Heather Malice: "Harperites Don't Like People With Breasts"

Normally I make it a point not to read the filth written by Heather Mallick, and rather I choose to digest her insane ramblings through the mouth of Charles Adler. In one of her most recent rants she makes the claim "face it, Harperites don’t like people with breasts". As a Harper supporter, I have been lumped into this group. The Toronto Star should be ashamed of themselves for printing this garbage. I am a "Harperite" with 3 sisters, one of whom is currently fighting advanced stage breast cancer. My sister is about to lose a breast, and I'm reading that a "Harperite" like me hates people with breasts? So then by Heather's logic I won't "hate" my sister anymore, or at least by half. This statement is ridiculous and offensive. Many "Harperites" have wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters. Do we hate them? Is that what you are trying to tell me Heather?

At least now Mallick is getting paid by the Star and not the taxpayers. This bile was worse when my tax dollars were paying for it. I will never again visit the Toronto Star website for any reason nor send any exit links to their site. The Star should be ashamed for employing her. I'm endorsing a full boycott of the Star by any Stephen Harper supporter who does not hate breasts, especially those close to women who are fighting this awful disease. I strongly support donations to breast cancer research and treatment. Let's do as much as we can to help save our mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces, and even the random male who suddenly gets diagnosed . We are Harperites and we love the women in our families. We don't hate them because they have boobs. F**k you Heather Mallik.

Halloween Poll Questions

Happy Halloween! In honour of the day I have two poll questions. The first question; have you or will you wear a Halloween costume in public this year? The second question is dedicated to my nephew; should Halloween be a statutory holiday? He recently argued that Halloween should be an official holiday, and while I'm pretty sure how this poll will turn out, for his sake I had to ask. Perhaps it could be a day off school, but not a full blown stat holiday. Really my nephew was pissed off that he had to go to school on Halloween more so than he was advocating a new stat.

I've been seeing a lot of adults wearing Halloween costumes this past week, and I am curious to know how many of you are members of this club. If you are invited to a costume party and dress up for one night, that's acceptable; but when Darth Vader is bagging my groceries, I tend to roll my eyes in disapproval (FYI: no disrespect to people who work bagging groceries. That was my first job in high school). Then again, some employers likely encourage their staff to wear costumes today in order to max out the flavour of the day. I worked today. I dressed up as an ice maker. Nobody noticed, but then again, it wasn't a costume.

Corporation, Unions, And Political Contributions

Today's poll question; should corporations and unions be allowed to make political donations and run advertising during election campaigns? You may have noticed in recent years that many major unions in Canada have been spending a lot of money on advertisements espousing NDP and other left wing positions. This allows the Dippers to flood the airwaves with friendly words promoting their policies and attacking the government without counting towards legal spending limits. In Ontario the "working families coalition" (aka CUPE) put more money and effort into re-electing Dalton McGuinty than Dalton did! They wanted to keep the gravy train rolling, and it was worth their while to spend  millions of dollars making it happen.

Unions are becoming very politically active, or perhaps they've always been and I'm just noticing it more as I grow older. Peggy Nash is the biggest union cheerleader in the NDP leadership race, and she was on TV yesterday saying that if you are not in a union, you're probably struggling to get by financially. I'm not sure that we need more electoral law when we already have several laws that are outdated and should be scrapped. They were discussing this "political contribution" issue on the radio yesterday as I was driving to work, so I figured it was at least worth a poll question. Corporations were included in the poll question because reasonably, you can't deny one and permit the other. It is all or none.

NDP Leadership Race Getting Crowded

The number of people who have joined the NDP leadership race is now up to 8 with the addition of labour activist Peggy Nash. There are many heavy hitters within the party that are now vying for the top job, which also means that they are giving up their critics portfolios. That means no questions in Question Period, not joining panels on political shows while they campaign to replace Jack. Now that the A team is invested in a leadership race, the B and C team is being elevated to the top speaking positions. Having Nycole Turmel struggle to speak English is already a negative, throwing the rookies into the fire is not going to work out well for the NDP.

I will be VERY interested to watch the NDP leadership debates. I really really really want to listen to this cast of characters debate among themselves what should be the priorities of the party. Mulcair wants to move the party farther away from unions, and I can only imagine that Peggy Nash will have something to say about that. Those are the moments you want to record and save for future playback...

