emulate when you want to pull a snow job on the Canadian people? If you don't mind stooping to filthy games and embarrassing your country amid a worldwide economic crisis, by golly this is the way to go.

(All quotations below: emphasis mine)

Scare tactic lie #1: The Coalition is a coup d'état.
Implied: This is a political crisis! This is unconstitutional and undemocratic! It smacks of violent takeovers in developing countries!

Example set 1 (link):

"We will use all legal means to resist this undemocratic seizure of power," Harper said.
...
"We're realizing that no matter what we had come out with in the economic statement, their game plan was set. It's a kind of coup d'etat," Blackburn said. (National Revenue Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn)

Example set 2 (link):

Bewildered Calgary Tory MPs girded Monday for the distinct possibility their party could be relegated back into opposition within days, and lamented how a newly elected government could fall victim to an unprecedented "coup."
"The biggest loser here is the Canadian public," Obhrai fumed. "It's like a coup." (Deepak Obhrai, Calgary East Conservative MP)
"The sabotage was in effect," Anders said. "Trying to pull a coup d'etat, in a sense, I don't think will bode well for them." (Calgary West Tory MP Rob Anders)

The Cons have employed the coup d'état term again and again, using everything that term implies in an attempt to elicit fear by simultaneously associating this with unconstitutionality and violent government takeovers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is this constitutional and in keeping with the Westminster System, it's been done before on both federal and provincial levels. Moreover, they tried to do it themselves in 2000 and 2004! This is not a "crisis" and for the most part the only ones getting "up in arms" about it are the Conservatives, who up until now thought they were entitled to ignore the wishes of 62% of the population.

Scare tactic lie #2: We need to go over the heads of the MP's and GG and take this to the people.
Implied: Forget all that confidence vote stuff! Forget the GG! That's all undemocratic stuff! The way it works is we have the people vote on it!

"I think what we want to do is basically take a time out and go over the heads of the members of Parliament, go over the heads, frankly, of the Governor General, go right to the Canadian people," said Transport Minister John Baird. (link)

Um, no. There is a due process for the Westminster System and you are not following it. Being the ruling party does not mean you get to rewrite the system to suit your wishes. And those MP's whose heads you want to go over, are legitimate representatives for 62% of the voting population who voted against you.

Scare tactic lie #3: This is a separatist coalition. It's sedition!
Implied: The separatists will have veto power over the government! Those scoundrels will be running the country! They're going to break up Canada! We'll be powerless to stop them!

Example 1 (link):

"The message is that Canadians do not want to see a separatist coalition. It's a plain and simple message," said International Trade Minister Stockwell Day. "The coalition does not have the confidence of Canadians. Never in our history has anybody entertained the thought of a coalition that would be controlled by separatists."

Example 2 (link):

In Ottawa, Environment Minister Jim Prentice described Monday's events as a "serious situation" that could see separatists holding a veto card over the rest of the country, while Calgary West Tory MP Rob Anders argued the opposition parties were determined to bring down the government.

Example 3 (link):

The Conservatives turned up the rhetoric Wednesday, going so far as to talk of treason.

Ontario MP Bob Dechert accused the Liberals of trying to destroy the country by aligning with the separatist Bloc.

"They're getting into bed with the separatists," he said. "They've actually written a deal giving the separatists a veto over every decision of the Canadian government. That is as close to treason and sedition as I can imagine."

Example 4: Pretty much this entire article, liberally sprinkled with similar expressions - a few quick snippets:

Sedition Coalition... quick and dirty coup d'etat... ugly alliance with a separatist party who are salivating at the thought... coalition of sedition...

Another falsehood repeated ad nauseam. The Cons allege that the Bloc Québécois would have "veto power" over the coalition government, and therefore amounts to the sovereigntists running the country. That's just ridiculous. Any minority government has to work with other parties to the extent that it maintains enough support to pass a confidence vote (a concept which Harper obviously fails to understand). Thus, in effect, any opposing party(ies) with enough MP's to tip the scale has "veto power," on an ongoing basis. This agreement doesn't give the Bloc any power it doesn't already have. As a matter of fact, they have signed away their existing "veto power" for 18 months. They are not part of the coalition and have surrendered this power in the interest of stability of the coalition government.