Does Parliament Need 30 New Seats?

Today's poll question; should 30 new seats be added to Canadian Parliament? In an attempt to fix some inequities in the current regional distribution of Parliament the government has passed legislation to add 30 new seats spread across Ontario, BC, Alberta, and 3 to Quebec. While I agree that provincial distributions should be tied to population, I do not support adding 30 new politicians to Parliament. Unfortunately you can't redistribute seat counts without adding new ones, so that's how we've arrived where we are.

The last thing this country needs is more politicians, but the Tories are committed to repairing the inequity as much as possible. It is a noble cause, even if adding seats is less desirable than shuffling the existing seats. I'd prefer they take seats away from Atlantic Canada, but I suppose we'd need to update our constitution, and that's rarely fun. I support what the government is doing, just not how they are doing it; and yet their method is the only plausible option. I'm torn on this one.

Why We Need A French Speaking Auditor General

While I am not of the opinion that all bureaucrats or judges need the ability to speak both english and french, on the matter of Auditor General the ability to understand french is very important. Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada and will be the focus of many AG investigations of fraud and financial mismanagement. The Conservatives have announced a unilingual candidate to replace Sheila Fraser, and I agree with the Liberals that this is a serious mistake. It will be more challenging for the AG to hunt down the rest of the missing sponsorship money if he or she does not speak the local language. Come on Mr Prime Minister, we need an AG who can speak french and shake down Bonhome Carnival for information if necessary...

Ambush Comedy At Politician Homes?

Today's poll question; is it appropriate for a comedy troupe to film uninvited unexpected improv sketches at the homes of politicians? A maniacal CBC character and camera crew ambushed Rob Ford at his home on his driveway with his young daughter present, and the CBC has been hammering him all day for responding to the ambush by calling the police. Was calling the police necessary? Maybe not, but he should never have been put in that position. The loonie left has been sending death threats to the Mayor, and the CBC suddenly decides to jump this guy first thing in the morning outside his house when he's driving his young child to school? Seriously??? How long did they sit waiting outside his house for him to come out?

What the CBC did here was just stupid and wrong. If we permit this as acceptable we are setting a dangerous precedence. Who's going to want to get into politics if you are going to be harrassed in your driveway? The clowns on CBC Newsworld today were having a lot of fun with this story today, with one dude joking that he had to pour through many e-mails to find any supportive of Ford. The discussion of whether or not this home ambush was an appropriate decision was noticeably absent. Then tonight on the National, Mansbridge did a whole bit on why Rob Ford's 1st year was so terrible and the worst "mistake" they could name was him missing the Pride parade (meanwhile Christy Clark skipped the one in Vancouver and the media hardly made a whimper). Sure Ford has yet to cut the budget as promised (thanks in part to ardent left wing opposition), but nothing he's done can be classified as doing a bad job. Yet to hear some journalists talk about it, through one year he's the worst Mayor in the history of Canada. Some journalists and bloggers, like Marcus Gee at the Globe and Mail have pretty much dedicated their lives to attacking Ford.

Kelly McParland wrote a great piece on this story in the National Post which I strongly recommend reading.

Occupy Vancouver's "Run On The Banks"

On Saturday the Occupy Vancouver protest spilled into downtown banks so that protesters could close their accounts in what they called their "run on the banks". Miraculously, our banks and our entire financial system did not collapse as a result of this loss of wealth. I'd be interested to know just how much money the banks lost during this run on the banks. Are you even allowed to close your account if you have a negative balance?

Have fun living your lives without bank accounts guys and gals. I'm sure they'll all be back re-opening their accounts in the very near future so their parents have an easy way to send them money. It is unlikely that any of these clowns who went in and closed their accounts get direct deposit pay from an employer, if they even have jobs at all. The few people left camping out downtown seem to have a lot of free time on their hands. Occupy Vancouver does have a paypal account and are accepting donations. They are not a registered non-profit so they do not count as a charity.

Today's poll question; should banks be allowed to earn profit?

NDP Using Occupy Protests To Justify Higher Taxes

It is becoming clear why the leading NDP leadership hopeful came out so quickly to support the Occupy protests, because it is going to become his corner stone to justify increased taxation. It is the same reason that CUPE is paying to bus its membership to the protests, to keep taxes high so there's plenty of money to go around when it comes time to extort a better deal. If Brian Topp wants to run for office promising to raise taxes, have fun with that. In Canada the top 1% cutoff is around $180K per year. If his policy is to raise income taxes on the top 10%, you'll have many unionized workers taking a hit. He's going to find this tough sledding.