Also disturbing about scare tactic #3 is the inflammatory divisiveness being perpetuated by the Cons in their ongoing demonizing of the sovereigntists. Literal demonizing... they describe the coalition as "a deal with the devil." The last thing we need in this country is more antagonism between its various regions. It's worth noting that these are the same Cons who were so recently courting the sovereigntists hard, calling Québec a "nation within a nation" and pulling out all the stops for the sovereigntist vote. Once it became apparent that the level of support they sought wasn't going to materialize, they were quick to throw them under the bus. That kind of duplicity should tell you something about their Machiavellian approach to getting what they want.

Even more hypocritical: The Cons insist that they have never and would never sign a deal like this one with the Bloc, whom they say want to destroy the country. Yet the Canadian Alliance and PC parties, who later merged to become the Conservative party, secretly tried to form a coalition government with the Bloc in 2000. In that one, the The Globe and Mail has documents to prove it and Bloc officials confirm it to be true. According to one Bloc official, this even included discussions on making it easier for Québec to separate by referendum in the future. The Cons deny it all, of course. Then in 2004 while in opposition, Harper (who back then apparently did understand the concept of minority governments) asked the GG to put him in power if the newly elected Liberal government was defeated in the Commons, saying, “We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation." (emphasis mine) The situation in 2004 was a mirror image of the one today, but apparently it's only okay when the Conservatives do it.

When it suits their needs, the Cons have no qualms about forming coalition governments or making agreements with the sovereigntists... but they've proven they're willing to go to any lengths to prevent anyone else from doing so. Including lying through their teeth at every turn.

This group so desperately needs to get thrown out on their collective ear. They have repeatedly demonstrated their contempt for the democratic process, the parliamentary system, and the Canadian people. I know by convention the GG will probably have to grant Harper's request, but I'm hoping against hope she says no and he has to face the confidence vote like a big boy.

To hell with everybody else, Harper - save your own job!

2008-12-04T14:24:00.006-05:00

Well the GG granted prorogation to Harper, meaning he can (and did) dissolve Parliament until Jan. 26. Just what we need in the middle of a global economic crisis - to force Parliament to sit on its hands for 6 weeks instead of taking action now to avoid a recession. And yet, he claims their priority first and foremost is the economy! All this so he can avoid a confidence vote and try to save his own skin - but never mind anybody else's jobs! I hope Canadians, especially the 38% that voted Conservative, are watching and taking notes. That's right folks, the Cons threw you under the bus... still glad you voted for them??

Canadian police chase

2008-11-25T01:12:00.002-05:00

I saw this and just about fell off my chair.

Having just bought my first winter tires this year, after slip-sliding away last winter on the few occasions we'd had to take the car, I watched this and breathed a heavy sigh of relief while having a good hearty belly laugh. There is a straightforwardness here, that permeates everything from the way Canadians talk to each other to the commercials they show on TV. This is no small adjustment for these California gals, but we like it!

Prop H8 - Separation of church and state?

2008-11-13T14:52:00.002-05:00

The #1 contributor to California's Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage, by far, was the Knights of Columbus - part of the Catholic Church - who spent over $1.4 million to help it pass. Another was the Mormon Church, who spent big bucks on TV to campaign for it. Separation of church and state, bull-oney! (Here's the list of contributors so you can see the rest of the bigots and how much they chipped in.)

Apparently from the Catholic Church's perspective, it's not okay for us to be gay or want to get married in loving adult relationships, but it's a-okay for their priests to molest children... they'll even bend over backwards to cover for them and expose them to new victims. And it's so urgent to deny gays their rights, that $1.4 million is only the latest in $millions more used for the same purpose. Gee, wonder how many poor people they could have helped instead. Boy that pisses me right off. I was raised Roman Catholic, but I have lost so much respect for the Catholic Church over the years that I could never be Catholic again, ever.