The problem for Topp is that the income gap is substantially smaller in Canada than the United States, despite what Topp said Friday on CTV news. He just kept blaming Conservatives, never mentioning the Obama administration, and then made the ridiculous claim that we have a larger income disparity. That's just not true. There's no reason for Occupy protesters to gather in downtown Vancouver banks because there's nothing fundamentally wrong with Canadian banks. Ours received no bailouts because they didn't need them. There were no CEOs getting fat bonus checks financed by tax payers. The Occupy Canada protests are coming from the same clowns who rioted at the G20 Summit and orchestrated those silly anti-prorogation protests.

I Am The 99%...

Judging by some of the hate mail I've received lately, I should probably clarify that I am not in the top 1% of wage earners in Canada. I am part of the bottom 99%, which entitles me to speak on behalf of all Canadians. All my complaints and everything I write is a representative sample of 99% of the country. I'm angry that I make less money than those fat cats at CUPE who are gorging themselves on tax payer dollars, and I want to go down to their nearest office, pitch a tent, and occupy their lobby until they are decertified. 99% of Canadians agree with me because I make less money than the top 1%.

Also, I have one "dedicated follower" in Toronto who keeps insulting me for being a security guard. Just to keep everyone current, I haven't worked security since 2009 and currently have a really cool job that I enjoy a great deal. It's pretty funny to have an Occupy supporter attack you for NOT being rich. Perhaps I'm just not allowed to have an opinion because I am a blue collar worker.

Stop Calling Yourselves "The 99%"

We need to get something straight; the far left does not represent 99% of the population and the Occupy protesters need to stop making that claim. These clowns are being interviewed repeatedly on local talk radio here in Vancouver and they keep saying "we are the 99%". Sure it's clever, but it's dishonest. Let's find out what percentage of Canadians support the Occupy protests so the miscreants can instead say "we are the 30% or less". In fact, today's poll question will be "do you support the Occupy Canada protests?"

When the Tea Party emerged as a protest to high government spending, the left's response was ridicule and homophobic jokes. I'm not going to start suggesting that these Occupy Canada protesters are busy sucking each other's nut sacks, but I am more than happy to ridicule their cause.

New Canadian Ship Building Contracts

Today's poll question; should the government spend $33 billion to upgrade the Canadian navy and coast guard? This morning it was announced that Halifax was awarded the bulk of this massive contract, with British Columbia getting the consolation prize and Quebec being awarded nothing (though they will surely see some of the money through parts manufacturing). This was not awarded by the Harper government, but rather an independent group that had support from opposition parties. It was not a partisan decision, though I'm sure you'll hear accusations that Nova Scotia won the contracts to get Peter MacKay re-elected. Canada requires a larger navy than most countries because we have a substantially larger coast line than any other country in the world.

Frankly I don't care which province won the contracts, just so long as they were the best bids. John Ivison is already upset that we did not accept foreign bids, which could have produced better vessels at a lower price. It is a fair argument, and perhaps will be my next poll question. If we sent the contract to Germany we could get boats that are 20% better for 20% cheaper, but would not receive the benefit of domestic economic activity (and the tax revenue it brings). Let's just hope that we don't end up with a bunch of Bricklins and Fast Ferries...

This has to be BC's largest ship building contract since the Pacificat Fast Ferry fiasco, so hopefully our local ship builders are able to do a better job this time. Christy Clark was really jazzed up at the press conference with over the top enthusiasm that was bordering on comical. You will rarely see that level of excitement for finishing in 2nd place, but this is the first good news of her tenure as Premier, so I'm not shocked by her outpouring of emotion.

The pundits were saying that this will cost the Tories more support in Quebec, even though they were not involved in the decision. Quebec deserved their fair share, even if their bid was lousy...

NDP Leadership Candidate Proposing Joint Nominations

At least one NDP leadership hopeful is proposing that the Liberals and NDP join forces in the next election to nominate a single opposition candidate in Conservative ridings. The goal is to maximize the probability of defeating Stephen Harper without actually officially merging the two parties. The downside being that it would decrease the probability of either the Liberals or the NDP winning a majority government, likely resulting in the need for a power sharing agreement in a minority government situation. If the Liberals run 220 candidates instead of 308, it will be more difficult to win 155 seats (70% of Liberals would have to win their seats to win a majority).

So are the Liberals going to diminish their probability of winning a majority just to remove Stephen Harper from power? It's plausible, and will be debated when the Liberals finally get around to beginning their own leadership race. Will it happen? I'm not convinced, but a limited non compete would be the first stop on the road to a merger.

Occupying Traffic

For a protest movement that seeks to grow public support for their anti-capitalism rhetoric, these clowns seem unable to grasp the simple concept that if you block traffic to force people to take notice, you will inevitably piss off far more people than you'll impress. Today the Occupy Toronto people began occupying vital intersections creating traffic havoc in Canada's largest city, because nothing wins hearts and minds quite like sitting in gridlock. I'm not sure how your movement can claim to represent 99% of people when your actions are only going to upset the 93% who have jobs and just want to get home from work.

All those idle car engines are pumping extra exhaust into the atmosphere, damaging the city's already poor air quality...and the greenhouse gases!!!??? Are the occupy protesters trying to destroy the planet? It seems as though they would rather spread misery and destruction instead of creating a Utopian society in Karl Marx's image.

Does The Far Left Represent 99% Of People?

Surely I can't be the only one who finds it ridiculous that the far left are engaging in anti capitalism protests claiming to represent 99% of the population. In reality, the poeple doing this are in the fringes likely representing 5% - 15% of the population. Listen guys, if you want to set up permanent protests in major cities that's your business, but can you please stop claiming to represent 99% of society? Of course now every special interest group is trying to hitch their trailer to the gravy train to raise money.

When the Tea Party started, the left went nutty with homophobic jokes and ridicule. Now they are doing something eerily similar to those they scorned and expect respect or even reverence? Did you just get jealous and want your own party? That's fine, just stop saying that you are the 99% because you're not.

Occupy Protests Prepare Demands

Now that the Occupy Canada protests have begun, we can expect these clowns to start making demands in the near future. Today's poll question; what demand do you most expect to emerge from the Occupy protests? There are plenty of options to choose from. It could be changing the retirement age to 40, or even 25. They could demand bigger government, or they could demand no government at all. Perhaps they want to revive the soviet union? How does a 3 day work week sound to you? Should we shut down our stock exchanges and nationalize the banks? Maybe the government should pay off all your debt? What about guaranteeing every citizen at least $30,000 per year even if they choose not to work?

Have you noticed that the Occupy Wall street people are not protesting Obama's government? Obama has an election coming up soon and how long do you think it will take before the Occupy demands become Obama's election promises? Canada is in a safer position with the Conservatives holding a majority government, with the next election a few years away.

What Do Occupy Canada Protests Hope To Accomplish?

This weekend will see the "occupy" protests move north of the border into Canada, despite this "movement" being unable to clarify exactly what their complaints are or propose solutions to fix any of the "problems" they're complaining about. It's coming to Canada despite the Canadian financial system being far more stable and reliable than the United States, with lower debt and better employment numbers. I'm trying to figure out exactly what these people are trying to accomplish, and how those objectives change with big labour jumping into the game. When the protesters start demanding massive increases in government spending, then you know the union leaders are pulling the strings. The last demand you can expect to see emerge from these demonstrations is reducing government spending. That's not why CUPE is paying to shuttle members to the protests by the bus load.

One activist on CTV news today was complaining that a major problem is too many people having an unsustainable debt load. Canada is becoming wealthier, and yet too many Canadians have more debt than they can afford. Clearly the cause of this problem is banks extending too much credit to people who wont be able to pay it back. What's the solution? No more credit cards for low income people. If people can't pay their mortgage, then they should not be issued a mortgage. Banks need to be more uptight about who they loan money to, because regular people can't be trusted to balance their own finances. Should the government pay off everyone's loans? Then you are only shifting debt from people to the state, where sovereign debt is already threatening to collapse the global financial system.