Another issue that came up during this vote, according to various pundits, is that having a minority candidate gave new hope to the minorities, brought out the minority vote, and since minorities tend to be socially conservative it ironically helped push Prop H8 through while helping Obama win. I honestly don't know why people who ought to know something about struggling against discrimination and fighting for civil rights are often the worst hypocrites when it comes to someone else's civil rights. They say, "that's different." But I want to know how it's different to deny marriage to people of two different races because some people believe they shouldn't be allowed to, versus denying marriage to people of the same gender because some people believe they shouldn't be allowed to. Who is it hurting? And whose business is it anyway? More on this in a minute.

Now before you get up in arms thinking I'm stereotyping minorities, you should know some background. My life partner and I are what they call here in Canada "visible minorities" of mixed race. My best friend is also of mixed descent. And having lived in the greater Los Angeles area for much of my life, in all of its amazing diversity, I've always had friends of varying colours, religions and backgrounds. So when I speak of prevailing attitudes within minority groups, as I have in the previous paragraph, it is not because I've bought into stereotypes, but rather because I've known so many of them personally and rubbed elbows with them every day, including my own family members, that I know from experience what the prevailing attitudes are in many groups. And as much as I hate to admit it, in this case the pundits are right about the minority vote. In general, our cultures just aren't that tolerant of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. I only wish I was wrong.

Case in point: Until a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 1967, inter-racial marriages were still illegal in 16 states. My parents were married (in Canada) only a year after that. My mother, as a visible minority and having been foreign trained, found herself continually unable to find work commensurate with her education and experience, despite having attained Canadian citizenship and putting forth the effort for several years before finally leaving for the States (sad, isn't it?). And yet, in no small part owing to the culture she comes from, she's one of the worst anti-gay bigots I know. Sadly, she, like so many others I've known, knows what it's like to be treated like a second-class citizen for no good reason... but can't make the stretch for other people's civil rights.

Here's another sad example. A disproportionate number of the coming-out horror stories you hear - you know, where their family, upon finding out they were gay, kicked them out and they were homeless and had to sleep in their car; or maybe the father beat them up first, then kicked them out; things like that - are from minorities... African, Mexican, Asian, Native, Middle Eastern, etc. in descent. "White" families (European roots) might refuse to ever talk to you again, but for some reason we minorities seem to have a greater propensity for outright abuse in these situations. I don't know yet if this holds true in Canada too, but in the States it really doesn't take much to bear this out.

Perhaps I have been long-winded on this point, but I felt it was important to establish why I agree with the pundits on something that, at first blush, sounds like someone is trying to make a scapegoat of the non-whites and blame them for Prop 8's passing... exchanging homophobia in favour of racism... but that is most assuredly not the case.

Now in order to even entertain the idea of voting on such a proposition, one has to ignore for a moment the fact that marriage is a civil rights issue and therefore according to the federal Constitution should never have been put up for a vote in the first place. That's right, lawyers will be challenging the validity of Prop 8 based on the premises of the very document it seeks to modify. (Anyone else see the irony in this?) I understand the formidable Gloria Allred was the first to file a lawsuit. I would not want to piss her off. The one consolation I take in all this is that the ensuing fight will be interesting to say the least. But we'll see if justice is actually served.

Now there are thousands of same-sex couples legally married in CA, now left wondering what their status is and waiting to see if their marriages will be dissolved against their will. And others who didn't manage to get married before the deadline, with their weddings already half-planned and their dream suddenly crushed. I hope at least some of the homophobes will look at this situation and finally realize just how ugly and mean-spirited this thing is.