There is a healthy dose of irony in people protesting a financial system that loaned them more money than they could responsibly afford to pay back. I'm mad at you bank! You loaned me too much money and I spent it! As @Dfildebrandt wrote on Twitter "If these freeloaders want free tuition, wealth redistribution, big bureaucracy, and earlier retirement, they should #OccupyGreece"

What demands do you expect to see emerge from the Canadian version of Occupy Wallstreet? This will make for a great weekend poll question; your suggestions (and sarcasm) are encouraged. So far possible demands are income redistribution, government pays off everyone's credit card bills, close the Toronto Stock Exchange, more government spending, retirement at age 40, work less get paid more, 3 day work week, minimum guaranteed incomes, arrest George Bush for ordering 9/11 attacks, etc, etc...

"Hands Off Our CBC"

Today Bob Rae's Liberal Party announced a new campaign and online petition called "hands off our CBC" in an attempt to stop the government from reducing the billion plus dollars tax payer subsidize the state broadcaster annually. According to Jennifer Ditchburn the Liberals are "trying to tap a well of potential support". I'm not exactly sure who she thinks will make up this "well of support", unless she's talking about people who collect pay cheques from the CBC. Perhaps Bobby's plan is to try and get the folks at CBC Newsworld in their corner, as if they weren't already. The Liberals aren't picking up any support from their right by engaging in this policy, so this is likely a play for NDP votes. Most CBC jobs are unionized, so saving the subsidies should have some appeal to big labour.

Unfortunately for Bob, his announcement was overshadowed today by Mulcair entering the NDP leadership race.

Supporting The Right To Strike

Since winning a majority government government in the spring, the Conservative government has twice intervened in labour disputes to end or prevent work stoppages. First it was the post office, now Air Canada. Personally I support the right of workers to strike, just as I support the right of the employer to hire replacement workers. Let them strike and allow them to exercise their democratic right to walk away from their jobs. Then hire new workers at a significantly lower price to replace them. The "essential service" continues and we don't deny the workers their right to strike. Let the collective bargaining process take as many years as needed to reach a fair contract. Problem solved.

Should Don Cherry Be Sued?

Today's poll question; should Don Cherry be sued for calling some former hockey fighters "pukes and turncoats"? Normally I'm among the first to defend Cherry when he creates a pinko bike riding media controversy, but Don went too far with the latest rant. Players who have played the game have every right to express their opinions about possible negative side effects, and doing so does not make them pukes. They earned the right to have their opinions. Now the 3 players who were at the source of Cherry's tantrum are threatening a lawsuit for defamation, and there is a decent chance that they could win. While I believe Cherry overreacted to what the players said about fighting in hockey, I'm not sure we want to live in a society where calling someone a puke is worthy of a lawsuit. That's too litigious.

Don went too far, but not so far as to warrant a lawsuit. Do you agree or disagree?

Kevin Page Booked For Liberal Fundraiser?

Here's an interesting story; parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page was booked for a speaking appearance at an event on Tuesday in BC that turned out to be a Liberal fundraiser. This was news to Kevin Page, who had been told by organizers that it was a non-partisan event only to find out later that the Liberals would be taking donations at the door. Page then refused to appear unless that money was donated to charity...and no, the Liberal Party doesn't count as a charity. The organizer of the event happens to be the VP of the Liberal riding association for Nanaimo. Whether or not donations were taken for the party, this was still a Liberal event and begs the question why Kevin Page is taking bookings to speak at such an engagement. His job demands neutrality, and I don't think the Liberal lecture circuit can be labelled as non-partisan regardless of who takes home the donations.

Occupy Vancouver

Get ready Vancouver, the slacker revolution is preparing to start a permanent protest downtown in an effort to "take back Democracy". The organizers haven't made any demands for what they hope to accomplish, they're going to figure that out later. If I know anything about the Vancouver protest crowd, it shouldn't take long before they start demanding the government build them free houses. Minimum guaranteed incomes shouldn't be too far behind, where the government guarantees your income whether you work or not. The "steal from the rich to give to the lazy" agenda is generally the policy that emerges from these little gatherings, so I can spare you the suspense. Free houses and free money without having to work.

You'll probably also hear demands to shut down Alberta's oil patch, which is of course a massive source of tax revenue for the federal government. There will be demands for the government to spend more money and demands that will hinder Canadian economic output. That's what they mean when they say "let's take back democracy"; because democracy is great, unless the guy you don't like happens to win.

Is Cleavage Acceptable In The Workplace?

Today's poll question; is it acceptable for women to show cleavage in the workplace? Last week a former NDP MLA lashed out at Premier Christy Clark for showing a little skin in the legislature, prompting a flood of angry phone calls to talk radio. Perhaps the Dippers are seeking to become more socially conservative, as the federal party was recently caught air brushing cleavage out of an MP's picture. Is this the beginning of a pattern? The NDP may be starting a war against breasts. This is just speculation, but we'll see.

Should Provincial Tories Drop "Progressive" From Party Name?

Today's poll question; should the Progressive Conservative Party drop the word progressive from their name? The federal Tories dropped the "P word" back in the merger of 2004, and have only seen their good fortune grow. Most of the provincial counterparts who still cling to the PC name have been trending in the wrong direction. At this point there is really no point in holding on to this outdated relic, especially considering some of the clowns who identify themselves as "progressive". This is unlikely to happen anytime soon in Alberta with a new Premier and party leader described by many as "more progressive than conservative". The Ontario PC party should strongly consider the name change to launch a new brand of common sense revolution. So you'll have to buy new campaign signs and such, but it will be worth it in the end.

What's Worse: Liberal Majority Government Or Minority Supported By NDP?

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was re-elected one seat shy of a majority government Thursday, meaning unless someone defects, he will need the support of another party to pass his legislation. Today's poll question; what's worse? A Liberal majority government, or a Liberal minority government supported by the NDP? If you live in Ontario, the worst case scenario is Dalton McGuinty walking around with an NDP wish list in his pocket at budget time. Remember Paul Martin's "NDP Budget"? For as awful as Dalton has been on his own, how bad would things get if he's pulled even farther to the left? Frankly it would almost be better if Dalton had a majority than if he's propped up by Dippers.

It would be very smart if Hudak and the Tories work hard to negotiate legislation with McGuinty, even if it means compromising on some issues. Then in the next election you can talk about how you worked with the government to try and restore some semblance of fiscal sanity to Ontario. Perhaps Tim Hudak hasn't been a great leader, but he's been far better than the last guy and he only lost by 2% of the popular vote. The nature of Ontario politics is such that the public needs time to get to know a leader before electing them to the highest office. If the PCs want to switch leaders every time they lose an election like the federal Liberals, it is hard to gain traction. There is no great messiah coming around the corner. You might need to learn to love Tea Party Tim.

Perhaps the re-election of Dalton McGuinty is great news for federal Tories, as it will be easier for Stephen Harper to carry Ontario in 2015 with McGuinty sitting in Queen's Park.

I'm Happy That I No Longer Live In Ontario

Allow me to take a moment to offer my sympathy to the poor suckers still living in Ontario who have to suffer four more years of Dalton McGuinty. May God have mercy on your taxes. His re-election makes about as much sense as Stockholm Syndrome. Dalton owes the teacher's union a little quid pro quo for their effort getting him re-elected, and I'm glad that I no longer live in Ontario. Christy Clark is no picnic, but I'd take her over Dalton 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. How much did the public sector unions spend on advertising in this election? It sure felt like they spent more money than the actual Liberal Party.

It is strange that Dalton can win by 2% of the popular vote, but get 15% more seats. Will left wingers be complaining about that evil first past the post system tomorrow morning? Don't count on it, but when Harper wins a majority with a similar proportion of the vote share, it is a crime against humanity. I get it. At least Harper's Conservatives defeated the 2nd place challenger by 9% instead of 2%.

To those who want to pile on Hudak and throw him under the bus, remember it has been over 40 years since a rookie leader won an Ontario general election on their first try (1985 Peterson finished in 2nd place but became Premier with Bob Rae's help). Frankly if you want to replace him, that's up to you, but his replacement is also going to struggle regardless of who that person is. Hudak grew the size of caucus. Do a leadership review, but there should be no rush to replace him.

Remembering Caledonia

As Ontario heads to the polls, I'd like to re-post something I wrote a little less than a year ago when Julian Fantino was running in a federal byelection. Right wing bloggers were hammering him for his role in the Caledonia crisis. Here we are a year later, his boss who issued the "passive containment" order is running for a 3rd majority, and none of those people are complaining about Dalton's role in that fiasco. Citizens were terrorized when the rule of law was not enforced. That was the order issued by the elected government of Ontario which commands the provincial police force. That was Dalton McGuinty. Nobody seems to have discussed this during the election.
Where are the angry voices of Caledonia when Dalton is running for re-election?