Under U.S. law, Britney Spears can go get married and then get it annulled after 55 hours "just for fun," and it's all legal and binding. But my partner and I have been together for nearly 13 years now and it was only a few years ago that she was finally granted the right to visit me in the hospital. Mind you, if we'd been living in almost any state other than California, she *still* wouldn't have that right today. What kind of person looks at that and thinks, yeah, that sounds right? A lot more Americans than you'd think. Just one more of many reasons to be thankful we live in Canada.

Rick Mercer's "Photo Challenge"

2008-11-08T07:20:00.000-05:00

Political satirist Rick Mercer regularly conducts a "photo challenge," in which he posts photos of politicians on his website and your challenge is to "doctor" them as you see fit for amusement value. My miserable 3-second attempt to resist taking on this challenge was thwarted by the fact that this one was a pic of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whom I like even less these days given recent events. Here's the original:

I combined it with John McCain's "McTongue" grab-a$$ looking pic from when he walked off stage the wrong way after the third presidential debate:

The end result:

Congratulations, Obama!

2008-11-05T10:40:00.001-05:00

Woohoo!!! Obama has won! Congratulations and good luck, Mr. President-Elect.

Despite projections that he would, I harboured a certain fear that it wouldn't happen in the end. I've read from numerous experts, especially those of African-American heritage, that there is a faction of voters who say they will vote for a black candidate but when it comes time to actually mark their ballot they can't quite bring themselves to do it. This could fudge the polls, they said, by several percentage points. They cited several examples where, according to the polls, a black candidate at city or state level was expected to win easily, yet when the ballots were counted they actually lost by up to 2-3%. I wish I could remember where I saw this, to share with you here, but alas I didn't take note. Suffice it to say that there were multiple sources with multiple experts, who sounded well-qualified and knowledgeable on the subject, and the consensus was pretty clear. Sad but true. So I decided rather than get all excited about an "expected" Obama win, I'd wait until the ballots were in. And anyway, to be perfectly frank, I shuddered to think what turmoil would follow if such a "mystery loss" was to happen in this election. So I put it out of my mind and hoped and prayed for the best.

It brought tears to my eyes to watch all those people, welcoming the first black president-elect with open arms, tears of joy, and scarcely able to believe it's really happening. Oprah was crying. Jesse Jackson was crying. It was incredible. And everybody was obviously so relieved that the end of the ironfisted neo-con rule is now in sight. Thank God!! It's a tough road ahead, but for a lot of people this restores hope that things can be put back on track.

So, what was the point of this again?

2008-10-15T02:19:00.002-04:00

Well the Conservatives have won again. I'm disgusted, but at least they only managed to increase their minority and fell short of a majority. However, everyone is pretty frustrated...

The Conservatives failed to get their majority.
The Liberals had their biggest loss in history.
The New Democrats didn't get substantial gains.
The Bloc Québécois didn't get any gains.
The Greens still didn't win any seats at all.

And Canadian voters are irritated at Harper for wasting our time and $300 million we can ill afford on an election that turned out pretty much like the one 2 years ago... especially annoying because this was an obvious grab for more seats and yet he was the one railing against such opportunistic elections and passing laws for fixed date elections. This is also the 3rd election in 4 years. Worse, the Conservatives have "won" again even though they got less than 38% of the votes. A whole lot of people are now clamouring to get rid of first-past-the-post elections, since of course they're wondering why we now have a near-majority ruling party that almost 2/3 of the people voted against. (37.7% is hardly a "mandate," though Harper likes to think it is.) And a mere 1% increase in Conservative support translated into a 6% jump in seats. They also question a system that gives the Bloc Québécois 50 seats with 8% of the vote and the Greens get 0 seats with 6% of the vote.

Last October, Ontarians (to my great annoyance) overwhelmingly rejected a measure that would have replaced first-past-the-post voting in Ontario with a mixed-member-proportional system. Humph, betcha they don't think it's such a stupid idea now.

The case against fixed terms

2008-09-20T13:28:00.004-04:00

Stephen Harper, from the time he was the official opposition, has been pushing for a fixed term length to eliminate the ruling party (Liberals, at the time) practice of calling elections when their polls are up. Now that he is PM he has continued to promise it, yet he's gone against it and called an election when the Conservatives' polls went up. So much for his "integrity and transparency" platform.