From Ipperwash To Caledonia
Tuesday, November 23, 2010

A week before the upcoming byelections in Vaughan, Conservative candidate Julian Fantino is still drawing criticism from right minded people for his role in the Caledonia crisis. His "great mistake" was carrying out the policy of Dalton McGuinty's government. Remember the road from Ipperwash to Caledonia. In September of 1995 a group of First Nation protestors occupied the Ipperwash National Park. When small bands of native mobs started spilling out of the park into adjacent civilian areas, the Ontario Provincial Police assembled a Swat Team/Riot Squad to force protesters back into the park, a riot broke out, and somebody was killed. Ontario Liberals (including especially Dalton McGuinty) hammered the Harris government forevermore for the forceful response in the Ipperwash case.

Fast forward to 2006 and suddenly Dalton McGuinty is sitting in the Premier's office when a similar land dispute gets nasty in Caledonia. Paranoid that Caledonia will become his Ipperwash, Dalton sets up a policy of ‘passive containment’ and ostensibly stops enforcing the rule of law in that area. It was government policy. As Jonathan Kay wrote in 2007: "Since the crisis began, Dalton McGuinty's government has been petrified of taking decisive action, lest the Toronto media compare his actions to those of Mike Harris' government during the Ipperwash Crisis of 1995. At numerous points during the Caledonia standoff, the OPP has been ordered to sit on their hands despite numerous provocations by native protesters."

I am not trying to argue that the order of passive containment was the best course of action, but that policy came from Dalton McGuinty's government, not Julian Fantino. He was the civil servant instructed by the provincial government to avoid a violent confrontation with native protesters at all cost. The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services is responsible for law enforcement services in the province of Ontario, including the Ontario Provincial Police, jails, parole boards, public safety and disaster management.

How exactly should our police force respond to these types of incidents? I think the answer lies somewhere in between Ipperwash and Caledonia. As one OPP Sgt was recorded saying the day before the deadly Ipperwash riot, "we want to amass a fucking army. A real fucking army and do this. Do these fuckers big-time". I don't think that's the answer. At the same time, I don't think suspending the rule of law because you're afraid of bad press is an appropriate response either. Some of you want to blame Julian Fantino for Dalton McGuinty's poor judgment. I guess Fantino should have raised an army to "do those fuckers big-time" and defy the orders of the elected government who sets their policy?

Ontario, Get Out And Vote

Just a reminder to the people of Ontario to get out and vote today. Who you choose is up to you. Just remember, Dalton has been in power for 8 years with a majority government. At the end of another mandate he will have been in power for 12 years, and contrary to what his campaign ads try to tell you, he has not been an effective leader. A vote for McGuinty is a vote for increased taxation. He's building a so-called "green economy" where factories are idle due to poor demand for the crap they build. Do you want more of this? Of course Suzuki endorses it, his people are the ones who have the most to gain financially.

Do you want to pay even more in taxes so that Dalton can appease the teacher's union which has spent ungodly amounts of money trying to get him re-elected? For crying out loud I think they spent more on advertising than the actual Liberal Party! "An appeaser is someone who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last" - Winston Churchill

Do you want to pay more money if you use electricity when you get home from work, instead waiting until you'd normally be sleeping to do all your chores? Smart meters everyone. Not as good as they sound.

Frankly I don't care if you vote Tory or NDP. Just get out and vote for somebody that isn't Liberal. Defeating McGuinty is far more important than electing Hudak.

Wage Freezes For Public Sector Workers

Today's poll question; what should be done with wages for public sector workers? Should they be increased, frozen, or reduced? This has become a headline issue in the Ontario election campaign with the Progressive Conservatives pledging to freeze the wages of public workers. There are many who believe those wages are already too high and they should be reduced instead of frozen, but the latter is preferable to the union pandering of Dalton McGuinty. Dalton is a big government Liberal and those promises are funded through increased taxation. It is astounding that he maintains any support at all; which either speaks to his skill as a campaigner or is a symptom of Ontario's high proportion of public workers in the work force.

I don't know what is going to happen on Thursday, but I would be very happy if Dalton McGuinty is booted from office. Looking at the polling, the rise of the NDP might be a bigger problem for the Liberals than many mainstream pundits realize.