I really love the fact that, under the parliamentary system, without fixed terms, the PM must at all times operate under the threat of a possible election if s/he starts getting out of hand. If the people have had enough, they can call on their representatives - the Members of Parliament - to topple the government and trigger an election. For this reason, I am very much against fixed term length as Harper is purportedly so fond of (in word if not in deed). Despite the opportunistic election-calling our system allows for, I'll take that any day over the problem fixed terms cause: that of a leader who can campaign for election, tell the people what they want to hear long enough to win the seat, then promptly turn up his/her nose at the people and run around like a little dictator until just before the next election. George W. Bush has been a prime example of this abuse, and frankly the gullibility of roughly half the American population has helped maximize such abuse and showcase the failings of a fixed-term system.

Moreover, I really do think the U.S. needs to come up with a more expedient process than impeachment for expunging a president. It needs to be much easier to initiate the process, and once started it needs to be fast-tracked with top priority. It's pathetic that it takes 2 years to get someone out of a 4-year seat, and costs the taxpayers millions of dollars to boot. In this situation, a sitting president knows that after the 2 year mark he can do pretty much anything he wants, because the people are powerless to put a stop to him before his term will be up anyway. This is exacerbated when a president is in his second term as Bush is, and as such doesn't have to worry about getting elected again either.

Even faster and cheaper than expediting the impeachment process, however, would be implementing confidence votes like they do here, and getting rid of fixed terms. There is no reason a president should be able to rule with an iron fist without facing some accountability. The government should live in constant fear that if they screw up bad enough the people will shove a boot up their a$$ posthaste. To me, that's a real democracy.

Canadians, you may feel that voting 3 times in just over 4 years is a little annoying. (I don't, because frankly I'm grateful for any opportunity to express my wishes about how I want the country to be run.) But you should think long and hard about what you are surrendering if you allow a move to fixed terms. One need only look south to see the kind of grief it can bring... this Canadian-American Canadian can tell you - it's not worth it.

Some thoughts on Conservatives and the MMP system

2008-09-18T14:32:00.007-04:00

As bad as the Conservatives are, and as much of the tactics they copy from the Republicans, I have to give them at least some credit. They still do things like creating new national parks, building infrastructure, and stuff like that. Their inaction on global warming and lack of concern for the poor is still there, make no mistake, but at least they have to make some concessions or the Canadian public would most assuredly give them the boot. So while they model themselves after the Republicans, they can't get away with nearly as much. And yeah the Republicans win hands-down when it comes to whack-job policy and pushing for a theocratic oligarchy.

I really, really wish people would get rid of first-past-the-post voting though, both in Canada and the U.S. Even more here than there (since it's less 50-50) you can see the failures of a system where 60% of the people want liberal policy, but because there's only 1 conservative party and 4 liberal parties the person with only 40% support gets to rule. (It doesn't help that he considers this a "mandate" and refuses to work with the other parties voted in by the other 60%.) We can do better than that. Here in Ontario last November, they tried to get through a mixed-member proportional (MMP) system. But since they didn't do nearly enough to educate the public about what it is (I imagine they didn't have sufficient funding, for one thing), a lot of people just voted against it without even knowing what it is.

Case in point: I was in the polling station voting for it, and there was a lady in there asking the workers about it. They explained it in simple neutral terms, and she just said, "Ehhh I dunno what all that is, just keep it the same." And she proceeded to vote against it.