September 2011 Polling

Here are your poll results for the month of September. Who would be the most effective replacement for Jack Layton? Should fighting be banned in hockey? How much should Canada spend to bail out Europe? What's the probability of a Liberal NDP merger? What is the greatest threat to Canadian Security.

Here are your answers.

DID DEFENSE MINISTER PETER MACKAY ABUSE HIS PRIVILEGE BY CHARTERING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FLIGHTS ON GOVERNMENT JETS?

No (74%)
Yes (22%)
Undecided (2%)

HOW SHOULD WE SHIP OUR OIL TO THE UNITED STATES?

Pipeline (87%)
Fed Ex (6%)
Stop selling oil (5%)
Trucks (0%)
Giant Tankers (0%)

HOW MUCH MONEY SHOULD CANADA SEND TO BAIL EUROPE OUT OF ITS DEBT CRISIS?

Nothing (97%)
Multiple billions (2%)
$50 million (1%)
$100 million (0%)
$500 million (0%)
$1 billion (0%)

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PROBABILITY THAT THE LIBERALS AND NDP WILL MERGE BEFORE THE NEXT ELECTION?

0% (38%)
10% (8%)
20% (9%)
30% (8%)
40% (3%)
50% (11%)
60% (3%)
70% (5%)
80% (2%)
90% (0%)
100% (4%)
no idea (3%)

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO THE TORY MP WHO SENT AMOROUS E-MAILS TO A CHINESE STATE JOURNALIST?

Removed from Parliamentary Secretary position (53%)
Nothing (23%)
Too soon to say (15%)
Expelled from caucus (8%)

SHOULD FARMERS BE FORCED TO JOIN THE CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD?

No (99%)
Yes (1%)

WHAT IS THE GREATEST THREAT TO CANADIAN SECURITY?

Islamic terrorists (51%)
Socialists (19%)
The CBC (11%)
Environmental activists (5%)
Drug Cartels (3%)
International Spies/Hackers (2%)
Bankers (1%)
Gangs (1%)
Non-Islamic terrorists (0%)
Mother nature (0%)
Aliens (0%)
Killer bees (0%)
Anarchists (0%)
Vikings (0%)
There are no threats to Canadian security (0%)

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO OFFER TAX CREDITS TO BUSINESSES FOR HIRING FOREIGN WORKERS OVER CANADIAN WORKERS?

No (97%)
Yes (3%)
Undecided (0%)

SHOULD FIGHTING BE BANNED IN HOCKEY?

No (48%)
Yes (47%)
Undecided (5%)

WHO DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE REPLACEMENT FOR JACK LAYTON AS NDP LEADER?

Gary Doer (33%)
Libby Davies (22%)
Thomas Mulcair (16%)
Brian Topp (10%)
Pat Martin (7%)
Peggy Nash (3%)
Nycole Turmel (3%)
Paul Dewar (1%)
Peter Julian (0%)

Christy Clark Announces New Holiday

Today residents of British Columbia learned that we are going to get a new holiday in February, called Family Day. While many of us enjoy getting paid not to work, it is costly from an economic perspective. Do you feel that you should get more days off work? The volume of negative phone calls to talk radio was surprising as you'd expect most people to be happy about getting an extra day off. Even people who were happy to get the day off called to complain that it felt like a desperate attempt at bribery from a dying, lame duck political party. We won't be getting that day off this upcoming February, but rather shortly before our next provincial election (when Christy will be booted from office). The timing is very convenient.

What Alberta And BC Conservatives Have In Common

In a result that nobody saw coming, Alison Redford is now suddenly the Premier of Alberta after winning a party nomination to replace the sitting PC leader. She did not win an election to be Premier, only a nomination process; eerily similar to Christy Clark's rise to power in British Columbia. The early consensus seems to be that Redford is very liberal, again eerily similar to Clark. Both are left leaning, did not become Premier in a general election, and both irritate Conservatives in provinces that vote strongly Tory federally. Allow me to predict that both will lose their first election campaigning for the Premier's office.

It won't take long before the Alberta PC party starts regretting replacing Ed Stalmach, as many of their rank and file defect to the Wildrose. If you are a supporter or member of the Wildrose Alliance in Alberta, the nomination of Redford is likely to be better for you than the reign of "Steady Eddy". In BC, our fledgling Conservative Party stands to benefit from the folly of Christy Clark. Manure makes good fertilizer.