If there's one thing that really drags down a democracy, it's when people know nothing about a given issue and decide to go ahead and vote on it anyway. Ontario is a big province with lots of influence here due to its comparatively large population. If the MMP referendum would have passed it could have changed the direction of the whole country. Just goes to show - if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

Maybe U.S. politics have made me an incurable cynic, but I have my sneaky suspicions that the anti-MMP campaign was secretly funded by the two parties who stand to lose the most from such an arrangement. This system would have handed a proportional number of seats to smaller parties such as the NDPs and Greens, which would otherwise have gone to the Conservatives and Liberals due to the failings of first-past-the-post. One of the alarmist arguments cited against MMP is that, !GASP! some of the MP's will be chosen by the parties and therefore not directly chosen by the people! Omigod it's undemocratic! Well hello, isn't that how the PM gets in? The party that wins the most seats chooses who the PM will be, no? I don't hear anyone sounding the alarm bells over that.

It really irks me when people use misinformation as the means to their desired political outcome. This is an old trick, a perennial favourite of Republicans and Conservatives, might I add. And it irks me even more when the public is sufficiently uninformed to fall for it. The anti-MMP campaign had the Conservatives' signature alarmist misinformation tactic written all over it, but don't be surprised if the Libs got into bed with them on this one.

Voting twice

2008-09-07T16:11:00.002-04:00

Prime Minister Harper has called an election for Oct 14 (the day after Thanksgiving), trying to get his party a majority. We've sent for our U.S. absentee ballots and are waiting to hear back. It seems I will be voting once in October and once in November.

Yeah Harper, tell us another one

2008-08-26T11:43:00.002-04:00

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he won't be breaking his promise to Canadians if he calls an election this fall, a year ahead of the fixed date set by his own government. (emphasis mine - full article)

Oh really?? Anybody remember this? After all, it was only 3 months ago:

"Fixed election dates prevent governments from calling snap elections for short-term political advantage," Harper said. "They level the playing field for all parties and the rules are clear for everybody." (full article)

Yet again, the rules only apply when it's convenient for Stephen Harper. The rest of the time, ehhhhhhh, never mind.

"That's what you get" department

2008-06-22T18:22:00.002-04:00

I saw an article today titled Internet-savvy voters shake up U.S. presidential election. The gist of it is that Obama is on top of his game and using the internet to his advantage, while McCain and his base are struggling to get with the program.

I thought that was amusing as hell.

For quite some time, Republicans have pandered to 1) big business, and 2) those who are ignorant enough to be more concerned with legislating morality and sanctioning discrimination than with getting serious about solving problems like poverty, homelessness, and lack of universal healthcare. Thus, two of the biggest factions in the Republican base are now rich people and ignorant people. How fitting that they are now struggling to get the latter up to speed, a crisis of their own creation.

For once, the good ol' boys club of rich old white guys find themselves at a disadvantage. Now that's refreshing! Thanks, guys, for a good laugh.

Let the U.S. war deserters stay!

2008-05-22T00:32:00.000-04:00

Posted in response to this article:

Yes, these people did voluntarily enlist, but it is incorrect and unfair to just assume they are all cowards who simply don't feel like doing the job they signed up for. Many of them, Glass included, faithfully went to Iraq as they were supposed to do and served honourably for at least one tour of duty... and it was only after seeing the crimes against humanity occurring there that they could not in good conscience continue with this mission.

It is both patriotic and honourable to stand up against one's government when it is committing atrocities. It is a mark of their integrity that they served in the first place, and that they came forward honestly about the problems at hand, despite knowing the severe consequences they knew they could likely face by doing so. Wouldn't it have been much easier to compromise their integrity and weasel out with false claims of being gay or post-traumatic? I see no reason whatsoever to deport such people.

After having lived in the USA for many years, I know many who have been suckered, or nearly so, by recruiters' wild promises about their assignments and placement once they enlist. Those in the know got those promises in writing. The rest were shocked by just how badly they were duped into situations and assignments to which they never would have agreed.

It's also worth noting that unlike George W. Bush, not everyone has a rich powerful father to pull strings and keep them out of harm's way during a war, and then cover their absence with 'lost paperwork.' Mere commoners must face a court-martial. It is the height of hypocrisy to dodge deployment yourself, then be so quick to send others into an illegal war and court-martial them if they fail to comply.